The D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2) displays Taq I restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) at two different loci, termed A and B. One of the three different Taq I A 'alleles' described at ...this site, the A1 allele (size = 6.6 kb), has been found to be associated with alcoholism and with drug abuse in the majority of studies reported to date. A complete map of the Taq I A RFLP site has been constructed, through hybridization with different fragments of the 3' flanking region and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). When screening 432 unrelated individuals to establish possible A1 allelic association with drug abuse or dependence, we have encountered a novel Taq I A RFLP, which we have named 'A4' (size = 8.6 kb). This sequence variant displays a frequency of approximately 1% in our sample and shows a Mendelizing genetic pattern in an Italian nuclear family. Primers suitable for detecting A4 using PCR have been designed. The A4, but not the A3 'allele', displays substantial overlap with the A1. In particular, A2 and A3 share the presence of a Taq I restriction site, whose absence in A1 and A4 is apparently associated with substance abuse vulnerability. Therefore, in association studies it is proper to contrast individuals displaying A1 and A4 RFLP patterns, with individuals displaying A2 and A3 RFLPs.
In this contribution, we present three case histories related to three churches of the 16-17 th century in Lecce, Southern Italy. The data have been processed by means of a standard processing, and ...the results have been interpreted with the aid of an archive research. The aim of this paper is to show that a strict collaboration between technical and humanistic competencies can constitute a meaningful additional value to the results in these kinds of case histories.
In the frame of full 3D Ground Penetrating Radar imaging, this paper deals with a model based approach, exploiting the Born approximation to describe the scattering phenomenon and accounting for the ...vectorial nature of the signal-media interaction. The goal is to investigate how the information content of the collected data changes with two specific reflection-mode measurement arrangements. These are the multimonostatic configuration and the single view/multistatic one, both exploiting frequency diversity. By taking advantage of a Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) based analysis of the relevant scattering operators, the imaging performance referred to both the measurement configurations are compared in terms of the retrievable spatial harmonics of the unknown contrast function. Reconstruction results based on synthetic data confirm that the multimonostatic configuration yields better performance, while requiring exactly the same amount of measurements of the single view one.
This work presents a thorough comparative assessment of undoped GST and GeTe active phase-change (PC) materials for application to embedded memory devices (in particular consumer and automotive ...products). The material screening and qualification is performed through optical reflectivity and 4-probes resistivity measurements. Electrical performances are then investigated through tests of lance-cell analytical PC memory cells. Reset current densities of GST and GeTe are comparable, while GeTe data-retention at high- temperature is significantly improved compared to GST, suggesting that GeTe-based compounds are promising candidates for embedded PC memory applications.
Percutaneous liver biopsy (PLB) is the golden standard for diagnosing chronic liver disease (CLD) even if it is still debated if and how much a single liver specimen might represent the histological ...status of the entire liver. A study was conducted to determine the diagnostic value of PLB comparing the histological score of two liver specimens collected in the same patient on the hepatic right and left lobe. The role of PLB for diagnosing CLD is confirmed.
Electrical-field stimulation caused an endothelium-dependent relaxation in rabbit aorta rings precontracted by phenylephrine. The relaxation was reduced in a dose-dependent manner by morphine, ...benzalkonium, D-Pro2,D-Trp7,9substance P and an beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, propranolol. The vasodilatation was enhanced by superoxide dismutase and abolished by haemoglobin and NG-monomethyl-L-arginine. The inhibitory effect of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine was reversed by L-arginine, the precursor of nitric oxide biosynthesis, but not by its enantiomer, D-arginine. These data show that the electrically induced relaxation is independent on nitric oxide released by NK receptors and beta-receptors. Moreover, morphine, by reducing substance P release, decreased the magnitude of electrically induced relaxation, suggesting an indirect role of opioids in the regulation of the peripheral circulation through the control of nitric oxide release. Furthermore our observations confirm the hypothesis that subtypes of beta-adrenoceptors releasing nitric oxide participate in the regulation of vascular tone.
We propose a new completely variable reconfigurable antenna for Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) applications. In particular, here we present the design and the numerical analysis of the structure in ...total geometry morphing approach, with the aim of simulating the specific behavior of a reference bow-tie dipole. The development environment of the new device was the numerical tool HFSS (High Frequency Structure Simulator) by Ansoft which exploits the Finite Element Method (FEM). Finally, we extend the analysis of a single antenna by investigating the effect of a receiving one on the radiation properties of the transmitting antenna in dependence on the distance between them.
This article reports the case of a 30-year-old woman who, in 2003, had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the left vaginal fornix, associated with sclerosis. After six chemoimmunotherapy cycles the ...patient underwent a laparoscopic procedure for lateral ovarian transposition to spare ovarian function before radiotherapy. Six months after the transposition the evaluation of ovarian function was performed. The hypothalamic-pituitary-ovary axis was normal. Three years after radiation therapy (2006) the patient spontaneously conceived. Her pregnancy proceeded regularly. She had an uneventful vaginal delivery. Lateral ovarian transposition with tubal anatomy preservation, which is an underused technique, can be successfully used to spare ovarian function in women who undergo pelvic radiotherapy and to let them achieve spontaneous pregnancy.
This was a retrospective study to evaluate the prevalence and impact of hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection in hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐positive drug addicts, according to the serological status of ...hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co‐infection. Two hundred and thirty‐five randomly selected intravenous drug addicted patients (147 French, 88 Italian) were studied. All patients were positive for antibodies to HCV (anti‐HCV). HGV RNA positivity was measured by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR). Comparisons of HCV RNA positivity rate, and biological and histopathological variables, were made between HGV RNA‐positive and negative patients, according to their HBV and HIV status. HGV prevalence was around 30% in both French and Italian groups. No clear association between HGV infection and a particular HCV genotype was observed. The rate of HCV RNA positivity did not differ between HGV‐positive and HGV‐negative patients after stratification for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HIV positivity. Histological severity of the underlying chronic hepatitis did not differ according to the HGV status; however, in HIV‐positive HBsAg‐negative patients, the hepatitis activity was moderately increased in HGV‐positive patients. A striking negative influence of HBsAg positivity on HCV replication was observed in HIV‐negative patients: an HCV RNA‐positive rate of 25% was found in HBsAg‐positive patients vs 86% in HBsAg‐negative patients; similar significant results were observed in HIV‐positive patients, although to a lesser extent. The underlying chronic hepatitis was significantly more severe in HBsAg‐positive than in HBsAg‐negative HIV‐negative patients. Hence, HGV infection is highly prevalent in anti‐HCV positive drug addicts but the co‐infection with HCV does not seem to influence HCV replication nor to worsen the underlying chronic hepatitis, in HIV‐negative patients at least. Reciprocal influence between HBV, HCV and HIV appears rather complex, HBsAg carriage seeming to exert per se a negative effect on HCV replication, particularly in HIV‐negative patients, suggesting that interactions between hepatitis viruses should always be analysed in the light of HIV status.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Hexamethylmelamine (HMM) and oral etoposide (VP-16) have shown to be active against platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer. On this basis a three-drug regimen including carboplatin (CBDCA) plus ...HMM and oral VP-16 was tested in previously untreated ovarian cancer patients with tumor size > 2 cm. Since October 1991, 29 chemotherapy-naive ovarian cancer patients with tumor larger than 2 cm (20 stage III and 9 stage IV) have been treated for a total of 153 courses. CBDCA was administered i.v. on Day 1. The dose was individualized using the Calvert formula (the target dose was AUC = 5). VP-16 was administered orally at the dose of 50 mg/m2 Days 1-14, HMM at the dose of 150 mg/m2 po Days 14-28. Therapy was repeated every 28 days for a total of 6 courses. In order to avoid severe leukopenia and delays in the treatment administration, G-CSF 5 micrograms/kg/day sc Days 8-14 (or until postnadir recovery of neutrophil count > 10,000/mm3) and Days 22-28 was administered. All patients were evaluable for toxicity. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Myelotoxicity was the main side effect. It was grade 3-4 in a total of 13/29(45%) patients. One patient discontinued treatment after the first course due to HMM-related gastrointestinal toxicity. The actual delivered dose intensity was 89% of the planned dose. At the time of this analysis (April 1994) 26 patients are evaluable for response. Fifteen patients achieved a clinical complete remission and 9 a partial response for a 92% overall response rate. Fourteen patients accepted second-look laparotomy. We observed 11 pathological complete regressions (42%; 95% CI, 21-63). At a median follow-up of 16 months 3 deaths have occurred. Only 2 patients with NED at second-look laparotomy have relapsed. We stopped the accrual since the 95% confidence interval of the pCR-rate observed exceeded 20%. This new first-line regimen seems to be highly effective in patients with poor-prognosis advanced ovarian cancer, although the data are not yet sufficiently mature for a final analysis of time to progression and overall survival.
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IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
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