Given two sets of positive integers
A
and
B
, let
A
B
:
=
{
a
b
:
a
∈
A
,
b
∈
B
}
be their
product set
and put
A
k
:
=
A
⋯
A
(
k
times
A
) for any positive integer
k
. Moreover, for every positive ...integer
n
and every
α
=
α
(
n
)
∈
0
,
1
, let
B
(
n
,
α
)
denote the probabilistic model in which a random set
A
⊆
{
1
,
…
,
n
}
is constructed by choosing independently every element of
{
1
,
…
,
n
}
with probability
α
. We prove that if
A
1
,
…
,
A
s
are random sets in
B
(
n
1
,
α
1
)
,
…
,
B
(
n
s
,
α
s
)
, respectively,
k
1
,
…
,
k
s
are fixed positive integers,
α
i
n
i
→
+
∞
, and
1
/
α
i
does not grow too fast in terms of a product of
log
n
j
; then
|
A
1
k
1
⋯
A
s
k
s
|
∼
|
A
1
|
k
1
k
1
!
⋯
|
A
s
|
k
s
k
s
!
with probability
1
-
o
(
1
)
. This is a generalization of a result of Cilleruelo, Ramana, and Ramaré 3, who considered the case
s
=
1
and
k
1
=
2
.
Background and purpose - Improvement of physical function is one of the main treatment goals in severe hip osteoarthritis (OA) patients. The Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) has ...identified a core set of performance-based tests to assess the construct physical function: 30-s chair stand test (30-s CST), 4x10-meter fast-paced walk test (40 m FPWT), and a stair-climb test. Despite this recommendation, available evidence on the measurement properties is limited. We evaluated the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of these performance-based measures in patients with hip OA scheduled for total hip arthroplasty (THA).
Patients and methods - Baseline and 12-month follow-up measurements were prospectively obtained in 90 end-stage hip OA patients who underwent THA. As there is no gold standard for comparison, the hypothesis testing method was used for construct validity and responsiveness analysis. A test can be assumed valid if ≥75% of predefined hypotheses are confirmed. A subgroup (n = 30) underwent test-retest measurements for reliability analysis. The Oxford Hip Score, Hip injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-Physical Function Short Form, pain during activity score, and muscle strength were used as comparator instruments.
Results - Test-retest reliability was appropriate; intraclass correlation coefficient values exceeded 0.70 for all 3 tests. None of the performance-based measures reached 75% hypothesis confirmation for the construct validity or responsiveness analysis.
Interpretation - The performance-based tests have good reliability in the assessment of physical function. Construct validity and responsiveness, using patient-reported measures and muscle strength as comparator instruments, could not be confirmed. Therefore, our findings do not justify their use for clinical practice.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, FSPLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
The influence of the Nordic countries on the European Union's (EU's) policy processes has been researched from various angles, but there is a lack of research that comprehensively examines all policy ...positions advanced by Nordic actors within a given policy context. This article introduces a new design for studying policy positions and influence in the EU and examines the phenomenon from a multilevel perspective using an original data set compiled in connection to three directives: the Floods Directive on the assessment and management of flood risks, the Environmental Liability Directive, and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive. The analysis reveals that the Nordic countries follow a certain pattern of influencing EU policy that deviates from other states participating in the consultations. Nordic governmental actors exert a strong technical but weak directional influence in the chosen context but are, overall, more successful than Nordic organizational actors at influencing the policy process.
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•Seventeen extracts inhibited elastase and/or tyrosinase (IC50 from 7 to 100 μg/mL).•Five extracts resulted selective tyrosinase inhibitors.•Hypericum scruglii, endemic of Sardinia ...(Italy), emerged as selective elastase inhibitor.•Enzymes inhibition positively correlates with phenolic and flavonoid content.
In search for natural products of cosmetic interest, a hundred plant extracts were in vitro tested against elastase and tyrosinase. The inhibitors of these enzymes find application as skin whitening, anti-ageing, anti-wrinkle agents as well as in the treatment of dermatological disorders.
Among the tested samples, seventeen extracts resulted strongly active. In particular, eleven out of them were capable to inhibit both enzymes, five showed a strong activity only against tyrosinase and one only against elastase. The IC50 values of the selected samples ranged from 7 to 100 μg/mL and from 20 to 100 μg/mL against elastase and tyrosinase, respectively. Leaves extract of Pistacia lentiscus emerged as the most potent elastase inhibitor and, together with Cytinus hypocistis (aerial parts) and Limonium morisianum (aerial parts), it showed also the lowest IC50 of tyrosinase inhibition.
The tested plants were collected in India, Africa and Mediterranean area. Interestingly, among the most active ones, two are endemic and exclusive of Sardinia Island (Italy), namely: Limonium morisianum and Hypericum scruglii, moreover, the latter resulted the only plant which hydroalcoholic extract was capable to inhibit elastase selectively.
Moreover, a positive correlation was established among the potency of enzymatic inhibitions and the total phenolic and flavonoid content of the samples. The presence of these aromatic compounds in the most active plants confers them a potential additional value as skin protectors from oxidative damage.
Context. The processes leading to the birth of high-mass stars are poorly understood. We define a representative sample of massive clumps in different evolutionary stages selected from the APEX ...Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL), from which we aim to establish a census of molecular tracers of their evolution. We performed an unbiased spectral line survey covering the 3-mm atmospheric window between 84-117 GHz with the IRAM 30 m telescope of a sample of 430 sources of the ATLASGAL survey, covering various evolutionary stages of massive clumps. We derived detection rates to assess the star formation activity of the sample, and we estimated the column density and abundance using both an LTE approximation and non-LTE calculations for a smaller subsample, where both transitions have been observed. The observed increase of excitation conditions towards the more evolved clumps suggests a higher pressure in the shocked gas towards more evolved or more massive clumps in our sample.
Edible lamellibranch molluscs are frequently the cause of very serious outbreaks of food poisoning. Microbiological suitability for human consumption, according to EC Reg. n. 1441/2007, is only based ...on two faecal bacteriological contamination parameters (Escherichia coli and Salmonella) and does not consider other microorganisms which are naturally present within the marine environment and are potentially pathogenic such as those belonging to the genus Vibrio. In this study, a total of 540 samples of edible lamellibranch molluscs (mussels, clams and oysters) bred in Sardinia were analyzed for E. coli and Salmonella, according to EC Reg n. 1441/2005, and for the presence of Vibrios of major public health interest. Environmental parameters (seawater temperature and salinity) were also recorded. The 40% (n=216) of samples were positive for Vibrio while the levels of E. coli were above the legal European limit only in 6.4% of samples. A correlation between the presence of micro-organisms of faecal origin and potentially harmful Vibrios to human health was not observed. Vibrio alginolyticus was the most common in 68% of isolated species, followed by Vibrio parahaemolyticus in 22.6%, Vibrio cholerae in 6% and Vibrio vulnificus in 1.1%. Virulence gene (trh sequence) was present in 1.6% of the V. parahaemolyticus-positive samples. The V. cholerae, V. vulnificus and V. alginolyticus strains detected were non toxigenic. The absence of genes encoding major virulence factors in the studied strains does not exclude the possibility of exposure to pathogenic strains. This study indicates the potential health risk associated with the presence of pathogenic Vibrios in edible lamellibranch molluscs bred in Sardinia, where shellfish production is very important to the local economy.
•This study improves knowledge about the prevalence of pathogenic Vibrio in edible lamellibranch molluscs bred in Sardinia.•V. alginolyticus was predominant (68%).•V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus and V. cholerae showed frequencies of isolation of 22.6%, 6% and 1.1% respectively.•1.6% of the V. parahaemolyticus tested positive for virulence gene (trh).
For all integers
n
≥
k
≥
1
, define
H
(
n
,
k
)
:
=
∑
1
/
(
i
1
⋯
i
k
)
, where the sum is extended over all positive integers
i
1
<
⋯
<
i
k
≤
n
. These quantities are closely related to the Stirling ...numbers of the first kind by the identity
H
(
n
,
k
)
=
s
(
n
+
1
,
k
+
1
)
/
n
!
. Motivated by the works of Erdős–Niven and Chen–Tang, we study the
p
-adic valuation of
H
(
n
,
k
). Lengyel proved that
ν
p
(
H
(
n
,
k
)
)
>
-
k
log
p
n
+
O
k
(
1
)
and we conjecture that there exists a positive constant
c
=
c
(
p
,
k
) such that
ν
p
(
H
(
n
,
k
)
)
<
-
c
log
n
for all large
n
. In this respect, we prove the conjecture in the affirmative for all
n
≤
x
whose base
p
representations start with the base
p
representation of
k
− 1, but at most
3
x
0.835
exceptions. We also generalize a result of Lengyel by giving a description of
ν
2
(
H
(
n
,
2
)
)
in terms of an infinite binary sequence.
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•Cytinus hypocistis has a broad spectrum antibacterial activity.•Limonium morisianum has potent anti-staphylococcal properties.•P. terebinthus ssp. terebinthus inhibits multi-drug ...resistant K. pneumoniae strains.•Total phenolic content has a positive relationship with antibacterial activity.
In this paper, thirty-six extracts from Sardinian plants were evaluated in vitro for their antimicrobial activity towards a panel of reference strains, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, and for their cytotoxicity on mammalian cells. The biological data, together with total phenolic and flavonoid content of the extracts, were treated by PCA (Principal Components Analysis), which highlighted the positive correlation among total phenolic content and increasing antibacterial activities, and a possible involvement of flavonoids in mitigate the cytotoxicity. Thirteen extracts displayed relevant IC50 values (half maximal inhibitory concentration) on S. aureus (IC50 from 1.4 to 153.6 μg/mL), ten out of them were active also against S. epidermidis (IC50 from 3.9 to 150 μg/mL), seven against K. pneumoniae (IC50 from 28.5 to 97.5 μg/mL), and two against E. coli (IC50 74.9 and 156.3 μg/mL). In particular, three extracts obtained from Pistacia terebinthus ssp. terebinthus, Cytinus hypocistis and Limonium morisianum emerged as promising antibacterial candidates. They exhibited remarkable inhibitory activity towards bacterial strains from clinical specimens and presenting different antibiotic-resistance profiles.
Abstract The tailings dump of Barraxiutta (Sardinia, Italy) contains considerable concentrations of heavy metals and, consequently, is scarcely colonized by plants. However, wild populations of the ...liverwort Lunularia cruciata (L.) Dum. form dense and healthy‐looking carpets on this tailing dump. L. cruciata colonizing the tailing dump was compared with a control population growing in a pristine environment in terms of: (i) pollutant content, (ii) photochemical efficiency, and (iii) volatile secondary metabolites in thalli extracts. L. cruciata maintained optimal photosynthesis despite containing considerable amounts of soil pollutants in its thalli and had higher sesquiterpene content compared to control plants. Sesquiterpenes have a role in plant stress resistance and adaptation to adverse environments. In the present study, we propose enhanced sesquiterpenes featuring Contaminated L. cruciata as a defence strategy implemented in the post‐mining environment.
This study is primarily aimed at assessing serum changes on a large panel of proteins in patients with chronic back pain following spa therapy, as well as evaluating different spa therapy regimens as ...a preliminary exploratory clinical study. Sixty-six patients with chronic back pain secondary to osteoarthritis were randomly enrolled and treated with daily mud packs and bicarbonate-alkaline mineral water baths, or a thermal hydrotherapy rehabilitation scheme, the combination of the two regimens or usual medication only (control group), for two weeks. Clinical variables were evaluated at baseline, after 2 and 12 weeks. One thousand serum proteins were tested before and after a two-week mud bath therapy. All spa treatment groups showed clinical benefit as determined by improvements in VAS pain, Roland Morris disability questionnaire and neck disability index at both time points. The following serum proteins were found greatly increased (≥2.5 fold) after spa treatment: inhibin beta A subunit (INHBA), activin A receptor type 2B (ACVR2B), angiopoietin-1 (ANGPT1), beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), growth differentiation factor 10 (GDF10), C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CXCL5), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), fibroblast growth factor 12 (FGF12), oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor 1 (OLR1), matrix metallopeptidase 13 (MMP13). Three proteins were found greatly decreased (≤0.65 fold): apolipoprotein C-III (Apoc3), interleukin 23 alpha subunit p19 (IL23A) and syndecan-1 (SDC1). Spa therapy was confirmed as beneficial for chronic back pain and proved to induce changes in proteins involved in functions such as gene expression modulation, differentiation, angiogenesis, tissue repair, acute and chronic inflammatory response.
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