The characterization of the adaptive immune response to COVID-19 vaccination in individuals who recovered from SARS-CoV- 2 infection may define current and future clinical practice. To determine the ...effect of the 2-dose BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination schedule in individuals who recovered from COVID-19 (COVID- 19-recovered subjects) compared with naive subjects, we evaluated SARS-CoV-2 Spike-specific T and B cell responses, as well as specific IgA, IgG, IgM, and neutralizing antibodies titers in 22 individuals who received the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, 11 of whom had a previous history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Evaluations were performed before vaccination and then weekly until 7 days after second injection. Data obtained clearly showed that one vaccine dose is sufficient to increase both cellular and humoral immune response in COVID-19-recovered subjects without any additional improvement after the second dose. On the contrary, the second dose proved mandatory in naive subjects to further enhance the immune response. These findings were further confirmed at the serological level in a larger cohort of naive (n = 68) and COVID-19-recovered (n = 29) subjects, tested up to 50 days after vaccination. These results question whether a second vaccine injection in COVID-19-recovered subjects is required, and indicate that millions of vaccine doses may be redirected to naive individuals, thus shortening the time to reach herd immunity.
Abstract Objective An increasing number of epidemiological studies suggest that chronic low-dose irradiation increases the risk of atherosclerosis. We evaluated and compared the in vitro biological ...effects of both single and fractionated low-doses of X-ray irradiation on endothelial cells. Methods Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were irradiated with X-rays, with single doses of 0.125, 0.25 and 0.5 Gy or fractionated doses of 2 × 0.125 Gy and 2 × 0.25 Gy, with 24 h interfraction interval. Survival, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression, HUVEC adhesiveness and DNA damage were investigated. Results We did not observe any effect on viability and apoptosis. Both single and fractionated doses induced ROS generation, NF-κB activation, ICAM-1 protein expression and HUVEC adhesiveness, but only fractionated doses increase significantly ICAM-1 mRNA. The effects measured after fractionated dose result always higher than those induced by the single dose. Moreover, we observed that DNA double strand break (DSB), visualized with γ-H2AX foci, is dose-dependent and that the kinetics of γ-H2AX foci is not affected by fractionated doses. Conclusions We showed that single and fractionated low-dose irradiations with low energy X-rays do not affect cell viability and DNA repair. Interestingly, the greater increase of ICAM-1 surface exposure and endothelial adhesiveness observed after fractionated irradiation, suggests that fractionated low-doses may accelerate chronic vascular inflammation, from which the atherosclerotic process can arise.
Papillomavirus (PV) infections may be related to anogenital lesions and cancer development in humans and several other animal species. To date, 11 different PVs have been reported in horses. Among ...them, a newly described PV named Equus caballus Papillomavirus Type9 (EcPV9) was thus far only reported in the semen of a stallion with penile lesions in Australia. This study reports for the first time the presence of EcPV9 in asymptomatic Italian horses. From July 2020 to January 2022, genital brush samples were collected from 209 horses with no apparent signs of neoplastic disease and no PV-associated lesions, clinically examined at the Didactic Veterinary University Hospital (OVUD) of Perugia and at the Veterinary University Hospital (OVU) of Turin. Brushes were submitted to real-time PCR targeting the EcPV9-L1 region. The first amplification targeted a region of ~116 bp, followed by the amplification and sequencing of ~533 bp of the positive samples. EcPV9-L1 DNA was found in eleven horses (5.3%), all female and mainly English Thoroughbred. Co-infection with EcPV2-L1 was found in 7 out of the 11 EcPV9-L1 positive horses (63.6%). This study contributes to the description of the prevalence of exposure or infection of EcPVs in the horse population in Italy, for which data are still limited. In this regard, here we provide a phylogenetic analysis and the completely reconstructed viral genomes of two Italian EcPV type 9 isolates, as well as four EcPV type 2 obtained from co-infected animals.
Background Initial findings of the Italian Randomized Tamoxifen Prevention Trial found no reduction in risk of breast cancer with tamoxifen use, whereas the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and ...Bowel Project Breast Cancer Prevention Trial showed that tamoxifen treatment reduces risk of estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer. Here we present an extended follow-up of the Italian trial. Methods From October 1, 1992, to December 31, 1997, 5408 otherwise healthy women who had undergone hysterectomy were randomly assigned in a double-blind manner to tamoxifen (20 mg daily) or placebo for 5 years. Rates of breast cancer and other events in the two groups were compared by the use of risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results After 11 years of follow-up, 136 women (74 placebo, 62 tamoxifen) developed breast cancer (RR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.60 to 1.17; annual rates were 2.48 and 2.07 per 1000 women-years, respectively). The rates of breast cancer in the two study groups were similar among women who had had bilateral oophorectomy and among women at low risk for hormone receptor–positive (HR+) disease but were much lower in the tamoxifen group among women at high risk (placebo, 6.26 per 1000 women-years, tamoxifen, 1.50 per 1000 women-years; RR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.10 to 0.59). During the treatment period, women in the tamoxifen group reported more hot flashes (RR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.57 to 2.00), vaginal discharge (RR = 3.44, 95% CI = 2.90 to 4.09), and urinary disturbances (RR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.23 to 1.89) but fewer headaches (RR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.50 to 0.94) than women in the placebo group. Hypertriglyceridemia (RR = 4.33, 95% CI = 1.96 to 9.53), thromboembolic events (RR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.02 to 2.62), and cardiac arrhythmia or atrial fibrillation (RR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.01 to 2.98) were also more frequent in the tamoxifen group than in the placebo group. Conclusions Appropriate selection of women at high risk for HR+ disease may improve the risk–benefit ratio of tamoxifen intervention.
This contribution focuses on what was an topical subject in Rome in the first half of the twentieth century: urban green areas and their relationship with monuments. Interest in this topic was ...probably inspired by the traditional approach popular in nineteenth-century England, one which several members of the Roman cultural elite who studied vegetation and gardens (Giacomo Boni and Maria Ponti Pasolini) had become acquainted with thanks to the close ties they had established with English professionals. Since the unification of Italy, Rome had raised the issue of the inseparable relationship that city ruins had with vegetation; in fact, the 1873 master plan already contained guidelines regarding the layout of urban gardens, preferably using an English style. These guidelines played a crucial role in city planning and in creating unique areas, such as the Passeggiata Archeologica (the Archaeological Park, also known as the Zona Monumentale). The paper will focus on these developments and on the work of the people involved in these projects such as, Giacomo Boni, Maria Ponti Pasolini and Gustavo Giovannoni, all members of the Artistic Association of Architectural Connoisseurs - the AACAR founded in Rome in 1890, in order to follow the urban development of Italy's capital city.
This paper is based on the Master’s thesis work conducted by D.Ph. Pocobelli in Sapienza University of Rome in 2014. Although the Aghios Konstantinos Church is currently under restoration processes, ...this research took place before the restoration of the dome, now finalised. Aghios Konstantinos Church was designed by architect Lysandros Kaftantzoglou at the end of the 19th century. It was being built for more than 20 years, and it was completed after its author’s death. The main façade is characterised by three different levels: the ground floor, the mezzanine or gynaeceum, and the dome. The inner space is organised into three naves and a transept; the intersection between the central nave and the transept is covered by the dome. The church has suffered several damages caused mainly by two strong earthquakes that took place in the surroundings of Athens. The first earthquake occurred in 1981 in Alkyonides Islands, with a magnitude of 6.6 Richter. The second one happened in 1999 in Ano Liosia, with a magnitude of 5.5 Richter. These events caused major structural damages, concentrated on the dome, the main piles and the arches supporting the vault. On top of that, major fractures were also produced by the weight of the dome itself, which has been built with greater dimensions and heavier materials than the ones originally calculated by Kaftantzoglou. The piles have deep horizontal fractures on their bases, and superficial diagonal fractures under the cornice. The arches supporting the vault have transversal fractures that become deeper in correspondence of the keystone. Finally, the dome reveals a continuous horizontal fracture on the tambour, and vertical cracks that run from the architraves upwards. The interventions proposed in this paper are a Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) hooping for the dome and stainless steel chaining bars for the arches.
The essay is part of the studies regarding Ostia Antica, focused on its relations with African provinces – today in Tunisia – characterized by diversified influences, legacies, and cultural bonds. In ...Ostia, the intertwining of interests and cultures is also testified by various cults and religions coming from all over the Mediterranean Sea. The present study is aimed at highlighting Piazzale delle Corporazioni (Guild square) urban role: it is a structure built behind the theater scene, representing in ancient times a venue for a community including many different civilizations of foreign merchants, associated on the base of common ethnic or birthplace roots, to find their community trade. It was a meeting place where some North African and Tunisian communities established depots and warehouses to represent main shipping and trading companies from all over the Mediterranean Sea and African provinces: among these, the African naviculari, as Alexandria, Sabratha, and Carthage associations.
Alterations of glucose homeostasis can increase advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that exacerbate vascular inflammatory disease and may increase vascular senescence and aging. This study ...examined the relationships between carboxymethyl-lysine (CML) and soluble receptor for AGEs (sRAGE) with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn), as cell aging biomarkers, in patients with established coronary artery disease (CAD).
We studied 459 patients with CAD further categorized as having normal glucose homeostasis (NG, n = 253), pre-diabetes (preT2D, n = 85), or diabetes (T2D, n = 121). All patients were followed up for the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Plasma concentrations of sRAGE and CML were measured by ELISA. mtDNAcn and LTL were measured by qRT-PCR. CML levels were significantly higher in patients with preT2D (p < 0.007) or T2D (p < 0.003) compared with those with NG. mtDNAcn resulted lower in T2D vs preT2D (p = 0.04). At multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis, short LTL (HR: 2.89; 95% CI: 1.11–10.1; p = 0.04) and high levels of sRAGE (HR: 2.20; 95% CI: 1.01–5.14; p = 0.04) were associated with an increased risk for MACEs in patients with preT2D and T2D, respectively. T2D patients with both short LTL and high sRAGE levels had the highest risk of MACEs (HR: 3.11; 95% CI: 1.11–9.92; p = 0.04).
High levels of sRAGE and short LTL were associated with an increased risk of MACEs, especially in patients with diabetes, supporting the usefulness of both biomarkers of glycemic impairment and aging in predicting cardiovascular outcomes in patients with CAD.
•CAD patients with a different glycemic status and previous MI showed significant different levels of AGEs and mtDNAcn.•High sRAGE levels and short LTL associated with an increased risk of MACEs in CAD population, especially in diabetic patients.•Biomarkers of glycemic impairment and aging might improve the prediction of cardiovascular outcomes in CAD patients.
Reported urine cytology accuracy, particular sensitivity, is highly variable. We evaluated the accuracy of urinary cytology for primary bladder cancer using population data linkage to provide valid ...estimates.
Consecutive cytology tests processed through a major service between January 2000 and December 2004 were linked to a regional population cancer registry (allowing outcome ascertainment). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated using different thresholds, based on standardized reporting categories (C1 = negative, C2 = reactive, C3 = atypical, C4 = suspicious, C5 = malignant, Cx = inadequate).
Cancer registry matching of 2,594 tests revealed 130 incident bladder cancers, of which 97 occurred within 12 months of cytology and were included in calculating accuracy. Sensitivity (C3-C5 considered positive) ranged between 40.2 and 42.3%, and specificity was 93.7-94.1%. If C3 results are counted as negative, sensitivity estimates reduced to 24.7-26.0%. The positive predictive value of a C3, C4 or C5 report was 11.7, 39.2, and 66.6%, respectively. High tumor grade was associated with significantly higher sensitivity compared to low and intermediate grades combined (p = 0.02).
Urine cytology is highly specific but has intermediate sensitivity, indicating that it has a role in adjunct diagnosis, but not in screening for primary bladder cancer. C3 results should be considered 'positive' and further investigated, and all positive results should prompt further intervention.
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