Fungi are the principal wood decomposers in forest ecosystems and their activity provides wood necromass to other living organisms. However, the wood decay mechanisms and the associated microbial ...community are largely unknown, especially in Alpine areas. In this study, the culturable fraction of fungal communities associated with the decomposition of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) deadwood in subalpine forest soils were determined using microbiological methods coupled with molecular identification. Fungal communities were evaluated using in-field mesocosms after one year of exposition of P. abies wood blocks along an altitudinal gradient ranging from 1200 up to 2000 m a.s.l. comprising eight subalpine sites, four of them located at north- and other four at south-facing slopes. Although many saprotrophic species were isolated from the wood blocks, several white-rot species as the pathogenic fungi Armillaria cepistipes and Heterobasidion annosum, along with soft-rot fungi such as Lecytophora sp. were identified. Our results further indicated that the wood-inhabiting fungal community was mainly influenced by topographic features and by the chemical properties of the wood blocks, providing first insights into the effect of different slope exposure on the deadwood mycobiome in the subalpine forest ecosystem.
While several studies have highlighted the negative consequences of trauma exposure on rescuers' health, the psychological factors promoting rescuers' well-being have rarely been investigated. The ...present study aimed at analyzing the quality of rescuing experience among professionals and volunteers of the Italian Red Cross. The experiences of 14 professional and 11 volunteer ambulance rescuers were examined through the repeated assessment of their subjective evaluations of daily activities and contexts in real time. Their experience fluctuation pattern was analyzed based on the levels of environmental challenges and personal skills perceived during daily activities. Both professionals and volunteers reported frequent exposure to highly challenging situations while rescuing and associated this activity with high concentration, involvement, and control. Perceptions of anxiety were significantly more frequent among volunteers. For both groups, first-aid activities were reported to provide optimal experience, a complex and rewarding condition characterized by the perception of high challenges matched with adequate skills. Results suggested that working as rescuers can promote well-being through optimal experiences. The potential for skill refinement and individual development embedded in rescuing activities, together with individual characteristics, should be taken into account in designing training programs for professionals and volunteers.
To evaluate pregnancy outcomes, complications and neonatal outcomes in women who had previously undergone uterine arterial embolization.
A retrospective study of 187 patients treated with uterine ...arterial embolization for symptomatic uterine fibroids between 2005-2008 was performed. Uterine arterial embolization was performed using polyvinyl alcohol particles (500-900 μm in diameter). Pregnancies were identified using screening questionnaires and the study database.
There were 15 spontaneous pregnancies. Of these, 12.5% were miscarriages (n = 2), and 87.5% were successful live births (n = 14). The gestation time for the pregnancies with successful live births ranged from 36 to 39.2 weeks. The mean time between embolization and conception was 23.8 months (range, 5–54). One of the pregnancies resulted in twins. The newborn weights (n = 14) ranged from 2.260 to 3.605 kg (mean, 3.072 kg). One (7.1%) was considered to have a low birth weight (2.260 kg). There were two cases of placenta accreta (12.5%, treated with hysterectomy in one case 6.3%), one case of premature rupture of the membranes (PRM) (6.3%), and one case of preeclampsia (6.3%). All of the patients were delivered via Cesarean section.
In this study, there was an increased risk of Cesarean delivery. There were no other major obstetric risks, suggesting that pregnancy after uterine arterial embolization is possible without significant morbidity or mortality.
In the health domain, well‐being is primarily assessed as autonomy and mental distress, whereas the quality of daily experience is rarely investigated. In this study, the relationship between ...autonomy levels and daily experience was explored. Thirty‐five Italian adults with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia provided for one week real‐time descriptions of daily activities and associated experiences through the Experience Sampling Method procedure. Participants were grouped based on autonomy levels assessed through Barthel Index. The relationships between activity typologies, the experiential dimensions, perceived challenges and skills, and autonomy level were analysed. Participants’ predominant activities were personal care, associated with global disengagement, and leisure, associated with high control and desirability, but low perceived relevance. During social interactions participants reported engagement and emotional well‐being, and during productive activities high activation but negative affect. Multi‐level analysis highlighted that this association between activity type and experiential patterns recurred across autonomy levels. In addition, perceived challenges in the activity were lower that perceived personal skills across activities and autonomy levels. Findings suggest that persons with motor disabilities, regardless of their autonomy level, would benefit from more challenging opportunities for action in daily life, in order to attain well‐being through active skill mobilisation.
Summary Ameloblastoma is the most common odontogenic tumor. It can exhibit a variety of histological patterns, a great infiltrative potential and a high recurrence rate. Mutations in microsatellite ...sequences are a hallmark of neoplastic transformation but little is known about their role in ameloblastoma development. In this study DNA was extracted from laser-microdissected samples of 24 ameloblastomas and was analyzed for the status of 22 microsatellite loci. The occurrence and the pattern of microsatellite alterations, in form of loss or length variation, was evaluated and correlated with the Ki67 labeling index and with other clinicopathologic parameters. The prognostic significance of these alterations was also evaluated. High Ki67 expression was significantly associated with a shorter disease-free survival ( p = 0.003 by log-rank test). Alterations of at least one of the selected loci was observed in all (100%) the ameloblastomas analyzed with a mean of 4 altered microsatellites for each tumor. The microsatellites most frequently altered were D9S747 and D11S488 (42%). All the other loci analyzed were altered in less than 40% of cases and some of them (D3S1312, D3S1300, IFNA, D9S164, D13S176 and TP53) did not show alterations in any of the ameloblastomas analyzed. No relationship was observed between the occurrence of microsatellite alterations and other parameters, such as patients age and gender, tumor size, localization and histotype. The occurrence of microsatellite alterations was more frequent in tumors displaying a high Ki67 labeling index ( p = 0.03) and in a univariate analysis was predictor of an increased risk of disease recurrence ( p = 0.039 by log-rank test). These findings demonstrate that microsatellite alterations are frequent event in ameloblastomas. They also suggest that evaluation of tumor cells proliferative activity and microsatellite alterations may be helpful to stratify ameloblastomas prognostically and to predict the clinical behavior of these tumors.
► Pure nitrogen near-infrared fluorescence spectrum. ► Pure oxygen near-infrared fluorescence spectrum. ► Dry air near-infrared fluorescence spectrum. ► Dry air near-infrared fluorescence light ...yield.
We have investigated the fluorescence emission in the near infrared from the air and its main components, nitrogen and oxygen. The gas was excited by a 95
kV electron beam and the fluorescence light detected by an InGaAs photodiode, sensitive down to about 1700
nm. We have recorded the emission spectra by means of a Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer. The light yield was also measured by comparing the near infrared signal with the known ultraviolet fluorescence, detected by a Si photodiode.
The possibility of using the near infrared fluorescence of the atmosphere to detect ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is discussed, showing the pros and the cons of this novel method.
Abstract
Objective
Using three-dimensional ultrasound (3D-US), we aimed to compare the tape position and the angle formed by the sling arms in different techniques of mid-urethral sling insertion ...for the surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence, three years after surgery. In addition, we examined the correlations between the US findings and the clinical late postoperative results.
Methods
A prospective cross-sectional cohort study of 170 patients who underwent a sling procedure between May 2009 and December 2011 was performed. The final sample, with US images of sufficient quality, included 26 retropubic slings (tension-free vaginal tape, TVT), 42 transobturator slings (tension-free vaginal tape-obturator, TVT-O), and 37 single-incision slings (tension-free vaginal tape-Secur, TVT-S). The images (at rest, during the Valsalva maneuver, and during pelvic floor contraction) were analyzed offline by 2 different observers blinded against the surgical and urinary continence status. Group comparisons were performed using the Student
t
-test, the chi-squared and the Kruskal-Wallis tests, and analyses of variance with Tukey multiple comparisons.
Results
Differences among the groups were found in the mean angle of the tape arms (TVT = 119.94°, TVT-O = 141.93°, TVT-S = 121.06°;
p
< 0.001) and in the distance between the bladder neck and the tape at rest (TVT = 1.65 cm, TVT-O = 1.93 cm, TVT-S = 1.95 cm;
p
= 0.010). The global objective cure rate was of 87.8% (TVT = 88.5%, TVT-O = 90.5%, TVT-S = 83.8%;
p
= 0.701). The overall subjective cure rate was of 83.8% (TVT = 88.5%, TVT-O = 88.5% and TVT-S = 78.4%;
p
= 0.514). The slings were located in the mid-urethra in 85.7% of the patients (TVT = 100%, TVT-O = 73.8%, TVT-S = 89.2%;
p
= 0.001), with a more distal location associated with obesity (distal: 66.7% obese; mid-urethra: 34% obese;
p
= 0.003). Urgency-related symptoms were observed in 23.8% of the patients (TVT = 30.8%, TVT-O = 21.4%, TVT-S = 21.6%;
p
= 0.630).
Conclusions
The angle formed by the arms of the sling tape was more obtuse for the transobturator slings compared with the angles for the retropubic or single-incision slings. Retropubic slings were more frequently located in the mid-urethra compared with the other slings, regardless of obesity. However, the analyzed sonographic measures did not correlate with the urinary symptoms three years after the surgery.
Leprosy has been treated with multidrug therapy, which has been distributed for free across the globe and regarded as highly efficient. However, the impossibility of growing Mycobacterium leprae in ...axenic media has historically impaired assessments of M. leprae resistance, a parameter only recently detectable through molecular methods.
A systematic, population-based search for M. leprae resistance in suspected leprosy relapse cases and contacts was performed in Prata Village, an isolated, hyperendemic, former leprosy colony located in the Brazilian Amazon. Results led to an extended active search involving the entire Prata population. Confirmed leprosy cases were investigated for bacterial resistance using a combination of in vivo testing and direct sequencing of resistance genes folP1, rpoB, and gyrA. A molecular epidemiology analysis was performed using data from 17 variable number tandem repeats (VNTR).
Mycobacterium leprae was obtained from biopsies of 37 leprosy cases (18 relapses and 19 new cases): 16 (43.24%) displayed drug-resistance variants. Multidrug resistance to rifampicin and dapsone was observed in 8 relapses and 4 new cases. Single resistance to rifampicin was detected in 1 new case. Resistance to dapsone was present in 2 relapses and 1 new case. Combined molecular resistance and VNTR data revealed evidence of intra-familial primary transmission of resistant M. leprae.
A comprehensive, population-based systematic approach to investigate M. leprae resistance in a unique population revealed an alarming scenario of the emergence and transmission of resistant strains. These findings may be used for the development of new strategies for surveillance of drug resistance in other populations.
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