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Aim of the contribution is analyzing potential events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment, and making judgments about the perceived personal and social riskiness of Covid-19 compared to other hazards belonging to health (AIDS, cancer, infarction), environmental (climate change), behavioral (serious car accidents), and technological (nuclear weapons) domains. The comparative risk analysis has been performed on a survey data collected during the first Italian Covid-19 lockdown. An item response theory model for polytomously scored items has been implemented for the analysis of the positioning of Covid-19 with respect to the other hazards in terms of perceived risk. Among the attributes determining the hazard's perceived risk, Covid-19 distinguishes for the knowledge of risks from the hazard, media attention, and fear caused by the hazard in the peers. Besides, through a latent regression analysis, the role of some individual characteristics on the perceived risk for Covid-19 has been examined. Our contribution allows us to disentangle among several aspects of hazards and describe the main factors affecting the perceived risk. It also contributes to determine if existing control measures are perceived as adequate and the interest for new media with related impact on a person's reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ANS Collaboration is a growing Italian network of small and medium size telescopes performing spectroscopy (low and medium resolution single dispersion, and Echelle high resolution modes) and UBV RCIC CCD photometry of symbiotic stars and novae mainly, but with interest also on other types of objects like optical transients, eclipsing binaries, X-ray source counterparts and on-call follow-up observations of selected targets from some surveys like IPHAS or RAVE. In the present form ANS started operations in 2005, and at the time of writing has logged on symbiotic stars 14602 photometric runs and a rich ensemble of low and high resolution, absolutely fluxed spectra. the paper describes the internal organization, operation modes and procedures, and presents sample data and performance statistics.

Recent studies show that Langerhans cell density increases in vital lesions and ligature marks when compared with post-mortal wounds. The enzyme, iNOS, has been established as a marker for estimating time of agony and serves in the regulation of dendritic cell behaviour. It is the aim of this paper, therefore, to evaluate the expression of this enzyme by Langerhans cells and the possible consequences that may be related to the production of nitric oxide by these cells in other types of lesions, including hanging furrows. The results show a greater expression of iNOS by Langerhans cells at the level of the hanging furrow when compared with other examined groups. Apart from an increase in the expression of iNOS, a large fraction of the mast cell population in the class II MHC molecules was observed in the hanging furrow. This corroborates that interactions between mast cells and dendritic cells are critical for the differentiation of these latter cellular types. Hence, the results suggest that iNOS plays a crucial role in the forensic practice of establishing the time interval in defining the vitality in hanging marks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Hanging deaths are common and characterized by their brief survival time. Macroscopic and histological exams are frequently unable to distinguish vital lesions from post-mortem lesions. This pilot study investigates the dendritic and mast cells in hanging marks to establish vitality lesions. Skin specimens were taken from vital wounds, ligature marks, and post-mortem lesions. Cryosections were stained for haematoxylin eosin, avidin, CD1a and MHC class II+ antigens and examined under light or fluorescence microscopies. Using digitized photomicrographs the images were then analysed. Differences were found in the Langerhans cells and epidermal MHC density, the vital lesions and ligature marks and the other specimens. The results may prove useful in forensic practice when neither macro nor microscopic objective evidence of vitality is available. The results could very possibly support the hypothesis that the amount of time it takes to die from hanging is less than currently believed (< 5 min). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response to wounds until healing requires the activity of many cell types coordinate in space and time, so that the types of cells in a wound and their localization may be of help to date lesions with respect to death, which would be useful in forensic pathology. Cells reacting to injury include dendritic cells; the early reaction of these cells to skin wounding has not yet been investigated in humans, which was the aim of this study. Samples of wounded and control skin were taken at autopsy and analyzed by affinity histochemistry. Both epidermal and dermal MHC-II+ cells increased transiently in number within the first hour after wounding, then decreased. In the epidermis the increase affected also CD1a+ cells, i.e. well differentiated Langherhans cells, which however increased less, earlier and for a shorter time period than MHC-II+ cells. Dermal MHC-II+ cells became part of a perivascular mononuclear cell infiltrate visible in the subpapillary dermis by 60 min after wounding, which contained also mast cells. The immediately perivascular MHC-II+ cells were DC-SIGN- and CD11c-, while MHC-II+, DC-SIGN+, CD11c+ dendritic cells were predominantly located at the periphery of infiltrates and some were near the epidermis. Mast cells underwent degranulation, besides increase in number, in the first hours after wounding. The results suggest that skin dendritic cells, including Langerhans cells, participate to the early response to wounding in concert with mast cells, and that subpapillary blood vessels are primary sites of cell infiltration during that response in humans. The results show that the ratio between CD1a positive and MHC-II positive cells in the epidermis, the degranulation index of mast cells and the relative volume of MHC-II positive cells in the dermis can be added to the tools useful to distinguish vital from post mortem lesions and, the first two of them, to estimate the interval between a lesion and death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Query (Q) fever was virtually unknown in Denmark in 2005, when, after the introduction of new sensitive diagnostic methods for Coxiella burnetii, an increasing number of positive cattle created concern among people with frequent exposure. This led to a dramatic rise in examinations for Q fever among humans in the following 2 years. The aim of our study was to assess indication for testing and symptoms in individuals with serological signs of infection with C. burnetii. We performed a case-review study of seropositives among all humans tested for Q fever in 2006-07 in Denmark. Seropositive cases were categorized with acute infection: 4-fold increase in immunoglobulin G (IgG) phase II or concomitant IgM phase II ≥ 1 : 256 and IgG phase II ≥ 1 : 1024; and previous infection: IgG phase II ≥ 1 : 1024. A borderline result was defined as: IgG phase II = 1 : 512. Physicians completed a questionnaire retrospectively. Of the 1613 people tested, 177 (11%) were seropositive [37 (2%) acute infection, 140 (9%) previous infection], 180 had a borderline result. Among 127 seropositives responders, 31% were tested due to symptoms compatible with Q fever after a possible exposure to C. burnetii, 64% were asymptomatic and were tested following relevant exposure only; 64% were males, 43% farmers, 39% veterinarians, 84% had been exposed to cattle. The most frequently reported symptoms were asthenia (25%), myalgia (21%), fever (17%) and headache (13%). About two-thirds of seropositives reported asymptomatic infections, and were tested for Q fever because of concern for occupational exposure to cattle. One-third of the seropositives reported symptoms consistent with Q fever, the majority being mild. Our study provided important evidence that increased requests for Q fever testing in 2006-07 arose from heightened public awareness of the disease, and not from an outbreak of clinical disease. Nonetheless, Q fever should be considered endemic in Denmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Insulin resistance (IR) and cardiovascular disease may share a common genetic background. We investigated the role of IR-associated ENPP1 K121Q polymorphism (rs1044498) on cardiovascular disease in high-risk individuals.Research Design and Methods: A prospective study (average follow-up, 37 months) was conducted for major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction [MI], stroke, cardiovascular death) from the Gargano Heart Study (GHS; n = 330 with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease), the Tor Vergata Atherosclerosis Study (TVAS; n = 141 who had MI), and the Cardiovascular Risk Extended Evaluation in Dialysis (CREED) database (n = 266 with end-stage renal disease). Age at MI was investigated in cross-sectional studies of 339 type 2 diabetic patients (n = 169 from Italy, n = 170 from the U.S.).Results: Incidence of cardiovascular events per 100 person--years was 4.2 in GHS, 10.8 in TVAS, and 11.7 in CREED. Hazard ratios (HRs) for KQ+QQ versus individuals carrying the K121/K121 genotype (KK) individuals were 1.47 (95% CI 0.80-2.70) in GHS, 2.31 (95% CI 1.22-4.34) in TVAS, and 1.36 (95% CI 0.88-2.10) in CREED, and 1.56 (95% CI 1.15-2.12) in the three cohorts combined. In the 395 diabetic patients, the Q121 variant predicted cardiovascular events among obese but not among nonobese individuals (HR 5.94 vs. 0.62, P = 0.003 for interaction). A similar synergism was observed in cross-sectional studies, with age at MI being 3 years younger in Q121 carriers than in KK homozygotes among obese but not among nonobese patients (P = 0.035 for interaction).Conclusions: The ENPP1 K121Q polymorphism is an independent predictor of major cardiovascular events in high-risk individuals. In type 2 diabetes, this effect is exacerbated by obesity. Future larger studies are needed to confirm our finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss the early phases of the ongoing outburst that CI Cyg, a prototype symbiotic star, is currently undergoing after 30-year quiescence. We have tightly monitored CI Cyg in bands, starting a whole year before the onset of the outburst, and in addition we obtained numerous Echelle high- and low-resolution absolutely flux-calibrated spectra. The outburst started while the accreting white dwarf (WD) was being eclipsed by the Roche lobe filling M giant companion, and it was discovered during the egress phase on the second half of 2008 August. The system reached peak V-band brightness in early 2008 October and has been characterized by amplitudes mag. At maximum V-band brightness, the outbursting WD had expanded to closely resemble an F3 II/Ib star, with and . The high-ionization emission lines ([Ne v], [Fe vii], He ii) disappeared and only lower ionization lines were visible. Balmer and He i emission lines declined in equivalent width but increased in absolute flux. The output radiated by the hot component during the outburst corresponds to nuclear burning proceeding at a rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background genetic factors may influence the variability in the rate of progression of kidney disease in type 1 diabetes. In diabetes, progressive mesangial matrix expansion and glomerular sclerosis are, to a large extent, mediated by TGF-β1. Decorin, a proteoglycan which is a component of the extracellular matrix, regulates TGF-β1 activity and expression. We have examined the relationship between the 179/183/185 polymorphism of the Decorin gene and the progression of diabetic nephropathy. Methods: From a cohort of 175 European patients with diabetic nephropathy, we studied 79 patients who were selected because they had a follow-up of at least 2 years (average 6.5 years; range: 2.5–15 years), and regular measurements of serum creatinine on 5 or more occasions. Creatinine clearance (CrCl) calculated from serum creatinine concentration was used as a measure of derived glomerular filtration rate (dGFR). All patients were on antihypertensive therapy. Results: The rate of dGFR decline in the whole cohort was [median (range)] 4.6 (–3.8 to 18) ml/min/year. No patient with 185 allele was found. Patients with 179/183 and 179/179 genotype (n = 14), who were considered together and named 179 carriers, had a slower rate of GFR decline [2.1 (0.06–11.7) ml/min/year] as compared to patients with Decorin 183/183 genotype (n = 65) [5.6 (–3.8 to 18) ml/min/year; p < 0.001]. In addition, when considering individual data, patients carrying the 179 allele had a 3.0 (95%CI: 1.8–4.2)-fold higher probability to be slow progressors (i.e. GFR decline below the median). This difference could not be accounted for by differences in duration of disease, type and duration of antihypertensive therapy, albumin excretion rate, blood glucose or blood pressure control. In a multivariate logistic analysis albumin excretion rate (p < 0.001), mean arterial pressure (p = 0.07) and Decorin gene polymorphism (p = 0.036), but not HbA1c, were independently correlated with the rate of dGFR fall. Conclusion: The 179 allele variant of the Decorin gene is related to a slower progression of DN in type 1 diabetic patients with albuminuria and receiving antihypertensive therapy.Copyright © 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicobacter pylori affects gastric secretion. This functional effect might have a morphometric counterpart. Therefore, the gastric cell secretory compartment was morphometrically assessed in different pathophysiologic conditions related to Helicobacter pylori infection. Nineteen Helicobacter pylori-positive nonduodenal ulcer subjects, 15 omeprazole chronically treated subjects, and 19 duodenal ulcer patients were studied against 19 controls. Somatostatin, gastrin, enterochromaffin-like, and parietal cell density was assessed in gastric biopsies. No differences in any cell type density were found between Helicobacter pylori-positive nonduodenal ulcer subjects and controls. On the contrary, differences were significant when comparing omeprazole and duodenal ulcer patients to controls (higher density of gastrin, enterochromaffin-like, and parietal cells, lower density of somatostatin cells). In duodenal ulcer a reversion to control values followed Helicobacter pylori eradication and ulcer healing. A direct linear correlation between enterochromaffin-like, gastrin, and parietal cell density was demonstrated. An almost complete map of mucosal cells involved in gastric secretion is provided by this study. The cell density pattern, identical to the omeprazole group, points to an impaired feedback control of secretion in duodenal ulcer. The reversion to control values after Helicobacter pylori eradication and ulcer healing demonstrates the pathogenetic role of Helicobacter pylori-host interaction in these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]