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BACKGROUND: Liver injury evoked by drugs spans various clinical manifestations ranging from mild biochemical abnormalities to acute liver failure. Ceftriaxone is a third-generation cephalosporin often used in clinical practice for its long half-life, high tissue penetration rate, wide spectrum and good safety profile. Ceftriaxone, as other cephalosporins have little hepatotoxicity; however, few cases of toxic hepatitis induced by this antibiotic have been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a case of acute, drug-induced liver injury (‘hepatitis’) in a 77 years-old female patient treated with ceftriaxone for pneumonia. After 48 hours from antibiotic administration, clinical condition worsened with a clinical and laboratory profile compatible with an acute non cholestatic liver injury. Ceftriaxone administration was immediately stopped and the patient was treated with hydro-electrolyte replacement, high-flow oxygen, vitamin K infusion, steroids and proton-pump inhibitors with a progressive clinical improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Even if rare, a ceftriaxone-induced hepatotoxicity (confirmed by RUCAM score), should be considered when all other possible causes have been excluded.

We are daily exposed to a multitude of health hazardous airborne particulate matter with notable deposition in the fragile alveolar region of our lungs. Hence, there is a great need for identification and prediction of material-associated diseases, currently hindered due to the lack of in-depth understanding of causal relationships, in particular between acute exposures and chronic symptoms. By applying advanced microscopies and omics to in vitro and in vivo systems, together with in silico molecular modelling, we have here determined that the long-lasting response to a single exposure can originate from the interplay between the newly discovered nanomaterial quarantining and nanomaterial cycling between different lung cell types. This new insight finally allows us to predict the spectrum of lung inflammation associated with materials of interest using only in vitro measurements and in silico modelling potentially relating outcomes to material properties for large number of materials thus boosting safe-by-design-based material development. Because of its profound implications for animal-free predictive toxicology, our work paves the way to a more efficient and hazard-free introduction of numerous new advanced materials into our lives.

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) represent a wide range of clinical conditions characterized by a considerable variety of clinical presentations and severity. Their aetiology can also vary, with numerous possible causative pathogens. While other authors previously published analyses on several types of SSTI and on restricted types of patients, we conducted a large nationwide surveillance programme on behalf of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases to assess the clinical and microbiological characteristics of the whole SSTI spectrum, from mild to severe life-threatening infections, in both inpatients and outpatients. Twenty-five Infectious Diseases (ID) Centres throughout Italy collected prospectively data concerning both the clinical and microbiological diagnosis of patients affected by SSTIs via an electronic case report form. All the cases included in our database, independently from their severity, have been managed by ID specialists joining the study while SSTIs from other wards/clinics have been excluded from this analysis. Here, we report the preliminary results of our study, referring to a 12-month period (October 2016-September 2017). During this period, the study population included 254 adult patients and a total of 291 SSTI diagnoses were posed, with 36 patients presenting more than one SSTIs. The type of infection diagnosed, the aetiological micro-organisms involved and some notes on their antimicrobial susceptibilities were collected and are reported herein. The enrichment of our registry is ongoing, but these preliminary results suggest that further analysis could soon provide useful information to better understand the national epidemiologic data and the current clinical management of SSTIs in Italy.

This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited., Incorporation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into titanium dioxide (TiO2) photoelectrodes has been used traditionally to increase the performance of photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) through their tailored optical properties. In contrast to larger AuNPs, previous studies have suggested that smaller AuNPs are the most catalytic or effective at increasing the photovoltaic (PV) performance of TiO2 photoelectrodes based on PECs. Despite this, AuNPs are often only compared between sizes of 12–300 nm in diameter due to the most common synthesis, the Turkevich method, being best controlled in this region. However, the optimum radius for citrate-capped AuNPs sized between 5 and 12 nm, and their influence on the PV performances has not yet been investigated. In addition to using AuNPs in the photoelectrodes, replacing traditional TiO2 NPs with one-dimensional nanofibers (NFs) is a promising strategy to enhance the PV efficiency of the PECs due their capability to provide a direct pathway for charge transport. Herein, we exploit the advantages of two different nanostructured materials, TiO2 NFs and sub-12 nm AuNPs (5, 8, 10, and 12 nm), and fabricate composite based photoelectrodes to conduct a size dependent performance evaluation. The PECs assembled with 8 nm AuNPs showed ∼20% improvement in the average power conversion efficiency compared to the control PECs without AuNPs. The highest performing PEC achieved a power conversion efficiency of 8%, which to the best of our knowledge, is among the highest reported for scattering layers based on pure anatase TiO2 NFs. On the basis of our comprehensive investigations, we attribute this enhanced device performance using 8 nm AuNPs in the TiO2 NF photoelectrodes to the improved spectral absorption, decreased series resistance, and an increase in electron transport and injection rate leading to an increase in current density and fill factor., TJM would like to thank the Ramsay Memorial Trust for their financial assistance. T.J.M and I.P.P would like to acknowledge the EPSRC for financial support (EP/M015157/1).

Background Many investigators detected the simian polyomavirus SV40 footprints in human brain tumors and neurologic diseases and recently it has been indicated that SV40 seems to be associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) disease. Interestingly, SV40 interacts with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules for cell entry. HLA class I antigens, in particular non-classical HLA-G molecules, characterized by an immune-regulatory function, are involved in MS disease, and the levels of these molecules are modified according with the disease status. Objective We investigated in serum samples, from Italian patients affected by MS, other inflammatory diseases (OIND), non-inflammatory neurological diseases (NIND) and healthy subjects (HS), SV40-antibody and soluble sHLA-G and the association between SV40-prevalence and sHLA-G levels. Methods ELISA tests were used for SV40-antibodies detection and sHLA-G quantitation in serum samples. Results The presence of SV40 antibodies was observed in 6 % of patients affected by MS (N = 4/63), 10 % of OIND (N = 8/77) and 15 % of NIND (N = 9/59), which is suggestive of a lower prevalence in respect to HS (22 %, N = 18/83). MS patients are characterized by higher sHLA-G serum levels (13.9 ± 0.9 ng/ml; mean ± St. Error) in comparison with OIND (6.7 ± 0.8 ng/ml), NIND (2.9 ± 0.4 ng/ml) and HS (2.6 ± 0.7 ng/ml) subjects. Interestingly, we observed an inverse correlation between SV40 antibody prevalence and sHLA-G serum levels in MS patients. Conclusion The data obtained showed a low prevalence of SV40 antibodies in MS patients. These results seems to be due to a generalized status of inability to counteract SV40 infection via antibody production. In particular, we hypothesize that SV40 immune-inhibitory direct effect and the presence of high levels of the immune-inhibitory HLA-G molecules could co-operate in impairing B lymphocyte activation towards SV40 specific peptides.

a b s t r a c t Background: Data on the efficacy of Peg-interferon/ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C are mostly derived from treatment of selected patients enrolled in clinical trials. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Peg-interferon/ribavirin therapy in “real world” chronic hepatitis C patients in Italy. Methods: Independent observational multicentre study including consecutive patients receiving Peginterferon/ribavirin in the 18 months before (retrospective phase) and after (prospective phase) the start of the study. Results: 4176 patients were eligible. The final study population consisted of 2051 patients in the retrospective and 2073 in the prospective phase. Sustained virological response was achieved by 1036 patients (50.5%) during the retrospective phase: 325 were genotypes 1/4 (34.1%) and 684 were genotypes 2/3 (67.2%) and by 800 patients (38.6%) during the prospective phase: 300 were genotypes 1/4 (28.4%) and 473 were genotypes 2/3 (51.5%). During multivariate analysis genotypes 2/3 were significantly associated with higher sustained virological response rates; cirrhosis and -glutamil-transpeptidase >2 times the normal limit were associated with poorer response. Conclusions: The response to Peg-interferon/ribavirin therapy in “real world” clinical practice is distinctly lower than in registration trials. The difference in response rates was more pronounced among easy-totreat than among difficult-to-treat hepatitis C virus genotypes.

In Sudafrica esistono zone di quarantena per i cavalli al fine di poterli movimentare verso paesi esteri senza esportare la African Horse Sickness (Peste Equina), patologia che prevede lo stesso vettore della febbre catarrale degli ovini. Tali zone sono caratterizzate da abbondanza di terreni prevalentemente salmastri. Questo dato, nonchè le osservazioni raccolte in Sardegna durante le diverse ondate epidemiche susseguitesi nel periodo 2000- 2007, che hanno fatto rilevare come alcuni allevamenti di specifici territori (penisola del Sinis, Giara di Gesturi, ecc.) mostravano una morbilità - mortalità estremamente ridotta rispetto agli allevamenti circostanti - se non addirittura rappresentano una sorta di enclave circoscritta -, hanno suggerito di effettuare specifici sopralluoghi finalizzati alla valutazione geologica dei suoli. È stata anche valutata la compatibilità di questi territori con l’habitat ideale per l’insetto vettore e contemporaneamente con gli altri fattori di rischio noti, correlati allo sviluppo di Culicoides imicola e, di conseguenza, all’ingresso del virus e al possibile sviluppo di focolai di Blue Tongue. Dalla verifica dei suoli e dalla sovrapposizione delle mappe della mortalità osservata nel corso della prima epidemia di Blue Tongue (2000-2001), si è rilevato che il danno osservato nei focolai non era distribuito omogeneamente nel territorio. Al fine di validare il presupposto scientifico citato in premessa (terreni salmastri), si è verificato puntualmente quanto accaduto durante la prima epidemia in alcuni comuni della Sardegna, per i quali si era in possesso della georeferenziazione degli allevamenti sede di focolaio, verificando il tipo di suolo nel quale tali allevamenti insistevano. Dall’analisi dei dati è emerso che esistono forti correlazioni tra la tipologia di pH del suolo, unito alla granulometria e al drenaggio dello stesso. I tipi di suolo sono individuabili in Acidi o sub acidi (AC) e Neutri, Subalcalini o Alcalini (AK). Si sono individuate in funzione del tipo di suolo due categorie di allevamenti sede di focolaio ed è stata verificata la differenza esistente tra le somme dei danni totali osservate negli allevamenti appartenenti ai due gruppi (AC vs AK), che si è mostrata statisticamente significativa. Questo dato di estremo interesse pare confermare l’assunto teorico basato sulla ipotesi che certi terreni sono meno favorenti lo sviluppo di C. imicola, con una forte correlazione con il pH del terreno stesso. L’applicazione pratica di tale osservazione è quella che si sta cercando di attuare in Sardegna ovvero quella di “alcalinizzare” i siti considerati di massimo rischio per la riproduzione dell’insetto vettore situati in prossimità di allevamenti ovicaprini, attraverso l’utilizzo di alcune sostanze (es. latte di calce), in quantità e modalità valutate in funzione della tipologia di suolo e della relativa permeabilità dello stesso. Viene descritta l’esperienza in un sito pilota e i risultati preliminari ottenuti.

Spectroscopic investigations on the electronic structure of thin films of various Zn-porphyrinato/Pt assemblies, consisting of a Zn-porphyrinato (ZnPf) macrocycle inserted between bis(phosphine)platinum(II) centres, were carried out by means of synchrotron radiation-induced near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy at the third-generation storage ring ELETTRA and at SuperACO, The spectra of the monomeric ZnPf and of the porphyrin-free base were also investigated for comparison. Modifications occur mainly at the N K-edge, when Zn metallation is carried out, arising from nitrogen deprotonation, and significant changes are also observed upon linkage between subunit.

The dramatic changes in land use observed in Europe in the last fifty years have generally resulted in improvement of human welfare and economic development. On the other hand, they have caused serious environmental problems. There is therefore a need for approaches that help to understand in an integrative way the economic, environmental and societal impacts that land use changes have on sustainability. Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA), which assesses the impact of policies on sustainability, addresses this challenge. SIA partly builds on the concept of the multifunctionality of land which helps to deal with the complexity of interactions between different land uses, their temporal and spatial changes, and finally how policies might steer those changes towards sustainability. Following this need for true integration of economic, environmental and societal issues across policy areas at a meaningful spatial scale, an nterdisciplinary team in the SENSOR project has developed an innovative conceptual framework to assess the impact of policies on land sustainability at various levels of spatial aggregation i.e. the Land Use Functions (LUFs) framework. LUFs are the goods and services provided by the different land uses that summarise the most relevant economic, environmental and societal issues of a region. The LUFs framework integrates the changes observed in a large set of impact indicators into nine Land Use Functions (LUFs), which are balanced among the three pillars of sustainability. The LUFs framework makes it possible for policy makers, scientists and stakeholders to identify at a glance those functions of the land which are hindered or enhanced under various scenarios of land use change, and makes it possible to explore the trade-offs between them. The LUFs framework allows therefore the building of assessment across disciplines, sectors and the three sustainability dimensions. It has proved to be very helpful for the systematisation of relevant sustainability indicators within SENSOR and is intended to be further used in other projects as a tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment. The rationale leading to the LUFs concept, its definition and the conceptual framework is described in this chapter. We conclude that the concept of LUFs allows users to make explicit the analytical links between multifunctional land use and sustainable development, and therefore to look at multifunctionality as a way towards sustainability.; Dans le cadre du projet SENSOR, une équipe interdisciplinaire a développé un cadre conceptuel pour l'évaluation des impacts des politiques sur la durabilité des usages de l'espace. Il repose sur l'identification de diverses fonctions assurées par l'espace et permet d'évaluer les effets des changements des usages de l'espace sur ces fonctions. Le concept permet de mettre en relation la multifonctionnalité des usages de l'espace et la durabilité du développement : maintenir la première conditionne la seconde.

The central objective of this report is to review the concept and meaning of « threshold » in the context of SENSOR project, taking into consideration all three pillars of sustainability, namely the environmental, social and economic aspects. Notions such as equilibrium disturbance, breakpoint or area of change define some common ground of the threshold concept that is shared by all three pillars. However, due to the pillars differences in terms of their scientific orientation and history, there is no single commonly shared and unified view on thresholds. In environmental research especially in ecology thresholds are closely associated with certain system-inherent processes, and are linked to the principle of (eco-)system resilience. In social and economic approaches, on the other hand, thresholds are considered to be closely related to an optimum value (e.g. costs/benefits relation to society) linked to social preference, pressure, market context or even policy decision but also the idea of substitutability between human and natural capital.

Five cases of furuncular myiasis due to Cordylobia anthropophaga are reported in Italian tourists coming from Senegal. People who go to tropical and sub-tropical regions should be aware from now on to the possibility and the way to acquire myiasis.

An ELIEDA test for hydatidosis was evaluated with sera from preoperative, surgically-confirmed hydatidosis cases, postoperative hydatidosis patients, persons with other parasitic disease and healthy donors. ELIEDA was more sensitive than the counter-immunoelectrophoresis test based on the same positivity criterion and was equally specific for the immunodiagnosis of human hydatidosis. The procedure appears to be simple and rapid and merits consideration in that it determines specific classes of antibodies involved in the immune response which appear to be useful in following the evolution of hydatid cysts.

The measure of the stimulating threshold of neuro-muscolar tissues is currently done refering to voltage or current (1,2). However the tissues are tipically non linear system so taht the simulating threshold is not well defined only on the basis of the voltage or current. Some authors (3,4) have succesfully suggested to measure the stimulating threshold as the energy required to obtain a response.

The antigenemia and the patterns of antibodies to core protein (p24) and envelope glycoproteins (gp41, gp120) have been investigated in 81 patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection followed prospectively for 24 months. HIV antigen was detectable in 23 (28.4%) patients at entry to the study (13/13 with AIDS and 10/23 with ARC) and in 33 (40.7%) at the end (25/28 with AIDS, 5/12 with ARC e 3/14 with LAS). Anti-p24 were positive in 51 (63.0%) patients at the entry (26/30 symptomless, 13/15 with LAS e 12/23 with ARC) and in 41 (50.6%) at the end of the study (23/27 symptomless, 9/14 with LAS, 7/12 with ARC e 2/28 with AIDS). All patients were positive for anti-gp41 and showed no significant changes in the antibody titers during the two years of follow-up; by contrast, anti-gp120 was undetectable in most patients (26/28) with AIDS. Clinical progression in a high proportion of patients was associated with the appearance of HIV antigen, with the decline of anti-p24 titers and with no antibody reactivity to gp120 glycoprotein.