Search

ABSTRACTBackgroundSwitch patterns among different biologics and from originators to biosimilars (and vice versa) can be complex in patients with psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe switching patterns of biological drugs in PsO/PsA patients and to explore predictors of multiple switches and switch-back.Research design and methodsA large-scale retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Italian VALORE database. Bio-naïve users treated for PsO/PsA during 2010–2022 were included. Time to switch/swap and predictors of multiple switches and switch-back were analyzed.ResultsThirty-thousand seven hundred bio-naïve users were included. At 3 and 5 years of follow-up, patients with at least one switch/swap were 37.1% and 47.8%, respectively. The median time to first switch/swap was significantly shorter (p< 0.001) for TNF-α inhibitors (2,068 days) than anti-IL (2,780 days). At 1 year of follow-up patients starting with IL-23 switched/swapped biological therapy less frequently than those with anti-IL-12/23 and anti-IL-17 (4.9% vs. 8.7% and 9.4%, respectively). Patients starting with anti-IL-12/23 reported a significantly lower risk of multiple switches and switch-back (0.74, 95% CI, 0.67–0.83; 0.58, 95% CI, 0.44–0.77, respectively) than those with TNF-α inhibitors.ConclusionsPatients with PsO/PsA starting with TNF-α inhibitors switch/swap more rapidly and frequently than those with anti-IL, which are also associated with a reduced risk of multiple switches during follow-up.

Amyloidosis is a systemic disorder characterized by extracellular deposition of insoluble fibrils. The most common forms are amyloid light chain and amyloid transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidoses. Cardiac involvement may be found in both these forms, and is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The clinical presentation of cardiac amyloidosis (CA) may be represented by congestive heart failure (HF), possibly progressing to end-stage HF, as well as atrial fibrillation with possible thromboembolic events, and also conduction disturbances related to amyloid infiltration of conduction fibres. Beyond therapies targeting the blood dyscrasia or the ATTR amyloidogenic cascade, a careful choice of drug therapies, need for device implantation, and possibly treatments for advanced HF is then warranted. In the present review, we try to provide a useful guide to clinicians treating patients with CA by enucleating 10 main questions and answering them based on the evidence available as well as expert opinion and our clinical experience.

An interview with Caterina Barbieri, an Italian musician and composer, is presented. She talks about working through increasingly fragmented creative contexts. She discusses her compositional process, the show "Aurora Wounds" that she presented last September 2020 in Berlin, Germany, and the role played by music in dealing with the pandemic.

Amyloidosis is a systemic disorder characterized by extracellular deposition of insoluble fibrils. The most common forms are amyloid light chain and amyloid transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidoses. Cardiac involvement may be found in both these forms, and is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The clinical presentation of cardiac amyloidosis (CA) may be represented by congestive heart failure (HF), possibly progressing to end-stage HF, as well as atrial fibrillation with possible thromboembolic events, and also conduction disturbances related to amyloid infiltration of conduction fibres. Beyond therapies targeting the blood dyscrasia or the ATTR amyloidogenic cascade, a careful choice of drug therapies, need for device implantation, and possibly treatments for advanced HF is then warranted. In the present review, we try to provide a useful guide to clinicians treating patients with CA by enucleating 10 main questions and answering them based on the evidence available as well as expert opinion and our clinical experience.

Whereas falls are frequent and traumatic events for the elderly, their long-term consequences in terms of the social lives of older fallers are understudied. This study aimed to identify the impact of falling on the trajectories of social participation and social support of older people in Europe. Our sample consisted of 16,583 people aged 50–95 years from 10 European countries who responded to the waves 1, 2 and 4 of the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe. The impact of falling on the trajectories of social participation and social support was examined using generalised estimating equation (GEE) models. The effect of the interactions between falling and frailty and between falling and social support on social participation was assessed. Falls were negatively associated with social participation (OR=0.73, p<0.001) and positively associated with social support (OR=2.20, p<0.001). For social participation, this effect was moderated by frailty; the interaction term between frailty and fall highlighted the finding that frailty better explained the global trajectory of social participation compared with falling. Social support did not buffer the negative impact of falling on social participation. Falls can be considered stressful events that have implications beyond the health context. Frail people who have fallen should be targeted in prevention and rehabilitation programmes; specific attention should also be paid to the relatives of fallers, who appeared to be more intensively solicited after a fall.

ABSTRACTOur research is interested in understanding how the elderly evaluate their past, so the aims of this study are, first, to understand if there are age differences within the older population in terms of positivity effect, and second, to test if perception of happiness and vulnerability are two independent recall systems. To test our hypotheses, we used the Vivre / Leben / Viveresurvey on a population of 65 years and older (n=4200), in Switzerland. Findings show that happiness depends on social and cultural norms, while there is an age effect for vulnerability. For happiness, there are no age differences, but this is not the case for vulnerability: the oldest age groups are less likely to report episodes of vulnerability during most of their lives.

La chute représente la première cause de décès par accident après 65ans. Les programmes de prévention des chutes sont efficaces, mais ils concernent peu de personnes âgées. Cet article recense la littérature sur les facteurs facilitant et les facteurs entravant la participation à des programmes de prévention des chutes.

IntroductionThe rehospitalization rate for decompensated heart failure (HF) is high and can be ascribed also to a suboptimal decongestion before discharge. Congestion can be treated with diuretics or continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). Aim of this study was to evaluate if diuretics and CRRT, used in agreement to international guidelines, may have a dissimilar decongestion ability in patients with decompensated HF with diff erent baseline characteristics.MethodsIn 88 patients with HF (NYHA class III-IV) we evaluated the eff ect of CRRT (n = 46) and intravenous diuretics (n = 42) on clinical and instrumental signs of congestion. A clinical score was obtained as the sum of signs and symptoms of HF to estimate the severity of each patient’s clinical condition. The choice of diuretics or CRRT was guided by renal impairment or diuretics’ resistance.ResultsA signifi cant reduction in clinical HF score was observed in the CRRT group at discharge vs admission (1.3 ± 1.9 vs 5.7 ± 2.3, P< 0.001) and in the diuretic group (1.8 ± 1.4 vs 3.7 ± 1.6, P< 0.001), while a signifi cant reduction in radiographic signs of pulmonary congestion, pleural eff usion, echocardiographic systolic arterial pulmonary pressure (43.4 ± 13.6 vs 50.5 ± 20.2 mmHg, P< 0.005) and NT-proBNP (6,676 vs 15,492 pg/ml, P< 0.05) were observed only in CRRT patients. Moreover, also urine output signifi cantly increased only in CRRT patients (1.8 ± 0.8 vs 0.9 ± 0.6 ml/h/kg, P< 0.001).ConclusionsCRRT and diuretics showed an equivalent ability in relieving clinical signs and symptoms of HF but only CRRT was able to signifi cantly improve several instrumental and biohumoral indicators of congestion.

The author writes about the role played in 20 century Italy by cultural periodicals: they gave a strong support to political and social debate, in particular in the post-war period. Nowadays - in the digital age - the printed press has to face the growing importance of new media (internet, in particular). Nevertheless, cultural periodicals keep on representing an essential tool for public discussion and for the improvement of civil consciousness. Even for this reason - author says - they deserve public support and funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic thallium compounds in the atmospheric particulate matter of emissions and in the workplace air of specific industrial production can be determined through selective sequential extractions: Tl(I) is separated from Tl(0) and Tl(III) in the first step, Tl(0) in the second one, while in the final extraction both Tl(III) soluble and insoluble compounds are determined. The procedure has been tested on 1633a Coal Fly Ash standard reference material. The thallium recovery was in the range 91 – 98%.

A speciation method was developed for the determination of inorganic indium compounds in the particulate matter of emissions and from the workplace, based on selective sequential extractions. The main inorganic indium compounds that are expected to be present in the atmospheric particulate matter involving the industrial production of indium and in the manufacture of indium compounds were separated and determined. The procedure has been tested on standard reference materials. The indium recovery was in the range 93–105%.

This study investigated the direction of effects of temporal and downward social comparisons on self-rated health in very old age. Conversely, self-rated health can either reinforce or hinder comparison processes. In the framework of the Swiss Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on the Oldest Old, individuals aged 80 to 84 at baseline were interviewed and followed longitudinally for 5 years. Multilevel analyses were used to test the relative importance of temporal and social comparisons on self-rated health evaluations synchronically and diachronically (with a time lag of 12 to 18 months) as well as the direction of these relative influences. Results indicate that (a) at the synchronic level, continuity temporal comparisons have more impact than downward social comparisons on self-rated health; (b) both types of comparison had an independent and positive effect on self-rated health at the diachronic level; (c) self-rated health has an independent synchronic effect on both types of comparison and an independent diachronic effect in temporal comparison.

Background and aims:Data from the literature reveal the contrasting influences of family members and friends on the survival of old adults. On one hand, numerous studies have reported a positive association between social relationships and survival. On the other, ties with children may be associated with an increased risk of disability, whereas ties with friends or other relatives tend to improve survival. A five-year prospective, population-based study of 295 Swiss octogenarians tested the hypothesis that having a spouse, siblings or close friends, and regular contacts with relatives or friends are associated with longer survival, even at a very old age. Methods:Data were collected through individual interviews, and a Cox regression model was applied to assess the effects of kinship and friendship networks on survival, after adjusting for socio-demographic and health-related variables. Results:Our analyses indicate that the presence of a spouse in the household is not significantly related to survival, whereas the presence of siblings at baseline improves the oldest old’s chances of surviving five years later. Moreover, the existence of close friends is a central component in the patterns of social relationships of oldest adults, and one which is significantly associated with survival. Overall, the protective effect of social relationships on survival is more related to the quality of those relationships (close friends) than to the frequency of relationships (regular contacts). Conclusions:We hypothesize that the existence of siblings or close friends may beneficially affect survival, due to the potential influence on the attitudes of octogenarians regarding health practices and adaptive strategies.

The fastness and levelling power of dyestuffs are among the main factors to be considered for piece dyeing processes. Considering the properties of dyestuffs, it can be said that their fastness varies according to the intensity of the dye and also partly according to the quality of dyed fibers. Generally, when a dyestuff blend is applied, the fastness levels achieved are even inferior to those obtained when only applying the dyestuff which has the lowest fastness value. The decrease of fastness to light is proportional to the decrease of the color intensity, therefore, lighter colors will have poorer fastness to light than medium or intense ones. For some other types of fastness, different values are taken into account. One concerns the change in shade, while the other one considers the bleeding on the specimen. Generally, the bleeding on the specimen increases proportionally to the increase of the intensity of the dye. Also the change in the color shade is also partly connected to the intensity of the dye. Two values are used to precisely indicate the degree of fastness to friction and hot ironing. One value refers to the dry test while the other one takes into account the test carried out on a wet specimen.

Experience shows that a good preparation is essential for achieving perfect results in yarn and fabric dyeing. The main purpose of preparation is to give the substrate a good above all uniform wettability. Since the main purpose of preparation is to eliminate from fibers all foreign matters that consistently reduce wettability, it is clear from the very beginning that although the chemical base of flax and cotton is cellulose, the know-how acquired for cotton cannot always be applied for treating flax. This is particularly important for alkaline treatments with caustic soda, that, when exceeding certain alkali concentration and under particular time and temperature conditions, may create unwanted alterations on flax fibers affecting structure and morphology. For this reason, concentration of caustic soda, temperature and time of treatments must be carefully controlled since they are of key importance in industrial application. The most frequent treatments that can be carried out for preparing a grey linen fabric include singeing, desizing, causticizing, acid scouring, alkaline boiling, bleaching, straw reduction, neps reduction and elimination of ferrous residues.

This article provides information on right-first-time dyeing laboratory and production techniques. The basic elements essential to right first time dyeing includes qualified staff with excellent qualified training and preparation; professional competence of machine operators; and well-equipped laboratory, among others. The basic controls to be carried out on dyestuffs are checking whether the dyestuff is made of a single component or is a blend of more dyestuffs; price/performance evaluation when buying the dyestuff; and control of the constant yield reliability between the different incoming lots of dyestuffs, which is fundamental for a good reproducibility or the recipes. A quick exam with the microscope can rapidly give a confirmation about the quality of fibers and the qualitative composition of the items to be dyed; the qualitative composition can be confirmed by means of a quick dyeing test carried out with special reactants. The quantitative analysis will be used only in case of very doubtful results since it requires long times and sometimes special equipment. The identification of the suitable bonding agents is particularly important since often a partial elimination of them originates some defects that will be emphasized by the dyeing process.

The article discusses the expectations of finishers and dryers at the International Textile Machinery Exhibitions (ITMA) regarding textile machinery. The ITMA have failed to produce significant innovations within the dyeing and finishing machinery sector. What have emerged have been not so much innovations as improvements to existing machines--improvements designed to reduce their energy consumption levels and to render them more functional. The expectations of dryers and finishers are very complex and are affected by the productive setting in which they operate. Different factors affected the development dyeing and finishing machinery. New lifestyles characterized by the widespread use of cars and of central heating in homes and workplaces led to a growing preference for lighter-weight clothing. Seasonal trends and market factors also affected the development dyeing and finishing machinery. Basic machine improvements include high flexibility, modular design, personalization of machines according to the requirements of users, reduced energy consumption, easy installation and easy maintenance and others. There are other things that finishers want from textile machine manufacturers. They want a widely available and prompt after-sale service and respect for delivery terms.

In this paper three ways of measuring and defining change in cross-sectional designs are presented. The first measure of change concerns structural stability: continuity in the organisation of a set of variables across time. The second is level stability: the comparison of means in different groups differing on age or socio-cultural dimensions. The third is based one the changing parameter model (Firebaugh, 1997). In this model, it is the interaction between ageing effects or socio-cultural factors (period and cohort effects) and another variable that is assessed. These three approaches of change are illustrated on the basis of beliefs about the self, life and society assessed in representative populations of elders in two regions of Switzerland (Geneva and Central Valais) in 1979 (N= 1608) and 1994 (N= 2101).

Survival in old age has been shown to be positively related to religiousness, and in particular to to church attendance. This research provides new confirmation of this relationship under the Swiss Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on the Oldest Old (N= 340 at baseline), a study following subjects aged 80 to 84 at baseline since 1994. Results of logistic regression analyses indicate that participation in church services or a composite measure of religiousness comprising participation in services and the frequency of prayer is positively related to survival in a time interval of 12 to 18 months, controlling for other possible explanatory factors such as functional health or depressive symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first time that this effect has been demonstrated in a population of old old subjects and in a Latin country of Europe where the number of Catholic subjects is high.

Total or subtotal parathyroidectomy is considered the treatment of choice for multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN-I)-associated primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT). However, persistent or recurrent HPT is frequently observed. The development of a rapid two-site immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) method for measuring intact parathormone (PTH) has provided a valuable tool for recognizing possible surgical failures. Our experience includes 16 MEN-I patients (10 females, 6 males) of mean age 35.5 years operated on between 1990 and 1996. Total parathyroidectomy (TPTX) with autotransplantation of parathyroid tissue was the standard treatment. Blood samples for PTH measurement were drawn at the induction of anesthesia (basal value), 10 and 20 minutes after the removal of each gland, and 60 minutes after TPTX. Rapid PTH measurement, which required only 15 minutes of incubation at 37°C, showed a highly significant correlation (p< 0.0001) with the standard method. Circulating PTH levels exhibited a stepwise decrease during TPTX, reaching a mean value of 22.3% of the baseline 20 minutes after removal of the last gland. Two patients showed a prompt decrease of PTH after removal of the single enlarged gland, featuring the kinetics observed in the adenomas. One of these two patients was successfully treated with more conservative surgery. None of the patients showed persistence or recurrence of HPT. In our experience, intraoperative measurement of PTH seems to be a valuable adjunct in both the diagnosis of multiglandular involvement and the prediction of surgical treatment in patients with primary parathyroid hyperplasia.

ResumenEsta investigación forma parte de un vasto estudio trans-nacional sobre el tema, llevado a cabo por Doise y colaboradores (1994, 1995, 1999) en la Universidad de Ginebra. Si bien los datos presentes (N:375) fueron recogidos con fines de una comparación internacional, ello no impide un análisis autónomo, por demás significativo.El cuestionario aplicado en esta ocasión es el mismo que se utilizó en los demás países involucrados en el referido estudio. También el análisis de los datos sigue de cerca el modelo desarrollado por los autores nombrados. De todos modos el análisis prescinde de referencias comparativas ajenas a la población relevada: estudiantes universitarios argentines.

In this paper is presented a study of speciation of arsenic in air, consisting in the separation and determination of arsine, metallic arsenic, inorganic trivalent and pentavalent arsenic, organic monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and/or their salts. These arsenic compounds are the most common found in air and are characterised by different toxicities.The proposed procedure is based on a sequential sampling where, first, the air is filtered on a cellulose membrane to collect the particulate matter, then it is purged into proper solutions able to stop the arsenic species present in the vapour state, except arsine. This latter compound is retained in an oxidising solution of permanganate as arsenate. The determination of the different species of arsenic in the particulate and in the vapour phase is described as well the typical interferences that can be encountered either in the solubilization procedure or in the analytical measurements: in many cases suggestions are proposed in order to minimise them.

Photoautotrophic picoplankton is reported from some lakes located near the Italian Antarctic station of Terra Nova. Observations, carried out by both flow cytometry on water samples and electron microscopy on micro-organisms in cultures from each lake, have confirmed the occurrence in all the environments studied of this fraction accounting, in several cases, for more than the 50% of the phytoplankton, measured as chlorophyll. Cultures of the picoplankton fraction from these waters contained known prokaryotic (Synechococcus) and eukaryotic (Chlorella) genera as well as two unidentified entities, possibly prochlorophytes.

Abstract: We studied rabbit isolated erectile tissue responses to changes in preload and to active tension development with norepinephrine. The effects of antagonists of endothelin-1, prostaglandins E2 and F2αand of nitric oxide were also tested on normal and de-endothelialized preparations. Tissue distension was found to elicit spontaneous rhythmic contractions. Increase in preload diminished the latency of the spontaneous activity and augmented the developed force. Active tension development and the inhibitor of the Na+,K+ pump, ouabain, opposed the spontaneous activity. A marked reduction in the resting tension with abolition of the spontaneous activity was observed on normal, but not on de-endothelialized tissues, following the addition of the specific prostaglandin E2 and F2α receptor antagonist, SC-19220. At 3 × 10−4 M, the highest concentration used, the endothelin-A receptor antagonist BQ-123 failed to change the pattern of the spontaneous activity and the resting tension of normal tissues. The nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor, l-NAME, did not produce reliable effects. These findings point to a causal relation between cavernosal tissue distension and phasic and tonic contractions. Phasic contractions appear to be elicited by smooth muscle cells through the enzyme Na+,K+-ATPase. Increase in the resting tone could be mediated, at least in part, by the endothelium, through the release of prostaglandins E2 and/or F2αbut not of endothelins. We discuss the hypothesis that, in cavernosal tissue, mechanotransduction of distension to contractile responses is an important determinant of detumescence.

Due to the fact that, among the different chemical species, metallic cobalt is characterized by the highest toxicity, in this paper is proposed a procedure for its determination in the atmospheric paniculate. The air is filtered on a cellulose or glass fiber membrane, to collect the paniculate containing among the other species, metallic cobalt: the determination is based on a selective dissolution of the metallic cobalt possibly present followed by its determination by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The typical interferences that can be present in the matrix are discussed and suggestions for their minimisation are proposed. By the following procedure is also possible to determine separately the sum of the insoluble and water soluble cobalt compounds.

A procedure for the quantitative determination of the different chemical compounds of chromium in welding fumes is presented. Cr(0), Cr(III) and Cr(VI), whose toxicological properties are very different, are the three oxidation states in which this element can be present in air.The speciation has been performed by a selective solubilization procedure of welding fume particulates, collected on proper filters. Cr(VI), Cr(III), and Cr(0) are selectively and separately determined; it is also possible to distinguish the water soluble Cr(III) from the insoluble. Chromium in the examined welding fumes is present in all the three oxidation states (hexavalent, trivalent and metallic). Among the Cr(III) compounds the largest fraction in the welding fumes is represented by the soluble species.The importance of the kind of filter chosen to sample the particulate is illustrated, as well the typical interferences that can be encountered either in the solubilization or in the analytical measurements. Reprodiicibility obtained analysing 12 samples of welding fumes collected in the same working conditions was good and the standard deviation was 5%.

The possible environmental mobility of inorganic sulphides, present in high concentrations, from a landfill for special waste disposals to the environment, has been studied. Sulphide content has been determined by a voltammetric method, which is sensitive, rapid and specific for the chemical species examined.The results show no sulphide mobility from the landfill to the groundwater but a consistent release of hydrogen sulphide to the atmosphere, due to the treatment by air in the leachate formed in the landfill.In order to follow and to evaluate this emission a laboratory pilot device which reproduces the real situation in the landfill has been set up. In this way a diffuse emission has been transformed into a source characterized by a stack permitting a more accurate analytical study.

Trust is the social glue that holds society together. The academic consensus is that trust is weaker among lower-class individuals and in unequal regions/countries, which is often considered a threat to a healthy society. However, existing studies are inconsistent and have two limitations: (i) variability in the measurement of social class and (ii) small numbers of higher level units (regions/countries). We addressed these problems using large-scale (cross-)national representative surveys (encompassing 560,000+ participants from 1,500+ regional/national units). Multilevel analysis led to two consistent sets of findings. First, the effects of social class on social trust were systematically positive, whereas the effects on institutional trust depended on the way social class was measured. Second, the effects of income inequality on social and institutional trust were systematically nonsignificant andsmaller than the smallest negative effect of interest. Our findings suggest that researchers need to update their knowledge: social class—not income inequality—predicts trust.

The bit interleaved parity codes (BIP) recommended for the synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) are applied to error monitoring functions. The performance of these codes in terms of the BER assessment capability is analysed in the presence of error bursts.

There are many systematic reviews on social capital (SC) and various health outcomes, but each of these reviews shows one piece of the larger SC and health puzzle. The aim of this research was to systematically review systematic reviews on SC and health, in order to provide an overview of existing evidence and to identify strategies for future research. Nine databases were searched for key words that could fall under the broad umbrella of SC and health outcomes. We screened 4941 titles and abstracts and read 187 reviews before retaining 20 of them. A critical appraisal of each review was conducted. The reviews show there is good evidence to suggest that SC predicts better mental and physical health, and indicators of SC are protective against mortality. At the same time, many reviews also found numerous non-significant and negative relationships that are important to consider. It was unclear whether SC interventions for health were really improving SC, or other aspects of the social environment. Overall, this research shows that evidence on how various aspects of SC affect different health outcomes for different actors remains unclear. Intergroup and lifecourse perspectives could help clarify this link. Future research could benefit from conceptualizing the link between SC and health in a what, who, where, when, why and how framework.