38 results on '"Caciagli P"'
Search Results
2. Human Learning of Hierarchical Graphs
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Xia, Xiaohuan, Klishin, Andrei A., Stiso, Jennifer, Lynn, Christopher W., Kahn, Ari E., Caciagli, Lorenzo, and Bassett, Dani S.
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Quantitative Biology - Neurons and Cognition ,Condensed Matter - Statistical Mechanics ,Physics - Biological Physics ,Physics - Physics and Society - Abstract
Humans are constantly exposed to sequences of events in the environment. Those sequences frequently evince statistical regularities, such as the probabilities with which one event transitions to another. Collectively, inter-event transition probabilities can be modeled as a graph or network. Many real-world networks are organized hierarchically and understanding how humans learn these networks is an ongoing aim of current investigations. While much is known about how humans learn basic transition graph topology, whether and to what degree humans can learn hierarchical structures in such graphs remains unknown. We investigate how humans learn hierarchical graphs of the Sierpi\'nski family using computer simulations and behavioral laboratory experiments. We probe the mental estimates of transition probabilities via the surprisal effect: a phenomenon in which humans react more slowly to less expected transitions, such as those between communities or modules in the network. Using mean-field predictions and numerical simulations, we show that surprisal effects are stronger for finer-level than coarser-level hierarchical transitions. Surprisal effects at coarser levels of the hierarchy are difficult to detect for limited learning times or in small samples. Using a serial response experiment with human participants (n=$100$), we replicate our predictions by detecting a surprisal effect at the finer-level of the hierarchy but not at the coarser-level of the hierarchy. To further explain our findings, we evaluate the presence of a trade-off in learning, whereby humans who learned the finer-level of the hierarchy better tended to learn the coarser-level worse, and vice versa. Our study elucidates the processes by which humans learn hierarchical sequential events. Our work charts a road map for future investigation of the neural underpinnings and behavioral manifestations of graph learning., Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, 1 table
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- 2023
3. Dynamic Light Scattering based microrheology of End-functionalised triblock copolymer solutions
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Liu, Ren, Caciagli, Alessio, Yu, Jiaming, Tang, Xiaoying, Ghosh, Rini, and Eiser, Erika
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Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter - Abstract
'Soft' patchy surfactant micelles have become an additional building tool in self-assembling systems. The triblock copolymer, Pluronic F108, forms spherical micelles in aqueous solutions upon heating leading to a simple phase diagram with a micellar crystalline solid at higher temperatures and concentrations. Here we report the strong influence of end-functionalising the chain ends either with an azide or azide-DNA complex on the systems' phase behaviour. We find that the azide(N3)- functionalisation renders the chain ends weakly hydrophobic at lower temperatures, causing them to self-assemble into flower-micelles. This hydrophobicity increases with increasing temperature and poses a competing self-assembling mechanism to the solvent induces hydrophobic interactions between the middle-blocks of F108 at higher temperatures and leads to a macroscopic phase separation that is absent in the pure F108 system. However, when we attached short, hydrophilic single-stranded (ss)DNA to the azide groups via click chemistry the chain ends became 'sticky' due to DNA hybridisation below the melting temperature of the complementary ssDNA ends while reverting to hydrophilic behaviour above. We characterise their structural and rheological properties via Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and DLS-based passive microrheology with an improved time-frequency domain inversion step. We present the structural behaviour of dilute and semi-dilute solutions of the original F108 system and compare the results with solutions containing either the F108- azide (F108-N3) or partially DNA-functionalised F108-azide chains. Our DLS and microrheology studies inform us on how the attachment of azide groups on F108 changes the mechanical and structural properties of micellar fluids pioneering further characterisation and design of these hybrid systems., Comment: Ready to submit to Polymers - open access journal of polymer science published semimonthly online by MDPI. 23 pages, 8 figures
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- 2022
4. Kinetically limited valence of colloidal particles with surface mobile DNA linkers
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Sánchez, Pedro A., Caciagli, Alessio, Kantorovich, Sofia S., and Eiser, Erika
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Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter ,Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics ,Condensed Matter - Materials Science ,Physics - Chemical Physics - Abstract
We characterize the self-assembly of colloidal particles with surface mobile DNA linkers under kinetically limited valence conditions. For this, we put forward a computer simulation model that captures quantitatively the interplay between the main dynamic processes governing these systems and allows the simulation of the long time scales reached in experiments. The model is validated by direct comparison with available experimental results, showing an overall good agreement that includes measurements of the average effective valence and its probability distribution as a function of the density of DNA linkers on the particles surface. Finally, simulation results are used to evidence the opposite impact of particle density and characteristic DNA hybridization time on the effective valence., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures
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- 2022
5. Macroscopic resting-state brain dynamics are best described by linear models
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Nozari, Erfan, Bertolero, Maxwell A., Stiso, Jennifer, Caciagli, Lorenzo, Cornblath, Eli J., He, Xiaosong, Mahadevan, Arun S., Pappas, George J., and Bassett, Dani S.
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- 2024
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6. Exploring the effects of structure and melting on sweetness in additively manufactured chocolate
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Johannes Burkard, Lucas Kohler, Sophia Caciagli, Nicolas Herren, Mark Kozamernik, Saskia Mantovani, Erich J. Windhab, and Christoph Denkel
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Abstract In view of the health concerns associated with high sugar intake, this study investigates methods to enhance sweetness perception in chocolate without increasing its sugar content. Using additive manufacturing, chocolate structures were created from masses with varying sugar and fat compositions, where hazelnut oil served as a partial cocoa butter replacement. The study found that while variations in sugar content minimally affected the physical properties of the chocolate masses, hazelnut oil significantly modified melting behavior and consumption time. Chocolate masses with higher hazelnut oil content but similar sugar content exhibited a 24% increase in sweetness perception, likely due to accelerated tastant (i.e., sucrose) release into saliva. Multiphase structures, designated as layered, cube-in-cube, and sandwich structures, exhibited less sensory differences compared to the homogeneous control. Nonetheless, structures with hazelnut oil-rich outer layers resulted in an 11% increase in sweetness perception, even without sugar gradients. This suggests that tastant release plays a more critical role than structural complexity in modifying sweetness perception. This research highlights the efficacy of simpler multiphase structures, such as sandwich designs, which offer sensory enhancements comparable to those of more complex designs but with reduced manufacturing effort, thus providing viable options for industrial-scale production.
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- 2024
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7. Event‐based modeling in temporal lobe epilepsy demonstrates progressive atrophy from cross‐sectional data
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Lopez, Seymour M, Aksman, Leon M, Oxtoby, Neil P, Vos, Sjoerd B, Rao, Jun, Kaestner, Erik, Alhusaini, Saud, Alvim, Marina, Bender, Benjamin, Bernasconi, Andrea, Bernasconi, Neda, Bernhardt, Boris, Bonilha, Leonardo, Caciagli, Lorenzo, Caldairou, Benoit, Caligiuri, Maria Eugenia, Calvet, Angels, Cendes, Fernando, Concha, Luis, Conde‐Blanco, Estefania, Davoodi‐Bojd, Esmaeil, de Bézenac, Christophe, Delanty, Norman, Desmond, Patricia M, Devinsky, Orrin, Domin, Martin, Duncan, John S, Focke, Niels K, Foley, Sonya, Fortunato, Francesco, Galovic, Marian, Gambardella, Antonio, Gleichgerrcht, Ezequiel, Guerrini, Renzo, Hamandi, Khalid, Ives‐Deliperi, Victoria, Jackson, Graeme D, Jahanshad, Neda, Keller, Simon S, Kochunov, Peter, Kotikalapudi, Raviteja, Kreilkamp, Barbara AK, Labate, Angelo, Larivière, Sara, Lenge, Matteo, Lui, Elaine, Malpas, Charles, Martin, Pascal, Mascalchi, Mario, Medland, Sarah E, Meletti, Stefano, Morita‐Sherman, Marcia E, Owen, Thomas W, Richardson, Mark, Riva, Antonella, Rüber, Theodor, Sinclair, Ben, Soltanian‐Zadeh, Hamid, Stein, Dan J, Striano, Pasquale, Taylor, Peter N, Thomopoulos, Sophia I, Thompson, Paul M, Tondelli, Manuela, Vaudano, Anna Elisabetta, Vivash, Lucy, Wang, Yujiang, Weber, Bernd, Whelan, Christopher D, Wiest, Roland, Winston, Gavin P, Yasuda, Clarissa Lin, McDonald, Carrie R, Alexander, Daniel C, Sisodiya, Sanjay M, Altmann, Andre, Bargalló, Núria, Bartolini, Emanuele, O’Brien, Terence J, and Thomas, Rhys H
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Brain Disorders ,Epilepsy ,Neurodegenerative ,Neurosciences ,Clinical Research ,Biomedical Imaging ,Aetiology ,2.1 Biological and endogenous factors ,Neurological ,Good Health and Well Being ,Atrophy ,Biomarkers ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Epilepsy ,Temporal Lobe ,Hippocampus ,Humans ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Sclerosis ,disease progression ,duration of illness ,event-based model ,MTLE ,patient staging ,ENIGMA-Epilepsy Working Group ,Clinical Sciences ,Neurology & Neurosurgery - Abstract
ObjectiveRecent work has shown that people with common epilepsies have characteristic patterns of cortical thinning, and that these changes may be progressive over time. Leveraging a large multicenter cross-sectional cohort, we investigated whether regional morphometric changes occur in a sequential manner, and whether these changes in people with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) correlate with clinical features.MethodsWe extracted regional measures of cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical brain volumes from T1-weighted (T1W) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans collected by the ENIGMA-Epilepsy consortium, comprising 804 people with MTLE-HS and 1625 healthy controls from 25 centers. Features with a moderate case-control effect size (Cohen d ≥ .5) were used to train an event-based model (EBM), which estimates a sequence of disease-specific biomarker changes from cross-sectional data and assigns a biomarker-based fine-grained disease stage to individual patients. We tested for associations between EBM disease stage and duration of epilepsy, age at onset, and antiseizure medicine (ASM) resistance.ResultsIn MTLE-HS, decrease in ipsilateral hippocampal volume along with increased asymmetry in hippocampal volume was followed by reduced thickness in neocortical regions, reduction in ipsilateral thalamus volume, and finally, increase in ipsilateral lateral ventricle volume. EBM stage was correlated with duration of illness (Spearman ρ = .293, p = 7.03 × 10-16 ), age at onset (ρ = -.18, p = 9.82 × 10-7 ), and ASM resistance (area under the curve = .59, p = .043, Mann-Whitney U test). However, associations were driven by cases assigned to EBM Stage 0, which represents MTLE-HS with mild or nondetectable abnormality on T1W MRI.SignificanceFrom cross-sectional MRI, we reconstructed a disease progression model that highlights a sequence of MRI changes that aligns with previous longitudinal studies. This model could be used to stage MTLE-HS subjects in other cohorts and help establish connections between imaging-based progression staging and clinical features.
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- 2022
8. Myelination and excitation-inhibition balance synergistically shape structure-function coupling across the human cortex
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Fotiadis, Panagiotis, Cieslak, Matthew, He, Xiaosong, Caciagli, Lorenzo, Ouellet, Mathieu, Satterthwaite, Theodore D., Shinohara, Russell T., and Bassett, Dani S.
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- 2023
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9. Dynamic network properties of the superior temporal gyrus mediate the impact of brain age gap on chronic aphasia severity
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Wilmskoetter, Janina, Busby, Natalie, He, Xiaosong, Caciagli, Lorenzo, Roth, Rebecca, Kristinsson, Sigfus, Davis, Kathryn A., Rorden, Chris, Bassett, Dani S., Fridriksson, Julius, and Bonilha, Leonardo
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- 2023
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10. Topographic divergence of atypical cortical asymmetry and atrophy patterns in temporal lobe epilepsy
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Park, Bo-yong, Larivière, Sara, Rodríguez-Cruces, Raul, Royer, Jessica, Tavakol, Shahin, Wang, Yezhou, Caciagli, Lorenzo, Caligiuri, Maria Eugenia, Gambardella, Antonio, Concha, Luis, Keller, Simon S, Cendes, Fernando, Alvim, Marina KM, Yasuda, Clarissa, Bonilha, Leonardo, Gleichgerrcht, Ezequiel, Focke, Niels K, Kreilkamp, Barbara AK, Domin, Martin, von Podewils, Felix, Langner, Soenke, Rummel, Christian, Rebsamen, Michael, Wiest, Roland, Martin, Pascal, Kotikalapudi, Raviteja, Bender, Benjamin, O’Brien, Terence J, Law, Meng, Sinclair, Benjamin, Vivash, Lucy, Kwan, Patrick, Desmond, Patricia M, Malpas, Charles B, Lui, Elaine, Alhusaini, Saud, Doherty, Colin P, Cavalleri, Gianpiero L, Delanty, Norman, Kälviäinen, Reetta, Jackson, Graeme D, Kowalczyk, Magdalena, Mascalchi, Mario, Semmelroch, Mira, Thomas, Rhys H, Soltanian-Zadeh, Hamid, Davoodi-Bojd, Esmaeil, Zhang, Junsong, Lenge, Matteo, Guerrini, Renzo, Bartolini, Emanuele, Hamandi, Khalid, Foley, Sonya, Weber, Bernd, Depondt, Chantal, Absil, Julie, Carr, Sarah JA, Abela, Eugenio, Richardson, Mark P, Devinsky, Orrin, Severino, Mariasavina, Striano, Pasquale, Parodi, Costanza, Tortora, Domenico, Hatton, Sean N, Vos, Sjoerd B, Duncan, John S, Galovic, Marian, Whelan, Christopher D, Bargalló, Núria, Pariente, Jose, Conde-Blanco, Estefania, Vaudano, Anna Elisabetta, Tondelli, Manuela, Meletti, Stefano, Kong, Xiang‐Zhen, Francks, Clyde, Fisher, Simon E, Caldairou, Benoit, Ryten, Mina, Labate, Angelo, Sisodiya, Sanjay M, Thompson, Paul M, McDonald, Carrie R, Bernasconi, Andrea, Bernasconi, Neda, and Bernhardt, Boris C
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Epilepsy ,Neurodegenerative ,Clinical Research ,Brain Disorders ,Neurosciences ,Aetiology ,2.1 Biological and endogenous factors ,Neurological ,Adult ,Atrophy ,Connectome ,Epilepsy ,Temporal Lobe ,Hippocampus ,Humans ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,temporal lobe epilepsy ,asymmetry ,cortical thickness ,multi-site ,gradients ,Medical and Health Sciences ,Psychology and Cognitive Sciences ,Neurology & Neurosurgery - Abstract
Temporal lobe epilepsy, a common drug-resistant epilepsy in adults, is primarily a limbic network disorder associated with predominant unilateral hippocampal pathology. Structural MRI has provided an in vivo window into whole-brain grey matter structural alterations in temporal lobe epilepsy relative to controls, by either mapping (i) atypical inter-hemispheric asymmetry; or (ii) regional atrophy. However, similarities and differences of both atypical asymmetry and regional atrophy measures have not been systematically investigated. Here, we addressed this gap using the multisite ENIGMA-Epilepsy dataset comprising MRI brain morphological measures in 732 temporal lobe epilepsy patients and 1418 healthy controls. We compared spatial distributions of grey matter asymmetry and atrophy in temporal lobe epilepsy, contextualized their topographies relative to spatial gradients in cortical microstructure and functional connectivity calculated using 207 healthy controls obtained from Human Connectome Project and an independent dataset containing 23 temporal lobe epilepsy patients and 53 healthy controls and examined clinical associations using machine learning. We identified a marked divergence in the spatial distribution of atypical inter-hemispheric asymmetry and regional atrophy mapping. The former revealed a temporo-limbic disease signature while the latter showed diffuse and bilateral patterns. Our findings were robust across individual sites and patients. Cortical atrophy was significantly correlated with disease duration and age at seizure onset, while degrees of asymmetry did not show a significant relationship to these clinical variables. Our findings highlight that the mapping of atypical inter-hemispheric asymmetry and regional atrophy tap into two complementary aspects of temporal lobe epilepsy-related pathology, with the former revealing primary substrates in ipsilateral limbic circuits and the latter capturing bilateral disease effects. These findings refine our notion of the neuropathology of temporal lobe epilepsy and may inform future discovery and validation of complementary MRI biomarkers in temporal lobe epilepsy.
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- 2022
11. Resting-state background features demonstrate multidien cycles in long-term EEG device recordings
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William K.S. Ojemann, Brittany H. Scheid, Sofia Mouchtaris, Alfredo Lucas, Joshua J. LaRocque, Carlos Aguila, Arian Ashourvan, Lorenzo Caciagli, Kathryn A. Davis, Erin C. Conrad, and Brian Litt
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Neurostimulation ,Epilepsy ,RNS ,Biomarkers ,Interictal ,Spikes ,Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,RC321-571 - Abstract
Background: Longitudinal EEG recorded by implanted devices is critical for understanding and managing epilepsy. Recent research reports patient-specific, multi-day cycles in device-detected epileptiform events that coincide with increased likelihood of clinical seizures. Understanding these cycles could elucidate mechanisms generating seizures and advance drug and neurostimulation therapies. Objective/hypothesis: We hypothesize that seizure-correlated cycles are present in background neural activity, independent of interictal epileptiform spikes, and that neurostimulation may temporarily interrupt these cycles. Methods: We analyzed regularly-recorded seizure-free data epochs from 20 patients implanted with a responsive neurostimulation (RNS) device for at least 1.5 years, to explore the relationship between cycles in device-detected interictal epileptiform activity (dIEA), clinician-validated interictal spikes, background EEG features, and neurostimulation. Results: Background EEG features tracked the cycle phase of dIEA in all patients (AUC: 0.63 [0.56–0.67]) with a greater effect size compared to clinically annotated spike rate alone (AUC: 0.55 [0.53–0.61], p
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- 2023
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12. Myelination and excitation-inhibition balance synergistically shape structure-function coupling across the human cortex
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Panagiotis Fotiadis, Matthew Cieslak, Xiaosong He, Lorenzo Caciagli, Mathieu Ouellet, Theodore D. Satterthwaite, Russell T. Shinohara, and Dani S. Bassett
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Science - Abstract
Abstract Recent work has demonstrated that the relationship between structural and functional connectivity varies regionally across the human brain, with reduced coupling emerging along the sensory-association cortical hierarchy. The biological underpinnings driving this expression, however, remain largely unknown. Here, we postulate that intracortical myelination and excitation-inhibition (EI) balance mediate the heterogeneous expression of structure-function coupling (SFC) and its temporal variance across the cortical hierarchy. We employ atlas- and voxel-based connectivity approaches to analyze neuroimaging data acquired from two groups of healthy participants. Our findings are consistent across six complementary processing pipelines: 1) SFC and its temporal variance respectively decrease and increase across the unimodal-transmodal and granular-agranular gradients; 2) increased myelination and lower EI-ratio are associated with more rigid SFC and restricted moment-to-moment SFC fluctuations; 3) a gradual shift from EI-ratio to myelination as the principal predictor of SFC occurs when traversing from granular to agranular cortical regions. Collectively, our work delivers a framework to conceptualize structure-function relationships in the human brain, paving the way for an improved understanding of how demyelination and/or EI-imbalances induce reorganization in brain disorders.
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- 2023
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13. Structural network alterations in focal and generalized epilepsy assessed in a worldwide ENIGMA study follow axes of epilepsy risk gene expression
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Larivière, Sara, Royer, Jessica, Rodríguez-Cruces, Raúl, Paquola, Casey, Caligiuri, Maria Eugenia, Gambardella, Antonio, Concha, Luis, Keller, Simon S, Cendes, Fernando, Yasuda, Clarissa L, Bonilha, Leonardo, Gleichgerrcht, Ezequiel, Focke, Niels K, Domin, Martin, von Podewills, Felix, Langner, Soenke, Rummel, Christian, Wiest, Roland, Martin, Pascal, Kotikalapudi, Raviteja, O’Brien, Terence J, Sinclair, Benjamin, Vivash, Lucy, Desmond, Patricia M, Lui, Elaine, Vaudano, Anna Elisabetta, Meletti, Stefano, Tondelli, Manuela, Alhusaini, Saud, Doherty, Colin P, Cavalleri, Gianpiero L, Delanty, Norman, Kälviäinen, Reetta, Jackson, Graeme D, Kowalczyk, Magdalena, Mascalchi, Mario, Semmelroch, Mira, Thomas, Rhys H, Soltanian-Zadeh, Hamid, Davoodi-Bojd, Esmaeil, Zhang, Junsong, Winston, Gavin P, Griffin, Aoife, Singh, Aditi, Tiwari, Vijay K, Kreilkamp, Barbara AK, Lenge, Matteo, Guerrini, Renzo, Hamandi, Khalid, Foley, Sonya, Rüber, Theodor, Weber, Bernd, Depondt, Chantal, Absil, Julie, Carr, Sarah JA, Abela, Eugenio, Richardson, Mark P, Devinsky, Orrin, Severino, Mariasavina, Striano, Pasquale, Tortora, Domenico, Kaestner, Erik, Hatton, Sean N, Vos, Sjoerd B, Caciagli, Lorenzo, Duncan, John S, Whelan, Christopher D, Thompson, Paul M, Sisodiya, Sanjay M, Bernasconi, Andrea, Labate, Angelo, McDonald, Carrie R, Bernasconi, Neda, and Bernhardt, Boris C
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Neurodegenerative ,Genetics ,Neurosciences ,Brain Disorders ,Epilepsy ,Aetiology ,2.1 Biological and endogenous factors ,Neurological ,Adult ,Connectome ,Epilepsy ,Generalized ,Epilepsy ,Temporal Lobe ,Gene Expression ,Humans ,Immunoglobulin E ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Nerve Net - Abstract
Epilepsy is associated with genetic risk factors and cortico-subcortical network alterations, but associations between neurobiological mechanisms and macroscale connectomics remain unclear. This multisite ENIGMA-Epilepsy study examined whole-brain structural covariance networks in patients with epilepsy and related findings to postmortem epilepsy risk gene expression patterns. Brain network analysis included 578 adults with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), 288 adults with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), and 1328 healthy controls from 18 centres worldwide. Graph theoretical analysis of structural covariance networks revealed increased clustering and path length in orbitofrontal and temporal regions in TLE, suggesting a shift towards network regularization. Conversely, people with IGE showed decreased clustering and path length in fronto-temporo-parietal cortices, indicating a random network configuration. Syndrome-specific topological alterations reflected expression patterns of risk genes for hippocampal sclerosis in TLE and for generalized epilepsy in IGE. These imaging-transcriptomic signatures could potentially guide diagnosis or tailor therapeutic approaches to specific epilepsy syndromes.
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- 2022
14. Dynamic network properties of the superior temporal gyrus mediate the impact of brain age gap on chronic aphasia severity
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Janina Wilmskoetter, Natalie Busby, Xiaosong He, Lorenzo Caciagli, Rebecca Roth, Sigfus Kristinsson, Kathryn A. Davis, Chris Rorden, Dani S. Bassett, Julius Fridriksson, and Leonardo Bonilha
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Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
Abstract Brain structure deteriorates with aging and predisposes an individual to more severe language impairments (aphasia) after a stroke. However, the underlying mechanisms of this relation are not well understood. Here we use an approach to model brain network properties outside the stroke lesion, network controllability, to investigate relations among individualized structural brain connections, brain age, and aphasia severity in 93 participants with chronic post-stroke aphasia. Controlling for the stroke lesion size, we observe that lower average controllability of the posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG) mediates the relation between advanced brain aging and aphasia severity. Lower controllability of the left posterior STG signifies that activity in the left posterior STG is less likely to yield a response in other brain regions due to the topological properties of the structural brain networks. These results indicate that advanced brain aging among individuals with post-stroke aphasia is associated with disruption of dynamic properties of a critical language-related area, the STG, which contributes to worse aphasic symptoms. Because brain aging is variable among individuals with aphasia, our results provide further insight into the mechanisms underlying the variance in clinical trajectories in post-stroke aphasia.
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- 2023
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15. Retraction Note: Modulation of the TGF-β1-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) mediated by P1 and P2 purine receptors in MDCK cells
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Zuccarini, Mariachiara, Giuliani, Patricia, Buccella, Silvana, Di Liberto, Valentina, Mudò, Giuseppa, Belluardo, Natale, Carluccio, Marzia, Rossini, Margherita, Condorelli, Daniele Filippo, Rathbone, Michel Piers, Caciagli, Francesco, Ciccarelli, Renata, and Di Iorio, Patrizia
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- 2023
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16. Cytomegalovirus blood reactivation in COVID-19 critically ill patients: risk factors and impact on mortality
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Gatto, Ilenia, Biagioni, Emanuela, Coloretti, Irene, Farinelli, Carlotta, Avoni, Camilla, Caciagli, Valeria, Busani, Stefano, Sarti, Mario, Pecorari, Monica, Gennari, William, Guaraldi, Giovanni, Franceschini, Erica, Meschiari, Marianna, Mussini, Cristina, Tonelli, Roberto, Clini, Enrico, Cossarizza, Andrea, and Girardis, Massimo
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- 2022
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17. Structural network alterations in focal and generalized epilepsy assessed in a worldwide ENIGMA study follow axes of epilepsy risk gene expression
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Sara Larivière, Jessica Royer, Raúl Rodríguez-Cruces, Casey Paquola, Maria Eugenia Caligiuri, Antonio Gambardella, Luis Concha, Simon S. Keller, Fernando Cendes, Clarissa L. Yasuda, Leonardo Bonilha, Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht, Niels K. Focke, Martin Domin, Felix von Podewills, Soenke Langner, Christian Rummel, Roland Wiest, Pascal Martin, Raviteja Kotikalapudi, Terence J. O’Brien, Benjamin Sinclair, Lucy Vivash, Patricia M. Desmond, Elaine Lui, Anna Elisabetta Vaudano, Stefano Meletti, Manuela Tondelli, Saud Alhusaini, Colin P. Doherty, Gianpiero L. Cavalleri, Norman Delanty, Reetta Kälviäinen, Graeme D. Jackson, Magdalena Kowalczyk, Mario Mascalchi, Mira Semmelroch, Rhys H. Thomas, Hamid Soltanian-Zadeh, Esmaeil Davoodi-Bojd, Junsong Zhang, Gavin P. Winston, Aoife Griffin, Aditi Singh, Vijay K. Tiwari, Barbara A. K. Kreilkamp, Matteo Lenge, Renzo Guerrini, Khalid Hamandi, Sonya Foley, Theodor Rüber, Bernd Weber, Chantal Depondt, Julie Absil, Sarah J. A. Carr, Eugenio Abela, Mark P. Richardson, Orrin Devinsky, Mariasavina Severino, Pasquale Striano, Domenico Tortora, Erik Kaestner, Sean N. Hatton, Sjoerd B. Vos, Lorenzo Caciagli, John S. Duncan, Christopher D. Whelan, Paul M. Thompson, Sanjay M. Sisodiya, Andrea Bernasconi, Angelo Labate, Carrie R. McDonald, Neda Bernasconi, and Boris C. Bernhardt
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Science - Abstract
Epilepsy is a brain network disorder with associated genetic risk factors. Here, the authors show that spatial patterns of transcriptomic vulnerability co-vary with structural brain network alterations in focal and generalized epilepsy.
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- 2022
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18. Association between Pulmonary Aspergillosis and Cytomegalovirus Reactivation in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study
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Valeria Caciagli, Irene Coloretti, Marta Talamonti, Carlotta Farinelli, Ilenia Gatto, Emanuela Biagioni, Mario Sarti, Erica Franceschini, Marianna Meschiari, Cristina Mussini, Roberto Tonelli, Enrico Clini, Massimo Girardis, Stefano Busani, and Modena COVID-19 Working Group
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COVID-19 ,invasive pulmonary aspergillosis ,critically ill ,cytomegalovirus ,ards ,Microbiology ,QR1-502 - Abstract
COVID-19-associated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) is common and is associated with poor outcomes in critically ill patients. This prospective observational study aimed to explore the association between CAPA development and the incidence and prognosis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation in critically ill COVID-19 patients. We included all consecutive critically ill adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection who were admitted to three COVID-19 intensive care units (ICUs) in an Italian hospital from 25 February 2020 to 8 May 2022. A standardized procedure was employed for early detection of CAPA. Risk factors associated with CAPA and CMV reactivation and the association between CMV recurrence and mortality were estimated using adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression models. CAPA occurred in 96 patients (16.6%) of the 579 patients analyzed. Among the CAPA population, 40 (41.7%) patients developed CMV blood reactivation with a median time of 18 days (IQR 7–27). The CAPA+CMV group did not exhibit a significantly higher 90-day mortality rate (62.5% vs. 48.2%) than the CAPA alone group (p = 0.166). The CAPA+CMV group had a longer ICU stay, fewer ventilation-free days, and a higher rate of secondary bacterial infections than the control group of CAPA alone. In the CAPA population, prior immunosuppression was the only independent risk factor for CMV reactivation (HR 2.33, 95% C.I. 1.21–4.48, p = 0.011). In critically ill COVID-19 patients, CMV reactivation is common in those with a previous CAPA diagnosis. Basal immunosuppression before COVID-19 appeared to be the primary independent variable affecting CMV reactivation in patients with CAPA. Furthermore, the association of CAPA+CMV versus CAPA alone appears to impact ICU length of stay and secondary bacterial infections but not mortality.
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- 2023
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19. Editorial: Advances in neuroimaging of epilepsy
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Emanuele Bartolini, Lorenzo Caciagli, Sara Larivière, and Karin Trimmel
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seizures ,brain morphometry ,functional connectivity ,quantitative imaging ,MRI ,Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system ,RC346-429 - Published
- 2023
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20. The impact of temporal lobe epilepsy surgery on picture naming and its relationship to network metric change
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Lawrence Peter Binding, Peter Neal Taylor, Aidan G. O'Keeffe, Davide Giampiccolo, Marine Fleury, Fenglai Xiao, Lorenzo Caciagli, Jane de Tisi, Gavin P. Winston, Anna Miserocchi, Andrew McEvoy, John S. Duncan, and Sjoerd B. Vos
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White Matter ,Anterior Temporal Lobe Resection ,Picture Naming Decline ,Graph Theory ,Machine Learning ,Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics ,R858-859.7 ,Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system ,RC346-429 - Abstract
Background: Anterior temporal lobe resection (ATLR) is a successful treatment for medically-refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). In the language-dominant hemisphere, 30%- 50% of individuals experience a naming decline which can impact upon daily life. Measures of structural networks are associated with language performance pre-operatively. It is unclear if analysis of network measures may predict post-operative decline. Methods: White matter fibre tractography was performed on preoperative diffusion MRI of 44 left lateralised and left resection individuals with TLE to reconstruct the preoperative structural network. Resection masks, drawn on co-registered pre- and post-operative T1-weighted MRI scans, were used as exclusion regions on pre-operative tractography to estimate the post-operative network. Changes in graph theory metrics, cortical strength, betweenness centrality, and clustering coefficient were generated by comparing the estimated pre- and post-operative networks. These were thresholded based on the presence of the connection in each patient, ranging from 75% to 100% in steps of 5%. The average graph theory metric across thresholds was taken.We incorporated leave-one-out cross-validation with smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) feature selection and a support vector classifier to assess graph theory metrics on picture naming decline. Picture naming was assessed via the Graded Naming Test preoperatively and at 3 and 12 months post-operatively and the outcome was classified using the reliable change index (RCI) to identify clinically significant decline. The best feature combination and model was selected using the area under the curve (AUC). The sensitivity, specificity and F1-score were also reported. Permutation testing was performed to assess the machine learning model and selected regions difference significance. Results: A combination of clinical and graph theory metrics were able to classify outcome of picture naming at 3 months with an AUC of 0.84. At 12 months, change in strength to cortical regions was best able to correctly classify outcome with an AUC of 0.86. Longitudinal analysis revealed that betweenness centrality was the best metric to identify patients who declined at 3 months, who will then continue to experience decline from 3 to 12 months. Both models were significantly higher AUC values than a random classifier. Conclusion: Our results suggest that inferred changes of network integrity were able to correctly classify picture naming decline after ATLR. These measures may be used to prospectively to identify patients who are at risk of picture naming decline after surgery and could potentially be utilised to assist tailoring the resection in order to prevent this decline.
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- 2023
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21. Subcortical functional connectivity gradients in temporal lobe epilepsy
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Alfredo Lucas, Sofia Mouchtaris, Eli J. Cornblath, Nishant Sinha, Lorenzo Caciagli, Peter Hadar, James J. Gugger, Sandhitsu Das, Joel M. Stein, and Kathryn A. Davis
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Subcortex ,Focal epilepsy ,Dimensionality ,Connectome ,Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics ,R858-859.7 ,Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system ,RC346-429 - Abstract
Background and Motivation: Functional gradients have been used to study differences in connectivity between healthy and diseased brain states, however this work has largely focused on the cortex. Because the subcortex plays a key role in seizure initiation in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), subcortical functional-connectivity gradients may help further elucidate differences between healthy brains and TLE, as well as differences between left (L)-TLE and right (R)-TLE. Methods: In this work, we calculated subcortical functional-connectivity gradients (SFGs) from resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) by measuring the similarity in connectivity profiles of subcortical voxels to cortical gray matter voxels. We performed this analysis in 24 R-TLE patients and 31 L-TLE patients (who were otherwise matched for age, gender, disease specific characteristics, and other clinical variables), and 16 controls. To measure differences in SFGs between L-TLE and R-TLE, we quantified deviations in the average functional gradient distributions, as well as their variance, across subcortical structures. Results: We found an expansion, measured by increased variance, in the principal SFG of TLE relative to controls. When comparing the gradient across subcortical structures between L-TLE and R-TLE, we found that abnormalities in the ipsilateral hippocampal gradient distributions were significantly different between L-TLE and R-TLE. Conclusion: Our results suggest that expansion of the SFG is characteristic of TLE. Subcortical functional gradient differences exist between left and right TLE and are driven by connectivity changes in the hippocampus ipsilateral to the seizure onset zone.
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- 2023
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22. Guanine inhibits the growth of human glioma and melanoma cell lines by interacting with GPR23
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Roberta Garozzo, Mariachiara Zuccarini, Patricia Giuliani, Valentina Di Liberto, Giuseppa Mudò, Francesco Caciagli, Renata Ciccarelli, Francisco Ciruela, Patrizia Di Iorio, and Daniele F. Condorelli
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guanine-based purines (GBPs) ,guanine (GUA) ,purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) ,antiproliferative effects ,G protein-coupled receptor 23 (GPR23) ,glioma cell lines ,Therapeutics. Pharmacology ,RM1-950 - Abstract
Guanine-based purines (GBPs) exert numerous biological effects at the central nervous system through putative membrane receptors, the existence of which is still elusive. To shed light on this question, we screened orphan and poorly characterized G protein-coupled receptors (GPRs), selecting those that showed a high purinoreceptor similarity and were expressed in glioma cells, where GBPs exerted a powerful antiproliferative effect. Of the GPRs chosen, only the silencing of GPR23, also known as lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) 4 receptor, counteracted GBP-induced growth inhibition in U87 cells. Guanine (GUA) was the most potent compound behind the GPR23-mediated effect, acting as the endpoint effector of GBP antiproliferative effects. Accordingly, cells stably expressing GPR23 showed increased sensitivity to GUA. Furthermore, while GPR23 expression was low in a hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl-transferase (HGPRT)-mutated melanoma cell line showing poor sensitivity to GBPs, and in HGPRT-silenced glioma cells, GPR23-induced expression in both cell types rescued GUA-mediated cell growth inhibition. Finally, binding experiments using [3H]-GUA and U87 cell membranes revealed the existence of a selective GUA binding (KD = 29.44 ± 4.07 nM; Bmax 1.007 ± 0.035 pmol/mg prot) likely to GPR23. Overall, these data suggest GPR23 involvement in modulating responses to GUA in tumor cell lines, although further research needs to verify whether this receptor mediates other GUA effects.
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- 2022
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23. Transparent Colloidal Crystals With Structural Colours
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Talha Erdem, Thomas O’Neill, Mykolas Zupkauskas, Alessio Caciagli, Peicheng Xu, Yang Lan, Peter Bösecke, and Erika Eiser
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colloid ,structural color ,SAXS (small-angle X-ray scattering) ,latex particle ,photonic crystals ,Physics ,QC1-999 - Abstract
Spatially ordered arrangements of spherical colloids are known to exhibit structural colours. The intensity and brilliance of these structural colours typically improve with colloidal monodispersity, low concentrations of point and line defects and with increasing refractive index contrast between the colloids and the embedding medium. Here we show that suspensions of charge stabilised, fluorinated latex particles with low refractive-index contrast to their aqueous background form Wigner crystals with FCC symmetry for volume fractions between 13 and 40%. In reflection they exhibit both strong, almost angle-independent structural colours and sharp, more brilliant Bragg peaks despite the particle polydispersity and bimodal distribution. Simultaneously, these suspensions appear transparent in transmission. Furthermore, binary AB, A2B and A13B type mixtures of these fluorinated and similarly sized polystyrene particles appeared predominantly white but with clear Bragg peaks indicating a CsCl-like BCC structure and more complex crystals. We characterised the suspensions using a combination of reflectivity measurements and small-angle x-ray scattering, complemented by reflectivity modelling.
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- 2022
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24. Effect of Anti-seizure Medications on Functional Anatomy of Language: A Perspective From Language Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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Fenglai Xiao, Lorenzo Caciagli, Britta Wandschneider, Bhavini Joshi, Sjoerd B. Vos, Andrea Hill, Marian Galovic, Lili Long, Daichi Sone, Karin Trimmel, Josemir W. Sander, Dong Zhou, Pamela J. Thompson, Sallie Baxendale, John S. Duncan, and Matthias J. Koepp
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epilepsy ,language functional MRI ,drug load ,cognitive effect ,polytherapy ,Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,RC321-571 - Abstract
BackgroundIn epilepsy, cognitive difficulties are common, partly a consequence of anti-seizure medications (ASM), and cognitive side-effects are often considered to be more disabling than seizures and significantly affect quality of life. Functional MRI during verbal fluency tasks demonstrated impaired frontal activation patterns and failed default mode network deactivation in people taking ASM with unfavourable cognitive profiles. The cognitive effect of ASMs given at different dosages in monotherapy, or in different combinations, remains to be determined.MethodsHere, we compared the effects of different drug loads on verbal fluency functional MRI (fMRI) in people (i) taking dual therapy of ASMs either considered to be associated with moderate (levetiracetam, lamotrigine, lacosamide, carbamazepine/oxcarbazepine, eslicarbazepine, valproic acid; n = 119, 56 females) or severe (topiramate, zonisamide) side-effects; n = 119, 56 females), (ii) taking moderate ASMs in either mono-, dual- or triple-therapy (60 subjects in each group), or (iii) taking different dosages of ASMs with moderate side-effect profiles (n = 180). “Drug load” was defined as a composite value of numbers and dosages of medications, normalised to account for the highest and lowest dose of each specific prescribed medication.ResultsIn people taking “moderate” ASMs (n = 119), we observed higher verbal-fluency related to left inferior frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal fMRI activations than in people taking “severe” ASMs (n = 119). Irrespective of the specific ASM, people on monotherapy (n = 60), showed greater frontal activations than people taking two (n = 60), or three ASMs (n = 60). People on two ASMs showed less default mode (precuneus) deactivation than those on monotherapy. In people treated with “moderate” ASMs (n = 180), increased drug load correlated with reduced activation of language-related regions and the right piriform cortex.ConclusionOur study delineates the effects of polytherapy and high doses of ASMs when given in monotherapy on the functional anatomy of language. Irrespective of the cognitive profile of individual ASMs, each additional ASM results in additional alterations of cognitive activation patterns. Selection of ASMs with moderate cognitive side effects, and low doses of ASMs when given in polytherapy, could reduce the cognitive effect.
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- 2022
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25. Dynamic Light Scattering Based Microrheology of End-Functionalised Triblock Copolymer Solutions
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Ren Liu, Alessio Caciagli, Jiaming Yu, Xiaoying Tang, Rini Ghosh, and Erika Eiser
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competing self-assembly ,triblock-copolymer ,DNA ,dynamic light scattering ,microrheology ,transient hydrogels ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
Nano-sized particles functionalised with short single-stranded (ss)DNAs can act as detectors of complementary DNA strands. Here we consider tri-block-copolymer-based, self-assembling DNA-coated nanoparticles. The copolymers are chemically linked to the DNA strands via azide (N3) groups. The micelles aggregate when they are linked with complementary ssDNA. The advantage of such block-copolymer-based systems is that they are easy to make. Here we show that DNA functionalisation results in inter-micellar attraction, but that N3-groups that have not reacted with the DNA detector strands also change the phase behaviour of the tri-block polymer solution. We studied the triblock copolymer, Pluronic® F108, which forms spherical micelles in aqueous solutions upon heating. We find that the triblock chains ending with either an N3 or N3-DNA complex show a dramatic change in phase behaviour. In particular, the N3-functionalisation causes the chain ends to cluster below the critical micelle temperature (CMT) of pure F108, forming flower-micelles with the N3-groups at the core, while the PPO groups are exposed to the solvent. Above the CMT, we see an inversion with the PPO chains forming the micellar core, while the N3-groups are now aggregating on the periphery, inducing an attraction between the micelles. Our results demonstrate that, due to the two competing self-assembling mechanisms, the system can form transient hydrogels.
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- 2023
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26. Rhamnolipid coating reduces microbial biofilm formation on titanium implants: an in vitro study
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Tambone, Erica, Bonomi, Emiliana, Ghensi, Paolo, Maniglio, Devid, Ceresa, Chiara, Agostinacchio, Francesca, Caciagli, Patrizio, Nollo, Giandomenico, Piccoli, Federico, Caola, Iole, Fracchia, Letizia, and Tessarolo, Francesco
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- 2021
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27. Clientelismo, corruzione e criminalità organizzata. Comparare per distinguere
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Mario Caciagli
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Comparative political analysis ,clientelism ,corruption ,organised crime ,Sociology (General) ,HM401-1281 - Abstract
This article focuses on the similarities and the differences of three degenerations of the political system. The author proposes the cultural political approach to define and to sign the boundaries between clientelism and corruption, clientelism and criminality, corruption and criminality. Clientelism and criminality are into a political culture; corruption on the contrary is out of a culture.
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- 2021
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28. A Community Study of SARS-CoV-2 Detection by RT-PCR in Saliva: A Reliable and Effective Method
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Filippo Fronza, Nelli Groff, Angela Martinelli, Beatrice Zita Passerini, Nicolò Rensi, Irene Cortelletti, Nicolò Vivori, Valentina Adami, Anna Helander, Simone Bridi, Michael Pancher, Valentina Greco, Sonia Iolanda Garritano, Elena Piffer, Lara Stefani, Veronica De Sanctis, Roberto Bertorelli, Serena Pancheri, Lucia Collini, Erik Dassi, Alessandro Quattrone, Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, Giancarlo Icardi, Guido Poli, Patrizio Caciagli, Antonio Ferro, and Massimo Pizzato
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COVID-19 ,saliva testing ,molecular diagnosis ,SARS-CoV-2 detection ,Microbiology ,QR1-502 - Abstract
Efficient, wide-scale testing for SARS-CoV-2 is crucial for monitoring the incidence of the infection in the community. The gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis is the molecular analysis of epithelial secretions from the upper respiratory system captured by nasopharyngeal (NP) or oropharyngeal swabs. Given the ease of collection, saliva has been proposed as a possible substitute to support testing at the population level. Here, we used a novel saliva collection device designed to favour the safe and correct acquisition of the sample, as well as the processivity of the downstream molecular analysis. We tested 1003 nasopharyngeal swabs and paired saliva samples self-collected by individuals recruited at a public drive-through testing facility. An overall moderate concordance (68%) between the two tests was found, with evidence that neither system can diagnose the infection in 100% of the cases. While the two methods performed equally well in symptomatic individuals, their discordance was mainly restricted to samples from convalescent subjects. The saliva test was at least as effective as NP swabs in asymptomatic individuals recruited for contact tracing. Our study describes a testing strategy of self-collected saliva samples, which is reliable for wide-scale COVID-19 screening in the community and is particularly effective for contact tracing.
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- 2022
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29. ILAEneuroimaging task force highlight: Subcortical laminar heterotopia
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Kasper, Burkhard S., Archer, John, Bernhardt, Boris C., Caciagli, Lorenzo, Cendes, Fernando, Chinvarun, Yotin, Concha, Luis, Federico, Paolo, Gaillard, William, Kobayashi, Eliane, Ogbole, Godwin, Vaudano, Anna Elisabetta, Wang, Irene, Wang, Shuang, Winston, Gavin P., and Rampp, Stefan
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The ILAE Neuroimaging Task Force publishes educational case reports that highlight basic aspects of neuroimaging in epilepsy consistent with the ILAE's educational mission. Subcortical laminar heterotopia, also known as subcortical band heterotopia (SBH) or “double cortex,” is an intriguing and rare congenital malformation of cortical development. SBH lesions are part of a continuum best designated as agyria‐pachygyria‐band‐spectrum. The malformation is associated with epilepsy that is often refractory, as well as variable degrees of developmental delay. Moreover, in an increasing proportion of cases, a distinct molecular‐genetic background can be found. Diagnosing SBH can be a major challenge for many reasons, including more subtle lesions, and “non‐classic” or unusual MRI‐appearances. By presenting an illustrative case, we address the challenges and needs of diagnosing and treating SBH patients in epilepsy, especially the value of high‐resolution imaging and specialized MRI‐protocols.
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- 2024
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30. Resting-state background features demonstrate multidien cycles in long-term EEG device recordings.
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Ojemann, William K.S., Scheid, Brittany H., Mouchtaris, Sofia, Lucas, Alfredo, LaRocque, Joshua J., Aguila, Carlos, Ashourvan, Arian, Caciagli, Lorenzo, Davis, Kathryn A., Conrad, Erin C., and Litt, Brian
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Longitudinal EEG recorded by implanted devices is critical for understanding and managing epilepsy. Recent research reports patient-specific, multi-day cycles in device-detected epileptiform events that coincide with increased likelihood of clinical seizures. Understanding these cycles could elucidate mechanisms generating seizures and advance drug and neurostimulation therapies. We hypothesize that seizure-correlated cycles are present in background neural activity, independent of interictal epileptiform spikes, and that neurostimulation may temporarily interrupt these cycles. We analyzed regularly-recorded seizure-free data epochs from 20 patients implanted with a responsive neurostimulation (RNS) device for at least 1.5 years, to explore the relationship between cycles in device-detected interictal epileptiform activity (dIEA), clinician-validated interictal spikes, background EEG features, and neurostimulation. Background EEG features tracked the cycle phase of dIEA in all patients (AUC: 0.63 [0.56–0.67]) with a greater effect size compared to clinically annotated spike rate alone (AUC: 0.55 [0.53–0.61], p < 0.01). After accounting for circadian variation and spike rate, we observed significant population trends in elevated theta and beta band power and theta and alpha connectivity features at the cycle peaks (sign test, p < 0.05). In the period directly after stimulation we observe a decreased association between cycle phase and EEG features compared to background recordings (AUC: 0.58 [0.55–0.64]). Our findings suggest that seizure-correlated dIEA cycles are not solely due to epileptiform discharges but are associated with background measures of brain state; and that neurostimulation may temporarily interrupt these cycles. These results may help elucidate mechanisms underlying seizure generation, provide new biomarkers for seizure risk, and facilitate monitoring, treating, and managing epilepsy with implantable devices. • Background EEG features track multidien cycles in RNS dIEA. • dIEA linked EEG features are patient-specific and may differ with cortical structure. • Responsive neurostimulation suppresses EEG-dIEA coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2023
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31. Neurocysticercosis and epilepsy: Imaging and clinical characteristics
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Rodríguez‐Leyva, Ildefonso, Cantú‐Flores, Karla, Domínguez‐Frausto, Arturo, Vaudano, Anna Elisabetta, Archer, John, Bernhardt, Boris, Caciagli, Lorenzo, Cendes, Fernando, Chinvarun, Yotin, Federico, Paolo, Gaillard, William D., Kobayashi, Eliane, Ogbole, Godwin, Rampp, Stefan, Wang, Irene, Wang, Shuang, and Concha, Luis
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The ILAE Neuroimaging Task Force aimed to publish educational case reports highlighting basic aspects related to neuroimaging in epilepsy consistent with the educational mission of the ILAE. Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is highly endemic in resource‐limited countries and increasingly more often seen in non‐endemic regions due to migration. Cysts with larva of the tapeworm Taenia soliumlodge in the brain and cause several neurological conditions, of which seizures are the most common. There is great heterogeneity in the clinical presentation of neurocysticercosis because cysts vary in number, larval stage, and location among patients. We here present two illustrative cases with different clinical features to highlight the varying severity of symptoms secondary to this parasitic infestation. We also present several examples of imaging characteristics of the disease at various stages, which emphasize the central role of neuroimaging in the diagnosis of neurocysticercosis.
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- 2023
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32. Imaging characteristics of temporopolar blurring in the context of hippocampal sclerosis
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Clavijo Prado, Carlos Andrés, Federico, Paolo, Bernasconi, Andrea, Bernhardt, Boris, Caciagli, Lorenzo, Concha, Luis, Chinvarun, Yotin, Jackson, Graeme, Morgan, Victoria, Rampp, Stefan, Vaudano, Anna Elisabetta, Wang, Irene, Wang, Shuang, Zaidan, Bruna Cunha, Rogerio, Fabio, and Cendes, Fernando
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We present an illustrative case to address anterior temporal lobe atrophy with poor delineation of the temporopolar gray‐white matter interface based on T2‐weighted and fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy associated with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE‐HS). A 52‐year‐old woman with pharmacoresistant seizures since the age of six months underwent a previous MRI scan using a suboptimal protocol which was reported as unremarkable. MRI performed according to an epilepsy protocol showed classic signs of left HS and ipsilateral temporal polar atrophy with blurring of the gray‐white matter boundary on FLAIR images. She underwent a left amygdalohippocampectomy and anterior temporal resection and remains seizure‐free after 24 months. Histopathological analyses showed HS and no signs of focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). Blurring and atrophy of the ipsilateral temporal pole are common in TLE‐HS and often misinterpreted as FCD. This relates to delayed myelination in patients with seizures before the age of two, is more pronounced on FLAIR sequences, and gives a false impression of cortical thickening. However, the T1‐weighted images show a relatively well‐demarcated cortical‐subcortical transition and normal cortical thickness. By contrast, the cortical thickening in FCD is observed on both T1‐weighted and FLAIR images. Since FCD also occurs in temporal lobe regions, it is important to differentiate the extra‐hippocampal MRI abnormalities in TLE‐HS from those likely to be FCD. This case highlights the importance of evaluation based on detailed imaging, which should always be conducted considering the EEG, seizure semiology, and other clinical information.
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- 2022
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33. Treatment of Elderly Patients with Higher Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes with Oral Azacitidine
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Santini, Valeria, Amato, Cristina, De Pourcq, Sven, della Seta, Roberta, Caciagli, Barbara, Raddi, Marco Gabriele, Consagra, Angela, Rigodanza, Luca, Mattiuz, Giorgio, Defina, Marzia, Galimberti, Sara, Maestrini, Giacomo, and Sanna, Alessandro
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BackgroundOral formulations ofhypomethylating agents decitabine (ASTX727) and azacitidine (cc-486, AZA) were approved respectively for treatment of higher risk myelodysplastic syndromes (HR-MDS) and for maintenance of acute myeloid leukemia after remission. Management of MDS patients with oral agents is relevant to improve quality of life. Oral-AZA has shown activity in lower risk MDS and its use is under evaluation in that setting. There are no data regarding maintenance of response achieved by subcutaneous (sc) AZA in HR-MDS cases by switching to the oral formulation. AimThe primary objective of the study was to explore the feasibility of replacing sc-AZA by its oral formulation in patients with HR-MDS in response. Maintenance or improvement of response and, as secondary objectives, patient reported outcome (PRO) and DNA methylation pattern were evaluated. MethodsA monocentric, pilot phase 2 study was planned to enroll 11 subjects with confirmed diagnosis of MDS, IPSS-R higher risks, aged ≥ 65 years, in CR/CRi, PR or SD with HI after > 6 cycles of sc-AZA therapy (ClinicalTrial.gov NCT04806906). Patients were to receive 300 mg oral-AZA for the first 14-days of each 28-day treatment cycle until absence of benefit or disease progression. Dose of oral-AZA could be de-escalated based on toxicity. At screening and every 4 cycles, IWG response was evaluated. NGS evaluation of somatic mutations and DNA methylation analysis were performed at the same time points. DNA methylation pattern of separated BM CD34 positive cells was determined by Oxford Nanopore. At day1 of every cycle the EQ-5D questionnaire for QoL was administered. Feasibility, safety, tolerability as well as efficacy of oral-AZA were evaluated by monitoring AEs and response/loss of response, time to treatment discontinuation, and PRO. Results.As per July 31 st2023, 11 HR-MDS patients with a median follow up of 167 days (range 47-805) were enrolled in this study. Male/female ratio was 4.5/1 with a median age of 81 yrs (67-88). At diagnosis patients belonged to IPSS-R risk categories intermediate 1/11, high 8/11, very high 2/11; IPSS-M risk categories at start of oral AZA: 3/11 very high, 6/11 high and 2/11 very low. Median number of sc-AZA cycles was 9 (range 7-52), while for oral-AZA median number of cycles was 4 (range 1-10). Oral AZA dose of 300 mg/day was maintained for all patients. DNA methylation was determined with success at baseline and every 4 cycles for all treated patients, and methylation status analyzed. None of the patients had serious adverse events related to study drug. Myelosuppressive effects were transient and Grade1/2. Patients maintained CR (4/11), PR (6/11) and SD with HI (1/11) achieved with sc-AZA, until progression. Therapy was interrupted for progression in 4 patients who evolved to AML after a median of 9 cycles of treatment with oral-AZA. Early discontinuation was experienced in 2/11 patients: in one case following a GI event grade 3 and patient decision to avoid de-escalation of the dose for subsequent cycles, in the second case because of patient reduced compliance. Both patients re-switched from oral to sc-AZA treatment and are still in response (PR). PRO analyses indicated that oral-AZA therapy improved most quality-of-life domains compared to sc-AZA. Treatment is ongoing for 4/11 patients in CR (3/4) and PR (1/4). Responses were observed across all IPSS-M risk categories. ConclusionsTreatment of HR-MDS elderly patients with oral-AZAis feasible and effective. We observed duration of hematological response with a length consistent with what shown in this patient subgroup, and even after a very prolonged treatment with sc-AZA. Oral AZA was generally well tolerated and AEs did not differ from those observed for sc-AZA.
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- 2023
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34. Treatment with Oral Azacitidine in Elderly Patients with Higher Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes after Response to Subcutaneous Azacitidine
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Santini, Valeria, Amato, Cristina, Caciagli, Barbara, Consagra, Angela, Rigodanza, Luca, de Pourcq, Sven, Cassari, Margherita, Tofacchi, Elena, Mattiuz, Giorgio, Raddi, Marco Gabriele Gabriele, and Sanna, Alessandro
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- 2022
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35. Surface Faulting of the 26 December 2018, Mw5 Earthquake at Mt. Etna Volcano (Italy): Geological Source Model and Implications for the Seismic Potential of the Fiandaca Fault
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Azzaro, R., Pucci, S., Villani, F., Civico, R., Branca, S., Cantarero, M., De Beni, E., De Martini, P. M., Cinti, F. R., Caciagli, M., Cucci, L., and Pantosti, D.
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At Mt. Etna (Italy), volcano‐tectonic earthquakes produce impressive surface faulting despite their moderate magnitude (M< 5.5), with historically well‐documented ruptures featuring end‐to‐end lengths up to 6–7 km. The 26 December 2018, Mw5.0 earthquake represents the strongest event of the last 70 years, with ground ruptures extending for 7.5 km along the Fiandaca fault, a partially hidden structure in the volcano's eastern flank. Field data collected by the EMERGEO Working Group (INGV) are here integrated with high‐resolution photogrammetric surveys and geological‐morphological observations to enable a detailed structural analysis and to reconstruct the morphotectonic process of fault growth. The deformation zone develops in a transtensional regime and shows a complex pattern, consisting of brittle structures arranged in en‐échelonscale‐invariant overlapping systems. Offsets and kinematics vary along the strike due to a major bend in the fault trace. We reconstructed a prevailing right‐lateral displacement in the northern section of the fault and a dextral oblique slip in the southern one (max 35 cm); the dip‐slip component increases southward (max 50 cm) and overall resembles the along‐strike pattern of the long‐term morphological throw. The kinematic analysis indicates a quasi‐rigid behavior of the two fault blocks and suggests a geological model of rupture propagation that explains both the location of the seismic asperity in the northern section of the Fiandaca fault and the unclamping in the southern one. These findings are used to propose a conceptual model of the fault, representing insights for local fault‐based seismic hazard assessment. The pattern of the 2018 rupture is characterized by scale‐invariant overlapping systems of structures organized in a hierarchical wayThe along‐strike distribution of the coseismic vertical displacement mimics the pattern of the long‐term morphological throw of the faultFindings constrain fault behavior and maximum expected magnitude as possible inputs for local fault‐based seismic hazard assessment The pattern of the 2018 rupture is characterized by scale‐invariant overlapping systems of structures organized in a hierarchical way The along‐strike distribution of the coseismic vertical displacement mimics the pattern of the long‐term morphological throw of the fault Findings constrain fault behavior and maximum expected magnitude as possible inputs for local fault‐based seismic hazard assessment
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- 2022
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36. 31 Disorganization of language and working memory networks in frontal versus temporal lobe epilepsy
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Caciagli, Lorenzo, Paquola, Casey, He, Xiaosong, Vollmar, Christian, Centeno, Maria, Wandschneider, Britta, Braun, Urs, Trimmel, Karin, Vos, Sjoerd B, Sidhu, Meneka K, Thompson, Pamela J, Baxendale, Sallie, Winston, Gavin P, Duncan, John S, Bassett, Dani S, Koepp, Matthias J, and Bernhardt, Boris C
- Abstract
Objectives/AimsCognitive impairment is a common comorbidity of epilepsy, and can be more burdensome than seizures themselves. Temporal and frontal lobe epilepsy (TLE, FLE) are accompanied by multi-domain cognitive impairment. While the underlying neural substrates have been extensively investigated in TLE, functional imaging studies in FLE are scarce. Here, we aimed to: (i) investigate systems-level neural processes accounting for cognitive dysfunction in FLE; (ii) directly compare FLE and TLE patients, establishing commonalities and differences; and (iii) decode the potential influence of clinical characteristics on cognitive network architecture.MethodsWe capitalized on a large, single-centre sample of 172 adult participants (56 with FLE, 64 with TLE, 52 with controls) who were investigated via: (i) an extensive neuropsychological test battery that included attention, psychomotor speed, language, working memory, executive function, and episodic memory tests; and (ii) four functional MRI tasks probing expressive language (verbal fluency, verb generation) and working memory (verbal and visuo-spatial). Patient groups were comparable in age of epilepsy onset, disease duration, and antiseizure medication load. We mapped task-related brain activation and deactivation using a novel multiscale approach, and tracked reorganization in FLE and TLE. We complemented voxel-based maps with profiling of task effects across established motifs of functional brain organization: (i) canonical resting-state functional networks, and (ii) the principal functional connectivity gradient, that encodes a continuous transition from lower-level (sensory) to higher-order (transmodal) brain areas.ResultsWe find that cognitive impairment in FLE is accompanied by broadly reduced activation across frontoparietal attentional and executive networks, and reduced default-mode network deactivation, indicating large-scale disorganization of task-related recruitment, particularly during working memory. Patterns of dysfunction in FLE and TLE are broadly similar, but some traits are syndrome-specific: impaired task-related deactivation of the default-mode network is more prominent in FLE, while impaired recruitment of posterior language areas is more marked in TLE. More severe epilepsy, as tracked by age at onset, epilepsy duration, seizure frequency, time since last seizure, and propensity for focal-to-bilateral tonic-clonic seizures, relates to more marked cognitive network disorganization both in FLE and TLE.ConclusionsOur study elucidates neural processes underlying cognitive impairment in the most common focal epilepsies, identifies frontoparietal executive alterations as a shared biological signature, irrespective of seizure focus localization, and shows that temporal lobe language alterations are TLE-specific. The highlighted systems-level behaviour may be amenable to future remediation strategies, including neurostimulation.
- Published
- 2022
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37. Antibiotic Resistance Patterns Among Uropathogens in Female Outpatients Affected by Uncomplicated Cystitis: Focus on Fosfomycin Trometamol.
- Author
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Cai T, Verze P, Arcaniolo D, Pandolfo SD, Smarrazzo F, Manfredi C, Tascini C, Caciagli P, Lanzafame M, De Sio M, Wagenlehner F, Johansen TEB, and Palmieri A
- Subjects
- Female, Humans, Anti-Bacterial Agents pharmacology, Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use, Tromethamine, Outpatients, Cross-Sectional Studies, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Escherichia coli, Drug Resistance, Microbial, Fosfomycin pharmacology, Fosfomycin therapeutic use, Urinary Tract Infections drug therapy, Urinary Tract Infections microbiology, Cystitis drug therapy
- Abstract
Objectives: To report the resistance rate against fosfomycin trometamol among outpatient women with symptoms related to urinary tract infections over a 6-year period in a multicentre, cross-sectional study., Methods: Urinary samples were collected from three high-volume laboratories from January 2015 to December 2020. The pattern of resistance to fosfomycin was analysed by using the Vitek II automated system., Results: A total of 7289 urinary samples were collected and 8321 strains were analysed during the study period. The most commonly isolated uropathogen was Escherichia coli (n = 6583, 79.1%). The mean resistance rate against fosfomycin was 9.7% (range 7.1-11.3). No statistically significant difference was found between the three laboratories (P = 0.53). There was no significant increase in resistance rate during the study period. The mean resistance rate against fosfomycin was higher among extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria when compared with non-ESBL-producing strains (10.8% vs. 7.9%; P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Uropathogens isolated from women affected by cystitis remained highly susceptible to fosfomycin. These findings confirm recommendations in international guidelines that advocate fosfomycin trometamol for empirical treatment of uncomplicated cystitis in women., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd and International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2023
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38. A Community Study of SARS-CoV-2 Detection by RT-PCR in Saliva: A Reliable and Effective Method.
- Author
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Fronza F, Groff N, Martinelli A, Passerini BZ, Rensi N, Cortelletti I, Vivori N, Adami V, Helander A, Bridi S, Pancher M, Greco V, Garritano SI, Piffer E, Stefani L, De Sanctis V, Bertorelli R, Pancheri S, Collini L, Dassi E, Quattrone A, Capobianchi MR, Icardi G, Poli G, Caciagli P, Ferro A, and Pizzato M
- Subjects
- COVID-19 diagnosis, COVID-19 virology, Female, Humans, Male, Mass Screening, Nasopharynx virology, RNA, Viral genetics, SARS-CoV-2 isolation & purification, Specimen Handling methods, COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing methods, COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing standards, RNA, Viral analysis, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction methods, SARS-CoV-2 genetics, Saliva virology
- Abstract
Efficient, wide-scale testing for SARS-CoV-2 is crucial for monitoring the incidence of the infection in the community. The gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis is the molecular analysis of epithelial secretions from the upper respiratory system captured by nasopharyngeal (NP) or oropharyngeal swabs. Given the ease of collection, saliva has been proposed as a possible substitute to support testing at the population level. Here, we used a novel saliva collection device designed to favour the safe and correct acquisition of the sample, as well as the processivity of the downstream molecular analysis. We tested 1003 nasopharyngeal swabs and paired saliva samples self-collected by individuals recruited at a public drive-through testing facility. An overall moderate concordance (68%) between the two tests was found, with evidence that neither system can diagnose the infection in 100% of the cases. While the two methods performed equally well in symptomatic individuals, their discordance was mainly restricted to samples from convalescent subjects. The saliva test was at least as effective as NP swabs in asymptomatic individuals recruited for contact tracing. Our study describes a testing strategy of self-collected saliva samples, which is reliable for wide-scale COVID-19 screening in the community and is particularly effective for contact tracing.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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