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To investigate the physiopathology of ejaculatory disorders (EjD) and discriminate between retrograde ejaculation (REj) and anejaculation (AEj) induced by α1A-blockers, through the association between the mean postorgasm seminal vesicle volume and the presence of sperm in midstream urine, in patients with moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic enlargement.Therapy-naïve male patients with LUTS and without previous EjD were treated with α1A-blockers. Pre- and post-treatment EjD were investigated through question 4 of the 4-item Male Sexual Function questionnaire and the Male Sexual Health Questionnaire for Ejaculatory Dysfunction Short Form (MSHQ-EjD-SF). After 12 weeks, postorgasm urine was collected for sperm count and seminal vesicle volume was calculated through transrectal ultrasound.All 42 patients reported with EjD after treatment with α1A-blockers: 4-item Male Sexual Function questionnaire and MSHQ-EjD-SF Q4 scores were significantly higher (P.001) and MSHQ-EjD-SF Q1-3 score was significantly lower (P.001) than before. Postorgasm seminal vesicle volume was significantly higher in patients with postorgasm sperm-negative urine (AEj), and lower in patients with postorgasm sperm-positive urine (REj; P.001).We clearly demonstrated an association between the presence of sperm in the midstream urine and seminal vesicle volume after orgasm, strongly confirming and differentiating the hypothesis of a dual etiology for EjD (REj vs AEj) secondary to α1A-blockers therapy for LUTS.

El presente trabajo trata sobre el examen calificador de los instrumentos públicos notariales en materia societario y por ende su alcance e implicancias notariales.ABSTRACTThis paper deals with the qualifying examination of notarial public instruments in corporate matters and therefore theirs cope and notarial implications.

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has had direct effects on social relationships. Tourism activities are by definition linked to the interaction among human beings, beginning with a physical movement of a person from a habitually-frequented environment to one or more destinations. Any denial of mobility, therefore, negates the tourist experience. After briefly discussing the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the tourism system and hospitality, this work presents a qualitative survey by means of a thematic analysis approach. The study investigates tourism professionals operating in Sicily, across different tourism sectors and in various segments of the market (cultural, luxury, nautical, rural, and slow tourism). The operators were asked questions about their experiences of the pandemic, with its negative impact, and their expectations and prospects. The abilities to adapt to the new normal and build resilience are often related to offering sustainable products and services, which are characterized by a more robust relationship with the territory and local economy.

The extraction of nuclear charge radii from spectroscopy experiments in muonic atoms is currently limited by the large uncertainties associated with the theoretical evaluation of the nuclear polarizability effects. To facilitate calculations, these polarizability corrections are conventionally expressed as an expansion in a dimensionless parameter $\eta$, which has been argued in previous literature to hold an approximate value of 0.33 in light-nuclear systems. In this work, we check this claim by doing a Bayesian analysis of the nuclear-polarizability corrections to the Lamb shift in $\mu^2$H and $\mu^3$H atoms and in $\mu^3$He$^+$ and $\mu^4$He$^+$ ions at various orders in the $\eta$-expansion. Our analysis supports the claim that $\eta \ll 1$ in these systems and finds truncation uncertainties that are similar to the previous estimate, the only exception being the truncation uncertainties in the $\mu^3$He$^+$ ion, which are found to be larger., Comment: Published in JPG

Objectives: Periodical assessments of population susceptibility to polioviruses (PV) is essential for evaluating population protection and planning appropriate vaccination strategies. The aim of the current work was to assess serological protective titers against all three polioviruses in the general population of Florence. Methods: A convenience sample of 328 sera, collected in 2009 in Florence (Central Italy) was analyzed. Samples were considered protective if neutralizing antibodies were detected at dilutions ≥1:8, according to the WHO protocols. Results: The immune coverage was 75.3%, 69.2% and 46% for PV1, PV2 and PV3, respectively. The protective titers of neutralizing antibodies were generally higher in children up to 14 years of age, with 74.4% (PV1), 75.6% (PV2) and 56.7% (PV3) of seroprevalence. From the age of 11 years, most of the study subjects were seronegative for PV3. Conclusions: In a polio-free country with strong migration pressures, such as Italy, our results bring clear support to the recent recommendation of Italian health authorities to introduce a fifth dose of IPV vaccine in adolescence all over the country.

In May 2016 a Norovirus (NoV) gastroenteritis outbreak involved a high school class visiting a seaside resort near Taormina (Mascali, Sicily). Twenty-four students and a teacher were affected and 17 of them showed symptoms on the second day of the journey, while the others got ill within the following 2 days. Symptoms included vomiting, diarrhoea and fever, and 12 students required hospitalisation. Stool samples tested positive for NoV genome by Real-Time polymerase chain reaction assay in all 25 symptomatic subjects. The GII.P2/GII.2 NoV genotype was linked to the outbreak by ORF1/ORF2 sequence analysis. The epidemiological features of the outbreak were consistent with food/waterborne followed by person-to-person and/or vomit transmission. Food consumed at a shared lunch on the first day of the trip was associated to illness and drinking un-bottled tap water was also considered as a risk factor. The analysis of water samples revealed the presence of bacterial indicators of faecal contamination in the water used in the resort as well as in other areas of the municipal water network, linking the NoV gastroenteritis outbreak to tap water pollution from sewage leakage. From a single water sample, an amplicon whose sequence corresponded to the capsid genotype recovered from patients could be obtained.

Group A rotaviruses (RVAs) are the primary cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in young children worldwide. Several commercial tests including latex agglutination, enzyme-linked assays (ELISA) and immunochromatographic tests (ICT) have been developed for the diagnosis of RVA infection. In the present study, the performance of two commercially available one-step chromatographic immunoassays, CerTest Rotavirus + Adenovirus (Biotec S.L, Zaragoza, Spain) and Vikia Rota-Adeno (bioMerieux SA, Lyon, France) were retrospectively evaluated using Real-time PCR as reference test. Re-testing by Real-time PCR of 2096 stool samples of children hospitalized with AGE previously screened by ICTs (1467 by CerTest and 629 by Vikia) allowed to calculate higher sensitivity for Vikia (94% vs 85% of CerTest) and higher specificity for CerTest (93% vs 89% of Vikia). Accordingly, higher Positive Predictive Values (87% vs 78%) and Positive Likelihood Ratios (12.32 vs 8.8) were found for CerTest and lower Negative Predictive Values (91% vs 97%) and Negative Likelihood Ratios (0.16 vs 0.06) for Vikia. However, both CerTest and Vikia showed a substantial agreement (κ = 0.79) with the Real-time PCR. A correlation between false negative results by ICTs and high Cycle Threshold values of Real-time PCR, indicative of low viral load, was observed. False positive results by the two ICT assays were not related to Norovirus, Adenovirus or Astrovirus infections, therefore the risk of cross-reactions was excluded. Both CerTest and VIKIA were able to detect the wide range of RVA genotypes circulating over the study period (including G1P[8], G2P[4], G3, G4, G9 and G12P[8]). The results of the present study showed a satisfactory efficacy of the two diagnostic tests analyzed.

In view of the future plans to measure the Lamb shift in muonic Lithium atoms we address the microscopic theory of the $\mu$-$^6$Li$^{2+}$ and $\mu$-$^7$Li$^{2+}$ systems. The goal of the CREMA collaboration is to measure the Lamb shift to extract the charge radius with high precision and compare it to electron scattering data or atomic spectroscopy to see if interesting puzzles, such as the proton and deuteron radius puzzles, arise. For this experiment to be successful, theoretical information on the nuclear structure corrections to the Lamb shift is needed. For $\mu$-$^6$Li$^{2+}$ and $\mu$-$^7$Li$^{2+}$ there exist only estimates of nuclear structure corrections based on experimental data that suffer from very large uncertainties. We present the first steps towards an ab initio computation of these quantities using few-body techniques., Comment: Submission to SciPost, 10 pages, 4 figure, Proceedins of the 24th European conference on few-body problems in physics (EFB24) at the University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom, from 2 to 6 September 2019

In winter 2015-16, norovirus GII.17 Kawasaki 2014 emerged as a cause of sporadic gastroenteritis in children in Italy. Median patient age was higher for those with GII.17 than GII.4 infection (55 vs. 24 months), suggesting limited cross-protection for older children.

Human astroviruses (HAstV) are important enteric pathogens that can be classified into eight sero/genotypes (HAstV-1 to -8). Although the various HAstV types show global spread, type-1 strains tend to be predominant. Molecular analysis of the genomic region encoding the capsid protein (ORF2) has revealed discrete sequence variation, with different lineages within each HAstV type and at least three major lineages have been identified within HAstV-1. Longitudinal epidemiological surveillance has revealed temporal shift of the various HAstV-1 lineages. Metadata analysis of HAstV-1 sequences available in the databases also revealed temporal shifts of the circulation of HAstV-1 lineages, suggesting possible antigenic-related mechanisms of selection at the sub-genotype level. By comparison of HAstV-1 capsid sequences, lineage-defining residues under positive selection were identified. Structural analysis of HAstV-1 capsid allowed identifying at least six residues exposed on the virion surface. Two residues were located in the VP34 (shell region) whilst four residues were mapped in the VP25/27 (protruding region) of HAstV capsid protein, in proximity of the putative receptor binding S site. These findings suggest that mechanisms similar to those observed and/or hypothesized for other enteric viruses are also shaping the evolution of HAstVs, with intra-typic diversification being a possible mechanism to decrease the antigenic pressure to which these viruses are exposed.

Obiettivo dello studio: Valutare l’efficienza diagnostica di due tecniche immunocromatografiche (IC) utilizzate per la ricerca di antigeni di Rotavirus di gruppo A (RVA) nei campioni fecali: CerTest Rotavirus+Adenovirus (Biotec) e Vikia Rota+Adeno (bioMérieux). relazione Entrambe le tecniche IC sono state confrontate con la PCR RealTime, considerata il gold standard per la diagnosi delle enteriti da RVA. I RVA sono i principali agenti eziologici di gastroenterite acuta (AGE) nei bambini al di sotto dei 5 anni di età, con elevati tassi di morbilità e mortalità nelle diverse aree geografiche. Metodi impiegati: Uno studio retrospettivo è stato eseguito su 2096 campioni fecali, raccolti dal 2009 al 2015 da bambini ricoverati per AGE presso l’Ospedale “G. Di Cristina” di Palermo. Tutti i campioni testati in IC (1467 con il CerTest e 629 con il Vikia) sono stati parallelamente sottoposti a RealTime PCR. Per la successiva caratterizzazione molecolare sono state condotte analisi genetiche delle proteine VP7 e VP4 per definire le combinazioni G-P. Risultati e conclusioni: Il confronto dei risultati ottenuti dai due test IC con la RealTime PCR, ha evidenziato una maggiore sensibilità del test Vikia (94% vs 85%) e una maggiore specificità del CerTest (93% vs 89%). Inoltre, sono stati osservati un più alto Valore Predittivo Positivo (87% vs 78%) e di “Positive Likelihood Ratios” (12.32 vs 8.8), contestualmente a un basso Valore Predittivo Negativo (91% vs 97%) e di “Negative Likelihood Ratios” (0.16 vs 0.06) in CerTest rispetto a Vikia. Sia il CerTest che il Vikia hanno mostrato un sostanziale valore di concordanza (K = 0,79) con la RealTime PCR. Una significativa correlazione è stata osservata tra i campioni con alto ciclo soglia in RealTime PCR, indicativo di bassa carica virale, e campioni falsi negativi in IC. Nessuna correlazione, invece, è stata ritrovata tra i campioni falsi positivi in IC e una possibile cross-reazione con Norovirus, Adenovirus o Astrovirus. Sia CerTest che Vikia sono stati in grado di rilevare tutti i genotipi di RVA circolanti nel periodo di studio (G2P[4], G1, G3, G4, G9, G12P[8]). I risultati ottenuti hanno mostrato, quindi, un'efficacia soddisfacente dei due test IC come strumenti diagnostici di routine. Tuttavia, le tecniche biomolecolari restano indispensabili per scopi epidemiologici e per la caratterizzazione molecolare dei RVA circolanti.

We report a retrospective analysis carried out on 23,485 subjects submitted to a screening program from 2000 to 2006. Of these subjects, 3,934 had borderline HbA(2) values from 3.1 to 3.9%; 410 samples, analyzed previously using PCR methods and sequencing because all of these were partners of a carrier of classical beta-thalassemia, were selected for statistical analysis. Of 410 subjects, 94 (22.9%) were positive for a molecular defect in the beta-, delta- or alpha-globin genes. The most prevalent molecular defects were beta IVS1 nt 6 (HBB c.92+6T C), co-inheritance of severe beta thalassemia and delta mutations, beta-promoter mutations and triplication of alpha genes were detected; alpha-thalassemia and Hb-variants were also evident. Borderline HbA(2) is not a rare event in a population with a high prevalence of beta-thalassemia carriers. These data support the necessity to investigate these cases at a molecular level, particularly if the partner is a carrier of beta-thalassemia.

Copyright: © 2013 Fanale D, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. MicroRNAs (MiRNAs) are involved in the regulation of several biological processes such as development, differentiation, metabolism, apoptosis and proliferation. Recently, it has been shown that deregulated expression of miRNAs are present in different human cancers, suggesting a potential role in carcinogenesis [1,2]. Recent evidence suggests that miRNAs may represent potential new therapeutic approaches in patients with drug resistance and drug induced toxicity [3]. MiRNAs may have therapeutic applications through two mechanisms. The first strategy involves the inhibition of oncogenic miRNAs by using miRNA antagonists (anti-miRNAs) resulting in up-regulation of genes that would be silenced by deregulated miRNAs. The second strategy involves the restoration in expression levels of tumor suppressor microRNA with miRNA mimics [1]. To date, several studies have shown that miRNA mimics and antimiRNAs may be useful to restore normal gene networks in different cancer cell lines and animal models, suggesting a new potential role in anti-cancer therapy.

We report a new hemoglobin (Hb) variant, Hb Marineo [beta70(E14)Ala --Val], found in three generations of a family from West Sicily. The mutation is due to a GCC --GTC substitution at codon 70 of the beta-globin gene. To date, three mutations at codon 70 of the beta-globin gene have been described, presenting with hemolytic anemia. In our case, no anemia or other alteration of hematological indices were found. Cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed a peak in the P2 window (VARIANT I), while a peak was detected by VARIANT II HPLC in the P3 window. Reversed phase HPLC analysis showed an abnormal chain amounting to about 40% of the total beta chains.

We analyse the Coulomb breakup of 19C measured at 67A MeV at RIKEN. We use the Coulomb-Corrected Eikonal (CCE) approximation to model the reaction and describe the one-neutron halo nucleus 19C within Halo Effective Field Theory (EFT). At leading order we obtain a fair reproduction of the measured cross section as a function of energy and angle. The description is insensitive to the choice of optical potential, as long as it accurately represents the size of 18C. It is also insensitive to the interior of the 19C wave function. Comparison between theory and experiment thus enables us to infer asymptotic properties of the ground state of 19C: these data put constraints on the one-neutron separation energy of this nucleus and, for a given binding energy, can be used to extract an asymptotic normalisation coefficient (ANC). These results are confirmed by CCE calculations employing next-to-leading order Halo EFT descriptions of 19C: at this order the results for the Coulomb breakup cross section are completely insensitive to the choice of the regulator. Accordingly, this reaction can be used to constrain the one-neutron separation energy and ANC of 19C., 19 pages, 5 figures