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Biomedical subjects

A Costantini

Publications and source records attributed to A Costantini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Effect of the solution flow rate on the in vitro bioactivity of 2.5CaO x 2SiO(2) glass.

A comparative study of in vitro bioactivity of 2.5CaO x 2SiO(2) glass has been carried out by soaking it in a simulated body fluid, with continuously and periodic exchange of this solution (dynamic and differential protocols). Dynamic assays were carried out at different solution flow rates, 3 mL/h, 6 mL/h, 12 mL/h, to study the influence of flow rate on glass reactivity. Glass surface was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy so as to compare the behavior in the two procedures, revealing that in both cases an apatite layer is formed on the glass surface, although there are differences on deposition rate and morphology, which are also influenced by the solution flow rate.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2006

Determinants of patient satisfaction in oncology settings from European and Asian countries: preliminary results based on the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 questionnaire.

The aim of this study was to identify factors associated significantly with hospitalised cancer patients' satisfaction with care. Patients were recruited from four geographical/cultural groups, including five European countries and Taiwan. They rated their level of satisfaction by completing the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 questionnaire at home. Additionally, data were collected on the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and the quality of life of the patients, as well as on institutional characteristics. Of 762 patients recruited, 647 (85%) returned a completed questionnaire. The number of nurses and doctors per bed, institution size, geo-cultural origin, ward setting, teaching/non-teaching setting, treatment toxicity, global health status, participation in clinical trials and education level were all associated significantly at the multivariate level with satisfaction with doctor and nurse interpersonal skills, information provision, availability, and/or overall satisfaction. A number of patient-, institutional- and culture-related factors are associated with the perceived quality of cancer care. Future studies, with appropriate sampling frames and stratification procedures, are needed to better understand cross-national and cross-cultural differences in cancer patient satisfaction.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Measuring, modelling and testing ozone exposure, flux and effects on vegetation in southern European conditions--what does not work? A review from Italy.

Ozone (O3) exposure at Italian background sites exceeds UN/ECE concentration-based critical levels (CLe(c)), if expressed in terms of AOT40. Yet the occurrence of adverse effects of O3 on forests and crops is controversial. Possible reasons include (i) ability of response indicators to provide an unbiased estimate of O3 effects, (ii) setting of current CLe(c) in terms of cut-off value and accumulation level, (iii) response functions adopted to infer a critical level, (iv) environmental limitation to O3 uptake and (v) inherent characteristics of Mediterranean vegetation. In particular, the two latter points suggest that critical levels based on accumulated stomatal flux (CLe(f)) can be a better predictor of O3 risk than CLe(c). While this concept is largely acknowledged, a number of factors may limit its applicability for routine monitoring. This paper reviews levels, uptake and vegetation response to O3 in Italy over recent years to discuss value, uncertainty and feasibility of different approaches to risk assessment.

Crops, Agricultural↗
PubMed2006

Motor threshold in transcranial magnetic stimulation: comparison of three estimation methods.

AIMS: Motor threshold (MT) is an important parameter for the practice of transcranial magnetic stimulation. Our goal was to compare three methods to estimate MT in a clinical setting. METHODS: Comparison of three MT estimation algorithms: 1) the Rossini-Rothwell method consists in lowering stimulus intensity until only five positive responses out of 10 trials are recorded, defining MT; 2) the Mills-Nithi method considers the MT as the mean of an upper threshold (10 positive out of 10 trials) and a lower threshold (0 out of 10 trials); 3) the supervised parametric method estimates the MT by fitting (mathematically and graphically) a sigmoid function on raw data obtained by stimulation at variable intensities. Six MT estimations (two per method) were recorded in a single session in 10 healthy subjects. RESULTS: The within-subject variation of MT (expressed as % of the mean MT+/-standard deviation) during a single session was of 8.5+/-7.2% for the Rossini-Rothwell method, 8.7+/-5.7% for the Mills-Nithi method and 9.5+/-4.0% for the supervised parametric method. No significant differences in variability of MT estimation were found between the methods, but the Rossini-Rothwell method was significantly shorter (half the number of stimuli compared to the two other methods). CONCLUSION: In our setting, Rossini-Rothwell method was superior to the two other methods. The variability of MT estimation measured in our study is important, yet acceptable for clinical applications. However, this variability can be a source of considerable errors in excitability studies and should be a focus of future research.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Detection and treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders among cancer patients: feasibility and preliminary findings from a liaison service in an oncology division.

Our aim in this observational study was to evaluate the feasibility of a multiphasic screening project for the detection and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders among cancer patients in a natural setting. One hundred sixty-five patients with cancer, consecutively admitted to the Oncology Division of San Camillo-Forlanini Hospital, were recruited to the study. All patients had solid tumors; the majority of them were colon, breast, and lung cancers. All patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Patients screened as positive were administered the following instruments by a psychiatrist: the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and a validated scale for the rapid dimensional assessment of psychopathology (SVARAD). The BDI, HARS, and SVARAD were administered again at 4 and 10 weeks to all treated patients. Out of 45 patients administered the SCID-I, 37 had a mood or anxiety disorder. Adjustment disorders were identified in 20 patients, depressive disorders in 14, and anxiety disorders in three patients. Most patients were prescribed psychotropic medications: mirtazapine was prescribed to 15 patients, citalopram to 13 patients, and escitalopram to four patients. A significant improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety was observed on all measures (P<.001). Although the design of the study prevents any firm conclusions about effectiveness, this study suggests that including psychiatric expertise in an oncology division is feasible and may lead to improved detection and treatment of psychiatric disorders among cancer patients. Further randomized trials are needed to elaborate on our findings.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Swelling properties and bioactivity of silica gel/pHEMA nanocomposites.

A novel hydrogel based on 2-hydroxyethyl- methacrilate and SiO(2) nanoparticles was prepared. The filler was added at a concentration of 30% w/w of silica nanoparticles to the mass of polymer. The composite material was characterised as far as concerns swelling behaviour in comparison to pHEMA. Swelling ratio of modified pHEMA was higher. Bioactivity of both SiO(2) nanoparticles and the modified hydrogel was evaluated by soaking samples into a simulated body fluid (SBF). FT-IR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive system (EDS) results suggest silica nanoparticles keep bioactive in the polymer. SiO(2) filler in a p(HEMA) matrix makes the composite bioactive. Therefore, these composites can be used to make bioactive scaffold for bone engineering.

Absorption↗
PubMed2005

An international prospective study of the EORTC cancer in-patient satisfaction with care measure (EORTC IN-PATSAT32).

Little is known about patients' satisfaction with care in oncology hospitals across cultural contexts. Within the EORTC, we developed a 32-item satisfaction with care questionnaire to measure patients' appraisal of hospital doctors and nurses, as well as aspects of care organisation and services. This study assessed the psychometric characteristics of the questionnaire, the EORTC IN-PATSAT32, in a large, international sample of patients with cancer. Patients discharged from a surgery or medical oncology ward in nine countries were invited to complete at home the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 as well as other instruments for psychometric testing. Of 762 eligible patients recruited, 15% failed to return the questionnaire. Of the 647 compliant patients, 63% completed the questionnaires within 15 min and 82% required no help in its completion. Multitrait scaling analysis revealed excellent internal consistency and convergent validity, although some scales within the IN-PATSAT32 were relatively highly correlated. Test-retest data on 113 patients showed high reliability for most scales. Scales of the IN-PATSAT32 and of the QLQ-C30 were not significantly correlated, suggesting that the two questionnaires are assessing quite distinct concepts. The scales of the IN-PATSAT32 were able to discriminate clearly between patients with differing care expectations and differing intentions to recommend their hospital to others. This study supports the acceptability to patients, and the psychometric robustness of the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 questionnaire. Further studies are needed to assess the responsiveness of the questionnaire to changes in the structure and process of care over time.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

[Abdominal compartment syndrome: patophysiologic and clinic remarks].

The abdominal compartment syndrome is a high grade abdominal hypertension with clinical evidence of multiorgan failure (MOF). It is more and more frequently observed in intensive-care units as a complication in critical patients, but especially in traumatology and surgery. The incidence is highly variable according to the different trials but the severity of scores is the common factor. All the possible mechanical, haemorrhagical, inflammatory and traumatological causes act but do not enable the stability of the abdominal content, abdominal compliance and parietal tension. The initial triad of effects consists in diaphragm elevation and visceral and vascular compression and therefore triggers a physio-pathological way that leads to a respiratory, renal and cardiovascular dysfunction and to parietal, hepatic and intestinal ischaemia and consequent bacterial translocation: sepsis and MOF. Burch's classification (1996) reports four levels of gravity from low (<15 mmHg) to severe (>35 mmHg): both of the first grades should be managed in intensive-care units with conservative pharmacological procedures, while for the two others a surgical approach of laparotomy with drainage and temporaneous closure of the abdominal wall should be considered. As mortality is still very high (29-62%), especially when multiorgan failure is already set; bladder pressure of all critical patients should be monitorized to treat immediately any potential abdominal hypertension.

Abdomen↗
PubMed2003

The partial sequence of RNA 1 of the ophiovirus Ranunculus white mottle virus indicates its relationship to rhabdoviruses and provides candidate primers for an ophiovirus-specific RT-PCR test.

A 4018 nucleotide sequence was obtained for RNA 1 of Ranunculus white mottle virus (RWMV), genus Ophiovirus, representing an incomplete ORF of 1339 aa. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed significant similarities with RNA polymerases of viruses in the family Rhabdoviridae and a conserved domain of 685 aa, corresponding to the RdRp domain of those in the order Mononegavirales. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the genus Ophiovirus is not related to the genus Tenuivirus or the family Bunyaviridae, with which it has been linked, and probably deserves a special taxonomic position, within a new family. A pair of degenerate primers was designed from a consensus sequence obtained from a relatively conserved region in the RNA 1 of two members of the genus, Citrus psorosis virus (CPsV) and RWMV. The primers, used in RT-PCR experiments, amplified a 136 bp DNA fragment from all the three recognized members of the genus, i.e. CPsV, RWMV and Tulip mild mottle mosaic virus (TMMMV) and from two tentative ophioviruses from lettuce and freesia. The amplified DNAs were sequenced and compared with the corresponding sequences of CPsV and RWMV and phylogenetic relationships were evaluated. Assays using extracts from plants infected by viruses belonging to the genera Tospovirus, Tenuivirus, Rhabdovirus and Varicosavirus indicated that the primers are genus-specific.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

Effects of cryopreservation on lymphocyte immunophenotype and function.

Cryopreservation of isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for phenotypic and functional analyses is considered a standard procedure in order to minimize operator-dependent inter-assay variability and to optimize the use of available resources. However, only few and somewhat conflicting data are presently available on the effects of cryopreservation on PBMCs, especially in samples from HIV-infected patients in which assessment of lymphocyte phenotype and function is of the outmost importance. In this study, we compared fresh versus frozen/thawed (F/T) samples isolated from 19 healthy individuals and 21 HIV-infected patients, showing that cryopreservation induces: (i) a profound decrease of CD62L expression, with a consequent significant decline of the calculated proportions of "naïve" (CD45RA+CD62L+) and "central memory" (CD45RO+CD62L+) T cells; (ii) an increase of the calculated proportions of "effector" CD8+ T cells (CD45RA+CD62L- and CD45RO+CD62L-) in the healthy subjects, while no changes were observed in the HIV-infected group; (iii) a significant decline of CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) expression; (iv) a loss of proliferative responses to some HIV antigens (i.e. p24) and recall antigens [cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Influenza] in HIV-infected patients. We thus conclude that cryopreservation induces a consistent set of changes in PBMCs from both healthy and HIV-infected individuals, and that certain immunological studies of HIV-infected patients (i.e. studies of immune reconstitution following antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients or studies of HIV-infectivity in vitro using CCR5-tropic strains) should be performed on fresh samples.

Cryopreservation↗
PubMed2002

Effect of the substitution of M2O3 (M = La, Y, In, Ga, Al) for CaO on the bioactivity of 2.5CaO x 2SiO2 glass.

Glasses were prepared whose compositions are defined by the following general formula: (2.5 - x)CaO x x/3M2O3 x 2SiO2 (0 < or = x < or = 0.6) (M = Ga, Al, In). Their bioactivity was studied "in vitro" by soaking the glasses in a simulated body fluid (SBF). The consequent formation of calcium phosphate layer was studied by means of electron microscopy (EM) equipped with an energy-dispersive system (EDS) for elemental analysis and Infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The results are compared to the literature relative to the substitution of La2O3 and Y2O3 for CaO. It is observed that, in general, the substitution of M2O3 for CaO in the binary CaO-SiO2 glass composition progressively reduces the ability to form a calcium phosphate layer on the surfaces exposed to simulated body fluid (SBF). The composition limit can be related to the ionic field strength of the substituting cation and to the CaO content of the base glass. According to the mechanism reported in the literature a silica gel-like surface layer initially forms on the surfaces exposed to SBF. The observed results can be attributed to the effect of the substitution of M2O3 for CaO on the acidic properties of the silanolic groups.

Aluminum↗
PubMed2002

Hydroxyapatite coating of titanium by biomimetic method.

The biomimetic method was used in order to deposit, on titanium substrates, an hydroxyapatite (HA) coating. The bioactive HA layer was obtained by using, in the first stage of the process, a glass having the composition 2.5CaO.2SiO(2) different from the one proposed for the application of the biomimetic method. This glass can be obtained via sol-gel, a method that allows one to obtain, easily, very pure products. The growth of HA crystals was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared, SEM, EDS and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results. The experimental results suggest that, as reported in the literature for other supports, the silicate ions released from the glass in the first stage bind themselves to the titanium support. In particular, from XPS analysis it is evident that the titanium substrate is well covered by a calcium phosphate layer of the type of HA.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Highly active antiretroviral therapy induces specific changes in effector and central memory T cell sub-populations.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) improves the immunodeficiency of HIV-infected individuals. In this report we show that HAART increases both naive (CD45RA+CD62L+) and central memory (CD45RO+CD62L+) CD4 lymphocytes. On CD8 lymphocytes, HAART induces an increase of naive cells associated with a consistent decrease of effector cells (CD45 RO+CD62L-). No specific differences in phenotypic changes were observed with different HAART regimens, suggesting that, once viral suppression is achieved, the pharmacological class of antiretroviral drugs does not affect immune reconstitution.

Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active↗
PubMed2001

Improvement of swelling properties of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogel by means of biomimetic method.

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylates) (PHEMAs) structurally modified by means of polymer blends and random copolymers are intensively studied in order to improve mechanical properties. It was recently shown that a hydroxyapatite coating, which should improve the bonding of this biomaterial to the bone, can be obtained by means of the biomimetic method. When PHEMA is submitted to the biomimetic method, its swelling ratio is improved. This can be ascribed to the deposition of a silicatic layer, which improves the hydrophilicity, on the surface of the internal pores during the first stage of the method. This appears to be a valuable result for producing modified PHEMAs with improved mechanical properties and good swelling. The experimental results indicate the following: stronger interactions with the water molecules are set up, an induction period is observed that is linked to the rate of the reactions occurring at the surface of the glass and the establishment of a convenient concentration of the silicate ions at the external surface of the polymer, and the diffusion of simulated body fluid into the pores is the limiting stage of the process.

Biocompatible Materials↗
PubMed2001

Fetomaternal adrenomedullin levels in diabetic pregnancy.

We investigated whether maternal and fetoplacental adrenomedullin, a newly discovered hypotensive peptide involved in the insulin regulatory system, is modified in diabetic pregnancy. We studied its correlation with pregnancy complications associated with this disease. Thirty-six pregnant women with diabetes (13 with type I and 23 with gestational diabetes mellitus) and in 40 uncomplicated pregnancies were included. 10 out of 36 diabetic pregnancies were complicated by gestational hypertension. In each woman, adrenomedullin concentration in maternal and fetal plasma and in amniotic fluid was assessed by specific radioimmunoassay. We found that overall mean amniotic fluid adrenomedullin concentration was higher (p < 0.05) in diabetic (14.7 +/- 1.6 fmol/ml) than in uncomplicated pregnancies (10.8 +/- 0.9 fmol/ml), whereas no differences were present in maternal and fetal plasma adrenomedullin levels between diabetic and uncomplicated pregnant women. High levels of amniotic fluid adrenomedullin were found in both type I and gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancies (13.7 +/- 1.4 and 15.6 +/- 2.2 fmol/ml, respectively). Diabetic pregnancies complicated by gestational hypertension showed lower (p < 0.05) amniotic fluid adrenomedullin concentrations than normotensive diabetic patients. These findings suggest that placental adrenomedullin production is upregulated in diabetic pregnancy, and it may be important to prevent excessive vasoconstriction of placental vessels.

Adrenomedullin↗