PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Piva

Publications and source records attributed to G Piva.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Occurrence of ochratoxin A in Italian wines.

A total of 96 red wines and 15 white dessert wines produced mostly in the years 1995-97 in 19 Italian regions were analysed for ochratoxin A (OTA). The amount of OTA ranged from < 1 to 3856 ng/l the median (mean) was found to be 90 (419) ng/l for the red wines and 8 (736) ng/l for the white dessert wines. Our survey shows that the geographic region of origin has a strong influence on OTA contamination, both for red and for dessert wines: in fact, wines produced in southern Italy were markedly more contaminated. The overall median (mean) OTA concentration in the red wines produced in the four Italian areas (northwest, northeast, centre and south) was 2 (11), 90 (81), 134 (295) and 1264 (1233) ng/l. The same trend was observed for the white dessert wines: OTA concentrations of over 1000 ng/l were found in four out of five samples from southern Italy (1185, 2454, 3477, 3856 ng/l), while central and northern samples showed very low contamination. The contribution of wine to mean daily OTA intake can be considered negligible in the case of people drinking wine manufactured in northern and central Italy; this is not true if a medium drinker constantly consumes red wine produced in southern Italy in this case wine alone could supply the diet with an amount of OTA equal to or even above the tolerable daily intake of 5 ng/kg body weight recommended by the Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission.

Chromatography, Affinity↗
PubMed2000

Pharmacokinetics of vancomycin administered as prophylaxis before cardiac surgery.

Vancomycin concentrations in serum, tissues, and sternum, administered as prophylaxis to patients during coronary artery bypass surgery, were measured. Vancomycin (15 mg/kg) was administered to 15 patients 1 hour before skin incision. Blood, tissue, and sternum samples were collected before, during, and after bypass. The concentration in serum at the end of infusion was 55.1 +/- 22.8 microg/mL, the mean elimination half-life was 9 +/- 4 hours, the areas under the concentration-time curve (AUC) from 0 to 12 hours and from 0 to infinity were 90.6 +/- 25.1 and 289.7 +/- 86.5 microg/h per mL, respectively, the mean residence time (MRT) was 11.9 +/- 5.0 hours, the mean volume of distribution was 51.1 +/- 12.2 L, and the total clearance was 78.3 +/- 32.6 mL/min. Vancomycin concentrations in serum, tissues, and sternum during the operation were greater than the MIC90 for most staphylococci and ranged from 16 to 55 microg/mL in serum and from 4 to 39 microg/g in sternum and tissues.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Anti-nutritional factors of Datura in feedstuffs.

Soybean seed, linseed, some cereals seeds, and their by-products are infected by Datura seed weed of different varieties. The most common Datura spp. noxious to the farm animals are D. stramonium (atropine alkaloid) and D. ferox (scopolamine, 98-100% of total alkaloids) mainly present in Europe and South America, respectively. The presence of alkaloids from Datura seeds in feedingstuffs may be responsible for chronic and/or subclinical toxic effects; acute poisoning from Datura seeds are rare. Pigs are the most sensitive animals to Datura poisoning, followed by cattle, horses, and chickens. Sheep and rabbits are indifferent to atropine presence in food because they synthesize the atropine esterase enzyme. The progressive atropine poisoning in pigs leads to a reduction of feed intake and growth, gastrointestinal motility and secretory activity, extreme mouth dryness, increased respiration and cardiac rate, pupil dilation, etc. Clinical symptoms are partly similar among different species. Toxic effects from Datura alkaloids presence in feeds showed possible variability of alkaloids content tolerated by pigs. In our recent trials, the threshold limit in pigs (20-60 kg live weight) was 1.5 mg alkaloids/kg of feed (1.21 mg alkaloids/kg l.w.75).

Alkaloids↗
PubMed1994

Transfer kinetics and coefficients of 90Sr, 134Cs, and 137Cs from forage contaminated by Chernobyl fallout to milk of cows.

A experiment was conducted to study kinetics, transfer coefficients, and biological half-lives of 90Sr, 134Cs, and 137Cs from feed to milk. A cow was fed a diet containing alfalfa hay contaminated by Chernobyl fallout for 14.5 wk. The time-dependent activity in milk was approximated by a two-compartment model with fast biological half-lives of 2, 0.9, and 1 d and slow biological half-lives of 36.9, 8.7, and 12.4 d for 90Sr, 134Cs, and 137Cs, respectively. The transfer coefficients determined in the experiment were 0.0008 d L-1 for 90Sr, 0.0029 d L-1 for 134Cs, and 0.0031 d L-1 for 137Cs. The biological elimination phases of 134Cs and 137Cs were described by a two-compartment model while a one-compartment model was proposed for 90Sr.

Accidents↗
PubMed1993

Effects of yeast on dairy cow performance, ruminal fermentation, blood components, and milk manufacturing properties.

Effect of dietary yeast culture on milk production and composition, ruminal fermentation, blood parameters, and milk manufacturing properties of 24 midlactation Holstein-Friesian cows was determined in a 6-wk experiment. The control diet (DM) consisted of 30% corn silage, 22% alfalfa hay, and 48% concentrate. After a 2-wk preliminary period, cows were assigned in equal numbers to either 0 or 10 g/d of yeast culture for the remainder of the 4-wk study on the basis of age, DIM, and pretrial milk production. Production of milk (26.2 vs. 25.4 kg/d), FCM (23.6 vs. 21.6 kg/d), and milk fat (.90 vs. .78 kg/d) was increased significantly by dietary yeast culture. No differences were significant for milk composition. Molar proportion of acetate and acetate:propionate ratio in ruminal liquor tended to be higher in cows fed yeast culture. Total VFA concentration in ruminal fluid was not different between treatments. Manufacturing properties of milk and blood plasma components were not affected adversely by added dietary yeast culture.

Ammonia↗
PubMed1989

Prevalence of polycystic ovaries in women with acne.

The prevalence of polycystic ovaries was determined by pelvic ultrasound imaging in 119 women (mean age, 23.6 +/- 6.06 years; range, 14-45 years) with acne but with no menstrual disorders, obesity, or hirsutism, and in 35 healthy controls (mean age, 25 +/- 5.8 years; range, 21-40 years). Polycystic ovaries were found in 54 out of 119 patients with acne (45.37%) and in 6 out of 35 controls (17.14%). The results of this study indicate that polycystic ovaries are common in women with acne and not necessarily associated with menstrual disorders, obesity, or hirsutism.

Acne Vulgaris↗
PubMed1986

Hansen's disease: a new endemic focus in the Piacenza Province? A description of four diagnosed cases by cutaneous biopsy.

Four cases of Hansen's disease (two lepromatous leprosy, one tuberculoid leprosy and one indeterminate leprosy) diagnosed from 1982 to today in Piacenza with histological and ultrastructural data are described in this study. Two cases (one lepromatous leprosy and one indeterminate leprosy) are probably imported, while the other two are apparently autochthonous. In all the cases the diagnosis or the suspicion of the disease are triggered after histological examination of the cutaneous biopsy, without any pre-existing clinical suspicion. In the discussion of the epidemiological significance of the number of cases the authors hypothesize the possible formation of an endemic area in Piacenza and intend to call attention of medical officials to the alarming fact of the probable existence of Hansen's disease in Italy.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

[Influence of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate on responses of isolated coronary arteries to noradrenaline, in the presence of pyrogallol].

The effect of PLP on the noradrenaline-induced relaxation of coronary arteries was studied in vitro, after known inhibitor of COMT, Pyrogallol. Relaxation of response to noradrenaline were increased by PLP. Pyrogallol potentiated responses of coronary strips to noradrenaline and also reduced or abolished the enhancing effects of PLP. It is concluded that PLP enhances the response of coronary smooth muscle to noradrenaline by inhibiting a enzymatic pathway for the inactivation of catecolamines.

Animals↗