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Biomedical subjects

N Ricci

Publications and source records attributed to N Ricci.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Brush cytology: a reliable method to detect Helicobacter pylori.

This study was conducted to verify the reliability of brush cytology in detecting Helicobacter pylori in an unselected group of patients with duodenal ulcer (DU) and nonulcer dyspepsia (NUD). Endoscopy was performed on 416 consecutive patients: group A, 94 with active DU; group B, 176 patients with DU after omeprazole (n = 78), ranitidine (n = 43), or triple anti-H. pylori therapy (n = 55); and group C, 146 patients with NUD. During endoscopy, the gastric mucosa was brushed and two biopsy samples from the antrum and body were obtained for histology. In 65 patients, culture of the brush-collected materials also was performed as was that from of biopsy samples. The overall frequency of H. pylori presence detected by brush cytology was significantly higher compared with that of histology (p < 0.001), particularly in group A (p < 0.05), group C (p < 0.05), and in patients with DU after omeprazole treatment (p < 0.01), but not in patients with DU after ranitidine or anti-H. pylori treatment. The overall frequency of H. pylori-positive cultures from the brush-collected material was higher compared with cultures from the biopsy samples (38.5% vs. 24.6%), particularly in the NUD group (32.6% vs. 16.3%). Brush cytology is more sensitive than histology, besides being faster and cheaper, for the assessment of H. pylori infection, particularly when the density of the bacteria is low.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Insulin treatment affects the behaviour of Tetrahymena pyriformis and T. malaccensis.

Populations of Tetrahymena pyriformis and T. malaccensis were treated with insulin, then washed and treated again 24 h later. The ethograms of controls, treated, washed and retreated populations were drawn. Statistical analysis showed that T. pyriformis was affected by insulin more severely than T. malaccensis. In T. pyriformis the effects of the 'memory' of the first treatment seem to be more relevant than those of the first and second treatments themselves. On the contrary in T. malaccensis treatments with insulin per se seem to affect the behaviour more strongly than the memory of the first treatment itself. These results are discussed in detail in the context of previous work.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The ethograms of Tetrahymena pyriformis GL and T. malaccensis.

The behaviour of Tetrahymena, one of the most intensively investigated laboratory organisms, was analysed, and ethograms of T. pyriformis and T. malaccensis were studied. The basic ethogram, which previously described the behaviour of ciliates was appropriate for T. pyriformis and T. malaccensis. Although quite similar to each other, the two new ethograms differed significantly in some aspects of ciliate behaviour. Four new behavioural patterns were recognized and described quantitatively and qualitatively, viz induced continuous trajectory change, induced continuous reorientation reaction, sliding and coiling. The complexity of these results is discussed per se and also from a comparative point of view.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

New variant of chromosome 11.

An additional C-positive band in the centromeric region (p11) was observed in a man. By GTG- and RBA-techniques it was positively stained but by QFQ-technique the staining intensity was negative. Although he was identified through fetal loss in his wife, it apparently represents a familial variant whose clinical significance is unknown.

Abortion, Habitual↗
PubMed1993

A case of Burkitt's lymphoma presenting with digital ischaemia.

Paraneoplastic syndromes are rare in paediatric oncology. This report describes a four-year-old Cantonese child whose sole presenting symptom was acrocyanosis who was found to have Burkitt's lymphoma in association with the presence of positive antinuclear antibodies, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, antiendothelial antibodies and elevated serum immunoglobulin G concentrations. Digital ischaemia has not been described as a presenting symptom of Burkitt's lymphoma, although this association has been reported in 25 patients with other malignancies.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1990

Phage type and DNA plasmid profile of Salmonella typhimurium isolates in the area of Isernia, Italy.

Thirty-eight Salmonella typhimurium strains isolated from December 1987 to March 1988 in Isernia, Central Italy, were characterized on the basis of their phage type, resistance to antimicrobials and plasmid profiles. According to their phage types, the isolates could be assigned to one of six groups, the prevalent one being PT 195 which accounted for 73.6% of isolates. On the basis of their plasmid content, the isolates could be assigned to one of ten groups. The prevalent plasmid profile (60.0; 6.0; 4.3; 4.0; 3.2 megadaltons) was found in 60.4% of isolates. All the isolates from a particular food (salsicce), and as most of isolates from humans who had consumed this food belonged to phage type 195 and were of the same plasmid profile. The combined use of phage typing and DNA plasmid analysis proved to be a useful tool in identifying epidemiologically related isolates in this investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Pneumocystosis].

On the basis of personal experience, the microbiological, epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic features of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia are analysed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Epithelial morphology of duodenal bulb and Campylobacter-like organisms.

We have carried out ultramicroscopical investigations on 30 patients with endoscopical aspects of congestive or erosive duodenitis associated or not with bulbar ulcer in relation to the presence of Campylobacter-like organisms (CLO), considered as a possible etiologic agent of peptic disease. Bacteria were found in all of the 14 patients with duodenal ulcer and in only five patients without ulcer. The ultrastructural studies provided elements for the evaluation of epithelial colonization of the duodenal bulb by CLO and which may lead to a new interpretation of gastric metaplasia.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

[Microbiological study of 386 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated in a 30-month span in the Isernia area with special reference to an antimicrobial assay carried out with the ABAC system on 214 of them].

386 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated in the "F. Veneziale" Hospital Laboratory and Public Health Laboratory in Isernia (Italy) from April 1982 to September 1984 were examined by serological typing according to Habs scheme. Susceptibility to 16 antibiotics was evaluated for 214 of them with the ABAC system. Strains from hospitalized patients were also considered for isolation site and hospital service. Among the 14 different serotypes isolated the O12 serotype ranked first accounting for 31.6% of all isolates. Only 25 strains were untypable (6.5%). Tobramycin resulted the most effective antibiotic in inhibiting Ps. aeruginosa in vitro. No clear relationship was found between serotypes and antibiotic susceptibility patterns. Hospital strains showed marked antibiotic resistance compared to community strains from both patients and healthy carriers. Temporal analysis of antibiograms revealed an increasing incidence of resistant Ps. aeruginosa over time. The spread of antibiotic resistance, however, involved mainly hospital strains and was confined to aminoglycosides and anti-Pseudomonas beta-lactam agents.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1983

Neurological and psychological development of low-risk preterm infants in the first year of life.

Twenty-four selected low-risk preterm and 10 full-term infants were followed in a prospective study of the evolution of neurological signs in the first year of life and to consider the prognostic value of transient neurological abnormalities in relation to learning disabilities at school age. We report the results of the assessments made during the first 12 months. The assessment at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months was made using the Amiel-Tison neurological schedule and the Griffiths developmental scale. A high percentage of our low-risk premature infants (69% of 37-34 weeks gestational age and 75% of 33-27 weeks gestational age group) showed transient neurological anomalies, whereas no major neurological sequelae, i.e., cerebral palsies or mental impairment, were found. Moreover, in our series, the syndrome of transient dystonia associated with low birth weight, already described by other authors in samples not selected for risk, was not observed. The psychological development of all our infants was within normal limits at every assessment. Nevertheless, a significantly decreased performance at the sixth month in both preterm groups, particularly in the group of low gestational age, was found, and its significance will be clarified by further follow-up studies of early school age.

Developmental Disabilities↗