Attributable risk for symptomatic liver cirrhosis in Italy. Collaborative Groups for the Study of Liver Diseases in Italy

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: Knowledge of the proportion of liver cirrhosis attributable to the main risk factors is largely based on methodologically questionable clinical reports. METHODS: The proportion of newly diagnosed cases of symptomatic liver cirrhosis attributable to known risk factors was estimated by a case-control study performed during 1989-1996 in 23 medical divisions of several hospitals distributed throughout Italy. Cases were 462 inpatients with cirrhosis admitted for the first time for liver decompensation. Controls were 651 patients admitted during the same period and to the same hospitals as the cases, for acute diseases unrelated to alcohol and virus infection. The proportion of symptomatic liver cirrhosis cases due to alcohol intake and hepatitis B and C viruses and the combination of these was expressed as the population attributable risk. RESULTS: Attributable risks were 67.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 53.8-79.4) for alcohol, 40.1% (95% CI: 35.3-45.2) for hepatitis C virus and 4.4% (95% CI: 2.5-7.6) for hepatitis B virus. The three factors together explained 98.1% (95% CI: 81.6-99.6) of cases in men and 67.0% (95% CI: 50.4-85.8) in women. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol is the risk factor with the highest impact on symptomatic liver cirrhosis risk in Italy. From a public health viewpoint, with the elimination of the well-known risk factors (particularly alcohol and hepatitis C virus), liver cirrhosis should become a rare disease.     

Sensitivity and specificity of serological and bacteriological tests for contagious bovine pleuropneumonia

In 1990 an outbreak of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) occurred in Italy. Subsequent surveillance for CBPP was based on random sampling in bovine herds, serological controls on all animals moved from the herd of origin and controls on slaughtered animals. Official tests employed were the complement fixation test (CFT) and bacteriological isolation and typing. A total of 33,856 serum samples collected from herds in CBPP-free regions were used to define CFT specificity, while samples from 595 animals from infected herds were employed to define the sensitivity. Ninety-nine animals from three infected herds were used to estimate the sensitivity of the isolation technique. Results showed the specificity of CFT (threshold +1:10) to be 98% and sensitivity to be 63.79%. The sensitivity of the test did not change significantly, regardless of whether the lesions were caused by acute or chronic infection. The sensitivity of the isolation technique was 54.1%.     

Dendritic cell survival and maturation are regulated by different signaling pathways

OBJECTIVE: Quantification of serum nucleotide pyrophosphohydrolase (NTPPHase) activity in healthy subjects and in patients with various rheumatic diseases or with quad/hemiplegia, hemodialysis, or renal transplant. METHODS: Colorimetric assay of enzyme activity in serum. RESULTS: Serum NTPPHase activity in 85 healthy subjects was independent of age or sex and was highly reproducible in each individual. The biologic and methodologic coefficients of variation were nearly identical. Elevated enzyme levels were found in sera from patients with osteoarthritis/spondylosis, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystal deposition, scleroderma, fibromyalgia, or hemodialysis. Renal transplant patients receiving cyclosporine had the highest enzyme activity of any group, whereas transplant patients not taking this drug had normal levels. Histograms of values in all groups showed a normal distribution. CONCLUSION: Serum NTPPHase activity levels were significantly elevated in patients with degenerative arthritis whether or not CPPD crystals were present, in patients with either scleroderma or fibromyalgia, and in patients receiving hemodialysis therapy or taking cyclosporine.     

The relaxation times of an STJ detector: Role of the proximity effect

The behavior of a superconducting tunnel junction detector (STJ) in the regime of low excitation is described, and the characteristic times of the dynamical response are discussed. The effect of a proximity layer in the STJ is analyzed in terms of the McMillan model. A set of phenomenological equations for the proximized STJ driven out of equilibrium is obtained, showing the importance of the role of the proximity effect in the dynamics of the device.     

Transient effects in accumulation mode p-channel SOI MOSFET'soperating at 77 K

This paper critically examines the conduction mechanisms in accumulation mode p-channel SOI MOSFET's operating at cryogenic temperatures. In particular, attention is given to the body current component, which in most cases is experimentally not observed at 77 K or 4.2 K. As will be demonstrated, both the body current and the back accumulation current show pronounced transient effects at low temperatures, which are related to the slow generation/recombination of minority carriers. This is caused by deep depletion from the front interface, which suppresses these current components. By the application of either a light pulse or a large drain voltage V_ds minority carriers are generated nearly instantaneously in the body region, rendering the body and the back accumulation components clearly visible     

Interface structure between Bi and CdTe in molecular beam epitaxially Grown Bi/CdTe and Bi/Bi1−xSbx superlattices

We report cross-sectional high resolution transmission electron microscopy studies of the interface structure in Bi/CdTe and Bi/Bi_1−x Sb_x superlattice films deposited on (111) CdTe by molecular beam epitaxy. Results show that the interface between Bi and CdTe is coherent. Two kinds of interfaces were observed. One is the so-called twin- or allo-interface, where the stacking sequence of Bi is different from or does not follow continuously that of CdTe. The lattice orientation across this kind of interface is similar to a (111) rotation twin as is commonly present in cubic semiconductors. The other is the so-called isointerface, where the stacking sequence of Bi follows the CdTe without any change. However, the presence of one kind of Bi twin boundary with translational characteristics indicates that it fits a model of random nucleation and two-dimensional growth.     

Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Adduct [La(NO_3)_3·4H_2O]·2(BQEB)

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Combining Monitors for Runtime System Verification

Runtime verification permits checking system properties that cannot be fully verified off-line. This is particularly true when the system includes complex third-party components, such as general-purpose operating systems and software libraries, and when the properties of interest include security and performance. The challenge is to find reliable ways to monitor these properties in realistic systems. In particular, it is important to have assurance that violations will be reported when they actually occur. For instance, a monitor may not detect a security violation if the violation results from a series of system events that are not in its model.We describe how combining runtime monitors for diverse features such as memory management, security-related events, performance data, and higher-level temporal properties can result in more effective runtime verification. After discussing some basic notions for combining and relating monitors, we illustrate their application in an intrusion-tolerant Web server architecture under development at SRI.     

Discrete-time minimal control synthesis adaptive algorithm

This article proposes a discrete-time Minimal Control Synthesis (MCS) algorithm for a class of single-input single-output discrete-time systems written in controllable canonical form. As it happens with the continuous-time MCS strategy, the algorithm arises from the family of hyperstability-based discrete-time model reference adaptive controllers introduced in (Landau, Y. (1979), Adaptive Control: The Model Reference Approach, New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.) and is able to ensure tracking of the states of a given reference model with minimal knowledge about the plant. The control design shows robustness to parameter uncertainties, slow parameter variation and matched disturbances. Furthermore, it is proved that the proposed discrete-time MCS algorithm can be used to control discretised continuous-time plants with the same performance features. Contrary to previous discrete-time implementations of the continuous-time MCS algorithm, here a formal proof of asymptotic stability is given for generic n-dimensional plants in controllable canonical form. The theoretical approach is validated by means of simulation results.     

Association between white blood cell count and risk factors of coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have shown a correlation between white blood cell (WBC) count and risk of developing myocardial infarction. Aim of this study is to assess the association between WBC and the other risk factors of coronary heart disease in a southern Italian population. METHODS: Baseline data for the 1091 subjects (522 males and 569 females) enrolled in the "Montecorvino Rovella Project" were used to study factors associated with leukocytes. RESULTS: WBC count was significantly higher in smokers (8711.1 +/- 1892 cells/dl) than in ex-smokers (6720 +/- 1608 cells/dl) and in those who never smoked (6674 +/- 1608 cells/dl). By multiple linear regression analysis, WBC count showed a positive association with triglycerides (p < 0.01), cholesterol (p < 0.05) fasting glucose levels (p < 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In this southern Italian population, elevated WBC count has been associated with other risk factors of coronary artery disease, particularly smoking, and has identified a high risk atherogenic profile. Even if the independency of the role of WBC is still under investigation, WBC count should be taken into account in establishing the coronary risk of apparently healthy people.