AIDS patients in Italian prisons: a burning issue with no easy solution

Administration of sodium metavanadate (3 mg/kg) to adult female Sprague Dawley rats for 5 consecutive days by intreaeritoneal route resulted in major alterations in lipid profiles and protein concentration in all the brain regions. Sodium metavanadate exposure displayed phospholipids, cholesterol and cerebrosides, and protein, but ganglioside concentration was significantly increased in various areas of the brain. Loss of body weight observed in this study could be attributed to the loss of appetite; loss of nutrients and wasting of tissues. It is likely that large amount of body water was lost through diarrhoea. Gas liquid chromatography has revealed that oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and archidonic acid were preferentially lost in the brain of vanadium-exposed rats. Thin layer chromatography further proved degradation of individual lipids. Sphingomyelin was substantially decreased followed by phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine, but phosphatidyl serine and phosphatidyl inositol were slightly affected. Our recent work has demonstrated vanadium-induced stimulation of lipid peroxidation in the various regions of the rat brain. It is speculative that deterioration of myelin sheath by vanadium exposure contributed to preferential lipid loss but lesser loss of protein. These studies also indicate that vanadium-induced stimulation of lipid peroxidation is characterized by a selective loss of brain polyunsaturated fatty acids and thus comprehensive degradation of lipids in the different regions of the rat brain. However, the mechanism involved in the elevation of ganglioside levels is not yet fully understood. It is concluded that these perturbations produced damage to the associated physiological functions leading to CNS dysfunctions.     

Prevalence of hepatitis E in a central Italian town at high endemicity for hepatitis C virus

In the spring of 1994, the occurrence of Hepatitis E virus antibodies was evaluated in 653 subjects representing all age-groups in the general population of a Central Italian town, where a high hepatitis C virus prevalence had been reported. The overall anti-HEV prevalence was 2.6% ranging from 1.4% in the 30-49 age-group to 5.7% (p < 0.01) in the 60-70 age-group; none of the subjects under 30 years of age were positive. Sociodemographic variables, such as family size and years of schooling were not associated with HEV exposure. Anti-HEV positivity was found in 1.8% (1/56) of the subjects who were positive for anti-HCV and in 2.7% (16/597) of those who were anti-HCV negative (O.R 1.5; C.I.: 95% = 0.2-11.7). Thus no association was found between HEV and HCV infections. These data suggest a past spread of HEV in this area and underline the occurrence of long-lasting antibodies in infected subjects.     

An optical fiber-based technique for continuous-level sensing

An optical fiber-based technique for liquid-level measurement is proposed. It is based on the power attenuation which occurs in an optical fiber, immersed in a liquid, when the liquid level varies. The theoretical analysis allowed a low-cost sensor prototype to be set up. The experimental results highlight the prototype capability of measuring liquid levels with acceptable sensitivity and repeatability     

AIDS-related knowledge and sex behavior: a review of Italian studies of young people

To plan further AIDS health promotion programmes information is needed about knowledge and attitudes relating to HIV infection among the general public. This article reviews the results of Italian studies conducted from 1990 to 1994 on young's knowledge and behaviour related to HIV infection. Eighteen studies were identified. The results show a good level of knowledge of the means of transmitting the virus, but suggest that the information does not necessarily involve a change in attitude and behaviour.     

Enhancement of hydrogen production rate by high biomass concentrations of Thermotoga neapolitana

The objective of this study was to enhance the hydrogen production rate of dark fermentation in batch operation. For the first time, the hyperthermophilic pure culture of Thermotoga neapolitana cf. Capnolactica was applied at elevated biomass concentrations. The increase of the initial biomass concentration from 0.46 to 1.74 g cell dry weight/L led to a general acceleration of the fermentation process, reducing the fermentation time of 5 g glucose/L down to 3 h with a lag phase of 0.4 h. The volumetric hydrogen production rate increased from 323 (±11) to 654 (±30) mL/L/h with a concomitant enhancement of the biomass growth and glucose consumption rate. The hydrogen yield of 2.45 (±0.09) mol H₂/mol glucose, the hydrogen concentration of 68% in the produced gas and the composition of the end products in the digestate, i.e. 62.3 (±2.5)% acetic acid, 23.5 (±2.9)% lactic acid and 2.3 (±0.1)% alanine, remained unaffected at increasing biomass concentrations.     

Highly Aligned Centrifugal Spun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers Collected and Processed with Automated Tracks

A parallel automated track collector is integrated with a rationally designed centrifugal spinning head to collect aligned polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers. Centrifugal spinning is an extremely promising nanofiber fabrication technology due to high production rates. However, continuous oriented fiber collection and processing presents challenges. Engineering solutions to these two challenges are explored in this study. A 3D-printed head design, optimized through a computational fluid dynamics simulation approach, is utilized to limit unwanted air currents that disturb deposited nanofibers. An automated track collecting device has pulled deposited nanofibers away from the collecting area. This results in a continuous supply of individual aligned nanofibers as opposed to the densely packed nanofiber mesh ring that is deposited on conventional static post collectors. The automated track collector allows for simple integration of the postdraw processing step that is critical to polymer fiber manufacturing for enhancing macromolecular orientation and mechanical properties. Postdrawing has enhanced the mechanical properties of centrifugal spun PAN nanofibers, which have different crystalline properties compared with conventional PAN microfiber. These technological developments address key limitations of centrifugal spinning that can facilitate high production rate commercial fabrication of highly aligned, high-performance polymer nanofibers.