The human beta defensin 3 (hBD3) is widely expressed in the oral cavity and exerts strong antibacterial and immunomodulatory activities. Hence, we hypothesized that hBD3 could play a protective role in the maintenance of periodontal homeostasis, and that it could be found in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of healthy individuals and those with periodontitis at levels correlating with the degree of periodontal health. By using an ELISA assay to quantify hBD3 in GCF, we demonstrated that the peptide is present at levels easily detectable in the majority of healthy individuals, but it is drastically reduced in GCF from those with periodontitis. Furthermore, hBD3 levels inversely correlate with the severity of the disease and the degree of colonization by combinations of bacterial species with elevated periodontopathogenic potential. Both genetic factors and host/bacterial proteases released in diseased sites may be responsible for the observed low/null hBD3 levels in GCF from individuals with periodontitis.

The paper reports on the design and construction of a multi-layered corpus of Italian, annotated at the syntactic and lexico-semantic levels, whose development is supported by dedicated software augmented with an intelligent interface. The issue of evaluating this type of resource is also addressed

COVID-19 has been associated with an increased risk of thrombotic events; however, the reported incidence of deep vein thrombosis varies depending, at least in part, on the severity of the disease. Aim of this prospective, multicenter, observational study was to investigate the incidence of lower limb deep vein thrombosis as assessed by compression ultrasound in consecutive patients admitted to three pulmonary medicine wards designated to care for patients with COVID-19 related pneumonia, with or without respiratory failure but not requiring admission to an intensive care unit. Consecutive patients admitted between March 27 and May 6, 2020 were enrolled. Patients were excluded if they were less than 18-year-old or if compression ultrasound could not be performed for any reason. Patients were assessed at admission (t0) and after 7 days (t1). Major and non-major clinically relevant bleedings were recorded. Sixty-eight patients were enrolled. Two were excluded due to anatomical abnormalities that prevented compression ultrasound; sixty patients were retested at (t1). All patients were started on antithrombotic prophylaxis, unless therapeutic anticoagulation was required. Deep vein thrombosis as assessed by compression ultrasound was observed in 2 patients (3%); one of them was later deemed to represent a previous episode. No new episodes were detected at t1. One major and 2 non-major clinically relevant bleedings were observed. In the setting of patients with COVID-related pneumonia not requiring admission to an intensive care unit, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis is low and our data support not screening asymptomatic patients.