Safety of adjuvant open axillary access during complex thoracoabdominal aortic endovascular procedures.

Background: Endovascular treatment of aortic diseases with complex anatomy may require an additional upper extremity arterial access (like axillary access) for support during aortic navigation and allowing the use of larger sheaths for thoracoabdominal antegrade access. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety of the open axillary approach as adjuvant access in complex thoracoabdominal aortic endovascular interventions.

Methods: A monocentric retrospective study was performed, including all patients with a complex aortic endovascular procedure (fEVAR, bEVAR, chEVAR or TEVAR), elective or urgent, with open surgical exposure of the axillary artery as adjuvant access, between 2012 and 2022.

Size-Exclusion Chromatography: A Path to Higher Yield and Reproducibility Compared to Sucrose Cushion Ultracentrifugation for Extracellular Vesicle Isolation in Multiple Myeloma.

Small extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a pivotal role in intercellular communication across various physiological and pathological contexts. Despite their growing significance as disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets in biomedical research, the lack of reliable isolation techniques remains challenging. This study characterizes vesicles that were isolated from conditioned culture media (CCM) sourced from three myeloma cell lines (MM.

Autologous forearm arteriovenous loop vascular access, an option to be considered.

Background: Autologous arteriovenous fistula is usually the vascular access of choice for hemodialysis in patients with chronic kidney disease. Autologous forearm loops with cephalic or basilic vein are an alternative in those cases with a suitable forearm vein but with an unsuitable radial artery; however they are rarely used and there is little reported evidence of their usefulness. Our objective is to report our results on the creation of autogenous forearm loops as vascular access for hemodialysis.

Inflow Artery Aneurysmal Degeneration After Long Term Native Arteriovenous Fistula for Haemodialysis.

Objective: Inflow arterial aneurysms are a rare but serious complication after long term arteriovenous fistulae (AVF), probably due to arterial wall remodelling after an increase in flow and shear stress, and kidney transplantation with immunosuppressive therapy. This study aimed to describe the outcomes of surgical treatment and long term follow up in a large cohort.

Methods: This prospective cohort study collected data from patients with a true inflow artery aneurysm after AVF creation that was surgically repaired between 2010 and 2022.

Patient-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Proteins as New Biomarkers in Multiple Myeloma - A Real-World Study.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy of clonal antibody-secreting plasma cells (PCs). MM diagnosis and risk stratification rely on bone marrow (BM) biopsy, an invasive procedure prone to sample bias. Liquid biopsies, such as extracellular vesicles (EV) in peripheral blood (PB), hold promise as new minimally invasive tools.

Radiotherapy for cervical cancer: Chilean consensus of the Society of Radiation Oncology.

Background: Cervical cancer is a public health problem in Latin America. Radiotherapy plays a fundamental role both as definitive or adjuvant treatment. There are important intra and inter-country differences regarding access and availability of radiotherapy facilities in this region.

Boosting Immunity against Multiple Myeloma.

Despite the improvement of patient's outcome obtained by the current use of immunomodulatory drugs, proteasome inhibitors or anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies, multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable disease. More recently, the testing in clinical trials of novel drugs such as anti-BCMA CAR-T cells, antibody-drug conjugates or bispecific antibodies broadened the possibility of improving patients' survival. However, thus far, these treatment strategies have not been able to steadily eliminate all malignant cells, and the aim has been to induce a long-term complete response with minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative status.

The Immune Microenvironment in Multiple Myeloma: Friend or Foe?

Multiple myeloma (MM) is one of the most prevalent hematological cancers worldwide, characterized by the clonal expansion of neoplastic plasma cells in the bone marrow (BM). A combination of factors is implicated in disease progression, including BM immune microenvironment changes. Increasing evidence suggests that the disruption of immunological processes responsible for myeloma control ultimately leads to the escape from immune surveillance and resistance to immune effector function, resulting in an active form of myeloma.

Liquid biopsies for multiple myeloma in a time of precision medicine.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a challenging, progressive, and highly heterogeneous hematological malignancy. MM is characterized by multifocal proliferation of neoplastic plasma cells in the bone marrow (BM) and sometimes in extramedullary organs. Despite the availability of novel drugs and the longer median overall survival, some patients survive more than 10 years while others die rapidly.

Molecularly imprinted polymer-hollow fiber microextraction of hydrophilic fluoroquinolone antibiotics in environmental waters and urine samples.

In the present work, the preparation of a new selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the family of fluoroquinolones (FQs) in the pores of polypropylene hollow fibers (HFs) is proposed. The resulting MIP-HFs, which combine solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and molecular imprinting technologies, were used to develop a selective microextraction methodology (MIP-HFM) to determine selected FQs danofloxacin, norfloxacin, enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin in real samples of environmental and biological interest. Measurements during the optimization of the MIP-HFM and its application to the analyses of real samples were performed by HPLC-UV and HPLC-MS/MS.

Quantification and size characterisation of silver nanoparticles in environmental aqueous samples and consumer products by single particle-ICPMS.

Single particle-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICPMS) is a promising technique able to generate the number based-particle size distribution (PSD) of nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous suspensions. However, SP-ICPMS analysis is not consolidated as routine-technique yet and is not typically applied to real test samples with unknown composition. This work presents a methodology to detect, quantify and characterise the number-based PSD of Ag-NPs in different environmental aqueous samples (drinking and lake waters), aqueous samples derived from migration tests and consumer products using SP-ICPMS.

Molecularly imprinted polymer-coated hollow fiber membrane for the microextraction of triazines directly from environmental waters.

In this work, novel molecularly imprinted polymer-coated hollow fibers (MIP-HFs) have been prepared and evaluated for the development of a micro-solid phase extraction method for the analysis of triazines in aqueous samples using high performance liquid chromatography and UV detection. The proposed extraction method combines liquid-liquid microextraction and molecular imprinting technology. In brief, a thin film of toluene is immobilised in the pores of the obtained MIP-HF.

Multimethod approach for the detection and characterisation of food-grade synthetic amorphous silica nanoparticles.

Synthetic amorphous silica (SAS) has been used as food additive under the code E551 for decades and the agrifood sector is considered a main exposure vector for humans and environment. However, there is still a lack of detailed methodologies for the determination of SAS' particle size and concentration. This work presents the detection and characterization of NPs in eleven different food-grade SAS samples, following a reasoned and detailed sequential methodology.

Highly Flexible Platform for Tuning Surface Properties of Silica Nanoparticles and Monitoring Their Biological Interaction.

The following work presents a simple, reliable and scalable seeding-growth methodology to prepare silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) (20, 30, 50 and 80 nm) directly in aqueous phase, both as plain- as well as fluorescent-labeled silica. The amount of fluorescent label per particle remained constant regardless of size, which facilitates measurements in terms of number-based concentrations. SiO2 NPs in dispersion were functionalized with an epoxysilane, thus providing a flexible platform for the covalent linkage of wide variety of molecules under mild experimental conditions.

Sphingobacterium multivorum: case report and literature review.

We describe the case of a 67-year-old African American woman with multiple medical problems who presented with septic shock resulting from Sphingobacterium multivorum bacteraemia. S. multivorum, a Gram-negative bacillus, is ubiquitous in nature and is rarely involved in human infections.

Simultaneous determination of size and quantification of silica nanoparticles by asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation coupled to ICPMS using silica nanoparticles standards.

This work proposes the use of multimodal mixtures of monodispersed silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) standards for the simultaneous determination of size and concentration of SiO2-NPs in aqueous suspensions by asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). For such a purpose, suspensions of SiO2-NPs standards of 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 150 nm were characterized by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), centrifugal liquid sedimentation (CLS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and by measuring the Z-potential of the particles as well as the exact concentration of NPs by offline ICPMS. An online AF4-ICPMS method which allowed the separation of all the different sized SiO2-NPs contained in the mixture of standards was developed and the analytical figures of merit were systematically evaluated.

Characterisation of mainstream and passive vapours emitted by selected electronic cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes have achieved growing popularity since their introduction onto the European market. They are promoted by manufacturers as healthier alternatives to tobacco cigarettes, however debate among scientists and public health experts about their possible impact on health and indoor air quality means further research into the product is required to ensure decisions of policymakers, health care providers and consumers are based on sound science. This study investigated and characterised the impact of 'vaping' (using electronic cigarettes) on indoor environments under controlled conditions using a 30m(3) emission chamber.

Supported liquid membrane-protected molecularly imprinted beads for micro-solid phase extraction of sulfonamides in environmental waters.

In this work, molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) beads have been prepared and evaluated for the development of a supported liquid membrane-protected micro-solid phase extraction method for the analysis of sulfonamides (SAs) in aqueous samples. The performance of MIP beads was firstly evaluated in cartridges by conventional solid-phase extraction for the simultaneous analysis of SAs. Afterward, beads were packed into a polypropylene hollow fiber protected by an organic solvent immobilized in the pores of the capillary wall.

Molecularly imprinted polymer grafted to porous polyethylene frits: a new selective solid-phase extraction format.

In this paper, a novel format for selective solid-phase extraction based on a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is described. A small amount of MIP has been synthesized within the pores of commercial polyethylene (PE) frits and attached to its surface using benzophenone (BP), a photo-initiator capable to start the polymerisation from the surface of the support material. Key properties affecting the obtainment of a proper polymeric layer, such as polymerisation time and kind of cross-linker were optimised.

Supported liquid membrane-protected molecularly imprinted fibre for solid-phase microextraction of thiabendazole.

In this work, molecularly imprinted polymer fibres (MIP-fibre) have been prepared and evaluated for solid-phase microextraction (SPME), using thiabendazole (TBZ) as template. Inherent limitations of molecular imprinted polymers, such as target recognition in aqueous media, have been solved with the use of organic supported liquid membrane (SLM) protecting the MI-SPME process. MIP-fibres were located inside a polypropylene hollow capillary and protected by an organic solvent immobilized as a thin SLM in the pores of the capillary wall.

Synthesis of core-shell molecularly imprinted polymer microspheres by precipitation polymerization for the inline molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction of thiabendazole from citrus fruits and orange juice samples.

In this work, the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymer microspheres with narrow particle size distributions and core-shell morphology by a two-step precipitation polymerization procedure is described. Polydivinylbenzene (poly DVB-80) core particles were used as seed particles in the production of molecularly imprinted polymer shells by copolymerization of divinylbenzene-80 with methacrylic acid in the presence of thiabendazole (TBZ) and an appropriate porogen. Thereafter, polymer particles were packed into refillable stainless steel HPLC columns used in the development of an inline molecularly imprinted SPE method for the determination of TBZ in citrus fruits and orange juice samples.

Hollow fiber-liquid-phase microextraction of fungicides from orange juices.

Liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) based on polypropylene hollow fibers was evaluated for the extraction of the post-harvest fungicides thiabendazole (TBZ), carbendazim (CBZ) and imazalil (IMZ) from orange juices. Direct LPME was performed without any sample pretreatment prior to the extraction, using a simple home-built equipment. A volume of 500 microL of 840 mM NaOH was added to 3 mL of orange juice in order to compensate the acidity of the samples and to adjust pH into the alkaline region.