Impact of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase enzyme activity in neuroendocrine tumors.

Introduction: Indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) converts L-tryptophan (T) to L-kynurenine (K) resulting in an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Aim of the current study is to evaluate in patients with neuroendocrine tumor (NET): 1) T and K concentrations; 2) correlation with clinical outcome; 3) relationship between IDO activity and inflammatory cytokines.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the IDO pathway in patients in follow-up for NET.

Expansion of interventional endoscopy and day-case procedures: A nationwide longitudinal study of gastrointestinal endoscopy in France.

Background: An accurate assessment of the evolution of GI endoscopy volumes is warranted to identify long-term trends and to help anticipate training, infrastructure and human resource needs. The main objective of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the evolution of GI endoscopy in France.

Methods: This retrospective study consisted of a cross-sectional analysis repeated each year from 2008 to 2018 using data from a national health database related to hospital admissions.

The evolution of the Pharmacovigilance department in the pharmaceutical industry: results of an Italian national survey.

Background: Pharmacovigilance (PV) is the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding, and prevention of adverse effects or any other medicine/vaccine-related problem. Since its inception in the 1960s, PV has undergone continuous evolution, progressing from a basic level mainly focused on the collection and analysis of cases in its earliest years to a complex system regulated by rigorous standards and laws with modern PV. In recent years, PV has faced the challenge of adapting to rapid scientific advancements, the complexity of the pharma industry, and the digital revolution.

6IMPOSE: bridging the reality gap in 6D pose estimation for robotic grasping.

6D pose recognition has been a crucial factor in the success of robotic grasping, and recent deep learning based approaches have achieved remarkable results on benchmarks. However, their generalization capabilities in real-world applications remain unclear. To overcome this gap, we introduce 6IMPOSE, a novel framework for sim-to-real data generation and 6D pose estimation.

Predicting Dihydropyrimidine Dehydrogenase Deficiency and Related 5-Fluorouracil Toxicity: Opportunities and Challenges of Exon Sequencing and the Role of Phenotyping Assays.

Deficiency of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), encoded by the DPYD gene, is associated with severe toxicity induced by the anti-cancer drug 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU). DPYD genotyping of four recommended polymorphisms is widely used to predict toxicity, yet their prediction power is limited. Increasing availability of next generation sequencing (NGS) will allow us to screen rare variants, predicting a larger fraction of DPD deficiencies.

dTap vaccination uptake during pregnancy: Pregnant women-focused and health professionals-focused predictors in the Veneto Region (Italy).

Background: Despite recommendations, the uptake of dTap maternal vaccination is still low in many countries. The reasons for this must be investigated both on the patient's and the healthcare professionals' sides.

Methods: A record linkage study was performed linking Birth Assitance Certificates and dTap mothers' vaccination records (5183 deliveries) to describe the influence of socioeconomical and obstetrical-gynecological factors after the recommendations concerning dTap vaccination in pregnancy issued by the Italian Ministry of Health (August 2018).

CGRP Receptor Antagonists and 5-HT1F Receptor Agonist in the Treatment of Migraine.

Discovering that calcitonin-related peptide (CGRP) plays a key role in the complex pathophysiology of migraine has allowed us to make great strides in the development of new approaches for acute and preventive treatment. This evidence has led to the development of small molecules antagonist molecules of the CGRP receptor ("gepants") and of a new class of medications called "Ditans". This review presents the data from clinical trials reporting the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the new drugs used in the treatment of migraines.

Psychotropic Drugs Levels in Seminal Fluid: A New Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Analysis?

The aim of this observational study was to develop a new quantitative liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for Therapeutic-Drug-Monitoring (TDM) of psychotropic drugs in seminal fluid to investigate potential gonadotoxic effects in patients with reduced fertility. After the validation of the LC-MS/MS method for psychotropics' levels determination in seminal fluid, we included 20 male partners of infertile couples with idiopathic and/or unexplained male infertility, treated with psychotropic medications for more than 3 months and 10 untreated fertile controls. General and andrological clinical examination, semen analysis and seminal drugs, and metabolites levels determination were performed for each subject.

Pharmacovigilance and the digital world in Italy: presentation of the results of a national survey.

Background: The digital world has undergone an essential metamorphosis in recent years, making the easy sharing of information possible, including those related to pharmacovigilance and the safety aspects of pharmaceutical and other healthcare products. These new interactive ways pose both opportunities and challenges to healthcare/pharmaceutical companies. The Pharmacovigilance Working Group "Ernesto Montagna" of the Italian Society of Pharmaceutical Medicine (SIMeF) decided to carry out a survey to gain a better understanding of the role of pharmacovigilance in digital activities.

Increased kynurenine-to-tryptophan ratio in the serum of patients infected with SARS-CoV2: An observational cohort study.

Immune dysregulation is a hallmark of patients infected by SARS-CoV2 and the balance between immune reactivity and tolerance is a key determinant of all stages of infection, including the excessive inflammatory state causing the acute respiratory distress syndrome. The kynurenine pathway (KP) of tryptophan (Trp) metabolism is activated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and drives mechanisms of immune tolerance. We examined the state of activation of the KP by measuring the Kyn:Trp ratio in the serum of healthy subjects (n = 239), and SARS-CoV2-negative (n = 305) and -positive patients (n = 89).

Polyamines serum levels in episodic and chronic migraine.

: Previous studies focused on food as the trigger of a migraine attack did not consider polyamines as possible activators and sensitizers of the trigeminal-vascular system through their interaction with NMDA glutamate receptors. Therefore, this study aimed to assess serum levels of nine polyamines and to evaluate their role as possible triggers and crisis maintainers in episodic and chronic migraine patients. : The study included 50 patients with episodic migraine (EM), 50 patients with chronic migraine (CM) and 50 healthy controls (HC).

A 2-year point-prevalence surveillance of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use in Ferrara University Hospital, Italy.

Background: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) represent one of the leading issues to patient safety as well as a significant economic burden. Similarly, Antimicrobial Use (AMU) and Resistance (AMR) represent a growing threat to global public health and the sustainability of healthcare services.

Methods: A Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) following the 2016 ECDC protocol for HAI prevalence and AMU was conducted at Ferrara University Hospital (FUH).

Overexpression of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α in Primary Graft Dysfunction Developing in an Orthotopic Lung Transplantation Rat Model.

Background: Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is the major cause of early morbidity and mortality after transplantation. A high rate of PGD is a frequent complication in orthotopic lung transplantation (OLT) models, which are currently used to investigate acute and chronic rejection pathways. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α is a heterodimeric αβ transcription factor that mediates tissue response to hypoxia.

Middle-term mortality and re-bleeding after initial diverticular bleeding: A nationwide study of 365 mostly elderly French patients.

Background And Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the mortality and re-bleeding rates, and the risk factors involved, in a cohort of patients with previous diverticular bleeding (DB).

Methods: In 2007, data on 2462 patients with lower gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding were collected prospectively at several French hospitals. We studied the follow-up of patients with DB retrospectively.

Pain alleviation during castration of piglets: a comparative study of different farm options.

Pain alleviation associated with castration of piglets is an important welfare issue. The present study compares the effect of different approaches and products suitable for farmer use, with the aim to alleviate pain due to castration in piglets. A randomized within-litter design, with 28 replicate litters, compared 7 treatments: handling () restraint of the piglet and manipulation of the scrotum, castration without pain relief (), 2 treatments (, ) with different concentrations of tetracaine (2 and 6%) applied topically 10 min before and immediately post-surgery, and 3 treatments with i.

Aortic stenting in the growing sheep causes aortic endothelial dysfunction but not hypertension: Clinical implications for coarctation repair.

Background: Stent implantation is the treatment of choice for adolescents and adults with aortic coarctation (CoAo). Despite excellent short-term results, 20%-40% of the patients develop arterial hypertension later in life, which was attributed to inappropriate response of the aortic baroreceptors to increased stiffness of the ascending aorta (ASAO), either congenital or induced by CoAo repair. In particular, it has been hypothesized that stent itself may cause or sustain hypertension.

A structured continuum modelling framework for martensitic transformation and reorientation in shape memory materials.

Models for shape memory material behaviour can be posed in the framework of a structured continuum theory. We study such a framework in which a scalar phase fraction field and a tensor field of martensite reorientation describe the material microstructure, in the context of finite strains. Gradients of the microstructural descriptors naturally enter the formulation and offer the possibility to describe and resolve phase transformation localizations.

Factors associated with adenoma detection rate and diagnosis of polyps and colorectal cancer during colonoscopy in France: results of a prospective, nationwide survey.

Introduction: Colonoscopy can prevent deaths due to colorectal cancer (CRC) through early diagnosis or resection of colonic adenomas. We conducted a prospective, nationwide study on colonoscopy practice in France.

Methods: An online questionnaire was administered to 2,600 French gastroenterologists.

Two-dimensional, M-mode and Doppler-derived echocardiographic parameters in sedated healthy growing female sheep.

Despite the fact that sheep are a widely used animal model in cardiovascular research, reference values for transthoracic echocardiography in normal growing animals are not available. Eight healthy female lambs underwent two-dimensional, M-mode and pulsed wave Doppler echocardiographic examination at 100 days of age and every three months thereafter over a 12-month period. The study was conducted under sedation with midazolam, butorphanol and constant rate infusion of intravenous propofol.

Octopamine, unlike other trace amines, inhibits responses of astroglia-enriched cultures to lipopolysaccharide via a β-adrenoreceptor-mediated mechanism.

Trace amines (TAs), i.e. β-phenylethylamine, tyramine and octopamine, are generally regarded as sympathomimetic compounds with structural and functional analogy with catecholamines.

Accuracy and precision of computer-assisted analysis of bone density via conventional and digital radiography in relation to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

Objective: To evaluate the precision and accuracy of assessing bone mineral density (BMD) by use of mean gray value (MGV) on digitalized and digital images of conventional and digital radiographs, respectively, of ex vivo bovine and equine bone specimens in relation to the gold-standard technique of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).

Sample: Left and right metatarsal bones from 11 beef cattle and right femurs from 2 horses.

Procedures: Bovine specimens were imaged by use of conventional radiography, whereas equine specimens were imaged by use of computed radiography (digital radiography).