Hyperintense lesions of the middle cerebellar peduncle and beyond: a pictorial essay.

The middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) is the largest afferent system of the cerebellum and consists of fibres from the cortico-ponto-cerebellar tract. Specifically, several relevant diseases can present with hyperintensity in the MCP on T2-weighted/fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (T2/FLAIR) magnetic resonance imaging sequences, including multiple sclerosis; acute disseminated encephalomyelitis; neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder; progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy; hepatic encephalopathy; osmotic demyelination syndrome; multiple system atrophy; fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome; megalencephalic leucoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts; spinocerebellar ataxias; hemi-pontine infarct with trans-axonal degeneration; and diffuse midline glioma with the histone H3K27M mutation. The aim of this pictorial review is to discuss the imaging findings that are relevant for the differential diagnosis of diseases presenting with MCP hyperintensity on T2/FLAIR sequences.

Characterization of Composite Freeze-Dried Aerogels with Simulant Lunar Regolith for Space Applications.

Recently, the goal of space exploration has shifted from the incognito of the solar system to the Moon. Concepts like human permanence on the Moon and thermal protective structures made with ISRU (in situ resource utilization) of raw materials have started to be implemented. By limiting the need to launch supplies from the Earth, the paradigm of spaceflight is changed, privileging the vanguard of the utilisation of resources in situ.

Design and experimental validation of an optimized microalgae-bacteria consortium for the bioremediation of glyphosate in continuous photobioreactors.

Glyphosate will be banned from Europe by the end of 2022, but its widespread use in the last decades and its persistence in the environment require the development of novel remediation processes. In this work, a bacterial consortium was designed de novo with the aim to remove glyphosate from polluted water, supported by the oxygen produced by a microalgal species. To this goal, bioinformatics tools were employed to identify the bacterial strains from contaminated sources (Pseudomonas stutzeri; Comamonas odontotermitis; Sinomonas atrocyanea) able to express enzymes for glyphosate degradation, while the microalga Chlorella protothecoides was chosen for its known performances in wastewater treatment.

Imaging manifestations of von Hippel-Lindau disease: an illustrated guide focusing on the central nervous system.

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a rare, autosomal dominant inherited syndrome that affects the germline of the VHL gene, a tumor suppressor gene. VHL disease is characterized by the multisystemic development of a variety of benign and malignant tumors, especially in the central nervous system (CNS). Such tumors include retinal and CNS hemangioblastomas, as well as endolymphatic sac tumors.

Case Report: Paclitaxel-Induced Pneumonitis in Early Breast Cancer: A Single Institution Experience and Review.

Taxane-based chemotherapy regimens are in widespread use as standard of care treatment for patients with early breast cancer, though rarely its use can be complicated by taxane-induced pneumonitis (TIP). While breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women worldwide, TIP remains under-described in this setting. Key questions relate to its incidence, diagnosis and management, potential predictive biomarkers, and the balance between this life-threatening toxicity and curatively intended treatment.

Effect of residence time in continuous photobioreactor on mass and energy balance of microalgal protein production.

There is increasing interest in new protein sources for the food and feed industry and for the agricultural sector, and microalgae are considered a good alternative, having a high protein content and a well-balanced amino acid profile. However, protein production from microalgae presents several unsolved issues, as the biomass composition changes markedly as a function of cultivation operating conditions. Continuous systems, however, may be properly set to boost the accumulation of protein in the biomass, ensuring stable production.

African swine fever: A review of cleaning and disinfection procedures in commercial pig holdings.

African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most important diseases in pigs. Since there are no effective vaccines against the virus, farm biosecurity and good farming practices are the only effective tools to prevent the spread of the ASF virus (ASFV) in pig holdings. Hence, an important component of farm biosecurity is the Cleaning and Disinfection (C&D) procedure.

Continuous Cultivation as a Method to Assess the Maximum Specific Growth Rate of Photosynthetic Organisms.

Modeling the growth of photosynthetic organisms is challenging, due to the complex role of light, which can be limiting because of self-shading, or photoinhibiting in the case of high intensities. A case of particular interest is represented by nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, whose growth is controlled not only by the light intensity, but also by the availability of atmospheric nitrogen in the liquid medium. The determination of the maximum specific growth rate is often affected by many variables that, in batch growth systems, may change significantly.

Helicobacteraceae in Bulk Tank Milk of Dairy Herds from Northern Italy.

Helicobacter pylori is responsible for gastritis and gastric adenocarcinoma in humans, but the routes of transmission of this bacterium have not been clearly defined. Few studies led to supposing that H. pylori could be transmitted through raw milk, and no one investigated the presence of other Helicobacteraceae in milk.

Genotypes and antibiotic resistances of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from cattle and pigeons in dairy farms.

Campylobacter jejuni is the most common food-borne zoonotic pathogen causing human gastroenteritis worldwide and has assumed more importance in Italy following the increased consumption of raw milk. Our objectives were to get an overview of genotypes and antibiotic resistances in C. jejuni isolated from milk, cattle feces, and pigeons in dairy herds of Northern Italy.

Prevalence in bulk tank milk and epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni in dairy herds in Northern Italy.

Thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. are frequently the cause of human gastroenteritis and have assumed more importance in Italy following the increased consumption of raw milk. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence and genotypes of Campylobacter spp.

Chronic pain severity and depression/somatization levels in TMD patients.

Purpose: The Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) axis II for psychosocial assessment was adopted to grade chronic pain severity and to correlate that severity with levels of depression and somatization in a population of chronic TMD patients.

Materials And Methods: A series of 111 consecutive patients who sought treatment for TMD symptoms lasting longer than 6 months were recruited and underwent assessment using the RDC/TMD axis II instrument. The frequencies of the different scores from the Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS) and the Symptoms Checklist-90R Depression (SCL-DEP) and Somatization (SCL-SOM) scales in the study population were recorded.

[The European countries confronting cancer: a set of indicators assessing public health status].

Context: We now know that efficient public policies for cancer control need to be global and take into account each and all the factors involved: economics and level of development, style of life and risk factors, access to screening, effectiveness of the care-providing system. A very simple scorecard is proposed, based on publicized public health indicators, which allows a comparison between European countries.

Methodology: We extracted 49 indicators from public databases and literature concerning 22 European countries.

[Translational research and Cancer Plan].

The French Cancer Plan 2003-2007 has made translational research central to its research programme, to ensure the care-research continuum and the quickest application possible for the most recent discoveries, for the patients' benefit. This is a new field of research, still little-known or ill-understood. A working group, composed of physicians and researchers from academic research and industrial research, sought to define translational research in cancerology and define the issues at stake in it.

[The cost of cancer in France: macroeconomic and microeconomic approaches, evolution towards a prospective payment system].

In this article we have reviewed the cost of cancer in France, based on a literature review. The cost of the treatment of cancer is estimated to be 10 thousand million euros for 75,000 lives saved annually. The increasing number of economic evaluations of cancer use both a macro economic approach, based on DRG data, and a micro economic approach, based on cost result analysis.

[Refining the French system of cost assessment for oncology patients following chemotherapy].

The aim of this study was to check the clinical predictive variables of the variance of the total cost by GHM for patients undergoing chemotherapy. 10 different hospitals registered 537 hospital stays and 1,535 day care sessions. The initial disease, metastases, other pathologies, participation to randomised trial were recorded.