A GAL4-driver line resource for Drosophila neurobiology.

We established a collection of 7,000 transgenic lines of Drosophila melanogaster. Expression of GAL4 in each line is controlled by a different, defined fragment of genomic DNA that serves as a transcriptional enhancer. We used confocal microscopy of dissected nervous systems to determine the expression patterns driven by each fragment in the adult brain and ventral nerve cord.

Antimicrobial treatment and containment measures for an extremely drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae ST101 isolate carrying pKPN101-IT, a novel fully sequenced bla(KPC-2) plasmid.

An extremely drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate, sequence type ST101, was isolated from a patient in Italy. We describe antibiotic treatment, measures to clear and contain the infection, and a complete sequence analysis of a novel large plasmid, pKPN101-IT, harboring the bla(KPC-2) gene and arising from the threatening recombination of different worldwide-distributed backbones.

Incidental gallbladder cancer during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: managing an unexpected finding.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of incidental gallbladder cancer on surgical experience.

Methods: Between 1998 and 2008 all cases of cholecystectomy at two divisions of general surgery, one university based and one at a public hospital, were retrospectively reviewed. Gallbladder pathology was diagnosed by history, physical examination, and laboratory and imaging studies [ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT)].

KPC-mediated resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae in two hospitals in Padua, Italy, June 2009-December 2011: massive spreading of a KPC-3-encoding plasmid and involvement of non-intensive care units.

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPCs) producing bacteria have emerged as a cause of multidrug-resistant nosocomial infections worldwide. KPCs are plasmid-encoded enzymes capable of hydrolysing a broad spectrum of beta-lactams, including carbapenems and monobactams, therefore worryingly limiting antimicrobial treatment options. Analysis of circulating bacterial strains and KPC alleles may help understanding the route of KPC dissemination and therefore help containing the infection.

Hospitalizations for pertussis in Italy, 1999-2009: analysis of the hospital discharge database.

Even if the incidence of pertussis has greatly decreased after the adoption of immunization, it still remains a relevant cause of death in infants in their first years of life. At national level, data are usually greatly underestimated. The objective of this study was to retrospectively review the national hospital discharge form database.

Adaptive appearance modeling for video tracking: survey and evaluation.

Long-term video tracking is of great importance for many applications in real-world scenarios. A key component for achieving long-term tracking is the tracker's capability of updating its internal representation of targets (the appearance model) to changing conditions. Given the rapid but fragmented development of this research area, we propose a unified conceptual framework for appearance model adaptation that enables a principled comparison of different approaches.

Specific alterations of the microRNA transcriptome and global network structure in colorectal cancer after treatment with MAPK/ERK inhibitors.

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway has a master control role in various cancer-related biological processes as cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis. It also regulates many transcription factors that control microRNAs (miRNAs) and their biosynthetic machinery. To investigate on the still poorly characterised global involvement of miRNAs within the pathway, we profiled the expression of 745 miRNAs in three colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines after blocking the pathway with three different inhibitors.

[Automated detection and volumetric segmentation of the spleen in CT scans].

Purpose: To introduce automated detection and volumetric segmentation of the spleen in spiral CT scans with the THESEUS-MEDICO software. The consistency between automated volumetry (aV), estimated volume determination (eV) and manual volume segmentation (mV) was evaluated.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective evaluation of the CAD system based on methods like "marginal space learning" and "boosting algorithms".

Usefulness of ultrasounds in the management of breast phyllodes tumors.

Introduction: Breast phyllodes tumors (PT) are uncommon fibroepithelial lesions having potential malignant features. These tumors have characteristic features, like pleomorphism, mitoses and overgrowth of the stroma with possible infiltrative margins. The clinical behaviour could be unpredictable, since the relatively high recurrence rate despite correct surgical strategy.

Diet and pancreatic cancer: many questions with few certainties.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVES: Pancreatic cancer ranks fourth for cancer mortality for men and women in the United States. This is a particularly devastating cancer since the case-fatality proportion approaches 90% within 12 months following diagnosis. Therefore, understanding the etiology and identifying the risk factors are essential for the primary prevention of this deadly disease.

Ultrarapid detection of blaKPC₁/₂-₁₂ from perirectal and nasal swabs by use of real-time PCR.

The novel real-time PCR assay developed as described here was able to detect bla(KPC1/2-12) (bla(KPC-1/2) to bla(KPC-12)) from easily available clinical specimens in less than 2 h. The genotypic assay was highly sensitive (100%) and specific (98%). In some cases, it was able to detect bla(KPC) 48 h before positive detection by standard phenotypic assay on patients who were monitored daily.

How to avoid a difficult groin in redo arterial surgery: eversion endarterectomy of the proximal superficial femoral artery versus profunda femoris artery as inflow for distal bypass.

Background: The aim of the study was to describe and analyze the results of a technique in which the inflow for distal bypasses is provided by the proximal superficial femoral artery, reopened through an eversion endarterectomy, to avoid a "difficult groin."

Material And Methods: Twenty-one patients who underwent distal bypass for severe lower-limb ischemia and in whom the proximal superficial femoral artery was reopened with an eversion endarterectomy to provide inflow for the bypass itself were included in the study. As a comparison group, 20 patients in whom the inflow for a distal bypass was obtained by the distal deep femoral artery were randomly selected.

Adaptive online performance evaluation of video trackers.

We propose an adaptive framework to estimate the quality of video tracking algorithms without ground-truth data. The framework is divided into two main stages, namely, the estimation of the tracker condition to identify temporal segments during which a target is lost and the measurement of the quality of the estimated track when the tracker is successful. A key novelty of the proposed framework is the capability of evaluating video trackers with multiple failures and recoveries over long sequences.

Multicentric evaluation by Verbal Rate Scale and EuroQoL-5D of early and late post-operative pain after TAPP and TEP procedures with mechanical fixation for bilateral inguinal hernias.

Aimed to evaluate the postoperative pain and other complications among two cohorts of patients undergone transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) and totally extraperitoneal (TEP) laparoscopic hernia repairs with mechanical fixation, the chart of 305 TAPP and 134 TEP for bilateral not recurrent inguinal hernias were reviewed. The postoperative pain was assessed by using the Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) at one week, one month, 3 months ad six months postoperatively. A subgroup of 60 patients was also administered the QoL EQ-5D questionnaire and follow up for at least 6 months.

Diet, obesity and breast cancer: an update.

Numerous studies indagated the relationship between dietary pattern or specific nutrients and breast cancer (BC) risk and survival. Different ethnic o social groups show differences in breast cancer incidence that could be explained by different dietary patterns. Furthermore, many nutrients could reasonably increase the risk of cancer because of their content of carcinogens or their precursors as well as of promoting substances.

(23)Na magnetic resonance imaging of tissue sodium.

Hypertension is linked to disturbed total-body sodium (Na(+)) regulation; however, measuring Na(+) disposition in the body is difficult. We implemented (23)Na magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((23)Na-MR) and imaging technique ((23)Na-MRI) at 9.4T for animals and 3T for humans to quantify Na(+) content in skeletal muscle and skin.

Eversion endarterectomy of the proximal superficial femoral artery: a source of inflow for distal bypass in case of hostile groin.

Background: In selected patients, eversion endarterectomy of the proximal superficial femoral artery can represent a valid inflow for a distal bypass to avoid a "hostile" groin.

Material And Methods: Patency rates and limb salvage rates were retrospectively analysed for 21 consecutive patients who underwent distal bypass for severe lower limb ischemia and in whom the proximal superficial femoral artery was reopened with an eversion endarterectomy. In all patients, this technique was used to avoid a hostile groin.

Gallbladder metastases of breast cancer: from clinical-pathological patterns to diagnostic and therapeutic strategy.

Gallbladder metastasis of breast cancer are rare, particularly linked to lobular histotype and synchronous just in 1/4 cases. A review of the literature has been performed aimed to evidence the patterns of gallbladder metastases of breast cancer finding 15 cases to whom we added a 48 years old post-menopausal woman. 3 weeks after surgery for mixed ductal-lobular breast carcinoma she showed at the abdominal ultrasound, performed for staging, diffuse thickening of the gallbladder wall , coherent with a chronic cholecystitis and with the mild right-upper-abdominal pain that the patient complained in the last months.

An unique case of dyspareunia leading to the diagnosis of urachal cyst in a nulliparous 28-year-old woman.

Urachal cysts are usually asymptomatic. Symptoms, when present, are usually acute abdominal pain, fever, midline hypogastric tenderness, palpable mass, evidence of urinary infection or haematuria due to infection of the cyst. We report an unique case of dyspareunia and "abdominal fluid flowing feeling" caused by an urachal cyst in a 28 year-old nulliparous woman.

2D image registration in CT images using radial image descriptors.

Registering CT scans in a body atlas is an important technique for aligning and comparing different CT scans. It is also required for navigating automatically to certain regions of a scan or if sub volumes should be identified automatically. Common solutions to this problem employ landmark detectors and interpolation techniques.

Muscular metastasis from mesocolic and duodenal leiomyosarcoma. A case report and a review of the literature.

Background: Mesenteric and duodenal leiomyosarcomas are very rare malignancies. Muscular metastases from leiomyosarcoma are even more rare. Surgery is the only chance of cure and should be attempted whenever possible.

Bacteremia in feverish children presenting to the emergency department: a retrospective study and literature review.

Aim: To evaluate the incidence of bacteremia, and the isolated pathogens, in well-appearing children with fever without source (FWS) presenting to the pediatric emergency department (PED), after pneumococcal conjucate vaccine - 7 valent (PCV-7) widespread introduction in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy, and to review the main literature contributions on the subject.

Methods: Blood cultures performed at the PED of Padova from 1 June 2006 to 31 January 2009 in febrile children aged 1-36 months were retrospectively retrieved. Medical records of previously healthy well-appearing children with FWS were identified and reviewed.

Prevalence of aac(6')-Ib-cr plasmid-mediated and chromosome-encoded fluoroquinolone resistance in Enterobacteriaceae in Italy.

The spread of aac(6')-Ib-cr plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinants was evaluated in 197 enterobacterial isolates recovered in an Italian teaching hospital. The aac(6')-Ib-cr gene was found exclusively in Escherichia coli strains. The gene was located on a plasmid which presented additional ESBL genes.

Sequence analysis of human rotavirus strains: comparison of clinical isolates from Northern and Southern Italy.

The surveillance and monitoring of rotavirus (RV)-related diseases, preferably through the establishment of sentinel surveillance sites, are essential for assessing the need for vaccination and the projected results of the vaccine in terms of reducing the burden of disease. The objective of the present study was to compare RV strains isolated in Northern (Ferrara) and Southern (Galatina-LE) Italy. During 2007-2008, 115 RV-positive stool samples were collected from children with diarrhea admitted to the hospitals of Ferrara and Galatina.