Safety and complications associated with tunneling and pseudotunneling techniques during PICC and Midline insertion.

Introduction: Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters and Midline Catheters are particularly attractive because of their favorable risk/benefit ratio. If the ideal venipuncture site is in an area inappropriate for catheter emergence, a valid alternative is the tunneling technique, which allows the exit site to be moved to reach the optimal position. There are two main types of tunneling techniques: standard tunnel, using a tunneling device (metal tunneler or peel-away tunneler), and pseudo-tunnel.

Long-term outcome of autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with systemic sclerosis: a comparison with patients treated with rituximab and with traditional immunosuppressive agents.

Background: Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is more effective than conventional immunosuppressive therapies (CIT) in improving the outcome of patients with rapidly progressive diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc). So far, there is still a paucity of data comparing AHSCT with rituximab (RTX). Aim of the study is to retrospectively compare, in patients with dcSSc, the effectiveness of AHSCT with that of RTX and CIT.

Long-term retention rate, adverse event temporal patterns and rescue treatment strategies of mycophenolate mofetil in systemic sclerosis: insights from real-life.

Background: Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is a mainstay for the treatment of systemic sclerosis (SSc). The occurrence and implications of MMF-related adverse events on drug retention rates in real life remain poorly defined. We aimed to determine the MMF retention rate and to investigate the causes and patterns of discontinuation, adverse events (AEs) and treatment options used after discontinuation.

Rituximab retention rate in systemic sclerosis: a long term real-life multicenter study.

Objectives: to report real-life data on rituximab retention-rate as indicator of safety and efficacy in a multicentric national cohort of systemic sclerosis patients.

Methods: SSc patients treated with rituximab and followed for at least 36 months were included, clinically characterized, and longitudinally monitored. A competing risk analysis with sub-Hazard Ratio(sHR) definition was performed to explore the clinical variables linked to specific cause of rituximab discontinuation.

Olive Oil and Nuts in Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity.

Few observational studies investigated the relationship between single food groups and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Within a recent Italian cross-sectional study (365 patients, median age: 58.46 years, 78.

Impact of distance of the catheter tip from cavo-atrial junction on bubble test (delay) time: A prospective study.

Introduction: Correct tip positioning is a critical aspect in central vascular access devices insertion. The verification of positioning at the cavo-atrial junction is usually performed by intracavitary electrocardiography. Recently, echocardiographic techniques were proposed, including the direct visualization of the catheter or the visualization of a saline/air bolus (i.

Femorally inserted central catheter, migration and catheter damage during contrast media injection: A case report.

Femorally inserted Central Catheters are increasingly used also for medium and long-term catheterization as an alternative to Centrally and Peripherally inserted Central Catheters. If certified as "power injectable," they may be used for contrast media injection during radiological examinations. It is important to consider the risk that, as with other types of catheters, the injection of contrast media could cause migration or damage to the device.

Caffeine and rheumatoid arthritis: A complicated relationship.

The current ideal goal of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) management is to resolve joint and systemic inflammation by using pharmacological interventions, assuming this will correspondingly lead to overall well-being. Nonetheless, it has emerged that a substantial number of RA patients do not reach optimal disease control, thus suggesting the holistic management of subjective symptoms might be overlooked. This poses significant medical challenges; hence the proposal of incorporating lifestyle interventions as part of a multidimensional approach.

Beyond Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Anti-Phospholipid Syndrome: The Relevance of Complement From Pathogenesis to Pregnancy Outcome in Other Systemic Rheumatologic Diseases.

Evidence about the relevance of the complement system, a highly conserved constituent of the innate immunity response that orchestrates the elimination of pathogens and the inflammatory processes, has been recently accumulated in many different rheumatologic conditions. In rheumatoid arthritis, complement, mainly the classical pathway, contributes to tissue damage especially in seropositive subjects, with complement activation occurring in the joint. Data about complement pathways in psoriatic arthritis are dated and poorly consistent; among patients with Sjögren syndrome, hypocomplementemia exerts a prognostic role, identifying patients at risk of extra-glandular manifestations.

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4/CD26 expression in human idiopathic inflammatory myopathies reveals skeletal muscle injury and vascular inflammation.

Objectives: We performed a retrospective and prospective observational study to investigate whether the T lymphocyte activation antigen dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4)/CD26 is expressed in the skeletal muscle of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) and whether its expression offers clues to understand the events taking place in the tissue.

Methods: CD26 expression in the muscle, evaluated by immunofluorescence, was assessed in 32 patients with IIM and 5 healthy controls and compared among patients with dermatomyositis (DM), immune-mediated necrotising myopathy (IMNM), inclusion body myositis (IBM), and polymyositis (PM). The relationship of CD26 expression and localization with clinical, serological and histological features was determined.

Begelomab for severe refractory dermatomyositis: A case report.

Rationale: Severe refractory idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) represents a challenge for the clinician. The lack of efficacy of available tools reflects our incomplete insight into the molecular events sustaining the inflammatory tissue damage in these patients. We present the first case of refractory IIM treated with anti-dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4)/cluster of differentiation 26 (CD26) monoclonal antibody.

Azobenzene-based sinusoidal surface topography drives focal adhesion confinement and guides collective migration of epithelial cells.

Surface topography is a key parameter in regulating the morphology and behavior of single cells. At multicellular level, coordinated cell displacements drive many biological events such as embryonic morphogenesis. However, the effect of surface topography on collective migration of epithelium has not been studied in detail.

Photoactive Interfaces for Spatio-Temporal Guidance of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Fate.

Patterned surfaces have proved effective in guiding stem cells commitment to a specific lineage by presenting highly ordered biophysical/biochemical cues at the cellmaterial interface. Their potency in controlling cell fate can be significantly empowered by encoding logic of space and time control of signal presentation. Here, azopolymeric photoactive interfaces are proposed to present/withdraw morphophysical signals to living cells using a green light trigger in a non-invasive spatio-temporal controlled way.

Dynamic Manipulation of Cell Membrane Curvature by Light-Driven Reshaping of Azopolymer.

Local curvatures on the cell membrane serve as signaling hubs that promote curvature-dependent protein interactions and modulate a variety of cellular processes including endocytosis, exocytosis, and the actin cytoskeleton. However, precisely controlling the location and the degree of membrane curvature in live cells has not been possible until recently, where studies show that nanofabricated vertical structures on a substrate can imprint their shapes on the cell membrane to induce well-defined curvatures in adherent cells. Nevertheless, the intrinsic static nature of these engineered nanostructures prevents dynamic modulation of membrane curvatures.

Thoracoscopic Resection of Congenital Lung Malformation: Looking for the Right Preoperative Assessment.

Introduction:  Consensus on the best postnatal radiological evaluation of congenital lung malformations (CLMs) is still lacking. In recent years, the interest on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has grown, but its role is still unknown.

Aim:  The aim of the study was to identify the best preoperative diagnostic assessment for CLM.

Three-Dimensional Microstructured Azobenzene-Containing Gelatin as a Photoactuable Cell Confining System.

In materials science, there is a considerable interest in the fabrication of highly engineered biomaterials that can interact with cells and control their shape. In particular, from the literature, the role played by physical cell confinement in cellular structural organization and thus in the regulation of its functions has been well-established. In this context, the addition of a dynamic feature to physically confining platforms aiming at reproducing in vitro the well-known dynamic interaction between the cells and their microenvironment would be highly desirable.

Azopolymer photopatterning for directional control of angiogenesis.

Unlabelled: Understanding cellular behavior in response to microenvironmental stimuli is central to tissue engineering. An increasing number of reports emphasize the high sensitivity of cells to the physical characteristics of the surrounding milieu and in particular, topographical cues. In this work, we investigated the influence of dynamic topographic signal presentation on sprout formation and the possibility to obtain a space-time control over sprouting directionality without growth factors, in order to investigate the contribution of just topography in the angiogenic process.

"On-Off" RGD Signaling Using Azobenzene Photoswitch-Modified Surfaces.

Photoresponsive surfaces were developed by modifying glass slides with switchable Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (GRGDS) peptides to investigate light-controlled cell adhesion. The GRGDS peptide sequence was attached to an azobenzene moiety and then "clicked" to silanized glass substrates. The photoresponsive behavior of such cell-instructive materials (CIMs) was first checked by contact angle technique and by recording local changes in wettability owing to the isomerization of the azobenzene domain upon light stimulus.

Micropatterned Azopolymer Surfaces Modulate Cell Mechanics and Cytoskeleton Structure.

Physical and chemical characteristics of materials are important regulators of cell behavior. In particular, cell elasticity is a fundamental parameter that reflects the state of a cell. Surface topography finely modulates cell fate and function via adhesion mediated signaling and cytoskeleton generated forces.

Reversible Holographic Patterns on Azopolymers for Guiding Cell Adhesion and Orientation.

Topography of material surfaces is known to influence cell behavior at different levels: from adhesion up to differentiation. Different micro- and nanopatterning techniques have been employed to create patterned surfaces to investigate various aspects of cell behavior, most notably cellular mechanotransduction. Nevertheless, conventional techniques, once implemented on a specific substrate, fail in allowing dynamic changes of the topographic features.

Assembly into β-Sheet Structures upon Peptide-Liposome Conjugation through Copper(I)-Catalyzed [3+2] Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition.

The random-coil-to-β-sheet transition of the (Leu-Glu) peptide motif is induced upon its conjugation to the liposome surface through "click" chemistry. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy enables the in situ monitoring of this reaction. A change in the peptide secondary structure is already observed within 15 min.