β-adrenergic agonist infusion during extracorporeal lung perfusion: effects on glucose concentration in the perfusion fluid and on lung function.

Background: We recently showed in a pig model of ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) that lung edema correlates with glucose consumption. We investigated whether salbutamol, a β-adrenergic receptor agonist known to upregulate fluid transport in the lung, modulates glucose concentration in the perfusate during EVLP.

Methods: Lungs from domestic pigs underwent normothermic EVLP.

Therapy of hyperhomocysteinemia in hemodialysis patients: effects of folates and N-acetylcysteine.

Objective: Uremia represents a state where hyperhomocysteinemia is resistant to folate therapy, thus undermining intervention trials' efficacy. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, in addition to folates (5-methyltetrahydrofolate, MTHF), was tested in a population of hemodialysis patients.

Design: The study is an open, parallel, intervention study.

"Spaghetti maneuver": a useful tool in pediatric laparoscopy - our experience.

Aims: The laparoscopic "Spaghetti Maneuver" consists in holding an organ by its extremity with a grasper and rolling it up around the tool to keep the organ stable and facilitate its traction within a small space. We describe our experience with the "Spaghetti Maneuver" in some minimally invasive procedures.

Materials And Methods: We successfully adopted this technique in 13 patients (5F : 8M) aged between 6 and 14 years (average age, 10) on whom we performed 7 appendectomies, 2 ureteral reimplantation and 4 cholecystectomies.

3D lithography by rapid curing of the liquid instabilities at nanoscale.

In liquids realm, surface tension and capillarity are the key forces driving the formation of the shapes pervading the nature. The steady dew drops appearing on plant leaves and spider webs result from the minimization of the overall surface energy [Zheng Y, et al. (2010) Nature 463:640-643].

Self-assembling of multi-jets by pyro-electrohydrodynamic effect for high throughput liquid nanodrops transfer.

Destabilization of liquid film by electro-hydro-dynamics (EHD) pressure is achieved through the pyroelectric effect on a polar dielectric crystal. We show that by destabilizing the liquid film, periodical self-assembled multi-jets are obtained. The multi-jets operate simultaneously and could be exploited to dispense liquids with nanolitre drops.

Pyroelectric Adaptive Nanodispenser (PYRANA) microrobot for liquid delivery on a target.

Manipulation of micro-sized objects in lab-on-a-chip and microfluidic environments is essential for different experiments and procedures ranging from chemical to biological applications and for experimental biotechnologies. For example polymeric particles, useful as targets for encapsulating or for being covered by drug vaccines, can be manipulated and controlled with the aim of releasing them to specific sites. Here we show a novel ElectroHydroDynamic tool able to control and manipulate dielectric micro-targets by a touch-less approach.

Morbidity of left pancreatectomy when associated with multivisceral resection for abdominal mesenchymal neoplasms.

Context: Resection of adjacent visceral organs is often required in surgery for abdominal mesenchymal tumors.

Objectives: To analyze the specific perioperative morbidity and mortality of a left pancreatectomy in multivisceral resections for mesenchymal tumors.

Patients: This paper considered all patients treated at National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy, from January 1997 to May 2009 for the resection of abdominal mesenchymal neoplasms requiring a concomitant left pancreatectomy.

Lung stress and strain during mechanical ventilation: any safe threshold?

Rationale: Unphysiologic strain (the ratio between tidal volume and functional residual capacity) and stress (the transpulmonary pressure) can cause ventilator-induced lung damage.

Objectives: To identify a strain-stress threshold (if any) above which ventilator-induced lung damage can occur.

Methods: Twenty-nine healthy pigs were mechanically ventilated for 54 hours with a tidal volume producing a strain between 0.

Total hepatectomy, recombinant activated factor VII and rescue liver transplantation.

The aim of this paper was to describe a case of acute liver failure treated with total hepatectomy, recombinant activated factor VII and rescue liver transplantation. We reported our experience with a 51-year-old-woman who developed a massive portal thrombosis after cadaveric liver transplantation for hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and who then required a total hepatectomy and porto-caval shunt as a bridge procedure while waiting for an urgent new liver transplantation. Subsequently, the patient developed severe hemodynamic instability, massive abdominal and mucosal bleeding and acute renal failure that were managed with infusion of high doses of inotropes, red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma as well as continuous veno-venous hemofiltration.

Dispensing nano-pico droplets and liquid patterning by pyroelectrodynamic shooting.

Manipulating and dispensing liquids on the micrometre- and nanoscale is important in biotechnology and combinatorial chemistry, and also for patterning inorganic, organic and biological inks. Several methods for dispensing liquids exist, but many require complicated electrodes and high-voltage circuits. Here, we show a simple way to draw attolitre liquid droplets from one or multiple sessile drops or liquid film reservoirs using a pyroelectrohydrodynamic dispenser.

A randomized double-blind trial on perioperative administration of probiotics in colorectal cancer patients.

Aim: To investigate whether probiotic bacteria, given perioperatively, might adhere to the colonic mucosa, reduce concentration of pathogens in stools, and modulate the local immune function.

Methods: A randomized, double-blind clinical trial was carried out in 31 subjects undergoing elective colorectal resection for cancer. Patients were allocated to receive either a placebo (group A, n = 10), or a dose of 10(7) of a mixture of Bifidobacterium longum (BB536) and Lactobacillus johnsonii (La1) (group B, n = 11), or the same mixture at a concentration of 10(9) (group C, n = 10).

Feasibility and effects of preventive home visits for at-risk older people: design of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The search for preventive methods to mitigate functional decline and unwanted relocation by older adults living in the community is important. Preventive home visit (PHV) models use infrequent but regular visits to older adults by trained practitioners with the goal of maintaining function and quality of life. Evidence about PHV efficacy is mixed but generally supportive.

Diversity of Staphylococcus species strains based on partial kat (catalase) gene sequences and design of a PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay for identification and differentiation of coagulase-positive species (S. aureus, S. delphini, S. hyicus, S. intermedius, S. pseudintermedius, and S. schleiferi subsp. coagulans).

A set of degenerate PCR primers was designed and used to amplify and sequence about 75% of the catalase (kat) gene from each of 49 staphylococcal strains. In some strains of Staphylococcus xylosus, S. saprophyticus, and S.

Multiple mechanisms for hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis.

The mechanisms of cell killing by oxidative stress, in particular by hydrogen peroxide, are not yet well clarified. Here, we show that during recovery after H(2)O(2) treatment, apoptosis occurs in two different waves, peaking at 8 h (early) and 18 h (late) of recovery from oxidative stress. The two peaks are differentially modulated by a set of inhibitors of metabolic processes, which suggests that the first peak depends on DNA break formation, whereas the second may be correlated with H(2)O(2)-induced mitochondrial alterations.

Effects of the nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine on ad-lib smoking behavior, topography, and nicotine levels in smokers with and without schizophrenia: a preliminary study.

Individuals with schizophrenia have higher plasma nicotine levels in comparison to non-psychiatric smokers, even when differences in smoking are equated. This difference may be related to how intensely cigarettes are smoked but this has not been well studied. Mecamylamine (MEC), a non-competitive nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonist, which has been shown to increase ad-lib smoking and to affect smoking topography, was used in the current study as a pharmacological probe to increase our understanding of smoking behavior, smoking topography, and resulting nicotine levels in smokers with schizophrenia.

Nicotine deprivation and trait impulsivity affect smokers' performance on cognitive tasks of inhibition and attention.

Increased nicotine deprivation and impulsivity have been associated with relapse but the degree to which they together influence cognitive processing has not been explored. We examined the effects of increasing levels of nicotine deprivation on cognitive processing, and assessed the relationship of trait impulsivity with these effects in daily smokers (n=30). Using a within-subject design with three deprivation conditions (nondeprived, 5-hr, 17-hr), volunteers completed the Conners' Continuous Performance Task-II and the Cued Go/No-Go Task.

Colocalization of the VEGF-R2 and the common IL-3/GM-CSF receptor beta chain to lipid rafts leads to enhanced p38 activation.

Previous studies suggested an important role for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors in postnatal haemopoiesis. However, it is unclear how VEGF receptor (VEGFR) signalling could interact with that issued from the activation of haematopoietic growth factor receptors. To elucidate this point we explored VEGF-R2 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor (GM-CSFR) membrane localization and cell signalling in TF1-KDR cells (TF1 leukaemic cells that overexpress VEGF-R2/KDR).

Is physical therapy more beneficial than unsupervised home exercise in treatment of post surgical knee disorders? A systematic review.

Physical therapy is common following a knee surgery. With rising healthcare costs there is debate as to the appropriateness of outpatient physical therapy following such interventions. Many of the existing controlled trials have concluded that there is no benefit to subjects that receive supervised physical therapy when compared to subjects that perform their exercises at home.

Microbial diversity in natural whey cultures used for the production of Caciocavallo Silano PDO cheese.

The microbial diversity of sixty-three Natural Whey Cultures (NWCs) for the manufacture of Caciocavallo Silano cheese PDO was studied. The NWCs were collected from different dairies covering the whole territory of PDO production including five different regions of southern Italy. The microbial species diversity was determined by direct DNA extraction from NWCs and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification of variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC).

Sequential phases of Ca2+ alterations in pre-apoptotic cells.

The very early events of the intrinsic, damage-induced apoptotic pathway, i.e., upstream to Bax activation, probably consist of physico-chemical alterations (i.

Yeast dynamics during spontaneous wine fermentation of the Catalanesca grape.

Although the use of starter cultures in winemaking has improved the reproducibility and predictability of wine quality, the main drawback to this practice is the lack of the typical traits of wines produced by spontaneous fermentation. In this study, we identified for the first time the yeast population occurring during spontaneous fermentation of the Catalanesca white grape, a variety from Campania (Italy). Yeasts were identified using molecular tools: PCR-DGGE and partial sequence analysis of the 26S rRNA gene from isolates.