Impact of Spent Mushroom Substrate Combined with Hydroponic Leafy Vegetable Roots on Productivity and Fruit Bodies Biological Properties.

Agricultural activities produce large quantities of organic byproducts and waste rich in lignocellulosic materials, which are not sufficiently utilized. In this study, alternative agricultural waste products, namely, spent mushroom substrate (SMS) from the cultivation of edible mushrooms and the roots of leafy vegetables from hydroponic cultivation (HRL), were evaluated for their potential to be used as substrates for the cultivation of and their effects on the quality, the nutritional value, the chemical properties (lipid, protein, carbohydrate, ash, fatty acid and carbohydrate composition) and the bioactive content (total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity) of produced mushrooms. SMS and HRL (in different ratios with and without additives) and wheat straw with additives (WS-control) were used.

Prostatic Artery Embolization: Influence of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography on Radiation Exposure, Procedure Time, and Contrast Media Use.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) on radiation exposure, procedure time, and contrast media (CM) use in prostatic artery embolization (PAE).

Materials And Methods: Seventy-eight patients were enrolled in this retrospective, single-center study. All patients received PAE without (group A; n = 39) or with (group B; n = 39) CBCT.

Excimer laser atherectomy in complex peripheral artery disease: a prospective European registry.

Background: This study aimed to investigate performance, effectiveness, and safety of excimer laser atherectomy for the treatment of complex lower limb artery disease in a real-world setting.

Methods: In our prospective, multicenter registry, consecutive patients with complex lower limb lesions underwent excimer laser atherectomy with optional standard balloon angioplasty, paclitaxel-coated balloon angioplasty, and bailout stenting. Primary outcome was technical success.

Image quality and safety of automated carbon dioxide digital subtraction angiography in femoropopliteal lesions: Results from a randomized single-center study.

Purpose: To evaluate the image quality and the safety of automated carbon dioxide (CO) digital subtraction angiography (DSA).

Materials And Methods: Fifty patients receiving DSA for femoropopliteal peripheral arterial disease (PAD) were enrolled in this single-center prospective study. All patients received iodinated contrast media (ICM) and CO as a contrast agent in the same target lesion.

Deep Learning CT Image Reconstruction in Clinical Practice.

Background:  Computed tomography (CT) is a central modality in modern radiology contributing to diagnostic medicine in almost every medical subspecialty, but particularly in emergency services. To solve the inverse problem of reconstructing anatomical slice images from the raw output the scanner measures, several methods have been developed, with filtered back projection (FBP) and iterative reconstruction (IR) subsequently providing criterion standards. Currently there are new approaches to reconstruction in the field of artificial intelligence utilizing the upcoming possibilities of machine learning (ML), or more specifically, deep learning (DL).

Primary Intrapulmonary Thymoma Appearing as a Solitary Pulmonary Nodule: The "Master of Disguise" of Lung Tumors?: Case Report.

Primary intrapulmonary thymomas (PITs) are defined as thymomas arising in intrapulmonary locations, without an associated mediastinal component. They are rare lesions, the diagnosis of which can be very difficult. We present a case of PIT in an asymptomatic 74-year-old woman in whom pulmonary nodules were found on pulmonary angiography performed for an episode of pulmonary embolism.

Response rate and safety in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial chemoembolization using 40-µm doxorubicin-eluting microspheres.

Purpose: To evaluate the response rate and safety of superselective drug-eluting beats transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) with doxorubicin-loaded 40-µm microspheres in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: One hundred and forty-one treatments with doxorubicin-loaded 40-µm microspheres in 83 patients between 2012 and 2017 were retrospectively evaluated. Images of the treated lesions were analyzed before and after each treatment according to mRECIST (modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors).

Influence of Interventionists' Experience on Radiation Exposure of Patients Who Underwent Prostate Artery Embolization: 4-Year Results from a Retrospective, Single-Center Study.

Purpose: To assess radiation exposure in men undergoing prostate artery embolization (PAE) for the treatment for symptomatic, benign prostatic hyperplasia depending on growing experience of interventional radiologists over a 4-year period.

Methods: A total of 250 consecutive patients underwent PAE at a single center. Data on radiation exposure [dose area product (DAP), effective dose (ED), entrance skin dose (ESD), and fluoroscopy time (FT)] were retrospectively evaluated.

[Benign liver tumors : Diagnostics and treatment].

Benign liver tumors are often detected during routine ultrasound examinations or as an incidental finding in radiological imaging. Only very few benign liver tumors are at risk of becoming malignant. In the majority of cases the differentiation from malignant tumors is currently carried out using imaging procedures.

Alpha-Cyclodextrin Attenuates the Glycemic and Insulinemic Impact of White Bread in Healthy Male Volunteers.

The demonstration of a physiological benefit has recently become an indispensible element of the definition of dietary fibers. In the here-reported pilot study, the effect of alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD) on the postprandial glycemic and insulinemic effect of starch was examined. Twelve fasted, healthy male volunteers received, on three subsequent days, a test breakfast consisting of (A) 100 g fresh white bread (providing 50 g starch) and 250 mL drinking water, (B) the same bread with a supplement of 10 g alpha-CD dissolved in the drinking water, and (C) 25 g alpha-CD dissolved in drinking water.

Impact of Fractional Flow Reserve Derived From Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography on Heart Team Treatment Decision-Making in Patients With Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease: Insights From the SYNTAX III REVOLUTION Trial.

Background: Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a reliable tool for the functional assessment of coronary stenoses. FFR computed tomography (CT) derived (FFR) has shown to be accurate, but its clinical usefulness in patients with complex coronary artery disease remains to be investigated. The present study sought to determine the impact of FFR on heart team's treatment decision-making and selection of vessels for revascularization in patients with 3-vessel coronary artery disease.

[Benign liver tumors : Diagnostics and treatment].

Benign liver tumors are often detected during routine ultrasound examinations or as an incidental finding in radiological imaging. Only very few benign liver tumors are at risk of becoming malignant. In the majority of cases the differentiation from malignant tumors is currently carried out using imaging procedures.

[Endovascular Therapy of Splanchnic Artery Aneurysms: For Each and Every Aneurysm?].

True visceral artery aneurysms (VAA) and visceral artery pseudoaneurysms (VAPA) are located in the celiac trunk, the superior mesenteric artery and inferior mesenteric artery. In addition to surgical treatment, endovascular embolisation therapy of visceral aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms is an alternative interventional method that has developed precipitously over the last two decades and is considered a first-choice method in many centres. The procedure is characterised by a high technical success rate with a low complication rate.

Prostate Artery Embolization: Indication, Technique and Clinical Results.

Background:  Prostate artery embolization (PAE) is a new embolization therapy to treat benign prostate syndrome (BPS).

Materials And Methods:  This review article presents the rationale and impact mechanism of PAE, criteria for patient selection, and discusses the anatomy of prostate arteries. The study results are seen in the context of complications and clinical partners.

Macroscopy predicts tumor progression in gastric cancer: A retrospective patho-historical analysis based on Napoleon Bonaparte's autopsy report.

Background: The cause of Napoleon Bonaparte's death remains controversial. Originally suggested to be gastric cancer, whether this was truly neoplastic or a benign lesion has been recently debated.

Aims: To interpret findings of original autopsy reports in light of the current knowledge of gastric cancer and to highlight the significance of accurate macroscopy in modern-day medicine.

Evaluation and selection of indicators for land degradation and desertification monitoring: types of degradation, causes, and implications for management.

Indicator-based approaches are often used to monitor land degradation and desertification from the global to the very local scale. However, there is still little agreement on which indicators may best reflect both status and trends of these phenomena. In this study, various processes of land degradation and desertification have been analyzed in 17 study sites around the world using a wide set of biophysical and socioeconomic indicators.

Evaluation and selection of indicators for land degradation and desertification monitoring: methodological approach.

An approach to derive relationships for defining land degradation and desertification risk and developing appropriate tools for assessing the effectiveness of the various land management practices using indicators is presented in the present paper. In order to investigate which indicators are most effective in assessing the level of desertification risk, a total of 70 candidate indicators was selected providing information for the biophysical environment, socio-economic conditions, and land management characteristics. The indicators were defined in 1,672 field sites located in 17 study areas in the Mediterranean region, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

HMGA1 and HMGA2 protein expression correlates with advanced tumour grade and lymph node metastasis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Aims: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma follows a multistep model of progression through precursor lesions called pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN). The high mobility group A1 (HMGA1) and high mobility group A2 (HMGA2) proteins are architectural transcription factors that have been implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of malignant tumours, including pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study was to explore the role of HMGA1 and HMGA2 in pancreatic carcinogenesis.

Differential cell cycle and proliferation marker expression in ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma and pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN).

Aims: Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive tumour following a multistep progression model through precursors called pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN). Identification of reliable prognostic markers would help in improving survival. The aim of this study was to investigate the role as well as the prognostic significance of different cell cycle and proliferation markers, namely p21, p27, p53 and Ki-67, in pancreatic carcinogenesis.

Loss of the CBX7 protein expression correlates with a more aggressive phenotype in pancreatic cancer.

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins function as multiprotein complexes and are part of a gene regulatory mechanism that determines cell fate during normal and pathogenic development. Several studies have implicated the deregulation of different PcG proteins in neoplastic progression. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is an aggressive neoplasm that follows a multistep model of progression through precursor lesions called pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN).

Clinical significance of cell cycle- and apoptosis-related markers in biliary tract cancer: a tissue microarray-based approach revealing a distinctive immunophenotype for intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas.

Cholangiocarcinoma is the second most common malignant tumor of the liver. We analyzed, immunohistochemically, the significance of cell cycle- and apoptosis-related markers in 128 cholangiocarcinomas (42 intrahepatic, 70 extrahepatic, and 16 gallbladder carcinomas) combined in a tissue microarray. Follow-up was available for 57 patients (44.

Non-invasive markers to predict the liver fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to find a non-invasive marker, which could predict liver fibrosis without the need of liver biopsy in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Patients/methods: Fifty patients were included. All patients had one or more conditions that characterize the metabolic syndrome and histological proven NASH.

Application of geographical information systems (GIS) for the management of coastal aquifers subjected to seawater intrusion.

The phenomenon of seawater intrusion is a very common and widespread environmental problem which is present in the majority of coastal aquifers and therefore plays a vital role for the integrated coastal groundwater resources management. This paper refers to the investigation of seawater intrusion into the coastal aquifer of Rhodope, in Greece, and the use of a geographical information system as a tool for the rational management of the groundwater resources of the area. The presentation of specific chemical components (such as sodium and chloride ions) with the use of thematic maps illustrates the qualitative regime of the groundwater aquifer of the area and therefore can be used by the water authorities for the rational water resources management.

A case of eosinophilic gastroenteritis with severe peripheral eosinophilia.

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a rare heterogeneous disorder of undetermined etiology that is characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal tissues and various clinical manifestations. We report an uncommon case of eosinophilic gastroenteritis involving a patient with a short history of mild upper abdominal pain, severe peripheral eosinophilia (absolute eosinophil count of > 5,000 cells per microL), and ascites. The patient was treated successfully with a course of methylprednisolone.

Differential expression of matrix metalloproteinases in viral and non-viral chronic liver diseases.

Background: Fibrosis is a common consequence of chronic liver diseases irrespective of aetiology. Metalloproteinases play an important role in the fibrotic process participating in the balance between collagen synthesis and degradation. We examined whether matrix gelatinases and stromelysins are similarly involved in the development of viral (HCV, HBV) and non-viral (NASH) liver diseases.