EVAR: Benefits of CEUS for monitoring stent-graft status.

Endo vascular aortic repair [EVAR] is performed with low peri-operative morbidity and mortality rate and short hospital stay. However, EVAR needs a close and lifelong imagining surveillance for a timely detection of possible complications including endoleaks, graft migration, fractures, and enlargement of aneurysm sac size with eventual rupture. Contrast enhanced computed tomography [CTA] is actually considered the gold-standard in EVAR follow-up, but it is accompanied with radiation burden and renal injury due to the use of contrast media.

Steroid Profiling by LC-MS/MS in Nonsecreting and Subclinical Cortisol-Secreting Adrenocortical Adenomas.

Context: Long-term follow-up studies revealed that patients with subclinical hypercortisolism (SH) due to adrenocortical adenomas have an increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases and mortality. No studies have yet investigated the steroid profile and its implications in patients with SH.

Objective: The objective of the study was to analyze the steroid profile by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in sera from patients with unilateral adrenocortical adenomas.

Comparison of three patterns of feed supplementation with live Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast on postweaning diarrhea, health status, and blood metabolic profile of susceptible weaning pigs orally challenged with Escherichia coli F4ac.

The development of effective feeding strategies to reduce the detrimental effect of enterotoxigenic F4ac (ETEC) plays a crucial role in reducing the occurrence of therapeutic intervention with antibiotics in livestock. The ability of CNCM I-4407 (SCC), supplied in different patterns to counteract ETEC infection in weaned pigs, was evaluated. Fifty pigs weaned at 24 d were then divided into 5 groups: control (CO), CO + colistin (AB), CO + 5 × 10(10) cfu of SCC/ kg feed, from d 0 to 21 (PR), CO + 5 × 10(10) cfu of SCC/ kg feed from d 7 to 11 (CM), and CO + 1 shot of 2 × 10(11) cfu of SCC when the first diarrhea appeared (CU).

Oxidative Stress during the Progression of β-Amyloid Pathology in the Neocortex of the Tg2576 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, characterized by progressive neurodegeneration. Pathogenetic mechanisms, triggered by β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation, include oxidative stress, derived from energy homeostasis deregulation and involving mitochondria and peroxisomes. We here addressed the oxidative stress status and the elicited cellular response at the onset and during the progression of Aβ pathology, studying the neocortex of Tg2576 model of AD.

Psychological aspects of hyperandrogenic states in late adolescent and young women.

Objective: The psychosocial implications of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotypes have been investigated in different patient populations, but little attention was paid to adolescent and young women. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychosocial correlates of PCOS and other hyperandrogenic states in a population of late adolescent and young females and to provide a psychological characterization of specific clinical hyperandrogenic phenotypes.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Draft genome sequence of Acinetobacter sp. neg1 capable of degrading ochratoxin A.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic and potentially carcinogenic mycotoxin produced by several species of Aspergillus and Penicillium. It is one of the major mycotoxins contaminating grain, grapes and a variety of food products, and the development of methods for reducing pre- and post-harvest contamination has drawn considerable attention. In the current study, we isolated and sequenced the genome of a novel free-living Acinetobacter strain able to degrade OTA.

The intellectual disability protein RAB39B selectively regulates GluA2 trafficking to determine synaptic AMPAR composition.

RAB39B is a member of the RAB family of small GTPases that controls intracellular vesicular trafficking in a compartment-specific manner. Mutations in the RAB39B gene cause intellectual disability comorbid with autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy, but the impact of RAB39B loss of function on synaptic activity is largely unexplained. Here we show that protein interacting with C-kinase 1 (PICK1) is a downstream effector of GTP-bound RAB39B and that RAB39B-PICK1 controls trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi and, hence, surface expression of GluA2, a subunit of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptors (AMPARs).

Fungal and bacterial metabolites associated with natural contamination of locally processed rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Nigeria.

This study reports the fungal and bacterial metabolites associated with natural contamination of 38 composite samples of locally processed rice from five agro-ecological zones of Nigeria (AEZs). The samples were evaluated for the presence of microbial metabolites by LC-MS/MS. Among the identified metabolites, 63 fungal and 5 bacterial metabolites were measured at varying concentrations and occurrence levels.

Carotid endarterectomy versus stenting: Does the flow really change? An Echo-Color-Doppler analysis.

To assess potential hemodynamic differences after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS) and their eventual impact on clinical management. Between July 2012 and October 2013 two groups of 30 patients each referred for CEA or CAS were prospectively enrolled in two tertiary hospital care centers. Pre-procedural imaging assessment of carotid artery disease was performed with Echo-Color-Doppler (ECD) and computed tomography angiography (CTA).

Single molecule analysis of functionally asymmetric G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) oligomers reveals diverse spatial and structural assemblies.

Formation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) into dimers and higher order oligomers represents a key mechanism in pleiotropic signaling, yet how individual protomers function within oligomers remains poorly understood. We present a super-resolution imaging approach, resolving single GPCR molecules to ∼ 8 nm resolution in functional asymmetric dimers and oligomers using dual-color photoactivatable dyes and localization microscopy (PD-PALM). PD-PALM of two functionally defined mutant luteinizing hormone receptors (LHRs), a ligand-binding deficient receptor (LHR(B-)) and a signaling-deficient (LHR(S-)) receptor, which only function via intermolecular cooperation, favored oligomeric over dimeric formation.

Impact of 3D Rotational Angiography on Liver Embolization Procedures: Review of Technique and Applications.

In the last years, the interest into interventional applications of C-arm cone-beam CT (CBCT) progressively raised, widening its clinical application from the original field of interventional neuroradiology to the field of peripheral procedures. Liver embolization procedures, due to their complexity and potential treatment-related life-threatening complications, represent one of the main clinical applications of this novel angiographic technique. CBCT has been demonstrated to render procedures safer and technically easier, and to predict outcome as well as to avoid major complications in different treatment scenarios (trans-arterial embolization, trans-arterial chemoembolization, selective internal radiation therapy, percutaneous portal vein embolization).

Acute focal brain damage alters mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy in axotomized neurons.

Mitochondria are key organelles for the maintenance of life and death of the cell, and their morphology is controlled by continual and balanced fission and fusion dynamics. A balance between these events is mandatory for normal mitochondrial and neuronal function, and emerging evidence indicates that mitochondria undergo extensive fission at an early stage during programmed cell death in several neurodegenerative diseases. A pathway for selective degradation of damaged mitochondria by autophagy, known as mitophagy, has been described, and is of particular importance to sustain neuronal viability.

WebPSN: a web server for high-throughput investigation of structural communication in biomacromolecules.

Unlabelled: We developed a mixed Protein Structure Network (PSN) and Elastic Network Model-Normal Mode Analysis (ENM-NMA)-based strategy (i.e. PSN-ENM) to investigate structural communication in biomacromolecules.

Multiscale quantum chemical approaches to QSAR modeling and drug design.

The comparative use of classical, quantum chemical (QC) ligand-based (LB) and structure-based (SB) quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) results in a detailed and mechanistic-causative description, at different scales (multiscale: classical=macroscopic, LB and SB=electronic-atomistic-nanoscale) and resolution levels, of the energetics and thermodynamics of the binding event for a congeneric set of ligands and/or drugs. QC interaction propensity (reactivity) descriptors in LB QSARs provide an implicitly more accurate estimation of the enthalpic contribution to ligand-target interactions compared with classical QSAR. As for QSAR models from ab initio SB fragment molecular orbital calculations, an explicit enthalpic description of the different additive terms in the computed binding energy is obtainable.

The corticotrophin-releasing factor/urocortin system regulates white fat browning in mice through paracrine mechanisms.

Objectives: The corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF)/urocortin system is expressed in the adipose tissue of mammals, but its functional role in this tissue remains unknown.

Methods: Pharmacological manipulation of the activity of CRF receptors, CRF1 and CRF2, was performed in 3T3L1 white pre-adipocytes and T37i brown pre-adipocytes during in vitro differentiation. The expression of genes of the CRF/urocortin system and of markers of white and brown adipocytes was evaluated along with mitochondrial biogenesis and cellular oxygen consumption.

Multiple sclerosis: changes in microarchitecture of white matter tracts after training with a video game balance board.

Purpose: To determine if high-intensity, task-oriented, visual feedback training with a video game balance board (Nintendo Wii) induces significant changes in diffusion-tensor imaging ( DTI diffusion-tensor imaging ) parameters of cerebellar connections and other supratentorial associative bundles and if these changes are related to clinical improvement in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Materials And Methods: The protocol was approved by local ethical committee; each participant provided written informed consent. In this 24-week, randomized, two-period crossover pilot study, 27 patients underwent static posturography and brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at study entry, after the first 12-week period, and at study termination.

Use of ultrasound in the insertion of a vascular closure device: a comparative retrospective study with the standard blind technique.

Purpose: To evaluate whether ultrasound (US) assistance can decrease the rate of complications related to the use of vascular closure devices (VCDs).

Materials And Methods: A retrospective comparative study was done on 150 consecutive patients who had a VCD inserted under US guidance after retrograde common-femoral-artery (CFA) puncture. This group was compared to a historical control group of 150 consecutive patients who had the same VCDs inserted with the standard blind technique.

Drug-coated balloons and drug-eluting stents: clinical effectiveness revisited.

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is a common and devastating manifestation of peripheral arterial disease leading to ischemic rest pain, ulcerations, gangrene and tissue loss. Thus advanced endovascular techniques have been developed in order to achieve higher success rate, such as retrograde recanalisation and drug eluting devices. However, the correlation between patency of the vessels and clinical outcome (limb salvage, ulcer healing, Rutherford class improvement) is still debated.

Retrograde recanalization of complex SFA lesions indications and techniques.

Femoro-popliteal segment is often characterized by diffuse and severe steno-obstructive atheroclerotic disease. Most recent guidelines recommended endovascular techniques as a valid and safe treatment in highly symptomatic patients (Rutherford class 4 to 6) with complex femoropopliteal lesions (TASC C and D). Continuous technical development is increasing the efficacy of the endovascular technique with the introduction of new dedicated devices.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty with the rotational fluoroscopy imaging technique.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of the rotational angiography unit (RAU) as a single technique to guide percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-five consecutive patients (35 vertebral bodies, 20 lumbar and 15 thoracic) were treated using RA fluoroscopy. Using a state-of-the-art flat-panel angiographer (Artis zee, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany), rotational acquisitions were obtained in all patients for immediate post-procedure 2D/3D reconstructions.

Bioimpedance analysis of body composition in an international twin cohort.

Objective: Multiple twin studies have demonstrated the heritability of anthropometric and metabolic traits. However, assessment of body composition parameters by bioimpedance analysis (BIA) has not been routinely performed in this setting.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Calcium burden assessment and impact on drug-eluting balloons in peripheral arterial disease.

Purpose: This study was designed to assess the effect of calcium on the efficacy of DEB during revascularization of steno-obstructive SFA lesions.

Methods: Sixty patients with de novo lesions of the superficial femoral artery underwent endovascular treatment with drug eluting balloons (DEB). DEB was selected according to vessel reference diameter (1:1).

Tissue-specific dysregulation of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 in overweight/obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome compared with weight-matched controls.

Context: Abnormal cortisol metabolism in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been invoked as a cause of secondary activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and hence androgen excess. However, this is based on urinary excretion of cortisol metabolites, which cannot detect tissue-specific changes in metabolism and may be confounded by obesity.

Objective: To assess cortisol clearance and whole-body and tissue-specific activities of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1 (HSD11B1)) in PCOS.

Standards of practice for superficial femoral and popliteal artery angioplasty and stenting.

This is a Standards of Practice document endorsed by CIRSE. The authors performed a literature review and provide recommendations and quality improvement guidelines based on the most recent and highest level of evidence available to date on the field of Superficial Femoral and Popliteal Artery Angioplasty and Stenting. Standards for the use of basic and more advanced endovascular techniques in the femoropopliteal arteries are reported and relevant aspects of case selection, imaging, follow-up, and overall patient management are presented to guide endovascular practice in Europe.