Anaerobic contribution during maximal anaerobic running test: correlation with maximal accumulated oxygen deficit.

The aims of this study were: (i) to measure energy system contributions in maximal anaerobic running test (MART); and (ii) to verify any correlation between MART and maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD). Eleven members of the armed forces were recruited for this study. Participants performed MART and MAOD, both accomplished on a treadmill.

Cardiopulmonary exercise test in chronic heart failure: beyond peak oxygen consumption.

Patients with cardiovascular diseases commonly present with exercise intolerance, clinically manifest as shortness of breath and fatigue, and these symptoms have important prognostic implications. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing is a well-established method for evaluation of cardiopulmonary diseases. It provides an objective assessment of maximal aerobic capacity (peak VO(2)), estimates prognosis, and allows the physician to discriminate among many subtle and often overlapping etiologies.

Unexpected anthropophily in the potential secondary malaria vectors Anopheles coustani s.l. and Anopheles squamosus in Macha, Zambia.

Anopheles coustani s.l. and Anopheles squamosus are sub-Saharan mosquito species that have been implicated in malaria transmission.

The prognostic role of cancer-specific beliefs among prostate cancer survivors.

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between cancer-specific beliefs and survival among men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Methods: Based on data from a biracial cohort monitored for mortality for up to 15 years, we investigated the association between beliefs and survival among 251 men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1987 and 1990. We examined patients' beliefs related to efficacy of regular checkups for detection, potential negative treatment effects, and perceived curability of cancer.

Prevalence of apical periodontitis and quality of endodontic treatment in an Italian adult population.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of AP in relation to the quality of endodontic treatment in an Italian adult population.

Methods: We examined panoramic radiographs (OPG) of 384 patients aged between 18 and 60 years who came under observation for a first dental examination. Two experienced examiners assessed the radiographs according to standardized criteria by examining the following parameters: periapical status, quality of endodontic treatment, quality of root canal filling and quality of coronal restoration.

Parental understanding of infant health information: health literacy, numeracy, and the Parental Health Literacy Activities Test (PHLAT).

Objective: To assess parental health literacy and numeracy skills in understanding instructions for caring for young children, and to develop and validate a new parental health literacy scale, the Parental Health Literacy Activities Test (PHLAT).

Methods: Caregivers of infants (age <13 months) were recruited in a cross-sectional study at pediatric clinics at 3 academic medical centers. Literacy and numeracy skills were assessed with previously validated instruments.

Pre- and postoperative evaluation of partial anomalous pulmonary venous return: by 3-dimensional cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging and cardiovascular computed tomography.

The pre- and postoperative evaluation of anomalous pulmonary venous return usually requires multiple invasive and noninvasive tests in order to obtain complete anatomic and functional data. Conversely, in a single setting, either cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging or cardiovascular computed tomography can sufficiently reveal this information in adult patients. Herein, we present the cases of 2 patients with partial anomalous pulmonary venous return who underwent preoperative and postoperative evaluation by either method alone, and we discuss the benefits and limitations of each technique.

Characteristics of a large population of patients with refractory epilepsy attending tertiary referral centers in Italy.

The characteristics of 1,124 consecutive adults and children with refractory epilepsy attending 11 tertiary referral centers in Italy were investigated at enrollment into a prospective observational study. Among 933 adults (age 16-86 years), the most common syndromes were symptomatic (43.7%) and cryptogenic (39.

Final rinse optimization: influence of different agitation protocols.

Introduction: This study examined the effect of different root canal irrigant agitation protocols in the penetration of an endodontic irrigant into dentinal tubules.

Methods: Fifty-six human single-rooted teeth were shaped with nickel-titanium instruments, and a final rinse of 5% sodium hypochlorite labeled with 0.2% alizarin red was performed.

Gamma-delta T-cell lymphomas.

Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (TCLs) are uncommon neoplasms, accounting for about 12% of all lymphoid tumors worldwide. TCLs in which gammadelta T-cell receptors are expressed (gammadelta TCLs) are extremely aggressive and rare (<1% of lymphoid neoplasms). gammadelta TCLs originate from gammadelta T cells, a small subset of peripheral T cells with direct antigen recognition capability acting at the interface between innate and adaptive immunity.

Effect of sodium hypochlorite with the addition of a proteolytic enzyme on postoperative discomfort: a multicenter randomized clinical trial.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare the patient's postoperative discomfort when root canal irrigation was performed either with standard sodium hypochlorite or with sodium hypochlorite with the adjunct of a proteolytic enzyme.

Methods: Two hundred patients were endodontically treated in two clinics. The type of irrigant to be used during root canal instrumentation was randomly assigned.

A multicenter study of noninvasive cardiac output by bioreactance during symptom-limited exercise.

Background: Hemodynamic responses to exercise were assessed in patients with varying degrees of chronic heart failure (CHF) to determine the feasibility of using bioreactance during exercise testing in multicenter studies of CHF.

Methods And Results: A total of 210 symptomatic CHF patients and 22 subjects without heart failure were subjected to symptom-limited exercise testing on a bicycle (105) or treadmill (127) while measuring gas exchange for VO(2), cardiac output (CO) noninvasively by a bioreactance technique, heart rate, and blood pressure. Peak CO (pCO) and VO(2) (pVO(2)) during exercise were lower in patients with higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, in females and in older patients.

Pathophysiology of age-related diseases.

A Symposium regarding the Pathophysiology of Successful and Unsuccessful Ageing was held in Palermo, Italy on 7-8 April 2009. Three lectures from that Symposium by G. Campisi, L.

Cancer-specific beliefs and survival in nonmetastatic colorectal cancer patients.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Associations between cancer-specific beliefs (beliefs) and survival have been observed among other cancer populations, but similar research in CRC patients is virtually nonexistent, especially in racially diverse populations. The relationship between beliefs and survival was investigated in a cohort of African Americans and non-Hispanic whites with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic CRC, followed for up to 15 years.

Which osteotomy for a valgus knee?

A valgus knee is a disabling condition that can affect patients of all ages. Antivalgus osteotomy of the knee is the treatment of choice to correct the valgus, to eliminate pain in the young or middle age patient, and to avoid or delay a total knee replacement. A distal femoral lateral opening wedge procedure appears to be one of the choices for medium or large corrections and is particularly easy and precise if compared to the medial femoral closing wedge osteotomy.

P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 as a potential target for humoral immunotherapy of multiple myeloma.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), successfully adopted in the treatment of several haematological malignancies, have proved almost ineffective in multiple myeloma (MM), because of the lack of an appropriate antigen for targeting and killing MM cells. Here, we demonstrate that PSGL1, the major ligand of P-Selectin, a marker of plasmacytic differentiation expressed at high levels on normal and neoplastic plasma cells, may represent a novel target for mAb-mediated MM immunotherapy. The primary effectors of mAb-induced cell-death, complement-mediated lysis (CDC) and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), were investigated using U266B1 and LP1 cell-lines as models.

Parental misinterpretations of over-the-counter pediatric cough and cold medication labels.

Objective: Concerns about the safety and efficacy of over-the-counter cold medications have led to a recent US Food and Drug Administration public health advisory against their use in children <2 years of age. Our goal was to examine caregiver understanding of the age indication of over-the-counter cold medication labels and identify factors, associated with caregiver understanding.

Methods: Caregivers of infant children (< or =1 year old) were recruited from clinics at 3 institutions.

Safety and efficacy of ibutilide in heart transplant recipients.

In this report we describe our experience with ibutilide, a relatively new Class III anti-arrhythmic agent, in 8 heart transplant patients with supraventricular tachycardia in various settings (3 patients with rejection, 2 after endomyocardial biopsy). Ibutilide treatment was successful in all patients, with the arrhythmia recurring early in 1 patient. There were no complications.

CD38/CD31, the CCL3 and CCL4 chemokines, and CD49d/vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 are interchained by sequential events sustaining chronic lymphocytic leukemia cell survival.

CD38 and CD49d are associated negative prognosticators in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Despite evidence that both molecules are involved in interactions occurring between CLL and normal cells in the context of CLL-involved tissues, a functional link is still missing. Using gene expression profiles comparing CD38(+)CD49d(+) versus CD38(-)CD49d(-) CLL cells, we showed overexpression of the CCL3 and CCL4 chemokines in cells from the former group.

The sea urchin sns5 insulator protects retroviral vectors from chromosomal position effects by maintaining active chromatin structure.

Silencing and position-effect (PE) variegation (PEV), which is due to integration of viral vectors in heterochromatin regions, are considered significant obstacles to obtaining a consistent level of transgene expression in gene therapy. The inclusion of chromatin insulators into vectors has been proposed to counteract this position-dependent variegation of transgene expression. Here, we show that the sea urchin chromatin insulator, sns5, protects a recombinant gamma-retroviral vector from the negative influence of chromatin in erythroid milieu.

Overexpression of interleukin-23, but not interleukin-17, as an immunologic signature of subclinical intestinal inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis.

Objective: Subclinical gut inflammation is common in spondylarthritis, but the immunologic abnormalities underlying this process are undefined. Perturbation of the interleukin-23 (IL-23)/Th17 axis has emerged as a fundamental trigger of chronic inflammation. This study was undertaken to investigate the expression and tissue distribution of IL-23/Th17-related molecules in Crohn's disease (CD) and in subclinical gut inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Different immunophenotypical apoptotic profiles characterise megakaryocytes of essential thrombocythaemia and primary myelofibrosis.

Aims: Essential thrombocythaemia (ET) and primary myelofibrosis (PMF) share some clinical and pathological features, but show different biological behaviour and prognosis. The latest contributions to understanding the nature of these disorders have focused on bone marrow microenvironment remodelling and proliferative stress, recognising megakaryocytes (MKCs) as "key-cells". The aim of this study was to investigate the apoptotic profile of ET and PMF MKCs in order to further characterise the biology of these disorders.

Monitoring substrate and products in a bioprocess with FTIR spectroscopy coupled to artificial neural networks enhanced with a genetic-algorithm-based method for wavelength selection.

An experiment was developed as a simple alternative to existing analytical methods for the simultaneous quantitation of glucose (substrate) and glucuronic acid (main product) in the bioprocesses Kombucha by using FTIR spectroscopy coupled to multivariate calibration (partial least-squares, PLS-1 and artificial neural networks, ANNs). Wavelength selection through a novel ranked regions genetic algorithm (RRGA) was used to enhance the predictive ability of the chemometric models. Acceptable results were obtained by using the ANNs models considering the complexity of the sample and the speediness and simplicity of the method.

Changes in lamotrigine pharmacokinetics during pregnancy and the puerperium.

To assess changes in the pharmacokinetics of the anti-epileptic drug lamotrigine (LTG) during pregnancy, plasma LTG concentrations at steady-state were determined at different intervals during 11 pregnancies in 10 women with epilepsy stabilized on long-term LTG therapy. In the five pregnancies that could be assessed both during gestation and after delivery, plasma LTG concentrations increased on average by 164% (range +75 to +351%) between the last observation during pregnancy and the puerperium (P < 0.05).