The Effects of a Dietary Supplement (PediaFlù) Plus Standard of Care in Children With Acute Tonsillopharyngitis/Rhinopharyngitis: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: A dietary supplement containing Pelargonium sidoides extract, propolis, zinc, and honey has been recently developed and proven to be an effective adjuvant in clinical practice for seasonal diseases and the treatment of respiratory tract disorders.

Objective: This trial aims to verify the efficacy of the tested dietary supplement in a pediatric population with acute tonsillopharyngitis/rhinopharyngitis (ATR).

Methods: The trial includes children aged between 3 and 10 years with ATR ≤48 h, a negative rapid test for beta-hemolytic streptococcus or culture identification of nasal and/or pharyngeal exudates, and SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Hedgehog Pathway Inhibition by Novel Small Molecules Impairs Melanoma Cell Migration and Invasion under Hypoxia.

Melanoma is the principal cause of death in skin cancer due to its ability to invade and cause metastasis. Hypoxia, which characterises the tumour microenvironment (TME), plays an important role in melanoma development, as cancer cells can adapt and acquire a more aggressive phenotype. Carbonic anhydrases (CA) activity, involved in pH regulation, is related to melanoma cell migration and invasion.

Field-portable detection of fentanyl and its analogs: A review.

The need to detect fentanyl and its analogs in the field is an important capability to help prevent unintentional exposure or overdose on these substances, which may result in death. Many portable methods historically used in the field by first responders and other field users to detect and identify other chemical substances, such as hazardous materials, have been applied to the detection and identification of these synthetic opioids. This paper describes field portable spectroscopic methods used for the detection and identification of fentanyl and its analogs.

CA-IX-Expressing Small Extracellular Vesicles (sEVs) Are Released by Melanoma Cells under Hypoxia and in the Blood of Advanced Melanoma Patients.

Cutaneous melanoma is a highly aggressive skin cancer, with poor prognosis. The tumor microenvironment is characterized by areas of hypoxia. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA-IX) is a marker of tumor hypoxia and its expression is regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1).

Role of the Hedgehog Pathway and CAXII in Controlling Melanoma Cell Migration and Invasion in Hypoxia.

Background: Malignant melanoma is the leading cause of death among skin cancer patients due to its tendency to metastasize. Alterations at the molecular level are often evident, which is why melanoma biology has garnered increasing interest. The hedgehog (Hh) pathway, which is essential for embryonic development, is aberrantly re-activated in melanoma and may represent a promising therapeutic target.

Bone-Anchored Hearing Aids Fitted According to NAL and DSL Procedures in Adults with Mixed Hearing Loss.

Background: Bone-anchored hearing aids represent a valid alternative for patients with conductive/mixed hearing loss who cannot use hear- ing aids. To date, these devices have given good audiological results, thanks to various fitting prescription programs (i.e.

Hypoxia Induces Autophagy in Human Dendritic Cells: Involvement of Class III PI3K/Vps34.

Hypoxia is a component of both physiological and pathological conditions, including inflammation, solid tumors, and lymphoid tissues, where O demand is not balanced by O supply. During their lifespan, dendritic cells (DCs) are exposed to different pO and activate different adaptive responses, including autophagy, to preserve their viability and functions. Autophagy plays multiple roles in DC physiology.

Hypoxia Enhances the Expression of RNASET2 in Human Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells: Role of PI3K/AKT Pathway.

Hypoxia is a key component of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and promotes not only tumor growth and metastasis, but also negatively affects infiltrating immune cells by impairing host immunity. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells and their biology is weakened in the TME in many ways, including the modulation of their viability. RNASET2 belongs to the T2 family of extracellular ribonucleases and, besides its nuclease activity, it exerts many additional functions.

Hypoxia Shapes Autophagy in LPS-Activated Dendritic Cells.

During their lifespan, dendritic cells (DCs) are exposed to different pO levels that affect their differentiation and functions. Autophagy is one of the adaptive responses to hypoxia with important implications for cell survival. While the autophagic machinery in DCs was shown to impact signaling of TLRs, its regulation by the MD-2/TLR4 ligand LPS is still unclear.

Inhibition of Melanoma Cell Migration and Invasion Targeting the Hypoxic Tumor Associated CAXII.

Background: Intratumoral hypoxia contributes to cancer progression and poor prognosis. Carbonic anhydrases IX (CAIX) and XII (CAXII) play pivotal roles in tumor cell adaptation and survival, as aberrant Hedgehog (Hh) pathway does. In malignant melanoma both features have been investigated for years, but they have not been correlated before and/or identified as a potential pharmacological target.

Lamin A and Prelamin A Counteract Migration of Osteosarcoma Cells.

A type lamins are fundamental components of the nuclear lamina. Changes in lamin A expression correlate with malignant transformation in several cancers. However, the role of lamin A has not been explored in osteosarcoma (OS).

How does a bilingual environment affect the results in children with cochlear implants compared to monolingual-matched children? An Italian follow-up study.

Objectives: To compare the results after cochlear implantation achieved by monolingual and bilingual deaf children implanted at our Institution, with the aim of understanding if there are any differences between the two groups and if there is a correlation between the outcomes and some patients' variables.

Methods: The study group was composed by 14 bilingual deaf children and the control group by the same number of monolingual children implanted at our Institution. The control group was obtained by matching to each bilingual child a monolingual one with a similar clinical history regarding age at hearing loss diagnosis, age at first hearing-aids fitting and age at CI procedure.

Cochlear implant in prelingually deafened oralist adults: speech perception outcomes, subjective benefits and quality of life improvement.

The aim of this study is to report our results in a group of prelingually deafened adults, who followed an oralist rehabilitation programme, and submitted to cochlear implant at our institution. We evaluated 30 prelingually deafened adult patients, 18 males and 12 females, median age 35 years, of a group of 36 prelingually deafened adult patients consecutively submitted to unilateral cochlear implantation at the ENT Unit of the University of Pisa. After implantation, patients achieved significant benefits in terms of speech perception skills, including the ability to have telephone conversations in some cases, quality of life and their own perception of disability.

Early care in children with permanent hearing impairment.

The implementation of regional protocols for newborn hearing screening and early audiologic diagnosis represent the first step of the entire diagnostic, rehabilitative and prosthetic programme for children with permanent hearing impairment. The maximum benefit of early diagnosis can indeed be obtained only by prompt rehabilitation aimed at fostering the child's communicative, linguistic and cognitive development. Within the framework of the CMM 2013 project of the Ministry of Health entitled "Preventing Communication Disorders: a Regional Program for Early Identification, Intervention and Care of Hearing Impaired Children", the problems concerning the promotion of the global development of children with PHI through an early rehabilitation project based on shared knowledge and scientific evidence.

Aetiologic diagnosis of hearing loss in children identified through newborn hearing screening testing.

With the implementation of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) programmes and early diagnosis and treatment of hearing problems, the need has clearly emerged to implement and carry out a systematic and coordinated protocol for the aetiological diagnosis of permanent hearing impairment (PHI). Within the framework of the Italian Ministry of Health project CCM 2013 "Preventing Communication Disorders: a Regional Program for early Identification, Intervention and Care of Hearing Impaired Children", it has been decided to consider the problems relative to aetiological diagnosis of child PHI within UNHS programmes. The specific objective was to apply a shared diagnostic protocol that can identify the cause in at least 70% of cases of PHI.

[Laser-assisted angioplasty in chronic obliterative arteriopathies of the lower limbs. The authors' personal experience].

The laser represents one of the most interesting new methods of vascular surgery. As for laser-assisted angioplasty, the major clinical experience has come with Nd: Yag and Argon lasers. The authors comment on the 1989-1992 series of cases consisting of 51 arteries recanalized with a Nd:Yag laser--the patients were 42 men and 9 women, their mean age being 56.

Screening for congenital renovascular hypoplasia and renal artery stenosis by acute converting enzyme inhibition.

To evaluate the usefulness of the captopril test for identifying renal artery stenosis (RAS) and renovascular hypoplasia (RAH), we studied 48 hypertensive patients. In 20 hypertensives with screening procedures indicating renovascular disease and in 28 essential hypertensives (EH), the plasma renin activity (PRA) responses to an oral test dose of captopril (50 mg) were studied. A 60-min post-captopril PRA increase of 150% (or 400% if baseline PRA < or = 3 ng/ml/h) was considered as positive.

[Diagnostic "gold standard" in cerebrovascular insufficiency. Comparison of angiographic and ultrasonic imaging].

The Authors consider the complex diagnostic problems of cerebrovascular disorders, with particular concern to angiography and echography. After a complete analysis of different aspects of angiographic and echographic lesions, considering their experience, they identify chances and limits of the two methods, they draw the conclusion that each of the two techniques has a proper role, and only a correct correlation between them can depict correctly the pathologic lesions.

[Chronic renal insufficiency of single kidney associated with genital, bone, and palpebral malformations].

Authors describe renal failure in a young woman with solitary pelvic kidney. Renal malformation was associated with genital and bone malformations that can be accounted for by the close relationship linking the genito-urinary and vertebral apparatuses during the first weeks of intrauterine life. Palpebral malformation which occurs very rarely in cases with renal malformations as reported in the literature was ascribed to hereditary factors.

[Usefulness of captopril test in diagnosis of renal artery stenosis and congenital small kidney in arterial hypertension].

We studied 45 hypertensive subjects to evaluate the usefulness of captopril test for identifying renal artery stenosis and small congenital kidney with the hypoplasia of the renal artery. In 18 hypertensives with hippuran renogram indicating renovascular disease, and in 27 essential hypertensives, the plasma renin activity (PRA) responses to an oral test dose (50 mg) of captopril were studied. A 60-minute post captopril PRA increase of 150% (or 400% if baseline PRA less than 3 ng/ml/h) was considered as positive.

[Femoral anastomotic pseudoaneurysms].

In this paper the Authors discuss about femoral anastomotic pseudoaneurysms. They throughly consider the etiopathogenesis of this late complication of arterial prothesic surgery, pointing out the different hypothesis currently discussed. Particularly from this analysis it can be concluded that the choice of appropriate prothesic grafts and the weakness of an eventually endarterectomized arterial wall are the principal determinants in causing pseudoaneurysms.

Atherothrombotic microembolism of the lower extremities (the blue toe syndrome) from atherosclerotic non-aneurysmal aortic plaques.

Six patients with no hemodynamically significant atherosclerotic lesions of the lower limb arteries but with ischemic changes of the feet or toes were studied and diagnosed as having atherothrombotic microembolism. All patients were non claudicators and had peripheral Doppler examinations on admission. Five patients experienced more than one separate episode of microembolization involving both extremities.

[Percutaneous angioplasty in the treatment of iliac artery stenosis].

PTA represents a slightly invasive method for treatment of iliac arteries stenoses. The Authors present their experience about this topic and discuss current indications in the use of this technique. They believe that beyond the already defined indications, such as treatment of short stenoses, transluminal angioplasty can be employed for long stenoses too, eventually combined with limited surgical procedures.

[Role of intraoperative phlebography in the therapeutic approach of varicocele].

Personal experience of intraoperative anterograde phlebography of the internal spermatic vein is reported. The use of this technique is suggested for controlling the result of internal spermatic vein ligature in cases of type I varicocele according to Coolsaet, diagnosed by preoperative retrograde phlebography. Early data make it possible to conclude that intraoperative anterograde phlebography is a valuable aid in reducing the frequency of recurrences.

[Surgical treatment of thrombosis of the inferior vena cava].

Personal experience of thromboses of the inferior vena cava is presented and pathogenetic and symptomatological aspects stressed. In addition, in relation to the results presented and reported data, it is concluded that the role of surgical therapy is fundamental to integrate the thrombolytic and anticoagulant treatment of these severe forms of deep venous thrombosis.