Potential Toxicity of Nine Rare Earth Elements (REEs) on Marine Copepod .

The present study focused, for the first time, on the adverse effects of nine REEs on the marine copepod For this purpose, copepod mortality, immobilization, and naupliar development were assessed. Overall, the results demonstrated that all REEs tested exerted significant adverse effects on , with LC50 values ranging from 0.56 to 1.

The Challenge of External Generalisability: Insights from the Bicentric Validation of a [Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET Based Radiomics Signature for Primary Prostate Cancer Characterisation Using Histopathology as Reference.

: PSMA PET radiomics is a promising tool for primary prostate cancer (PCa) characterisation. However, small single-centre studies and lack of external validation hinder definitive conclusions on the potential of PSMA PET radiomics in the initial workup of PCa. We aimed to validate a radiomics signature in a larger internal cohort and in an external cohort from a separate centre.

Can Glyphosate and Temperature Affect the Nutritional Lipid Quality in the Mussel ?

Mussels are an important source of the essential omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), which play a critical role in human health, preventing a variety of diseases. This study aimed to evaluate, for the first time, the combined effect of glyphosate (Gly) and culturing temperature on the lipid content and fatty acid (FA) profile of the Mediterranean mussel . In addition, a number of lipid nutritional quality indices (LNQIs) were applied as important tools to assess the nutritional value of food.

Individual and combined effects of amoxicillin and carbamazepine to the marine copepod Tigriopus fulvus.

Pharmaceuticals can be considered a global threat to aquatic ecosystems due to their pseudo-persistence and their potential toxicity towards non-target species. Amoxicillin (AMX) and carbamazepine (CBZ) and their mixture (1:1) were investigated on the marine copepod Tigriopus fulvus (Fischer, 1860) considering both acute and chronic endpoints. While acute and chronic exposure did not directly affect survival, reproductive endpoints were affected like the mean egg hatching time that was significantly longer than the negative control for treatments with AMX (0.

Effect of in-house cooking in Mytilus galloprovincialis and Trachurus trachurus: Lipid and fatty acids quality and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formation.

Cooking effect (grilling - barbecue, oven-cooking, frying, boiling and microwaving) on lipid and fatty acids (FAs) in mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and fish Trachurus trachurus was investigated. The levels of priority PAHs were also evaluated as well as the potential risk associated with their consumption. Cooking increased lipid content, reaching the highest value in fried product with 13.

Multi-endpoint effects of derelict tubular mussel plastic nets on Tigriopus fulvus.

Microplastic debris from direct and indirect human activities is considered a major threat to the marine biodiversity mainly due to its abundance, durability, persistence, and ability to accumulate contaminants from the environment. Derelict tubular plastic nets of various colours (blue (BN), yellow (YN), green (GN), pink (PN), and white (WN) net), used to distinguish mussel farming owners, were collected by scuba-dive from the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Ionian Sea). All nets were made of polypropylene.

Effects of commercial formulations of glyphosate on marine crustaceans and implications for risk assessment under temperature changes.

Glyphosate-based formulations are the most commonly used herbicides worldwide with the risk of potential contamination of aquatic bodies. The present study assessed the response of four marine crustaceans to three different brands of herbicides Roundup®Platinum, Efesto® and Taifun® MK CL.T, under two selected temperatures of 20 °C and 30 °C.

[A randomized study on a biological supplement effectiveness in patients with ''irritable bowel syndrome''].

The irritable bowel syndrome is a functional chronic disorder with a likely multifactorial genesis widely diffused through Western population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a biological supplement (FloRelax, Sanofi Winthrop) in this syndrome. This randomized multicentric study included 380 patients.

Spontaneous intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunt in a patient with cirrhosis: diagnosis by combined color Doppler and pulsed Doppler ultrasonography.

Large spontaneous intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunts are occasionally found and their diagnosis by Doppler sonography is rarely reported. The authors describe a case of spontaneous intrahepatic porto-systemic venous shunt in liver cirrhosis diagnosed by color Doppler and characterized by an unusual pulsed Doppler spectrum: a continuous flat portal-like pattern of flow in the portal branch, and in both the shunt and the hepatic vein.

Risk factors for intrahepatic recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients treated by percutaneous ethanol injection.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicating cirrhosis has a high intrahepatic recurrence rate after treatment by surgical resection or percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI). In this study, certain clinical, biochemical, and pathologic parameters were evaluated as risk factors for intrahepatic tumor recurrence in liver segments different from that of the first neoplasm in a group of 57 cirrhotic patients with single HCC < 5 cm treated by PEI.

Methods: After PEI treatment of HCC, the patients were followed for a mean period of 33 +/- 16 months.

Doppler ultrasonographic evaluation of blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery in celiac patients and in healthy controls in fasting conditions and after saccharose ingestion.

We studied, by means of Doppler ultrasonography, the blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery in 12 untreated patients with celiac disease (nontropical sprue) and in 15 healthy controls; peak systolic velocity, end diastolic velocity, mean velocity, flow volume, and resistive index were measured in the fasting state and at regular intervals after ingestion of 0.5 liter of water containing 50 g of saccharose. Under fasting conditions, celiac patients showed peak systolic velocity, end diastolic velocity, mean velocity, and flow volume values significantly higher than those of normal subjects, whereas resistive index was significantly lower.

Doppler ultrasound evaluation of acute effects of cigarette smoking on portal blood flow in man.

The acute systemic haemodynamic effects of cigarette smoking are well known, but there are no studies dealing with the possible smoke-related acute changes of splanchnic circulation in man. In the present study we evaluated the acute effects of cigarette smoking on portal blood flow (PBF) in normal subjects by the use of Doppler ultrasound. Twenty-three normal volunteers were asked to smoke two cigarettes with a known total nicotine content (1.

Ultrasonographic signs of sliding gastric hiatal hernia and their prospective evaluation.

This study was conducted to identify the sonographic findings that might be used to diagnose sliding gastric hiatal hernia. We first performed a retrospective evaluation of 12 patients known to have sliding hiatal hernia and 18 normal controls. In the controls the esophagogastric junction could be visualized clearly in all cases and the alimentary tract section at the diaphragmatic hiatus ranged from 7.

Gallbladder emptying, plasma levels of estradiol and progesterone, and cholecystokinin secretion in liver cirrhosis.

Defective gallbladder emptying has been proposed as a possible accessory pathogenetic factor to explain the increased prevalence of gallstones in liver cirrhosis. In this study we have evaluated the fasting volume and the meal-stimulated emptying of the gallbladder, the plasma levels of estradiol and progesterone, and the basal and postprandial secretion of cholecystokinin in Child A cirrhotic patients compared to normal subjects. Basal (42.

Ultrasonographic signs of sliding, gastric, and hiatal hernia: their prospective evaluation.

This study was conducted to identify the sonographic findings that might be used to diagnose sliding gastric hiatal hernia. We first performed a retrospective evaluation of 12 patients known to have sliding hiatal hernia and 18 normal controls. In the controls the esophagogastric junction could be visualized clearly in all cases and the alimentary tract cross section at the diaphragmatic hiatus ranged from 7.

Nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver: ultrasonographic appearance and echo-guided bioptic diagnosis.

Nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver is characterized by multiple and usually small nodules of hyperplastic hepatocytes surrounded by compressed atrophic liver cells. Given the small size of nodules and the preserved framework, the imaging techniques often show a normal liver and blind percutaneous biopsy is misinterpreted. The Authors report two cases of nodular regenerative hyperplasia diagnosed by ultrasound and percutaneous echoguided biopsy.

Ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy of hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison between smear cytology and microhistology.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate the typing accuracy of smear cytology and microhistology and of their association in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma arising in liver cirrhosis, and to analyze the usefulness of smear cytology in the diagnosis of well-differentiated neoplasms.

Methods: One hundred sixty patients with hepatocellular carcinoma underwent an ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy, providing material for cytological and histological study. In 73 patients, a double biopsy with noncutting and cutting needles was performed (double-needle group), whereas in the remaining 87, a single biopsy with cutting needle was carried out (single-needle group).

Doppler ultrasound findings in Osler-Weber-Rendu disease with hepatic involvement: a case report.

A case of Osler-Weber-Rendu disease or hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia with hepatic involvement diagnosed by Doppler ultrasound is described showing an increased blood flow within the dilated common hepatic artery and multiple aneurysms of the intraparenchymal branches of the proper hepatic artery. Doppler ultrasound provides findings suggestive of hepatic involvement in this rare disease and allows invasive imaging studies to be avoided.

Neoplastic seeding complicating percutaneous ethanol injection for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The authors describe a case of subcutaneous neoplastic seeding in the abdominal wall in a 67-year-old man with posthepatitic liver cirrhosis complicated by a single nodule of well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. He was treated with percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) performed under ultrasound guidance. The neoplastic seeding developed along the needle track used to carry out fine-needle biopsy and PEI and was diagnosed 6 months after the beginning of treatment.

Gastric emptying rate and hormonal response in type II diabetics.

Gastric emptying time was measured by ultrasonography in 18 NIDDM patients with and without autonomic neuropathy, evaluated by cardiovascular autonomic tests and in 10 controls before and after a physiologic test meal. Six neuropathic subjects showed gastrointestinal symptoms such as fullness and early satiety. Blood glucose, gastrin and pancreatic polypeptide were evaluated before and up to 200 min after the test meal.

Focal ultrasound lesions in liver cirrhosis diagnosed as regenerating nodules by fine-needle biopsy. Follow-up of 12 cases.

In the period 1985-1988, 62 focal liver lesions in 58 cirrhotic patients were studied by ultrasonography; 12 of these focal lesions were documented to be regenerating lesions by echo-guided fine-needle biopsy. During an average follow-up period of 10.2 months (range 3-22 months), hepatocellular carcinoma was subsequently found in 10 of the cases of regenerating nodules, whereas the initial diagnosis of regenerating nodule was confirmed in the remaining two cases.

Clinical suspicion of pancreatic neoplasm: does echo-guided fine-needle biopsy modify patient management?

The following parameters were retrospectively evaluated in 64 patients with suspected pancreatic neoplasm: (1) time required to obtain cytohistologic diagnosis, (2) days in hospital, (3) number and type of surgical operations, and (4) total hospital costs. Echo-guided fine needle biopsy (FNB) was performed on 34 patients (FNB group) and in a further 30 patients diagnostic workup did not include percutaneous biopsy (laparotomy group). Both diagnostic and hospital stay were shorter (8 and 7 days, respectively) in the FNB group than in the laparotomy group.

Real-time ultrasound guided renal biopsy in diffuse renal disease: 114 consecutive cases.

The usefulness of real-time ultrasonography as a guidance method in performing percutaneous renal biopsy is evaluated on the basis of a series of 114 patients with diffuse nephropathies. Sufficient renal tissue for light microscopy was obtained in 102 patients (89.5%) and enough for electron microscopy in 93 patients (81.

Gastric wall thickness in normal and neoplastic subjects: a prospective study performed by abdominal ultrasound.

Gastric wall thickness (body-antrum) was blind measured prospectively by real-time ultrasound in 58 patients (30 with gastric cancer and 28 healthy) who had previously undergone endoscopy. Gastric wall thickness on the average measured 15.933 +/- 4.