Improved determination of milk oligosaccharides using a single derivatization with anthranilic acid and separation by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

An improved analytical scheme for human milk neutral oligosaccharides determination was developed, in which, the oligosaccharides were pooled in two fractions (pools 1 and 2) after gel filtration, and then were quantitatively derivatized with a single fluorescent reagent, 2-anthranilic acid. Separation was by reversed-phase HPLC on an ODS-100Z column with a mobile phase of 50 mM ammonium acetate pH 4.0 and 150 mM citrate buffer pH 4.

Identification and characterization of protease inhibitors in Diplotaxis species.

PCR analysis of the genomes of two wild Brassicaceae plants, Diplotaxis muralis and Diplotaxis tenuifolia, demonstrated the presence of several genes coding for potential protease inhibitors, classifiable within the mustard inhibitor family (MSI). This is a small family of plant protease inhibitors named after the mustard trypsin inhibitor MTI-2, the first protease inhibitor characterized in Brassicaceae. From identified sequences two recombinant inhibitors were expressed in Pichia pastoris.

Soluble proteome investigation of cobalt effect on the carotenoidless mutant of Rhodobacter sphaeroides.

Aims: To investigate the surviving capability of Rhodobacter sphaeroides under phototrophic conditions in the presence of high cobalt concentration and its influence on the photosynthetic apparatus biosynthesis.

Methods And Results: Cells from R. sphaeroides strain R26.

Difficulties encountered managing nodules detected during a computed tomography lung cancer screening program.

Objective: The main challenge of screening a healthy population with low-dose computed tomography is to balance the excessive use of diagnostic procedures with the risk of delayed cancer detection. We evaluated the pitfalls, difficulties, and sources of mistakes in the management of lung nodules detected in volunteers in the Cosmos single-center screening trial.

Methods: A total of 5201 asymptomatic high-risk volunteers underwent screening with multidetector low-dose computed tomography.

Kribbella catacumbae sp. nov. and Kribbella sancticallisti sp. nov., isolated from whitish-grey patinas in the catacombs of St Callistus in Rome, Italy.

Several nocardioform actinomycetes were isolated from tufaceous surfaces with whitish-grey patinas in the catacombs of St Callistus in Rome, Italy. The morphology of the isolates and their chemotaxonomic characteristics such as LL-diaminopimelic acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan, the major menaquinone of MK-9(H(4)), phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol as the major polar lipids, as well as complex cellular fatty acid patterns with anteiso-C(15:0), iso-C(16:0) and iso-C(15:0) as predominating components, were in agreement with their classification as members of the genus Kribbella by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The isolates fell into two clusters as revealed by their ribosomal intergenic spacer, RiboPrint and cellular fatty acid patterns and by their MALDI-TOF mass spectra.

Lung cancer stage is an independent risk factor for surgical mortality.

Aims And Background: To study surgical mortality and evaluate major risk factors, with specific focus on the role of pathological stage in patients undergoing lung cancer resection.

Methods And Study Design: Age, gender, comorbidity, resection volume, experience of the hospital and surgical team have been reported as variables related to postoperative morbidity and mortality in lung cancer. The role of pathological tumor stage on postoperative mortality has never been fully evaluated.

The pleural and human fibrin glue sandwich: a quick and effective post-pneumonectomy bronchial stump coverage technique.

Background: Protection of the bronchial stump after pneumonectomy reduces the incidence of bronchopleural fistula. However, which technique provides the most satisfactory results remains open for debate.

Materials And Methods: We describe a study in which a bronchial stump coverage technique was performed using 2 layers of human fibrin glue (Tissucol; Baxter, Deerfield, IL USA) with an interposed patch of parietal pleura.

Abyssal food limitation, ecosystem structure and climate change.

The abyssal seafloor covers more than 50% of the Earth and is postulated to be both a reservoir of biodiversity and a source of important ecosystem services. We show that ecosystem structure and function in the abyss are strongly modulated by the quantity and quality of detrital food material sinking from the surface ocean. Climate change and human activities (e.

Temporo-nasal asymmetry in multisensory integration mediated by the Superior Colliculus.

Temporo-nasal asymmetry in visual responses has been observed in many behavioural studies. These observations have typically been attributed to the anatomical asymmetry of fibres projecting to the Superior Colliculus (SC), even though this attribution is debated. The present study investigates temporo-nasal asymmetry in multisensory integration, and, by exploiting the absence of S-cone input to the SC, measures a behavioural response dependent strictly on the activity of the SC itself.

Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography: a non-invasive diagnostic protocol for baseline lung nodules.

Background: Indeterminate non-calcified lung nodules are frequent when low-dose spiral computed tomography (LD-CT) is used for lung cancer screening. We assessed the diagnostic utility of a non-invasive work-up protocol for nodules detected at baseline in volunteers enrolled in our single-centre screening trial, and followed for at least 1 year.

Methods: 5201 high-risk volunteers, recruited over 1 year from October 2004, underwent baseline LD-CT; 4821 (93%) returned for the first repeat LD-CT.

Multisensory-mediated auditory localization.

Multisensory integration is a powerful mechanism for maximizing sensitivity to sensory events. We examined its effects on auditory localization in healthy human subjects. The specific objective was to test whether the relative intensity and location of a seemingly irrelevant visual stimulus would influence auditory localization in accordance with the inverse effectiveness and spatial rules of multisensory integration that have been developed from neurophysiological studies with animals [Stein and Meredith, 1993 The Merging of the Senses (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press)].

Cross-modal localization in hemianopia: new insights on multisensory integration.

The superior colliculus (SC) has been implicated in the mediation of residual visual function in hemianopic patients, and has been shown to be capable of using multiple sensory cues to facilitate its localization functions. The aim of the present study was to examine the possibility that the SC could effect covert visual processes, via multisensory integration of auditory and visual stimuli in patients with visual field loss. To this aim hard-to-localize auditory targets were presented alone (unimodal condition) or with a visual stimulus (cross-modal condition) in either hemifield and at various spatial (0 degree, 16 degrees, 32 degrees) and temporal (0 ms, 500 ms) disparities.

Postoperative exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Does it exist?

Background: One of the characteristics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the tendency to develop acute exacerbation, defined by the presence of different clinical findings as worsening dyspnea, increase in sputum purulence and volume. This study was designed to verify if definition of acute COPD exacerbation is applicable to patients who underwent pulmonary surgery, and if it has any impact on postoperative morbidity and mortality.

Methods: This study was designed to prospectively enrol 1000 patients undergoing pulmonary resection for lung cancer from five different centres.

"Salvage" surgery for primary mediastinal malignancies: is it worthwhile?

Introduction: Indications and results of salvage surgery in mediastinal tumors are still unclear. This study analyzes a single-center experience to assess its mortality, morbidity, and long-term results.

Methods: Mediastinal salvage surgery (MSS) was defined as surgical resection of persistent or recurrent primary mediastinal tumors after previous local treatments with curative intent or exclusive chemotherapy in case of bulky tumors.

Drought meets acid: three new genera in a dothidealean clade of extremotolerant fungi.

Fungal strains isolated from rocks and lichens collected in the Antarctic ice-free area of the Victoria Land, one of the coldest and driest habitats on earth, were found in two phylogenetically isolated positions within the subclass Dothideomycetidae. They are here reported as new genera and species, Recurvomyces mirabilisgen. nov.

Multisensory integration for orienting responses in humans requires the activation of the superior colliculus.

Animal studies have shown that the superior colliculus (SC) is important for synthesising information from multiple senses into a unified map of space. Here, we tested whether the SC is a critical neural substrate for multisensory spatial integration in humans. To do so, we took advantage of neurophysiological findings revealing that the SC does not receive direct projections from short-wavelength-sensitive S cones.

Extended pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer: morbidity, mortality, and long-term results.

Objective: Pneumonectomy is not always sufficient for the radical resection of cancer. In the present study, pneumonectomy may be associated with an extended resection of mediastinal or parietal structures. The postoperative risk and the oncologic benefits of such an extended procedure have not been sufficiently demonstrated.

Production of active angiotensin-I converting enzyme inhibitory peptides derived from bovine beta-casein by recombinant DNA technologies.

A wide range of anti-hypertensive peptides potentially able to lower blood pressure through the inhibition of vasoactive enzymes such as angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) are known. Currently, ACE-inhibitory peptides can be produced from precursor proteins via enzymatic hydrolysis by proteolytic enzymes, or food fermentation with proteolytic starter cultures. These approaches are neither selective nor easy.

Role of positron emission tomography scanning in the management of lung nodules detected at baseline computed tomography screening.

Background: Indeterminate noncalcified lung nodules are a frequent finding when low-dose computed tomography (LD-CT) is used for lung cancer screening. The best clinical management for such nodules remains uncertain. We present results using positron tomography scanning (CT-PET) to evaluate LD-CT-detected lung nodules during the first year of the Continuing Observation of Smoking Subjects (COSMOS) early detection trial for lung cancer.

Aluminium and primary spontaneous pneumothorax. A suggestive but unconfirmed hypothesis.

A prospective case-control study was designed to confirm the higher plasma concentration of aluminium in primary spontaneous pneumothorax patients recently reported in literature. Ten consecutive patients with PSP entered the study. Comparison with the control group obtained from the database of the Pharmacology Department did not show any significant difference.