Complete penile corporeal septation: evaluation with contrast enhanced US.

Background: Complete penile corporeal septation is a rare malformation in which the corpora cavernosa are completely isolated. We describe a new method to reach the diagnosis of this malformation using contrast enhanced US.

Methods: Two patients with complete penile corporeal septation underwent color Doppler and contrast enhanced US after bilateral cavernosal injection of 10 microg prostaglandin E1.

Comparative experimental evaluation of guidewire use in urology.

Objectives: To evaluate the characteristics and mechanical properties of five different guidewires principally used in urology to provide a guide to the best choice in every situation. This objective was achieved by performing mechanical tests on each guidewire and on the same guidewire in relationship to a real human ureter. Finally, the mechanical properties of a real human ureter were evaluated experimentally.

Idiopathic mesenteric venous thrombosis: report of a case.

Introduction: Idiopathic mesenteric venous thrombosis is a rare entity. An early diagnosis and thrombolytic and anticoagulant therapy are very important.

Patient And Methods: We report a case of a patient, without any specific known risk factor, with small intestinal ischemia secondary to superior mesenteric vein thrombosis (SMVT).

One-year experience with day-of-surgery pregnancy testing before elective orthopedic procedures.

Background: Elective surgery is generally postponed in pregnancy. A policy of testing for urine human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in all women of childbearing age on the day of surgery was initiated at an elective orthopedic surgery facility. This is a retrospective report of our 1 yr experience and the associated costs.

Primary bilateral adrenal non-Hodgkin's Burkitt-like lymphoma: a rare cause of primary adrenal insufficiency. Case report and literature review.

Aims And Background: Primary bilateral adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is an extremely rare entity. Only 44 cases have been reported in the literature. The most common presenting symptoms are abdominal pain, fever, asthenia, constipation, weight loss or typical symptoms of adrenal insufficiency, hypertension, darkening of skin, orthostatic hypotension or an addisonian crisis.

A new approach to preanesthetic site verification after 2 cases of wrong site peripheral nerve blocks.

Objective: We discuss the importance of a "preanesthetic site verification" and highlight 2 significant modifications to a policy developed at our institution in 2003.

Case Report: The report describes 2 cases of wrong site peripheral nerve blocks that initiated protocol amendments to address shortcomings of the original policy. Two specific limitations were identified to improve upon.

Short-term treatment with infliximab in chronic refractory pouchitis and ileitis.

Background: Chronic refractory pouchitis is a long-term complication after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis and it may be associated with ileal inflammation.

Aim: To determine the efficacy of infliximab in treatment of chronic refractory pouchitis complicated by ileitis, using a wireless capsule endoscopy.

Methods: Sixteen patients with chronic refractory pouchitis complicated by ileitis were enrolled.

Cripto promotes A-P axis specification independently of its stimulatory effect on Nodal autoinduction.

The EGF-CFC gene cripto governs anterior-posterior (A-P) axis specification in the vertebrate embryo. Existing models suggest that Cripto facilitates binding of Nodal to an ActRII-activin-like kinase (ALK) 4 receptor complex. Cripto also has a crucial function in cellular transformation that is independent of Nodal and ALK4.

Cripto-independent Nodal signaling promotes positioning of the A-P axis in the early mouse embryo.

During early mouse development, the TGFbeta-related protein Nodal specifies the organizing centers that control the formation of the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis. EGF-CFC proteins are important components of the Nodal signaling pathway, most likely by acting as Nodal coreceptors. However, the extent to which Nodal activity depends on EGF-CFC proteins is still debated.

[A proposal of a triage model to control spreading diseases in public health].

Each case of infectious disease can be considered the consequence of an unexpected event which started an infection chain. Every infectious case is therefore a potential source of epidemic, resulting from the total of the epidemic potential of each individual variable involved in the pathology spreading process. This article identifies the main variables involved in the spreading of infectious diseases in communities, and it develops a method which gives importance to each one of them based on the main control measures available to Public Health operators.

[Guidelines for infection control practices for dentistry].

The infectious hazard in the dental offices (surgeries) is a relevant Public Health problem, especially if the large spread of this health practices is considered. The Working Group (WG) "Hygiene in Dentistry" of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health (SItI) deals with the prevention in dental practice. The WG carried out some surveys in order to evaluate both the knowledge of cross-infection hazards in dental personnel and the microbial contamination in dental clinics.

Circumferential mucosal dissection and esophageal perforation in a patient with eosinophilic esophagitis.

A young man with a previous history of episodes of mild solid food dysphagia was admitted with a total dysphagia. The esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGDS) showed an extensive disruption of mucosal layer with a cul-de-sac in the lower part of the esophagus. Soon after the procedure, the patient suffered from an acute chest pain and subsequent CT scan demonstrated an intramural circumferential dissection of thoracic esophagus, and a mediastinal emphysema.

[Adhesive small bowel occlusion: a clinical and therapeutic study of 163 consecutive patients].

The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the immediate and late outcomes of the surgical and conservative treatment of adhesive small bowel obstruction. A series of 163 consecutive patients affected by adhesive occlusion were analysed. 63 patients were submitted to emergency surgery and 100 to conservative treatment; 15 of these ones were operated on because they did not improve or deteriorated.

Intratesticular varicocele: evaluation using grey scale and color Doppler ultrasound.

Intratesticular varicocele is a rare condition with a variable clinical and ultrasound presentation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the grey scale and color Doppler appearances of intratesticular varicocele (ITV). Herein we present seven new cases of intratesticular varicocele.

[Hygienic risks in swimming pool: knowledge and behaviours of consumers of three structures in Crema, Parma and Naples].

The swimmers health's protection and the maintenance of good safety standards of structures can be guaranteed under observance of rules and the well management of the structures and activities. An anonymous questionnaire, with 38 items, was used in order to analyse and better understand the knowledge and behaviour of the users of three swimming pools in Crema, Naples and Parma. Socio-demographic features were similar in the three centres.

Detection of high-mobility group proteins A1 and A2 represents a valid diagnostic marker in post-pubertal testicular germ cell tumours.

The high-mobility group A (HMGA) non-histone chromosomal proteins HMGA1 and HMGA2 are architectural factors. They are abundantly expressed during embryogenesis and in most malignant neoplasias, whereas their expression is low or absent in normal adult tissues. Their over-expression is known to have a causal role in cellular neoplastic transformation.

Late-onset group B streptococcal disease by infected mother's milk detected by polymerase chain reaction.

Late-onset Group B streptococcal (GBS) disease is a cause of illness, death and neurological sequelae in infancy. The epidemiology and pathogenesis of late-onset GBS disease is poorly defined. Infected breast-milk has been suggested as a source of postnatal infection and invasive disease.

Rapid identification of Candida species in oral rinse solutions by PCR.

Aims: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of a multiplex PCR assay for the contemporary identification of major species involved in oral candidiasis, without extraction and purification of DNA from the samples under investigation; and evaluation of this method in comparison with routine phenotypic culture identification.

Methods: 78 oral rinse solutions were collected. The concentrated oral rinse technique was used for a quantitative and qualitative study.

Mucinous carcinoma of thyroid gland. Report of a primary and a metastatic mucinous tumour from ovarian adenocarcinoma with immunohistochemical study and review of literature.

Mucinous carcinoma of the thyroid gland is an uncommon tumour that from the histological point of view, resembles mucinous carcinoma of others sites. Although a mucinous appearance has sometimes been reported in association with cases of typical thyroid carcinoma, true mucinous carcinoma is exceptionally rare. We describe two cases of thyroid tumours with mucinous differentiation studied with immunohistochemistry.

Evaluation of tumor thrombi in the inferior vena cava with intraoperative ultrasound.

To report and discuss four cases of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in which preoperative investigations yielded contradictory results regarding the cranial extension of propagation of the tumor thrombus into the vena cava. An intraoperative ultrasound scan (IOU) was performed in all cases to identify the exact level of the tumor thrombus. We have performed an IOU of the vena cava in four patients with RCC propagation into the inferior vena cava.

Alterations in sperm motility after acute oral administration of sildenafil or tadalafil in young, infertile men.

Objective: To evaluate the acute effect of sildenafil and tadalafil on seminal parameters in young, infertile patients.

Design: Prospective, randomized, double-blind, crossover clinical investigation on semen parameters after the administration of a single dose of sildenafil (50 mg) or tadalafil (20 mg).

Setting: An academic hospital as well as a male infertility center and clinical andrology laboratories.

Controlled study using wireless capsule endoscopy for the evaluation of the small intestine in chronic refractory pouchitis.

Background: Pouchitis is a common long-term complication after ileal pouch anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis. Chronic refractory pouchitis is a treatment-resistant condition that affects 5-15% of patients.

Aim: To test the hypothesis of a small bowel involvement using wireless capsule endoscopy.

CXC chemokine receptor 4 is expressed in uveal malignant melanoma and correlates with the epithelioid-mixed cell type.

Purpose: Although relatively rare, uveal melanoma is the most common ocular tumor of adults. Up to half of uveal melanoma patients die of metastatic disease. CXCR4, a chemokine receptor, is a prognostic factor in cutaneous melanoma involved in angiogenesis and metastasis formation.

Effects of diesel exhaust particles on human lung epithelial cells: an in vitro study.

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM), an ingredient of urban pollution matter, is a mixture of solid and liquid particles differing in origin, dimension and composition. There is big concern about inhaled PM in urban areas, especially due to its adverse effects on the respiratory system. Diesel exhaust particulate (DEP), which constitutes the major part of PM, is characterized by a carbonic mixture composed of approximately 18,000 different high-molecular-weight organic compounds.