Preanalytical Impact of Incomplete KEDTA Blood Tube Filling in Molecular Biology Testing.

Background And Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible preanalytical effect of incomplete filling of blood tubes on molecular biology assays.

Materials And Methods: The study population consisted of 13 healthy volunteers from whom 11 mL of whole blood was collected and then distributed in different volumes (1.5, 3.

Evaluation of mineral content of tooth enamel after application violet led associated with 35% hydrogen peroxide.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the microhardness and quantify the presence of minerals (Calcium and Phosphorous) of tooth enamel submitted to bleaching with violet LED light, either associated with 35% hydrogen peroxide gel, or not.

Methods: Bovine incisors were selected and divided into 4 Groups according to the bleaching technique used: C- Without bleaching (Control); VL- violet LED; HP- 35% Hydrogen Peroxide; HP+VL- 35% Hydrogen Peroxide + violet LED. The response variables were surface microhardness (n = 12), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) (n = 6) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (n = 3).

Self-reported measure of subjective distress in response to COVID-19 pandemic in patients referred to our skin cancer unit during the first wave.

During the Italian first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, social restrictions and bad news spread daily by mass media inevitably had a huge influence on the mental state of the population. To assess how much the COVID-19 outbreak impacted the psychologic state of patients referring to our Skin Cancer Unit from March 9 to May 31, 2020, we administered to them a self-report questionnaire, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). To evaluate the trend of the IES-R score over time, we set a temporal cutoff of March 27 (the day with the highest number of deaths for COVID-19 in Italy during the first wave).

Clinical and Dermoscopic Factors for the Identification of Aggressive Histologic Subtypes of Basal Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Infiltrative basal cell carcinoma (BCC) has a higher risk for post-surgical recurrence as compared to the most common low-aggressive superficial and nodular BCC. Independent diagnostic criteria for infiltrative BCC diagnosis have not been still defined. Improving the pre-surgical recognition of infiltrative BCC might significantly reduce the risk of incomplete excision and recurrence.