ddRAD-seq reveals the genetic structure and detects signals of selection in Italian brown trout.

Background: Brown trout is one of the most widespread fresh-water fish species in Europe. The evolutionary history of and phylogenetic relationships between brown trout populations are complex, and this is especially true for Italian populations, which are heavily influenced in different ways by stocking practices. The characterization of the genetic structure of Italian brown trout populations may give information on the risk of losing endemic Italian populations due to lack of genetic diversity or to admixture with stocking populations.

Evidence of Phytotoxicity and Genotoxicity in Hordeum vulgare L. Exposed to CeO2 and TiO2 Nanoparticles.

Engineered nanoscale materials (ENMs) are considered emerging contaminants since they are perceived as a potential threat to the environment and the human health. The reactions of living organisms when exposed to metal nanoparticles (NPs) or NPs of different size are not well known. Very few studies on NPs-plant interactions have been published, so far.

Variation in Heavy Metal Accumulation and Genetic Diversity at a Regional Scale Among Metallicolous and Non-Metallicolous Populations of the Facultative Metallophyte Biscutella laevigata subsp. laevigata.

Biscutella laevigata is a facultative metallophyte, with populations on non-metalliferous and metalliferous soils. Some of its metallicolous populations have been shown to hyperaccumulate thallium or lead in nature. Only Tl hyperaccumulation has been experimentally confirmed.

A randomized trial comparing eptifibatide vs. placebo in patients with diffuse coronary artery disease undergoing drug-eluting stent implantation: design of the INtegrilin plus STenting to Avoid myocardial Necrosis Trial.

Background: Despite the availability of several potent antithrombotic agents, the optimal antiplatelet regimen in elective patients undergoing complex percutaneous coronary interventions is still debated. Aim of the INtegrilin plus STenting to Avoid myocardial Necrosis Trial will be to assess the safety and efficacy of routine usage of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor eptifibatide in patients already treated with aspirin and clopidogrel and undergoing implantation of at least two drug-eluting stents in the same lesion, thus identifying a clinically stable but anatomically complex patient subset.

Design: This will be a single-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter randomized trial.

Long-term follow-up of Tako-Tsubo-like syndrome: a retrospective study of 22 cases.

Objectives: To assess the late outcome of the Tako-Tsubo like syndrome in a community hospital in northern Italy.

Methods And Results: We reviewed 2233 patients who were admitted from 2001 to 2006 with diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. Twenty-two patients (1%) presenting clinical and instrumental characteristics of Tako-Tsubo like syndrome were included in the study and prospectively underwent clinical and echocardiographic follow-up.

A rare case of idiopathic spontaneous coronary artery dissection causing acute myocardial infarction.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare clinical event and often a fatal cause of ischaemic heart disease occurring predominantly in young or middle-aged otherwise healthy patients. We present the case of a 59-year-old female patient who was admitted to our coronary care unit with acute anterior myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography showed a long dissection involving the left coronary artery.

Transcranial Doppler monitoring during stenting of the carotid bifurcation: evaluation of two different distal protection devices in preventing embolization.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of 2 emboli protection devices in preventing embolization during carotid artery stenting (CAS).

Methods: The GuardWire distal occlusion system (n=19) and the distal FilterWire EX (n=12) were compared in 31 consecutive patients (24 men; mean age 71+/-10 years) monitored with transcranial Doppler for microembolic signals before, during, and after CAS. The choice of the protection device was based on availability and on the patency of the contralateral carotid artery.

Modifications of minimal luminal diameter during the 24 hours following percutaneous treatment of in-stent restenosis.

The early renarrowing after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) for in-stent restenosis (ISR) is a phenomenon that has received little investigation. Therefore, we assessed the angiographic minimal luminal diameter (MLD) before, immediately after, and 24 hours after the procedure in 30 ISR's treated with balloon angioplasty (BA) or rotational atherectomy (RA). The MLD was 0.

Distal protection with a filter device during coronary stenting in patients with stable and unstable angina.

Background: Filter protection after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is now available to prevent distal embolization. The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the microembolization phenomenon during procedures of stent implantation in native coronary arteries of patients with stable and unstable angina, (2) to assess the amount and characteristics of the debris captured by the Angioguard, and (3) to investigate the relation between clinical and angiographic variables and pathological data.

Methods And Results: Elective coronary stenting with the use of a protective filter was attempted in 39 consecutive coronary artery lesions with >60% stenosis (mean, 67.