How histopathological diagnosis interacts with kidney ultrasound parameters and glomerular filtration rate.

The evaluation of estimated GFR (eGFR) is a pivotal staging step in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and renal ultrasound plays an important role in diagnosis, prognosis and progression of CKD. The interaction between histopathological diagnosis and ultrasound parameters in eGFR determination has not been fully investigated yet. The study examined the results of native kidney biopsies performed in 48 Italian centers between 2012 and 2020.

Sclerotherapy with 3% polidocanol foam to treat second-degree haemorrhoidal disease: Three-year follow-up of a multicentre, single arm, IDEAL phase 2b trial.

Background: Sclerotherapy with 3% polidocanol foam is becoming increasingly popular for the treatment of symptomatic I-II or III degree haemorrhoidal disease (HD). However, there are no studies that have reported a follow-up of more than 1 year. The purpose of this study was to analyse the long-term outcomes of sclerotherapy with 3% polidocanol foam in the treatment of II-degree HD.

The risks associated with percutaneous native kidney biopsies: a prospective study.

Background: The known risks and benefits of native kidney biopsies are mainly based on the findings of retrospective studies. The aim of this multicentre prospective study was to evaluate the safety of percutaneous renal biopsies and quantify biopsy-related complication rates in Italy.

Methods: The study examined the results of native kidney biopsies performed in 54 Italian nephrology centres between 2012 and 2020.

A multicentre, open-label, single-arm phase II trial of the efficacy and safety of sclerotherapy using 3% polidocanol foam to treat second-degree haemorrhoids (SCLEROFOAM).

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 3% polidocanol foam for treating 2nd-degree haemorrhoids.

Methods: A multicentre, open-label, single-arm, phase 2 trial involving 10 tertiary referral centres for haemorrhodal disease (HD) was performed. Between January and June 2019, patients with 2nd-degree haemorrhoids were prospectively included in this study.

Concomitant Congenital Diaphagmatic Hernia (CDH) and bilateral bacterial glomerulonephritis in a pet chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera).

Background: The domestic chinchilla has been descended from Chinchilla lanigera (long-tailed Chinchilla) or Chinchilla chinchilla (short-tailed Chinchilla). Both species of chinchilla are currently listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Over the past 20 years, they have spread as pets and overall knowledge about their care is improving.

Klebsiella sp.-related infectious spondylitis in a bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps).

Background: Spondylitis is an inflammation of the vertebrae that leads to a destructive process with exuberant new bone formation. Osteomyelitis can produce a distortion of the bone architecture, degenerative joint changes and ankyloses of adjacent vertebrae. In reptiles, intervertebral discs are absent, so the term discospondylitis is not used.

Internet and social media use among patients with colorectal diseases (ISMAEL): a nationwide survey.

Aim: Social media are used daily by both healthcare workers and patients. Online platforms have the potential to provide patients with useful information, increase their engagement and potentially revolutionize the patient-physician relationship. This survey aimed to evaluate the impact of the Internet and social media (I&SM) on patients affected by colorectal and proctological diseases to define a pathway to develop an evidence-based communications strategy.

Do We Have Another Option to Treat Bleeding Hemorrhoids? The Emborrhoid Technique: Experience in 16 Patients.

Background: Hemorrhoidal disease is very common in western countries and rectal bleeding is the main symptom complained by patients. Nowadays the ultimate goal of treatment is to block the bleeding with minimally-invasive techniques to minimize post-procedural pain.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the preliminary results of the emborrhoid technique (embolization of the superior rectal arteries branches) as a new tool for the proctologist to treat severe bleeding hemorrhoids causing anemia.

Acute tea tree oil intoxication in a pet cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus): a case report.

Background: Phytotherapy is becoming a more and more common practice, not only for personal care but also for pet care. Nevertheless, we often have to deal with substances on which, in most cases, very little literature is available, even more so if the species of interest are the exotic ones. In particular, the essential oil from the Melaleuca leaves, because of its antinflammatory and antibacterial properties, is widely used and very little is known about its potential toxicity on pet birds.

Risk and Predictors of Postoperative Morbidity and Mortality After Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms: A Comparative Study With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is associated with a high risk of postoperative complications and mortality. The aim of this study was to compare postoperative morbidity after PD in patients undergoing resections for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (PanNENs) with patients undergoing the same resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Methods: Data of 566 patients from 3 European tertiary referral centers between 1998 and 2014 were considered.

Pharmacological interventions for acute pancreatitis.

Background: In people with acute pancreatitis, it is unclear what the role should be for medical treatment as an addition to supportive care such as fluid and electrolyte balance and organ support in people with organ failure.

Objectives: To assess the effects of different pharmacological interventions in people with acute pancreatitis.

Search Methods: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 2016, Issue 9), MEDLINE, Embase, Science Citation Index Expanded, and trial registers to October 2016 to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

Methods to decrease blood loss during liver resection: a network meta-analysis.

Background: Liver resection is a major surgery with significant mortality and morbidity. Specialists have tested various methods in attempts to limit blood loss, transfusion requirements, and morbidity during elective liver resection. These methods include different approaches (anterior versus conventional approach), use of autologous blood donation, cardiopulmonary interventions such as hypoventilation, low central venous pressure, different methods of parenchymal transection, different methods of management of the raw surface of the liver, different methods of vascular occlusion, and different pharmacological interventions.

Laparoscopic Finney pyloroplasty in the emergency setting: first case report in the literature and technical challenges.

Pyloroplasty is currently reserved for emergencies (perforation, bleeding), but may occasionally be performed to treat benign gastric outlet obstruction (GOO). Historically, two techniques are available: the Mikulicz pyloroplasty, by which the pylorus is incised longitudinally and sutured vertically, and the Finney pyloroplasty, by which a U-shaped inverted incision is made in the second part of duodenum (D1-D2), followed by a side-to-side gastroduodenostomy. We report our experience in this single case of laparoscopic Finney pyloroplasty (LFP) performed in the emergency setting for a woman with a perforated duodenal ulcer and severe loss of tissue in D1-D2.

Novel INF2 mutations in an Italian cohort of patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, renal failure and Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy.

Background: Mutations of INF2 represent the major cause of familial autosomal dominant (AD) focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). A few patients present neurological symptoms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease but the prevalence of the association has not been assessed yet.

Methods: We screened 28 families with AD FSGS and identified 8 INF2 mutations in 9 families (32 patients overall), 3 of which were new.

Validation of the Oxford classification of IgA nephropathy in cohorts with different presentations and treatments.

The Oxford Classification of IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) identified mesangial hypercellularity (M), endocapillary proliferation (E), segmental glomerulosclerosis (S), and tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis (T) as independent predictors of outcome. Whether it applies to individuals excluded from the original study and how therapy influences the predictive value of pathology remain uncertain. The VALIGA study examined 1147 patients from 13 European countries that encompassed the whole spectrum of IgAN.

CEUS Retrograde Cystography Is Helpful in Percutaneous Drainage of Complex Posttransplant Lymphocele.

After monolateral dual kidney transplantation, a 69 years old male patient developed symptomatic lymphocele with mild hydroureteronephrosis, impaired renal function, and right inferior limb oedema. A percutaneous ultrasound-guided drainage of the fluid collection was planned, but the complex mutual relations between the collection and the renal hilus did not allow to identify a suitable route for a safe drainage insertion during conventional ultrasound examination. A retrograde cystography using echographic contrast agent was, therefore, performed, and it clarified the position of both ureters and the renal vessels, permitting an harmless ultrasound-guided percutaneous lymphocele drainage.

Osmotic coefficients of electrolyte solutions.

In this paper, the osmotic coefficient, phi, of electrolyte solutions is considered. According to the Gibbs-Duhem equation, the calculation of phi follows from that of the mean activity coefficient, gamma, based on a pseudolattice approach recently proposed. For any given electrolyte, the whole range of concentrations providing gamma View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mean activity coefficient of electrolyte solutions.

In this paper, we deal with the mean activity coefficient, gamma, of electrolyte solutions. The case gamma < or = 1 is investigated. As is generally recognized, the most accepted models (specific ion interaction/Pitzer theory) have the disadvantage of the dependence on semiempirical parameters.

Effects of a 50 Hz magnetic field on Dictyostelium discoideum (Protista).

Some studies have demonstrated that a few biological systems are affected by weak, extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs), lower than 10 mT. However, to date there is scanty evidence of this effect on Protists in the literature. Due to their peculiarity as single-cell eukaryotic organisms, Protists respond directly to environmental stimuli, thus appearing as very suitable experimental systems.

Effects of time-variant extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) on cholinesterase activity in Dictyostelium discoideum (Protista).

Recently, we detected propionylcholinesterase (PrChE) activity in single-cell amoebae of Dictyostelium discoideum using cytochemical, electrophoretic, and spectrophotometric methods. The involvement of this enzyme activity in cell-cell and cell-environment interactions was suggested. In this work, we found that exposure of single-cell amoebae to an extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) of 300 microT, 50 Hz, from 1 h up to 48 h at 21 +/- 1 degrees C affected PrChE activity.