Urinary Arsenic in Human Samples from Areas Characterized by Natural or Anthropogenic Pollution in Italy.

Arsenic is ubiquitous and has a potentially adverse impact on human health. We compared the distribution of concentrations of urinary inorganic arsenic plus methylated forms (uc(iAs+MMA+DMA)) in four Italian areas with other international studies, and we assessed the relationship between uc(iAs+MMA+DMA) and various exposure factors. We conducted a human biomonitoring study on 271 subjects (132 men) aged 20-44, randomly sampled and stratified by area, gender, and age.

Urinary metabolomic analysis to identify preterm neonates exposed to histological chorioamnionitis: A pilot study.

Objective: Chorioamnionitis is a leading cause of preterm birth worldwide, with higher incidence at lower gestational ages. An early and reliable diagnosis of histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) in preterm infants may be helpful in guiding postnatal management, especially the administration of prophylactic antibiotics to prevent early-onset sepsis. The main aim of this study was to investigate metabolomic analysis of urines collected in the first 24 hours of life as diagnostic tool of HCA.

Unravelling pathways downstream Sox6 induction in K562 erythroid cells by proteomic analysis.

The Sox6 transcription factor is crucial for terminal maturation of definitive red blood cells. Sox6-null mouse fetuses present misshapen and nucleated erythrocytes, due to impaired actin assembly and cytoskeleton stability. These defects are accompanied with a reduced survival of Sox6 red blood cells, resulting in a compensated anemia.

Epidemiology of Serratia marcescens infections in NICU of a Teaching and Research Hospital in Northern Italy.

Background: Serratia marcescens (Sm) is a known cause of infection and colonization in neonates receiving intensive care. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for colonization and infection with Sm in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a tertiary care Hospital.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted from January to December 2011 in neonates admitted to the NICU.

Mottness at finite doping and charge-instabilities in cuprates.

The influence of the Mott physics on the doping-temperature phase diagram of copper oxides represents a major issue that is subject of intense theoretical and experimental effort. Here, we investigate the ultrafast electron dynamics in prototypical single-layer Bi-based cuprates at the energy scale of the O-2→Cu-3 charge-transfer (CT) process. We demonstrate a clear evolution of the CT excitations from incoherent and localized, as in a Mott insulator, to coherent and delocalized, as in a conventional metal.

What's new on primary Hodgkin's lymphoma of the breast? A case report and review of the literature.

Introduction: According to literature, primary Hodgkin's lymphomas of the breast represent one of the rarer entity in the primary breast lymphoma (PBL) scenario. This is the reason why these tumors are insidious in mammary oncology.

Presentation Of The Case: We report a case of HL primitive breast in an elderly patient in whom radiology suspected an advanced breast cancer with ipsilateral axillary involvement and in which the fine-needle aspiration came back not significant.

Intake of Boron, Cadmium, and Molybdenum enhances rat thyroid cell transformation.

Background: Epidemiologic data in volcanic areas suggest that environmental factors might be involved in the increase of thyroid cancer (TC) incidence. Recent reports indicate that several heavy metals and metalloids are increased in volcanic areas. This study aims to evaluate the combined effect of three of these elements Boron (B), Cadmium (Cd), and Molybdenum (Mo) - all increased in the volcanic area of Mt.

Predictive biomarkers along gastric cancer pathogenetic pathways.

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer all over the world. Unfortunately, several gastric cancers are diagnosed in an advanced stage and chemotherapy and/or target therapies remain the only options to treat patients. Areas covered: Herein we evaluate the new molecular proposal of gastric cancer classification, offering the possibility to recognize different pathogenetic mechanisms and molecular biomarkers potentially useful for target therapies.

Richter Syndrome With Plasmablastic Lymphoma at Primary Diagnosis: A Case Report With a Review of the Literature.

Richter syndrome (RS) is considered as the rare development of an aggressive lymphoid malignancy in a preexisting small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The most common aggressive lymphoma developing in this setting is diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, but classical Hodgkin lymphoma and other much rarer entities such as prolymphocytic lymphoma and dendritic cell sarcoma are also described, most frequently in the progression of the disease over time. A clonal relation between the 2 neoplastic proliferations can be frequently found, whereas clonally unrelated cases are commonly considered as independent tumors, probably due to a variable combination of multiple causes, responsible independently for the 2 neoplasms.

Exchange Transfusion in the Treatment of Neonatal Septic Shock: A Ten-Year Experience in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Septic shock, occurring in about 1% of neonates hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), is a major cause of death in the neonatal period. In the 1980s and 90s, exchange transfusion (ET) was reported by some authors to be effective in the treatment of neonatal sepsis and septic shock. The main aim of this retrospective study was to compare the mortality rate of neonates with septic shock treated only with standard care therapy (ScT group) with the mortality rate of those treated with ScT and ET (ET group).

Brief exposure to nanosized and bulk titanium dioxide forms induces subtle changes in human D384 astrocytes.

Although nanosized-titanium dioxide particles (TiO2NPs)-containing products are constantly placed on the market, little is known about their possible impact on human health, even regarding to CNS effects. In this study, mechanistic pathways, by which TiO2NPs induce cellular damage and death, have been investigated in human (astrocytes-like) D384 cells and comparatively weighed against the effects produced by the bulk counterpart. Cellular signals evaluated by multiple set of in vitro tests after 24h exposure to TiO2NP concentrations (0.

N-Acetyl-Cysteine as Effective and Safe Chelating Agent in Metal-on-Metal Hip-Implanted Patients: Two Cases.

Systemic toxicity associated with cobalt (Co) and chromium (Cr) containing metal hip alloy may result in neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, and hypothyroidism. However clinical management concerning chelating therapy is still debated in literature. Here are described two metal-on-metal hip-implanted patients in which N-acetyl-cysteine decreased elevated blood metal levels.

Epithelioid angiosarcoma arising in schwannoma of the kidney: report of the first case and review of the literature.

Background: Schwannoma and angiosarcoma are infrequent pathologies that have been rarely reported in the kidney. Angiosarcoma is an uncommon malignant tumor presenting a recognizable vascular differentiation. It can develop in any site but the most common locations include the skin, soft tissues, breast, bone, liver, and spleen while renal localization has been very rarely reported in the literature.

Presepsin (Soluble CD14 Subtype): Reference Ranges of a New Sepsis Marker in Term and Preterm Neonates.

Objective: Presepsin (soluble CD14 subtype) has been shown to be beneficial as a sepsis marker in adults. Nevertheless, very few data are available in neonates. The aim of the present study was to determine reference ranges of presepsin in term and preterm neonates.