68Ga-PSMA Uptake in Fibrous Dysplasia.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies. Imaging tools play an important role throughout the entire process of the disease. The scenario, however, is going to change.

Modelling approach to obtain regional respiratory mechanics using electrical impedance tomography and volume-dependent elastance model.

Objective: This paper presents a method for breath-by-breath estimation of regional respiratory mechanics without the need for special manoeuvres (such as inspiratory pause or low-flow inflation) using electrical impedance tomography (EIT) associated with pressure/airflow waveforms.

Approach: We developed a method to estimate regional parameters using the regional impedance fraction, by multiplying it by global flow and volume waveforms. A volume-dependent elastance model was used to obtain compliance, resistance, volume-independent (E ), and volume-dependent (E ) components.

Nitrous oxide occupational exposure in conscious sedation procedures in dental ambulatories: a pilot retrospective observational study in an Italian pediatric hospital.

Background: Nitrous oxide has a proven clinical efficacy in conscious sedation. At certain environmental concentrations it may pose a health risk to chronically exposed healthcare workers. The present pilot study aims at evaluating the exposure to nitrous oxide of dental ambulatory personnel of a pediatric hospital.

ASSESSMENT OF ANIMAL MODELS AS SURROGATES FOR HUMAN TUMORS FROM THREE DIFFERENT ORGANS.

The compositional balance and distribution of trace metals/elements in various body tissues are essential key players in tissue and cellular homeostasis. Low Zn levels as well as overexpression of metalothioneins were implicated in the development and progression of various cancers including the prostate. Nonetheless, wider elemental profiles that relate cancer and normal phenotypes with regards to metal homeostasis were not well elucidated in the literature.

Overview of Human Intervention Studies Evaluating the Impact of the Mediterranean Diet on Markers of DNA Damage.

The Mediterranean diet (MD) is characterized by high consumption of fruits, vegetables, cereals, potatoes, poultry, beans, nuts, lean fish, dairy products, small quantities of red meat, moderate alcohol consumption, and olive oil. Most of these foods are rich sources of bioactive compounds which may play a role in the protection of oxidative stress including DNA damage. The present review provides a summary of the evidence deriving from human intervention studies aimed at evaluating the impact of Mediterranean diet on markers of DNA damage, DNA repair, and telomere length.

ACETIC ACID REMEDIATION OF ANTHROPOGENIC CONTAMINATION OF WATER AT THE GBNERR IN MISSISSIPPI.

Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GBNERR) is an important ecosystem in the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The GBNERR may be a potential source for contamination with anthropogenic bacterial pathogens that may play a significant role in the causation of waterborne human diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction of physicochemical and microbiological water quality parameters at the GBNERR to determine quantitative levels and establish the potential for remediation of post-contamination of water and seafood by human fecal pollution from anthropogenic sources at the reserve.

Therapeutic options for first-line metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: Suggestions for clinical practise in the CHAARTED and LATITUDE era.

In few years the scenario of metastatic prostate carcinoma treatment has radically changed due to improved knowledge of those mechanisms responsible of prostatic cancer cells survival and proliferation. Five new therapeutic agents (abiraterone acetate, enzalutamide, cabazitaxel, radium-223, sipuleucel-T), all able to improve overall survival, have been introduced in the management of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Moreover, recent evidences showed that adding docetaxel chemotherapy or abiraterone acetate to androgen deprivation therapy significantly increases overall survival of de novo castration-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer patients.

The Tumor Microenvironment in Neuroendocrine Tumors: Biology and Therapeutic Implications.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) include a heterogeneous group of malignancies arising in the diffuse neuroendocrine system and characterized by indolent growth. Complex interactions take place among the cellular components of the microenvironment of these tumors, and the recognition of the molecular mediators of their interplay and cross talk is crucial to discover novel therapeutic targets. NET cells overexpress a plethora of proangiogenic molecules including vascular endothelial growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, semaphorins, and angiopoietins that promote both recruitment and proliferation of endothelial cell precursors, thus resulting among the most vascularized cancers with a microvessel density 10-fold higher than epithelial tumors.

Transcriptome reprogramming, epigenetic modifications and alternative splicing orchestrate the tomato root response to the beneficial fungus .

Beneficial interactions of rhizosphere microorganisms are widely exploited for plant biofertilization and mitigation of biotic and abiotic constraints. To provide new insights into the onset of the roots-beneficial microorganisms interplay, we characterised the transcriptomes expressed in tomato roots at 24, 48 and 72 h post inoculation with the beneficial fungus T22 and analysed the epigenetic and post-trascriptional regulation mechanisms. We detected 1243 tomato transcripts that were differentially expressed between -interacting and control roots and 83 transcripts that were differentially expressed between the three experimental time points.

Hair analysis to discriminate voluntary doping vs inadvertent ingestion of the aromatase inhibitor letrozole.

Letrozole is an aromatase inhibitor, used to treat postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive or unknown advanced breast cancer. It is prohibited in sport because it is used together with androgen anabolizing steroids to avoid their adverse effects. In the case of an adverse analytical finding, it may be important to distinguish between repetitive use due to voluntary administration and occasional use, possibly due to involuntary intake.

DIFFERENTIAL HISTOPATHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF TESTICULAR FUNCTION UPON LONG-TERM EXPOSURE TO SUSTAINED DELIVERY OF TESTOSTERONE AND DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE.

The specific aim of this study was to assess, histopathologically, the seminiferous tubules area and germ layers upon the exposure to sustained delivery of testosterone (TE) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) through tricalcium phosphate lysine devices (TCPL). A total of 140 adult Male rats (280-320 gm) were randomly divided into four equal groups. Groups 1 and 2 animals were implanted with TCPL loaded with 40 mg TE and 40 mg DHT, respectively.

Defective levels of both circulating dendritic cells and T-regulatory cells correlate with risk of recurrence in cutaneous melanoma.

Background: Immune markers in the peripheral blood of melanoma patients provide useful information for clinical management although there is poor consensus on circulating cells which could putatively reflect the disease activity and play a prognostic role. Here, we investigated both dendritic cells (DCs) and T-regulatory cells (Tregs).

Methods: The number of DC subsets as myeloid (m) and plasmacytoid was measured by flowcytometry in 113 melanoma patients in different clinical stages and correlated with the disease activity to evaluate the recurrence free survival (RFS) calculated as difference between baseline and post-surgical values in relation to the criteria for the melanoma staging, as primary tumor removal, sentinel lymph node biopsy and completion of lymph node dissection.

Clinical practice: hepatitis C virus infection, cryoglobulinemia and cryoglobulinemic vasculitis.

Cryoglobulins are circulating immunoglobulins that reversibly precipitate at temperatures below 37 °C. Type-II cryoglobulins consist of monoclonal IgM/polyclonal IgG immune complexes (ICs), whereas in type-III cryoglobulins both IgM and IgG are polyclonal. The clinical condition resulting from the presence of cryoglobulins in the blood is called mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC), which can be asymptomatic or manifest as cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CV).

Enzalutamide-resistant castration-resistant prostate cancer: challenges and solutions.

The new-generation hormonal agent enzalutamide has been approved for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), in both post- and predocetaxel setting, due to the significant improvement in overall survival. More recently, enzalutamide also showed impressive results in the treatment of men with nonmetastatic CRPC. Unfortunately, not all patients with CRPC are responsive to enzalutamide, and even in responders, benefits are limited by the development of drug resistance.

Effects of ABO Matching of Platelet Transfusions in Critically Ill Children.

Objectives: To determine if transfusing ABO compatible platelets has a greater effect on incremental change in platelet count as compared to ABO incompatible platelets in critically ill children.

Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective, observational study. Transfusions were classified as either ABO compatible, major incompatibility, or minor incompatibility.

Integrated Optoelectronic Device for Detection of Fluorescent Molecules.

This paper presents the development of a compact optoelectronic device suitable for on-chip detection of fluorescent molecules. In order to obtain a highly integrated device, a long-pass multi-dielectric filter has been integrated with thin-film amorphous silicon photosensors on a single glass substrate. Filter rejects the excitation light, allowing the reduction of the distance between the source and the fluorescent site and avoiding the use of external optical component.

Quantitative Dual-Energy Computed Tomography Predicts Regional Perfusion Heterogeneity in a Model of Acute Lung Injury.

Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate the ability of contrast-enhanced dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) for assessing regional perfusion in a model of acute lung injury, using dynamic first-pass perfusion CT (DynCT) as the criterion standard and to evaluate if changes in lung perfusion caused by prone ventilation are similarly demonstrated by DECT and DynCT.

Methods: This was an institutional review board-approved study, compliant with guidelines for humane care of laboratory animals. A ventilator-induced lung injury protocol was applied to 6 landrace pigs.

Microbial recycling cells (MRCs): A new platform of microbial electrochemical technologies based on biocompatible materials, aimed at cycling carbon and nutrients in agro-food systems.

This article reviews the mechanisms that drive nutrients and carbon sequestration from wastewaters by microbial electrochemical technologies (METs). In this framework, a new generation of METs is also presented (to be called microbial recycling cells, MRCs), based on 100%-recyclable materials (biomass-derived char coal, clay, terracotta, paper, ligno-cellulosic plant materials, etc.), which can act as bio-electrodes, separators and structural frames.

Individual Positive End-expiratory Pressure Settings Optimize Intraoperative Mechanical Ventilation and Reduce Postoperative Atelectasis.

What We Already Know About This Topic: WHAT THIS ARTICLE TELLS US THAT IS NEW: BACKGROUND:: Intraoperative lung-protective ventilation has been recommended to reduce postoperative pulmonary complications after abdominal surgery. Although the protective role of a more physiologic tidal volume has been established, the added protection afforded by positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) remains uncertain. The authors hypothesized that a low fixed PEEP might not fit all patients and that an individually titrated PEEP during anesthesia might improve lung function during and after surgery.

Animal-type melanoma: dog or wolf? A review of the literature and a case report.

The human animal type melanoma (ATM) is a rare subtype of melanoma characterised by the proliferation of pigmented dermal epithelioid and spindled melanocytes. However, this variant of melanoma is still lacking a precise nosography definition and classification for the difficulty to be distinguished from other more common melanocytic lesions, as well as for its peculiar biological behaviour. On the other hand, the contribution of scientific literature to this issue is fragmented and limited to the description of very few cases.

Multiple incidence of the prescription diuretic hydrochlorothiazide in compounded nutritional supplements.

Diuretic agents are prohibited in sports in- and out-of-competition according to the regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because of their possible masking effects on other doping agents in urine samples, and their ability to produce fast acute weight losses. Despite previous studies reported adverse analytical findings (AAFs) resulting from contaminations at ppm level (μg/g) of medicinal products, and recommended to introduce reporting limits for diuretics in doping controls, these are not adopted in analyses performed by WADA-accredited laboratories. We report the case of an athlete with two AAFs for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) at low urinary concentrations (<10 ng/mL), who declared the use of nutritional supplements prepared in a compounding pharmacy.

Liquid biopsy of cancer: a multimodal diagnostic tool in clinical oncology.

Over the last decades, the concept of precision medicine has dramatically renewed the field of medical oncology; the introduction of patient-tailored therapies has significantly improved all measurable outcomes. Liquid biopsy is a revolutionary technique that is opening previously unexpected perspectives. It consists of the detection and isolation of circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA and exosomes, as a source of genomic and proteomic information in patients with cancer.

Consensus Recommendations for RBC Transfusion Practice in Critically Ill Children From the Pediatric Critical Care Transfusion and Anemia Expertise Initiative.

Objectives: To date, there are no published guidelines to direct RBC transfusion decision-making specifically for critically ill children. We present the recommendations from the Pediatric Critical Care Transfusion and Anemia Expertise Initiative.

Design: Consensus conference series of multidisciplinary, international experts in RBC transfusion management of critically ill children.

Recommendations on RBC Transfusions in Critically Ill Children With Acute Respiratory Failure From the Pediatric Critical Care Transfusion and Anemia Expertise Initiative.

Objectives: To present the recommendations and supporting literature for RBC transfusions in critically ill children with bleeding developed by the Pediatric Critical Care Transfusion and Anemia Expertise Initiative.

Design: Consensus conference series of international, multidisciplinary experts in RBC transfusion management of critically ill children.

Methods: The panel of 38 experts developed evidence-based and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based clinical recommendations as well as research priorities for RBC transfusions in critically ill children.