Postoperative Outcomes of Fontan Operation in a Multicenter Italian Study. How Far Have We Gone? Early Outcomes After Fontan Operation.

Despite the clinical results of the Fontan operation have certainly improved, it still presents with an inherent surgical risk of death and early morbidities. This is a retrospective clinical study of children undergoing Fontan operation in 9 congenital cardiac centers in Italy between 1990 and 2023. Clinical and surgical data were collected via a dedicated RedCap database.

Assessing the evolution of oxygenated functional groups on the graphene oxide surface upon mild thermal annealing in water.

Graphene oxide (GO) is known to be a 2D metastable nanomaterial that can be reconstructed under thermal annealing into distinct oxidized and graphitic phases. Up to now, such phase transformation, mainly related to epoxide and hydroxyl functional groups, has been usually achieved by thermally treating layers of GO in the solid state. Here, we present the mild annealing of GO dispersed in an aqueous medium, performed at two temperatures, 50 °C and 80 °C, for different intervals of time.

Complete Isolation of Left Innominate Artery in a Patient With CHARGE Syndrome: Case Presentation and Review of Reported Cases.

We report a rare case of complete isolation of the left innominate artery in a child with CHARGE (coloboma, heart defects, atresia choanae, growth retardation, genital abnormalities, and ear abnormalities) syndrome. This anatomical cluster had been undetected for a relatively large period of time and the patient was referred to us with an incomplete diagnosis even after multiple medical evaluations and a thoracic surgery during the neonatal period. In conclusion, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a complete isolation of left innominate artery treated with a transcatheter approach.

Resorc[4]arene Modifiers for Supramolecular Site-Directed Immobilization of Antibodies on Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

One of the main problems in developing immunosensors featuring carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is immobilizing antibodies (Abs) onto the CNT surface to afford selective binding to target antigens (Ags). In this work, we developed a practical supramolecular Ab conjugation strategy based on resorc[4]arene modifiers. To improve the Ab orientation on the CNTs surface and optimizing the Ab/Ag interaction, we exploited the host-guest approach by synthesizing two newly resorc[4]arene linkers R1 and R2 via well-established procedures.

Moderate and Severe Congenital Heart Diseases Adversely Affect the Growth of Children in Italy: A Retrospective Monocentric Study.

Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at increased risk for undernutrition. The aim of our study was to describe the growth parameters of Italian children with CHD compared to healthy children. We performed a cross-sectional study collecting the anthropometric data of pediatric patients with CHD and healthy controls.

One-pot carboxyl enrichment fosters water-dispersibility of reduced graphene oxide: a combined experimental and theoretical assessment.

Graphene, one of the allotropic forms of carbon, has attracted enormous interest in the last few years due to its unique properties. Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) is known as the nanomaterial most similar to graphene in terms of electronic, chemical, mechanical, and optical properties. It is prepared from graphene oxide (GO) in the presence of different types of reducing agents.

Comparison between chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine solutions for flushing the preputial cavity on penile mucosa and semen bacterial counts in beef bulls.

The objectives of the present study were to estimate the number of colonies forming units (CFU) from penile mucosa and semen, the effect of two antiseptic solutions used to flush the preputial cavity to reduce the bacterial counts from those sites, and compare them. Six clinically healthy bulls between 15 and 16 mo old declared satisfactory potential breeders were used. A prospective, randomized, and controlled cross-over design was performed, in which each bull was first sampled from the penile mucosa and semen without treatment (control group) and 24 h later, after antiseptic preputial flushing (treated group).

Candidacy for heart transplantation in adult congenital heart disease patients: A cohort study.

Objective: The object of the present study is to evaluate factors precluding heart transplantation (HTx) in adult congenital heart disease patients (ACHD) with end-stage heart failure (HF) referred for HTx evaluation.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled consecutive ACHD patients considered for HTx in our institution between 2014 and 2020 and patients receiving HTx between 2001 and 2013. HTx refusal due to poor candidacy status for excess risk of mortality after transplantation served as the main study outcome.

Evaluation of Serological Methods and a New Real-Time Nested PCR for Small Ruminant Lentiviruses.

Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs), i.e., CAEV and MVV, cause insidious infections with life-long persistence and a slowly progressive disease, impairing both animal welfare and productivity in affected herds.

Effect of Electrolytic Medium on the Electrochemical Reduction of Graphene Oxide on Si(111) as Probed by XPS.

The wafer-scale integration of graphene is of great importance in view of its numerous applications proposed or underway. A good graphene-silicon interface requires the fine control of several parameters and may turn into a high-cost material, suitable for the most advanced applications. Procedures that can be of great use for a wide range of applications are already available, but others are to be found, in order to modulate the offer of different types of materials, at different levels of sophistication and use.

Two-phase synthesis of Fe-loaded hydrochar for As removal: The distinct effects of initial pH, reaction time and Fe/hydrochar ratio.

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a promising technology for producing char material (hydrochar) from waste biomass. In the present work, a two-stage process was applied and optimized to obtain a composite Fe-loaded hydrochar effective in removing arsenic from water. The first stage of carbonization of the biomass in acid conditions was followed by loading FeO in the second stage into the hydrochar by alkaline co-precipitation.

[The last 50 years of pediatric cardiology (1971-2021): from Fontan operation to the present time].

Pediatric cardiology has matured profoundly over the last 50 years, paralleled by a similar development in pediatric cardiac surgery and cardiac anesthesia. This field of medicine provides structured and effective care for a very heterogeneous group of diseases including congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathies and heart failure, myocarditis, rheumatic heart disease, inherited and acquired arrhythmias, Kawasaki disease and more recently multisystemic inflammatory syndrome of children related to primary infection by SARS-CoV-2. This review summarizes achievements and results in selected topics of pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery with focused attention to the diagnosis and management of congenital heart diseases.

Upcycling Real Waste Mixed Lithium-Ion Batteries by Simultaneous Production of rGO and Lithium-Manganese-Rich Cathode Material.

The direct synthesis of high-value products from end-of-life Li-ion batteries (LIBs), avoiding the complex and costly separation of the different elements, can be reached through a competitive recycling strategy. Here, we propose the simultaneous synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and lithium-manganese-rich (LiMnNiCoO - LMR) cathode material from end-of-life LIBs. The electrode powder recovered after LIBs mechanical pretreatment was directly subjected to the Hummers' method.

Two-Dimensional Restructuring of CuO Can Improve the Performance of Nanosized n-TiO/p-CuO Photoelectrodes under UV-Visible Light.

p-CuO/n-TiO photoanodes were produced by electrodeposition of octahedral p-type CuO nanoparticles over n-type TiO nanotubes. The photoresponse of the composite p-n photoanodes was evaluated in photoelectrochemical cells operating at "zero-bias" conditions under either visible or UV-vis irradiation. In both operating conditions, the produced electrodes invariably followed the p-n-based photoanode operations but exhibited lower photoelectrochemical performance as compared to the bare n-TiO photoanode under UV-vis light.

Biosynthesis and physico-chemical characterization of high performing peptide hydrogels@graphene oxide composites.

Hydrogels based on short peptide molecules are interesting biomaterials with wide present and prospective use in biotechnologies. A well-known possible drawback of these materials can be their limited mechanical performance. In order to overcome this problem, we prepared Fmoc-Pheself-assembling peptides by a biocatalytic approach, and we reinforced the hydrogel with graphene oxide nanosheets.

Campylobacter vulpis sp. nov. isolated from wild red foxes.

During a sampling of wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) for the detection of Epsilonproteobacteria, 14 strains were isolated from the caecal contents of 14 epidemiologically-unrelated animals. A genus-specific PCR indicated that the isolates belonged to the genus Campylobacter. Based on the results of a species-specific PCR, the isolates were initially identified as C.

Standard ECG for differential diagnosis between Anderson-Fabry disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: To evaluate the role of the ECG in the differential diagnosis between Anderson-Fabry disease (AFD) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Methods: In this multicentre retrospective study, 111 AFD patients with left ventricular hypertrophy were compared with 111 patients with HCM, matched for sex, age and maximal wall thickness by propensity score. Independent ECG predictors of AFD were identified by multivariate analysis, and a multiparametric ECG score-based algorithm for differential diagnosis was developed.

Incidence of Bacteremia Consequent to Different Endoscopic Procedures in Dogs: A Preliminary Study.

Endoscopic procedures are widely used in veterinary medicine, and their role in producing transient bacteremia is debatable. The growing issue of antibiotic resistance requires the correct use of antibiotics, avoiding their administration when not strictly necessary. Studies highlighting post-endoscopy bacteremia in veterinary medicine are extremely rare and often involve very few animals.

Designing Cascades of Electron Transfer Processes in Multicomponent Graphene Conjugates.

A novel family of nanocarbon-based materials was designed, synthesized, and probed within the context of charge-transfer cascades. We integrated electron-donating ferrocenes with light-harvesting/electron-donating (metallo)porphyrins and electron-accepting graphene nanoplates (GNP) into multicomponent conjugates. To control the rate of charge flow between the individual building blocks, we bridged them via oligo-p-phenyleneethynylenes of variable lengths by β-linkages and the Prato-Maggini reaction.

Influence of on Intestinal Microbiota and Fecal IgA Content of Healthy Dogs.

The increasing incidence of gastrointestinal tract pathologies in dogs and the worrisome topic of antibiotic resistance have raised the need to look for new therapeutic frontiers. Of these, the use of probiotics represents a potential therapeutic alternative. () is a species of isolated from kefir.

Understanding and Controlling Short- and Long-Range Electron/Charge-Transfer Processes in Electron Donor-Acceptor Conjugates.

We probed a series of multicomponent electron donor-donor-acceptor conjugates both experimentally and computationally. The conjugates are based on the light harvester and primary electron-donor zinc-porphyrin (ZnP, donor) to whose β positions a secondary electron-donor ferrocene (Fc, donor) and the primary electron-acceptor C-fullerene (C, acceptor) are attached. Linking all of them via -phenylene-acetylene/acetylene bridges of different lengths to gain full control over shuttling electrons and holes between C, ZnP, and Fc is novel.

Limited Exchange of Salmonella Among Domestic Pigs and Wild Boars in Italy.

The study assessed Salmonella carriage in wild boars (Sus scrofa) and compared their isolates with those recovered from the domestic swine population of the same area of northern Italy (Emilia-Romagna), characterized by intensive pig farming and rather high density of wild boars. A total of 189 wild boars hunted during twelve months (2017-2018) were tested for Salmonella in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and faecal samples. Antimicrobial resistance of recovered strains was tested against 14 antimicrobials.