A Randomized Comparison of Plasma Levobupivacaine Concentrations Following Thoracic Epidural Analgesia and Subpleural Paravertebral Analgesia in Open Thoracic Surgery.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare plasma levobupivacaine concentrations in thoracic epidural and subpleural paravertebral analgesia.

Methods: Forty-four patients indicated for open lung resection had an epidural catheter inserted preoperatively or a subpleural catheter surgically. A bolus of 0.

2020 update of the WSES guidelines for the management of acute colonic diverticulitis in the emergency setting.

Acute colonic diverticulitis is one of the most common clinical conditions encountered by surgeons in the acute setting. An international multidisciplinary panel of experts from the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) updated its guidelines for management of acute left-sided colonic diverticulitis (ALCD) according to the most recent available literature. The update includes recent changes introduced in the management of ALCD.

DNA Methylation Profiles in a Group of Workers Occupationally Exposed to Nanoparticles.

The risk of exposure to nanoparticles (NPs) has rapidly increased during the last decade due to the vast use of nanomaterials (NMs) in many areas of human life. Despite this fact, human biomonitoring studies focused on the effect of NP exposure on DNA alterations are still rare. Furthermore, there are virtually no epigenetic data available.

Influence of the new standardized clinical cryopreservation/slow thawing protocol on immunogenicity of arterial allografts in rats.

Objectives And Design: At the present time there are two waiting list for patients with vascular prosthetic infection indicated for arterial transplantation in the Czech Republic. The inclusion of each patient for cold-stored or cryopreserved arterial transplantation is the preference of indicating surgeon. In this experimental work we studied the immunogenicity of rat aortal allografts treated by our new clinical cryopreservation/slow thawing protocol.

Heart rate and early progression of cardiac allograft vasculopathy: A prospective study using highly automated 3-D optical coherence tomography analysis.

Introduction: Heart rate slowing agents are frequently prescribed to manage heart transplant (HTx) patients with the assumption that higher heart rate is a risk factor in cardiovascular disease.

Patients And Methods: This prospective two-center study investigated early progression of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) in 116 HTx patients. Examinations by coronary optical coherence tomography and 24-hour ambulatory ECG monitoring were performed both at baseline (1 month after HTx) and during follow-up (12 months after HTx).

New insights in the mechanisms of impaired redox signaling and its interplay with inflammation and immunity in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune neurological disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS), leading to demyelination and axonal damage and resulting in a range of physical, mental or even psychiatric symptoms. Key role of oxidative stress (OS) in the pathogenesis of MS has been suggested, as indicated by the biochemical analysis of cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples, tissue homogenates, and animal models of multiple sclerosis. OS causes demyelination and neurodegeneration directly, by oxidation of lipids, proteins and DNA but also indirectly, by inducing a dysregulation of the immunity and favoring the state of pro-inflammatory response.

Behaviorally-Mediated Entrainment of Whole-Body Metabolic Processes: Conservation and Evolutionary Development of Mitochondrial Respiratory Complexes.

The relaxation response derives its health benefits by reestablishing "normal" equilibria between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system. Recent work suggests that this behavioral training provides positive effects on mitochondrial bioenergetics, insulin secretion, and reductions in pro-inflammatory and stress-related pathways. We have previously contended, however, that correlative associations of relaxation training with positive changes in gene expression in selected biological systems are strongly suggestive of adaptive physiological changes, but do not elucidate an underlying, clinically compelling, unified mechanism of action consistent with its purported positive health effects.

Longitudinal study revealing motor, cognitive and behavioral decline in a transgenic minipig model of Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited devastating neurodegenerative disease with no known cure to date. Several therapeutic treatments for HD are in development, but their safety, tolerability and efficacy need to be tested before translation to bedside. The monogenetic nature of this disorder has enabled the generation of transgenic animal models carrying a mutant huntingtin (mHTT) gene causing HD.

Ethical climate and intention to leave among critical care clinicians: an observational study in 68 intensive care units across Europe and the United States.

Purpose: Apart from organizational issues, quality of inter-professional collaboration during ethical decision-making may affect the intention to leave one's job. To determine whether ethical climate is associated with the intention to leave after adjustment for country, ICU and clinicians characteristics.

Methods: Perceptions of the ethical climate among clinicians working in 68 adult ICUs in 12 European countries and the US were measured using a self-assessment questionnaire, together with job characteristics and intent to leave as a sub-analysis of the Dispropricus study.

Evaluation of Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin as a Predictor of Glomerular Filtration Rate and Amikacin Clearance During Early Rat Endotoxemia: Comparison with Traditional Endogenous and Exogenous Biomarkers.

Background And Objectives: Renal elimination of amikacin and other aminoglycosides is slowed down in sepsis-induced acute kidney injury increasing the risk of adverse effects. Since neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and aminoglycosides share the mechanisms for renal excretion, the predictive power of NGAL was examined towards the changes in amikacin pharmacokinetics during early endotoxemia in anesthetized Wistar rats.

Methods: Endogenous biomarkers of inflammation and acute kidney injury were assessed including NGAL in saline-injected controls and two groups of rats challenged with an intravenous injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (5 mg/kg)-a fluid-resuscitated group (LPS) and a fluid-resuscitated group infused intravenously with 8 μg/kg/h terlipressin (LPS-T).

Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections: A Focused Review of Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Operative Management, Antimicrobial Therapy, and Pediatrics.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a major health problem throughout the world. The purpose of this review is to assist providers with the care of these patients through a better understanding of the pathophysiology and management options. This is a collaborative review of the literature between members of the Surgical Infection Society of North America and World Society of Emergency Surgery.

Infectious uveitis in immunodeficient HIV-negative patients: A retrospective study.

Aims: Cases of infectious uveitis in immunodeficient patients may present with atypical clinical features because the clinical course of disease is usually affected by the compromised immune system. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to determine the correct diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate a prevalence of immunodeficient HIV-negative individuals among patients with infectious uveitis and to assess diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Comparison of routine contrast‑enhanced computed tomography with late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in the detection of myocardial pathology.

Unlabelled: Bacground: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) represents the gold standard in noninvasive evaluation of myocardial tissue. However, some patients are unable to undergo cardiac MRI due to a variety of reasons.

Aims: We sought to determine the diagnostic accuracy of routinely performed contrast‑enhanced computed tomography (CECT) compared with cardiac MRI in the evaluation of myocardial tissue.

Burnout Syndrome and Lifestyle Among Primary School Teachers: A Czech Representative Study.

BACKGROUND Burnout is a state of vital exhaustion that is manifested on physical, cognitive, and emotional levels. Teachers work in a field where they are exposed daily to high job-related stressors, which can result in job change, a higher rate of unhappiness, and even earlier retirement. This study explored the relationship between job stressors, lifestyle, and burnout.

NanoTiO Sunscreen Does Not Prevent Systemic Oxidative Stress Caused by UV Radiation and a Minor Amount of NanoTiO is Absorbed in Humans.

The present pilot study tested the efficiency of nanoTiO sunscreen to prevent the oxidative stress/inflammation caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation using biomarkers in subjects' blood, urine, and exhaled breath condensate (EBC). In addition, the skin absorption of nanoTiO was studied. Six identical subjects participated in three tests: (A) nanoTiO sunscreen, (B) UV radiation, and (C) sunscreen + UV.

Clinical Implications of the Perception of Time in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Review.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that can affect many areas of the daily life of individuals and is associated with poor health outcomes and with debilitating deficits in executive function. Recently, increasing numbers of research studies have begun to investigate the associations between neural and behavioral manifestations of ADHD. This review summarizes recent research on the perception of time in ADHD and proposes that this symptom is a possible diagnostic characteristic.

Nivolumab for Newly Diagnosed Advanced-Stage Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma: Safety and Efficacy in the Phase II CheckMate 205 Study.

Purpose: Nivolumab, an anti-programmed death-1 monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated frequent and durable responses in relapsed/refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). We report results from Cohort D of the CheckMate 205 trial, which assessed nivolumab monotherapy followed by nivolumab plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (N-AVD) for newly diagnosed cHL.

Methods: Patients 18 years of age or older with untreated, advanced-stage (defined as III to IV and IIB with unfavorable risk factors) cHL were eligible for Cohort D of this multicenter, noncomparative, phase II trial.

Oncological outcome of surgical management in patients with recurrent uterine cancer-a multicenter retrospective cohort study-CEEGOG EX01 Trial.

Objectives: To assess the survival of patients who have received an operation for recurrent cervical and endometrial cancer and to determine prognostic variables for improved oncologic outcome.

Methods: A retrospective multicenter analysis of the medical records of 518 patients with cervical (N = 288) or endometrial cancer (N = 230) who underwent surgery for disease recurrence and who had completed at least 1 year of follow-up.

Results: The median survival reached 57 months for patients with cervical cancer and 113 months for patients with endometrial cancer after surgical treatment of recurrence (p = 0.

Clinical aspects of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, irreversible, incurable, neurodegenerative illness and the most common of the dementing disorders. It starts usually after 60 years of age and may span 8 to 12 years. The continuous and slow decline caused by this disease, is characterized by cognitive deterioration, loss of functional independence, changes in behaviour, and expanding needs for care.

Early Identification of Locally Emerging Trends in Psychoactive Substance Use - Experience and Best Practice in Four European Localities.

Timely information about trends in psychoactive substance use could yield tailored interventions and reduce potential harms. However, conventional epidemiological tools might have limited capacity to detect trends emerging on a local level. The aim of this study was to explore best practice in the identification of new drug trends at the local level.

Endothelial dysfunction assessed by digital tonometry and discrepancy between fraction flow reserve and instantaneous wave free ratio.

We tested whether the level of endothelial dysfunction assessed by digital tonometry, and expressed as reactive hyperemia index (RHI), is related to occurrences of a discrepancy between fractional flow reserve (FFR) and the instantaneous wave free ratio (iFR) (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03033810). We examined patients with coronary stenosis in the range of 40-70%, assessed by both FFR and iFR (system Philips-Volcano) for stable angina.

Imaging in gynecological disease (15): clinical and ultrasound characteristics of uterine sarcoma.

Objective: To describe the clinical and ultrasound characteristics of uterine sarcomas.

Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter study. From the databases of 13 ultrasound centers, we identified patients with a histological diagnosis of uterine sarcoma with available ultrasound reports and ultrasound images who had undergone preoperative ultrasound examination between 1996 and 2016.

Rituximab maintenance overcomes the negative prognostic factor of obesity in CLL: Subgroup analysis of the international randomized AGMT CLL-8a mabtenance trial.

No data are available regarding obesity and outcome in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). We analyzed 263 patients from the AGMT CLL-8a Mabtenance trial for the impact of obesity. The trial included patients after rituximab-containing induction treatment in first or second line that had achieved at least a PR.

2019 update of the WSES guidelines for management of () infection in surgical patients.

In the last three decades, infection (CDI) has increased in incidence and severity in many countries worldwide. The increase in CDI incidence has been particularly apparent among surgical patients. Therefore, prevention of CDI and optimization of management in the surgical patient are paramount.