Effect of humic monomers on the adsorption of sulfamethoxazole sulfonamide antibiotic into a high silica zeolite Y: An interdisciplinary study.

The adsorption efficiency of a high silica zeolite Y towards sulfamethoxazole, a sulfonamide antibiotic, was evaluated in the presence of two humic monomers, vanillin and caffeic acid, representative of phenolic compounds usually occurring in water bodies, owing their dimension comparable to those of the zeolite microporosity. In the entire range of investigated pH (5-8), adsorption of vanillin, as a single component, was reversible whereas it was irreversible for sulfamethoxazole. In equimolar ternary mixtures, vanillin coadsorbed with sulfamethoxazole, conversely to what observed for caffeic acid, accordingly to their adsorption kinetics and pKa values.

Asenapine modulates nitric oxide release and calcium movements in cardiomyoblasts.

Objective: To examine the effects of asenapine on nitric oxide (NO) release and Ca(2+) transients in H9C2 cell line, which were either subjected to peroxidation or not.

Materials And Methods: H9C2 were treated with asenapine alone or in presence of intracellular kinase blockers, serotoninergic and dopaminergic antagonists, and voltage Ca(2+) channels inhibitors. Experiments were also performed in H9C2 treated with hydrogen peroxide.

Cross-cultural validation of the Italian version of the Cumulated Ambulation Score.

Hip fractures are common in elderly patients, and walking impairment is a frequent complication. The Cumulated Ambulation Score (CAS) is a validated functional scale used to monitor easily three basic mobility activities in patients with hip fracture. The aim of this study was to translate, cross-cultural adapt, and validate the CAS in the Italian language (CAS-I).

IMMUNE CELL PHENOTYPE AND FUNCTION IN SEPSIS.

Cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems play a critical role in the host response to sepsis. Moreover, their accessibility for sampling and their capacity to respond dynamically to an acute threat increases the possibility that leukocytes might serve as a measure of a systemic state of altered responsiveness in sepsis.The working group of the 14th Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative (ADQI) conference sought to obtain consensus on the characteristic functional and phenotypic changes in cells of the innate and adaptive immune system in the setting of sepsis.

Mini invasive skeletal muscle biopsy technique with a tri-axial end cut needle.

Objective: Skeletal Muscle Biopsy is a minor surgical procedure for the diagnosis of different neuromuscular pathological conditions and has recently gained popularity also in the research field of age-related muscular modifications and sarcopenia. Few studies focused on the application of mini-invasive muscular biopsy in both normal and pathological conditions. The aim of our study was to describe a mini invasive ultrasound-guided skeletal muscular biopsy technique in complete spinal cord injured (SCI) patients and healthy controls with a tri-axial end-cut needle.

Can apical ballooning cardiomyopathy and anterior STEMI be differentiated based on β1 and β2-adrenergic receptors polymorphisms?

Aim: Catecholamine excess along with an exaggerated sympathetic stimulation appears to play a major role in the pathophysiological mechanism of tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), which mimics acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in the distribution of allelic variants of β1- and β2-adrenoceptors between TTC and anterior STEMI patients compared to normal subjects.

Methods And Results: β1- and/or β2-adrenoceptor polymorphisms in 97 patients with TTC (92 females, 96%; mean age 66.

Effects of Artemetin on Nitric Oxide Release and Protection against Peroxidative Injuries in Porcine Coronary Artery Endothelial Cells.

Artemetin is one of the main components of Achillea millefolium L. and Artemisia absinthium, which have long been used for the treatment of various diseases. To date, however, available information about protective effects of their extracts on the cardiovascular system is scarce.

Evaluation of serum myostatin and sclerostin levels in chronic spinal cord injured patients.

Study Design: Case-control study.

Objectives: To assess serum myostatin levels, bone mineral density (BMD), appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) and serum sclerostin levels in chronic spinal cord injured (SCI) patients and healthy controls.

Setting: SCI centre in Italy.

NO-dependent proliferation and migration induced by Vitamin D in HUVEC.

Recently, Vitamin D (Vit. D) has gained importance in cellular functions of a wide range of extraskeletal organs and target tissues, other than bone. In particular, Vit.

A mutation in caspase-9 decreases the expression of BAFFR and ICOS in patients with immunodeficiency and lymphoproliferation.

Lymphocyte apoptosis is mainly induced by either death receptor-dependent activation of caspase-8 or mitochondria-dependent activation of caspase-9. Mutations in caspase-8 lead to autoimmunity/lymphoproliferation and immunodeficiency. This work describes a heterozygous H237P mutation in caspase-9 that can lead to similar disorders.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) modifications in adult hemiplegic patients after botulinum toxin type A (nt-201) injection.

Background: The most important adverse effect of BoNT-A is the systemic diffusion of the toxin. There is some evidence that the administration of high doses can increase the risk of systemic diffusion and the development of clinically evident adverse effects, however an international consensus does not exist about its maximum dose.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in autonomic heart drive induced by high doses (higher than 600 units) of incobotulinumtoxinA injection in spastic stroke patients.

Sunitinib, pazopanib or sorafenib for the treatment of patients with late relapsing metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Late recurrence of renal cell carcinoma is not a rare event. In this retrospective study we investigate the clinicopathological features and the outcome of patients treated with sorafenib, sunitinib and pazopanib for late relapsing renal cell carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: Data were collected from 21 Italian centers involved in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

The potential impact of new effervescent alendronate formulation on compliance and persistence in osteoporosis treatment.

Osteoporotic fractures are a public health problem and their incidence and subsequent economic and social costs are expected to rise in the next future. Different drugs have been developed to reduce osteoporosis and the risk of osteoporotic fractures, and among them, antiresorptive agents, and in particular oral alendronate, are the most widely utilized. However, one of the most common problems with antiresorptive drugs is poor adherence to treatment, which is associated with a high fracture incidence and with an increase in hospitalization costs.

Eagle syndrome surgical treatment with piezosurgery.

Introduction: Eagle syndrome (ES) is an uncommon complication of styloid process elongation with stylohyoideal complex symptomatic calcification. It is an uncommon condition (4% of the population) that is symptomatic in only 4% of the cases. Eagle syndrome is usually an acquired condition that can be related to tonsillectomy or to a neck trauma.

Targeting PI3K/Akt/mTOR Signaling in Cancer.

The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways are two pathways crucial to many aspects of cell growth and survival, in physiological as well as in pathological conditions (e.g., cancer).

Ultrastructural analysis of nanoparticles and ions released in periprosthetic membranes.

Purpose: The distribution and relationship of hydroxyapatite debris, nanometric organic and metal wear particles and metal ions on periimplant interface membranes following aseptic and septic arthroplastic loosening were investigated.

Methods: Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray spectroscopic analysis were used to analyze debris and ion distribution.

Results: Hydroxyapatite debris appeared with different morphology in a particular distribution among several membranes.

NanoCAGE analysis of the mouse olfactory epithelium identifies the expression of vomeronasal receptors and of proximal LINE elements.

By coupling laser capture microdissection to nanoCAGE technology and next-generation sequencing we have identified the genome-wide collection of active promoters in the mouse Main Olfactory Epithelium (MOE). Transcription start sites (TSSs) for the large majority of Olfactory Receptors (ORs) have been previously mapped increasing our understanding of their promoter architecture. Here we show that in our nanoCAGE libraries of the mouse MOE we detect a large number of tags mapped in loci hosting Type-1 and Type-2 Vomeronasal Receptors genes (V1Rs and V2Rs).

Laser-induced osteoblast proliferation is mediated by ROS production.

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is widely used in regenerative medicine and in dental therapy by virtue of its beneficial effects in a plethora of pathological conditions. In this study, the effect of a 980 nm diode laser on pre-osteoblasts proliferation has been evaluated, along with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. We hypothesized that ROS were a key factor in LLLT-induced pre-osteoblasts proliferation, as it is known that ROS can induce the activation of many biological pathways, leading to cell proliferation, differentiation or apoptosis.

Possible synergism of physical exercise and ghrelin-agonists in patients with cachexia associated with chronic heart failure.

The occurrence of cachexia of multifactorial etiology in chronic heart failure (CHF) is a common and underestimated condition that usually leads to poor outcome and low survival rates, with high direct and indirect costs for the Health Care System. Recently, a consensus definition on cachexia has been reached, leading to a growing interest by the scientific community in this condition, which characterizes the last phase of many chronic diseases (i.e.

TMS, cortical excitability and epilepsy: the clinical impact.

Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (ppTMS) is a well-established method for non-invasive measurement of cortical excitability, alterations of which are the core background of epilepsy. For the past 20 years this technique has been extensively used to assess patients with epilepsy. We present here a critical overview of these studies, with emphasis on their translation to the clinical practice.

Low doses amino-bisphosphonates stimulate keratinocytes growth inactivating glucocorticoid receptor.

Amino-bisphosphonates (N-BPs) have a wide range of clinical applications to treat bone diseases. Their activity lowered farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) endogenous levels by inhibiting FPP synthase. In epithelial cells it has been demonstrated that FPP reduces both cell proliferation and migration activting glucocorticoid receptor.