Serum fetuin-A and recurrent urolithiasis in young adults

Objective: Recurrence of urolithiasis is frequent. There are no reliable markers able to indicate recurrent stone former patients. Fetuin-A inhibits hydroxyapatite crystals formation and expansion. This study aims at evaluating whether serum fetuin-A may predict recurrent urolithiasis in young adults. Materials and methods: This is a multicentre study. Young adults patients with recurrent urolithiasis attending 3 urology clinics were enrolled from July 2011 to December 2012. Inclusion criteria were: age 18-40 years, presence of more than one kidney stone. Exclusion criteria were: diabetes mellitus, metabolic disorders, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, infection diseases. Controls were participants without history of urolithiasis and currently undetected stones. Routine biochemistry, serum concentration of oxalate, fetuin-A, and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were assessed; 24/h urinary excretion of creatinine, uric acid, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, glucose, oxalate, amylase, and protein was measured. Kidney ultrasonography and plain X-ray examination was performed. Results: The total cohort was represented by 120 young adults participants (90 patients, and 30 controls). Clinical characteristics were not different between patients and controls. No significant differences were found in serum concentrations as well as in 24/h urinary excretion of recorded variables. No significant difference was found in serum concentration of fetuin-A (median 35.1 ± 18.62 SD Vs 35.12 ± 14.12, μg/ml; p = 0,908). Conclusions: The data of present study do not substantiate the hypothesis that serum fetuin-A may be a reliable predictor of recurrent urolithiasis in young adults

Femtosecond laser surface structuring of silicon with Gaussian and optical vortex beams

We report an experimental analysis of femtosecond laser induced surface structuring of silicon by exploiting both Gaussian and Optical Vortex beams. In particular, we show how different surface patterns, consisting of quasi-periodic ripples and grooves, can be obtained by using different states of polarization offered by optical vortex beams. Both for Gaussian and optical vortex beams, an increase of the number of laser pulses, N, or beam energy, E-0, leads to a progressive predominance of the grooves coverage, with ripples confined in specific regions of the irradiated area at lower fluence. The average period of ripples and grooves shows a different dependence as a function of both E-0 and N, underlying important differences in mechanisms leading to the formation of ripples and grooves. In particular, our experimental characterization allows identifying a preliminary stage of grooves generation with rudimental surface structures, preferentially directed parallel to the laser polarization. This supports the idea that one possible mechanism of grooves formation lies in the progressive aggregation of clusters of nanopartides densely decorating the ripples. Our experimental findings provide important indications on the basic understanding of the processes involved in laser surface structuring with ultrashort pulses that can guide the design of the surface patterns. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Direct femtosecond laser ablation of copper with an optical vortex beam

Laser surface structuring of copper is induced by laser ablation with a femtosecond optical vortex beam generated via spin-to-orbital conversion of the angular momentum of light by using a q-plate. The variation of the produced surface structures is studied as a function of the number of pulses, N, and laser fluence, F. After the first laser pulse (N = 1), the irradiated surface presents an annular region characterized by a corrugated morphology made by a rather complex network of nanometer-scale ridges, wrinkles, pores, and cavities. Increasing the number of pulses (2 < N < 100), the surface texture progressively evolves towards larger structures, while the central, non-ablated area is gradually decorated by nanoparticles produced during laser ablation. At large number of pulses (200 < N < 1000), a micro-tip with a nanostructured surface forms in the center of the irradiated area, which eventually disappears at still larger number of pulses (N > 1000) and a deep crater is formed. The nanostructure variation with the laser fluence, F, also evidences an interesting dependence, with a coarsening of the structure morphology as F increases. Our experimental findings demonstrate that direct femtosecond laser ablation with optical vortex beams produces interesting patterns not achievable by the more standard beams with a Gaussian intensity profile. They also suggest that appropriate tuning of the experimental conditions (F, N) can allow generating micro- and/or nano-structured surface for any specific application

Surface Structuring with Polarization-Singular Femtosecond Laser Beams Generated by a q-plate

In the last few years femtosecond optical vortex beams with di erent spatial distributions of the state of polarization (e.g. azimuthal, radial, spiral, etc.) have been used to generate complex, regular surface patterns on di erent materials. Here we present an experimental investigation on direct femtosecond laser surface structuring based on a larger class of vector beams generated by means of a q-plate with topological charge q = +1/2. In fact, voltage tuning of q-plate optical retardation allows generating a family of ultrashort laser beams with a continuous spatial evolution of polarization and uence distribution in the focal plane. These beams can be thought of as a controlled coherent superposition of a Gaussian beam with uniform polarization and a vortex beam with a radial or azimuthal state of polarization. The use of this family of ultrashort laser beams in surface structuring leads to a further extension of the achievable surface patterns. The comparison of theoretical predictions of the vector beam characteristics at the focal plane and the generated surface patterns is used to rationalize the dependence of the surface structures on the local state of the laser beam, thus o ering an e ective way to either design unconventional surface structures or diagnose complex ultrashort laser beams

Vector vortex beams generated by q-plates as a versatile route to direct fs laser surface structuring

We report an experimental investigation on direct laser surface structuring with femtosecond vector vortex beams generated by means of q-plates with topological charges q = 1, 3/2, 2, 5/2. Structured light beams with spatially variant state of polarization and intensity are generated and applied to multi-pulse irradiation of a solid crystalline silicon target. The creation of a variety of surface structures, like laser induced periodic surface structures, multi-spot arrays and shaped ablation craters, is demonstrated by direct laser surface structuring with vector vortex beams at different values of q. The features of the surface structures are compared with the vector vortex beam characteristics at the focal plane, evidencing their relationship with the polarization and intensity profile of the laser beams. Our experimental findings show that vector vortex beams produced by q-plates can offer a valuable and versatile route to imprint unconventional surface structures on a solid target through a mask-free ablative process and step scan processing

Surface structures with unconventional patterns and shapes generated by femtosecond structured light fields

We present an investigation on ultrashort laser surface structuring with structured light fields generated by various q-plates. In particular, q-plates with topological charges q = 1, 3/2, 2, 5/2 are used to generate femtosecond (fs) vector vortex beams, and form complex periodic surface structures through multi-pulse ablation of a solid crystalline silicon target. We show how optical retardation tuning of the q-plate offers a feasible way to vary the fluence transverse distribution of the beam, thus allowing the production of structures with peculiar shapes, which depend on the value of q. The features of the generated surface structures are compared with the vector vortex beam characteristics at the focal plane, by rationalizing their relationship with the local state of the laser light. Our experimental findings demonstrate how irradiation with fs complex light beams can offer a valuable route to design unconventional surface structures

sclerostin levels in uremic patients a link between bone and vascular disease

AbstractSclerostin is a marker of low-turnover bone disease in end stage renal disease patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum sclerostin in uremic patients, analyzing its behavior during a single hemodialysis session. Twenty-one adult patients on intermittent hemodialysis treatment were enrolled. Acetate Free Bio-filtration (AFB) was the technique employed. Uremic patients were characterized by higher levels of serum sclerostin when compared with values observed in healthy subjects. Sclerostin assessed in pre-dialysis samples was 1.4 ± 1.02 ng/mL, whereas, in post dialysis samples, a reduction of sclerostin values was observed (0.8 ± 0.6 ng/mL; p: 0.008). Sclerostin correlated with parameters of dialysis adequacy, such as creatinine levels and Kt/V values, and it was significantly associated with atherosclerotic disease. Receiver operating characteristics analysis revealed a good diagnostic profile in identifying atherosclerotic disease. Sclerostin, a full dialyzable substance during AFB di..

Demographic, tumor and clinical features of clinical trials versus clinical practice patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer: results of a prospective study

Several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have demonstrated the efficacy of trastuzumab-based adjuvant therapy in HER2-positive breast cancer (BC). However, RCT patients may not invariably be representative of patients routinely seen in clinical practice (CP). To address this issue, we compared the clinical and tumor features of RCT and CP patients with HER2-positive BC

Off-label use of combined antiretroviral therapy, analysis of data collected by the Italian Register for HIV-1 infection in paediatrics in a large cohort of children

Background: Early start of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in perinatally HIV-1 infected children is the optimal strategy to prevent immunological and clinical deterioration. To date, according to EMA, only 35% of antiretroviral drugs are licenced in children  25%. At last check, during the off label regimen, the 80% (40/50) of patients had an undetectable VL, and 90% (45/50) of them displayed CD4 + T lymphocyte percentage > 25%. The most widely used off-label drugs were: dolutegravir/abacavir/lamivudine (16%; 8/50), emtricitbine/tenofovir disoproxil (22%; 11/50), lopinavir/ritonavir (20%; 10/50) and elvitegravir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/ tenofovir alafenamide (10%; 10/50). At logistic regression analysis, detectable VL before starting the current HAART regimen was a risk factor for receiving an off-label therapy (OR: 2.41; 95% CI 1.13-5.19; p = 0.024). Moreover, children < 2 years of age were at increased risk for receiving off-label HAART with respect to older children (OR: 3.24; 95% CI 1063-7.3; p = 0.001). Even if our safety data regarding off-label regimens where poor, no adverse event was reported. Conclusion: The prescription of an off-label HAART regimen in perinatally HIV-1 infected children was common, in particular in children with detectable VL despite previous HAART and in younger children, especially those receiving their first regimen. Our data suggest similar proportions of virological and immunological successes at last check among children receiving off-label or on-label HAART. Larger studies are needed to better clarify efficacy and safety of off-label HAART regimens in children, in order to allow the enlargement of on-label prescription in children