Disease-specific and general health-related quality of life in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients: The Pros-IT CNR study

Background: The National Research Council (CNR) prostate cancer monitoring project in Italy (Pros-IT CNR) is an observational, prospective, ongoing, multicentre study aiming to monitor a sample of Italian males diagnosed as new cases of prostate cancer. The present study aims to present data on the quality of life at time prostate cancer is diagnosed. Methods: One thousand seven hundred five patients were enrolled. Quality of life is evaluated at the time cancer was diagnosed and at subsequent assessments via the Italian version of the University of California Los Angeles-Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA-PCI) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). Results: At diagnosis, lower scores on the physical component of the SF-12 were associated to older ages, obesity and the presence of 3+ moderate/severe comorbidities. Lower scores on the mental component were associated to younger ages, the presence of 3+ moderate/severe comorbidities and a T-score higher than one. Urinary and bowel functions according to UCLA-PCI were generally good. Almost 5% of the sample reported using at least one safety pad daily to control urinary loss; less than 3% reported moderate/severe problems attributable to bowel functions, and sexual function was a moderate/severe problem for 26.7%. Diabetes, 3+ moderate/severe comorbidities, T2 or T3-T4 categories and a Gleason score of eight or more were significantly associated with lower sexual function scores at diagnosis. Conclusions: Data collected by the Pros-IT CNR study have clarified the baseline status of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. A comprehensive assessment of quality of life will allow to objectively evaluate outcomes of different profile of care

Impact of gastrointestinal side effects on patients’ reported quality of life trajectories after radiotherapy for prostate cancer: Data from the prospective, observational pros-it CNR study

Radiotherapy (RT) represents an important therapeutic option for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The aim of the current study is to examine trajectories in patients’ reported quality of life (QoL) aspects related to bowel function and bother, considering data from the PROState cancer monitoring in ITaly from the National Research Council (Pros-IT CNR) study, analyzed with growth mixture models. Data for patients who underwent RT, either associated or not associated with androgen deprivation therapy, were considered. QoL outcomes were assessed over a 2-year period from the diagnosis, using the Italian version of the University of California Los Angeles-Prostate Cancer Index (Italian-UCLA-PCI). Three trajectories were identified for the bowel function; having three or more comorbidities and the use of 3D-CRT technique for RT were associated with the worst trajectory (OR = 3.80, 95% CI 2.04–7.08; OR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.22–3.87, respectively). Two trajectories were identified for the bowel bother scores; diabetes and the non-Image guided RT method were associated with being in the worst bowel bother trajectory group (OR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.06–2.67; OR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.70–3.86, respectively). The findings from this study suggest that the absence of comorbidities and the use of intensity modulated RT techniques with image guidance are related with a better tolerance to RT in terms of bowel side effects

A global point prevalence survey of antimicrobial use in neonatal intensive care units: The no-more-antibiotics and resistance (NO-MAS-R) study

Background: Global assessment of antimicrobial agents prescribed to infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may inform antimicrobial stewardship efforts. Methods: We conducted a one-day global point prevalence study of all antimicrobials provided to NICU infants. Demographic, clinical, and microbiologic data were obtained including NICU level, census, birth weight, gestational/chronologic age, diagnoses, antimicrobial therapy (reason for use; length of therapy), antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP), and 30-day in-hospital mortality. Findings: On July 1, 2019, 26 of infants (580/2,265; range, 0�100; median gestational age, 33 weeks; median birth weight, 1800 g) in 84 NICUs (51, high-income; 33, low-to-middle income) from 29 countries (14, high-income; 15, low-to-middle income) in five continents received �1 antimicrobial agent (92, antibacterial; 19, antifungal; 4, antiviral). The most common reasons for antibiotic therapy were �rule-out� sepsis (32) and �culture-negative� sepsis (16) with ampicillin (40), gentamicin (35), amikacin (19), vancomycin (15), and meropenem (9) used most frequently. For definitive treatment of presumed/confirmed infection, vancomycin (26), amikacin (20), and meropenem (16) were the most prescribed agents. Length of therapy for culture-positive and �culture-negative� infections was 12 days (median; IQR, 8�14) and 7 days (median; IQR, 5�10), respectively. Mortality was 6 (42, infection-related). An NICU ASP was associated with lower rate of antibiotic utilization (p = 0·02). Interpretation: Global NICU antibiotic use was frequent and prolonged regardless of culture results. NICU-specific ASPs were associated with lower antibiotic utilization rates, suggesting the need for their implementation worldwide. Funding: Merck & Co.; The Ohio State University College of Medicine Barnes Medical Student Research Scholarship © 2021 The Author

Lab on a chip for live-cell manipulation

Microelectronic technology allows precise manipulation of cells without any effect on their phenotype. This article shows that current fabrication and design techniques are spawning new methods in biotechnology with potential application for research, diagnosis, and therapy related to many severe diseases. Recent advances in life sciences have been achieved thanks to a convergence of information technology with new tools and machines for large-scale analysis of the structure of DNA, proteins, and cells

Applications of Dielectrophoresis-based Lab-on-a-chip Devices in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedicine.

The development of advanced analytical and bioseparation methodologies based on micro-or macro-arrays and biosensors is one of the strategic objectives of the so-called postgenomics, but it also has an impact on strategic application fields, such as predictive oncology, iagnostics in the biomedical field, and drug research [1-3]. A comprehensive lists of recently published articles describing works employing commercial biosensors and emerging applications in areas of drug discovery, clinical support, food and environment monitoring, and cell membrane biology were reported by Rich and Myszka [4]

Applications of Dielectrophoresis-based Lab-on-a-chip Devices in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedicine

Il capitolo fornisce lo stato dell'arte relativo alla possibilit\ue0 di integrare dispositivi miniaturizzati basati sulla dielettroforesi e, tramite questi, interagire con precisione con cellule e microsfere. La preparazione di esperimenti innovativi e' il primo passo verso la messa a punto di nuovi protocolli diagnostici e terapeutici che sfruttano questi nuovi apparati per identificare linee cellulari aventi propriet\ue0 particolari

Il giallume europeo delle drupacee su albicocco in Emilia-Romagna: il punto sulla situazione attuale.

E' stata valutata l'evoluzione del giallume europeo delle drupacee (ESFY) in albicoccheti dell'Emilia Romagna dal 2007 ad oggi, mediante rilievi periodici e saggi molecolari con la tecnica della Real time PCR. E'stato studiato il ciclo biologico di Cacopsylla pruni, vettore del fitoplasma responsabile della malattia, infine sono state effettuate prove di valutazione sulla sensibilit\ue0 a ESFY delle combinazioni variet\ue0/portinnesto pi\uf9 diffuse in Emilia-Romagna. I risultati ottebuti mostrano un incremento della malattia che ha raggiunto un incidenza del 4% nelle 1630 piante oggetto della prova; i danni pi\uf9 gravi sono stati riscontrati: 1) in aziende con presenza di piante con et\ue0 superiore ai 10 anni, di variet\ue0 particolarmente suscettibili, 2) su piante innestate su "GF 677", 3) in aziende ubicate vicino fasce boscose con abbondante prugnolo. Individui di C. pruni sono stati catturati in numerose aziende, le popolazioni catturate sono di bassa entit\ue0 anche se la percentuale di insetti infetti dal fitoplasma \ue8 risultata superiore al 10% in tutte le annate. I dati ottenuti sulla sensibilit\ue0 mostrano come la maggior parte delle cultivar presenti mosrti un preoccupante livello di sensibilit\ue0 alla malattia; sono cos\uec in corso ulteriori prove di valutazione di nuove variet\ue0 che possano associare elevati parametri qualitativi a una scarsa sensibilit\ue0 alla malattia