Good prenatal detection rate of major birth defects in HIV-infected pregnant women in Italy

What's already known about this topic? Exposure to antiretroviral treatment in pregnancy does not seem to increase the risk of birth defects, but there is no information on the rate of prenatal detection of such defects. What does this study adds? We provide for the first time, in a national case series, information about prenatal detection rate in women with HIV (51.6% for any major defect, 66.7% for chromosomal abnormalities, and 85% for severe structural defect

A modular 3D printed lab-on-a-chip for early cancer detection

A functional polymeric 3D device is produced in a single step printing process using a stereolithography based 3D printer. The photocurable formulation is designed for introducing a controlled amount of carboxyl groups (-COOH), in order to perform a covalent immobilization of bioreceptors on the device. The effectiveness of the application is demonstrated by performing an immunoassay for the detection of protein biomarkers involved in angiogenesis, whose role is crucial in the onset of cancer and in the progressive metastatic behavior of tumors. The detection of angiogenesis biomarkers is necessary for an early diagnosis of the pathology, allowing the employment of a less invasive therapy for the patient. In particular, vascular endothelial growth factor and angiopoietin-2 biomarkers are detected with a limit of detection of 11 ng mL-1 and 0.8 ng mL-1, respectively. This study shows how 3D microfabrication techniques, material characterization, and device development could be combined to obtain an engineered polymeric chip with intrinsic tuned functionalities

Bi2O3 immobilized 3D structured clay filters for solar photocatalytic treatment of wastewater from batch to scaleup reactors

3D structured clay filters were synthesized using the 3D printed molds. The Bi2O3 photocatalyst was immobilized on the surface of the clay filter using sol-gel dip, soak and calcination at 450 °C. The X-Ray Diffraction analysis of the immobilized filter showed the growth of tetragonal β-Bi2O3 on the clay. The diffused reflectance UV–Vis spectroscopy confirmed the presence of β-Bi2O3 on the clay with a broad optical absorption in the visible range and an estimated bandgap of 2.38 eV. The morphology of the Bi2O3 filter showed uniform layered films on the irregular grains of calcined clay with a crackly appearance. The photocatalytic properties of the Bi2O3 filter were evaluated for the degradation of the anionic indigo carmine (IC) dye and Bisphenol-A (BPA) under visible light and natural sunlight. Bi2O3 coated filter was more effective under natural sunlight because of the high intensity of solar irradiation. Total organic carbon analysis revealed up to 30% and 70% mineralization of the IC and BPA moieties, respectively. A recirculating semi-batch reactor with the upscaled configuration of the Bi2O3 filter was designed to degrade a large volume of both individual and mixed IC and BPA solutions. The overall results revealed a high potential of the Bi2O3 clay filter for the treatment of organic pollutants

Repeat adverse events long after percutaneous coronary revascularization in diabetics

Aim. Diabetics with coronary artery disease face a high risk of adverse events following coronary revascularization. However, recurrence rates of after the first revascularization have never been appraised. The aim of this study was to evaluate recurrent events In diabetics undergoing percutaneous coronary Intervention (PCI) in the current era. Methods. Authors collected baseline and outcome data of consecutive type-2 diabetics treated with PCI (July 2002-December 2005). Endpoints of interest were the long-term rates of major adverse cardiac events (MACE: cardiac death, myocardial infarction [MI], percutaneous target vessel revascularization [TVR-PCI], or coronary artery bypass grafting [CABG]), nonTVR PCI, and stent thrombosis. Results. A total of 429 diabetics were included, 191 (44%) Insulin-dependent, with drug-eluting stents implanted in 232 (54%). After a median of 38 months, events were as follows: MACE In 167 (38.9%) subjects, cardiac death In 38 (8.8%), MI in 42 (9-8%), TVR-PCI In 130 (30.3%), CABG in 11 (2.6%), non-TVR-PCI in 52 (12.1%), and definite stent thrombosis In 9 (2.1%). Among the 129 patients undergoing TVR-PCI as first event, as many as 28 (21.7%) underwent a second TVR-PCI, 7 (5.4%) underwent a third TVR-PCI, and a further 2 (1.5%) underwent a fourth TVR-PCI, whereas CABG was performed In 2 (1.5%) and non-TVR-PCI in 4 (3.1%). Conclusion. This work, originally reporting on the risk of recurrent repeat revascularization events among diabetics treated with PCI, showed that adverse events occur frequently in these patients, but can be managed in most cases safely and successfully by means of repeat PCI only

A long-term comparison of drug-eluting versus bare metal stents for the percutaneous treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions

Background - After the first exciting results on drug-eluting stents (DES), many concerns have been raised on their potential risk for late stent thrombosis. Whereas DES appear beneficial at early and mid-term for coronary bifurcation lesions, no data are available on their long-term safety in this setting in comparison to bare metal stents (BMS). We thus aimed to appraise the long-term ( > 2 years) outcomes of patients with bifurcation lesions treated with DES vs. BMS. Methods - We abstracted baseline, procedural and follow-up data on all patients with bifurcation coronary lesions (both branches with reference vessel diameter > 2.0 mm) treated with stent implantation at our centre. The primary end-point was the long-term ( > 2 years) rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE, i.e. cardiac death, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting and target vessel revascularization). Results - A total of 315 patients and 334 lesions were included, 84.4% treated with DES, and 15.6% treated with BMS. The side branch was stented in 108 cases, according to a provisional T in 76 (22.7%), crushing in 15 (4.5%),V in 14 (4.2%), and culottes in 1 (0.3%). In-hospital MACE occurred in 4 (1.5%) patients of the DES group and 2 (4.1%) of the BMS group (P = 0.22). After 35.8 +/- 12.9 months, MACE were 72 (27.1 %) vs. 24 (49%), respectively (P = 0.002), with cardiac death in 7 (2.6%) patients vs. 3 (6.1 %, P = 0.20), myocardial infarction in 12 (4.5%) vs. 6 (12.2%, P = 0.42), coronary artery bypass grafting in 5 (1.9%) vs. 1 (2%, P = 0.93), target lesion revascularization in 30 (11.3%) vs. 13 (26.5%, P = 0.0042), and target vessel revascularization in 48 (18%) vs. 13 (26.5%, P = 0.16). Definite stent thrombosis occurred in 2 (0.75%) patients in the DES group vs. 1 (2%, P = 0.93) in the BMS group, whereas probable stent thrombosis was adjudicated in 5 (1.9%) vs. 2 (4%, P = 0.93). Conclusion - This cohort study, reporting for the first time on the long-term outlook of patients treated with DES vs. BMS for coronary bifurcation lesions, supports the overall safety and efficacy of DES in comparison to BMS. Specifically, even after several years of follow-up, repeat revascularizations appeared significantly lower with DES, and stent thromboses occurred with equivalent frequency in both DES and BMS groups