Inguinal polypropylene plug: A cause of unusual testicular tumor pelvic metastasis

We report the case of a patient who had undergone polypropylene plug placement 3 years before and referred to our institution with testicular tumor. CT scan demonstrated an enlargement of pelvic lymph nodes on the tumor side while retroperitoneal nodes were normal. Orchifunicolectomy was performed and histopathological examination showed a mixed germ cell tumor involving the tunica vaginalis, rete testis, epididymis and spermatic cord. After surgery the patient was addressed to adjuvant chemotherapy according to PEB scheme. Clinical re-staging showed a decrease of the pelvic bulk disease whereas retroperitoneal nodes were still normal and tumor markers were negative. Left external, internal and common iliac lymphadenectomy as well as left modified template nervesparing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection was performed. Intraoperatively the node bulk was firmly adherent to the external iliac artery and extended until the common iliac bifurcation. In the deeper part of this enlarged and firm lymphatic chain the polypropylene plug placed at the time of hernioplasty was found. Behind the plug all retroperitoneal nodes appeared normal and resulted negative on histopathologic examination. The patient had an unusual metastatization, probably due to the plug

Simultaneous management of renal carcinoma with caval vein thrombosis and double coronary artery disease

Introduction: Recent advances in surgical and anesthesiology techniques allow simultaneous thoracic and abdominal operations to be performed for severe heart disease and benignant or malignant abdominal diseases. Case report: The simultaneous surgical management in a 75-year-old patient suffering from severe double coronary artery disease and a renal cell carcinoma with extended intravascular growth into the inferior vena cava is reported. Conclusion: The postoperative course was uneventful. Simultaneous surgery proved to be beneficial and safe, showing optimal results in our patient

Influence of environmental colors and long-term sex isolation on zebrafish shoaling behavior

Paper description: Zebrafish social behavior is mediated by different means of communication (chemical and visual). The potential influence of environmental coloring on the shoaling preference of Danio rerio has not been studied. Sex-related differences were found. Unlike females, male fish shoaled more with another male and less with a potential sexual partner. We did not find a significant influence of environmental coloring on social preference patterns. These results are an addition to the insufficient literature in this research area, which is generally characterized by underestimation of sex-related differences in the zebrafish social behavior. Abstract: Zebrafish has a complex social behavior and little is known about the role of sexual preference and their environmental social interactions. In this study we investigated the potential influence of environmental colors and shoaling preferences of zebrafish male and female populations, with a focus on visual communication. Males and females were kept for 7 days in gender-isolated tanks, with a specific habitat color for each group: green for males and red for females. After the pre-test period, all the animals were kept separated and 8 noninvasive behavioral tests were conducted in a T-maze, with the application of different visual stimuli. We did not observe any clear influence of environmental coloring on social zebrafish choices. Significant sex-related differences were found in shoaling partner preference (i.e. same sex vs. other sex, one fish vs. three fish) as follows: females showed a tendency to avoid other females and spent more time with males. Male fish did not display a preference between one or three fish stimuli and they shoaled more with another male and less with a potential sexual partner. There was an obvious difference between males and females in responses and selection of shoaling partners. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS190118015L Received: January 18, 2019; Revised: February 23, 2019; Accepted: March 5, 2019; Published online: March 19, 2019 How to cite this article: Lenzi C, Grasso C, Nicoara M, Savuca A, Ciobica A, Plavan GI, Strungaru SA. Influence of environmental colors and long-term sex isolation on zebrafish shoaling behavior. Arch Biol Sci. 2019;71(2):329-37

Determination of total vanadium and vanadium(V) in groundwater from Mt. Etna and estimate of daily intake of vanadium(V) through drinking water.

Vanadium(V) can be found in natural waters in the form of V(IV) and V(V) species, which have different biological properties and toxicity. The purpose of this study was to determine the concentrations of total V and V(V) in groundwater from the area of Mt. Etna and to assess the estimated daily intake (EDI) of V(V) of adults and children through drinking water. Water was sampled monthly at 21 sites in 2011. Total vanadium was determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and speciation by ion chromatography-ICP-MS (IC-ICP-MS). The concentration of V(V) species ranged from 62.8 to 98.9% of total V, with significantly higher concentrations in samples from the S/SW slope of Mt. Etna. The annual mean concentrations of total V exceeded the Italian legal limit of 140 μg/L at four sites on the S/SW slope. In the absence of thresholds for V(V) intake, only the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has calculated a reference dose. Children's EDI of V(V) at the sites with the higher V concentrations exceeded EPA thresholds (9 μg/kg/day). In particular, we found in Camporotondo, Mascalucia, Ragalna and San Pietro Clarenza sites children's EDIs of 11, 9.3, 11 and 9.9, respectively. The EDI of V(V) was significantly higher than the literature range (0.09–0.34 μg/kg/day)

Body composition assessment: comparison of quantitative values between magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography.

Background The primary objective of this study was to compare measurements of skeletal muscle index (SMI), visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) at the level of L3, on subjects who underwent computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations within a three-month period. The secondary objective was to compare the automatic and semi-automatic quantifications of the same values for CT images. Methods Among subjects who underwent CT and MRI at our Institution between 2011 and 2020, exclusion criteria were: presence of extensive artifacts; images not including the whole waist circumference; CT acquired with low-dose technique and lack of non-contrast images. A set of three axial images (CT, MRI T1-weighted and T2-weighted) were used to extract the following measurements with semi-automatic segmentations: SMI [calculated normalizing skeletal muscle area (SMA) by the square height], SAT, VAT. For the CT images only, the same values were also calculated by using automatic segmentation. Statistical analysis was performed comparing quantitative MRI and CT measurements by Pearson correlation analysis and by Bland-Altman agreement analysis. Results A total of 123 patients were included. By performing linear regression analysis, CT and MRI measurements of SMI showed a high correlation (r2=0.81 for T1, r2=0.89 for T2), with a mean logarithmic difference between CT and MRI quantitative values of 0.041 for T1-weighted and 0.072 for T2-weighted images. CT and MRI measurements of SAT showed high correlation (r2=0.81 for T1; r2=0.81 for T2), with a mean logarithmic difference between CT and MRI values of 0.0174 for T1-weighted and 0.201 for T2-weighted images. CT and MRI measurements of VAT showed high correlation (r2=0.94 for T1; r2=0.93 for T2), with a mean logarithmic difference of 0.040 for T1-weighted and -0.084 for T2-weighted images. The comparison of values extracted by semi-automatic and automatic segmentations were highly correlated. Conclusions Quantification of body composition values at MRI from T1-weighted and T2-weighted images was highly correlated to same values at CT, therefore quantitative values of body composition among patients who underwent either one of the examinations may be compared. CT body composition values extracted by semi-automatic and automatic segmentations showed high correlation

Moral dilemmas in self-driving cars

Abstract: Autonomous driving systems promise important changes for future of transport, primarily through the reduction of road accidents. However, ethical concerns, in particular, two central issues, will be key to their successful development. First, situations of risk that involve inevitable harm to passengers and/or bystanders, in which some individuals must be sacrificed for the benefit of others. Secondly, and identification responsible parties and liabilities in the event of an accident. Our work addresses the first of these ethical problems. We are interested in investigating how humans respond to critical situations and what reactions they consider to be morally right or at least preferable to others. Our experimental approach relies on the trolley dilemma and knowledge gained from previous research on this. More specifically, our main purpose was to test the difference between what human drivers actually decide to do in an emergency situations whilst driving a realistic simulator and the moral choices they make when they pause to consider what they would do in the same situation and to better understand why these choices may differs.Keywords: Self-driving Cars; Trolley Problem; Moral Choices; Moral Responsibility; Virtual Reality Dilemmi morali nelle automobili a guida autonomaRiassunto: I sistemi di guida autonomi promettono importanti cambiamenti per il futuro dei trasporti, principalmente attraverso la riduzione degli incidenti stradali. Tuttavia, vi sono preoccupazioni etiche, in particolare due questioni centrali, fondamentali per il loro sviluppo. In primo luogo, le situazioni di rischio che comportano inevitabili danni ai passeggeri e/o ai pedoni, ovvero situazioni in cui alcune persone devono essere sacrificate a beneficio di altri. In secondo luogo, l’identificazione delle parti responsabili in caso di incidente. Il nostro lavoro affronta il primo di questi problemi etici. Siamo interessati a studiare come gli umani rispondono a situazioni critiche e quali reazioni considerano moralmente giuste o almeno preferibili. Il nostro approccio sperimentale si basa sul trolley problem e sulle conoscenze acquisite da precedenti ricerche su questo ambito. Più specificamente, il nostro scopo principale è quello di testare la differenza tra ciò che i conducenti umani decidono effettivamente di fare in una situazione di emergenza, mentre guidano un simulatore realistico, e le scelte morali che compiono se posti nella stessa situazione e hanno la possibilità di decidere senza limiti di tempo. Lo scopo è inoltre comprendere come e perché queste scelte possono differire.Parole chiave: Automobili a guida autonoma; Trolley problem; Scelte morali; Responsabilità morale, Realtà virtual