Mycobacterium lentiflavum Infection in Immunocompetent Patient

Mycobacterium lentiflavum is a recently described nontuberculous mycobacterium that has mainly clinical importance in young children with cervical lymphadenitis and in immunocompromised patients. We describe a case of chronic pulmonary infection in an immunocompetent patient. Our observation confirms clinical, diagnostic, and treatment difficulties in the management of M. lentiflavum infection

Cardiac rehabilitation outcome after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Patients with severe aortic stenosis are increasingly treated with transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) as a safer option to surgical aortic valve replacement (sAVR). Similar to many other heart diseases, after the specific therapeutic intervention patients are eligible for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for the purpose of functional recovery. Thus far, CR after both sAVR and TAVI has been used to a limited extent, as shown by the availability of only two meta-analyses including 5 studies and 6 studies, respectively. Recent observational studies reported a significant improvement in functional indexes such as the Barthel scale and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). We evaluated the outcome of CR in patients after TAVI treatment by measuring changes in the commonly used Barthel scale and 6MWT and adding the short physical performance battery (SPPB) scale as an index to assess lower extremity function. All indexes demonstrated a significant improvement, namely p<0.001 with the Barthel scale, p=0.043 for the 6MWT, and p=0.002 for SPPB. These results confirm the significant improvement of the Barthel scale and 6MWT reported in the previous meta-analysis and suggest the utility of SPPB as a further index of efficacy of CR in patients with severe aortic stenosis treated with TAVI

Milk production, feeding systems and environmental impact of dairy cattle farming in Alpine areas: results of a field study

Intensification of milk production occurs even in areas traditionally characterized by low-intensive farming systems like mountain areas, leading to environmental concern. The aim of this study was to analyze management and feeding systems in a sample of 31 dairy farms in a mountain area of Lombardy (Valtellina) and their effects on milk production and environmental sustainability. In 2006 daily milk sold was 17.5&plusmn;5.6 kg/cow on average and daily DMI was 19.4&plusmn;1.3 kg/cow, with a high forages content (65.8&plusmn;9.2% DM). Rations were quite energetically balanced (+0.09&plusmn;17.6 MJ/d of ME). Rations higher in starch and lower in NDF resulted in higher milk yields but significantly compromised farm self-sufficiency (which was 62.9&plusmn;16.8% DM on average). Average Metabolizable Protein balance was negative (-280&plusmn;203 g/d of MP), mainly due to the low CP content of diets (13.5&plusmn;1.5% DM). When CP content increased, N manure and N excreted in urine increased (P<0.05 and P<0.01 respectively), probably due to insufficient energy intake which is partly caused by the scarce quality of forages. An improvement in forages quality could increase ME and MP contents of diets without compromising farm self-sufficiency

Design Stories. Narrative as a Research Tool for Advanced Design

The authors' perspective focuses on the dialogic - communicative dimension - the normatives - activated in the process of advanced design. Thios view toward that particular form of innovation that, on one hand, spreads in social system, through the design of new artificts - tangible, relationall, communicative, spatial, instrumental, etc; on the other one, it takes the form of cultural testimony, as text, thoughts, projects, utopias. Design innovation is at the center of network on relationships where "discourse" and "rhetoric" are dominant because they allow to assign menaing and significance to innovation, legitimizing its products. In facts, as it generates innovation, design is a "cultural system" that produces a sort of semiotic sphere fed by ideas, visions, images and imaginery of an era

LAPAROSCOPIC SPLENECTOMY IN HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES

Aims: Although laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) for benign hematologic disease is well accepted, its role in the treatment of haematological malignancies is still controversial. The aim of this study is to compare efficacy and feasibility of LS for hematologic malignancies and patients outcome with benign disease patients wgo underwent thesame procedure.Methods: Between January 2001 and December 2007 in two affiliated university hospital 141 patients underwent to LS for hematologic disease. 104 for benign hematologic disorders (HB) and 37 (26,2%) for malignancies (HM). Results: Median splenic weight was greater in the HM group (mean 787 gr range 205-2500 gr) than in the HB group (mean 350 ge range 150-110 gr) with a statistically significant difference (p<0.005). The conversion rate is significantly greater in the HM group (22,2% versus 2,9% p<0.001) instead the mean operation time (150 minutes in HM group vs 125 in HB) and the mean blood loss are similar in the two groups of patients. Considering the postoperative course, morbidity (13.8% in HM vs 11,5% in HB group) and mean hospital stay (5,5 days in HM vs 4,4 in HB) were not different among the two groups. No mortality occurred.Conclusions: The analysis of our data highlights that LS for hematologic malignancies is effective and feasible even if associated to a higher conversion rate compared with LS for benign disorders. Besides, no differences in the outcome of patients (blood loss, morbidity, mortality and hospital stay) was noted among the two group

Exploring Immunohistochemistry in Fish: Assessment of Antibody Reactivity by Western Immunoblotting

In recent years, research on fish has seen remarkable advancements, especially in aquaculture, ornamental fish industry, and biomedical studies. Immunohistochemistry has become crucial in fish research, aiding in physiological and pathological investigations. However, the use of antibodies originally developed for mammals has raised concerns about their cross-reactivity and specificity in fish. This study systematically evaluated the reactivity of commonly used antibodies for diagnostic purposes, especially in fish pathology, including pan-cytokeratin, vimentin, S-100, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and desmin in the tissue of Sparus aurata, Dicentrarchus labrax, Oncorhynchus mykiss, and Carassius auratus. Western immunoblotting was employed to assess antibody specificity. The results revealed that the pan-cytokeratin and glial fibrillary acidic protein antibodies cross-react with all tested fish species, while S-100 demonstrated specific staining in sea bream, goldfish, and rainbow trout tissues. Conversely, vimentin and desmin antibodies displayed no reactivity. In conclusion, the anti-cytokeratin clone AE1/AE3 and the polyclonal rabbit anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein antibody, which are extensively used in mammals, were validated for fish immunohistochemical studies. Regrettably, D33 anti-desmin and V9 anti-vimentin clones are unsuitable for immunohistochemistry in the tested fish. These findings underscore the need for species-specific antibodies and proper validation for accurate immunohistochemistry analyses in fish research