Large vessel vasculitis: which imaging method?

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A Fatal Case of Endocarditis on CoreValve ReValving System Caused by Enterococcus faecium Complicated by Iatrogenic Pancytopenia and Subacute Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation

During the past few years, a new and attractive approach--transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)--has been developed for patients who are symptomatic of aortic stenosis and, due to the high expected operative risk, would not be otherwise treated. Unfortunately, TAVI can result in endocarditis of the percutaneously implanted valve that may present atypically and cause delays in diagnosis and treatment. Herein, the case is described of a 79-year-old female affected by endocarditis on aortic valve percutaneously implanted caused by Enterococcus faecium, complicated by iatrogenic pancytopenia and subacute disseminated intravascular coagulation, that proved fatal at six months after TAVI.During the past few years, a new and attractive approach--transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)--has been developed for patients who are symptomatic of aortic stenosis and, due to the high expected operative risk, would not be otherwise treated. Unfortunately, TAVI can result in endocarditis of the percutaneously implanted valve that may present atypically and cause delays in diagnosis and treatment. Herein, the case is described of a 79-year-old female affected by endocarditis on aortic valve percutaneously implanted caused by Enterococcus faecium, complicated by iatrogenic pancytopenia and subacute disseminated intravascular coagulation, that proved fatal at six months after TAVI

An Ecotoxicological Evaluation of Four Fungal Metabolites with Potential Application as Biocides for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage

Biocides based on chemical synthetic compounds have been commonly used to counteract damages caused by microorganisms on stone cultural heritage. However, in the last few years, the use of commercial and traditional biocides has been banned and/or limited due to their dangerous profile for the environment, as well as human and animal health. Natural products could be used as suitable alternatives for cultural heritage purposes, as they have low toxicity and stability compared with synthetic pesticides. Even if most of the investigated solutions have already shown promising results, their efficiency, ecotoxicological, and chemical features are poorly investigated. In this manuscript, we aimed to evaluate the ecotoxicological profile of four fungal metabolites—namely, cavoxin, epiepoformin, seiridin, and sphaeropsidone—with potential antimicrobial properties for monumental artworks. A battery of ecotoxicological tests using Aliivibrio fischeri (bacterium), Raphidocelis subcapitata (alga), Raphanus sativus L. (macrophyte), Daphnia magna (crustacean), and Caenorhabditis elegans (nematode) revealed a relative lower toxicity of these compounds, especially when compared with Preventol® and Rocima®, commercial biocides mainly used for the conservation of cultural heritage

Gulypyrones A and B and phomentrioloxins B and C produced by Diaporthe gulyae, a potential mycoherbicide for saffron thistle (Carthamus lanatus)

A virulent strain of Diaporthe gulyae, isolated from stem cankers of sunflower and known to be pathogenic to saffron thistle, has been shown to produce both known and previously undescribed metabolites when grown in either static liquid culture or a bioreactor. Together with phomentrioloxin, a phytotoxic geranylcyclohexenetriol recently isolated from a strain of Phomopsis sp., two new phytotoxic trisubstituted α-pyrones, named gulypyrones A and B (1 and 2), and two new 1,O- and 2,O-dehydro derivatives of phomentrioloxin, named phomentrioloxins B and C (3 and 4), were isolated from the liquid culture filtrates of D. gulyae. These four metabolites were characterized as 6-[(2S)2-hydroxy-1-methylpropyl]-4-methoxy-5-methylpyran-2-one (1), 6-[(1E)-3-hydroxy-1-methylpropenyl]- 4-methoxy-3-methylpyran-2-one (2), 4,6-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-2-(7-methyl-3-methyleneoct-6-en-1-ynyl)cyclohex-2-enone (3), and 2,5-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-3-(7-methyl-3-methyleneoct-6-en-1-ynyl)cyclohex-3-enone (4) using spectroscopic and chemical methods. The absolute configuration of the hydroxylated secondary carbon of the 2-hydroxy-1-methylpropyl side chain at C-6 of gulypyrone A was determined as S by applying a modified Mosher’s method. Other well-known metabolites were also isolated including 3-nitropropionic, succinic, and p-hydroxy- and p-methylbenzoic acids, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and nectriapyrone. When assayed using a 5 mM concentration on punctured leaf disks of weedy and crop plants, apart from 3-nitropropionic acid (the main metabolite responsible for the strong phytotoxicity of the culture filtrate), phomentrioloxin B caused small, but clear, necrotic spots on a number of plant species, whereas gulypyrone A caused leaf necrosis on Helianthus annuus plantlets. All other compounds were weakly active or inactive

Muon Radiography Investigations in Boreholes with a Newly Designed Cylindrical Detector

Muons are constantly produced in cosmic-rays and reach the Earth surface with a flux of about 160 particles per second per square meter. The abundance of muons with respect to other cosmic particles and their capability to cross dense materials with low absorption rate allow them to be exploited for large scale geological or human-made object imaging. Muon radiography is based on similar principles as X-ray radiography, measuring the surviving rate of muons escaping the target and relating it to the mass distribution inside the object. In the course of decades, after the first application in 1955, the methodology has been applied in several different fields. Muography allows us to measure the internal density distribution of the investigated object, or to simply highlight the presence of void regions by observing any excess of muons. Most of these applications require the detector to be installed below the rock being probed. In case that possible installation sites are not easily accessible by people, common instrumentation cannot be installed. A novel borehole cylindrical detector for muon radiography has been recently developed to deal with these conditions. It has been realized with a cylindrical geometry to fit typical borehole dimensions. Its design maximizes the geometrical acceptance, minimizing the dead spaces by the use of arc-shaped scintillators. The details of the construction and preliminary results of the first usage are described in this paper

Higginsianins A and B, two fungal diterpenoid α-pyrones with cytotoxic activity against human cancer cells

Two new diterpenoid α-pyrones, named higginsianins A and B, were isolated from the mycelium of the microbial fungus Colletotrichum higginsianum grown in liquid culture. In previous studies, we have shown that both compounds reduce viability of different types of cancer cells in culture. Here, we extend our previous observations and explore, at a deeper level, the cellular effects of higginsianins treatment. Higginisianins A and B reduce viability of A431, HeLa and H1299 cancer cells. Both compounds increase the level of the cell cycle inhibitor p21WAF and reduce the rate of cell proliferation. Cell cycle analyses reveal that higginsianins arrest cancer cells in S-phase. Furthermore, cells incubated with higginsianins reveal discrete γ-H2AX positive nuclear foci indicating the occurrence of DNA lesions. At longer incubation times, higginsianins induce massive cell detachment and non-apoptotic cell death. Human primary keratinocytes and spontaneously immortalized Hacat cells, a preneoplastic cell line model, are less sensitive to higginsianins effects. These findings suggest that higginsianins exhibit considerable cytotoxicity against a wide spectrum of malignant cells and may be considered as promising anticancer agents

Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI Can Monitor the Very Early Inflammatory Treatment Response upon Intra-Articular Steroid Injection in the Knee Joint: A Case Report with Review of the Literature

Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in inflammatory arthritis, especially in conjunction with computer-aided analysis using appropriate dedicated software, seems to be a highly sensitive tool for monitoring the early inflammatory treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. This paper gives a review of the current knowledge of the emerging technique. The potential of the technique is demonstrated and discussed in the context of a case report following the early effect of an intra-articular steroid injection in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis flare in the knee

Cutaneous Metastases from Primary Liver Cancers: The Need for Knowledge and Differential Diagnosis

Primary skin tumors are certainly more frequent than metastatic tumors, but the latter can sometimes be the first sign of otherwise unrecognized neoplastic pathology and always correspond to an advanced stage of the disease. Among the various neoplasms that can metastasize in cutaneous districts, skin metastases from primary malignant neoplasms from the liver and biliary tract are infrequent, and when they do occur they can pose differential diagnosis problems to the pathologist. Here we present two cases of metastatic skin lesions, respectively originating from the liver and the intrahepatic biliary tract, and we conduct a brief review of the current literature

Suppressive activity of Glechoma hederacea extracts against the phytopathogenic Oomycete Plasmopara viticola, and first screening of the active metabolites

Plasmopara viticola is a destructive oomycete that affects grapevines, causing significant economic losses worldwide. This study highlights how the plant Glechoma hederacea might be at the basis for the development of biofungicides to control P. viticola. The aqueous extract obtained from G. hederacea aerial parts showed strong inhibition activity against P. viticola, comparable to that of copper hydroxide. The bioguided purification of the extract by chromatographic techniques led to the isolation of six pure metabolites, identified as the aromatic compounds carvacrol, caffeic acid and methyl caffeate, the flavonoids cirsimaritin and apigenin and the polyphenolic acid rosmarinic acid by spectroscopic methods. This is the first report about the isolation of methyl caffeate and cirsimaritin from G. hederacea. Caffeic acid and methyl caffeate showed the highest disease severity reduction, while carvacrol, cirsimaritin and apigenin also showed moderate activity against P. viticola. The inhibitory activity of the aqueous extract could suggest synergetic or additive action of caffeic acid and methyl caffeate together with other compounds contained in the extract. This study provides insights into the potential of G. hederacea as an allelopathic tool for developing control methods against P. viticola, revealing the combined action of different metabolites involved in the mechanism of action of the active compound