Enriques involutions on pencils of K3 surfaces

The three pencils of K3 surfaces of minimal discriminant whose general element covers at least one Enriques surface are Kond\={o}'s pencils I and II, and the Ap\'ery--Fermi pencil. We enumerate and investigate all Enriques surfaces covered by their general elements.Comment: final version accepted on Math. Nach

Dietary Management in IBS Patients

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic, relapsing functional disorder of the gastrointestinal tract characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits lacking a known structural or anatomic explanation. According to the Rome IV criteria, IBS consists of a set of altered bowel habits over a period of time and includes abdominal pain and discomfort. The pathogenesis of IBS is not completely understood, although it has been noted that various mechanisms are involved determining the onset of symptoms. The risk factors include antibiotics, enteric infection, food intolerance, altered pain perception, altered brain-gut interaction, dysbiosis, increased intestinal permeability, visceral hypersensitivity, and increased activation of the gut mucosal immune system. There has been interest regarding the possible role of food in IBS. Diet is crucial for managing IBS; it plays an important role both in the genesis and in the improvement of symptoms. The aim of the study was to summarize the evidence from the literature, which explains those causes tending to promoting IBS symptoms, such as food content short-chain carbohydrates and the presence of food allergy or food intolerance

Antioxidant properties of omeprazole

AbstractPotential antioxidant properties of therapeutically achievable concentrations of the protonated, active form of omeprazole (OM) were investigated in vitro at specific acidic pH values to mimic intragastric conditions in the clinical setting. We found that OM is a powerful scavenger of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) even at a drug concentration of 10 μM at pH of 5.3 or 3.5. This effect is also evident in the presence of the physiological HOCl scavenger ascorbate. Moreover, 10 and 50 μM OM inhibit significantly both iron-and copper-driven oxidant damage at pH 5.3 and 3.5, respectively. Since oxidative stress is involved the gastric injury of peptic ulcer and gastritis, it may be hypothesized that some therapeutical effects of OM could also be related to its antioxidant properties

Sarcopenia Predicts Major Complications after Resection for Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Compensated Cirrhosis

The burden of post-operative complications of patients undergoing liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a cause of morbidity and mortality. Recently, sarcopenia has been reported to influence the outcome of patients with cirrhosis. We aimed to assess factors associated with sarcopenia and its prognostic role in liver surgery candidates. We included all patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD) undergoing liver resection for primary HCC consecutively referred to the University of Bologna from 2014 to 2019 with an available preoperative abdominal CT-scan performed within the previous three months. A total of 159 patients were included. The median age was 68 years, and 80.5% of the patients were male. Sarcopenia was present in 82 patients (51.6%). Age and body mass index (BMI) were associated with the presence of sarcopenia at multivariate analysis. Thirteen (8.2%) patients developed major complications and 14 (8.9%) presented PHLF grade B-C. The model for end-stage liver disease score was associated with the development of major complications, whereas cACLD presence, thrombocytopenia, portal hypertension (PH), Child-Pugh score and Albumin-Bilirubin score were found to be predictors of clinically significative PHLF. The rate of major complications was 11.8% in sarcopenic patients with cACLD compared with no complications (0%) in patients without sarcopenia and cACLD (p = 0.032). The rate of major complications was significantly higher in patients with (16.3%) vs. patients without (0%) sarcopenia (p = 0.012) in patients with PH. In conclusion, sarcopenia, which is associated with age and BMI, may improve the risk stratification of post-hepatectomy major complications in patients with cACLD and PH

Liver Stiffness Measurement Allows Early Diagnosis of Veno-Occlusive Disease/Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome in Adult Patients Who Undergo Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Results from a Monocentric Prospective Study

ABSTRACT Veno-occlusive disease (VOD), also known as sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), is a life-threatening complication affecting patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The survival rate is higher when specific therapy is initiated early; thus, improving early, noninvasive diagnosis of VOD/SOS is an important need. In an adult population undergoing HSCT, we aimed to assess the role of liver stiffness measurement (LSM), evaluated by transient elastography (TE), for diagnosing VOD/SOS. Between April 2016 and March 2018, 78 consecutive adult patients with indications for allogeneic HSCT were prospectively included. LSM was performed before HSCT and at days +9/10, +15/17, and +22/24 post-HSCT. New European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation criteria were used to establish VOD/SOS diagnosis. Four patients developed VOD/SOS (5.1%) during the study period, with a median time of +17 days post-HSCT. A sudden increase in LSM compared with previously assessed values and pre-HSCT values, was seen in all patients who developed VOD/SOS. LSM increases occurred from 2 to 12 days before clinical SOS/VOD appearance. The VOD/SOS diagnostic performance of increased LSM over pre-HSCT assessment showed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.997 (sensitivity 75%; specificity 98.7%). LSM gradually decreased following successful VOD/SOS-specific treatment. Interestingly, LSM values did not increase significantly in patients experiencing hepatobiliary complications (according to the Common Terminology Criteria) other than VOD/SOS. LSM by TE can be considered a promising method to perform an early, preclinical diagnosis and follow-up of VOD/SOS

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 11

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates published elsewhere are provided as Suppl. material 1