On the hydrolysis of the Dysprosium(III) ion

The hydrolysis of the Dysprosium (III) (Dy 3+ ) ion has been investigated at 25°C in 1, 2 and 3 molal (Na)ClO4 medium through a combined potentiometric‐coulometric methodology. At each perchlorate concentration the formation constants of the complexes DyOH 2+ , Dy2(OH)2 4+ and Dy5(OH)9 6+ have been determined. The values have then been extrapolated to zero ionic strength by using the Specific Interaction Theory. Analogies with the hydrolysis mechanism of other lanthanides are pointed out. This paper is just the first to be reported of a series of studies undertaken with the aim to prove that a single mechanism of hydrolysis applies to all the trivalent lanthanides and probably to the corresponding actinides, too radioactive to be investigated directly

Z-scores of fetal bladder distention for the antenatal differential diagnosis of posterior urethral valves and urethral atresia

Objective: To construct reference values for fetal urinary bladder distension in pregnancy and use Z-scores as a diagnostic tool to differentiate posterior urethral valves (PUV) from urethral atresia (UA). Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study in healthy singleton pregnancies aimed at constructing nomograms of fetal urinary bladder diameter and volume between 15 and 35 weeks' gestation. Z-scores of longitudinal bladder diameter (LBD) were calculated and validated in a cohort of fetuses with megacystis with ascertained postnatal or postmortem diagnosis, collected from a retrospective, multicenter study. Correlations between anatomopathological findings, based on medical examination of the infant or postmortem examination, and fetal megacystis were established. The accuracy of the Z-scores was evaluated by receiver-operating-characteristics (ROC)-curve analysis. Results: Nomograms of fetal urinary bladder diameter and volume were produced from three-dimensional ultrasound volumes in 225 pregnant women between 15 and 35 weeks of gestation. A total of 1238 urinary bladder measurements were obtained. Z-scores, derived from the fetal nomograms, were calculated in 106 cases with suspected lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO), including 76 (72%) cases with PUV, 22 (21%) cases with UA, four (4%) cases with urethral stenosis and four (4%) cases with megacystis-microcolon-intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome. Fetuses with PUV showed a significantly lower LBD Z-score compared to those with UA (3.95 vs 8.83, P < 0.01). On ROC-curve analysis, we identified 5.2 as the optimal Z-score cut-off to differentiate fetuses with PUV from the rest of the study population (area under the curve, 0.84 (95% CI, 0.748–0.936); P < 0.01; sensitivity, 74%; specificity, 86%). Conclusions: Z-scores of LBD can distinguish reliably fetuses with LUTO caused by PUV from those with other subtypes of LUTO, with an optimal cut-off of 5.2. This information should be useful for prenatal counseling and management of LUTO

Stem-like and highly invasive prostate cancer cells expressing CD44v8-10 marker originate from CD44-negative cells

In human prostate cancer (PCa), the neuroendocrine cells, expressing the prostate cancer stem cell (CSC) marker CD44, may be resistant to androgen ablation and promote tumor recurrence. During the study of heterogeneity of the highly aggressive neuroendocrine PCa cell lines PC3 and DU-145, we isolated and expanded in vitro a minor subpopulation of very small cells lacking CD44 (CD44neg). Unexpectedly, these sorted CD44neg cells rapidly and spontaneously converted to a stable CD44high phenotype specifically expressing the CD44v8-10 isoform which the sorted CD44high subpopulation failed to express. Surprisingly and potentially interesting, in these cells expression of CD44v8-10 was found to be induced in stem cell medium. CD44 variant isoforms are known to be more expressed in CSC and metastatic cells than CD44 standard isoform. In agreement, functional analysis of the two sorted and cultured subpopulations has shown that the CD44v8-10pos PC3 cells, resulting from the conversion of the CD44neg subpopulation, were more invasive in vitro and had a higher clonogenic potential than the sorted CD44high cells, in that they produced mainly holoclones, known to be enriched in stem-like cells. Of interest, the CD44v8-10 is more expressed in human PCa biopsies than in normal gland. The discovery of CD44v8-10pos cells with stem-like and invasive features, derived from a minoritarian CD44neg cell population in PCa, alerts on the high plasticity of stem-like markers and urges for prudency on the approaches to targeting the putative CSC

Medicina interna perioperatoria - Il paziente chirurgico complesso: il ruolo dell’internista nell’ospedale snello, a misura del paziente, organizzato per intensità di cure

Perché l’internista è necessario nella gestione dei pazienti complessi candidati ad intervento chirurgico F. Gilioli, G. Chesi La medicina interna nell’assistenza del paziente chirurgico complesso M. Fabbri, S. Galli, A. Morettini Il paziente cardiopatico G. Chesi, F. Gilioli Il paziente con broncopneumopatia cronica ostruttiva M. Candela Il paziente diabetico L. Morbidoni La chirurgia nel grande anziano: rischi e opportunità A. Greco, M. Greco, G. D’Onofrio, G. Paroni, D. Sancarlo, M. Lauriola, D. Seripa Il paziente candidato ad intervento chirurgico a rischio trombo-embolico R. Re, M. Campanini Concetto di Ospedale snello, hospitalist e di co-management I. Stefani, A. Mazzone L’internista nel reparto di Ortopedia: il percorso del paziente ricoverato per frattura prossimale di femore R. Nardi, M. Mazzetti, C. Marchetti L’internista nel reparto di neurochirurgia C. Cicognani, S. Zaccaroni L’internista nel reparto di ostetricia A. Maina, V. Donvito, L. Balbi L’internista nel Centro Trapianti di fegato L. Fontanella, M. Imparato La gestione del dolore post-operatorio in ambito internistico M. Bosco, R. Bertè, G. Civardi La sindrome da rialimentazione R. Risicato, G. Scanelli, L. Tramontano, U. Politti Terapia infusionale pre-intra-post-operatoria: solamente un problema dell’anestesista? F. Sgambato, G. Pinna, S. Prozzo, E. Sgambato Il paziente ad elevato rischio emorragico: valutazione e management A.M. Pizzini, I. Iori La gestione perioperatoria o periprocedurale della terapia anticoagulante-antiaggregante in elezione e in urgenza A. Fontanella, R. Re Le complicanze mediche e gli eventi avversi indesiderabili più frequenti nel paziente internistico complesso operato M. Silingardi Pazienti chirurgici ricoverati in Medicina Interna: i pazienti a rischio, selezione delle priorità e delle emergenze urgenze e pianificazione dell’assistenza P. Gnerre, M. Gambacorta, A. Percivale Qualità, indicatori ed audit come strumento di miglioramento nell’assistenza del paziente complesso in chirurgia S. De Carli, A. Montagnani Quali proposte ed evidenze per nuovi modelli organizzativi in cui l’internista può assumere un ruolo fondamentale? A. Fontanella, M. Campanin

Phase II study of the safety and efficacy of oral capecitabine in patients with platinum-pretreated advanced or recurrent cervical carcinoma

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Classification of Pediatric Asthma: From Phenotype Discovery to Clinical Practice

Advances in big data analytics have created an opportunity for a step change in unraveling mechanisms underlying the development of complex diseases such as asthma, providing valuable insights that drive better diagnostic decision-making in clinical practice, and opening up paths to individualized treatment plans. However, translating findings from data-driven analyses into meaningful insights and actionable solutions requires approaches and tools which move beyond mining and patterning longitudinal data. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances in phenotyping of asthma, to discuss key hurdles currently hampering the translation of phenotypic variation into mechanistic insights and clinical setting, and to suggest potential solutions that may address these limitations and accelerate moving discoveries into practice. In order to advance the field of phenotypic discovery, greater focus should be placed on investigating the extent of within-phenotype variation. We advocate a more cautious modeling approach by “supervising” the findings to delineate more precisely the characteristics of the individual trajectories assigned to each phenotype. Furthermore, it is important to employ different methods within a study to compare the stability of derived phenotypes, and to assess the immutability of individual assignments to phenotypes. If we are to make a step change toward precision (stratified or personalized) medicine and capitalize on the available big data assets, we have to develop genuine cross-disciplinary collaborations, wherein data scientists who turn data into information using algorithms and machine learning, team up with medical professionals who provide deep insights on specific subjects from a clinical perspective