Pseudoarthrosis of second metatarsal fracture

Metatarsal fractures make up the greatest portion of foot fractures in children. Most of them are treated with closed reduction and non-weightbearing cast immobilization.Usually, these fractures heal uneventfully and delay union and pseudoarthrosis are rare. We report a case of a 10-year-old child with non-union of the second metatarsal following a traumatic fracture, caused by an accident 10 months before, and treated successfully by osteosynthesis with plate and screws. Good clinical outcome was achieved at 2 years follow-up

Impact of lipid sources on quality traits of medical cannabis-based oil preparations

The feasibility of the use of two lipid sources and their impact on the cannabinoid profile, terpene fingerprint, and degradation products in medical cannabis oil preparations during 3 months of refrigerated storage time were investigated. LCHRMS-Orbitrap® and HS-SPME coupled to GC-MS for the investigation of targeted and untargeted cannabinoids, terpenes, and lipid degradation products in Bedrocan® and Bediol® macerated oils were used as analytical approaches. As regards the cannabinoid trend during 90 days of storage, there were no differences between PhEur-grade olive oil (OOPH) and medium-chain triglycerides oil (MCT oil) coupled to a good stability of preparations for the first 60 days both in Bedrocan® and Bediol® oils. MCT lipid source extracted a significant concentration of terpenes compared to olive oil. Terpenes showed a different scenario since MCT oil displayed the strongest extraction capacity and conservation trend of all compounds during the shelf life. Terpenes remained stable throughout the entire storage period in MCT formulations while a significant decrease after 15 and 30 days in Bediol® and Bedrocan® was observed in olive oil. Therefore, MCT oil could be considered a more suitable lipid source compared to olive oil involved in the extraction of medical cannabis for magistral preparations.Fil: Ramella, Alberto. Farmacia Dott.ri Giuliana E Alberto Ramellasas; ItaliaFil: Roda, Gabriella. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Pavlovic, Radmila. Universita Degli Studi Di Milano. Medicina Veterinaria. Dipartimento Di Scienze Veterinarie Per la Salute.; ItaliaFil: Cas, Michele Dei. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Casagni, Eleonora. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Mosconi, Giacomo. Universita Degli Studi Di Milano. Medicina Veterinaria. Dipartimento Di Scienze Veterinarie Per la Salute.; ItaliaFil: Cecati, Francisco Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química; ArgentinaFil: Minghetti, Paola. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Grizzetti, Carlo. Ospedale Di Circolofondazione Macchi, Asst Sette Laghi; Itali

transient femoral nerve palsy in spica cast treatment for developmental dysplasia of the hip

A 4 months and half female child come to our attention for congenital dislocation of the left hip, previously treated in another hospital with abduction bracing, without satisfactory results. After progressive longitudinal bilateral traction, closed reduction under general anesthesia was performed and a spica cast was applied in the so-called human position. The patients remained in the spica cast for 6 weeks and then the plaster cast was renewed in narcosis for another 6 weeks. Once the second cast has been removed left femoral nerve palsy was detected. Orthopaedic treatment was interrupted and in 3 months the nerve completely recovered, while the hip was still stable. We followed the child regularly since then, she is now five years old, she is totally asymptomatic, X-rays shows a residual acetabular dysplasia, with no sign of avascular necrosis

Basic fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor serum levels in breast cancer patients and healthy women: useful as diagnostic tools?

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in breast cancer cells and the corresponding serum levels in individual patients. The study also evaluated the potential of serum levels of the two growth factors as diagnostic markers in a case–control study. METHODS: VEGF expression and bFGF expression were determined in 62 and 63 tumor samples, respectively. Serum VEGF and bFGF levels were determined in 54 and 65 healthy women and in 69 and 73 breast cancer patients, respectively, using a quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique. RESULTS: A direct correlation was observed between VEGF expression and bFGF expression in individual tumors (P = 0.001) and between serum levels (P = 0.038) in individual patients, but not between tumor cell expression and the corresponding serum level for either growth factor. Median values of serum levels in healthy women and breast cancer patients were not different for VEGF (P = 0.055), but were significantly different for bFGF (P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve identified a serum bFGF concentration of 1.0 pg/ml, with 84.9% sensitivity and 63.1% specificity, as the best cut-off value to discriminate between healthy women and breast cancer patients. An age-based subgroup analysis showed that serum values of patients older than 70 years of age mainly contributed to the high accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Our data repropose bFGF as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for breast cancer

Laser ablation is superior to TACE in large-sized hepatocellular carcinoma: A pilot case-control study

Background:Limited therapies are available for large ( 6540 mm) unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Currently, the standard treatment with transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) is unsatisfactory with high recurrence rate and limited effect on survival. Laser Ablation (LA) has emerged as a relatively new technique characterized by high efficacy and good safety. This study is aimed to evaluate the efficacy of LA in comparison to TACE in patients with large HCC. Methods: Eighty-two patients with a single HCC nodule 6540 mm (BCLC stage A or B) were enrolled in this case-control study. Forty-one patients were treated with LA and 41 patients were treated with TACE. Response to therapy was evaluated according to the mRECIST criteria. Survival was calculated with Kaplan-Meier from the time of cancer diagnosis to death with values censored at the date of the last follow-up. Results: Twenty-six (63.4%) and 8 (19.5%) patients had a complete response after LA and TACE, respectively (p &lt; 0.001). Subsequently we stratified the HCCs in 3 categories according to the nodule size: 40-50 mm, 51-60 mm, and &gt; 60 mm. LA resulted superior to TACE especially in nodules ranging between 51 and 60 mm in diameter, with a complete response rate post-LA and post-TACE of 75% and 14.3%, respectively (p = 0.0133). The 36 months cumulative survival rate in patients treated with LA and TACE was 55.4% and 48.8%, respectively. The disease recurrence rates after LA and TACE were 19.5% and 75.0%, respectively. Conclusions: LA is a more effective therapeutic option than TACE in patients with solitary large HCC

GLI SPIN-OFF DI RICERCA COME SPINTA ALLO SVILUPPO DI UN'ECONOMIA CIRCULA

Abstract L’economia circolare rappresenta oggi un nuovo paradigma economico basato sull’ambiente e sul recupero dei materiali. Gli Spin-off sono aziende “Science Based” che rappresentano uno strumento alternativo per promuovere il trasferimento di conoscenze e tecnologie dalla ricerca alla commercializzazione e produzione. In altre parole essi rappresentano un ponte tra il sistema della ricerca e il sistema produttivo. Questa parte di studio fa parte di un progetto più ampio e complesso il cui obiettivo è verificare se lo sviluppo di Spin-off di ricerca ed in particolare accademici, che operano nel settore “ambiente” o più in generale della sostenibilità, favoriscono la transizione dal modello classico di economia lineare al modello innovativo di economia circolare. Lo scopo ultimo del progetto di ricerca è identificare delle soluzioni di catalizzazione dell’innovazione e di incentivo alla collaborazione per il trasferimento tecnologico al fine di agevolare la transizione dal modello classico di economia lineare al nuovo modello di economia circolare. A livello metodologico, lo studio è stato condotto in una prima fase attraverso la revisione della letteratura e una volta individuati i fattori chiave, sono state condotte delle indagini esplorative al fine verificare lo stato dell’arte del sistema, in questa prima fase attraverso la selezione di un campione. Il modello di analisi può essere generalizzato e replicato su scala più ampia. I risultati preliminari di questa analisi mostrano una rapida successione di variabili e porta all’identificazione di due scenari: uno scenario di “closed loop” e uno scenario di “open loop”. Nonostante la scarsa responsione in questo momento della letteratura rispetto all’oggetto di analisi, i casi studio presenti in letteratura sono scarsi così come i general framework. Questi ultimi non evidenziano in modo chiaro la relazione esistente tra Spin-off e diffusione dell’economia circolare. I risultati mostrano, infatti, una non chiarezza di indirizzo e l’assenza di una posizione dominante sul tema in letteratura. È stato quindi rilevato un gap nella letteratura che definisce la necessità di formalizzare un general framework in cui vengano incluse le variabili chiave e i fattori che possono essere definiti catalizzatori di innovazione e che possano comportare un cambiamento nei modelli di business