Amyand's hernia in a child with permanent neonatal diabetes due to pancreatic agenesis

Acute or perforated appendicitis within inguinal hernia is rarely encountered and it is known as Amyand's hernia. We report on the first case occurring in a 4-year-old boy affected by permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus due to pancreatic agenesis, an extremely rare condition. The initial suspicion of inguinal hernia was confirmed by ultrasound examination of the right inguinal region which revealed omental layers inside a swollen inguinal canal; this finding and the clinical presentation allowed a prompt and appropriate surgical management. The careful evaluation of this patient and early recognition of this unique presentation of appendicitis allowed trans-hernial appendectomy and immediate herniorrhaphy. Ultrasonography played a pivotal role to reach the correct diagnosis and to start a prompt treatment

Model predictive control strategies for unmanned vehicles

Dottorato di Ricerca in Ingegneria dei Sistemi e Informatica, Ciclo XXVII, a.a. 2014Università della Calabri

Regenerative medicine: An insight

Regenerative Medicine is a rapidly evolving field of therapy integrating different scientific and technological areas, including cell biology, biomedical and computer engineering, and clinical medicine, thus creating an interdisciplinary exchange network of skill, ideas, materials and efforts between basic and clinical research. Even if significant achievements have been obtained particularly in Plastic Surgery, Ophthalmology and Orthopedics, the field is still experimental and so far has failed to meet the expectations. The present article reviews the major hurdles that are still hampering the translational "bench to bedside" process and limiting the availability of these innovative therapeutic tools

TAPPARELLA AVVOLGIBILE A SISTEMA DESMODROMICO

La presente invenzione riguarda una tapparella avvolgibile a sistema desmodromico. La tapparella della presente invenzione è dotata di un meccanismo che consente l'apertura delle lamelle sfruttando il peso stesso della tapparella. L'apertura delle lamelle viene attuata grazie alla particolare geometria del meccanismo e mediante l'interazione tra le guide e le parti scorrevoli della tapparella. La sua geometria riesce a determinare l’apertura o la chiusura delle lamelle.The present invention relates to a roller shutter with a desmodromic-system. The shutter of the present invention is provided with a mechanism allowing the slats to be opened by exploiting the weight of the blind itself. The opening of the slats is carried out thanks to the particular geometry of the mechanism and by using the interaction between the guides and the sliding parts of the shutter. Its geometry is able to determine the opening or closing of the slats

Proapoptotic effect of hepatitis C virus CORE protein in transiently transfected cells is enhanced by nuclear localization and is dependent on PKR activation

BACKGROUND/AIMS: HCV-CORE protein has been implicated in the regulation of apoptosis of infected cells acting as full-length or C-terminus deleted forms and resulting in both proapoptotic and antiapoptotic effects in different experimental conditions. METHODS: We have fused full-length and C-terminus deleted CORE with GFP to assess intracellular localization in transiently transfected cell lines and primary hepatocytes. Apoptosis of cells expressing different levels of chimeric proteins was quantified by cytometry. RESULTS: Full-length CORE localized mainly in the cytoplasm, but nuclear staining was also observed, being more evident in primary human hepatocytes. Nuclear staining only was observed in cells expressing truncated CORE. Full-length CORE induced apoptosis in approximately 15-20% of transfected cells with low expression and in approximately 40-50% of those with high expression of viral protein. Interestingly, 40-50% of cells transfected with truncated CORE underwent apoptosis, independently of protein expression levels. CORE-induced apoptosis was significantly reduced in the presence of a protein kinase R (PKR) inhibiting peptide and truncated CORE was able to enhance translocation of PKR into nucleoli where CORE/PKR colocalization was observed. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that nuclear forms of HCV-CORE are generated in vivo in primary hepatocytes and induce PKR-dependent apoptosis, a mechanism that might have a relevant role during natural infection

Therapeutic hypothermia in a late preterm infant

Therapeutic hypothermia is a recognized treatment for term infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in reducing rate of death or neurodevelopmental disabilities. Little is known about applications of this treatment to preterm newborns. Studies in animal experimental models demonstrated the efficacy of hypothermia in preterm fetuses but clinical application to newborn infants are limited to restricted cases, as severe necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). We present a case of therapeutic whole body cooling in a baby at 34 weeks and 6 days of gestational age with HIE

Alterations in bilirubin metabolism during extra- and intrahepatic cholestasis.

This study was performed to investigate modifications in the serum bilirubin forms, hepatobiliary enzymes, and some glycoproteic substances in patients during the course of extrahepatic cholestasis (stage A) and following its clinical resolution (stage B). The series consisted of 16 patients: 11 had main bile duct stones; two, benign stenosis of the main bile duct; and three, main bile duct cancer. Cholestasis resolved spontaneously in one case, under endoscopy in two, and following surgery in 13. Five patients with liver cirrhosis and a picture of intrahepatic cholestasis following anesthesia were also investigated. Serum bilirubin forms were measured using van den Bergh's method and the alkaline methanolysis-HPLC procedure; the mono- and di-conjugated forms were considered together in the overall evaluation of the results. The hepatobiliary enzymes (ALP, GGT, and AST) were increased at stage A and significantly decreased at stage B. Similar patterns were observed in total (TB), unconjugated (UB), and conjugated bilirubin (CB) and in the percentage of CB out of TB (% CB). In the majority of patients, % CB at stage B was lower than at stage A, whereas in subjects with a high initial UB value, a different % CB pattern was observed. The direct bilirubin percentage (% DB), on the other hand, had a different pattern, and the variations between stages A and B were not significant. The pathophysiological bilirubin pattern was similar in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis. At stage A, in a number of patients the levels of glycoproteic substances (CA 19-9, TPA and ferritin) were raised, but at stage B they tended to decrease towards the normal range. Correlations were found between CA 19-9 or TPA variations and cholestasis indicators. It may be concluded that our HPLC technique may reveal differences in the behavior of the bilirubin pigments that cannot be detected with van den Bergh's method, even in the presence of similar TB variations. The increase in the glycoproteic substances considered may express an impairment in their metabolic (largely hepatic) clearance, as occurs in the cholestatic setting