Surgical uprighting and repositioning of unerupted molars : features and findings of a retrospective sample

Surgical uprighting and repositioning have been proposed to obtain a correct alignment of unerupted permanent molars. A retrospective clinical study was performed to verify the effectiveness of these techniques. In order for a case to be included in th

Progettazione e Realizzazione del Modulo di "Traffic Engineering" nell'Ambito della Piattaforma e-learning del progetto EuQoS (EU)

The aim of this thesis work is to develop the Traffic Engineering e-learning course among the EuQoS project. This e-learning system provides theory section concerning know-how about the dealt technology, interactive animations and a remotely accessible laboratory to run network simulation

Is telephone follow-up useful in preventing post-extraction bleeding in patients on antithrombotic treatment?

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate the usefulness of telephone follow-up in preventing post-extraction bleeding and improving wound healing in patients on chronic antithrombotic treatment. Material and Methods: A prospective randomized clinical trial was carried out on 256 patients (test group = 128; control group = 128). The exact two-tailed Fisher test and the two-tailed non-parametric Mann-Whitney test were used for statistical analysis. Results: The incidence of post-extraction bleeding was 15.6% and there was no difference between test and control groups. However, the study group was significantly, though weakly, associated with the severity of bleeding. Patient satisfaction with post-operative follow-up differed significantly between patients who had and those who did not have post-extraction bleeding. Conclusions: Telephone follow-up after tooth extraction may play a role in the prevention of severe post-operative bleeding as well as in monitoring and managing the surgical wound

Is telephone follow-up useful in preventing post-extraction bleeding in patients on antithrombotic treatment?

The aim of the study was to investigate the usefulness of telephone follow-up in preventing post-extraction bleeding and improving wound healing in patients on chronic antithrombotic treatment. A prospective randomized clinical trial was carried out o

Current Evidence Supporting the Role of Immune Response in ATTRv Amyloidosis

Hereditary transthyretin (ATTRv) amyloidosis with polyneuropathy, also known as familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), represents a progressive, heterogeneous, severe, and multisystemic disease caused by pathogenic variants in the TTR gene. This autosomal-dominant neurogenetic disorder has an adult onset with variable penetrance and an inconstant phenotype, even among subjects carrying the same mutation. Historically, ATTRv amyloidosis has been viewed as a non-inflammatory disease, mainly due to the absence of any mononuclear cell infiltration in ex vivo tissues; nevertheless, a role of inflammation in its pathogenesis has been recently highlighted. The immune response may be involved in the development and progression of the disease. Fibrillary TTR species bind to the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), probably activating the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) pathway. Moreover, peripheral blood levels of several cytokines, including interferon (IFN)-gamma, IFN-alpha, IL-6, IL-7, and IL-33, are altered in the course of the disease. This review summarizes the current evidence supporting the role of the immune response in ATTRv amyloidosis, from the pathological mechanisms to the possible therapeutic implications

PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM INVOLVEMENT IN LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS

Peripheral neuropathies are a vast group of diseases with heterogeneous aetiologies, including genetic and acquired causes. Several haematological disorders may cause an impairment of the peripheral nervous system, with diverse mechanisms and variable clinical, electrophysiological and pathological manifestations. In this practical review we considered the main phenotypes of peripheral nervous diseases and examined the haematological disorders which may associate with each of them. The area of intersection of neurological and haematological fields is of particular complexity and raises several problems in clinical practice. The personal crosstalk between neurologists and haematologists remains a fundamental tool for  a proper diagnostic process  which  may lead to successful treatments in  most cases

Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line (UCSCi002-A) from a patient with a variant in TARDBP gene associated with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that selectively affects motor neurons. In 20% of cases, ALS appears in comorbidity with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). We generated patient-derived-induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs), from an ALS/FTD patient. The patient had a familial form of the disease and a missense variant in TARDBP gene. We used an established protocol based on Sendai virus to reprogram fibroblasts. We confirmed the stemness and the pluripotency of the iPSC clones, thus generating embryoid bodies. We believe that the iPSC line carrying a TARDBP mutation could be a valuable tool to investigate TDP-43 proteinopathy linked to ALS

Pengaruh Kuat Arus Dan Waktu Pengelasan Pada Proses Las Titik (Spot Welding) Terhadap Kekuatan Tarik Dan Mikrostuktur Hasil Las Dari Baja Fasa Ganda (Feritte-Martensite)

This research was conducted to investigate the appropiate spot welding variable to get the maximum tensile strength. The highest of tensile strength referred as good quality of weldment.The plate was made from low carbon steel with phase ferrite and martensite. The current of welding used 0.9 kA, 1.6 kA, dan 1.85 kA with welding time were 0.25, 0.5 , 0.75 and 1 second. Mechanical properties testing done involved tensile strength to know shear strength of weld joint. Microstructure test used optical microscope.The results show that spot welding with thecurrent of 1.85kA and welding time of 1 second has the highest tensile strength (about 237.04N/mm2). On the other hand, the lowest tensile strength (150 N/mm2) was produced by combination of 0.9 kA and 0.25 second welding time. It was caused by recrystallization phasedeformation on steel

Machine Learning for Early Diagnosis of ATTRv Amyloidosis in Non-Endemic Areas: A Multicenter Study from Italy

Background: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy (ATTRv) is an adult-onset multisystemic disease, affecting the peripheral nerves, heart, gastrointestinal tract, eyes, and kidneys. Nowadays, several treatment options are available; thus, avoiding misdiagnosis is crucial to starting therapy in early disease stages. However, clinical diagnosis may be difficult, as the disease may present with unspecific symptoms and signs. We hypothesize that the diagnostic process may benefit from the use of machine learning (ML). Methods: 397 patients referring to neuromuscular clinics in 4 centers from the south of Italy with neuropathy and at least 1 more red flag, as well as undergoing genetic testing for ATTRv, were considered. Then, only probands were considered for analysis. Hence, a cohort of 184 patients, 93 with positive and 91 (age- and sex-matched) with negative genetics, was considered for the classification task. The XGBoost (XGB) algorithm was trained to classify positive and negative TTR mutation patients. The SHAP method was used as an explainable artificial intelligence algorithm to interpret the model findings. Results: diabetes, gender, unexplained weight loss, cardiomyopathy, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), ocular symptoms, autonomic symptoms, ataxia, renal dysfunction, lumbar canal stenosis, and history of autoimmunity were used for the model training. The XGB model showed an accuracy of 0.707 ± 0.101, a sensitivity of 0.712 ± 0.147, a specificity of 0.704 ± 0.150, and an AUC-ROC of 0.752 ± 0.107. Using the SHAP explanation, it was confirmed that unexplained weight loss, gastrointestinal symptoms, and cardiomyopathy showed a significant association with the genetic diagnosis of ATTRv, while bilateral CTS, diabetes, autoimmunity, and ocular and renal involvement were associated with a negative genetic test. Conclusions: Our data show that ML might potentially be a useful instrument to identify patients with neuropathy that should undergo genetic testing for ATTRv. Unexplained weight loss and cardiomyopathy are relevant red flags in ATTRv in the south of Italy. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings

Serum neurofilament light chain: a promising early diagnostic biomarker for hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis?

Background and purpose: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv) is a life-threatening disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding transthyretin (TTR). The recent therapeutic advances have underlined the importance of easily accessible, objective biomarkers of both disease onset and progression. Preliminary evidence suggests a potential role in this respect for neurofilament light chain (NfL). In this study, the aim was to determine serum NfL (sNfL) levels in a late-onset ATTRv population and evaluate whether it might represent a reliable biomarker of disease onset (i.e., 'conversion' from the asymptomatic status to symptomatic disease in TTR mutation carriers). Methods: In all, 111 individuals harbouring a pathogenic TTR variant (61 symptomatic ATTRv patients and 50 presymptomatic carriers) were consecutively enrolled. Fifty healthy volunteers were included as the control group. Ella™ apparatus was used to assess sNfL levels. Results: Serum NfL levels were increased in ATTRv patients compared to both presymptomatic carriers and healthy controls, whilst not differing between carriers and healthy controls. An sNfL cut-off of 37.10 pg/mL could discriminate between asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals with high diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve 0.958; p < 0.001), sensitivity (81.4%) and specificity (100%). Conclusions: Serum NfL seems to be a promising biomarker of peripheral nerve involvement in ATTRv amyloidosis and might become a reliable, objective measure to detect the transition from the presymptomatic stage to the onset of symptomatic disease. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm such a role and determine whether it could equally represent a biomarker of disease progression and response to therapy