Thoracic surgery for malignancy and emergency irrespective of COVID-19

until March 24, 2020, a COVID-19 test by nasopharyngeal swab was offered to the patients presenting with symptoms of COVID-19. However, from April 2, 2020, we changed that policy, offering 2 COVID-19 tests by nasopharyngeal swab to everyone undergoing thoracic surgery for malignancies before admission to our general university hospital, even if asymptomatic

A high-volume thoracic surgery division into the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic

Since the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) crisis broke out in Italy at the end of February 2020, days before the World Health Organization declared the pandemic,1,2 two crucial issues urgently emerged and needed to be addressed by our institution. First was the containment of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic together with the restructuring of national public and private health care to face the spread of the new viral disease among the population. Second, central as well, was to maintain the offer of medical and surgical treatments to the patients who still presented with other severe diseases—of these in particular, oncologic patients

Bronchovascular reconstruction in the era of mini-invasiveness

bronchovascular reconstruction in the era of mininvasivenes

The advantage of sleeve lobectomy over pneumonectomy

Answer to Dr. Ludwig about lower sleeve lobectomy, the so-called “Y” sleeve

Guidelines for the monitoring of Lucanus cervus

Lucanus cervus is one of the most charismatic saproxylic beetles, widely distributed in Europe. The species is typical of mature deciduous forests, especially oak woodlands. Loss and fragmentation of suitable habitats is one of the major threats for this species which is included in Annex II of the Habitats Directive. Despite several studies carried out in the last years for the monitoring methods of the species, an analytical comparison between them is still lacking. The aims of this paper are (i) to review the current knowledge about systematics, ecology and conservation practices on L. cervus and (ii) to present the research carried out during the Life MIPP project, in order to define a standard monitoring method with a suitable protocol to be used for addressing the obligations of the Habitats Directive. Overall, five methods were tested during three years in two different study areas. Based on these results, a suitable standard method for L. cervus is proposed in this paper and, in order to assess the conservation status of populations and to compare them over time, a simple method for the calculation of a reference value is provided

GSK-3 inhibition reverts mesenchymal transition in primary human corneal endothelial cells

Human corneal endothelial cells are organized in a tight mosaic of hexagonal cells and serve a critical function in maintaining corneal hydration and clear vision. Regeneration of the corneal endothelial tissue is hampered by its poor proliferative capacity, which is partially retrieved in vitro, albeit only for a limited number of passages before the cells undergo mesenchymal transition (EnMT). Although different culture conditions have been proposed in order to delay this process and prolong the number of cell passages, EnMT has still not been fully understood and successfully counteracted. In this perspective, we identified herein a single GSK-3 inhibitor, CHIR99021, able to revert and avoid EnMT in primary human corneal endothelial cells (HCEnCs) from old donors until late passages in vitro (P8), as shown from cell morphology analysis (circularity). In accordance, CHIR99021 reduced expression of α-SMA, an EnMT marker, while restored endothelial markers such as ZO-1, Na+/K+ ATPase and N-cadherin, without increasing cell proliferation. A further analysis on RNA expression confirmed that CHIR99021 induced downregulation of EnMT markers (α-SMA and CD44), upregulation of the proliferation repressor p21 and revealed novel insights into the β-catenin and TGFβ pathways intersections in HCEnCs. The use of CHIR99021 sheds light on the mechanisms involved in EnMT, providing a substantial advantage in maintaining primary HCEnCs in culture until late passages, while preserving the correct morphology and phenotype. Altogether, these results bring crucial advancements towards the improvement of the corneal endothelial cells based therapy

Total phallic reconstruction after penile amputation for donkey bite: Case report and review of the literature

There are very few reported cases of traumatic amputation of the male genitalia due to animal bite. The management involves thorough washout of the wounds, debridement, antibiotic prophylaxis, tetanus and rabies immunization followed by immediate reconstruction or primary wound closure with delayed reconstruction, when immediate reconstruction is not feasible. When immediate reconstruction is not feasible, long-term good functional and cosmetic results are still possible in the majority of cases by performing total phallic reconstruction. In particular, it is now possible to fashion a cosmetically acceptable sensate phallus with incorporated neourethra, to allow the patient to void while standing and to ejaculate, and with enough bulk to allow the insertion of a penile prosthesis to guarantee the rigidity necessary to engage in penetrative sexual intercourse

Updated distribution of Osmoderma eremita in Abruzzo (Italy) and agro-pastoral practices affecting its conservation (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

New records of Osmoderma eremita (Scopoli, 1763) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) are reported for Abruzzo (Italy), together with a review of its distribution in this region. O. eremita is a saproxylic beetle dependent on the presence of hollow deciduous trees with abundant wood mould in their cavities. The major threats for the species are habitat loss and fragmentation. EU Habitats Directive requests to the member States its protection and the monitoring of its conservation status. Detection of its occurrence is the first step to protect the species. The surveys have been carried out in ten sites of Abruzzo by using black cross-windows traps baited with specific pheromone. The species has been recorded for the first time in the Sant'Antonio forest and its presence is confirmed in the Peligna Valley, after a decade. The populations seem to be confined to small patches of suitable habitats. At local level, the abandonment of the pollarding practice (willow and beech forests) and the use of pollarded trees as biomass for fuel are the major threats for this species. Indeed some key actions, such as the protection of old hollow trees and the continuation of pollarding practice in rural landscape, could be key factors for the conservation strategies of the species in the study area

Preparation of human primary macrophages to study the polarization from monocyte-derived macrophages to pro- or anti-inflammatory macrophages at biomaterial interface in vitro

Background/purpose: Testing of dental materials when in contact with innate immune cells has been so far hindered by the lack of proper in vitro models. Human primary monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) would be an excellent option to this aim. However, the inability to detach them from the tissue culture plates contrast the possibility to culture them on biomaterials. The goal of the present work is to present and validate an innovative protocol to obtain MDMs from peripheral blood monocytes, and to reseed them in contact with biomaterials without altering their viability and phenotype. Materials and methods: We differentiated MDMs on ultra-low attachment tissue culture plastics and recovered them with specific detachment solution in order to be reseeded on a secondary substrate. Therefore, using biological assays (RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence) we compared their phenotype to MDMs differentiated on standard culture plates. Results: Transferred MDMs keep their differentiated M0 resting state, as well as the ability to be polarized into M1 (pro-inflammatory) or M2 (anti-inflammatory) macrophages. Conclusion: These data provide the dental material research community the unprecedented possibility to investigate the immunomodulatory properties of biomaterials for dental application

Study on normal and otosclerotic bone cell cultures: an advance in understanding the pathogenesis of otosclerosis

The authors first reviewed the main theories concerning the pathogenesis of otosclerosis and studied the morphologic and functional characteristics of cell cultures derived from normal and otosclerotic bones. Light transmission and scanning electron microscopy did not permit definite identification of the cultured cells as predominantly osteoblasts, nor did these techniques show significant differences between cultured cells derived from normal and pathologic bone. Functional tests of the cell cultures proved more interesting. First, the bony nature of the cultured cells was demonstrated by studying the intracellular 45Ca++ uptake after stimulation with calcitonin and dybutryl-cAMP. Second, cell cultures derived from otosclerotic bone behaved differently from those derived from normal bone. Their peak uptake of calcium appeared later, and post-stimulatory values were higher, suggesting that cells derived from otosclerotic bone store a greater quantity of 45Ca++. Furthermore, after stimulation with calcitonin and propranolol, we observed an inhibition of the calcium uptake and decreased intracellular cAMP levels in normal bone cell cultures. In contrast, the cell cultures derived from otosclerotic bone exhibited an initial inhibition of calcium absorption followed by massive calcium penetration. The response of adenylate cyclase to the action of Mg++, Ca++, and F− ions was evaluated in cultures derived from normal bone, otosclerotic bone, and normal skin fibroblasts. The resulting data show that activation due to Mg++ is much lower in cultured cells derived from otosclerotic bone than in those from either normal bone or skin fibroblasts. No significant differences were found after Ca++ inhibition in any of the cell cultures. Moreover, in cell cultures derived from normal bone, F− ions induced a strong activation that was lower than the levels observed in cultures of otosclerotic bone or in normal fibroblasts. We hypothesize that an alteration at the calcitonin receptor site is responsible for the difference in calcium uptake and cAMP levels observed in the cells derived from otosclerotic bone as compared to those cultured from normal cells