Evaluation of toxic chemical parameters and ecotoxicity levels in bottled mineral waters

Heavy metals, phthalates, characterizing elements, CO2 concentrations and pH and hardness levels were measured in forty samples of bottled mineral waters. In some samples arsenic, manganese, mercury and selenium were present in higher concentrations than permitted by Italian law. No significant release of phthalates from containers in PET was observed. In the same samples, toxicity tests with Daphnia magna were carried out. Toxicity levels, expressed as % of immobile organisms, ranged from 0 to 100%; generally the highest toxicity values were found in the hardwaters

Emergency total thyroidectomy due to non traumatic disease. Experience of a surgical unit and literature review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acute respiratory failure due to thyroid compression or invasion of the tracheal lumen is a surgical emergency requiring urgent management. The aim of this paper is to describe a series of six patients treated successfully in the emergency setting with total thyroidectomy due to ingravescent dyspnoea and asphyxia, as well as review related data reported in literature.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>During 2005-2010, of 919 patients treated by total thyroidectomy at our Academic Hospital, 6 (0.7%; 4 females and 2 men, mean age: 68.7 years, range 42-81 years) were treated in emergency. All the emergency operations were performed for life-threatening respiratory distress. The clinical picture at admission, clinical features, type of surgery, outcomes and complications are described. Mean duration of surgery was 146 minutes (range: 53-260).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 3/6 (50%) a manubriotomy was necessary due to the extension of the mass into the upper mediastinum. In all cases total thyroidectomy was performed. In one case (16.7%) a parathyroid gland transplantation and in another one (16.7%) a tracheotomy was necessary due to a condition of tracheomalacia. Mean post-operative hospital stay was 6.5 days (range: 2-10 days). Histology revealed malignancy in 4/6 cases (66.7%), showing 3 primitive, and 1 secondary tumors. Morbidity consisted of 1 transient recurrent laryngeal palsy, 3 transient postoperative hypoparathyroidism, and 4 pleural effusions, treated by medical therapy in 3 and by drains in one. There was no mortality.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>On the basis of our experience and of literature review, we strongly advocate elective surgery for patients with thyroid disease at the first signs of tracheal compression. When an acute airway distress appears, an emergency life-threatening total thyroidectomy is recommended in a high-volume centre.</p

A polymer supported palladium(II) \u3b2-ketoesterate complex as active and recyclable pre-catalyst for selective reduction of quinolines in water with sodium borohydride

A polymer supported palladium catalyst, obtained by copolymerization of Pd(AAEMA)2 [AAEMA- = deprotonated form of 2-(acetoacetoxy) ethyl methacrylate] with ethyl methacrylate (co-monomer) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (cross-linker), exhibited excellent activity and selectivity for the hydrogenation of quinolines to 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines in the presence of NaBH4 as hydrogen donor in water. Both the activity and selectivity could be maintained for at least seven reaction runs. No metal leaching into solution occurred during recycles. TEM analyzes carried out on the catalyst showed that the active species were supported palladium nanoparticles having a mean size of 3 nm, which did not aggregate with the recycles

A method to search for long duration gravitational wave transients from isolated neutron stars using the generalized FrequencyHough

We describe a method to detect gravitational waves lasting $O(hours-days)$ emitted by young, isolated neutron stars, such as those that could form after a supernova or a binary neutron star merger, using advanced LIGO/Virgo data. The method is based on a generalization of the FrequencyHough (FH), a pipeline that performs hierarchical searches for continuous gravitational waves by mapping points in the time/frequency plane of the detector to lines in the frequency/spindown plane of the source. We show that signals whose spindowns are related to their frequencies by a power law can be transformed to coordinates where the behavior of these signals is always linear, and can therefore be searched for by the FH. We estimate the sensitivity of our search across different braking indices, and describe the portion of the parameter space we could explore in a search using varying fast Fourier Transform (FFT) lengths.Comment: 15 figure

In vivo validation of the adequacy calculator for continuous renal replacement therapies

INTRODUCTION: The study was conducted to validate in vivo the Adequacy Calculator, a Microsoft Excel-based program, designed to assess the prescription and delivery of renal replacement therapy in the critical care setting. METHODS: The design was a prospective cohort study, set in two intensive care units of teaching hospitals. The participants were 30 consecutive critically ill patients with acute renal failure treated with 106 continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT). Urea clearance computation was performed with the Adequacy Calculator (K(CALC)). Simultaneous blood and effluent urea samples were collected to measure the effectively delivered urea clearance (K(DEL)) at the beginning of each treatment and, during 73 treatments, between the 18th and 24th treatment hour. The correlation between 179 computed and 179 measured clearances was assessed. Fractional clearances for urea were calculated as spKt/V (where sp represents single pool, K is clearance, t is time, and V is urea volume of distribution) obtained from software prescription and compared with the delivered spKt/V obtained from empirical data. RESULTS: We found that the value of clearance predicted by the calculator was strongly correlated with the value obtained from computation on blood and dialysate determination (r = 0.97) during the first 24 treatment hours, regardless of the renal replacement modality used. The delivered spKt/V (1.25) was less than prescribed (1.4) from the Adequacy Calculator by 10.7%, owing to therapy downtime. CONCLUSION: The Adequacy Calculator is a simple tool for prescribing CRRT and for predicting the delivered dose. The calculator might be a helpful tool for standardizing therapy and for comparing disparate treatments, making it possible to perform large multi-centre studies on CRRT

Switching among equivalents in chronic cardiovascular therapies : 'real world' data from Italy

Since August 2012, Italian general practitioners are required to prescribe the generic name of medicines, except for refill of chronic therapy. We evaluated the extent of switching among equivalents in chronic cardiovascular therapies, the influence of the 2012 regulatory intervention and of patient-related or drug-related factors. Prescription of off-patent antiarrhythmics, oral antidiabetics, and ACE-inhibitors dispensed from August 2011 to August 2013 within the Bologna Local Health Authority (870,000 inhabitants) were collected. The rate of actual switching among equivalents was evaluated monthly. The effect of the regulatory intervention was estimated by interrupted time series analysis. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of switching were calculated for: age, gender, number of different equivalents available for each drug, change in dispensing pharmacy between subsequent refills. The average monthly rates of switches were 9.6%, 16.3%, and 16.3% for antiarrhythmics, antidiabetics, and ACE-inhibitors, respectively. Values significantly increased soon after the regulatory intervention for ACE-inhibitors (+1.81%, p=0.00), antiarrhythmics (+1.46%, p=0.01) and antidiabetics (+1.09%, p=0.01), and no significant decreasing trends were observed in the following 12 months. For all drug classes, odd of switching was higher in case of change in dispensing pharmacy (up to aOR=4.31, 95CI=4.26-4.35 for ACE-inhibitors) and availability of ≥5 different equivalents (up to aOR=7.82, 95CI=7.39-8.28 for antidiabetics). Switching was lower for age ≥65 for antidiabetics and ACE-inhibitors (aOR=0.92, 95CI=0.90-0.93; 0.87, 0.86-0.88, respectively). The Italian regulatory intervention generated an immediate increase, not sustained in time, in switching among equivalents of cardiovascular therapies. Young age, high number of available equivalents and changes in dispensing pharmacy between subsequent refills were associated with switching

Deep learning image reconstruction algorithm. impact on image quality in coronary computed tomography angiography

PurposeTo perform a comprehensive intraindividual objective and subjective image quality evaluation of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) reconstructed with deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) and to assess correlation with routinely applied hybrid iterative reconstruction algorithm (ASiR-V).Material and methodsFifty-one patients (29 males) undergoing clinically indicated CCTA from April to December 2021 were prospectively enrolled. Fourteen datasets were reconstructed for each patient: three DLIR strength levels (DLIR_L, DLIR_M, and DLIR_H), ASiR-V from 10% to 100% in 10%-increment, and filtered back-projection (FBP). Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) determined objective image quality. Subjective image quality was assessed with a 4-point Likert scale. Concordance between reconstruction algorithms was assessed by Pearson correlation coefficient.ResultsDLIR algorithm did not impact vascular attenuation (P &gt;= 0.374). DLIR_H showed the lowest noise, comparable with ASiR-V 100% (P = 1) and significantly lower than other reconstructions (P &lt;= 0.021).DLIR_H achieved the highest objective quality, with SNR and CNR comparable to ASiR-V 100% (P = 0.139 and 0.075, respectively). DLIR_M obtained comparable objective image quality with ASiR-V 80% and 90% (P &gt;= 0.281), while achieved the highest subjective image quality (4, IQR: 4-4; P &lt;= 0.001). DLIR and ASiR-V datasets returned a very strong correlation in the assessment of CAD (r = 0.874, P = 0.001).ConclusionDLIR_M significantly improves CCTA image quality and has very strong correlation with routinely applied ASiR-V 50% dataset in the diagnosis of CAD

Denosumab in patients with aneurysmal bone systs: A case series with preliminary results

Abstract PURPOSE:: Aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) is a rare skeletal tumor usually treated with surgery/embolization. We hypothesized that owing to similarities with giant cell tumor of bone (GCTB), denosumab was active also in ABC. METHODS:: In this observational study, a retrospective analysis of ABC patients treated with denosumab was performed. Patients underwent radiologic disease assessment every 3 months. Symptoms and adverse events were noted. RESULTS:: Nine patients were identified (6 male, 3 female), with a median age of 17 years (range 14-42 years). Primary sites were 6 spine-pelvis, 1 ulna, 1 tibia, and 1 humerus. Patients were followed for a median time of 23 months (range 3-55 months). Patients received a median of 8 denosumab administrations (range 3-61). All symptomatic patients had pain relief and 1 had paresthesia improvement. Signs of denosumab activity were observed after 3 to 6 months of administration: bone formation by computed tomography scan was demonstrated in all patients and magnetic resonance imaging gadolinium contrast media decrease was observed in 7/9 patients. Adverse events were negligible. At last follow-up, all patients were progression-free: 5 still on denosumab treatment, 2 off denosumab were disease-free 11 and 17 months after surgery, and the last 2 patients reported no progression 12 and 24 months after denosumab interruption and no surgery. CONCLUSIONS:: Denosumab has substantial activity in ABCs, with favorable toxicity profile. We strongly support the use of surgery and/or embolization for the treatment of ABC, but denosumab could have a role as a therapeutic option in patients with uncontrollable, locally destructive, or recurrent disease

How to communicate with families living in complete isolation

The global emergency caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has suddenly changed how we communicate with families in all the CoViD19 care settings, on account of the need to maintain complete social isolation. Far-reaching mental suffering manifests itself in widespread anxiety. Health workers are isolated from their families, and must manage the consequences of this isolation just like the patients under their care. Patients and their families perceive not only the clinical results but also the personal attitudes, closeness and psychological support from the care teams. This perception of genuine participation by the health worker in the course of the treatment is especially important when a patient dies, and may influence the whole process of grief

Cancer Risk in Diabetic Patients Treated with Metformin: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: A growing body of evidence has suggested that metformin potentially reduces the risk of cancer. Our objective was to enhance the precision of estimates of the effect of metformin on the risk of any-site and site-specific cancers in patients with diabetes. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We performed a search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov for pertinent articles published as of October 12, 2011, and included them in a systematic review and meta-analysis. We calculated pooled risk ratios (RRs) for overall cancer mortality and cancer incidence. Of the 21,195 diabetic patients reported in 6 studies (4 cohort studies, 2 RCTs), 991 (4.5%) cases of death from cancer were reported. A total of 11,117 (5.3%) cases of incident cancer at any site were reported among 210,892 patients in 10 studies (2 RCTs, 6 cohort studies, 2 case-control studies). The risks of cancer among metformin users were significantly lower than those among non-metformin users: the pooled RRs (95% confidence interval) were 0.66 (0.49-0.88) for cancer mortality, 0.67 (0.53-0.85) for all-cancer incidence, 0.68 (0.53-0.88) for colorectal cancer (n = 6), 0.20 (0.07-0.59) for hepatocellular cancer (n = 4), 0.67 (0.45-0.99) for lung cancer (n = 3). CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The use of metformin in diabetic patients was associated with significantly lower risks of cancer mortality and incidence. However, this analysis is mainly based on observational studies and our findings underscore the more need for long-term RCTs to confirm this potential benefit for individuals with diabetes