E-ABR in patients with cochlear implant: A comparison between patients with malformed cochlea and normal cochlea

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to compare the electrical auditory brainstem response (EABR) following cochlear implant (CI) surgery in pediatric subjects with cochlear malformation and a normal cochlea, in order to assess the sensitivity of EABR and to evaluate the surgery outcome. MATERIALS and METHODS: A total of 26 pediatric subjects who were deaf and scheduled for CI surgery were enrolled into this case control study. Group A (n=20) included subjects with a normo-conformed cochlea. Group B (n=6) included subjects with cochlear malformation. Subjects were evaluated with EABR immediately (T0) and 6 months (T1) post-CI surgery. The EABR Waves III and V average amplitude and latency were compared across time, separately for each group, and across groups, separately for each time. RESULTS: Auditory brainstem response (ABR) could only be recorded in Group A. We were able to record EABR from all subjects at T0 and T1, and waves III and V were present in all the recorded signals. There were no statistically significant differences between T0 and T1 in EABR Waves III and V in terms of average amplitude and latency in neither group. When comparing Groups A and B, the only statistically significant difference was the average amplitude of wave V, both at T0 and T1. CONCLUSION: EABR is a valid tool to measure the auditory nerve integrity after CI surgery in patients with a normal and malformed cochlea, as shown by its ability to measure waves III and V when ABR is absent. The EABR testing should be performed before and after CI surgery, and EABR should be used as a measure of outcome, especially in patients with a malformed cochlea

Ethyl hexanoate rich stream from grape pomace: A viable route to obtain fine chemicals from agro by-products

A novel viable route for obtaining ethyl hexanoate-rich streams from grape pomace, an agro by-product generated from the winery industry, was investigated. Highly concentrated hexanoic acid (87 wt%) was efficiently produced through the chain elongation fermentation of red and white grape pomace, easily separated, recovered and reacted with ethanol by using AlCl3 center dot 6H(2)O as a catalyst. Under the optimised mild reactive conditions (molar ratio acid:ethanol:catalyst of 1:2:0.1, 5 h, 348 K), a high conversion equal to 93.5 % was achieved in a single step. AlCl3 center dot 6H(2)O was very effective in catalysis, playing an additional key role in the separation of products, shifting the equilibrium of the reaction and making products' recovery easier. After the reaction cycle, the catalyst was easily recoverable and reusable without losing effectiveness. According to this simple layout of processes, including the anaerobic digestion of the residual part of grape pomace, a specific production cost of 0.935 (sic).kg(-1) was calculated related to the final products. This proposed approach could represent a promising green and sustainable route to produce ethyl esters of volatile fatty acids from agro by-products

Radiogenomics in clear cell renal cell carcinoma: correlations between advanced CT imaging (texture analysis) and microRNAs expression

Purpose: A relevant challenge for the improvement of clear cell renal cell carcinoma management could derive from the identification of novel molecular biomarkers that could greatly improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment choice of these neoplasms. In this study, we investigate whether quantitative parameters obtained from computed tomography texture analysis may correlate with the expression of selected oncogenic microRNAs. Methods: In a retrospective single-center study, multiphasic computed tomography examination (with arterial, portal, and urographic phases) was performed on 20 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma and computed tomography texture analysis parameters such as entropy, kurtosis, skewness, mean, and standard deviation of pixel distribution were measured using multiple filter settings. These quantitative data were correlated with the expression of selected microRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-210-3p, miR-185-5p, miR-221-3p, miR-145-5p). Both the evaluations (microRNAs and computed tomography texture analysis) were performed on matched tumor and normal corticomedullar tissues of the same patients cohort. Results: In this pilot study, we evidenced that computed tomography texture analysis has robust parameters (eg, entropy, mean, standard deviation) to distinguish normal from pathological tissues. Moreover, a higher coefficient of determination between entropy and miR-21-5p expression was evidenced in tumor versus normal tissue. Interestingly, entropy and miR-21-5p show promising correlation in clear cell renal cell carcinoma opening to a radiogenomic strategy to improve clear cell renal cell carcinoma management. Conclusion: In this pilot study, a promising correlation between microRNAs and computed tomography texture analysis has been found in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. A clear cell renal cell carcinoma can benefit from noninvasive evaluation of texture parameters in adjunction to biopsy results. In particular, a promising correlation between entropy and miR-21-5p was found

Proteome analysis of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hA-MSCs) reveals impaired antioxidant ability, cytoskeleton and metabolic functionality in maternal obesity.

Maternal obesity increases the risk of obesity and/or obesity-related diseases in the offspring of animal models. The aim of this study was to identify metabolic dysfunctions that could represent an enhanced risk for human obesity or obesity-related diseases in newborn or in adult life, similar to what occurs in animal models. To this aim, we studied the proteome of 12 obese (Ob-) and 6 non-obese (Co-) human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hA-MSCs) obtained from women at delivery by cesarean section (pre-pregnancy body mass index [mean ± SD]: 42.7 ± 7.7 and 21.3 ± 3.3 kg/m(2), respectively). The proteome, investigated by two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis/mass spectrometry, revealed 62 differently expressed proteins in Ob- vs Co-hA-MSCs (P < 0.05), nine of which were confirmed by western blotting. Bioinformatics analysis showed that these 62 proteins are involved in several statistically significant pathways (P < 0.05), including the stress response, cytoskeleton and metabolic pathways. Oxidative stress was shown to be an early triggering factor of tissue fat accumulation and obesity-related disorders in the offspring of obese animal models. Our finding of a reduced stress response in Ob-hA-MSCs suggests that a similar mechanism could occur also in humans. Long-term follow-up studies of newborns of obese mothers are required to verify this hypothesis

Validación y detección automática del transporte dispersivo del emisario submarino de Mar del Plata, Argentina

The submarine outfall of Mar del Plata city at Camet was projected considering the mean and maximum of forecasted sewage discharges, the inner-shelf depth, coliform concentration and its decay (T90) mainly induced by sunlight effect and costal salinity. In 2016 the outfall was operating with a length of 3,810 m and diffusers in the last 526 m. An economical method to monitor its performance in relation to the surroundings, is remote-sensing techniques, applying either visible or radar images. Tidal currents parallel to the coast are responsible for the transport of the sedimentary plume in the far field, after a primary dilution from a depth of 11 m. Visible images (1.5 to 6 m spatial resolution) are effective in monitoring the plume entrained in the upper portion of the water column. These analyses led to study the interaction between waves and coastal currents. Radar images (30 m resolution X and C bands) permit to survey the slick-alike plume that differs from the environment water by the surface roughness. Comparing both techniques visible images can distinguish the different colours of the plume; instead, the radar images are showing the surface roughness from the slick-alike plume. The main advantage of active sensors is that they can map the plume during a cloudy weather and even during night time.El emisario submarino de Mar del Plata en Camet fue proyectado considerando las descargas cloacales promedio y máximas previstas, la profundidad de la plataforma vecina, la concentración de coliformes y el decaimiento (T90) inducido por la luz solar y la salinidad. En 2016 el emisario operaba con una longitud de 3.810 m con difusores en los últimos 526 m. Un método poco oneroso para analizar su comportamiento en relación a su entorno es la aplicación de técnicas de teledetección tanto en el espectro visible como mediante imágenes de radar. Las corrientes de marea paralelas a la costa son responsables de una pluma sedimentaria en el campo lejano, luego de una dilución primaria desde una profundidad de 11 m. Las imágenes visibles (resolución espacial de 1,5 a 6 m) son efectivas para monitorear la pluma extendida en la capa superior del mar. Estos análisis permiten el estudio de la interacción entre olas y corrientes costeras. Las imágenes de radar (resolución de 30 m en las bandas X y C) permiten relevar plumas superficiales semejantes a derrames de aceites por su rugosidad. Comparando ambas técnicas las imágenes visibles pueden distinguir plumas de diferentes colores del agua; por el contrario, las imágenes de radar están mostrando diferencias en la tensión superficial. La principal ventaja de los sensores activos es que permiten monitorear la pluma durante tiempo nuboso incluso sin luz solar

PEGylated helper-dependent adenoviral vector expressing human Apo A-I for gene therapy in LDLR-deficient mice

Helper-dependent adenoviral (HD-Ad) vectors have great potential for gene therapy applications; however, their administration induces acute toxicity that impairs safe clinical applications. We previously observed that PEGylation of HD-Ad vectors strongly reduces the acute response in murine and primate models. To evaluate whether PEGylated HD-Ad vectors combine reduced toxicity with the correction of pathological phenotypes, we administered an HD-Ad vector expressing the human apolipoprotein A-I (hApoA-I) to low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-receptor-deficient mice (a model for familial hypercholesterolemia) fed a high-cholesterol diet. Mice were treated with high doses of HD-Ad-expressing apo A-I or its PEGylated version. Twelve weeks later, LDL levels were lower and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels higher in mice treated with either of the vectors than in untreated mice. After terminal killing, the areas of atherosclerotic plaques were much smaller in the vector-treated mice than in the control animals. Moreover, the increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines was lower and consequently the toxicity profile better in mice treated with PEGylated vector than in mice treated with the unmodified vector. This finding indicates that the reduction in toxicity resulting from PEGylation of HD-Ad vectors does not impair the correction of pathological phenotypes. It also supports the clinical potential of these vectors for the correction of genetic diseases