Fattori associati all'insuccesso della colonscopia

Colonoscopy represents the gold standard in the diagnosis of the colorectal cancer. Nevertheless in a small percentage of cases such procedure may result not diagnostic. To decrease the number of incomplete colonoscopies, it is necessary to be extremely careful not only during the procedure but also during the stage that precedes the exam, teaching the patients the correct use of the preparation. The clinical history of the patient (age, sex, and body index) especially searched for previous pelvic or abdominal surgery together with concomitant pathological processes, can be useful to the endoscopist to select complex cases that require specific caution. A further help can be offered by the use of conscious sedation to reduce patient's discomfort and to facilitate the procedure. Nevertheless there are cases in which every attempt to obtain a diagnostic colonoscopy results vain; for such reason is necessary to consider alternative not invasive procedures like radiological examinations such as computed tomographic colonography or double-contrast barium enema

Body and individual between property and self- determination. With regards to biobanks

La bioetica è il luogo ideale per cercare risposte ai grandi interrogativi concernenti la vita, la morte e la cura dell'essere umano. I recenti dibattiti sull'uso, ed il temuto abuso, del corpo umano in medicina hanno messo in evidenza la necessità di una discussione approfondita sul potere di scelta che l'individuo può esercitare sulla propria mente e sul proprio corpo. Spinta dal desidero di indagare l'estensione di tale potere di scelta ho voluto analizzare le tematiche riguardanti “il corpo”, “l'individuo”, “la proprietà” e “l'autodeterminazione”. L'analisi è stata condotta individuando alcuni dei differenti significati che questi termini assumono nei diversi ambiti che la bioetica lambisce e mostrando, in particolare, la visione di tale realtà attraverso le lenti del giurista. A chi appartiene il corpo? Chi ha il potere di decidere su di esso? Il potere di scelta valica gli antichi i confini legati al corpo del paziente e coinvolge tessuti, organi e cellule staccati dal corpo umano, parti che un tempo erano considerati scarti operatori sono oggi divenuti tesori inestimabili per la ricerca. L'importanza assunta dai campioni biologici ha portato alla creazione di biobanche nelle quali sono raccolti, catalogati e il DNA studiato in campioni biologici Le biobanche riflettono le tensioni della bioetica e del biodititto. Lo studio delle biobanche riguarda, tra l'altro, la riceca dell'equilibrio tra le diverse esigenze meritevoli di tutela: in primo luogo il diritto alla privacy, diritto a che le “proprie informazioni” non vengano divulgate ed il diritto a non essere discriminato ed in secondo luogo le necessità dettate dalla ricerca e dalla scienza medica. Nel 2009 la rivista Times messo biobanche tra le 10 idee in grado di cambiare il mondo anche in considarazione della medicina personalizzata e del fatto che costituiscono una la speranza per la ricerca contro le malattie attuali e future.Bioethics is the perfect field to look for answers concerning life, death and medical care. Bioethics starts from the interaction among 3 mains points of view: medical, ethical and legal. Recent debates about uses and abuses of human body in medicine have highlighted the need for a thorough discussion of the uses of bodies. New forms of intervention on the body pose an alternative to the legal status of the person and its body property, commodity or gift. Who belongs my body? The power of choice belong to whom? The power of choice overcomes the old boundaries related to the patient's body. Self determination expresses individual freedom of choice; in healthcare decision-making power is part of the process of sharing treatment decisions between the doctor and the patient. Now bioethics involves the organ tissues and cells stored outside a given person, previously considered unuseful left-overs, which today have become invaluable treasures for researchers. From a physical dimension the focus has now been shifted also to an informational dimension. The extensive role of shared biological samples has led to the creation of biobanks in which they are collected, cataloged and the DNA studied in tissue samples and stem cells from umbilical cord blood. Biobanks are, in fact, at the same time an example of bio-ethical tension and a bio-law early hour representative. The priority regarding biobanks is thoughtful balance concerning the different needs deserving protection: firstly the right to privacy, right to self-disclosure, non-discrimination law and secondly, the requirements dictated by the research and diagnostic - medical science. In 2009 Times magazine put biobanks among the 10 ideas changing the world right now. Biobanks are the key for our future because they involve personalized medicine, hope against current and future disease, particularly in rare disease research

Reproducibility of fluorescent expression from engineered biological constructs in E. coli

We present results of the first large-scale interlaboratory study carried out in synthetic biology, as part of the 2014 and 2015 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competitions. Participants at 88 institutions around the world measured fluorescence from three engineered constitutive constructs in E. coli. Few participants were able to measure absolute fluorescence, so data was analyzed in terms of ratios. Precision was strongly related to fluorescent strength, ranging from 1.54-fold standard deviation for the ratio between strong promoters to 5.75-fold for the ratio between the strongest and weakest promoter, and while host strain did not affect expression ratios, choice of instrument did. This result shows that high quantitative precision and reproducibility of results is possible, while at the same time indicating areas needing improved laboratory practices.Peer reviewe