Bird populations as sentinels of endocrine disrupting chemicals

Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is a widespread phenomenon in nature. Although the mechanisms of action of EDCs are actively studied, the consequences of endocrine disruption (ED) at the population level and the adaptations evolved to cope with chronic EDC exposure have been overlooked. Birds probably represent the animal taxon most successfully adapted to synanthropic life. Hence, birds share with humans a similar pattern of exposure to xenobiotics. In this article, we review case studies on patterns of behaviour that deviate from the expectation in bird species exposed to EDCs. We provide behavioural and ecological parameters to be used as endpoints of ED; methodological requirements and caveats based on species-specific life-history traits, behavioural repertoires, developmental styles, and possibility of captive breeding; a list of species that could be used as sentinels to assess the quality of man-made environment

PARAMETRIC COST MODELLING OF COMPONENTS FOR TURBOMACHINES: PRELIMINARY STUDY

AbstractThe ever-increasing competitiveness, due to the market globalisation, has forced the industries to modify their design and production strategies. Hence, it is crucial to estimate and optimise costs as early as possible since any following changes will negatively impact the redesign effort and lead time.This paper aims to compare different parametric cost estimation methods that can be used for analysing mechanical components. The current work presents a cost estimation methodology which uses non-historical data for the database population. The database is settled using should cost data obtained from analytical cost models implemented in a cost estimation software. Then, the paper compares different parametric cost modelling techniques (artificial neural networks, deep learning, random forest and linear regression) to define the best one for industrial components.Such methods have been tested on 9 axial compressor discs, different in dimensions. Then, by considering other materials and batch sizes, it was possible to reach a training dataset of 90 records. From the analysis carried out in this work, it is possible to conclude that the machine learning techniques are a valid alternative to the traditional linear regression ones

AngioJet thrombectomy for the treatment of coronary artery aneurysm after failed thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is caused by thrombus formation over a disrupted plaque occluding an epicardial coronary artery. Mechanical thrombectomy is effective in removing thrombus burden from native vessels and saphenous vein grafts. Here we report a case of an aneurysmatic dilatation of an infarct-related artery (IRA) referred to our Institute for rescue PCI, after failed fibrinolysis, successfully treated with only rheolytic thrombectomy (AngioJet, Possis Medical, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) without the need for adjunctive balloon or stent implantation

Vitamin E Supplementation Reduces Plasma Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 and von Willebrand Factor Levels and Increases Nitric Oxide Concentrations in Hypercholesterolemic Patients

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Safety and Feasibility of Steerable Radiofrequency Ablation in Combination with Cementoplasty for the Treatment of Large Extraspinal Bone Metastases

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cementoplasty, individually and in concert, has been adopted as palliative interventional strategies to reduce pain caused by bone metastases and prevent skeletal related events. We aim to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a steerable RFA device with an articulating bipolar extensible electrode for the treatment of extraspinal bone metastases. Methods: All data were retrospectively reviewed. All the ablation procedures were performed using a steerable RFA device (STAR, Merit Medical Systems, Inc., South Jordan, UT, USA). The pain was assessed with a VAS score before treatment and at 1-week and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. The Functional Mobility Scale (FMS) was recorded preoperatively and 1 month after the treatment through a four-point scale (4, bedridden; 3, use of wheelchair; 2, limited painful ambulation; 1, normal ambulation). Technical success was defined as successful intraoperative ablation and cementoplasty without major complications. Results: A statistically significant reduction of the median VAS score before treatment and 1 week after RFA and cementoplasty was observed (p < 0.001). A total of 6/7 patients who used a wheelchair reported normal ambulation 1 month after treatment. All patients with limited painful ambulation reported normal ambulation after the RFA and cementoplasty (p = 0.003). Technical success was achieved in all the combined procedures. Two cement leakages were reported. No local recurrences were observed after 1 year. Conclusions: The combined treatment of RFA with a steerable device and cementoplasty is a safe, feasible, and promising clinical option for the management of painful bone metastases, challenging for morphology and location, resulting in an improvement of the quality of life of patients

Combined Trans-Arterial Embolization and Ablation for the Treatment of Large (>3 cm) Liver Metastases: Review of the Literature

Background: The aim of this review was to determine the state of clinical practice in the role of the combined approach of embolization and ablation in patients with secondary liver lesions greater than 3 cm who are not candidates for surgery, and to study its safety and efficacy. (2) Methods: Two reviewers conducted the literature search independently. Eight articles on the combined approach of embolization and ablation in secondary liver lesions were selected. (3) Results: The studies were published between 2009 and 2020. Two studies were prospective in design. The sample size was < 100 patients for all studies. All studies demonstrated the safety of the combined approach based on the low complication rate. Some studies lamented non-uniform systemic chemotherapy regimens and the variability in the sequence of embolization and ablation. (4) Conclusions: This review presents the combined approach of ablation and embolization in liver lesions greater than 3 cm as a safe therapeutic procedure with positive effects on patient survival. Prospective and multicentric studies are needed to further evaluate its efficacy

Preprocedural Level of Soluble CD40L Is Predictive of Enhanced Inflammatory Response and Restenosis After Coronary Angioplasty

Background— Inflammation plays a pathogenic role in the development of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). CD40–CD40L interaction is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis; however, its role in the pathophysiology of restenosis is still unclear. We tested the hypothesis that soluble CD40L (sCD40L) may be involved in the process of restenosis and that it exerts its effect by triggering a complex group of inflammatory reactions on endothelial and mononuclear cells. Methods and Results— We studied 70 patients who underwent PTCA and who had repeated angiograms at 6-month follow-up. Plasma sCD40L was measured before and 1, 5, 15, and 180 days after PTCA, whereas plasma soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, E-selectin, and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 were measured before and 24 hours after PTCA. Furthermore, the release of adhesion molecules and MCP-1 and the ability to repair an injury in endothelial cells, as well as the generation of O 2 − in monocytes, were analyzed in vitro after stimulation with serum from patients or healthy control subjects. Restenosis occurred in 18 patients (26%). Restenotic patients had preprocedural sCD40L significantly higher than patients with favorable outcomes (2.13±0.3 versus 0.87±0.12 ng/mL, P <0.0001). Elevated sCD40L at baseline was significantly correlated with adhesion molecules and MCP-1 generation after PTCA and with lumen loss at 6-month follow-up. Furthermore, high sCD40L was directly associated in vitro with adhesion molecules and MCP-1 generation and impaired migration in endothelial cells and with enhanced O 2 − generation in monocytes. Conclusions— We conclude that increased sCD40L is associated with late restenosis after PTCA. This may provide an important biochemical link between restenosis and aspirin-insensitive platelet activation. These results provide a rationale for studies with new antiplatelet treatments in patients who underwent PTCA

Atypical Presentation of Chronic Granulomatous Disease in a Child

Chronic granulomatous disease is a rare, inherited immunodeficiency caused by deletions or mutations in genes that encode subunits of the NADPH oxidase complex. The pattern of chronic granulomatous disease inheritance can be X-linked (about 70% of cases) or autosomal recessive. The basic defect lies in phagocytic cells (neutrophils and monocytes) which fail to effectively destroy invading bacteria and fungi. Also, a dysregulated immune response, characterized by extensive granulomatous inflammation of visceral organs, develops in patients. This immunodeficiency is characterized by repeated suppurative infections mainly located in the lungs, skin, and lymph nodes, but also affecting other organs. The major agents involved in the infections are catalase positive bacteria, mycobacteria, fungi, and other opportunistic germs. Diagnosis is based on clinical suspicion and confirmed by nitroblue tetrazolium test or flow cytometry that demonstrate the inability of phagocytes from affected individuals to produce superoxides. The treatment of chronic granulomatous disease involves, in addition to general care such as the prevention of infections and vaccinations, the use of sulfamethoxazole–trimethoprim in combination with itraconazole for prophylaxis. We report the case of a 3-year-old boy with medical history of recurrent respiratory infections, anemia, growth failure, elevated inflammatory markers and occasional rectal bleeding. He was admitted to our department for a suspected chronic bowel inflammatory disease. Clinical history, lymph nodes involvement and the discovery of intestinal granulomas on biopsies confirmed the diagnosis of chronic granulomatous disease

Plasma and Serum Metabolite Association Networks: Comparability within and between Studies Using NMR and MS Profiling

Blood is one of the most used biofluids in metabolomics studies, and the serum and plasma fractions are routinely used as a proxy for blood itself. Here we investigated the association networks of an array of 29 metabolites identified and quantified via NMR in the plasma and serum samples of two cohorts of ∼1000 healthy blood donors each. A second study of 377 individuals was used to extract plasma and serum samples from the same individual on which a set of 122 metabolites were detected and quantified using FIA–MS/MS. Four different inference algorithms (ARANCE, CLR, CORR, and PCLRC) were used to obtain consensus networks. The plasma and serum networks obtained from different studies showed different topological properties with the serum network being more connected than the plasma network. On a global level, metabolite association networks from plasma and serum fractions obtained from the same blood sample of healthy people show similar topologies, and at a local level, some differences arise like in the case of amino acids