Krukenberg tumor in an 11-year-old girl

AbstractKrukenberg tumors are uncommon metastatic neoplasms of the ovary with a prominent component of signet ring cells. The occurrence of a Krukenberg tumor in young individuals is rare, with only few cases reported in the second decade of life. The authors describe a case of this tumor diagnosed in an 11-year-old girl, characterized by massive metastatic spread, lack of tumor response and rapidly fatal clinical course. To the best of our knowledge, this is the youngest patient with Krukenberg tumor reported to date

Efficacy of a New Hypotonic Oral Rehydration Solution Containing Zinc and Prebiotics in the Treatment of Childhood Acute Diarrhea: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a hypotonic oral rehydration solution (ORS) containing zinc and prebiotics for treatment of acute diarrhea in children. Study design: We conducted a single-blind, prospective, controlled trial including children (age range, 3-36 months) with acute diarrhea randomly assigned to standard hypotonic ORS (group 1) or to new hypotonic ORS containing zinc and prebiotics (group 2). The main outcome was the rate of resolution of diarrhea at 72 hours. Results: A total of 60 children in group 1 (34 male; mean age, 18.58 months; 95% CI, 15.5-21.6) and 59 in group 2 (36 male; mean age, 19.26 months; 95% CI, 15.9-22.6) completed the study protocol. The rate of diarrhea resolution at 72 hours was higher in group 2 (50% versus 72.9%, P = .010). Total ORS intake in the first 24 hours was higher in group 2 (50 mL/kg; 95% CI, 41-59 versus 22 mL/kg; 95% CI, 17-29; P < .001). The mean number of missed working days by the parents of children in group 2 was lower (0.39; 95% CI, 0.08-0.70 versus 1.45; 95% CI 1.02-1.88; P < .001). Fewer patients in group 2 needed adjunctive drugs for the treatment of diarrhea 6/59 versus 19/60, P = .004. No adverse events were observed in either of the two groups. Conclusion: The addition of zinc and prebiotics to ORS limits diarrhea duration in children. Copyright © 2011 Mosby Inc. All rights reserved

Zinc inhibits calcium-mediated and nitric oxide-mediated ion secretion in human enterocytes

Zn2+ is effective in the treatment of acute diarrhea, but its mechanisms are not completely understood. We previously demonstrated that Zn2+ inhibits the secretory effect of cyclic adenosine monophosphate but not of cyclic guanosine monophosphate in human enterocytes. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether Zn2+ inhibits intestinal ion secretion mediated by the Ca2+ or nitric oxide pathways. To investigate ion transport we evaluated the effect of Zn2+ (35 μM) on electrical parameters of human intestinal epithelial cell monolayers (Caco2 cells) mounted in Ussing chambers and exposed to ligands that selectively increased intracellular Ca2+ (carbachol 10− 6 M) or nitric oxide (interferon-γ 300 UI/ml) concentrations. We also measured intracellular Ca2+ and nitric oxide concentrations. Zn2+ significantly reduced ion secretion elicited by carbachol (− 87%) or by interferon-γ (− 100%), and inhibited the increase of intracellular Ca2+ and nitric oxide concentrations. These data indicate that Zn2+ inhibits ion secretion elicited by Ca2+ and nitric oxide by directly interacting with the enterocyte. They also suggest that Zn2+ interferes with three of the four main intracellular pathways of intestinal ion secretion that are involved in acute diarrhe

How the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Patients’ Hospital Admission and Care in the Vascular Surgery Divisions of the Southern Regions of the Italian Peninsula

Background: To investigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns on the vasculopathic population. Methods: The Divisions of Vascular Surgery of the southern Italian peninsula joined this multicenter retrospective study. Each received a 13-point questionnaire investigating the hospitalization rate of vascular patients in the first 11 months of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the preceding 11 months. Results: 27 out of 29 Centers were enrolled. April-December 2020 (7092 patients) vs. 2019 (9161 patients): post-EVAR surveillance, hospitalization for Rutherford category 3 peripheral arterial disease, and asymptomatic carotid stenosis revascularization significantly decreased (1484 (16.2%) vs. 1014 (14.3%), p = 0.0009; 1401 (15.29%) vs. 959 (13.52%), p = 0.0006; and 1558 (17.01%) vs. 934 (13.17%), p &lt; 0.0001, respectively), while admissions for revascularization or major amputations for chronic limb-threatening ischemia and urgent revascularization for symptomatic carotid stenosis significantly increased (1204 (16.98%) vs. 1245 (13.59%), p &lt; 0.0001; 355 (5.01%) vs. 358 (3.91%), p = 0.0007; and 153 (2.16%) vs. 140 (1.53%), p = 0.0009, respectively). Conclusions: The suspension of elective procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant reduction in post-EVAR surveillance, and in the hospitalization of asymptomatic carotid stenosis revascularization and Rutherford 3 peripheral arterial disease. Consequentially, we observed a significant increase in admissions for urgent revascularization for symptomatic carotid stenosis, as well as for revascularization or major amputations for chronic limb-threatening ischemia

DSM-5 Criterion A in a mentalization perspective: the associations between personality dysfunction and mentalization ability in a sample of Italian community dwelling-adults.

Background: Mentalization represents the ability to interpret one’s own and others’ behaviours in terms of intentional mental states. Previous studies have suggested that impairments in mentalization are associated with personality pathology.  The aim of our study was to examine the relationships between mentalization and DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorder Criterion A in a sample of community dwelling adults. Furthermore, since mentalization and personality dysfunction are associated with emotion dysregulation, we aimed to explore the interconnections among these three constructs. Methodology: In a sample of 1225 Italian community dwelling adults and in a sub-sample of 97 participants we evaluated mentalizing ability and personality dysfunction. We relied on two methods that map different mentalization aspects: (a) in the whole sample, we used a self-report questionnaire (Reflective Functioning Questionnaire), and (b) in a sub-sample, we administered a performance test (Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition). Moreover, in the whole sample, we explored the mediating role of emotion dysregulation on the association between mentalization and personality dysfunction. Results: The results suggested that uncertainty about mental states was a significant predictor of self and interpersonal personality impairment. Considering the sub-sample, interpersonal dysfunction was associated with a mentalization deficit characterized by hypermentalization, hypomentalization and lack of mentalistic abilities.  In the whole sample we found that mentalization deficits might affect personality dysfunction via their effect on emotion regulation. Conclusion: Our findings showed that failures in mentalizing can leave an individual vulnerable to personality impairment and support Zettl et al. (2020) work showing that all the dimensions of personality impairment are associated with mentalistic abilities. Moreover, in line with both theoretical and empirical literature, the mediation analyses results could promote the comprehension of the interplay among mentalization, emotion dysregulation and interpersonal dysfunction supporting the psychotherapeutic model that considered these constructs as targets of psychotherapy

Isolation and phylogenetic footprinting analysis of the promoter region of the floral homeotic gene OrcPI from Orchis italica (Orchidaceae)

The nucleotide sequences of regulatory elements from homologous genes can be strongly divergent. Phylogenetic footprinting, a comparative analysis of noncoding regions, can detect putative transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) shared among the regulatory regions of 2 or more homologous genes. These conserved motifs have the potential to serve the same regulatory function in distantly related taxa. We isolated the 5'-noncoding region of the OrcPI gene, a MADS-box transcription factor involved in flower development in Orchis italica, using the thermal asymmetric interlaced polymerase chain reaction technique. This region (comprising 1352 bp) induced transient beta-glucuronidase expression in the petal tissue of white Rosa hybrida flowers and represents the 5'-regulatory sequence of the OrcPI gene. Phylogenetic footprinting analysis detected conserved regions within the 5'-regulatory sequence of OrcPI and the homologous regions of Oryza sativa, Lilium regale, and Arabidopsis thaliana. Some of these sequences are known TFBSs described in databases of plant regulatory elements. Nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under the following accession numbers: AF198055 promoter region of the PISTILLATA (PI) gene of A. thaliana; AB094985 cDNA of OrcPI (PI/GLOBOSA [PI/GLO] homologue) of O. italica; AB378089 5'-regulatory region of the OrcPI gene of O. italica; AP008211 putative promoter region of OSMADS2 (PI/GLO homologue) of O. sativa; AP008207 putative promoter region of OSMADS4 (PI/GLO homologue) of O. sativa; and AB158292 putative promoter region of the PI/GLO homologue of L. regale