A European Committee on Foreign Investment?

In September, the EU Commission presented a proposal for the establishment of a common framework for the screening of non-EU FDI, which has recently been a hot topic in Europe. This Perspective tries to confront the Commission’s proposal with other solutions, including the establishment of a European Committee on FDI

Indirect FDI under EU FDI regulation in times of war: is the anti-circumvention clause enough?

This Perspective explores the consequences of the ECJ decision in the Xella case over the protection of EU security from threats linked to indirect FDI. While the judgement excludes them from the scope of the EU FDI Screening Regulation, this Perspective offers a solution to include them under its scope

欧洲外国投资欧委会

In September, the EU Commission presented a proposal for the establishment of a common framework for the screening of non-EU FDI, which has recently been a hot topic in Europe. This Perspective tries to confront the Commission’s proposal with other solutions, including the establishment of a European Committee on FDI

Extra-Anatomic Jump Graft from the Right Colic Vein: A Novel Technique to Manage Portal Vein Thrombosis in Liver Transplantation

In the context of cirrhosis, portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is present in 2.1% to 26% of patients. PVT is no longer considered an absolute contraindication for liver transplantation, and nowadays, surgical strategies depend on the extent of PVT. Complete PVT is associated with higher morbidity rates and poor prognosis, while comparable long-term outcomes can be achieved as long as physiological portal inflow is restored

The Evolving Role of Local Treatments for HCC in the Third Millennium

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the fifth most common malignancy and the third cancer-related cause of death worldwide. The aim of this review was to clarify the role of local treatments for HCC, analyzing the indications and defining future perspectives

Unusual Paraneoplastic Syndrome Accompanies Neuroendocrine Tumours of the Pancreas

Neuroendocrine tumours comprise a small percentage of pancreatic neoplasia (10%) (1). Diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumours is difficult, especially if the tumours are small and nonfunctional. CT scans, MRI, and nuclear scans are sufficiently sensitive assessment tools for tumours with diameters of at least 2 cm; otherwise, the sensitivity and specificity of these techniques is less than 50% (2). Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a heterogeneous neuromuscular junction disorder that is primarily caused when antibodies form against the acetylcholine receptors (Ab-AchR). MG can develop in conjunction with neoplasia, making MG a paraneoplastic disease. In those cases, MG is most commonly associated with thymomas and less frequently associated with extrathymic malignancies. The mechanism underlying this paraneoplastic syndrome has been hypothesized to involve an autoimmune response against the tumour cells (3). No published reports have linked malignant pancreatic diseases with MG. Here, we report the case of a young woman, negative for Ab-AchR, with a neuroendocrine tumour in the pancreatic head, who experienced a complete resolution of her MG-like syndrome after surgical enucleation of the tumour

A frailty index predicts post-liver transplant morbidity and mortality in HIV-positive patients

Background: We hypothesized that frailty acts as a measure of health outcomes in the context of LT. The aim of this study was to explore frailty index across LT, as a measure of morbidity and mortality. This was a retrospective observational study including all consecutive 47 HIV+patients who received LT in Modena, Italy from 2003 to June 2015. Methods: frailty index (FI) was constructed from 30 health variables. It was used both as a continuous score and as a categorical variable, defining 'most frail' a FI > 0.45. FI change across transplant (deltaFI, \uce\u94FI) was calculated as the difference between year 1 FI (FI-Y1) and pre-transplant FI (FI-t0). The outcomes measures were mortality and "otpimal LT" (defined as being alive without multi-morbidity). Results: Median value of FI-t0 was 0.48 (IQR 0.42-0.52), FI-Y1 was 0.31 (IQR 0.26-0.41). At year five mortality rate was 45%, "optimal transplant" rate at year 1 was 38%. All the patients who died in the post-LT were most frail in the pre-LT. \uce\u94FI was a predictor of mortality after correction for age and MELD (HR = 1.10, p = 0.006) and was inversely associated with optimal transplant after correction for age (HR = 1.04, p = 0.01). Conclusions: We validated FI as a valuable health measure in HIV transplant. In particular, we found a relevant correlation between FI strata at baseline and mortality and a statistically significant correlation between, \uce\u94FI and survival rate

Laboratory injection molder for the fabrication of polymeric porous poly-epsilon-caprolactone scaffolds for preliminary mesenchymal stem cells tissue engineering applications

This study presents a simple and rapid fabrication technique involving injection molding and particle leaching (IM/PL) to fabricate the porous scaffold for tissue engineering applications. Sodium Chloride (NaCl) and Sucrose are separately mixed with the poly-epsilon-caprolactone (PCL) granules using a screwed thermo-regulated extruder, then the biocompatible scaffolds are fabricated through injection molding. The micro/nano-structure of the samples and their different grade of porosity were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells are chosen for cell culture and Hoechst 33342 staining was used to verify the biocompatibility of the polymeric porous surfaces. We concluded that, by using the same fast solvent free injection/leaching process, the use of Sucrose as porogen, instead of NaCl, allowed the obtainment of biocompatible scaffolds with a higher grade of porosity with suitable cell adhesion capacity for tissue engineering purpose