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We introduce TAASRAD19, a high-resolution radar reflectivity dataset collected by the Civil Protection weather radar of the Trentino South Tyrol Region, in the Italian Alps. The dataset includes 894,916 timesteps of precipitation from more than 9 years of data, offering a novel resource to develop and benchmark analog ensemble models and machine learning solutions for precipitation nowcasting. Data are expressed as 2D images, considering the maximum reflectivity on the vertical section at 5 min sampling rate, covering an area of 240 km of diameter at 500 m horizontal resolution. The TAASRAD19 distribution also includes a curated set of 1,732 sequences, for a total of 362,233 radar images, labeled with precipitation type tags assigned by expert meteorologists. We validate TAASRAD19 as a benchmark for nowcasting methods by introducing a TrajGRU deep learning model to forecast reflectivity, and a procedure based on the UMAP dimensionality reduction algorithm for interactive exploration. Software methods for data pre-processing, model training and inference, and a pre-trained model are publicly available on GitHub ( https://github.com/MPBA/TAASRAD19 ) for study replication and reproducibility.

Purpose: Three cell layers compose the urothelium: basal, intermediate and luminal ("umbrella cells") and different diseases might arise from different cell populations. The aim of this study is to analyze the quantification ability of such cell populations by using four different protocols., Methods: Twenty male rats (Wistar) were randomized in four groups of five animals: scraping, enzymatic 30, 45 and 60minutes. The cells were isolated, analyzed by flow cytometer and data processed by BD FACSDIVA™ software., Results: The urothelium was separated in two cell populations that are different in size and complexity. The group that showed more efficiency in cells dissociation and cells separation was enzymatic protocol 45minutes., Conclusions: Enzymatic protocol 45minutes was able to isolate urothelial cell populations and might be explored as potential prognostic tool, patient selection and therapeutic target in urothelial diseases. Future studies should validate the potential clinical application to the proposed rational of luminal-basal paradigm in the urothelial cancer as hope for individualized approach., (Copyright © 2017 AEU. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although C-reactive protein (CRP) has proved useful in the assessment of post-operative infections, its value at those time points useful to assess organ-space surgical site infection (OSI) after open and laparoscopic colorectal surgery has not been clarified., Methods: We compared values of CRP on post-operative days two and five and percentage of change between those days (Δ%D2-5) in patients with and without OSI, after open (OPEN) and laparoscopic (LAP) colo-rectal surgery. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis was performed and indices of test performance of sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values, and likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-) were assessed., Results: The best CRP predictive values for OSI were D5 >120 mg/L (area under the curve [AUC] 0.959; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.890-0.990) and Δ%D2-5 <40% (AUC 0.968; 95% CI 0.901-0.994; p=0.0001) in OPEN and D5 >66 mg/L (AUC 0.921; 95% CI 0.841-0.969) and Δ%D2-5 <48% (AUC 0.894-95% CI 0.806-0.952; p=0.0001) in LAP. The best measure was NPV (100%; CI 93.6%-100% for D5 and Δ%D2-5 in OPEN and 98.4%, CI 91.3%-99.7% for D5 and 100%, CI 93.4%-100% for Δ%D2-5 in LAP)., Conclusions: In patients with CRP <120.66 mg/L on post-operative day 5 or a decay from post-operative day two to five of >40%-48% in OPEN and LAP, respectively, OSI may be ruled out and the patient discharged safely. Careful workup is needed in those patients with higher postoperative CRP concentrations or lower apparent decay values.

Idiopathic fibrosing pancreatitis has been associated with Sjögren's syndrome, primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis. This condition frequently develops in childhood and youth, and has also been related to ulcerative colitis and pericholangitis. Pancreatic complications have been rarely described as systemic complications of ulcerative colitis. A 25-year-old man presented with epigastric pain and jaundice. Abdominal ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) revealed a diffuse enlargement of the pancreas, filiform distal stenosis of the common bile duct and intrahepatic bile ducts, and pancreatic duct dilatation. At operation, a rock-hard and nodular pancreas was noted. Cholecystectomy and Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy, with an access loop, was successfully performed. Idiopathic fibrosing pancreatitis should be considered in young patients with obstructive jaundice, especially those affected with chronic inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. Glucocorticoid therapy would be the first-line treatment, although many patients require operation.

Background: Immunosuppression associated with homologous blood transfusion was first observed in renal allograft transplantation. Clinical effects of transfusion-induced immunosuppression in surgical patients have been debated in the literature for more than a decade with contradictory results., Objective: To investigate whether homologous blood transfusions significantly affect postoperative septic morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing elective surgery for gastric cancer., Design: Case series., Setting: Hospitalized care., Patients: The hospital records of 209 patients who underwent elective surgery for gastric cancer at the Department of Surgery of the Hospital del Mar, Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain, and at the Department of Surgery of the Catholic University of Rome in Italy from April 1984 to December 1990 were reviewed, and 179 patients were included in the study., Main Outcome Measures: The following variables were entered into univariate and multivariate analyses to identify factors potentially affecting postoperative septic morbidity: demographic data, weight loss, preoperative serum albumin level and lymphocyte count, type and duration of operative procedure, amount and timing of blood transfusion, and stage of disease., Results: Univariate analysis showed that a large quantity of blood transfused (> 1500 mL) and transfusion in the postoperative period (group C) were associated with a worse clinical outcome. Postoperative transfusion was an independent predictor of septic morbidity in multivariate analysis., Conclusions: Despite transfusion-induced immunomodulation, homologous blood transfusion should not be considered a risk factor for postoperative septic morbidity in patients undergoing elective major abdominal surgery. The timing-response relationship between transfusions and septic morbidity in multivariate analysis may be the effect of uncontrolled confounders such as variation of volemia induced by stress response in patients who were developing or had just developed infectious complications.

ECW, and particularly its interstitial component, expands easily with malnutrition, sepsis, and trauma and after aggressive intravenous fluid therapy. In this scenario, hypoalbuminemia is usually the result of both an increased capillary escape rate due to leaky endothelium and increased distribution volume; this can be worsened by artificial intravenous nutrition with sodium, water, and glucose. Monitoring ECW is essential during TPN. Short-term changes in weight and serum albumin concentration are helpful to control ECW volume and prevent ECW expansion. Tetrapolar bioimpedance analysis is a promising technique for accurate bedside measurement of changes in body fluid compartments.

Background: There are many doubts as to the efficacy of systemic antibiotic prophylaxis versus the methods of local treatment in the prevention of infection of the contaminated surgical wound. A controlled prospective study was designed to compare the effectiveness of a combination of parenteral antibiotics with lavage with physiologic serum of the surgical wound to prevent infection of the postappendectomy wound., Methods: The patients in group A (antibiotic, n = 70) received a sole preoperative dose of methronidazol and gentamicin while in those in group I (irrigation, n = 71) the wounds were irrigated with physiologic serum prior to and following closure of aponeurosis. The patients were controlled at one week and one month after the intervention., Results: The global rate of infection was 9.3%. Six patients of group A and five of group I developed wound infection (p = 0.06), The age and length of the intervention were significantly higher in the infected patients (41 vs 23 years, p = 0.0001 and 53 vs 41 minutes, p = 0.03, respectively). Intraperitoneal culture was positive in 70% of the patients who posteriorly developed wound infection, being positive in only 9.4% of the uninfected patients (p = 0.0001). Eight of the infections (73%) were detected following discharge from hospital. The cost of prophylaxis in group A was seven-fold higher than that of group I., Conclusions: Lavage of the surgical wound with physiologic serum may be an effective, safe and inexpensive method to prevent infection of the wound following appendicectomy for unperforated appendicitis.