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Background: The cancer risk associated with gastric non-invasive neoplasia (formerly dysplasia) is debated. This prospective long term follow up study investigates the clinicopathological behaviour of non-invasive gastric neoplasia (and related [...]

We aimed to assess the effects of preweaning nutrition and postweaning growth rates on the metabolic characteristics of replacement dairy heifers until 20 mo of age. At birth heifers, were allocated to one of 4 treatment groups which were a combination of preweaning (high or low preweaning nutritional treatment), and postweaning treatments (high or low postweaning growth rate). In the preweaning phase (birth until weaning at 10 weeks of age) heifers were subject to either a High (8 L/day) or Low (4 L/day) milk feeding strategy, then at weaning either a high or low postweaning growth rate. Heifers in the high preweaning treatment groups recorded greater growth rates until weaning compared with heifers in the low preweaning treatment groups. Heifers in the high preweaning groups consumed approximately twice the amount of milk and half the amount of concentrate. Blood samples taken at 6 weeks of age had lower BHB and higher glucose and IGF-1 concentrations in the high preweaning treatment in the preweaning phase; these differences disappeared postweaning. Additionally, insulin levels were also higher, and QUICKI index results were lower for heifers on the high preweaning treatment and for those on the high postweaning treatment, at 6 weeks and 13 mo of age. No differences between treatments were detected at 8 mo of age. Results indicate a positive effect of accelerated preweaning nutrition and post weaning growth rate (at 13 mo of age) on these metabolic biomarkers, however these treatment effects were independent of one another and reflected the nutritional input at the time., (© 2025, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

This experiment determined the effects of two different starch sources when offered twice a day to cows during the early postpartum period (1 to 23 d postpartum, treatment period) on dry matter intake (DMI), feeding behavior, and milk production. The subsequent effects on milk production in the carryover period (24 to 72 d) where cows received a common diet (grazed perennial ryegrass pasture plus concentrate supplements) were also measured. Thirty-two multiparous dairy cows were offered concentrate feed (8 kg DM/d) containing 5 kg DM of crushed wheat grain or ground corn grain (7 h in vitro starch digestibility of 65.8% and 58.8%, respectively). At each milking (morning and afternoon), cows were offered half of the concentrate feed, and upon return to their individual stalls, they were offered perennial ryegrass pasture silage (56.2% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 39.8% acid detergent fiber (ADF), 16.6% crude protein (CP)) at 130% of their expected daily intake. Dry matter intake, milk yield, and body weight were recorded daily. Blood and milk sampling, body condition score, and feeding behavior measurements were performed weekly during the treatment period. During the carryover period, milk sampling and body condition score measurements were conducted on a weekly and fortnightly basis, respectively. In the treatment and carryover periods, there was no significant effect of starch source treatment on DMI, milk yield, milk composition, change in body weight, or body condition. Similarly, the starch source did not affect the concentrations of blood markers of energy status or inflammatory response. Despite differences in the in vitro starch fermentability between treatments, the starch source did not significantly affect production responses. It is possible that the elevated NDF and ADF concentrations of the forage offered during the treatment period, the limited difference in starch fermentability between treatments, and the temporal supply of fuels to the liver when starch sources were offered twice a day may have offset the effects of the type of starch source on DMI and production via physical signals associated with rumen fill and distention.

Grain mixes varying in proportions of wheat grain, barley grain, canola meal, and corn grain were fed to grazing dairy cows in early lactation to determine the contribution of canola meal and corn grain to milk yield, BW, BCS, eating behavior, and blood serum metabolite concentrations. The experiment used 80 multiparous, seasonally calving Holstein-Friesian dairy cows during the first 100 d of lactation, the treatment period, and over the subsequent carryover period of 100 d, during which all cows were fed a common diet. Cows were divided into 4 cohorts (blocks) based on calving date and within each cohort, 5 cows were randomly allocated to each of the 4 treatments. Dietary treatments included disc-milled grain mixes comprising (on a DM basis) (1) a control treatment of wheat (25%) and barley (75%); (2) wheat (25%), barley (50%), and canola meal (25%); (3) wheat (25%), barley (50%), and corn (25%), and (4) wheat (25%), barley (25%), canola meal (25%), and corn (25%). Treatment diets were introduced at 19 DIM ± 4.7 d, which included a 7-d adaptation period and were applied up until 100 DIM. Each grain mix was fed at 9 kg of DM/cow per day, offered twice daily, in equal proportions in the parlor at milking times. In addition to the grain mix, all cows grazed perennial ryegrass pasture at a daily allowance of ∼35 kg of DM/cow per day (measured to ground level). Results were analyzed in terms of corn and canola presence or absence in the diet. Including canola meal in grain mixes increased grain intake and pasture intake by 0.6 and 2.1 kg of DM/cow per day, respectively, resulting in an increased milk yield of 2.6 kg/cow per day during the first 100 d of lactation. Including canola meal also increased yields of milk fat and protein, and concentrations of milk fat, as well as increasing mean BW and BCS over the 100 d. The inclusion of canola meal in the grain mixes also resulted in greater blood serum BHB and urea concentrations, compared with feeding grain mixes that did not contain canola meal. The inclusion of corn grain provided no milk production benefits and did not change BW, BCS, or any feeding behavior variables. There were no carryover effects on milk production from either canola meal or corn grain after the treatment period. In summary, the results demonstrate that the provision of canola meal in grain mixes can improve milk production and increase mean BCS. Further, there are no benefits to milk yield when a proportion of barley is substituted for corn, in a wheat and barley grain mix fed to grazing dairy cows in early lactation. However, these results are dependent on the level of inclusion and the feeding system employed., (The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

Dry matter intake (DMI) is a primary determinant of milk production in grazing dairy cows and an ability to measure the DMI of individual cows would allow herd managers to formulate supplementary rations that consider the amount of nutrients ingested from grass. The 2 related aims of this experiment were to define the mean number of swallowed boli and mass of the swallowed boli in Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle offered a variety of forages commonly fed in the dairy industry of southeastern Australia, and to evaluate 2 indirect methods for counting the number of swallows. Twelve ruminally-fistulated, lactating Holstein-Friesian cows were randomly assigned to 3 replicated 4 × 4 Latin square designs and offered 4 forages: fresh chicory (FC), fresh perennial ryegrass (RP), alfalfa hay (AH), and perennial ryegrass silage (RS). The experiment was conducted over 28 d with each of 4 periods consisting of 7 d with 3 d of measurement. Forage diets were offered to individual cows following the partial evacuation of the rumen. The first 20 min after forage was offered constituted the measurement period, during which all swallowed boli were manually captured by samplers who placed their hand through the ruminal fistula and over the cardia entrance of the rumen of each cow. Concurrently, microphones and video cameras were used for the indirect measurement of swallows. The average swallowed bolus mass overall was 17.4 g dry matter (DM) per bolus with the lowest mass observed in cows offered FC (8.9 g DM/bolus), followed by RP (14.9 g DM/bolus), compared with cows offered AH (23.6 g DM/bolus) and RS (22.3 g DM/bolus). The swallowing rate was greater in cows offered FC (78 swallows/20 min) than in cows offered RP, AH, and RS (62.3 swallows/20 min). The audio recording method showed greater concordance (Lin's concordance correlation coefficient = 0.90) with the physical capturing of the boli through the rumen, than the video recording method did (Lin's concordance correlation coefficient = 0.54). It is concluded that the mass of the swallowed boli is related to forage type and that using a microphone attached to the cow's forehead can provide an accurate measure of the number of swallows when verified against the actual number of swallows counted by manual interception of the boli at the rumen cardia., (© 2023, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. and Fass Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

Pulmonary carcinoids (PCs) are part of a spectrum of well-differentiated neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) and are classified as typical carcinoid (TC) and atypical carcinoid (AC). TC differ from AC not only for its histopathological features but also for its "functional imaging pattern" and prognosis. ACs are more undifferentiated and characterized by higher aggressiveness. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with somatostatin analogs (SSA) labeled with Gallium-68 ( 68 Ga-DOTA-TOC, 68 Ga-DOTA-NOC, 68 Ga-DOTA-TATE) has widely replaced conventional imaging with gamma camera using 111 In- or 99m Tc-labelled compounds and represents now the gold standard for diagnosis and management of NENs. In this setting, as already described for gastro-entero-pancreatic NENs, 18 F-Fluorodeoxiglucose ([ 18 F]FDG) in addition to 68 Ga-SSA can play an important role in clinical practice, particularly for ACs that show a more aggressive behavior compared to TCs. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze all original studies collected from the PubMed and Scopus databases regarding PCs in which both 68 Ga-SSA PET/CT and [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT were performed in order to evaluate the clinical impact of each imaging modality. The following keywords were used for the research: " 18 F, 68 Ga and (bronchial carcinoid or carcinoid lung)". A total of 57 papers were found, of which 17 were duplicates, 8 were reviews, 10 were case reports, and 1 was an editorial. Of the remaining 21 papers, 12 were ineligible because they did not focus on PC or did not compare 68 Ga-SSA and [ 18 F]FDG. We finally retrieved and analyzed nine papers (245 patients with TCs and 110 patients with ACs), and the results highlight the importance of the combined use of 68 Ga-SSA and [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT for the correct management of these neoplasms.

This experiment investigated the preservation effects of two preweaning milk feeding nutritional treatments (High: 8 L and Low: 4 L milk per day) on 20, 12-month-old Holstein-Friesian dairy heifers ( Bos taurus ). A vaccination immune challenge was initially implemented on these 20 heifers at 6 weeks of age and the findings indicated superior growth, immune competence and favorable metabolic characteristics from the calves that had been fed 8 L milk per day. Postweaning, all heifers were treated the same under non-experimental conditions, and the immune challenge was repeated at 12 months of age for the current experiment. Consistent with the first immune challenge, heifers from the High preweaning treatment group still had higher white cell count and neutrophil count, indicating superior immune competence. The differences found in metabolic biomarkers, including beta-hydroxybutyrate, glucose and insulin, in the preweaning phase had disappeared, suggesting these biomarkers were influenced directly by the nutritional input at the time. There were no differences in NEFA levels between treatments at either stage of development. Postweaning, the heifers from the Low preweaning treatment group experienced accelerated growth with slightly numerically higher ADG (0.83 kg/day vs. 0.89 kg/day), resulting in the initial differences in bodyweight recorded at weaning being eliminated by 13 months of age. These results are evidence of a form of immunological developmental programming as a result of accelerated preweaning nutrition and therefore, are not supportive of restricted milk feeding of calves.

Using direct-fed microbials to mitigate enteric methane emissions could be sustainable and acceptable to both consumers and producers. Forty lactating, multiparous, Holstein-Friesian cows were randomly allocated one of two treatments: (1) a base of ad libitum vetch (Vicia sativa) hay and 7.0 kg DM/d of a grain mix, or (2) the basal diet plus 10 mL of MYLO ® (Terragen Biotech Pty Ltd., Coolum Beach, Queensland, Australia) delivering 4.17 × 10 8 cfu of Lactobacillus per mL. Neither feed intake (25.4 kg/d vs. 24.8 kg/d) nor milk yield (29.9 vs. 30.3 kg/d) were affected by treatment. Feed conversion efficiency was not affected by treatment when expressed on an energy-corrected milk basis (1.15 vs. 1.18 kg/kg DMI). Neither methane yield (31.6 vs. 31.1 g/kg DMI) nor methane intensity (27.1 vs. 25.2 g/kg energy corrected milk) were affected by treatments. While these results are contrary to our expectations and not significant, all were numerically in a favorable direction. Given there are reports that diet and dose rate may impact the size of any effect, we recommend a dose-response study be undertaken using a basal diet that is commonly used in pasture-based dairy systems.

Feeding increased volumes of milk in the preweaning phase has been shown to improve growth, morbidity and mortality rates in calves ( Bos Taurus ). This experiment enlisted 20 Holstein-Friesian dairy replacement calves from birth until weaning (at 10 weeks of age) and assessed the effect of feeding either 4 L (Low) or 8 L (High) of milk per calf per day on their growth, immune competence and metabolic characteristics. The responsiveness of these systems was compared through a vaccination immune challenge. Calves in the High treatment group were significantly heavier from two weeks of age and were 19 kg heavier than calves in the Low treatment group at weaning. Calves in the High treatment group also exhibited greater immune responses, with significantly higher white cell counts and neutrophil counts than calves in the Low treatment group post-vaccination. Calves in the High treatment group also had lower beta-hydroxybutyrate both pre- and post-vaccination, and higher glucose and insulin levels post-vaccination, indicating superior metabolic characteristics. Calves had ad libitum access to lucerne hay ( Medicago sativa ) and a commercial concentrate. Solid feed intakes were mostly the same between treatments, with differences in hay intake only detected at 7 and 8 weeks of age. Results from this experiment are indicative of a positive influence of accelerated preweaning nutrition on growth, immune response and metabolic characteristics.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (panNENs) are part of a large family of tumors arising from the neuroendocrine system. PanNENs show low-intermediate tumor grade and generally high somatostatin receptor (SSTR) expression. Therefore, panNENs benefit from functional imaging with 68 Ga-somatostatin analogues (SSA) for diagnosis, staging, and treatment choice in parallel with morphological imaging. This narrative review aims to present conventional imaging techniques and new perspectives in the management of panNENs, providing the clinicians with useful insight for clinical practice. The 68 Ga-SSA PET/CT is the most widely used in panNENs, not only fr diagnosis and staging purpose but also to characterize the biology of the tumor and its responsiveness to SSAs. On the contrary, the 18 F-Fluordeoxiglucose (FDG) PET/CT is not employed systematically in all panNEN patients, being generally preferred in G2-G3, to predict aggressiveness and progression rate. The combination of 68 Ga-SSA PET/CT and 18 F-FDG PET/CT can finally suggest the best therapeutic strategy. Other radiopharmaceuticals are 68 Ga-exendin-4 in case of insulinomas and 18 F-dopamine (DOPA), which can be helpful in SSTR-negative tumors. New promising but still-under-investigation radiopharmaceuticals include radiolabeled SSTR antagonists and 18 F-SSAs. Conventional imaging includes contrast enhanced CT and multiparametric MRI. There are now enriched by radiomics, a new non-invasive imaging approach, very promising to early predict tumor response or progression.

In the past decades, the expanding use of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) imaging for prostate cancer has led to the incidental detection of a lot of extra-prostatic malignancies showing an increased uptake of PSMA. Due to these incidental findings, the increasing amount of immunohistochemistry studies and the deeper knowledge of the mechanisms of expression of this antigen, it is now clear that "PSMA" is a misnomer, since it is not specific to the prostate gland. Nevertheless, this lack of specificity could represent an interesting opportunity to bring new insights on the biology of PSMA and its sites of expression to image and treat new conditions, particularly several cancers. In this review, we will describe the main extra-prostatic cancers that exhibit PSMA expression and that can be studied with PSMA-based positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) as an additional or alternative tool to conventional imaging. In particular, we will focus on cancers in which a radioligand therapy with 177 lutetium has been attempted, aiming to provide an overview of the possible future theragnostic applications of PSMA.

To increase the dry matter and metabolisable energy intake of cows, dairy farmers often supplement pasture with concentrates and conserved fodder. Feeding large amounts of highly fermentable concentrates to cows can result in metabolic issues, such as ruminal acidosis, and thus safer but more efficient introduction strategies are desirable. We assessed the role that forages play in ruminal, behavioural and production responses to a wheat grain challenge in dairy cows with no previous wheat adaptation. Multiparous lactating Holstein dairy cows ( n = 16) were fed a forage-only diet of either lucerne ( Medicago sativa ) hay, perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L.) hay or one of two cultivars of zero-grazing fresh perennial ryegrass herbage (Bealey or Base), for 3 weeks. The forage diet was then supplemented with crushed wheat grain at 8 kg dry matter/cow day -1 , with no adaptation period. Wheat comprised between 32 and 43% of total dry matter intake. Cows fed hay maintained a higher mean ruminal fluid pH than those fed herbage, on both the forage-only diet (6.43 vs. 6.17) and the forage plus wheat diet (6.03 vs. 5.58). Following supplementation of wheat, cows fed herbage exhibited minimum ruminal fluid pH levels indicative of acute ruminal acidosis, at 5.15 and 5.06 for cultivars Bealey and Base, respectively. Furthermore, for both herbage cultivars, adding wheat resulted in a ruminal fluid pH under 6 for >20 h/day. The ruminal environment of cows fed lucerne hay remained most stable throughout the grain challenge, spending the least amount of time below pH 6.0 (9.0 h/day). Hay created a ruminal environment that was better able to cope with the accumulation of acid as wheat was digested. A combination of increased ruminating time and a slower rate of fermentation, due to higher neutral detergent fiber and lower metabolisable energy concentrations in the hays, is likely responsible for the higher ruminal fluid pH values. Forage plays a critical role in wheat introduction strategies; aggressive adaptation strategies could be implemented when a hay such as lucerne is used as the base forage.

In pasture-based dairy systems, feeding a complex concentrate mix in the parlor during milking that contains cereal grains and protein supplements has been shown to have milk production advantages over feeding straight cereal grain. This experiment had the aim of testing whether further milk production advantages could be elicited by adjusting the composition of the concentrate mix in an attempt to match the expected nutrient intake from pasture during late spring. The experiment used 96 lactating dairy cows, grazing perennial ryegrass pasture offered at a target allowance of 30 kg of dry matter/cow per day (to ground level) during late spring (mid October to November) in southeastern Australia. Cows were allocated into 3 replicates of 4 treatment groups, with 24 cows in each treatment. Each treatment group was offered 1 of 4 dietary treatments in the parlor at milking: control consisting of crushed wheat and barley grains; formulated grain mix (FGM) consisting of crushed wheat, barley, and corn grains and canola meal; designer grain mix 1 (DGM1) consisting of the same ingredients as the FGM grain mix but formulated using the CPM Dairy nutrition model to take into account the expected nutrient intake from pasture; and designer grain mix 2 (DGM2) consisting of the same ingredients as DGM1 but with canola meal replaced by urea and a fat supplement (Megalac, Volac Wilmar, Gresik, Indonesia). Concentrate mixes were offered at 8.0 kg of dry matter/cow per day, except for DGM2 cows, which were offered 7.5 kg of dry matter/cow per day. The experiment ran for a total of 28 d; after a 14-d adaptation period, nutrient intake, milk production, and body weight were measured over a 14-d measurement period. Milk yield (kg) of cows fed the FGM diet was greater than that of the control cows but was not different from that of the DGM1 and DGM2 cows. However, milk fat and protein yields (kg) were greater for cows fed the FGM diet than for all other diets. There was no difference in estimated daily pasture or total dry matter intakes between the 4 treatment groups, despite cows fed the DGM2 treatment consuming less of the concentrate mix (average 6.5 kg of dry matter/cow per day when offered 7.5 kg of dry matter/cow per day). This research has demonstrated the potential for using a nutrition model to take into account the expected nutrient intake from pasture to formulate a concentrate mix (DGM1) to achieve similar milk yields, but also highlighted the need for near real-time analyses of the pasture to be grazed so as to also capture benefits in terms of milk fat and protein yield., (Copyright © 2021 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Short day length is associated with reduced milk production in dairy ruminants. Dairy ruminants have been kept in lit sheds during winter to extend the day length and stimulate milk production. However, there studies are few on the effect of an extended photoperiod on the ensuing reproductive performance of dairy goats. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of long day photoperiod (LDPP) and exposure to bucks on milk production and plasma progesterone and prolactin in dairy goats. The study was conducted in 122 non-pregnant lactating dairy goats over 18 weeks from April to August (late autumn and winter in the Southern Hemisphere). The goats were kept in open sided sheds in which the control treatment received ambient lighting while the LDPP treatment received 16 h of light, including artificial lighting. In June, July and August synchronised does were randomly assigned each month to the presence or absence of a buck and ovulatory activity determined from plasma progesterone. Plasma progesterone concentrations were reduced (0.73 vs. 0.46 pmol, p < 0.001) while prolactin concentrations were increased (0.095 vs. 1.33 ng/mL, p < 0.001) in LDPP goats. The former response was most marked in late winter (0.58 vs. 0.004 pmol, p < 0.001) indicating a lack of functional corpora lutea. While there was no overall effect of buck exposure on plasma progesterone concentrations there was a three-way interaction such that plasma progesterone concentrations were increased ( p < 0.05) by exposure to bucks in LDPP goats in August (late winter) but not at other times. Milk production was increased in LDPP goats over the latter stages of the study (1. 55 vs. 1.82 L/d, p < 0.05). Also, persistency of lactation was greater in LDPP goats with fewer goats drying off (13 vs. 0%, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that LDPP can increase milk production and persistence while decreasing ovulatory activity in dairy goats.

The effects of different wheat adaptation strategies on ruminal fluid pH, dry matter intake (DMI) and energy-corrected milk (ECM) were measured in 28 late-lactation dairy cows. Cows were fed either perennial ryegrass (PRG) hay or alfalfa hay and had no previous wheat adaptation. Wheat was gradually substituted for forage in 3 even increments, over 6 or 11 d, until wheat made up 40% of DMI (∼8 kg of dry matter/cow per day). We found no differences in DMI between adaptation strategies (6 or 11 d) within forage type; however, cows fed alfalfa hay consumed more overall and produced more ECM. The rate of ruminal pH decline after feeding, as well as the decrease in mean, minimum, and maximum ruminal pH with every additional kilogram of wheat was greater for cows fed alfalfa hay. Cows fed alfalfa hay and on the 6-d adaptation strategy had the lowest mean and minimum ruminal fluid pH on 3 consecutive days and were the only treatment group to record pH values below 6.0. Despite ruminal pH declining to levels typically considered low, no other measured parameters indicated compromised fermentation or acidosis. Rather, cows fed alfalfa hay and adapted to wheat over 6 d had greater ECM yields than cows on the 11-d strategy. This was due to the 6-d adaptation strategy increasing the metabolizable energy intake in a shorter period than the 11-d strategy, as substituting wheat for alfalfa hay caused a substantial increase in the metabolizable energy concentration of the diet. We found no difference in ECM between adaptation strategies when PRG hay was fed, as there was no difference in metabolizable energy intake. The higher metabolizable energy concentration and lower intake of the PRG hay meant the increase in metabolizable energy intake with the substitution of wheat was less pronounced for cows consuming PRG hay compared with alfalfa hay. Neither forage type nor adaptation strategy affected time spent ruminating. The higher intakes likely contributed to the lower ruminal pH values from the alfalfa hay treatments. However, both forages allowed the rumen contents to resist the large declines in ruminal pH typically seen during rapid grain adaptation. Depending on the choice of base forage, rapid grain introduction may not result in poor adaptation. In situations where high-energy grains are substituted for a low-energy, high-fiber basal forage, rapid introduction could prove beneficial over gradual strategies., (Copyright © 2018 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Using the ASKA (A Complete Set of Escherichia coli K-12 ORF Archive) library for genome-wide screening of E. coli proteins we identified that expression of ygaQ and rpmG promotes mitomycin C resistance (MMC(R)). YgaQ mediated MMC(R) was independent of homologous recombination involving RecA or RuvABC, but required UvrD. YgaQ is an uncharacterized protein homologous with α-amylases that we identified to have nuclease activity directed to ssDNA of 5' flaps. Nuclease activity was inactivated by mutation of two amino acid motifs, which also abolished MMC(R). RpmG is frequently annotated as a bacterial ribosomal protein, although forms an operon with MutM glycosylase and a putative deubiquitinating (DUB) enzyme, YicR. RpmG associated MMC(R) was dependent on MutM. MMC(R) from RpmG resembles DNA repair phenotypes reported for 'idiosyncratic ribosomal proteins' in eukaryotes., (© 2016 Authors.)

Background and Purpose: The treatment of giant aneurysms of the vertebrobasilar junction remains a challenging task in neurosurgical practice, and the reference standard therapy is still under debate. Through a detailed postmortem study, we analyzed the hemodynamic factors underlying the formation and recanalization of an aneurysm located at this particular site and its anatomic configuration., Methods: An adult fixed cadaveric specimen with a known VBJ GA, characterized radiographically and treated with endovascular embolization, was studied. 3D computational fluid dynamic models were built based on the specific angioarchitecture of the specimen, and each step of the endovascular treatment was simulated., Results: The 3D CFD study showed an area of hemodynamic stress (high wall shear stress, high static pressure, high flow velocity) at the neck region of the aneurysm, matching the site of recanalization seen during the treatment period., Conclusions: Aneurysm morphologic features, location, and patient-specific angioarchitecture are the principal factors to be considered in the management of VBJ giant aneurysms. The 3D CFD study has suggested that, in the treatment of giant aneurysms, the intra-aneurysmal environment induced by partial coil or Onyx embolization may lead to hemodynamic stress at the neck region, potentially favoring recanalization of the aneurysm.

To understand further the role of deoxynivalenol (DON) in development of Fusarium head blight (FHB), we investigated effects of the toxin on uninfected barley tissues. Leaf segments, 1 to 1.2 cm long, partially stripped of epidermis were floated with exposed mesophyll in contact with DON solutions. In initial experiments with the leaf segments incubated in light, DON at 30 to 90 ppm turned portions of stripped tissues white after 48 to 96 h. The bleaching effect was greatly enhanced by addition of 1 to 10 mM Ca(2+), so that DON at 10 to 30 ppm turned virtually all stripped tissues white within 48 h. Content of chlorophylls a and b and of total carotenoid pigment was reduced. Loss of electrolytes and uptake of Evans blue indicated that DON had a toxic effect, damaging plasmalemmas in treated tissues before chloroplasts began to lose pigment. When incubated in the dark, leaf segments also lost electrolytes, indicating DON was toxic although the tissues remained green. Thus, loss of chlorophyll in light was due to photobleaching and was a secondary effect of DON, not required for toxicity. In contrast to bleaching effects, some DON treatments that were not toxic kept tissues green without bleaching or other signs of injury, indicating senescence was delayed compared with slow yellowing of untreated leaf segments. Cycloheximide, which like DON, inhibits protein synthesis, also bleached some tissues and delayed senescence of others. Thus, the effects of DON probably relate to its ability to inhibit protein synthesis. With respect to FHB, the results suggest DON may have multiple roles in host cells of infected head tissues, including delayed senescence in early stages of infection and contributing to bleaching and death of cells in later stages.

Background: Two economic factors make watermelon worthy of consideration as a feedstock for ethanol biofuel production. First, about 20% of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen; currently these are lost to growers as a source of revenue. Second, the neutraceutical value of lycopene and L-citrulline obtained from watermelon is at a threshold whereby watermelon could serve as starting material to extract and manufacture these products. Processing of watermelons to produce lycopene and L-citrulline, yields a waste stream of watermelon juice at the rate of over 500 L/t of watermelons. Since watermelon juice contains 7 to 10% (w/v) directly fermentable sugars and 15 to 35 micromol/ml of free amino acids, its potential as feedstock, diluent, and nitrogen supplement was investigated in fermentations to produce bioethanol., Results: Complete watermelon juice and that which did not contain the chromoplasts (lycopene), but did contain free amino acids, were readily fermentable as the sole feedstock or as diluent, feedstock supplement, and nitrogen supplement to granulated sugar or molasses. A minimum level of ~400 mg N/L (~15 micromol/ml amino nitrogen) in watermelon juice was required to achieve maximal fermentation rates when it was employed as the sole nitrogen source for the fermentation. Fermentation at pH 5 produced the highest rate of fermentation for the yeast system that was employed. Utilizing watermelon juice as diluent, supplemental feedstock, and nitrogen source for fermentation of processed sugar or molasses allowed complete fermentation of up to 25% (w/v) sugar concentration at pH 3 (0.41 to 0.46 g ethanol per g sugar) or up to 35% (w/v) sugar concentration at pH 5 with a conversion to 0.36 to 0.41 g ethanol per g sugar., Conclusion: Although watermelon juice would have to be concentrated 2.5- to 3-fold to serve as the sole feedstock for ethanol biofuel production, the results of this investigation indicate that watermelon juice, either as whole juice fermented on-site or as a waste stream from neutraceutical production, could easily integrate with other more concentrated feedstocks where it could serve as diluent, supplemental feedstock, and nitrogen supplement.

Background: The prevalence of isolated tumour cells (ITCs) in regional lymph nodes from colorectal cancer (CRC) is controversial and has never been prospectively assessed in large groups of consecutive patients. pN0 early-relapsing CRC can be explained by lymph node-ITC., Aim: To assess the prevalence of ITCs in regional lymph nodes from 309 consecutive patients with pN0M0 (pathological (p)-tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system) CRCs., Patients and Methods: ITCs were assessed by immunohistochemistry (MNF116 monoclonal antibody (1:100); Dako, Glostrup, Denmark) in two serial histological sections obtained from 5016 mesenteric lymph nodes from 309 patients with pN0 CRCs (mean number of lymph nodes per patient = 16.2; p-TNM stage 0, n = 25; p-TNM stage I, n = 123; and p-TNM stage II (A+B), n = 161). Tumour histology, vascular cancer invasion and pathological stage were also recorded., Results: ITCs were detected in the regional lymph nodes of 156 of 309 (50.5%) patients with CRC, mostly in nodes located within 3 cm from the neoplasia. ITC status correlated with (a) tumour p-TNM stage (Pearson's chi(2): p<0; ordered logistic regression: odds ratio (OR) = 4.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.88 to 7.33; p<0) and (b) pT value (Pearson's chi(2): p = 0; ordered logistic regression: OR = 4.9; 95% CI = 3.1 to 7.7; p<0). By multivariate analysis, including p-TNM stage, vascular invasion and ITC status, both stage (OR = 5.1; 95% CI = 2.9 to 8.9; p<0) and vascular invasion (OR = 4.2; 95% CI = 1.94 to 8.98; p<0) were found to be independent variables associated with ITC+ lymph nodes., Conclusion: More than 50% of pN0-CRC patients have ITCs in the mesenteric lymph nodes. ITC status is significantly correlated with cancer stage and vascular cancer invasion. The clinicopathological effect of ITC remains to be prospectively evaluated.

Background/aims: In the natural history of gastric cancer, non-invasive neoplasia (NiN) precedes invasive carcinoma. A histological classification of gastric NiN has recently been proposed by a World Health Organisation international panel of experts. Genetic instability is known to be among the molecular pathways involved in gastric oncogenesis. In this retrospective cross sectional study, microsatellite instability (MSI) was analysed in a consecutive series of NiN and NiN related histological alterations from a northern Italian region at high risk for gastric cancer., Patients/methods: Fifty five consecutive cases (indefinite for NiN, 29 cases; low grade NiN, 17 cases; high grade NiN, nine cases) were analysed by radioactive polymerase chain reaction and electrophoresis for microsatellite alterations at six loci (BAT25, BAT26, D2S123, D5S346, D17S250, and D3S1317). MSI was defined according to the Bethesda criteria distinguishing: (1) no instability in the analysed loci; (2) low frequency MSI (MSI-L); and (3) high frequency MSI (MSI-H). Immunohistochemical expression of MLH1 and MSH2 proteins was also analysed in all cases., Results: Overall, MSI was found in 11 of 55 cases (indefinite for NiN, five of 29 (MSI-L, four; MSI-H, one); low grade NiN, three of 17 (MSI-L, one; MSI-H, two); high grade NiN, three of nine (MSI-L, one; MSI-H, two)., Conclusions: In an Italian high risk area for gastric cancer, MSI is part of the spectrum of genetic alterations in gastric non-invasive neoplasia. In European populations at high risk of gastric cancer, DNA repair system alterations are thought to be among the early molecular events in gastric carcinogenesis.

Background and Aim: Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis causes accumulation of reactive oxygen species in the mucosal compartment. This prospective study evaluates DNA oxidative damage in biopsy samples obtained from both the antrum and the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) before and after H. pylori eradication., Patients and Methods: Thirty-two consecutive H. pylori-positive patients underwent endoscopy with multiple biopsy sampling (i.e., antrum, incisura angularis, fundus, and cardia at the GEJ). After H. pylori eradication, 32 patients underwent a checkup endoscopy (mean interval, 5.7 months); in a subgroup of 13 subjects, a third endoscopy procedure was also performed (mean interval, 18 months). Additional biopsy samples (two from the antrum and two from the GEJ) were used to assess 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8OHdG) levels using both high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detector and ELISA., Results: In the antral compartment, no significant modifications of 8OHdG levels were assessed after H. pylori eradication. Conversely, following eradication, 8OHdG levels significantly increased (high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detector, P = 0.04; ELISA method, P = 0.05) in biopsy samples taken from the GEJ, and a further increase was documented in the subgroup of patients who underwent a third endoscopy (P = 0.01). The increasing trend was more relevant in patients in whom H. pylori-cagA-positive strains were eradicated and in those affected by hiatal hernia., Conclusions: The levels of DNA adducts in the antral mucosa are not modified by H. pylori eradication; conversely, H. pylori eradication significantly increases the oxidative adducts at the GEJ. The clinical and biological importance of this situation and whether and how it relates to a higher risk of precancerous lesions is open to debate.

Background and Aim: There are few data on the course of Helicobacter pylori infection in asymptomatic subjects. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of eradication therapy on the development of dyspeptic and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in a cohort of asymptomatic individuals observed over a prolonged period., Methods: A total of 169 blood donors infected with H pylori who had volunteered for studies on eradication in 1990 formed the cohort. To be included in this cohort subjects had to have no symptoms, as determined by a validated symptom questionnaire at the baseline visit. Eighty eight subjects were infected with H pylori while 81 had successfully undergone eradication therapy. Subjects were followed up (annually) using the same symptom questionnaire and in 2000 they underwent repeat endoscopy., Results: Thirteen subjects developed symptoms during follow up. The incidence of symptoms in H pylori positive subjects was 1.893/100 person-years of follow up and in H pylori negative individuals 0.163/100 person-years of follow up. H pylori infected subjects were significantly more likely to develop symptoms (log rank test, p=0.003) as well as those infected with CagA positive strains (log rank test, p=0.017). The development of symptomatic gastro-oesophageal reflux disease was no different in individuals with and without eradication (odds ratio 0.57 (95% confidence interval 0.26-1.24); p=0.163)., Conclusions: H pylori eradication prevents the development of dyspeptic symptoms and peptic ulcer disease in healthy asymptomatic blood donors and is not associated with an increase in the incidence of symptomatic gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.

Background: Determining both the frequency and the spectrum of p53 gene mutation in young patients with gastric cancer might provide clues to the host related genetic mechanism(s) in gastric carcinogenesis., Patients and Methods: p53 mutations were assessed (by means of polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), followed by DNA sequencing) in a cohort of 105 consecutive Italian patients in whom gastric cancer was ascertained before the age of 41., Results: A low prevalence of p53 mutations (eight of 105) was observed, with no significant difference between intestinal (three of 31; 10%) and diffuse (five of 74; 7%) phenotypes. A significantly higher prevalence of p53 mutations was associated with the cardiac location (odds ratio, 7.09; confidence interval, 1.56 to 32.11). In all but one case, p53 mutations were associated with a stage higher than I. All eight mutations were located at CpG sites, where G : C to A : T transitions have been associated with frequent methylation at the C5 position of cytosine., Conclusions: These findings show that, unlike what has been consistently demonstrated in the general population, p53 mutations are uncommon in gastric cancer occurring in young patients, and in such patients, p53 alterations are significantly associated with the cardiac location.