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Background: Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) proteomic signature might be of interest for the early detection and staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, published procedures have been criticized for the lack of data about analytical reproducibility, and the use of inadequate data processing. Methods: MALDI-TOF profiling of peptides bound to serum albumin (“albuminome”) was performed using 90 μL of serum from 45 study subjects (HCV-related cirrhosis, small, unifocal HCCs and advanced HCCs). To overcome the large intra-sample variability, a Quality Assurance protocol was implemented, and 4–8 samples for each subject were processed and analyzed. Overall, 522 subject samples and 299 quality-control spectra were analyzed. A machine-learning approach (Random Forest) was applied to analyze the data sets. Results: Mean intra-sample coefficient of variation (CV) of the analytical procedure was 17.6%–30.0%; inter-subject CV was in the range 48.8%–71.3% among the three study groups. The Random Forest procedure correctly classified 433/522 “patient samples” and 295/299 “reference samples”; 43/45 patients were correctly classified following this approach. Conclusions: Our data suggest that, notwithstanding the large analytical variability found, multiple proteomic profiles obtained from each subject can differentiate cirrhosis with and without HCC, and HCCs with and without vascular invasion, warranting further investigation in a prospective setting. Clin Chem Lab Med 2010;48:1319–26.

Summary Aim To evaluate the acute effect of treatment with the molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) on splanchnic, renal and systemic haemodynamics in patients with end-stage cirrhosis. Methods Twelve patients with end-stage cirrhosis, undergoing MARS treatment, were enrolled. The following haemodynamic parameters were measured by means of Doppler ultrasonography and thoracic electrical bioimpedance, before and after each session: portal velocity, renal and splenic resistance indices, cardiac output, cardiac stroke volume, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, systemic vascular resistance. Results Median portal velocity increased significantly after treatment (23.7 vs. 20.3 cm/s, P

To evaluate the effects of major vascular surgery on respiratory mechanics, 11 patients undergoing general anaesthesia for abdominal aortic surgery were studied. Before aortic cross-clamping, chest wall elastance and resistance both increased (by 126% and 58%, respectively) when surgical retractors were placed. After aortic cross-clamping, lung elastance increased by 29%, accompanied by a decrease in cardiac index (22%) and an increase in pulmonary (17%) and systemic (15%) vascular resistance. After aortic unclamping, lung elastance decreased, although it remained higher than baseline values (by 12%). All cardiovascular variables returned to the values obtained before aortic cross-clamping.

An extensive analysis of the intermolecular forces in the chlorine crystal has been performed. Different models of the intermolecular potential, including anisotropic terms and electrostatic contributions from multipoles higher than quadrupole have been taken into account and tested for their ability to reproduce static and dynamical properties of solid chlorine. The inclusion of anisotropic dispersion forces reproduces correctly the orthorhombic unit cell. Anisotropic terms are required also in the short range repulsive atom-atom interactions to obtain a good fit to lattice frequencies and stability of the Cmca structure with respect to a hypothetical cubic phase. A tensor formalism, particularly convenient for dynamical calculations, is developed and used to describe angular dependent atom-atom interactions.

A differential cross-section of one-phonon inelastic incoherent neutron scattering has been calculated, based on the density of benzene phonon states weighted by the amplitudes of hydrogen atom vibration. The cross-section obtained has been convoluted with the apparatus function of the KDSOG-1 instrument (reactor IBR-I). The experimental scattering spectrum from a polycrystalline sample atT=80 K is compared with the calculated one.

Infrared and Raman spectra of p-chloroaniline are reported and assigned for the low-frequency lattice region at 300 K and 78 K. The observed frequencies of the lattice modes are compared with those calculated using a semi-empirical intermolecular potential. The agreement is very good, so confirming the high degree of transferability of the atom-atom potentials. The equilibrium conditions are also well fulfilled by the potential. The total calculated crystal energy is −13.5 kcal mol−1.

A lattice dynamics calculation of the carbonyl sulphide crystal has been made using an atom-atom potential in the rigid body approximation. The phonon sideband of the intramolecular bending mode is discussed and compared with the phonon density of states. An intensity weighted density of states is obtained by calculation of the transition dipole moments from the ground state to two-phonon states of the type vibrational exciton + lattice phonon by expansion of the dipole operator to second order. It is shown that the bulk of intensity in the phonon sideband is borrowed by anharmonic coupling from the free exciton band. The anharmonic coupling is treated in a simplified way by a perturbation method.

Background Contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is an imaging technique which appeared on the market around the year 2000 and proposed for the detection of liver metastases in gastrointestinal cancer patients, a setting in which accurate staging plays a significant role in the choice of treatment. Methods A total of 109 patients with colorectal (n = 92) or gastric cancer prospectively underwent computed tomography (CT) scan and conventional US evaluation followed by real time CEUS. A diagnosis of metastases was made by CT or, for lesions not visibile at CT, the diagnosis was achieved by histopathology or by a malignant behavior during follow-up. Results Of 109 patients, 65 were found to have metastases at presentation. CEUS improved sensitivity in metastatic livers from 76.9% of patients (US) to 95.4% (p <0.01), while CT scan reached 90.8% (p = n.s. vs CEUS, p < 0.01 vs US). CEUS and CT were more sensitive than US also for detection of single lesions (87 with US, 122 with CEUS, 113 with CT). In 15 patients (13.8%), CEUS revealed more metastases than CT, while CT revealed more metastases than CEUS in 9 patients (8.2%) (p = n.s.). Conclusion CEUS is more sensitive than conventional US in the detection of liver metastases and could be usefully employed in the staging of patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Findings at CEUS and CT appear to be complementary in achieving maximum sensitivity.