225 results on '"F De Blasio"'
Search Results
2. Dietary habits of adolescents living in North America, Europe or Oceania: A review on fruit, vegetable and legume consumption, sodium intake, and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet
- Author
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A. Rosi, G. Paolella, B. Biasini, F. Scazzina, P. Alicante, F. De Blasio, M. dello Russo, D. Rendina, G. Tabacchi, G. Cairella, F. Garbagnati, L. Scalfi, P. Strazzullo, Rosi, A., Paolella, G., Biasini, B., Scazzina, F., Alicante, P., De Blasio, F., DELLO RUSSO, Marika, Rendina, D., Tabacchi, G., Cairella, G., Garbagnati, F., Scalfi, L., and Strazzullo, P.
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Male ,Mediterranean climate ,Adolescent ,Mediterranean diet ,Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,Salt ,Oceania ,Child Behavior ,Nutritional Status ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,030209 endocrinology & metabolism ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Biology ,Diet, Mediterranean ,Recommended Dietary Allowances ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Environmental health ,Vegetables ,Adolescence ,Fruit & vegetable ,Legume ,Mediterranean Diet ,Humans ,Child ,Consumption (economics) ,Nutrition and Dietetics ,Data synthesis ,Age Factors ,Behavioural intervention ,Fabaceae ,Sodium, Dietary ,Feeding Behavior ,Healthy diet ,Sodium intake ,Europe ,Adolescent Behavior ,Fruit ,North America ,Female ,Diet, Healthy ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine - Abstract
Aims This review aimed at investigating fruit, vegetable and legume consumption, salt/sodium intake, and the adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern in adolescents, three key aspects towards the adoption of a healthy diet. Data synthesis Three separate searches were carried out on PubMed and Scopus, using the same procedure, searching for studies published in the previous decade with data on fruit and/or vegetable or legume consumption, salt or sodium intake, and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet assessed using the KIDMED questionnaire. The review included a total of 58 papers, which describe original investigations on healthy adolescents (10–19 years old) living in North America, Europe or Oceania, with a sample size >150 participants. The average fruit and vegetable consumption has been found strongly below the recommended values of 400 grams or 5 portions per day in almost all the examined populations. Very little is known about adolescents' legume consumption. Few available data have been found also for sodium intake and, for the majority of the screened populations, levels were far above the recommended 5 grams per day. Lastly, a medium–low adherence to the Mediterranean Diet has been found for adolescents living in Mediterranean Countries. Conclusions Adolescents living in North America, Europe or Oceania are far from being compliant with the nutritional recommendations for fruit, vegetables, legumes, and sodium, and they do not follow the principles of the Mediterranean Diet. Educational and behavioural interventions are required to improve adolescents' dietary patterns.
- Published
- 2019
3. CORRELATIONS BETWEEN VIRAL LOAD AND SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19 PNEUMONIA
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L. CAPITELLI, M. BOCCHINO, V. GIACON, C. CANDIA, F. TAFURO, F. DE BLASIO, and A. SANDUZZI ZAMPARELLI
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Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine - Published
- 2022
4. T.06.3 DOES SARS-COV-2 VACCINATION AFFECT THE COURSE OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE IN PATIENTS ON BIOLOGICAL THERAPY?
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F. De Blasio, M. Montori, F. Martini, L. Paolucci, T. Vitalini, G. Pieroni, C. Quatraccioni, and A. Benedetti
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Hepatology ,Gastroenterology - Published
- 2022
5. INFLUENCE OF DIAPHRAGM DYSFUNCTION, EXERCISE CAPACITY, AND NUTRITION ON DYSPNEA SEVERITY OF COPD PATIENTS
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L. Garello, Roberto Prota, Alessandro Oliva, Caterina Bucca, F. De Blasio, and Massimo Comune
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Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Copd patients ,business.industry ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Cardiology ,Exercise capacity ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine ,business ,Diaphragm (structural system) - Published
- 2020
6. Bioelectrical impedance analysis and physical fitness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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F. Monfrecola, A. Di Gregorio, F. de Blasio, P. Alicante, G. Miracco Berlingieri, and L. Scalfi
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medicine.medical_specialty ,Nutrition and Dietetics ,business.industry ,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,Physical fitness ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,Pulmonary disease ,Internal medicine ,Cardiology ,Medicine ,In patient ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,business ,Bioelectrical impedance analysis - Published
- 2020
7. Dynapenia and alterations of physical performance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
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P. Alicante, F. Monfrecola, A. Di Gregorio, F. de Blasio, B. Bellofiore, and L. Scalfi
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medicine.medical_specialty ,COPD ,Nutrition and Dietetics ,business.industry ,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,Pulmonary disease ,medicine.disease ,Physical performance ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,In patient ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,business - Published
- 2020
8. Vitamin D deficiency in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and relationships with body composition and physical performance
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Caterina Bucca, L. Garello, Alessandro Oliva, Massimo Comune, and F. De Blasio
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medicine.medical_specialty ,Nutrition and Dietetics ,business.industry ,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,Pulmonary disease ,medicine.disease ,Gastroenterology ,vitamin D deficiency ,Physical performance ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,In patient ,Composition (visual arts) ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,business - Published
- 2020
9. OC. 12.4 PRIMARY SCLEROSING CHOLANGITIS ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE: ANALYSIS OF INTESTINAL OUTCOME AFTER LIVER TRANSPLANTATION
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Ribaldone, D, F De Blasio, Astegiano, M, Saracco, Gm, Reggiani, S, Reggio, D, Resegotti, A, Vernero, M, Giachetti, A, and Tucci, A
- Published
- 2018
10. Raw BIA variables are predictors of muscle strength in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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F de Blasio, M G Santaniello, G Mazzarella, A Bianco, L Lionetti, F M E Franssen, L Scalfi, De Blasio, F., Santaniello, M. G., Mazzarella, G., Bianco, A., Lionetti, L., Franssen, F. M. E., Scalfi, L., Pulmonologie, RS: NUTRIM - R3 - Respiratory & Age-related Health, Afdeling Onderwijs FHML, and RS: NUTRIM - R3 - Chronic inflammatory disease and wasting
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fat- free mass ,bioelectrical impedance ,handgrip strength ,COPD ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,FAT-FREE MASS ,BODY-COMPOSITION ,Physical fitness ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,EXERCISE CAPACITY ,PHASE-ANGLE ,03 medical and health sciences ,Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ,0302 clinical medicine ,QUALITY-OF-LIFE ,BIOELECTRICAL-IMPEDANCE ANALYSIS ,Predictive Value of Tests ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Respiratory muscle ,COPD PATIENTS ,Electric Impedance ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Muscle Strength ,Aged ,Nutrition and Dietetics ,Chronic obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Body composition, Handgrip strength, Bioimpedance analysis, BIA, nutritional status, muscle quality ,business.industry ,MORTALITY ,NUTRITIONAL DEPLETION ,Regression analysis ,Anthropometry ,medicine.disease ,Endocrinology ,030228 respiratory system ,Predictive value of tests ,Cardiology ,Female ,business ,Body mass index ,Bioelectrical impedance analysis - Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Although loss of fat-free mass (FFM) and reduced muscle strength are highly prevalent in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), only few data are available on the relationships of handgrip strength (HGS) and respiratory muscle strength with body composition in such disease. In particular, we aimed to assess whether raw bioelectrical impedance (BIA) variables were independent predictors of muscle strength in COPD patients, possibly more significant than anthropometric variables and BIA-based estimates of FFM.SUBJECTS/METHODS: Two hundred and thirty-seven COPD patients (161 males and 76 females) underwent respiratory, anthropometric, BIA, HGS and respiratory muscle strength (maximum inspiratory or expiratory pressure=MIP and MEP) measurements. Bioimpedance index (BI index = height square/whole-body impedance) and phase angle (PhA) were considered as raw BIA variables. FFM was estimated using three disease-specific BIA equations.RESULTS: In COPD patients a stronger correlation was observed between HGS and PhA compared to the ones with anthropometric variables or FFM estimates. Multiple regression analysis showed that combining BI index and PhA (plus age in male patients) accounted for 50.2% and 42.6% of the variance in HGS in male and female patients, respectively. Similarly, BI index and PhA emerged as predictors of both MIP and MEP in males, while in females MIP was related only to PhA and MEP only to BI index.CONCLUSIONS: Raw BIA variables are independent and valuable predictors of HGS and respiratory muscle strength in COPD patients. BI index and PhA could provide useful information for evaluating body composition and better assessing muscle strength and physical fitness in COPD.
- Published
- 2017
11. Epidemiology and spa-type diversity of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the community and healthcare settings in Norway
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F. Di Ruscio, Jørgen Vildershøj Bjørnholt, Kjersti Wik Larssen, B F de Blasio, Aina Elisabeth Fossum Moen, and Truls Michael Leegaard
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0301 basic medicine ,Microbiology (medical) ,Adult ,Male ,Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Meticillin ,Adolescent ,030106 microbiology ,Prevalence ,030501 epidemiology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,Epidemiology ,medicine ,Infection control ,Humans ,Ecosystem diversity ,Child ,Aged ,Aged, 80 and over ,Cross Infection ,Molecular Epidemiology ,business.industry ,Norway ,Incidence (epidemiology) ,Infant, Newborn ,Infant ,General Medicine ,Middle Aged ,Staphylococcal Infections ,Community-Acquired Infections ,Molecular Typing ,Infectious Diseases ,Child, Preschool ,Carrier State ,Female ,0305 other medical science ,business ,Demography ,medicine.drug ,Diversity (business) - Abstract
Summary Background There has been a marked increase in the incidence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during the past decade in Norway; a country with one of the lowest prevalence rates and an active ‘search-and-destroy’ policy applied to hospital settings. Aim To characterize the trends of notification rates of community-associated (CA) and healthcare-associated (HA) MRSA in Norway, and explore the diversity and circulation of MRSA spa types within and outside healthcare settings. Methods A registry-based study on notified MRSA infections and colonizations was conducted in Norway between 2006 and 2015. The diversity and abundance of CA- and HA-MRSA spa types were compared using novel ecological diversity measures (Hill numbers). Findings During the study period, the monthly notification rate increased 6.9-fold and 1.8-fold among CA- and HA-MRSA, respectively; the increase was steeper among colonizations than infections. In both settings, the distribution of spa types was uneven, with a few dominant spa types and many singletons. The spa-type diversity of CA-MRSA was higher than HA-MRSA in terms of different types (685 vs 481), and increased during the study period. However, the diversity associated with the dominant spa types was similar and remained stable. A high overlap of spa types was estimated between the settings; spa-t002, t019 and t008 were the most common. Conclusion The present findings suggest a strong connection between CA- and HA-MRSA epidemiology in Norway. If the fast-growing trend of CA-MRSA continues in the years to come, it may challenge current guidelines and infection control of MRSA in healthcare environments.
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- 2017
12. OC.12.4 PRIMARY SCLEROSING CHOLANGITIS ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE: ANALYSIS OF INTESTINAL OUTCOME AFTER LIVER TRANSPLANTATION
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S. Reggiani, D. Reggio, Marta Vernero, A. Resegotti, Davide Giuseppe Ribaldone, A. Tucci, Marco Astegiano, Giorgio Maria Saracco, F. De Blasio, and A. Giachetti
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medicine.medical_specialty ,Hepatology ,business.industry ,Internal medicine ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Gastroenterology ,medicine ,Liver transplantation ,medicine.disease ,business ,Inflammatory bowel disease ,Primary sclerosing cholangitis - Published
- 2018
13. Global, synchronous oscillations in cytosolic calcium and adherence in bradykinin-stimulated Madin-Darby canine kidney cells
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Ivar Giaever, B. F. De Blasio, Kristin L. Sand, John-Arne Røttingen, and Jens-Gustav Iversen
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medicine.medical_specialty ,Physiology ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Calcium ,Biology ,Bradykinin ,Kidney ,Cell junction ,Cell Line ,Cytosol ,Dogs ,Internal medicine ,Cell Adhesion ,Electric Impedance ,medicine ,Fluorescence microscope ,Animals ,Calcium Signaling ,Calcium signaling ,Cell Membrane ,Gap junction ,Gap Junctions ,Endocrinology ,chemistry ,Cell culture ,Biophysics ,Glycyrrhetinic Acid ,Signal transduction ,Intracellular ,Signal Transduction - Abstract
Aims and Methods: Intercellular Ca2+ oscillations are a universal mode of signalling in both excitable and non-excitable cells. Here, we study the relationship between Ca2+ signalling and coherent changes in adhesion properties by measuring the transepithelial impedance across bradykinin-stimulated Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell layers grown on a microelectrode. During hormone stimulation, the impedance is found to oscillate, reflecting that the cells undergo morphological/adhesive alterations with high spatio-temporal organization. The experiments are supplemented with parallel, digital imaging fluorescence microscopy of bradykinin-induced single-cell Ca2+ oscillations. Results: In agreement with previous experiments, MDCK cells are found to elicit synchronous, multicellular Ca2+ oscillations in response to hormone stimulus. The periods of the Ca2+ oscillations and the electrical fluctuations are found to coincide. Further, blocking of gap junctions by 18α-glycyrrhetinic acid causes a loss of synchrony in Ca2+ signals and inhibition of impedance oscillations, emphasizing the importance of gap junctions in the signal transduction process. Conclusion: Based on these observations it is concluded that the co-ordinated adhesive changes in MDCK cells are a direct consequence of synchronized Ca2+ oscillations. Calcium signalling represents an efficient way of organizing physiological responses in a tissue. A possible functional implication of the structural changes might be to modulate transportation of various substances across the cell sheet.
- Published
- 2004
14. Estimating influenza-related sick leave in Norway: was work absenteeism higher during the 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic compared to seasonal epidemics?
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B F, de Blasio, Y, Xue, B, Iversen, and J Michael, Gran
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Adult ,Male ,Work ,Norway ,Middle Aged ,Young Adult ,Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ,Absenteeism ,Influenza, Human ,Humans ,Regression Analysis ,Female ,Registries ,Sick Leave ,Epidemics - Abstract
The impact of influenza on work absenteeism is poorly documented. We used data from the national registry and Norway Post AS (14,000 employees) to explore sickness absence patterns from 2005/06 through 2009/10 in Norway. Annually, an estimated 2.868% (mean 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.405-4.820%) of the working population obtained sick leave for influenza, of whom 0.915% (mean 95% CI: 0.453-1.590%) had diagnoses for other respiratory illnesses with influenza as underlying cause. In the 2009/10 pandemic season, the absence rate increased 1.5-fold, mainly due to a 73% increase in influenza-diagnosed sick leaves. At Norway Post AS, absence related to seasonal influenza accounted for 0.351% (mean 95% CI: 0.126-0.704%) of total person-days annually (excluding parental care absence), of which 32-43% were estimated to be self-certified. Medically certified sick leave increased 1.3-fold in the pandemic season to 0.458% (95% CI: 0.176-0.856), while self-certified sick leave remained at a level typical for seasonal influenza. We found a significant four-fold increase in work loss to care for sick children, 0.048% (95% CI: 0.031-0.070%) of person-days, compared with 0.012% (95% CI: 0.004-0.028%) in 2008/09. In conclusion, GP-certified and parental care work absence were higher in the pandemic season. More studies are needed to quantify the burden of self-certified sick leave.
- Published
- 2012
15. Multi-frequency approach to inverse scattering: the linear and quadratic models
- Author
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PIERRI, Rocco, F. DE BLASIO, BRANCACCIO, Adriana, IEEE, Pierri, Rocco, F., DE BLASIO, and Brancaccio, Adriana
- Abstract
A comparison between the linear and the quadratic approach to inverse scattering by multifrequency data is performed. The bandwidth of the scattered field is used to fix the sampling step in the considered frequency range. Numerical results are shown.
- Published
- 1999
16. Role of hyperinflation vs. deflation on dyspnoea in severely to extremely obese subjects
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Giorgio Scano, F. De Blasio, Paolo Palange, Gabriele Valli, Isabella Romagnoli, Francesco Gigliotti, Pierantonio Laveneziana, and Enrico Clini
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Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Physiology ,Partial Pressure ,Physical exercise ,Work rate ,adult ,blood ,carbon dioxide ,complications/physiopathology ,dyspnea ,etiology/physiopathology ,exercise ,exercise capacity ,exercise test ,expiratory flow limitation ,female ,forced expiratory volume ,humans ,hyperinflation ,leg discomfort ,male ,middle aged ,morbid ,obesity ,operational lung volumes ,oxygen ,partial pressure ,pulmonary ventilation ,total lung capacity ,ventilation ,Internal medicine ,Forced Expiratory Volume ,medicine ,Humans ,Lung volumes ,Obesity ,Respiratory system ,Exercise ,Tidal volume ,Lung ,business.industry ,Total Lung Capacity ,respiratory system ,Carbon Dioxide ,Middle Aged ,respiratory tract diseases ,Obesity, Morbid ,Oxygen ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Dyspnea ,Physical therapy ,Breathing ,Cardiology ,Exercise Test ,Female ,business ,Pulmonary Ventilation ,Anaerobic exercise - Abstract
Aim: To test the hypothesis that obese individuals may either hyperinflate or deflate the lung when exercising. In both cases breathlessness is an inescapable consequence. Methods: Ventilatory variables, end-expiratory lung volume and end-inspiratory lung volume, and dyspnoea score (Borg scale) were studied in 20 class II-III obese subjects and 14 healthy controls during incremental symptom-limited cycle exercise. Results: Ventilation increased with increasing work rate, in obese and in control subjects; most obese subjects had to increase end-expiratory lung volume to escape from flow limitation; in contrast, like controls, a few subjects deflated the lung on heavy-to-peak exercise. Dyspnoea was equal in degree at anaerobic threshold and peak exercise in obese as in control subjects, and in obese who hyperinflated as in those who deflated the lung. In particular, end-expiratory lung volume at baseline (r = −0.84, P = 0.04) was negatively correlated with changes in Borg score in obese who did not hyperinflate: the lower the former the higher the latter. On the other hand, tidal volume (r = 0.54, P = 0.045) and decrease in inspiratory reserve volume (r = 0.59, P = 0.028) were positively correlated with the Borg score in obese subjects who hyperinflated. No other independent variable correlated with the Borg score. Conclusions: We conclude that not all obese subjects had to increase end-expiratory lung volume on heavy-to-peak exercise. Changes in dyspnoea for unit changes in ventilation were similar in obese who did hyperinflate as well as in those who did not, suggesting that the increase in respiratory neural drive, associated with an increase in ventilation, is an important source of dyspnoea in obese as well as in control subjects.
- Published
- 2008
17. [Abdominal actinomycosis and retroperitoneal fibrosis. Considerations on a clinical case]
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F, Corcione, A, Bianco, E, Fusco, F, Fusco, C, Fusco, D, Pisaniello, and F, De Blasio
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Male ,Humans ,Retroperitoneal Fibrosis ,Middle Aged ,Actinomycosis - Abstract
Abdominal actinomycosis is a rare disease which often resembles an acute suppurative infection or/and abdominal tumour causing abscesses, fistulas and massive fibrosis. The preoperative diagnosis is difficult and surgical exploration is always needed because of major involvement of visceral and retroperitoneal structures. The disease can be diagnosed with certainty only on the basis of findings of bacterial colonies in histopathologic sections and typical sulphur grains in secretions from fistulas. The authors describe a case of abdominal actinomycosis involving the caecum and right colon, causing extensive retroperitoneal fibrosis and a fistula tract with an external cutaneous orifice at the level of the right iliac crest. These features resembled an acute appendicitis at first, and several surgical explorations were required before a correct diagnosis could be achieved. Abdominal actinomycosis can be treated by simple administration of antibiotics. With a correct diagnosis, medical therapy alone has proved effective in a substantial percentage of patients, thus avoiding the need for surgery, if important visceral or retroperitoneal structures are not involved. Abdominal actinomycosis always requires a careful differential diagnosis and must be considered in patients presenting abdominal tumours associated with abscesses and/or fistulas since early and efficient medical therapy, along with surgical intervention, where necessary, can lead to definitive recovery. Useful diagnostic tools are abdominal CT and selective FNAB.
- Published
- 2002
18. 'Dielectric profiles reconstruction via the quadratic approach in 2-D geometry from multifrequency and multifrequency/multiview data'
- Author
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F. De Blasio, A. Liseno, Rocco Pierri, Francesco Soldovieri, Pierri, Rocco, Soldovieri, F, Liseno, A, DE BLASIO, F., Pierri, R, and Liseno, Angelo
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Physics ,Cooley–Tukey FFT algorithm ,Inverse scattering ,Plane wave ,Near and far field ,Geometry ,Inverse problem ,Quadratic inversion ,Cross section (physics) ,symbols.namesake ,Quadratic equation ,Fourier transform ,Harmonics ,symbols ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Second-order approximation ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering - Abstract
Deals with the reconstruction of the contrast function of a dielectric cylinder with rectangular cross section starting from the knowledge of the electric scattered far field produced under the incidence of plane waves. We analyze the set of the reconstructable Fourier harmonics of the unknown permittivity contrast function with linear and quadratic approaches. This set depends on the ranges of the wavenumbers /spl beta/, of the angles of incidence /spl theta//sub i/ of the impinging plane waves, and of the observation angles /spl theta//sub o/. We discuss a simple way to describe such a dependence, which allows us to find out that the set of the retrievable harmonics for the quadratic approach contains that for the linear one. Moreover, our investigation points out how increasing the amount of independent data through a multifrequency/multiview measurement scheme allows us to enlarge the set of the retrievable unknown harmonics with respect to a multifrequency/single-view one. Our analysis is confirmed by numerical results. Memory storage requirements and processing time consumption for the quadratic approach are greatly reduced thanks to the massive use of the fast Fourier transform algorithm.
- Published
- 2002
19. Multifrequency dielectric profile inversion for a cylindrically stratified medium
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Rocco Pierri, Adriana Brancaccio, F. De Blasio, Pierri, Rocco, Brancaccio, Adriana, and DE BLASIO, F.
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business.industry ,Mathematical analysis ,Bandwidth (signal processing) ,Linear model ,Inversion (meteorology) ,Iterative reconstruction ,Inverse problem ,symbols.namesake ,Fourier transform ,Quadratic equation ,Optics ,Inverse scattering problem ,symbols ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,business ,Mathematics - Abstract
The linear and the quadratic Born approximations of the inverse scattering problem are analyzed in the case of multifrequency measurements. The attention is focused on the determination of the maximum number of independent data available to perform the inversion for a fixed frequency interval. This number is obtained by performing the Fourier transform of the field scattered by the object under test and calculating its bandwidth under both the approximations. The results were that the quadratic model allows the authors to achieve a double number of independent data, changing the class of profiles that can be reconstructed with respect to the linear model. In order to show the validity of this conclusion, a numerical example of inversion under the two different models is performed.
- Published
- 2000
20. A meta-analysis on efficacy of levodropropizine in children
- Author
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F. De Blasio, Alessando Zanasi, P.V. Dicpingaitis, Rossella Balsamo, Luigi Lanata, and Federico Saibene
- Subjects
Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,business.industry ,Meta-analysis ,Internal medicine ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Medicine ,business ,Levodropropizine ,medicine.drug - Published
- 2013
21. Chronic bronchitis: reflex on the pulmonary circulation
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A, Pezza and F, De Blasio
- Subjects
Vasomotor System ,Pulmonary Circulation ,Chronic Disease ,Reflex ,Humans ,Lung Diseases, Obstructive ,Bronchitis - Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by lower alveolar oxygen content and hypoxia. Hypoxia itself is able to evoke a vascular reflex in a pulmonary vasoconstriction, the explanation of which is, in part, unknown. Pulmonary vasoconstriction leads to different degrees of pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) increase which statistically suggests that the higher the PAP, the poorer the survival rate. Many substances are involved in the vascular homeostasis. An important role is played by cyclooxygenase as well as lipoxygenase pathways metabolites, the antagonists of which have been extensively used in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension in subjects suffering from COPD. An even more important role is played by the endothelium. It is able to modify its metabolism towards the production of substances (e.g., endothelin, EDRF, etc.) which are able to negatively influence the vascular tone. Complete identification of such substances, when possible, would allow us to have a better understanding of the complexity of the mechanism which controls the pulmonary vascular district. In this direction we could hopefully look forward to the detection of specific new drugs able to improve the management of the disease by preventing it from worsening to that extent which statistically and drastically correlates with the worst prognosis.
- Published
- 1994
22. General vs local anesthesia. Effect on bronchoalveolar lavage findings
- Author
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F, de Blasio, D M, Daughton, A B, Thompson, R A, Robbins, J R, Spurzem, J H, Sisson, S G, Von Essen, D J, Romberger, I, Rubinstein, and A A, Floreani
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Adult ,Male ,Cell Count ,Anesthesia, General ,Respiratory Function Tests ,Positive-Pressure Respiration ,Bronchoscopes ,Intubation, Intratracheal ,Humans ,Female ,Therapeutic Irrigation ,Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ,Lung ,Anesthesia, Local ,Bone Marrow Transplantation ,Retrospective Studies - Abstract
Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) can be performed with the patient undergoing either local or general anesthesia (GA). This study investigates whether the type of anesthesia affects BAL fluid and cell recovery. Eighty patients, were selected for study. Fluid recoveries were significantly less in the GA group for both the bronchial and alveolar lavages. The differences were confirmed for BAL fluid recovery in a subsequent group of 120 unselected patients. Bronchoscope size did not appear to affect recovery, nor did anesthesia time; BAL fluid recovery from patients with respiratory failure who were intubated and mechanically ventilated was similar to that in the GA group, suggesting that lower recovery rates may be due to mechanical ventilation. The BAL fluid cell counts were related to fluid recovery, but airway neutrophils represented a higher percentage of BAL lavage fluid cells in the GA lavages, independent of differences in the volume of lavage fluid recovered.
- Published
- 1993
23. Sarcoidosis presenting as isolated giant splenomegaly
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F, De Blasio, A, Perna, and A, Pezza
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Adult ,Diagnosis, Differential ,Male ,Sarcoidosis ,Splenomegaly ,Splenectomy ,Humans - Published
- 1993
24. Left ventricular diastolic function with epirubicin therapy: an echodoppler study
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S, Maione, A, Giunta, F, Itri, L, Losardo, M, Palma, A, Giacummo, F, De Blasio, and L, De Matteis
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Adult ,Male ,Lung Neoplasms ,Blood Pressure ,Stroke Volume ,Middle Aged ,Echocardiography, Doppler ,Ventricular Function, Left ,Diastole ,Echocardiography ,Heart Rate ,Humans ,Female ,Aged ,Epirubicin - Abstract
Thirty patients undergoing epirubicin therapy for primary lung cancer were studied by echocardiography and Doppler echocardiography. 2 D ejection fraction (EF) and Doppler left ventricular filling parameters (peak E, peak A, E/A ratio) were calculated before and after the completion of therapy. No differences in the mean values of these parameters were observed. However, 6 out of 30 patients (20%) showed left ventricular filling abnormalities; in 2 of them a slight reduction of EF was also noted. These abnormalities seem to be dose related. A longer term prospective study will be required to evaluate whether these findings are irreversible and to establish the clinical implications of our observations.
- Published
- 1992
25. [Effects of transdermal nicotine as an adjunct in smoking cessation therapy. A double-blind randomized study controlled with placebo]
- Author
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D M, Daughton, S A, Heatley, J J, Prendergast, D, Causey, M, Knowles, C N, Rolf, R A, Cheney, K, Hatlelid, A B, Thompson, and F, De Blasio
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Adult ,Nicotine ,Double-Blind Method ,Humans ,Smoking Cessation ,Middle Aged ,Administration, Cutaneous ,Cotinine ,Saliva ,Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - Abstract
To assess the smoking cessation efficacy of transdermal nicotine patches an adjunct to low-intervention therapy, we conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 158 smokers. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the following three study regimens that required daily application of two 15-cm2 patches: 1) 24-hour nicotine delivery, 2) nicotine delivery during wakeful hours only, and 3) placebo. The impact of the three regimens on smoking cessation rates and tobacco withdrawal symptoms was examined. During the last 2 weeks of the trial, 39% of the 24-hour nicotine regimen delivery group, 35% of those on wakeful hour nicotine regimens, and 13.5% of the placebo treatment group achieved abstinence. Self-reported quit rates for the two nicotine patch-wearing regimens, as compared with that for the placebo group, continued to be significantly higher at 6 months. Moreover, compared with placebo, the transdermal nicotine patches significantly reduced tobacco withdrawal symptoms during the first few weeks of quitting. The differences in quit rates and tobacco withdrawal symptoms between the to active groups were not statistically significant. The patches were well tolerated both topically and systemically. We concluded that transdermal nicotine, when used as an adjunct to low-intervention therapy, significantly reduced tobacco withdrawal symptoms and enhanced smoking cessation rates.
- Published
- 1992
26. [The use of recombinant interferon alfa-2b in the follow-up of patients laryngectomized for advanced stage carcinoma]
- Author
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F, De Blasio, M, Pepe, M, Sarno, A F, Mormile, and A, Pezza
- Subjects
Male ,Humans ,Interferon-alpha ,Female ,Laryngectomy ,Interferon alpha-2 ,Middle Aged ,Combined Modality Therapy ,Laryngeal Neoplasms ,Recombinant Proteins ,Aged ,Follow-Up Studies ,Neoplasm Staging - Abstract
The AA. report the results of an experimental investigation on 60 subjects who underwent surgery for advanced stage carcinoma of the glottic larynx and treated with alpha 2b recombinant interferon at the dosage of 3,000,000 ul three times a week, before a six-months follow-up. The patients were examined also as to the respiratory functionality and the monitoring of some biological markers of cancers (CEA, TPA, Ca 125, Ca 15.3). The AA. support the satisfactory tolerability of alpha interferon which showed expected side effects; these effects were controlled by the symptomatic treatment, and their metabolic parameters as well as the ones related to the respiratory functionality kept always their valves in the average. The monitoring of biological markers, seems to support a real usefulness in the treatment with alpha interferon, even if a statistically meaningful record couldn't be noticed.
- Published
- 1990
27. [Bronchoalveolar lavage in the diagnosis of cancer]
- Author
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A, Pezza, F, De Blasio, and S I, Rennard
- Subjects
Male ,Cytodiagnosis ,Neoplasms ,Humans ,Female ,Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid - Abstract
Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a widely used clinical procedure. To determine if BAL could provide useful information in the detection of cancer, 850 lavages from 421 patients having BAL for a variety of indications, 50 lavages in patients with Hodgkin's disease and 20 patients with breast cancer undergoing bon marrow transplant were reviewed. BALs were performed with the technique established by Rennard and coll. in which 5 successive 20 cc aliquots are infused in a wedge position. The return from the first aliquot was processed separately from the subsequent four aliquots. Diff-Quick stained cytocentrifuge preparations and Papanicolaou stained millipore filter preparations were analyzed. Thirty-five patients had biopsy-proven lung cancer. In 24 (68.6%) of these, BAL revealed cells diagnostic of malignancy. There were no false positives. Six out of 50 Hodgkin's disease patients had Reed Sternberg cells detected on BAL, and 7/20 breast cancer patients had malignant cells on BAL prior to chemotherapy. In summary, the routine performance of BAL, an easily performed and well-tolerated procedure, may prove to be useful in the routine assessment of patients for cancer.
- Published
- 1990
28. [Thymidine kinase as a biological marker in neoplasms of the lung and mediastinum]
- Author
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F, De Blasio, M, Alonzo, S, Zofra, R, De Colle, L, Romano, and A, Pezza
- Subjects
Male ,Lung Neoplasms ,Clinical Enzyme Tests ,Middle Aged ,Hodgkin Disease ,Mediastinal Neoplasms ,Sensitivity and Specificity ,Thymidine Kinase ,Isoenzymes ,Carcinoma, Bronchogenic ,Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ,Humans ,Female ,Carcinoma, Small Cell ,Biomarkers ,Aged - Abstract
Thymidine kinase (TK) is a biological marker recently used in diagnosis and monitoring of pulmonary and mediastinal malignant neoplasms. Authors report more recent clinical evidences of literature and, in the meanwhile, they report their personal experiences about a 20 patients group suffering of lung cancer and Hodgkin disease. Their study demonstrates a good sensitivity of TK as biological marker of SCLC and a lower sensitivity in case of NSCLC and Hodgkin disease. It has been possible to contribute to establishment of normal range values, on account of 10 healthy volunteer group blood sample assays.
- Published
- 1990
29. Doppler Echocardiographic Assessment of Left Ventricular Diastolic Function in Patients with Primary Lung Cancer Treated with Doxorubicin
- Author
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F. De Blasio, A. Pezza, B. Tuccillo, P. Del Rosso, S. Maione, A. Giunta, and R. Biagini
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Cancer Research ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Lung Neoplasms ,Systole ,Diastole ,Doppler echocardiography ,030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging ,03 medical and health sciences ,symbols.namesake ,0302 clinical medicine ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Diastolic function ,Doxorubicin ,Respiratory system ,Lung cancer ,Aged ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Heart ,General Medicine ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Myocardial Contraction ,Oncology ,Echocardiography ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Cardiology ,symbols ,Female ,business ,Doppler effect ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Eighteen patients were examined by Doppler echocardiography before and after treatment with doxorubicin (DXR). Early left ventricular filling rate decreased from 66 +/- 15 to 51 +/- 10 cm/sec whereas late filling rate increased from 48 +/- 12 to 61 +/- 9 cm/sec (p less than 0.05) with inversion of the E/A ratio suggesting an impairment of left ventricular diastolic function; conversely no significant changes were found in systolic function indexes. These results suggest that follow-up of patients treated with DXR must include left ventricular diastolic function studies. Doppler echocardiography can be successfully used to detect the presence of diastolic abnormalities.
- Published
- 1988
30. [Radiologic and radioisotopic assessment in the study of environmental respiratory disease]
- Author
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A, Pezza and F, De Blasio
- Subjects
Lung Diseases ,Radiography ,Humans ,Environmental Exposure ,Radionuclide Imaging - Published
- 1989
31. Multifrequency approach to inverse scattering: the linear and quadratic models
- Author
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Adriana Brancaccio, Rocco Pierri, and F. De Blasio
- Subjects
Physics ,Inverse quadratic interpolation ,Optics ,Quadratic equation ,business.industry ,Mathematical analysis ,Inverse scattering problem ,Scattering parameters ,Linear model ,Sampling (statistics) ,Inverse problem ,business ,Integral equation - Abstract
A comparison between the linear and the quadratic approach to inverse scattering by multifrequency data is performed. The bandwidth of the scattered field is used to fix the sampling step in the considered frequency range. Numerical results are shown.
32. Quality of Life and Marilyn Monroe: Which Language Do They Speak?
- Author
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F. De Blasio
- Subjects
- *
QUALITY of life , *LIFE expectancy , *HUMAN comfort , *LONGEVITY - Abstract
Copyright © 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
33. Sustainable control of microplastics in wastewater using the electrochemically enhanced living membrane bioreactor.
- Author
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Corpuz MVA, Cairone S, Natale M, Giannattasio A, Iuliano V, Grassi A, Pollice A, Mannina G, Buonerba A, Belgiorno V, and Naddeo V
- Subjects
- Water Pollutants, Chemical chemistry, Wastewater chemistry, Bioreactors, Microplastics, Membranes, Artificial, Waste Disposal, Fluid methods
- Abstract
Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) discharges are major contributors to the release of microplastics (MPs) into the environment. This research work aimed to assess the performance of the novel living membrane bioreactor (LMBR), which utilizes a biological layer as a membrane filter for the removal of polyethylene (PE) MPs from wastewater. The impact of an intermittently applied low current density (0.5 mA/cm
2 ) on the reduction of MPs in the electrochemically enhanced LMBR (e-LMBR) has also been examined. The reactors were also compared to a conventional membrane bioreactor (MBR) and an electro-MBR (e-MBR).1 H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1 H NMR) was implemented for the MPs detection and quantification in terms of mass per volume of sample. The LMBR and MBR achieved comparable mean PE MPs reduction at 95% and 96%, respectively. The MPs mass reduction in the e-LMBR slightly decreased by 2% compared to that achieved in the LMBR. This potentially indicated the partial breakdown of the MPs due to electrochemical processes. Decreasing and inconsistent NH4 -N and PO4 -P removal efficiencies were observed over time due to the addition of PE MPs in the MBR and LMBR. In contrast, the integration of electric field in the e-MBR and e-LMBR resulted in consistently high values of conventional contaminant removals of COD (99.72-99.77 %), NH4 -N (97.96-98.67%), and PO4 -P (98.44-100.00%), despite the MPs accumulation. Integrating electrochemical processes in the e-LMBR led to the development of a stable living membrane (LM) layer, as manifested in the consistently low effluent turbidity 0.49 ± 0.33 NTU. Despite the increasing MPs concentration in the mixed liquor, applying electrochemical processes reduced the fouling rates in the e-LMBR. The e-LMBR achieved comparable efficiencies in contaminant reductions as those observed in the e-MBR, while using a low-cost membrane material., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
34. Quantification Approaches in Non-Target LC/ESI/HRMS Analysis: An Interlaboratory Comparison.
- Author
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Malm L, Liigand J, Aalizadeh R, Alygizakis N, Ng K, Fro Kjær EE, Nanusha MY, Hansen M, Plassmann M, Bieber S, Letzel T, Balest L, Abis PP, Mazzetti M, Kasprzyk-Hordern B, Ceolotto N, Kumari S, Hann S, Kochmann S, Steininger-Mairinger T, Soulier C, Mascolo G, Murgolo S, Garcia-Vara M, López de Alda M, Hollender J, Arturi K, Coppola G, Peruzzo M, Joerss H, van der Neut-Marchand C, Pieke EN, Gago-Ferrero P, Gil-Solsona R, Licul-Kucera V, Roscioli C, Valsecchi S, Luckute A, Christensen JH, Tisler S, Vughs D, Meekel N, Talavera Andújar B, Aurich D, Schymanski EL, Frigerio G, Macherius A, Kunkel U, Bader T, Rostkowski P, Gundersen H, Valdecanas B, Davis WC, Schulze B, Kaserzon S, Pijnappels M, Esperanza M, Fildier A, Vulliet E, Wiest L, Covaci A, Macan Schönleben A, Belova L, Celma A, Bijlsma L, Caupos E, Mebold E, Le Roux J, Troia E, de Rijke E, Helmus R, Leroy G, Haelewyck N, Chrastina D, Verwoert M, Thomaidis NS, and Kruve A
- Abstract
Nontargeted screening (NTS) utilizing liquid chromatography electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC/ESI/HRMS) is increasingly used to identify environmental contaminants. Major differences in the ionization efficiency of compounds in ESI/HRMS result in widely varying responses and complicate quantitative analysis. Despite an increasing number of methods for quantification without authentic standards in NTS, the approaches are evaluated on limited and diverse data sets with varying chemical coverage collected on different instruments, complicating an unbiased comparison. In this interlaboratory comparison, organized by the NORMAN Network, we evaluated the accuracy and performance variability of five quantification approaches across 41 NTS methods from 37 laboratories. Three approaches are based on surrogate standard quantification (parent-transformation product, structurally similar or close eluting) and two on predicted ionization efficiencies (RandFor- IE and MLR- IE ). Shortly, HPLC grade water, tap water, and surface water spiked with 45 compounds at 2 concentration levels were analyzed together with 41 calibrants at 6 known concentrations by the laboratories using in-house NTS workflows. The accuracy of the approaches was evaluated by comparing the estimated and spiked concentrations across quantification approaches, instrumentation, and laboratories. The RandFor- IE approach performed best with a reported mean prediction error of 15× and over 83% of compounds quantified within 10× error. Despite different instrumentation and workflows, the performance was stable across laboratories and did not depend on the complexity of water matrices.
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
35. Characterization of anthropogenic impacts in Mediterranean intermittent rivers with chemical, ecological and hydrological indicators.
- Author
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Gómez-Navarro O, De Girolamo AM, Lorenz AW, Khadhar S, Debieche TH, Gentile F, Chiron S, and Pérez S
- Abstract
Water scarcity in the Mediterranean area has increased the number of intermittent rivers, whose flow ceases either occasionally or totally. Key elements to characterize their dynamics are water quality, hydrological, and ecological status, when wastewater effluents dominate flow. Regarding water quality, pharmaceuticals are major pollutants, and serve as indicators of wastewater presence. Intermittent rivers are biodiversity hotspots where their hydrological regime may suffer alterations associated with wastewater effluents, making them harder to characterize than perennial streams. This study aimed to integratively characterize intermittent rivers through chemical, ecological and hydrological status calculating respective indices in twenty Mediterranean intermittent wastewater-impacted rivers located in Spain, France, Italy, Algeria and Tunisia. Pharmaceuticals were used as indicators assessing their frequency of PNEC exceedance and detection; while two ecological indicators and one hydrological indicator were used to evaluate wastewater stress on catchments. All indicators displayed a noticeable decline from upper to lower parts of the rivers, proving the effect of anthropogenic stressors on the aquatic environment. The Tunisian catchment displayed the most compromised conditions across all indicators, and the Algerian site even though low concentrations were detected, five compounds exceeded PNEC thresholds. This highlights the need for increased dedication and the adoption of water pollution solutions., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
36. Occurrence of Uncultured Legionella spp. in Treated Wastewater Effluent and Its Impact on Human Health (SCA.Re.S Project).
- Author
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De Giglio O, Diella G, Bagordo F, Savino AF, Calabrese A, Campanale M, Triggiano F, Apollonio F, Spagnuolo V, Lopuzzo M, Grassi T, Caputo MC, Brigida S, Valeriani F, Romano Spica V, and Montagna MT
- Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) provide optimal conditions for the environmental spread of Legionella . As part of the Evaluation of Sanitary Risk Related to the Discharge of Wastewater to the Ground (SCA.Re.S) project, this study was conducted to evaluate the presence of Legionella in WWTP effluent and in groundwater samples collected from two wells located downstream from the plant. The samples were analyzed to determine the concentrations of Legionella spp using the standard culture-based method and molecular techniques, followed by genomic sequencing analysis. Legionella was detected only with the molecular methods (except in one sample of effluent positive for L. pneumophila serogroup 6), which showed viable Legionella pneumophila and L. non- pneumophila through the use of free DNA removal solution in both the effluent and groundwater, with concentrations that progressively decreased downstream from the plant. Viable L. pneumophila appeared to be slightly more concentrated in warm months. However, no significant differences ( p ≥ 0.05) in concentrations between cold and warm months were observed. A genotypic analysis characterized the species present in the samples and found that uncultured Legionella spp, as yet undefined, constituted the prevalent species in all the samples (range 77.15-83.17%). WWTPs play an important role in the hygienic and sanitary quality of groundwater for different uses. The application of Legionella control systems during the purification of effluents is warranted to prevent possible outbreaks of legionellosis.
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
37. An Economic Cost Analysis of Implementing a Frailty Care Bundle to Reduce Risk of Hospital Associated Decline Among Older Patients.
- Author
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Murphy A, de Blasio F, Kirby A, de Foubert M, and Naughton C
- Abstract
Objective: To conduct an economic cost analysis and budget impact assessment (BIA) of implementing the Frailty Care Bundle (FCB) intervention nationally over five-years for hip fracture patients. The FCB was designed to reduce hospital associated decline in older hospitalised patients., Methods: The FCB was delivered in two Irish hospitals on two wards per hospital. A micro level cost analysis, from the Irish health service perspective was undertaken. Direct costs of the FCB were considered (personnel, training, resources), expressed in Euros (2020). For the BIA national population estimates for hip fracture and costs avoided were based on 18% difference in patients returning to their baseline capability in the post compared to pre-intervention group, valued using cost estimates of functional decline., Results: We estimated total intervention costs at €53,619 (89% for personnel) and the average cost per patient was €156.03. The expected costs of implementing the FCB nationally over 12-months was €57,274 per hospital (€72.92 per patient). The BIA for an expected targeted population (16,000 over 5 years), estimated that the cost of implementing the FCB (€1.2m) was less than the expected value of functional decline avoided owing to the intervention (€3.6m), suggesting a positive net effect (€2.4m)., Conclusion: Investment in the FCB can be offset with more rapid patient return to baseline functional capability, reducing health care costs. Trial and Protocol Registration (retrospective): BMC ISRCTN 15145850, (https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN15145850)., (Copyright: © 2024 Hylonome Publications.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
38. Prophylactic underwater vessel coagulation for submucosal endoscopy.
- Author
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Capogreco A, Hassan C, De Blasio F, Massimi D, de Sire R, Galtieri PA, Despott EJ, Alkandari A, Bhandari P, Facciorusso A, Maselli R, and Repici A
- Subjects
- Humans, Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage prevention & control, Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage etiology, Endoscopic Mucosal Resection methods
- Abstract
Competing Interests: Competing interests: AC is a consultant for ERBE. RM is a consultant for ERBE, Fujifilm, 3DMatrix and Boston Scientific. CH is a consultant for Alpha-Sigma, Fujifilm, Medtronic, Norgine, Olympus and Pentax. AR is a consultant for Medtronic, ERBE, Fujifilm and Olympus. Others authors have nothing to declare.
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
39. Factors Influencing Microbial Contamination of Groundwater: A Systematic Review of Field-Scale Studies.
- Author
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Bagordo F, Brigida S, Grassi T, Caputo MC, Apollonio F, De Carlo L, Savino AF, Triggiano F, Turturro AC, De Donno A, Montagna MT, and De Giglio O
- Abstract
Pathogenic microorganisms released onto the soil from point or diffuse sources represent a public health concern. They can be transported by rainwater that infiltrates into subsoil and reach the groundwater where they can survive for a long time and contaminate drinking water sources. As part of the SCA.Re.S. (Evaluation of Health Risk Related to the Discharge of Wastewater on the Soil) project, we reviewed a selection of field-scale studies that investigated the factors that influenced the fate of microorganisms that were transported from the ground surface to the groundwater. A total of 24 studies published between 2003 and 2022 were included in the review. These studies were selected from the PubMed and Web of Science databases. Microbial contamination of groundwater depends on complex interactions between human activities responsible for the release of contaminants onto the soil, and a range of environmental and biological factors, including the geological, hydraulic, and moisture characteristics of the media traversed by the water, and the characteristics and the viability of the microorganisms, which in turn depend on the environmental conditions and presence of predatory species. Enterococci appeared to be more resistant in the underground environment than thermotolerant coliforms and were suggested as a better indicator for detecting microbial contamination of groundwater.
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
40. The Impact of Radiofrequency Ablation on Survival Outcomes and Stent Patency in Patients with Unresectable Cholangiocarcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
- Author
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Balducci D, Montori M, Martini F, Valvano M, De Blasio F, Argenziano ME, Tarantino G, Benedetti A, Bendia E, Marzioni M, and Maroni L
- Abstract
Endoluminal biliary radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been proposed as a palliative treatment for patients with malignant biliary obstruction (MBO) in order to improve stent patency and survival. However, the existing data on patients with inoperable extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (eCCA) are conflicting. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized trials comparing RFA plus stenting versus stenting alone in patients with inoperable eCCA. We searched for trials published in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane databases up to November 2023. Data extraction was conducted from published studies, and a quality assessment was carried out in accordance with the guidelines recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CI were estimated from the trials. The primary endpoints of interest were overall survival and stent patency. Out of 275 results, 5 randomized trials and 370 patients were included. While overall survival was not different between the groups (HR 0.62; 95% CI 0.36-1.07; p = 0.09; I
2 = 80%;), the subgroup analysis of studies employing plastic stents showed a trend toward better survival in the RFA-treated group (HR 0.42; 95% CI 0.22-0.80; p = 0.009; I2 = 72%). Stent patency was improved in patients receiving RFA (HR 0.64; 95% CI 0.45-0.90; p = 0.01; I2 = 23%). Adverse events were not different between the groups (OR 1.21; 95% CI 0.69-2.12; p = 0.50; I2 = 0%). Despite the promising results, high heterogeneity and potential biases in the included studies suggest the need for further high-quality randomized trials to explore the potential cumulative effects of RFA on CCA treatment outcomes.- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
41. Multi-target assessment of advanced oxidation processes-based strategies for indirect potable reuse of tertiary wastewater: Fate of compounds of emerging concerns, microbial and ecotoxicological parameters.
- Author
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Murgolo S, De Giglio O, De Ceglie C, Triggiano F, Apollonio F, Calia C, Pousis C, Marzella A, Fasano F, Giordano ME, Lionetto MG, Santoro D, Santoro O, Mancini S, Di Iaconi C, De Sanctis M, Montagna MT, and Mascolo G
- Subjects
- Wastewater, Hydrogen Peroxide chemistry, Escherichia coli, Oxidation-Reduction, Charcoal, Ultraviolet Rays, Drinking Water, Water Purification methods, Ozone chemistry, Water Pollutants, Chemical chemistry
- Abstract
Two advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), namely ozone/H
2 O2 and UV/H2 O2 , were tested at pilot scale as zero-liquid-discharge alternative treatments for the removal of microbiological (bacteria and viruses), chemical (compounds of emerging concern (CECs)) and genotoxic responses from tertiary municipal wastewater for indirect potable reuse (IPR). The AOP treated effluents were further subjected to granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption and UV disinfection, following the concept of multiple treatment barriers. As a reference, a consolidated advanced wastewater treatment train consisting of ultrafiltration, UV disinfection, and reverse osmosis (RO) was also employed. The results showed that, for the same electrical energy applied, the ozone/H2 O2 treatment was more effective than the UV/H2 O2 treatment in removing CECs. Specifically, the ozone/H2 O2 treatment, intensified by high pressure and high mixing, achieved an average CECs removal efficiency higher than UV/H2 O2 (66.8% with respect to 18.4%). The subsequent GAC adsorption step, applied downstream the AOPs, further improved the removal efficiency of the whole treatment trains, achieving rates of 98.5% and 96.8% for the ozone/H2 O2 and UV/H2 O2 treatments, respectively. In contrast, the ultrafiltration step of the reference treatment train only achieved a removal percentage of 22.5%, which increased to 99% when reverse osmosis was used as the final step. Microbiological investigations showed that all three wastewater treatment lines displayed good performance in the complete removal of regulated and optional parameters according to both national and the European Directive 2020/2184. Only P. aeruginosa resulted resistant to all treatments with a higher removal by UV/H2 O2 when higher UV dose was applied. In addition, E. coli STEC/VTEC and enteric viruses, were found to be completely removed in all tested treatments and no genotoxic activity was detected even after a 1000-fold concentration. The obtained results suggest that the investigated treatments are suitable for groundwater recharge to be used as a potable water source being such a procedure an IPR. The intensified ozone/H2 O2 or UV/H2 O2 treatments can be conveniently incorporated into a multi-barrier zero-liquid-discharge scheme, thus avoiding the management issues associated with the retentate of the conventional scheme that uses reverse osmosis. By including the chemical cost associated with using 11-12 mg/L of H2 O2 in the cost calculations, the overall operational cost (energy plus chemical) required to achieve 50% average CECs removal in tertiary effluent for an hypothetical full-scale plant of 250 m3 /h (or 25,000 inhabitants) was 0.183 €/m3 and 0.425 €/m3 for ozone/H2 O2 and UV/H2 O2 treatment train, respectively., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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42. Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy for Achalasia after Bariatric Surgery: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.
- Author
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Maselli R, Fiacca M, Pellegatta G, de Sire R, De Blasio F, Capogreco A, Galtieri PA, Massimi D, Trotta M, Hassan C, and Repici A
- Abstract
Introduction: Achalasia following bariatric surgery is a rare phenomenon with diverse potential physiopathological origins., Aims: This article aims to explore the hypothetical physiopathological connection between bariatric surgery and the subsequent onset of achalasia., Material and Methods: A review was conducted to identify studies reporting cases of peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) after bariatric procedures and detailing the outcomes in terms of the technical and clinical success. Additionally, a case of a successful POEM performed on a patient two years after undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is presented., Results: The selection criteria yielded eight studies encompassing 40 patients treated with POEM for achalasia after bariatric surgery: 34 after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and 6 after LSG. The studies reported an overall technical success rate of 97.5%, with clinical success achieved in 85% of cases. Adverse events were minimal, with only one case of esophageal leak treated endoscopically. However, a postprocedural symptomatic evaluation was notably lacking in most of the included studies., Conclusions: Achalasia poses a considerable challenge within the bariatric surgery population. POEM has emerged as a technically viable and safe intervention for this patient demographic, providing an effective treatment option where surgical alternatives for achalasia are limited. Our findings highlight the promising outcomes of POEM in these patients, but the existing data remain limited. Hence, prospective studies are needed to elucidate the optimal pre-surgical assessment and timing of endoscopic procedures for optimizing outcomes.
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
43. A new simpler and reliable method for determining mineral oil in sewage sludge: Influence of biogenic compounds for the quantitative analysis of C10-C40 hydrocarbons.
- Author
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Pastore C, Angelini A, Mininni G, and Braguglia CM
- Subjects
- Magnesium Silicates, Hydrocarbons, Sewage, Mineral Oil
- Abstract
The characterization of organic contaminants in sewage sludge is a fundamental step to address the relevant most appropriate management practice. In this perspective, C10-C40 hydrocarbon content was considered in Italy a crucial parameter to be considered, in spite of its irrelevance in the literature. The very complex mixture of organic substances of both biogenic and anthropogenic origin the sludge is made up of makes sewage sludge a matrix of uniqueness nature, and the analytic determination of hydrocarbon content through conventional procedures may be subjected to overestimation. In this work, optimization of two conventional protocols for the determination of mineral oil (EN14039 and IRSA CNR gravimetric method) were run with attention to anthropogenic compounds potentially affecting the C10-C40 mineral hydrocarbons determination. Effects from the first manipulations of sewage sludge samples to extraction procedure and clean-up operations were investigated. A new simple procedure was set up and tested on 30 samples from different wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Through a simple extraction with hexane (12 mL per 2 g of dried sludge, acidified with HCl conc.) at room temperature for 2 h, followed by a clean-up on Florisil column (10 mL-2 g) a confident determination of C10-C40 were obtained with respect to conventional optimized procedures. Variability within the range 0.06-9.49% was calculated with respect to the average value determined using three different methods, with an average value of 2.48 ± 2.37%, demonstrating the robustness of the determination. Up to 3% of the total hydrocarbons were identified as naturally occurring, namely terpenes, squalenes and deoxygenized sterols, passed through the clean-up Florisil column. A significant incidence (up to 75%) of the final overall C10-C40 content was found to be related to the C10-C20 component, originally present in the commercial polyelectrolytes in emulsion, widely used for conditioning before mechanical dewatering., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
44. Dithiocarbamates: Properties, Methodological Approaches and Challenges to Their Control.
- Author
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Campanale C, Triozzi M, Ragonese A, Losacco D, and Massarelli C
- Abstract
Dithiocarbamates (DTCs) are a group of chemicals used primarily as fungicides, although they are exploited for various other applications. DTCs represent one of the oldest classes of broad-spectrum fungicides employed worldwide to control fungal diseases on many crops. Due to their ease of synthesis, low production costs (cheap and readily available starting materials) and a fungicidal activity with a multi-site mode of action, they are still among modern agriculture's most extensively used pesticides. Although the environmental degradation in air, water, and soil is relatively rapid due to photolysis and/or hydrolysis, they are among the most frequently detected pesticides in the European Union (EU), also with a high frequency of maximum residue level (MRL) exceedances. The current review aims to comprehensively survey all aspects of DTCs, including the environmental fate, toxicity and analytical methods for determining parental compounds and degradation products in environmental and food samples. Furthermore, the accumulation of carbamate and dithiocarbamate pesticides in vegetables, fruits, bioindicator organisms and human biological samples, as well as their health effects on humans, are also considered in this study.
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. Ecological flow in southern Europe: Status and trends in non-perennial rivers.
- Author
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Leone M, Gentile F, Lo Porto A, Ricci GF, and De Girolamo AM
- Subjects
- Water Movements, Europe, Spain, Environmental Monitoring methods, Ecosystem, Rivers
- Abstract
The concept of environmental flows (E-Flows) describes the streamflow that is necessary to maintain river ecosystems. Although a large number of methods have been developed, a delay was recorded in implementing E-Flows in non-perennial rivers. The general aim of the paper was to analyse the criticalities and the current state of implementation of the E-Flows in non-perennial rivers of southern Europe. The specific objectives were to analyse (i) the European Union (EU) and national legislation on E-Flows, and (ii) the methodologies currently adopted for setting E-Flows in non-perennial rivers in the EU Member States (MSs) of the Mediterranean Region (Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, France, Cyprus, and Malta). From the analysis of national legislations, it is possible to acknowledge a step forward toward regulatory unification at the European level, on the subject of E-Flows and more generally toward the protection of aquatic ecosystems. The definition of E-Flows, for most countries, has abandoned the idea of a regime of constant and minimal flow, but it recognizes the importance of the biological, and chemical-physical aspects connected to it. From the analysis of the E-Flows implementation through the review of the case studies, one can surmise that in non-perennial rivers the E-Flows science is still an emerging discipline. The limited availability of hydrological, hydraulic, and biological data as well as the restricted economic resources allocated for managing non-perennial rivers are the main causes of the delay in the E-Flows implementation in MSs. The results of the present study may contribute in setting an E-Flow regime in non-perennial rivers., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper, (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
46. Extension of probability models of the risk of infections by human enteric viruses.
- Author
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Masciopinto C
- Subjects
- Humans, Water Pollution, Probability, Enterovirus, Viruses, Norovirus
- Abstract
This study presents a novel approach for obtaining reliable models and coefficients to estimate the probability of infection caused by common human enteric viruses. The aim is to provide guidance for public health policies in disease prevention and control, by reducing uncertainty and management costs in health risk assessments. Conventional dose-response (DR) models, based on the theory elaborated by Furumoto and Mickey
[1] , exhibit limitations stemming from the heterogeneity of individual host susceptibilities to infection resulting from ingesting aggregate viruses. Moreover, the scarcity of well-designed viral challenge experiments contributes to significant uncertainty in these DR models. To address these issues, we conducted a review of infection models used in health risk analysis, focusing on Norovirus (NoV) GI.1, pooled Enterovirus group (EV ), Poliovirus 1/SM , and Echo-12 virus via contaminated water or food. Using a mechanistic approach, we reevaluated the known DR models and coefficients for the probability of individual host infection in the mentioned viruses based on dose-infection challenge experiments. Specifically, we sought to establish a relationship between the minimum infectious dose (ID) and the ID having a 50% probability of initiating host infection in the same challenge experiment. Furthermore, we developed a new formula to estimate the degree of aggregation of GI.1 NoV at the mean infectious dose. The proposed models, based on "exact" beta-Poisson DR models, effectively predicted infection probabilities from ingestion of both disaggregated and aggregate NoV GI.1. Through a numerical evaluation, we compared the results with the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) probability obtained from a controlled challenge trial with the NoV GI.1 virus described in the literature, demonstrating the accuracy of our approach. By addressing the indetermination of the unmeasured degree of NoV aggregation in each single infectious dose, our models reduce overestimations and uncertainties in microbial risk assessments. This improvement enhances the management of health risks associated with enteric virus infections.- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
47. SBBGR technology for reducing waste sludge production during plastic recycling process: Assessment of potential increase in sludge hazardousness.
- Author
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Altieri VG, De Sanctis M, Barca E, and Di Iaconi C
- Subjects
- Plastics, Bioreactors, Filtration, Sewage, Waste Disposal, Fluid
- Abstract
Sludge production in the wastewater treatment sector is consistently increasing and represents a critical environmental and economic issue. This study evaluated an unconventional approach for treating wastewater generated from the cleaning of non-hazardous plastic solid waste during the plastic recycling process. The proposed scheme was based on sequencing batch biofilter granular reactor (SBBGR) technology, which was compared with the activated sludge-based treatment currently in operation. These treatment technologies were compared regarding sludge quality, specific sludge production, and effluent quality to highlight whether the reduced sludge production shown by SBBGR corresponded to an increase in the concentration of hazardous compounds in the sludge. The SBBGR technology showed remarkable removal efficiencies (TSS, VSS, and NH
3 > 99 %; COD >90 %; TN and TP > 80 %) and a sludge production six-fold lower than the conventional plant (in terms of kgTSS/kg CODremoved ). Biomass from the SBBGR did not show a significant accumulation of organic micropollutants (i.e., long-chain hydrocarbons, chlorinated pesticides and chlorobenzenes, PCB, PCDD/F, PAH, chlorinated and brominated aliphatic compounds, and aromatic solvents), whereas a certain accumulation of heavy metals was observed. Furthermore, an initial attempt to compare the operating costs of the two treatment approaches revealed that the SBBGR technology would provide 38 % savings., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
48. The Role of Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS) in Treating Portal Hypertension in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
- Author
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Balducci D, Montori M, De Blasio F, Di Bucchianico A, Argenziano ME, Baroni GS, and Scarpellini E
- Subjects
- Humans, Retrospective Studies, Treatment Outcome, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular complications, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular surgery, Liver Neoplasms complications, Liver Neoplasms surgery, Portasystemic Shunt, Transjugular Intrahepatic methods, Chemoembolization, Therapeutic adverse effects, Hypertension, Portal complications
- Abstract
Liver cancer is very frequent, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for the majority of liver cancer cases. Its growing incidence has been greatly affected by the increasing prevalence of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). The latter is a new epidemic in our era. In fact, HCC is often generated from noncirrhotic liver and its treatment benefits from surgical and nonsurgical approaches, potentially bridged by transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) use. TIPS use is an effective treatment for portal hypertension complications, but its application in patients with HCC and clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) remains controversial due to concerns about tumor rupture, dissemination, and increased toxicity. The technical feasibility and safety of TIPS use in HCC patients have been evaluated in several studies. Despite concerns about intraprocedural complications, retrospective studies have shown high success rates and low complication rates in TIPS placement for HCC patients. TIPS use in combination with locoregional treatments, such as transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or transarterial radioembolization (TARE), has been explored as a treatment option for HCC patients with portal hypertension. These studies have shown improved survival rates in patients undergoing TIPS in combination with locoregional treatments. However, the efficacy and toxicity of TACE in combination with TIPS use require careful evaluation, as changes in venous and arterial flow can affect treatment outcomes and complications. The results from studies evaluating the impact of TIPS on systemic therapy and surgical options are also promising. In conclusion, the TIPS is a sufficiently safe, useful item available for physicians treating complications of portal hypertension. Moreover, a TIPS can be used in combination with locoregional therapy in HCC patients. Systemic chemotherapy can also benefit of the use of TIPS placement. A complex interplay affects TIPS use with surgery. The latter needs further data. The TIPS is a useful and safe add-on treatment, changing the natural course of HCC progression. Its use is regulated by a sophisticated physiologic and pathophysiologic flow of evidence.
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
49. Phase angle in assessment and monitoring treatment of individuals with respiratory disease.
- Author
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De Benedetto F, Marinari S, and De Blasio F
- Subjects
- Humans, Hand Strength, Muscle Strength physiology, Body Weight, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive therapy, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive complications, Malnutrition complications
- Abstract
Phase angle (PhA) represents a raw variable measured with bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) that is used to assess malnutrition in many diseases, including respiratory diseases, mainly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD patients with reduced PhA are older, more hypoxic and hypercapnic; patients with more severe COPD have reduced cell mass, evident skeletal muscle depletion, and worsening gas exchange. Malnourished patients with stable COPD in long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) have more intense dyspnea at rest, greater weight loss over the past 12 months, and more exacerbations per year. Multiple regression analysis highlighted the significance of PhA° in the estimation of muscle strength: hand grip strength (HGS) and in that of respiratory muscles: maximal inspiratory pressure / max. expiratory pressure ratio (MIP/MEP). Furthermore, the relationship between PhA° and all-cause mortality in COPD patients was confirmed with the Cox regression model, Kaplan-Meier test, and log-rank tests. The role of malnutrition in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is confirmed by the PhA° measurements which, regardless of body weight, is associated with the reduction in muscle mass of these patients, reduces their strength and exercise capacity, and greatly influences the prognosis. In conclusion PhA is a novel biomarker of morbidity and mortality in patients with severe respiratory diseases., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
50. Serological response after anti-SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccine in IBD patients on biological therapy: a monocentric case-control study.
- Author
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Montori M, Martini F, DE Blasio F, Buono T, Quatraccioni C, Guardati P, Calzolari M, Rossi C, Bendia E, Menzo S, Valenza C, Pellicano R, Maroni L, and Benedetti A
- Subjects
- Humans, COVID-19 Vaccines therapeutic use, BNT162 Vaccine, Case-Control Studies, Seroepidemiologic Studies, SARS-CoV-2, Biological Therapy, COVID-19 prevention & control, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases drug therapy
- Abstract
Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients on biological therapy are receiving vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, it is unclear if IBD therapy could influence the response to this vaccine. In a case-control study, we assessed the antibody profiling after anti-SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccine in IBD patients on biological therapy., Methods: We analyzed seroprevalence and antibody titer, after 14 weeks from the first BNT162b2 vaccine dose, in IBD patients on biological therapy and health care workers (HCWs). In IBD patients, medical history and disease data were recorded., Results: Eighty-two subjects were enrolled in this study. Among them, 40 were IBD patients on biological therapy and 42 were HCWs. All subjects developed an IgG anti-Spike antibody titer above the cut-off. IBD patients on biological therapy developed a lower antibody titer than HCWs (P<0.00001). No differences were reported in patients who received at least one dose of the vaccine within a period of 7 days from the last biological drug administration, compared to all other IBD patients. A difference was found between patients who were on concomitant immunosuppressive therapy and patients on sole biological therapy (P=0.0287). Patients with presence of any sign of disease activity (clinical, endoscopic or laboratory) showed a higher development of antibody titer compared to those in complete disease remission (P=0.0468)., Conclusions: Our data indicate that in IBD patients, treatment with biological therapies do not affect the seroprevalence but leads to a lower antibody titer development after anti-SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccine.
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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