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Aims and objectives Methods and materials Results Conclusion Personal information References, Aims and objectives: The aim of this work was to evaluatethe technical success of thermal ablations of liver malignancies achieved with cone-beam CT (CBCT) performed immediately after the end of ablation with the evaluation achieved with conventional 24-hr post-ablation...

Moderate wine consumption has been shown to lower cardiovascular risk when part of a healthy life style. Red wine compounds, especially polyphenols, might play a role in preventing the development and progression of atherosclerosis, through different modalities of action, including inhibition of lipid peroxidation, metal chelation, free radical scavenging, inhibition of platelet aggregation, anti-inflammatory and estrogenic activity, improvement of endothelial function, lowering of blood pressure and modulation of lipoprotein metabolism. The attenuation of the postprandial oxidative stress could be another mechanism involved in protection by wine phenols, as the absorption of prooxidant/oxidized species with a meal can induce physiological events, such as the formation of mildly oxidized lipoprotein or endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory responses, all linked to the development of cardiovascular disease. As regards oxidizable/oxidized dietary fats, the typical Western diet contains substantial quanti...

HPLC with an electron acceptor stationary phase called tetrachlorophtalimidopropyl (TCP) was used to separate Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in vegetable oil without any preparation of the samples being studied. Using an hexane/methylterbutylether mobile phase then an hexane/dichloromethane one, it was possible to separate triglycerids and tocopherols from PAH fraction. A fractional factorial design 2 7-4 was used to perform the fractionating then the separation of the PAH fraction with the minimum of experiments. Seven factors were examined and the chromatography quality was evaluated through four answers. Finally, the predictions of the models and the characteristics of the separation were compared: the agreement was very good.

Increased level of soluble cell adhesion molecules may be a marker for atherosclerosis and/or reflect complication of the atherosclerotic plaque. To test whether expression of cell adhesion molecules is more pronounced in unstable versus stable coronary plaques, we measured the serum level of soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) in 99 consecutive patients admitted to the hospital for acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and in 61 patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) using a commercially available ELISA kit. We also measured the sE-selectin concentration in 20 sex- and age-matched subjects without clinical evidence of atherosclerosis, who served as controls. The mean sE-selectin level was higher in both groups of patients compared with controls (ACS, 35.0 ± 23.4 ng/mL; chronic CAD, 32.9 ± 21.0 ng/mL; controls, 14.5 ± 6.6 ng/mL; one-way ANOVA, P = 0.001), but there was no difference between patients with ACS and chronic CAD. Furthermore, there was a trend (P = 0.08) toward a decrease in sE-selectin with an increase in the extent and severity of CAD. In patients with ACS, the in-hospital cardiac event rate was 8%. Although mean sE-selectin concentration tended to be higher in patients with (49.2 ± 42.1 ng/mL) than in those without (33.8 ± 21.3 ng/mL) in-hospital cardiac events, the difference was not significant. In 53 patients with ACS, C-reactive protein was measured and showed no correlation with the sE-selectin concentration. These findings show that although sE-selectin concentration is elevated in the presence of clinically relevant atherosclerosis, it does not further increase during the unstable phase of the disease, indicating that sE-selectin is not a reliable indicator of a complicated atherosclerotic plaque.

The essays discusses the recent edition of Jean Bodin’s Demonomania, edited by A. Suggi and translated by E. Cato, and published by Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura. In this book, Jean Bodin takes a position about the witches’ trials between the Fifteenth and Sixteenth centuries. Rita Ramberti also reconstructs the historical and cultural period in which Jean Bodin wrote the book., Governare la paura. Journal of interdisciplinary studies, 2008

Rita Ramberti analyzes the concept of Orrorism as Adriana Cavarero explains in her book. In particular the essays discusses the function of victims and violence in present society and politics., Governare la paura. Journal of interdisciplinary studies, 2009

Moderate wine consumption has been shown to lower cardiovascular risk. One of the mechanisms could involve the control of postprandial hyperlipaemia, a well-defined risk factor for atherosclerosis, reasonably by reducing the absorption of lipid oxidised species from the meal. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether wine consumption with the meal is able to reduce the postprandial increase in plasma lipid hydroperoxides and cholesterol oxidation products, in human subjects. In two different study sessions, twelve healthy volunteers consumed the same test meal rich in oxidised and oxidisable lipids (a double cheeseburger), with 300 ml of water (control) or with 300 ml of red wine (wine). The postprandial plasma concentration of cholesterol oxidation products was measured by GC–MS. The control meal induced a significant increase in the plasma concentration of lipid hydroperoxides and of two cholesterol oxidation products, 7-β-hydroxycholesterol and 7-ketocholesterol. The postprandial increase in lipid hydroperoxides and cholesterol oxidation products was fully prevented by wine when consumed with the meal. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence that consumption of wine with the meal could prevent the postprandial increase in plasma cholesterol oxidation products.

The effect of microwave, boiling and pressure cooking on total antioxidant capacity and total phenolics content of seven vegetables were studied. Total phenolics in raw and cooked vegetables were determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method, whereas the total antioxidant capacity of vegetables extracts was evaluated using the Crocin method. After boiling, four out of seven vegetables (cauliflower, peas, spinach and Swiss chard) showed a significant decrease in their total phenolic content (P

In this study, the authors examined health-related quality of life in severely obese patients prior to and following biliopancreatic diversion (BPD). They evaluated quality of life (QoL) by using the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life (IWQOL), a 74-item self-report questionnaire that assesses the QoL in physical and mental areas and the comfort with food. The questionnaire was administered to 50 obese patients prior to and at 1 year following BPD, to 150 postobese subjects at 3 years following BPD, and to 50 lean controls. At 1 year after the operation, the authors found a sharp improvement toward normality in the QoL, and the cross-sectional findings suggest that this result was maintained in the long term. Following BPD, patients' weight loss and long-term maintenance are accompanied by overall beneficial effects on their QoL.

The opportunities to analyse the genetic variations related to the risk of addiction are of interest to forensics, who beside their involvement in drugs-related fatalities may also be required to assess driving and working ability as well as permanent invalidity due to drugs-related conditions. Several genetic variants have been shown to be associated with heroin addiction. The most investigated gene is OPMR1 that encode the μ-opioid receptor. The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of genetics variants in OPRM1 to the susceptibility to addiction.

Increased level of soluble cell adhesion molecules may be a marker for atherosclerosis and/or reflect complication of the atherosclerotic plaque. To test whether expression of cell adhesion molecules is more pronounced in unstable versus stable coronary plaques, we measured the serum level of soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) in 99 consecutive patients admitted to the hospital for acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and in 61 patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) using a commercially available ELISA kit. We also measured the sE-selectin concentration in 20 sex- and age-matched subjects without clinical evidence of atherosclerosis, who served as controls. The mean sE-selectin level was higher in both groups of patients compared with controls (ACS, 35.0 +/- 23.4 ng/mL; chronic CAD, 32.9 +/- 21.0 ng/mL; controls, 14.5 +/- 6.6 ng/mL; one-way ANOVA, P = 0.001), but there was no difference between patients with ACS and chronic CAD. Furthermore, there was a trend (P = 0.08) toward a decrease in sE-selectin with an increase in the extent and severity of CAD. In patients with ACS, the in-hospital cardiac event rate was 8%. Although mean sE-selectin concentration tended to be higher in patients with (49.2 +/- 42.1 ng/mL) than in those without (33.8 +/- 21.3 ng/mL) in-hospital cardiac events, the difference was not significant. In 53 patients with ACS, C-reactive protein was measured and showed no correlation with the sE-selectin concentration. These findings show that although sE-selectin concentration is elevated in the presence of clinically relevant atherosclerosis, it does not further increase during the unstable phase of the disease, indicating that sE-selectin is not a reliable indicator of a complicated atherosclerotic plaque.

Deposits within the Caltanissetta basin of central Sicily have been important for developing the desiccating deep basin model for the Messinian salinity crisis in the Mediterranean. Linked structural and stratigraphic studies show that the Sicilian depocenters are synclines related to underlying thrust structures of the frontal part of the Maghrebian chain. Prior to the salinity crisis these basins were hydrodynamically linked through the foredeep to the Mediterranean. The precursor sediments (Terravecchia Formation) formed a delta, sourced from the north. Early Messinian regression acted on a range of paleobathymetries, shallow in the north and progressively deeper in the south, locally complicated by active thrust structures. Initial draw-down of Mediterranean base level is marked across the thrust belt by first cycle carbonates and evaporites on the structural highs and lows, respectively. Vast accumulations of halite and potassium salts (up to 1200 m) are restricted to growing thrust synclines. The different evaporite signatures may be related to different water conditions reflecting various meteoric and marine circulations across various subbasins, with cyclicity reflecting high-frequency variations in sea level. A sequence stratigraphic model is developed to explain fractionation of evaporite facies between different paleobathymetric settings and to predict the temporal evolution of the successions in different subbasins. Thrusting provides accommodation space for evaporites and also controls the water pathways into the desiccating basins. The intra-Messinian unconformity separating first and second cycle evaporites is a “type 1 sequence boundary” related to the forced regression associated with the acme of Mediterranean desiccation, an interpretation supported by local ravinement and incised valley fills. The overlying second cycle evaporites are a combination of detrital, reworked first cycle material and primary gypsum formed under brackish water. Regional onlap relationships and bed continuity suggest that this water body was of regional extent with a systematically rising base level. These interpretations have several implications for Messinian correlations in the Mediterranean: The deep basin evaporites correlate with an intra-Messinian unconformity that separates the two cycles on Sicily and postdate the first cycle deposits; regional base level was largely restored before the end of the salinity crisis.