C-reactive protein does not impair insulin suppression of glucose release in primary hepatocytes

Recent studies have suggested that CRP may interfere with insulin signaling in skeletal muscle and endothelial cells. The aim of this study was to determine whether highly purified CRP increased the rate of glucose appearance in primary hepatocytes in the absence or presence of insulin. Primary rat hepatocytes were provided glucose-free media containing 10 mM lactate, 1 mM pyruvate, 0, 1 or 10 nM insulin, and 0 or 10 μg/ml of purified CRP for 6h. Purified CRP did not increase glucose release in the absence of insulin and did not reduce the ability of insulin to suppress glucose release.     

Congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis: diagnosis and management

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis is a rare and potentially lethal form of airway obstruction in newborns. Immediate recognition and appropriate therapy are mandatory for this potentially life-threating condition. This anomaly may present as an isolated malformation or may be associated with other cranial-facial anomalies. Clinically, CNPS shows unspecific symptoms of nasal airway obstruction such as apnoic crisis, episodic cyanosis and inability to nurse. The purpose of this report is to present author's experience in the surgical management of this rare pathology in 3 patients. Patients and Methods Three cases of congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis were reviewed for presentation of the disorder, management and effectiveness of the surgical treatment. RESULTS: All the patients underwent a surgical correction of the pyriform aperture stenosis using a sublabial approach followed by nasal stenting. During the follow-up no cases of restenosis, respiratory failure or cyanosis were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Congenital pyriform aperture stenosis should be suspected in newborns with clinical signs of severe nasal obstruction associated with a difficulty to pass a small catheter though the anterior nasal valve. Timely recognition is mandatory to prevent a potential deadly outcome. Surgical correction of the stenosis though a sublabial approach followed by a nasal stenting revealed to be most effective treatment for these patients.     

Prevalence of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms in Patients with Degenerative Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: Results from the Prospective ACTA Study

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(In)accuracy of blood pressure measurement in 14 Italian hospitals

OBJECTIVES:: The diagnosis and control of hypertension depend on accurate measurement of blood pressure (BP). The literature on the accuracy of BP recording by health professionals is, however, limited, and no study directly interviewed patients in the hospital setting. This multicenter cross-sectional study aimed at evaluating the compliance to current recommendations on BP measurement by health professionals directly from patients and to investigate potential predictors of higher quality in BP recording. METHODS:: A trained nurse interviewed a random sample of adult patients hospitalized for an ordinary admission (except in the emergency room) lasting more than one night, without mental disorder, who had their BP routinely measured by the hospital personnel less than 3?h before. The questionnaire contained 15 items on the main procedures that are common to current guidelines. RESULTS:: Fourteen public hospitals from seven regions of Italy participated, and 1334 questionnaires were collected. Nine of the recommended practices were followed in the majority (>70%) of BP recordings, whereas some others were infrequent or rare: in 98.6, 82.2 and 81.1% of the participants, respectively, the arm circumference was never recorded, BP was measured only once, and BP was never recorded in both arms. Overall, 10 or more recommended procedures were followed during 33.4% recordings. At multivariate analysis, physicians were less likely than nurses to provide a more accurate BP measurement. CONCLUSIONS:: The operator's compliance to some recommendations in BP measurement is unacceptably low. This survey provides detailed indications for medical directors on the procedures and settings to prioritize in educational programs, which are definitely needed.     

Exploring the reciprocal modulation of time and space in dancers and non-dancers

We explored whether time and space representations modulate each other in subjects that are trained to integrate time and space dimensions, i.e., professional dancers. A group of dancers, and one of non-dancers, underwent two different tasks employing identical stimuli. A first static central line could last one of three possible durations and could have one of three possible lengths. A second growing line appeared from the left or right of the screen and grew up toward the opposite direction at constant velocity. In the Spatial task, subjects encoded the length of the static line and stopped the growing line when it had reached half the length of the static one, regardless of time travel. In the Temporal task, subjects encoded the duration of the static line and stopped the growing line when it had lasted half the duration of the static one, regardless of space traveled. Dancers, differently from non-dancers, anticipated time in the Temporal task. However, both dancers and non-dancers were biased by the stimulus length when performing the Temporal task, while they were not biased by the stimulus duration when performing the Spatial task. Concluding, this study underlines the plasticity of time dimension that can be influenced by spatial information and by sensorimotor training for the synchronization in space and time.