Bladder replacement with modified studer pouch using absorbable staples

The use of absorbable staples may allow to reduce the operating time of orthotopic bladder replacement. We report our experience in 14, patients with a modification of the Studer technique using absorbable PolyGIA instruments. The technique has been shown to be simple and quick to perform (time for pouch creation 15–40 minutes, mean 16 minutes) with no significant intraoperative difficulties. Urodynamic data and continence are satisfactory and seem comparable to different procedures and not related to staples' use. The main question remains if the reduced operating time equalizes the high cost of staple devices.     

Short latency somatosensory evoked responses to median nerve stimulation in healthy humans: electric and magnetic recordings

Somatosensory Evoked Potentials (SEPs) and Somatosensory Evoked magnetic Fields (SEFs) to median nerve stimulation at wrist were recorded in 5 healthy subjects and the components between 15 and 30 ms after the stimulus were evaluated on the hemiscalp contralateral to the stimulated wrist. SEPs were measured by means of a 32-channel recorder and compared with SEFs obtained via multiple measurements with a 4-channel sensor. Equivalent dipole localization was carried out for the magnetic components peaking at about 15, 20 and 24 ms. The scalp distribution of SEPs, illustrated by bit mapped color images, were qualitatively explained by three separate sources. The first is described as a tangentially oriented dipole placed behind the Central Sulcus and responsible for the parietal N20-"late P25" waves and for the frontal P20-N30 ones. The second is represented by a radieal dipole placed just in front of the Central Sulcus and pointing towards the motor strip, responsible for the rolandic P22 component. The third is just behind the Central Sulcus and is radieally oriented towards the surface of the postcentral sensory area for the "early P25" parietal wave. The SEFs distributions, illustrated by color isofield contour maps, were quantitatively explained by a unique tangential dipole localized, with good resolution, well behind the Sulcus for the 15 ms waves and slightly frontal to this site for the waves peaking at around 20 and 24 ms. The equivalent dipole has been localized at a depth of about 5 cm (15 ms component), 2 cm (20 ms components) and 4 cm (24 ms component), across the studied subjects. It is stressed that the dipole responsible for the magnetic pattern is likely to be the same tangential dipole responsible for a part of the electric pattern. Due to their radieal orientation, the other two dipoles, proposed for the SEPs maps, would be mostly undetectable by a magnetic investigation.     

The Sesto Fiorentino study: point and one-year prevalences of psychiatric disorders in an Italian community sample using clinical interviewers

BACKGROUND: It has been argued that lay interviewers' use of fully-structured interviews could lead to a diagnostic pattern different to that by treating physicians. Clinical interviewers in community samples should probably identify cases that are closer to those seen in clinical settings. The greatest advantage of using clinical interviewers consists of the immediate assessment of a possible psychopathology, i.e. the evaluation of current disorders. METHODS: Two thousand three hundred and sixty-three citizens from the community of Sesto Fiorentino, Italy, were interviewed by their own general practitioners using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Positive cases for any lifetime psychiatric disorder as well as a random sample of the negative cases were re-interviewed by psychiatrists or trained residents in psychiatry using the Florence Psychiatric Interview (FPI). RESULTS: The point prevalence for any current disorder was 8.7%; the two disorders with the highest prevalence were generalised anxiety disorder (2.9%) and major depressive episode (2.7%). The figures increase about 50% when the sub-threshold sequelae of previous disorders are considered. Current comorbidity was generally high. The one-year prevalence of any disorder was 10.6%. Ninety-two percent of the cases sought help, 82% were being treated at the moment of interview. Social impairment was considerable. CONCLUSIONS: The period prevalence rates for most of the disorders considered were generally comparable with the range defined by previous studies conducted in other Western countries, despite using different methodologies. Conversely, the use of health facilities, the treatment received and the social impairment were much higher than those reported by the other studies, suggesting a greater similarity with the clinical samples.     

Alteration of acylphosphatase levels in familial Alzheimer''s disease fibroblasts with presenilin gene mutations

Acylphosphatase (ATPase), an enzyme that modulates the activity of Ca²⁺-ATPase by hydrolysing its phosphorylated moiety, has been found to be significantly higher in cultured skin fibroblasts from donors affected by early onset familial Alzheimer's disease (EOFAD) with PS-1 and PS-2 gene mutations. Of the two known isoenzymes of acylphosphatase, only the erythrocyte one accounts for the total increase in activity. No relevant alteration was observed in phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity (PTPase), in Ca²⁺-ATPase and Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase activities of the same cells as compared to age-matched controls. This finding could suggest a possible explanation for the calcium-dependent biochemical alterations previously described in Alzheimer's disease fibroblasts.     

Long distance transport of ragweed pollen as a potential cause of allergy in central Italy.

BACKGROUND: Ambrosia pollen is an important allergen in North America and, as recently discovered, in some European countries. In Italy, the most affected area is the northeast, whereas ragweed has not been reported in the central and southern parts of the country. OBJECTIVE: To identify the source of ragweed pollen detected in Florence and Pistoia in central Italy. METHODS: Ragweed pollen data were collected in Florence and Pistoia for a 6-year period (1999-2004). The relationship between pollen counts and local ground prevalent wind directions was evaluated with analysis of variance and the least significant difference test. Weather conditions were also evaluated on a large-scale circulation pattern by analyzing weather maps and air mass back trajectories. RESULTS: A highly statistically significant relationship between daily prevailing wind direction and pollen count was found in the period under investigation; the ragweed pollen peaks were recorded when winds from northeast in Florence and north-northeast in Pistoia were observed. The synoptic weather situation and the path of back trajectories suggest an area around southern Hungary as a possible source of Ambrosia pollen. Furthermore, the pollen count was above the clinical threshold several times in both Florence and Pistoia. CONCLUSIONS: Several factors indicate that the detection of ragweed pollen in central Italy is due to long distance transport. Taking into consideration the high allergenicity of Ambrosia pollen, the present findings, if confirmed, suggest that the number of sensitized individuals might significantly increase in the near future.     

A force transducer and a length-ramp generator for mechanical investigations of frog-heart myocytes

An apparatus for studying the mechanics of isolated frog heart myocytes is described. The cells are held horizontal in a through of Ringer solution by means of two suction micropipettes. Myocyte force is measured with an opto-electronic system recording the deflection of the tip of one micropipette, which acts as a cantilever force probe. The force probes are selected for compliance according to the force a myocyte is expected to develop in a given condition, so as to limit myocyte shortening during force development to no more than 1% of the slack cellular length (l ₀). The other micropipette, which is stiff relative to the forces measured, is mounted on an electromagnetic-loudspeaker motor by which controlled-velocity length changes, of preset size and in either direction, are imposed on myocytes. The force transducer has a sensitivity of 5–10 mV/nN, with a frequency response of 700–900 Hz in Ringer solution and a resolution of 0.5–1 nN. The motor with a suction micropipette can complete controlled-velocity length ramps within 1.5–2.0 ms, across a range of ±100 m at a resolution of 8.0 nm. These values correspond, for frog-heart myocytes 200 m and 400 m long, to 25%–50% l ₀ and 0.002%–0.004% l ₀ respectively.     

Thunderstorm‐related asthma: what happens and why

The fifth report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecasts that greenhouse gases will increase the global temperature as well as the frequency of extreme weather phenomena. An increasing body of evidence shows the occurrence of severe asthma epidemics during thunderstorms in the pollen season, in various geographical zones. The main hypotheses explaining association between thunderstorms and asthma claim that thunderstorms can concentrate pollen grains at ground level which may then release allergenic particles of respirable size in the atmosphere after their rupture by osmotic shock. During the first 20–30 min of a thunderstorm, patients suffering from pollen allergies may inhale a high concentration of the allergenic material that is dispersed into the atmosphere, which in turn can induce asthmatic reactions, often severe. Subjects without asthma symptoms, but affected by seasonal rhinitis can also experience an asthma attack. All subjects affected by pollen allergy should be alerted to the danger of being outdoors during a thunderstorm in the pollen season, as such events may be an important cause of severe exacerbations. In light of these observations, it is useful to predict thunderstorms and thus minimize thunderstorm‐related events.