Food,water, energy,and macronutrient intake of non-breastfed infants and young children (0–3 years)

European Journal of Nutrition - The French Nutri-Bébé 2013 study aimed to assess the nutritional intake of infants and young children in comparison with the recommendations of the 2013...     

Results From a Large,Multicenter, Retrospective Analysis On Radium223 Use in Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer (mCRPC) in the Triveneto Italian Region

Background

Radium 223 was introduced for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer based on the results of a randomized controlled trial showing risk reduction for death and skeletal events. Our aim was to evaluate the outcome of patients receiving radium 223 in a real-world setting.

Cavo-portal transposition in rat: a new simple model

Background  

Liver transplantation in presence of diffuse portal vein thrombosis is possible by using caval blood as portal inflow, through cavo-portal transposition. However, clinical results are heterogeneous and experimental studies are needed, but similar hemodynamic conditions are difficult to obtain, especially in small animals. Herein we describe a new simple model of cavo-portal transposition in rat.     

Inducible and constitutive expression of resistance to glycopeptides and vancomycin dependence in glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus avium.

A clinical isolate of Enterococcus avium, Ea1, which exhibited inducible, low-level resistance to vancomycin and teicoplanin, and two mutants selected from this strain, Ea3 and Ea31, were studied. Ea3 was vancomycin dependent and derived from Ea1, while Ea31 was not vancomycin dependent, was constitutively resistant, and was derived from Ea3. Hybridization studies revealed that vanA was present in Ea1 and suggested that it was located on a high-molecular-weight plasmid. In the absence of induction, Ea1 synthesized only the natural UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide precursor, and after induction it synthesized an additional precursor identified as UDP-MurNAc-tetrapeptide-D-lactate. The latter was the only precursor found in Ea3 and Ea31, even after precursor accumulation. From these results, we infer that (i) the low level of resistance to glycopeptides in strain Ea1 may be in part due to the residual synthesis of the normal precursor and (ii) the vancomycin dependence of mutant Ea3 could be due to the fact that this strain does not produce any peptidoglycan precursor in the absence of induction.     

Preoperative Chemotherapy Alone and Combined with Preoperative Radiotherapy in Small-Size Breast Cancer

Abstract: Breast conservation surgery is an effective and safe treatment for many breast carcinomas. It may be possible to further limit the extent of resection (or expand the indication for breast conservation) by the application of preoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We explored the feasibility of this in a pilot study.
Seventy-three patients (mean age 48, 63% premenopausal) with confirmed breast cancer, less than 2.5 cm, received chemotherapy (Group A) or chemotherapy plus radiotherapy (Group B) prior to limited resection (tumorectomy). Axillary dissection was always performed. Results: In 6/31 (19%) Group A and 17/42 (40%) Group B patients the tumor was not palpable after preoperative treatment, with complete pathological remission in 1 and 3 cases respectively. Histologic grading, mitosis, cellular alteration, and cellularity evaluations indicated a consistently greater therapeutic effect with chemoradiotherapy than with chemotherapy alone.
In conclusion, radiotherapy appears useful in the preoperative treatment of breast cancer and its use in association with various drug combinations should be further explored.     

Conversion of choledochojejunostomy stents to jejunal feeding tubes for postoperative enteral alimentation

The problem of protein calorie malnutrition following major gastrointestinal surgery can be treated with central venous or enteric alimentation, with the latter being preferred. The authors describe a simple technique for the conversion of biliary stents placed after pancreaticoduodenal surgery into jejunal feeding tubes when the stenting function is no longer needed. Three illustrative cases are presented. In each case, the procedure took less than 30 min and had no associated morbidity. This technique allows early conversion from central venous to enteric alimentation without the need to create a second surgical enterostomy.     

Preliminary characterization of the procoagulant material in human ascites

Disseminated intravascular coagulation invariably accompanies placement of peritoneovenous (LeVeen) shunts, which suggests that ascitic fluid contains procoagulant material capable of activating blood coagulation. In this study, we identified thrombogenic activity in human ascites and the hemostatic pathway by which it acts. Peritoneal fluid was removed percutaneously from patients with ascites due to various causes. Four fractions were prepared by centrifugation: cells, a low-speed, cell-free fluid, a high-speed supernatant, and the precipitate from the high-speed centrifugation. Cellular fractions from all ascitic fluids shortened a one-stage clotting time of normal pooled plasma by 68% in comparison with saline solution and endotoxin controls. Similarly, the cell-free fluids also shortened the clotting time of normal pooled plasma by 41%. The cellular and cell-free fractions shortened the clotting time of factor VIII-deficient plasma but failed to demonstrate procoagulant activity in factor VII-deficient plasma. These fractions had no effect on platelet aggregation or the platelet release reaction. The high-speed precipitate was dissociated by ethylenediaminetetra-acetate (EDTA) into fluid phase and precipitate, both of which demonstrated procoagulant activity. Furthermore, high-speed precipitate contained protein, phospholipid, and sterol in proportions similar to those of plasma membranes and contained membrane-bound vesicles as identified by means of electron microscopy. This material could be rendered inactive by heating to 100 degrees C for 2 minutes or by incubation with phospholipase C for 15 minutes. Finally, the ability of the high-speed precipitate to shorten the clotting time was prevented by preincubation with a monoclonal antibody, which is known to inhibit the procoagulant activity of human tissue factor. We suggest that several entities contribute to the procoagulant properties of human ascites, with procoagulant material deriving at least in part from peritoneal cells. The sedimentable procoagulant factor appears to be associated with cellular membranes or membrane fragments and is thromboplastin-like in its chemical composition, immunoreactivity, and substrate specificity.     

Release of newly synthesized h-dopamine in the striatum: An adaptation of the push-pull cannula method to awake restrained and anesthetized rats

The release of newly synthesized ³H-dopamine (³H-DA) was measured in the rat striatum superfused, through a push-pull cannula, with a physiological medium enriched in ³H-tyrosine. The level of spontaneous ³H-DA release was dependent on the topographical localisation of the cannula in the striatum (anterior parts displayed higher levels than posterior ones) and on the anesthetic state (halothane anesthetized rats demonstrated higher levels than awake ones). Inhibition of DA inactivation processes by local application of benztropine (a DA reuptake inhibitor, 10⁻⁶ M) or by IV administration of pargyline (a MAO inhibitor, 100 mg/kg) enhanced the detectable outflow of ³H-DA from the striatum in both halothane anesthetized and awake rats. Local application of D-amphetamine (10⁻⁵ M) or acetylcholine (5 × 10⁻⁵ M) in the presence of eserine (5 × 10⁻⁵ M) evoked respectively a fivefold and a 30% increase in spontaneous ³H-DA release in halothane anesthetized rats. Inhibition of the firing of dopaminergic neurons by IV injection of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (400 mg/kg) produced a 30% decrease in striatal ³H-DA release. The present results demonstrate that the push-pull cannula method is suitable for the study of DA release in both the anesthetized and the awake rat.