The updated version of the EFSUMB guidelines on the application of non-hepatic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) deals with the use of microbubble ultrasound contrast outside the liver in the many ...established and emerging applications.
The updated version of the EFSUMB guidelines on the application of non-hepatic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) deals with the use of microbubble ultrasound contrast outside the liver in the many ...established and emerging applications.
To retrospectively assess the local control and intermediate- and long-term survival of patients with liver metastases from breast cancer who have undergone percutaneous ultrasonography (US)-guided ...radiofrequency (RF) ablation.
This study was approved by the hospital ethics committee, and all patients provided written informed consent. RF ablation was used to treat 87 breast cancer liver metastases (mean diameter, 2.5 cm) in 52 female patients (median age, 55 years). Inclusion criteria were as follows: fewer than five tumors, maximum tumor diameter of 5 cm or smaller, and disease either confined to the liver or stable with medical therapy. Forty-five (90%) of 50 patients had previously undergone chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or both, and had no response or an incomplete response to the treatment. Contrast material-enhanced computed tomography and US were performed to evaluate complications and technical success and to assess for local tumor progression during follow-up. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess survival, and results were compared between groups with a log-rank test. Cox regression analysis was used to assess independent prognostic factors that affected survival.
Complete tumor necrosis was achieved in 97% of tumors. Two (4%) minor complications occurred. Median time to follow-up from diagnosis of liver metastasis and from RF ablation was 37.2 and 19.1 months, respectively. Local tumor progression occurred in 25% of patients. New intrahepatic metastases developed in 53% of patients. From the time of first RF ablation, overall median survival time and 5-year survival rate were 29.9 months and 27%, respectively. From the time the first liver metastasis was diagnosed, overall median survival time was 42 months, and the 5-year survival rate was 32%. Patients with tumors 2.5 cm in diameter or larger had a worse prognosis (hazard ratio, 2.1) than did patients with tumors smaller than 2.5 cm in diameter.
Survival rates in selected patients with breast cancer liver metastases treated with RF ablation are comparable to those reported in the literature that were achieved with surgery or laser ablation.
The Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle comprises the metabolic phase of photosynthesis and is responsible for carbon fixation and the production of sugar phosphates. The first step of the cycle ...involves the enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) which catalyzes the incorporation of inorganic carbon into 3-phosphoglyceric acid (3PGA). The following steps include ten enzymes that catalyze the regeneration of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP), the substrate of Rubisco. While it is well established that Rubisco activity acts as a limiting step of the cycle, recent modeling studies and experimental evidence have shown that the efficiency of the pathway is also impacted by the regeneration of the Rubisco substrate itself. In this work, we review the current understanding of the structural and catalytic features of the photosynthetic enzymes that catalyze the last three steps of the regeneration phase, namely ribose-5-phosphate isomerase (RPI), ribulose-5-phosphate epimerase (RPE), and phosphoribulokinase (PRK). In addition, the redox- and metabolic-based regulatory mechanisms targeting the three enzymes are also discussed. Overall, this review highlights the importance of understudied steps in the CBB cycle and provides direction for future research aimed at improving plant productivity.
Sediment contamination is of major concern in areas affected by heavy maritime traffic. The spatial variation and contamination of 11 trace elements and 17 PAHs in surface sediments were studied ...along a 31 km transect along the seaway from the port of Piombino (Tuscany) to the port of Portoferraio (Elba Island) in the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea. Heavy metal contamination was detected at sites near Piombino (Ni, Pb, Hg, Cu and Zn) and at sites near Portoferraio (Pb, Zn, Hg, Cr and Cd). Each of the 35 sampled sites showed PAH contamination, with the highest concentrations at sites near Portoferraio. The most abundant isomers detected were 2- and 4-ring PAHs. PAH ratio analysis showed a prevalence of PAHs of pyrolytic origin. High values of PAHs and heavy metals were related to high sediment water content, TOC, silt, and clay content. Arsenic increased with increasing depth. The correlation between concentrations of metals and PAHs suggests common anthropogenic sources and is of concern for possible synergistic adverse effects on the biota.
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is an imaging modality applied in a broad field of medical specialties for diagnostic uses, guidance during biopsy procedures and ablation therapies and ...sonoporation therapy. Appropriate training and assessment of theoretical and practical competencies are recommended before practicing CEUS, but no validated assessment tools exist. This study was aimed at developing a theoretical multiple-choice question-based test for core CEUS competencies and gathering validity evidence for the test. An expert team developed the test via a Delphi process. The test was administered to medical doctors with varying CEUS experience, and the results were used to evaluate test items, internal-consistency reliability, ability to distinguish between different proficiency levels and to establish a pass/fail score. Validity evidence was gathered according to Messick's framework. The final test with 47 test items could distinguish between operators with and without CEUS experience with acceptable reliability. The pass/fail score led to considerable risk of false positives and negatives. The test may be used as an entry test before learning practical CEUS competencies but is not recommended for certification purposes because of the risk of false positives and negatives.
Display omitted
► Chitosan (CH) nanoparticles were prepared by means of the ionotropic gelation method. ► We verified the influence of different ultrasonic radiations on CH nanoparticle size. ► All ...the ultrasonic parameters showed important influences on nanoparticle size. ► Ultrasound application only to the chitosan dispersion preserve drug loading.
The objective of this study was to verify the influence of different modes of ultrasonic radiation on both the mean diameter and the polydispersity index (PI) of chitosan (CH) nanoparticles, which were prepared by means of the ionotropic gelation method. The variations in duration, intensity and mode of cycle of ultrasonic radiation allowed us to highlight several optimal treatments in order to obtain a potential carrier for site-specific drug delivery. Despite the high utility, ultrasound may be a risk factor for sensitive drug-loaded nanoparticles; in order to protect the drug from thermal or mechanical stress, the effects of ultrasonic radiation only on the CH dispersion (instead of the chitosan/tripolyphosphate (TPP) mixture) were studied, without damaging the drug added to the TPP solution. The increase of the wave amplitude, mode of cycle and time of sonication decreased the particle mean diameter; moreover, the mode of cycle showed a greater effect than the other parameters on the PI of the nanoparticle system. Both the mean diameter and the PI of CH nanoparticles increased with increasing CH concentration. The application of ultrasound only on the CH dispersion showed interesting results, particularly in regard to formulations prepared from low and medium molecular weight chitosan.
The functional adaptation of the immune system to the surrounding environment is also a fundamental issue in space. It has been suggested that a decreased number of lymphocytes might be a cause of ...immunosuppression, possibly due to the induction of apoptosis. Early activation of 5‐lipoxygenase (5‐LOX) might play a central role in the initiation of the apoptotic program. The goal of the role of apoptosis in lymphocyte depression (ROALD) experiment, flown on the International Space Station as part of the BIO‐4 mission of the European Space Agency, was to ascertain the induction of apoptosis in human lymphocytes under authentic microgravity, and to elucidate the possible involvement of 5‐LOX. Our results demonstrate that exposure of human lymphocytes to microgravity for 48 h onboard the ISS remarkably increased apoptotic hallmarks such as DNA fragmentation (~3‐fold compared to ground‐based controls) and cleaved‐poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein expression (~3‐fold), as well as mRNA levels of apoptosis‐related markers such as p53 (~3‐fold) and calpain (~4‐fold); these changes were paralleled by an early increase of 5‐LOX activity (~2‐fold). Our findings provide a molecular background for the immune dysfunction observed in astronauts during space missions, and reveal potential new markers to monitor health status of ISS crew members.—Battista, N., Meloni, M. A., Bari, M., Mastrangelo, N., Galleri, G., Rapino, C., Dainese, E., Finazzi Agrò, A., Pippia, P., Maccarrone, M. 5‐Lipoxygenase‐dependent apoptosis of human lymphocytes in the International Space Station: data from the ROALD experiment. FASEB J. 26, 1791‐1798 (2012). www.fasebj.org
To retrospectively characterize the prevalence and impact of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) as a guidance technique for the biopsy of liver target lesions (LTLs) at six interventional ultrasound ...centers.
The six participating centers retrospectively selected all patients in whom biopsy needles were positioned in LTLs during CEUS. The prevalence of CEUS-guided biopsies at each center between 2005 and 2016, contrast agent consumption, procedure indications, diagnostic yield and complications were assessed. Informed consent was obtained for all patients.
CEUS-guided biopsy of LTLs was carried out in 103 patients (68 M/35 F, median age: 69 yrs) with 103 liver target lesions (median size: 20 mm) using cutting needles (18 - 20 g) in 94 cases (91.2 %). CEUS-guided biopsy represented 2.6 % (range: 0.8 - 7.7 %) of 3818 biopsies on LTLs carried out at the participating centers. Indications to CEUS-guided biopsy were: a target lesion not visible on non-enhanced US (27.2 %), improvement of conspicuity of the target (33 %), choice of non-necrotic area inside the target (39.8 %). 26 patients (25.2 %) had a previously non-diagnostic cyto-histological exam. The diagnostic accuracy of the technique was 99 %. No major complications followed infusion of contrast agent or biopsy performance.
The indications for CEUS-guided biopsy for LTLs are limited, but CEUS can be useful in challenging clinical scenarios, e. g. poorly visualized or invisible lesions or sampling of non-necrotic areas in the target lesions. There is also a potential advantage in using CEUS to guide repeat biopsies after unsuccessful sampling performed using the standard ultrasound technique.
Improving photosynthetic efficiency in plants and microalgae is of utmost importance to support the growing world population and to enable the bioproduction of energy and chemicals. Limitations in ...photosynthetic light conversion efficiency can be directly attributed to kinetic bottlenecks within the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle (CBBC) responsible for carbon fixation. A better understanding of these bottlenecks
in vivo
is crucial to overcome these limiting factors through bio-engineering. The present study is focused on the analysis of phosphoribulokinase (PRK) in the unicellular green alga
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
. We have characterized a PRK knock-out mutant strain and showed that in the absence of PRK, Chlamydomonas cannot grow photoautotrophically while functional complementation with a synthetic construct allowed restoration of photoautotrophy. Nevertheless, using standard genetic elements, the expression of PRK was limited to 40% of the reference level in complemented strains and could not restore normal growth in photoautotrophic conditions suggesting that the CBBC is limited. We were subsequently able to overcome this initial limitation by improving the design of the transcriptional unit expressing PRK using diverse combinations of DNA parts including PRK endogenous promoter and introns. This enabled us to obtain strains with PRK levels comparable to the reference strain and even overexpressing strains. A collection of strains with PRK levels between 16% and 250% of WT PRK levels was generated and characterized. Immunoblot and growth assays revealed that a PRK content of ≈86% is sufficient to fully restore photoautotrophic growth. This result suggests that PRK is present in moderate excess in Chlamydomonas. Consistently, the overexpression of PRK did not increase photosynthetic growth indicating that that the endogenous level of PRK in Chlamydomonas is not limiting the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle under optimal conditions.
PDF
