39 research outputs found
Oral pigmentation in physiologic conditions, post-inflammatory affections and systemic diseases
No full textMelanocytes are found throughout the oral mucosa but usually go unnoticed because of their relatively low level of pigment production. When focally or generally active in pigment production or proliferation they may be responsible for several affections in the oral mucosae ranging from physiologic pigmentation, systemic diseases to malignant neoplasms. The diagnosis of oral pigmentations (OP) is usually challenging for the physician, but a careful examination of the oral cavity may reveal the first manifestation of underlying systemic diseases. Therefore, a full medical history (including drug assumption and smoking) together with a general dermatological examination are mandatory and represent the first approach to OPs. When the diagnosis cannot be reached clinically with enough certainty, a biopsy for histological examination is needed, also in order to exclude possible life threatening conditions such as melanoma. Dermoscopy is another reliable diagnostic tool to make a differential diagnosis between melanocytic lesions and other conditions and then to manage the follow-up of patients. Few papers on the subject have been published in the dermatological literature and the oral cavity is often poorly investigated during routine dermatological examinations. We therefore decided to perform a review of benign OPs, classifying them into diffuse (physiological/racial pigmentations, smoker's melanosis, drug-induced hyperpigmentation, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, black hairy tongue, OPs associated to systemic diseases) and localized (amalgam tattoo, melanocytic nevi, melanoacanthoma, melanosis) lesions
Antibacterial Activity on Orthopedic Clinical Isolates and Cytotoxicity of the Antimicrobial Peptide Dadapin-1
No full textIn orthopedic surgery, biomaterial-associated infections represent a complication of serious concern. Most promising strategies to prevent these infections currently rely on the use of anti-infective biomaterials. Desirably, in anti-infective biomaterials, the antibacterial properties should be achieved by doping, grafting, or coating the material surfaces with molecules that are alternative to conventional antibiotics and exhibit a potent and highly specific activity against bacteria, without altering the biocompatibility. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are among the most interesting candidate molecules for this biomaterial functionalization. Here, the potential expressed by the recently discovered peptide Dadapin-1 was explored by assaying its MIC, MBIC and MBC on clinical strains of relevant bacterial species isolated from orthopedic infections and by assessing its cytotoxicity on the human osteoblast-like MG63 cells. When appropriately tested in diluted Mueller Hinton Broth II (MHB II), Dadapin-1 exhibited significant antibacterial properties. MIC values were in the range of 3.1–6.2 µM for the gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Staphylococcus warneri, and 12.4–24.9 µM for the gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Interestingly, the peptide was found non-cytotoxic, with an IC50 exceeding the highest concentration tested of 179 µM. Overall, Dadapin-1 expresses considerable potential for future application in the production of anti-infective biomaterials
Multiple primary melanomas: Is there a correlation between dermoscopic features and germline mutations?
No full textNo abstract availabl
Increased serum level of xanthine oxidoreductase in liver transplanted patients.
No full textXanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) leakage into serum has been observed in various types of liver pathology as well as after liver transplantation (LT). We determined the amount of XOR associated with LT to investigate the changes in serum enzyme level during the LT procedure and the post-operative period. Additionally, we examined whether there was any correlation between XOR levels and the surgical technique. XOR levels were measured by a competitive ELISA. In a first group of patients, the portal vein was flushed before the liver and systemic reperfusions, which occurred simultaneously. In the second group, the graft was flushed with blood from the portal vein before the systemic reperfusion. XOR showed a marked elevation in the caval effluent collected during LT and was higher compared to control serum levels at all time points that were examined after LT. The XOR levels during LT were also higher than samples taken pre-LT or from the portal blood flush before reperfusion. The XOR level was higher in Group 2 than in Group 1. Enhancement of the XOR serum level during LT was not derived from enterocytes, and it should be attributed to enzyme leakage from graft liver cells. We report the elevation of serum XOR during the three weeks following LT for the first time, as well as the influence of the graft reperfusion technique on XOR serum levels
Subcutaneous sarcoidosis: a case series from a single center
No full textBackground: Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease which not only affect the skin but can also involve the lymph nodes, eyes, and lungs. Subcutaneous sarcoidosis (SCS), is a rare form of sarcoidosis which is generally more prevalent in women in their 40s and 50s, characterized by subcutaneous, flesh-colored nodules, mostly localized on the limbs. A retrospective study to investigate clinical features and response to treatment in patients affected by SCS.
Methods: All patients with systemic and/or cutaneous sarcoidosis visited in our clinic hospital between 2012 and 2022. Out of this group, clinical features, and management of SCS patients were analyzed.
Results: Out of 102 patients with specific lesions of cutaneous sarcoidosis, with or without systemic involvement, 13 (13%) were diagnosed with SCS.
Conclusions: Our study confirms that systemic involvement in SCS is the prevalent finding as expected. Moreover, SCS patients have a relatively good prognosis, and systemic treatment does not differ from first-line therapies for cutaneous sarcoidosis
A single institute's experience on melanoma prognosis: A long-term follow-up
No full textBACKGROUND: The prognosis of cutaneous melanoma is correlated to histopathologic parameters such as Breslow thickness, the presence of mitosis, ulceration and lymphatic involvement at the moment of the diagnosis. On the other hand, the prognostic value of parameters such as age, sex, and tumor localization are still a matter of debate. We evaluated herein the prognostic factors in melanoma patients during a long-term follow-up (60 months). METHODS: Melanoma patients presenting stage IB-III at diagnosis were included. Breslow thickness, ulceration, lymphatic involvement, patients' age, sex and tumor localization were correlated to patients' prognosis. Univariate Cox regressions and multivariate Cox proportionalhazards regression were performed. Successively, Kaplan-Meier was used for variables significantly associated with overall melanoma survival. RESULT S: A total of 115 melanoma patients were included in this study. During follow-up 82 (72.17%) patients survived and 33 (28.7%) died. In our dataset, Breslow thickness >2 mm (P=0.0007), patients age >50 years (P=0.005) and positive sentinel lymph node (P=0.0003) seem to be the most important variables correlated with the presence of metastases at 5 years follow-up. However distant metastases were also observed during follow-up in 14/26 patients presenting negative sentinel lymph node at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Given the vital importance of target drugs and the newly introduced immunotherapies in cutaneous melanoma management, we would suggest that mutational analyses should also be extended to the subgroup of patients presenting microstaging parameters related to a poor prognosis in a long-term follow-up of 60 months
Full-band Monte Carlo simulation of hot electrons in scaled silicon devices
No full text"A full-band Monte Carlo device simulator has been used to study the effects of device scaling on hot electrons in different types of n-channel MOSFETs and flash memory structures. A MOSFET with a single source/drain implant, an LDD MOSFET, an SOI MOSFET, and a MOSFET built on top of a heavily doped ""ground plane"" have been simulated. Different scaling techniques have been applied to the devices to see the effects on the electric field, the energy distributions of the electrons, and the drain, substrate, and gate currents. The locations of impact ionization events and injection into the gate oxide are examined. It is shown that simpler models cannot adequately predict hot carrier behavior at the channel lengths studied (below 0.3 m) and that several strategies that are successful at suppressing the hot carrier population for longer channel lengths are not as useful when 0.1 m channel lengths are approached. The effect of scaling on the programming of stacked-gate and split-gate flash memory devices was also studied. Predictions of hot carrier behavior in small MOSFETs and flash memory devices are made, and suggestions for device design are given."Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-07T13:04:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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A new priority policy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma awaiting liver transplantation within the model for end-stage liver disease system.
No full textThe best prioritization of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) waiting for liver transplantation under the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) allocation system is still being debated. We analyzed the impact of a MELD adjustment for HCC, which consisted of the addition of an extra score (based on the HCC stage and waiting time) to the native MELD score. The outcome was analyzed for 301 patients with chronic liver disease listed for liver transplantation between March 1, 2001 and February 28, 2003 [United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)-Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) era, 163 patients, 28.8% with HCC] and between March 1, 2003 and February 28, 2004 (HCC-MELD era, 138 patients, 29.7% with HCC). In the HCC-MELD era, the cumulative dropout risk at 6 months was 17.6% for patients with HCC versus 22.3% for those patients without HCC (P = NS), similar to that in the UNOS-CTP era. The cumulative probability of transplantation at 6 months was 70.3% versus 39.0% (P = 0.005), being higher than that in the UNOS-CTP era for patients with HCC (P = 0.02). At the end of the HCC-MELD era, 12 patients with HCC (29.3%) versus 57 without HCC (58.8%) were still on the list (P = 0.001). Both native and adjusted MELD scores were higher (P < 0.05) and progressed more in patients with HCC who dropped out than in those who underwent transplantation or remained on the list (the initial-final native MELD scores were 17.3-23.1, 15.5-15.6, and 12.8-14.1, respectively). The patients without HCC remaining on the list showed stable MELD scores (initial-final: 15.1-15.4). In conclusion, the present data support the strategy of including the native MELD scores in the allocation system for HCC. This model allows the timely transplantation of patients with HCC without severely affecting the outcome of patients without HCC
