Lucas

Recently published in vitro and in vivo findings strongly suggest that BBB impairment and increased risk for stroke by tobacco smoke (TS) closely resemble that of type-2 diabetes (2DM) and develop largely in response to common key modulators such oxidative stress (OS), inflammation and alterations of the endogenous antioxidative response system (ARE) regulated by the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2). Preclinical studies have also shown that nicotine (the principal e-liquid's ingredient used in e-cigarettes) can also cause OS, exacerbation of cerebral ischemia and secondary brain injury...

INTRODUCTION: Patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) are commonly admitted to hospital for their initial treatment. We aimed to assess the association of length of hospital stay with commonly available clinical variables and their combinations. METHODS: A retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted on consecutive PE patients admitted to eight Italian centers. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between the length of hospital stay and the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) parameters, National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and other possible determinants...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic significance of oxidative stress (OS) and antioxidant defense status measurement in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). METHOD: d-ROMs test and BAP test were evaluated at diagnosis of 165 patients with CLL and correlated with clinical-biological features and prognosis. RESULTS: An increased oxidative damage (d-ROMs test) and a reduced antioxidant potential (BAP test), were found in CLL patients than normal controls (p <0...

One case of intraductal carcinoma of the parotid gland in a 67-year-old male patient is here introduced. The patient, who had a one-year history of a parotid mass, had undergone ultrasound and MRI examination that disclosed a 13x4x3 mm well delimited nodular mass of the accessory lobe of his left parotid gland. Ultrasound-guided Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) had been performed by the clinician. The obtained smears showed widespread cellular necrosis in which cellular clusters with moderate and focally severe atypias displayed papillary and cribriform architecture and were admixed with sheets of epithelial cells with less striking nuclear atypias, squamous, or apocrine metaplasia...

Controlled atomic desorption from organic Poly-DiMethylSiloxane coating is demonstrated for improving the loading efficiency of (209,210)Fr magneto-optical traps. A three times increase in the cold atoms population is obtained with contact-less pulsed light-induced desorption, applied to different isotopes, either bosonic or fermionic, of Francium. A six times increase of (210)Fr population is obtained with a desorption mechanism based on direct charge transfer from a triboelectric probe to the adatom-organic coating complex...

Purpose:  The majority of genomic alterations causing intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) in colorectal cancer (CRC) are thought to arise during early stages of carcinogenesis as a burst but only after truncal mutations in APC have expanded a single founder clone. We have investigated if the initial source of ITH is consequent to multiple independent lineages derived from different crypts harboring distinct truncal APC and driver KRAS mutations, thus challenging the prevailing monoclonal monocryptal model. <p>Experimental design: High-depth next-generation sequencing and SNP arrays were performed in whole lesion extracts of 37 FAP colorectal adenomas...

The principle steroidal androgens are testosterone and its metabolite 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is converted from testosterone by the enzyme 5α-reductase. Through the classic pathway with androgens crossing the plasma membrane and binding to the androgen receptor (AR) or via mechanisms independent of the ligand-dependent transactivation function of nuclear receptors, testosterone induces genomic and non-genomic effects respectively. AR is widely distributed in several tissues, including vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells...

The available information about the role of Dectin-1 in sporotrichosis is scarce. Hence, we aimed to assess Dectin-1 expression by macrophages and the activation of some related antifungal mechanisms during the Sporothrix schenckii sensu stricto infection as a first attempt to elucidate the role of this receptor in sporotrichosis. Balb/c mice were intraperitoneally infected with S. schenckii sensu stricto yeast ATCC 16345 and euthanized on days 5, 10 and 15 post-infection, when the following parameters were evaluated: fungal burden in spleen, Dectin-1 expression and nitric oxide (NO) production by peritoneal macrophages, as well as IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-10 ex vivo secretion by these same cells...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder due to loss of upper and lower motor neurons (MNs). The mechanisms of neuronal death are largely unknown, thus prejudicing the successful pharmacological treatment. One major cause for MN degeneration in ALS is represented by glutamate(Glu)-mediated excitotoxicity. We have previously reported that activation of Group I metabotropic Glu receptors (mGluR1 and mGluR5) at glutamatergic spinal cord nerve terminals produces abnormal Glu release in the widely studied SOD1(G93A) mouse model of ALS...

Cancer cells exploit metabolic rearrangements for sustaining their high proliferation rate and energy demand. The TCA cycle is a central metabolic hub necessary for ATP production and for providing precursors used in many biosynthetic pathways. Thus, dysregulation of the TCA cycle flux is frequently observed in cancer. The identification of mutations in several enzymes of the TCA cycle in human tumours demonstrated a direct connection between this metabolic pathway and cancer occurrence. Moreover, changes in the expression/activity of these enzymes were also shown to promote metabolic adaptation of cancer cells...

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Background: Electronic medical record (EMR) computed algorithms allow investigators to screen thousands of patient records to identify specific disease cases. No computed algorithms have been developed to detect all cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection using administrative, laboratory, and clinical documentation data outside of the Veterans Health Administration. We developed novel EMR-based algorithms for HIV detection and validated them in a cohort of subjects in the Duke University Health System (DUHS)...

Attention is not always directed to events in the external environment. On occasion our thoughts wander to people and places distant from the here and now. Sometimes, this lack of external attention can compromise ongoing task performance. In the current study we set out to understand the extent to which states of internal and external attention can be determined using pupillometry as an index of ongoing cognition. In two experiments we found that periods of slow responding were associated with elevations in the baseline pupil signal over three and a half seconds prior to a behavioural response...

Alkaline-earth(-like) atoms, trapped in optical lattices and in the presence of an external gauge field, can form insulating states at given fractional fillings. We will show that, by exploiting these properties, it is possible to realize a topological fractional pump. Our analysis is based on a many-body adiabatic expansion, on simulations with time-dependent matrix product states, and, for a specific form of atom-atom interaction, on an exactly solvable model of fractional pump. The numerical simulations allow us to consider a realistic setup amenable of an experimental realization...

Smart textiles are envisioned to make a paradigm shift in wearable technologies to directly impart functionality into the fibers rather than integrating sensors and electronics onto conformal substrates or skin in wearable devices. Among smart materials, piezoelectric fabrics have not been widely reported, yet. Piezoelectric smart fabrics can be used for mechanical energy harvesting, for thermal energy harvesting through the pyroelectric effect, for ferroelectric applications, as pressure and force sensors, for motion detection, and for ultrasonic sensing...

AIMS: Surgical excision of all benign vascular lesions of the breast identified by core needle biopsy has been recommended in the past to rule out a more serious lesion. In this study we investigated the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings in patients diagnosed with a benign vascular lesion at our institution to assess whether excision may be spared for lesions without atypia. METHODS AND RESULTS: We searched the electronic medical record for patients with a vascular lesion of the breast diagnosed between 2000 and 2015...

As controlled-substance abuse continues to increase in the United States, clinicians find themselves on the front lines of this epidemic. State-operated prescription drug monitoring programs are a valuable resource that prescribers can use to see patients' controlled substance history. Despite some limitations, these programs have been shown to be an effective method in reducing overdose deaths and the supply of controlled substances in the community.

BACKGROUND: The cause for discrepancy in the clinical presentation and outcome of coronary artery disease (CAD) between men and women is not established. Different prevalences of risk factors or specific sex-related atherosclerotic aspects have been advocated as possible explanations. We investigated coronary plaque morphology looking at possible differences in plaque vulnerability between men and women with stable CAD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively collected and analyzed clinical data and coronary plaque morphology by frequency-domain optical coherence tomography in men and women with stable CAD...

Stoichiometric Cu2Se nanocrystals were synthesized in either cubic or hexagonal (metastable) crystal structures and used as the host material in cation exchange reactions with Pb2+ ions. Even if the final product of the exchange, in both cases, was rock-salt PbSe nanocrystals, we show here that the crystal structure of the starting nanocrystals has a strong influence on the exchange pathway. The exposure of cubic Cu2Se nanocrystals to Pb2+ cations led to the initial formation of PbSe unselectively on the overall surface of the host nanocrystals, generating Cu2Se@PbSe core@shell nano-heterostructures...

Preclinical studies have suggested that polyphenols extracted from red wine (RWPs) favorably affect insulin sensitivity, but controversy exists on whether RWPs exert similar effects in humans. This study aimed to determine whether RWPs improve insulin sensitivity in obese volunteers. Obese (BMI>30) volunteers were randomly allocated to RWPs 600 mg/day (n = 14) or matched placebo (n = 15) in a double-blind fashion (parallel-arm) for 8 weeks. Subjects were investigated at baseline and at the end of the study (EOS)...