Laparoscopic intracorporeal rectus aponeuroplasty (LIRA) technique versus intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM plus) for ventral hernia repair: a comparative analysis.

PURPOSE: Primary aim of this study is to compare the postoperative outcomes of the laparoscopic intracorporeal rectus aponeuroplasty (LIRA) technique to the intraperitoneal onlay mesh closing the defect (IPOM plus), in terms of recurrence and bulging rates at one-year follow-up; secondary aim is to compare the postoperative complications, seroma and pain at 30 days and one-year after surgery. METHODS: Patients with midline ventral hernia of 4-10 cm in width were included. Computed tomography scan was performed before, 1 and 12 months after surgery. Pain was evaluated using the visual analogue scale. RESULTS: Forty-five and forty-seven consecutive patients underwent LIRA and IPOM plus, respectively. Preoperatively, smoke habits and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rates were statistically significantly higher in the LIRA group (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.012, respectively). Two bulgings (4.4%) occurred in the LIRA group, while in the IPOM plus group occurred 10 bulgings (21.3%) and three recurrences (6.4%) (p = 0.017 and p = 0.085, respectively). Postoperatively, seven (15.6%, Clavien-Dindo I) and four complications (8.5%, two Clavien-Dindo I, two Clavien-Dindo III-b) occurred in the LIRA and in the IPOM plus group, respectively (p = 0.298). One month after surgery, clinical seroma, occurred in five (11.1%) and eight patients (17%) in the LIRA and in the IPOM plus group, respectively (p = 0.416). During follow-up, pain reduction occurred, without statistically significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, even if we analysed a small series, LIRA showed lower bulging and recurrence rates in comparison to IPOM plus at one-year follow-up. Further prospective studies, with a large sample of patients and longer follow-up are required to draw definitive conclusions.

Regulation of cell death receptor S-nitrosylation and apoptotic signaling by Sorafenib in hepatoblastoma cells.

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a relevant role during cell death regulation in tumor cells. The overexpression of nitric oxide synthase type III (NOS-3) induces oxidative and nitrosative stress, p53 and cell death receptor expression and apoptosis in hepatoblastoma cells. S-nitrosylation of cell death receptor modulates apoptosis. Sorafenib is the unique recommended molecular-targeted drug for the treatment of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The present study was addressed to elucidate the potential role of NO during Sorafenib-induced cell death in HepG2 cells. We determined the intra- and extracellular NO concentration, cell death receptor expression and their S-nitrosylation modifications, and apoptotic signaling in Sorafenib-treated HepG2 cells. The effect of NO donors on above parameters has also been determined. Sorafenib induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells. However, low concentration of the drug (10nM) increased cell death receptor expression, as well as caspase-8 and -9 activation, but without activation of downstream apoptotic markers. In contrast, Sorafenib (10 µM) reduced upstream apoptotic parameters but increased caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation in HepG2 cells. The shift of cell death signaling pathway was associated with a reduction of S-nitrosylation of cell death receptors in Sorafenib-treated cells. The administration of NO donors increased S-nitrosylation of cell death receptors and overall induction of cell death markers in control and Sorafenib-treated cells. In conclusion, Sorafenib induced alteration of cell death receptor S-nitrosylation status which may have a relevant repercussion on cell death signaling in hepatoblastoma cells.

Resistance of gastrointestinal nematodes to the most commonly used anthelmintics in sheep, cattle and horses in Spain.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the status of anthelmintic resistance (AR) in ruminants and horses in Spain. The efficacy of commonly used macrocyclic lactones (MLs) - ivermectin (IVM) and moxidectin (MOX) - was measured in sheep, cattle and horses. In addition, albendazole (ABZ) and levamisole (LEV) were evaluated in sheep and oxibendazole (OXI) and pyrantel (PYR) in horses. Efficacy was evaluated based on the difference between the arithmetic mean pre- and post-treatment faecal egg count (in cattle and horses), or compared to an untreated control group (in sheep). AR was present when the percentage reduction in egg count was <95% and the lower 95% confidence interval (CI) was <90%; if only one of these two criteria was met, the finding was recorded as suspected AR (SAR). In horses, AR-PYR and OXI was considered when the percentage reduction in egg count was ≤ 90% and the lower 95% CI was ≤ 80%. For each animal species, at least 10 study sites were selected. AR to at least one of the drugs was detected in all 10 sheep flocks; the main parasite identified after treatment was Teladorsagia circumcincta. Moreover, in 5 flocks multidrug resistance was identified, on 4 farms to drugs from different families, on one farm to both MOX and IVM and on another farm to all drugs tested. In cattle, the efficacy of both MOX and IVM was 100% on 4 and 3 farms, respectively, and therefore 60% of these farms were considered to have AR or SAR to both MLs. The most frequent parasite identified after treatment was Trichostrongylus spp., although Ostertagia ostertagi was also identified after treatment on one farm. In contrast to ruminants, the 4 drugs evaluated in horses were highly efficacious against strongyles, with efficacies for the MLs and OXI between 95 and 100% and between 94 and 100% for PYR, although 3 herds were SAR against PYR. In conclusion, AR to at least one of the commonly used drugs was identified on all sheep flocks investigated in the northwest of Spain. The occurrence of AR to MLs in cattle was higher than expected but consistent with what was observed in sheep. In horses, all currently used drugs were confirmed as effective against strongyles.

The Posidonia oceanica marine sedimentary record: A Holocene archive of heavy metal pollution.

The study of a Posidonia oceanica mat (a peat-like marine sediment) core has provided a record of changes in heavy metal abundances (Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, As and Al) since the Mid-Holocene (last 4470yr) in Portlligat Bay (NW Mediterranean). Metal contents were determined in P. oceanica. Both, the concentration records and the results of principal components analysis showed that metal pollution in the studied bay started ca. 2800yr BP and steadily increased until present. The increase in Fe, Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn and As concentrations since ca. 2800yr BP and in particular during Greek (ca. 2680-2465cal BP) and Roman (ca. 2150-1740cal BP) times shows an early anthropogenic pollution rise in the bay, which might be associated with large- and short-scale cultural and technological development. In the last ca. 1000yr the concentrations of heavy metals, mainly derived from anthropogenic activities, have significantly increased (e.g. from ~15 to 47µg g(-1) for Pb, ~23 to 95µg g(-1) for Zn and ~8 to 228µg g(-1) for As). Our study demonstrates for the first time the uniqueness of P. oceanica meadows as long-term archives of abundances, patterns, and trends of heavy metals during the Late Holocene in Mediterranean coastal ecosystems.

Paramagnetic fluorescence quenching in a model membrane: a consideration of lifetime and temperature.

To expand our understanding of paramagnetic quenching in membranes, the relationship between fluorophore excited-state lifetime (tau), temperature, and the collisional quenching was studied. Specifically, the ability of tempo to quench the steady-state and time-resolved emission from five lipophilic fluorophores (diphenylhexatriene, perylene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and triphenylene) partitioned into egg phosphatidylcholine (EggPC) liposomes was examined. Also, the temperature dependence of spin-labeled androstane to quench the emission (steady-state and time-resolved) from perylene in EggPC liposomes was determined. Unexpectedly, in EggPC liposomes, the apparent quenching efficiency decreased with increasing tau until the effect leveled off above approximately 20 ns. Moreover, in EggPC liposomes, dynamic quenching decreased with increasing temperature. The results suggest that in membranes, paramagnetic quenching is more complex than generally recognized.

Effects of adenosine and theophylline on canine tracheal smooth muscle tone.

The postulated mechanisms by which theophylline induces relaxation of airway smooth muscle include, among others, inhibition of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase(s) and antagonism of adenosine-induced contraction. This latter possibility was examined by investigation of the interaction of theophylline and adenosine in canine tracheal smooth muscle preparations. Adenosine did not alter basal tone i.e. there is no evidence of a contractile response. However, when contraction was induced with methacholine, adenosine caused relaxation. It appears that this relaxation occurred as a consequence of the combination of adenosine with a site within the smooth muscle cell. The prior addition of theophylline (10(-6)-10(-3) M) did not alter adenosine-induced relaxation and in the reverse experiment, the prior addition of adenosine (10(-6)-10(-3) M) did not alter the relaxation produced by theophylline. It is concluded that adenosine relaxes canine tracheal smooth muscle by combination with an intracellular site, rather than a receptor on the cell surface. The hypothesis that theophylline relaxes airways smooth muscle by antagonism of adenosine or that adenosine antagonizes theophylline was not supported by our data.