Postural disorders in conservatory students: the Diesis project.

UNLABELLED: Prolonged and incorrect postures are one of the main risk factors for the development of musculoskeletal pathologies. The aims of this study were to study the prevalence of incorrect postures among conservatory students; to identify if the use of an asymmetric instrument represents a risk factor for developing postural disorders; and to investigate whether a correlation exists between years of study, physical activity, and prevalence of postural disorders. METHODS: The subjects were recruited among students of the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Milano. All musical instruments were investigated and classified as asymmetric and symmetrical. The observed student posture was classified without instrument as "correct posture" or "postural disorder" and with an with instrument as "optimal posture" or "non-optimal posture." While playing, the postural disorder was classified as "unchanged" or "increased." The data were analyzed with chi-square and linear regression methods. RESULTS: Of the 148 conservatory students entered into the study, 66.2% had a postural disorder; 73.4% had a non-optimal posture, and playing an asymmetric instrument was the only variable associated (p=0.01). While playing, the postural disorder was increased in 59.2%; playing an asymmetric instrument (p=0.01) and years of practice (p=0.007) were the significantly associated variables. CONCLUSIONS: To play an asymmetric instrument exposes musicians to an increased risk of non-optimal postures and to a worsened postural disorder when present. Considering that the years of practice have an additional negative impact on postural disorders, further studies are needed to clarify the role of non-optimal postures in the development of musculoskeletal complaints among students and professional musicians.

X-ray scanning microscopies of microcalcifications in abdominal aortic and popliteal artery aneurysms.

Abdominal aortic and popliteal artery aneurysms are vascular diseases which show massive degeneration, weakening of the vascular wall and loss of the vascular tissue functionality. They are driven by inflammatory, hemodynamical factors and biological alterations that may lead, in the case of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, to sudden and dangerous ruptures of the arteries. Here, human aortic and popliteal aneurysm tissues were obtained during surgical repair, and studied by synchrotron radiation X-ray scanning microdiffraction and small-angle scattering, to investigate the microcalcifications present in the tissues. Data collected during the experiments were transformed into quantitative microscopy images through the combination of statistical approaches and crystallographic methods. As a result of this multi-step analysis, microcalcifications, which are markers of the pathology, were classified in terms of chemical and structural content. This analysis helped to identify the presence of nanocrystalline hy-droxy-apatite and microcrystalline cholesterol, embedded in myofilament, and elastin-containing tissue with low collagen content in predominantly nanocrystalline areas. The generality of the approach allows it to be transferred to other types of tissue and other pathologies affected by microcalcifications, such as thyroid carcinoma, breast cancer, testicular microli-thia-sis or glioblastoma.

GHEP-ISFG collaborative exercise on mixture profiles (GHEP-MIX06). Reporting conclusions: Results and evaluation.

One of the main goals of the Spanish and Portuguese-Speaking Group of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (GHEP-ISFG) is to promote and contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the field of forensic genetics. Due to this fact, GHEP-ISFG holds different working commissions that are set up to develop activities in scientific aspects of general interest. One of them, the Mixture Commission of GHEP-ISFG, has organized annually, since 2009, a collaborative exercise on analysis and interpretation of autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) mixture profiles. Until now, six exercises have been organized. At the present edition (GHEP-MIX06), with 25 participant laboratories, the exercise main aim was to assess mixture profiles results by issuing a report, from the proposal of a complex mock case. One of the conclusions obtained from this exercise is the increasing tendency of participating laboratories to validate DNA mixture profiles analysis following international recommendations. However, the results have shown some differences among them regarding the edition and also the interpretation of mixture profiles. Besides, although the last revision of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 gives indications of how results should be reported, not all laboratories strictly follow their recommendations. Regarding the statistical aspect, all those laboratories that have performed statistical evaluation of the data have employed the likelihood ratio (LR) as a parameter to evaluate the statistical compatibility. However, LR values obtained show a wide range of variation. This fact could not be attributed to the software employed, since the vast majority of laboratories that performed LR calculation employed the same software (LRmixStudio). Thus, the final allelic composition of the edited mixture profile and the parameters employed in the software could explain this data dispersion. This highlights the need, for each laboratory, to define through internal validations its criteria for editing and interpreting mixtures, and to continuous train in software handling.

Spontaneous regression of optic gliomas: thirteen cases documented by serial neuroimaging.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate spontaneous regression of large, clinically symptomatic optic pathway gliomas in patients with and without neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). METHODS: Patient cases were collected through surveys at 2 consecutive annual meetings of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS) and through requests on the NANOSNET Internet listserv. Serial documentation of tumor signal and size, using magnetic resonance imaging in 11 patients and computed tomography in 2 patients, was used to evaluate clinically symptomatic optic pathway gliomas. All tumors met radiologic criteria for the diagnosis of glioma and 4 patients had biopsy confirmation of their tumors. In 3 patients, some attempt at therapy had been made many years before regression occurred. In one of these, radiation treatment had been given 19 years before tumor regression, while in another, chemotherapy had been administered 5 years before signal changes in the tumor. In the third patient, minimal surgical debulking was performed 1 year before the tumor began to shrink. RESULTS: Spontaneous tumor shrinkage was noted in 12 patients. Eight patients did not have NF-1. In an additional patient without NF-1, a signal change within the tumor without associated shrinkage was detected. Tumor regression was associated with improvement in visual function in 10 of 13 patients, stability of function in 1, and deterioration in 2. CONCLUSIONS: Large, clinically symptomatic optic gliomas may undergo spontaneous regression. Regression was seen in patients with and without NF-1. Regression may manifest either as an overall shrinkage in tumor size, or as a signal change on magnetic resonance imaging. A variable degree of improvement in visual function may accompany regression. The possibility of spontaneous regression of an optic glioma should be considered in the planning of treatment of patients with these tumors.

Corkscrew retinal vessels in neurofibromatosis type 1: report of 12 cases.

AIM: To describe a distinctive spectrum of retinal microvascular abnormalities in 12 patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). METHODS: This is an observational prospective study of the ocular fundus evaluated by direct ophthalmoscopy with or without fluorescein angiography, to investigate retinal microvascular abnormalities in 32 patients with NF-1 and in 30 control subjects. The evaluation included a complete general and neurological physical examination and in some cases computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium-DTPA, or both. RESULTS: The occurrence of a distinctive spectrum of retinal microvascular abnormalities is described in 12 patients with NF-1 (37.5%). At the lower end of the spectrum, present in 10 patients, the anomaly consisted of minuscule second or third order tortuous venules, which were called "corkscrew retinal vessels." These were usually isolated but in a few cases multiple. They flow towards the superior or inferior temporal veins. They had a length of one to two disc diameters. They ended either in a minute tuft or vanished on the retinal surface. The upper end of the spectrum was seen in only two patients. One of them had an exceptionally large venous anastomosis on the nasal retina and the other had an arteriovenous malformation extending over one retinal quadrant. None of the patients in the control group had such retinal microvascular abnormalities. CONCLUSION: The "corkscrew" retinal vessels described in this report constitute a broad spectrum of microvascular markers in NF-1 patients.

Relationship between rheumatoid factor and the immune response against hepatitis C virus in essential mixed cryoglobulinemia.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examine the relationship between the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and anti-HCV antibodies, rheumatoid factor (RF) activity, the level of complement, and the cryocrit in the sera of patients affected by essential mixed cryoglobulinemia (EMC). In addition, the authors evaluate the circulating B-CD5 positive lymphocytes, believed to be RF producers in the blood of EMC patients. METHODS: Clinical and laboratory data on 219 cases of EMC were collected from five centers of the GISC (Italian Group for the Study of Cryoglobulinemias). Statistical analyses of these data were carried out with the aim of evidentiating significant relationships, in order to shed light on the mechanism of cryoprecipitation. RESULTS: The cryocrit was higher in anti-HCV negative and in HCV-RNA positive sera. The titers of RF activity were significantly higher in anti-HCV negative sera. A linear correlation between RF activity and the cryocrit was observed for HCV-RNA positive cases (r = 0.416), this correlation being highest in the patients who were HCV-RNA positive and anti-HCV negative (0.709). Type III EMC were more reactive than type II against the non-structural antigens of HCV, particularly 5-1-1 and C-22. There were more circulating B lymphocytes sharing membrane antigen CD5 in EMC than in the blood of normals or patients with HCV-related chronic hepatitis. Levels of circulating B-CD5 correlated with serum RF activity (r = 0.677), especially in sera from anti-C-100 negative patients (p = 0.991). CONCLUSION: The data strongly suggest that the level of the cryoprecipitate is a function of both the HCV-RNA in the serum and the RF activity. Antibody specificity against HCV probably influences the density of the cryoprecipitate.

[Hepatorenal syndrome]. / La sindrome epatorenale.

The term "hepatorenal syndrome" is used to bring together a variety of syndromes whose common feature is liver and kidney parenchymal distress. For this reason, its use has been questioned by many workers. A subdivision into acute and chronic forms is proposed and emphasis is placed on the common physiopathogenetic processes, together with the notable importance of DIC. This approach is supported by reference to a series of 36 chronic and 6 acute cases.

An optimized table-top small-angle X-ray scattering set-up for the nanoscale structural analysis of soft matter.

The paper shows how a table top superbright microfocus laboratory X-ray source and an innovative restoring-data algorithm, used in combination, allow to analyze the super molecular structure of soft matter by means of Small Angle X-ray Scattering ex-situ experiments. The proposed theoretical approach is aimed to restore diffraction features from SAXS profiles collected from low scattering biomaterials or soft tissues, and therefore to deal with extremely noisy diffraction SAXS profiles/maps. As biological test cases we inspected: i) residues of exosomes' drops from healthy epithelial colon cell line and colorectal cancer cells; ii) collagen/human elastin artificial scaffolds developed for vascular tissue engineering applications; iii) apoferritin protein in solution. Our results show how this combination can provide morphological/structural nanoscale information to characterize new artificial biomaterials and/or to get insight into the transition between healthy and pathological tissues during the progression of a disease, or to morphologically characterize nanoscale proteins, based on SAXS data collected in a room-sized laboratory.

Biological evaluation of materials for cardiovascular application: the role of the short-term inflammatory response in endothelial regeneration.

Because of their suitable bio-mechanical properties, polymeric materials, such as Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), and poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), are often used in the biomedical field, in particular for cardiovascular applications. Implanted materials induce several events related to the inflammatory reaction, such as macrophage adhesion and activation with following cytokine release. This work considered the effect of macrophage adhesion and related cytokine release on endothelial cells (PAOEC) proliferation and migration. Slight differences have been shown by the macrophages reaction when in contact with PLLA, PLGA, or PLLA/PLGA blend. However, these differences showed to differently enhance endothelial cells behavior in terms of wound healing. These data suggest the inflammatory reaction as a useful way to consider concerning materials biocompatibility, in order to optimize the endothelial regeneration following vascular prosthetic implants.

Cutaneous findings in a new syndrome of autosomal recessive ectodermal dysplasia with corkscrew hairs.

BACKGROUND: The association of hair shaft abnormalities with the phenotypic findings of a new, distinct form of an autosomal recessive syndrome of ectodermal dysplasia was present in 27 patients from seven families. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to present the cutaneous findings that characterize this syndrome with particular attention given to the hair shaft abnormalities. METHODS: Multiple field visits were used to gather data on phenotypic findings and prospectively evaluate their prevalence. RESULTS: Corkscrew hair, an exaggeration of pili torti, represents the most striking feature of this syndrome. Prominent cutaneous findings include scalp keloids, follicular plugging, keratosis pilaris, xerosis, eczema, palmoplantar keratodermia, cutaneous syndactyly, onychodysplasia, and conjunctival neovascularization. Other features include typical facies, anteverted pinnae, malar hypoplasia, cleft lip and palate, and dental abnormalities. CONCLUSION: A syndrome characterized by pili torti and corkscrew hairs, previously reported in only one patient, can be recognized.

Optociliary veins in optic nerve sheath meningioma. Indocyanine green videoangiography findings.

OBJECTIVE: To report the indocyanine green videoangiography (ICG-V) characteristics of optociliary veins (OV) in optic nerve sheath meningioma (ONSM). DESIGN: Case series. PARTICIPANTS: Four eyes (patients) with OV and ONSM were examined. INTERVENTION: Indocyanine green videoangiography and intravenous fluorescein angiography (IVFA) were prospectively performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The course of OV in ONSM cases was observed with ICG-V and IVFA. RESULTS: On ICG-V, the course of OV was followed from their origin at small tributaries of the central retinal vein, their junction with choroidal veins, and finally to their drainage in the vortex venous system. The authors found an inverse relationship between the degree of optic disc edema and the development and ease of visualization of the optociliary veins and their draining course through the choroidal circulation. The mean time from the injection of indocyanine green to the visualization of OV's draining choroidal vessels was 35.4 seconds (range, 25.4-50 seconds). Intravenous fluorescein angiography allowed visualization of OV only at the margins of the optic disc in all cases. CONCLUSION: Indocyanine green videoangiography provides important and new information in cases with OV and ONSM that is not obtained with IVFA. Such information may provide important knowledge regarding the hemodynamics of the choroidal circulation in normal and pathologic states.