Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are devices designed to deliver nicotine in a vaping solution rather than smoke and without tobacco combustion. Perceived as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes, e-cigs are aggressively marketed as lifestyle-choice consumables, thanks to few restrictions and a lack of regulatory guidelines. E-cigs have also gained popularity among never-smokers and teenagers, becoming an emergent public health issue. Despite the burgeoning worldwide consumption of e-cigs, their safety remains largely unproven and it is unknown whether these devices cause in vivo toxicological effects that could contribute to cancer. Here we demonstrate the co-mutagenic and cancer-initiating effects of e-cig vapour in a rat lung model. We found that e-cigs have a powerful booster effect on phase-I carcinogen-bioactivating enzymes, including activators of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and increase oxygen free radical production and DNA oxidation to 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine. Furthermore, we found that e-cigs damage DNA not only at chromosomal level in peripheral blood, such as strand breaks in leucocytes and micronuclei formation in reticulocytes, but also at gene level such as point mutations in urine. Our results demonstrate that exposure to e-cigs could endanger human health, particularly among younger more vulnerable consumers.

L ung cancer accounts for 1.59 million deaths per year worldwide (1). It has one of the poorest survival outcomes of all cancers, with over two-thirds of patients diagnosed at an advanced stage, when curative treatment is no longer feasible. Early diagnosis of lung cancer is the main goal to improve survival. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at an operable stage have higher survival rates than those presenting with metastatic disease, with five-year survival of 71%-77% for stage IA and 58% for stage IB (2).Initial identification of lung cancer in asymptomatic patients usually occurs on chest radiography or chest computed tomography (CT). When missed on imaging, lung cancer is inclined to progress from early-stage to advanced-stage disease, particularly if many years pass between radiologic exams (3), with potential medicolegal consequences.Legal actions involving malignancies of the bronchus or lung represent the sixth most common medicolegal issue, and among radiologists it is the second most common cause for litigation (4). About 90% of presumed mistakes in pulmonary tumor diagnosis occurred on chest radiography, only 5% on CT examinations, and the remaining 5% on other imaging studies (4).Awareness of the possible causes for overlooking a pulmonary lesion can help radiologists to reduce the occurrence of this eventuality. In this review, we analyze factors leading to a misdiagnosis of lung cancer mainly on chest radiography, and we discuss the impact of misdiagnosis on prognosis, its medicolegal implications, and methods to reduce the incidence of missed lung cancer. Finally, we briefly analyze the possible causes of errors on CT scans and potential aids. Factors leading to missed lung cancer on chest radiographyFormerly, different authors recognized the burden of missed lung cancer on radiography of the thorax. Indeed, early studies on the analysis of factors leading to overlooked lung lesions date back to the middle of last century. Despite extensive technological advancement, this issue is currently present and not much has changed since then. Factors that contribute to missed lung cancer on chest X-ray can be classified as deriving from observer error, tumor characteristics, and technical considerations. C H E S T I MAG I N G R E V I E W ABSTRACTMissed lung cancer is a source of concern among radiologists and an important medicolegal challenge. In 90% of the cases, errors in diagnosis of lung cancer occur on chest radiographs. It may be challenging for radiologists to distinguish a lung lesion from bones, pulmonary vessels, mediastinal structures, and other complex anatomical structures on chest radiographs. Nevertheless, lung cancer can also be overlooked on computed tomography (CT) scans, regardless of the context, either if a clinical or radiologic suspect exists or for other reasons. Awareness of the possible causes of overlooking a pulmonary lesion can give radiologists a chance to reduce the occurrence of this eventuality. Various factors contribute to a misdiagnosis of lung cancer ...

A mechanism based on the sequential absorption of two photons by the components of a redox couple has been recently proposed for catalysis of the energetically demanding reduction of aryl halides. Here, we analyze the suggested photochemical mechanism of this reaction, which employs perylenediimide (PDI) as a photocatalyst, on the basis of spectroscopic, electrochemical and electron paramagnetic resonance data. Our results indicate that the photoexcited PDI radical anion (*PDI˙) cannot play the role of a photosensitizer in the aforementioned process. Instead, the reduction of 4'-bromoacetophenone likely involves *PDI˙ decomposition products. The extremely short lifetime of the photoexcited transient species, as *PDI˙, is a major general limitation for photocatalytic schemes based on sequential two-photon excitation. In order to better understand the potential of such schemes, we discuss them in the context of the Z-scheme in natural photosynthesis.

Hemoptysis is the expectoration of blood that originates from the lower respiratory tract. It is usually a self-limiting event but in fewer than 5% of cases it may be massive, representing a life-threatening condition that warrants urgent investigations and treatment. This article aims to provide a comprehensive literature review on hemoptysis, analyzing its causes and pathophysiologic mechanisms, and providing details about anatomy and imaging of systemic bronchial and nonbronchial arteries responsible for hemoptysis. Strengths and limits of chest radiography, bronchoscopy, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), MDCT angiography and digital subtraction angiography to assess the cause and lead the treatment of hemoptysis were reported, with particular emphasis on MDCT angiography. Treatment options for recurrent or massive hemoptysis were summarized, highlighting the predominant role of bronchial artery embolization. Finally, a guide was proposed for managing massive and nonmassive hemoptysis, according to the most recent medical literature.

The rate constants for the reaction of primary alkyl radicals with substituted phenolic compounds have been measured in benzene or toluene at room temperature by using the radical clock technique. With three representative phenols, containing in the ortho positions substituents of different size, the kinetics of the hydrogen transfer to alkyl radicals was studied at different temperatures to obtain the corresponding Arrhenius parameters. The kinetic solvent effect on the reaction with R-tocopherol was also investigated in six different solvents behaving as hydrogen bond acceptors, while the reaction with 2,4,6-trimethylphenol and 2,6-di-tertbutylphenol was studied in toluene and γ-valerolactone. For some phenols, the effect of self-aggregation on the kinetic parameters was also studied.

The incidence of indeterminate pulmonary nodules has risen constantly over the past few years. Determination of lung nodule malignancy is pivotal, because the early diagnosis of lung cancer could lead to a definitive intervention. According to the current international guidelines, size and growth rate represent the main indicators to determine the nature of a pulmonary nodule. However, there are some limitations in evaluating and characterising nodules when only their dimensions are taken into account. There is no single method for measuring nodules, and intrinsic errors, which can determine variations in nodule measurement and in growth assessment, do exist when performing measurements either manually or with automated or semi-automated methods. When considering subsolid nodules the presence and size of a solid component is the major determinant of malignancy and nodule management, as reported in the latest guidelines. Nevertheless, other nodule morphological characteristics have been associated with an increased risk of malignancy. In addition, the clinical context should not be overlooked in determining the probability of malignancy. Predictive models have been proposed as a potential means to overcome the limitations of a sized-based assessment of the malignancy risk for indeterminate pulmonary nodules.

The preparation and the properties of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) protected by perfluorinated amphiphiles are described. The thiols were devised to form a perfluorinated region close to the gold surface and to have a hydrophilic portion in contact with the bulk solvent to impart solubility in water. The monolayer protected clusters were prepared, in an homogeneous phase using sodium thiolates because of the low nucleophilicity of the alpha-perfluorinated thiols, and fully characterized with (1)H, (19)F NMR spectrometry, IR and UV-vis absorption spectroscopies, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Au NPs with core diameters ranging from 1.6 to 2.9 nm, depending on the reaction conditions, were obtained. Water-soluble NPs (MPC-F8-PEGs) were obtained with the thiol HS-F8-PEG ending with a short poly(ethylene glycol) unit (PEG-OMe 550), whereas thiols with shorter PEG chains give rise to NPs insoluble in water. MPC-F8-PEGs undergo an exchange reaction with amphiphilic alkyl thiols. ESR investigations, using a hydrophobic radical probe, indicate that the MPC-F8-PEG monolayer shows a greater hydrophobicity compared to the analogous hydrogenated monolayer.

Bluetongue is a major infectious disease of ruminants that is caused by bluetongue virus (BTV). In this study, we analyzed virulence and genetic differences of (i) three BTV field strains from Italy maintained at either a low (L strains) or high (H strains) passage number in cell culture and (ii) three South African "reference" wild-type strains and their corresponding live attenuated vaccine strains. The Italian BTV L strains, in general, were lethal for both newborn NIH-Swiss mice inoculated intracerebrally and adult type I interferon receptor-deficient (IFNAR ؊/؊ ) mice, while the virulence of the H strains was attenuated significantly in both experimental models. Similarly, the South African vaccine strains were not pathogenic for IFNAR ؊/؊ mice, while the corresponding wild-type strains were virulent. Thus, attenuation of the virulence of the BTV strains used in this study is not mediated by the presence of an intact interferon system. No clear distinction in virulence was observed for the South African BTV strains in newborn NIH-Swiss mice. Full genomic sequencing revealed relatively few amino acid substitutions, scattered in several different viral proteins, for the strains found to be attenuated in mice compared to the pathogenic related strains. However, only the genome segments encoding VP1, VP2, and NS2 consistently showed nonsynonymous changes between all virulent and attenuated strain pairs. This study established an experimental platform for investigating the determinants of BTV virulence. Future studies using reverse genetics will allow researchers to precisely map and "weight" the relative influences of the various genome segments and viral proteins on BTV virulence.