The impact of censorship on the translation and publication of Virginia Woolf in Italy in the 1930s

Defined as “the decade of translations”, the 1930s saw the publication of Virginia Woolf’s novels Orlando, Flush, and To the lighthouse in Italian. In the cultural and political context of Fascism, this is unexpected, given the peculiarities of Woolf’s experimental prose. Italian literary criticism was firmly founded on a normative anti-modernist canon, supported by both the Catholic Church, which decried modernism and excommunicated some modernist writers, and by the literary movement led by the anti-Fascist and liberal philosopher Benedetto Croce. This de facto intellectual dictatorship complemented the official cultural policy of the Fascist regime by generating another dimension of censorship that invariably affected the publication of periodicals and books. The present work focuses on the effects of this triple (political, moral, and literary) censorship on the first translation of To the lighthouse

Surgical approach to multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein thrombosis and arterioportal shunt leading to portal hypertension and bleeding: a case report

It is reported the case of a 69 years man who presented to the Emergency Room because of pain and abdominal distension from ascites. After admission and paracentesis placement, he developed a digestive hemorrhage due to oesophageal varices from portal ipertension secondary to the formation of a portal shunt concomitant with a multifocal HepatoCellular Carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein thrombosis (PVT). The patient underwent endoscopic varices ligation, twice transarterial embolization (TAE) of arterial branches feeding the shunt and subsequent left hepatectomy. During the postoperative course he developed mild and transient signs of liver failure and was discharged in postoperative day 16. He is alive and disease free 8 months after surgery

Network meta-analysis-highly attractive but more methodological research is needed

Network meta-analysis, in the context of a systematic review, is a meta-analysis in which multiple treatments (that is, three or more) are being compared using both direct comparisons of interventions within randomized controlled trials and indirect comparisons across trials based on a common comparator. To ensure validity of findings from network meta-analyses, the systematic review must be designed rigorously and conducted carefully. Aspects of designing and conducting a systematic review for network meta-analysis include defining the review question, specifying eligibility criteria, searching for and selecting studies, assessing risk of bias and quality of evidence, conducting a network meta-analysis, interpreting and reporting findings. This commentary summarizes the methodologic challenges and research opportunities for network meta-analysis relevant to each aspect of the systematic review process based on discussions at a network meta-analysis methodology meeting we hosted in May 2010 at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Since this commentary reflects the discussion at that meeting, it is not intended to provide an overview of the field

Epidemiology characteristics, methodological assessment and reporting of statistical analysis of network meta-analyses in the field of cancer

Because of the methodological complexity of network meta-analyses (NMAs), NMAs may be more vulnerable to methodological risks than conventional pair-wise meta-analysis. Our study aims to investigate epidemiology characteristics, conduction of literature search, methodological quality and reporting of statistical analysis process in the field of cancer based on PRISMA extension statement and modified AMSTAR checklist. We identified and included 102 NMAs in the field of cancer. 61 NMAs were conducted using a Bayesian framework. Of them, more than half of NMAs did not report assessment of convergence (60.66%). Inconsistency was assessed in 27.87% of NMAs. Assessment of heterogeneity in traditional meta-analyses was more common (42.62%) than in NMAs (6.56%). Most of NMAs did not report assessment of similarity (86.89%) and did not used GRADE tool to assess quality of evidence (95.08%). 43 NMAs were adjusted indirect comparisons, the methods used were described in 53.49% NMAs. Only 4.65% NMAs described the details of handling of multi group trials and 6.98% described the methods of similarity assessment. The median total AMSTAR-score was 8.00 (IQR: 6.00-8.25). Methodological quality and reporting of statistical analysis did not substantially differ by selected general characteristics. Overall, the quality of NMAs in the field of cancer was generally acceptable

Backward walking training improves balance in school-aged boys

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Falls remain a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. It is suggested that backward walking (BW) may offer some benefits especially in balance and motor control ability beyond those experienced through forward walking (FW), and may be a potential intervention for prevention of falls. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of BW on balance in boys.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixteen healthy boys (age: 7.19 ± 0.40 y) were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The experimental group participated in a BW training program (12-week, 2 times weekly, and 25-min each time) but not the control group. Both groups had five dynamic balance assessments with a Biodex Stability System (anterior/posterior, medial/lateral, and overall balance index) before, during and after the training (week- 0, 4, 8, 12, 24). Six control and six experimental boys participated in a study comparing kinematics of lower limbs between FW and BW after the training (week-12).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The balance of experimental group was better than that of control group after 8 weeks of training (<it>P </it>< 0.01), and was still better than that of control group (<it>P </it>< 0.05), when the BW training program had finished for 12 weeks. The kinematic analysis indicated that there was no difference between control and experimental groups in the kinematics of both FW and BW gaits after the BW training (<it>P </it>> 0.05). Compared to FW, the duration of stance phase of BW tended to be longer, while the swing phase, stride length, walking speed, and moving ranges of the thigh, calf and foot of BW decreased (<it>P </it>< 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Backward walking training in school-aged boys can improve balance.</p

Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and the Incidence of Acute Viral Respiratory Tract Infections in Healthy Adults

Declining serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D seen in the fall and winter as distance increases from the equator may be a factor in the seasonal increased prevalence of influenza and other viral infections. This study was done to determine if serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations correlated with the incidence of acute viral respiratory tract infections.In this prospective cohort study serial monthly concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were measured over the fall and winter 2009-2010 in 198 healthy adults, blinded to the nature of the substance being measured. The participants were evaluated for the development of any acute respiratory tract infections by investigators blinded to the 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. The incidence of infection in participants with different concentrations of vitamin D was determined. One hundred ninety-five (98.5%) of the enrolled participants completed the study. Light skin pigmentation, lean body mass, and supplementation with vitamin D were found to correlate with higher concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Concentrations of 38 ng/ml or more were associated with a significant (p<0.0001) two-fold reduction in the risk of developing acute respiratory tract infections and with a marked reduction in the percentages of days ill.Maintenance of a 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum concentration of 38 ng/ml or higher should significantly reduce the incidence of acute viral respiratory tract infections and the burden of illness caused thereby, at least during the fall and winter in temperate zones. The findings of the present study provide direction for and call for future interventional studies examining the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in reducing the incidence and severity of specific viral infections, including influenza, in the general population and in subpopulations with lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, such as pregnant women, dark skinned individuals, and the obese

Impact of Reporting Bias in Network Meta-Analysis of Antidepressant Placebo-Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND: Indirect comparisons of competing treatments by network meta-analysis (NMA) are increasingly in use. Reporting bias has received little attention in this context. We aimed to assess the impact of such bias in NMAs. METHODS: We used data from 74 FDA-registered placebo-controlled trials of 12 antidepressants and their 51 matching publications. For each dataset, NMA was used to estimate the effect sizes for 66 possible pair-wise comparisons of these drugs, the probabilities of being the best drug and ranking the drugs. To assess the impact of reporting bias, we compared the NMA results for the 51 published trials and those for the 74 FDA-registered trials. To assess how reporting bias affecting only one drug may affect the ranking of all drugs, we performed 12 different NMAs for hypothetical analysis. For each of these NMAs, we used published data for one drug and FDA data for the 11 other drugs. FINDINGS: Pair-wise effect sizes for drugs derived from the NMA of published data and those from the NMA of FDA data differed in absolute value by at least 100% in 30 of 66 pair-wise comparisons (45%). Depending on the dataset used, the top 3 agents differed, in composition and order. When reporting bias hypothetically affected only one drug, the affected drug ranked first in 5 of the 12 NMAs but second (n = 2), fourth (n = 1) or eighth (n = 2) in the NMA of the complete FDA network. CONCLUSIONS: In this particular network, reporting bias biased NMA-based estimates of treatments efficacy and modified ranking. The reporting bias effect in NMAs may differ from that in classical meta-analyses in that reporting bias affecting only one drug may affect the ranking of all drugs

A Randomised controlled trial of Energetic Activity for Depression in Young people (READY): A multi-site feasibility trial protocol

Background: Prevalence of depression is increasing in young people, and there is a need to develop and evaluate behavioural interventions which may provide benefits equal to or greater than talking therapies or pharmacological alternatives. Exercise could be beneficial for young people living with depression, but robust, large-scale trials of effectiveness and the impact of exercise intensity are lacking. This study aims to test whether a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention targeting young people living with depression is feasible by determining whether it is possible to recruit and retain young people, develop and deliver the intervention as planned, and evaluate training and delivery. Methods: The design is a three-arm cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial with embedded process evaluation. Participants will be help-seeking young people, aged 13–17 years experiencing mild to moderate low mood or depression, referred from three counties in England. The intervention will be delivered by registered exercise professionals, supported by mental health support workers, twice a week for 12 weeks. The three arms will be high-intensity exercise, low-intensity exercise, and a social activity control. All arms will receive a ‘healthy living’ behaviour change session prior to each exercise session and the two exercise groups are energy matched. The outcomes are referral, recruitment, and retention rates; attendance at exercise sessions; adherence to and ability to reach intensity during exercise sessions; proportions of missing data; adverse events, all measured at baseline, 3, and 6 months; resource use; and reach and representativeness. Discussion: UK National Health Service (NHS) policy is to provide young people with advice about using exercise to help depression but there is no evidence-based exercise intervention to either complement or as an alternative to medication or talking therapies. UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines suggest that exercise can be an effective treatment, but the evidence base is relatively weak. This feasibility trial will provide evidence about whether it is feasible to recruit and retain young people to a full RCT to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an exercise intervention for depression. Trial registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN66452702. Registered 9 April 2020