5,225 research outputs found
Healthcare Associated Infections. educational intervention by "Adult Learning" in an Italian teaching hospital
An educational intervention for HAI prevention based on a combination of training, motivation and subsequent application in the current clinical practice in an Italian teaching hospital
Total thyroidectomy associated to chemotherapy in primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid
Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid (PSCCT) is a rare malignant disease with rapid fatal prognosis. The onset is generally characterized by sudden bilateral latero-cervical lymphadenopathy. The Authors report patient of 58-year-old who referred for evaluation of rapidly aggravating bilateral latero-cervical lymphadenopathy. The US highlighted the presence of a hypoechoic nodular lesion characterized by peri and intra-nodular vascularization. Multilayer CT showed diffused involvement of mediastinal and bilateral latero-cervical lymph nodes, with no evidence of primary pulmonary neoplasia or elsewhere. The patient underwent total thyroidectomy. The peri-isthmic tissue was removed due to the presence of a small roundish formation, that was due to lymph node metastasis at histological examination. Histological diagnosis: PSCCT. The immunohistochemical panel of the thyroid lesion was indispensable for the differential diagnosis between PSCCT, medullary carcinoma, anaplastic carcinoma, and thyroid metastasis of neoplasia with unknown primitiveness. The patient underwent chemotherapeutic treatment with Carboplatin and Paclitaxel with modest improvement of dysphagia symptoms and reduction of 10-15% of the target lesions. The clinical course was characterized by loco-regional progression of the disease with exitus in 10 months after diagnosis. Survival and quality of life after surgical therapy and chemotherapy were like that of patients undergoing only chemotherapy. Due to the extreme rarity of the neoplasia, 60 cases described in Literature, no exclusive guidelines are reported for PSCCT. More extensive case studies are needed to evaluate the effects of total thyroidectomy with intent R0/R1 on improving survival and quality of life of patients with PSCCT
Fano collective resonance as complex mode in a two dimensional planar metasurface of plasmonic nanoparticles
Fano resonances are features in transmissivity/reflectivity/absorption that
owe their origin to the interaction between a bright resonance and a dark
(i.e., sub-radiant) narrower resonance, and may emerge in the optical
properties of planar two-dimensional (2D) periodic arrays (metasurfaces) of
plasmonic nanoparticles. In this Letter, we provide a thorough assessment of
their nature for the general case of normal and oblique plane wave incidence,
highlighting when a Fano resonance is affected by the mutual coupling in an
array and its capability to support free modal solutions. We analyze the
representative case of a metasurface of plasmonic nanoshells at ultraviolet
frequencies and compute its absorption under TE- and TM-polarized, oblique
plane-wave incidence. In particular, we find that plasmonic metasurfaces
display two distinct types of resonances observable as absorption peaks: one is
related to the Mie, dipolar resonance of each nanoparticle; the other is due to
the forced excitation of free modes with small attenuation constant, usually
found at oblique incidence. The latter is thus an array-induced collective Fano
resonance. This realization opens up to manifold flexible designs at optical
frequencies mixing individual and collective resonances. We explain the
physical origin of such Fano resonances using the modal analysis, which allows
to calculate the free modes with complex wavenumber supported by the
metasurface. We define equivalent array dipolar polarizabilities that are
directly related to the absorption physics at oblique incidence and show a
direct dependence between array modal phase and attenuation constant and Fano
resonances. We thus provide a more complete picture of Fano resonances that may
lead to the design of filters, energy-harvesting devices, photodetectors, and
sensors at ultraviolet frequencies.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Nod2 Deficiency in mice is Associated with Microbiota Variation Favouring the Expansion of mucosal CD4+ LAP+ Regulatory Cells
Nucleotide-binding Oligomerization Domain-2 (NOD2) mutations are associated with an increased risk to develop Crohn's Disease. In previous studies, we have shown that Nod2-/- mice manifest increased proportion of Lamina Propria (LP) CD4+ LAP+ Foxp3- regulatory cells, when compared with Nod2+/+ mice, while CD4+ Foxp3 + regulatory cells were not affected. Here, we investigated the Nod2 gut microbiota, by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing, at steady state and after TNBS-colitis induction in mice reared separately or in cohousing, correlating the microbial profiles with LP regulatory T cells proportion and tissue cytokines content. We found that enrichment of Rikenella and Alistipes (Rikenellaceae) in Nod2-/- mice at 8 weeks of age reared separately was associated with increased proportion of CD4+ LAP+ Foxp3- cells and less severe TNBS-colitis. In co-housed mice the acquisition of Rickenellaceae by Nod2+/+ mice was associated with increased CD4+ LAP+ Foxp3- proportion and less severe colitis. Severe colitis was associated with enrichment of gram-negative pathobionts (Escherichia and Enterococcus), while less severe colitis with protective bacteria (Barnesiella, Odoribacter and Clostridium IV). Environmental factors acting on genetic background with different outcomes according to their impact on microbiota, predispose in different ways to inflammation. These results open a new scenario for therapeutic attempt to re-establish eubiosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients with NOD2 polymorphisms
Sometimes neither water nor fire are more useful than friendship — A new risk score for prediction of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and long-term adverse outcomes in patients undergoing coronary angiography
Nuclear Matter and Nuclear Dynamics
Highlights on the recent research activity, carried out by the Italian
Community involved in the "Nuclear Matter and Nuclear Dynamics" field, will be
presented.Comment: Proceedings of the 12th Conference on Problems in Theoretical Nuclear
Physics, to appear in Journal of Physics, Conference Serie
Influence of the medium length on high-order harmonic generation
We study high-order harmonic generation using a 110 fs Ti:sapphire laser loosely focused into a variable-length gas cell filled with neon or argon at 5 mbar pressure. The harmonic intensity is recorded as a function of the medium length, varying between 2 and 21 mm. Several cases are examined, the 17th and the 29th harmonic in argon, and the 29th and 51st harmonic in neon, at the same intensity 4 x 10(14) W cm(-2). We find that the length which maximizes the harmonic yield varies from 10 mm to more than 20 mm. We discuss the different effects affecting the photon yield of the high-order harmonics
Dynamic changes in microbiota and mycobiota during spontaneous 'Vino Santo Trentino' fermentation
On a class of dynamical systems both quasi-bi-Hamiltonian and bi-Hamiltonian
It is shown that a class of dynamical systems (encompassing the one recently
considered by F. Calogero [J. Math. Phys. 37 (1996) 1735]) is both
quasi-bi-Hamiltonian and bi-Hamiltonian. The first formulation entails the
separability of these systems; the second one is obtained trough a non
canonical map whose form is directly suggested by the associated Nijenhuis
tensor.Comment: 11 pages, AMS-LaTex 1.
- …