Knowing Water: Science and the Politics of Knowledge Production along the Saw Kill

Beginning with globally oriented ideological constructions of water as resource, this project explores the materiality of water and how it comes to understood within our current geological era. Specifically exploring the politics of scientific knowledge production, I follow the methodological processes of the Bard Water Lab as they monitor water quality of a local stream, exploring how different apparatuses of observation are utilized in order to make a stream a legible and knowable object

Indocyanine green fluorescence angiography during radical and conservative surgery for recto-sigmoid endometriosis: a feasibility study

Obiettivo: Valutare la fattibilità e la sicurezza dell’angiografia a fluorescenza mediante l’utilizzo endovenoso di verde di indocianina (near-infrared indocyanine green, NIR-ICG) per la valutazione della vascolarizzazione dell'area di intestino sottoposta ad escissione chirurgica per endometriosi retto-sigmoidea (rectosigmoid endometriosis, RSE). Materiali e metodi: Studio prospettico, monocentrico, preliminare su pazienti consecutive candidate a escissione chirurgica mini-invasiva di RSE da Maggio 2018 a Gennaio 2020 presso l’Ospedale Universitario Sant’Orsola di Bologna. Mediante valutazione NIR-ICG è stato valutato il grado di fluorescenza dell'area di intestino operata tramite una scala Likert 0-2, come segue: 0 o "assente" (nessuna fluorescenza osservata), 1 o "irregolare" (distribuzione non uniforme o fluorescenza debole) e 2 o "regolare" (fluorescenza uniforme e simile al colon prossimale). L'outcome primario di questo studio è stato il tasso di completamento del protocollo della valutazione NIR-ICG. Gli outcome secondari comprendevano il tempo del protocollo, la concordanza inter-operatore, le complicanze peri-operatorie ed eventuali modifiche della strategia chirurgica adottata. Risultati: Durante il periodo di studio, 46 pazienti che soddisfacevano i criteri di eleggibilità sono state arruolate nello studio. In tutti i casi il protocollo NIR-ICG è stato eseguito con successo. Quarantacinque (97.8%) casi hanno presentato una fluorescenza regolare (scala Likert 2); in un solo caso (2.2%), l’imaging NIR-ICG ha mostrato una fluorescenza irregolare (scala Likert 1) dopo resezione discoide ed il chirurgo ha posizionato a scopo preventivo alcuni punti di sutura di rinforzo dell’anastomosi. Non sono state registrate complicanze legate all'uso dell’ICG. Il tempo mediano del protocollo è stato di 4 (range, 3-5) minuti. È stato osservato un eccellente accordo inter-operatore. Conclusione: L'imaging NIR-ICG per la valutazione della perfusione intestinale dopo intervento chirurgico per RSE sembra essere un metodo fattibile, sicuro e riproducibile. Sono necessari ulteriori studi prospettici per valutare l'efficacia dell’angiografia a fluorescenza con NIR-ICG nel ridurre la morbilità associata alla chirurgia colo-rettale per RSE.Objective: To evaluate feasibility and safety of near-infrared indocyanine green (NIR-ICG) imaging for bowel vascularization assessment after minimally invasive conservative and radical excision of recto-sigmoid endometriosis (RSE). Materials and methods: Prospective, monocentric, preliminary study on consecutive symptomatic patients scheduled for minimally invasive surgical excision of RSE from May 2018 to January 2020 at the Sant’Orsola University Hospital in Bologna. Fluorescence degree of the bowel resected area was evaluated through NIR-ICG evaluation using a three-point Likert scale, as follows: 0 or "absent" (no fluorescence observed), 1 or "irregular" (non-uniform or weak fluorescence) and 2 or "regular" (uniform distribution of fluorescence and similar to the proximal colon). The primary outcome of this study was the protocol completion rate. Secondary outcomes included protocol time, inter-operator agreement, peri-operative complications and any changes in the surgical strategy adopted. Results: During the study period, 46 patients who met the eligibility criteria were enrolled in the study. In all cases NIR-ICG protocol was successfully performed. Forty-five (97.8%) cases showed regular fluorescence (Likert 2 scale); in one patient (2.2%) with irregular fluorescence after discoid excision, we changed the surgical strategy reinforcing anastomotic suture. No complications related to the use of ICG were recorded. Median protocol time was 4 (range, 3-5) minutes. Excellent inter-operator agreement was observed. Conclusion: NIR-ICG imaging for bowel perfusion evaluation after RSE surgery appears to be a feasible, safe and reproducible method. Further prospective studies are needed to evaluate its efficacy in reducing morbidity associated with colorectal surgery for RSE

Joint state and parameter estimation based on constrained zonotopes

This note presents a new method for set-based joint state and parameter estimation of discrete-time systems using constrained zonotopes. This is done by extending previous set-based state estimation methods to include parameter identification in a unified framework. Unlike in interval-based methods, the existing dependencies between states and model parameters are maintained from one time step to the next, thus providing a more accurate estimation scheme. In addition, the enclosure of states and parameters is refined using measurements through generalized intersections, which are properly captured by constrained zonotopes. The advantages of the new approach are highlighted in two numerical examples

La Ingesta elevada de proteínas, fósforo y potasio en la alimentación aumenta la calciuria en mujeres jóvenes del Gran Mendoza

La ingesta habitual de calcio en la dieta es necesaria para un metabolismo óseo adecuado. Pero existen algunos nutrientes, tales como proteínas de origen animal, fósforo y potasio, que consumidos en exceso producen un aumento de la calciuria, lo que llevaría a la disminución de la densidad ósea. Objetivo: Determinar la ingesta de nutrientes de un grupo de mujeres jóvenes y correlacionarla con la excreción urinaria del mismo

Malignant epithelioid neoplasm of the ileum with ACTB-GLI1 fusion mimicking an adnexal mass

Background: Malignant epithelioid neoplasm with ACTB-GLI1 fusion are considered different from the more common pericytic lesions, such myopericytoma, because they have a spectrum of different genetic abnormalities. They appear to pursue a benign clinical course in young adults, although in sporadic cases lymph node metastasis were described. The categorization of this new type of tumor may also lead to new therapeutic strategies, because they might be sensitive to SHH pathway inhibitors. Case presentation: The case involves a 72-years-old multiparous woman who accessed our department after an incidental finding of a right adnexal mass of 43 mm with contrast-enhancement on a control computed tomography scan made for suspected diverticulitis. Our intervention was a detailed ultrasound description of the suspected neoplasm; a diagnostic laparoscopy and the contextual laparotomic removal of abdominal mass; its histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Our main outcome measure is the definition and future recognition of new pathologic entity called malignant epithelioid neoplasm with ACTB-GLI1 fusion. Conclusions: We described for the first time the ultrasound characteristic of this type of lesion using standardized terminology and we believe that it may be the first step to improve the acknowledgement of this novel pathologic entity defined as malignant epithelioid neoplasm with GLI-1 fusions

Robot-Assisted Radical Hysterectomy for Cervical Cancer: Review of Surgical and Oncological Outcomes

Robot-assisted procedures are being increasingly incorporated in gynaecologic oncology. Several studies have confirmed the feasibility and safety of robotic radical hysterectomy for selected patients with early-stage cervical cancer. It has been demonstrated that robotic radical hysterectomy offers an advantage over other surgical approaches with regard to operative time, blood loss, and hospital stay. Also initial evidences concerning oncological outcomes seem to confirm the equivalence to traditional open technique. Despite the fact that costs of robotic system are still high, they could be partially offset by several health-related and social benefits: less pain, faster dismissal, and return to full activity than other surgical approaches. The development of robotic technology may facilitate the spread of minimally invasive surgery in gynaecological oncology, overcoming some drawbacks of laparoscopic technique for challenging intervention such as radical hysterectomy. Further studies are needed to evaluate overall and disease-free survival of this technique and associated morbidity after adjuvant therapies

GPU optimization of electroencephalogram analysis

Nowadays, with the advent of new non-invasive techniques of brain imaging, researchers have access to neural processes underlying the cognition in humans. One of the main challenges in this techniques is the detection of patterns in brain signals, generally very noisy and with artifacts inserted by vital signs. One of the most successful techniques for this is Independent Component Analysis which detects statistically independent components that are produced from different sources. These methods are very expensive in computational time, with many hours of processing for a single experiment. We analyzed this algorithm and detect two main types of operations: vector-matrix and matrix-matrix. We implemented an ad-hoc solution that executes on GPU and compared this with the original and CUBLAS versions. We obtained a 4x and 40x of performance increase of vector-matrix and matrix-matrix operations, respectively. These results are the first step towards real-time EEG processing which may produce a significant advance into BCI applications.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Does Sexual Function and Quality of Life Improve after Medical Therapy in Women with Endometriosis? A Single-Institution Retrospective Analysis

Background: Endometriosis is a gynecological condition affecting up to 10% of women of reproductive age and characterized by chronic pain. Pain is the major cause of the impairment of quality of life in all aspects of these patients. Previous studies have shown that endometriosis treatment, hormonal or surgical, has proven effective not only in controlling the disease but also in improving symptoms, and we can assume also effective in improving quality of life. Methods: This study evaluates quality of life and sexual function in patients with endometriosis at the time of diagnosis and after 6 months of medical therapy, to assess the impact of treatment on these aspects. We evaluated retrospectively patients with a diagnosis of endometriosis between 2018 and 2020. All patients underwent gynecological examination and transvaginal ultrasound and filled in three questionnaires. The same evaluation was provided after taking medical hormonal therapy. Results: The improvement of dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, and dyspareunia after medical treatment were statistically significant. Instead, items concerning arousal, lubrication, and sexual satisfaction showed a statistically significant worsening after therapy. Conclusions: We can state that hormone therapy alone is not sufficient to achieve an improvement in the patient's quality of life and sexual function. Emerging evidence suggests that most of these patients showed a central sensibilization phenomenon characterized by an amplification of the response to a peripheral and/or neuropathic nociceptive trigger, which is expressed by hyperalgesia and allodynia. For this reason, in these patients, it is better to adopt a multimodal and multidisciplinary approach, including other professional figures, that acts on pain and also intervenes in all those conditions that contribute to worsening quality of life

Adhesion barriers in laparoscopic myomectomy: Evidence from randomized clinical trials

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of different adhesion barriers in the prevention of de-novo adhesion development after laparoscopic myomectomy. Method: A systematic review was performed by searching seven electronic databases for all randomized clinical trials (RCT) comparing the use of any absorbable adhesion barrier (i.e. intervention group) with either no treatment or placebo (i.e. control group) in the prevention of adhesion development after laparoscopic myomectomy. Results: Eight RCT with a total of 748 participants (392 in the intervention group and 356 in the control group) were included. The assessed adhesion barrier methods were: the oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC) in 2 studies, the auto-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) gel in 2 studies, the 4% icodextrin solution in one study, the modified HA and carboxy-methylcellulose in one study, the polyethylene glycol ester trilysine amine solution plus a borate buffer solution in one study, and the polyethylene glycol amine plus dextran aldehyde polymers in another study. Conclusions: Adhesion barriers methods showing the most promising results were: ORC, auto-crosslinked HA gel and polyethylene glycol amine plus dextran aldehyde polymers