I Gambara e Brescia nell'Italia del tardo Rinascimento. Diplomazia, mecenatismo, cultura e consumi.

Tra il secondo Cinquecento e il primo Seicento, Brescia, città della Terraferma veneziana, priva di un ambiente di corte, è protagonista di importanti trasformazioni che coinvolgono sia la forma urbana sia le relazioni tra i lignaggi delle famiglie aristocratiche, che sperimentano nuove strategie di rappresentazione della posizione sociale raggiunta. Le ricerche presentate nel volume - individuando soprattutto nella diplomazia, nel mecenatismo e nei diversi approcci alla cultura e al consumo, gli ambiti di azione e affermazione di alcuni esponenti, ancora poco noti, del ramo patrizio veneto della famiglia Gambara - propongono una riflessione su come il ruolo di intermediari, da essi esercitato sulla scena politica, economica e sociale, abbia contribuito a veicolare nel tardo Rinascimento, attraverso una rete di relazione che coinvolge i maggiori centri urbani della penisola, la dimensione culturale internazionale nel contesto locale di Brescia. I temi, esplorati attraverso un approccio metodologico interdisciplinare e facendo uso di fonti inedite, approfondiscono, insieme al contesto culturale di riferimento, le ricadute dell'intreccio di relazioni politiche e diplomatiche tessute dagli esponenti di questo lignaggio sul loro stile di vita e sul loro comportamento di consumo, incline al collezionismo e all'adesione ai canoni di buon governo della casa che la trattatistica sull'economica ha parallelamente contribuito a codificare e diffondere

CT texture analysis as predictive factor in metastatic lung adenocarcinoma treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)

PURPOSE: To assess the predictive and prognostic value of pre-treatment CT texture features in lung adenocarcinoma treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Texture analysis was performed using commercially available software (TexRAD Ltd, Cambridge, UK) on pre-treatment contrast-enhanced CT studies from 50 patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma treated by TKI. Texture features were quantified on a 5-mm-thick central slice of the primary tumor and were correlated with progression-free and overall survival (PFS and OS) using an internally cross-validated machine learning approach then validated on a bootstrapped sample. RESULTS: Median PFS and OS were 10.5 and 20.7 months, respectively. A noninvasive signature based on five texture parameters predicted 6-month progression with Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.8 (95% CI) and 1-year progression with AUC of 0.76. A high-risk group had hazard ratios for progression of 4.63 and 5.78 when divided by median and best cut-off points, respectively. Texture signature did not correlate with OS. Available clinical variables did not correlate with PFS or with OS. CONCLUSION: Texture features seem to be associated with PFS in lung adenocarcinoma treated with TKI

Efficacy of Radiofrequency as Therapy and Diagnostic Support in the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Radiofrequency (RF) is a minimally invasive procedure used to interrupt or alter nociceptive pathways for treating musculoskeletal pain. It seems a useful tool to relieve chronic pain syndromes, even if, to date, solid evidence is still needed about the effectiveness of this therapy. By this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of RF in treating musculoskeletal pain. PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, and PEDro databases were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) presenting the following: patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain as participants; RF as intervention; placebo, anesthetic injection, corticosteroid injection, prolotherapy, conservative treatment, physiotherapy, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation as comparisons; and pain and functioning as outcomes. Continuous random-effect models with standardized mean difference (SMD) were used to compare the clinical outcomes. Overall, 26 RCTs were eligible and included in the systematic review. All of them analyzed the efficacy of RF in four different regions: cervical and lumbar spine, knee, sacroiliac (SI) joint, shoulder. The outcomes measures were pain, disability, and quality of life. A medium and large effect in favor of the RF treatment group (SMD < 0) was found for the shoulder according to the Visual Analogical Scale and for the SI joint according to the Oswestry Disability Index. A small effect in favor of the RF treatment group (SMD > 0) was found for the spine according to the 36-item Short Form Survey. Non-significant SMD was found for the other outcomes. RF represents a promising therapy for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain, especially when other approaches are ineffective or not practicable. Further studies are warranted to better deepen the effectiveness of RF for pain and joint function for each anatomical region of common application

Post-SARS-CoV-2 Acute Telogen Effluvium: An Expected Complication

Post-SARS-CoV-2 telogen effluvium has been described in case reports of COVID-19 patients. We evaluated the prevalence of post-SARS-CoV-2 telogen effluvium in patients from a single medical center, exploring any causal links with the infection. Our hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted with patient participants discharged with a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia from 1 March to 4 April 2020. All patients were evaluated by the same senior dermatologist; a clinical/dermatoscopic evaluation was performed. Alopecia was assessed in 31.3% of patients, with a significant difference in sex (females 73%, males 26.7%). The average time detected from the onset of the first symptoms to alopecia was 68.43 days. Overall, there were no significant associations between alopecia and COVID-19-related features (length of hospitalization, virologic positivity, or duration of fever), treatment characteristics, or laboratory findings. In this paper, we report that post-infection acute telogen effluvium occurs in a significant number of COVID-19 patients. The burden of this condition may impair the quality of life, with a significant impact on individuals