104 research outputs found
A Note on Economic Impact of EFF on Sicilian Firms Performance
Measure 2.3 of the European Fisheries Fund, in Sicily, claimed investments of fish firms in production capacity expansion and modernization of fish processing. Have these investments been effective in supporting the competitiveness of these firms and have they influenced the economic sustainability of the regional seafood chain? Proposed counterfactual analysis contributes to this assessment through a comparison of the business performance of funded and non-funded firms
LigaSure in total thyroidectomy.
PURPOSE:
LigaSure is a bipolar diathermy system, which achieves vessel sealing with reduced thermal spread. The device has been used successfully in abdominal operations and because of its features, it has been applied recently in thyroid surgery to minimize the risk of complications such as laryngeal nerve palsy and hypocalcemia, and also to reduce the operating time.
METHODS:
Between June and December 2005, we performed total thyroidectomy for various disorders in 105 patients. We used the LigaSure diathermy system in 53 patients and traditional hemostatic procedures in the other 52. We evaluated the demographic features, histopathological diagnosis, operating times, and relevant postoperative complications.
RESULTS:
The two study groups had similar demographic and histopathological features. The mean operating time +/- SD was not significantly shorter in the LigaSure group than in the traditional group (104 +/- 12.7 vs 110 +/- 15.6 min). None of the patients in either group suffered hemorrhage, definitive hypocalcemia, or definitive laryngeal nerve palsy. Transient hypocalcemia and transient laryngeal nerve palsy developed in 7.54% and in 1.88%, respectively, of the patients in the LigaSure group, and in 7.69% and 1.92%, respectively, of the patients in the traditional group; these differences were not significant.
CONCLUSIONS:
LigaSure is a safe and effective method of hemostasis control, but it did not reduce the incidence of complications or operating times compared with traditional hemostatic procedures; moreover, the operative costs were higher
Validity of needle core biopsy in the histological characterisation of mammary lesions
Over the last few years, there has been an enormous increase in the use of needle core biopsy (CB) for the histopathological characterisation of suspect lesions of the breast. The aim of this study was to verify the diagnostic reliability of CB by comparing the histological results obtained with the use of this technique with those obtained from the whole of the surgically resected specimen. We studied 198 out of 426 patients with clinically and/or radiologically suspect breast lesions. We found correspondence between the histological examination of the whole of the excised specimen and that of the CB in 94.9% of the cases of infiltrating carcinoma and in 71.4% of those involving ductal carcinomas in situ. The predictive value of CB was 98.9%, sensitivity was 96.1% and specificity 93.3%. These results confirmed that CB is an extremely reliable diagnostic tool in the definition of breast lesions
Fluxon dynamics by microwave surface resistance measurements in MgB2
Field-induced variations of the microwave surface resistance, Rs(H), have
been investigated in high-density ceramic MgB2. At low temperatures, several
peculiarities of the Rs(H) curves cannot be justified in the framework of
models reported in the literature. We suggest that they are ascribable to the
unconventional vortex structure in MgB2, related to the presence of two gaps.
On the contrary, the results near Tc can be accounted for by the Coffey and
Clem model, with fluxons moving in the flux-flow regime, provided that the
anisotropy of the upper critical field is taken into due account.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Lymphoscintigraphy with peritumoral injection versus lymphoscintigraphy with subdermal periareolar injection of technetium-labeled human albumin to identify sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer patients
Background: Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy is without doubt a valid method for the detection of the sentinel lymph node (SLN). There has been considerable debate regarding the optimal site for the introduction of the tracer; various sites include peritumoral (PT), periareolar (PA), subdermal, and intradermal injection
Purpose: To evaluate retrospectively the lymphoscintigraphic identification rate of peritumoral (PT) injection versus subdermal periareolar (PA) injection in the detection of SLNs in breast cancer.
Material and Methods: Between October 2002 and December 2011, a cohort of 906 consecutive patients with biopsy proven breast cancer underwent 914 SLN biopsy procedures. A total of 339 procedures (Group A) were performed using a peritumoral (PT) deep injection of radiotracer while 575 procedures (Group B) adopted a subdermal periareolar PA injection of radiotracer towards the upper outer quadrant, regardless of the site of the carcinoma. All the patients underwent synchronous excision of the breast cancer and SLN biopsy.
Results: SLNs were identified in the lymphoscintigram in 308/339 cases (90.85%) of Group A (PT injection) and in 537/ 575 cases (93.39%) of Group B (PA injection). Furthermore, in 2/339 patients (0.58%) of Group A, internal mammary lymph nodes were found at lymphoscintigraphy, whereas no internal mammary sentinel nodes were found in the Group B patients. The intraoperative identification rate of axillary SLNs was 99.41% (337 of 339) in the Group A patients and 99.65% (573 of 575) in the Group B patients. There was no significant difference in the two groups between the incidence of the number of SLNs detected and the incidence of identification of positive SLNs.
Conclusion: PT versus PA injection of radiotracer showed comparable success rates for axillary SLN identification, and can be considered a rapid and reliable method
Hashimoto ThYroiditis Coexistent with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Several studies report a higher rate of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) in patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), indicating a possible correlation between the two diseases. We studied a group of 89 subjects undergoing surgery for thyroid carcinomas compared with a control group of 89 subjects operated on for normofunctioning goiter, and a second group of 47 patients undergoing total thyroidectomy for HT. Association with HT was found in 19 of the 71 PTC subjects (26.7%) and in 8 goiter patients (8.9%), which was a significant difference (P < 0.02). Thirteen of the HT patients, mostly with the nodular form, showed coexistent PTC (27.6%). HT and PTC coexisted in several morphological, immunohistochemical, and biomolecular aspects; increased incidence of PTC in HT patients might therefore indicate that HT is a precursor of thyroid cancer. Further studies are required, however, in order to confirm this hypothesis; until then, HT patients should undergo careful clinical and technical follow-up
A Minor Modification of Lichtenstein Repair of Primary Inguinal Hernia: Postoperative Discomfort Evaluation.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a modification of the Lichtenstein hernioplasty procedure by evaluating its impact on postoperative discomfort. From December 1999 to May 2006, the Lichtenstein inguinal hernioplasty was performed in 406 patients with noncomplicated unilateral inguinal hernia. During reconstruction, the mesh was fixed to the inguinal canal floor without stitching its upper margin to the internal oblique muscle. Control of postoperative pain proved to be satisfactory; 72 hours after surgery, 26.1 per cent of patients no longer felt any pain, whereas 54.4 per cent had slight pain without the need for painkillers; on Day 7, 92.8 per cent felt no pain at all. After 10 days, 86.7 per cent of those with sedentary jobs were able to return to work, whereas 79.1 per cent of those with heavier jobs resumed work in 11 to 15 days. Our modification of the original Lichtenstein procedure permitted us to obtain satisfactory results with regard to the control of postoperative chronic pain and a rapid reprisal of normal working activity
In Vitro Bioactivity of Astaxanthin and Peptides from Hydrolisates of Shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) By-Products: From the Extraction Process to Biological Effect Evaluation, as Pilot Actions for the Strategy "From Waste to Profit"
Non-edible parts of crustaceans could be a rich source of valuable bioactive compounds such as the carotenoid astaxanthin and peptides, which have well-recognized beneficial effects. These compounds are widely used in nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, and their market is rapidly growing, suggesting the need to find alternative sources. The aim of this work was to set up a pilot-scale protocol for the reutilization of by-products of processed shrimp, in order to address the utilization of this valuable biomass for nutraceutical and pharmaceuticals application, through the extraction of astaxanthin-enriched oil and antioxidant-rich protein hydrolysates. Astaxanthin (AST) was obtained using "green extraction methods," such as using fish oil and different fatty acid ethyl esters as solvents and through supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), whereas bioactive peptides were obtained by protease hydrolysis. Both astaxanthin and bioactive peptides exhibited bioactive properties in vitro in cellular model systems, such as antioxidant and angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activities (IA). The results show higher astaxanthin yields in ethyl esters fatty acids (TFA) extraction and significant enrichment by short-path distillation (SPD) up to 114.80 ± 1.23 µg/mL. Peptide fractions of <3 kDa and 3-5 kDa exhibited greater antioxidant activity while the fraction 5-10 kDa exhibited a better ACE-IA. Lower-molecular-weight bioactive peptides and astaxanthin extracted using supercritical fluids showed protective effects against oxidative damage in 142BR and in 3T3 cell lines. These results suggest that "green" extraction methods allow us to obtain high-quality bioactive compounds from large volumes of shrimp waste for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications
Microwave Properties of Ba(0.6)K(0.4)BiO(3) Crystals
We report on field-induced variations of the microwave surface resistance at
9.6 GHz of Ba(0.6)K(0.4)BiO(3) crystals. Energy losses have been investigated
as a function of the static magnetic field in the range of temperatures 4.2 K -
Tc. By analyzing the experimental results in the framework of the Coffey and
Clem model we determine the temperature dependence of the first-penetration
field, upper critical field and depinning frequency. The results show that the
pinning energy of this bismuthate superconductor is weaker than those of
cuprates.Comment: 6 pages, 8 embedded figure
MMP-2, MMP-9 and activin A blood levels in patients with breast cancer or prostate cancer metastatic to the bone.
Background: The clinical significance of the
circulating levels of activin A and matrix metalloproteinase-2
(MMP-2) and -9 (MMP-9) was investigated in patients with
breast cancer (BC) or prostate cancer (PC) with (M1) or
without (M0) bone metastasis. Patients and Methods: MMP-2,
MMP-9 and activin A blood concentrations were measured by
enzyme immunoassays in 79 cancer patients and in 57 healthy
blood donors (HS) who served as a control group. The
diagnostic accuracy of these molecules to discriminate between
M0 and M1 patients was evaluated by the receiver operating
characteristic curve (ROC) and compared to that of tumor
markers CA15.3 or prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Results:
Activin A and MMP-2 were significantly increased in BC and
PC patients as compared to sex-matched HS while MMP-9
levels were more elevated only in the PC patients. Interestingly,
in the PC patients, activin A levels were significantly higher than
those measured in the BC patients. In this latter group, activin A
and CA15.3 but not MMP-2 or MMP-9 were increased in the
M1 patients as compared to M0 patients. Furthermore, a
significant relationship was also highlighted between activin A
concentration and the number of bone metastases and tumor
grade, between MMP-9 and tumor grade, and between MMP-2
and CA15.3. ROC curve analysis showed a good diagnostic
accuracy for activin A and CA15.3 but a poor accuracy for
MMP-2 and MMP-9 in discriminating between M0 and M1
patients. However, CA15.3 retained the best diagnostic accuracy
in this respect. In the PC group, only activin A and PSA levels
were significantly increased in the M1 patients as compared to
the M0 patients. A similar although not statistically significant
trend was noted for MMP-9. Interestingly, a significant correlation
was observed between PSA and activin A and MMP-9, and
between Activin A and Gleason score and the number of
skeletal metastases. ROC curve analysis showed a good
diagnostic accuracy for activin A, MMP-9 and PSA and a poor
diagnostic accuracy for MMP-2 in detecting M1 patients.
However, PSA showed the highest diagnostic accuracy.
Conclusion: Activin A, MMP-2 and MMP-9 may be regarded as
possible therapeutic targets in the treatment of metastatic bone
disease. However, their usefulness as additional markers of bone
metastasis remains to be better define
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