Mentre il corpo cammina. Eidos dello sport e attività fisica elementare

The essay offers a reflection on the eidos of sport (body-game-movement) and the elementary movement of walking. It is crossing some examples of the study of movement and attention practices. Pedestrian hiking in the environment (with reference to the ecology of social relations by T. Ingold); the mindfull walking, as a body and mind practice and as an expression of new lifestyles; the Contact Improvisation basic training as an athletic technique and choreographic study (with reference to S. Paxton). The interdisciplinary perspective includes the sociology and anthropology of the body and physical activity, the philosophy of sport and the environmental sensitivity of contemporary public culture

Clinical implications, safety, efficacy of Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factors and Pegylated Equivalent

A wide use of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs) and their pegylated equivalent is a significant step forward in the treatment of both solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Evidence-based use of these molecules resulted in more intensive treatments, safely extended to frail and elderly patients, and development of response- and comorbidity-tailored approaches. The available G-CSFs are filgrastim, and the long-acting PegFilgrastim, which are produced in E. Coli cells, and are chemically different from native human G-CSF, and lenograstim, a molecule produced in mammalian cells, with a chemical structure identical to native human G-CSF. These chemical differences produce a diverse interaction with receptors and stimulated neutrophils. For instance, lenograstim binds to receptors in the same way of endogenous ligand, and neutrophils obtained from stimulation with this G-CSF have a physiological activity profile similar to neutrophils normally generated in humans. Conversely, the different interaction between filgrastim and G-CSF receptor is more frequently associated with morphological abnormalities, reduced motility and chemotaxis and a reduced response to bacterial stimuli in induced neutrophils. On this background, we reviewed available evidence in order to analyze the impact of these chemical and pharmacodynamic differences among G-CSF molecules on safety, particularly in healthy peripheral-blood stem-cells donors, functional qualities of inducted neutrophils, and mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells.&nbsp

Nonpegylated liposomal doxorubicin combination regimen in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and cardiac comorbidity. Results of the HEART01 phase II trial conducted by the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi

The purpose of this phase 2, multicenter study was to determine the activity and safety of nonpegylated liposomal doxorubicin as part of "R-COMP" combination in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and coexisting cardiac disorders. The study was conducted using a Bayesian continuing assessment method using complete remission rate and rate of cardiac events as study endpoints. Between November 2009 and October 2011, 50 evaluable patients were enrolled (median age, 76\ua0years). Median baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 60%. Ischemic cardiopathy was the most frequent preexisting cardiac disorder (35%), followed by atrial fibrillation (15%), left ventricular hypertrophy (13%), and baseline LVEF <50% (12%). Based on the intent to treat analysis, overall response rate was 72%, including 28 patients in complete remission (complete remission rate, 56%), and 8 in partial remission (16%). At the end of treatment, grades 3 to 4 cardiac events were observed in 6 patients. No significant modifications from baseline values of LVEF were observed during treatment and follow-up. Nonpegylated liposomal doxorubicin instead of doxorubicin in the R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) regimen is a feasible option for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma presenting with concomitant cardiac disorders

Network Society. How social relations rebuild space(s)

The key questions the present volume seeks to answer are why and how to read society as a network. At the base, there are at least three reasons: 1. First, the fact that the network has colonized the common use of language and the collective imagination. Everyone talks about networks in different areas (politics, economics and health care, among others) and referring to different concerns (to name but a few: conformity, cooperation, multilingualism, social control and the crisis of the welfare state). In each situation, it takes on the most varied features: from a device that saves, to a mesh that traps. In all these senses, the role of the InterNet ‒ as the “network of networks” ‒ emerges. It becomes a metaphor and, at the same time, a support for the Network Society and the contemporary societies even when it creates new divisions, as exemplified by the concept and the phenomenon of the digital divide. 2. The second reason is that the study of the network enables us to describe some of the processes through which we are used to explain the contemporary society since the late ‘70s: the postmodern and post‐industrial society; the social processes as fluid and flexible; the organizations as cooperative and anti‐bureaucratic systems; the actors as results of multiple identities and points of intersection of different social circles; the end of fixed and immutable order of hierarchies and the advent of governance; the birth of the “global village”; globalization; the mobility and transnationalism; the new forms of solidarity and horizontal communities; the transition from welfare state to the welfare society, etc. 3. The third reason deals with the implications that the network society entails in terms of linguistic practices and discursive production of space in the process of construction of individual and collective identities. The movements of individuals in the geographic space, as a result of globalization processes of migration and mobility, generate a process of dislocation that involves the loss of the relationship between natural, socio‐cultural and geographical boundaries, while producing partial relocation of old and new symbolic productions. Consequently, at the base of postmodern processes of identity construction we cannot find the traditional relationship, related to socio‐territorial aspects, but a more complex net, that involves transnational and multilingual discursive practices

Usefulness of a Telemedicine Program in Refractory Older Congestive Heart Failure Patients

Background: Home telemonitoring is a modern and effective disease management model that is able to improve medical care, quality of life, and prognosis of chronically ill patients, and to reduce expenditure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, costs, and patients’ and caregivers’ acceptance of our model of telemedicine in a high-risk chronic heart failure (CHF) older population. Methods: Patients with high risk/refractory CHF were included. In the case of alarm parameters’ modifications, a cardiologist decided to inform the emergency department (ED), the patient’s General Practioner, or to programme a clinical ambulatory control. Results: Forty-eight CHF patients (28 males; 58.3%), with a mean age of 80.4 ± 7.7 years, entered this clinical experience. During the 20-months follow-up, four patients dropped out from counselling (8.3%), ambulatory clinical control within-24 h was planned in 18% of patients, 11% of patients were admitted to an ED, and 18% were hospitalized. Thirteen patients (29.5%) died a cardiac death; hospital admissions for heart failure decreased during the year after the enrolment when compared to the year before (from 35 to 12 acute HF hospitalizations/year; p = 0.0001). Moreover, in these HF patients followed, accesses to an ED for an acute episode of HF decompensation reduced from 21/year to five/year (p = 0.0001). The economic expenditure, calculated for the year before and after the enrolment, reduced from 116.856 Euros to 40.065 Euros/year. Conclusions: A telemedicine surveillance in high-risk older CHF patients determines a continuous and active contact between patients/caregivers, the Heart Failure Clinic, and family physicians, permitting an early evaluation of signs and symptoms of acute decompensation

Calix[4]arene Derivative for Iodine Capture and Effect on Leaching of Iodine through Packaging

A hydrophobic calix[4]arene derivative was investigated for its iodine (I2) capture efficiency from gaseous and liquid phase. The iodine uptake was followed by UV-vis spectroscopy. Additionally, the influence of the calix[4]arene derivative–polyolefin system on the leaching of iodine through packaging from a povidone-iodine-based (PVP-I) formulation was evaluated. In fact, iodine is a low-cost, multi-target, and broad-spectrum antiseptic. However, it is volatile, and the extended storage of I2-based formulations is challenging in plastic packaging. Here, we investigated the possibility of reducing the loss of I2 from an iodophor formulation by incorporating 4-tert-butylcalix [4]arene-tetraacetic acid tetraethyl ester (CX) and its iodine complex in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polypropylene (PP) via a swelling procedure. Surface and bulk changes were monitored by contact angle, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The barrier effect of the different polymeric systems (embedded with CX, iodine-CX complex, or I2) was evaluated by monitoring the I2 retention in a buffered PVP-I solution by UV-vis spectroscopy. Overall, experimental data showed the capability of the calix[4]arene derivative to complex iodine in solution and the solid state and a significant reduction in the iodine leaching by the PP-CX systems

Watchful waiting in low-tumorburden follicular lymphoma in the Rituximab era. Results of a F2 observational

PURPOSEPatients with follicular lymphoma (FL) registered in the F2-study and initially managed without treatment were analyzed to describe the presentation and outcome of a watch and wait (W&W) strategy in the rituximab era, to identify parameters for initiating treatment, and to evaluate whether initial W&W could have deleterious effects on treatment efficacy after progression or relapse. PATIENTS AND METHODSBetween 2003 and 2005, 120 patients selected from the 1,093 treatment-naive patients with FL in the F2-study cohort were initially managed expectantly (W&W), and 107 patients were assessed. Most of these patients (80%) had disseminated disease with a low tumor burden according to Groupe d'Etudes des Lymphomes Folliculaires criteria.ResultsAfter a median follow-up of 64 months, treatment was initiated in 54 patients (50%), with a median delay of 55 months for the entire cohort. In a univariate analysis, involvement of more than four nodal areas (hazard ratio [HR], 2.26) and serum albumin less than 3.5 g/dL (HR, 3.51) were predictive of a shorter time to lymphoma treatment initiation. In a multivariate analysis, only involvement of more than four nodal areas remained significant (HR, 2.32). The 4-year freedom from treatment failure (FFTF) rate of W&W patients (79%; 95% CI, 69% to 85%) was not inferior to that of a subgroup of 242 patients from the F2-study cohort with good prognosis characteristics who were initially treated with a rituximab-based regimen (69%; 95% CI, 61% to 76%; P = .103). CONCLUSIONIn the rituximab era, patients with FL in a selected prognostically favorable group can still be managed with W&W. W&W does not seem to have detrimental effects on FFTF and overall survival rates after treatment