Clinical predictive factors of pathologic complete response in locally advanced rectal cancer

Background: Predictive factors of pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) are still not identified. The purpose of this study was to define them. Materials and Methods: Data from consecutive LARC patients treated between January 2008 and June 2014 at our Institution were included in the analysis. All patients were treated with a long course of nCRT. Demographics, initial diagnosis and tumor extension details, as well as treatment modalities characteristics were included in the univariate and logistic regression analysis. Results: In total 99 patients received nCRT, of whom 23 patients (23.2%) achieved pCR. Patients with and without pCR were similar in term of age, sex, comobidities, BMI and tumor characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that pre-treatment tumor size <= 5 cm was a significant predictor for pCR (p = 0.035), whereas clinical N stage only showed a positive trend (p = 0.084). Conclusions: Tumor size at diagnosis could be used to predict pCR, and thus to individualize therapy in LARC patients management. Validation in other studies is needed

Filosofia, democrazia, Stato-nazione nei Quaderni del carcere

By capitalising on his interpretation of historical materialism in terms of “philosophy of praxis”, Gramsci elaborates an original theory of modernity – modernity is neither “humanistic” nor “nihilistic”, but is founded on the issue of the “state-nation”. The concept of “national-popular” is the most appropriate expression of the “democratic” connection of “reason” and “life”, i.e. of intellectuals and people. This connection takes place in a territory that constitutes the essence of modern state. Machiavelli, the Jacobins and Hegel are key-figures of the birth and development of the bourgeois hegemony. The “organic crisis” of this hegemony (that fully emerges with the First World War) is caused by the split between the nationalism of politics and the cosmopolitanism of economy. Neither “americanism” nor the USSR can offer an effective solution to this crisis.  Keywords: Modernity; Philosophy of Praxis; History; Nation-State; Hegemony

Multi-Analytical Assessment of Bodied Drying Oil Varnishes and Their Use as Binders in Armour Paints

The characteristics of commercially available refined and bodied linseed and tung oils, used as binders in the production of armour paints after historic recipes, are explored. Employed as anticorrosive paints mainly from the 1920s to 1960s, armour paints are greener alternatives that can be used for protection in industrial heritage conservation. Using a multi-analytical approach, chemical and physical properties of the fresh oils and solid films before and after accelerated ageing (ISO 16474-2:2013) were investigated to better understand which features are beneficial for the technical function of armour paints. Tests included measurements of density, the refractive index, insoluble impurities, alkaline impurities, the water content, the iodine value, the saponification value, the free fatty acid concentration, the acid value, the peroxide value and colour (Lovibond) and cold tests. The characterisation of the fresh oils using molecular analysis with FTIR and GC-MS revealed the complexity of the commercial formulations, for which additions of semi- and non-drying oils were detected. The results show that organic paint binders follow complex chemical reactions (such as oxidation and decrease of unsaturation being variable or swelling following water-immersion tests), with implications for their suitability for use in protectio

Multianalytical Assessment of Armour Paints—The Ageing Characteristics of Historic Drying Oil Varnish Paints for Protection of Steel and Iron Surfaces in Sweden

The characteristics of armour paints, historically used to protect ferrous industrial heritage, are explored. Amour paints contain lamellar and highly reflexive pigments of micaceous iron oxide (MIO) and metallic, leafing aluminium, bound in linseed oil and linseed oil–tung oil mixtures, on an inhibitive and soap-forming linseed oil primer (red lead). It is the first study of the binding media used for historical armour paints and investigates the chemical and physical ageing of armour paints using a multianalytical approach. Naturally aged examples are compared to accelerated aged replica armour paint, and to historical paints. The ageing and degradation reactions are assessed by complementary GC–MS and FTIR, together with measurements of wettability, hardness and surface colour. The historical paint formulations include linseed oils and alkyd binders. The results confirm that the leafing effect of aluminium pigments results in only a small concentration of binder at the surface: the paints studied reflect light and form a strong chemical and physical barrier. Linseed oils and tung oil mixtures have been proven to be suitable for the production of armour paints, but the evaluation of ageing and assessment of physical changes will require further investigation

Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms Performance: an Analysis on Italian Listed Companies

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is getting an increasingly important issue for economic agents all over the world, due to a new attention to all the aspects of firms activities and their relationships with stakeholders. Also in Italy, the number of firms that prepare voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports (e.g. sustainability reports, environmental reports, environmental and social reports or corporate social responsibility reports) is increasing. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the voluntary disclosure about Corporate Social Responsibility on firms stock prices of Italian listed companies in order to analyze if it can somehow contribute to increase the stock market prices. Our empirical analysis will test the relation, during a period of three years, between corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and firms stock prices, considering a sample of Italian listed companies.Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is getting an increasingly important issue for economic agents all over the world, due to a new attention to all the aspects of firms activities and their relationships with stakeholders. Also in Italy, the number of firms that prepare voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports (e.g. sustainability reports, environmental reports, environmental and social reports or corporate social responsibility reports) is increasing. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the voluntary disclosure about Corporate Social Responsibility on firms stock prices of Italian listed companies in order to analyze if it can somehow contribute to increase the stock market prices. Our empirical analysis will test the relation, during a period of three years, between corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and firms stock prices, considering a sample of Italian listed companies.Uninvited Submission

A Baseline for Shapley Values in MLPs: from Missingness to Neutrality

Being able to explain a prediction as well as having a model that performs well are paramount in many machine learning applications. Deep neural networks have gained momentum recently on the basis of their accuracy, however these are often criticised to be black-boxes. Many authors have focused on proposing methods to explain their predictions. Among these explainability methods, feature attribution methods have been favoured for their strong theoretical foundation: the Shapley value. A limitation of Shapley value is the need to define a baseline (aka reference point) representing the missingness of a feature. In this paper, we present a method to choose a baseline based on a neutrality value: a parameter defined by decision makers at which their choices are determined by the returned value of the model being either below or above it. Based on this concept, we theoretically justify these neutral baselines and find a way to identify them for MLPs. Then, we experimentally demonstrate that for a binary classification task, using a synthetic dataset and a dataset coming from the financial domain, the proposed baselines outperform, in terms of local explanability power, standard ways of choosing them

Assessing the Condition of Complex Poly-Material Artworks by Py-GC-MS: The Study of Cellulose Acetate-Based Animation Cels

The material composition of a group of Rodovetri, hand-painted animation cels, made in the 1950s and 1960s for Italian television, has been determined by Flash Py-GC-MS, Thermally assisted Hydrolysis and Methylation-(Py-)GC-MS and GC-MS investigations, where, for the pyrolysis applications, the pyrolyzer is connected septum-less to the GC inlet. The condition of the selected animation cels was generally poor (yellowing, exudation, warping, cracking). The cels are made of plasticized cellulose acetate (CA) and decorated with alkyd paint. Exudating plasticizers from the CA support migrated into the paint; this has softened the paint layers and made the cels stick together. CA is known to be very unstable and easily subjected to degradation, which cannot be reversed, only slowed down by preventive conservation. Most of the cels are plasticized with bis(2-methoxyethyl) phthalate (DMEP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPP). The research shows a relationship between the degradation of CA and the presence of TPP and DMEP

Effect of a novel nutraceutical combination on serum lipoprotein functional profile and circulating PCSK9

BACKGROUND: A beneficial effect on cardiovascular risk may be obtained by improving lipid-related serum lipoprotein functions such as high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) and serum cholesterol loading capacity (CLC) and by reducing proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9), independently of lipoprotein concentrations. AIM: We aimed to evaluate the effect of an innovative nutraceutical (NUT) combination containing red yeast rice (monacolin K 3.3 mg), berberine 531.25 mg and leaf extract of Morus alba 200 mg (LopiGLIK®), on HDL-CEC, serum CLC and on circulating PCSK9 levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty three dyslipidemic subjects were treated for 4 weeks with the above NUT combination. HDL-CEC was measured using specific cell-based radioisotopic assays; serum CLC and PCSK9 concentrations were measured fluorimetrically and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. RESULTS: The NUT combination significantly reduced plasma level of the total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-9.8% and -12.6%, respectively). Despite no changes in HDL-cholesterol, the NUT combination improved total HDL-CEC in 83% of the patients, by an average of 16%, as a consequence of the increase mainly of the ATP-binding cassette A1-mediated CEC (+28.5%). The NUT combination significantly reduced serum CLC (-11.4%) while it did not change PCSK9 plasma levels (312.9±69.4 ng/mL vs 334.8±103.5 mg/L, before and after treatment, respectively). CONCLUSION: The present NUT combination improves the serum lipoprotein functional profile providing complementary beneficial effects, without any detrimental increase of PCSK9 plasma levels

A Critical Review on the Analysis of Metal Soaps in Oil Paintings

Up to 70 % of the oil paintings conserved in collections present metal soaps, which result from the chemical reaction between metal ions present in the painted layers and free fatty acids from the lipidic binders. In recent decades, conservators and conservation scientists have been systematically identifying various and frequent conservation problems that can be linked to the formation of metal soaps. It is also increasingly recognized that metal soap formation may not compromise the integrity of paint so there is a need for careful assessment of the implications of metal soaps for conservation. This review aims to critically assess scientific literature related to commonly adopted analytical techniques for the analysis of metal soaps in oil paintings. A comparison of different analytical methods is provided, highlighting advantages associated with each, as well as limitations identified through the analysis of reference materials and applications to the analysis of samples from historical paintings