Recent advances in the surgical care of breast cancer patients

A tremendous improvement in every aspect of breast cancer management has occurred in the last two decades. Surgeons, once solely interested in the extipartion of the primary tumor, are now faced with the need to incorporate a great deal of information, and to manage increasingly complex tasks

The role of number of copies, structure, behavior and copy number variations (CNV) of the Y chromosome in male infertility

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines infertility as the inability of a sexually active, non-contracepting couple to achieve spontaneous pregnancy within one year. Statistics show that the two sexes are equally at risk. Several causes may be responsible for male infertility; however, in 30–40% of cases a diagnosis of idiopathic male infertility is made in men with normal urogenital anatomy, no history of familial fertility-related diseases and a normal panel of values as for endocrine, genetic and biochemical markers. Idiopathic male infertility may be the result of gene/environment interactions, genetic and epigenetic abnormalities. Numerical and structural anomalies of the Y chromosome represent a minor yet significant proportion and are the topic discussed in this review. We searched the PubMed database and major search engines for reports about Y-linked male infertility. We present cases of Y-linked male infertility in terms of (i) anomalies of the Y chromosome structure/number; (ii) Y chromosome misbehavior in a normal genetic background; (iii) Y chromosome copy number variations (CNVs). We discuss possible explanations of male infertility caused by mutations, lower or higher number of copies of otherwise wild type, Y-linked sequences. Despite Y chromosome structural anomalies are not a major cause of male infertility, in case of negative results and of normal DNA sequencing of the ascertained genes causing infertility and mapping on this chromosome, we recommend an analysis of the karyotype integrity in all cases of idiopathic fertility impairment, with an emphasis on the structure and number of this chromosome

Praxic and executive components in tool use learning: The role of imitation

Recent research in comparative psychology suggests that similarities between the behaviour of two individuals may not be the consequence of imitation only, but also of nonimitative social-learning processes. In the present study we aimed to investigate whether these alternative learning processes can take place in human adults, specifically in patients whose ability to imitate has been reduced by brain damage. Left (LBD) and right (RBD) brain-damaged patients were asked to perform four tool use tasks in three experimental conditions: exposure to the apparatus (N); demonstration of the correct solution (C); and demonstration of a failed attempt followed by the correct solution to the problem (I + C). Results suggest that the left hemisphere is indeed critical for action and that selective neuropsychological deficits can affect action imitation and selection of goal-directed movements, independently from each other. Findings also indicate that when the ability to imitate actions is lowered emulation may become available

Genetic and protein polymorphism at CSN1S1 locus in two goat breeds.

Genetic polymorphisms of casein have received a considerable research effort for many years because of its potential effect on milk composition. Milk composition, specifically protein content, differs quantitatively and qualitatively among species and also among breeds and individuals. Sicilian goat breeds seem to be an interesting model since they have never been under a selection program, and therefore may carry unique casein polymorphisms. Moreover, the importance of goat milk in infant diets is growing probably because goat milk in some cases is less allergenic than cow milk. It is important to evaluate the genetic polymorphisms at the CSN1S1 locus in the populations of interest, like the Girgentana or Maltese goat breeds, because caseins are considered as the main cause of allergic reactions. Moreover CSN1S1 polymorphisms have been associated to different levels of this protein expression in milk. The goal of the present research was twofold 1) to genotype CSN1S1 locus, and 2) to type casein protein polymorphisms in two Sicilian breeds, Maltese and Girgentana. Blood and milk samples were obtained from 400 animals (200 of each breed) located in four different flocks. DNA was extracted from leucocytes and CSN1S1 polymorphisms were detected by PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), and by allele specific PCR (AS-PCR). PCR and digestion products were analyzed by electrophoresis in 3% agarose gel stained with ethidium bromide after exposure to ultraviolet light. Milk samples, from the same individuals, were analysed for protein expression by isoelectrofocusing (IEF). IEF was carried out over a 2.5- 6.0 pH gradient. Protein separation was performed in a polyacrylamide gel, and stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue G250. Results showed a high percentage of A and B alleles (considered strong alleles), but also the presence of weak (F) and null alleles (N) was found in both breeds. The results may have practical implications to plan a selection program given that animals with allele A and B might be useful for cheese production since these animals express more casein than those carrying F or N alleles, and animals that do not express casein might be beneficial for hypoallergenic milk production

\uabSo che cos'\ue8 ma non so come usarlo!\ubb: Un caso di aprassia ideativa

Despite a mass of research on the cognitive basis for tool use, the term Ideational Apraxia is still controversial, and it is used to refer to a number of different types of deficits and describe very different behaviours. We report the case of a right-handed woman (FL) who exhibited selective tool use disturbance in the context of a cognitive profile otherwise preserved. FL shows a striking dissociation between her failure to manipulate objects and her perfect knowledge about their functions and properties. Such dissociation would indicate the existence of two separate systems, one involved in object identification and one in object manipulation: normally, the two systems operate together, however they can be selectively compromised by cerebral lesions. In FL, the automatic selection of action schemas necessary for correct object use appears to be lost, while her ability to identify and recognize their mechanical and functional properties is spared

Gestione dello stress occupazionale in un campione di cardiopatici

The object of our study was the evaluation of psycophysic condition, stress perception and coping in a sample of subject in cardiac rehabilitation. Our study recruited 48 worker patients (44 male, M = 50.5 +/- 8.8; 4 female, M = 50.8 +/- 8.7). They were submitted to: 1) cardiac evaluation and rehabilitation in DH regimen; 2) psychological assessment; 3) work's characteristic evaluation. The evaluation were made at the moment of recruitment and six month later 42 subjects went back to work after 81.8 +/- 49 days; 2 subjects had a worsening of their clinic conditions not consistent with an occupational resumption; 4 subjects didn't go back to work. In the 42 worker subjects we have find a significant decrease of anxiety (p < 0.019) and depression levels (p < 0.004); a significant improvement of Quality of Life perception in its physical (p < 0.000) and psychic aspects (p < 0.021) and an improvement about the ability to reorganize the work to better ménage stress (p < 0.012)

Hyperbranched Anatase TiO2 Nanocrystals: Nonaqueous Synthesis, Growth Mechanism, and Exploitation in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

A colloidal crystal-splitting growth regime was used in which TiO2 nanocrystals, selectively trapped in the metastable anatase phase, can evolve to anisotropic shapes with tunable hyper-branched topologies over a broad size interval. The synthetic strategy relies on a nonaq. sol-gel route involving programmed activation of aminolysis and pyrolysis of Ti carboxylate complexes in hot surfactant media via a simple multi-injection reactant delivery technique. Detailed studies indicate that the branched objects initially formed upon the aminolysis reaction, possess a strained monocryst. skeleton, and their corresponding larger derivs. grown in the subsequent pyrolysis stage accommodate addnl. arms crystallog. decoupled from the lattice underneath. The complex evolution of the nano-architectures is rationalized within the frame of complementary mechanistic arguments. Thermodn. pathways, detd. by the shape-directing effect of the anatase structure and free-energy changes accompanying branching and anisotropic development, are considered to interplay with kinetic processes, related to diffusion-limited, spatially inhomogeneous monomer fluxes, lattice symmetry breaking at transient Ti5O5 domains, and surfactant-induced stabilization. Finally, as a proof of functionality, the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells based on thin-film photoelectrodes that incorporate networked branched nanocrystals with intact crystal structure and geometric features is demonstrated. An energy conversion efficiency of 6.2% was achieved with std. device configuration, which exceeds the best performance with prototypes of split TiO2 nanostructures. Anal. of the relevant photovoltaic parameters reveals that the used branched building blocks indeed offer light-harvesting and charge-collecting properties that can overwhelm detrimental electron losses due to recombination and trapping events

High-quality photoelectrodes based on shape-tailored TiO2 nanocrystals for dye-sensitized solar cells

We demonstrate a general approach by which colloidal anatase TiO2 nanocrystals with anisotropically tailored linear and branched shapes can safely be processed into high-quality mesoporous photoelectrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. A detailed study has been carried out to elucidate how the nanoscale architecture underlying the photoelectrodes impacts their ultimate performances. From the anal. of the most relevant electrochem. parameters, an intrinsic correlation between the photovoltaic performances and the structure of the nanocrystal building blocks has been deduced and explained on the basis of relative contributions of the electron transport and light-harvesting properties of the photoelectrodes. Depending on the nanocrystals incorporated, these devices can exhibit an energy conversion efficiency of 5.2-7.8%, which ranks 38-53% higher than that achievable with corresponding cells based on ref. spherical nanoparticles. It has been ascertained that dye-sensitized solar cells based on high aspect-ratio linear nanorods allow for a remarkable improvement in the charge-collection efficiency due to minimization of detrimental charge-recombination processes at the photoelectrode/electrolyte interface. On the other hand, dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated from branched nanocrystals with a peculiar bundle-like configuration are characterized by a drastic redn. of undesired charge-trapping phenomena. These findings can be useful in the design and fabrication of future generations of high-performing dye-sensitized solar cells based on colloidal nanocrystals with properly engineered size and shape parameters