60 research outputs found
The Chain of Custody in the Era of Modern Forensics: From the Classic Procedures for Gathering Evidence to the New Challenges Related to Digital Data
The purpose of this work is to renew the interest and attention for the chain of custody in
forensic medicine, its establishment and maintenance, protecting the integrity and validity of evidence
as well as to analyze how over time the establishment of the chain of custody and the collection of
evidence has evolved also in function of the advent of technology and the use of electronic devices
connected to the network. The analysis of the various aspects of the chain of custody demonstrates
how necessary it is for the professional figures involved in the phases of the investigation (especially
those who manage the evidence and who have, therefore, designated the assignment) to know the
procedures to follow, trace the movement and the handling of objects subjected to seizure, also for
the purposes of toxicological and/or histological investigations. The knowledge of interferences
or complications helps to reduce errors and safeguard the validity of the evidence, assuring the
proceeding judicial authority that the evidence is authentic and that it is, in other words, the same
evidence seized at the scene of the crime. Furthermore, the issue is particularly felt today, with the
recent need to guarantee the originality of digital data. Following a careful review and analysis of
the literature currently available in this regard, it is worth adding that further efforts are needed to
formulate internationally validated guidelines, harmonizing the different reference criteria in forensic
science and medical areas, given the current absence of good international practices valid in the field
and applicable both in the case of physical evidence and in the case of seizure of digital evidence
CT angiography for the assessment of EVAR complications: a pictorial review
Aortic aneurysm; Blood vessel prosthesis implantation; Endovascular proceduresAneurisma aórtico; Implantación de prótesis de vasos sanguíneos; Procedimientos endovascularesAneurisma aòrtic; Implantació de pròtesis de vasos sanguinis; Procediments endovascularsEndovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is a minimally invasive treatment proposed as an alternative to open repair in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms. EVAR consists in a stent-graft placement within the aorta in order to exclude the aneurysm from arterial circulation and reduce the risk of rupture. Knowledge of the various types of devices is mandatory because some stents/grafts are more frequently associated with complications. CT angiography is the gold standard diagnostic technique for preprocedural planning and postprocedural surveillance. EVAR needs long-term follow-up due to the high rate of complications. Complications can be divided in endograft device-related and systemic complications. The purpose of this article is to review the CT imaging findings of EVAR complications and the key features for the diagnosis
Liver stiffness quantification in biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients using shear wave elastography in comparison with transient elastography
Purpose: This study prospectively assessed the performance of liver stiffness measurements
using point shear-wave elastography (p-SWE) in comparison with transient elastography (TE) in
patients with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Methods: Fifty-six consecutive adult patients with a histological diagnosis of NAFLD prospectively
underwent TE and p-SWE on the same day. The median of 10 measurements (SWE-10), the first
five (SWE-5), and the first three (SWE-3) measurements were analyzed for p-SWE. Liver biopsy
was considered as the reference standard for liver fibrosis grade. Receiver operating characteristic
(ROC) curves and areas under the ROC curves (AUROCs) were calculated to assess the performance
of TE and p-SWE for the diagnosis of significant (F2-F4) and advanced fibrosis (F3-F4).
Results: Forty-six patients (27 men, 19 women; mean age, 54.7\ub19.1 years) had valid p-SWE and
TE measurements. Twenty-seven patients (58.7%) had significant fibrosis and 18 (39.1%) had
advanced fibrosis. For significant fibrosis, both SWE-10 (AUROC, 0.787; P=0.002) and SWE-
5 (AUROC, 0.809; P=0.001) provided higher diagnostic performance than TE (AUROC, 0.719;
P=0.016) and SWE-3 (AUROC, 0.714; P=0.021), albeit without statistical significance (P=0.301).
For advanced fibrosis, SWE-5 showed higher diagnostic performance (AUROC, 0.809; P<0.001)
than TE (AUROC, 0.799; P<0.001), SWE-10 (AUROC, 0.797; P<0.001), and SWE-3 (AUROC,
0.736; P=0.003), although the differences were not statistically significant (P=0.496). The
optimal SWE-10 and SWE-5 cutoff values were 658.4 and 657.8 for significant fibrosis, and 659.1
and 658.8 for advanced fibrosis, respectively.
Conclusion: TE and p-SWE showed similar performance for the diagnosis of significant and
advanced fibrosis in NAFLD patients
OBTAINING MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS FROM ADIPOSE TISSUE OR MURIN ORIGIN: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY.
The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize rat adipose Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (AD-MSCs) in order to evaluate their proliferative potential and their ability to different cell types. AD-MSCs and Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BM-MSCs) have the same characteristic in terms of plasticity. The advantage of adipose tissue is that it is an easier accessible source and it offers a large amount of MSCs by less invasive surgical tecniques. MSCs were obtained from subcutaneous adipose tissue of Wistar rats. first of all microbiological controls were made to exclude the presence of bacteria of fungi in then tissue. Adipose tissue was mechanically and enzimatically fragmented and stromal cell fraction was seeded in adherent culture flasks in DMEM 20% FBS. After 48 h the medium was replaced. Cells were characterized by evaluating:1)their ability tho adhere to the plastic; 2) the clonogenic potential by Colony Forming Unit (CFU) assay, 3) their ability to differentiate in 3 mesodermal lineages (adipocytes, osteocytes and chondrocytes). AD-MSCs are able to differentiate in adipocytes, osteocytes and chondrocytes as confirmed by oil red'O staining, von Kossa staining and histological analuysis respectively. This first characterization is essential for the second part of our study in which we are planning to use AD-MSCs in vivo to restore renal function after an induced ischemic damage in experimental animals
Blood serum amyloid A as potential biomarker of pembrolizumab efficacy for patients affected by advanced non-small cell lung cancer overexpressing PD-L1: results of the exploratory "FoRECATT" study
Background: Identifying the patients who may benefit the most from immune checkpoints inhibitors remains a great challenge for clinicians. Here we investigate on blood serum amyloid A (SAA) as biomarker of response to upfront pembrolizumab in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Patients with PD-L1 ≥ 50% receiving upfront pembrolizumab (P cohort) and with PD-L1 0-49% treated with chemotherapy (CT cohort) were evaluated for blood SAA and radiological response at baseline and every 9 weeks. Endpoints were response rate (RR) according to RECIST1.1, progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The most accurate SAA cut-off to predict response was established with ROC analysis in the P cohort. Results: In the P Cohort (n = 42), the overall RR was 38%. After a median follow-up of 18.5 months (mo), baseline SAA ≤ the ROC-derived cut-off (29.9 mg/L; n = 28/42.67%) was significantly associated with higher RR (53.6 versus 7.1%; OR15, 95% CI 1.72-130.7, p = 0.009), longer PFS (17.4 versus 2.1 mo; p < 0.0001) and OS (not reached versus 7.2mo; p < 0.0001) compared with SAA > 29.9 mg/L. In multivariate analysis, low SAA positively affects PFS (p = 0.001) and OS (p = 0.048) irrespective of ECOG PS, number of metastatic sites and pleural effusion. SAA monitoring (n = 40) was also significantly associated with survival endpoints: median PFS 17.4 versus 2.1 mo and median OS not reached versus 7.2 mo when SAA remained low (n = 14) and high (n = 12), respectively. In the CT Cohort (n = 30), RR was not affected by SAA level (p > 0.05) while low SAA at baseline (n = 17) was associated with better PFS (HR 0.38, 95% CI 0.16-0.90, p = 0.006) and OS (HR 0.25, 95% CI 0.09-0.67, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Low SAA predicts good survival outcomes irrespective of treatment for advanced NSCLC patients and higher likelihood of response to upfront pembrolizumab only. The strong prognostic value might be exploited to easily identify patients most likely to benefit from immunotherapy. A further study (FoRECATT-2) is ongoing to confirm results in a larger sample size and to investigate the effect of SAA on immune response in vitro assays
Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger
On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta
Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later
designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through
gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors.
The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray
burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ∼ 1.7 {{s}} with respect to
the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was
initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a
luminosity distance of {40}-8+8 Mpc and with
component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses
were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 {M}ȯ
. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the
electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical
transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC
4993 (at ∼ 40 {{Mpc}}) less than 11 hours after the merger by the
One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The
optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an
hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment.
Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded
within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward
evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and
radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ∼ 9
and ∼ 16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and
radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct
from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No
ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with
the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support
the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron
stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and
a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process
nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.</p
A simple model for the calculation of the axial load-carrying capacity of corroded RC columns
In the present paper, a simplified model is used to determine the axial load-carrying capacity of compressed short reinforced concrete columns subjected to corrosion processes. The model considers members with circular and square cross-sections and accounts for—cover spalling, —concrete core confinement induced by transverse steel reinforcement, —buckling of longitudinal reinforcing bars. Strength reduction in concrete cover and core due to cracking induced by rust formation, reduction of steel area in longitudinal bars and transverse stirrups due to general and pitting corrosion and loss of confinement pressure are considered. The load-carrying capacity and load-axial strain curves here generated analytically fit well the existing experimental data
Biomechanics of human locomotion with constraints to design flexible-wheeled biped robots
This paper proposes a biomechanical analysis of human locomotion to define a reference system for designing flexible-wheeled biped robots. The novelties proposed with this paper are twofold: 1) to revolutionize the concept to design humanoid robots as a complete imitation of humans; 2) to reduce the gap between humans and humanoids designing systems obtained by studying limits of human abilities instead of optimizing humanoid capabilities. In this first study, a human walking model is designed with some added constraints. In particular, the feet are always in contact with the ground. Results of this work are used to optimize the real flexible-wheeled biped robot, named ROLLO, with the final aim to move the robot like a human but bypassing the complexities of the human body and the robotic control
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