Basal cell carcinoma: 10-year experience with electrochemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Electrochemotherapy (ECT), by combining manageable cytotoxic agents with short electric pulses, represents an effective palliative skin-directed therapy. The accumulated evidence indicates that ECT stands out as a safe and well-tolerated alternative treatment for patients with multiple or large basal cell carcinoma (BCC), who are not suitable for conventional treatments. However, long-term data and shared indications are lacking. METHODS: In this observational study, we retrospectively analyzed 84 prospectively collected patients with multiple, recurrent or locally advanced BCC who were not candidate for standard therapies and received bleomycin-based ECT according to the European Standard Operative Procedures of ECT, from 2006 to 2016. RESULTS: Disease extent was local, locally advanced and metastatic in 40 (48%), 41 (49%) and 3 (3%), respectively. Forty-four (52%) individuals had multiple BCCs. Grade 3 skin toxicity after ECT was observed in 6% of cases. Clearance rate was 50% (95% CI 39-61%). Primary presentation (p = 0.004), tumor size <3 cm (p < 0.001), well-defined borders (p = 0.021), absence of tumor ulceration (p = 0.001), non-aggressive BCC histology (p = 0.046) and age 6469 years were associated with higher complete response rate. In patients with local BCC, the clearance rate was 72.5 and 85% after one or two ECT cycles, respectively. In the laBCC group, 32 patients (78%) achieved an objective response. Five-year recurrence rate for local and laBCC was 20 and 38%, respectively (p 64 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: One or two ECT cycles with bleomycin may be a valuable palliative treatment in well-selected patients with multiple BCCs and favorable tumor features. Validation of predictive factors will be imperative to match patients with optimal ECT treatment modalities. Management of laBCC with ECT warrants further investigation. Trial registration ISRCTN14633165 Registered 24 March 2017 (retrospectively registered)

Vortex-induced nonlinearity and the effects of ion irradiation on the high-frequency response of NbTi films

The microwave response of superconducting devices can be affected by nonlinearity effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic origin. In this study, we report on the nonlinear behavior of NbTi microwave resonators, in the presence of dc magnetic fields up to 4 T. The aim of this work is to characterize the vortex-induced nonlinearity, which in these conditions of frequency (11 GHz) and fields is expected to give the major contribution to dissipation, when the circulating rf current exceeds a given threshold. Nonlinearity is investigated by analyzing -degradation and resonance curve distortion as a function of the input rf power, while the emergence of sharp discontinuities is associated to the existence of an rf limiting current density. The current densities corresponding to the onset of these features are compared to the critical current density from dc measurements, helping us to outline a comprehensive picture. Moreover, the pinning constant was extracted as a function of temperature by means of a Gittleman–Rosenblum analysis, revealing the prominent role of type pinning. We also analyzed the effects of introducing controlled artificial disorder and pinning sites through 1.5-MeV proton irradiation. After irradiation, we observed an increase of both the pinning constant and the in-field nonlinearity threshold and limiting current

Role of axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with pure ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is an effective tool for axillary staging in patients with invasive breast cancer. This procedure has been recently proposed as part of the treatment for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), because cases of undetected invasive foci and nodal metastases occasionally occur. However, the indications for SLN biopsy in DCIS patients are controversial. The aim of the present study was therefore to assess the incidence of SLN metastases in a series of patients with a diagnosis of pure DCIS. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation was made of a series of 102 patients who underwent SLN biopsy, and had a final histologic diagnosis of pure DCIS. Patients with microinvasion were excluded from the analysis. The patients were operated on in five Institutions between 1999 and 2004. Subdermal or subareolar injection of 30–50 MBq of 99 m-Tc colloidal albumin was used for SLN identification. All sentinel nodes were evaluated with serial sectioning, haematoxylin and eosin staining, and immunohistochemical analysis for cytocheratin. RESULTS: Only one patient (0.98%) was SLN positive. The primary tumour was a small micropapillary intermediate-grade DCIS and the SLN harboured a micrometastasis. At pathologic revision of the specimen, no detectable focus of microinvasion was found. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that SLN metastases in pure DCIS are a very rare occurrence. SLN biopsy should not therefore be routinely performed in patients who undergo resection for DCIS. SLN mapping can be performed, as a second operation, in cases in which an invasive component is identified in the specimen. Only DCIS patients who require a mastectomy should have SLN biopsy performed at the time of breast operation, since in these cases subsequent node mapping is not feasible

Overview on electrical issues faced during the SPIDER experimental campaigns

SPIDER is the full-scale prototype of the ion source of the ITER Heating Neutral Beam Injector, where negative ions of Hydrogen or Deuterium are produced by a RF generated plasma and accelerated with a set of grids up to ~100 keV. The Power Supply System is composed of high voltage dc power supplies capable of handling frequent grid breakdowns, high current dc generators for the magnetic filter field and RF generators for the plasma generation. During the first 3 years of SPIDER operation different electrical issues were discovered, understood and addressed thanks to deep analyses of the experimental results supported by modelling activities. The paper gives an overview on the observed phenomena and relevant analyses to understand them, on the effectiveness of the short-term modifications provided to SPIDER to face the encountered issues and on the design principle of long-term solutions to be introduced during the currently ongoing long shutdown.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figures. Presented at SOFT 202

Bose-Einstein condensation and laser trapping of ultra-cold atoms

non

Superconducting resonant cavities design and material development for quantum computing and quantum sensing applications

reservedSuperconducting resonant cavities are electromagnetic devices that leverage the unique properties of superconducting materials to sustain high-quality oscillations of the electromagnetic field with minimal energy loss, resulting in long coherence times for the trapped electromagnetic waves. One of the most important applications for this kind of device is particle accelerators in which superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities play a pivotal role by providing a stable and efficient way to accelerate charged particles, allowing scientists to achieve high beam energies and intensities for fundamental research, materials science, and medical applications. A more recent field of application is quantum computing: superconducting qubits, the building blocks of the most powerful existing quantum computers, require exceptionally stable and low-loss environments to perform complex quantum computations. Superconducting resonant cavities provide the necessary conditions to control and manipulate these qubits paving the way for more powerful quantum processors. New applications of great interest for the scientific community are also quantum communication and quantum sensing. The ability of SRF cavities to preserve quantum states over extended periods of time enhances the reliability and efficiency of quantum communication protocols and enables precise measurements in quantum sensing applications such as single photon counting. In this work, the design and fabrication of an aluminum SRF cavity for quantum computing applications is discussed, along with its characterization and performances. Moreover, a similar design for the fabrication of a second cavity for quantum sensing applied to dark matter search, in particular axion-like particles (ALPs) search, is presented. In the same field of application, looking at thin film technology for ALPs search NbTi coated cavities performances are investigated.Superconducting resonant cavities are electromagnetic devices that leverage the unique properties of superconducting materials to sustain high-quality oscillations of the electromagnetic field with minimal energy loss, resulting in long coherence times for the trapped electromagnetic waves. One of the most important applications for this kind of device is particle accelerators in which superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities play a pivotal role by providing a stable and efficient way to accelerate charged particles, allowing scientists to achieve high beam energies and intensities for fundamental research, materials science, and medical applications. A more recent field of application is quantum computing: superconducting qubits, the building blocks of the most powerful existing quantum computers, require exceptionally stable and low-loss environments to perform complex quantum computations. Superconducting resonant cavities provide the necessary conditions to control and manipulate these qubits paving the way for more powerful quantum processors. New applications of great interest for the scientific community are also quantum communication and quantum sensing. The ability of SRF cavities to preserve quantum states over extended periods of time enhances the reliability and efficiency of quantum communication protocols and enables precise measurements in quantum sensing applications such as single photon counting. In this work, the design and fabrication of an aluminum SRF cavity for quantum computing applications is discussed, along with its characterization and performances. Moreover, a similar design for the fabrication of a second cavity for quantum sensing applied to dark matter search, in particular axion-like particles (ALPs) search, is presented. In the same field of application, looking at thin film technology for ALPs search NbTi coated cavities performances are investigated

Model selection for power efficient analysis of measurement data

In this work a novel analysis methodology of SVMs optimal solutions is presented. Such a methodology is based on a multiobjective optimization algorithm which exploits a genetic search paradigm. The application field is the design of smart micro-sensors, where both classification performance and complexity criteria have to be considered in order to balance accuracy and power consumption requirements

Short arm cast is as effective as long arm cast in maintaining distal radius fracture reduction: Results of the SLA-VER noninferiority trial

BACKGROUND Distal radius fractures (DRFs) are a common challenge in orthopaedic trauma care, yet for those fractures that are treated nonoperatively, strong evidence to guide cast treatment is still lacking. AIM To compare the efficacy of below elbow cast (BEC) and above elbow cast (AEC) in maintaining reduction of manipulated DRFs. METHODS We conducted a prospective, monocentric, randomized, parallel-group, open label, blinded, noninferiority trial comparing the efficacy of BEC and AEC in the nonoperative treatment of DRFs. Two hundred and eighty patients &gt; 18 years of age diagnosed with DRFs were successfully randomized and included for analysis over a 3-year period. Noninferiority thresholds were defined as a 2 mm difference for radial length (RL), a 3 &amp; DEG; difference for radial inclination (RI), and volar tilt (VT). The trial is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03468023). RESULTS One hundred and forty-three patients were treated with BEC, and 137 were treated with AEC. The mean time of immobilization was 33 d. The mean loss of RL, RI, and VT was 1.59 mm, 2.83 &amp; DEG;, and 4.11 &amp; DEG; for BEC and 1.63 mm, 2.54 &amp; DEG;, and 3.52 &amp; DEG; for AEC, respectively. The end treatment differences between BEC and AEC in RL, RI, and VT loss were respectively 0.04 mm (95%CI: -0.36-0.44), -0.29 &amp; DEG; (95%CI: -1.03-0.45), and 0.59 &amp; DEG; (95%CI: -1.39-2.57), and they were all below the prefixed noninferiority thresholds. The rate of loss of reduction was similar. CONCLUSION BEC performs as well as AEC in maintaining the reduction of a manipulated DRF. Being more comfortable to patients, BEC may be preferable for nonoperative treatment of DRFs

[Electrochemotherapy: mechanism of action and clinical results in the locoregional treatment of patients with skin cancers and superficial metastases]

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) has emerged among European centers as an innovative locoregional treatment for patients with unresectable skin cancers or superficial metastases from any histotype. The combined administration of a cytotoxic agent (bleomycin or cisplatin) with properly tuned electric pulses results in locally-enhanced drug delivery (reversible electroporation) into malignant cells and sustained tumor response. Reversible electroporation represents the basis of ECT and allows the potentiation of two low permeant cytotoxic agents such as bleomycin (~8000 fold) and cisplatin (~80 fold). The procedure was standardized in 2006 - thanks to a European project - and shortly after introduced in the clinical practice. In recent years, experience with ECT has accumulated mainly in melanoma and breast cancer patients with cutaneous metastases, in whom complete response rates of 20-50% and 40-75% have been reported, respectively, depending on tumor size. Currently, this therapy is being investigated in deep-seated (i.e. bone, soft tissue) metastases and visceral malignancies (i.e. locally advanced pancreatic cancer), with encouraging results