HEREDITARITY OF CLOSURE OPERATORS AND INJECTIVITY

ABSTRACT: A notion of hereditarity of a closure operator with respect to a class of monomorphisms is introduced. Let C be a regular closure operator induced by a subcategory A. It is shown that, if every object of A is a subobject of an A-object which is injective with respect to a given class of monomorphisms, then the closure operator C is hereditary with respect to that class of monomorphisms. KEY WORDS: Closure operator, hereditary closure operator, injective object, factorization pair

Abiraterone acetate in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after chemotherapy. A retrospective “Real Life” analysis of activity and safety

Abiraterone acetate (AA) is a potent, selective androge (CYP17) biosynthesis inhibitor, which showed to improve overall survival (HR = 0.646) in mCRPC patients progressing after docetaxel. In this retrospective analysis we assessed the safety and efficacy of AA in patients affected with mCRPC progressing after chemotherapy, treated in the normal clinical practice, in several Italian Oncologic Units, after the approval of the drug from the Italian Drug Agency (AIFA)

Humoral predictors of malignancy in IPMN: A review of the literature

Pancreatic cystic lesions are increasingly detected in cross-sectional imaging. Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) is a mucin-producing subtype of the pancreatic cyst lesions arising from the pancreatic duct system. IPMN is a potential precursor of pancreatic cancer. The transformation of IPMN in pancreatic cancer is progressive and requires the occurrence of low-grade dysplasia, high-grade dysplasia, and ultimately invasive cancer. Jaundice, enhancing mural nodule >5 mm, main pancreatic duct diameter >10 mm, and positive cytology for high-grade dysplasia are considered high-risk stigmata of malignancy. While increased levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) (>37 U/mL), main pancreatic duct diameter 5–9.9 mm, cyst diameter >40 mm, enhancing mural nodules <5 mm, IPMN-induced acute pancreatitis, new onset of diabetes, cyst grow-rate >5 mm/year are considered worrisome features of malignancy. However, cross-sectional imaging is often inadequate in the prediction of high-grade dysplasia and invasive cancer. Several studies evaluated the role of humoral and intra-cystic biomarkers in the prediction of malignancy in IPMN. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA 19-9, intra-cystic CEA, intra-cystic glucose, and cystic fluid cytology are widely used in clinical practice to distinguish between mucinous and non-mucinous cysts and to predict the presence of invasive cancer. Other biomarkers such as cystic fluid DNA sequencing, microRNA (mi-RNA), circulating microvesicles, and liquid biopsy are the new options for the mini-invasive diagnosis of degenerated IPMN. The aim of this study is to review the literature to assess the role of humoral and intracystic biomarkers in the prediction of advanced IPMN with high-grade dysplasia or invasive carcinoma

Fe local structure in Pt-free nitrogen-modified carbon based electrocatalysts : XAFS study

The paper presents a new results on the bonding environment (coordination number and geometry) and on oxidation states of Fe in nitrogen-modified Fe/C composites used as Pt-free catalysts for oxygen reduction in Direct Hydrogen Fuel Cells. Starting from glucose or fructose, two catalysts displaying different electrochemical performance were prepared and studied in the form of pristine powder and thin catalytic layer of electrode by Fe K-edge XAFS spectroscopy. The results show how the Fe local structure varies as a function of different synthesis conditions and how changes in the structural properties of the catalysts are related to fuel cell electrochemical performance increase during a cell activation period

Connective tissue anomalies in patients with spontaneous cervical artery dissection.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of connective tissue abnormalities in patients with spontaneous cervical artery dissections (sCeAD). METHODS: We systematically assessed clinically detectable signs of connective tissue aberration in a series of consecutive patients with sCeAD and of age- and sex-matched patients with ischemic stroke unrelated to CeAD (non-CeAD IS) by a standard examination protocol including 68 items, and performed extensive molecular investigation for hereditary connective tissue disorders in all patients with sCeAD. RESULTS: The study group included 84 patients with sCeAD (mean age, 44.5 ± 7.8 years; 66.7% men) and 84 patients with non-CeAD IS. None of the patients with sCeAD met clinical or molecular diagnostic criteria for established hereditary connective tissue disorder. Connective tissue abnormalities were detected more frequently in the group of patients with sCeAD than in the group of those with non-CeAD IS (mean number of pathologic findings, 4.5 ± 3.5 vs 1.9 ± 2.3; p < 0.001). Eighty-one patients (96.4%) in the sCeAD group had at least one detectable sign compared with 55 patients (66.7%) in the group with non-CeAD IS (p < 0.001). Skeletal, ocular, and skin abnormalities, as well as craniofacial dysmorphisms, were the clinical signs more strongly associated with sCeAD. Signs suggesting connective tissue abnormality were also more frequently represented in patients with sCeAD than in patients with traumatic CeAD (28.6%, p < 0.001; mean number of pathologic findings, 1.7 ± 3.7, p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: Connective tissue abnormalities are frequent in patients with sCeAD. This reinforces the hypothesis that systemic aberrations of the connective tissue might be implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease

Antithrombotic medications and the etiology of intracerebral hemorrhage: MUCH-Italy.

23noOBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that the effect of antithrombotic medications on the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) varies according to the location of the hematoma. METHODS: Consecutive patients with ICH were enrolled as part of the Multicenter Study on Cerebral Hemorrhage in Italy (MUCH-Italy). Multivariable logistic regression models served to examine whether risk factors for ICH and location of the hematoma (deep vs lobar) predict treatment-specific ICH subgroups (antiplatelets-related ICH and oral anticoagulants [OACs]-related ICH). RESULTS: A total of 870 (313 lobar ICH, 557 deep ICH) subjects were included. Of these, 223 (25.6%) were taking antiplatelets and 77 (8.8%) OACs at the time of stroke. The odds of antiplatelet-related ICH increased with aging (odds ratio [OR] 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.07) and hypertension (OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.22-2.85) but had no relation with the anatomical location of ICH. Conversely, lobar location of the hematoma was associated with the subgroup of OAC-related ICH (OR 1.70; 95% CI 1.03-2.81) when compared to the subgroup of patients taking no antithrombotic medications. Within the subgroup of patients taking OACs, international normalized ratio (INR) values were higher in those with lobar ICH as compared to those with deep ICH (2.8 ± 1.1 vs 2.2 ± 0.8; p = 0.011). The proportion of patients with lobar hematoma increased with increasing intensity of anticoagulation, with a ∼2-fold increased odds of lobar compared to deep ICH (odds 2.17; p = 0.03) in those exposed to overanticoagulation (INR values >3.0). CONCLUSIONS: OACs, as opposed to antiplatelets, predispose to lobar location of brain hematomas according to a dose-response relationship.openopenPezzini, A; Grassi, M; Paciaroni, M; Zini, A; Silvestrelli, G; Del Zotto, E; Caso, V; Dell'Acqua, Ml; Giossi, A; Volonghi, I; Simone, Am; Lanari, A; Costa, P; Poli, L; Morotti, A; De Giuli, V; Pepe, D; Gamba, M; Ciccone, A; Ritelli, M; Colombi, M; Agnelli, G; Padovani, APezzini, Alessandro; Grassi, M; Paciaroni, M; Zini, A; Silvestrelli, G; Del Zotto, E; Caso, V; Dell'Acqua, Ml; Giossi, A; Volonghi, I; Simone, Am; Lanari, A; Costa, P; Poli, L; Morotti, A; De Giuli, V; Pepe, D; Gamba, M; Ciccone, A; Ritelli, M; Colombi, Marina; Agnelli, G; Padovani, Alessandr

A pragmatic approach improves the clinical management of stage IV gastric cancer: Comparison between the Meta-Gastro results and the GIRCG's retrospective series

Introduction: The Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer developed a prospective database about stage IV gastric cancer, to evaluate how a pragmatic attitude impacts the management of these patients. Materials and methods: We prospectively collected data about metastatic gastric cancer patients thanks to cooperation between radiologists, oncologists and surgeons and we analyzed survival and prognostic factors, comparing the results to those obtained in our retrospective study. Results: Three-hundred and eighty-three patients were enrolled from 2018 to September 2022. We observed a higher percentage of laparoscopic exploration with peritoneal lavage in the prospective cohort. In the registry only 3.6 % of patients was submitted to surgery without associated chemotherapy, while in the retrospective population 44.3 % of patients were operated on without any chemotherapy. At univariate and multivariate analyses, the different metastatic sites did not show any survival differences among each other (OS 20.0 vs 16.10 vs 16.7 months for lymphnodal, peritoneal and hepatic metastases, respectively), while the number of metastatic sites and the type of treatment showed a statistical significance (OS 16,7 vs 13,0 vs 4,5 months for 1, 2 and 3 different metastatic sites respectively, p &lt; 0.001; 24,2 vs 12,0 vs 2,5 months for surgery with/without chemotherapy, chemotherapy alone and best supportive treatment respectively, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: Our data highlight that the different metastatic sites did not show different survivals, but survival is worse in case of multiple localization. In patients where a curative resection can be achieved, acceptable survival rates are possible. A better diagnostic workup and a more accurate staging impact favorably upon survival