Anonimo, “Totas honors e tuig faig benestan” (BdT 461.234)

This paper will examine an anonymous ‘planh’, “Totas honor e tuig faig benestan”, for the death of Manfred of Swabia, illegitimate son of Frederick II, who was killed in the battle of Benevento in 1266. The text is copied in a section of the ‘twin’ chansonniers I and K which contains mainly lyric laments (an exception in the troubadour manuscript tradition) and for this reason will serve as a basis for a discussion of the concept of ‘documentary series’. The paper will also consider the author’s origin, probably Italian on the basis of the linguistic and metrical evidence, and attempt to place the planh more precisely within the context of the struggle between Charles of Anjou and Manfred, as well as illustrate the role played by political troubadour poetry at the Italian court of the last Swabians

Peire Vidal, “Bon’aventura don Dieus als Pizas” (BdT 364.14)

The poem examined here, probably composed in Italy, is mainly known for its historical interest and as a satire of the Germans. In “Bon’aventura”, in fact, Peire Vidal seems to be siding openly with the Marquis Boniface I of Monferrato and the Lombard communes, that were at war with the Emperor Henry IV, who had invaded Italy at the end of 1194. This paper, which reproduces Avalle’s edition and basically confirms the usual date between autumn 1194 and April 1195, will discuss the precise relationship between poetry and politics in Peire Vidal’s work through an analysis of the song’s value as a document in relation to contemporary sources. Thus it will examine the troubadour’s attitude to the events of his day and attempt to outline a fluid and ‘regional’ political loyalty which the poet from Toulouse shares with his contemporaries

Ultrasonic distance sensor improvement using a two-level neural network

This paper discusses the performance improvement that a neural network can provide to a contactless distance sensor based on the measurement of the time of flight (TOF) of an ultrasonic (US) pulse. The sensor, which embeds a correction system for the temperature effect, achieves a distance uncertainty (rms) of less than 0.5 mm over 0.5 m by using a two-level neural network to process the US echo and determine the TOF in the presence of environmental acoustic noise. The network embeds a "guard" neuron that guards against gross measurement errors, which would be possible in the presence of high environmental noise

Obstructing left sided colorectal cancer. A retrospective single center study.

Background: In recent years, with population aging, there has been an increased number of colorectal cancer cases in elderly patients with severe occlusion symptoms. About 75% of obstructions due to malignant colorectal cancer (10-30%) occur distal to splenic flexure. Methods: The authors evaluated the best surgical therapeutic strategy to be used in cases of left-sided colorectal carcinoma in patients over 65 years old, especially considering the emergency condition, age of patients and efficacy in terms of postoperative morbidity, mortality and 5 years survival rate. Results: The management of left-sided obstructing colorectal carcinoma is controversial. Hartmann’s procedure is the best therapeutic choice in elderly patients. However, resection with intraoperative colonic wash-out and primary anastomosis has favorable outcome in low risk patients. Conclusions: A review of the literature reveals that primary resection and anastomosis for left-sided obstructing CRC is the correct therapeutic strategy in low risk patients with localized, resectable carcinoma, without peritonitis; Hartmann’s procedure should be adopted in doubtful cases and in high risk patients

An integrated approach to supply chain risk analysis

Despite the increasing attention that supply chain risk management is receiving by both researchers and practitioners, companies still lack a risk culture. Moreover, risk management approaches are either too general or require pieces of information not regularly recorded by organisations. This work develops a risk identification and analysis methodology that integrates widely adopted supply chain and risk management tools. In particular, process analysis is performed by means of the standard framework provided by the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model, the risk identification and analysis tasks are accomplished by applying the Risk Breakdown Structure and the Risk Breakdown Matrix, and the effects of risk occurrence on activities are assessed by indicators that are already measured by companies in order to monitor their performances. In such a way, the framework contributes to increase companies' awareness and communication about risk, which are essential components of the management of modern supply chains. A base case has been developed by applying the proposed approach to a hypothetical manufacturing supply chain. An in-depth validation will be carried out to improve the methodology and further demonstrate its benefits and limitations. Future research will extend the framework to include the understanding of the multiple effects of risky events on different processe

Quantificazione del calcio coronarico (calcium score) attraverso l'utilizzo di nuove tecniche di imaging e suo ruolo prognostico in vari sottogruppi di pazienti

Coronary artery disease is the first cause of mortality in industrialized countries notwithstanding the diagnostic and therapeutic progresses. Electron beam computed tomography and multislice computed tomography with calcium score software seem to have an important role in the early diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Coronary calcium is associated with a high probability of subclinical atherosclerosis. In particular the area of calcification has a positive correlation with the histologically analyzed area of the atheromatous burden plaque. The pathophysiological mechanism may be that the calcium adherent to the plaque makes unstable the plaque with possible rupture. Several studies have analyzed the predictive value of calcium score in various subgroups of patients (asymptomatic, with chest pain, with diabetes) and they have confirmed the presence of large calcific deposits in subjects with a high cardiovascular risk. The correlation of the other risk factors with calcium score is unclear and whether this is due to genetic predisposition requires further investigation. © 2003 CEPI Srl

High prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in patients with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders in Italy.

Starting from the observation that a number of consecutive patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) resulted positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies on routine testing, we set up a survey for HCV contact prevalence in all patients with lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD) followed in our institution. We searched for HCV antibodies by a thirdgeneration ELISA technique, followed by a confirmation test (RIBA III); serum viral RNA and HCV genotype were investigated by a RT-PCR technique. We screened a total of 315 patients suffering from B-NHL (91), multiple myeloma (56), MGUS (48), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (57), Waldentrom's macroglobulinemia (13), Hodgkin's disease (HD)(43), and T-NHL (9). While only I of 52 patients with a non-B-LPD (HD or T-NHL) had signs of HCV contact (i.e., 1.9%, which is in the range of the normal population in the South of Italy), 59 of 263 patients with a B-LPD (22.4%) had HCV antibodies or RNA, or both, with no major differences among the various types of disorders, except for WM, in which the rate was higher (61.5%). The same prevalence was found for patients tested at diagnosis or during the follow-up, and in transfused or never-transfused patients. Only a few patients were aware of having a liver disease; one-half of HCV-positive patients never had transaminase increase. A review of data from Central and Northern Italy is included, showing similar findings; a report from Japan has confirmed such an association, while limited surveys in England have not revealed any correlation. These findings may have important biological and clinical implications

A Frontline Approach With Peripherally Inserted Versus Centrally Inserted Central Venous Catheters for Remission Induction Chemotherapy Phase of Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Randomized Comparison

BACKGROUND: The incidence of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC)-related adverse events has been uncertain in the setting of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) compared with the incidence of centrally inserted central catheter (CICC) adverse events. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a monocentric, randomized trial of patients with previously untreated AML. Of the 93 patients, 46 had received a PICC and 47 had received a CICC as frontline intravascular device. Thereafter, all patients underwent intensive chemotherapy for hematologic remission induction. The primary endpoint was catheter-related (CR)-bloodstream infection (BSI) and venous thrombosis (VT) rate. The secondary endpoints catheter malfunction, catheter removal, and patient overall survival. RESULTS: The CR-BSI and CR-VT rate in the PICC and CICC groups was 13% and 49%, respectively, with a difference of 36 percentage points (relative risk for CR-BSI or CR-VT, 0.266; P = .0003). The CR-BSI incidence was 1.4 and 7.8 per 1000 catheters daily in the PICC and CICC groups, respectively. Among the CR thromboses, the symptomatic VT rate was 2.1% in the PICC group and 10.6% in the CICC group. In the CICC group, 16 of the 47 patients (34%) had the catheter removed for BSI (n = 5), septic thrombophlebitis (n = 4), VT (n = 2), or malfunction (n = 5) a median of 7 days after insertion. In the PICC group, only 6 of the 46 patients (13%) required catheter removal for VT (n = 2) or malfunction (n = 4). At a median follow-up of 30 days, 6 patients in the CICC group died of CR complications versus none of the patients in the PICC group (P = .012). Using PICCs, the reduction in BSI and symptomatic VT decreased mortality from CR infection and venous thromboembolism. In contrast, the CICC approach led to early catheter removal mostly for difficult-to-treat infectious pathogens. CONCLUSION: Our data have confirmed that BSI and symptomatic VT are the major complications affecting frontline central intravascular device-related morbidity in the leukemia setting. The use of a PICC is safer than that of a CICC and maintains the effectiveness for patients with AML undergoing chemotherapy, with an approximate fourfold lower combined risk of infection or thrombosis at 30 days