Μέθοδοι ανάλυσης επιβίωσης, κλινικές δοκιμές και δειγματοληπτικές τεχνικές στη βιοστατιστική και την επιδημιολογία

Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο--Μεταπτυχιακή Εργασία. Διεπιστημονικό-Διατμηματικό Πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακών Σπουδών (Δ.Π.Μ.Σ.) “Εφαρμοσμένες Μαθηματικές Επιστήμες

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumor of the uterus: Report of two cases and mini-review of the literature

AbstractIntroductionPerivascular Epithelioid Cell tumor (PEComa) is a rare neoplasm of mesenchymal origin, with the uterus being the most common site of appearance, regarding the female genital tract.Case reportWe present two cases of PEComas of the uterus in patients aged 57 and 42-years-old, presented to our department with palpable abdominal masses and abnormal vaginal bleeding. During follow up period, both patients are free of recurrent disease one and two years after surgery, respectively, without receiving any adjuvant treatment.ConclusionsPEComa of the female gynecological tract is a rare entity presenting with variable symptoms and different prognosis for each individual case. The diagnosis is based on histopathology and immunohistochemistry reports and the optimal treatment is the surgical resection of the tumor

Η σχέση κοινωνίας – κόμματος – κράτους: Ποιοτική έρευνα στους “militants”, στα μέλη, στους “sympathisants” & ψηφοφόρους του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ

Η συγκεκριμένη εργασία διερεύνησε την πρόσληψη της σχέση κοινωνίας – κόμματος – κράτους από τα πολιτικώς δρώντα υποκείμενα με αναφορά στο ΣΥΡΙΖΑ. Για την εξέταση της πρόσληψης αυτής της σχέσης από τα πολιτικώς δρώντα υποκείμενα, χρησιμοποιήθηκε η τετραμερής διάκριση του Maurice Duverger: στελέχη, μέλη, sympathisants και ψηφοφόροι. Η έρευνα έγινε μέσω της δόμησης ομάδων εστίασης (focus group), όπου κάθε ομάδα είχε εσωτερική συνοχή ως προς την πολιτικής συμμετοχή (βάσει της ανωτερώ διάκρισης), το φύλο και την ηλικία. Εξαίρεση αποτελούν τα focus groups που αναφερόντουσαν στους αποχωρήσαντες/σασες – αποστασιοποιηθέντες/εισες από το ΣΥΡΙΖΑ το 2015, όπου είχαν εσωτερική συνοχή κατά φύλο και ηλικία. Τα ερωτήματα αναφορικά με τη σχέση κοινωνίας και κόμματος, κόμματος και κράτους ήταν κατ’ ουσίαν αυτά που δόμησαν την παρούσα έρευνα, με βάση την πρόσληψη του κομματικού φαινομένου εντός των μετασχηματισμών του κράτους. Υπό αυτό το πρίσμα έγινε προσπάθεια να ιδωθεί ο ΣΥΡΙΖΑ και να ψηλαφιστούν βάσει αυτής της θεωρητικής σκευής τα ερωτήματα, οι ανάγκες αλλά και οι βεβαιότητες των πολιτικώς δρώντων υποκειμένων. Πώς εν τέλει κομμάτια της κοινωνική κίνησης προσλαμβάνουν αυτή τη σχέση;These thesis investigated how the political actors with reference to SYRIZA they perceive the relationship of society - party – state. For this research, the Maurice Duverger's four-part distinction was used: party executives, members, sympathisans and voters. The research was done through focus group building, where each group had internal coherence in political participation (on the basis of the above distinction), gender and age. Exceptions are focus groups referring to those who left SYRIZA in 2015, where they were internal coherent by gender and age. The questions about the relationship between society and party, party and state were fundamental to this research, on the basis of reading the party theory where the party phenomenon is analyzed within the transformations of the state. From the same aspect, we will try to examine the party of SYRIZA, along with the needs, the uncertainties and the beliefs of political actors. Finally, how understand the political actors this relationship

Characterization of the Core-Shell Nanoparticles Formed as Soluble Hydrogen-Bonding Interpolymer Complexes at low pH

The formation of soluble hydrogen-bonding interpolymer complexes between poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(acrylic acid-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid)-graft-poly(N, N dimethylacrylamide) (P(AA-co-AMPSA)-g-PDMAM) at pH = 2.0 was studied. A viscometric study showed that in semidilute solution a physical gel is formed, due to the interconnection of the anionic P(AA-co-AMPSA) backbone of the graft copolymer, in a transient network, by means of the complexes formed between the PDMAM side chains of the graft copolymer and PAA. Dynamic and static light scattering measurements, in conjunction with small angle neutron scattering measurements, suggest the formation of core-shell colloidal nanoparticles in dilute solution, comprised by an insoluble PAA/PDMAM core surrounded by an anionic P(AA-co-AMPSA) corona. Even if larger clusters are formed in semidilute solution, the size of the insoluble core remains practically stable. Atomic force microscopy performed under ambient conditions, reveal that the particles collapse and flatten upon deposition on a substrate, with dimensions close to the ones of the dry hydrophobic core

A Unique Case of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Radiofrequency Ablation with More than 12 Years Overall Survival: A Case Report

The case of a 72-year-old male patient with HCC is presented in whom percutaneous RFA was used as the sole first-line anticancer treatment, since he denied having partial hepatectomy. The patient underwent RFA two more times, at 1.5 years for treating a local tumor progression at the initial ablation site and at 11 years after the first session for treating a new remote intrahepatic recurrence. He revealed a long-term survival of more than 12 years so far and still remains in excellent clinical status

Coordinated Increased Expression of Cyclooxygenase2 and Nuclear Factor κB Is a Steady Feature of Urinary Bladder Carcinogenesis

Objectives. The inescapable relationship between chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis has long been established. Our objective was to investigate COX-2 and NF-κB immunohistochemical expression in a large series of normal epithelium and bladder carcinomas. Methods. Immunohistochemical methodology was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections from urinary bladder carcinomas of 140 patients (94 males and 46 females with bladder carcinomas). Results. COX-2 expression is increased in the cytoplasm of bladder cells, during loss of cell differentiation (rs = 0.61, P-value < .001) and in muscle invasive carcinomas (P-value < .001). A strong positive association between tumor grade and nuclear expression of NFκB has been established. A positive correlation between COX-2 and nuclear NFκB immunoreactivity was observed. Conclusions. The possible coordinated upregulation of NFκB and COX-2, during bladder carcinogenesis, indicates that agents inhibitors of these two molecules may represent a possible new treatment strategy, by virtue of their role in bladder carcinogenesis

Factores antioxidantes y prooxidantes en aceite de oliva con aroma a orégano y romero

The study was carried out to examine the presence of antioxidants and pro-oxidants in oregano and rosemary gourmet oils. Dry, ground plant material (5% w/w) was infused to olive oil for 24, 48 and 72 hours and then it was removed by filtration. All preparations were found acceptable using a panel test. The total polar phenol content increased 3.5 and 1.7 times in oregano and rosemary gourmet oils with respect to that of the control sample. A qualitative enrichment of the methanol:water fraction of olive oil with phenolic compounds from herbs were found using HPLC. No rosmarinic acid was detected in the gourmet oils. Vanillic acid was only found in the rosemary gourmet oil. The presence of flavonoids was assessed using TLC. a-Tocopherol content of the oil matrix was not changed after herb infusion. A significant increase was found in pheophytin, a,b-carotene and lutein content of oregano flavoured oils. The oxidative stability of gourmet oils was greater to that of the control using the Rancimat test. In photo-oxidation, oregano flavoured oil was less stable than the rosemary one. Total chlorophyll content may be a critical factor for the shelf life of these preparations. Suitable labelling suggesting avoidance of light may be useful for a safe domestic use.El estudio fue realizado para examinar la presencia de antioxidantes y pro-oxidantes en aceites de oliva con aroma a orégano y romero. El material vegetal seco y molido se añade al aceite de oliva en proporción (5% w/w) durante 24, 48 y 72 horas y posteriormente se elimina por filtración. Todas las preparaciones se encontraron aceptables usando un panel de catadores. El contenido de fenoles polares totales aumentó 3,5 y 1,7 veces, en aceites con aroma a orégano y romero, con respecto al de las muestras control. Un enriquecimiento cualitativo de la fracción metanol: agua del aceite de oliva, con compuestos fenólicos de las hierbas, se encontró usando HPLC. No se detectó ácido rosmarinico en los aceites estudiados. El ácido vanillinico solo se encontró en los aceites con sabor a romero. La presencia de flavonoides se evaluó usando TLC. El contenido de a-tocoferol del aceite matriz no cambió tras la infusión con hierbas. En aceites con aroma a orégano se encontró un aumento significativo en el contenido de feofitina, a,b-caroteno y luteina. La estabilidad oxidativa de los aceites fue mayor que las del control usando el test Rancimat. En foto-oxidación, los aceites con sabor a orégano fueron menos estables que los de romero. El contenido en clorofilas totales puede ser un factor crítico para la vida media de estas preparaciones. Un etiquetado que sugiera el evitar la luz puede ser aconsejable para un uso doméstico seguro

UV-254 degradation of nicotine in natural waters and leachates produced from cigarette butts and heat-not-burn tobacco products.

Summarization: Nicotine is an important emerging contaminant widely detected in water resources. The main nicotine sources are human excretions from users and leaching from discarded tobacco product waste, which represents the most commonly littered item in urban areas and coasts. In this study, the UV254 photolytical fate of nicotine in natural water and leachates produced from conventional cigarettes (CCs) and the new generation heat-not-burn (HnBs) tobacco products is examined for the first time. The effect of UV254 irradiation on nicotine depletion in ultrapure water was initially studied. The reaction was pseudo first-order with respect to nicotine concentration at low concentrations and shifted to lower order at higher concentrations, an effect associated to absorption saturation. Although nicotine removal was fast, only 9.5% of the total organic carbon was removed after irradiation due to the formation of by-products. The chemical structures of six photo-products were derived by means of liquid and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The photodegradation kinetics was found to depend on pH and faster kinetics were recorded when the monoprotonated form of nicotine was dominant (pH = 5–8). The presence of humic acids was found to slightly delay kinetics as they competed with nicotine for lamp irradiance, whereas the presence of salt had no effect on the direct photolysis of nicotine. Direct photolysis studies were also performed using natural waters. Compared to ultra-pure water, photodegradation was found to proceed slightly slower in river water, in similar kinetics in seawater, and relatively faster in rain water. The later was assumed to be due to the lower pH compared to the rest of the natural water tested. Leachates from used HnBs and smoked CCs were also submitted to UV254 irradiation and direct photolysis was found to proceed fast despite the high complexity of these matrices. Nonetheless, the total organic carbon in the system remained the same after irradiation due to the abundance of organics and photo-products formed. We take advantage of the present investigations and report the leaching behavior of nicotine from HnBs and CCs. Among others, we found that in HnBs ~70% of the total and bioavailable nicotine content remains in the tobacco sticks after operation and this percentage drops to 15% in CCs due to the reduction in mass after smoking. This finding demonstrated the importance of properly disposing tobacco product waste to prevent nicotine leaching in water bodies. Presented on: Environmental Researc

Relationship of cell proliferation (Ki-67) to (99m)Tc-(V)DMSA uptake in breast cancer

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present study was to identify the relationships between the uptake of radiotracers – namely pentavalent dimercaptosuccinic acid [(V)DMSA] and sestamibi (MIBI) – and the following parameters in primary breast cancer: steroid receptor concentrations (i.e. estrogen receptor [ER] and progesterone receptor [PR]), Ki-67 expression, tumor size, tumor grade, age, and levels of expression of p53 and c-erbB-2. In addition, by multivariate regression analysis, we further isolated those factors with independent associations with (V)DMSA and/or MIBI uptake in primary breast cancer. METHODS: Thirty-four patients with histologically confirmed breast carcinoma underwent preoperative scintimammography with technetium-99m ((99m)Tc)-(V)DMSA and/or (99m)Tc-MIBI in consecutive sessions 10 and 60 min after administration of 925–1110 MBq of each radiotracer. The tumor-to-background ratio was calculated and correlated with the presence of ER, PR, Ki-67, tumor size, tumor grade, p53, and c-erbB-2. ER, PR, p53, and c-erbB-2 were determined immunohistochemically. The analysis included tumor-to-background ratio of (V)DMSA and MIBI uptake as dependent and all of the other parameters as independent variables. RESULTS: Correlation was positive between Ki-67 and (V)DMSA (r = 0.37 at 10 min, P = 0.038; r = 0.42 at 60 min, P = 0.018) and inverse between PR and (V)DMSA uptake (r = -0.46 at 10 min, P = 0.010; r = -0.51 at 60 min, P = 0.003). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between Ki-67 and (V)DMSA at 60 min (P = 0.045). Ki-67 was not significantly correlated with MIBI uptake, whereas tumor size was positively correlated with MIBI uptake at 60 min both in univariate (r = 0.45, P = 0.027) and multivariate analysis (P = 0.024). Negative correlations were observed between (V)DMSA uptake and ER, as well as between ER/PR and MIBI uptake, but these were not significant. CONCLUSION: Ki-67 appears to represent the major independent factor affecting (V)DMSA uptake in breast cancer. Tumor size was the only independent parameter influencing MIBI uptake in breast cancer. (V)DMSA appears to have an advantage over MIBI in that it can be used to visualize tumors with intense proliferative activity, and thus it can identify those tumors that are more aggressive