Studying the brain from adolescence to adulthood through sparse multi-view matrix factorisations

Men and women differ in specific cognitive abilities and in the expression of several neuropsychiatric conditions. Such findings could be attributed to sex hormones, brain differences, as well as a number of environmental variables. Existing research on identifying sex-related differences in brain structure have predominantly used cross-sectional studies to investigate, for instance, differences in average gray matter volumes (GMVs). In this article we explore the potential of a recently proposed multi-view matrix factorisation (MVMF) methodology to study structural brain changes in men and women that occur from adolescence to adulthood. MVMF is a multivariate variance decomposition technique that extends principal component analysis to "multi-view" datasets, i.e. where multiple and related groups of observations are available. In this application, each view represents a different age group. MVMF identifies latent factors explaining shared and age-specific contributions to the observed overall variability in GMVs over time. These latent factors can be used to produce low-dimensional visualisations of the data that emphasise age-specific effects once the shared effects have been accounted for. The analysis of two datasets consisting of individuals born prematurely as well as healthy controls provides evidence to suggest that the separation between males and females becomes increasingly larger as the brain transitions from adolescence to adulthood. We report on specific brain regions associated to these variance effects.Comment: Submitted to the 6th International Workshop on Pattern Recognition in Neuroimaging (PRNI

Sensitivity and specificity of magnetic resonance enterography in the clinical management of fistulizing Crohn's disease.

High diagnostic accuracy is reported for magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) in Crohn's disease (CD), but few studies have evaluated its role in abdominal fistulae. The primary aim of this study was to assess the reliability of MRE in the identification of internal fistulae in CD

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Dalla teledidattica alla realtà virtuale: come cambia la formazione del chirurgo

L’impiego della teledidattica in supporto e non in sostituzione della cosiddetta didattica tradizionale è oggi in corso di valutazione nel mondo accademico internazionale ed italiano. Gli Autori propongono l’impiego della teledidattica anche nella formazione dei Chirurghi e ne illustrano le motivazioni. Il Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca ha avviato in 11 Facoltà Mediche italiane un Master di secondo livello in Teledidattica applicata alla Medicina sotto il coordinamento della II Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia dell’Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”. Lo scopo del Master è di formare i formatori nell’utilizzo delle metodologie della teledidattica ed in particolare dei sistemi di videoconferenza, grazie ad un offerta formativa proposta in modalità condivisa ed in ambienti multimediali da Esperti nelle Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche e Ingegneri informatici e delle telecomunicazioni. In particolare la videoconferenza per ciò che attiene l’ambito chirurgico permette il teletutoraggio anche nelle sale operatorie. Il teletutoraggio dei chirurghi in formazione può anche e con successo essere espletato utilizzando percorsi personalizzati elaborati al computer in realtà virtual

Tra Elimi e Greci. La ceramica di età arcaica dai contesti di fondazione della cinta muraria di Erice

Questa monografia costituisce la sintesi dello studio effettuato dall'autrice sulle ceramiche di produzione locale e di importazione rinvenute durante le campagne di scavo realizzate negli anni 2010-2014 lungo la cinta muraria di Erice. Sono stati analizzati in modo approfondito, fornendone un catalogo dettagliato, i frammenti ceramici provenienti dagli strati di fondazione delle mura di età arcaica, studiati nell'ambito del loro contesto di scavo

Relationship between postoperative complications and survival after gastrectomy for cancer

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We've analyzed patients treated for gastric cancer at our Operative Unit of ent, extent of lymphadenectomy and survival. General Surgery and Organ Transplantation of the University Hospital of Parma from January 2006 till December 2010, relating the occurrence of eventual complications to sex, age at diagnosis, definitive histological examination, type and duration of surgical treatment. BACKGROUND: Surgical resection remains the main curative treatment for gastric cancer but is still affected by high postoperative morbidity and mortality rates, especially in Western countries. RESULTS: The surgically treated cases were 152 (30.4 gastrectomies per year on average). 62 patients developed at least one adverse event during the postoperative period, reaching 108 total events. Among these, 71 were minor complications (grade I-II in Clavien-Dindo's classification), while 26 were major ones (grade III). Postoperative mortality affected 8 patients (5.3%). Data analysis did not stress any statistically significant correlation between the valued variables and the global incidence of complications. For severe ones, some risk factors emerged such as the type of gastrectomy, the execution of a multi-visceral resection and the operative time. Five-year overall survival has been 36.7%, lower in patients with severe complications (29%) when compared to patients without severe complications (38%). Radicality of operation, the lymph node involvement and the occurrence of severe complication emerged as significant prognostic factors for five-year overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery is still the mainstay of treatment for gastric cancer and the only one able to grant a curative therapy. When performed in high-volume centres, with more than 20 gastrectomies per year, it represents a safe treatment, affected by low mortality. Attention must be paid to careful preoperative selection, to treatment of pre-existent comorbidities, to plan a therapeutical strategy to minimize surgical stress, to postoperative monitoring and to managing complications', as they're able to impact not only low-term outcomes but also overall and disease-free survival. The poor prognosis for these patients is mainly related to advanced stage at presentation, thus confirming the need to increase early diagnosis in order to detect in larger percentages the tumor in its early stage

Micro-carcinoma: only a diagnostic epidemic?

BACKGROUND: The incidence of thyroid carcinoma ranges from 0.5 to 10 cases every 100,000, depending on the country, the context and purpose of the study. The high incidence of differentiated thyroid tumor is continuously growing. While most malignant pathologies affect the adults, a proportion of 1-2% of pediatric population is affected by solitary nodule, of which some are malignant cancers. Studying thyroid malignant cancer, the most sensitive and accurate imaging technique is color Doppler ultrasonography. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), if correctly performed, is the key to a correct diagnosis. METHODS: This prospective study analyzes 1726 cases of total thyroidectomy and lobectomy performed between January 2004 and December 2013. The cytology sampling has been done following standard FNAC or capillary aspiration. Results have been classified in five classes, following the Italian SIAPEC-AIT system (2008). Sensibility, specificity, accuracy, negative predictive value and positive for the evaluation of FNAC technique are the statistical parameters considered. RESULTS: The outcome is aligned with what already known in literature, that FNAC has sensibility between 60-98% and specificity between 72-100%. Considering Tir3 as a low malignancy risk category therefore not suitable for surgery, those values decrease. CONCLUSIONS: Micro-carcinoma is a more represented entity than apparently suspected. Nowadays, cytology is the most precise diagnostic support to the therapeutic management of thyroid node, yet it is still charged with false negatives The evaluation of data records, combined with some molecular biology techniques and applied to cytology, could help in giving more appropriate surgical indication, allowing the surgery to be therapeutic more than diagnostic

The surgical approach to nodule Thyr 3-4 after the 2.2014 NCCN and 2015 ATA guidelines

BACKGROUND: The incidence of palpables thyroid nodules in general population is 5% and the prevalence of non -palpable nodules is higher (35-60%) in the endemic goiter area. In the last years the new guidelines and new classification related to thyroid nodule have changed the indication to treat it. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We analyzed the patients treated from January 2013 to June 2016 for Thyr 3 and Thyr 4 thyroid nodule sec. Bethesda system. We have divided in I and II period related to the 2.2014 and 2015 ATA guidelines and we have evaluated the indication to treat, the type of surgical procedure, the incidence of thyroid carcinoma and the adverse events. RESULTS: We selected from 909 cases, 252 cases surgically treated with preoperative diagnosis of Thyr 3(80 cases) and Thyr 4(172 cases); carcinoma was found in 21/80 (26.2%) and in 62/172 (26.05%). The period was divided from January 2013 to December 2014 and from January 2015 to june 2016 (first and second period). In II period we found carcinoma in 8/40 Thyr3 and in 26/88 Thyr 4. The incidence of lobectomy in II period was higher than I period (p < 0.0001) sec.guidelines indications. No difference in adverse events. The number of cancer is lower in patients treated with lobectomy than those who underwent total thyroidectomy (12,5%vs 21,8% in Thyr 3; 15,3% vs 32% in Thyr 4). CONCLUSIONS: The indications to treat related to Thyr 3 and Thyr4 are changed in the two periods. The number of cancer is lower in patients treated with lobectomy. The new guidelines have changed the surgical approach to thyroid nodule