Testicular masses in association with Adrenogenital syndrome: US findings

Adrenogenital syndrome (AGS) is the result of inborn enzymatic defects in the synthesis of steroid hormones. The production of cortisol is deficient and that of adrenocorticotropic hormone is increased. Sometimes male patients have clinically detectable testicular lesions, known as testicular tumors of AGS (TTAGS). From 1985 to 1991, scrotal ultrasonography (US) was performed in 30 consecutive pubertal and postpubertal patients with AGS to investigate the prevalence and US characteristics of TTAGS. Eight of 30 patients had a testicular lesion (27%); six of the eight lesions were clinically undetected. The mean diameter of the lesions was 16.44 mm (range, 2-28 mm). The lesions were hypoechoic in all cases, with well-defined margins in six cases. The nodules were multifocal in all patients and bilateral in six (75%). If testicular lesions are present in a patient with AGS, TTAGS are likely, and frequent US monitoring is adequate for diagnostic evaluation

The Pre-Modern Manuscript Trade and its Consequences, ca. 1890-1945

This collection brings together current research into the development of the market for pre-modern manuscripts. Between 1890 and 1945 thousands of manuscripts made in Europe before 1600 appeared on the market. Many entered the collections in which they have remained, shaping where and how we encounter the books today. These collections included libraries that bear their founders’ names, as well as national and regional public libraries. The choices of the super-rich shaped their collections and determined what was available to those with fewer resources. In addition, wealthy collectors sponsored scholarship on their manuscripts and participated in exhibitions, raising the profile of some books. The volume examines the collectors, dealers, and scholars who engaged with pre-modern books, and the cultural context of the manuscript trade in this era

Fixed point theorems for \u3b1-set-valued quasi-contractions in b-metric spaces

Recently, Samet et al. [B. Samet, C. Vetro and P. Vetro, Fixed point theorems for alpha-psi-contractive type mappings, Nonlinear Anal., 75 (2012), 2154-2165] introduced the notion of alpha-psi-contractive mappings and established some fixed point results in the setting of complete metric spaces. In this paper, we introduce the notions of alpha-set-valued contraction and alpha-set-valued quasi-contraction and we give some fixed point theorems for such classes of mappings in the setting of b-metric spaces and ordered b-metric spaces. The presented theorems extend, unify and generalize several well-known comparable results in the existing literature

Suzuki\u2019s type characterizations of completeness for partial metric spaces and fixed points for partially ordered metric spaces

Recently, Suzuki [T. Suzuki, A generalized Banach contraction principle that characterizes metric completeness, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 136 (2008) 1861\u20131869] proved a fixed point theorem that is a generalization of the Banach contraction principle and characterizes the metric completeness. In this paper we prove an analogous fixed point result for a selfmapping on a partial metric space or on a partially ordered metric space. Our results on partially ordered metric spaces generalize and extend some recent results of Ran and Reurings [A.C.M. Ran, M.C. Reurings, A fixed point theorem in partially ordered sets and some applications to matrix equations, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 132 (2004) 1435\u20131443], Nieto and Rodr\uedguez-L\uf3pez [J.J. Nieto, R. Rodr\uedguez-L\uf3pez, Contractive mapping theorems in partially ordered sets and applications to ordinary differential equations, Order 22 (2005) 223\u2013239]. We deduce, also, common fixed point results for two self-mappings. Moreover, using our results, we obtain a characterization of partial metric 0-completeness in terms of fixed point theory. This result extends Suzuki\u2019s characterization of metric completeness

[Activity of oral lactoferrin into systematic iron homeostasis in pregnant women suffering from iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia]

L'abstract è stato pubblicato in bulgaro. La traduzione dal testo inglese è la seguente: Iron is an essential element for living organisms. Its acquisition occurs in the duodenum in which is reduced by reductase and, then, is transported by DMT1 into host cells in whichis sequestered by ferritin. The export of iron is carried out by ferroportin after the new oxidation by haefestin. This mechanism is perturbed by inflammation and, in particular, by IL-6. Recently, lactoferrin, an iron binding glycoprotein, is emerging as an important natural compound able to exert a significant antiinflammatory activity against IL-6 thus restoring iron transport mechanism. The oral administration of 100 mg of lactoferrin two times a day before meals significantly increases the haematological parameters in pregnant women suffering from iron deficiency or iron deficiency anaemia