59 research outputs found
Total thyroidectomy associated to chemotherapy in primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid
Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid (PSCCT) is a rare malignant disease with rapid fatal prognosis. The onset is generally characterized by sudden bilateral latero-cervical lymphadenopathy. The Authors report patient of 58-year-old who referred for evaluation of rapidly aggravating bilateral latero-cervical lymphadenopathy. The US highlighted the presence of a hypoechoic nodular lesion characterized by peri and intra-nodular vascularization. Multilayer CT showed diffused involvement of mediastinal and bilateral latero-cervical lymph nodes, with no evidence of primary pulmonary neoplasia or elsewhere. The patient underwent total thyroidectomy. The peri-isthmic tissue was removed due to the presence of a small roundish formation, that was due to lymph node metastasis at histological examination. Histological diagnosis: PSCCT. The immunohistochemical panel of the thyroid lesion was indispensable for the differential diagnosis between PSCCT, medullary carcinoma, anaplastic carcinoma, and thyroid metastasis of neoplasia with unknown primitiveness. The patient underwent chemotherapeutic treatment with Carboplatin and Paclitaxel with modest improvement of dysphagia symptoms and reduction of 10-15% of the target lesions. The clinical course was characterized by loco-regional progression of the disease with exitus in 10 months after diagnosis. Survival and quality of life after surgical therapy and chemotherapy were like that of patients undergoing only chemotherapy. Due to the extreme rarity of the neoplasia, 60 cases described in Literature, no exclusive guidelines are reported for PSCCT. More extensive case studies are needed to evaluate the effects of total thyroidectomy with intent R0/R1 on improving survival and quality of life of patients with PSCCT
Kinematics and hydrodynamics of spinning particles
In the first part (Sections 1 and 2) of this paper --starting from the Pauli
current, in the ordinary tensorial language-- we obtain the decomposition of
the non-relativistic field velocity into two orthogonal parts: (i) the
"classical part, that is, the 3-velocity w = p/m OF the center-of-mass (CM),
and (ii) the so-called "quantum" part, that is, the 3-velocity V of the motion
IN the CM frame (namely, the internal "spin motion" or zitterbewegung). By
inserting such a complete, composite expression of the velocity into the
kinetic energy term of the non-relativistic classical (i.e., newtonian)
lagrangian, we straightforwardly get the appearance of the so-called "quantum
potential" associated, as it is known, with the Madelung fluid. This result
carries further evidence that the quantum behaviour of micro-systems can be
adirect consequence of the fundamental existence of spin. In the second part
(Sections 3 and 4), we fix our attention on the total 3-velocity v = w + V, it
being now necessary to pass to relativistic (classical) physics; and we show
that the proper time entering the definition of the four-velocity v^mu for
spinning particles has to be the proper time tau of the CM frame. Inserting the
correct Lorentz factor into the definition of v^mu leads to completely new
kinematical properties for v_mu v^mu. The important constraint p_mu v^mu = m,
identically true for scalar particles, but just assumed a priori in all
previous spinning particle theories, is herein derived in a self-consistent
way.Comment: LaTeX file; needs kapproc.st
Black hole evaporation within a momentum-dependent metric
We investigate the black hole thermodynamics in a "deformed" relativity
framework where the energy-momentum dispersion law is Lorentz-violating and the
Schwarzchild-like metric is momentum-dependent with a Planckian cut-off. We
obtain net deviations of the basic thermodynamical quantities from the
Hawking-Bekenstein predictions: actually, the black hole evaporation is
expected to quit at a nonzero critical mass value (of the order of the Planck
mass), leaving a zero temperature remnant, and avoiding a spacetime
singularity. Quite surprisingly, the present semiclassical corrections to black
hole temperature, entropy, and heat capacity turn out to be identical to the
ones obtained within some quantum approaches
Laboratory bounds on Lorentz symmetry violation in low energy neutrino physics
Quantitative bounds on Lorentz symmetry violation in the neutrino sector have
been obtained by analyzing existing laboratory data on neutron decay
and pion leptonic decays. In particular some parameters appearing in the
energy-momentum dispersion relations for and have been
constrained in two typical cases arising in many models accounting for Lorentz
violation.Comment: revtex, 8 pages, no figures, references added, typos correcte
Clinical efficacy of convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19 infections: Results of a multicenter clinical study
Since Dec. 2019 the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions and claimed life of several hundred thousand worldwide. However, so far no approved vaccine or drug therapy is available for treatment of virus infection. Convalescent plasma has been considered a potential modality for COVID-19 infection. One hundred eighty-nine COVID-19 positive patients including 115 patients in plasma therapy group and 74 patients in control group, registered in the hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 infection, entered this multi-center clinical study. Comparison of outcomes including all-cause mortality, total hospitalization days and patients� need for intubation between the two patient groups shows that total of 98 (98.2 ) of patients who received convalescent plasma were discharged from hospital which is substantially higher compared to 56 (78.7 ) patients in control group. Length of hospitalization days was significantly lower (9.54 days) in convalescent plasma group compared with that of control group (12.88 days). Only 8 patients (7) in convalescent plasma group required intubation while that was 20 in control group. This clinical study provides strong evidence to support the efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in COVID-19 patients and recommends this treatment for management of these patients. Clinical efficacy, immediate availability and potential cost effectiveness could be considered as main advantages of convalescent plasma therapy. © 2020 Elsevier Lt
Diosgenin, a Steroidal Saponin, Inhibits Migration and Invasion of Human Prostate Cancer PC-3 Cells by Reducing Matrix Metalloproteinases Expression
BACKGROUND: Diosgenin, a steroidal saponin obtained from fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum), was found to exert anti-carcinogenic properties, such as inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis in a variety of tumor cells. However, the effect of diosgenin on cancer metastasis remains unclear. The aim of the study is to examine the effect of diosgenin on migration and invasion in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Diosgenin inhibited proliferation of PC-3 cells in a dose-dependent manner. When treated with non-toxic doses of diosgenin, cell migration and invasion were markedly suppressed by in vitro wound healing assay and Boyden chamber invasion assay, respectively. Furthermore, diosgenin reduced the activities of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 by gelatin zymography assay. The mRNA level of MMP-2, -9, -7 and extracellular inducer of matrix metalloproteinase (EMMPRIN) were also suppressed while tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) was increased by diosgenin. In addition, diosgenin abolished the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in PC-3 cells and tube formation of endothelial cells. Our immunoblotting assays indicated that diosgenin potently suppressed the phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositide-3 kinase (PI3K), Akt, extracellular signal regulating kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). In addition, diosgenin significantly decreased the nuclear level of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), suggesting that diosgenin inhibited NF-κB activity. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The results suggested that diosgenin inhibited migration and invasion of PC-3 cells by reducing MMPs expression. It also inhibited ERK, JNK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways as well as NF-κB activity. These findings reveal new therapeutic potential for diosgenin in anti-metastatic therapy
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