Growing Teratoma Syndrome

Growing teratoma syndrome (GTS) is a rare clinical entity, which presents with enlarging teratomas masses of the retroperitoneum or other locations, occurring during or after systemic chemotherapy for the treatment of nonseminomatous germ cell of the testis (NSGCT), with normalised tumour markers. Awareness of this syndrome is necessary in order to prevent unnecessary chemotherapy and allow optimal management. Prognosis is excellent after the excision of these tumors, but surgery has to be as complete as possible. Surgical resection of bulky GTS lesions is technically challenging; intraoperative complications may occur; that is, why the treatment must not be delayed. Our experience in the surgical management of these lesions is reviewed in the following work

SENSHOME. ARCHITETTURA E SENSIBILITÀ ATIPICHE / ARCHITECTURE AND ATYPICAL SENSITIVITIES

Il libro presenta gli esiti di una ricerca internazionale finanziata dall’Unione Europea, sull’abitare delle persone con diagnosi di autismo, proponendo alla riflessione della progettazione architettonica un tema finora affrontato prevalentemente da altri ambiti del sapere e del progetto. Accogliendo non solo i presunti deficit ma anche le competenze e capacità di creazione di significato e narrazioni delle persone nello spettro autistico, la relazione tra architettura, autismo e neurodivergenze in generale, si rivela l’occasione per espandere punti di vista e possibilità dell’architettura più che limitarli, trascendendo convinzioni e convenzioni prevalenti

Propriedades psicométricas da Escala de Medida do Estado Atual (MOCS) em pacientes mexicanos com câncer

Background: Cancer is a public health problem, and stress is one of the psychosocial variables associated to this disease, which calls for the need to have a reliable scale to measures stress in the Hispanic population with cancer. Objective: To determine the psychometric properties of the Measurement of Current Status (MOCS) Scale in Mexican cancer patients. Method: Study design: Cross-sectional, non-experimental instrumental. A total of 197 patients aged 18-81 years, at any clinical stage, receiving cancer treatment or follow-up were included. Instruments: MOCS and emotional distress thermometer. Statistical analysis: Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to evaluate the fit of the model to the data using the maximum likelihood estimation and cut-off points. Results: Two models were obtained. The first, self-perceived current state, had an alpha of .90 with an explained variance of 74.2 %; the second, non-specific effect, with an alpha of .61 and an explained variance of 74.3 %. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that both models had indexes suggesting stability and acceptable adjustment. Scores are shown by interquartile ranges for each model. Conclusions: The Mexican version of the MOCS is reliable and valid; with a confirmatory factor structure similar to the original version. Therefore, we support its use in the clinical and research setting with cancer patients.Antecedentes: El cáncer es un problema de salud pública, una de las variables psicosociales en relación con esta enfermedad es el estrés, por tanto es necesario tener una escala que mida el estrés en población hispana con cáncer. Objetivo: Determinar las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Medida del Estado Actual (MOCS, por sus igla en inglés) en pacientes mexicanos con cáncer. Método: Estudio transversal, instrumental no experimental. Participaron 197 pacientes de 18 a 81 años, de cualquier etapa clínica, en tratamiento o seguimiento del cáncer. Instrumentos: MOCS y termómetro de malestar emocional. Análisis estadísticos: análisis factorial confirmatorio para evaluar el ajuste del modelo a los datos mediante el método de máxima verosimilitud y puntos de corte. Resultados: Se obtuvieron dos modelos, el primero, estado actual autopercibido, con un alfa de .90 varianza explicada de 74.2 %, el segundo, efectos inespecíficos, con un alfa de .61 varianza explicada de 74.3 %. El análisis factorial confirmatorio mostró que ambos modelos tuvieron índices que sugieren estabilidad, ajuste aceptable, se muestran puntajes mediante rangos intercuartílicos para cada modelo. Conclusiones: la versión mexicana del MOCS tiene confiabilidad y validez, su estructura factorial confirmatoria es similar a la versión original. Se recomienda su uso en la práctica clínica e investigación en pacientes con cáncer.Antecedentes: O câncer é um problema de saúde pública, uma das variáveis psicossociais relacionadas a essa doença é o estresse, portanto, é necessário ter uma escala que meça o estresse na população hispânica com câncer. Objetivo: Determinar as propriedades psicométricas da Escala de Medição do Estado Atual (MOCS) em pacientes mexicanos com câncer. Método: Desenho do estudo: transversal, instrumental, não experimental. Participaram 197 pacientes com idades entre 18 e 81 anos, em qualquer estágio clínico, em tratamento ou acompanhamento do câncer. Instrumentos: MOCS e Termômetro de desconforto emocional. Análises estatísticas: análise fatorial confirmatória para avaliar o ajuste do modelo aos dados por meio do método de máxima verossimilhança e pontos de corte. Resultados: Foram obtidos dois modelos, o primeiro estado atual autopercebido com um alfa de 0,90 variância explicada de 74,2 %, o segundo efeito inespecífico com um alfa de 0,61 variância explicada de 74,3 %; a análise fatorial confirmatória mostrou que ambos os modelos tiveram índices que sugerem estabilidade, ajuste aceitável e são demonstradas pontuações por meio de intervalos interquartis para cada modelo. Conclusões: a versão mexicana do MOCS tem confiabilidade e validade; sua estrutura fatorial confirmatória é semelhante à versão original. É recomendado para prática clínica e pesquisa em pacientes com câncer

Requirements of a Supportive Environment for People on the Autism Spectrum: A Human-Centered Design Story

People on the autism spectrum have a different perception of the environment than neurotypical people and often require support in various activities of daily living. Assistive technology can support those affected, but very few smart-home-like technologies exist. To support people on the autism spectrum in their autonomy and safety and to help caregivers, a smart home and interior design environment was developed. Requirements were gathered by employing a holistic human-centered design approach through interactive workshops and questionnaires to create a useful and user-friendly solution. From this process, requirements for a comprehensive solution (the SENSHOME environment) emerged. These requirements include a set of functionalities tailored to the needs of people on the autism spectrum, such as a crowd warning that informs when many people are in a certain area (for example, the entrance), an automatic light regulation system, or a daily life planner that supports task completion. Furthermore, inclusive furniture elements such as a refuge seat or a table with dividers can support wellbeing, autonomy, and safety. This paper demonstrates a consequent and considerable participatory research approach and the story from the target group and context of use through design requirements to the initial design solution of the SENSHOME environment

Recent Advances in the Synthesis and Application of SF5-Containing Organic Compounds

It is well known that fluorinated molecules play an important role in daily life. For example, organic molecules bearing either a fluorine atom itself or a short polyfluorinated substituent such as mono-, difluoro-, and trifluoromethyl groups, or pentafluoroethyl and perfluoropropyl groups are already widely used in medicinal and agricultural chemistry. In contrast, molecules with long perfluorinated chains have found vast application in materials science. Among the fluorine-containing moieties, the pentafluorosulfanyl (SF5) substituent occupies a special place.1 The pentafluorosulfanyl group brings unique properties to organic compounds and often improves their biological activities due to the group’s high chemical and metabolic stability, significant lipophilicity, substantial steric effect, unique geometry, and low surface energy. Here we present new routes towards SF5-substituted aliphatic and heterocyclic compounds

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 expression in fibroblasts of Down syndrome subjects

Abstract Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal disorder. It is featured by intellectual disability and is caused by trisomy 21. People with DS can develop some traits of Alzheimer disease at an earlier age than subjects without trisomy 21. Apoptosis is a programmed cell death process under both normal physiological and pathological conditions. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 is a mediator of programmed-necrotic cell death and appears to be also involved in the apoptosis. The aim of the present work was to detect the intracellular distribution of PARP-1 protein using immunofluorescence techniques and the expression of PARP-1 mRNA in culture of fibroblasts of DS subjects. The analysis of the intracellular distribution of PARP-1 show a signal at the nuclear level in about 75 % of the cells of DS subjects with a slight uniformly fluorescent cytoplasm. In contrast, in about 65% of the analyzed fibroblasts of the normal subjects only a slight fluorescent was found. These observations have been confirmed by PARP-1 gene mRNA expression evaluation. The data obtained from this study strengthen the hypothesis that the over-expression of PARP-1 gene could have a role in the activation of the apoptotic pathways acting in the neurodegenerative processes in DS

Radiomics analyses to predict histopathology in patients with metastatic testicular germ cell tumors before post-chemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection

Background: The identification of histopathology in metastatic non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) before post-chemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PC-RPLND) holds significant potential to reduce treatment-related morbidity in young patients, addressing an important survivorship concern. Aim: To explore this possibility, we conducted a study investigating the role of computed tomography (CT) radiomics models that integrate clinical predictors, enabling personalized prediction of histopathology in metastatic non-seminomatous TGCT patients prior to PC-RPLND. In this retrospective study, we included a cohort of 122 patients. Methods: Using dedicated radiomics software, we segmented the targets and extracted quantitative features from the CT images. Subsequently, we employed feature selection techniques and developed radiomics-based machine learning models to predict histological subtypes. To ensure the robustness of our procedure, we implemented a 5-fold cross-validation approach. When evaluating the models’ performance, we measured metrics such as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F-score. Result: Our radiomics model based on the Support Vector Machine achieved an optimal average AUC of 0.945. Conclusions: The presented CT-based radiomics model can potentially serve as a non-invasive tool to predict histopathological outcomes, differentiating among fibrosis/necrosis, teratoma, and viable tumor in metastatic non-seminomatous TGCT before PC-RPLND. It has the potential to be considered a promising tool to mitigate the risk of over- or under-treatment in young patients, although multi-center validation is critical to confirm the clinical utility of the proposed radiomics workflow

Sensitive Spaces for Atypical Minds. Memos for Upcoming Autonomy

This essay addresses the relationship between space and memory in relation to autism and other kinds of neurodiversity. Those with autism frequently find it difficult to remember sequences of actions to carry out during the day or to complete a task. In contrast, they often have an excellent visual memory. A clear vision, especially from the front, of places and objects can support an autonomous, independent life. We are going to propose some examples of designs for “sensitive” spaces and furnishings developed with this in mind within the SENSHome Project funded by the European Unio

Tra citt\ue0 e casa: lo spazio-tempo della soglia come esperienze dell'alterit\ue0

L\u2019emergenza pandemica ha messo in evidenza fragilit\ue0 e limiti del corpo fisico ma anche del corpo sociale, facendo emergere vecchie e nuove disuguaglianze sociali che si sono manifestate anche come disuguaglianze spaziali.Per ripensare case e citt\ue0 pi\uf9 giuste e attente alla vulnerabilit\ue0 di ognuno e a quella di tutti come collettivit\ue0, rivelata dalla pandemia, pu\uf2 assumere un ruolo di riferimento il progetto, normalmente marginale e affrontato quasi unicamente dalla tecnologia supportiva, degli spazi domestici e urbani per utenti con esigenze speciali: persone che, ogni giorno, al di l\ue0 della pandemia, vivono la consapevolezza dei limiti al performante, la socialit\ue0 come bisogno non scontato e come conquista, l\u2019ipersensibilit\ue0 alle esigenze di sicurezza e comfort, la necessit\ue0 di tempi dilatati, anche nella transizione tra la casa e la citt\ue0

LEARNING CITIES IN A KNOWLEDGE BASED SOCIETY, Book of Abstracts+ CD of papers. XI EURA CONFERENCE

reserved4Il testo costituisce la raccolta dei contributi pervenuti in occasione della XI European Urban Research Association, tenutasi a Milano nell'ottobre del 2008. è costituito da una raccolta di abstract e nell'allegato il cd dei paper pervenuti.Fedeli, Valeria; Fini, Giulia; Moro, Anna; Scavuzzo, LinaFedeli, Valeria; Fini, Giulia; Moro, Anna; Scavuzzo, Lin