Bioactive glass-ceramic scaffolds from novel 'inorganic gel casting' and sinter-crystallization

Highly porous wollastonite-diopside glass-ceramics have been successfully obtained by a new gel-casting technique. The gelation of an aqueous slurry of glass powders was not achieved according to the polymerization of an organic monomer, but as the result of alkali activation. The alkali activation of a Ca-Mg silicate glass (with a composition close to 50 mol % wollastonite50 mol % diopside, with minor amounts of Na2O and P2O5) allowed for the obtainment of well-dispersed concentrated suspensions, undergoing progressive hardening by curing at low temperature (40 degrees C), owing to the formation of a C-S-H (calcium silicate hydrate) gel. An extensive direct foaming was achieved by vigorous mechanical stirring of partially gelified suspensions, comprising also a surfactant. The open-celled structure resulting from mechanical foaming could be frozen' by the subsequent sintering treatment, at 900-1000 degrees C, causing substantial crystallization. A total porosity exceeding 80%, comprising both well-interconnected macro-pores and micro-pores on cell walls, was accompanied by an excellent compressive strength, even above 5 MPa

Coexisting patterns of population oscillations: the degenerate Neimark Sacker bifurcation as a generic mechanism

We investigate a population dynamics model that exhibits a Neimark Sacker bifurcation with a period that is naturally close to 4. Beyond the bifurcation, the period becomes soon locked at 4 due to a strong resonance, and a second attractor of period 2 emerges, which coexists with the first attractor over a considerable parameter range. A linear stability analysis and a numerical investigation of the second attractor reveal that the bifurcations producing the second attractor occur naturally in this type of system.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Benefit of continuing trastuzumab beyond progression in her2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mbc) is independent of the chemotherapy partner: message from a single-centre retrospective study

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Which benefit from subsequent chemotherapy lines beyond the second for women with metastatic breast cancer? Evidence from a single-center retrospective analysis of survivorship

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Um estudo investigativo nos bairros do Lagarteiro e Contumil

A investigação desenvolvida é sobre a perspetiva da comunidade cigana sob a violência. Esta etnia rege-se sobre princípios e leis muito distintas de qualquer outra cultura, e sendo a violência doméstica um tema cada vez mais falado na atualidade é pertinente compreender este fenómeno de acordo com os valores desta cultura. Assim, o presente estudo tem como objetivos perceber a cultura, a distinção entre homem e mulher, o que é ser criança nesta cultura, a lei, e a problemática da violência sob a perspetiva da mulher, criança e jovem. Para realizar este estudo, desenvolvemos um estágio de 900 horas na Associação “Norte Vida”, sediada no Porto. No quadro da compreensão, desenvolvemos uma investigação qualitativa com recurso a entrevistas com mulheres de origem cigana residentes do Bairro de Contumil e através do Focus Grupos com crianças do Bairro do Lagarteiro e Contumil, que se centrou na realização de várias atividades lúdico-didáticas com o intuito de trabalhar e de perceber o fenómeno da violência. Um dos recursos mais utilizados para este estudo foi a observação participante, onde se pode observar práticas, culturas e comportamentos. A participação ativa das crianças e das mulheres nas atividades realizadas e o dia-a-dia vivido no bairro, permitiu a realização de registos de notas de campo. Através dos dados recolhidos foi possível analisar se a violência para a etnia cigana é vista como está descrita na legislação, como é que esta etnia lida e age em situações de violência e como as crianças e jovens vêm a mesma.The developed research is about the gypsy community's perspective on violence. This ethnicity follows principles and laws very different from any other culture, and since domestic violence, is nowadays a very much discussed topic, it’s pertinent to understand this phenomenon according to the values of this culture. The present study aims to understand this culture, the distinction that it’s made between men and women, what it feels to be a child in this culture, the law, and the problem of violence from the perspective of woman, children and youth. For the accomplishment of this study a 900-hour internship was developed at the "Norte Vida" Association, in Porto. For comprehension support, we developed a qualitative investigation performing interviews with women of gypsy origin living in the neighbourhood of Contumil, as well as Focus Groups with children from the neighbourhood of Lagarteiro and Contumil, which focused on the accomplishment of various ludic-didactic activities in order to work on and to better understand the phenomenon of violence. One of the most used methods for this study was the participant observation, where practices, cultures and behaviours could be observed. The active participation of children and women in the activities carried out and the day-to-day life in the neighbourhood, led to the recording of field notes. Through the collected data it was possible to analyse if the violence for the gypsy ethnicity is seen as it’s described in the legislation, how does this ethnic group lead with and react in situations of violence and how the children and young people see this topic

Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C in a Patient Affected by Systemic Sclerosis

The currently recommended treatment for patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is pegilated interferon α (IFN α) plus ribavirin. Despite the numerous benefits of this therapy, there is an increasing concern regarding his tolerance. Among the most common side effects, interferon may trigger the onset or exacerbation of autoimmune diseases. When chronic hepatitis C coexists with an autoimmune disorder, it is not clear whether using interferon is better than avoiding it. We evaluated the disease state of a 55-year old female affected by sistemic sclerosis (SSc), during and after therapy with IFNα pegilated plus ribavirin for chronic HCV infection. We were worried about the potential worsening of the autoimmune disease during the therapy, but we were confident that we would give our patient a short course of peginterferon and ribavirin. A mild, asymptomatic worsening of lung SSc was observed during IFN administration, without life threatening symptoms. After 24 months follow up we observed the maintenance of the virological response and a good control of the rheumatological disease. Thus, in liver disease at high risk of progression and concomitant SSc, the antiviral therapy with IFNα is a feasible approach

Post-progression evaluation of patients treated with nivolumab for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A prospective cohort analysis

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Prenatal diagnosis and post-mortem examination in a fetus with thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome due to compound heterozygosity for a 1q21.1 microdeletion and a RBM8A hypomorphic allele: a case report

Background: Thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by megakaryocytic thrombocytopenia and longitudinal limb deficiencies mostly affecting the radial ray. Most patients are compound heterozygotes for a 200 kb interstitial microdeletion in 1q21.1 and a hypomorphic allele in RBM8A, mapping in the deleted segment. At the moment, the complete molecular characterization of thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome is limited to a handful of patients mostly ascertained in the pediatric age. Case presentation. We report on a fetus with bilateral upper limb deficiency found at standard prenatal ultrasound examination. The fetus had bilateral radial agenesis and humeral hypo/aplasia with intact thumbs, micrognathia and urinary anomalies, indicating thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome. Molecular studies demonstrated compound heterozygosity for the 1q21.1 microdeletion and the RBM8A rs139428292 variant at the hemizygous state, inherited from the mother and father, respectively. Conclusion: The molecular information allowed prenatal diagnosis in the following pregnancy resulting in the birth of a healthy carrier female. A review was carried out with the attempt to the trace the fetal ultrasound presentation of thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome and discussing opportunities for second-tier molecular studies within a multidisciplinary setting. © 2013 Bottillo et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd