The superficial brachial artery : a case report

A superficial brachial artery is an anomalous branch of the brachial artery that runs superficial to the median nerve; it is usually associated with a deep brachial branch that runs deep to this nerve. A case is described of a superficial brachial artery. It is of the type where the artery terminates in the cubital fossa by division into radial and ulnar arteries. It is associated with a superficial ulnar artery, and a deep brachial artery that is continued into the forearm as the common interosseous artery, a rare occurrence. The clinical importance and the dangers of this vascular anomaly are discussed. In reparative surgery, an accurate knowledge of the relationship, course and particularly the possible variations of the brachial artery is of considerable importance.peer-reviewe

Deep learning with long short-term memory for stock market predictions and portfolio optimization

ope

Time-dependent cyclic behavior of reinforced concretebridge columns under chlorides-induced corrosion andrebars buckling

This study presents the results of a refined numerical investigation meant at understanding the time-dependent cyclic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns under chlorides-induced corrosion. The chloride ingress in the cross-section of the bridge column is simulated, taking into account the effects of temperature, humidity, aging, and corrosion-induced cover cracking. Once the partial differential equations governing such multiphysics problem are solved through the finite-element method, the loss of reinforcement steel bars cross-section is calculated based on the estimated corrosion current density. The nonlinear cyclic response of the RC bridge column under corrosion is, thus, determined by discretizing its cross-sections into several unidirectional fibers. In particular, the nonlinear modeling of the corroded longitudinal rebars exploits a novel proposal for the estimation of the ultimate strain in tension and also accounts for buckling under compression. A parametric numerical study is finally conducted for a real case study to unfold the role of corrosion pattern and buckling mode of the longitudinal rebars on the time variation of capacity and ductility of RC bridge columns

AIRO Breast Cancer Group Best Clinical Practice 2022 Update

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common tumor in women and represents the leading cause of cancer death. Radiation therapy plays a key-role in the treatment of all breast cancer stages. Therefore, the adoption of evidence-based treatments is warranted, to ensure equity of access and standardization of care in clinical practice.Method: This national document on the highest evidence-based available data was developed and endorsed by the Italian Association of Radiation and Clinical Oncology (AIRO) Breast Cancer Group.We analyzed literature data regarding breast radiation therapy, using the SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) methodology (www.sign.ac.uk). Updated findings from the literature were examined, including the highest levels of evidence (meta-analyses, randomized trials, and international guidelines) with a significant impact on clinical practice. The document deals with the role of radiation therapy in the treatment of primary breast cancer, local relapse, and metastatic disease, with focus on diagnosis, staging, local and systemic therapies, and follow up. Information is given on indications, techniques, total doses, and fractionations.Results: An extensive literature review from 2013 to 2021 was performed. The work was organized according to a general index of different topics and most chapters included individual questions and, when possible, synoptic and summary tables. Indications for radiation therapy in breast cancer were examined and integrated with other oncological treatments. A total of 50 questions were analyzed and answered.Four large areas of interest were investigated: (1) general strategy (multidisciplinary approach, contraindications, preliminary assessments, staging and management of patients with electronic devices); (2) systemic therapy (primary, adjuvant, in metastatic setting); (3) clinical aspects (invasive, non-invasive and micro-invasive carcinoma; particular situations such as young and elderly patients, breast cancer in males and cancer during pregnancy; follow up with possible acute and late toxicities; loco-regional relapse and metastatic disease); (4) technical aspects (radiation after conservative surgery or mastectomy, indications for boost, lymph node radiotherapy and partial breast irradiation).Appendixes about tumor bed boost and breast and lymph nodes contouring were implemented, including a dedicated web application. The scientific work was reviewed and validated by an expert group of breast cancer key-opinion leaders.Conclusions: Optimal breast cancer management requires a multidisciplinary approach sharing therapeutic strategies with the other involved specialists and the patient, within a coordinated and dedicated clinical path. In recent years, the high-level quality radiation therapy has shown a significant impact on local control and survival of breast cancer patients. Therefore, it is necessary to offer and guarantee accurate treatments according to the best standards of evidence-based medicine

Gaia Data Release 1: Testing parallaxes with local Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars

Context. Parallaxes for 331 classical Cepheids, 31 Type II Cepheids, and 364 RR Lyrae stars in common between Gaia and the Hipparcos and Tycho-2 catalogues are published in Gaia Data Release 1 (DR1) as part of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). Aims. In order to test these first parallax measurements of the primary standard candles of the cosmological distance ladder, which involve astrometry collected by Gaia during the initial 14 months of science operation, we compared them with literature estimates and derived new period-luminosity (PL), period-Wesenheit (PW) relations for classical and Type II Cepheids and infrared PL, PL-metallicity (PLZ), and optical luminosity-metallicity (M V -[Fe/H]) relations for the RR Lyrae stars, with zero points based on TGAS. Methods. Classical Cepheids were carefully selected in order to discard known or suspected binary systems. The final sample comprises 102 fundamental mode pulsators with periods ranging from 1.68 to 51.66 days (of which 33 with σ Ω /Ω < 0.5). The Type II Cepheids include a total of 26 W Virginis and BL Herculis stars spanning the period range from 1.16 to 30.00 days (of which only 7 with σ Ω /Ω < 0.5). The RR Lyrae stars include 200 sources with pulsation period ranging from 0.27 to 0.80 days (of which 112 with σ Ω /Ω < 0.5). The new relations were computed using multi-band (V,I,J,K s ) photometry and spectroscopic metal abundances available in the literature, and by applying three alternative approaches: (i) linear least-squares fitting of the absolute magnitudes inferred from direct transformation of the TGAS parallaxes; (ii) adopting astrometry-based luminosities; and (iii) using a Bayesian fitting approach. The last two methods work in parallax space where parallaxes are used directly, thus maintaining symmetrical errors and allowing negative parallaxes to be used. The TGAS-based PL,PW,PLZ, and M V - [Fe/H] relations are discussed by comparing the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud provided by different types of pulsating stars and alternative fitting methods. Results. Good agreement is found from direct comparison of the parallaxes of RR Lyrae stars for which both TGAS and HST measurements are available. Similarly, very good agreement is found between the TGAS values and the parallaxes inferred from the absolute magnitudes of Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars analysed with the Baade-Wesselink method. TGAS values also compare favourably with the parallaxes inferred by theoretical model fitting of the multi-band light curves for two of the three classical Cepheids and one RR Lyrae star, which were analysed with this technique in our samples. The K-band PL relations show the significant improvement of the TGAS parallaxes for Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars with respect to the Hipparcos measurements. This is particularly true for the RR Lyrae stars for which improvement in quality and statistics is impressive. Conclusions. TGAS parallaxes bring a significant added value to the previous Hipparcos estimates. The relations presented in this paper represent the first Gaia-calibrated relations and form a work-in-progress milestone report in the wait for Gaia-only parallaxes of which a first solution will become available with Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) in 2018. © ESO, 2017

Wide-Ranging Analysis of MicroRNA Profiles in Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Using Next-Generation Sequencing

MicroRNA (miRNA) has emerged as an important regulator of gene expression in neurodegenerative disease as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In the nervous system, dysregulation in miRNA-related pathways is subordinated to neuronal damage and cell death, which contributes to the expansion of neurodegenerative disorders, such as ALS. In the present research, we aimed to profile dysregulation of miRNAs in ALS blood and neuromuscular junction as well as healthy blood control by next-generation sequencing (NGS). The expression of three upregulated miRNAs, as miR-338-3p, miR-223-3p, and miR-326, in the ALS samples compared to healthy controls, has been validated by qRT-PCR in a cohort of 45 samples collected previously. Bioinformatics tools were used to perform ALS miRNAs target analysis and to predict novel miRNAs secondary structure. The analysis of the NGS data identified 696 and 49 novel miRNAs which were differentially expressed in ALS tissues. In particular, in neuromuscular junction the differential expression of miR-338-3p, which we previously found upregulated in different types of ASL tissues, miR-223-3p, and miR-326 was elevated compared to normal control. ALS miRNAs gene target were significantly involved in neuronal related pathway as BDFN1 and HIF-1genes. This study presents the direct experimental evidence that, overall, miR-338-3p is highly expressed in ALS tissues including neuromuscular junction characterizing ALS from normal tissues. Beside, our analysis identified, for the first time, novel miRNAs highly expressed in ALS tissues. In conclusion, the results indicate that miRNAs has an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of ALS

Quaderni Contemporanei. 1(1968)

(1968): Menna, F., Centro storico e sviluppo della città moderna, P. 13 ; Sullo, F., Il contributo del legislatore, P. 21 ; De Luca, G., Il centro storico di Salerno e l’apporto creativo dell’architettura moderna, P. 29 ; Dillon, A., Per un equilibrio vitale del centro storico, P. 43 ; De Felice, E., Nuovi insediamenti negli edifici dei centri storici, P. 55 ; Kalby, G., Il centro antico e il piano regolatore, P. 71 ; Napoli, M., Il contributo della metodologia archeologica, P. 87.Atti del convegno sul centro storico salernitano dell’11-12 febbraio 196