Preparation of heterocyclic block copolymer from perfluoroalkylene oxide alpha, omega-diamidoximes

Diamidoxime monomers are intermolecularly and thermally condensed to form a heat and chemical resistant polymer containing 1,2,4-oxadiazole linkages with identical bivalent organic radicals or any combination of bivalent organic radicals selected from the group consisting of -(CX(sub 2))p-, wherein P ranges from 2 to 8 when X is fluorine and 2 to 18 when X is hydrogen, chlorine, nitro or aryl; arylene; and an oligometric or polymeric radical prepared by reacting a dicarboxylic acid halide with a fluorinated epoxide and having the formula: (CFY(OCF(sub 2)CFY)sub m)O(CX(sub 2))(sub p)O(CFYCF(sub 2)O)(sub n)CFY wherein Y is flourine or tryifluoromethyl, X is nitro, aryl, hydrogen, chlorine or fluorine, preferably the latter, p ranges from 1 to 18 and m+n ranges from 2 to 7

Adnexal Torsion in Pediatric Age: Does Bolli's Score Work? Report of Two Cases

Adnexal torsion is a surgical emergency requiring early diagnosis in order to avoid demolitive surgery. Adnexal torsion's diagnosis could be very difficult in pediatric patients because children cannot explain symptoms accurately. Furthermore reproductive organs lie high in abdomen, causing unclear examinations findings. For reducing diagnostic mistakes or delay clinical and hematological criteria could be useful. No radiological criteria (CT or MRI) should be taken in count because of the costs and the required time. By combining clinical presentation in patients with OT three useful diagnostic variables have been identified: age, duration of pain, vomiting. Presence of vomiting, short duration of abdominal pain and high CRP levels have great predictive value for the diagnosis of adnexal torsion. In those patients an exploratory laparoscopy should be performed without any doubt and/or delay. These data may aid physicians in the evaluation of abdominal pain in premenarchal girls

Metastatic tumors to the stomach: clinical and endoscopic features.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical and endoscopic patterns in a large series of patients with metastatic tumors in the stomach. METHODS: A total of 64 patients with gastric metastases from solid malignant tumors were retrospectively examined between 1990 and 2005. The clinicopathological findings were reviewed along with tumor characteristics such as endoscopic pattern, location, size and origin of the primary sites. RESULTS: Common indications for endoscopy were anemia, bleeding and epigastric pain. Metastases presented as solitary (62.5%) or multiple (37.5%) tumors were mainly located in the middle or upper third of stomach. The main primary metastatic tumors were from breast and lung cancer and malignant melanoma. CONCLUSION: As the prognosis of cancer patients has been improving gradually, gastrointestinal (GI) metastases will be encountered more often. Endoscopic examinations should be conducted carefully in patients with malignancies, and endoscopic biopsies and information on the patient's clinical history are useful for correct diagnosis of gastric metastases

Biochemical survey on episodic localized darkening in Turkey deboned thigh meat packaged in modified atmosphere

Abstract The color of food, especially meat and meat products, is a parameter that strongly influences consumer choice. In Italy, repeated cases of darkening in deboned thigh meat of male turkeys packaged in modified atmosphere (MAP; 80% 02, 20% CO2) have been reported. The pH, lipid oxidation (TBARS), heme proteins, and iron content were investigated in MAP samples of turkey males, females, and in oxygen-permeable film-packaged males. Furthermore, the absorbance spectrum (400 to 700 nm) of the meat extracts was analyzed to better delineate the evolution and characteristics of the darkening process. Results showed that darkening occurred only in males with higher content of total iron, independently of the content of heme proteins, which differs only between males and females. Furthermore, pH was higher in muscles taken as controls, with respect to muscles involved in the darkening, as well as in females. Finally, TBARS values were found to be higher in darkened regions than in not darkened ones, as well as in MAP samples with respect to oxygen-permeable film-packaged samples. These findings suggest that darkening occurrence might depend on kind of muscle, sex, and individual characteristics of the animals raised under the same breeding conditions

Lifestyle intervention on body weight and physical activity in patients with breast cancer can reduce the risk of death in obese women: The EMILI study

Background obesity and sedentary lifestyle have been shown to negatively affect survival in breast cancer (BC). The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention on body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA) levels among BC survivors in Modena, Italy, in order to show an outcome improvement in obese and overweight patients. Methods: This study is a single-arm experimental design, conducted between November 2009 and May 2016 on 430 women affected by BC. Weight, BMI, and PA were assessed at baseline, at 12 months, and at the end of the study. Survival curves were estimated among normal, overweight, and obese patients. Results: Mean BMI decreased from baseline to the end of the study was equal to 2.9% (p = 0.065) in overweight patients and 3.3% in obese patients (p = 0.048). Mean PA increase from baseline to the end of the study was equal to 125% (p < 0.001) in normal patients, 200% (p < 0.001) in overweight patients and 100% (p < 0.001) in obese patients. After 70 months of follow-up, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 96%, 96%, and 93%, respectively in normal, obese, and overweight patients. Overweight patients had significantly worse OS than normal ones (HR = 3.69, 95%CI = 1.82–4.53 p = 0.027) whereas no statistically significant differences were seen between obese and normal patients (HR 2.45, 95%CI = 0.68–8.78, p = 0.169). Conclusions: A lifestyle intervention can lead to clinically meaningful weight loss and increase PA in patients with BC. These results could contribute to improving the OS in obese patients compared to overweight ones

A Case of Osteonecrosis of the Jaw in a Patient with Crohn's Disease Treated with Infliximab

Background: Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a severe adverse drug reaction, occurring in patients undergoing treatments with antiresorptive or antiangiogenic agents, such as bisphosphonates, denosumab, or bevacizumab, for different oncologic and non-oncologic diseases. The aim of this study was to report a case of MRONJ in a patient taking infliximab, an anti-TNF-alpha antibody used to treat Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and plaque psoriasis. Case Report: A 49-year-old female patient affected by Crohn's disease, who had been undergoing 250 mg intravenous infliximab every six weeks for 12 years, with no history of antiresorptive or antiangiogenic agent administration, came to our attention for post-surgical MRONJ, associated with a wide cutaneous necrotic area of her anterior mandible. Following antibiotic cycles, the patient underwent surgical treatment with wide bone resection and debridement of necrotic tissues; after prolonged follow-up (16 months), the patient completely healed without signs of recurrence. Conclusions: Prevention of MRONJ by dental check-up before and during treatments with antiresorptive treatments (bisphosphonates or denosumab) is a well-established procedure. Although further studies are required to confirm the role of infliximab in MRONJ, based on the results of this study, we propose that patients who are going to be treated with infliximab should also undergo dental check-up before starting therapy, to possibly avoid MRONJ onset

Promoting advance care planning as health behavior change: Development of scales to assess Decisional Balance, Medical and Religious Beliefs, and Processes of Change

Objective: To develop measures representing key constructs of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change as applied to advance care planning (ACP) and to examine whether associations between these measures replicate the relationships posited by the TTM. Methods: Sequential scale development techniques were used to develop measures for Decisional Balance (Pros and Cons of behavior change), ACP Values/Beliefs (religious beliefs and medical misconceptions serving as barriers to participation), Processes of Change (behavioral and cognitive processes used to foster participation) based on responses of 304 persons age ≥ 65 years. Results: Items for each scale/subscale demonstrated high factor loading (\u3e.5) and good to excellent internal consistency (Cronbach α .76–.93). Results of MANOVA examining scores on the Pros, Cons, ACP Values/Beliefs, and POC subscales by stage of change for each of the six behaviors were significant, Wilks’ λ = .555–.809, η2 = .068–.178, p ≤ .001 for all models. Conclusion: Core constructs of the TTM as applied to ACP can be measured with high reliability and validity. Practical implications: Cross-sectional relationships between these constructs and stage of behavior change support the use of TTM-tailored interventions to change perceptions of the Pros and Cons of participation in ACP and promote the use of certain Processes of Change in order to promote older persons’ engagement in ACP

Noise-induced perturbations of dispersion-managed solitons

We study noise-induced perturbations of dispersion-managed solitons by developing soliton perturbation theory for the dispersion-managed nonlinear Schroedinger (DMNLS) equation, which governs the long-term behavior of optical fiber transmission systems and certain kinds of femtosecond lasers. We show that the eigenmodes and generalized eigenmodes of the linearized DMNLS equation around traveling-wave solutions can be generated from the invariances of the DMNLS equations, we quantify the perturbation-induced parameter changes of the solution in terms of the eigenmodes and the adjoint eigenmodes, and we obtain evolution equations for the solution parameters. We then apply these results to guide importance-sampled Monte-Carlo simulations and reconstruct the probability density functions of the solution parameters under the effect of noise.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure