A case of rhinoscleroma treated with ciprofloxacin

Respiratory scleroma (often termed \'rhinoscleroma\') is a chronic inflammatory condition in which deforming masses of tissue distend the nasal cavity. Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis is the causative agent of this infection and the Mikulicz cell is specific to the lesion being a large macrophage with clear cytoplasm containing the bacilli. Antibiotic therapy has traditionally consisted of streptomycin and tetracycline long-term but this presents problems with adverse side-effects and poor patient compliance. We report on a young patient with nasal rhinoscleroma who achieved resolution after treatment with oral ciprofloxacin. As mentioned in a review of patients with rhinoscleroma at the Mayo clinic in 1993, the fluoroquinolones deserve further study as potentially highly effective agents for this condition. Ciprofloxacin is convenient for oral administration and has few adverse effects. It achieves good tissue penetration, is concentrated in macrophages and may prove to be useful in the therapy of rhinoscleroma

Primary chordoma of the ethmoid sinus

Primary chordoma of the paranasal sinuses are extremely rare tumours, with only a small number of cases verified and published in the literature. It appears that only five of these cases involved the ethmoid sinuses either as a primary or by local invasion, and of these documented cases only one other has been found to solely involve the ethmoid sinus. We present a case of primary ethmoid sinus chordoma treated by wide local surgical excision and present a review of the literature with regard to prevalence and treatment rationale

A Call to Arms: Revisiting Database Design

Good database design is crucial to obtain a sound, consistent database, and - in turn - good database design methodologies are the best way to achieve the right design. These methodologies are taught to most Computer Science undergraduates, as part of any Introduction to Database class. They can be considered part of the "canon", and indeed, the overall approach to database design has been unchanged for years. Moreover, none of the major database research assessments identify database design as a strategic research direction. Should we conclude that database design is a solved problem? Our thesis is that database design remains a critical unsolved problem. Hence, it should be the subject of more research. Our starting point is the observation that traditional database design is not used in practice - and if it were used it would result in designs that are not well adapted to current environments. In short, database design has failed to keep up with the times. In this paper, we put forth arguments to support our viewpoint, analyze the root causes of this situation and suggest some avenues of research.Comment: Removed spurious column break. Nothing else was change

Physiologically attentive user interface for robot teleoperation: real time emotional state estimation and interface modification using physiology, facial expressions and eye movements

We developed a framework for Physiologically Attentive User Interfaces, to reduce the interaction gap between humans and machines in life critical robot teleoperations. Our system utilizes emotional state awareness capabilities of psychophysiology and classifies three emotional states (Resting, Stress, and Workload) by analysing physiological data along with facial expression and eye movement analysis. This emotional state estimation is then used to create a dynamic interface that updates in real time with respect to user’s emotional state. The results of a preliminary evaluation of the developed emotional state classifier for robot teleoperation are presented, along with its future possibilities are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Radiogenomics in clear cell renal cell carcinoma: correlations between advanced CT imaging (texture analysis) and microRNAs expression

Purpose: A relevant challenge for the improvement of clear cell renal cell carcinoma management could derive from the identification of novel molecular biomarkers that could greatly improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment choice of these neoplasms. In this study, we investigate whether quantitative parameters obtained from computed tomography texture analysis may correlate with the expression of selected oncogenic microRNAs. Methods: In a retrospective single-center study, multiphasic computed tomography examination (with arterial, portal, and urographic phases) was performed on 20 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma and computed tomography texture analysis parameters such as entropy, kurtosis, skewness, mean, and standard deviation of pixel distribution were measured using multiple filter settings. These quantitative data were correlated with the expression of selected microRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-210-3p, miR-185-5p, miR-221-3p, miR-145-5p). Both the evaluations (microRNAs and computed tomography texture analysis) were performed on matched tumor and normal corticomedullar tissues of the same patients cohort. Results: In this pilot study, we evidenced that computed tomography texture analysis has robust parameters (eg, entropy, mean, standard deviation) to distinguish normal from pathological tissues. Moreover, a higher coefficient of determination between entropy and miR-21-5p expression was evidenced in tumor versus normal tissue. Interestingly, entropy and miR-21-5p show promising correlation in clear cell renal cell carcinoma opening to a radiogenomic strategy to improve clear cell renal cell carcinoma management. Conclusion: In this pilot study, a promising correlation between microRNAs and computed tomography texture analysis has been found in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. A clear cell renal cell carcinoma can benefit from noninvasive evaluation of texture parameters in adjunction to biopsy results. In particular, a promising correlation between entropy and miR-21-5p was found

Thermal analysis applied to the characterization of degradation in soil of polylactide: I. Calorimetric and viscoelastic analyses

An accelerated soil burial test has been performed on a commercial polylactide (PLA) for simulating non-controlled disposal. Degradation in soil promotes physical and chemical changes in polylactide properties, which can be characterized by Thermal Analysis techniques. Physical changes occurred in polylactide due to the degradation in soil were evaluated by correlating their calorimetric and viscoelastic properties. It is highly remarkable that each calorimetric scan offers specific and enlightening information. Degradation in soil affects the polylactide chains reorganization. A multimodal melting behavior is observed for buried PLA, degradation in soil also promotes the enlarging the lamellar thickness distribution of the population with bigger average size. Morphological changes due to degradation in soil lead to an increase in the free volume of the polylactide chains in the amorphous phase that highly affected the bulk properties. Thermal Analysis techniques provide reliable indicators of the degradation stage of polylactide induced by degradation in soil, as corroborated by molecular weight analysis

Are Steroids Still Useful in Immunosuppressed Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease? A Retrospective, Population-Based Study

Background: Effectiveness of corticosteroids in immunosuppressed patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been completely elucidated. Aims: To assess the effectiveness and examine the long-term follow-up of systemic or low-bioavailability oral steroid treatment for moderate flare-ups in patients treated with immunosuppressive drugs. Methods: Immunosuppressed patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from our population-data registry were analyzed. For statistical analysis, the chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used as appropriate. Results: A total of 392 patients with IBD and a median of 82 (range, 6–271) months of immunosuppressive (IMM) treatment were identified. The mean follow-up was 87 months (range, 6–239 months). A total of 89 patients (23%) needed at least one steroid course during their follow-up. Average time from IMM to steroid treatment was 26 (range, 6–207) months. In patients with CD, fibrostenotic (B2) and fistulizing (B3) behaviors [p = 0.005; odds ratio (OR): 2.284] were risk factors for using steroids after IMM treatment. In patients with UC, no statistically significant variables were identified. Of the 89 patients who received one first steroid course, 49 (55%) stepped up to biological treatment or surgery after a median of 13 months (range, 0–178), 19 (21%) were treated with repeated steroid courses, and 31 (35%) required no further treatment. Patients with CD had a higher risk (p = 0.007; OR: 3.529) of receiving biological treatment or surgery than patients with UC. The longer the patients with UC (more months) spent using steroids, the greater the risk of requiring treatment with biological drugs or surgery (p = 0.009). Conclusion: A total of 23% of the immunosuppressed patients with IBD received at least one course of steroid treatment. In patients under immunosuppression treated with at least a course of steroids, CD patients were more likely stepped up to biologics and/or surgery than UC patients. In patients with CD, B2/B3 behavior pattern were significant risk factors. After one course of steroids only 35% of immunosuppressed IBD patients remained in remission without needing treatment scalation. © Copyright © 2021 Sicilia, Arias, Hontoria, García, Badia and Gomollón

Thermal analysis applied to the characterization of degradation in soil of polylactide: II. On the thermal stability and thermal decomposition kinetics

The disposal stage of polylactide (PLA) was assessed by burying it in active soil following an international standard. Degradation in soil promotes physical and chemical changes in the polylactide properties. The characterization of the extent of degradation underwent by PLA was carried out by using Thermal Analysis techniques. In this paper, studies on the thermal stability and the thermal decomposition kinetics were performed in order to assess the degradation process of a commercial PLA submitted to an accelerated soil burial test by means of multi-linear-non-isothermal thermogravimetric analyses. Results have been correlated to changes in molecular weight, showing the same evolution as that described by the parameters of thermal stability temperatures and apparent activation energies. The decomposition reactions can be described by two competitive different mechanisms: Nucleation model (A2) and Reaction Contracting Volume model (R3). The changes in the kinetic parameters and kinetic models are in agreement with the calorimetric and dynamic-mechanical-thermal results, presented in the Part I of the study

Quantifying cognitive-motor interference in virtual reality training after stroke: the role of interfaces

Globally, stroke is the second leading cause of death above the age of 60 years, with the actual number of strokes to increase because of the ageing population. Stroke results into chronic conditions, loss of independence, affecting both the families of stroke survivors but also public health systems. Virtual Reality (VR) for rehabilitation is considered a novel and effective low-cost approach to re-train motor and cognitive function through strictly defined training tasks in a safe simulated environment. However, little is known about how the choice of VR interfacing technology affects motor and cognitive performance, or what the most cost-effective rehabilitation approach for patients with different prognostics is. In this paper we assessed the effect of four different interfaces in the training of the motor and cognitive domains within a VR neurorehabilitation task. In this study we have evaluated the effect of training using 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional as well as traditional and natural user interfaces with both stroke survivors and healthy participants. Results indicate that 3-dimensional interfaces contribute towards better results in the motor domain at the cost of lower performance in the cognitive domain, suggesting the use 2-dimensional natural user interfaces as a trade-off. Our results provide useful pointers for future directions towards a cost-effective and meaningful interaction in virtual rehabilitation tasks in both motor and cognitive domains.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Thermal and thermo-oxidative stability of reprocessed poly(ethylene terephthalate)

An exhaustive assessment of the behaviour of virgin and mechanically reprocessed poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) facing thermal and thermo-oxidative decomposition processes is presented in this work, as an approach for the energetic valorisation of post-consumer PET goods. Multi-rate linear-non-isothermal thermogravimetric (TGA) experiments under inert (Ar) and reactive (O2) conditions were performed to virgin PET and its recyclates in order to simulate the thermal behaviour of the materials facing pyrolysis and combustion processes. The release of gases was monitored by evolved gas analysis of the fumes of the TGA experiment, by in-line Fourier-transform infrared (IR) analysis, with the aid of 2D-correlation IR characterisation. A kinetic analysis methodology, consisting in the combination of six different methods (namely Flynn-Wall-Ozawa, Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose, Vyazovkin, Master-Curves and Perez-Maqueda criterion along with Coats-Redfern equation) was applied. Its validity for being used for both constant and variable kinetic parameters was discussed. The kinetic model that described both thermal and thermo-oxidative decompositions of PET and its recyclates was of the type An: nucleation and growth of gas bubbles in the melt. Novel parameters and functions were proposed to characterise the thermal stability along the reprocessing cycles, as well as the variation of the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor during thermal and thermo-oxidative decompositions. The reliability of a simplified kinetic triplet with constant activation parameters was suitable only under thermal decomposition. The usability of PET after reprocessing showed a threshold in the thermal performance from the second recyclate on. During thermal and thermo-oxidative processes, reprocessed PET behaved similarly to virgin PET, and thus current energetic valorisation technologies could be assimilable for all materials