Adapting to Cancer with Body, Mind, and Heart: Psychological,Psychophysiological Assessment and Management in Sample of Ovarian Cancer Survivors

Objective: Ovarian cancer survivors often develop severe psychological disorders and impairments in social, familial, and sexual functioning. They experience a withdrawal from intimate relationship, fear and body shame, and a condition of unrelenting distress. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a physiological parameter that, when reduced, is index of higher distress. The quantitative observational study aimed at understanding the relationship between psychological adjustment, distress, and quality of life. Methods: 44 women, consecutively recruited at the Oncological service of the Gynecological Dept., filled questionnaires investigating social support, body image, coping strategies and quality of life and recorded short-term HRV. Results: significant correlations appeared between: quality of life functioning scales and body image, perceived social support and coping strategies; perceived support from the significant other and HRV (r=339 p <05), role functioning and HRV (r=479 p<001). Simple regressions on HRV showed the effect of the significant other’s support (F=4.27 p<05) and of role functioning (F=9.810 p<001), while body image showed its effect on quality of life (F=4.18 p<05). Multiple regression on HRV showed the effect of body image (β=453), support from friends (β=-435) and avoidance (β=-391) while fatalism showed an effect on quality of life (β=364, p<05). Conclusion: Higher concerns on body image seem linked to a worsened day-to-day life. Reporting these concerns contributes to raise HRV, while better emotive disclosure reduces emotional distress. Social support positively influences quality of life and HRV. Fatalism facilitates cancer acceptance process. Proper emotive disclosure may have a positive impact on life quality

The influence of substrate and vegetation on extensive green roof hydrological performance

The objective of this research was to investigate the hydrological processes occurring in extensive green roof systems through data collected during a continuous monitoring programme of different green roof configurations. Nine green roof test beds (TB) which vary systematically in their substrate composition and vegetation options have been monitored since April 2010 at the University of Sheffield, UK. Three green roof substrates were tested: two commercial substrates manufactured by Alumasc – Heather with Lavender (HLS) and Sedum Carpet (SCS) Substrate were considered alongside a Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA)-based substrate. Three vegetation treatments have been tested: a drought tolerant specie (sedum), a meadow flower mixture and a no vegetation option. Per event retention performance varied depending on the initial water content within the substrate and the characteristics of the rainfall event. Consistent behaviour was observed among the tested green roof configurations with respect to per event retention. Greater retention was associated with HLS and SCS substrates when compared with LECA. Vegetated configurations showed consistently higher retention performance. Sedum vegetation resulted in higher retention performance than Meadow Flower. This was particularly evident on the LECA substrate

Modeling storm water control operated by green roofs at the urban catchment scale

The urban catchment of Colle Ometti, in the town of Genoa, Italy, where storm water runoff is monitored for both quantity and quality, was selected as a test site for the hydrologic modelling of greening scenarios. Although no green roof installations are now present in the area, this study modelled \u2013 using extensive green roof details \u2013 the hydrologic effects of three hypothetical roof greenin scenarios at the catchment scale (conversion of 10%, 20%, and 100% impervious to green roofs). The modelling of green roof performances was undertaken using the EPA SWMM and was calibrated and validated on a small size green roof system completed in September 2007 in the laboratory of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (DICAT \u2013 University of Genoa). Precipitation scenarios were developed based on eighteen years of high resolution (one minute) rain gauge data in Genoa (1990-2007).Hydrologic modelling demonstrated that widespread green roof implementation can significantly reduce peak runoff rates and the lag time (7min and 15 min) runoff volume (detention effect) while after introducing the drying process operated by evapo-traspiration during the inter-event period the runoff volume reduction at the event scale (retention effect) can also be appreciated

Size, shape and flow of powders for use in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

6th International Conference on Advanced Research in Virtual and Rapid Prototyping, Leiria, Portugal, 1-5 October 2013This paper investigates the effects of particles size and morphology on flowability of a range of polymeric powders (SLS and non-SLS grades). The effect of additives incorporation, as well as drying or sieving, on the flowability characteristics of the powders is also analyzed. The results show that the particle morphology has a stronger influence on the flowability than the particle size distribution. Moreover, the incorporation of additives has to be carefully considered in order to have positive effects on the powder flowability

Spatial and temporal variation of hydraulic conductivity and vegetation growth in green infrastructures using infiltrometer and visual technique

Hydraulic conductivity of a vegetated soil (i.e., mixed grass cover) is an important parameter governing the hydrological performance of green infrastructure (GI). This paper focuses on GI with mixed grass cover in the presence of trees. Due to shading effects (interception of radiant energy) of tree canopy, mixed grass cover in the vicinity of trees may not receive direct photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). This can hinder the growth rates resulting in the low grass cover (i.e., in density). The hydraulic conductivity and the performance of GI can be further affected. Several field studies were conducted to investigate hydraulic conductivity in different types of vegetated covers. However, any variation in growth and hydraulic conductivity of mixed grass cover in the vicinity of trees was rarely investigated. The objective of this study is to quantify spatial and temporal variation of vegetation growth and hydraulic conductivity in a mixed grass cover in the vicinity of a tree. Field monitoring of a mixed grass cover in the vicinity of a tree in a GI was conducted for about six months. Hydraulic conductivity tests were carried out using mini disk infiltrometer (MDI) at 149 locations in a selected site once every month. Vegetation density was quantified using image analysis and the images were captured by a DJI Phantom drone. The growth of mixed grass cover around tree vicinity (within 5 m radial distance) was found to be more uniform during months characterized by high rainfall depth. Spatial heterogeneity in both vegetation density and hydraulic conductivity is found to be more significant during a dry period than wet period. Variation of hydraulic conductivity with respect to the change in vegetation density is found to be significant in a wet period than dry period. It is also found that hydraulic conductivity is higher at the portions where shredded leaves are present. The obtained dynamic spatio-temporal relationship of soil, vegetation and atmospheric parameters can support the design of green infrastructures and contribute to a better understanding of the maintenance practices

Residential energy efficiency interventions: A meta-analysis of effectiveness studies

BACKGROUND: The residential sector releases around 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions and making residential buildings more energy efficient can help mitigate climate change. Engineering models are often used to predict the effects of residential energy efficiency interventions (REEI) on energy consumption, but empirical studies find that these models often over-estimate the actual impact of REEI installation. Different empirical studies often estimate different impacts for the same REEI, possibly due to variations in implementation, climate and population. Funding for this systematic review was provided by the evaluation function at the European Investment Bank Group. OBJECTIVES: The review aims to assess the effectiveness of installing REEIs on the following primary outcomes: energy consumption, energy affordability, CO2 emissions and air quality indices and pollution levels. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CAB Abst, Econlit, Greenfile, Repec, Academic Search Complete, WB e-lib, WoS (SCI and SSCI) and other 42 databases in November 2020. In addition, we searched for grey literature on websites, checked the reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews, used Google Scholar to identify studies citing included studies, and contacted the authors of studies for any ongoing and unpublished studies. We retrieved a total of 13,629 studies that we screened at title and abstract level, followed by full-text screening and data extraction. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised control trials, and quasi-experimental studies that evaluated the impact of installing REEIs anywhere in the world and with any comparison. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two independent reviewers screened studies for eligibility, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. When more than one included study examined the same installation of the same type of REEI for a similar outcome, we conducted a meta-analysis. We also performed subgroup analyses. MAIN RESULTS: A total of 16 studies were eligible and included in the review: two studies evaluated the installation of efficient lighting, three studies the installation of attic/loft insulation, two studies the installation of efficient heat pumps, eight studies the installation of a bundle of energy efficiency measures (EEMs), and one study evaluated other EEMs. Two studies, neither appraised as having a low risk of bias, find that lighting interventions lead to a significant reduction in electricity energy consumption (Hedges' g = −0.29; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.48, −0.10). All the other interventions involved heating or cooling, and effects were synthesizised by warmer or colder climate and then across climates. Four studies examined the impact of attic/loft insulation on energy consumption, and two of these studies were appraised as having a low risk of bias. Three studies took place in colder climates with gas consumption as an outcome, and one study took place in a warmer climate, with the electricity consumption (air conditioning) as the outcome. The average impact across all climates was small (Hedges' g = 0.04; 95% CI: −0.09, 0.01) and statistically insignificant. However, two of the studies appear to have evaluated the effect of installing small amounts (less than 75 mm) of insulation. The other two studies, one of which was appraised as low risk of bias and the other involving air conditioning, found significant reductions in consumption. Two studies examined the impact of installing electric heat pumps. The average impact across studies was not statistically significant (Hedges' g = −0.11; 95% CI: −0.41, 0.20). However, there was substantial variation between the two studies. Replacing older pumps with more efficient versions significantly reduced electricity consumption in a colder climate (Hedges' g = −0.36; 95% CI, −0.57, −0.14) in a high risk of bias study. However, a low risk of bias study found a significant increase in electricity consumption from installing new heat pumps (Hedges' g = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.06, 0.12). Supplemental analyses in the latter study indicate that households also used the heat pumps for cooling and that the installed heat pumps most likely reduced overall energy consumption across all sources—that is, households used more electricity but less gas, wood and coal. Seven studies examined bundled REEIs where the households chose which EEMs to install (in five studies the installation occurred after an energy audit that recommended which EEMs to install). Overall, the studies estimated that installing an REEI bundle is associated with a significant reduction in energy consumption (Hedges' g = −0.36; 95% CI, −0.52, −0.19). In the two low risk of bias studies, conducted with mostly low-income households, installed bundles reduced energy consumption by a statistically significant amount (Hedges' g = −0.16; 95% CI, −0.13, −0.18). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The 16 included studies indicate that installing REEIs can significantly reduce energy consumption. However, the same type of REEI installed in different studies caused different effects, indicating that effects are conditional on implementation and context. Exploring causes of this variation is usually not feasible because existing research often does not clearly report the features of installed interventions. Additional high quality impact evaluations should be commissioned in more diverse contexts (only one study was conducted in either Asia or Africa—both involved lighting interventions—and no studies were conducted in South America or Southern Europe)

Conservative treatment for hypervascularised placental polyp with secondary haemoperitoneum: A case report

Objective: We describe the first case to our knowledge of hypervascularised placental polyp (HPP) presenting with acute pelvic pain and hemoperitoneum. Case Report: A 33 years-old woman with a history of medical abortion three months earlier came to our attention complaining acute pelvic pain and vaginal bleeding. Transvaginal (TV) and transabdominal (TA) ultrasound (US) demonstrated a highly vascular intrauterine lesion and intra-abdominal free fluid consistent with a diagnosis of haemoperitoneum. Emergency laparoscopy yielded no intra-abdominal bleeding and was followed by bilateral selective embolization of the uterine arteries due to persistent vaginal bleeding. Hysteroscopy and pathology findings were consistent with a final diagnosis of HPP. Conclusion: HPP may occur months or years after pregnancy or abortion and the clinical picture of abnormal vaginal bleeding associated with acute abdominal pain and haemoperitoneum should warrant to consider HPP among the differential diagnosis. Clinical and imaging findings need to be considered when planning the conservative management of HPP. Our experience suggests that uterine artery embolization is a safe and effective for the conservative treatment of highly vascularized HPP. (www. actabiomedica.it)

Identification of a 5-Protein Biomarker Molecular Signature for Predicting Alzheimer's Disease

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive brain disease with a huge cost to human lives. The impact of the disease is also a growing concern for the governments of developing countries, in particular due to the increasingly high number of elderly citizens at risk. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, a common term for memory loss and other cognitive impairments. There is no current cure for AD, but there are drug and non-drug based approaches for its treatment. In general the drug-treatments are directed at slowing the progression of symptoms. They have proved to be effective in a large group of patients but success is directly correlated with identifying the disease carriers at its early stages. This justifies the need for timely and accurate forms of diagnosis via molecular means. We report here a 5-protein biomarker molecular signature that achieves, on average, a 96% total accuracy in predicting clinical AD. The signature is composed of the abundances of IL-1α, IL-3, EGF, TNF-α and G-CSF. Methodology/Principal Findings: Our results are based on a recent molecular dataset that has attracted worldwide attention. Our paper illustrates that improved results can be obtained with the abundance of only five proteins. Our methodology consisted of the application of an integrative data analysis method. This four step process included: a) abundance quantization, b) feature selection, c) literature analysis, d) selection of a classifier algorithm which is independent of the feature selection process. These steps were performed without using any sample of the test datasets. For the first two steps, we used the application of Fayyad and Irani’s discretization algorithm for selection and quantization, which in turn creates an instance of the (alpha-beta)-k-Feature Set problem; a numerical solution of this problem led to the selection of only 10 proteins. Conclusions/Significance: the previous study has provided an extremely useful dataset for the identification of A biomarkers. However, our subsequent analysis also revealed several important facts worth reporting: 1. A 5-protein signature (which is a subset of the 18-protein signature of Ray et al.) has the same overall performance (when using the same classifier). 2. Using more than 20 different classifiers available in the widely-used Weka software package, our 5- protein signature has, on average, a smaller prediction error indicating the independence of the classifier and the robustness of this set of biomarkers (i.e. 96% accuracy when predicting AD against non-demented control). 3. Using very simple classifiers, like Simple Logistic or Logistic Model Trees, we have achieved the following results on 92 samples: 100 percent success to predict Alzheimer’s Disease and 92 percent to predict Non Demented Control on the AD dataset

PROTOCOL: Residential energy efficiency interventions: An effectiveness systematic review

This review aims to identify, appraise and synthesise the evidence available on the effectiveness of energy efficiency measure installations, including those bundled with behavioural interventions. The synthesis will estimate the overall impact of these interventions as well as examine possible causes of variation in impacts. We will also attempt to assess the cost-effectiveness of residential energy efficiency interventions

Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients. An italian multicenter survey

INTRODUCTION: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) include a wide range of products (herbs, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics) and medical practices, developed outside of the mainstream Western medicine. Patients with cancer are more likely to resort to CAM first or then in their disease history; the potential side effects as well as the costs of such practices are largely underestimated. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We conducted a descriptive survey in five Italian hospitals involving 468 patients with different malignancies. The survey consisted of a forty-two question questionnaire, patients were eligible if they were Italian-speaking and receiving an anticancer treatment at the time of the survey or had received an anticancer treatment no more than three years before participating in the survey. RESULTS: Of our patients, 48.9% said they use or have recently used CAM. The univariate analysis showed that female gender, high education, receiving treatment in a highly specialized institute and receiving chemotherapy are associated with CAM use; at the multivariate analysis high education (Odds Ratio, (OR): 1.96 95% Confidence Interval, CI, 1.27-3.05) and receiving treatment in a specialized cancer center (OR: 2.75 95% CI, 1.53-4.94) were confirmed as risk factors for CAM use. CONCLUSION: Roughly half of our patients receiving treatment for cancer use CAM. It is necessary that health professional explore the use of CAM with their cancer patients, educate them about potentially beneficial therapies in light of the limited available evidence of effectiveness, and work towards an integrated model of health-care provision