Safety of a 3-weekly schedule of carboplatin plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin as first line chemotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer: preliminary results of the MITO-2 randomized trial

BACKGROUND: The MITO-2 (Multicentre Italian Trials in Ovarian cancer) study is a randomized phase III trial comparing carboplatin plus paclitaxel to carboplatin plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in first-line chemotherapy of patients with ovarian cancer. Due to the paucity of published phase I data on the 3-weekly experimental schedule used, an early safety analysis was planned. METHODS: Patients with ovarian cancer (stage Ic-IV), aged < 75 years, ECOG performance status ≤ 2, were randomized to carboplatin AUC 5 plus paclitaxel 175 mg/m(2), every 3 weeks or to carboplatin AUC 5 plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin 30 mg/m(2), every 3 weeks. Treatment was planned for 6 cycles. Toxicity was coded according to the NCI-CTC version 2.0. RESULTS: The pre-planned safety analysis was performed in July 2004. Data from the first 50 patients treated with carboplatin plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin were evaluated. Median age was 60 years (range 34–75). Forty-three patients (86%) completed 6 cycles. Two thirds of the patients had at least one cycle delayed due to toxicity, but 63% of the cycles were administered on time. In most cases the reason for chemotherapy delay was neutropenia or other hematological toxicity. No delay due to palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia (PPE) was recorded. No toxic death was recorded. Reported hematological toxicities were: grade (G) 3 anemia 16%, G3/G4 neutropenia 36% and 10% respectively, G3/4 thrombocytopenia 22% and 4% respectively. Non-haematological toxicity was infrequent: pulmonary G1 6%, heart rhythm G1 4%, liver toxicity G1 6%, G2 4% and G3 2%. Complete hair loss was reported in 6% of patients, and G1 neuropathy in 2%. PPE was recorded in 14% of the cases (G1 10%, G2 2%, G3 2%). CONCLUSION: This safety analysis shows that the adopted schedule of carboplatin plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin given every 3 weeks is feasible as first line treatment in ovarian cancer patients, although 37% of the cycles were delayed due to haematological toxicity. Toxicities that are common with standard combination of carboplatin plus paclitaxel (neurotoxicity and hair loss) are infrequent with this experimental schedule, and skin toxicity appears manageable

Gaia Early Data Release 3: Structure and properties of the Magellanic Clouds

We compare the Gaia DR2 and Gaia EDR3 performances in the study of the Magellanic Clouds and show the clear improvements in precision and accuracy in the new release. We also show that the systematics still present in the data make the determination of the 3D geometry of the LMC a difficult endeavour; this is at the very limit of the usefulness of the Gaia EDR3 astrometry, but it may become feasible with the use of additional external data. We derive radial and tangential velocity maps and global profiles for the LMC for the several subsamples we defined. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the two planar components of the ordered and random motions are derived for multiple stellar evolutionary phases in a galactic disc outside the Milky Way, showing the differences between younger and older phases. We also analyse the spatial structure and motions in the central region, the bar, and the disc, providing new insights into features and kinematics. Finally, we show that the Gaia EDR3 data allows clearly resolving the Magellanic Bridge, and we trace the density and velocity flow of the stars from the SMC towards the LMC not only globally, but also separately for young and evolved populations. This allows us to confirm an evolved population in the Bridge that is slightly shift from the younger population. Additionally, we were able to study the outskirts of both Magellanic Clouds, in which we detected some well-known features and indications of new ones

Museo on the road: la scienza per il cittadino

Il Centro Musei delle Scienze Naturali ha un imponente patrimonio museale ad alta valenza scientifica, didattica e storica che ha messo a disposizione per la realizzazione del progetto, “Museo on the road: la scienza per il cittadino” cofinanziato dal MIUR, Legge 6/2000. Dalla proficua collaborazione fra operatori museali e cittadini è stato realizzato un percorso educativo in cui i reperti museali sono stati il “mezzo” per veicolare concetti scientifici e trasmettere conoscenza, in maniera semplice ma scientificamente corretta. Quale sede per la realizzazione del progetto è stato scelto San Giovanni a Teduccio un quartiere disagiato della periferia di Napoli. Il percorso educativo, ospitato nella Biblioteca Comunale “Antonio Labriola”, articolato in una esposizione di 150 reperti, plastici, strutture cristalline, attività di laboratorio e seminari, ha cercato di trasmettere ad un pubblico eterogeneo l’importanza del ruolo della scienza nella vita di tutti i giorni ed il ruolo dei musei. I cittadini hanno certamente recepito il messaggio che solo grazie alla conoscenza ci si può adoperare, in maniera vincente, per il vero riscatto socio-culturale del proprio territorio

Site 13-Early Miocene of Pietraroja

Rhodolites of Corallinales are showed fron the Miocene classical area of Pietraroia (Benevento, Italy

Site 12-Late Miocene of Omo Morto near Colle Sannita (Benevento, Campania

Rhodolites of Corallinales are described from Miocene flysch facies in the Benevento Province (South Italy

Metallic artifacts (Bronze/Iron Age, Campania region, southern Italy) from the collection of the Paleontological Museum of the University of Naples Federico II: a first look

Archaeological metallic objects coming from the Striano surroundings, a town located in the Sarno River plain (Campania region, southern Italy), are preserved in the Paleontological Museum (Centro Musei delle Scienze Naturali e Fisiche) of University of Naples Federico II. They belong to a vast collection of ceramics and metallic artifacts, found in 1930 and then given to the former Geological Museum of the Naples University (De Joanna, 1947). These objects are related to the proto-historic necropolis of Striano, that date back to the late Bronze Age up to the Iron Age ("Orientalizing" period; D’Ambrosio et al., 2009). These findings are very common in the whole Sarno River plain, situated in the south of the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex. Until today the archaeological research activity of the Sarno River plain was particularly focused on urban settlements like Pompeii, Nuceria and Stabiae, but all their hinterland represents a very important cultural landscape, characterized by continuous anthropogenic activity since the Middle Bronze Age (Seiler et al., 2010). The eruption of the Somma-Vesuvius AD 79 resulted in a nearly complete burial of the entire Sarno River plain, hence this unique situation of a sealed pre-AD 79 perfectly conserved archaeological findings and paleo-landscape enable detailed investigations of both the ancient remains of human activity in the plain and of the paleoenvironment/ topography (Seiler et al., 2010). The metallic objects consist of bronze spearheads and sheaths, and have never studied before. This work deals with a first mineralogical characterization of the bronze artifacts by means of Xray powder diffraction (XRPD), metallographic optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Preliminary mineralogical data show that they are mainly composed of Cu- Sn alloy, with Sn content ranging from 5 to 12 %. Inclusions of galena, native copper, lead and silver, as well as argentite are also detected in the alloy. Alteration minerals are mainly represented by cuprite, silicates, phosphates and sulfates. Microstructures are observed by optical microscopy and secondary/backscattered electrons imaging. D’Ambrosio A., Di Maio G. & Scala C. 2009. La necropoli protostorica di Striano. Gli scavi dal 1983 al 1994. Quaderni di studi Pompeiani. Volume III/2009, Pompei. De Joanna C. 1949. Su alcuni avanzi preistorici di Striano conservati nel Museo Geo-Paleontologico di Napoli. Unpublished degree thesis, Università di Napoli, 56 p. Seiler F., Maerker M., Kastenmeier P., Vogel S., Esposito D., Heussner U., Boni M., Balassone G., Di Maio G., Joachimski M., & Robinson M. 2010. Interdisciplinary approach on the reconstruction of the ancient cultural landscape of the Sarno River Plain before the eruption of Somma-Vesuvius AD 79. Mitteldeutscher Archologentag. Umweltarcholgie, Naturkatastrophen und Umweltwandel im archologischen Befund, Internationale Tagung 7, 145-15

Il Flysch del Cilento nella Catena appenninica

Der Flysch von Cilento (Liguride-Komplex), eine der oberen Struktureinheiten des apenninischen Gebäudes, wird so betrachtet, als es nicht mehr aus einer einzigen ununterbrochenen stratigraphischen Sequenz, sondern aus mehreren übereinanderliegenden tektonischen Einheiten von zweiter Ordnung besteht. So schlagt man eine neue Organisation solcher Einheiten vor, sowohl als lithostratigraphische Übereinstimmung und Formation wie auch als Korrelationsmöglichkeit unter den verschiedenen Gebieten des Südapennins. Ausserdem führen die neuen erhebten Daten zu einem möglichen paläogeographischer Lesen der übereinanderliegenden Einheiten in Weise von mehr oder wenie nartialen Heteropien ; immer doch mit innerer Herkunft derselben Einheiten in Bezug auf die apenninische Tektogenese des Neogens. и îe neue für den Flysch von Cilento vorgeschlagene stratigraphische-strukturelle Organisation und die Analyse der Beziehungen mit der Einheit von Frido erschliessen neue Arbeitsperspektiven, unter die verschiedene Entwicklungsmodelle des Europa-Tetyhs-Afrikassystems fallen können.The Cilento Flysch (Liguride complex), one of the highest structural units of the Apennine in Southern Italy, does not consist of a single succession, as it is usually reported in the syntheses of the last decade, but it is formed of several overlapping tectonic units. In this paper, a new organization of these units is suggested with regard to lithostratigraphy and the possible correlations among the different areas of Southern Apennine. The data provided here also allow a stratigraphic-structural interpretation of the overlapped Silentine Units as more or less partial heteropies ; these units, however, are always of internal origin as regards the Neogenic Apenninic tectogenesis. The heteropic character of the overlapping units in the same successions and the analysis of the relationships between the Silentine Units and their complex and the Frido Formation modify the paleogeography of the domains of origin, so that it is possible to suggest new evolutionary models of the Europe-Tethys-Africa system.II Flysch del Cilento (Complesso liguride), unità strutturale fra le più elevate dell'edificio appenninico nell'Italia méridionale, è formato non da un'unica successione stratigraficamente continua, corne di solito riportato nelle sintesi dell'ultimo decennio, ma da più unità tettoniche fra loro sovrapposte. Viene proposta una nuova organizzazione di tali unità, per quanto riguarda la litostratigrafia e le possibili correlazioni fra i vari settori dell'Appennino méridionale. I dati qui forniti consentono inoltre un'interpretazione stratigrafico-strutturale delle Unità Silentine fra loro sovrapposte come eteropie più о meno parziali, sempre perô con provenienza interna delle unità medesime rispetto alla tettogenesi appenninica neogenica. L'eteropicità fra le unità sovrapposte nelle medesime successioni e l'analisi dei rapporti fra Unità Silentine e loro insieme e Formazione del Frido mutano'la paleogeografia dei domini di provenienza ; al punto da rendere ispotizzabili nuovi modelli evolutivi del sistema Europa-Tetide-Africa.Le Flysch du Cilento (Complexe liguride), unité structurale supérieure de l'édifice apennin, est considéré non plus comme une unique séquence stratigraphique continue, mais comme une pile de plusieurs unités tectoniques de second ordre superposées. Une nouvelle organisation de ces unités est donc proposée, ainsi qu'une corrélation avec les divers secteurs de l'Apennin méridional. Les nouvelles données permettent, en outre, l'interprétation paléogéographique des unités superposées comme unités hétéropiques au moins partiellement ; l'origine interne des unités mentionnées reste toutefois affirmée. La nouvelle organisation stratigraphique et structurale proposée pour le Flysch du Cilento et l'analyse des rapports avec l'Unité de Frido débouchent sur de nouvelles hypothèses de travail pour les modèles évolutifs du système Europe-Téthys-Afrique.Ietto Antonino, Calcaterra Domenico, Del Re Maria-Carmela, Gianni Attilio, Pappone Gerardo. Il Flysch del Cilento nella Catena appenninica. In: Sciences Géologiques. Bulletin, tome 37, n°2, 1984. pp. 107-118