Scientific Open-access Literature Archive and Repository
Not a member yet
16397 research outputs found
Sort by
Jejunal Intussusception Caused by a Nasointestinal Ileus Tube
Get PDFA 79-year-old man was admitted to our hospital due to pleural empyema. After 4 weeks of antimicrobial therapy and pleural drainage, he recovered but complained of new-onset abdominal pain. Abdominal computed tomography revealed adhesive small bowel obstruction and a nasointestinal ileus tube with intermittent suction was inserted. This procedure initially decreased his abdominal pain, but severe abdominal pain and vomiting developed 3 days later. Repeat abdominal computed tomography revealed jejuno-jejunal intussusception due to the nasointestinal ileus tube. Our patient was initially treated conservatively. However, he underwent surgical reduction due to clinical deterioration 1 day after diagnosis and died from a surgical complication 19 days later. Intussusception is a rare but fatal complication caused by placement of a nasointestinal ileus tube in the small intestine. Because urgent operative reduction is needed to avoid intestinal resection in most cases, early diagnosis and surgical reduction of intussusception are critical
Concomitant Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Invasive Aspergillosis Infection in an Immunocompetent Host
Get PDFPulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a common infection in developing countries and is associated with low socioeconomic status. It is considered a serious infection due it its long-term sequelae. Post-TB lung disease decreases life expectancy and increases the risk of recurrent TB infection. It also significantly increases the risk of other bacterial and fungal infections. Aspergillosis develops in the cavitary lesions of TB, worsening them and resulting in a deteriorating clinical situation. Concomitant pulmonary TB (PTB) and invasive aspergillosis is uncommon, particularly in the absence of factors that suppress the immune system. In this report, we describe the case of a healthy young adult without previous structural lung damage who presented with primary PTB and acute invasive aspergillosis infection, discuss the treatment dilemma and provide a literature review
Synchronous Neoplasms of the Small Bowel: A Diagnostic Challenge
Get PDFSmall bowel tumours are rare, representing about 0.5% of all tumours and about 3% of gastrointestinal tract tumours. The low prevalence contrasts with the vast surface area of the small intestine, which accounts for over 90% of the surface area of the digestive tract. The frequency of small tumours decreases from proximal to distal, and therefore from the duodenum to the ileum. The histological types differ in terms of prevalence according to the affected segment, with adenocarcinoma being the most frequent in the duodenum and jejunum and carcinoid tumour in the ileum. Diagnosis is challenging due to clinical non-specificity, low prevalence and a low level of suspicion.Schwannomas are typically benign tumours that arise from Schwann’s cells and are rarely found in the small intestine. It is even more rare to find them together with another histological type, namely adenocarcinoma. No cases have been reported in the literature of these lesions occurring in the small intestine simultaneously. Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying pathophysiology of these synchronous tumours.The authors present the case of an 86-year-old female patient admitted for high intestinal subocclusion, with refractory vomiting and involuntary weight loss. Two synchronous lesions in the digestive tract were identified: an adenocarcinoma in the duodenum and a schwannoma in the ileum. The patient underwent surgical resection of both lesions.A high level of suspicion combined with a multidisciplinary approach is necessary for timely diagnosis and surgical resolution
A Rare Cause of Pedunculated Polyps Caused by Strongyloides
Get PDFIntroduction: Strongyloidiasis is a systemic disease caused by the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis. Strongyloides is unique among parasites in that it can remain undetected for decades. Although patients may present with the typical symptoms of a skin rash, cough or diarrhoea, a rare manifestation of infection is pseudopolyposis in the colon. This case highlights the unique finding of pseudopolyposis in a patient with strongyloidiasis with negative stool studies.Case description: We present the case of an 81-year-old man with a delayed diagnosis of strongyloidiasis. The patient initially presented to the clinic for evaluation of productive cough and was treated empirically for bronchitis. He subsequently developed vomiting and diarrhoea with imaging revealing circumferential wall thickening of the ascending colon, consistent with colitis. Although stool tests were negative, the patient was treated with antibiotics, and then underwent a colonoscopy which revealed multiple polyps. Biopsy results confirmed Strongyloides infection. The patient was treated with ivermectin and improved. Discussion: This case describes the unique finding of colonic pseudopolyposis in a patient infected with Strongyloides in rural southwest Virginia. Strongyloidiasis is often misdiagnosed due to its non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms and the chronic nature of the disease. Although stool studies are routinely negative for parasitic infection, CT scan findings suggestive of colitis should be followed by colonoscopy with biopsy of any abnormal lesion in the right clinical context. Determining the definitive diagnosis in a timely manner is crucial for establishing the specific treatment and for resolution of the disease
Black holes in quantum gravity
No full textWe review some recent results obtained for black holes using effective field theory methods applied to quantum gravity, in particular the unique effective action. Black holes are complex thermodynamical objects that not only have a
temperature but also have a pressure. Furthermore, they have quantum hair which provides a solution to the black hole information paradox
Simulation study of radioactive ion beams production at FRAISE (INFN-LNS)
No full textAt INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, the new FRAISE
(FRAgment I n-Flight SEparator) apparatus is reaching its final phase of construction. It will be able to operate with high power beams supplied by the Superconducting Cyclotron, also being upgraded in the same period. By means of the in-flight fragmentation method, FRAISE will be able to produce Radioactive Ion Beams (RIBs) with intensity about 20 times greater than the previous FRIBs apparatus. In this framework, the LISE++ simulation software has been used to analyze the production and optimization of several radioactive beams, making it possible to study interesting and innovative research topics in the field of nuclear physics
Identification of electrons from B meson decays at the CMS experiment
No full textA new electron reconstruction algorithm has been developed at the CMS experiment to test the lepton flavour universality in B meson decays after the discrepancy with the Standard Model highlighted by the LHCb experiment. In this report, the development and the test of the performance of the identification algorithm for this new type of electrons are presented
The usage of Kahoot! during activities for schools on physics
No full textThe transition of many educational activities from in-presence to online, due to the Covid-19 emergency, has caused various difficulties to students, especially with regards to maintaining concentration. Even and especially in online mode, it is thus important to pay attention to the interaction with participants. In this context, the Department of Mathematics and Physics of Roma Tre University
has proposed a series of activities dedicated to schools that have proven to be able to guarantee the engagement of the participants, also thanks to the game-based learning platform Kahoot!
Starquakes in millisecond pulsars and gravitational waves emission
No full textAccreting neutron stars (NSs) have long been considered potential continuous gravitational-wave (GW) emitters. Centrifugal forces in these rapidly rotating objects can be so strong to break the neutron star crust (causing starquakes), deforming the star in a non-axially symmetric way, leading to the emission of GWs. At equilibrium, the angular momentum gained by accretion and the one lost via GWs emission should balance each other, stopping the stellar spin-up. We investigate the above physical picture by modeling the NS as a Newtonian model describing compressible, non-magnetized and self-gravitating object. In particular, we calculate the rotational frequency necessary to break the crust and estimate an upper limit for the consequent ellipticity. Depending on the stellar mass and its equation of state, we find that the maximum starquake-induced ellipticity ranges from 10−9 to 10−5. Furthermore, the corresponding equilibrium frequency is below the higher NS frequency observed of 716.36 Hz for all the scenarios. Finally, we also discuss possible observational constraints on the ellipticity upper limit
The potential of using Jupyter Notebook in physics education: Experimentation for high school students
No full textThe diffusion of Covid-19 has attracted the attention of the student population to the possibility of describing the spread of the epidemic by means of suitable mathematical models. Thanks to the data made available by the Civil Protection, an interdisciplinary learning activity was created and concretely proposed to students in two Italian secondary schools in Rome and Pavia between April and May 2020. We present the work about the possibility of introducing the use of Jupyter Notebook with Python more generally in physics teaching