1,720,971 research outputs found
analisi immunoistochimica e molecolare (CISH/FISH) dei fattori predittivi di risposta alla terapia irinotecan-cetuximab nel carcinoma del colon-retto in stadio avanzato
No full text
Delay of antifungal therapy influences the outcome of invasive aspergillosis in experimental models of infection
No full textOBJECTIVES:
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of delayed antifungal therapy on the outcome of invasive aspergillosis due to Aspergillus fumigatus in experimental models of infection.
METHODS:
A clinical isolate of A. fumigatus susceptible to amphotericin B (MIC 0.5 mg/L) and micafungin [minimum effective concentration (MEC) 0.03 mg/L] was used in all experiments. Two models of infection were investigated in immunosuppressed mice: disseminated infection and pulmonary infection. Twenty-four hours (early therapy) and 48 h (delayed therapy) post-infection, the mice were given vehicle, liposomal amphotericin B, micafungin or liposomal amphotericin B plus micafungin (combination). Drug efficacy was assessed by either survival or tissue burden experiments.
RESULTS:
In disseminated infection, any drug regimen given early significantly prolonged survival. When therapy was delayed, only micafungin and the combination were effective. In pulmonary infection, although there was a trend towards a prolongation of survival of mice treated early with liposomal amphotericin B, only the combination was effective. Similarly, when therapy was delayed, only the combination was effective. In disseminated infection, any drug regimen given early was effective at reducing the cfu in kidney tissue. In pulmonary infection, only liposomal amphotericin B and the combination given early were effective at reducing the cfu in lung tissue. Conversely, when therapy was delayed, no regimen was effective at reducing the tissue burden, regardless of the type of infection.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our data indicate that delayed initiation of antifungal therapy is deleterious in experimental models of invasive aspergillosis. A combination regimen seems to have some advantages over a single-drug approach when the therapy is started late
Diabetes mellitus-associated periodontitis: differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
No full textBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Although many studies have appeared about diabetes mellitus-associated periodontitis, few have compared periodontitis inflammatory markers between type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and information regarding this issue is scarce and contradictory. We evaluated the levels of plasma C-reactive protein and of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in gingival crevicular fluid in two groups of subjects affected by T1DM and T2DM, in order to identify possible differences between the two classes in the inflammatory mechanisms of diabetes mellitus-associated periodontitis.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Plasma C-reactive protein and gingival crevicular fluid IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were measured in periodontitis patients affected by type 1 (P-T1DM, n = 24) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (P-T2DM, n = 24).
RESULTS: Gingival crevicular fluid levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in P-T1DM subjects were significantly higher than in P-T2DM subjects. In P-T1DM subjects, we found significant negative correlations between the duration of diabetes mellitus and IL-1β and between the duration of diabetes mellitus and TNF-α.
CONCLUSION: This study shows that IL-1β and TNF-α levels in periodontitis patients with T1DM are affected by the duration of diabetes mellitus
analisi immunoistochimica e molecolare (CISH/FISH) dei fattori predittivi di risposta alla terapia irinotecan-cetuximab nel carcinoma del colon-retto in stadio avanzato
No full textAndrogen receptor expression in early triple-negative breast cancer: clinical significance and prognostic associations.
No full textBackground: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are characterized by aggressive tumour biology resulting in a poor prognosis. Androgen receptor (AR) is one of newly emerging biomarker in TNBC. In recent years, ARs have been demonstrated to play an important role in the genesis and in the development of breast cancer, although their prognostic role is still debated. In the present study, we explored the correlation of AR expression with clinical, pathological and molecular features and its impact on prognosis in early TNBC. Patients and Methods: ARs were considered positive in case of tumors with >10% nuclear-stained. Survival distribution was estimated by the Kaplan Meier method. The univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. The difference among variables were calculated by chi-square test. Results: 81 TNBC patients diagnosed between January 2006 and December 2011 were included in the analysis. Slides were stained immunohistochemically for estrogen and progesterone receptors, HER-2, Ki-67, ALDH1, e-cadherin and AR. Of the 81 TNBC samples, 18.8% showed positive immunostaining for AR, 23.5% and 44.4% of patients were negative for e-cadherin and ALDH1, respectively. Positive AR immunostaining was inversely correlated with a higher Ki-67 (p < 0.0001) and a lympho-vascular invasion (p = 0.01), but no other variables. Univariate survival analysis revealed that AR expression was not associated with disease-free survival (p = 0.72) or overall survival (p = 0.93). Conclusions: The expression of AR is associated with some biological features of TNBC, such as Ki-67 and lympho-vascular invasion; nevertheless the prognostic significance of AR was not documented in our analysis. However, since ARs are expressed in a significant number of TNBC, prospective studies in order to determine the biological mechanisms and their potential role as novel treatment target
Paclitaxel and Bevacizumab in First Line-Treatment Patients with HER-2 Negative Advanced Breast Cancer: Who could Benefit?
No full textBackground: Angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth and development of metastases in human breast cancer. Randomized studies have shown that bevacizumab (inhibitor of VEGF) combined with taxane-based regimens increases response rates and prolongs Progression-Free Survival (PFS) of patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC). However predictive or prognostic markers that identify the appropriate target population, thus improving the cost-effectiveness ratio of this treatment, are still needed. In this retrospective analysis, we investigated the impact of traditional clinical and pathological features in order to identify the subgroups of patients who derive the greatest benefit from antiangiogenic-agents. Patients and methods: Retrospectively, we included consecutive patients treated with bevacizumab (10 mg/Kg on days 1 and 15) and paclitaxel (90 mg/m2, on days 1, 8 and 15) as first-line treatment for HER2-negative MBC at our Institution between June 2007 and December 2012. Results: 33 patients were included. Median age was 50 years (31-68). 78. 8%, 12.1% and 9.1% of patients had luminal B, triple negative and luminal A breast cancer, respectively. 66. 6% of patients had visceral disease. The overall response rate was 31.2%. Median PFS and overall survival (OS) were 7.7 months (range 1. 9-14.0 months) and 95.2 months (range 11.6-205.8 months), respectively. Univariate analysis highlighted a statistically significant relationship between PFS to the first line and the following factors: relapse-free survival (RFS12 months; p<0,001), disease control rate (p=0,001), Ca15. 3 reduction of more than 50% from baseline (p=0,03), reduction of LDH from baseline (p=0,02). No significant relationship resulted between PFS and the biological characterization of neoplasia, age, receptor status, Ki-67, nodal status at diagnosis, having carried out a previous (neo) adjuvant chemotherapy (with or without taxane), having visceral disease at time of relapse, the histological evidence of lymph-vascular invasion. At multivariate analysis, RFS was the only confirmed independent prognostic factor (p=0.01; HR=0. 18; 95% CI 0. 04-0.73). Conclusion: Our results confirmed the efficacy and the acceptable toxicity profile of bevacizumab plus paclitaxel as first-line regimen for MBC. RFS may be a useful tool in the clinical practice to select HER-2 negative MBC which may obtain a better prognosis administering this particular regimen
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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