146 research outputs found
Tra elenchos e analogia simbolica: struttura e destino della metafisica classica.
No full textIntroducing to three essays about classic metaphysics, the Author outlines its evolution, structure and perspective, from elenchic refutation to symbolic and poetics analogy
Back to the phase space: Thermal axion dark radiation via couplings to standard model fermions
No full textWe investigate the cosmological consequences of axion interactions with standard model fermions accurately and precisely. Our analysis is entirely based on a phase space framework that allows us to keep track of the axion distribution in momentum space across the entire expansion history. First, we consider flavor-diagonal couplings to charged leptons and quantify the expected amount of dark radiation as a function of the coupling strength. Leptophilic axions are immune from complications due to strong interactions and our predictions do not suffer from theoretical uncertainties. We then focus on flavor-diagonal interactions with the three heavier quarks whose masses are all above the scale where strong interactions become nonperturbative. The top quark case is rather safe because its mass is orders of magnitude above the confinement scale, and the consequent predictions are solid. The bottom and charm masses are in more dangerous territory because they are very close to the QCD crossover. We present a comprehensive discussion of theoretical uncertainties due to both the choice of the scale where we stop the Boltzmann evolution and the running of QCD parameters. Finally, we compute the predicted amount of dark radiation expressed as an effective number of additional neutrino species. We compare our predictions with the ones obtained via standard approximate procedures, and we find that adopting a rigorous phase space framework alters the prediction by an amount larger than the sensitivity of future cosmic microwave background observatories
Letter. Absence of surface CD27 distinguishes hairy cell leukemia from other leukemic B-cell malignancies
No full textSurface expression of CD27 was evaluated in 75 mature leukemic B-cell neoplasms. All cases other than hairy cell leukemia (HCL) expressed CD27. Intensity was significantly higher in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Lack of CD27 in 17/17 HCL contrasted with expression of this marker in 5/5 splenic lymphomas with villous lymphocytes. Lack of CD27 is a new distinctive feature of HCL among B-cell malignancies
Low-dose oral fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide as first-line treatment in elderly patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma
No full textTwenty-five elderly patients with untreated indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma were treated with oral fludarabine 25 mg/m2/d (40 mg total dose) and cyclophosphamide 150 mg/m2/d, both for four consecutive days, repeated every 28 d for four cycles. In all, 21 (84%) patients were responsive: 10 patients achieved complete remission while partial response was obtained in 11. During an observation period of 37 months, there was an overall survival rate of 70% and a median event-free survival of 20 months. Haematological and extra-haematological toxicity were mild. This reduced-dose Flu-based oral regimen showed good efficacy and was simple to administer on an outpatient basis. © 2007 The Authors
Effectiveness of support groups to improve the quality of life of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis a pre-post test pilot study
No full textBackground and aim of the work: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is an interstitial lung disease,
which progressively leads to severe disability and death. The average survival expectancy, ranges from 3 to 5
years from diagnosis, and the available medicines do not lead to healing. The progression of IPF lead to a
decline in forced vital capacity (FVC), dyspnea, cough, continuous sleep interruptions, resulting in increased
fatigue and deteriorating quality of life (QOL), progressive limitation of daily life activities and social life, with
repercussions on psychological and emotional well-being, aggravated by anxiety, loss of sense of self-confidence
and depression. The aim of the study was to evaluate how the support groups influence the psychological
well-being of people with IPF and their family members. Methods: A pre-post test pilot study with a single
group was conducted in a university hospital in Northern Italy, a centre for diagnosis and treatment of IPF. A
support group was conducted by a nurse and entirely dedicated to people with IPF and their family members.
Eighteen participants were enrolled in the support group. To measure the changes in psychological well-being
was chosen the Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI), which was administered at the time of
enrolment to the group and after six months of attendance. Results: Even if the effect is not statistically significant,
the paired t-test showed that the participation in a support group conducted by a nurse, could increase
psychological well-being in all of its dimensions: anxiety, depression, positivity, self-control, overall health, and
vitality. Conclusions: Despite the null association, the increase of psychological well-being, closely related to the
quality of life, indicates the need to further studies. In the absence of effective pharmacological treatments for
healing, the support groups represent an opportunity for the wellbeing of the IPF patients and their caregivers
Unilateral renal cystoadenocarcinoma and nodular dermatofibrosis (RCND) in a mixed-breed dog carring FLCN gene mutation
No full textBackground: Renal cystadenocarcinoma and nodular dermatofibrosis (RCND) is a rare inherited cancer syndrome observed predominantly in the German shepherd dog breed, known to be associated with dominant autosomal transmission of mutation H255R of the encoding folliculin gene (FLCN). The syndrome usually features bilateral, multifocal kidney tumours and skin nodules, consisting of dense collagen fibres, with previous reports showing a poor prognosis. Although historically nodular dermatofibrosis (ND) has been considered a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with renal cystadenocarcinoma; this hypothesis has been questioned. Objectives: To report a case of unilateral renal adenocarcinoma in a dog with RCND syndrome, with 40-month follow-up. Animal: A neutered 5-year-old female, mixed-breed dog. Methods and materials: Nodular dermatofibrosis was confirmed with histopathological evaluation. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) supported a presumptive diagnosis of unilateral renal neoplasia and the kidney was removed. Results: Nodular dermatofibrosis with unilateral RC was confirmed by histopathological evaluation and DNA sequencing; this was positive for the heterozygous form for the H255R mutation in the FLCN gene. Follow-up at 40 months after nephrectomy showed progressive increase in the size and number of nodular lesions. Conclusion and clinical importance: This case supports the hypothesis that nodular dermatofibrosis is not a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with cystadenocarcinoma. It may be instead an independent dermatological feature of the same genetic disease, linked to the mutation of FLCN given that the cutaneous nodules in this dog increased in size and number after removal of the adenocarcinoma. © 2019 ESVD and ACV
The use of ultrasound investigation to identify lines along sea turtle intestinal tract and evaluation of the correlated damages
No full textAccidental hook and line ingestion can cause serious damages to the digestive tract of sea turtles, representing one of the most frequent problems to be faced during their care and rehabilitation. Radiographic examination easily identify hooks, but lines can not be detected as they are radiolucent, limiting the ability of diagnosing their presence, as to evaluate their extension into the digestive canal. And even if the presence of a line is evident because it protrudes from the mouth or the cloaca, it’s not possible to detect any injury caused to the intestinal walls, evident only during surgery.
In this study two juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), with a line coming out from the cloaca, underwent to ultrasound examination. X-rays had shown a hook lodged into the wall of the cervical esophagus. The ultrasound scans were performed through the cervicobrachial, axillary and prefemoral right and left acoustic windows. The transducer was oriented parallel to the plastron with cranial marker to obtain longitudinal scans , for transverse scans the transducer was rotated 90° anticlockwise with dorsal marker. More diagnostic significant images and movies were obtained by ultrasound scans through the right acoustic prefemoral window. In both cases, it was evident the presence of an abundant amount of particulate fluid in the coelomic cavity. In one turtle it was possible to explore a long tract of the small intestine that showed irregular and tortuous course, with a plicate pattern and a linear intraluminal shadow highly reflective, with a distinct posterior acoustic shadow, compatible with a packaging intestinal loop. The stratigraphy of the intestine showed normal conditions, but the luminal contents of the loop were not detectable for their stretch around the mesentery. In the other case there was a reflective linearity in the coelomic cavity, with a weak posterior acoustic shadow. Moreover, it was detectable a clear dissection of the intestinal wall, small tears and alteration of the intestinal tract stratigraphy.
In both cases, the exposure of the intestine during surgery has revealed the extension of the intestinal walls alterations and the severity of injuries, reflecting what was detected by ultrasound examination and confirming the authors’ opinion. Ultrasound examination may provide a valuable support in assessing the extention and severity of digestive tract lesions, caused by the tension of ingested lines. This valuable diagnostic ability has a real important prognostic value, allowing a better adequate planning of surgery
Low-dose oral fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide in elderly patients with chronic lymphoproliferative disorders
No full textA synergistic effect of fludarabine (FLU) and cyclophosphamide (CY) has been extensively demonstrated in the treatment of chronic lymphoproliferative disorders (CLD), although a high incidence of severe neutropenia and infectious complications, particularly in elderly patients, have been reported. Based on a previous clinical experience in elderly CLD patients treated with a combination of low-dose intravenous (i.v.) FLU and CY in whom we obtained good response rates and negligible toxicity, we tested efficacy and safety of the new oral formulation of FLU combined with CY at low doses. A total of 28 elderly patients with relapsed/refractory or untreated CLD were treated with oral FLU and CY (25 and 150 mg/m2 respectively, both for 4 days every 4 weeks). The treatment design consisted in four consecutive courses and the median value of courses per patient was 3. Overall, 25 out of 28 evaluable patients were responsive to the treatment (six CR and 19 PR; ORR 89%), while the remaining three patients did not show any appreciable response (two progressive and one stable disease). Hematological toxicity was low in the majority of patients (grade 2-3 neutropenia/anemia in 8/28 cases); however, two fatal infections occurred and one additional patient died because of disease progression. Extra-hematological toxicity was generally mild. This preliminary report suggests that oral combination of FLU and CY at low dose is effective as the i.v. formulation and standard doses, since it may induce rapid responses in about 90% of elderly patients with CLD, with an acceptable toxicity
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