1,721,292 research outputs found
Infections in Myelodysplastic Syndrome in Relation to Stage and Therapy
Full text linkInfections remain a significant problem in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) in treated as well in non-treated patients and assume a particular complexity. The susceptibility to infections is due, in the absence of intensive chemotherapies, mainly to functional defects in the myeloid lineage with or without neutropenia. Furthermore, MDS includes a heterogeneous group of patients with very different prognosis, therapy and risk factors regarding survival and infections. You should distinguish risk factors related to the disease, like as neutrophils function impairment, neutropenia, unfavorable cytogenetics and bone marrow insufficiency; factors related to the patient, like as age and comorbidities, and factors related to the therapy. When the patients with MDS are submitted to intensive chemotherapy with and without hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), they have a risk factor for infection very similar to that of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and mostly related to neutropenia. Patients with MDS treated with supportive therapy only or with demethylating agent or lenalidomide or immunosuppressive drugs should have a tailored approach. Most of the infections in MDS originate from bacteria, and the main risk factors are represented by neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and unfavorable cytogenetics. Thus, it is reasonable to give antibacterial prophylaxis to patients who start the therapy with demethylating agents with a number of neutrophils <500 × 109/L, or with thrombocytopenia and unfavorable cytogenetics. The antifungal prophylaxis is not considered cost/benefit adequate and should be taken into consideration only when there is an antecedent fungal infection or presence of filamentous fungi in the surveillance cultures. Subjects submitted to immunosuppression with ATG+CSA have a high rate of infections, and when severely neutropenic should ideally be nursed in isolation, should be given prophylactic antibiotics and antifungals, regular mouth care including an antiseptic mouthwash
L’autenticità come driver strategico per il brand value. Il caso Salvatore Ferragamo
No full textUn settore particolarmente sensibile al tema dell’autenticità è quello del lusso. Le imprese del lusso si richiamano ad aspetti quali la tradizione, l’heritage, l’artiganalità, l’unicità e i valori del brand al fine di generare un’aura di autenticità che non solo riesce a rafforzare le fonti del valore della marca, ma anche ad alimentare nuove brand association e a promuovere giudizi di qualità, affidabilità e considerazione che concorrono a rendere unici i brand all’interno del consideration set dei consumatori. L'articolo presenta i risultati di una ricerca basata sull’analisi del caso Salvatore Ferragamo, un’impresa del lusso che ha saputo far leva su elementi connessi al proprio passato per affermarsi come brand autentico. L’analisi, basata su una ricerca effettuata sui consumatori, dimostra non solo che questi percepiscono i tratti del brand, ma che esiste un potenziale di autenticità su cui far leva che può offrire ulteriori spazi di differenziazione nella prospettiva di rafforzamento dell’unicità del brand
Corporate museums to enhance brand authenticity in luxury goods companies: the case of Salvatore Ferragamo
No full textIncreasingly, relationships are being formed between art and fashion. Companies in the luxury goods and fashion industries endeavour to build this relationship in different ways. In the different approaches taken, the corporate museum seems to play an important role in strengthening the brand and promoting the company’s heritage. Clearly, recognizing history and tradition – considered a hallmark of postmodernity – and the consumer’s search for authenticity have contributed to the proliferation of corporate museums. This study analyzes the authenticity associated with the Salvatore Ferragamo brand, whose corporate museum is viewed as an authentication tool, both within the company (family members and management representatives) and outside it (opinion leaders and visitors)
Fungal pneumonia due to molds in patients with hematological malignancies.
No full textInvasive fungal infections are an important cause of morbility and mortality in patients with hematological malignancies. In particular patients with neutropenia and those who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells transplantation are at high risk. Fungal pneumonia is the main clinical manifestation in these categories of patients. The fungal agents responsible for this complication are various, but Aspergillus spp and Zygomycetes represent the most frequent isolated micro-organisms. Less commonly pneumonia could be due to other molds, Cryptococcus spp, Pneumocystis jirovecii or Candida spp.
This review focuses mainly on practical aspects relevant to the epidemiology, clinical diagnosis and the therapeutic management of pneumonia due to the filamentous fungal agents in patients affected by hematological malignancies
Therapy-related leukemias and myelodysplasia : susceptibility and incidence.
No full textTherapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia (t-MDS/AML) is an increasingly recognized treatment complication in patients treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy for previous hematologic malignancies or solid tumors. Distinct clinical entities have been described according to the primary treatment, corresponding to defined genetic lesions. Chromosome 7 and/or 5 losses or deletions are typical of alkylating agent-induced AML, while development of t-AML with balanced translocations involving chromosome bands 11q23 and 21q22 has been related to previous therapy with drugs targeting DNA-topoisomerase II. In addition, antimetabolites, and in particular the immunosuppressant azathioprine, have been shown to induce defective DNA-mismatch repair. This could promote survival of misrepaired cells giving rise to the leukemic clone. Individual predisposing factors, including polymorphisms in detoxification and DNA repair enzymes have been identified. Their combination may significantly increase the risk of t-MDS/AML. Among patients with hematologic malignancies, long-term survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma are exposed to an increased risk of t-MDS/AML, particularly when receiving MOPP-based, and escalated BEACOPP regimens, and when alkylators are combined with radiotherapy. Patients with Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are at highest risk when total body irradiation followed by autologous stem cell transplantation is used as rescue or consolidation therapy. The addition of granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor and radiotherapy plays a significant role in t-AML following treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In non-hematologic malignancies, treatment for breast cancer and germ-cell tumors has been associated with a 1-5% lifetime risk of both lymphoid as well as myeloid leukemia. In all cases the risk of t-MDS/AML drops sharply by 10 years after treatment
Uncommon mold infections in hematological patients: epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment
No full textBackground
The aim of this study was to evaluate prognostic factors, treatments and outcome of invasive
aspergillosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia based on data collected in a registry.
Design and Methods
The registry, which was activated in 2004 and closed in 2007, collected data on patients with
acute myeloid leukemia, admitted to 21 hematologic divisions in tertiary care centers or university
hospitals in Italy, who developed proven or probable invasive aspergillosis.
Results
One hundred and forty cases of invasive aspergillosis were collected, with most cases occurring
during the period of post-induction aplasia, the highest risk phase in acute myeloid
leukemia. The mortality rate attributable to invasive aspergillosis was 27%, confirming previous
reports of a downward trend in this rate. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that
the stage of acute myeloid leukemia and the duration of, and recovery from, neutropenia were
independent prognostic factors. We analyzed outcomes after treatment with the three most
frequently used drugs (liposomal amphotericin B, caspofungin, voriconazole). No differences
emerged in survival at day 120 or in the overall response rate which was 71%, ranging from
61% with caspofungin to 84% with voriconazole.
Conclusions
Our series confirms the downward trend in mortality rates reported in previous series, with all
new drugs providing similar survival and response rates. Recovery from neutropenia and disease
stage are crucial prognostic factors. Efficacious antifungal drugs bridge the period of maximum
risk due to poor hematologic and immunological reconstitution
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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