112,343 research outputs found
Validazione clinica dell’App BREAST-V
No full textIntroduzione
La valutazione del volume mammario è uno degli step più importanti nella programmazione preoperatoria della chirurgia ricostruttiva ed estetica della mammella.
La conoscenza del volume mammario può facilitare le procedure chirurgiche della mastoplastica riduttiva, la correzione di asimmetrie e il planning preoperatorio di una ricostruzione mammaria per ottenere la simmetria in un unico tempo operatorio con la mammella controlaterale. Sebbene la pianificazione di un intervento dipenda soprattutto dalle capacità chirurgiche ed esperienza del chirurgo, numerose metodiche per la determinazione del volume mammario sono state già riportate in letteratura per migliorare la sola valutazione clinica. Tra queste si ricorda l’utilizzo di misure antropometriche che è considerato un metodo rapido, economico e riproducibile. Nonostante questo, la validità degli studi che hanno cercato di trovare una relazione tra le misure antropometriche e il volume mammario, è stata oggetto di critiche. Scopo dello studio è di valutare l’attendibilità dell’applicazione BREAST-V*, disponibile per sistemi iOS ed Android, per predire il volume mammario. Tale applicazione è basata sull’utilizzo di tre misurazioni antropometriche che sono la distanza giugulo-capezzolo, la distanza solco inframammario-capezzolo e la distanza solco inframammario-proiezione del solco inframammario.
Ipotesi
L'ipotesi è che nei pazienti sottoposti a mastectomia, il BREAST-V prevede efficacemente il volume mammario.
Materiali e metodi
Da ottobre 2014 a ottobre 2015, 30 pazienti affette da tumore della mammella e candidate a mastectomia sono state prospetticamente arruolate nello studio. Tutti i pazienti hanno accettato di partecipare allo studio previo consenso informato.
I criteri d’inclusione dello studio erano: età superiore ai 18 anni, pazienti candidate a mastectomia (mastectomia radicale modificata secondo Madden, skin-sparing mastectomy, nipple-sparing mastectomy). I criteri di esclusione erano: pazienti sottoposte a precedenti interventi sulla mammella sui cui eseguire la mastectomia e pazienti candidate a intervento di mastectomia radicale secondo Patey o Hasteld.
Di ciascuna paziente sono stati raccolti i seguenti dati: età, peso, altezza, body mass index, 11 misurazioni antropometriche per la misurazione della mammella, chirurgo che ha raccolto i dati antropometrici della mammella, tipo di mastectomia, chirurgo operatore e peso della mammella intraoperatorio.
I dati antropometrici raccolti sono stati: distanza giugulo-capezzolo ≥1cm, distanza medioclavicolare-capezzolo, distanza capezzolo-solco inframammario ≥1cm, distanza capezzolo-solco inframammario, distanza solco inframammario-proiezione solco inframammario ≥0cm, equatore, circonferenza della mammella al solco, circonferenza della mammella in ortostatismo, circonferenza della mammella in clinostatismo, diametro areola, proiezione capezzolo.
Ogni paziente ha eseguito una risonanza magnetica volumetrica senza mezzo di contrasto preoperatoria e misurazione del volume mammario mediante l’App BREAST-V.
Primay endpoint ed analisi:
Verificare l’accuratezza dell’App BREAST-V nel predire il volume della mammella;
per questo scopo sono stati confrontati i valori del volume della mammella ottenuti dal BREAST-V, dal peso intraoperatorio e dal volume derivante dai dati della risonanza magnetica volumetrica.
Secondary endpoints ed analisi:
-verificare l’accuratezza del BREAST-V nella valutazione del volume della mammella in differenti tipi di mastectomia (mastectomia radicale modificata secondo Madden, skin-sparing mastectomy, nipple-sparing mastectomy);
-verificare l’accuratezza del BREAST-V nella valutazione del volume della mammella quando sono coinvolti diversi chirurghi operatori;
-verificare l’accuratezza del BREAST-V nella valutazione del volume della mammella in mammelle non ptotiche con valore pari a zero della distanza dal solco inframammario alla proiezione del solco inframammario.
La raccolta dati è stata eseguita utilizzando un foglio excel per la versione Windows 2010. L’analisi statistica è stata condotta utilizzando R software version 2.14.2.
Risultati
Il peso medio della mammella era di 585±290g (range, 150-1500g). I test statistici effettuati confermavano come più importanti predittori del volume mammario la distanza giugolo-capezzolo, la distanza solco inframammario-capezzolo e la distanza solco inframammario-proiezione al solco inframammario nelle mammelle picccole, medie e grandi. Per mammelle piccole di volume 1200g è stato necessario apportare delle modifiche da inserire nella versione aggiornata dell’applicazione.
Conclusioni
Il BREAST-V è un valida metodica per predire il volume di mammelle piccole, medie e grandi che può essere usato come strumento complementare alla valutazione clinica eseguita da parte del chirurgo. L’App BREAST-V per iOS and Android è disponibile tramite download gratuito nell’Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
*Longo B., Farcomeni A., Ferri G., Campanale A., Sorotos M., Santanelli F. The BREAST-V: a unifying predictive formula for volume assessment in small, medium and large breasts. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2013;132(1):1e-7
Plasma Science for Aerospace and Thermonuclear Fusion Applications
No full textTheoretical applications of plasma science to space and thermonuclear fusion technologies is illustrated. In particular, the role of molecular non equilibrium plasmas in problems arising in re-entry conditions of space vehicles impacting on the atmosphere of a planet, in space explorations, and low temperature processes occurring in nuclear fusion tokamaks, is discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on the link between elementary processes occurring in the plasma at the microscopic level and the macroscopic behavior. In particular, recent results on cross section calculations for resonant electron-molecule collisions, involving N2, O2 and H2 molecules, are presented along with an application to the temporal evolution of a nitrogen plasma toward the thermal equilibrium
Multiplication and reshaping of high-repetition-rate optical pulse trains using highly-dispersive fiber Bragg gratings
No full textA novel technique for simultaneous pulse reshaping and repetition-rate multiplication of mode-locked laser pulse trains using linearly chirped apodized fiber Bragg gratings is proposed. Simple analytical expressions for apodization and phase profiles of the grating are derived. The practical feasibility of this technique is discussed in detail for the case of high-repetition-rate square pulse generation and multiplication
Electron collisions with excited molecules in low temperature plasmas
No full textState-to-state vibrationally resolved cross sections for electron-impact processes
involving vibrationally excited molecules are reviewed, with particular emphasis on
atmospheric and fusion plasma applications
Carbon monoxide dissociative attachment and resonant dissociation by electron-impact
No full textLow-energy dissociative electron attachment and resonant electron impact dissociation of CO molecule are considered. Ro-vibrationally resolved cross sections and rate coefficients for both the processes are calculated using an ab-initio model based on the low-lying resonance of CO-. Final results show that the cross sections increases very rapidly as a function of the ro-vibrational level; these cross sections should be useful for understanding kinetic dissociation of CO in strongly non-equilibrium plasmas
Electron-impact dissociation cross sections of vibrationally excited He<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> molecular ion
No full textElectron-impact cross sections for the dissociation process of vibrationally excited He molecular ion, as a function of the incident electron energy are calculated for the dissociative transition by using the R-matrix method in the adiabatic-nuclei approximation. The potential energy curves for the involved electronic states and transition dipole moment, also calculated with the R-matrix method, were found to be in good agreement with the results reported in literature. The vibrationally resolved dissociation cross sections of He exhibit a resonant structure around 7 eV. The observed strong variation of the magnitude of this structure with the vibrational level is explained in terms of the overlap of initial and final (continuum) state wave functions in the Franck–Condon region
J strong couplings to the vector mesons
No full textWe present a study of the cross sections J/Psi X --> D^(*) \bar D^(*) (X = rho, Phi) based on the calculation of the effective tri- and four-linear couplings J/Psi (X) D^(*) \bar D^(*) within a constituent quark model. In particular, the details of the calculation of the four-linear couplings J/Psi X D^(*)\bar D^(*) are given. The results obtained have been used in a recent analysis of J/Psi absorption by the hot hadron gas formed in peripheral heavy-ion collisions at SPS energies.We present a study of the cross sections J/Psi X --> D^(*) \bar D^(*) (X = rho, Phi) based on the calculation of the effective tri- and four-linear couplings J/Psi (X) D^(*) \bar D^(*) within a constituent quark model. In particular, the details of the calculation of the four-linear couplings J/Psi X D^(*)\bar D^(*) are given. The results obtained have been used in a recent analysis of J/Psi absorption by the hot hadron gas formed in peripheral heavy-ion collisions at SPS energies
Computational Astrobiology in Bari University and ISTP-CNR
No full textIn this contribution, we will present some results from our latest studies in the field of computational astrobiology, which are devoted to improving our understanding of the origin and evolution of life in the Universe by means of theoretical and computational models. The phenomena that can be studied by means of numerical modeling range from the micro to the macro scale, from molecules to cosmic grains and communities of primordial organisms. These studies may help to develop a global view of the phenomena involved in the origin of life in the wider context of astrobiology
Theoretical vibrational-excitation cross sections and rate coefficients for electron-impact resonant collisions involving rovibrationally excited N2 and NO molecules
No full textElectron-impact vibrational-excitation cross sections, involving rovibrationally excited N2 and NO molecules, are calculated for collisions occurring through the nitrogen resonant electronic state N2(-) (X (2)Pi(g)), and the three resonant states of nitric oxide NO(-)( (3)Sigma(-), (1)Delta, (1)Sigma(+)). Complete sets of cross sections have been obtained for all possible transitions involving 68 vibrational levels of N2 (X (1)Sigma(+)(g)) and 55 levels of NO(X (2)Pi), for incident electron energy between 0.1 and 10 eV. In order to study the rotational motion in the resonant processes, cross sections have also been computed for rotationally elastic transitions characterized by the rotational quantum number J running from 0 to 150. The calculations are performed within the framework of the local complex potential model, using potential energies and widths optimized to reproduce the experimental cross sections available in the literature. Rate coefficients are calculated for transitions between all vibrational levels by assuming a Maxwellian electron energy distribution function in the temperature range from 0.1 to 100 eV. All numerical data are available at http://users.ba.cnr.it/imip/cscpal38/phys4entry/database.htm
Dissociative electron attachment and electron-impact resonant dissociation of vibrationally excited O2 molecules
No full textState-by-state cross sections for dissociative electron attachment and electron-impact dissociation for molecular oxygen are computed using ab initio resonance curves calculated with the R-matrix method. When O2 is in its vibrational ground state, the main contribution for both processes comes from the 2Pi_u resonance state of O2− but with a significant contribution from the 4Sigma−_u resonant state. Vibrational excitation leads to an increased contribution from the low-lying 2Pi_g resonance, greatly increased cross sections for both processes, and the threshold moving to lower energies. These results provide important input for models of O2-containing plasmas in nonequilibrium conditions
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