1,354,326 research outputs found
A hematology consensus agreement on antifungal strategies for neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies and stem cell transplant recipients
No full textIn the attempt to establish key therapy definitions and provide shared approaches to invasive fungal diseases in neutropenic patients, trials of empiric, preeemptive and targeted antifungal therapy (EAT, PAT and TAT) were reviewed, and a Consensus Development Conference Project was convened. The Expert-Panel concurred that all antifungal treatments, including EAT, should always follow an adequate diagnostic strategy and that the standard definition of PAT may be misleading: being PAT guided by the results of a diagnostic work-up, it should better be termed diagnostic-driven antifungal therapy (DDAT). The Expert-Panel agreed that radiological findings alone are insufficient for the choice of a TAT and that the identification of the etiologic pathogen is needed. The Consensus Agreement proceeded identifying which clinical and microbiological findings were sufficient to start a DDAT and which were not. Finally, an algorithm to rationalize the choice of antifungal drugs on the basis of clinical manifestations, antifungal prophylaxis, instrumental and laboratory findings was drawn up
NEUROANATOMICAL CORRELATES OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH CLINICAL FEATURES A MULTICENTRIC MRI STUDY.
No full textBackground: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) represents an highly prevalent
neurodevelopmental disorder, defined as a constellation of early-onset social communication deficits and repetitive sensory-motor behaviors, with a multifactorial and poorly understood ethiology .The aim of the present study was to investigate and describe the brain morphologic characteristics (surface area SA, cortical thickness CT and volume) in children and adolescents with ASD and control subjects, in order to determine neuroanatomical correlates that underline
ASD.
Methods: an observational multicenter study was conducted across five Italian centers. 256 patients with ASD and 165 control group subjects were recruited from participant centers. Both autistic patients and controls underwent an MRI session. Clinical assessment was evaluated by a comprehensive battery of psychometric tools (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, ADOS; Child Behavior Checklist, CBCL). Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were
applied, specifically, General Linear Model (GLM) analyses, using in-house Matlab scripts, were performed to compare regional morphological measures between ASD group and controls.
Results: Four hundred and twenty-one subjects, of which 256 patients with ASD (196 males, 6,64 ± 3,80 years) and 165 controls (107 males, 6,54 ± 3,18 years), were recruited. ASD patients showed significantly increased area in the left medial orbitofrontal cortex than control group, whereas no significant cortical volume (CV) differences between ASD patients and controls were observed. ASD patients were characterized by significantly increased cortical thickness in the left superior temporal cortex. A secondary analysis set on subsamples of patients with available behavioral information highlighted the following findings: a negative correlation between CT in the right insula and CBCL total and CBCL internalizing problem
score, a positive correlation between SA in the left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and CBCL M 6 (conduct problems) scores. Concerning the correlation analysis focused on ADOS, a negative correlation between SA in the left medial OFC and ADOS “Repetitive behaviors” score has been described, as well as a negative correlation between CT in the right precentral gyrus (PCG) and ADOS-2 “Social Affect” score, CV in the left PCG and the “Total Score” and CV in the right superior frontal cortex (SFC) and the “Comparison Score”.
Finally, positive correlations between SA and CV in the right pericalcarine cortex and ADOS “Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors” scores were found.
Conclusion: Study results showed that potential clinical-neuroanatomical correlations of the ASD disease with the most common clinical scales used in daily practice such as CBCL and ADOS. The use of neuroimaging techniques could play a key role in clarifying the impact of structural and functional changes on the pathogenesis of ASD. To understand the possible relationship between neuroanatomical parameters and the scales items it is important since it could facilitate the diagnostic process and therefore promote targeted intervention strategies
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
The Casimir Effect from the Point of View of Algebraic Quantum Field Theory
No full textWe consider a region of Minkowski spacetime bounded either by one or by two parallel, infinitely extended plates orthogonal to a spatial direction and a real Klein-Gordon field satisfying Dirichlet boundary conditions. We quantize these two systems within the algebraic approach to quantum field theory using the so-called functional formalism. As a first step we construct a suitable unital *-algebra of observables whose generating functionals are characterized by a labeling space which is at the same time optimal and separating. Subsequently we give a definition for these systems of Hadamard states and we investigate explicit examples. In the case of a single plate, it turns out that one can build algebraic states via a pull-back of those on the whole Minkowski spacetime, moreover inheriting from them the Hadamard property. When we consider instead two plates, algebraic states can be put in correspondence with those on flat spacetime via the so-called method of images, which we translate to the algebraic setting. For a massless scalar field we show that this procedure works perfectly for a large class of quasi-free states including the Poincaré vacuum and KMS states. Eventually we use our results in both systems to introduce the notion of Wick polynomials, showing that a global extended algebra does not exist. Furthermore we construct explicitly the two-point function and the regularized energy density, showing, moreover, that the outcome is consistent with the standard results of the Casimir effect
Variations on the Author
No full text“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
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Continuous surveillance of invasive fungal infection: a realistic goal for the near future.
No full textUsing the Prospective Antifungal Therapy (PATH) Alliance registry, Neofytos et al. [1] investigated the epidemiology and outcome of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients. Because use of Web-based registries is pivotal for progress in understanding IFIs, the Italian Hema e-Chart Group is also engaged in a prospective, multicenter, observational study designed to analyze all febrile events in patients with hematological malignancies (L.P., M.C., and A.N., unpublished data). Hema e-chart prospectively collects high-quality data derived from clinical experience and provides information on epidemiology and prophylactic and/or therapeutic drug use for IFIs. Distribution of investigating centers across Italy and a potentially large patient cohort facilitate the study of IFIs and the identification of appropriate subgroups for diverse research interest
L’evoluzione didattico-educativa delle attività ludico-motorie, la fantasia e la creatività nel gioco arrampicata
No full textL’Educazione fisica per la scuola primaria rappresenta oggi un momento di sintesi rispetto a tutta l’evoluzione storica e pedagogica di questa appassionante disciplina ancora in evoluzione. I contrasti di fondo legati alle discipline passate hanno contrapposto idee e concezioni divergenti rispetto alle attività motorie. L’Educazione fisica, il giocosport, il corpo-mente, il movimento e la salute, l’espressione e la comunicazione sono i principali elementi che hanno animato il dibattito e caratterizzato la formulazione di teorie e proposte didattiche che spesso si contrapponevano, ma che erano tutte orientate al benessere del bambino. L’educazione avviene principalmente in famiglia, nell’ambiente scolastico ed extrascolastico. Per sua natura, il bambino desidera imparare sempre cose nuove attraverso un approccio ludico orientato alla scoperta. Scopo di tale lavoro è valorizzare lo sviluppo integrale del bambino in età evolutiva, in particolare attraverso un percorso didattico educativo che approfondirà il gioco arrampicata
Treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia in the blastic phase with fludarabine, cytosine arabinoside and G-CSF (FLAG)
No full textMucormycosis in hematologic malignancies: an emerging fungal infection
No full textBackground and Objectives, In recent years pulmonary mucormycosis has been reported in patients with leukemia and lymphoma and bone marrow plant recipients. It carries an extremely poor prognosis. We report our experience of clinical findings, diagnostic procedures, treatment and outcome mucormycosis diagnosed in neutropenic patients affected by hematologic neoplasms admitted to our departments.
Design and Methods. From November 1987 to July 1999 we observed 13 patients with mucormycosis. Their median age was 61 years (range 20-75), and they were predominantly in the aplastic post-chemotherapy period (12/13), affected by acute myeloid leukemia (11 cases) or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (2 cases). Six patients tall with leukemia) were receiving induction-consolidation therapy, 7 had progressive hematologic disease. At the onset infection all patients were neutropenic (N < 0.5x10(9)/L). No patients had diabetes mellitus. Two patients had been receiving steroid therapy for 5 and 7 days.
Results. The lung was involved in all cases (13/13); disseminated disease was present in 8/13 patients. All cultures (blood, sputum, nasal swabs and bronchoalveolar lavage) were negative. In 3 patients a diagnosis was made in vivo: in 1 patient by percutaneous pulmonary biopsy, in 1 patient by pulmonary lobectomy, and in the last patient by percutaneous pulmonary biopsy confirmed by excision of cerebellar abscess. In the remaining 10 cases diagnosis was made post-mortem. Five patients were :treated, 2 because of poor clinical condition and because fungal infection was not suspected. Amphotericin B (1 mg/kg/day) was given empirically 6 patients and 2 responded to treatment. remaining 2 patients with neurologic symptoms le onset of infection were treated with liposomal amphotericin, Ambisome(R), one with 3 and one with mg/kg/day; of these two patients the first died in 4 days; the second, with both pulmonary and cerebellar localizations, was treated successfully with 5 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks and then with 3 mg/kg/day, and excision of a brain abscess at neutrophil recovery (total dose of Ambisome(R): 12,000 mg). The 3 surviving leukemic patients were able to complete subsequent consolidation therapy using amphotericin B or liposomal amphotericin as secondary prophylaxis during aplasia.
Interpretation and Conclusions. Mucormycosis in neutropenic hematologic patients is rarely suspected. In our patients infection was often characterized by disseminated disease and a rapidly fatal course; only early aggressive amphotericin B (or Ambisome(R)) treatment together with neutrophil recovery appeared to improve the outcome. Diagnosis is very important for programming antifungal therapy and secondary prophylaxis with amphotericin B, because Mucor is usually resistant to itraconazole
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