1,721,056 research outputs found
Androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer
No full textIn the contemporary scene, less than 5% of men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer (PC) have metastases at first presentation, compared to 20–25%, more than 20Â years ago. Nonetheless, the use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has increased over the years, suggesting that patients in Europe and United States may receive ADT in cases of lower disease burden, and not always according to evidence based indications. Nonetheless, PC remains the second most common cause of cancer death after lung cancer in American men. Thus, there is a need for more effective, specific and well tolerated agents which can provide a longer and good quality of life while avoiding the side effects related to disease and treatment morbidity. After mentioning the current knowledge on the endocrinology of androgens and androgen receptor, relevant to PC development, as well as the possible events occurring during PC initiation, we will compare different hormonal compounds available for the treatment of PC, both from a pharmacological standpoint, and in terms of contemporary clinical indications
Terremoto e paesaggi costruiti nel progetto dello spazio urbano
No full textGli eventi sismici che si sono abbattuti sui centri minori dell’entroterra della Campania nel corso del Novecento, in particolare quello del 1980, hanno fatto perdere l’identità di interi brani di paesaggi costruiti, decretandone l’abbandono e condannandoli all’oblio. Di contro, la delocalizzazione di interi centri abitati ha contribuito a ridisegnare il paesaggio con interventi alla scala urbana in cui il disegno si configura come strumento di progetto dello spazio a misura d’uomo. Questi luoghi urbani sono, oggi, alla ricerca di un’identità che, più che nascere da un processo di sedimentazione naturale, deve emergere da una crescita rapida, spesso accelerata o addirittura forzata, che necessita di tempi più lunghi per poter misurare la rispondenza degli intenti progettuali come fatto materiale.
La ricostruzione ha umanizzato e urbanizzato il paesaggio con l’obiettivo di riscattarne tutta la materialità di spazio costruito e lasciar maturare nuovi e inattesi significati che non eludano il rispetto del preesistente, ma lo reinterpretino in chiave dinamica. La trasformazione del paesaggio a seguito di eventi cosi impattanti sul territorio, ridisegna lo spazio costruito in base alle interrelazioni umane alla scala dell’intero borgo, configurando spazi urbani che necessitano di essere “interiorizzati” per includere al preesistente il nuovo.
La qualità architettonica non è solo un requisito intrinseco del progetto e del processo edilizio, ma anche un valore aggiunto giorno per giorno finché non si costruisce una memoria storica, e l’uomo non riesce ad appropriarsi dei luoghi e a vivere la trasformazione come momento di riconoscimento culturale. In effetti, il cambiamento che è insito nella modificazione del contesto è energia che nasce dalla conoscenza del contesto stesso e si traduce in spazi costruiti nell’architettura. E questa energia è una risorsa che deve essere trasmessa al contesto umano.
Il tema-luogo del progetto, sperimentato nelle nuove realtà urbane di Bisaccia ed Apice, consente di formulare riflessioni su ciò che è stato fatto, sui come e sui perché della trasformazione e sui tempi necessari per sedimentare
Surgical treatment of a rare case of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the azygos vein
No full textEpithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) of soft tissues is a rare low-grade vascular tumour, with variable malignancy. Mediastinal localization is exceptional. We report the first case of a radically resected EHE of the azygos vein (AV). A 47-year old man presented to our institution with an asymptomatic incidental neck–chest computerized tomography (CT) evidence of a 3 cm mediastinal mass, resembling a station 4R lymphadenopathy, with rather distinct margins, strictly adjacent to the AV. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/CT revealed a SUV max of 2.3. Fiberbronchoscopy with EBUS-trans-tracheal needle aspiration of station 4R yielded nondiagnostic cytology result. A right lateral thoracotomy revealed an ovoidal mediastinal mass originating from the AV, unresectable from it but showing cleavage from the superior vena cava. The mass with the involved AV was resected en bloc by vascular stapler. Histopathology revealed a venous EHE arising from the AV. For the low mitotic rate and small tumour size, no adjuvant therapy was administered. Total body CT scan at one year from surgery shows neither local recurrence, nor distant metastases. EHE should be considered in the differential diagnosis of mediastinal masses in adult patients. After radical removal prognosis is generally favourable, but strict follow-up must be performed because aggressive forms have been described
Warthin Tumor: A Potential Source of Diagnostic Error
No full textPurpose: Warthin tumor, also known as papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum, is a fairly common tumor. It makes up 14% to 30% of parotid tumors. There has been much interest in this tumor because of its typical and intriguing morphologic features: the association of benign-looking lymphoid and epithelial components and its frequent occurrence in the intraparotid or periparotid lymph nodes. Moreover, multifocal and/or bilateral Warthin tumors have been reported, and malignant transformation of Warthin tumor and its association with other malignancies have been documented. Warthin tumor can sometimes be confused with other pathologic lesions because of symptoms and signs that accompany the disease, so it could be treated as other pathologic lesions. Patients And Methods: We present 3 patients. The first one had a differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, no lymph node metastasis, and a Warthin tumor of the left parotid gland. The other 2 patients presented monoclonal gammopathy and a high tracer uptake in the left parotid gland by the F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography total body. RESULTS AND Conclusions: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and histopathologic features of 3 cases where clinical presentation of a Warthin tumor lies in the possible errors in diagnosis and decision making and not least in the management of the patient. Copyright © 2010 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD
Surgical treatment of a rare case of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the azygos vein
No full textDamage evolution in sandwich components at different extreme temperatures
No full textComposites' structures are subjected to various environmental conditions during their service life. However, only a few papers are focalized on analysing damage history after impact at shallow temperatures and among them, even less concern sandwich components. Futhermore, since the effect of any degradation phenomena may not be visible to the naked eye, the evolution of the damage is followed with non-destructive techniquest. In this paper, the damage suffered by sandwich structure composites was evaluated by three NDT techniques: Ultrasound, Lock-in Thermography and speckle interferometry. Sandwich structures investigated consist of carbon fibre reinforced face sheets surrounding a PVC core. Indentation and penetration tests (U = 7.5J, 10.5 J and 12 J) were carried out at room temperature and −55°C, +70°C. After tests, damage extension and propagation has been evaluated in terms of indentation depth and delamination by NDT. The results provided useful information about the influence of extreme temperature on both impact properties and damage evolution in the system investigated
Impact Damage Investigation on Glass Fiber-Reinforced Plate Laminates at Room and Lower Temperatures through Ultrasound Testing and Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry
No full textIn this work, the evaluation of damage area due to low-velocity impact tests at different impact energy values and different temperatures on glass fiber-reinforced plate laminates was investigated by two nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques, electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) and ultrasound testing (UT). Composites are characterized by several interacting failure modes such as matrix breakage, fiber failure and delaminations, which can be simultaneously induced by low-velocity impacts and can be different depending on the temperature. It can be complicated to detect by visual inspections of the structures for such phenomena. This paper aims to investigate the dependence of the damaged area with respect to temperature variation on glass fiber composite laminates. GF composite laminates were impacted with three energy levels (5, 10, 20 J) and at different temperatures (room temperature, − 25, − 50 °C) by a drop weight impact machine. The results show that at decreasing temperature, a decrease in the damage extension was observed, which is more evident at increasing impact energy. Moreover, as expected, the results confirm UT and ESPI techniques are able to identify the barely visible low-velocity impact damage. However, some limitations for detection were found in ESPI. Nonetheless, the ESPI technique can be considered as one of the useful NDE methods if the calibration and the post-processing methods are improved. © 2019, ASM International
Polypropylene/Basalt fabric laminates: Flexural properties and impact damage behavior
No full textRecently, the growing interests into the environmental matter are driving the research interest to the development of new eco-sustainable composite materials toward the replacement of synthetic reinforcing fibers with natural ones and exploiting the intrinsic recyclability of thermoplastic resins even for uses in which thermosetting matrices are well consolidated (e.g., naval and aeronautical fields). In this work, polypropylene/basalt fabric composite samples were prepared by film stacking and compression molding procedures. They have been studied in terms of flexural and low-velocity impact behavior. The influence related to the matrix modification with a pre-optimized amount of maleic anhydride grafted PP as coupling agent was studied. The mechanical performances of the composite systems were compared with those of laminates consisting of the pure matrix and obtained by hot-pressing of PP pellets and PP films used in the stacking procedure. Results, on one side, demonstrated a slight reduction of both static and dynamic parameters at the break for specimens from superimposed films to ones prepared from PP pellets. Moreover, an outstanding improvement of mechanical performances was shown in the presence of basalt layers, especially for compatibilized samples
Robotic “Side Hole” Technique Placement of Ureteral Stent for Ureteral Lesion
No full textA 67-year-old patient underwent robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and experienced right ureteral lesion. The laceration was recognized intraoperatively and immediately repaired over the ureteral double J stent. The wire and the stent were first advanced distally to the bladder. Then the wire was pulled with its soft end, cranially through one of the side holes of the proximal end of the stent toward the kidney allowing exact positioning of the stent. Postoperative hospitalization was similar to a classic laparoscopic robotic-assisted prostatectomy. Robotic approach and the “side hole” technique represent an accurate and safe option in case of ureteral laceration management
Contrast-enhanced multislice pneumo-CT-cystography in the evaluation of urinary bladder neoplasms
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