Diagnostic imaging and CEUS findings in a rare case of Desmoid-type fibromatosis. A case report

Desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF), also known as aggressive fibromatosis, is a locally aggressive benign fibroblastic neoplasm that can infiltrate or recur but cannot metastasize. It is rare, with an estimated annual incidence of two to four new cases per million people. Most DFs occur sporadically, but it may also be associated with the hereditary syndrome familial adenomatous polyposis. Treatment is necessary when the disease is symptomatic, especially in case of compression of critical structures. When possible, surgical resection is the treatment of choice; however, recurrence is common. Due to the high rate of recurrence, imaging plays an important role not only in diagnosis, but also in the management of DF. Although there are a number of studies describing CT and MRI findings of DF, there is no description of contrast-enhanced ultrasound findings

Regional reports for the subnational monitoring of measles elimination in Italy and the identification of local barriers to the attainment of the elimination goal

Although most countries in the WHO European Region were verified in 2017 as having interrupted endemic measles transmission, nine countries were still endemic. Among these, Italy accounted for the second highest number of measles cases reported in Europe in 2017. The elimination of measles is verified at national level by each country's National Verification Committee (NVC) through the production of an Annual Status Update (ASU). Since in Italy decentralization has led to an inhomogeneous implementation of immunization strategies among the 21 administrative Regions, the Italian NVC proposed that measles elimination should also be documented at the subnational level through regional ASUs and Synthetic Regional Reports (SRRs). The regional ASUs and the SRRs for 2014, 2015 and 2016 were produced and appraised by the NVC to evaluate the Regions' performances in each individual year as well as over the whole period. A specific analysis of vaccination coverage, including official immunization data for 2017, was performed. Moreover, the measles epidemic of 2017 was examined. Firstly, in the period 2014±2016, low immunization rates were registered in most Regions. Sixty-three per cent of southern Regions reported rates below the national mean and an overall low-quality performance. The approval of Italy's mandatory vaccination law in 2017 resulted in a marked increase in vaccination coverage; however, this increase was not homogeneous among Regions. Secondly, more than 50% of Regions did not report any supplemental immunization activity (SIA) for the period 2014-2016. Thirdly, from 2014 to 2016, fewer than one-third of Regions improved their reporting of outbreaks. Finally, over the study period, only two Regions reached the target required by the WHO for measles laboratory investigations. In countries with decentralized health policies, subnational monitoring can help identify local barriers to measles elimination. In Italy it has highlighted the need for further SIAs and a stronger surveillance system

Segmental relaxation in semicrystalline polymers: a mean field model for the distribution of relaxation times in confined regimes

The effect of confinement in the segmental relaxation of polymers is considered. On the basis of a thermodynamic model we discuss the emerging relevance of the fast degrees of freedom in stimulating the much slower segmental relaxation, as an effect of the constraints at the walls of the amorphous regions. In the case that confinement is due to the presence of crystalline domains, a quasi-poissonian distribution of local constraining conditions is derived as a result of thermodynamic equilibrium. This implies that the average free energy barrier $\Delta F$ for conformational rearrangement is of the same order of the dispersion of the barrier heights, $\delta (\Delta F)$, around $\Delta F$. As an example, we apply the results to the analysis of the $\alpha$-relaxation as observed by dielectric broad band spectroscopy in semicrystalline poly(ethylene terephthalate) cold-crystallized from either an isotropic or an oriented glass. It is found that in the latter case the regions of cooperative rearrangement are significantly larger than in the former.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures .ep

Serum antioxidant capacity and peroxide level of seven healthy subjects after consumption of different foods

This article reports experimental data related to the research article entitled \u201cDifferent effectiveness of two pastas supplemented with either lipophilic or hydrophilic/phenolic antioxidants in affecting serum as evaluated by the novel Antioxidant/Oxidant Balance approach\u201d (M.N. Laus, M. Soccio, M. Alfarano, A. Pasqualone, M.S. Lenucci, G. Di Miceli, D. Pastore, 2016) [1]. Antioxidant status of blood serum of seven healthy subjects was evaluated during four hours after consumption of two functional pastas, supplemented with either bran oleoresin or bran water extract obtained from durum wheat. For comparison, the effect of a non-supplemented reference pasta was also evaluated, as well as the effects of glucose, of the wheat grain dietary supplement Lisosan G, and of the reference pasta consumed together with Lisosan G. Serum antioxidant status was evaluated by measuring both the serum antioxidant capacity, using LOX-FL, ORAC and TEAC methods, and the serum oxidant status, assessed as peroxide level

Guest Editors’ Introduction to Neo-Victorian Decadence: Questions, Trajectories, Paradigms

Neo-Victorian decadence is one of the most fascinating and complex areas of scholarly research, lying at the core of an extremely lively debate where literature, history, the fine and the applied arts, the entertainment industry, and new and digital media converge. This is hardly surprising when one thinks of the clusters of ideas conveyed by the adjective ‘neo-Victorian’ coupled with the noun ‘decadence’. The conventions and the idiosyncrasies of decadent and Victorian cultures are subsumed under a label whose complexity is only enhanced by the prefix ‘neo-’. On the one hand, neo-Victorian decadence unambiguously recalls the tension between history and the present, or between historicism and presentism, that Frederic Jameson construed as a pivot of postmodern literature and its cannibalization of past styles.[i] On the other hand, however, this attitude to the past demands self-conscious acts of ‘(re)interpretation, (re)discovery and (re)vision’[ii] that are as hard to pinpoint as ‘Victorian’ and ‘decadence’ are hard to define from a critical viewpoint

Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures on Conjugated Polymers: Poly(3-hexylthiophene)

8 pags.; 11 figs.© 2015 American Chemical Society. In this work, we report on the surface patterning of semiconducting poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) thin films by means of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). Two different laser wavelengths, 266 and 532 nm, and a broad range of fluences and number of pulses have been used in order to optimize the LIPSS morphology. Ripples period and depth can be tuned by laser parameters. In particular, the high optical absorption of P3HT at 532 nm enables the formation of well-ordered nanostructures with periodicities around 460 nm. Near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) and Raman spectroscopy reveal a good chemical stability of P3HT thin films during LIPSS formation. Conducting atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) performed on the LIPSS reveals a higher electrical conduction in the trenches than in the ridge regions. Resonance Raman spectroscopy and grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) indicate a loss of crystallinity of P3HT thin films during LIPSS formation, suggesting melting of the outer polymer surface. This effect produces ridges with molecular order lower than that of the original thin film. As a consequence of this transformation, the electrical conduction in the ridges becomes lower than that in the trenches.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through Projects MAT 2011-23455, MAT 2012-33517 and CTQ 2013-43086-P. A.R.-R. and E.R. are indebted to MINECO for a FPI (BES-2013-062620) and Ramon y Cajal (RYC-2011-08069) contracts, respectively. We thank the Swiss Light Source for beamtime at PolLux, where the NEXAFS experiments were performed. We also thank the ESRF for beamtime at BM26 where in situ GISAXS and GIWAXS experiments were carried out. We thank B. Watts for assistance in using beamline PolLux and G. Portale and W. Bras for beamline support at BM26. P. Müller-Buschbaum and S. Guo are thanked for seminal comments at the beginning of this workPeer Reviewe

A Needs Assessment: Language Instruction Stakeholders Engaging in Project Based Learning Outside the Classroom for Effective Strategic Problem Solving

Abstract A noted benefit of Project Based Learning (PBL) as a teaching strategy is how it engages the student and enhances learning outcomes as a result of working through challenges intended to depict dilemmas outside the classroom. PBL has seldom been applied outside the parameters of the classroom curriculum. The current needs assessment carried out in this research project examined current practices of language instruction and International Administrative Professionals of both the private and public Language Industry. Participants responded to survey questions on their current administrative practices, strategies, and program characteristics. The study investigated the usefulness of a handbook on the procedure of assisting administrative service teams in language instruction settings to an engaged approach to PBL for student service issues. The diverse opinions, beliefs, and ideas, along with institutional policy, can provide beneficial framework ideas for future tools

‘This is what gets people hired!’: Academic perspectives on employability skills in architecture and the potential impact of COVID-19

This article presents findings from a recent study of academic perspectives towards employability in architecture. The aim of the study was to gauge the perceived impact of COVID-19 on employer values, and the degree to which these perceived changes were impacting teaching practices. Thematic analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with eight members of a postgraduate architecture community in Australia—including educators, practitioners, and students—revealed strong consensus. The relative value of skills such as teamwork and autonomy were deemed increasingly important following the widespread uptake of remote work. On the other hand, the value of competencies associated with the design process itself, as reflected in professional accreditation criteria, were perceived as stable. Most enlightening were participants’ views on how they believe employability skills are encouraged, observed and judged in academic contexts. By reinforcing how employability skill development tends to rely on the discipline’s tacit enculturation practices, this study raises critical questions about quality assurance and assessment practices within the architectural community. Embedded in these questions is the understanding that the challenge of employability skills assessment is entangled within the discipline’s failure to address its ongoing challenges around diversity, equity and inclusion

Acetylation-defective mutant of Pparγ is associated with decreased lipid synthesis in breast cancer cells.

In our prior publications we characterized a conserved acetylation motif (K(R)xxKK) of evolutionarily related nuclear receptors. Recent reports showed that peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) deacetylation by SIRT1 is involved in delaying cellular senescence and maintaining the brown remodeling of white adipose tissue. However, it still remains unknown whether lysyl residues 154 and 155 (K154/155) of the conserved acetylation motif (RIHKK) in Pparγ1 are acetylated. Herein, we demonstrate that Pparγ1 is acetylated and regulated by both endogenous TSA-sensitive and NAD-dependent deacetylases. Acetylation of lysine 154 was identified by mass spectrometry (MS) while deacetylation of lysine 155 by SIRT1 was confirmed by in vitro deacetylation assay. An in vivo labeling assay revealed K154/K155 as bona fide acetylation sites. The conserved acetylation sites of Pparγ1 and the catalytic domain of SIRT1 are both required for the interaction between Pparγ1 and SIRT1. Sirt1 and Pparγ1 converge to govern lipid metabolism in vivo. Acetylation-defective mutants of Pparγ1 were associated with reduced lipid synthesis in ErbB2 overexpressing breast cancer cells. Together, these results suggest that the conserved lysyl residues K154/K155 of Pparγ1 are acetylated and play an important role in lipid synthesis in ErbB2-positive breast cancer cells