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Introduction. Estimate the efficacy of oral anticholeric vaccine Dukoral® in subjects travelling to high-risk areas for traveler?s diarrhoea and cholera. Methods. The study involved subjects of both genders who planned to travel to high-risk areas for traveler?s diarrhoea and cholera. Immunization with oral anticholeric vaccine Dukoral® was offered to each one of them. Upon returning, all the participants in the study were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 40 close-ended questions mainly concerning: personal and health data, characteristics (length, destination, reason) of the travel, onset of gastrointestinal symptoms, data relating to the assumption of anti- choleric vaccine and possible adverse reactions. Results. 296 questionnaires have been collected. Mean age was 38.2 years (55.4% males and 44.6% females). Mean travel length was 22.2 days. Reasons for the travel: 66.8% tourism and 33.2% work-cooperation. Most frequent destination was Africa (48.1%), followed by Asia (32.1%) and Central South- America (17.8%). 199 subjects (67.2%) properly executed vac- cination with Dukoral®. The diarrhoea affected 14.1% of vacci- nated subjects and 20.6% of non vaccinated ones. The following cohorts showed statistically significant differences in incidence of diarrhoea: inf. 35 years old age (13.7% vs. 27.1%), travel for work-cooperation (14.1% vs. 35%) and travel length > 28 days (12.1% vs. 40%). No serious adverse events were reported fol- lowing vaccination. Discussion. Oral Anticholeric vaccine proved to be effective and safe in preventing fecal-oral diseases in travelers exposed to high risk conditions.

Introduction. Estimate the efficacy of oral anticholeric vaccine Dukoral® in subjects travelling to high-risk areas for traveler?s diarrhoea and cholera. Methods. The study involved subjects of both genders who planned to travel to high-risk areas for traveler?s diarrhoea and cholera. Immunization with oral anticholeric vaccine Dukoral® was offered to each one of them. Upon returning, all the participants in the study were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 40 close-ended questions mainly concerning: personal and health data, characteristics (length, destination, reason) of the travel, onset of gastrointestinal symptoms, data relating to the assumption of anti- choleric vaccine and possible adverse reactions. Results. 296 questionnaires have been collected. Mean age was 38.2 years (55.4% males and 44.6% females). Mean travel length was 22.2 days. Reasons for the travel: 66.8% tourism and 33.2% work-cooperation. Most frequent destination was Africa (48.1%), followed by Asia (32.1%) and Central South- America (17.8%). 199 subjects (67.2%) properly executed vac- cination with Dukoral®. The diarrhoea affected 14.1% of vacci- nated subjects and 20.6% of non vaccinated ones. The following cohorts showed statistically significant differences in incidence of diarrhoea: inf. 35 years old age (13.7% vs. 27.1%), travel for work-cooperation (14.1% vs. 35%) and travel length > 28 days (12.1% vs. 40%). No serious adverse events were reported fol- lowing vaccination. Discussion. Oral Anticholeric vaccine proved to be effective and safe in preventing fecal-oral diseases in travelers exposed to high risk conditions.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to design, deliver and evaluate an e-learning teaching programme for post-graduate radiodiagnostics training that would involve various post-graduate schools throughout Italy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All of the Directors of Italian post-graduate schools of radiodiagnostics were sent an e-mail on 27 September 2010 informing them of our willingness to set up an e-learning project for the academic year 2010-2011 in the form of single-subject teaching seminars. The proposed subjects were the semeiotics of the various organs and apparatuses in the context of "Urgent/Emergency Pathology". After having received registrations, a calendar of lessons was planned to be held between 10 November 2010 and 12 October 2011. The validity of the project was tested by means of a multiple-choice questionnaire covering the technical and didactic quality of the entire project, to be completed by the students. RESULTS: Fifty-one percent of the universities in Italy participated in the project: Trieste, Udine, Verona, Milan-Bicocca, Novara, Varese, Genoa, Sassari, Rome Campus, the Catholic University of Rome, Chieti, Foggia, Catania, Modena, Florence, Palermo, Bologna, Pavia, Parma and Ferrara. The lessons were attended by a total of 10,261 post-graduate medical students, for an average of 513.1 students per lesson. Seventy percent of the students judged the didactic content "excellent", 25% "good", and 5% "satisfactory"; none said it was unsatisfactory. In terms of visual quality (particularly the details of the radiological images proposed in the form of slides and/or video clips), 73% judged it "excellent", 20% "good", 6% "satisfactory", and 1% "poor". The audio quality was judged "excellent" by 71%, "good" by 22%, "satisfactory" by 6% and "poor" by 1%. In relation to judgement of audio and video quality, it has to be underlined that this was greatly affected by the hardware/software configuration and the band speed and technology of the Internet conn

Massive sales of smartphones and tablets have enabled more people to access the internet with a 3G connection than ever before. Predictions indicate an exponential growth of mobile data traffic world-wide reaching 6.3 exabytes per month by 2015, a 26-fold increase over 2010. Unfortunately, the current infrastructure will not be able to meet these demands. Already now, a speed reduction or even lack of connection can be noticed in crowded places. Service providers are addressing the problem by deploying Femtocells and Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) around cities. However, due to their limited connection range, the projected redirected traffic, including free APs at home and office, is expected to be only 39% by 2015. The intention of this thesis is to extend the range of Wi-Fi APs as internet gateways through multi hopping. Furthermore, phone calls and data exchange between devices in proximity are supported and also offloaded from the 3G data network. Therefore, we offload part of the traffic from the mobile data network to Wi-Fi. An added benefit is a reduction in energy consumption. However, current Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) techniques are unable to scale or to handle high mobility. Therefore, we propose a novel approach called “Mobile Assisted Ad-hoc Networking”. MASS-ANET can be applied to any kind of mobile ad-hoc network where nodes can use both a global and a local transmission link. In this project, Wi-Fi local connectivity is used to create a mobile ad-hoc network. 3G links act as a global coordination medium with the help of a central server. The feasibility of the MASS-ANET is determined with the help of simulations. Subsequently modern commodity smartphones are used as prototypes in validation experiments. The proposed solution is verified using a real-world application: exchanging real-time voice traffic over several hops in a mobile ad-hoc Wi-Fi network., Computer Engineering, Embedded Software Group, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Massive sales of smartphones and tablets have enabled more people to access the internet with a 3G connection than ever before. Predictions indicate an exponential growth of mobile data traffic world-wide reaching 6.3 exabytes per month by 2015, a 26-fold increase over 2010. Unfortunately, the current infrastructure will not be able to meet these demands. Already now, a speed reduction or even lack of connection can be noticed in crowded places. Service providers are addressing the problem by deploying Femtocells and Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) around cities. However, due to their limited connection range, the projected redirected traffic, including free APs at home and office, is expected to be only 39% by 2015. The intention of this thesis is to extend the range of Wi-Fi APs as internet gateways through multi hopping. Furthermore, phone calls and data exchange between devices in proximity are supported and also offloaded from the 3G data network. Therefore, we offload part of the traffic from the mobile data network to Wi-Fi. An added benefit is a reduction in energy consumption. However, current Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) techniques are unable to scale or to handle high mobility. Therefore, we propose a novel approach called “Mobile Assisted Ad-hoc Networking”. MASS-ANET can be applied to any kind of mobile ad-hoc network where nodes can use both a global and a local transmission link. In this project, Wi-Fi local connectivity is used to create a mobile ad-hoc network. 3G links act as a global coordination medium with the help of a central server. The feasibility of the MASS-ANET is determined with the help of simulations. Subsequently modern commodity smartphones are used as prototypes in validation experiments. The proposed solution is verified using a real-world application: exchanging real-time voice traffic over several hops in a mobile ad-hoc Wi-Fi network., Computer Engineering, Embedded Software Group, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Aim. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of autologous platelet-rich gel for the treatment of non-healing vascular ulcers, not responsive to the conventional wound care techniques. Methods. Sixteen patients with vascular chronic wounds were selected, with peripheral arterial disease, vasculitis and post-thrombotic chronic venous insufficiency. Every patient had non-healing wounds, not responsive to conventional treatment carried on for at least one month. The platelet gel obtained either from whole-blood derived platelet concentrates (PC) or from plateletapheresis concentrates (PAC) was applied and the medication was completed with a soft dressing. Pictures of the lesions were performed at the beginning of the treatment and every time the platelet gel was applied on the wound. The end-points were the healing or the reduction of the lesion area, the improvement of the ulcer features and the reduction of pain. Results. Five patients healed up, in eight patients we registered an early improvement with reduction of the lesion area and growth of the bottom of the ulcer with granulation tissue, without the complete healing. In the great majority of the patients we obtained a decisive reduction of pain. Only in three patients we had the worsening of the ulcer with a consequent amputation. Conclusion. This treatment is effective in the majority of cases, without side effects. The easy application, the almost complete absence of side effects and the low cost of platelet gel make this approach very interesting to treat chronic non-healing ulcers.

PURPOSE: The aim of our work was to design, implement and evaluate an e-learning programme in favour of trainee radiologists enrolled at the many specialty schools located throughout Italy, in the spirit of "sharing culture". MATERIALS AND METHODS: Once a common educational programme and time slot had been identified and planned, the programme was delivered via Internet-based video conferencing once a week for 2-h lectures. Each lecture was followed by interaction between the teaching staff and trainees at the individual sites. The universities involved were Trieste, Udine, Verona, Milano Bicocca, Novara, Varese, Genova, Sassari, Rome "Campus", Rome "Cattolica", Chieti, Foggia, Catania, Modena and Firenze. The University of Rome "Cattolica" participated in the project with two locations: Rome "Policlinico Gemelli" and Rome "Cattolica Campus of Campobasso". RESULTS: Eighteen lectures were conducted, for a total of 36 h. "Transient" connection interruption occurred 13 times for a total of 33 min over 2,160 min of lessons. Video quality and, in particular, details of radiological images shown in slides or moving pictures, were rated as very good by 71% of trainees, good by 24% and satisfactory by 4.5%; no one gave a rating of unsatisfactory. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our experience, whereas e-learning in radiology has become established and compulsory, there is the need for legislation that on the one hand protects online teaching activity and on the other allows study and continuing medical education (CME) credits to be recognised.

The aim of our work was to design, implement and evaluate an e-learning programme in favour of trainee radiologists enrolled at the many specialty schools located throughout Italy, in the spirit of "sharing culture".

Obiettivo; In letteratura è riportato che solo il 50% dei pazienti con aneurisma toracico rotto raggiunge l’Ospedale ancora in vita, ed il 75% di questi muore nelle 24 ore successive. L’elevata percentuale di mortalità e paraplegia, in seguito a trattamento chirurgico di un aneurisma dell’aorta toracico rotto, limita di molto tale procedura. Il trattamento endovascolare offre un’alternativa meno invasiva alla chirurgia tradizionale, in quanto evita la toracotomia, la terapia anticoagulante e il clampaggio aortico. In questo lavoro riportiamo la nostra iniziale esperienza riguardante il trattamento endovascolare in urgenza dell’aneurisma dell’aorta toracico rotto. Metodi: La nostra esperienza è iniziata nel maggio 2004, da allora abbiamo trattato 11 pazienti con rottura franca di aneurisma dell’aorta toracica (10 aneurismi toracici rotti ed un caso di aneurisma dissecante rotto). I pazienti trattati presentavano un’età media di 76.2 anni (min. 69, max 88), 10 maschi ed una femmina. Tutti i casi, tranne uno, si sono presentati in Pronto Soccorso in condizioni emodinamicamente stabili (PA>70mmHg) e sono stati sottoposti ad un esame Angio TC dell’aorta toracica, addominale e degli assi iliaco femorali. Le condizioni cliniche e la valutazione strumentale hanno evidenziato la possibilità di un trattamento endovascolare. In un solo caso, presentandosi in shock emorragico, la diagnosi e la fattibilità endovascolare è stata fatta direttamente in sala operatoria, dopo un accurato studio angiografico e con IVUS (Intavascular Ultrasound). Risultati: Tutti i pazienti sono stati trattati entro 12 ore dall’arrivo in Ospedale e tutte le procedure sono state eseguite in sala operatoria e in anestesia generale. Le endoprotesi utilizzate sono state in 9 casi Endofit/Endomed, in un caso Talent/Medtronic ed in un altro Zenith/Cook, con un accesso femorale chirurgico ed uno percutaneo. Solo in un caso è stato necessario coprire l’arteria succlavia sinistra, mentre in un altro cas, Objective; In literature it is reported that only 50% of patients with ruptured thoracic aneurysm reaches the hospital alive, and 75% of these die within 24 hours. The high percentage of mortality and paraplegia after surgical treatment of a ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysm, limits indications to this procedure. Endovascular treatment offers a less invasive alternative to traditional surgery, as it avoids thoracotomy, anticoagulant therapy and aortic clamping. In this paper we report our initial experience regarding the endovascular treatment in emergency of broken thoracic aortic aneurysm. Methods: Our experience began in May 2004, since then we have treated 11 patients with frank rupture of the thoracic aortic aneurysm (10 aneurysms and a case of dissecting aneurysm). These patients had a mean age of 76.2 years (min. 69, max 88), 10 males and one female. All cases except one, were presented to the emergency department under hemodynamically stable (BP> 70 mm Hg) and were subjected to CT angiography of the thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta and iliac femoral axis. The clinical and instrumental evaluation have shown the possibility of endovascular treatment. In one case, presenting in hemorrhagic shock, the endovascular feasibility was made in the operating theater, after a careful study with angiography and IVUS (Intavascular Ultrasound). Results: All patients were treated within 12 hours of arrival in hospital and all procedures were performed in the operating room under general anesthesia. The endoprostheses used were in 9 cases Endofit / Endomed, in a case Talent / Medtronic and in another Zenith / Cook, with a surgical femoral access and percutaneous one. Only in one case it was necessary to cover the left subclavian artery, while in another case it was necessary to cover the origin of the subclavian artery and left common carotid artery after carotid-carotid bypass. The technical success was 100%, in two cases the presence of endoleaks on type 1 has necessitated