583 results on '"Torchio P"'
Search Results
402. Alcohol Consumption and Non-Cirrhotic Chronic Hepatitis: A Case-Control Study
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CORRAO, GIOVANNI, ARICO, SARINO, RUSSO, ROBERTO, CARLE, FLAVIA, GALATOLA, GIOVANNI, TORCHIO, PIER FEDERICO, MOIRAGHI, ANGELA RUGGENINI, DI ORIO, FERDINANDO, and DE LA PIERRE, MARCO
- Abstract
We carried out a hospital-based case-control study to assess the association of both the daily amount and the duration of alcohol intake with the risk of developing non-cirrhotic chronic liver disease (chronic hepatitis) in 121 chronic hepatitis patients diagnosed by laparoscopy and liver biopsy, and in 242 matched ‘controls’ randomly selected from inpatients of the same hospital. Alcohol intake was quantified in all subjects using a standardized questionnaire administered by two doctors unaware of the aim of the study. The odds ratio (OR) for chronic hepatitis was estimated by conditional logistic regression and increased exponentially from 1.0 for non-drinkers to 11.4 for daily alcohol intake of 325 g or more. Considering duration of alcohol consumption from up to 10 to up to 30 years, the ORs for chronic hepatitis consistently decreased for the daily alcohol intake categories of 25–50 g (from 74.1 to 0.7 respectively), 75–100 g (from 149.7 to 0.7 respectively) and 125 g or more (from 212.0 to 1.8 respectively). Our results suggest the existence of a dose-dependent individual susceptibility to the damaging effect of alcohol on the liver.
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- 1991
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403. ChemInform Abstract: Behavior of Iron and Low Alloy Steels in Anhydrous Organic Solvents Methanolic Solutions.
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BELLUCCI, F., CAPOBIANCO, G., FAITA, G., FARINA, C. A., FARNIA, G., MAZZA, F., and TORCHIO, S.
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Potentiodynamic polarization curves and potentiostatic anodic transients show that in methanolic solution a region of unstable passivity exists for iron and Ni‐Cr‐Mo low alloy steel which depends on acidity, Cl‐ content and amount of water (0.01‐0.5%).
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- 1988
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404. Determination of the polar drug dimiracetam in human plasma and serum by column-switching high-performance liquid chromatography
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Torchio, L., Lombardi, F., Visconti, M., and Doyle, E.
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- 1995
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405. Uncertainty Quantification for SAE J2954 Compliant Static Wireless Charge Components
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Vincenzo Cirimele, Riccardo Torchio, Juan Luis Villa, Fabio Freschi, Piergiorgio Alotto, Lorenzo Codecasa, and Luca Di Rienzo
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Wireless power transmission ,inductive power transmission ,uncertainty quantification ,parametric model order reduction ,compensation capacitors ,Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering ,TK1-9971 - Abstract
The present work aims at quantifying how, and how much, the uncertainties on the components and material parameters of a wireless power transfer (WPT) system for the static charge of electric vehicles affect the overall efficiency and functionality of the final produced device. With the aim of considering the perspective of a possible industrial developer, the parameters selected for the uncertainty quantification are chosen to be the capacitance values of the compensation capacitors and the electromagnetic material parameters used for the construction of the magnetic structure of a WPT system, i.e. the parameters of the elements to be purchased. The analysis is based on a standard system among the ones provided by the current SAE J2954 recommended practice.
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- 2020
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406. Case Report: Exceptional Response to Avelumab After Failure of Electrochemotherapy in a Patient With Rapidly Progressive, PD-L1-Negative Merkel Cell Carcinoma
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Martina Torchio, Laura Cattaneo, Massimo Milione, Natalie Prinzi, Francesca Corti, Marco Ungari, Andrea Anichini, Roberta Mortarini, Antonio Occhini, Giulia Bertino, Andrea Maurichi, Jorgelina Coppa, Maria Di Bartolomeo, Filippo Guglielmo de Braud, and Sara Pusceddu
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skin neoplasms ,immunotherapy ,electrochemotherapy ,MCC ,avelumab ,Merkel cell carcinoma ,Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens ,RC254-282 - Abstract
This case report shows, for the first time, a patient experiencing a complete response after one dose of avelumab following extensive disease progression with prior electrochemotherapy (ECT) treatment. We suggest that ECT may help to establish a tumor microenvironment favorable to immunotherapy. Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly aggressive skin cancer with seldom durable chemotherapy responses. ECT has recently emerged as a potential treatment option for several malignancies, including MCC. Avelumab, an anti-programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) monoclonal antibody, became the first approved treatment for patients with metastatic MCC. ECT has been shown to activate the immune response, but it is still unknown how ECT may affect patient’s response to subsequent immunotherapy. We report a case of a patient with MCC who presented with a rapidly growing skin nodule of the right cheek and experienced extensive disease progression following surgical debulking and ECT treatment. The patient received a flat dose of 800 mg avelumab intravenously every 2 weeks showing complete tumor regression after only one dose. Immunohistochemical analysis of surgical and post-ECT biopsies collected from the primary lesion revealed tumor expression of programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1), but not PD-L1. Analysis of the tumor samples also revealed no expression of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). Comparison of the biopsies showed a decrease in myeloid and T-cell markers after ECT but an increase in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I expression on tumor cells. Additionally, the patient experienced an increase in neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and lactate dehydrogenase values post-ECT, which subsequently decreased with avelumab treatment. As of 30 October 2019, the patient was still receiving avelumab treatment and had an ongoing complete response. In this case report, a patient with PD-L1-negative and MCPyV-negative MCC who had disease progression following ECT experienced complete tumor regression with avelumab treatment, suggesting, for the first time to our knowledge, that ECT may help to establish a tumor microenvironment favorable to immunotherapy via a potential abscopal effect. Tumor-intrinsic PD-1 expression and modulation of MHC class I antigens after ECT may contribute to the clinical efficacy of avelumab in this context.
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- 2021
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407. Attributes influencing parental decision-making to receive the Tdap vaccine to reduce the risk of pertussis transmission to their newborn – outcome of a cross-sectional conjoint experiment in Spain and Italy
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Edouard Ledent, Giovanni Gabutti, Esther W. de Bekker-Grob, Juan Luis Alcázar Zambrano, Magda Campins Martí, María Teresa Del Hierro Gurruchaga, María José Fernández Cruz, Giuseppe Ferrera, Francesca Fortunato, Pierfederico Torchio, Giorgio Zoppi, Christian Agboton, Walid Kandeil, and Federico Marchetti
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pertussis ,vaccination ,cocooning ,spain ,italy ,adaptive choice-based conjoint questionnaire ,adaptive discrete-choice experiment ,preferences ,sawtooth software ,survey ,Immunologic diseases. Allergy ,RC581-607 ,Therapeutics. Pharmacology ,RM1-950 - Abstract
Pertussis vaccination of parents and household contacts (‘cocooning’) to protect newborn infants is an established strategy in many countries, although uptake may be low. Many aspects may influence such decision-making. We conducted a cross-sectional survey (NCT01890447) of households and other close contacts of newborns aged ≤6 months (or of expectant mothers in their last trimester) in Spain and Italy, using an adaptive discrete-choice experiment questionnaire. Aims were to assess the relative importance of attributes influencing vaccine adoption, and to estimate variation in vaccine adoption rates and the impact of cost on vaccination rates. Six hundred and fifteen participants (Spain, n = 313; Italy, n = 302) completed the survey. Of 144 available questionnaire scenarios, the most frequently selected (14% of respondents in both countries) were infant protection by household vaccination at vaccination center, recommendation by family physician and health authorities, with information available on leaflets and websites. The attribute with highest median relative importance was ‘reduction in source of infection’ in Spain (23.1%) and ‘vaccination location’ in Italy (18.8%). Differences between other attributes were low in both countries, with media attributes showing low importance. Over 80% of respondents indicated a definite or probable response to vaccine adoption (at no-cost) with estimated probability of adoption of 89–98%; applying vaccine costs (25€ per person) would reduce the probability of uptake by 7–20% in definite/probable respondents. Awareness of these determinants is helpful in informing Health Authorities and healthcare practitioners implementing a cocooning strategy for those populations where maternal immunization is not a preferred option.
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- 2019
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408. Fast Uncertainty Quantification in Low Frequency Electromagnetic Problems by an Integral Equation Method Based on Hierarchical Matrix Compression
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Riccardo Torchio, Lorenzo Codecasa, Luca Di Rienzo, and Federico Moro
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Uncertainty quantification ,integral equation method ,parametric model order reduction ,spectral approximation ,electromagnetics ,low–rank approximation ,Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering ,TK1-9971 - Abstract
A parametric model order reduction method combined with a polynomial spectral approximation is applied for the first time to a Volume Integral Equation method accelerated by a low-rank matrix compression technique. Such an approach allows for drastically reducing the computational cost required by uncertainty quantifications in electromagnetic problems. Moreover, the proposed numerical tool can be adopted for computing stochastic information (e.g. mean, variance, probability density function) of any electromagnetic quantity of interest, in order to test the reliability of industrial devices with uncertainties on the material parameters. Conductive, dielectric, and magnetic media which exhibit uncorrelated and correlated random material parameters are considered by the proposed method.
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- 2019
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409. On the contribution of fullerene to the current of planar heterojunction organic solar cells.
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Cattin, L, Cherif, M A, El Jouad, Z, Ftouhi, H, El-Menyawy, E M, El Mahlali, A, Touihri, S, Arzel, L, Addou, M, Torchio, P, and Bernčde, J C
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SOLAR cells , *PHOTOVOLTAIC cells , *FULLERENES , *HETEROJUNCTIONS , *SHORT-circuit currents , *LIGHT transmission , *ELECTROPHILES - Abstract
Recently, significant progress in the field of organic photovoltaic cells was obtained by substituting new electron acceptor molecules to the fullerene, which was attributed to the fact that the fullerene absorption is quite small. Nevertheless, we demonstrate in the present work that, in the case of inverted cells, i.e. when the transparent bottom electrode is used as cathode, the contribution of fullerene to the Jsc short-circuit current of the cells, if not dominant, is not negligible; and that mainly in the short wavelength spectral range. The experimental results are confirmed by an optical simulation. Due to this significant contribution to Jsc, the light transmission of the transparent electrode towards the UV-part of the spectrum is crucial for inverse cell performances. When a transparent conductive electrode based on an alternative dielectric/metal/dielectric structure is substituted to ITO, such as ZnS/Ag/TiO2, the study allows to obtain promising results, although there is a loss of performance due to the decrease of transmission of TiO2 below 400 nm in wavelength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2020
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410. Effect of the thickness of the MoO3 layers on optical properties of MoO3/Ag/MoO3 multilayer structures.
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Nguyen, D.-T., Vedraine, S., Cattin, L., Torchio, P., Morsli, M., Flory, F., and Bernède, J. C.
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ELECTRIC properties , *OPTICAL properties , *MULTILAYERED thin films , *MOLYBDENUM compounds , *METAL coating , *SILVER , *PERCOLATION , *REFLECTANCE - Abstract
The electrical and optical properties of MoO3/Ag/MoO3 multilayer structures have been studied using the Ag deposition rate and layer thicknesses as parameters. When the silver film is deposited at 0.20 nm/s rate, the silver layer thickness necessary to achieve the percolation threshold of the resistivity ρ towards conductive structures is 10 nm. Below 10 nm, the films are semiconductor and above the films are conductors. In the present work, the variation of the thicknesses of top and bottom MoO3 layers is shown to strongly modify the optical properties of the multilayer structures. By using a Ag thickness of 10 nm, we demonstrate an increasing of the transmittance of the MoO3/Ag/MoO3 structures by optimizing the MoO3 layers thicknesses. When the MoO3 bottom layer is 20 nm thick, and the MoO3 top layer is 35 nm, the maximum transmission is 86% at the wavelength of 465 nm, while the averaged transmission in the visible range (350 nm-800 nm) is 70%. The best measured conductivity, σ = 1.1 × 105 (Ω cm)-1, corresponds also to this MoO3 (20 nm)/Ag (10 nm)/MoO3 (35 nm) structure. A good qualitative agreement between the theoretical calculations of the variation of the optical transmittance and reflectance of the MoO3/Ag/MoO3 structures is also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2012
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411. Nanosponge-Based Composite Gel Polymer Electrolyte for Safer Li-O2 Batteries
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Julia Amici, Claudia Torchio, Daniele Versaci, Davide Dessantis, Andrea Marchisio, Fabrizio Caldera, Federico Bella, Carlotta Francia, and Silvia Bodoardo
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Li-O2 cell ,composite gel polymer electrolyte ,nanosponge ,O2 cross-over ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
Li-O2 batteries represent a promising rechargeable battery candidate to answer the energy challenges our world is facing, thanks to their ultrahigh theoretical energy density. However, the poor cycling stability of the Li-O2 system and, overall, important safety issues due to the formation of Li dendrites, combined with the use of organic liquid electrolytes and O2 cross-over, inhibit their practical applications. As a solution to these various issues, we propose a composite gel polymer electrolyte consisting of a highly cross-linked polymer matrix, containing a dextrin-based nanosponge and activated with a liquid electrolyte. The polymer matrix, easily obtained by thermally activated one pot free radical polymerization in bulk, allows to limit dendrite nucleation and growth thanks to its cross-linked structure. At the same time, the nanosponge limits the O2 cross-over and avoids the formation of crystalline domains in the polymer matrix, which, combined with the liquid electrolyte, allows a good ionic conductivity at room temperature. Such a composite gel polymer electrolyte, tested in a cell containing Li metal as anode and a simple commercial gas diffusion layer, without any catalyst, as cathode demonstrates a full capacity of 5.05 mAh cm−2 as well as improved reversibility upon cycling, compared to a cell containing liquid electrolyte.
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- 2021
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412. Investigation on Phenolic and Aroma Compounds of Table Grapes from Romania
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Mihai Lucian LUNG, Doru PAMFIL, Nastasia POP, Corina CATANA, Simona Laura LAZAR, Simone GIACOSA, Fabrizio TORCHIO, Alessandra FERRANDINO, Susana RIO SEGADE, and Luca ROLLE
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Romanian table grape varieties ,polyphenolics ,anthocyanins ,hydroxycinnamoyl tartaric acids ,Forestry ,SD1-669.5 ,Agriculture (General) ,S1-972 - Abstract
The chemical composition of Romanian table grape varieties was determined to evaluate their phenolic and aroma profiles because they are factors useful for the variety characterization and consumer acceptance. Two white table grapes (‘Aromat de Iaşi’ and ‘Timpuriu de Cluj’) and two red table grapes (‘Napoca’ and ‘Someşan’) were studied. The phenolic composition of berry skins and seeds was determined using spectrophotometric methods. The profile of anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamoyl tartaric acids (HCTs), and the content of trans-resveratrol were determined in the skins using high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods. Free volatile compounds were quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A different phenolic and aromatic composition was found in the varieties studied. Among white grapes, ‘Aromat de Iaşi’ stands out for the great number of aroma compounds, and ‘Timpuriu de Cluj’ showed high contents of polyphenols, particularly oligomeric flavanols in skins and seeds (1,171 and 1,189 mg kg-1, respectively) and total skin HCTs (181.6 mg kg-1). The red variety ‘Napoca’ had high contents of total anthocyanins (380 mg kg-1) and total skin HCTs (183.2 mg kg-1), and it is characterized by high percentages of acylated anthocyanin derivatives (28.5%) and trans-caffeoyltartaric acid forms (58.8%). ‘Someşan’ grapes showed high contents of free volatile compounds, particularly of 1-hexanol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol and (E)-2-hexenoic acid (167.0, 59.4 and 167.0 µg kg-1). These results may contribute to the knowledge of Romanian table grapes perspective and to a better exploitation of these varieties.
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- 2016
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413. Stabilisation of the electrical and optical properties of dielectric/Cu/dielectric structures through the use of efficient dielectric and Cu:Ni alloy.
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Bernède, J.C., Tuo, S., Yapi Abbe, S., Cattin, L., Louarn, G., El Jouad, Z., Hssein, M., Essaidi, H., Touihri, S., Peres, L., Torchio, P., and Addou, M.
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TUNGSTEN oxides , *ELECTRIC properties of solids , *OPTICAL properties , *STABILITY (Mechanics) , *DIFFUSION bonding (Metals) - Abstract
Dielectric/Metal/Dielectric structures can be used as substituent to transparent conductive electrodes. The dielectric used is often a transition metal oxide such as MoO 3-x and the metal is Ag. In the present work we propose to substitute Cu to Ag. The difficulty with Cu is its high diffusion rate into MoO 3-x . In order to prevent this negative effect we used Cu:Ni alloy as metal layer. If using such alloy is efficient to reduce Cu diffusion, it works well only with WO 3-x and not with MoO 3-x . We show that after deposition of the alloy only 0.5 at% of Ni is present in Cu films. This small atomic concentration makes it possible to preserve the electrical and optical properties of the metal films but limits its control of Cu diffusion in time. Therefore it is necessary to use an oxide, here WO 3-x , which also limits the diffusion of metals. By adding these two effects due to the alloy and the oxide it is possible to form Dielectric/Metal/Dielectric structures with quite stable properties. These WO 3- x /Cu:Ni/WO 3- x structures can be used as anodes in organic photovoltaic cells. The different behaviors of the structures according to whether they use WO 3-x or MoO 3-x are discussed in terms of thin film porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2017
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414. Alemtuzumab (Campath-1H) and CHOP chemotherapy as first-line treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma: results of a GITIL (Gruppo Italiano Terapie Innovative nei Linfomi) prospective multicenter trial
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Valerio Zoli, Antonello Pinto, Emilio Iannitto, Luigi Rigacci, Alessandra Tucci, Vincenzo Secondo, Annunziata Manna, Stefano Pileri, Atto Billio, Pierfederico Torchio, Francesco Zaja, Alessandro Levis, Andrea Gallamini, Caterina Patti, Corrado Tarella, Maria Rosaria Specchia, Gallamini A., Zaja F., Patti C., Billio A., Specchia MR., Tucci A., Levis A., Manna A., Secondo V., Rigacci L., Pinto A., Iannitto E., Zoli V., Torchio P., Pileri S., Tarella C., Gallamini, A, Zaja, Francesco, Patti, C, Billio, A, Specchia, Mr, Tucci, A, Levis, A, Manna, A, Secondo, V, Rigacci, L, Pinto, A, Iannitto, E, Zoli, V, Torchio, P, Pileri, S, and Tarella, C.
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Adult ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Vincristine ,Antibodies, Neoplasm ,Immunology ,Kaplan-Meier Estimate ,CHOP ,Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ,Biochemistry ,Gastroenterology ,Chemoimmunotherapy ,Antigens, CD ,Antigens, Neoplasm ,Multicenter trial ,Internal medicine ,Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ,Medicine ,Humans ,Multicenter Studies as Topic ,Alemtuzumab ,Cyclophosphamide ,Societies, Medical ,Aged ,Glycoproteins ,Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ,business.industry ,Pralatrexate ,Antibodies, Monoclonal ,Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral ,Cell Biology ,Hematology ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,Regimen ,CD52 Antigen ,Italy ,Doxorubicin ,Prednisone ,business ,Progressive disease ,medicine.drug - Abstract
To evaluate in a prospective multicenter trial the feasibility and clinical efficacy of the combination of alemtuzumab (Campath-1H) with the cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/vincristine/prednisone (CHOP) regimen (CHOP-C) as the primary treatment for patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), between January 2003 and December 2005, 24 consecutive patients with PTCL entered the study and received 8 CHOP courses. Alemtuzumab was added at 30 mg subcutaneously at day −1 initially to the first 4 courses (4 patients), and then to all 8 courses (20 patients). Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 17 (71%) patients, 1 had partial remission, and 6 had stable/progressive disease. At a median follow-up of 16 months (range, 5-42 months), 14 patients were alive, 9 had died from progressive disease, and 1 had died from pneumonia at day +198 while in CR. So far, 13 are disease-free, with an overall median duration of response of 11 months. The most frequent side effects were grade 4 neutropenia and cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation. Major infections were Jacob-Creutzfeldt (J-C) virus reactivation, pulmonary invasive aspergillosis, Staphylococcus sepsis, and pneumonia. This study shows that CHOP-C: (1) is a feasible chemoimmunotherapy regimen; (2) is effective in PTCL with a high rate of CR achievement; and (3) is associated with mostly manageable infectious complications. This clinical trial was registered with the Osservatorio Nazionale sulla Sperimentazione cinica as ID no. 141202.
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- 2007
415. Prevalence of gallstone disease and related risk factors in 889 diabetic subjects of southern Italy
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I. De Sio, M. Calandra, C. Del Vecchio Blanco, Giovanni Corrao, Sandro Gentile, Luigi Castellano, P. Torchio, Torchio, P, Corrao, G, Gentile, Sandro, Castellano, L, DE SIO, I, Calandra, M, DEL VECCHIO BLANCO, C., Torchio, P., Corrao, G., Castellano, L., DE SIO, I., Calandra, M., Gentile, S, de Sio, I, and Del Vecchio Blanco, C
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medicine.medical_specialty ,Text mining ,Hepatology ,diabete ,business.industry ,Internal medicine ,Diabetes mellitus ,Gastroenterology ,gallstone disease ,Medicine ,Disease ,business ,medicine.disease - Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of this study of a large cohort of consecutive patients with diabetes mellitus was to investigate the still controversial questions concerning the prevalence and possible risk factors of gallstone disease in diabetics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled 1337 consecutive patients (710 males aged 63 +/- 11 years and 627 females aged 65 +/- 11 years), of whom 1235 (92%) had type 2 and 102 (8%) had type 1 diabetes mellitus. The data were statistically analysed using multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of gallstone disease was significantly higher in diabetics than in the general population with comparable characteristics (MICOL study) (332/1337 (24.8%) versus 4083/29684 (13.8%); z = 11.208, P = 0.0001) and this difference maintained its statistical significance even when only the North Italian centers involved in this nation-wide survey were considered (332/1337 (24.8%) versus 2469/18091 (13.6%); z = 11.225, P = 0.0001). A total of 332 diabetics (25%) had gallstone disease: 261 had stone(s) and 71 had previously undergone cholecystectomy for gallstone disease after a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. The prevalence of gallstone disease was higher in the females (29% versus 22%, P = 0.003), and increased with age (13, 20 and 30% in patients aged < or = 40, 41-65 and > 65 years, respectively; P = 0.001), body mass index (24% in patients with a body mass index of < or = 30 and 30% in those with a body mass index of > 30 kg/m2; P = 0.001) and a positive family history of gallstone disease (31% versus 23%; P = 0.001). Gallstone disease was not significantly related to the type of diabetes, plasma total and HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, alcohol intake, smoking habits, physical activity, weight reduction in the last year, the use of oral contraceptives, parity or menopause. At multivariate analysis, increasing age, a higher body mass index and a positive family history maintained their statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus, the prevalence of gallstone disease was significantly related to age, body mass index and a family history of gallstone disease.
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- 2004
416. Rapid methods for the evaluation of total phenol content and extractability in intact grape seeds of Cabernet-Sauvignon: instrumental mechanical properties and FT-NIR spectrum
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Luca Rolle, Fabrizio Torchio, Bénédicte Lorrain, Simone Giacosa, Susana Río Segade, Enzo Cagnasso, Vincenzo Gerbi, and Pierre-Louis Teissedre
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instrumental texture properties ,FT-NIR spectrum ,grape seeds ,phenol content ,extractability ,Agriculture ,Botany ,QK1-989 - Abstract
Aims: Fourier Transform-Near Infrared (FT-NIR) spectrum and instrumental texture parameters were assessed as total phenol content and extractability predictors in intact grape seeds. Methods and results:The study was carried out on Cabernet-Sauvignon seeds from grapes harvested at six different advanced physiological stages throughout ripening and calibrated by flotation to reduce the in-field heterogeneity inside each sample. Among the instrumental mechanical properties tested (i. e., break force, break energy, Young’s modulus of elasticity and deformation index), the seed Young’s modulus of elasticity showed an increase during the first four weeks of ripening. This parameter also showed significant correlations with phenol content and extractability, although with low R coefficients. These correlations highlighted that the springier seed tissues greatly increase phenol extractability. Nevertheless, the best prediction of seed phenol content, performed directly on intact seeds, was found using FT-NIR spectroscopy in transmittance mode. The standard error of prediction for total phenol content was less than 8 %, while that for phenol extractability was worse. Conclusion: On the basis of these results, the two analytical methods could be applied in oenology for the rapid monitoring of seed phenolic maturity. Significance and impact of the study: The phenolic composition of grapes at the harvest time is a key factor determining their quality, and thus the quality of the finished wine. The chemical methods used for the determination of seed phenol content and extractability are generally slow because they require a preliminary extraction. Therefore, a rapid evaluation of these parameters could be highly interesting for the oenological sector.
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- 2012
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417. Anthocyanin extractability assesment of grape skins by texture analysis
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Luca Rolle, Fabrizio Torchio, Giuseppe Zeppa, and Vincenzo Gerbi
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texture analysis ,anthocyanin extractability ,Vitis vinifera ,Nebbiolo ,Brachetto ,Agriculture ,Botany ,QK1-989 - Abstract
Aims: The aim of this work was to evaluate the kinetics of anthocyanin extraction in berries of cv Brachetto and Nebbiolo, having the same level of total soluble solids, but with different skin hardness. Methods and results: A puncture test was carried out on berries calibrated according to their density, estimated by flotation in different salt solutions. For each variety, two groups of berries of different skin hardness were selected: soft (< medium value) and hard (> medium value). Spectrophotometric and HPLC methods were used to evaluate the kinetics of anthocyanin extraction in a hydroalcoholic buffer solution. In each of the examined cultivars, the grapes with a higher break skin force produced extracts with a higher content in total anthocyanin. The anthocyanin profile of extracts of Brachetto hard skin is characterized by a higher content of acetyl-glucosides. Conclusion: Texture analysis, which is fast and inexpensive, turned out to be an excellent analytical technique to verify skin hardness measurements. The break skin force proved to be a mechanical parameter able to estimate the extractability of anthocyanins with adequate reliability. Significance and impact of study: The possibility of having an easy way to determine maturity index able to estimate the extractability of phenol compounds with sufficient reliability, can be a valuable tool for the enological community.
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- 2008
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418. Tuning of Light Trapping and Surface Plasmon Resonance in Silver Nanoparticles/c-Si Structures for Solar Cells.
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Manai, L., Dridi Rezgui, B., Benabderrahmane Zaghouani, R., Bessais, B., Barakel, D., Torchio, P., and Palais, O.
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SILVER nanoparticles , *LIGHT absorption , *SOLAR cells , *PLASMONS (Physics) , *RESONANCE - Abstract
In this work, we investigate silver (Ag) nanoparticle-related plasmonic effect on light absorption in Si substrate. Ag nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) deposited on top of Si were used to capture and couple incident light into these structures by forward scattering. We demonstrate that we can control nanoparticle size and shape while varying deposition time and annealing parameters. By the increase of the total time of the reaction process, morphology of Ag-NPs evolutes affecting the number and the width of surface plasmon resonance peaks, whereas for changed annealing parameters (temperature and time), the effect is more pronounced on the broadening and the position of peaks. Specific morphology of Ag-NPs can exhibit an interesting enhancement of optical properties which enables plasmon-related application in photovoltaic solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2016
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419. Highly flexible, conductive and transparent MoO3/Ag/MoO3 multilayer electrode for organic photovoltaic cells.
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Abachi, T., Cattin, L., Louarn, G., Lare, Y., Bou, A., Makha, M., Torchio, P., Fleury, M., Morsli, M., Addou, M., and Bernède, J.C.
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ELECTRIC conductivity , *TRANSPARENCY (Optics) , *MOLYBDENUM oxides , *PHOTOVOLTAIC cells , *ELECTRODES , *MOLECULAR structure , *SUBSTRATES (Materials science) - Abstract
Abstract: MoO3/Ag/MoO3(MAM) multilayer structures were deposited by vacuum evaporation on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. We demonstrate that, as in the case of glass substrate, the sheet resistance of such structures depends significantly on the Ag film deposition rate. When it is deposited between 0.2 and 0.4nm/s, an Ag thickness of 11nm allows achieving sheet resistance of 13Ω/sq and an averaged transmission of 74%. A study of the influence of the PET substrate on the optimum MoO3 thicknesses was done. A good qualitative agreement between the theoretical calculations of the variation of the optical transmittance of the MoO3/Ag/MoO3 structures is obtained. The optimum MAM structures MoO3 (17.5nm)/Ag (11nm)/MoO3 (35nm) has a factor of merit FM =4.21 10−3 (Ω/sq)−1. Proven by the scotch test the MAM structures exhibit a good adhesion to the PET substrates. The MAM structures were also submitted to bending tests. For outer bending, the samples exhibit no variation of their resistance value, while for inner bending there is a small increase of the resistance of the MAM structures. However this increasing is smaller than that exhibited by Indium Tin Oxide. When the PET/MAM structures are used as anode in organic photovoltaic cells, it is shown that the need to use thicker Ag films inside the multilayer and to cover the MAM with Au to obtain promising Current density vs Voltage characteristics is due to the heating of the PET substrate during the deposition process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
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- 2013
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420. Multiscale degradations of storage ring FEL optics
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Gatto, A., Feigl, T., Kaiser, N., Garzella, D., De Ninno, G., Couprie, M.E., Marsi, M., Trovò, M., Walker, R., Grewe, M., Wille, K., Paoloni, S., Reita, V., Roger, J.P., Boccara, C., Torchio, P., Albrand, G., and Amra, C.
- Subjects
- *
FREE electron lasers , *THIN films , *SYNCHROTRON radiation , *OPTICS - Abstract
The advanced understanding of the complete degradation phenomena is crucial in order to develop robust optics for FEL. Under very harsh Synchrotron Radiation conditions, results show that multiscale wavelength damages could be observed, inducing local crystalline structure modifications of the high optical index material with a severe increase of the surface roughness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
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- 2002
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
421. Annealing studies of Al-implanted 6H-SiC in an induction furnace
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Ottaviani, L., Lazar, M., Locatelli, M.L., Chante, J.P., Heera, V., Skorupa, W., Voelskow, M., and Torchio, P.
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SILICON carbide , *SURFACE roughness - Abstract
6H-SiC samples were amorphised by multiple Al implantations at room temperature, in order to study the annealing process. The paper deals with the influence of specific annealing conditions, such as furnace atmosphere and heating rate, on SiC reordering and Al profile. Below a certain deposited nuclear energy, solid phase epitaxy is possible and leads to recrystallisation under precise conditions (high heating rate, silicon partial pressure prescribed). Above it, material etching and dopant losses are observed, even though annealing has proven to be efficient for avoiding surface impairment (due to a specific cleaning process). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Published
- 2002
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
422. New dielectric/metal/dielectric electrode for organic photovoltaic cells using Cu:Al alloy as metal.
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Cattin, L., El Mahlali, A., Cherif, M.A., Touihri, S., El Jouad, Z., Mouchaal, Y., Blanchard, P., Louarn, G., Essaidi, H., Addou, M., Khelil, A., Torchio, P., and Bernède, J.C.
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- *
PHOTOVOLTAIC cells , *TRANSITION metal oxides , *ALLOYS , *OPEN-circuit voltage , *DIELECTRICS , *ELECTRODES , *ORAL poliomyelitis vaccines - Abstract
Given the rapidly increasing demand for flexible and inexpensive optoelectronic devices, it is necessary to find a substitute for ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). Among the considered alternatives, we have chosen in the present work Dielectric/Metal/Dielectric (D/M/D) trilayer structures deposited under vacuum. In these D/M/D structures, when Ag is the metal, highly performing and stable Transparent Conductive Electrodes (TCEs) are obtained. When Ag is replaced by Cu, which is far less expensive, results are not similar due to the tendency of Cu to diffuse into the transition metal oxides. Therefore we improve the stability of the new TCEs by using the Cu alloy Cu:Ag in ZnS/M/WO 3 structures. The best results were obtained when M = Cu:Ag (16 nm)/Ag (1 nm). Flexible and quite stable TCEs were obtained. These new TCEs are conductive and transparent with a figure of merit of 6.5 x 10−3Ω−1 and a quite small Root Mean Squared Roughnessis (RMS = 1.1 nm). Therefore, they were introduced as anode in organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs). In the same time, ZnS/Ag/TiO 2 TCE were probed. These ZnS/Ag/TiO 2 structures were transparent and conductive with optical and electrical performances similar to those of ITO, but, when used as anode, the OPVs performances were limited by the presence of Ag at the surface of the structures. In the other hand, the results obtained with ZnS/M/WO 3 structures were very promising with an open circuit voltage, Voc, and a short circuit current, Jsc, whose values are slightly higher than those obtained with ITO. Nevertheless the fill factor FF is sensibly smaller, which is attributed to the presence of some Cu at the surface of the electrode. Image 1 • ZnS/Ag/TiO2 and ZnS/Metal/WO3 can be used as transparent conducive electrode. • Cu:Ag (5 at.%) alloy stabilizes properties of ZnS/Metal/WO3 structures. • ZnS/Ag/TiO2 modeling permits to estimate the optimum thickness of the different layers. • Organic solar cells using these ITO free electrodes achieve promising performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
423. Mortality in psychiatric hospital patients: a cohort analysis of prognostic factors
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Giovanni Corrao, A. R. Lepore, G Busellu, F Di Orio, Antonella Mattei, P Torchio, Stefano Necozione, Marco Valenti, Raffaella Madonna, Emma Altobelli, G Borrelli, Valenti, M, Necozione, S, Busellu, G, Borrelli, G, Lepore, A, Madonna, R, Altobelli, E, Mattei, A, Torchio, P, Corrao, G, and Di Orio, F
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Adult ,Hospitals, Psychiatric ,Male ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Prognosi ,Epidemiology ,Population ,Cohort Studies ,Risk Factors ,Humans ,Psychiatric hospital ,Medicine ,education ,Multivariate Analysi ,Survival rate ,Aged ,Cause of death ,Aged, 80 and over ,education.field_of_study ,business.industry ,Risk Factor ,Mental Disorders ,Mortality rate ,General Medicine ,Length of Stay ,Middle Aged ,Prognosis ,Survival Rate ,Standardized mortality ratio ,Italy ,Multivariate Analysis ,Cohort ,Mental Disorder ,Female ,Cohort Studie ,business ,Deinstitutionalization ,Human ,Cohort study - Abstract
Background. This work followed a group of patients living in a psychiatric hospital in Central Italy in 1978 at the time of enforcement of the Italian reform law (No.180) for closing down mental hospitals. The study had the following aims: a) to compare in terms of mortality patients discharged into the community with patients who did not experience deinstitution-alization ; b) to determine the survival of the cohort of patients and to analyse prognostic risk factors for death; c) to analyse differences in mortality rates between psychiatric patients and the general population. Methods. The study was designed as an historical follow-up investigation. Univariate (product limit) and multivariate (proportional hazards model) methods were used to estimate prognostic variables and related death risks. Mortality was assessed using standardized mortality ratios (SMR) on the entire cohort as well as after stratification according to age, sex, cause of death and discharge status, assuming the Abruzzo Region's population as standard. Results. Length of hospitalization and discharge from hospital are prognostic variables for death risk, with relative risks respectively of 4.22 (95% confidence interval [Cl]: 2.41-7.40) for a length of hospitalization of 10-25 years, and 8.13 (95% Cl : 4.73-13.88) for non-discharge. The global SMR of the cohort was 2.68 (95% Cl : 2.42-3.07). Non-discharged patients showed higher SMR than discharged. Excess mortality was found both in males and females for circulatory, respiratory and undefined diseases. A significantly lower mortality for cancer was observed in male patients. A strong excess mortality was observed in younger patients (20-29 years: SmR ma j ex = 43.57; SMR, females = 97.52). Conclusions. Longer periods of hospitalization and non-discharge from hospital are the main risk factors for death in psychiatric patients, who globally experience higher death rates than the general population for a wide spectrum of causes of death, whatever their diagnosis or gender. These findings strongly suggest positive actions in order to overcome the effects of institutionalization.
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- 1997
424. Trends of liver cirrhosis mortality in Europe, 1970-1989: age-period-cohort analysis and changing alcohol consumption
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P Torchio, Giovanni Corrao, Adriano Decarli, S. Arico, Pietro Ferrari, Antonella Zambon, Corrao, G, Ferrari, P, Zambon, A, Torchio, P, Arico, S, and Decarli, A
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Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Alcohol Drinking ,Epidemiology ,Population ,Period effect ,Liver cirrhosi ,Cohort Studies ,Age Distribution ,Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ,Risk Factors ,Age effect ,Per capita ,Humans ,Medicine ,Alcohol consumption ,Europe, Eastern ,Sex Distribution ,Mortality ,education ,MED/01 - STATISTICA MEDICA ,Aged ,education.field_of_study ,business.industry ,Incidence ,Incidence (epidemiology) ,Alcohol dependence ,General Medicine ,Middle Aged ,Surgery ,Europe ,Survival Rate ,Trend analysis ,Cohort effect ,Cohort efefct ,Linear Models ,Female ,business ,Developed country ,Demography ,Cohort study - Abstract
Background. Since the mid 1970s, a striking reduction in alcohol-related problems has been observed in many Western countries. Liver cirrhosis mortality is considered to be a major indicator of alcohol-related problems in the general population. The aim of the present study is to describe liver cirrhosis mortality trends in European countries between 1970 and 1989, Methods. This is a descriptive study on liver cirrhosis mortality in 25 European countries, and in four grouped European regions. A Poisson log-linear age-period-cohort model is used to clarify whether the recent trend in mortality represents a short-term fluctuation or an emerging long-term trend. In addition, a descriptive comparison between trends in per capita alcohol consumption and liver cirrhosis mortality is conducted. Results. In the whole European population and in that of Western and Southern Europe increasing period effects were observed until the second half of the 1970s followed by a decline in the next periods. In Eastern Europe the decline in period effects started in the first half of the 1980s, whereas in Northern Europe an increasing period effect was observed until the second half of the 1970s, followed by a stabilization. Similar trends were observed for per capita alcohol consumption. The age effect analysis showed a continuously rising effect in Eastern Europe, whereas an attenuation of the effect at around age 65 years was observed in Western Europe, Intermediate patterns were observed in Southern and Northern Europe. The birth cohort effect suggested that in the Western and Southern populations mortality could continue to decrease over the next decade, while in Eastern and Northern Europe mortality is still rising and this will probably continue for the next decade. Conclusions. The age-period-cohort analysis allows targeting of health care and prevention programmes based on future trends. Aetiological and prognostic factors act differently in Europe. A better understanding of the trends would require more detailed information on alcoholism treatment rates, alcohol habits, viral hepatitic infections and other factors involved in the aetiopathogenesis of the disease
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- 1997
425. Mortality study on a cohort of Italian licensed pesticide users
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Stefano Belli, Corrado Magnani, P Torchio, Anna Raffella Lepore, G. Corrao, Pietro Comba, Ferdinando di Orio, Laura Settimi, Torchio, P, Lepore, A, Corrao, G, Comba, P, Settimi, L, Belli, S, Magnani, C, and di Orio, F
- Subjects
Male ,Adult ,Environmental Engineering ,Adolescent ,Cross-sectional study ,Death risk ,Cohort Studies ,Environmental protection ,Neoplasms ,Occupational Exposure ,Cardiovascular Disease ,Cause of Death ,Environmental health ,Agricultural Workers' Disease ,Humans ,Environmental Chemistry ,Medicine ,Reference population ,Pesticides ,Waste Management and Disposal ,Aged ,Cause of death ,Cross-Sectional Studie ,business.industry ,Middle Aged ,Pesticide ,Pollution ,Agricultural Workers' Diseases ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Standardized mortality ratio ,Italy ,Cardiovascular Diseases ,Cohort ,Neoplasm ,Cohort Studie ,business ,Human ,Cohort study - Abstract
This study describes the mortality experience in a cohort of 23,401 farmers, residing in southern Piedmont, Italy, and licensed to use pesticides. From 1970 to 1986 the cohort included 340,794 person-years and 2683 deaths were observed. A strong attenuation of the death risk was found due to the healthy worker effect (seen as an active role in the application for the license by the members of the cohort) and due to the limited comparability of the cohort with respect to the reference population. The standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were remarkably < 100 for all causes (SMR = 59; 95% confidence interval = 57-61) and for all tumors (SMR = 60; 95% CI 55-64), but they increased with the increasing duration of the follow-up. A risk increase was observed with respect to melanomas and eye tumors in the entire cohort and lymphoma and tumors of the connective tissue in the subcohort of subjects living in villages with mainly arable land
- Published
- 1994
426. Serological screening of coeliac disease: choosing the optimal procedure according to various prevalence values
- Author
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Giovanni Corrao, F Di Orio, Giovanni Gasbarrini, M. L. Andreani, R A Valentini, G. Galatola, Gino Roberto Corazza, Dennis Quaglino, P Torchio, Corrao, G, Corazza, G, Andreani, M, Torchio, P, Valentini, R, Galatola, G, Quaglino, D, Gasbarrini, G, and di Orio, F
- Subjects
Male ,Adult ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Malabsorption ,Adolescent ,Duodenum ,Population ,Prevalence ,Predictive Value of Test ,Gastroenterology ,Asymptomatic ,Gliadin ,Coeliac disease ,Serology ,Predictive Value of Tests ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Letters to the Editor ,education ,Screening procedures ,Aged ,education.field_of_study ,business.industry ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Immunoglobulin A ,Surgery ,Celiac Disease ,Immunoglobulin G ,Predictive value of tests ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Research Article ,Human - Abstract
The aim of this study was to select the best approach for screening coeliac disease patients among populations with different grades of disease prevalence. The diagnostic performance was assessed of class A and G antigliadin antibodies and class A antiendomysium antibodies in 93 consecutive outpatients with suspected malabsorption, 44 of whom (47%) had coeliac disease according to duodenal histological tests. Class G antigliadin antibodies provided the worst diagnostic values, whereas a high diagnostic validity was found for the other two tests. The positive predictive value corrected for the disease prevalence expected in coeliac disease relatives (5%) and the general population (0.2%) fell to 30% and < 2% respectively for class A antigliadin antibodies, whereas it remained 100% for antiendomysium antibodies in both situations, providing an optimal value for their use as a screening test and as a valid alternative to duodenal biopsy when this is not feasible. The high cost of anti-endomysium antibodies and the invasive nature of duodenal biopsy prevent them being used widely as screening procedures. A cost effective two step approach was simulated measuring class A antigliadin antibodies in all subjects of the target population (first step), and performing a confirmation test (antiendomysium antibodies or duodenal biopsy) only in subjects positive for antigliadin antibodies. The results show that such a procedure should be recommended only for subjects with an expected low disease prevalence--that is, 5% for coeliac disease relatives and 0.2% for the general population--as the positive predictive value was always 100% with an acceptable false negative rate (6% and 11% respectively), irrespective of which of the two confirmation tests was used. This approach avoids the use of the confirmation test in 63% and 89% of subjects respectively for the two levels of prevalence, resulting in a considerable reduction of the cost. Patients seen for suspected malabsorption with an expected high prevalence of coeliac disease should not have such a serological screening procedure. In conclusion, antigliadin antibodies are useful to screen for asymptomatic coeliac disease in non-hospital communities if antiendomysium anti-bodies are used as a confirmation test: the latter is reasonable valid alternative to duodenal biopsy
- Published
- 1994
427. Are the recent trends in liver cirrhosis mortality affected by the changes in alcohol consumption? Analysis of latency period in European countries
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P Ferrari, P Torchio, A Zambon, Giovanni Corrao, Corrao, G, Ferrari, P, Zambon, A, and Torchio, P
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Cirrhosis ,Adolescent ,Alcohol Drinking ,European countrie ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,Poison control ,Occupational safety and health ,Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ,Injury prevention ,Epidemiology ,medicine ,Per capita ,Humans ,General Psychology ,MED/01 - STATISTICA MEDICA ,Aged ,Retrospective Studies ,business.industry ,alcohol ,Mortality rate ,analysis of latency period ,liver cirrhosis mortality ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,Europe ,trend ,Latency stage ,Female ,business ,Demography - Abstract
Objective. A striking reduction of alcohol-related problems, such as liver cirrhosis death rates, has been observed in many western countries in recent years. It might be expected that these declines are accompanied by a lagged reduction in per capita alcohol consumption, since many years of intake are required for cirrhosis of the liver to develop (lag theory). The main aim of this study is to verify the validity of the lag theory, taking as target populations those resident in European countries. Method. Changes in liver cirrhosis death rates in 22 European countries between 1970 and 1989 were regressed onto changes in per capita alcohol consumption (1961-89) to evaluate the latency period between trends of these variables. Results: Eastern countries had a latency period between trends in alcohol consumption and in mortality rates of many years, whereas in northern, western and southern Europe cirrhosis mortality rates were explained by their relationship with per capita alcohol consumption, which lagged a few years. In some countries, an immediate contemporary appearance of the two phenomena was observed. Conclusions. These results suggest that the lag theory cannot fully explain the relationship between changing alcohol consumption and cirrhosis mortality and that other factors, such as alcoholism treatment rates, are involved in the wide geographical variability of the latency periods
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- 1997
428. A strong negative association between alcohol consumption and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients. A case-control study
- Author
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Marco Tabone, Giovanni Corrao, S. Arico, G. Galatola, Marco Valenti, F Di Orio, P Torchio, Aricó, S, Corrao, G, Torchio, P, Galatola, G, Tabone, M, Valenti, M, and Di Orio, F
- Subjects
Liver Cirrhosis ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ,Cirrhosis ,Alcohol Drinking ,Epidemiology ,Liver Cirrhosi ,medicine.disease_cause ,Gastroenterology ,Asymptomatic ,Liver disease ,Age Distribution ,Risk Factors ,Internal medicine ,Prevalence ,medicine ,Humans ,Sex Distribution ,Aged ,Hepatitis B virus ,Analysis of Variance ,business.industry ,Risk Factor ,Liver Neoplasms ,Case-control study ,Odds ratio ,Middle Aged ,Hepatitis B ,medicine.disease ,digestive system diseases ,Surgery ,Alcoholism ,Liver Neoplasm ,Case-Control Studies ,Hepatocellular carcinoma ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Human - Abstract
We carried out a hospital-based, case-control study to assess the association of both the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection and the lifetime daily alcohol intake with the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Cases were 62 consecutive inpatients of a Gastroenterology Division in whom a first diagnosis of HCC superimposed on LC was made. Two control groups were used: 310 patients without liver disease, matched 1:5 with cases and randomly selected from inpatients of the same hospital, and 97 consecutive asymptomatic inpatients in whom the first diagnosis of LC was made. Alcohol intake was quantified in all subjects by a standardized questionnaire. HBV infection was associated with HCC development in cirrhotics (odds ratio = 6.8; 95% confidence interval = 1.4-32.3), whereas we observed a trend towards a decreased HCC risk at increased alcohol intake values (odds ratio from 1 for lifetime abstainers to 0.2 for drinkers of 175 g/day or more). Our results suggest that alcohol intake is not a direct determinant of HCC, but its role is mediated by LC. Cirrhotics with high alcohol intake do not usually survive long enough to develop HCC.
- Published
- 1994
429. Effect of age, birth cohort and period of death on Italian liver cirrhosis mortality, 1972-1986
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S. Arico, F Di Orio, G. Galatola, P Torchio, A De Carli, Giovanni Corrao, Corrao, G, Torchio, P, De Carli, A, Galatola, G, Aricò, S, and di Orio, F
- Subjects
Liver Cirrhosis ,Male ,Adult ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Cirrhosis ,Time Factors ,Time Factor ,Epidemiology ,Liver Cirrhosi ,Population ,Cohort Studies ,symbols.namesake ,medicine ,Humans ,Age Factor ,Poisson regression ,Poisson Distribution ,education ,Cause of death ,Demography ,Aged ,education.field_of_study ,business.industry ,Mortality rate ,Age Factors ,General Medicine ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,Italy ,Etiology ,symbols ,Female ,Cohort Studie ,business ,Cohort study ,Human - Abstract
Liver cirrhosis is one of the main causes of death in Mediterranean countries. A trend towards a global reduction in the mortality rate has been recently reported. In order to clarify better this trend and in an attempt to hypothesize the future pattern of mortality, we analysed data from 254,834 Italian subjects aged 30-79 who died from liver cirrhosis during the period 1972-1986. We used a log-linear Poisson model to examine the effects of age, calendar period of death and birth cohort. Our data confirm that both in the population as a whole and after stratification for three geographical areas (Northern, Central and Southern Italy) the mortality rate is decreasing. The age-effect analysis showed an exponentially rising effect in the Southern population, in accordance with the viral aetiology of cirrhosis, whereas an increased effect followed by a decreased effect was observed in the Northern and Central population, suggesting the alcoholic aetiology for the disease. The results from the birth-cohort effect suggested that in the Northern and Central populations mortality should continue to decrease over the next decade, possibly due to the implementation of better prevention programmes for cirrhotics and to decreased alcohol consumption in Italy. In the Southern population, however, mortality is still rising and this will probably continue for the next decade, as the generations born between 1940 and 1950 who are at high risk of carrying chronic hepatitis B virus infection, reach the age of higher risk of death from liver cirrhosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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- 1993
430. Reduction modality of a dietary questionnaire
- Author
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G, Corrao, G, Busellu, P, Torchio, S, Floridi, A, D'Amicis, C, Recchia, R, Di Placido, P, Giardini, B, Mandorino, F, Di Orio, Corrao, G, Busellu, G, Torchio, P, Floridi, S, D'Amicis, A, Recchia, C, Di Placido, R, Giardini, P, Mandorino, B, and Di Orio, F
- Subjects
Male ,Adult ,Questionnaire ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Humans ,Female ,Middle Aged ,Energy Intake ,Diet ,Aged - Abstract
The data relative to the average daily intake of 7 nutrients and total energy obtained through the answers to a dietary questionnaire, consisting of 152 items and administered to 200 patients (admitted for acute pathologies) has been analysed. The aim has been to elaborate a questionnaire consisting of a more limited number of items but maintaining a great part of the informative contents from the original questionnaire. For this aim, a multiple regression model with a selection procedure for independent variables, of the stepwise type, has been used, where the dependent variable is the daily average intake of the nutrient and the independent variables are the consumption of each food included in the complete questionnaire (QC). By combining the results of the model with the 7 nutrients and total energy, 3 reduced questionnaires have been produced (QR): the first two are based on the sole criteria of the inter-individual variance of the intake of the nutrient, explained by the consumption of the foods included in the QR, the third by adding the foods that offer an adequate contribution in order to explain the supply of the nutrient under examination. The application potentials of the 3 QRs have been analysed both by evaluating the inter-class correlation coefficient, deduced by an concordance/discordance matrix relative to the quintilis values of the nutrient deduced by the QC and by each QR, and by simulating their use in a case-control study; for this aim, the attenuation of the odds ratio trend and the increase of the sample dimension has been calculated following the use of a QR instead of a complete one.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
- Published
- 1993
431. Amount and duration of alcohol intake as risk factors of symptomatic liver cirrhosis: a case-control study
- Author
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G. Corrao, Marco Tabone, Ferdinando di Orio, P Torchio, A. R. Lepore, Marco Valenti, G. Galatola, S. Arico, Corrao, G, Aricò, S, Lepore, R, Valenti, M, Torchio, P, Galatola, G, Tabone, M, and Di Orio, F
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Time Factors ,Cirrhosis ,Time Factor ,Alcohol Drinking ,Epidemiology ,Alcohol ,Gastroenterology ,Regression Analysi ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ,Risk Factors ,Internal medicine ,Odds Ratio ,medicine ,Humans ,Ethanol ,Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ,business.industry ,Risk Factor ,Data Collection ,Case-control study ,Regression analysis ,Odds ratio ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,chemistry ,Case-Control Studies ,Toxicity ,Regression Analysis ,Female ,business ,Human - Abstract
We carried out a hospital based case-control study involving 320 patients with symptomatic liver cirrhosis (LC) and 320 pair-matched control individuals, in order to estimate the dose-response relationship between both the daily amount and the duration of alcohol intake and the risk of LC. Lifetime alcohol consumption was measured by a standardized and reproducible questionnaire, and expressed as lifetime daily alcohol intake (LDAI) and duration of alcohol consumption (DAC). The odds ratio (OR) for LC was estimated by the conditional logistic regression. It increased from 1.0 for lifetime abstainers to 4.2 for LDAI of 225 g or more. Comparing durations of alcohol consumption of ⩽I 0 and ⩾ 30 years in the model, the ORs consistently decreased for all the LDAI categories: from 4.1 to 0.6 in the 25–50 g category; from 15.1 to 0.9 in the 75–100 g category; from 67.2 to 1.5 in the 125 g or more category. Our results suggest that the dose-dependent relationship between alcohol and LC may be mediated by the degree of individual susceptibility to the detrimental effect of alcohol to the liver.
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- 1993
432. Alcohol consumption and non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis: a case-control study
- Author
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Ferdinando di Orio, G. Galatola, Angela Ruggenini Moiraghi, Giovanni Corrao, R Russo, S. Arico, Flavia Carle, Pier Federico Torchio, Marco De La Pierre, Corrao, G, Arico, S, Russo, R, Carle, F, Galatola, G, Torchio, P, Moiraghi, A, di Orio, F, and de la Pierre, M
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Alcohol Drinking ,Epidemiology ,Chronic liver disease ,Alcohol and health ,Internal medicine ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,medicine ,Humans ,Hepatitis ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Questionnaire ,Hepatitis, Alcoholic ,Hepatobiliary disease ,Case-control study ,General Medicine ,Odds ratio ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,Hospitalization ,Italy ,Liver biopsy ,Case-Control Studies ,Chronic Disease ,Female ,business ,Human - Abstract
We carried out a hospital-based case-control study to assess the association of both the daily amount and the duration of alcohol intake with the risk of developing non-cirrhotic chronic liver disease (chronic hepatitis) in 121 chronic hepatitis patients diagnosed by laparoscopy and liver biopsy, and in 242 matched 'controls' randomly selected from inpatients of the same hospital. Alcohol intake was quantified in all subjects using a standardized questionnaire administered by two doctors unaware of the aim of the study. The odds ratio (OR) for chronic hepatitis was estimated by conditional logistic regression and increased exponentially from 1.0 for non-drinkers to 11.4 for daily alcohol intake of 325 g or more. Considering duration of alcohol consumption from up to 10 to up to 30 years, the ORs for chronic hepatitis consistently decreased for the daily alcohol intake categories of 25-50 g (from 74.1 to 0.7 respectively), 75-100 g (from 149.7 to 0.7 respectively) and 125 g or more (from 212.0 to 1.8 respectively). Our results suggest the existence of a dose-dependent individual susceptibility to the damaging effect of alcohol on the liver.
- Published
- 1991
433. Meta-analysis of alcohol intake in relation to risk of liver cirrhosis
- Author
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Giovanni Corrao, Vincenzo Bagnardi, Antonella Zambon, P Torchio, Corrao, G, Bagnardi, V, Zambon, A, and Torchio, P
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Cirrhosis ,Alcohol Drinking ,Alcohol ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ,Risk Factors ,Environmental health ,Epidemiology ,medicine ,Confidence Intervals ,Humans ,Risk factor ,Chi-Square Distribution ,Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ,Ethanol ,alcohol ,liver cirrhosi ,business.industry ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,Confidence interval ,Surgery ,meta-analysis ,chemistry ,Meta-analysis ,Relative risk ,Observational study ,Female ,business - Abstract
The heterogeneity in the results of observational studies that investigated the association between alcohol consumption and risk of liver cirrhosis was ana]ysed by means of a meta-analysis that included 15 articles published from 1978 to 1997. Relative risks associated with low levels of alcohol intake (25 g/day) ranged from 1.5 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1 4–1.5] for a linear model fitting the results of the six studies performed in Mediterranean areas, to 3.6 (95% CI 3.1–4.3) for a quadratic model fitting the results of the nine studies performed in other areas. A strong indication of heterogeneity was observed when combining all studies. Quadratic term of alcohol intake, quality of the study and area in which the study was performed explained most of this heterogeneity. Efforts should be made to explain the strong heterogeneity in the trend estimates. Reproducible methods to collect relevant and valid information on alcohol intake should be developed and the role of drinking patterns and viral and nutritional factors in modifying the effect of alcohol on the risk of liver cirrhosis should be investigated.
434. The measure of life-time alcohol consumption in patients with cirrhosis: reproducibility and clinical relevance
- Author
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S. Arico, G. Galatola, Marco Tabone, P Torchio, Giovanni Corrao, M De la Pierre, Marco Valenti, Arico, S, Galatola, G, Tabone, M, Corrao, G, Torchio, P, Valenti, M, and De la Pierre, M
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Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Time Factors ,Cirrhosis ,Multivariate analysis ,Time Factor ,Alcohol Drinking ,Reproducibility of Result ,Alcohol ,Sex Factor ,Gastroenterology ,Regression Analysi ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Sex Factors ,Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ,Risk Factors ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Age Factor ,Clinical significance ,Ethanol ,Hepatology ,Questionnaire ,business.industry ,Risk Factor ,Age Factors ,Case-control study ,Reproducibility of Results ,Middle Aged ,Hepatitis B ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,Italy ,chemistry ,Case-Control Studies ,Regression Analysis ,Female ,Analysis of variance ,business ,Human - Abstract
Our aims were to design a reproducible method of measuring life-time alcohol consumption in patients with cirrhosis, and to assess the risk of liver decompensation associated with alcohol intake using a case-control design and a multivariate analysis. We studied 439 patients ("cases") with decompensated cirrhosis, and 233 with compensated cirrhosis ("controls"). Mean life-time daily amount and duration of alcohol intake were measured by a standardized questionnaire, whose reproducibility, assessed by interviewing 75 relatives, was 70% for daily alcohol intake and 84% for duration of intake. Better reproducibility was found by re-interviewing patients at discharge from hospital. Daily alcohol intake was significantly higher in males, younger patients and patients with liver decompensation. After stratification according to the average life-time daily alcohol intake, we found a significant increase in the risk of liver decompensation from 125 g ethanol intake per day onwards. No association was found between duration of alcohol intake and risk of liver decompensation. We conclude that alcohol intake can be reliably and reproducibly measured: in patients with cirrhosis, increased alcohol intake is associated with increased risk of liver decompensation, with a significant dose-effect above a daily intake of 125 g ethanol.
435. Attributes influencing parental decision-making to receive the Tdap vaccine to reduce the risk of pertussis transmission to their newborn - outcome of a cross-sectional conjoint experiment in Spain and Italy.
- Author
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Ledent E, Gabutti G, de Bekker-Grob EW, Alcázar Zambrano JL, Campins Martí M, Del Hierro Gurruchaga MT, Fernández Cruz MJ, Ferrera G, Fortunato F, Torchio P, Zoppi G, Agboton C, Kandeil W, and Marchetti F
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis Vaccines economics, Female, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Italy, Male, Middle Aged, Spain, Whooping Cough transmission, Young Adult, Decision Making, Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis Vaccines administration & dosage, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Parents psychology, Vaccination psychology, Whooping Cough prevention & control
- Abstract
Pertussis vaccination of parents and household contacts ('cocooning') to protect newborn infants is an established strategy in many countries, although uptake may be low. Many aspects may influence such decision-making. We conducted a cross-sectional survey (NCT01890447) of households and other close contacts of newborns aged ≤6 months (or of expectant mothers in their last trimester) in Spain and Italy, using an adaptive discrete-choice experiment questionnaire. Aims were to assess the relative importance of attributes influencing vaccine adoption, and to estimate variation in vaccine adoption rates and the impact of cost on vaccination rates. Six hundred and fifteen participants (Spain, n = 313; Italy, n = 302) completed the survey. Of 144 available questionnaire scenarios, the most frequently selected (14% of respondents in both countries) were infant protection by household vaccination at vaccination center, recommendation by family physician and health authorities, with information available on leaflets and websites. The attribute with highest median relative importance was 'reduction in source of infection' in Spain (23.1%) and 'vaccination location' in Italy (18.8%). Differences between other attributes were low in both countries, with media attributes showing low importance. Over 80% of respondents indicated a definite or probable response to vaccine adoption (at no-cost) with estimated probability of adoption of 89-98%; applying vaccine costs (25€ per person) would reduce the probability of uptake by 7-20% in definite/probable respondents. Awareness of these determinants is helpful in informing Health Authorities and healthcare practitioners implementing a cocooning strategy for those populations where maternal immunization is not a preferred option.
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
436. Spherically shaped micro-structured antireflective surfaces.
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Bouffaron R, Escoubas L, Brissonneau V, Simon JJ, Berginc G, Torchio P, Flory F, and Masclet P
- Subjects
- Crystallization, Equipment Design, Microscopy, Electron, Scanning methods, Optics and Photonics, Reproducibility of Results, Spectrophotometry, Infrared instrumentation, Spectrophotometry, Infrared methods, Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared, Surface Properties, Silicon chemistry
- Abstract
An antireflecting micro-structured interface, working in the resonance domain, and made from a bi-periodic array of semi-spherical hollowing-out in a silicon substrate is presented. Its parameters such as sphere radius and position of sphere centers from the surface are optimized numerically. A simple and robust process is described allowing such kind of antireflective surfaces to be fabricated for the infrared range. Spectral and angular reflectance measurement demonstrates the efficiency of the antireflective micro-structured interface which can easily be adapted for the visible range and for photovoltaic applications by a simple homothetic modification of the micro-structure typical dimensions.
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
437. Impact of incomplete revascularization following OPCAB surgery.
- Author
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Agostini M, Fino C, Torchio P, Vado A, Bertora M, Lugli E, and Grossi C
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Angina, Unstable diagnosis, Angina, Unstable mortality, Angina, Unstable surgery, Coronary Stenosis mortality, Disease-Free Survival, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Hospital Mortality, Humans, Italy, Male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, Postoperative Complications mortality, Proportional Hazards Models, Recurrence, Reoperation, Risk Assessment, Treatment Outcome, Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump, Coronary Stenosis diagnosis, Coronary Stenosis surgery, Postoperative Complications diagnosis
- Abstract
Background and Aim of the Study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the early and mid-term off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (OPCAB) results in a single surgical unit, assessing the impact of completeness of revascularization., Methods: Three hundred and twelve patients underwent OPCAB between August 2000 and January 2005. In-hospital data were collected prospectively for all patients undergoing OPCAB. Complete revascularization (CR) was derived by comparing significantly stenotic vessels at cardiac catheterization with surgically grafted coronary vessels. Grafting of all the significantly stenotic coronary vessels was considered CR. In-hospital outcomes were compared between patients with CR and incomplete revascularization (IR). A multivariate analysis based on the Cox proportional hazards regression model was performed., Results: Patients receiving IR (105 patients, 43.7%) presented a worse preoperative risk profile then those having CR (mean Euroscore 6.8 +/- 2.9 vs. 4.3 +/- 2.8, p < 0.0001). IR was not associated with a higher incidence of early adverse events. Five-year freedom from death and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were 0.88 (0.02 SE) and 0.86 (0.03 SE), respectively. Complete revascularization was protective for mid-term unstable angina recurrence [heart rate (HR) = 0.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10 to 0.58], acute myocardial infarction (HR = 0.25, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.73), all-cause repeat revascularization (HR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.90), and MACE (HR = 0.2, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.5)., Conclusion: Our study suggests that, although incomplete revascularization may not result in increased short-term morbidity and mortality, it increases the incidence of mid-term MACE.
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
438. High OPCAB surgical volume improves midterm event-free survival.
- Author
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Agostini M, Fino C, Torchio P, Di Gregorio V, Feola M, Bertora M, Lugli E, and Grossi C
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Angina, Unstable surgery, Cause of Death, Cross-Sectional Studies, Disease-Free Survival, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Heart Failure surgery, Humans, Italy, Male, Middle Aged, Myocardial Infarction surgery, Postoperative Complications surgery, Reoperation statistics & numerical data, Angina, Unstable mortality, Clinical Competence statistics & numerical data, Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump statistics & numerical data, Coronary Artery Disease surgery, Heart Failure mortality, Hospital Mortality, Myocardial Infarction mortality, Postoperative Complications mortality, Stroke mortality
- Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the midterm results of the initial phase of off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery adoption in a single surgical unit, assessing the impact of procedural volume., Methods: Study participants were 312 patients who underwent OPCAB during the period between August 2000 and January 2005 at S. Croce Hospital. Of these patients, 126 patients with an indication selected for comorbidities or 1-vessel disease underwent OPCAB performed by 4 low-volume surgeons, and 186 unselected patients underwent OPCAB performed by a single high-volume surgeon., Results: OPCAB performed by low-volume surgeons was associated with less complete revascularization and less arterial conduit use. Early result analysis showed a low rate of in-hospital or 30-day adverse events. The 5-year survival was 0.88 (0.02 SE). OPCAB performance by a high-volume surgeon and complete revascularization were shown have a protective effect for midterm major adverse cardiac events (respectively, hazard ratio = 0.28, 95% confidence interval 0.11-0.74 and hazard ratio = 0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.15-0.73)., Conclusion: Our study on the initial phase of OPCAB adoption suggests a benefit on midterm outcome from surgery performed by a high-volume surgeon.
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
439. Enhanced antireflecting properties of micro-structured top-flat pyramids.
- Author
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Bouffaron R, Escoubas L, Simon JJ, Torchio P, Flory F, Berginc G, and Masclet P
- Subjects
- Computer-Aided Design, Equipment Design, Equipment Failure Analysis, Light, Miniaturization, Reproducibility of Results, Scattering, Radiation, Sensitivity and Specificity, Lenses
- Abstract
This paper aims at modeling bi-periodic micro-structured silicon surfaces exhibiting broadband antireflection properties in the infrared range using Rigorous Coupled-Wave Analysis (RCWA). These structures of pyramidal shape, which typical dimensions are smaller than the wavelength, are not in the Effective Medium Theory (EMT) validity domain. The influence of various opto-geometrical parameters such as period, depth, shape of the pattern is examined. The antireflective properties of such bi-periodic patterned surfaces are then discussed using the photonic crystal theory and photonic band diagrams description. Correlations between the density of Bloch modes, their localizations with respect to the incident medium light line and the surface reflectance are presented.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
440. The predictive value of positron emission tomography scanning performed after two courses of standard therapy on treatment outcome in advanced stage Hodgkin's disease.
- Author
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Gallamini A, Rigacci L, Merli F, Nassi L, Bosi A, Capodanno I, Luminari S, Vitolo U, Sancetta R, Iannitto E, Trentin L, Stelitano C, Tavera S, Biggi A, Castagnoli A, Versari A, Gregianin M, Pelosi E, Torchio P, and Levis A
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Disease-Free Survival, Female, Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Staging methods, Positron-Emission Tomography standards, Treatment Outcome, Hodgkin Disease diagnosis, Hodgkin Disease therapy, Positron-Emission Tomography methods, Predictive Value of Tests
- Abstract
Background and Objectives: We explored the predictive value on therapy outcome of an early evaluation of treatment response by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose position emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET) scan performed after two courses of conventional standard-dose chemotherapy in advanced-stage Hodgkin's disease., Design and Methods: One hundred and eight patients with newly-diagnosed Hodgkin's disease in stage IIA with adverse prognostic factors, or in stage IIB through IVB, were re-staged with FDG-PET after two cycles of ABVD (PET-2). The end-point of the study was the predictive value of PET-2 on 2-year progression-free survival and 2-year failure-free survival. No treatment variation based only on PET-2 results was allowed., Results: Eighty-eight patients attained complete remission (CR) while 20 showed disease progression during therapy or within 6 months after having reached CR; one patient relapsed. PET-2 was positive in 20 patients: 17 progressed during therapy, one relapsed and two remained in CR. By contrast, 85/88 (97%) patients with a negative PET-2 remained in CR; three progressed or relapsed early after the end of the chemotherapy. Thus, the positive predictive value of a PET-2 was 90% and the negative predictive value was 97%. The sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of PET-2 were 86%, 98% and 95%, respectively. The 2-year probability of failure-free survival for PET-2 negative and for PET-2 positive patients was 96% and 6%, respectively (log rank test = 116.7, p < 0.01)., Interpretation and Conclusions: 18F-FDG-PET scan performed after two courses of conventional standard-dose chemotherapy in advanced-stage Hodgkin's disease was able to predict treatment outcome in 103/108 (95%) of the patients.
- Published
- 2006
441. Prevalence of gallstone disease and related risk factors in 889 diabetic subjects of southern Italy.
- Author
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Torchio P, Corrao G, Gentile S, Castellano L, de Sio I, Calandra M, and Del Vecchio Blanco C
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Diabetes Mellitus, Female, Gallstones etiology, Humans, Italy epidemiology, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Risk Factors, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 complications, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 complications, Gallstones epidemiology
- Published
- 2004
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
442. Infliximab and quality of life in steroid-dependent Crohn's disease.
- Author
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D'Ovidio V, Aratari A, Viscido A, Pimpo MT, Caprilli R, and Torchio P
- Subjects
- Female, Humans, Infliximab, Male, Middle Aged, Substance-Related Disorders, Antibodies, Monoclonal therapeutic use, Crohn Disease drug therapy, Quality of Life, Steroids adverse effects
- Published
- 2004
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
443. Incidence of malignant lymphoproliferative diseases by stage and histological variants in central Italy: a population based study 1982-1994.
- Author
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Di Leonardo G, Torchio P, Pasqualoni E, Corrao G, and Quaglino D
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Female, Hodgkin Disease epidemiology, Humans, Italy epidemiology, Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin epidemiology, Male, Middle Aged, Population, Sex Factors, Lymphoproliferative Disorders epidemiology
- Abstract
A population-based epidemiological study that concerns the estimate of incidence rates of Hodgkin's Disease (HD) and Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) in a Central Italy area was performed. All the new cases of HD and NHL diagnosed from 1982 till 1994 in the target population were collected by multiple information sources. The temporal trend of incidence rates and their relation with age, gender and histological variant were analyzed. In the considered period 95 cases of HD and 297 cases of NHL were collected. Constant age-adjusted incidence rates of HD were observed, while an increasing trend of NHL incidence rates was observed especially for cases at presentation in stage III and IV and for histotypes G, H and I. The investigations carried out on patients with HD have shown that this condition prevails in women in the younger age groups, while in men presentation occurs more frequently at an advanced age. Moreover the authors have confirmed previous reports of a distinctly increased incidence of nodular sclerosis in contrast to the other three histological variants which do not show a juvenile peak but a gradual increase in incidence with advancing age. The epidemiological features of NHL's observed correspond to the standard incidence rates obtained in Europe and throughout the world. NHL's appear to be a pathological entity typical of elderly patients: however high-grade NHL's, in contrast to low-grade NHL's, was present with increased frequency also in childhood and in patients under the age of 30.
- Published
- 1998
444. Minimal residual disease in metastatic breast cancer: treatment with IFN-beta, retinoids, and tamoxifen.
- Author
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Recchia F, Frati L, Rea S, Torchio P, and Sica G
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Antineoplastic Agents adverse effects, Antineoplastic Agents therapeutic use, Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal adverse effects, Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal therapeutic use, Breast Neoplasms secondary, Drug Therapy, Combination, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Interferon-beta adverse effects, Interferon-beta therapeutic use, Middle Aged, Neoplasm, Residual, Pilot Projects, Retinoids adverse effects, Retinoids therapeutic use, Survival Rate, Tamoxifen adverse effects, Tamoxifen therapeutic use, Time Factors, Treatment Outcome, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy
- Abstract
The aim of this pilot study was to investigate if chemotherapy (CT) followed by the combination of interferon-beta (IFN-beta), retinoids, and tamoxifen could be effective in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Thirty-six patients with stage IV carcinoma of the breast were treated with six courses of cyclophosphamide, 5-fluorouracil, 4-epidoxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone every 3 weeks (FECPV), followed by two courses of non-cross-resistant drugs, methotrexate, mitomycin C, and mitoxantrone (MMM). Treatment was continued, in responders, with low dose IFN-beta, retinyl palmitate, and tamoxifen until relapse of the disease occurred. Among 36 evaluable patients, 23 achieved a clinical response (64 %) (95 % confidence interval [c.i.] 46 %-79 %), 7 had stable disease (19%), and 6 (17%) progressed. Leukopenia occurred in 15 patients, thrombocytopenia in 6, and anemia in 11. Sixteen patients had nausea/vomiting, stomatitis was observed in 9, and diarrhea occurred in 3. Toxicity from maintenance therapy was mild and mainly hepatic. Median response duration was 31 months (range 5-107). Median overall survival was 32 months (9-108). Our study shows that this combined approach for the treatment of MBC is feasible, with an acceptable toxicity.
- Published
- 1998
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
445. Randomized trial of filgrastim vs. sequential filgrastim and molgramostim after dose-intensified carboplatin, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide: a phase I pilot study.
- Author
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Recchia F, De Filippis S, Torchio P, Rea S, Gulino A, Quaglino D, and Frati L
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols adverse effects, Carboplatin administration & dosage, Cyclophosphamide administration & dosage, Etoposide administration & dosage, Female, Filgrastim, Humans, Leukocyte Count, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms mortality, Pilot Projects, Platelet Count, Recombinant Proteins administration & dosage, Survival Rate, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols therapeutic use, Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor administration & dosage, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor administration & dosage, Neoplasms drug therapy
- Abstract
This phase I randomized study was designed in order to verify if the sequential administration of filgrastim, a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and molgramostim, a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), was superior to filgrastim alone in improving tolerance of dose-intensified carboplatin (CBDCA), cyclophosphamide (CTX), and etoposide (VP-16). A group of 10 heavily pretreated patients with stage IV disease and no therapeutic option were enrolled into the study. They received two courses of the same chemotherapy with CTX and VP-16 at doses of 1,500 mg/m2 and 400 mg/m2, respectively. CBDCA doses were escalated from 450 to 600 mg/m2. After chemotherapy each patient was allocated randomly to receive either 14 days of G-CSF (arm A) or 7 days of G-CSF followed by 7 days of GM-CSF (arm B). Crossover in the second chemotherapy course was accomplished. Both G-CSF and GM-CSF were given 5 microg/kg/day, subcutaneously. Twenty chemotherapy courses are evaluable, 10 in each arm. Absolute neutrophil count < 1 x 10(3)/microl was observed for 54 days in arm A vs. 68 days in arm B (P < 0.02); platelet (PLT) count < 20 x 10(3)/microl, 57 days vs. 30 days (P < 0.01); days of hospitalization 35 vs. 16 (P < 0.38); PLT transfusion, 107 vs. 58 (P < 0.01); packed red blood cell unit transfusions, 15 vs. 5 (P < 0.13). Seven patients had responses. These data indicate that dose-intensified chemotherapy may be delivered without bone marrow or peripheral stem cell support, with acceptable toxicity, and that, while G-CSF alone shortens days of neutropenia, the combination of the two cytokines shortens the time of thrombocytopenia and decreases the number of PLT transfusions.
- Published
- 1997
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
446. Activity of standard-dose carboplatin, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide in patients with metastatic breast cancer with previous exposure to anthracyclines.
- Author
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Recchia F, Nuzzo A, Lalli A, De Filippis S, and Torchio P
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Breast Neoplasms mortality, Carboplatin administration & dosage, Carboplatin adverse effects, Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast mortality, Cyclophosphamide administration & dosage, Cyclophosphamide adverse effects, Etoposide administration & dosage, Etoposide adverse effects, Female, Fluorouracil administration & dosage, Humans, Methotrexate administration & dosage, Middle Aged, Retreatment adverse effects, Retreatment methods, Survival Rate, Antibiotics, Antineoplastic therapeutic use, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols therapeutic use, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast drug therapy
- Abstract
The prognosis for patients with metastatic breast cancer, progressing after anthracycline-based cytotoxic therapy, is poor, and new treatment strategies are needed. Carboplatin (CBDCA), etoposide (VP-16), and cyclophosphamide (CTX) combination therapy has proved activity against a wide variety of tumors. This study was undertaken to evaluate the activity and toxicity of standard doses of CBDCA, VP-16, and CTX administered as salvage chemotherapy in a group of patients with metastatic breast cancer previously treated with two chemotherapy regimens, including anthracyclines. Thirty patients received an average 3.5 courses of the following treatment: CBDCA, 300 mg/m2, and CTX, 500 mg/m2, on day 1; VP-16, 60 mg/m2, on days 2, 3, and 4. Thirteen patients (43%) achieved an objective response, seven (23%) stabilized, while 10 (34%) progressed. The median response duration was 11.5 months (range, 1-19); the median overall survival from protocol entry was 9.1 months (range, 1.5-26). Gastrointestinal toxicity was noted in six patients, and hematologic toxicity of grade 3-4 was found in 11 patients. The combination of CTX, CBDCA, and VP-16 at this dose and schedule is active as salvage treatment of patients with breast cancer. Even when the toxicity was severe, responders had good symptom palliation with a substantial improvement in performance status.
- Published
- 1997
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
447. Prognostic factors for long-term survival in cirrhotic patients after the first episode of liver decompensation.
- Author
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Magliocchetti N, Torchio P, Corrao G, Aricò S, and Favilli S
- Subjects
- Ascites etiology, Female, Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage etiology, Hepatic Encephalopathy etiology, Humans, Jaundice etiology, Liver Cirrhosis complications, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Statistical, Prognosis, ROC Curve, Survival Rate, Liver Cirrhosis mortality
- Abstract
Background/aims: Prognostic studies on cirrhosis are needed, since several attempts to obtain better survival predictors than the empirically derived Child-Pugh's score have failed., Methods: Four hundred and ninety-four consecutive in-patients with cirrhosis at the first episode of decompensation (ascites, jaundice, encephalopathy) and/or of digestive haemorrhage from ruptured oesophageal varices were followed from admission (1983-1989) to 1993, studying the relationship between 26 prognostic variables and survival. Three prognostic models were constructed using Cox's regression model and the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to compare their predictive ability., Results: During follow-up 351 patients died (median cumulative survival 1.82 years). Child-Pugh's score (explicative variable of the first Cox's model), albumin and encephalopathy among the 5 Child-Pugh variables (second model), and oesophageal varices haemorrhage and 3 biochemical indexes among the 7 significant variables on univariate analysis (third model) correlated with survival. The area under the ROC curve of the first model did not significantly differ from that for the other 2 models., Conclusions: The Child-Pugh's score is still the best and simplest index for assessing the prognosis of liver cirrhosis.
- Published
- 1997
448. Randomized trial of 5-fluorouracil and high-dose folinic acid with or without alpha-2B interferon in advanced colorectal cancer.
- Author
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Recchia F, Nuzzo A, Lalli A, Lombardo M, Di Lullo L, Fabiani F, Fanini R, Venturoni L, Torchio P, and Peretti G
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Colorectal Neoplasms mortality, Colorectal Neoplasms pathology, Female, Fluorouracil administration & dosage, Humans, Interferon alpha-2, Interferon-alpha administration & dosage, Leucovorin administration & dosage, Male, Middle Aged, Recombinant Proteins, Survival Rate, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols therapeutic use, Colorectal Neoplasms drug therapy
- Abstract
We evaluated the role of low-dose alpha-2b interferon, added to chemotherapy, for advanced colorectal cancer; we randomized patients, to either a combination chemotherapy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and high-dose folinic acid (HDFA) or the same regimen plus interferon. Between January 1990 and March 1992, 100 untreated patients (PTS) with advanced colorectal cancer, 53 men and 47 women, with an ECOG performance status (PS) of < or = 3, were randomized to either HDFA 200 mg/m2 iv bolus and 5FU 370 mg/m2 in 15-min iv infusion days 1-5 every 4 weeks (arm A), or the same chemotherapy plus IFN 3 x 10(6) IU subcutaneously three times a week in chemotherapy intervals (arm B). A total of 97 PTS are evaluable for response, toxicity, and survival; 3 PTS are not evaluable in arm B for major protocol violations. PTS characteristics were well balanced in both arms for age (median, 64 years), disease-free survival, and disease site. ECOG PS was 0 in 28% of PTS in arm A and in 13% in arm B. Response rates were as follows: arm A, 40%; and arm B, 23%. Median time to failure was as follows: 10.2 months arm A versus 9 months arm B. Median survival was as follows: 13.3 months arm A versus 10.9 months arm B. Grade 3 haematological toxicity was 9% of PTS in both arms. Gastrointestinal toxicity was as follows: 17% arm A versus 22% arm B. The cost of drugs expressed per m2/month was $60 in arm A and $390 in arm B. The results show that IFN at the schedule and doses employed adds no benefit to the combination of 5FU/HDFA.
- Published
- 1996
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
449. [The condition of women, the length of stay and mortality in a psychiatric hospital].
- Author
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Valenti M, Necozione S, Torchio P, Lepore AR, Borrelli G, Busellu G, Mattei A, Madonna R, and Piebanbarca A
- Subjects
- Adult, Age Distribution, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cause of Death, Chi-Square Distribution, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Italy epidemiology, Male, Middle Aged, Sex Distribution, Survival Analysis, Hospital Mortality, Hospitals, Psychiatric statistics & numerical data, Length of Stay statistics & numerical data
- Published
- 1996
450. The measure of life-time alcohol consumption in patients with cirrhosis: reproducibility and clinical relevance.
- Author
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Arico S, Galatola G, Tabone M, Corrao G, Torchio P, Valenti M, and De la Pierre M
- Subjects
- Adult, Age Factors, Case-Control Studies, Female, Hepatitis B complications, Humans, Italy, Male, Middle Aged, Regression Analysis, Reproducibility of Results, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Surveys and Questionnaires, Time Factors, Alcohol Drinking adverse effects, Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic etiology
- Abstract
Our aims were to design a reproducible method of measuring life-time alcohol consumption in patients with cirrhosis, and to assess the risk of liver decompensation associated with alcohol intake using a case-control design and a multivariate analysis. We studied 439 patients ("cases") with decompensated cirrhosis, and 233 with compensated cirrhosis ("controls"). Mean life-time daily amount and duration of alcohol intake were measured by a standardized questionnaire, whose reproducibility, assessed by interviewing 75 relatives, was 70% for daily alcohol intake and 84% for duration of intake. Better reproducibility was found by re-interviewing patients at discharge from hospital. Daily alcohol intake was significantly higher in males, younger patients and patients with liver decompensation. After stratification according to the average life-time daily alcohol intake, we found a significant increase in the risk of liver decompensation from 125 g ethanol intake per day onwards. No association was found between duration of alcohol intake and risk of liver decompensation. We conclude that alcohol intake can be reliably and reproducibly measured: in patients with cirrhosis, increased alcohol intake is associated with increased risk of liver decompensation, with a significant dose-effect above a daily intake of 125 g ethanol.
- Published
- 1995
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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