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Background: The exoscope is a high-definition telescope recently introduced in neurosurgery. In the past few years, several reports have described the advantages and disadvantages of such technology. No studies have compared results of surgery with standard microscope and exoscope in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Methods: Our retrospective study encompassed 177 patients operated on for GBM (WHO 2021) between February 2017 and August 2022. A total of 144 patients were operated on with a microscope only and the others with a 3D4K exoscope only. All clinical and radiological data were collected. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) have been estimated in the two groups and compared by the Cox model adjusting for potential confounders (e.g., sex, age, Karnofsky performance status, gross total resection, MGMT methylated promoter, and operator’s experience). Results: IDH was mutated in 9 (5.2%) patients and MGMT was methylated in 76 (44.4%). Overall, 122 patients received a gross total resection, 14 patients received a subtotal resection, and 41 patients received a partial resection. During follow-up, 139 (73.5%) patients experienced tumor recurrence and 18.7% of them received a second surgery. After truncation to 12 months, the median PFS for patients operated on with the microscope was 8.82 months, while for patients operated on with the exoscope it was >12 months. Instead, the OS was comparable in the two groups. The multivariable Cox model showed that the use of microscope compared to the exoscope was associated with lower progression-free survival (hazard ratio = 3.55, 95%CI = 1.66–7.56, p = 0.001). Conclusions: The exoscope has proven efficacy in terms of surgical resection, which was not different to that of the microscope. Furthermore, patients operated on with the exoscope had a longer PFS. A comparable OS was observed between microscope and exoscope, but further prospective studies with longer follow-up are needed.

In response to the global call to mitigate risks associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR), new regulations on the access and use of veterinary antibiotics are currently being developed by the Lao government. This study aims to explore how the implementation of these new regulations might effectively reduce and adapt the sale, distribution and use of veterinary antibiotics in Lao PDR. To this end, we used the theory of change, framing the AMR issue within the context of the stakeholders involved in the veterinary antibiotics supply chain. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data, based on questionnaires (n=36 antibiotic suppliers, n=96 chicken farmers, n=96 pig farmers), and participatory tools such as a workshop (n=10 participants), semi-structured interviews (n=20), and focus group discussions (n=7 participants). The stakeholders' understanding of the AMR issue and potential challenges related to the implementation of new regulations regarding access and use of antibiotics, were also investigated. We mapped the veterinary antibiotic supply chain in Lao PDR, and analysed the roles and interactions of its stakeholders. Twenty-three stakeholders representing the private and the public sectors were identified. Many informal and formal links connected these stakeholder within this supply chain. The lack of veterinarian-farmer interaction and the evolving nature of the veterinary antibiotics supply chain accentuated the challenges of achieving behaviour change through regulations. Most of the antibiotics found on farms were categorized by the World Health Organisation's as critically important antibiotics used in human medicine. We argue that AMR risk mitigation strategy requires dialogue and engagement between private and public sectors stakeholders, involved in the importation, distribution, sale and use of veterinary antibiotics. This study further highlighted that AMR is a complex adaptive challenge requiring multi-sectoral approach. We be

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is frequently used in filtering applications due to its sound mechanical properties, chemical resistance and thermal stability. beta-cyclodextrin (beta CD) can entrap molecules and improve the filters' performance. The removal of formaldehyde, a common indoor pollutant, has increasingly attracted widespread attention. In this work, we present two different methods for the production of electrospun PAN nanofibers containing beta CD capable of capturing formaldehyde from the air. The former comprised the addition of beta CD to PAN/dimethyl sulfoxide solutions and the subsequent electrospinning of the mixture. The latter involved the crosslinking of beta CD on electrospun PAN fibers by alkaline hydrolysis and esterification with citric acid. For both methods, we used solutions with different polymer concentration and viscosity. In addition, the rheology of solutions, as well as the morphology, surface area, chemical structure and thermal resistance of electrospun fibers were analyzed. The formaldehyde capture potential of beta CD containing PAN nanofibers was evaluated using high performance liquid chromatography. Conclusively, we found that, while functionalized PAN nanofibers with average fiber diameter from 432 nm to 647 nm might be used for indoor air purification, functionalized fibers obtained by addition of beta CD are more effective for capturing formaldehyde than fibers obtained by crosslinking of beta CD. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The aim of this work is the manufacturing of non-woven fabrics to be used as Filtering media. These fabrics were produced from polyacrilonitrile (PAN) and -cyclodextrin (-CD) solutions in dimethylsulfoxide using a horizontal electrospinning system with a flat collecting screen. The information from the experiments was statistically analyzed in order to define the process parameters (PAN concentration in solution, volumetric flow and applied voltage) needed for obtaining fibers with the smallest average diameters. First, PAN fibers were produced following a full factorial experimental design and this information was used for preparing the corresponding Response Surfaces needed to define the best conditions for the production of PAN/-CD nonwoven fabrics. The viscosity of the polymer solutions was analyzed using a rotational rheometer and a pseudoplastic behavior was observed, the diameter of the obtained nanofibers was determined using scanning electron microscopy. At the end, the polymer concentration (viscosity) and the volumetric flow rate were selected as the most statistically significant factors affecting the fiber diameter. Besides, uniform PAN and PAN/-CD nanofibers with average fiber diameters between 200 and 500 nm were obtained.

Food production and consumption have been recognized as a major source of environmental impacts. To ensure food security and a sustainable food system, dietary changes have been identified as one of the valuable strategies to reduce impacts on the environment while promoting human health. The vast majority of scientific literature has been focused on the effects of food consumption on climate change while neglecting to assess the degree of water scarcity impacts due to water consumption embodied in food. The research paper investigates the nexus between food consumption and impacts on water consumption adding important findings to a more recent growing body of studies estimating the water footprint (WF) of different dietary scenarios. This study uses the Water Footprint Network methodology and the AWARE (Available Water REmaining) characterization model to assess both the WF and the blue WSF (water scarcity footprint), respectively, of four Danish diets: standard, carnivore, vegetarian and vegan. In order to make them comparable, a total intake of 2000 kcal person−1 day−1 was set as energetic reference for all the diet scenarios considered. Using detailed trade and production data of agri-foods, we were able to assess the location of primary production and consequently to reveal countries mainly affected by water scarcity associated with import to satisfy Danish diets consumption. We found that while the vegan scenario scored the best environmental profile requiring 1489 L/cap/day calculated with the volumetric WF approach, it has the largest potential impacts on blue WSF of 10,477 LH20-eq/cap/day. This study has shown that more than 90% of impacts on water consumption occur outside the national borders, as a consequence of large quantities of fruits and nuts imported by countries already threatened by high water scarcity conditions such as USA and Mediterranean regions. This methodological approach may be used to compare environmental performances of recommended di

Nondestructive testing is critical in the quality detection of products. Among several techniques, time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR) is gaining attention in the field of food quality control, thanks to its ability to detect liquid and solid materials, which are strictly related to the quality of some kinds of products. In this article, a novel method for the inline quality evaluation of the inshell hazelnuts, based on TD-NMR analysis, is disclosed. Different studies have been carried out on the quality control of hazelnuts or, more in general, shell fruit. They usually focus on laboratory application and the analysis of a single physical property. Conversely, the proposed method focuses on the signal processing with the aim of reducing the execution time making the procedure suitable for an inline application. Moreover, the main hidden defects are analyzed together to identify the defective nuts from the good ones in a two-class classification procedure. © 1963-2012 IEEE.

The measurement of pH is widely used in a number of sectors and applications to evaluate the alkaline or acidic level of aqueous solutions. Among the measurement methods, pH strips are widespread and affordable, although they have a limited accuracy compared to the pH meters. In this work, a method to evaluate the pH value of a test strip, based on image analysis, is presented. The proposed method exploits the color analysis to simplify the use and to improve the nominal accuracy of the test strips. The tests have taken into account the typical pH range in the production of beer, but the method can be extended on the whole range of pH values. © 2020 IEEE.