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Implant dentistry has had a great success in the last decades for replacing missing teeth; however, implant surgery needs bone availability. The use of narrow diameter implants (NDIs) may be an alternative approach in patients with atrophic maxilla or mandible. The aim of this study is to perform a study on NDIs to evaluate their survival rate. In the period between January 2008 and December 2013, 877 patients (498 females and 379 males) were operated at the BDD private Practice Clinic (Milan, Italy). The mean post-surgical follow-up was 30±17 months (max – min, 84 – 1). One thousand three hundred and forty-six implants (EDIERRE Implant System SpA, Genoa, Italy) were included in the present study, 112 (8.3%) 3.3 mm (i.e. narrow) and 1,234 (91.7%) 3.75 mm wide. All patients underwent the same surgical protocol and agreed to participate in a post-operative check-up program. SPSS program was used for statistical analysis. Survival rate (SVR) was 97.25% since only 37 fixtures were lost from a total of 1,346 implants. Cross-tabulation between failure diameter did not demonstrate any statistical differences between narrow and standard diameter implants. NDIs are reliable devices for oral rehabilitation.

The use of wide diameter implants (WDI) have had a great success, particularly in posterior jaws, because WDI can ensure an increased bone-implant contact, better withstanding occlusal forces and creating a wider platform for prosthesis. The aim of this study is to perform a study on 450 WDI to evaluate their survival rate. In the period between January 2008 and December 2013, 877 patients (498 females and 379 males) were operated at the BDD private Practice Clinic (Milan, Italy). The mean post-surgical follow-up was 30±17 months (max – min, 84 – 1). Four hundred and fifty WDI (EDIERRE Implant System SpA, Genoa, Italy) were included in the present study, 326 (72.4%) 4.5 mm and 124 (27.6%) 5 mm. All patients underwent the same surgical protocol and agreed to participate in a post-operative check-up program. SPSS program was used for statistical analysis. Survival rate (SVR) was 97.3% since only 12 fixtures were lost from a total of 450 implants. Cross-tabulation between failures and immediate loading had a statistically significant value (p= 0.009) in respect to delayed loading. There were 8 failures out of 128 immediate loaded implants in respect to 4 failures out of 315 delayed loaded fixtures. WDI are reliable devices for oral rehabilitation with high SVR.

Post-extractive implants (i.e. PEIs) are widely used to reduce surgical steps and improve patient compliance. The aim of this study is to perform a retrospective study on 2,273 PEIs to evaluate their survival rate. In the period between January 2008 and December 2013, 877 patients (498 females and 379 males) were operated at the BDD private Practice Clinic (Milan, Italy). The mean post-surgical follow-up was 30±17 months (max – min, 84 – 1). Two thousand two hundred and seventy-three PEIs (EDIERRE Implant System SpA, Genoa, Italy) were evaluated in the present study. All patients underwent the same surgical protocol and agreed to participate in a post-operative check-up program. SPSS program was used for statistical analysis. Survival rate (SVR) was 97.7% since only 53 fixtures were lost from a total of 2,273 implants. Cross-tabulation between failures and timing of loading demonstrated a statistically significant higher risk of failures in case of immediate loading (p= 0.013). There were 26 failures out of 761 immediate loaded implants against 27 lost fixtures out of 1,485 delayed loaded implants. PEIs is a reliable procedure, however surgeons should carefully select those cases which can be immediately loaded.

Purpose: Lonidamine (LND) can enhance the activity of anthracyclines in patients with metastatic breast cancer. A multicenter, prospective, randomized trial was designed to determine whether the association of LND with high-dose epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide (EC) could improve disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with early breast cancer (BC) compared with EC alone. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was added to maintain the EC dose-intensity. Patients and Methods: From October 1991 to April 1994, 506 patients with stage I/II BC were randomly assigned to four groups: (A) epirubicin 120 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 administered intravenously on day 1 every 21 days for four cycles (124 patients); (B) EC plus LND 450 mg/d administered orally (125 patients); (C) EC plus G-CSF administered subcutaneously (129 patients); (D) EC plus LND plus G-CSF (128 patients). Results: Median follow-up was 55 months. Five-year DFS rate was similar for LND (B+D groups; 69.6%) versus non-LND arms (A+C groups; 70.3%) and G-CSF (C+D groups; 67.2%) versus non–G-CSF arms (A+B groups; 72.9%). Five-year overall survival (OS) was comparable in LND (79.1%) versus non-LND arms (81.3%) and in G-CSF (80.6%) versus non–G-CSF arms (79.6%). DFS and OS distributions in LND and G-CSF arms did not change according to tumor size, node, receptor, and menopausal status. G-CSF dramatically reduced hematologic toxicity without having a significant impact on dose-intensity (98.1% v 95.5% for C+D and A+B groups, respectively). Conclusion: EC is active and well tolerated in patients with early breast cancer. The addition of LND or G-CSF does not improve DFS or OS.

The aim this study was to assess the efficacy of cisplatin-epirubicin- vinorelbine, as primary chemotherapy, in reducing the tumour burden in T 2-3 N0-2 breast carcinomas. Breast conservative surgery (BCS) rate, clinical and pathological complete response (pCR), toxicity and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. Patients and Methods: Eighty-eight women with tumours ≥2.5 cm were treated with cisplatin (P) 50 mg/m2, epirubicin (E) 100 mg/m2 and vinorelbine (V) 25 mg/m2, every 3 weeks. Results: Fifty-six out of the 88 patients (63.6%) underwent BCS, notably including 12/23 patients with initial tumours >5 cm. The overall clinical response was 72.8% (cCR=11.4%), pCR 20.5% and pT0+pN0 17%. No cardiac toxicity was observed. Grade 3/4 adverse events were leukopenia (9.4%), neutropenia (7.9%), nausea and vomiting (7.3%). After a median follow-up of 5 years, 24 patients (27.3%) had developed local or distant metastases. The mean DFS and OS were 51.7 (SE 2.38) and 57.02 (SE 1.98) months, respectively, and were significantly higher in pCR patients in comparison to the others (63.05 vs. 48.76, p

Nella valutazione dell'efficacia del processo formativo realizzato nel quadro dell'istruzione superiore, un aspetto di particolare importanza riguarda il rapporto che a stabilirsi tra conoscenze acquisite e inserimento nel mondo del lavoro. La monografia considera un campione di 1.276 studenti ISEF nei loro percorsi di inserimento nel mercato del lavoro e nell'efficacia della formazione acquisita

Performance of piezoresistive thick-film pressure sensors on steel substrates is hindered by the high required firing temperatures of the layers, which cause degradation of the substrate mechanical properties. Special steels or alloys that are relatively unaffected by these temperatures are available, but their cost is very high. A much more promising alternative is the reduction of the thick-film firing temperature, in order to allow application of the standard high-strength steels used in thin-film cells. Therefore, a series of thick-film materials systems (dielectrics, resistors and conductors) firing at low temperatures (

Ease of fabrication and design flexibility are two attractive features of low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) technology for fabrication of complex micro-fluidic devices. Such structures are designed and processed using different shaping methods, the extent and complexity of which depends on the final device specifications (dimensions, mechanical and functional properties). In this work, we propose a sacrificial layer method based on carbon-black paste, which burns out during the LTCC firing stage. The paper will summarize the preparation of the paste, influence of processing conditions on the final dimensions, and demonstrate the mechanically integrated structures obtained using this technique. Some of those are membranes of various diameters (7-12mm) with a thickness of 40µm and a variety of internal spacing (15-60µm), free-hanging thick-film resistors (TFR) bridges on LTCC for heating micro-volumes. The main methods of the study will be thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dilatometry in addition to electronic instruments for device characterization.

Recently, high-strength zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramic substrates have attracted interest, because they offer much improved mechanical properties over straight alumina, while maintaining advantages such as good thermal conductivity and chemical stability. This allows their application in high-power electronics and piezoresistive thick-film sensors, where the substrate is subjected to considerable stress. This work examines the impact of processing a range of thick film materials (Ag- and Au-based conductors, and a resistor material widely used in piezoresistive sensors) on the short- and long-term strength of ZTA, as compared to the standard 96% alumina used in thick-film electronics. It is found that many layers substantially reduce the substrate strength, especially in the long term, which is related to enhanced crack growth in the presence of glassy layers. These findings have pronounced implications in piezoresistive sensor design. Key words: piezoresistive, sensors, force, pressure, ZTA, strength, thick-film.

Smart packaging concept has been the driving force for the search of advanced technologies to produce multi-functional micro-scale devices for long years. In this sense, LTCC technology has been recently addressed as the suitable choice for a wide range of applications. In addition to its attractive characteristics for high-frequency applications those have been profited for a long time, it receives a growing attention for sensor applications in the recent years as well. This is due to the easy machinability of the LTCC tapes, which permits realization of complex structures such as membranes, channels, making it a suitable environment for micro-fluidic devices. These devices require utilization of supporting layers in order to prevent defects, often observed in forms of sagging, warpage or curling. The methods for elimination of these defects vary from passive precautions taken during lamination and firing to more elaborate methods such as use of sacrificial layers. The basic idea in the latter method is the preparation of a support, which can then be removed, leaving behind the desired structure. Among a number of alternatives, this paper focuses on and proposes the carbon-black sacrificial paste as an effective and simple method to fabricate membranes. Additionally determination of the open porosity elimination temperature in LTCC and effect of processing parameters on the fabricated structures, will be discussed. The methods of analysis will be TGA (thermo gravimetric analysis), dilatometer and SEM (scanning electron microscopy) analysis.

This chapter provides an overview of current biodiversity knowledge in Mediterranean forest ecosystems across all levels (genetic diversity, species diversity, landscape diversity) and endemism, ecological peculiarities that make Mediterranean forest ecosystems different. It also outlines the importance of biodiversity for functional forest ecosystems and illustrates some examples of conservation efforts in the region.

Background: To generate a robust predictive model of Early (3 months) Graft Loss after liver transplantation, we used a Bayesian approach to combine evidence from a prospective European cohort (Liver-Match) and the United Network for Organ Sharing registry. Methods: Liver-Match included 1480 consecutive primary liver transplants performed from 2007 to 2009 and the United Network for Organ Sharing a time-matched series of 9740 transplants. There were 173 and 706 Early Graft Loss, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified as significant predictors of Early Graft Loss: donor age, donation after cardiac death, cold ischaemia time, donor body mass index and height, recipient creatinine, bilirubin, disease aetiology, prior upper abdominal surgery and portal thrombosis. Results: A Bayesian Cox model was fitted to Liver-Match data using the United Network for Organ Sharing findings as prior information, allowing to generate an Early Graft Loss-Donor Risk Index and an Early Graft Loss-Recipient Risk Index. A Donor-Recipient Allocation Model, obtained by adding Early Graft Loss-Donor Risk Index to Early Graft Loss-Recipient Risk Index, was then validated in a distinct United Network for Organ Sharing (year 2010) cohort including 2964 transplants. Donor-Recipient Allocation Model updating using the independent Turin Transplant Centre dataset, allowed to predict Early Graft Loss with good accuracy (c-statistic: 0.76). Conclusion: Donor-Recipient Allocation Model allows a reliable donor and recipient-based Early Graft Loss prediction. The Bayesian approach permits to adapt the original Donor-Recipient Allocation Model by incorporating evidence from other cohorts, resulting in significantly improved predictive capability. © 2013 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l.

Deletion at 13q14 is detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in about 50% of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Although CLL with 13q deletion as the sole cytogenetic abnormality (del13q-only) usually have good prognosis, more aggressive clinical courses are documented for del13q-only CLL carrying higher percentages of 13q deleted nuclei. Moreover, deletion at 13q of different sizes have been described, whose prognostic significance is still unknown. In a multi-institutional cohort of 342 del13q-only cases and in a consecutive unselected cohort of 265 CLL, we investigated the prognostic significance of 13q deletion, using the 13q FISH probes locus-specific identifier (LSI)-D13S319 and LSI-RB1 that detect the DLEU2/MIR15A/MIR16-1 and RB1 loci, respectively. Results indicated that both percentage of deleted nuclei and presence of larger deletions involving the RB1 locus cooperated to refine the prognosis of del13q-only cases. In particular, CLL carrying