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Up to one-third of ischemic strokes remained cryptogenic despite extensive investigations. Atrial fibrillation may be detected in a significant proportion of patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source, particularly after the introduction of implantable loop recorder in clinical practice. We retrospectively included all the consecutive patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source referred to our units in the period November 2013 to December 2018 and in which an implantable loop recorder was positioned within 6 months from stroke event. Prevalence and predictors of atrial fibrillation were investigated. One hundred thirty-eight patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source fulfilling inclusion criteria were identified. The crude prevalence of atrial fibrillation at the end of observation period was of 45.7%. Incidence rates at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months resulted, respectively, 31.8% (95% CI, 30.4–46.7), 38.0% (95% CI, 30.4–46.9), 42.6% (95% CI, 34.5–51.6), 46.6% (95% CI, 38.2–55.8), and 50.4% (95% CI, 41.6–59.9). On multivariate analysis, only excessive supraventricular electric activity and left atrial enlargement resulted to be significant predictors of atrial fibrillation (p = 0.037 and p

To the best of our knowledge no multicenter studies have been published using standardized semi-quantitative evaluation of [123I]FP-CIT scan (DAT-SPECT). The aims of this study were: 1) to cross-compare semi-quantitative software-assisted evaluations of DAT-SPECTs performed in three centers with different equipments; 2) to assess the accuracy of semi-quantitative evaluations of DAT-SPECT and 3) to identify the threshold with the best accuracy, sensitivity and specificity in a patient population with suspected parkinsonian syndrome. Materials and Methods: Two hundred twenty patients (mean age at the time of SPECT acquisition, 67.4 ± 9.5 yy) acquired in three centers (Ospedale San Luigi Gonzaga; Ospedale San Giovanni Battista Molinette; Ospedale Mauriziano Umberto I) were included. All of them underwent DAT-SPECT from January 2006 to July 2010. All exams were analyzed with the freely available software BASGAN and semi-quantitative data were used to predict disease. In particular, analyses were based on the values from the most deteriorated putamen and caudate, normalized for age and corrected for equipment. ROC analysis was performed and area under the curve (AUC) was estimated. Results: Analysis showed high AUCs (0.898, 0.864, 0.900 and 0.891 for each center and for the multicenter setting, respectively) confirming the very good accuracies reached. The best cut-off were 0.72 and 0.82 for putamen and caudate respectively. These thresholds allowed sensitivities and specificities in each center and in the multicenter setting of 76% and 96%, 91% and 82%, 93% and 90%, 86% and 89% respectively. No significant differences were observed between sensibility and specificity in each center. Conclusion: A unique threshold useful for all centers with high and similar sensitivities and specificities is possible after correction for age and equipments. The high accuracy reached in this multicenter trial by the semi-quantitative analysis seems similar to accuracies from qualitative analysis in other multicenter studies.

A liquid chromatographic method has been applied for the analysis of two antibiotics widely used in the veterinary field, oxytetracycline dihydrate and chlortetracycline hydrochloride in premixes for medicated feeding stuffs for veterinary use. In particular, the validated method was employed to study the releasing profile of each drug from two formulations, a commercially available and a new formulation, having different excipient composition. The dissolution profiles obtained from the chromatographic analysis allowed to verify the in vitro bio-equivalence of the commercial and the new formulations for oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline.

Background This study analyzed the presence of awareness of movement disorders (dyskinesias and hypokinesias) in 25 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and motor fluctuations (dyskinesias, wearing off, on–off fluctuations). Of the few studies that have dealt with this topic, none have analyzed the differences in the awareness of motor deficits by comparing the on and off states using motor scales and an extensive battery of tests to assess cognitive and behavioral functioning. Methods PD patients were compared on three different scales that we have devised to measure awareness of movement disorders: Global Awareness of Movement (GAM) Disorders, dyskinesia/hypo-bradykinesia rating scales. Results Data showed that PD patients had greater awareness and psychological suffering in the off state than in the on state. In particular, they were troubled by motor disabilities related to hypokinesias and had mood-related symptoms and a perception of disability in activities of daily living. Interestingly, patients only showed a selective reduction of awareness of movement disorders associated with executive functions and related to dyskinesias in the on state, compared to a preserved awareness of hypokinesias in the off state. On the contrary, no association with executive functions was found in the off state. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the dopaminergic overstimulation of mesocorticolimbic pathways may cause a dysfunction of prefrontal–subcortical connections related to the impaired insight.

An experimental GIS for the Island of Sicily was developed, aiming at the classification of some traits of both the marine and terrestrial environment in coastal zones. The GIS integrates data generated by remote sensors and conventional cartographic data. Parameters describing the marine environment, at the regional scale, were derived from time series of composite chlorophyll-like pigment concentration images generated by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) in the period 1979 - 1985, and of composite sea surface temperature images generated by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) in the period 1982 - 1985. Other auxiliary data, such as bathymetry and maps of hydrological basins, rivers, elevation, and reservoirs were selected to complement the low-resolution satellite data set and introduced in the regional GIS. At the local scale (Simeto river basin and Gulf of Catania), parameters describing essential coastal water constituents and vegetation were derived from TM data (1985 and 1994). The ancillary data set integrated with the high-resolution images includes information about physical and biological components of the local coastal environment (i.e. geographic, geological, geomorphologic, sedimentary and vegetation outlines). Examples of the synergistic use of such data, at various space/time scales, include assessing the impact of runoff from hydrological basins on the marine ecosystem, sediment transport and coastal evolution, vegetation cover.

Der Artikel widmet sich der Bedeutung, die Auschwitz in Adornos Werk, besonders den Minima Moralia, besitzt.