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Biomedical subjects

C Ruggiero

Publications and source records attributed to C Ruggiero.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Teleradiology: a review.

Teleradiology, like telemedicine generally, has arisen because of the shift to digital communication and the demand for equal access to medical care. Unlike much of telemedicine, teleradiology can be shown to be cost-effective in many situations, particularly if the alternatives are to transport the X-ray film to a radiologist or to use the services of a visiting radiologist ('circuit riding'). A teleradiology system consists of an image-acquisition section and an image-display section, connected by a communications network. Considerable technical and clinical standardization work has been carried out (e.g. by the American College of Radiology) and commercial teleradiology systems are now available from a number of manufacturers. Up to 1994, more than 7000 teleradiology systems had been sold by the two largest manufactures. Technology trends suggest that it will soon be common for clinicians to view digital radiographs from outside radiology departments and probably from outside a hospital environment as well.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1998

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism is associated with metastatic breast cancer.

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) has been detected in breast tumor cells. We tested the hypothesis that VDR gene polymorphism might influence the outcome of women affected by breast cancer. A total of 88 breast cancer patients were recruited: 50 women were affected by newly diagnosed breast cancer whereas 38 women suffered from relapsing disease. The individual genetic pattern for VDR was evaluated by DNA extraction followed by PCR amplification of the VDR gene, and digestion with the restriction enzyme BsmI. In 167 healthy women, participating in the osteoporosis prevention trial and being used as a control, we detected 121 Bb heterozygotes (72%), 26 homozygotes for the bb alleles (16%), and 20 homozygotes for the BB alleles (12%). In the newly diagnosed breast cancer group the occurrence of Bb patients was 58% (29/50); bb patients represented 22% (11/50), and BB cases were 20% (10/50). The VDR frequency distribution in the control and primary disease patient groups was not statistically different. In the metastatic cancer group, the prevalence of the bb genotype (14/38; 37%) was double the percentage of control subjects, whereas the percentage of BB women with metastases was half the control group (2/38; 5%). Women who were homozygous bb appeared to have almost a four times higher risk of developing metastases than BB women. Whatever the molecular mechanisms underlying the VDR effects in cancer cells, we believe that the VDR gene polymorphism may represent an important determinant in the evaluation of women affected by breast cancer and might help design targeted therapy.

Alleles↗
PubMed1998

Extradural hematomas in children.

BACKGROUND: Extradural hematomas are rate complications of head injures in children often resulting from minor head traumas. Therefore the management of these ordinary traumas remains controversy since in many asymptomatic cases the intracranial bleeding is detected only by CT scan. METHODS: During the study period between January 1991 and September 1995 sixty-one patients ranging in age from 5 months to 12 years were operated on for epidural hematomas. They represent about the 3% of all patients admitted for head injury in the same period in our Division. According to the age, children were divided in three groups (G1, G2, G3). Males predominate over females in each group of age. The mechanism of injury, the clinical findings, the neurological assessment on admission, the site of hematoma and the presence of skull fracture were examined in order to identify clinical and diagnostic parameters predicting developing intracranial complications. RESULTS: The most common cause of head trauma was accidental falls in children under 5 years of age. Otherwise bicycle, pedestrian and car accidents are the main type of injury in older patients. A skull fracture was identified in 49 cases with a homogeneous distribution among the groups of age. Recurrent vomiting was found in about 70% of cases. A loss of consciousness was frequently reported (78%) in older children. Outcome mainly depended on Glasgow or Children Coma Score on admission. In our series the overall mortality rate was 4.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Our data according with the literature suggest that localized skull traumas, suspected fractures, a loss of consciousness after trauma and recurrent vomiting can be recommended as indications for intracranial complications.

Child↗
PubMed1998

A case of traumatic pericardiophrenic rupture.

An unusual case of traumatic pericardiophrenic rupture is presented. The defect was limited to the central tendon of the diaphragm, with herniation of the stomach into the pericardial sac. A correct preoperative diagnosis was not made because laparotomy was quickly performed for splenic rupture. Successful operative repair of the tear was performed, with interrupted reabsorbable sutures. The case is discussed and the management of patients with these rare lesions is reviewed.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1997

Results of surgical resection in patients over the age of 70 years with non small-cell lung cancer.

METHODS: From January 1989 to October 1993, at the Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery of the University of Modena, 806 patients underwent thoracotomy and curative pulmonary resection for non small-cell lung cancer. Eighty five patients were 70 years old or older (mean 73.4 years, range 70-88). There were 78 males (91.7%) and 7 females (8.3%). This population was compared to 130 younger patients (under 70 years old), treated during the same period and with similar features with respect to the type of resection, sex, histology, grading and staging. Lobectomy was the procedure of preference in both groups. RESULTS: As regards postoperative mortality and overall complications, no significant differences were noted between the two groups of patients (two younger patients died and 43.8% had postoperative complications; one patient of the older group died and 55.2% had postoperative complications), but in the older ones a higher incidence of cardiovascular complications was found (P < 0.01). With respect to the long-term survival (follow-up 12-70 months), no significant difference was found between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Such findings show that pulmonary resection for bronchogenic cancer is feasible and justified in patients more than 70 years old, even if a higher incidence of cardiovascular complications may occur: a careful preoperative selection ought to be performed and lobectomy should be preferred.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Artificial neural network identification of heterotrophic marine bacteria based on their fatty-acid composition.

The traditional approach to biochemical identification of marine fresh isolates requires considerably long culture preparation times and large quantities of expensive materials and reagents, and the results are not reliable. On the other hand, taxonomy tests based on DNA composition, although sensitive and reliable, require long execution time and high costs. A method is presented for the classification of fatty-acid profiles, extracted from marine bacteria strains, at genus level based on supervised artificial neural networks. The proposed method allows the correct identification of all patterns belonging to the test set. Moreover, a quantitative measure of the importance of each fatty acid for bacterial classification is also achieved. This measure allows the determination of a cluster of fatty acids to be controlled with greater care. The results show that the proposed method is reproducible and rapid, so that it can be routinely used in the marine microbiology laboratory to identify fresh isolates.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1997

Application of neural networks to the follow-up of AIDS patients.

The present work aims to obtain groups of patients with similar profiles of p24 antigen concentration and of CD4+ cell counts. These two markers were chosen because their evaluation represents a significant step in the clinical follow up of HIV-1 infected subjects. The classifications were obtained by a Kohonen neural net trained in three ways: with p24 antigen profiles only, with CD4+ cell count profiles only and with both sets of profiles. The results show that the clustering fashion of the two parameters closely resembles the clustering fashion of CD4+ only rather than the one of p24Ag, both with reference to cluster formation and with reference to distance among clusters.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1997

A 3D ultrasound scanner: real time filtering and rendering algorithms.

The work described here has been carried out within a collaborative project between DIST and ESAOTE BIOMEDICA aiming to set up a new ultrasonic scanner performing 3D reconstruction. A system is being set up to process and display 3D ultrasonic data in a fast, economical and user friendly way to help the physician during diagnosis. A comparison is presented among several algorithms for digital filtering, data segmentation and rendering for real time, PC based, three-dimensional reconstruction from B-mode ultrasonic biomedical images. Several algorithms for digital filtering have been compared as relates to processing time and to final image quality. Three-dimensional data segmentation techniques and rendering has been carried out with special reference to user friendly features for foreseeable applications and reconstruction speed.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1997

An integrated model of sleep regulation.

We present a new model of sleep regulation which integrates the two process model and the limit cycle reciprocal interaction model. In the two process model the interaction of a homeostatic process (S signal) and of a circadian process determines the timing of sleep and waking. In the limit cycle model, the NREM-REM sleep cycle is generated by the reciprocal interaction of two coupled cell population. The present model integrates the two considered models introducing the trigger REM-NREM generated by the REM-ON signal and activated when REM-ON overcomes the S signal.

Cerebral Cortex↗
PubMed1997

Giant intracavernous carotid aneurysm in a child. Case report.

The occurrence of intracranial aneurysm in the pediatric population is a rare phenomenon. A case of giant aneurysm of the intracavernous carotid artery in a child is reported. Clinicoradiological findings are presented and the surgical procedure is illustrated. Authors stress the value of monitoring the cerebral collateral blood flow before and during the operation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Cerebral cavernous angiomas in critical areas. Reports of three cases in children.

Cerebral cavernous angiomas are congenital malformations usually presenting with symptomatic hemorrhages or seizures. The advent of MRI has allowed to detect asymptomatic, "cryptic" brain cavernomas. They can occur in a sporadic, isolated form and in a familial form characterized by multiple lesions. Surgical treatment is recommended by most authors in symptomatic cases when the lesion is isolated and readily accessible. Treatment is more controversial when the vascular malformation is located in critical brain region. On the other hand the increased risk of rebleeding after a prior hemorrhage and the decreased effectiveness of lesionectomy in patients with a long seizure history could lead to perform an early surgical excision also for cavernous angiomas located in those areas. We report three cases of symptomatic cerebral cavernomas located in critical areas, in children. In all cases the surgical removal of the lesions was successfully performed. The two cases presented with seizures are seizure-free in spite of the interruption of the antiepileptic therapy. The patient presented with neurological deficit due to intraparenchymal hemorrhage progressively recovered his motor function. Our experience seems to confirm the value of surgical removal regardless of where the cavernoma is located.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1996

Automated systems for identification of heterotrophic marine bacteria on the basis of their Fatty Acid composition.

The fatty acid methyl ester composition of a total of 71 marine strains representing the genera Alteromonas, Deleya, Oceanospirillum, and Vibrio was determined by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis. Over 70 different fatty acids were found. The predominant fatty acids were 16:0, 16:1 cis 9, summed-in-feature (SIF) 4 (15:0 iso 2OH and/or 16:1 trans 9) and SIF 7 (18:1 cis 11, 18:1 trans 9, and/or 18:1 trans 6) for all the strains considered, but minor quantitative variations could be used to distinguish the different genera. In addition to a conventional statistical processing method to analyze the data and draw comparison between species and genera, an approach involving neutral network-based elaboration is applied. The statistical analysis and dendrogram representation gave a comparison of the species considered, while the neural network computation provided a more accurate assignment of species to their genera. Moreover, by using neural networks, it was possible to conclude that only 22 fatty acids were important for the identification of the marine genera considered. A database of Alteromonas, Deleya, Oceanospirillum, and Vibrio fatty acid methyl ester profiles was generated and is now routinely used to identify fresh marine isolates.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

An object programming based environment for protein secondary structure prediction.

The most frequently used methods for protein secondary structure prediction are empirical statistical methods and rule based methods. A consensus system based on object-oriented programming is presented, which integrates the two approaches with the aim of improving the prediction quality. This system uses an object-oriented knowledge representation based on the concepts of conformation, residue and protein, where the conformation class is the basis, the residue class derives from it and the protein class derives from the residue class. The system has been tested with satisfactory results on several proteins of the Brookhaven Protein Data Bank. Its results have been compared with the results of the most widely used prediction methods, and they show a higher prediction capability and greater stability. Moreover, the system itself provides an index of the reliability of its current prediction. This system can also be regarded as a basis structure for programs of this kind.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

"Yellow nail syndrome" associated with chronic recurrent pericardial and pleural effusions.

The authors describe a case of yellow nail syndrome in a 44-year-old male patient, with a clinical picture characterized by hand and foot onychodystrophy, lymphedema in the legs and recurrent pleural and pericardial effusions. They indicate subxiphoid pericardiostomy and pleural drainage as the rational surgical procedure for the treatment of this particular associated pathology.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Trigonocephaly associated with anterior basal meningocele. Case report.

Pathogenesis of craniosynostosis is poorly understood. Several different factors (primary fusion of a cranial vault suture, abnormal tensile forces acting on the cranial sutures, genetic control, fetal constraint) may be responsible for the malformation. Trigonocephaly is a relatively rare form of cranial malformation ranging from 5 to 20% of all the craniosynostotic syndromes. This form of craniosynostosis may be simple not associated with other cerebral defects or complex, associated with arhinencephaly and hypoplasia of frontal lobes; three gradations of malformation (marked, mild, incomplete) may be considered. A case of trigonocephaly associated with anterior basal meningocele is reported. The operative treatment and radiological findings are described. The pathogenetic role of the basal meningocele to determine the premature sutural fusion through tensile forces transmitted by abnormal dural attachments is evaluated.

Craniosynostoses↗
PubMed1994

Secondary structure of noxiustoxin and charybdotoxin from hydropathy power spectra.

The analysis of the hydropathy profile power spectra provides a basis for studies of pattern matching between the primary and secondary structure of peptides. The structural motif obtained with Noxiustoxin (NTX), the first K+ channel blocking peptide described, is composed of a N-terminal beta-strand, a central alpha-helix and a final beta-strand zone, probably forming a beta-sheet. These results were compared with those of Charybdotoxin (ChTX), a potent inhibitor of the high conductance Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel, which presents about 48% similarity with NTX in the amino acid sequence. Our prediction for ChTX secondary structure, which is known by 2D-NMR spectroscopy, yielded a Chou-Fasman quality index Q = 90%. The comparison between the two toxins has guided the interpretation of the data obtained.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

A qualitative process theory based model of the HIV-1 virus-cell interaction.

We present a qualitative model of the interaction between the HIV-1 virus and the human cell, based on qualitative process theory. This model takes into account a previous qualitative model of the cell growth. The model presented here can be regarded as a first step for setting up a comprehensive model of the HIV-1 virus-cell interaction in which the possible points where a drug can attack the virus are evident. The first simulation trials indicate that the presented model reproduces (even though in a simplified way) the features of the real behaviour that have been considered in the modelling phase. Although our simulation is limited in the knowledge it expresses, it still gives a stimulating opportunity for the evaluation of the criteria chosen as discriminant in the interaction between virus and cell.

Antiviral Agents↗