Evaluation of different classification methods using electronic nose data to diagnose sarcoidosis.

Electronic nose (eNose) technology is an emerging diagnostic application, using artificial intelligence to classify human breath patterns. These patterns can be used to diagnose medical conditions. Sarcoidosis is an often difficult to diagnose disease, as no standard procedure or conclusive test exists. An accurate diagnostic model based on eNose data could therefore be helpful in clinical decision-making. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the performance of various dimensionality reduction methods and classifiers in order to design an accurate diagnostic model for sarcoidosis. Various methods of dimensionality reduction and multiple hyperparameter optimised classifiers were tested and cross-validated on a dataset of patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis (n= 224) and other interstitial lung disease (n= 317). Best performing methods were selected to create a model to diagnose patients with sarcoidosis. Nested cross-validation was applied to calculate the overall diagnostic performance. A classification model with feature selection and random forest (RF) classifier showed the highest accuracy. The overall diagnostic performance resulted in an accuracy of 87.1% and area-under-the-curve of 91.2%. After comparing different dimensionality reduction methods and classifiers, a highly accurate model to diagnose a patient with sarcoidosis using eNose data was created. The RF classifier and feature selection showed the best performance. The presented systematic approach could also be applied to other eNose datasets to compare methods and select the optimal diagnostic model.

Expression of thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) in extra thyroidal sites: papillary thyroid carcinoma of branchial cleft cysts and thyroglossal duct cysts and struma ovarii.

The thyroid-associated transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) is a nuclear tissue specific protein, found only in thyroid and thyroid tumors regardless of histologic type as well as in lung carcinomas. Most ectopic thyroid tissue are found along the thyroglossal duct tract and around the bilateral main lobes of thyroid glands. Ectopic thyroid tissue within a branchial cleft cyst is a rare abnormality and papillary carcinoma arising in this tissue is extremely rare. Thyroid tissue may also be found as one of the many components of teratoma, particularly those located in the ovary. The aim of this study is to evaluate, through immunohistochemistry, the expression of TTF-1 in branchial cleft cysts with ectopic normal thyroid tissue, in primary thyroid papillary carcinomas of branchial cleft cysts and thyroglossal duct cysts and in struma ovarii, in order to evaluate the expression of this antigen in extra thyroidal sites.

[Breast cancer screening in the elderly]. / Lo screening del carcinoma mammario in età geriatrica.

The incidence and mortality of breast cancer increase with increasing age, and almost half of all breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women aged 65 years and older. Moreover many studies have indicated that the elderly are less screened, and have lesser and frequently inferior treatment. In contrast, clinical trials focusing on the elderly suggest that they do as well with surgery, radiation, and standard chemotherapy regimens as their younger counterparts. Our study suggest that in women aged 65 years, and older, breast cancer can be detected at an earlier stage by mammographic screening.

[Undifferentiated carcinoma of the thyroid]. / Il carcinoma indifferenziato della tiroide.

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is a rare and highly lethal cancer. Between 1969 and 2002, 9 cases with anaplastic carcinoma were reviewed. Surgical treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy were performed in all cases. All patients died of their disease within 5 years. The mean survival was 10 months. There is still controversy as to what constitutes adequate treatment for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, and combined multimodal therapy seems to be the most common management strategy for this aggressive disease.

[Alizapride versus placebo in premedication for esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Double-blind clinical study. Experimental research in vitro]. / Alizapride vs. placebo nella premedicazione all'esofagogastroduodenoscopia. Studio clinico in doppio cieco. Ricerche sperimentali in vitro.

The pronounced antiemetic properties of Alizapride, one of the new azimidobenzamides suggested the assessment of its efficacy on 40 patients due for oesophagogastroduodenoscopy. The drug proved highly satisfactory as premedication for the examination, significantly inhibiting vomiting and stomach wall tone during the examination as was indicated by in vitro studies.

[Repair of large defects of the abdominal wall with lyophilized dura mater. Experimental research (author's transl)]. / Riparazione di ampi difetti della parete addominale con dura madre liofilizzata. Ricerche sperimentali.

In order to evaluate whether and how far lyophilised human dura mater deserves to be preferred in repair surgery of large defects of the abdominal wall, the Authors present and discuss the results they obtained during the course of experimental research. In the light of personal histological documents, they stress the absence of reject phenomena and the peculiar capacity of the prosthesis for substitution by cicatricial tissue, properties which, together with the complete re-epithelialisation of the peritoneal mesothelium and the resistance to mechanical stresses, evidence that lyophilised dura mater must rightly be given preference in plastic reconstruction of large defects of the abdominal wall.

[Doctrinal and clinical aspects of cancer of the male breast]. / Aspetti dottrinali e clinici del cancro della mammella maschile.

On the base of a recent observation of one case of male mamma carcinoma, the authors examine the generalities and the etiopathogenetic factors of this rare tumor, also on the base of the most recent acquisitions on hormonal receptors. Then they stop on the characteristics of clinical picture, and outline the high frequency of unfavourable events, at the first medical examination already. In the end they outline the elective treatment and the therapy for the recovery of the cases with metastasis and they present the results of the most qualified mondial casuistry.

[Extramucosal single-layer suture with multifilament stainless steel wires in surgery of the colon. Experimental research]. / La sutura monostrato extramucosa con fili di acciaio inossidabile multifilamentoso nella chirurgia del colon. Ricerche sperimentali

With a view to evaluating whether and how far a fuller case documentation may contribute to a better knowledge of the real possibilities of multifilament stainless steel wires in surgery of the colon, the Authors present and discuss the results they obtained during the course of experimental research on extramucosa single-layer sutures. In the light of their personal histological documents, they emphasize the absolute biological inertia of this suture material, a property which, together with the capacity of not suffering the colliquative action of germs, means that multifilament stainless steel wires can be given full rights of domicile in colon surgery.