The effect of adsorbent textural and functional properties on model naphthenic acid adsorption.

Naphthenic acids, NAs, are a major contaminant of concern and a focus of much research around remediation of oil sand process affected waters, OSPW. Using activated carbon adsorbents are an attractive option given their low cost of fabrication and implementation. A deeper evaluation of the effect NA structural differences have on uptake affinity is warranted.

Pre-treatment risk factors to predict early cisplatin-related nephrotoxicity in locally advanced head and neck cancer patients treated with chemoradiation: A single Institution experience.

Objectives: Cisplatin is essential in the curative treatment of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HNSCC) patients. The assessment of risk factors to predict an early cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity could help in better managing one of the most relevant cisplatin-related dose-limiting factors.

Material And Methods: We retrospectively collected data of LA-HNSCC patients treated at our Institution from 2008 to 2019.

Assessing suffering of patients on cancer treatment and of those no longer treated using ESAS-Total Care (TC).

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the suffering of patients on oncologic treatment and of those no longer on treatment. Preliminarily, we aimed to confirm the psychometric properties of Edmonton Symptom Assessment System-Total Care (ESAS-TC) in different stages of the disease. The ESAS-TC screens physical and psychological symptoms, but also spiritual pain, discomfort deriving from financial problems associated with illness, and suffering related to social isolation.

Linguistic and content validation of the translated and culturally adapted patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA).

Unlabelled: The Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) is an instrument to screen, assess and monitor malnutrition and risk factors, and to triage for interventions. After having translated and culturally adapted the original PG-SGA for the Italian setting, according to International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Principles, we tested linguistic validity, i.e.

Transforming micropores to mesopores by heat cycling KOH activated petcoke for improved kinetics of adsorption of naphthenic acids.

Formation of activated carbon from petroleum coke by KOH, results in high specific surface area materials that are predominantly microporous. This initial microporosity means that the adsorption kinetics of target species are not as rapid as they could be, thus limiting environmental remediation applications for the material. To address this problem a series of additional heat cycles with no additional chemical inputs were applied after activation but prior to the removal of activating agents.

Effectiveness of a phone-based nurse monitoring assessment and intervention for chemotherapy-related toxicity: A randomized multicenter trial.

Purpose: Anticancer treatment-related toxicities can impact morbidity and mortality, hamper the administration of treatment, worsen the quality of life and increase the burden on the healthcare system. Therefore, their prompt identification is crucial. NICSO (Italian Network for Supportive Care in Cancer) conducted a nationwide randomized trial to evaluate the role of a planned, weekly phone-based nurse monitoring intervention to prevent and treat chemotherapy, targeted therapy- and immunotherapy-related toxicities.

Italian version of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS)-Total Care (TC): development and psychometric validation in patients undergoing cancer treatment or follow-up.

Introduction: The routine use of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical practice improves quality of care, it helps in reducing the access to emergency services and unscheduled visits, and it can improve cancer patients' time survival. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) is a PRO largely used in different care settings to monitor physical and psychological symptoms. Nonetheless, along with these symptoms, literature also highlighted the presence and effect of spiritual pain, financial distress, and social isolation on quality of care, treatment effectiveness, and survival.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, phase II study to evaluate the efficacy of ginseng in reducing fatigue in patients treated for head and neck cancer.

Purpose: Fatigue is a distressing symptom in head & neck cancer patients before during and at the end of curative therapy. Pharmacologic and not pharmacologic treatments have been proposed with scarce or no evidence of efficacy. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of American ginseng in respect to placebo in reducing fatigue in patients treated for head and neck cancer with curative intent.

Cognitive decline in older long-term survivors from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To compare cognition in a group of older long-term survivors from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and in a corresponding group of non-cancer controls of the same age. Functional status, polypharmacy and multimorbidity were also evaluated.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in a population of 63 outpatient long-term survivors from NHL, aged 65 or more and 61 non-cancer controls.

The validation of the Italian version of the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST).

Purpose: Financial toxicity (FT) is the unintended, potential economic harm or damage of oncologic treatments that has become a medical problem with political implications. To assess FT, the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST) questionnaire was developed. Since an Italian version is not available yet, we aimed to validate the Italian version of the COST questionnaire in a population of cancer patients during oncologic treatments or follow-up.

Prevalence of Fatigue in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.

Introduction: In head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, fatigue is present throughout the course of treatment and during follow-up. There are limited data about the prevalence and factors associated with fatigue in HNC survivors. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of fatigue and its interference with daily life activities and examine the association between fatigue and gender, age, primary tumour site, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) status, previous oncologic therapy, and time since end of treatment.

Is it possible to encourage hope in non-advanced cancer patients? We must try.

Background: Data are lacking on the relationship between hope and other variables in non-advanced cancer patients. The study explored the relationship between hope, symptoms, needs, and spirituality/religiosity in patients treated in a supportive care unit (SCU).

Patients And Methods: From September 2013 to March 2014, the consecutive patients who accepted to complete: (i) Needs Evaluation Questionnaire (NEQ), (ii) the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS), (iii) Hope Herth Index (HHI), and (iv) the System of Belief Inventory (SBI) were enrolled.

Low-dose interferon-alpha treatment for feline immunodeficiency virus infection.

Feline immunodeficiency virus sustains an AIDS-like syndrome in cats, which is considered a relevant model for human AIDS. Under precise enrolment requirements, 30 naturally infected cats showing overt disease were included in a trial of low-dose, oral human interferon-alpha treatment. Twenty-four of them received 10 IU/Kg of human interferon-alpha and 6 placebo only on a daily basis under veterinary supervision.

Immunomodulatory effects of IFN-beta1a treatment alone or associated with pentoxifylline in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Interferon-beta1a (IFN-beta1a) and pentoxifylline (PTX) are reported to be active in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), but the mechanisms are not completely understood. In two groups of RRMS patients, we studied the phenotype of peripheral lymphocytes and the level of several cytokines both in sera and in supernatants of activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) before and after 8 months of therapy with IFN-beta1a alone or associated with PTX. Our data indicate that patients with RRMS, treated with IFN-beta1a, exhibited a significant increase in CD4(+)CD25(++) T suppressor cells, accompanied by a significant decrease in cytotoxic lymphocytes (CD8(+)CD28(-) and natural killer [NK] cells) and IFN-gamma production, which could both contribute to an explanation of the previously described beneficial effects of IFN-beta treatment in MS.

Different contribution of EBV and CMV infections in very long-term carriers to age-related alterations of CD8+ T cells.

Aging is accompanied by a complex dynamics of CD8+ T cell subsets whose origin is unclear. To evaluate the impact of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) chronic infections on CD8+ T cells in far advanced age, we studied CD8+ T cells frequencies and phenotype in nonagenarians and centenarians by HLA-A*0201- and HLA-B*0702-tetramers incorporating epitopes specific of both viruses along with viral replication. The results demonstrate that EBV and CMV infections induce quantitatively and qualitatively different CD8+ T-cell responses in advanced aging.

Marked increase with age of type 1 cytokines within memory and effector/cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in humans: a contribution to understand the relationship between inflammation and immunosenescence.

The ageing process is characterized by a progressive exhaustion of the naïve T cell reservoir that is accompanied by a compensatory expansion of effector/cytotoxic CD8+CD28- T cells. However, the origin and function of this subpopulation is not completely clarified. In this study, we examined the intracellular cytokine profile in purified CD8+ T cells obtained from 29 healthy subjects of different ages.