Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. The main treatment for localized gastrointestinal stromal tumors is surgical resection. These tumors respond poorly to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy agents and to radiotherapy. Imatinib mesylate, a small-molecule kinase inhibitor, has proved useful in the treatment of recurrent or metastatic GISTs and is now being tested in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant setting. The role of radiotherapy in the management of patients with GIST is currently restricted to symptomatic palliation. We present the case of a 54-year-old man affected by rectal GIST extending to the anal canal, with constipation, hematochezia, and anal pain. He received imatinib, 400 mg orally per day, for a week before and during radiation therapy. Irradiation was delivered to the gross tumor volume by 3D conformal therapy. The planned total dose was 50.4 Gy in fractions of 1.8 Gy daily. We observed a partial clinical response 3 weeks after the end of combination treatment. The patient then underwent a sphincter-saving surgical procedure. There was no perioperative morbidity and a complete pathological response was obtained. At the present time, the role of radiotherapy in the management of patients with GIST is restricted to symptomatic palliation. The introduction of molecularly targeted therapy combined with radiation therapy could improve the outcomes for patients diagnosed with GIST.
This paper deals with the experimental results of an investigation aimed at studying cyclic response of half scaled RC specimens previously damaged and then repaired with externally bonded carbon fiber\ud
reinforced polymer sheets. The research involved the test of ten specimens. Two of them were tested without any external strengthening material in order to provide a reference for the response of repaired\ud
specimens. These latter were tested after a previous damaging procedure and a subsequent repair intervention with fiber reinforced polymer composites. The parameters under investigation were the\ud
level of initial damage, the strengthening configuration, and the level of axial load. Test results have pointed out effectiveness of the adopted strengthening systems, since repaired specimens exhibited\ud
better mechanical responses than the unstrengthened ones
The estimate of concrete compressive strength is a major aspect in the assessment of reinforced concrete existing structures since it involves safety issues. The method of extracting concrete cores from the buildings under investigation is considered in this paper. In the first part, a brief review concerning procedures proposed by international technical codes as well methods available in the scientific literature, is made. In particular, formulations proposed for the determination of the actual concrete strength, starting from the one obtained from laboratory tests on cores, are examined. Special attention is devoted to the various factors affecting the estimate of the actual strength and relative correction coefficients. In the second part, the considered procedures are applied to a case study concerning a school building in Tuscany; comparison among different formulations allows some considerations on the reliability of the adopted procedures.
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