Search

Some years ago the authors of the present paper found in the Fondo Padoa lying in the Mathematical Library of Genoa University a manuscript of 11 pages by Alessandro Padoa with the title A proposito di un nuovo sistema fondamentale della geometria elementare. It seems to be ready for publication and contains also typographical instruction for printing. Other investigations on Padoa and his rôle in Peano's school led in a series of recent papers to a probably complete list of Padoa's publications where, however, the above mentioned manuscript is not present and, therefore, is likely to be considered an unpublished paper. It's a matter of fact that the whole of Padoa's scientific production has to be integrated by some works that he didn't publish. The unpublished paper under examination deals with the axiomatization of elementary geometry given by Mario Pieri in 1899 in "Della geometria elementare come sistema ipotetico deduttivo. Monografia del punto e del moto", where, as it is well-known, elementary geometry is based on the primitive notions of point and movement and on 20 postulates. Padoa agrees with Pieri's proposal to define segment starting from point and movement; he suggests, however, some modification to the original set of postulates and gives a (partial) proof of their independence. The unpublished paper reveals the interest of Padoa in this subject-matter and, in some sense, his idea of participating in the already consolidated field of research represented by Pieri's results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alessandro Padoa was born on October 14, 1868, in Venice and died on October 25, 1937, in Genoa. He was a mathematician of the so-called Peano's school and is well-known to logicians mainly for his investigations on the independence, understood as mutual undefinability, of primitive concepts of an axiomatic theory. In this framework he formulated in 1900 (at the International Congress of Philosophy in Paris) a technique, to be later known as "Padoa's method", to prove the independence of primitive concepts. In spite of his involvement in the world of research, the main job of Padoa was teaching mathematics in the secondary schools (and this is also the case for many other members of Peano's school). In 1932, however, he got the university teaching degree ("libera docenza") in mathematical logic and in the following years he delivered courses of mathematical logic at the University of Genoa. This paper aims to sketch a short biography of Padoa and to give a list of his publications (more than hundred items, mainly devoted to mathematical logic or to elementary mathematics). In a more general sense the paper deals with some historical data on mathematical logic in Italy in that period and could contribute to a deeper understanding of the role played by Peano's school and of the reasons of its decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Breast-conserving therapy (BCT), including postoperative whole breast irradiation (WBI), is generally accepted as the treatment of choice for most patients with early-stage breast cancer. The question whether WBI is mandatory in all patients remains one of the most controversial issues in BCT. To answer this question, a randomized, prospective, multicentre study was launched in January 2001. Primary endpoints of the study were to assess the cumulative incidence of in-breast-recurrences (IBR) and overall survival (OAS) after conservative surgery (BCS) with or without WBI., Methods: From January 2001 until December 2005, 749 patients with unifocal infiltrating breast cancer up to 25 mm, 0-3 positive axillary lymph nodes, no extensive intraductal component or lymphvascular invasion from 11 centres in Italy, were randomly assigned to BCS+WBI (arm 1:373 patients) or BCS alone (arm 2:376 patients). Treatment arms were well balanced in terms of baseline characteristics. Systemic adjuvant therapy was administered according to the institutional policies. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis and log-rank test to evaluate the difference between the two arms. RESULTS (Last analysis 31.12.2012): After median follow-up of 108 months, 12 (3.4%) IBR were observed in arm 1 and 16 (4.4%) in arm 2. OAS was 81.4% in arm 1 and 83.7% in arm 2. There was no statistically significant difference regarding IBR and death in the two treatment groups., Conclusions: These data are promising and suggest that WBI after BCS can be omitted in selected patients with early stage breast cancer without exposing them to an increased risk of local recurrence and death. Longer follow-up is needed to further consolidate these results.

The aims of this study were to analyse the feasibility and accuracy of the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) procedure as performed in a general hospital compared with the literature results; to report on the organizational aspects of planning surgical time with higher accuracy of pathological analysis; and to verify that there is a real advantage of SLNB in the surgical management of breast cancer. From October 1999 to September 2000, 371 consecutive patients with T1-2N0 breast lesions underwent SLNB. The immunoscintigraphic method of sentinel node identification was the main one used, the blue dye method being used only when the lymphoscintigraphic method was unsuccessful in identifying sentinel nodes. SLNB was done under either general or local anaesthesia, depending on how the surgical procedure was organized and clinically planned. SLNB was successful in 99% of these T1-2N0 breast cancer cases, and in 71% no metastases were found in the sentinel node. In 47% of cases with axillary metastasis only the sentinel node was involved. Nodal involvement was not present in any case of microinvasive or in situ carcinoma. In T1 cancers nodal involvement was present in 21%; in T2 cases the corresponding rate reached 51%. The results obtained with the SLNB procedure at Bergamo Hospital are similar to the literature data. When a dedicated surgical team, the nuclear medicine department and the pathology department work together, a general hospital can provide breast cancer patients with appropriate surgical treatment., (Copyright 2004 Elsevier Ltd.)