703 research outputs found
Dielectric Characterization of Breast Biopsied Tissues as Pre-Pathological Aid in Early Cancer Detection: A Blinded Feasibility Study
Dielectric characterization has significant potential in several medical applications, providing valuable insights into the electromagnetic properties of biological tissues for disease diagnosis, treatment planning, and monitoring of therapeutic interventions. This work presents the use of a custom-designed electromagnetic characterization system, based on an open-ended coaxial probe, for discriminating between benign and malignant breast tissues in a clinical setting. The probe’s development involved a well-balanced compromise between physical feasibility and its combined use with a reconstruction algorithm known as the virtual transmission line model (VTLM). Immediately following the biopsy procedure, the dielectric properties of the breast tissues were reconstructed, enabling tissue discrimination based on a rule-of-thumb using the obtained dielectric parameters. A comparative analysis was then performed by analyzing the outcomes of the dielectric investigation with respect to conventional histological results. The experimental procedure took place at Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Toledo—Hospital Virgen de la Salud, Spain, where excised breast tissues were collected and subsequently analyzed using the dielectric characterization system. A comprehensive statistical evaluation of the probe’s performance was carried out, obtaining a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 81.6%, 61.5%, and 73.4%, respectively, compared to conventional histological assessment, considered as the gold standard in this investigation
Integrating clinical research in an operative screening and diagnostic breast imaging department: First experience, results and perspectives using microwave imaging.
Clinical research is crucial for evaluating new medical procedures and devices. It is important for healthcare units and hospitals to minimize the disruptions caused by conducting clinical studies; however, complex clinical pathways require dedicated recruitment and study designs.This work presents the effective introduction of novel microwave breast imaging (MBI), via MammoWave apparatus, into the clinical routine of an operative screening and diagnostic breast imaging department for conducting a multicentric clinical study. Microwave breast imaging, using MammoWave apparatus, was performed on volunteers coming from different clinical pathways. Clinical data, comprising demographics and conventional radiologic reports (used as reference standard), was collected; a satisfaction questionnaire was filled by every volunteer. Microwave images were analyzed by an automatic clinical decision support system, which quantified their corresponding features to discriminate between breasts with no relevant radiological findings (NF) and breasts with described findings (WF). Conventional breast imaging (DBT, US, MRI) and MBI were performed and adapted to assure best clinical practices and optimum pathways. 180 volunteers, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, were enrolled in the study. After microwave images' quality assessment, 48 NF (15 dense) and 169 WF (88 dense) breasts were used for the prospective study; 48 (18 dense) breasts suffered from a histology-confirmed carcinoma. An overall sensitivity of 85.8 % in breasts lesions' detection was achieved by the microwave imaging apparatus. An optimum recruitment strategy was implemented to assess MBI. Future trials may show the clinical usefulness of microwave imaging, which may play an important role in breast screening. [Abstract copyright: © 2023 The Authors.
Scalar cosmological perturbations from inflationary black holes
We study the correction to the scale invariant power spectrum of a scalar
field on de Sitter space from small black holes that formed during a
pre-inflationary matter dominated era. The formation probability of such black
holes is estimated from primordial Gaussian density fluctuations. We determine
the correction to the spectrum by first deriving the Keldysh propagator for a
massless scalar field on Schwarzschild-de Sitter space. Our results suggest
that the effect is strong enough to be tested -- and possibly even ruled out --
by observations.Comment: 41 pages, 11 figures, published versio
El Paleozoico en el bosque Amotapes – Tahuín Perú-Ecuador
La cordillera andina presenta tres segmentos morfoestructurales definidos; como el bloque septentrional (Andes del Norte), Central (Andes Centrales) y Meridional (Patagónico). El área del presente estudio se sitúa en la zona de transición de los andes centrales a los del norte (Inflexión de Huancabamba), involucrado dentro de la región del bloque Andino del Norte. (Fig.1). Basados sobre fundamentos estratigráficos, geotectónicos y consideraciones morfoestructurales, la transición de los Andes Centrales a los Andes del Norte se pueden considerar en términos de seis dominios litotectónicos: Cuencas de Margen Continental, Bloque Amotapes-Tahuín, Cuenca Lancones, Bloque Olmos Loja, Complejo Volcánico / sed. de Zamora, Terrenos Pacifico y Melange de Peltetec. (Fig. 2). El Bloque Amotape-Tahuín comprende secuencias metamórficas correspondientes al Paleozoico Inferior y Superior constituidos de esquistos, pizarras, filitas, cuarcitas, areniscas, afectados por eventos magmáticos (Paleozoico). Se extienden desde Jubones, Sur de Zaruma-Portovelo, Puerto Viejo, Arenillas-Tahuín, El Tigre (Ecuador). Zarumilla, Tumbes (Matapalo, Angostura), Sullana (Amotapes), Paita, Illescas (Perú). Este bloque que incluye la faja metamórfica de El Oro (Ecuador); al norte está en contacto estructural con un sistema de fallas Portovelo-Arenillas y Jubones (asociado a unidades Jurasicas y Cretáceas), en el sur se presenta en contacto discordante y estructural con las secuencias volcano - sedimentaria de la Cuenca Lancones y los sedimentos marinos del Paleógeno-Neógeno. (Cuencas Talara y Sechura). El substrato Paleozoico metamórfico está cubierto en gran parte por depósitos que se desarrollaron en las Cuencas Mesozoicas y Cenozoicas, individualizadas, al Sur la Cuenca de Ñaupe, Sechura, Talara, al Norte la Cuenca Lancones – Alamor y la Cuenca Tumbes-Progreso
Spin Analysis of Supersymmetric Particles
The spin of supersymmetric particles can be determined at colliders
unambiguously. This is demonstrated for a characteristic set of non-colored
supersymmetric particles -- smuons, selectrons, and charginos/neutralinos. The
analysis is based on the threshold behavior of the excitation curves for pair
production in collisions, the angular distribution in the production
process and decay angular distributions. In the first step we present the
observables in the helicity formalism for the supersymmetric particles.
Subsequently we confront the results with corresponding analyses of
Kaluza-Klein particles in theories of universal extra space dimensions which
behave distinctly different from supersymmetric theories. It is shown in the
third step that a set of observables can be designed which signal the spin of
supersymmetric particles unambiguously without any model assumptions. Finally
in the fourth step it is demonstrated that the determination of the spin of
supersymmetric particles can be performed experimentally in practice at an
collider.Comment: 39 pages, 14 figure
State transfer in dissipative and dephasing environments
By diagonalization of a generalized superoperator for solving the master
equation, we investigated effects of dissipative and dephasing environments on
quantum state transfer, as well as entanglement distribution and creation in
spin networks. Our results revealed that under the condition of the same
decoherence rate , the detrimental effects of the dissipative
environment are more severe than that of the dephasing environment. Beside
this, the critical time at which the transfer fidelity and the
concurrence attain their maxima arrives at the asymptotic value
quickly as the spin chain length increases. The transfer
fidelity of an excitation at time is independent of when the system
subjects to dissipative environment, while it decreases as increases when
the system subjects to dephasing environment. The average fidelity displays
three different patterns corresponding to , and . For
each pattern, the average fidelity at time is independent of when the
system subjects to dissipative environment, and decreases as increases when
the system subjects to dephasing environment. The maximum concurrence also
decreases as increases, and when , it arrives at an
asymptotic value determined by the decoherence rate and the structure
of the spin network.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure
Asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons from 500 GeV/c pi- nucleon interactions as a function of xF and pt**2
We present asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons in Fermilab
experiment E791 as a function of xF and pt**2. The data used here consist of
74,000 fully-reconstructed charmed mesons produced by a 500 GeV/c pi- beam on C
and Pt foils. The measurements are compared to results of models which predict
differences between the production of heavy-quark mesons that have a light
quark in common with the beam (leading particles) and those that do not
(non-leading particles). While the default models do not agree with our data,
we can reach agreement with one of them, PYTHIA, by making a limited number of
changes to parameters used
Differential cross sections, charge production asymmetry, and spin-density matrix elements for D*(2010) produced in 500 GeV/c pi^- nucleon interactions
We report differential cross sections for the production of D*(2010) produced
in 500 GeV/c pi^- nucleon interactions from experiment E791 at Fermilab, as
functions of Feynman-x (x_F) and transverse momentum squared (p_T^2). We also
report the D* +/- charge asymmetry and spin-density matrix elements as
functions of these variables. Investigation of the spin-density matrix elements
shows no evidence of polarization. The average values of the spin alignment are
\eta= 0.01 +- 0.02 and -0.01 +- 0.02 for leading and non-leading particles,
respectively.Comment: LaTeX2e (elsart.cls). 13 pages, 6 figures (eps files). Submitted to
Physics Letters
Confusing non-standard neutrino interactions with oscillations at a neutrino factory
Most neutrino mass theories contain non-standard interactions (NSI) of
neutrinos which can be either non-universal (NU) or flavor-changing (FC). We
study the impact of such interactions on the determination of neutrino mixing
parameters at a neutrino factory using the so-called ``golden channels''
\pnu{e}\to\pnu{\mu} for the measurement of \theta_{13}. We show that a certain
combination of FC interactions in neutrino source and earth matter can give
exactly the same signal as oscillations arising due to \theta_{13}. This
implies that information about \theta_{13} can only be obtained if bounds on
NSI are available. Taking into account the existing bounds on FC interactions,
this leads to a drastic loss in sensitivity in \theta_{13}, at least two orders
of magnitude. A near detector at a neutrino factory offers the possibility to
obtain stringent bounds on some NSI parameters. Such near site detector
constitutes an essential ingredient of a neutrino factory and a necessary step
towards the determination of \theta_{13} and subsequent study of leptonic CP
violation.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, improved version, accepted for publication in
Phs. Rev. D, references adde
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