925 research outputs found

    Intrapancreatic accessory spleen false positive to 68Ga-Dotatoc: case report and literature review

    Get PDF
    Background: Intrapancreatic accessory spleen (IPAS) is an uncommon finding of pancreatic mass. Differential diagnosis with pancreatic tumor, especially with non-functional neuroendocrine tumor (NF-NET), may be very hard and sometimes it entails unnecessary surgery. A combination of CT scan, MRI, and nuclear medicine can confirm the diagnosis of IPAS. 68-Ga-Dotatoc PET/CT is the gold standard in NET diagnosis and it can allow to distinguish between IPAS and NET. Case presentation: A 69-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for an incidental nodule in the tail of the pancreas with focal uptake of 68-Ga-dotatate at PET/CT. NET was suspected and open distal splenopancreatectomy was performed. Pathologic examination revealed an IPAS. Conclusion: This is the second IPAS case in which a positive 68Ga-Dotatoc uptake led to a false diagnosis of pancreatic NET. Here is a proposal of a literature review

    Automation of a plane grating spectrograph

    Get PDF
    A Zeiss model PGS-2 plane grating spectrograph was automated by replacing its photograph film detection system with an EGG-Reticon 1024S photodiode array (PDA) and by controlling the main instrument functions through the use of a home-made interface connected to a microcomputer. The array was cooled by four Peltier elements to allow integration of the emitted light for up to 40 s. The interface performs data acquisition from the sensor array, controls the grating position and the excitation source. A QuickBasic 4.5 program manages the interface, for data storage and treatment, and allows a graphical display and user-friendly interaction. Results show an absolute standard deviation for the wavelength localization of +/- 0.036 nm, and a spectral resolution of 0.05 nm at 443 nm when a 651 grooves/mm grating is employed. In each scan, the sensor array can collect data in a 18.7 nm wide window. Sensitivity was inferred from experimental data that showed an accurate localization of emission lines for Sn and Cu present in metal alloys at 0.006 and 0.03%, respectively. Quantitative results obtained for determination of Mn in steel samples and Ph in aqueous solution are also presented.18171

    PCI Express Over Optical Links for Data Acquisition and Control

    Get PDF
    PCI Express is a new I/O technology for desktop, mobile, server and communications platforms designed to allow increasing levels of computer system performance. The serial nature of its links and the packet based protocols allows an easy geographical decoupling of a peripheral device. We have investigated the possibility of using an optical physical layer for the PCI Express, and we have built a bus adapter which can bridge remote busses (> 100m) to a single host computer without even the need of a specialized driver, given the legacy PCI compatibility of the PCI Express hardware. This adapter has been made tolerant to harsh environmental conditions, like strong magnetic fields or radiation fluxes, as the data acquisition needs of high energy physics experiments often require

    Performance of the Fully Digital FPGA-based Front-End Electronics for the GALILEO Array

    Full text link
    In this work we present the architecture and results of a fully digital Front End Electronics (FEE) read out system developed for the GALILEO array. The FEE system, developed in collaboration with the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) collaboration, is composed of three main blocks: preamplifiers, digitizers and preprocessing electronics. The slow control system contains a custom Linux driver, a dynamic library and a server implementing network services. The digital processing of the data from the GALILEO germanium detectors has demonstrated the capability to achieve an energy resolution of 1.53 per mil at an energy of 1.33 MeV.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, preprint version of IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science paper submitted for the 19th IEEE Real Time Conferenc

    Phylogenetic Grouping by PCR Analyses of \u3ci\u3eSinorhizobium meliloti\u3c/i\u3e Strains Isolated from Eutrophic Soil

    Get PDF
    This study evaluated the ability of Sinorhizobium meliloti strains (SEMIA-116, SEMIA- 134 and SEMIA-135) to persist in eutrophic soils after three complete growing cycles of alfalfa. PCR fingerprinting using primers for the nifH, Eric, Rep, RP genes and P25 RAPD-PCR performed the phylogenetic grouping of the three commercial strains and 39 field isolates. These analyzes were sufficiently sensitive to discriminate and group the strains and isolate. Our preliminary studies were based upon Eric primers and RP01 RAPD-PCR

    Autonomic dysregulation and self‐injurious thoughts and behaviours in children and young people: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

    Get PDF
    Background: self-injurious thoughts and behaviours (SITBs) have been associated with dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) in children and young people, suggesting that objective ANS measures may aid assessment of suicide risk, but a systematic synthesis of this literature is currently lacking.Methods: following a pre-registered protocol (PROSPERO CRD42022327605), we conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science, for empirical studies published until 10th May 2022 that compared indices of ANS functioning in individuals aged 0–25 years with versus without SITBs, or reported continuous associations between ANS measures and SITBs. Study quality was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scales. Pooled effect sizes (Hedge's g) were estimated with random-effects meta-analytic models.Results: twenty studies (1979 participants) were included in our systematic review, with 16 included in meta-analyses. Results suggested that SITBs were associated with altered cardiac indices of arousal (g = −0.328, p < 0.001), which was driven by lower heart rate variability in individuals with SITBs (g = −0.375, p = 0.025). Overall results for electrodermal activity were not significant (g = 0.026, p = 0.857), but subgroup analyses showed increased activity in studies of individuals who engaged specifically in non-suicidal self-harm (g = 0.249, p = 0.014) but decreased activity in the remaining studies (g = −0.567, p = 0.004).Conclusions: our systematic review and meta-analysis found evidence of reduced parasympathetic regulation as well as more tentative evidence of altered electrodermal activity in children and young people displaying SITBs. Future longitudinal studies should test the clinical utility of these markers for detecting and monitoring suicide risk

    Analysis of the antibiotic resistance profiles in methicillin-sensitive s. Aureus pathotypes isolated on a commercial rabbit farm in Italy

    Get PDF
    The breeding of meat rabbits is an important sector in the livestock industry in Italy. The focus of this study was to describe the antibiotic resistance profile distribution among the Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus isolated in a rabbit farm. From 400 animals of different ages and three farm workers, 96 randomly selected strains isolated from various anatomical sites and lesions were analysed. According to spa typing and the resistance profiles towards veterinary and human antibiotics, 26 pathotypes were identified. The highest resistance was observed against Tetracyclines (92.3%) and Macrolides (80.8%), while almost all were susceptible to Penicillins, according to the limited use of β-lactams on the farm. In total, 92.3% of pathotypes were multidrug resistant (MDRs). Two MDR pathotypes belonging to the t2802 spa type were isolated from both farmers and rabbits. Age categories harboured significantly different pathotypes (p = 0.019), while no association was found between pathotypes and lesions (p = 0.128) or sampling sites (p = 0.491). The antibiotic resistance was observed to increase with the time spent in the farm environment (age category). The selective pressure exerted by antibiotic use acted by giving advantage to more resistant strains rather than by lowering susceptibility to various drug categories within strains

    Itinerario terapéutico de las personas con discapacidad y mediaciones en el cuidado de la salud: la mirada de los familiares

    Get PDF
    Las familias son agentes cualificados de las prácticas en salud y contribuyen en la búsqueda del cuidado de las personas con discapacidad. Este artículo presenta los itinerarios que recorren los adultos con discapacidad motriz en torno de su rehabilitación y la participación de sus familiares en este proceso. A tal fin se analizan las entrevistas semi-estructuradas a familiares que viven con personas con discapacidad motriz de 50 años o más en el Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (AMBA). Para el relevamiento de la información de carácter cualitativo, se utilizó una muestra de tipo intencional (18 casos) por cuotas según sexo, nivel socioeconómico y tipo de vínculo (hijo/a o cónyuge). Los hallazgos muestran que los itinerarios terapéuticos en vistas del cuidado y la rehabilitación de las personas con discapacidad se dividen en dos etapas centrales: la búsqueda de un diagnóstico y la búsqueda del tratamiento. Ambas instancias se configuran de acuerdo a los factores sociales, económicos y culturales de sus familias. Según las evidencias se concluyó que los servicios de salud pueden funcionar, por momentos, como obstaculizadores de los itinerarios terapéuticos de sus usuarios si desatienden el vínculo entre sus acciones y la red familiar, en la cual se toman decisiones sobre el tratamiento a seguir y se gestiona cotidianamente el cuidado
    corecore