1,990 research outputs found
Nodal involvement evaluation in advanced cervical cancer: a single institutional experience
Purpose: To assess the usefulness of different imaging techniques in the detection of nodal involvement in patients with advanced
cervical carcinoma. Moreover, to analyze the correlation between the presurgical (FIGO) and postsurgical (pTNM) staging classifications.
Materials and Methods: All patients diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer (FIGO Stages IIB-IV) from 2005 to 2012 were
selected. The medical charts of 51 patients that underwent presurgical assessment with posterior surgical staging by means of paraaortic
lymphadenectomy, were reviewed. Nodal status assessment by computed tomography scan (CT scan), magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and sonography was compared, as well as the size given in imaging techniques
compared to the final pathologic report information. Results: Presurgical analysis by CT scan, MRI, PET, and sonography showed
pelvic nodal involvement in 51.3% of patients, and para-aortic involvement in 30.8% of cases. CT scan showed positive pelvic nodes
in 35% of cases, but pathologic confirmation was observed in just 17.6% of cases. However, MRI resulted in higher rates of up to
48.8% of cases. Concerning para-aortic nodal involvement, CT scan showed positive nodes in 25% of cases, MRI in 3.2% of cases,
and the pathologic report in 15.6% of cases. The authors found significant differences between staging groups among both classifications
(FIGO vs. pTNM; p < 0.001). Eight cases (15.7%) were understaged by FIGO classification. Conclusions: Despite all imaging
techniques available, none has demonstrated to be efficient enough to avoid the systematic study of para-aortic nodal status by
means of surgical evaluatio
Non-parametric mass reconstruction of A1689 from strong lensing data with SLAP
We present the mass distribution in the central area of the cluster A1689 by
fitting over 100 multiply lensed images with the non-parametric Strong Lensing
Analysis Package (SLAP, Diego et al. 2004). The surface mass distribution is
obtained in a robust way finding a total mass of 0.25E15 M_sun/h within a 70''
circle radius from the central peak. Our reconstructed density profile fits
well an NFW profile with small perturbations due to substructure and is
compatible with the more model dependent analysis of Broadhurst et al. (2004a)
based on the same data. Our estimated mass does not rely on any prior
information about the distribution of dark matter in the cluster. The peak of
the mass distribution falls very close to the central cD and there is
substructure near the center suggesting that the cluster is not fully relaxed.
We also examine the effect on the recovered mass when we include the
uncertainties in the redshift of the sources and in the original shape of the
sources. Using simulations designed to mimic the data, we identify some biases
in our reconstructed mass distribution. We find that the recovered mass is
biased toward lower masses beyond 1 arcmin (150 kpc) from the central cD and
that in the very center we may be affected by degeneracy problems. On the other
hand, we confirm that the reconstructed mass between 25'' and 70'' is a robust,
unbiased estimate of the true mass distribution and is compatible with an NFW
profile.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures. MNRAS submitted. A full resolution of the paper
can be found in http://darwin.physics.upenn.edu/SLAP
Probing the Protosolar Disk Using Dust Filtering at Gaps in the Early Solar System
Jupiter and Saturn formed early, before the gas disk dispersed. The presence
of gap-opening planets affects the dynamics of the gas and embedded solids and
halts the inward drift of grains above a certain size. A drift barrier can
explain the absence of calcium aluminium rich inclusions (CAIs) in chondrites
originating from parent bodies that accreted in the inner solar system.
Employing an interdisciplinary approach, we use a -X-Ray-fluorescence
scanner to search for large CAIs and a scanning electron microscope to search
for small CAIs in the ordinary chondrite NWA 5697. We carry out long-term,
two-dimensional simulations including gas, dust, and planets to characterize
the transport of grains within the viscous -disk framework exploring
the scenarios of a stand-alone Jupiter, Jupiter and Saturn \textit{in situ}, or
Jupiter and Saturn in a 3:2 resonance. In each case, we find a critical grain
size above which drift is halted as a function of the physical conditions in
the disk. From the laboratory search we find four CAIs with a largest size of
200m. \Combining models and data, we provide an estimate for
the upper limit of the -viscosity and the surface density at the
location of Jupiter, using reasonable assumptions about the stellar accretion
rate during inward transport of CAIs, and assuming angular momentum transport
to happen exclusively through viscous effects. Moreover, we find that the
compound gap structure in the presence of Saturn in a 3:2 resonance favors
inward transport of grains larger than CAIs currently detected in ordinary
chondrites.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, updated to match published version in
Astrophysical Journa
Development and validation of the Spanish hazard perception test
Objective: The aim of the current study is to develop and obtain validity evidence for a Hazard Perception test suitable for the Spanish driving population. To obtain validity evidence to support the use of the test, the effect of hazardous and quasi-hazardous situations on the participants’ Hazard Prediction is analysed and the pattern of results of drivers of different driving experience: learner, novice and expert drivers and re-offender vs. non-offender drivers, is compared. Potentially hazardous situations are those that develop without involving any real hazard (i.e., the driver didn’t actually have to decelerate or make any evasive manoeuvre to avoid a potential collision). The current study analysed multiple offender drivers attending compulsory re-education programmes as a result of reaching the maximum number of penalty points on their driving licence, due to repeated violations of traffic laws. Method: A new video-based hazard perception test was developed, using a total of 20 hazardous situation videos plus 8 quasi-hazardous situation videos. They were selected from 167 recordings of natural hazards in real Spanish driving settings
A species-level trait dataset of bats in Europe and beyond
Knowledge of species’ functional traits is essential for understanding biodiversity patterns,
predicting the impacts of global environmental changes, and assessing the efficiency of
conservation measures. Bats are major components of mammalian diversity and occupy a
variety of ecological niches and geographic distributions. However, an extensive compilation
of their functional traits and ecological attributes is still missing. Here we present EuroBaTrait
1.0, the most comprehensive and up-to-date trait dataset covering 47 European bat
species. The dataset includes data on 118 traits including genetic composition, physiology,
morphology, acoustic signature, climatic associations, foraging habitat, roost type, diet,
spatial behaviour, life history, pathogens, phenology, and distribution. We compiled the
bat trait data obtained from three main sources: (i) a systematic literature and dataset
search, (ii) unpublished data from European bat experts, and (iii) observations from largescale
monitoring programs. EuroBaTrait is designed to provide an important data source for
comparative and trait-based analyses at the species or community level. The dataset also
exposes knowledge gaps in species, geographic and trait coverage, highlighting priorities for
future data collection.EU Framework Horizon 2020COST Action
CA18107 ‘Climate change and bats: from science to conservation – ClimBats’ (https://climbats.eu/)The Région Bretagne (SAD grant number 19041)Leverhulme Trust (grant
number: ECF-2020-571)Bulgarian National Science Fund (CP-06-COST/15
from 16.12.2020)Natural Environment Research Council Independent Research Fellowship
(NE/M018660/1
Physical Properties of Four SZE-Selected Galaxy Clusters in the Southern Cosmology Survey
We present the optical and X-ray properties of four clusters recently
discovered by the South Pole Telescope (SPT) using the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich
effect (SZE). The four clusters are located in one of the common survey areas
of the southern sky that is also being targeted by the Atacama Cosmology
Telescope (ACT) and imaged by the CTIO Blanco 4-m telescope. Based on publicly
available griz optical images and XMM-Newton and ROSAT X-ray observations we
analyse the physical properties of these clusters and obtain photometric
redshifts, luminosities, richness and mass estimates. Each cluster contains a
central elliptical whose luminosity is consistent with SDSS cluster studies.
Our mass estimates are well above the nominal detection limit of SPT and ACT;
the new SZE clusters are very likely massive systems with M>~5x10^14 M_sun.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. ApJL accepte
High redshift AGNs from the 1Jy catalogue and the magnification bias
We have found a statistically significant (99.1 \%) excess of red ()
galaxies with photographic magnitudes , taken from the APM Sky
Catalogue around radiosources from the 1Jy catalogue. The amplitude,
scale and dependence on galaxy colours of the observed overdensity are
consistent with its being a result of the magnification bias caused by the weak
gravitational lensing of large scale structures at redshift
and are hardly explained by other causes, as obscuration by dust.Comment: uuencoded file containing 3 ps files: the main text, a table and a
figure. To appear in ApJ Letter
Low molecular weight ϵ-caprolactone-pcoumaric acid copolymers as potential biomaterials for skin regeneration applications
ϵ-caprolactone-p-coumaric acid copolymers at different mole ratios (ϵ-caprolactone:p-coumaric acid 1:0, 10:1, 8:1, 6:1, 4:1, and 2:1) were synthesized by melt-polycondensation and using 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid as catalyst. Chemical analysis by NMR and GPC showed that copolyesters were formed with decreasing molecular weight as p-coumaric acid content was increased. Physical characteristics, such as thermal and mechanical properties, as well as water uptake and water permeability, depended on the mole fraction of pcoumaric acid. The p-coumarate repetitive units increased the antioxidant capacity of the copolymers, showing antibacterial activity against the common pathogen Escherichia coli. In addition, all the synthesized copolyesters, except the one with the highest concentration of the phenolic acid, were cytocompatible and hemocompatible, thus becoming potentially useful for skin regeneration applications
Metástasis musculares del adenocarcinoma renal
El carcinoma renal puede producir metástasis, siendo las más frecuentes en pulmón, hÃgado, esqueleto y encéfalo. Las metástasis aisladas en el músculo esquelético son muy raras, existiendo alrededor de veinte casos publicados en la literatura. Presentamos dos casos de metástasis de carcinoma renal, localizadas en el músculo esquelético.
Es importante el diagnóstico diferencial de estas metástasis con los sarcomas de partes blandas, ya que su tratamiento
y pronóstico son muy diferentes.The renal cell carcinoma can produce metastatic, the most common are in lung, liver, bones and encephalon. The isolated metastatic in muscle are unusual, there are only twenty cases published, most of them isolated cases. We present two cases of metastatic of renal cell carcinoma isolated in skeletal muscle. It is very important the differential diagnosis of this kind of lesions with soft tissue sarcomas because treatment and prognosis are very different
LensPerfect: Gravitational Lens Massmap Reconstructions Yielding Exact Reproduction of All Multiple Images
We present a new approach to gravitational lens massmap reconstruction. Our
massmap solutions perfectly reproduce the positions, fluxes, and shears of all
multiple images. And each massmap accurately recovers the underlying mass
distribution to a resolution limited by the number of multiple images detected.
We demonstrate our technique given a mock galaxy cluster similar to Abell 1689
which gravitationally lenses 19 mock background galaxies to produce 93 multiple
images. We also explore cases in which far fewer multiple images are observed,
such as four multiple images of a single galaxy. Massmap solutions are never
unique, and our method makes it possible to explore an extremely flexible range
of physical (and unphysical) solutions, all of which perfectly reproduce the
data given. Each reconfiguration of the source galaxies produces a new massmap
solution. An optimization routine is provided to find those source positions
(and redshifts, within uncertainties) which produce the "most physical" massmap
solution, according to a new figure of merit developed here. Our method imposes
no assumptions about the slope of the radial profile nor mass following light.
But unlike "non-parametric" grid-based methods, the number of free parameters
we solve for is only as many as the number of observable constraints (or
slightly greater if fluxes are constrained). For each set of source positions
and redshifts, massmap solutions are obtained "instantly" via direct matrix
inversion by smoothly interpolating the deflection field using a recently
developed mathematical technique. Our LensPerfect software is straightforward
and easy to use and is made publicly available via our website.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures, accepted by ApJ. Software and full-color
version of paper available at http://www.its.caltech.edu/~coe/LensPerfect
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