Cavernous Angioma of the Corpus Callosum Presenting with Acute Psychosis

Psychiatric symptoms may occasionally be related to anatomic alterations of brain structures. Particularly, corpus callosum lesions seem to play a role in the change of patients’ behavior. We present a case of a sudden psychotic attack presumably due to a hemorrhagic cavernous angioma of the corpus callosum, which was surgically removed with complete resolution of symptoms. Although a developmental defect like agenesis or lipoma is present in the majority of these cases, a growing lesion of the corpus callosum can rarely be the primary cause. Since it is potentially possible to cure these patients, clinicians should be aware of this association

Regularization Techniques for Inverse Problem in DOT Applications

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is an emerging diagnostic technique which uses near-infra-red light to investigate the optical coefficients distribution in biological tissues. The surface of the tissue is illuminated by light sources, then the outgoing light is measured by detectors placed at various locations on the surface itself. In order to reconstruct the optical coefficients, a mathematical model of light propagation is employed: such model leads to the minimization of the discrepancy between the detected data and the corresponding theoretical field. Due to severe ill-conditioning, regularization techniques are required: common procedures consider mainly \u2113 1-norm (LASSO) and \u2113 2-norm (Tikhonov) regularization. In the present work we investigate two original approaches in this context: The elastic-net regularization, previously used in machine learning problems, and the Bregman procedure. Numerical experiments are performed on synthetic 2D geometries and data, to evaluate the performance of these approaches. The results show that these techniques are indeed suitable choices for practical applications, where DOT is used as a cheap, first-level and almost real-Time screening technique for breast cancer detection

Giving Voice to Our Lakota People

Researchers at two universities worked with project partners to develop indigenous interpretive curriculum that provided the tools for indigenous students to tell their own stories and market their own heritage to visitors seeking an authentic experience. Project partners sought to identify elements that exemplify a culturally grounded approach to indigenous interpretation. It is assumed that indigenous interpretation will provide opportunities for non-native visitors to have meaningful experiences of native culture. It is also assumed that indigenous interpretation will foster a deeper understanding of the sacredness of native homelands, the resiliency and vulnerability of natural and cultural systems, and the beauty of harmonious relations between the earth and its inhabitants. Finally, it is assumed that as native youth gain skills in indigenous interpretation, they will make better decisions about which cultural stories and practices to share with the public (and which to retain unto themselves) and how to best share those stories with diverse audiences. This led to the development of indigenous interpretation and tourism curriculum in a tribal college in South Dakota. The proposed new degree plan includes core courses in natural and cultural history, psychology, business, Lakota language, and English. Within the set of core courses there is an emphasis in oral and written communication, digital communication, and experiential and place-based education. The project team proposed a set of three new interpretation courses and one new hospitality and tourism course to comprised the new concentration. The proposed course content and teaching pedagogy reflects an understanding of indigenous learning preferences and native ways of knowing. Proposed course content and teaching pedagogy also reflects professional standards of practice. Through a robust partnership, and active engagement by all partners in the curriculum development process, it is believed that indigenous students will gain new knowledge, an expanded skill set, and an enhanced career pathway. It is also believed that this partnership will provide opportunities to strengthen indigenous interpretation nationwide. Along with the new proposed concentration, the project team worked in tandem with fellow academics at tribal college to design program learning outcomes, assessment matrices and individual course syllabi. The four new courses proposed for the concentration will rely on adjunct faculty for course delivery that may include both an online and face to face component. Potential subject matter experts (SMEs) could include NPS personnel, hospitality and tourism professionals and others who bridge the gap between academia and practice. The model for this approach is based on a Cloud of Support that includes not only the Tribal Colleges and Universities {TCU), accrediting agency, faculty, staff and students, but also the Tribal Council, Elders, National Park Service (NPS), local partners and academic partners at other institutions

On the canonical map of surfaces with q>=6

We carry out an analysis of the canonical system of a minimal complex surface of general type with irregularity q>0. Using this analysis we are able to sharpen in the case q>0 the well known Castelnuovo inequality K^2>=3p_g+q-7. Then we turn to the study of surfaces with p_g=2q-3 and no fibration onto a curve of genus >1. We prove that for q>=6 the canonical map is birational. Combining this result with the analysis of the canonical system, we also prove the inequality: K^2>=7\chi+2. This improves an earlier result of the first and second author [M.Mendes Lopes and R.Pardini, On surfaces with p_g=2q-3, Adv. in Geom. 10 (3) (2010), 549-555].Comment: Dedicated to Fabrizio Catanese on the occasion of his 60th birthday. To appear in the special issue of Science of China Ser.A: Mathematics dedicated to him. V2:some typos have been correcte

Electrical control of hybrid exciton transport in a van der Waals heterostructure

Interactions between out-of-plane dipoles in bosonic gases enable the long-range propagation of excitons. The lack of direct control over collective dipolar properties has so far limited the degrees of tunability and the microscopic understanding of exciton transport. In this work we modulate the layer hybridization and interplay between many-body interactions of excitons in a van der Waals heterostructure with an applied vertical electric field. By performing spatiotemporally resolved measurements supported by microscopic theory, we uncover the dipole-dependent properties and transport of excitons with different degrees of hybridization. Moreover, we find constant emission quantum yields of the transporting species as a function of excitation power with radiative decay mechanisms dominating over nonradiative ones, a fundamental requirement for efficient excitonic devices. Our findings provide a complete picture of the many-body effects in the transport of dilute exciton gases, and have crucial implications for studying emerging states of matter such as Bose–Einstein condensation and optoelectronic applications based on exciton propagation

Early red nucleus atrophy in relapse-onset multiple sclerosis

No study has investigated red nucleus (RN) atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS) despite cerebellum and its connections are elective sites of MS-related pathology. In this study, we explore RN atrophy in early MS phases and its association with cerebellar damage (focal lesions and atrophy) and physical disability. Thirty-seven relapse-onset MS (RMS) patients having mean age of 35.6 ± 8.5 (18–56) years and mean disease duration of 1.1 ± 1.5 (0–5) years, and 36 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) were studied. Cerebellar and RN lesions and volumes were analyzed on 3 T-MRI images. RMS did not differ from HC in cerebellar lobe volumes but significantly differed in both right (107.84 ± 13.95 mm3 vs. 99.37 ± 11.53 mm3, p =.019) and left (109.71 ± 14.94 mm3 vs. 100.47 ± 15.78 mm3, p =.020) RN volumes. Cerebellar white matter lesion volume (WMLV) inversely correlated with both right and left RN volumes (r = −.333, p =.004 and r = −.298, p =.010, respectively), while no correlation was detected between RN volumes and mean cortical thickness, cerebellar gray matter lesion volume, and supratentorial WMLV (right RN: r = −.147, p =.216; left RN: r = −.153, p =.196). Right, but not left, RN volume inversely correlated with midbrain WMLV (r = −.310, p =.008), while no correlation was observed between whole brainstem WMLV and either RN volumes (right RN: r = −.164, p =.164; left RN: r = −.64, p =.588). Finally, left RN volume correlated with vermis VIIb (r =.297, p =.011) and right interposed nucleus (r =.249, p =.034) volumes. We observed RN atrophy in early RMS, likely resulting from anterograde axonal degeneration starting in cerebellar and midbrain WML. RN atrophy seems a promising marker of neurodegeneration and/or cerebellar damage in RMS

Dark exciton anti-funneling in atomically thin semiconductors

Strain engineering can manipulate the propagation of excitons in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides. Here, the authors observe an anti-funnelling behavior, i.e., the exciton photoluminescence moves away from high-strain regions, and attribute it to the dominating role of propagating dark excitons. Transport of charge carriers is at the heart of current nanoelectronics. In conventional materials, electronic transport can be controlled by applying electric fields. Atomically thin semiconductors, however, are governed by excitons, which are neutral electron-hole pairs and as such cannot be controlled by electrical fields. Recently, strain engineering has been introduced to manipulate exciton propagation. Strain-induced energy gradients give rise to exciton funneling up to a micrometer range. Here, we combine spatiotemporal photoluminescence measurements with microscopic theory to track the way of excitons in time, space and energy. We find that excitons surprisingly move away from high-strain regions. This anti-funneling behavior can be ascribed to dark excitons which possess an opposite strain-induced energy variation compared to bright excitons. Our findings open new possibilities to control transport in exciton-dominated materials. Overall, our work represents a major advance in understanding exciton transport that is crucial for technological applications of atomically thin materials

Standards for European training requirements in interventional neuroradiology: Guidelines by the Division of Neuroradiology/Section of Radiology European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), in cooperation with the Division of Interventional Radiology/UEMS, the European Society of Neuroradiology (ESNR), and the European Society of Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT)

This document sets out standards for training in Interventional Neuroradiology (INR) in Europe. These standards have been developed by a working group of the European Society of Neuroradiology (ESNR) and the European Society of Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT) on the initiative and under the umbrella of the Division of Neuroradiology/Section of Radiology of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS)

Identification of Cell-Free Circulating MicroRNAs for the Detection of Early Breast Cancer and Molecular Subtyping

Early detection is crucial for achieving a reduction in breast cancer mortality. Analysis of circulating cell-free microRNAs present in the serum of cancer patients has emerged as a promising new noninvasive biomarker for early detection of tumors and for predicting their molecular classifications. The rationale for this study was to identify subtype-specific molecular profiles of cell-free microRNAs for early detection of breast cancer in serum. Fifty-four early-stage breast cancers with 27 age-matched controls were selected for circulating microRNAs evaluation in the serum. The 54 cases were molecularly classified (luminal A, luminal B, luminal B Her2 positive, Her-2, triple negative). NanoString platform was used for digital detection and quantitation of 800 tagged microRNA probes and comparing the overall differences in serum microRNA expression from breast cancer cases with controls. We identified the 42 most significant (P ≤ 0.05, 1.5-fold) differentially expressed circulating microRNAs in each molecular subtype for further study. Of these microRNAs, 19 were significantly differentially expressed in patients presenting with luminal A, eight in the luminal B, ten in luminal B HER 2 positive, and four in the HER2 enriched subtype. AUC is high with suitable sensitivity and specificity. For the triple negative subtype miR-25-3p had the best accuracy. Predictive analysis of the mRNA targets suggests they encode proteins involved in molecular pathways such as cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. This study identified subtype-specific molecular profiles of cell-free microRNAs suitable for early detection of breast cancer selected by comparison to the microRNA profile in serum for female controls without apparent risk of breast cancer. This molecular profile should be validated using larger cohort studies to confirm the potential of these miRNA for future use as early detection biomarkers that could avoid unnecessary biopsy in patients with a suspicion of breast cancer.Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP process 2015/21082-0) and Public Ministry of Labor Campinas (Research, Prevention, and Education of Occupational Cancer)

PET/MR in recurrent glioblastoma patients treated with regorafenib: [18F]FET and DWI-ADC for response assessment and survival prediction

Objective: The use of regorafenib in recurrent glioblastoma patients has been recently approved by the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) and added to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 2020 guidelines as a preferred regimen. Given its complex effects at the molecular level, the most appropriate imaging tools to assess early response to treatment is still a matter of debate. Diffusion-weighted imaging and O-(2-18F-fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine positron emission tomography ([18F]FET PET) are promising methodologies providing additional information to the currently used RANO criteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variations in diffusion-weighted imaging/apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and [18F]FET PET-derived parameters in patients who underwent PET/MR at both baseline and after starting regorafenib. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 16 consecutive GBM patients who underwent [18F]FET PET/MR before and after two cycles of regorafenib. Patients were sorted into stable (SD) or progressive disease (PD) categories in accordance with RANO criteria. We were also able to analyze four SD patients who underwent a third PET/MR after another four cycles of regorafenib. [18F]FET uptake greater than 1.6 times the mean background activity was used to define an area to be superimposed on an ADC map at baseline and after treatment. Several metrics were then derived and compared. Log-rank test was applied for overall survival analysis. Results: Percentage difference in FET volumes correlates with the corresponding percentage difference in ADC (R = 0.54). Patients with a twofold increase in FET after regorafenib showed a significantly higher increase in ADC pathological volume than the remaining subjects (p = 0.0023). Kaplan-Meier analysis, performed to compare the performance in overall survival prediction, revealed that the percentage variations of FET- and ADC-derived metrics performed at least as well as RANO criteria (p = 0.02, p = 0.024 and p = 0.04 respectively) and in some cases even better. TBR Max and TBR mean are not able to accurately predict overall survival. Conclusion In recurrent glioblastoma patients treated with regorafenib, [18F]FET and ADC metrics, are able to predict overall survival and being obtained from completely different measures as compared to RANO, could serve as semi-quantitative independent biomarkers of response to treatment. Advances in knowledge Simultaneous evaluation of [18F]FET and ADC metrics using PET/MR allows an early and reliable identification of response to treatment and predict overall survival