Discrepancy between clinical-neurophysiological-neuroimaging examinations in lumbar spine degenerative disease: To the neurosurgeon the choice

Background: Degenerative lumbar spinal surgery is preceded by diagnostic investigations, like clinical, radiological, neurophysiological ones. The presurgical evaluation is made easier by the concordance of the diagnostic investigations. In a percentage of cases, however, there is a discrepancy, especially with regard to the correlation between electromyography and neuroimaging. It is the case of a normal EMG and a CT or MRI showing the presence of a protrusion or a herniated disc. Material and methods: Our study covers 30 subjects suffering from herniated disc pain and undergone surgery. 15 patients presented with lumbar pain, with CT and MRI showing herniated disc, but normal electromyographic results. Despite this discordance, all patients underwent surgery. Results: The results were satisfactory. The results of this study highlighted the possible discrepancy between neurophysiological, neuroradiological and clinical examinations but the surgeon's decision to intervene was appropriate since the 5-year follow-up showed the resolution of the disc pathology, with disappearance of pain. Conclusions: The discrepancy between the diagnostic examinations is a problem creating for the purpose of the preoperative evaluation, whereby the decision to intervene is entrusted to neurosurgeon, who will choose the better option for surgery. Keywords: Herniation disc, Lumbar spine, Neuroimaging, Elecromyograph

Cervical Laminoplasty with Polypropylene Mesh: Our Experience

Cervical laminoplasty was made to reduce the complications of the simple laminectomy. The main indication is degenerative cervical myelopathy with posterior compression to two or more levels. To simplify this procedure with more effectiveness, we conceived a cervical laminoplastica with polypropylene mesh, generally used in abdominoplasty, to provide more resistance during mechanisms of flexion-extension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 35 patients (27 males, 8 females) with degenerative cervical myelopathy who underwent surgical tretament at our institution between 2010 and 2015. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The main duration of surgery was about 90 minutes without intra or post-operative complications. Clinical and radiological follow-up was done at 1, 3 and 6 months, with cervical dynamic Rx and cervical RM at 1one year. There were no complications and 70% of the patients experienced a stable clinical improvement, while in 30% of patients stabilization of clinical deficits. The duration of the superior clinical to one year and the age gt of 70 years the more meaningful negative prognostic indicators have appeared. CONCLUSIONS: A clinical history more than one year and the age elder than 70 years appear the main negative prognostic factors. The advantage of the laminoplasty is a smaller anatomical damage of the posterior elements without cervical instability, and use of polypropylene mesh provides more resistance during flexion-extension

Test of CP Invariance in vector-boson fusion production of the Higgs boson using the Optimal Observable method in the ditau decay channel with the ATLAS detector

A test of CP invariance in Higgs boson production via vector-boson fusion using the method of the Optimal Observable is presented. The analysis exploits the decay mode of the Higgs boson into a pair of τ leptons and is based on 20.3 fb −1 of proton-proton collision data at s √ = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Contributions from CP-violating interactions between the Higgs boson and electroweak gauge bosons are described in an effective field theory framework, in which the strength of CP violation is governed by a single parameter d ~ . The mean values and distributions of CP-odd observables agree with the expectation in the Standard Model and show no sign of CP violation. The CP-mixing parameter d ~ is constrained to the interval [-0.11,0.05] at 68% confidence level, consistent with the Standard Model expectation of d ~ =0

Search for neutral long-lived particles in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV that decay into displaced hadronic jets in the ATLAS calorimeter

A search for decays of pair-produced neutral long-lived particles (LLPs) is presented using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015–2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Dedicated techniques were developed for the reconstruction of displaced jets produced by LLPs decaying hadronically in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter. Two search regions are defined for different LLP kinematic regimes. The observed numbers of events are consistent with the expected background, and limits for several benchmark signals are determined. For a SM Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV, branching ratios above 10% are excluded at 95% confidence level for values of c times LLP mean proper lifetime in the range between 20 mm and 10 m depending on the model. Upper limits are also set on the cross-section times branching ratio for scalars with a mass of 60 GeV and for masses between 200 GeV and 1 TeV. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Searches for lepton-flavour-violating decays of the Higgs boson into eτ and μτ in \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

Abstract This paper presents direct searches for lepton flavour violation in Higgs boson decays, H → eτ and H → μτ, performed using data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The searches are based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy s $$\sqrt{s}$$ = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. Leptonic (τ → ℓνℓντ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ντ) decays of the τ-lepton are considered. Two background estimation techniques are employed: the MC-template method, based on data-corrected simulation samples, and the Symmetry method, based on exploiting the symmetry between electrons and muons in the Standard Model backgrounds. No significant excess of events is observed and the results are interpreted as upper limits on lepton-flavour-violating branching ratios of the Higgs boson. The observed (expected) upper limits set on the branching ratios at 95% confidence level, B $$\mathcal{B}$$ (H → eτ) < 0.20% (0.12%) and B $$\mathcal{B}$$ (H → μτ ) < 0.18% (0.09%), are obtained with the MC-template method from a simultaneous measurement of potential H → eτ and H → μτ signals. The best-fit branching ratio difference, B $$\mathcal{B}$$ (H → μτ) → B $$\mathcal{B}$$ (H → eτ), measured with the Symmetry method in the channel where the τ-lepton decays to leptons, is (0.25 ± 0.10)%, compatible with a value of zero within 2.5σ

Measurements of differential cross-sections in top-quark pair events with a high transverse momentum top quark and limits on beyond the Standard Model contributions to top-quark pair production with the ATLAS detector at √s = 13 TeV

Cross-section measurements of top-quark pair production where the hadronically decaying top quark has transverse momentum greater than 355 GeV and the other top quark decays into ℓνb are presented using 139 fb−1 of data collected by the ATLAS experiment during proton-proton collisions at the LHC. The fiducial cross-section at s = 13 TeV is measured to be σ = 1.267 ± 0.005 ± 0.053 pb, where the uncertainties reflect the limited number of data events and the systematic uncertainties, giving a total uncertainty of 4.2%. The cross-section is measured differentially as a function of variables characterising the tt¯ system and additional radiation in the events. The results are compared with various Monte Carlo generators, including comparisons where the generators are reweighted to match a parton-level calculation at next-to-next-to-leading order. The reweighting improves the agreement between data and theory. The measured distribution of the top-quark transverse momentum is used to search for new physics in the context of the effective field theory framework. No significant deviation from the Standard Model is observed and limits are set on the Wilson coefficients of the dimension-six operators OtG and Otq(8), where the limits on the latter are the most stringent to date. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]