Solitary fibrous tumours : unusual aspects of a rare disease

Background: In literature there are only a few descriptions of the typical presentation of solitary fibrous tumours (SFT) and only a few case reports showing its unusual clinical and radiological features. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the computed tomography scans of 36 patients presenting with a histological diagnosis of SFT between 1998 and 2008. Results: We present five cases of SFT with an atypical clinical presentation and radiological features. Conclusions: SFT can occasionally present with unusual radiological features making a differential diagnosis difficult. Even thought imaging plays a fundamental role in the initial diagnostic approach, final diagnosis in only confirmed by biopsy and histology

Swallowing Disorders after Oral Cavity and Pharyngolaryngeal Surgery and Role of Imaging

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the sixth most common cancer diagnosed worldwide and the eighth most common cause of cancer death. Malignant tumors of the oral cavity, oropharynx, and larynx can be treated by surgical resection or radiotheraphy with or without chemotheraphy and have a profound impact on quality of life functions, including swallowing. When surgery is the chosen treatment modality, the patient may experience swallowing impairment in the oral and pharyngeal phases of deglutition. A videofluoroscopic study of swallow enables the morphodynamics of the pharyngeal-esophageal tract to be accurately examined in patients with prior surgery. These features allow an accurate tracking of the various phases of swallowing in real time, identifying the presence of functional disorders and of complications during the short- and long-term postoperative recovery. The role of imaging is fundamental for the therapist to plan rehabilitation. In this paper, the authors aim to describe the videofluoroscopic study of swallow protocol and related swallowing impairment findings in consideration of different types of surgery

Persistence and Turnover in Desert Plant Communities during a 37-yr Period of Land Use and Climate Change

Understanding long‐term changes in ecological communities during global change is a priority for 21st‐century ecology. Deserts, already at climatic extremes, are of unique interest because they are projected to be ecosystems most responsive to global change. Within a 500‐km2 landscape in the Mojave Desert, USA, we measured perennial plant communities at 100 sites three times (1979, 2008, and 2016) during 37 yr to evaluate six hypotheses of community change. These hypotheses encompassed shifts in community measures (e.g., diversity, cover) and species elevational distributions, biotic homogenization, disproportionately large change at the highest elevations, relationships between turnover and species’ responses to disturbance and drought, and that environmental refugia (e.g., moist topographic positions) would receive species during climatic warming and drying. Most community measures changed temporally, such as species density (species/600 m2) increasing 23% and plant cover doubling between 1979 and 2016. There was no increase in nonnative species and minimal evidence for biotic homogenization. High‐elevation communities did not display greater change than low‐elevation communities. ... See full text for complete abstrac

An independent validation of the EEG-based complex trial protocol with autobiographical data and corroboration of its resistance to a cognitively charged countermeasure

The Complex Trial Protocol (CTP) is a P300-based Concealed Information Test (CIT). The theoretical underpinnings of the CIT in the context of law enforcement usage are sound. The CTP is said to effectively discriminate individuals who recognize novel and meaningful stimuli and to be countermeasure resistant. Forty-five undergraduate students were assigned to three groups and instructed to perform a computer task using autobiographical data in connection to a mock burglary script. P300 peak-to-peak amplitude differences between probe (surname) and irrelevant (patronymic foils) items accurately identified 100% (14/14) of Innocent Controls (IC), 94% (15/16) of Simply Guilty (SG) participants, and 93% (14/15) of Guilty Countermeasure (GCM) subjects who were asked to counter all stimuli by mentally counting backwards continuously during their test presentation. Increased number of mistakes during the test, from combined cognitive erroneous responses to pop quizzes and behavioral errors with button presses, significantly discriminated GCM from IC and SG individuals. GCM participants committed more errors than IC and SG which did not differ from one another. Reaction Time (RT) was only significant between GCM and IC groups. Implications for forensic issues are discussed

Previsione idrologica per la gestione degli impianti idroelettrici

Nel presente lavoro è descritto un modello idrologico a parametri concentrati ideato per migliorare i sistemi di previsione per la produzione idroelettrica. Particolare enfasi è data alla struttura del modello e alla metodologia di calibrazione adottata. In particolare, viene presentato un approccio mirato a scomporre le fasi di calibrazione in funzione dei processi da simulare. Tale approccio ha consentito di definire una struttura di modello robusta in grado di fornire buone stime del deflusso in alveo a supporto del collocamento nella borsa elettrica dell’energia prodotta. Il modello è stato utilizzato sul bacino del Fiume Aniene per generare previsioni di tipo deterministico. Queste analisi sono servite per valutare l’attendibilità delle previsioni con tempi di preavviso di 1, 2 e 3 giorni. I risultati mostrano un buon livello di affidabilità delle previsioni con un giorno di anticipo, mentre gli errori delle previsioni a 2 e 3 aumentano in modo più marcato

CT-Guided Percutaneous Radiotracer Localization and Resection of Indistinct/Small Pulmonary Lesions

BACKGROUND: Detection of small pulmonary lesions has increased and often they are difficult to localize and resect. We present our mature experience with preoperative computer-tomography (CT)-guided radiotracer localization followed by resection of these lesions. METHODS: Patients with pulmonary nodule smaller than 1 cm and/or deep below the visceral pleura underwent CT-guided injection of radiotracer technetium macroaggregates (99mTc-MAA) in/close to the lesion. A gamma probe was used to localize the marked area that was resected and in case of primary lung cancer, a lobectomy with nodal dissection was performed. RESULTS: Between November 2007 and December 2017, 262 patients (196 men; median age 63 years) underwent preoperative radiotracer injection with a successful marking in all patients. Complications included 35 (13.4%) asymptomatic pneumothoraces, 36 (13.7%) parenchymal hemorrhage suffusions, and 2 (0.7%) mild allergic reactions to contrast medium. In all cases, except for 3, the gamma probe revealed the pulmonary lesion. Mean distance from the pleura was 10 mm (range, 0-40 mm). Pulmonary resection was performed by thoracoscopy in 212 (80.9%) cases, intentional thoracotomy in 42 (16.0%), converted thoracoscopy in 8 (3.1%). Mean pathological nodule size was 9.3 mm (range, 2.5-39 mm). 166 (63.4%) nodules were nonsolid, 64 (24.4%) were partially solid, and 32 (12.2%) had a solid morphology. Histology showed 16 (6.1%) benign and 246 (93.9%) malignant lesions (218 primary lung cancers). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative radiotracer localization of small/indistinct pulmonary lesions is simple and feasible with a high rate of success. It may be an effective and attractive alternative in managing lung lesions

Peritoneal carcinomatosis from ovarian cancer: the role of CT and [18F]FDG-PET/CT

PURPOSE: The diagnosis of peritoneal carcinomatosis secondary to ovarian cancer is a real challenge in the cancer imaging field. In this retrospective study, we evaluate the accuracy of Single Detector Computed Tomography (SDCT), Multi Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT), and Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography with F18-fluorodeoxyglucose ([\ub9\u2078F]FDG-PET/CT) in the diagnosis of peritoneal seeding and we evaluate the possible applications of MDCT to predict the complete surgical removal of the peritoneal deposits. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 228 scans (91 SDCT, 89 MDCT, and 48 [\ub9\u2078F]FDG-PET/CT) of patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis secondary to ovarian cancer proved at laparoscopy and confirmed by histopathology were retrospectively reviewed by two independent groups of Radiologists and Nuclear Medicine Physicians for the evaluation of ascites, peritoneal nodules, and omental cake signs. RESULTS: MDCT showed 81% of true positives, SDCT 72.5%, and [\ub9\u2078F]FDG-PET/CT 77%. False negatives were 19% for MDCT, 27.5% for SDCT, and 23% for [\ub9\u2078F]FDG-PET/CT. CONCLUSION: From our results, we concluded that MDCT is the technique of choice in the diagnosis of peritoneal seeding, while [\ub9\u2078F]FDG-PET/CT, though showing similar accuracy, remains the most accurate technique for monitoring therapeutic response and disease recurrence. MDCT could play an important role due to its ability to predict the possibility of complete surgical removal of disease thus influencing the treatment plan aimed to improve quality of life