The role of optical and virt ual colonoscopy in colorectal neoplasms

Purpose: High prevalence of colon carcinoma explains the continued high mortality rate of this disease.Utilizing a strategy of virtual colonoscopy (VC) in patients aged over 50 years with optical colonoscopy (OC) following-up for removal of detected adenomatous polyps may result in lowering the colon cancer death rate. However, VC diagnostic potential has not been widely recognized yet.Material and methods: This article reviews the currently available in diagnostic options in colorectal neoplasms and discusses their advantages and drawbacks.Results: VC has many advantages over the existing options and its several drawbacks can be mitigated so that it would become a valuable diagnostic modality. A strategy that utilizes VC for screening of patients over the age of 50 years and OC for screening high-risk individuals and those with positive VC findings would result in a significantly reduced colon cancer mortality rate.Conclusion: Both OC and VC (i.e., CTC and MRC) progress toward the clinical needs as new technologies are developed and applied to overcome the drawbacks of these diagnostic methods. Each of them plays a unique role for colon cancer prevention

Floral complexes with the involvement of Adonis Vernalis L. (fam. Ranunculaceae juss.) and environmental assessment of the conditions of their formation in the Southwest of Central-Russian Upland

The article presents the results of the study of structures of floral complexes with the involvement of Adonis vernalis L., the number of genera, families and species is indicated. Average points of severity of environmental factors were calculated, allowing assessing the environmental conditions in these ecotopes. Ecobiomorphs of species of the floral complexes in natural and quasi-natural ecotops are determine

Our experience in laparoscopic adrenalectomy

Purpose: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) has become the procedure of choice to treat functioning and non-functioning adrenal tumours. With improving experience, large adrenal tumours (> 5 cm) are being successfully tackled by laparoscopy.Material and methods: Thirty-five laparoscopic adrenalectomies performed in 32 patients for adrenal lesions during the period from 2006 to 2012 were analyzed.Results: Mean tumour size was 5,03 cm (range, 2-11 cm). Tumour size was larger than 8 cm in four patients. The lesions were localized on the right side in 17 patients and on the left one in 15 patients while bilateral tumours were established in three patients. Functioning tumours were present in 22 out of 32 patients. Average blood loss was 112 mL (range, 20-400 mL) with the mean operating time being 144 min (range, 45-270 min). Three patients underwent conversion to open procedure. Final histology revealed malignant tumours in three of 32 patients (9,52%).Conclusion: LA is safe and feasible for large adrenal lesions. Mere size should not be considered as a contraindication to laparoscopic approach in large adrenal masses. Graded approach, perfect preoperative assessment and planning, team work and adherence to anatomical and surgical principles are the key to success

Neutrino Oscillations and the Early Universe

The observational and theoretical status of neutrino oscillations in connection with solar and atmospheric neutrino anomalies is presented in brief. The effect of neutrino oscillations on the early Universe evolution is discussed in detail. A short review is given of the standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and the influence of resonant and nonresonant neutrino oscillations on active neutrinos and on primordial nucleosynthesis of He-4. BBN cosmological constraints on neutrino oscillation parameters are discussed.Comment: 21 p., 6 figures, a review based on raview talk at NCYA Conference and a presentation at CAPP200

Billiary drainage in obstructive jaundice

In patients with obstructive jaundice, when the endoscopic approach fails to achieve biliary drainage, percutaneous cannulation and combined endoscopic/percutaneous endoprosthesis insertion can simultaneously or subsequently be performed. The present study compares these two approaches. Endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage (ER BD) and percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) are the two main non-surgical treatment options for obstructive jaundice in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). ER BD is usually the first-line treatment because of its low hemorrhage risk. Some authors have reported that the successful drainage rate ranges from 72 to 100%. Mean stent patency time and mean survival range from 1,0 to 15,9 and from 2,8 to 12,3 months, respectively. PTBD is often an important second-line treatment when ER BD is impossible. With regard to materials, metallic stents offer the benefit of longer patency than plastic stents. The dominant effect of biliary drainage suggests that successful jaundice therapy could enhance anticancer treatment by increasing the life expectancy, decreasing the mortality, or both. We present an overview of the efficacy of ER BD and PTBD for obstructive jaundice in HCC patients who are not candidates for surgical resection and summarize the current indications and outcomes of reported clinical use. Traditionally, surgical techniques have been used, however, in the last 20 years the availability of both endoscopic and interventional radiological procedures has increased. Тhe technical success of the procedure depends on the experience of the interventional radiologist performing the drainage. It can be as high as nearly 100%. Clinical efficacy is usually lower but still over 90%. When endoscopic drainage alone fails, a combined percutaneous/ endoscopic procedure should only be performed if it can be carried out simultaneously

Endoscopic radical treatment in early rectal cancer

Purpose: Standard radical treatment for early rectal cancer includes a removal of the tumour with total mesorectal excision. There are numerous new techniques for endoscopic treatment which could shift the strategy for obtaining the postoperative results.Material and methods: We report our radical endoscopic treatment of early rectal carcinoma by endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD ). Forty-five patients with early-stage rectal cancer (carcinoma in situ, T1sm1 and T1sm2) were enrolled. All of them were staged by 3-D endorectal ultrasound. In 43 cases, the tumours were endoscopically removed. The postoperative results were analyzed and presented only. No oncological results were reported.Results: The mean lesion size was 31,0 mm (range, 19-82 mm), and the mean operating time was 86 min. (range, 48-131 min.). Forty-two lesions were resected en bloc with tumour-free margins with a successful rate of 97,33% (42/43). Three lesions were understaged or their localization in the rectum was not suitable for endoscopic treatment. The following complications were observed: perforation of the rectum in one patient (4%) treated conservatively, and major bleeding in four patients (10%) stopped by endoscopic hemostasis. Neither systematic complications, nor mortality were observed.Conclusion: ESD procedure for early-stage rectal cancers is safe and effective. It has the advantage of a shorter hospital recovery. The postoperative results are significantly better in comparison of radical surgical treatment such as transanal excision. The perioperative morbidity is of different kind and the postoperative period is shorter

Detailed study of BBN implications of neutrino oscillation generated neutrino asymmetries in some four neutrino models

We re-examine the evolution of neutrino asymmetries in several four neutrino models. The first case involves the direct creation of $L_{\nu_e}$ by $\nu_e \leftrightarrow \nu_s$ oscillations. In the second case, we consider the mass hierarchy $m_{\nu_\tau} \gg m_{\nu_\mu}, m_{\nu_e}, m_{\nu_s}$ where $\nu_\tau \leftrightarrow \nu_s$ oscillations generate a large $L_{\nu_\tau}$ and some of this asymmetry is converted into $L_{\nu_e}$ by $\nu_{\tau} \leftrightarrow \nu_{e}$ oscillations. We estimate the implications for BBN for a range of cosmologically interesting $\delta m^2$ values. The present paper improves on previous published work by taking into account the finite repopulation rate and the time dependence of the distortions to the neutrino momentum distributions. The treatment of chemical decoupling is also improved.Comment: Expanded discussion on the sign of the neutrino asymmetr

Applications of Abundance Data and Requirements for Cosmochemical Modeling

Understanding the evolution of the universe from Big Bang to its present state requires an understanding of the evolution of the abundances of the elements and isotopes in galaxies, stars, the interstellar medium, the Sun and the heliosphere, planets and meteorites. Processes that change the state of the universe include Big Bang nucleosynthesis, star formation and stellar nucleosynthesis, galactic chemical evolution, propagation of cosmic rays, spallation, ionization and particle transport of interstellar material, formation of the solar system, solar wind emission and its fractionation (FIP/FIT effect), mixing processes in stellar interiors, condensation of material and subsequent geochemical fractionation. Here, we attempt to compile some major issues in cosmochemistry that can be addressed with a better knowledge of the respective element or isotope abundances. Present and future missions such as Genesis, Stardust, Interstellar Pathfinder, and Interstellar Probe, improvements of remote sensing instrumentation and experiments on extraterrestrial material such as meteorites, presolar grains, and lunar or returned planetary or cometary samples will result in an improved database of elemental and isotopic abundances. This includes the primordial abundances of D, ^3He, ^4He, and ^7Li, abundances of the heavier elements in stars and galaxies, the composition of the interstellar medium, solar wind and comets as well as the (highly) volatile elements in the solar system such as helium, nitrogen, oxygen or xenon

An apprach to generate large and small leptonic mixing angles

We take up the point of view that Yukawa couplings can be either 0 or 1, and the mass patterns of fermions are generated purely from the structure of the Yukawa matrices. We utilize such neutrino as well as charged leptonic textures which lead to (maximal) mixing angles of $\pi/4$ in each sector for relevant transitions. The combined leptonic CKM mixing angles are $\pi/4 \pm \pi/4$ which lead to very small $\sin^2 2 \Theta$ relevant to solar neutrino and LSND experiments. We propose that on the other hand the absence of the charged leptonic partner of the sterile neutrino maintains the angle $\pi/4$ from the neutrino sector for the transition $\nu_\mu \leftrightarrow \nu_s$ and hence atmospheric neutrino anomaly is explained through maximal mixing

Further studies on relic neutrino asymmetry generation I: the adiabatic Boltzmann limit, non-adiabatic evolution, and the classical harmonic oscillator analogue of the quantum kinetic equations

We demonstrate that the relic neutrino asymmetry evolution equation derived from the quantum kinetic equations (QKEs) reduces to the Boltzmann limit that is dependent only on the instantaneous neutrino number densities, in the adiabatic limit in conjunction with sufficient damping. An original physical and/or geometrical interpretation of the adiabatic approximation is given, which serves as a convenient visual aid to understanding the sharply contrasting resonance behaviours exhibited by the neutrino ensemble in opposing collision regimes. We also present a classical analogue for the evolution of the difference in $\nu_{\alpha}$ and $\nu_s$ number densities which, in the Boltzmann limit, is akin to the behaviour of the generic reaction $A \rightleftharpoons B$ with equal forward and reverse reaction rate constants. A new characteristic quantity, the matter and collision-affected mixing angle of the neutrino ensemble, is identified here for the first time. The role of collisions is revealed to be twofold: (i) to wipe out the inherent oscillations, and (ii) to equilibrate the $\nu_{\alpha}$ and $\nu_s$ number densities in the long run. Studies on non-adiabatic evolution and its possible relation to rapid oscillations in lepton number generation also feature, with the introduction of an adiabaticity parameter for collision-affected oscillations.Comment: RevTeX, 38 pages including 8 embedded figure