Clinical and ultrasound characteristics of surgically removed adnexal lesions with largest diameter ≤ 2.5 cm: a pictorial essay

Objectives: To describe the ultrasound characteristics, indications for surgery and histological diagnoses of surgically removed adnexal masses with a largest diameter of ≤ 2.5 cm (very small tumors), to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis of malignancy by subjective assessment of ultrasound images of very small tumors and to present a collection of ultrasound images of surgically removed very small tumors, with emphasis on those causing diagnostic difficulty. Methods: Information on surgically removed adnexal tumors with a largest diameter of ≤ 2.5 cm was retrieved from the ultrasound databases of seven participating centers. The ultrasound images were described using the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis terminology. The original diagnosis, based on subjective assessment of the ultrasound images by the ultrasound examiner, was used to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis of malignancy. Results: Of the 129 identified adnexal masses with largest diameter ≤ 2.5 cm, 104 (81%) were benign, 15 (12%) borderline malignant and 10 (8%) invasive tumors. The main indication for performing surgery was suspicion of malignancy in 22% (23/104) of the benign tumors and in all 25 malignant tumors. None of the malignant tumors was a unilocular cyst (vs 50% of the benign tumors), all malignancies contained solid components (vs 43% of the benign tumors), 80% of the borderline tumors had papillary projections (vs 21% of the benign tumors and 20% of the invasive malignancies) and all invasive tumors and 80% of the borderline tumors were vascularized on color/power Doppler examination (vs 44% of the benign tumors). The ovarian crescent sign was present in 85% of the benign tumors, 80% of the borderline tumors and 50% of the invasive malignancies. The sensitivity of diagnosis of malignancy by subjective assessment of ultrasound images was 100% (25/25) and the specificity was 86% (89/104). Excluding unilocular cysts, the specificity was 71% (37/52). Analysis of images illustrated the difficulty in distinguishing benign from borderline very small cysts with papillations and benign from malignant very small well vascularized (color score 3 or 4) solid adnexal tumors. Conclusions: Very small malignant tumors manifest generally accepted ultrasound signs of malignancy. Small unilocular cysts are usually benign, while small non-unilocular masses, particularly ones with solid components, incur a risk of malignancy and pose a clinical dilemma

The Downfalls of the War on Drugs

[Excerpt] The War on Drugs is a campaign from the Federal Government which is aimed to stop the flow of illicit substances through the United States. This proposal was started by President Nixon in June 1971; what carried along with this proposal was a set of policies that laid harsh punishments for those involved with psychoactive drugs. While some say that the War on Drugs is an effective method of deterrence for illicit substances, many would also point out the fact that it often puts individuals in jail that didn’t belong in jail due to them being overly persecuted. The War on Drugs also comes with its laundry list of problems such as disparity in sentencing, increased racial tension, and an ineffective solution for substance abuse. When analyzed it becomes apparent that the War on Drugs has done more damage to communities than restoration

psydkick

Restriction enzymes can be used to divvy people up

The Downfalls of the War on Drugs

[Excerpt] The War on Drugs is a campaign from the Federal Government which is aimed to stop the flow of illicit substances through the United States. This proposal was started by President Nixon in June 1971; what carried along with this proposal was a set of policies that laid harsh punishments for those involved with psychoactive drugs. While some say that the War on Drugs is an effective method of deterrence for illicit substances, many would also point out the fact that it often puts individuals in jail that didn’t belong in jail due to them being overly persecuted. The War on Drugs also comes with its laundry list of problems such as disparity in sentencing, increased racial tension, and an ineffective solution for substance abuse. When analyzed it becomes apparent that the War on Drugs has done more damage to communities than restoration

Effect of Auditory Entrainment on Visual Time Perception

Neural oscillations are almost ubiquitous in the brain and, besides affecting the way we perceive and respond to stimuli, they are thought to play a fundamental role in time perception. In this psychophysical study, I used visual temporal order judgments to assess whether entrainment to periodical auditory stimuli affects visual time perception. Psychometric functions for temporal order were estimated to measure how the entrainment frequency (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 Hz) changes perceptual sensitivity, finding higher thresholds with entrainment in the alpha band (10 Hz). In addition, oscillations in both accuracy and response bias as a function of entrainment frequency (5 and 15 Hz) were analyzed by applying general linear model analysis and fitting sinusoidal functions on the time series of responses collected at different intervals (100-700 ms) following the entraining sound. The frequency of fluctuation of the participants’ performance was affected by the entrainment, but no apparent functional relation was found between entrainment frequency and behavioral oscillations

Valutazione della dinamica in curva di un motoveicolo da competizione

Il lavoro riguarda il calcolo delle Map of Achieaveble Performance di una moto da competizione per analizzarne il comportamento direzionale. Questo è stato fatto in primo luogo utilizzando un modello semplice basato sul single track model, successivamente con il modello di Whipple, più completo. Con quest’ultimo modello sono stati analizzati i modi propri in rettilineo e in curva e la relativa stabilità. La parte finale riguarda il calcolo degli equilibri quasi statici di massima prestazione, anche in frenata e rettilineo, e la relativa rappresentazione su una superficie di assi (ax,ay,V). Questo strumento è stato usato per il confronto di differenti setup, per valutare quale permette di massimizzare l’accelerazione totale nelle diverse fasi di guida

Parametric responses to binocular depth in human visual cortex

The neural processing of binocular disparity is one of the main mechanisms allowing three-dimensional (3D) vision in humans, and it takes place in the cerebral cortex. By using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), it is possible to model neuronal receptive fields averaged over a population of the order of hundreds of thousands of neurons (population receptive field, pRF). The aim of this project was therefore to characterize disparity pRFs organization and response properties, i.e. the variability in tuning curve profiles, regarding in particular the nature of the response (tuned/categorical) and tuning width, in most visual areas currently known (V1, V2, V3, V4, VOC, LO1-2, V3A-B, TO1-2, V7), and assess how they relate to depth perception. We found that disparity pRFs are organized in accordance with the Weber-Fechner law, for both correlated and anticorrelated disparity stimuli. In the first case, however, we estimated significantly smaller Weber fractions in almost all areas. We also report that pRF tuning width in areas VOC and V3AB is a strong predictor of perceptual stereoacuity threshold

Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Mice

Ketone bodies have been identified as an important fuel source during physiological and pathological stress. During exercise, augmenting ketone body metabolism in the skeletal muscle may enhance exercise performance while targeting ketone body metabolism in heart failure may improve cardiac function. Although the research is controversial, the consumption of the ketogenic diet (keto) may be used as a method to increase ketone body availability. Since the keto diet is a high-fat, low carbohydrate diet, this dietary strategy may have harmful effects on the heart particularly during ischemic injury. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of short-term consumption of the ketogenic diet on cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury. Male (n=11) and female (n=10) were randomly assigned to a ketogenic diet (keto) or a normal chow diet for 6 weeks. Food intake was monitored every 2 days and body weight was measured weekly. At the end of the dietary period, the hearts were removed from the mice and placed on the Langendorff Isolated Heart Perfusion System. After stabilization, baseline function was assessed for 15 minutes on a mixed substrate buffer consisting of 0.4mM fatty acids, 5.5mM glucose, 50uU/ml insulin, 1.2mM lactate, and 1mM D, L-B-OHB. After baseline, hearts were exposed to 18 minutes of global ischemia. Ischemia was followed by 36 minutes of reperfusion. The baseline function was compared to the function at the end of the reperfusion experiment to determine the percent functional recovery from ischemia