Intraoperative β-Detecting probe for radio-guided surgery in tumour resection

The development of the β− based radio-guided surgery aims to extend the technique to those tumours where surgery is the only possible treatment and the assessment of the resection would most profit from the low background around the lesion, as for brain tumours. Feasibility studies on meningioma and gliomas already estimated the potentiality of this new treatment. To validate the technique, a prototype of the intraoperative probe detecting β− decays and specific phantoms simulating tumour remnant patterns embedded in healthy tissue have been realized. The response of the probe in this simulated environment is tested with dedicated procedures. This document discusses the innovative aspects of the method, the status of the developed intraoperative β− detecting probe and the results of the preclinical tests

An Intraoperative β−\beta^- Detecting Probe For Radio-Guided Surgery in Tumour Resection

The development of the $\beta^-$ based radio-guided surgery aims to extend the technique to those tumours where surgery is the only possible treatment and the assessment of the resection would most profit from the low background around the lesion, as for brain tumours. Feasibility studies on meningioma, glioma, and neuroendocrine tumors already estimated the potentiality of this new treatment. To validate the technique, prototypes of the intraoperative probe required by the technique to detect $\beta^-$ radiation have been developed. This paper discusses the design details of the device and the tests performed in laboratory. In such tests particular care has to be taken to reproduce the surgical field conditions. The innovative technique to produce specific phantoms and the dedicated testing protocols is described in detail.Comment: 7 pages, 15 figure

Monitoring of hadrontherapy treatments by means of charged particle detection

The interaction of the incoming beam radiation with the patient body in hadrontherapy treatments produces secondary charged and neutral particles, whose detection can be used for monitoring purposes and to perform an on-line check of beam particle range. In the context of ion-therapy with active scanning, charged particles are potentially attractive since they can be easily tracked with a high efficiency, in presence of a relatively low background contamination. In order to verify the possibility of exploiting this approach for in-beam monitoring in ion-therapy, and to guide the design of specific detectors, both simulations and experimental tests are being performed with ion beams impinging on simple homogeneous tissue-like targets (PMMA). From these studies, a resolution of the order of few millimeters on the single track has been proven to be sufficient to exploit charged particle tracking for monitoring purposes, preserving the precision achievable on longitudinal shape. The results obtained so far show that the measurement of charged particles can be successfully implemented in a technology capable of monitoring both the dose profile and the position of the Bragg peak inside the target and finally lead to the design of a novel profile detector. Crucial aspects to be considered are the detector positioning, to be optimized in order to maximize the available statistics, and the capability of accounting for the multiple scattering interactions undergone by the charged fragments along their exit path from the patient body. The experimental results collected up to now are also valuable for the validation of Monte Carlo simulation software tools and their implementation in Treatment Planning Software packages

Towards a Radio-guided Surgery with β−\beta^{-} Decays: Uptake of a somatostatin analogue (DOTATOC) in Meningioma and High Grade Glioma

A novel radio guided surgery (RGS) technique for cerebral tumors using $\beta^{-}$ radiation is being developed. Checking the availability of a radio-tracer that can deliver a $\beta^{-}$ emitter to the tumor is a fundamental step in the deployment of such technique. This paper reports a study of the uptake of 90Y labeled (DOTATOC) in the meningioma and the high grade glioma (HGG) and a feasibility study of the RGS technique in these cases.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

Integración de información de impacto socio ambiental en el seguimiento de eventos hidrometeorológicos para la mejora en la provisión de pronósticos y alertas de corto plazo: Proyecto SMN-INA-DCMQ

Fil: Menalled, Matías. Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Dirección Nacional de Pronósticos y Servicios para la Sociedad; Argentina.Fil: Lohigorry, Pedro Miguel. Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Gerencia de Servicios a la Comunidad. División de Vigilancia Meteorológica por Sensoramiento Remoto; Argentina.Fil: Borzi Spagnolo, María Cristina. Municipio de Quilmes. Dirección General de Defensa Civil de Quilmes; Argentina.Fil: Pintos, Romina Gabriela. Municipio de Quilmes. Dirección General de Defensa Civil de Quilmes; Argentina.Fil: Kazimierski, Leandro. Instituto Nacional del Agua. Programa de Hidráulica Computacional del Laboratorio de Hidráulica; Argentina.Fil: Lagos, Marina. Instituto Nacional del Agua. Programa de Hidráulica Fluvial del Laboratorio de Hidráulica; Argentina.Fil: Ishikame, Gabriela. Servicio Meteorológico Nacional; Argentina.Fil: Bazzano, Violeta. Servicio Meteorológico Nacional; Argentina.Fil: Irurzun, Pablo. Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Dirección Nacional de Pronósticos y Servicios para la Sociedad. Dirección de Pronósticos del Tiempo y Avisos. Coordinación de Pronósticos Inmediatos; Argentina.Fil: Sarti, Silvio. Municipio de Quilmes. Subsecretaría de Servicios Públicos y Protección Civil y Emergencias; Argentina.Fil: Villarroel, Luis. Municipio de Quilmes. Dirección General de Defensa Civil de Quilmes; Argentina.Fil: Re, Mariano. Instituto Nacional del Agua. Programa de Hidráulica Fluvial del Laboratorio de Hidráulica; Argentina.Este texto presenta una revisión del proceso de coproducción de una herramienta de registro de daños e impactos asociados a eventos hidrometeorológicos. En primer lugar, se describe el marco general del proyecto y el contexto de producción de la herramienta. A continuación, se desarrolla el proceso de trabajo señalando los núcleos problemáticos que fueron discutidos durante las reuniones semanales y los acuerdos alcanzados. Por último, se pone a discusión las reflexiones y perspectivas identificadas con la intención de colaborar con la consolidación de prácticas de recopilación y sistematización del registro de los efectos socioambientales generados por eventos hidrometeorológicos en Argentina.This text aims to present a review of a co-production process of a recording tool which is oriented to register damages and impacts associated with hydrometeorological events. First, the general framework of the project and the context of production of the tool are presented. Next, the work process is described, pointing out the problematic issues that were discussed during the weekly meetings and the agreements reached. Finally, the reflections and perspectives identified are discussed with the intention of collaborating with the consolidation of practices for the compilation and systematization of the registry of socio-environmental effects generated by hydrometeorological events in Argentina

Consideraciones críticas sobre el abordaje del problema del narcotráfico en Argentina

The absence of analytical rigor in designing, implementing and evaluating public policies for the prevention and control of drug trafficking is an obstacle to distinguish its multiple manifestations and the impact of how the problem is dealt with in Argentina. This paper seeks to analyze, from the information available and in the framework of the Argentine position in the international drug control regime, the transformations that have occurred in the last fifteen years in terms of supply and demand of drugs that are subjected to control. It seeks to warn about the need to have an understanding of the illicit drug market and its different local manifestations when designing and implementing prevention and control policies.La ausencia de rigurosidad analítica a la hora de diseñar, implementar y evaluar políticas públicas de prevención y control del narcotráfico en Argentina es un obstáculo para diferenciar sus múltiples manifestaciones y el impacto de aquéllas. En el presente trabajo se busca analizar, a partir de la información disponible y en el marco del posicionamiento argentino en el régimen internacional de control de drogas, las transformaciones que se han producido en los últimos quince años en materia de oferta y demanda de drogas sujetas a fiscalización. Se busca advertir sobre la necesidad de contar con una comprensión del mercado ilícito de drogas y sus diferentes manifestaciones locales a la hora de diseñar e implementar políticas de prevención y control

Radiation exposure and clinical outcome in patients undergoing percutaneous intradiscal ozone therapy for disc herniation: Fluoroscopic versus conventional CT guidance

PurposeTo compare technical success, clinical success, complications and radiation dose for percutaneous intradiscal ozone therapy in patients with lumbar disc herniation using fluoroscopic guidance versus conventional computed tomography (CT) guidance. Materials and methodsBetween March 2018and March 2021, 124consecutive percutaneous intradiscal ozone therapies wereperformedon111 patients with low back pain (LBP) and/or sciatic pain due to lumbar disc herniation, using fluoroscopic or conventional CT guidance, respectively in 53 and 58 herniated lumbar discs, with at least 1-month follow up. Dose area product (DAP) and dose length product (DLP) were recorded respectively for fluoroscopy and CT, and converted to effective dose (ED). ResultsFluoroscopic and CT groups were similar in terms of patient age (p-value 0.39), patient weight (p-value 0.49) and pre-procedure Oswestry Disability Index (ODI, p-value 0.94). Technical success was achieved in all cases. Clinical success was obtained in 83.02% (44/53) patients in fluoroscopic group and 79.31% (46/58) in CT group. Mean DAP was 11.63Gy*cm(2) (range 5.42-21.61). Mean DLP was 632.49mGy-cm (range 151.51-1699). ED was significantly lower in the fluoroscopic group compared toCT group (0.34 vs. 5.53mSv, p = 0.0119). No major complication was registered. Minor complications were observed in 4 cases (2 in fluoroscopic group; 2 in CT group). ConclusionsCompared to conventional CT guidance, fluoroscopic guidance for percutaneous intradiscal ozone therapy in patients with lumbar disc herniation shows similar technical and clinical success rates, with lower radiation dose. This technique helps sparing dose exposure to patients

Prospective Biomarker Analysis of the Randomized CHER-LOB Study Evaluating the Dual Anti-HER2 Treatment With Trastuzumab and Lapatinib Plus Chemotherapy as Neoadjuvant Therapy for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The CHER-LOB randomized phase II study showed that the combination of lapatinib and trastuzumab plus chemotherapy increases the pathologic complete remission (pCR) rate compared with chemotherapy plus either trastuzumab or lapatinib. A biomarker program was prospectively planned to identify potential predictors of sensitivity to different treatments and to evaluate treatment effect on tumor biomarkers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Overall, 121 breast cancer patients positive for human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) were randomly assigned to neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus trastuzumab, lapatinib, or both trastuzumab and lapatinib. Pre- and post-treatment samples were centrally evaluated for HER2, p95-HER2, phosphorylated AKT (pAKT), phosphatase and tensin homolog, Ki67, apoptosis, and PIK3CA mutations. Fresh-frozen tissue samples were collected for genomic analyses. RESULTS: A mutation in PIK3CA exon 20 or 9 was documented in 20% of cases. Overall, the pCR rates were similar in PIK3CA wild-type and PIK3CA-mutated patients (33.3% vs. 22.7%; p = .323). For patients receiving trastuzumab plus lapatinib, the probability of pCR was higher in PIK3CA wild-type tumors (48.4% vs. 12.5%; p = .06). Ki67, pAKT, and apoptosis measured on the residual disease were significantly reduced from baseline. The degree of Ki67 inhibition was significantly higher in patients receiving the dual anti-HER2 blockade. The integrated analysis of gene expression and copy number data demonstrated that a 50-gene signature specifically predicted the lapatinib-induced pCR. CONCLUSION: PIK3CA mutations seem to identify patients who are less likely to benefit from dual anti-HER2 inhibition. p95-HER2 and markers of phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway deregulation are not confirmed as markers of different sensitivity to trastuzumab or lapatinib. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: HER2 is currently the only validated marker to select breast cancer patients for anti-HER2 treatment; however, it is becoming evident that HER2-positive breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease. In addition, more and more new anti-HER2 treatments are becoming available. There is a need to identify markers of sensitivity to different treatments to move in the direction of treatment personalization. This study identified PIK3CA mutations as a potential predictive marker of resistance to dual anti-HER2 treatment that should be further studied in breast cancer