Ultrasound-guided epidural catheter placement with a new technique: preliminary cadaveric study.

Several methods are described in veterinary medicine to perform and assess correct epidural needle placement to provide effective epidural analgesia (Adami et al 2017). The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of an ultrasound longitudinal sagittal approach to epidural catheter placement using a biopsy needle guide. Seven dog cadavers were used in the study. With the cadaver in sternal recumbence, a 5-8 MHz microconvex transducer provided with a 16-gauge biopsy guide was positioned to obtain a longitudinal sagittal scan of the spinal process of L7 and the sacral crest; the epidural space was identified between two parallel hyperechoic lines and, as the trajectory of the biopsy guide crossed them, a 17G Tuohy needle was used to insert a 19G epidural catheter. Correct catheter placement was visualised through a resection of the column between L2 and L3. Firstly, an expert echographist (operator C1) visualised the ultrasonographic landmarks, while catheter placement was performed by an expert anaesthetist (operator A), a student (operator B) and another expert echographist (operator C2) (double-operator technique); secondly, operator A and C2 performed alone the whole procedure (single-operator technique); lastly all operators performed a blind procedure (Jones 2001). Operator A failed 2/7 single-operator procedures; time to perform the blind technique was statistically lower than the double-operator technique (75 ± 132.4 vs 91.6 ± 79.3 seconds). Operator C2 failed 3/7 blind procedures, scoring the higher total time of performance (329.3 ± 271.2 seconds), but was able to perform both the double- and single-operator technique without significant difference with operator A, despite a faster time in positioning the probe. Operator B showed a higher repositioning attempts of the needle with the double-operator procedure compared to the blind one. Ultrasound guidance appears to be a promising technique to ease catheter placement also by operators inexperienced of locoregional techniques

Neutrino physics with the PTOLEMY project: active neutrino properties and the light sterile case

The PTOLEMY project aims to develop a scalable design for a Cosmic Neutrino Background (CNB) detector, the first of its kind and the only one conceived that can look directly at the image of the Universe encoded in neutrino background produced in the first second after the Big Bang. The scope of the work for the next three years is to complete the conceptual design of this detector and to validate with direct measurements that the non-neutrino backgrounds are below the expected cosmological signal. In this paper we discuss in details the theoretical aspects of the experiment and its physics goals. In particular, we mainly address three issues. First we discuss the sensitivity of PTOLEMY to the standard neutrino mass scale. We then study the perspectives of the experiment to detect the CNB via neutrino capture on tritium as a function of the neutrino mass scale and the energy resolution of the apparatus. Finally, we consider an extra sterile neutrino with mass in the eV range, coupled to the active states via oscillations, which has been advocated in view of neutrino oscillation anomalies. This extra state would contribute to the tritium decay spectrum, and its properties, mass and mixing angle, could be studied by analyzing the features in the beta decay electron spectrum

Results from the Cuore Experiment

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the first bolometric experiment searching for neutrinoless double beta decay that has been able to reach the 1-ton scale. The detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2 crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers, each of them made of 52 crystals. The construction of the experiment was completed in August 2016 and the data taking started in spring 2017 after a period of commissioning and tests. In this work we present the neutrinoless double beta decay results of CUORE from examining a total TeO2 exposure of 86.3kg yr, characterized by an effective energy resolution of 7.7 keV FWHM and a background in the region of interest of 0.014 counts/ (keV kg yr). In this physics run, CUORE placed a lower limit on the decay half- life of neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te > 1.3.1025 yr (90% C. L.). Moreover, an analysis of the background of the experiment is presented as well as the measurement of the 130Te 2vo3p decay with a resulting half- life of T2 2. [7.9 :- 0.1 (stat.) :- 0.2 (syst.)] x 10(20) yr which is the most precise measurement of the half- life and compatible with previous results

The commissioning of the CUORE experiment: the mini-tower run

CUORE is a ton-scale experiment approaching the data taking phase in Gran Sasso National Laboratory. Its primary goal is to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay in 130Te using 988 crystals of tellurim dioxide. The crystals are operated as bolometers at about 10 mK taking advantage of one of the largest dilution cryostat ever built. Concluded in March 2016, the cryostat commissioning consisted in a sequence of cool down runs each one integrating new parts of the apparatus. The last run was performed with the fully configured cryostat and the thermal load at 4 K reached the impressive mass of about 14 tons. During that run the base temperature of 6.3 mK was reached and maintained for more than 70 days. An array of 8 crystals, called mini-tower, was used to check bolometers operation, readout electronics and DAQ. Results will be presented in terms of cooling power, electronic noise, energy resolution and preliminary background measurements

Characterization of liver focal lesions in dogs and cats by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography

Introduction and aim of the study - The use of ultrasonography for the detection of parenchymal disorders of the liver is rarely specific. Contrastenhanced ultrasound (CEUS) improves the accuracy of focal liver lesion characterization. Nevertheless, in veterinary medicine, data on liver lesion characterization by CEUS are scant and based on a small number of cases in dogs, and totally missing in cats. Aim of this study is to describe the contrast enhancement pattern of focal liver lesions in dogs and cats. Materials and methods - 34 dogs and 6 cats with hepatic lesions were considered. Each animal underwent a qualitative contrast-enhanced ultrasound using a contrast agent consisting of sulphur hexafluoride; cytohistology was used as a gold standard for the diagnosis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and positive and negative likelihood ratios were determined in order to classify the liver focal lesions examined with Sonovue® as benign or malignant. Results - CEUS showed that 86.4% of benign lesions had homogeneous enhancement in the portal and late phase compared with the adjacent liver parenchyma; all (100%) malignant lesions showed hypoenhancement in the late phase, while the portal phase ranged from iso- to hypoechoic in primary and metastatic carcinomas. Discussion - The results of our study confirm the usefulness of CEUS in differentiating benign from malignant lesions. Nevertheless, three cases of benign lesions with atypical behaviour were detected. The main differences in terms of vascular behaviour were registered in the late phase, with hypoenhancement in malignant lesions in both the dog and the cat. In four cases (10%), hypoenhancement was detected in the advanced late phase, suggesting that observation must be prolonged for at least 2 minutes in order to avoid possible false negatives. Pathognomonic patterns capable of characterizing specific lesions were not recognized. In our experience, Sonovue® showed a high sensitivity and specificity in the differentiation of benign or malignant liver focal lesions. CEUS, a non-invasive and relatively cheap technique, could have an important role in the diagnostic approach to characterize hepatic lesions in dogs and cats, particularly when more complete exams (i.e. CT) and/or biopsy are not available

Ovarian Neuroglial Choristoma in a Bitch

Neuroglial choristomas are rare malformations consisting of heterotopic mature neural tissue at a site isolated from the brain or spinal cord. In human medicine, neuroglial choristomas are predominantly reported in the head and in the neck, except for one recent case reported in a foot of a child. In domestic animals, neuroglial choristomas are exceedingly rare, reported only in the retina of a dog, in the pharynx and in the skin of two kittens, and within the oropharynx of a harbor seal. A three-year-old intact female Jack Russell Terrier presented for elective ovariectomy exhibited a cystic lesion 2 cm in diameter expanding in the right ovary. Histological examination of the lesion revealed a mass composed of well-organized neuroglial tissue. Immunohistochemistry with primary antibodies against GFAP, NSE, and IBA-1 confirmed the neuroglial origin of the mass. At the time of this writing, 7 years after ovariectomy, the dog was clinically normal. Together with a recent case described in the foot of a child, this case confirms that neuroglial choristoma may also be found far from the skull or spine, supporting the hypothesis that they may arise from an early embryological migration defect

Euterpe et l’Empereur: L’Antiquité et l’Opéra. Séminaires « L’Opéra narrateur » 2012-2013 (Saint-Denis, Université Paris 8-Paris, Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art)

International audienceEuterpe et l’Empereur recueille les travaux du séminaire l’Antiquité et l’Opéra (2012-2013), consacré plus exactement à l’étude de la présence de l’Histoire antique dans le théâtre en musique. Structuré en trois parties, organisées de manière thématique et géographique (« Greece Revisited », « Le Sacré et l’Orient, Orient sacré » et « Sacrée Rome »), cet ouvrage réunit onze articles, présentés suivant l’évolution chronologique de l’Histoire et de l’histoire de l’opéra. Le premier volet inclut des études sur les racines grecques dans la danse du XVIIIe siècle et dans le travail de mise en scène de Jean-Louis Barrault. Le deuxième se penche sur les réalisations ‘orientales’ de Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi et Claude Debussy. Tandis que le troisième propose aussi bien des approches globales (la romanité chez Alessandro Scarlatti, Métastase, Antonio Simeone Sografi et Gaetano Rossi) que des lectures monographiques (analyse des personnages de Sophonisbe, de Jules César, de Néron…)

Quantum Sensing with superconducting qubits for Fundamental Physics

Quantum Sensing is a rapidly expanding research field that finds one of its applications in Fundamental Physics, as the search for Dark Matter. Recent developments in the fabrication of superconducting qubits are contributing to driving progress in Quantum Sensing. Such devices have already been successfully applied in detecting few-GHz single photons via Quantum Non-Demolition measurement (QND). This technique allows us to detect the presence of the same photon multiple times without absorbing it, with remarkable sensitivity improvements and dark count rate suppression in experiments based on high-precision microwave photon detection, such as Axions and Dark Photons search experiments. In this context, the INFN Qub-IT project goal is to realize an itinerant single-photon counter based on superconducting qubits that will exploit QND. The simulation step is fundamental for optimizing the design before manufacturing and finally characterizing the fabricated chip in a cryogenic environment. In this study we present Qub-IT's status towards the characterization of its first superconducting transmon qubit devices, illustrating their design and simulation