1,647 research outputs found
correlation between fissured fibrous cap and contrast enhancement preliminary results with the use of cta and histologic validation
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Previous studies demonstrated that carotid plaques analyzed by CTA can show contrast plaque enhancement. The purpose of this preliminary work was to evaluate the possible association between the fissured fibrous cap and contrast plaque enhancement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-seven consecutive (men = 25; average age = 66.8 ± 9 years) symptomatic patients studied by use of a multidetector row CT scanner were prospectively analyzed. CTA was performed before and after contrast and radiation doses were recorded; analysis of contrast plaque enhancement was performed. Patients underwent carotid endarterectomy en bloc; histologic sections were prepared and evaluated for fissured fibrous cap and microvessel attenuation. The Mann-Whitney test was performed to evaluate the differences between the 2 groups. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the effect of fissured fibrous cap and microvessel attenuation on contrast plaque enhancement. Receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve were also calculated. RESULTS: Twelve patients had fissured fibrous cap. In 92% (11/12) of fissured fibrous capâpositive plaques, we found contrast plaque enhancement, whereas in 69% (24/35) of the plaques without fissured fibrous cap contrast plaque enhancement was found. The Mann-Whitney test showed a statistically significant difference between the contrast enhancement in plaques with fissured fibrous cap (Hounsfield units = 22.6) and without fissured fibrous cap (Hounsfield units = 12.9) ( P = .011). On the regression analysis, both fissured fibrous cap and neovascularization were associated with contrast plaque enhancement ( P = .0366 and P = .0001). The receiver operating characteristic curve confirmed an association between fissured fibrous cap and contrast plaque enhancement with an area under the curve of 0.749 ( P = .005). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of fissured fibrous cap is associated with contrast plaque enhancement. Histologic analysis showed that the presence of fissured fibrous cap is associated with a larger contrast plaque enhancement compared with the contrast plaque enhancement of plaques without fissured fibrous cap
First description of Eucoleus garfiai (Gallego and Mas-Coma, 1975) in wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Italy
Eucoleus garfiai (syn. Capillaria garfiai) is a nematode infecting lingual tissue of domestic and wild swine. Prevalence data for this parasite are scant and often related to accidental findings, occurring only in Japan and a few European countries. In this study, an epidemiological survey was performed in order to identify E. garfiai in wild boar from the Campania region, southern Italy. A total of 153 wild boar carcasses were inspected over the course of two hunting seasons (2019â2020). Histological examinations were performed on tongue samples fixed and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. The scraping of dorsal tongue tissue was carried out to collect adult worms for parasitological examination. Out of 153 wild boars, 40 (26.1%, 95% CI: 19.8â33.6%) tested positive for helminths and/or eggs in tongue tissues. Parasites were identified morphologically and identification was confirmed by molecular analysis of the 18S rRNA gene, showing a 99% nucleotide match with E. garfiai sequences available in literature. No statistically significant differences were found according to age, sex nor hunting province. Our findings agree with previous histopathological data confirming the low pathogenic impact of this nematode. The present study represents the first report of E. garfiai in wild boar from Italy
Search for the decay at Belle
We report a search for the rare charmless decay
using a data sample of
pairs collected at the resonance with
the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy collider. No
statistically significant signal is found and a 90% confidence-level upper
limit is set on the decay branching fraction as .Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PRD(RC
Release of Lungworm Larvae from Snails in the Environment: Potential for Alternative Transmission Pathways
Background: Gastropod-borne parasites may cause debilitating clinical conditions in animals and humans following the consumption of infected intermediate or paratenic hosts. However, the ingestion of fresh vegetables contaminated by snail mucus and/or water has also been proposed as a source of the infection for some zoonotic metastrongyloids (e.g., Angiostrongylus cantonensis). In the meantime, the feline lungworms Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Troglostrongylus brevior are increasingly spreading among cat populations, along with their gastropod intermediate hosts. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of alternative transmission pathways for A. abstrusus and T. brevior L3 via the mucus of infected Helix aspersa snails and the water where gastropods died. In addition, the histological examination of snail specimens provided information on the larval localization and inflammatory reactions in the intermediate host.
Methodology/Principal Findings: Twenty-four specimens of H. aspersa received ~500 L1 of A. abstrusus and T. brevior, and were assigned to six study groups. Snails were subjected to different mechanical and chemical stimuli throughout 20 days in order to elicit the production of mucus. At the end of the study, gastropods were submerged in tap water and the sediment was observed for lungworm larvae for three consecutive days. Finally, snails were artificially digested and recovered larvae were counted and morphologically and molecularly identified. The anatomical localization of A. abstrusus and T. brevior larvae within snail tissues was investigated by histology. L3 were detected in the snail mucus (i.e., 37 A. abstrusus and 19 T. brevior) and in the sediment of submerged specimens (172 A. abstrusus and 39 T. brevior). Following the artificial digestion of H. aspersa snails, a mean number of 127.8 A. abstrusus and 60.3 T. brevior larvae were recovered. The number of snail sections positive for A. abstrusus was higher than those for T. brevior.
Conclusions: Results of this study indicate that A. abstrusus and T. brevior infective L3 are shed in the mucus of H. aspersa or in water where infected gastropods had died submerged. Both elimination pathways may represent alternative route(s) of environmental contamination and source of the infection for these nematodes under field conditions and may significantly affect the epidemiology of feline lungworms. Considering that snails may act as intermediate hosts for other metastrongyloid species, the environmental contamination by mucus-released larvae is discussed in a broader context
Search for B+ -> l+ nu gamma decays with hadronic tagging using the full Belle data sample
We search for the decay B+ -> l+ nu gamma with l+ = e+ or mu+ using the full
Belle data set of 772 x 10^6 BBbar pairs, collected at the Y(4S) resonance with
the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. We reconstruct
one B meson in a hadronic decay mode and search for the B+ -> l+ nu gamma decay
in the remainder of the event. We observe no significant signal within the
phase space of E_gamma^sig > 1 GeV and obtain upper limits of BR(B+ -> e+ nu
gamma) mu+ nu gamma) l+ nu
gamma) < 3.5 x 10^-6 at 90 % credibility level.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Measurements of the masses and widths of the and baryons
We present measurements of the masses and decay widths of the baryonic states
and using a data sample
corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 711 fb collected with the
Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy collider operating at
the resonance. We report the mass differences with respect to
the baryon MeV/, MeV/,
MeV/, MeV/, and the decay widths
MeV/,
MeV/,
MeV/,
MeV/,
where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic.
The isospin mass splittings are measured to be
MeV/ and
MeV/. These results are the most precise to date.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to PRD(RC
Global Decay Chain Vertex Fitting at B-Factories
We present a particle vertex fitting method designed for B factories. The
presented method uses a Kalman Filter to solve a least squares estimate to
globally fit decay chains, as opposed to traditional methods that fit each
vertex at a time. It allows for the extraction of particle momenta, energies,
vertex positions and flight lengths, as well as the uncertainty estimates of
these quantities. Furthermore, it allows for the precise extraction of vertex
parameters in complex decay chains containing neutral final state particles,
such as or , which cannot properly be tracked due to limited
spatial resolution of longitudinally segmented single-layer crystal
calorimeters like the Belle II ECL. The presented technique can be used to
suppress combinatorial background and improve resolutions on measured
parameters. We present studies using Monte Carlo simulations of collisions in
the Belle II experiment, where modes with neutrals are crucial to the physics
analysis program
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