1,068 research outputs found
The role of 18F-FDG-PET/CT in the management of patients with high-risk breast cancer: case series and guideline comparison
Objectives: In grade III-IV breast cancer, dissemination of disease needs to be assessed. Until now this was done by conventional imaging (liver ultrasonography, chest X-ray and bone scintigraphy), but evidence favoring the use of FDG-PET/CT is accumulating. Methods: Patients with high-risk breast cancer, who had received conventional imaging and FDG-PET/CT, were included. Patients were staged and assigned a treatment after 1) conventional imaging and 2) FDG-PET/CT, both by a multidisciplinary oncology team. Equivocal FDG-PET/CT findings were histologically confirmed. Results: 16 patients were included (mean age 59 years). TNM-stage changed in 5 patients (31%) after FDG-PET/CT. In 3 patients (19%) unknown distant metastases were detected by FDG-PET/CT. An adjustment of treatment took place in 4 patients (25%). Conclusions: Our case series emphasizes the role of FDG-PET/CT in the staging of high-risk breast carcinoma, especially in the assessment of distant metastases. We suggest replacing conventional imaging with FDG-PET/CT
Late-Holocene climatic variability south of the Alps as recorded by lake-level fluctuations at Lake Ledro, Trentino, Italy
International audienceA lake-level record for the late Holocene at Lake Ledro (Trentino, northeastern Italy) is presented. It is based on the sediment and pollen analysis of a 1.75 m high stratigraphic section observed on the southern shore (site Ledro I) and a 3.2 m long sediment core taken from a littoral mire on the southeastern shore (site Ledro II). The chronology is derived from 15 radiocarbon dates and pollen stratigraphy. The late-Holocene composite record established from these two sediment sequences gives evidence of centennial-scale fluctuations with highstands at c. 3400, 2600, 1700, 1200 and 400 cal. BP, in agreement with various palaeohydro-logical records established in central and northern Italy, as well as north of the Alps. In addition, high lake-level conditions at c. 2000 cal. BP may be the equivalent of stronger river discharge observed at the same time in Central Italy's rivers. In agreement with the lake-level record of Accesa (Tuscany), the Ledro record also suggests a relatively complex palaeohydrological pattern for the period around 4000 cal. BP. On a millennial scale, sediment hiatuses observed in the lower part of the Ledro I sediment sequence indicate that, except for a high-stand occurring just after 7500 cal. BP, lower lake levels generally prevailed rather before c. 4000 cal. BP than afterwards. Finally, the lake-level data obtained at Lake Ledro indicate that the relative continuity of settlements in humid areas of northern Italy during the Bronze Age (in contrast to their general abandonment north of the Alps between c. 3450 and 3150 cal. BP), does not reflect different regional patterns of climatic and palaeohy-drological conditions. In contrast, the rise in lake level dated to c. 3400 cal. BP at Ledro appears to coincide with a worldwide climate reversal, observed in both the hemispheres, while palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data collected at Lake Ledro may suggest, as a working hypothesis, a relative emancipation of proto-historic societies from climatic conditions
Measurement of the Neutron Spin Structure Function with a Polarized ^3He Target
Results are reported from the HERMES experiment at HERA on a measurement of
the neutron spin structure function in deep inelastic scattering
using 27.5 GeV longitudinally polarized positrons incident on a polarized
He internal gas target. The data cover the kinematic range
and . The integral evaluated at a fixed of is . Assuming Regge behavior at low , the first
moment is .Comment: 4 pages TEX, text available at
http://www.krl.caltech.edu/preprints/OAP.htm
Flavor Decomposition of the Polarized Quark Distributions in the Nucleon from Inclusive and Semi-inclusive Deep-inelastic Scattering
Spin asymmetries of semi-inclusive cross sections for the production of
positively and negatively charged hadrons have been measured in deep-inelastic
scattering of polarized positrons on polarized hydrogen and 3He targets, in the
kinematic range 0.023<x<0.6 and 1 GeV^2<Q^2<10 GeV^2. Polarized quark
distributions are extracted as a function of x for up $(u+u_bar) and down
(d+d_bar) flavors. The up quark polarization is positive and the down quark
polarization is negative in the measured range. The polarization of the sea is
compatible with zero. The first moments of the polarized quark distributions
are presented. The isospin non-singlet combination Delta_q_3 is consistent with
the prediction based on the Bjorken sum rule. The moments of the polarized
quark distributions are compared to predictions based on SU(3)_f flavor
symmetry and to a prediction from lattice QCD.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures (eps format), 10 tables in Latex New version
contains tables of asymmetries and correlation matri
Inclusive pi0 and K0s Production in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP
The reactions ee->ee+pi0+X and ee->ee+K0s+X are studied using data collected
at LEP with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 202 GeV.
Inclusive differential cross sections are measured as a function of the
particle transverse momentum pt and the pseudo-rapidity. For pt < 1.5 GeV, the
pi0 and K0s differential cross sections are described by an exponential,
typical of soft hadronic processes. For pt > 1.5 GeV, the cross sections show
the presence of perturbative QCD processes, described by a power-law. The data
are compared to Monte Carlo predictions and to NLO QCD calculations
Observation of a Coherence Length Effect in Exclusive Rho^0 Electroproduction
Exclusive incoherent electroproduction of the rho^0(770) meson from 1H, 2H,
3He, and 14N targets has been studied by the HERMES experiment at squared
four-momentum transfer Q**2>0.4 GeV**2 and positron energy loss nu from 9 to 20
GeV. The ratio of the 14N to 1H cross sections per nucleon, known as the
nuclear transparency, was found to decrease with increasing coherence length of
quark-antiquark fluctuations of the virtual photon. The data provide clear
evidence of the interaction of the quark- antiquark fluctuations with the
nuclear medium.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 3 figure
Determination of the Deep Inelastic Contribution to the Generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Integral for the Proton and Neutron
The virtual photon absorption cross section differences [sigma_1/2-sigma_3/2]
for the proton and neutron have been determined from measurements of polarised
cross section asymmetries in deep inelastic scattering of 27.5 GeV
longitudinally polarised positrons from polarised 1H and 3He internal gas
targets. The data were collected in the region above the nucleon resonances in
the kinematic range nu < 23.5 GeV and 0.8 GeV**2 < Q**2 < 12 GeV**2. For the
proton the contribution to the generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral was
found to be substantial and must be included for an accurate determination of
the full integral. Furthermore the data are consistent with a QCD
next-to-leading order fit based on previous deep inelastic scattering data.
Therefore higher twist effects do not appear significant.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, revte
Measurement of Exclusive rho+rho- Production in Mid-Virtuality Two-Photon Interactions and Study of the gamma gamma* -> rho rho Process at LEP
Exclusive rho+rho- production in two-photon collisions between a quasi-real
photon, gamma, and a mid-virtuality photon, gamma*, is studied with data
collected at LEP at centre-of-mass energies root(s)=183-209GeV with a total
integrated luminosity of 684.8pb^-1. The cross section of the gamma gamma* ->
rho+ rho- process is determined as a function of the photon virtuality, Q^2,
and the two-photon centre-of-mass energy, W_gg, in the kinematic region:
0.2GeV^2 < Q^2 <0.85GeV^2 and 1.1GeV < W_gg < 3GeV. These results, together
with previous L3 measurements of rho0 rho0 and rho+ rho- production, allow a
study of the gamma gamma* -> rho rho process over the Q^2-region 0.2GeV^2 < Q^2
< 30 GeV^2
Inclusive Lambda Production in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP
The reactions e^+e^- -> e^+e^- Lambda X and e^+e^- -> e^+e^- Lambda X are
studied using data collected at LEP with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass
energies between 189 and 209 GeV. Inclusive differential cross sections are
measured as a function of the lambda transverse momentum, p_t, and
pseudo-rapidity, eta, in the ranges 0.4 GeV < p_t < 2.5 GeV and |\eta| < 1.2.
The data are compared to Monte Carlo predictions. The differential cross
section as a function of p_t is well described by an exponential of the form A
exp (- p_t / )$
Lambda and Sigma0 Pair Production in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP
Strange baryon pair production in two-photon collisions is studied with the
L3 detector at LEP. The analysis is based on data collected at e+e-
centre-of-mass energies from 91 GeV to 208 GeV, corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 844 pb-1. The processes gamma gamma -> Lambda Anti-lambda and
gamma gamma -> Sigma0 Anti-sigma0 are identified. Their cross sections as a
function of the gamma gamma centre-of-mass energy are measured and results are
compared to predictions of the quark-diquark model
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