Magnetic resonance imaging for lung cancer detection: Experience in a population of more than 10,000 healthy individuals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recent refinements of lung MRI techniques have reduced the examination time and improved diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. We conducted a study to assess the feasibility of MRI for the detection of primary lung cancer in asymptomatic individuals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective chart review was performed on images of lung parenchyma, which were extracted from whole-body MRI examinations between October 2000 and December 2007. 11,766 consecutive healthy individuals (mean age, 50.4 years; 56.8% male) were scanned using one of two 1.5-T scanners (Sonata and Sonata Maestro, Siemens Medical Solutions, Erlangen, Germany). The standard protocol included a quick whole-lung survey with T2-weighted 2-dimensional half Fourier acquisition single shot turbo spin echo (HASTE) and 3-dimensional volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE). Total examination time was less than 10 minutes, and scanning time was only 5 minutes. Prompt referrals and follow-ups were arranged in cases of suspicious lung nodules.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 559 individuals (4.8%) had suspicious lung nodules. A total of 49 primary lung cancers were diagnosed in 46 individuals: 41 prevalence cancers and 8 incidence cancers. The overall detection rate of primary lung cancers was 0.4%. For smokers aged 51 to 70 years, the detection rate was 1.4%. TNM stage I disease accounted for 37 (75.5%). The mean size of detected lung cancers was 1.98 cm (median, 1.5 cm; range, 0.5-8.2 cm). The most histological types were adenocarcinoma in 38 (77.6%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Rapid zero-dose MRI can be used for lung cancer detection in a healthy population.</p

A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Automated protein resonance assignments of magic angle spinning solid-state NMR spectra of β1 immunoglobulin binding domain of protein G (GB1)

Magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR (MAS SSNMR) represents a fast developing experimental technique with great potential to provide structural and dynamics information for proteins not amenable to other methods. However, few automated analysis tools are currently available for MAS SSNMR. We present a methodology for automating protein resonance assignments of MAS SSNMR spectral data and its application to experimental peak lists of the β1 immunoglobulin binding domain of protein G (GB1) derived from a uniformly 13C- and 15N-labeled sample. This application to the 56 amino acid GB1 produced an overall 84.1% assignment of the N, CO, CA, and CB resonances with no errors using peak lists from NCACX 3D, CANcoCA 3D, and CANCOCX 4D experiments. This proof of concept demonstrates the tractability of this problem

Calibration sources and filters of the soft x-ray spectrometer instrument on the Hitomi spacecraft

Accepted: 2017-10-0

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer, studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory, a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), it aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over an hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR, browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters. Finally we briefly discuss on the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, and touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation, and finally on the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. (abridged).Comment: 48 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy with minor editin

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory. Athena is a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, as selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), X-IFU aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over a hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR (i.e. in the course of its preliminary definition phase, so-called B1), browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters, such as the instrument efficiency, spectral resolution, energy scale knowledge, count rate capability, non X-ray background and target of opportunity efficiency. Finally, we briefly discuss the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation and the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. The X-IFU will be provided by an international consortium led by France, The Netherlands and Italy, with ESA member state contributions from Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, with additional contributions from the United States and Japan.The French contribution to X-IFU is funded by CNES, CNRS and CEA. This work has been also supported by ASI (Italian Space Agency) through the Contract 2019-27-HH.0, and by the ESA (European Space Agency) Core Technology Program (CTP) Contract No. 4000114932/15/NL/BW and the AREMBES - ESA CTP No.4000116655/16/NL/BW. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 and PID2020-115325GB-C31 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

Instrumentatio

Family as a redistributive principle of welfare states: An international comparison

Gefördert im Rahmen eines Open-Access-Transformationsvertrags mit dem Verla

Mapping redistribution in terms of family: A European comparison

Gefördert im Rahmen eines Open-Access-Transformationsvertrags mit dem Verla