Rare lymphoid malignancies of the breast: report of two cases illustrating potential diagnostic techniques.

Two cases of lymphoid malignancy involving the breast are herein presented. Both patients were admitted with a palpable breast mass. Ultrasound demonstrated hypoechoic, ill-defined lesions of the breast in both patients; mammogram also showed spiculated breast densities. Both patients underwent core biopsy, which revealed lymphomatous cells. Total-body evaluation was also performed by computed tomography and positron emission tomography/computed tomography revealing no other fluorodeoxyglucose-avid foci in the first case and supra and subdiaphragmatic disease in the second one

Validating the regional estimates of changes in soil organic carbon by using the data from paired-sites: the case study of Mediterranean arable lands

BACKGROUND: Legacy data are unique occasions for estimating soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration changes and spatial variability, but their use showed limitations due to the sampling schemes adopted and improvements may be needed in the analysis methodologies. When SOC changes is estimated with legacy data, the use of soil samples collected in different plots (i.e., non-paired data) may lead to biased results. In the present work, N = 302 georeferenced soil samples were selected from a regional (Sicily, south of Italy) soil database. An operational sampling approach was developed to spot SOC concentration changes from 1994 to 2017 in the same plots at the 0-30 cm soil depth and tested. RESULTS: The measurements were conducted after computing the minimum number of samples needed to have a reliable estimate of SOC variation after 23 years. By applying an effect size based methodology, 30 out of 302 sites were resampled in 2017 to achieve a power of 80%, and an α = 0.05. A Wilcoxon test applied to the variation of SOC from 1994 to 2017 suggested that there was not a statistical difference in SOC concentration after 23 years (Z = - 0.556; 2-tailed asymptotic significance = 0.578). In particular, only 40% of resampled sites showed a higher SOC concentration than in 2017. CONCLUSIONS: This finding contrasts with a previous SOC concentration increase that was found in 2008 (75.8% increase when estimated as differences of 2 models built with non-paired data), when compared to 1994 observed data (Z = - 9.119; 2-tailed asymptotic significance < 0.001). This suggests that the use of legacy data to estimate SOC concentration dynamics requires soil resampling in the same locations to overcome the stochastic model errors. Further experiment is needed to identify the percentage of the sites to resample in order to align two legacy datasets in the same area

Indium(111) pentetreotide single photon emission computed tomography (In-111 pentetreotide SPECT): a new technique to evaluate somatostatin receptors in chordomas

Chordomas are rare neoplasms originating along the neuraxis. Although they do not usually show cytological atypia, metastases have been reported in 30 per cent of cases. Survival rates in cases of skull base locations are low, and local recurrence is common after local excision. Radiation therapy is used in post-operative treatment and proton radiation therapy as the primary treatment. In the present paper we present the case of a 50-year-old Caucasian man affected by chordoma of the clivus, with liver and chest metastases, relapsed after several surgical local excisions, to discuss improvements in therapeutic and imaging techniques. Indium(III) (In-III) pentetreotide single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was employed to assess the presence of somatostatin receptors and to treat the tumour with radiolabelled Y-90-DOTA-lanreotide. Imaging, performed 2 months afterwards, showed stable disease in the lungs but a local progression in the metastases, in comparison with pre-treatment uptake. These data suggest the usefulness of radiolabelled somatostatin analogues in the diagnosis and therapy of chordomas

Exosomes from metastatic cancer cells transfer amoeboid phenotype to non-metastatic cells and increase endothelial permeability: their emerging role in tumor heterogeneity

The goal of this study was to understand if exosomes derived from high-metastatic cells may influence the behavior of less aggressive cancer cells and the properties of the endothelium. We found that metastatic colon cancer cells are able to transfer their amoeboid phenotype to isogenic primary cancer cells through exosomes, and that this morphological transition is associated with the acquisition of a more aggressive behavior. Moreover, exosomes from the metastatic line (SW620Exos) exhibited higher ability to cause endothelial hyperpermeability than exosomes from the non metastatic line (SW480Exos). SWATH-based quantitative proteomic analysis highlighted that SW620Exos are significantly enriched in cytoskeletal-associated proteins including proteins activating the RhoA/ROCK pathway, known to induce amoeboid properties and destabilization of endothelial junctions. In particular, thrombin was identified as a key mediator of the effects induced by SW620Exos in target cells, in which we also found a significant increase of RhoA activity. Overall, our results demonstrate that in a heterogeneous context exosomes released by aggressive sub-clones can contribute to accelerate tumor progression by spreading malignant properties that affect both the tumor cell plasticity and the endothelial cell behavior

Solitary pulmonary nodules: Morphological and metabolic characterisation by FDG-PET-MDCT [Nodulo polmonare solitario: Caratterizzazione morfologico-metabolica mediante imaging integrato TCms/FDG-PET]

Purpose. This study was done to analyse the additional morphological and functional information provided by the integration of [18F]-2-fluoro- 2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography ([18F]-FDG-PET) with contrast-enhanced multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in the characterisation of indeterminate solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). Materials and methods. Fifty-six SPNs, previously classified as indeterminate, were evaluated using a Discovery ST16 PET/CT system (GE Medical Systems) with nonionic iodinated contrast material and [18F]-FDG as a positron emitter. Images were evaluated on a dedicated workstation. Semiquantitative parameters of [18F]-FDG uptake and morphological, volumetric and densitometric parameters before and after contrast administration were analysed. Results were correlated with the histological and follow-up findings. Results. Twenty-six SPNs were malignant and 30 were benign. Malignant lesions at both PET/CT and histology had a mean diameter of 1.8±1.2 cm, a volume doubling time (DT) of 222 days, a mean standardized uptake value (SUV) of 4.7 versus 1.08 in benign lesions and a mean postcontrast enhancement of 44.8 HU as opposed to 4.8 HU in benign nodules. Malignant lesions had a significantly shorter doubling time and significantly greater postcontrast enhancement compared with benign nodules. Based on the SUV and using a cut-off value of >2.5, PET/CT had a sensitivity of 76.9%, specificity of 100%, diagnostic accuracy of 89.2%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 100% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 83.3%. Based on doubling time (cut off <400 days), it had a sensitivity of 76.9%, specificity of 93.3%, accuracy of 85.7%, PPV of 90.9% and NPV of 82.3%. Based on postcontrast enhancement (cut off >15 HU), it had a sensitivity of 92.3%, specificity of 100%, accuracy of 96.4%, PPV of 100% and NPV of 93.7%. Conclusion. PET/CT allows accurate analysis of anatomical/morphological and metabolic/functional correlations of SPN, providing useful data for identifying and locating the disease, for differentiating between malignant and benign nodules and for establishing the aggressiveness and degree of vascularity of pulmonary lesions. Therefore, partly in view of the considerable reduction in time and cost of the single examinations, we believe that PET/CT will gain an increasingly dominant role in the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to lung cancer, especially in the preclinical phase. © 2007 Springer-Verlag

Bubble Cutting by Cylinder – Elimination of Wettability Effects by a Separating Liquid Film

Experiments and simulations are presented for the interaction of single bubbles rising in a viscous liquid against a horizontal cylinder (Ø = 4 mm) of varying wettability. The slide-off of small and the cutting of larger bubbles into two daughter bubbles observed in the experiment are reproduced by phase-field simulations. It is shown that in the entire process bubble and cylinder are separated by a liquid film, which eliminates any influence of cylinder wettability. Before the mother bubble splits, a thinning gas thread develops below the cylinder. The rupture of this gas thread can lead to a different number of satellite bubbles depending on the conditions

Agro-environmental aspects of conservation agriculture compared to conventional systems : A 3-year experience on 20 farms in the Po valley (Northern Italy)

An evaluation of the effect of the conservation agriculture (CA) on agro-environmental aspects is needed at the farm scale in intensive production systems, which are likely prone to reduce soil fertility. Here, as part of the HelpSoil LIFE+ Project and involving 20 farms in the Po valley (Northern Italy), we have estimated the soil organic carbon (SOC) content, SOC stock, crop yield, biological fertility, soil biodiversity, and economic efficiency under different agricultural systems (CA and conventional, CvtA) at the beginning (March 2014) and end (October 2016) of the experimental period. CA was mostly represented by no-till practice (NT) coupled with the cultivation of winter cover crops. Minimum tillage (MT) was considered as CA or CvtA practice according to the farm design. The CA practices have been implemented on the monitored farms at different times (Long-term = before 2006, Medium-term = between 2006 and 2013, Short-term = after 2013). A direct comparison between CA and CvtA of soil-related variables, yields, and costs was performed on 14 out of the 20 farms; data were statistically treated with a linear mixed model. Overall, CA resulted in significantly higher SOC content, SOC stock, biological fertility, QBS-ar, and earthworms for the Medium-term group. Considering the effect of tillage practices observed on the 20 farms, SOC content was the highest in NT for the Long-term group. The biological fertility index was higher in NT and MT compared to CvtA within the Long-term and Medium-term groups in 2016. QBS-ar was the higher in MT and NT than CvtA for the Long-term and Medium-Term groups. The number of earthworms was the highest under NT for the Long-term group. Maize, winter wheat, and soybeans yields were generally 1 t ha 121 higher in CvtA than in CA, but this did not reach statistical significance. The cost for herbicides was 18% more expensive in NT, whereas the fuel consumption and total costs for weeding operations did not differ between NT and CvtA. The overall outcome of the analysis was that CA is a viable solution for intensive farms in the monitored area, but further skills need still to be acquired in to enhance its economic feasibility

Role of PET/CT in the detection of liver metastases from colorectal cancer

The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of 2-[fluorine-18] fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (F-18-FDG-PET) and computed tomography (CT) with PET/CT in the detection of liver metastases during tumour staging in patients suffering from colorectal carcinoma for the purposes of correct surgical planning and follow-up. A total of 467 patients underwent a PET/CT scan using an iodinated contrast medium. We compared images obtained by the single PET scan, the single CT scan and by the fusion of the two procedures (PET/CT). The final diagnosis was obtained by histological examination and/or by the follow-up of all patients, including those who did not undergo surgery or biopsy. The PET scan had 94.05% sensitivity, 91.60% specificity and 93.36% accuracy; the CT scan had 91.07% sensitivity, 95.42% specificity and 92.29% accuracy. The combined procedures (PET/CT) had the following values: sensitivity 97.92%, specificity 97.71% and accuracy 97.86%. This study indicates that PET/CT is very useful in staging and restaging patients suffering from colorectal cancer. It was particularly useful when recurrences could not be visualised either clinically or by imaging despite increasing tumour markers, as it guaranteed an earlier diagnosis. PET/CT not only provides high diagnostic performance in terms of sensitivity and specificity, enabling modification of patient treatment, but it is also a unique, high-profile procedure that can produce cost savings