The solid areas showed high-signal intensity on diffusion-weighted imaging with corresponding reduced apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, compatible with restricted diffusion (figure 2A,B). ...Radical hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, resection of a segment of the distal ileum and right colon with ileocolonic anastomosis, infracolic omentectomy and a paraaortic lymphadenectomy were performed. The anatomopathological study revealed a uterine carcinosarcoma with direct invasion of distal ileum and ascending colon, and paraaortic lymph node metastasis—FIGO (International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics) stage IVB.
Cardiac Computed Tomography (CCT) has become a reliable imaging modality in cardiology providing robust information on the morphology and structure of the heart with high temporal and isotropic ...spatial resolution. For the past decade, there has been a paradigm shift in the management of valvular heart disease since previously unfavorable candidates for surgery are now provided with less-invasive interventions. Transcatheter heart valve interventions provide a real alternative to medical and surgical management and are often the only treatment option for valvular heart disease patients. Successful transcatheter valve interventions rely on comprehensive multimodality imaging assessment. CCT is the mainstay imaging technique for preprocedural planning of these interventions. CCT is critical in guiding patient selection, choice of procedural access, device selection, procedural guidance, as well as allowing postprocedural follow-up of complications. This article aims to review the current evidence of the role of CCT in the preprocedural planning of patients undergoing transcatheter valvular interventions.
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Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) can be produced and intracellularly accumulated as inclusions by mixed microbial cultures (MMC) for bioplastic production and in enhanced biological ...phosphorus removal (EBPR) systems. Classical methods for PHA quantification use a digestion step prior to chromatography analysis, rendering them labor intensive and time-consuming. The present work investigates the use of two quantitative image analysis (QIA) procedures specifically developed for PHA inclusions identification and quantification. MMC obtained from an EBPR system were visualized by bright-field and fluorescence microscopy for PHA inclusions detection, upon Sudan Black B (SBB) and Nile Blue A (NBA) staining, respectively. The captured color images were processed by QIA techniques and the image analysis data were further treated using multivariate statistical analysis. Partial least squares (PLS) regression coefficients of 0.90 and 0.86 were obtained between QIA parameters and PHA concentrations using SBB and NBA, respectively. It was found that both staining procedures might be seen as alternative methodologies to classical PHA determination.
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► Fluorescence staining and image analysis were used to monitor an EBPR system. ► Intracellular storage polymers were measured in anaerobic and aerobic stages. ► Partial least squares ...(PLS) were used to model the polymers concentrations. ► Previous stage identification improved the assessment of the polymer concentrations. ► A novel method for intracellular storage polymers assessment was established.
The present study focuses on predicting the concentration of intracellular storage polymers in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) systems. For that purpose, quantitative image analysis techniques were developed for determining the intracellular concentrations of PHA (PHB and PHV) with Nile blue and glycogen with aniline blue staining. Partial least squares (PLS) were used to predict the standard analytical values of these polymers by the proposed methodology. Identification of the aerobic and anaerobic stages proved to be crucial for improving the assessment of PHA, PHB and PHV intracellular concentrations. Current Nile blue based methodology can be seen as a feasible starting point for further enhancement. Glycogen detection based on the developed aniline blue staining methodology combined with the image analysis data proved to be a promising technique, toward the elimination of the need for analytical off-line measurements.
COVID-19 is characterized by a rapid change in the patient's condition, with major changes occurring over a few days. We aimed to develop and evaluate an emergency system for monitoring patients with ...COVID-19, which may be useful in hospitals where more severe patients stay in their homes.
The system consists of the home-based patient unit, which is set up around the patient and the hospital unit, which enables the medical staff to telemonitor the patient's condition and help to send medical recommendations. The home unit allows the data transmission from the patient to the hospital, which is performed using a cell phone application. The hospital unit includes a virtual instrument developed in LabVIEW® environment that can provide a real-time monitoring of the oxygen saturation (SpO2), beats per minute (BPM), body temperature (BT), and peak expiratory flow (PEF). Abnormal events may be fast and automatically identified. After the design details are described, the system is validated by a 30-day home monitoring study in 12 controls and 12 patients with COVID-19 presenting asymptomatic to mild disease. Patients presented reduced SpO2 (p<0.0001) and increased BPM values (p<0.0001). Three patients (25%) presented PEF values between 50 and 80% of the predicted. Three of the 12 monitored patients presented events of desaturation (SpO2<92%). The experimental results were in close agreement with the involved pathophysiology, providing clear evidence that the proposed system can be a useful tool for the remote monitoring of patients with COVID-19.
An emergency system for home monitoring of patients with COVID-19 was developed in the current study. The proposed system allowed us to quickly respond to early abnormalities in these patients. This system may contribute to conserving hospital resources for those most in need while simultaneously enabling early recognition of patients under acute deterioration, requiring urgent assessment.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Biological processes based on aerobic and anaerobic technologies have been continuously developed to wastewater treatment and are currently routinely employed to reduce the contaminants discharge ...levels in the environment. However, most methodologies commonly applied for monitoring key parameters are labor intensive, time-consuming and just provide a snapshot of the process. Thus, spectroscopy applications in biological processes are, nowadays, considered a rapid and effective alternative technology for real-time monitoring though still lacking implementation in full-scale plants. In this review, the application of spectroscopic techniques to aerobic and anaerobic systems is addressed focusing on UV–Vis, infrared, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Furthermore, chemometric techniques, valuable tools to extract the relevant data, are also referred. To that effect, a detailed analysis is performed for aerobic and anaerobic systems to summarize the findings that have been obtained since 2000. Future prospects for the application of spectroscopic techniques in biological wastewater treatment processes are further discussed.
•Quantitative image analysis shows potential to monitor activated sludge systems.•Staining techniques increase the potential for detection of operational problems.•Chemometrics combined with ...quantitative image analysis is valuable for process monitoring.
In wastewater treatment processes, and particularly in activated sludge systems, efficiency is quite dependent on the operating conditions, and a number of problems may arise due to sludge structure and proliferation of specific microorganisms. In fact, bacterial communities and protozoa identification by microscopy inspection is already routinely employed in a considerable number of cases. Furthermore, quantitative image analysis techniques have been increasingly used throughout the years for the assessment of aggregates and filamentous bacteria properties. These procedures are able to provide an ever growing amount of data for wastewater treatment processes in which chemometric techniques can be a valuable tool. However, the determination of microbial communities’ properties remains a current challenge in spite of the great diversity of microscopy techniques applied. In this review, activated sludge characterization is discussed highlighting the aggregates structure and filamentous bacteria determination by image analysis on bright-field, phase-contrast, and fluorescence microscopy. An in-depth analysis is performed to summarize the many new findings that have been obtained, and future developments for these biological processes are further discussed.
The nodule was deemed uncharacterised and the main differential diagnoses considered were such as hepatocellular carcinoma, inflammatory hepatocellular adenoma or hypervascular metastasis (renal cell ...carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma, neuroendocrine, sarcomas, melanoma). Contrast-enhanced CT (A-C): late arterial phase (A), portal venous phase (B) and equilibrium phase (C); MRI (D-L): T1-w in-phase (D), T1-w opposed phase (E), T2-w with fat suppression (F), diffusion-weighted imaging b=700 s/mm² (G), apparent diffusion coefficient map (H), T1-w with fat suppression before (I) and after extracellular paramagnetic contrast administration in late arterial phase (J), portal venous phase (K) and equilibrium phase (L); 18 F-FDG PET-CT (M). The histopathological study revealed a follicular-type B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Since no extrahepatic foci of lymphoma were found with the imaging techniques preformed, the diagnosis of primary lymphoma of liver was made.
Prostate cancer ranks as the second most frequently diagnosed cancer globally among men and stands as the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in males. Hence, an early and precise diagnosis ...and staging are critical. Traditional staging is based on clinical nomograms but presents a lower performance than prostate multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI). Since tumor staging serves as the basis for risk stratification, prognosis, and treatment decision-making, the primary objective of mpMRI is to distinguish between organ-confined and locally advanced diseases. Therefore, this imaging modality has emerged as the optimal selection for the local staging of prostate cancer, offering incremental value in evaluating pelvic nodal disease and bone involvement, and supplying supplementary insights regarding the precise location and disease extension. As per the Prostate Imaging Reporting & Data System v2.1 guideline, a comprehensive and accurate mpMRI requires several key sequences, which include T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) and T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) for morphological assessment, with T2WI serving as the cornerstone for local staging. Additionally, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and dynamic sequences acquired with intravenous administration of paramagnetic contrast medium (DCE) are crucial components. It is worth noting that while MRI exhibits high specificity, its sensitivity in diagnosing extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle invasion, and lymph node metastases is limited. Moreover, mpMRI has its own constraints and is not as effective in detecting distant metastases or evaluating lymph nodes, for which extended pelvic lymph node dissection remains the gold standard. This review aims to highlight the significance of mpMRI in prostate cancer staging and provide a practical approach to assessing extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle invasions, and the involvement of adjacent organs and lymph nodes.
Reduced motor control is one of the most frequent features associated with aging and disease. Nonlinear and fractal analyses have proved to be useful in investigating human physiological alterations ...with age and disease. Similar findings have not been established for any of the model organisms typically studied by biologists, though. If the physiology of a simpler model organism displays the same characteristics, this fact would open a new research window on the control mechanisms that organisms use to regulate physiological processes during aging and stress. Here, we use a recently introduced animal-tracking technology to simultaneously follow tens of Caenorhabdits elegans for several hours and use tools from fractal physiology to quantitatively evaluate the effects of aging and temperature stress on nematode motility. Similar to human physiological signals, scaling analysis reveals long-range correlations in numerous motility variables, fractal properties in behavioral shifts, and fluctuation dynamics over a wide range of timescales. These properties change as a result of a superposition of age and stress-related adaptive mechanisms that regulate motility.
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