Search results for "focal"
showing 10 items of 803 documents
Variations in the size of focal nodular hyperplasia on magnetic resonance imaging
2013
Abstract Objective To evaluate the changes in the size of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) during long-term magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) follow-up. Material and methods We reviewed 44 FNHs in 30 patients studied with MRI with at least two MRI studies at least 12 months apart. We measured the largest diameter of the lesion (in mm) in contrast-enhanced axial images and calculated the percentage of variation as the difference between the maximum diameter in the follow-up and the maximum diameter in the initial study. We defined significant variation in size as variation greater than 20%. We also analyzed predisposing hormonal factors. Results The mean interval between the two imaging studie…
Molecular in vivo imaging of gastric cancer in a human-murine xenograft model: targeting epidermal growth factor receptor
2012
Background The prognosis of gastric cancer depends on early diagnosis. Targeted therapies against epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs) are currently emerging for the treatment of gastric cancer. Objective To specifically visualize gastric cancer by using monoclonal antibodies targeting EGFR1 as molecular probes for in vivo molecular confocal laser endomicroscopy (mCLE) in a human-murine xenograft model. Design Prospective in vivo animal study. Setting Animal laboratory. Interventions Human gastric carcinoma xenografts were examined in 26 nude mice by using mCLE after injection of fluorescently labeled antibodies. Nine mice received low-dose anti-EGFR1 antibodies, 7 mice cetuximab, and …
Four cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in iatrogenic immunocompromised patients
2020
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by John Cunningham Virus (JCV). We report four PML cases in immunocompromised patients, respectively treated with (1) Natalizumab, (2) Rituximab, (3) autologous stem-cell transplantation, and (4) Tacrolimus. All patients underwent neurological examination, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), JCV-DNA research on biological samples, and lymphocytes subpopulation study. All cases presented with motor, behavioural, and cognitive disorders. Visual, sensitive, and cerebellar deficits developed in three cases. MRI revealed widespread progressiv…
Efficacy of levetiracetam in the treatment of drug-resistant Rett Syndrome.
2010
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a progressive neurological disorder characterized by a wide spectrum of phenotypes. Epilepsy is reported to occur in 50–90% of patients with RTT; some develop medically refractory epilepsy. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of levetiracetam (LEV) in drug-resistant patients with RTT. This prospective, pragmatic, open-label study consisted of an 8-week baseline period and a 6-month evaluation period. Efficacy variable was the mean frequency of monthly seizures before, and after 3 and 6 months of treatment with LEV. Eight female patients, aged 7.5–19 years (M12.8 ± 5) entered the study. Mean age at epilepsy onset was 25.8 ± 14.1 months. All patients sh…
A FRET-based assay for characterization of alternative splicing events using peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization
2009
We describe a quantitative method for detecting RNA alternative splicing variants that combines in situ hybridization of fluorescently labeled peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes with confocal microscopy Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). The use of PNA probes complementary to sequences flanking a given splice junction allows to specifically quantify, within the cell, the RNA isoform generating such splice junction by FRET measure. As a proof of concept we analyzed two alternative splicing events originating from lymphocyte antigen 6 (LY6) complex, locus G5B (LY6G5B) pre-mRNA. These are characterized by the removal of the first intron (Fully Spliced Isoform, FSI) or by retention of suc…
Peri-implantitis-like medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: Clinical considerations and histological evaluation with confocal laser scanning m…
2021
Objective: In the recent years, an increasing number of peri-implant medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (PI-MRONJ) have been reported in literature, both in oncologic and osteoporotic patients. The aim of this study is to describe 19 cases of patients previously diagnosed as affected by peri-implantitis, who were treated for PI-MRONJ, with consideration on clinical and histopathological features. Materials and Methods: Patients included were affected by postmenopausal osteoporosis and were administered with different antiresorptive drugs. Due to the presence of clinical and radiological signs of peri-implantitis not healed after non-surgical periodontal treatment, they were referre…
Efficient Cementing of CH3NH3PbBr3Nanoparticles to Upconversion Nanoparticles Visualized by Confocal Microscopy
2016
Upconversion-perovskite nanohybrids are prepared by assembling CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite nanoparticles (PK) with naked NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ nanoparticles (UCn) via an innovative strategy consisting of using cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) to anchor the perovskite nanoparticles firmly and closely to the upconversion nanoparticles, thus leading to UCn@PKCB nanohybrids. A commercial multiphoton laser scanning confocal microscope is used to demonstrate the successful assembly. This technique proves to be useful to evaluate luminescence lifetime in the range of several tens of μs and allows visualization of the extraordinarily efficient nontrivial resonance energy transfer from the upconversion nanoparticle to …
Manufacturing and testing a thin glass mirror shell with piezoelectric active control
2015
Optics for future X-ray telescopes will be characterized by very large aperture and focal length, and will be made of lightweight materials like glass or silicon in order to keep the total mass within acceptable limits. Optical modules based on thin slumped glass foils are being developed at various institutes, aiming at improving the angular resolution to a few arcsec HEW. Thin mirrors are prone to deform, so they require a careful integration to avoid deformations and even correct forming errors. On the other hand, this offers the opportunity to actively correct the residual deformation: a viable possibility to improve the mirror figure is the application of piezoelectric actuators onto t…
Free-motion beam propagation factor measurement by means of a liquid crystal SLM
2011
We propose a compact and robust method to measure beam propagation factor (M2) of continuous wave (cw) laser beams. In contrast to the conventional scanning procedure described in the ISO/DIS 11146 standard, our proposal takes advantage of the features of programmable liquid crystal spatial light modulators (SLMs) where a lens is codified. Then, by using a CCD at a fixed position, the beam width according to the second order moment of the irradiance is determined for each focal length of the codified lenses. After adjusting the measured data to the theoretical focusing behavior of a real laser beam, the beam propagation factor is obtained. The proposed method was successfully validated in t…
The mirror module design for the cryogenic x-ray imaging spectrometer on-board ORIGIN
2011
ORIGIN is a medium size high-energy mission concept submitted to ESA in response to the Cosmic Vision call issued on July 2010. The mission will investigate the evolution of the Universe by performing soft X-ray high resolution spectroscopic measurements of metals formed in different astrophysical environments, from the first population III stars at z > 7 to the present large scale structures. The main instrument on-board ORIGIN will be a large format array of TES X-ray micro-calorimeters covering a FOV of 30' at the focal plane of a grazing incidence optical module with a focal length of 2.5 m and an angular resolution of 30'' HEW at 1 keV. We present the optical module design which is bas…