Nontraumatic orbital emergencies: a pictorial essay - CT and MRI features for an imaging findings-based approach.

Orbital imaging plays a pivotal role in each hospital with an Ophthalmological Emergency Department. Unenhanced orbital computed tomography (CT) usually represents the first-line tool for the assessment of nontraumatic orbital emergencies, thanks to its quick execution, wide availability, high resolution, and availability of multiplanar reformats/reconstructions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an essential tool that allows characterization and a better understanding of the anatomical involvement of different disorders due to its excellent contrast resolution and ability to study the visual pathways, even if, unfortunately, it is not always available in the emergency setting. It represents the first imaging choice in pediatric patients, due to the absence of ionizing radiation. When available, CT and MRI are often used together to diagnose, assess the extent, and provide treatment plans for various orbital nontraumatic emergencies, including infective, inflammatory, vascular, and neoplastic diseases. Familiarity with the imaging appearances of these disorders helps the radiologists to establish the correct diagnosis in the emergency setting, which contributes to timely clinical management. This pictorial essay provides a description of the clinical presentation and imaging findings of nontraumatic orbital emergencies.

A rare case of congenital atresia of the left main coronary artery.

Congenital atresia of the left main coronary artery is a rare coronary anomaly, in which the left coronary ostium is absent and the blood supply to the entire heart is provided by the right coronary artery. We show the images of the coronary CT angiography performed by a 56-year-old man, with evidence of this vascular abnormality. Coronary CT Angiography has gained a major role in coronary anomalies assessment, thank to high spatial and temporal resolution.

Computed tomography in traumatic orbital emergencies: a pictorial essay-imaging findings, tips, and report flowchart.

Computed tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard technique for the assessment of trauma patients with suspected involvement of the eye and orbit. These traumas can result in dramatic consequences to visual function, ocular motility, and aesthetics. CT is a quick and widely available imaging modality, which provides a detailed evaluation of the orbital bony and soft tissue structures, an accurate assessment of the globes, and is used to guide the patients' treatment planning. For a timely and accurate diagnosis, radiologists should be aware of fracture patterns and possible associated complications, ocular detachments and hemorrhages, and different appearances of intraorbital foreign bodies. This educational review aims to describe all post-traumatic orbital abnormalities that can be identified on CT, providing a list of tips and a diagnostic flowchart to help radiologists deal with this complex condition.

Deodorization of sunflower oil by high voltage electric field as a nonthermal method sunflower oil refining by electric field.

In this study, the high voltage electric field (HVEF) method was used for deodorization of sunflower oil to omit drawbacks of an established industrial method including long time, high energy, chemicals and water consumption, loss of bioactive compounds, and formation of some contaminants due to exposure to heat. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to find the optimal values of processing parameters. The effects of voltage (5-15 kV), clay (0-1%), electrolyte concentration (0-50 mM), the number of electrodes (1-5 pairs), and electrodes distance (1-3 cm) on the volatile compounds and tocopherols content were investigated by HS-SPME-GC/MS and HPLC, respectively. The optimal processing conditions were determined to be a voltage of 5 kV, a distance of 1 cm between the electrodes and a number of five pairs of electrodes. The amount of bleaching clay and electrolyte concentration were zero under optimal conditions. The refining process by HVEF removed 32.33% of the volatile compounds from crude sunflower oil, while the industrial refining process reduced the volatile compounds by only 17.78%. Results indicated no change was observed in the tocopherols content of refined sunflower oil by HVEF method. Based on PCA results, HVEF-treated sample not only contained the lowest concentration of volatile compounds but also was the most similar to crude sample in terms of volatile compounds composition. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The oil refining process consists of four main stages, the last of which is deodorization. This step involves injecting steam at a temperature of about 240°C, under vacuum for about 50 min. High voltage electric field (HVEF) was able to reduce the number of volatile compounds, while no change was made in the tocopherol content of sunflower oil samples. It also does not form contaminant such as 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol fatty acid esters and glycidyl fatty acid esters. There is no need to apply the vacuum in HVEF refining, which reduces the production cost and makes the process flow straightforward as well as rapid. This research helps to propagate green refining procedures of vegetable oils in food plants.

A rare case of unilateral vocal cord paralysis: neurovascular conflict due to an aberrant bronchial artery detected at computed tomography.

We report the case of a 29-year-old patient without medical history presenting with dysphonia associated with left unilateral vocal cord paralysis. The patient underwent a contrast-enhanced computed tomography with an angiographic arterial phase of the head, neck and chest, and the only significant finding was the presence of a large, aberrant right bronchial artery originating directly from the aortic arch, where the recurrent left laryngeal nerve loops. After excluding alternative etiologies, the hypothesis of neurovascular conflict between this vessel and the recurrent left laryngeal nerve was formulated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case reported in the literature. Thanks to its high spatial resolution, contrast-enhanced computed tomography is the examination of choice for the study of anatomical variants and should be included in the routine work-up of patients presenting with unilateral vocal cord paralysis.

Effect of Fermentation with Different Lactic Acid Bacteria Starter Cultures on Biogenic Amine Content and Ripening Patterns in Dry Fermented Sausages.

In the present study, two different diameter (small and large) Milano-type dry fermented sausages were industrially produced to evaluate the effect of two different LAB starter cultures (Lactobacillus sakei and Pediococcus pentosaceus) on biogenic amines (BAs) content, proteolysis, and lipolysis taking place during both fermentation and ripening. With regard to BAs, putrescine and tyramine were mostly found in fermented sausages having large diameter and those inoculated with P. pentosaceus/S. xylosus exhibited significantly higher accumulation of these compounds. Overall, the small size sausages showed a more pronounced proteolysis taking place during processing. In addition, aside from the distinctive electrophoretic bands detected with both starter cultures, a more pronounced proteolysis and a faster protein hydrolysis was observed in salami inoculated with P. pentosaceus/S. xylosus. As for lipolysis, a significantly higher amount of diacylglycerols was observed at the end of ripening in the sausages inoculated with L. sakei/S. xylosus, which concurrently exhibited an increased D32, D34, and D36 series. The results of the present study confirms profound differences in BAs concentration, proteolysis, and lipolysis. These findings are strictly dependent on the starter cultures, which demonstrates that the choice of an appropriate starter optimized for peculiar products and processes should be the key factor to improve safety and quality features of traditional fermented sausages.