Imaging of underground cavities with cosmic-ray muons from observations at Mt. Echia (Naples).

Muography is an imaging technique based on the measurement of absorption profiles for muons as they pass through rocks and earth. Muons are produced in the interactions of high-energy cosmic rays in the Earth's atmosphere. The technique is conceptually similar to usual X-ray radiography, but with extended capabilities of investigating over much larger thicknesses of matter thanks to the penetrating power of high-energy muons. Over the centuries a complex system of cavities has been excavated in the yellow tuff of Mt. Echia, the site of the earliest settlement of the city of Naples in the 8th century BC. A new generation muon detector designed by us, was installed under a total rock overburden of about 40 metres. A 26 days pilot run provided about 14 millions of muon events. A comparison of the measured and expected muon fluxes improved the knowledge of the average rock density. The observation of known cavities proved the validity of the muographic technique. Hints on the existence of a so far unknown cavity was obtained. The success of the investigation reported here demonstrates the substantial progress of muography in underground imaging and is likely to open new avenues for its widespread utilisation.

Ultrasound signs of pulmonary fibrosis in systemic sclerosis as timely indicators for chest computed tomography.

OBJECTIVES: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients in the early stages of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) often have few or no symptoms, normal to borderline pulmonary function tests, and negative chest X-ray (CXR); high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is the only reliable means of detecting the early signs of PF. However, thoracic ultrasound (TUS) enables detection of pleural thickening, pleural/subpleural nodules, and other subpleural lung abnormalities across 70% of the subpleural surface. We reassessed concordance between TUS abnormalities and HRCT findings in SSc patients, to see whether TUS pleural line thickness (normally <3.0 mm) could be used to earmark those with asymptomatic PF for timely HRCT assessment. METHOD: In total, 175 SSc patients (nine males, 166 females), aged 46.46±15.33 years, were given CXR, TUS, HRCT, echocardiography, and pulmonary function tests. RESULTS: In the 26 patients without HRCT signs of PF, pleural line thickness was ≤3.0 mm. In diffuse SSc, 97/137 patients showed pleural line thickening (between 3.0 and 5 mm) and subpleural nodules in 32/97; and 35/137 showed major pleural line thickening (≥5.0 mm) with nodules, with good concordance with HRCT patterns indicating lung fibrosis severity. HRCT was normal in 5/137, with pleural line thickness≤3.0 mm. CONCLUSIONS: TUS imaging of pleural/subpleural structures can detect ultrasonographic signs of initial PF prior to the onset of respiratory symptoms and function test abnormalities and, together with current criteria, could thereby enable exclusion of PF in SSc patients. Indicating some patients for selective referral to HRCT can thereby delay unwarranted procedures, provided that pulmonary function and TUS images are stable.

A surface acoustic wave bio-electronic nose for detection of volatile odorant molecules.

In this work, a "bio-electronic nose" for vapour phase detection of odorant molecules based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators is presented. The biosensor system is composed of an array of five SAW resonators coated with three types of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs): the wild-type OBP from bovine (wtbOBP), a double-mutant of the OBP from bovine (dmbOBP), and the wild-type OBP from pig (wtpOBP). High resolution deposition of OBPs onto the active area of SAW resonators was implemented through laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT). The resonant frequency shifts of the SAW resonators after the deposition of the biomolecules confirmed the immobilisation of the proteins onto the Al/Au inter-digital transducers (IDTs). In addition, a low increase of insertion losses with a limited degradation of Q-factors is reported. The "bio-electronic nose" fabricated by LIFT is tested in nitrogen upon exposure to separated concentrations of R-(-)-1-octen-3-ol (octenol) and R-(-)-carvone (carvone) vapours. The "bio-electronic nose" showed low detection limits for the tested compounds (i.e. 0.48 ppm for the detection of octenol, and 0.74 ppm for the detection of carvone). In addition, the bio-sensing system was able to discriminate the octenol molecules from the carvone molecules, making it pertinent for the assessment of food contamination by moulds, or for the evaluation of indoor air quality in buildings.

Detection of odorant molecules via surface acoustic wave biosensor array based on odorant-binding proteins.

In this paper, we present an array of biosensors for vapour phase detection of odorant molecules based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators coated with odorant-binding proteins (OBPs). For the first time, the sensing capabilities of three different OBPs, as sensitive layers for SAW devices, are studied and compared. The SAW biosensor array is composed of three SAW devices coated by the droplet method with the wild-type OBP from cow (wtbOBP), a double mutant of the OBP from cow (dmbOBP) and the wild-type OBP from pig (wtpOBP). An uncoated device is used to compensate the variations of the environmental parameters. The SAW devices consist of two-port resonators fabricated on quartz (ST-cut, x propagation) with electrodes made of aluminium covered with a thin gold film (2 nm thick). The obtained surface densities of OBP layers are between 1.18×10(-6) kg/m(2) and 2.31×10(-6) kg/m(2) and were calculated measuring the resonant frequency shift of the SAW devices after the coating. The SAW biosensor array was tested in nitrogen upon exposure to vapours of R-(-)-1-octen-3-ol (octenol), in the range of concentration between 13 and 61 ppm, and R-(-)-carvone (carvone), in the range between 9 and 80 ppm. The highest sensitivity for detection of octenol (25.9 Hz/ppm) was obtained using the wtpOBP-based SAW biosensor, while the highest sensitivity for detection of carvone (9.2 Hz/ppm) was obtained using the dmbOBP-based SAW biosensor.

Characterization of the normal pulmonary surface and pneumonectomy space by reflected ultrasound.

Interest has been increasing in the use of transthoracic ultrasound for the study of the pleuropulmonary disease. US imaging depends mainly on the physical interactions between ultrasound waves and the tissues being examined. In the thoracic region, the prescence of the chest wall and the air-containing pulmonary tissues cause various artifacts that strongly influence the resulting images. At the interface between tissues and air, the ultrasound beam is totally reflected and produces simple reverberation, comet-tail artifacts, and ring-down artifacts.We report the findings of transthoracic ultrasound in normal healthy subjects and in those who had undergone pneumonectomy.This experience shows that, in terms of the ultrasound artifacts mentioned above, the postpneumonectomy cavity is not significantly different from the healthy lung.

Role of thoracic ultrasound in the assessment of pleural and pulmonary diseases.

Although numerous studies have been conducted on the use of ultrasonography (US) for the examination of thoracic structures, this procedure is not as widely accepted as abdominal US. The newer portable scanners can be used at the bedside to detect pleural malignancies and effusions, as well as peripheral lung nodules of the lung, even in seriously ill patients. Focal thickening of the pleura can be easily detected with US and further investigated with a US-guided biopsy. US guidance can also be used during percutaneous drainage of pleural effusion or transthoracic biopsy of peripheral lung lesions, thus reducing the incidence of procedure-related pneumothorax to almost zero. We review the current literature on thoracic US and present our clinical experience with the technique in large groups of patients with pleural and peripheral lung diseases.

Prevalence of hypercalcemia in hospitalised patients: effects of "correction" for serum albumin values.

Hypercalcemia is ideally detected by the measurement of serum ionised calcium. Because this is not widely available, in common clinical practice "albumin-corrected" calcium values are often utilized. Our study investigated whether the method used to measure serum albumin concentration may significantly interfere in the derived serum calcium values and, consequently, in the identification of hypercalcemic patients. In 170 consecutive patients admitted to our Department of Internal Medicine we measured serum total calcium, total protein, and albumin by colorimetric method; albumin concentration was also derived by electrophoresis assessment. After correcting serum calcium for colorimetrically (CA) and electrophoretically (EA) measured albumin values, the detected frequencies of hypercalcemia were compared, utilizing different cut-off limits (i.e. 11.0, 10.4 and 10.2 mg/dl). In our patients, the CA values were significantly lower than EA levels. As a consequence, EA-corrected calcium, as well as total calcium concentration were significantly lower than CA-corrected values. This may also account for the very different prevalence of hypercalcemic patients identified by serum total, EA-corrected and CA-corrected calcium values. Our data therefore indicate the importance of the method of albumin measurement in the determination of "corrected" calcium concentration.

[Localization of DNA sequences tightly associated with synaptonemal complex in compositional fractions of golden hamster]. / Lokalizatsiia posledovatel'nostei DNK, prochno assotsirovannykh s sinaptonemym kompleksom, v kompozitsionnykh fraktsiiakh zolotistogo khomiachka.

The synaptonemal complex isolated from the spermatocyte nuclei by exhaustive hydrolysis of the latter by DNase II contains tightly associated DNA sequences (SCAR DNA). Here we studied the compositional properties of a cloned family of SCAR DNA of golden hamster, namely we performed the localization of 27 SCAR DNA clones on compositionally fractionated genomic DNA from golden hamster. We observed that sequences of the SCAR DNA family are mainly localized in the GC-poor isochore families L1 and L2, that showed 63% hybridization signals. This means that 37% of signals is referred to the GC-rich isochores, indicating the presence of SCAR DNA overall the genome, even if each isochore family presents differences in density and sequence type. Moreover, the SCAR DNA sequences containing regions of homology with LINE/SINE repeats were observed in all the isochore families. The compositional localization of SCAR DNA is in agreement with the hypothesis that SC and SCAR DNA participate in the chromatin organization during the meiosis prophase I, which should result in the attachment of chromatin loops to lateral elements of SC along the whole length of the latter.

Safety of azamethiphos in eel, seabass and trout.

The safety of azamethiphos (AZA), an organophosphorous insecticide and the active ingredient of Salmosan, was evaluated in the European eel, seabass and rainbow trout. Fish were bathed in 0.1 ppm AZA for a period of 60, 120 or 240 min. After termination of each treatment fish were transferred to clean aquaria and randomly sampled over 21 days. Compared to controls, brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was inhibited up to 44, 56 and 62% in eels, seabass and trout, respectively, with the inhibition being significant for up to 4 days in eels and seabass and 7 days in trout. As result of the AChE depression, fish displayed motor hyperactivity and erratic jumping at the onset of treatment. Mortality was observed only in trout following exposure for 240 min. A variable correlation observed among species between the level of exposure, the reduced activity of brain AChE and the signs of toxicity suggest that brain AChE should be considered as an indicator of exposure rather than as an index of toxicity of AZA. The present data indicate that at the therapeutic dosage of 0.1 ppm AZA for 1h can be safely used in eels, seabass and trout. The extended treatment times up to 240 min were equally safe for eels and seabass but not for trout.

[Case report: Acro-necrosis of the upper limbs caused by gemcitabine therapy]. / Acronecrosi degli arti superiori da gemcitabina: segnalazione di un caso clinico.

INTRODUCTION: Even if infrequent, a digital necrosis after chemotherapy can occur in cancer patients. The gemcitabine is generally well tolerate; the cutaneous toxic ulcerations only in 0.3% of the cases induces the suspension of the treatment. CLINICAL CASE: A 70 year old patient, female, with a bladder cancer, after a trans-urethral resection, is submitted to adjuvant chemotherapy with Gemcitabine 1700 mg (total dose/die), with administration in the days 1st and 8th, while in the 15th day was not effected because, to distance of 3-4 days from the second administration, appear paresthesies of the fingers of the hands, together with Raynaud type phenomenon, 38-39 degrees C intermittent fever, digital necrosis and fingertips gangrene. Laboratory: (Normal): RF; AutoAb: AMA, ASMA, APCA, anti-DNA; ENA; lupus anti-coagulant; Ab-anti-cardiolipin; C3-C4, CIC; homocysteine, anti-thrombin, protein C, protein S, mutation of the factor V of Leiden, plasminogen, alfa 2-antiplasmin. (Altered): Auto-antibody: ANA (on Hep-2): positive (title 1/160, speckled pattern), cryoglobulin positive, ESR 29; Instrumental examinations: Superior Limbs Angiograpy: Occlusion of the digital arteries proper of 2nd, 3rd and 4th finger of the hands. Electromyography Inferior Arts: normal. Superior Arts: bilateral suffering of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel. Biopsy of the hand cutis: Hyperkeratosis, acanthosis and papillomatosis of the skin. Arterial vases with signs of endothelioangiitis and aspecific inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Even if acronecrosis of the superior limbs is a rare effect of the gemcitabine, we would recommend particular caution in the administration of this drug in patient with known autoimmune disorders.

Antigenicity of Pseudodactylogyrus anguillae and P. bini (Monogenea) in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla, L.) under different oxygenation conditions.

The antibody response of European eels (Anguilla anguilla, L.) to the branchial parasites Pseudodactylogyrus anguillae and P. bini under hyperoxygenation conditions was studied. The antigenic fractions of parasites were detected by means of electrophoretic techniques (SDS-PAGE) and by Western blot analysis. The results obtained demonstrate that under hyperoxygenation conditions, the eels responded to a greater number of proteins, and this was correlated with a decrease in the level of infestation.

[Early diastolic sound in a patient with hepatocarcinoma]. / Un tono aggiunto protodiastolico in un paziente affetto da epatocarcinoma.

On physical examination an early diastolic sound is usually associated with mitral stenosis, prosthetic mitral valve replacement and chronic constrictive pericarditis. In case of an atrial myxoma, an early diastolic sound can be usually heard due to movement of the tumor towards the tricuspid valve (tumor plop). The following case report shows an example in which an early diastolic sound was heard in a patient presenting with a hepatocellular carcinoma. This sound was due to the presence of a thrombus that originated from the inferior vena cava and invaded the right atrium up to the tricuspid valve. It was thus similar to an atrial myxoma and produced a tumor plop.

[Transrectal ultrasonography in the early diagnosis of prostate carcinoma: use of a new ultrasonography technique with endorectal probe]. / L'ecografia transrettale nella diagnosi precoce del carcinoma prostatico: utilizzo di una nuova manovra ecografica con sonda endorettale.

Seventy-80% of prostatic carcinoma develops in the peripheral gland. Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) has the capacity to identify nodules or hypoechogenic areas in the peripheral zone, suspected to be carcinoma. We describe a new echographic technic with endorectal probe (target compression test), to study hypoechogenic areas or nodules in the peripheral gland, during TRUS examination. Thirty-three patients, aged 49-77 years, with prostatic peripheral hypoechoic lesion at transrectal ultrasound, were studied. All patients underwent prostatic biopsy. Ten of the 11 positive patients (non compressible lesion) at the target compression test resulted to be affected by adenocarcinoma. Only 3 of the 22 negative patients (compressible lesion) at the target compression test resulted to be affected by adenocarcinoma. Even if our data have to be confirmed by further studies, they suggest that the target compression test may be a useful complementary test, during TRUS, in the evaluation of hypoechogenic areas in the peripheral gland.

Serum alpha-L-fucosidase activity and early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective study of patients with cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Serum alpha-L-fucosidase activity is considered a marker of hepatocellular carcinoma. To the authors' knowledge, its clinical usefulness in the early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in the follow-up of cirrhotic patients has not been reported previously. METHODS: The authors prospectively studied serum alpha-L-fucosidase activity, in addition to alpha-fetoprotein and ultrasonography, in a regular screening of 132 cirrhotic patients during an 8-year follow-up. RESULTS: At enrollment, 120 patients had low alpha-L-fucosidase activity (below the cutoff value) and 12 had high activity. All patients had serum alpha-fetoprotein levels below the cutoff value. During the follow-up, hepatocellular carcinoma was detected in 19 patients, 16 with alpha-L-fucosidase activity below the cutoff value at enrollment and 3 with activity above it. In 7 of those 16 patients with carcinoma and low enzyme activity, the enzyme activity showed a significant increase 6-9 months before there was ultrasonographic evidence of a focal lesion, and by the time of diagnosis it had risen above the cutoff value in all of them; in only 3 of the 7 patients was the increase in alpha-L-fucosidase activity associated with an increase in alpha-fetoprotein. In another 4 of the 19 patients with carcinoma, only alpha-fetoprotein increased. CONCLUSIONS: Serum alpha-L-fucosidase activity is useful in the early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. The data from this study suggest that cirrhotic patients who have a marked increase in serum alpha-L-fucosidase levels during follow-up should be closely monitored for signs of hepatocellular carcinoma development.

[Pulsed-wave color Doppler echography of the intrarenal vessels in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and incipient nephropathy]. / L'ecocolor Doppler P.W. dei vasi intrarenali nei pazienti con diabete mellito insulino dipendente (IDDM) e iniziale nefropatia.

Diabetic nephropathy affects a subset of about 40% patients with Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM); it also develops in a less defined percentage (30-50%) of patients with non Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM), after a period of 15-20 years. It is usually divided in 5 stages: the first 3 are characterized by renal hypertrophy and increased glomerular filtration surface area (I stage) followed by glomerular histological lesions (II stage) and early nephropathy with microalbuminuria (III stage). At these stages nephropathy is still reversible by medical treatment (ACE inhibitors) and good metabolic control. Aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of duplex sonography with Doppler wave form analysis in the evaluation of early diabetic nephropathy, in order to detected patients at risk for irreversible renal disease. Fifteen patients (10 males and 5 females) aged 28-46 years, affected by IDDM were studied; 15 healthy subjects (7 males and 8 females) aged 20-45 years composed the control group. All of them underwent duplex Doppler sonography of kidney; a scanner with a 3.5 MHz transducer (Toshiba 270 SSA) was used. All patients had renal function tests within normal range. Pulsatily Index (P.I.) and Resistive Index (R.I. of Doppler waveform were obtained at the interlobar arteries; the average value of 3 bilateral measurements was taken. Doppler sonography was done by the same authors without knowledge of the patient group (case or control). Both indexes (P.I. and R.I.) resulted to have higher values in patients with IDDM compared to controls: P.I. = 1.46 +/- 0.30 vs. 1.07 +/- 0.06, p < 0.05; R.I. = 0.77 +/- 0.09 vs 0.60 +/- 0.03, p < 0.05. Even if our data have to be confirmed by further studies, they suggest that duplex Doppler sonography may be a useful complementary test in the evaluation of diabetic nephropathy, even in the early stages.

A study on the distribution of Bothriocephalus andresi (Cestoda, Pseudophyllidea) in Citharus linguatula.

The distribution of Bothriocephalus andresi (Porta, 1911) in a population of Citharus linguatula (L.) caught off the Tuscan coasts was studied for one year. The negative binomial model proved useful for analysing the distribution of the parasite (B. andresi) in the host population. The ability of the parasite to adjust not only to its own environment but also to that of its host was clear, as it may be evinced from the greater amount of eggs and, hence, of larvae noticed in the period when there was abundance of plankton (high number of intermediate hosts). The balance achieved between host and parasite populations was also evident, and the modulation of the intensity of the infestation was such that it may be imputed to a greater immune response in the host.

[Ureteral jet during medical treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy]. / Il "jet" ureterale in corso di trattamento medico dell'ipertrofia prostatica benigna.

By Color-Doppler ultrasound it's possible to visualize urine flow from ureter into the bladder. Aim of the study was to image these ureteral jets in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) before and after therapy. Seven patients were studied, whose age ranged from 52 to 69 years; they were not affected by methabolic, hepatic, renal diseases and by prostate inflammation. A duplex scanner (Toshiba SSA 270 A) with a convex probe of 3.5 MHz was used. A transabdominal ultrasound study was performed, measuring prostatic volume and imaging ureteral jet before and along a treatment (at four months intervals) with Finasteride 5 mg/die (Finastid, Neopharmed) and at the end of treatment. We found that the mean velocity of jets in patient affected by was higher than in healthy subjects (80 cm/sec vs 60 cm/sec) bur during treatment it decreased along with symptom improvements and decreasing volume at US. We concluded that analysis of ureteral jets with Color-Doppler P.W. may add useful informations to real-time us in the study of patients affected by BPH undergoing treatment with Finasteride.

[Renovascular hypertension: possibilities of echo-color Doppler]. / L'ipertensione reno-vascolare: le possibilità dell'eco-color Doppler.

The evaluation of blood flow at the level of renal arteries by echo-Doppler may be useful in detecting a stenosis in patients affected by arterial hypertension. We studied 33 subjects with arterial hypertension using the most suitable scansions to visualize renal arteries. The measured parameters (R.I. and Vmax) resulted to be higher than normal range in 7 and 1 patients respectively. Then these patients underwent renal scintigraphy and arteriography; in 3 of them the presence of a stenosis of a renal artery was confirmed. Therefore the echo-Doppler study of renal arteries, even if has some shortcomings due to technic troubles, revealed to be a useful tool in the screening of hypertensive patients to support the other tools already used to this aim.