Terms, definitions and measurements to describe sonographic features of lymph nodes: consensus opinion from the Vulvar International Tumor Analysis (VITA) group.

In centers with access to high-end ultrasound machines and expert sonologists, ultrasound is used to detect metastases in regional lymph nodes from melanoma, breast cancer and vulvar cancer. There is, as yet, no international consensus on ultrasound assessment of lymph nodes in any disease or medical condition. The lack of standardized ultrasound nomenclature to describe lymph nodes makes it difficult to compare results from different ultrasound studies and to find reliable ultrasound features for distinguishing non-infiltrated lymph nodes from lymph nodes infiltrated by cancer or lymphoma cells. The Vulvar International Tumor Analysis (VITA) collaborative group consists of gynecologists, gynecologic oncologists and radiologists with expertise in gynecologic cancer, particularly in the ultrasound staging and treatment of vulvar cancer. The work herein is a consensus opinion on terms, definitions and measurements which may be used to describe inguinal lymph nodes on grayscale and color/power Doppler ultrasound. The proposed nomenclature need not be limited to the description of inguinal lymph nodes as part of vulvar cancer staging; it can be used to describe peripheral lymph nodes in general, as well as non-peripheral (i.e. parietal or visceral) lymph nodes if these can be visualized clearly. The association between the ultrasound features described here and histopathological diagnosis has not yet been established. VITA terms and definitions lay the foundations for prospective studies aiming to identify ultrasound features typical of metastases and other pathology in lymph nodes and studies to elucidate the role of ultrasound in staging of vulvar and other malignancies. © 2021 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

An improved synthetic signal injection routine for the Haloscope At Yale Sensitive To Axion Cold dark matter (HAYSTAC).

Microwave cavity haloscopes are among the most sensitive direct detection experiments searching for dark matter axions via their coupling to photons. When the power of the expected microwave signal due to axion-photon conversion is on the order of 10-24 W, having the ability to validate the detector response and analysis procedure by injecting realistic synthetic axion signals becomes helpful. Here, we present a method based on frequency hopping spread spectrum for synthesizing axion signals in a microwave cavity haloscope experiment. It allows us to generate a narrow and asymmetric shape in frequency space that mimics an axion's spectral distribution, which is derived from a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. In addition, we show that the synthetic axion's power can be calibrated with reference to the system noise. Compared to the synthetic axion injection in the Haloscope At Yale Sensitive to Axion Cold dark matter (HAYSTAC) Phase I, we demonstrated synthetic signal injection with a more realistic line shape and calibrated power.

An induced annual modulation signature in COSINE-100 data by DAMA/LIBRA's analysis method.

The DAMA/LIBRA collaboration has reported the observation of an annual modulation in the event rate that has been attributed to dark matter interactions over the last two decades. However, even though tremendous efforts to detect similar dark matter interactions were pursued, no definitive evidence has been observed to corroborate the DAMA/LIBRA signal. Many studies assuming various dark matter models have attempted to reconcile DAMA/LIBRA's modulation signals and null results from other experiments, however no clear conclusion can be drawn. Apart from the dark matter hypothesis, several studies have examined the possibility that the modulation is induced by variations in detector's environment or their specific analysis methods. In particular, a recent study presents a possible cause of the annual modulation from an analysis method adopted by the DAMA/LIBRA experiment in which the observed annual modulation could be reproduced by a slowly varying time-dependent background. Here, we study the COSINE-100 data using an analysis method similar to the one adopted by the DAMA/LIBRA experiment and observe a significant annual modulation, however the modulation phase is almost opposite to that of the DAMA/LIBRA data. Assuming the same background composition for COSINE-100 and DAMA/LIBRA, simulated experiments for the DAMA/LIBRA without dark matter signals also provide significant annual modulation with an amplitude similar to DAMA/LIBRA with opposite phase. Even though this observation does not directly explain the DAMA/LIBRA results directly, this interesting phenomenon motivates more profound studies of the time-dependent DAMA/LIBRA background data.

Strong constraints from COSINE-100 on the DAMA dark matter results using the same sodium iodide target.

We present new constraints on dark matter interactions using 1.7 years of COSINE-100 data. The COSINE-100 experiment, consisting of 106 kg of tallium-doped sodium iodide [NaI(Tl)] target material, is aimed to test DAMA's claim of dark matter observation using the same NaI(Tl) detectors. Improved event selection requirements, a more precise understanding of the detector background, and the use of a larger dataset considerably enhance the COSINE-100 sensitivity for dark matter detection. No signal consistent with the dark matter interaction is identified and rules out model-dependent dark matter interpretations of the DAMA signals in the specific context of standard halo model with the same NaI(Tl) target for various interaction hypotheses.

Positive margins after partial nephrectomy in renal cell carcinoma: Oncological outcomes of conservative management after long-term follow-up. / Márgenes positivos tras nefrectomía parcial en carcinoma de células renales: seguimiento a largo plazo y resultados oncológicos con manejo conservador.

INTRODUCTION: Partial nephrectomy (PN) is the standard treatment for small and localized kidney tumours (cT1). One of the controversial aspects regarding this technique is the management of affected/positive resection margins. We present the long-term oncological results in patients with PSM after PN managed conservatively. MATERIAL AND METHODS: There were 207 PN performed in our centre between 1990 and 2011. 17 patients presented PSM. 2 patients were excluded from the study due to completion nephrectomy afterwards. Follow-up was was done with abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography every 6 months for the first 2 years and subsequently, once a year. Cancer-specific survival and disease-free survival were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The median age was 62 years (RIQ: 55-71) and the mean tumour size was 34.8 (10-77) mm. Histopathological results were: 6 (40%) clear cell RCC, 4 (26.7%) papillary, 3 (20%) chromophobe and 2 (13.3%) oncocytic. The pathologic stages were: 11 (73.3%) pT1a, 1 (6.7%) pT1b and 3 (20%) pT3a. The median follow-up was 84 months (IQR 72-120). 2 patients had metastatic recurrence and this was the cause of death. The first one had recurrence at 112 months and the second one at 59. 5-year CSS and RFS were 87.5% and 93.3% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, patients with PSM after PN can be managed conservatively with satisfactory long-term oncological outcomes.

Selectivity of IMAC columns in trypsin inhibitor purification.

The properties of an adsorbent and the parameters in an adsorption process affect the resolution of chromatographic purifications. This is reflected in the elution profile, which shows the relative affinity of different proteins for a specific adsorbent. In the work presented here, elution profiles for trypsin inhibitor were used to study the effects of the concentration of trypsin inhibitor, ionic strength of the protein solution, slope of the elution gradient, and the regeneration treatment of the chromatography column on the selectivity of the adsorbent Cellufine Chelate-Cu(II)(ida). Cytochrome c was used as a reference protein. Variations in the concentrations of trypsin inhibitor and in the ionic strength of the buffered solution did not have any effects on the elution profile. On the other hand, changes in the slope of the pH gradient used for elution caused shifting of the elution peaks toward lower values of the elution volume, resulting in the best strategy to modify the elution profile of the system. Finally, using a constant slope pH gradient of elution, the variation of the selectivity of the adsorbent for trypsin inhibitor when subjected to cleaning treatments with 0.5 N NaOH was studied. Appropriate cleaning practices used in industry were followed. The adsorbent showed only a slight tendency for resolution loss in the order of 2 x 10(-4) days(-1). The results presented here show a good stability of the adsorbent when compared to other biospecific adsorbents commonly used.