A simple sonographic scoring system combined with routine serology is useful in differentiating parasitic from non-parasitic cysts of the liver().

In the absence of a detached endocyst, unilocular echinococcal cysts of the liver may be difficult to distinguish from non-parasitic cysts. In an attempt to identify sonographic features that could help distinguish these two types of cysts, we retrospectively analyzed 64 cases of fluid-filled hepatic cysts whose parasitic nature was ultimately excluded. This experience allowed us to develop a simple scoring system that quantifies the likelihood that hepatic cysts are non-parasitic. Sonographic criteria, together with the results of standard serological testing for cystic echinococcosis, proved to be sufficiently specific to allow definitive diagnosis without resorting to further tests.

Twenty years of percutaneous treatments for cystic echinococcosis: a preliminary assessment of their use and safety.

Image-guided percutaneous treatments for echinococcal cysts were introduced in the mid-eighties. Today they represent a third therapeutic option, after surgery and benzimidazole derivatives. Two types of percutaneous treatments are available, based on the destruction of the germinal layer or the evacuation of the endocyst. To assess the extent of their use and their safety, a Medline search of the literature on this subject was performed. The number of cysts treated, their anatomical sites, the complications and, length of follow-up (when available), were all examined. The results show that percutaneous treatments for cystic echinococcosis are safe and efficacious in selected anatomical sites, provided basic safety issues are correctly addressed. However, before drawing final conclusions, a more detailed analysis of the literature is needed. Percutaneous treatments could be simplified and made more effective if a scolecidal agent could be found that melts the entire endocyst without causing harm to the biliary epithelium.

[Human hydatidosis: advances and report of four paediatric cases with unusual presentation]. / Idatidosi umana: recenti acquisizioni e descrizione di quattro casi pediatrici a sede inusuale.

Human hydatid disease due to Echinococcus granulosus is frequently observed in Italy, especially in the central and southern areas and on the islands. In the last twenty years some major advances in the field of epidemiology as well as diagnostic and therapeutical approaches have changed our knowledge of this disease. In Italy, localization in the liver, kidney or peritoneum accounts for about 95% of cases. The authors describe four paediatric cases with unusual localization (kidney and muscle), highlighting difficulties in the diagnosis.

[Epidemiological features of intestinal parasitosis in western Sicily in the period 1993-2000]. / Epidemiologia delle parassitosi intestinali in Sicilia occidentale: osservazioni relative agli anni 1993-2000.

To determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in western Sicily from 1993 to 2000, fecal samples from 3024 patients (subdivided into native Sicilian children, migrants from developing countries and HIV+ patients,) were collected and observed on direct examination or by the formalin-ether sedimentation technique of Ritchie. Lugol, Kinyoun and Gomori's trichromic stain techniques were employed. Trophozoites or mainly protozoan cysts and helminthic eggs were detected in 195 patients (6.4%). The positivity rate was 18.7% in HIV+ patients, 10.3% in migrants and 5.0% in native Sicilian children. Tape test for Enterobius eggs was employed on 1449 patients with a positivity rate of 11%. The importance of parasitology also in new millennium is emphasized.

Measurement of a Peak in the Cosmic Microwave Background Power Spectrum from the North American Test Flight of Boomerang.

We describe a measurement of the angular power spectrum of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at scales of 0&fdg;3 to 5 degrees from the North American test flight of the Boomerang experiment. Boomerang is a balloon-borne telescope with a bolometric receiver designed to map CMB anisotropies on a long-duration balloon flight. During a 6 hr test flight of a prototype system in 1997, we mapped more than 200 deg(2) at high Galactic latitudes in two bands centered at 90 and 150 GHz with a resolution of 26&arcmin; and 16&farcm;5 FWHM, respectively. Analysis of the maps gives a power spectrum with a peak at angular scales of 1 degrees with an amplitude 70 µK(CMB).

A Measurement of Omega from the North American Test Flight of Boomerang.

We use the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background, measured during the North American test flight of the Boomerang experiment, to constrain the geometry of the universe. Within the class of cold dark matter models, we find that the overall fractional energy density of the universe Omega is constrained to be 0.85

Word frequency and age effects in normally developing children's phonological processing.

Eleven kindergarten-age students and 11 second-grade students were asked to perform each of four phonological processing tasks: (a) confrontation naming of object drawings, (b) rapid sequential naming of object drawings and letters, (c) segmentation of words into sounds, and (d) blending sounds to produce words. Response accuracy and, for the picture naming tasks, response latency were measured. In addition, single-word reading ability and silent reading comprehension were evaluated. Results indicated that high-frequency stimuli were named faster and, in one task, more accurately than low-frequency stimuli. Blending sounds to produce high-frequency words was less difficult than blending sounds to produce low-frequency words, but word frequency did not affect sound segmentation performance. Children in second grade generally were faster and more accurate than kindergarten children in naming pictures. They also were able to segment more sounds and correctly blend sounds to produce more target words than kindergarten students. Confrontation naming accuracy, rapid object- and letter-naming latency, and sound segmentation and blending accuracy were intercorrelated and were related to word recognition and to reading comprehension. Serial naming speed was highly related to phonological awareness in kindergarten, whereas confrontation naming accuracy was highly related to phonological awareness in second grade. A limited cognitive resources framework was adopted to interpret these findings.