The CpxAR signaling system confers a fitness advantage for flea gut colonization by the plague bacillus.

Unlabelled: The adaptation of , the flea-borne plague agent, to fluctuating environmental conditions is essential for the successful colonization of the flea vector. A previous comparative transcriptomic analysis showed that the Cpx pathway of is up-regulated in infected fleas. The CpxAR two-component system is a component of the envelope stress response and is critical for maintaining the integrity of the cell.

Effect of hydraulic binders' addition on trace metals stabilization in the S/S process of dredged sediments.

The Solidification/Stabilization method for dredged sediments remediation can be very effective for the immobilization of trace metal (TM) pollutants. The ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is largely used in this process. Nevertheless, the mechanical performance of treated sediments can be considerably improved at long term using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) as was shown in (Gutsalenko et al.

On inorganic tracers of wastewater treatment plant discharges along the Marque River (Northern France).

Increase of water quality in aquatic systems has become a hot button issue in recent decades. However, with the aim to implement an effective remediation strategy, the first step is to identify the sources of diffuse and point-source pollution using several tracers. In urban areas, B isotopes, Gd enrichment, Cl or carbamazepine concentrations can be used as wastewater treatment plant tracers.

Streamlined copper defenses make Bordetella pertussis reliant on custom-made operon.

Copper is both essential and toxic to living beings, which tightly controls its intracellular concentration. At the host-pathogen interface, copper is used by phagocytic cells to kill invading microorganisms. We investigated copper homeostasis in Bordetella pertussis, which lives in the human respiratory mucosa and has no environmental reservoir.

18F-Florbetaben PET/CT to Assess Alzheimer's Disease: A new Analysis Method for Regional Amyloid Quantification.

Background And Purpose: While AD can be definitively confirmed by postmortem histopathologic examination, in vivo imaging may improve the clinician's ability to identify AD at the earliest stage. The aim of the study was to test the performance of amyloid PET using new processing imaging algorithm for more precise diagnosis of AD.

Methods: Amyloid PET results using a new processing imaging algorithm (MRI-Less and AAL Atlas) were correlated with clinical, cognitive status, CSF analysis, and other imaging.

Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome: Clinical, Endoscopic, and Radiological Findings.

Background: The superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome is a rare entity presenting with upper gastrointestinal tract obstruction and weight loss. Studies to determine the optimal methods of diagnosis and treatment are required.

Aims And Methods: This study aims at analyzing the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of SMA syndrome.

Choline-PET/CT in the Differential Diagnosis Between Cystic Glioblastoma and Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage.

Objective: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents the most common and malignant glioma, accounting for 45%-50% of all gliomas. The median survival time for patients with glioblastoma is only 12-15 months after surgical, chemioterapic and radiotherapic treatment; a correct diagnosis is naturally fundamental to establish a rapid and correct therapy. Non-invasive imaging plays a pivotal role in each phase of the diagnostic workup of patients with suspected for diagnosis.

Cancer pain management in an oncological ward in a comprehensive cancer center with an established palliative care unit.

Background: This survey was performed to draw information on pain prevalence, intensity, and management from a sample of patients who were admitted to an oncologic center where a palliative care unit (PCU) has been established for 13 years.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey in an oncological department performed 1 day per month for six consecutive months.

Results: Of the 385 patients, 69.

Prognostic outcome of routine clinical noninvasive multidetector-row computed tomography coronary angiography in patients with suspected coronary artery disease: a 2-year follow-up study.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the prognostic value of multidetector-row CT coronary angiography (MDCT-CA) in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) in a routine clinical context.

Materials And Methods: A total of 125 patients (82 men, age 57.4±10.

Effect of observer experience in the differentiation between benign and malignant liver tumors after ultrasound contrast agent injection.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the observer level of experience on the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging (CEUS) for differentiation between benign and malignant liver tumors.

Methods: From a computerized search, we retrospectively identified 286 biopsy-proven liver tumors (105 hepatocellular carcinomas, 48 metastases, 7 intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinomas, 33 liver hemangiomas, and 93 nonhemangiomatous benign lesions) in 235 patients (140 male and 95 female; mean age +/- SD, 56 +/- 11 years) who underwent CEUS after sulfur hexafluoride-filled microbubble injection. The digital cine clips recorded during the arterial (10-35 seconds from injection), portal (50-120 seconds), and late (130-300 seconds) phases were analyzed by 6 independent observers without experience (group 1, observers 1-3) or with 2 to 10 years of experience in CEUS (group 2, observers 4-6).

Prevalence of myocardial bridging and correlation with coronary atherosclerosis studied with 64-slice CT coronary angiography.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of myocardial bridging in patients who underwent multislice computed tomography coronary angiography (MSCT-CA) and to evaluate the correlation between bridged coronary segments and atherosclerosis.

Materials And Methods: A total of 277 patients (mean age 60+/-11 years) we consecutively examined with 64-slice MSCT-CA for suspected or known coronary atherosclerosis were retrospectively reviewed for myocardial bridging. Segments proximal and distal to the bridging were evaluated for atherosclerotic plaque, as were the remaining coronary segments.

Unusual case of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm.

A 71 year-old man with a history of previous anterior myocardial infarction, triple coronary artery bypass graft and left ventricular (LV) aneurysmectomy was admitted to the cardiology unit for chest pain. Physical examination showed a pulsing mass in the left chest wall. Cardiac multislice computed tomography showed a rare case of LV pseudoaneurysm (6.

The added diagnostic value of 64-row multidetector CT combined with contrast-enhanced US in the evaluation of hepatocellular nodule vascularity: implications in the diagnosis of malignancy in patients with liver cirrhosis.

The aim of this study was to assess the added diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) combined with 64-row multidetector CT (CT) in the assessment of hepatocellular nodule vascularity in patients with liver cirrhosis. One hundred and six cirrhotic patients (68 male, 38 female; mean age +/- SD, 70 +/- 7 years) with 121 biopsy-proven hepatocellular nodules (72 hepatocellular carcinomas, 10 dysplastic and 15 regenerative nodules, 12 hemangiomas, and 12 other benignancies) detected during US surveillance were prospectively recruited. Each nodule was scanned by CEUS during the arterial (10-40 s), portal venous (45-90 s), and delayed sinusoidal phase (from 100 s after microbubble injection to microbubble disappearance).

Influence of heart rate in the selection of the optimal reconstruction window in routine clinical multislice coronary angiography.

Purpose: The aim of our study was to assess the influence of heart rate on the selection of the optimal reconstruction window with 40-slice multidetector-row computed tomography (40-MDCT) coronary angiography.

Materials And Methods: We studied 170 patients (114 men, age 60+/-11.3 years) with suspected or known coronary artery disease with 40-MDCT coronary angiography.

[Usefulness of coronary angiography with multidetector computed tomography in the evaluation of aorto-coronary bypass patency].

Background: Coronary angiography is actually the gold standard to visualize coronary artery bypass graft patency and to detect bypass stenoses. However, it is an invasive examination that makes use of X-ray emission and it may lead to deleterious effects even at low dosage. Therefore, it is still needed a non-invasive examination with good diagnostic accuracy for the follow-up of patients with coronary artery bypass grafts.

Protecting off-site populations and site workers from vapor discharges during shallow soil mixing at the North Carolina State University National Priorities List Site.

Although vapor monitoring is generally a component of remedial action activities, most sites do not have routine gaseous releases or vapor clouds erupting from the soil during implementation of the cleanup process (or during cleanup of the site). At the North Carolina State University Lot 86 National Priorities List Site, over 8410 m3 (11,000 yd3) of chemical waste was disposed at the Site, including organic solvents and shock-sensitive and air- and water-reactive compounds. During the Remedial Action, it was imperative to protect site workers and off-site populations from potential inhalation exposures.

[Forty-slice multidetector computed tomography for non-invasive diagnostic approach to coronary artery disease].

Background: Multidetector computed tomography coronary angiography (MDCT-CA) is a non-invasive technique that clearly shows coronary anatomy and correctly identifies plaque location and morphology. In this study we assessed diagnostic accuracy of MDCT-CA in detectiong significant stenosis in patients with clinically relevant coronary tree disease.

Methods: .

Comprehensive cardiovascular ECG-gated MDCT as a standard diagnostic tool in patients with acute chest pain.

Acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, and aortic dissection are diseases associated with acute chest pain and may lead to severe morbidity and mortality. These diseases may not be trivial to diagnose in the settings of emergency room. ECG-gated multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT), already established for the assessment of pulmonary embolism and aortic dissection, provides reliable information regarding the triage of patients with acute coronary syndrome in the emergency room.

Can ECG-gated MDCT be considered an obligatory step to plan and manage a new chest-pain unit?

The recent improvements in multi-detector computed tomography technology and its application in cardiac field allow to consider this non-invasive imaging technique as a promising comprehensive method for detecting significant coronary stenoses in a chest-pain unit. The possibility to use the ECG-synchronisation acquisition protocol, normally limited to the cardiac volume, for the entire thoracic vascular system should have the remarkable potential to reduce invasive and non-invasive procedures actually used to investigate acute chest pain and the number of unnecessary hospital admissions without reducing appropriate admissions in patients with chest pain.

Coronary artery anomalies: incidence, pathophysiology, clinical relevance and role of diagnostic imaging.

Conventional coronary angiography is the gold standard for the diagnosis of coronary artery anomalies. Coronary anomalies are relatively rare findings in patients undergoing conventional coronary angiography for suspected obstructive coronary artery disease. Recently, the increasing performance of diagnostic techniques, such as electron beam tomography (EBT), magnetic resonance (MR) and, more recently, multislice computed tomography (MSCT), has enabled their application to cardiac imaging.

[Effects of sublingual isosorbide dinitrate on systolic time intervals in normal subjects and those with coronary disease].

We studied 14 subjects (7 normal and 7 with coronary artery disease) and we analysed the changes in same parameters (FC, PAD, PAS, PEP, PE, PEP, PEP/PE, SEM) 5m' and 15m' after isosorbide dinitrate. The results demonstrated an improvement of the parameters studied without any side effect.