Prion protein gene mutation detection using long-read Nanopore sequencing.

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative conditions that affect humans and animals. Rapid and accurate sequencing of the prion gene PRNP is paramount to human prion disease diagnosis and for animal surveillance programmes. Current methods for PRNP genotyping involve sequencing of small fragments within the protein-coding region.

Animal fats valorization to green transportations fuels: From concept to industrially relevant scale validation.

The potential of animal fats hydroconversion is experimentally investigated and validated in industrially relevant scale via the production of 100 L of transportation fuels. The experimental testing has indicated that mild hydrotreatment conditions are associated with low hydrogen consumption without significantly penalties in product quality. The optimal operating conditions (pressure of 6.

Contextualized Filtering for Shared Cyber Threat Information.

Cyber threat information sharing is an imperative process towards achieving collaborative security, but it poses several challenges. One crucial challenge is the plethora of shared threat information. Therefore, there is a need to advance filtering of such information.

Identification of novel risk loci and causal insights for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a genome-wide association study.

Background: Human prion diseases are rare and usually rapidly fatal neurodegenerative disorders, the most common being sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). Variants in the PRNP gene that encodes prion protein are strong risk factors for sCJD but, although the condition has similar heritability to other neurodegenerative disorders, no other genetic risk loci have been confirmed. We aimed to discover new genetic risk factors for sCJD, and their causal mechanisms.

ARES: Automated Risk Estimation in Smart Sensor Environments.

Industry 4.0 adoption demands integrability, interoperability, composability, and security. Currently, integrability, interoperability and composability are addressed by next-generation approaches for enterprise systems integration such as model-based standards, ontology, business process model life cycle management and the context of business processes.

D4I - Digital forensics framework for reviewing and investigating cyber attacks.

Many companies have cited lack of cyber-security as the main barrier to Industrie 4.0 or digitalization. Security functions include protection, detection, response and investigation.

ApoE4 lowers age at onset in patients with frontotemporal dementia and tauopathy independent of amyloid-β copathology.

Introduction: Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is the most important genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), with ApoE4 thought to enhance and accelerate amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology. ApoE4 has recently been described to increase neurodegeneration in a mouse model of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), , and in patients, demonstrating that ApoE4 modifies tauopathy independently of Aβ. This raises the question whether ApoE genotype also modifies the clinical phenotype in patients with FTD with tau pathology.

The natural history of donor hamstrings unit after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a prospective MRI scan assessment.

Purpose: The aim of this prospective study was to assess the natural history of the donor hamstrings, compared to the contralateral knee and thigh.

Methods: In 47 patients who had ACL reconstruction (hamstrings technique), bilateral knees and thighs were investigated using MRI scans, up to 2 years post-operatively.

Results: Tendon regeneration below the knee joint line of the semitendinosus occurred in 30/47 (64 %) patients and of the gracilis tendon in 17/47 (36 %) patients.

MR urography: Anatomical and quantitative information on congenital malformations in children.

Background And Aim: Magnetic resonance urography (MRU) is considered to be the next step in uroradiology. This technique combines superb anatomical images and functional information in a single test. In this article, we aim to present the topic of MRU in children and how it has been implemented in Northern Greece so far.

Value of magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis of adenomyosis and myomas of the uterus.

Study Objective: To estimate the diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detection of myomas and adenomyosis of the uterus.

Design: Prospective cohort observational study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).

Setting: Department of obstetrics and gynecology, tertiary academic hospital.

Panic Attack during Elective Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Background. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy (CS) can evoke anxiety, embarrassment, and discomfort. These concerns can culminate in panic attacks, which may traumatize patients and significantly decrease their compliance to the procedure.

Brain SPECT findings of anosognosia in Alzheimer's disease.

Anosognosia is a common symptom of dementia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of different regions of the brain to anosognosia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Forty-two patients with AD were included in this study.

Hydrotreating of waste cooking oil for biodiesel production. Part II: effect of temperature on hydrocarbon composition.

This study focuses on the use of waste cooking oil (WCO) as the main feedstock for hydrotreatment to evaluate the effect of temperature on the product hydrocarbon composition. A qualitative analysis was initially performed using a GC x GC-TOFMS indicating the presence of mainly paraffins of the C15-C18 range. A quantitative analysis was also performed via a GC-FID, which gave both n-paraffins and iso-paraffins in the range of C8-C29.

Hydrotreating of waste cooking oil for biodiesel production. Part I: Effect of temperature on product yields and heteroatom removal.

Hydrotreating of waste cooking oil (WCO) was studied as a process for biofuels production. The hydrotreatment temperature is the most dominant operating parameter which defines catalyst performance as well as catalyst life. In this analysis, a hydrotreating temperature range of 330-398 degrees C was explored via a series of five experiments (330, 350, 370, 385 and 398 degrees C).

Plasma levels of amyloid beta1-42 are independent of neuronal function in Alzheimer's disease.

The aggregation of amyloid-beta42 (Abeta42) constitutes one of the major pathogenic events in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and the study of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), aids the diagnosis of AD. In this study, we evaluated whether there was a correlation between rCBF in brain regions and plasma levels of Abeta1-42 in AD. 29 patients (mean age 71 +/- 9) with a diagnosis of AD who fulfilled NINCDS-ADRDA criteria with a mean Mini-Mental Status Examination score of 15 +/- 9 and 16 normal controls (mean age 64 +/- 8) underwent SPECT brain imaging with hexamethylpropylene amine oxime, and semiquantitative analysis of rCBF was performed.

Evaluation of dopaminergic function in frontotemporal dementia using I-FP-CIT single photon emission computed tomography.

Extrapyramidal symptoms are observed in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). (123)I-FP-CIT (DaT scan) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) can detect loss of presynaptic dopamine transporters in the striatum. We aimed to evaluate the dopaminergic status of the striatum in patients with FTD using DaT scan.

Childhood acute pyelonephritis: comparison of power Doppler sonography and Tc-DMSA scintigraphy.

Background: Tc 99m DMSA scintigraphy is regarded as the gold standard for the detection and localization of acute pyelonephritis (APN) in children. Power Doppler sonography (PD US) is a radiation-free and cost-effective technique that could be useful in the diagnosis of APN in children.

Objective: To compare the predictive value of PD US with DMSA scintigraphy in the diagnosis of APN in children.

Portal hypertension caused by acute cytomegalovirus infection with liver involvement in an immunocompetent patient.

Primary infection by cytomegalovirus in immunocompetent patients is usually unapparent. We report a case of severe acute cytomegalovirus infection in a young immunocompetent male with pulmonary and hepatic involvement and portal hypertension who recovered without specific antiviral therapy with complete resolution of sonographic signs of portal hypertension after 6 months.

Interhemispheric asymmetry in brain perfusion before and after carotid stenting: a 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT study.

Purpose: To assess the effect of unilateral carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) on cerebral perfusion asymmetry in patients with severe extracranial carotid stenosis by means of technetium Tc 99m hexamethyl-propyleneamine oxime brain single photon emission computed tomography ((99m)Tc-HMPAO SPECT).

Methods: Twenty-nine consecutive patients (22 men; median age 68 years, range 58-80; 13 symptomatic) undergoing unilateral CAS were included in the study. Brain perfusion was assessed by (99m)Tc-HMPAO brain SPECT prior to the procedure and postoperatively at 8 hours and at 2 to 4 months.

The impact of carotid stenting on the hemodynamic parameters and cerebrovascular reactivity of the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery.

Objective: The study was conducted to determine the effect of carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) on the hemodynamic parameters and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) of the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) and examine the relation between preprocedural exhausted CVR and perioperative neurologic events.

Methods: The study included 29 patients with severe extracranial carotid stenosis undergoing CAS. Transcranial Doppler imaging was performed before the procedure, 2 days, and 2 to 4 months postoperatively.

Correlative study of iron accumulation in liver, myocardium, and pituitary assessed with MRI in young thalassemic patients.

Clinical complications resulting from unevenly iron accumulation in individual organs of patients with beta-thalassemia major can affect both expectancy and quality of life. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers a quantitative, noninvasive, accurate method for estimating iron levels in various tissues, not easily accessible with other techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate and correlate the level of iron accumulation in different organs (anterior pituitary, myocardium, and liver) assessed with MRI, in children and young adults with beta-thalassemia major.