Simulation of cell cycle effects on DNA strand break induction due to α-particles.

Purpose: Understanding cell cycle variations in radiosensitivity is important for α-particle therapies. Differences are due to both repair response mechanisms and the quantity of initial radiation-induced DNA strand breaks. Genome compaction within the nucleus has been shown to impact the yield of strand breaks.

Targeted alpha therapies using At: A Geant4 simulation of dose and DNA damage.

Introduction: Targeted alpha therapies show great potential for cancer treatment due to their high linear energy transfer (LET) and low range. At is currently employed in clinical trials. Targeted alpha therapies (TAT) are effective as an adjuvant treatment for cancer or to treat micrometastases and diffuse cancers.

Dose and DNA damage modelling of diffusing alpha-emitters radiation therapy using Geant4.

Purpose: Diffusing alpha-emitters radiation therapy (DaRT) is a brachytherapy technique using α-particles to treat solid tumours. The high linear energy transfer (LET) and short range of α-particles make them good candidates for the targeted treatment of cancer. Treatment planning of DaRT requires a good understanding of the dose from α-particles and the other particles released in the Ra decay chain.

Electron contamination suppression in transmission detectors for radiotherapy.

Higher energy and intensity radiotherapy beams are being used, in part, due to the increased spatial accuracy of treatments. However, higher intensity beams can result in a larger total dose error, motivating the increasing need for real-time dose monitoring. We are developing a thin, real-time upstream monolithic active pixel sensor based system for beam monitoring with excellent precision on measuring the beam shape.

In-silico calculations of DNA damage induced by α-particles in the Ra DaRT decay chain for a better understanding of the radiobiological effectiveness of this treatment.

Diffusing alpha-emitters radiation Therapy (DaRT) is an interstitial brachytherapy technique using Ra seeds. For accurate treatment planning a good understanding of the early DNA damage due to α-particles is required. Geant4-DNA was used to calculate the initial DNA damage and radiobiological effectiveness due to α-particles with linear energy transfer (LET) values in the range 57.

Performance of a Full-Scale Upstream MAPS-Based Verification Device for Radiotherapy.

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy is a widely used technique for accurately targeting cancerous tumours in difficult locations using dynamically shaped beams. This is ideally accompanied by real-time independent verification. Monolithic active pixel sensors are a viable candidate for providing upstream beam monitoring during treatment.

"Starry liver" - Von Meyenburg complex clinical case presentation and differential diagnosis discussion: A case report.

Background: Von Meyenburg complex (VMC) ( biliary hamartoma) is a rare congenital disorder characterized by multiple dilated cystic bile ducts, without clear trends in sex or age predominance. Due to the low number of published cases and the lack of recognized guidelines, the management of such patients remains a clinical challenge.

Case Summary: We present a case of symptomatic VMC that was diagnosed after imaging and histopathological examinations.

Bedside ultrasound as a screening test for the diagnosis of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBI).

Purpose: Between 15 and 30% of all nosocomial bacteremias and sepsis are associated with the use of intravascular devices. Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBI) are infections in which the organism identified in the blood is also present on the tip of the catheter itself or in a blood sample taken through it. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of ultrasound in the diagnosis of infections related to the use of central catheters.

The use of chest ultrasonography in suspected cases of COVID-19 in the emergency department.

Aim: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) represents the diagnostic gold standard. We explored the value of chest ultrasonography to predict positivity to SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR in suspected COVID-19 cases.

Patients & Methods: Consecutive patients with suspect COVID-19 were included if they had fever and/or history of cough and/or dyspnea.

Lung ultrasound as diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The aim of this study was to explore the role of lung ultrasound (LUS) in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to verify its utility in the prediction of lung disease's severity and outcome. Fifty-three consecutive patients presenting to the Emergency Department of Santa Maria delle Grazie Hospital with high suspicion of SARS-CoV-2 infection underwent diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 on samples obtained from nasopharyngeal swab as well as complete proper diagnostic work-up that included clinical evaluation, laboratory tests, blood gas analyses, chest CT and LUS. A semiquantitative analysis of B-lines distribution was performed to calculate the LUS score.

Aspirin in a diabetic retinopathy setting: Insights from NO BLIND study.

Background And Aims: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes. Diabetic macroangiopathies, particularly cardiovascular (CV) diseases, seem closely related to diabetes microvascular complications. Aspirin represents the most prescribed compound in CV prevention.

High HDL cholesterol: A risk factor for diabetic retinopathy? Findings from NO BLIND study.

Aims: To assess the correlation between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and potential risk factors, as well as the relationship between DR and the other complications of diabetes, in a real-life population of type 2 diabetes patients recruited in several centres in Italy.

Methods: The NO BLIND is a cross-sectional, multicentre, observational study, which involved nine public outpatient clinics in Italy. The patients were assessed for eligibility from November 2016 till November 2017.

Telemedicine for screening diabetic retinopathy: The NO BLIND Italian multicenter study.

Aims: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) represents the main cause of blindness among adults in the industrialized Countries. Use of telemedicine could offer an easy, smart specialist fundus oculi examination, as well as putting in a screening programme many patients who otherwise would be excluded.

Materials And Methods: The NO BLIND is a transversal, multicentre, observational study.

Atrial fibrillation following therapy with high-dose i.v. methylprednisolone: A brief case-based review.

Atrial fibrillation following high-dose i.v. steroids for treatment of severe immune-mediated diseases has been rarely reported in the literature.

Optimized contrast-enhanced ultrasonography for characterization of focal liver lesions in cirrhosis: A single-center retrospective study.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of death amongst cirrhotic patients. Its diagnosis and discrimination from non-HCC malignant lesions in cirrhosis includes contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT), contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CEMRI), or, in selected cases, liver biopsy. The role of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) is still controversial.

Liver failure in an obese middle-aged woman after biliointestinal bypass.

Obesity is considered an emerging epidemic that is often associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Among the therapeutic options for morbid obesity, bariatric surgery plays an important role when conventional therapies fail. The effects of bariatric surgery on liver function and morphology are controversial in the literature.