Syringeless power injector versus dual-syringe power injector: economic evaluation of user performance, the impact on contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) workflow exams, and hospital costs.

Objective: The utilization of diagnostic imaging has substantially increased over the past decade in Europe and North America and continues to grow worldwide. The purpose of this study was to develop an economic evaluation of a syringeless power injector (PI) versus a dual-syringe PI for contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in a hospital setting.

Materials And Methods: Patients (n=2379) were enrolled at the Legnano Hospital between November 2012 and January 2013.

Performance assessment of four 64-slice computed tomographic devices for a typical clinical protocol.

Objective: To compare the performances of four 64-slice CT devices, as regards radiation dose and image quality.

Methods: Effective dose was measured with thermoluminescent dosimeters in an Alderson Rando phantom (Alderson Research Laboratories, New York, NY). Quantitative image quality was evaluated in a Catphan 600 phantom (The Phantom Laboratory, New York, NY) using 3 parameters (modulation transfer function, contrast-to-noise ratio, and figure of merit).

The antimetastatic effect of macrophages restored by indomethacin: concomitant tumor immunity model.

The role of macrophages acting as immunologic antitumor effectors and promoters of tumor growth are poorly understood as yet. We investigated the role of macrophage in model of concomitant immunity (CI), a phenomenon of secondary tumor rejection during the primary tumor growth. It has been shown that the period of CI weakening can coincide with appearance of tumor metastases.

[Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis as an animal model for multiple sclerosis].

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis is an animal model for demyelinating autoimmune disease of central nervous system, whose clinical and pathological characteristics resemble those in human disease multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease followed by central nervous system demyelination, which is the result of an autoimmune process followed by central nervous system infiltration with autoreactive lymphocytes, activated macrophages and by local production of proinflammatory cytokines. Finally, the destruction of oligodendrocytes and myelin sheath occurs, caused by immunologic effector mechanisms.

Transient hyperechogenicity of the renal medullary pyramids: incidence in the healthy term newborn.

A screening program was performed on 1881 clinically healthy term newborns, aimed at detecting eventual pathological conditions not diagnosed during pregnancy. Seventy-three cases of transient hyperechogenicity of the renal medullary pyramids were observed, involving one or both kidneys with either sectorial or diffuse pattern. None of the neonates examined had evidence of renal dysfunction and follow-up ultrasound scans demonstrated complete resolution of the sonographic picture.