Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Distinguishing between Malignant and Benign Peripheral Pulmonary Consolidations: The Debated Utility of the Contrast Enhancement Arrival Time.

Limited studies and observations conducted on a too small number of patients prevent determining the actual clinical utility of pulmonary contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). The aim of the present study was to examine the efficacy of contrast enhancement (CE) arrival time (AT) and other dynamic CEUS findings for differentiating between malignant and benign peripheral lung lesions. 317 inpatients and outpatients (215 men, 102 women; mean age: 52 years) with peripheral pulmonary lesions were included in the study and underwent pulmonary CEUS.

Effectiveness and Safety of Real-Time Transthoracic Ultrasound-Guided Thoracentesis.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to specifically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of real-time ultrasound-guided thoracentesis in a case series of pleural effusion.

Patients And Methods: An observational prospective study was conducted. From February 2018 to December 2019, a total of 361 consecutive real-time transthoracic ultrasound (TUS)-guided thoracentesis were performed in the Unit of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound of the Research Hospital "Fondazione Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza" of San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.

Phylogenetic Position of a New Mite Species (Nalepellidae) Destroying Seeds of North American Junipers and New Hypotheses on Basal Divergence of Eriophyoidea.

Eriophyoid mites of the genus Keifer are widespread parasites of conifers. A new oligophagous species,  , was discovered severely damaging seeds of North American junipers (, , and ) in the western USA. It has two codon deletions in the mitochondrial gene rarely detected in Eriophyoidea and includes distinct morphological dimorphism of females.