High-Frequency and Ultra-High Frequency Ultrasound: Musculoskeletal Imaging up to 70 MHz.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) ultrasound has well-established advantages, able to investigate very small structures with high resolution and a quick and real-time dynamic evaluation with the possibility of contralateral comparison. Thus ultrasound has kept its own almost exclusive fields of application in daily clinical practice, and it is considered the first-level imaging technique to assess tendons, bursae, and capsuloligamentous structures of small peripheral joints as well as peripheral nerves. Up to now, however, clinical MSK ultrasound imaging could not go beyond the first 1 to 2 cm under the skin, using high-frequency probes up to 18 to 20 MHz with spatial resolution just below millimeters.

Investigation of the binding between olfactory receptors and odorant molecules in C. elegans organism.

The molecular mechanisms regulating the complex sensory system that underlies olfaction are still not completely understood. The compounds formed from the interaction of Olfactory Receptors (ORs) with volatile molecules play a crucial role in producing the sense of olfaction. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the binding mechanisms between these receptors and small ligands.

Advanced Power Doppler Technique Increases Synovial Vascularity Detection in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

We compared the diagnostic performance of an advanced power Doppler technique (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) with that of power Doppler Imaging (PDI) and B-mode ultrasound (US) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and RA under treatment with rituximab. Thirty patients (21 women aged 45 ± 11 y) affected by RA with remission to moderate disease activity were examined. Both hand joints were evaluated using US, PDI and SMI.

Arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tear with a modified Mason-Allen stitch: mid-term clinical and ultrasound outcomes.

One of the most discussed point about arthroscopic full-thickness rotator cuff (RTC) repair is the strength of tendon-stitch interface. In the period between November 2003 and September 2004, in a series of 29 patients with primary isolated supraspinatus tear measuring > 2 cm a reconstruction using one titanium anchor and a modified Mason-Allen (MMA) stitch was done. These patients were prospectively collected in this study and then retrospectively evaluated.