Search

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the testis is an extremely rare condition with only a few reported cases in the literature. None has been reported in men of afrocaribean descent. This report describes the first case of a primary leiomyosarcoma in a mixed race man. Several different immunostains were used to confirm the morphological suggestion of a primary intratesticular smooth muscle tumour. Scrotal ultrasound and abdominal computed tomography were used to exclude paratesticular and retroperitoneal pathology. Where reported, primary infratesticular leiomyosarcoma is described as an indolent tumour with the potential for distant metastases. Its occurrence in younger men is usually associated with anabolic steroid abuse. Although the number of reported cases is very few, radical orchidectomy followed by surveillance appears to be the treatment of choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPurpose??Some patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) lack evidence of hippocampal sclerosis (HS) on MRI (HS-ve). We hypothesized that this group would have a different pattern of 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-d-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) hypometabolism than typical mesial TLE/HS patients with evidence of hippocampal atrophy on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (HS+ve), with a lateral temporal neocortical rather than mesial focus.Procedures??Thirty consecutive HS-ve patients and 30 age- and sex-matched HS+ve patients with well-lateralized EEG were identified. FDG-PET was performed on 28 HS-ve patients and 24 HS+ve patients. Both groups were compared using statistical parametric mapping (SPM), directly and with FDG-PET from 20 healthy controls.Results??Both groups showed lateralized temporal hypometabolism compared to controls. In HS+ve, this was antero?infero?mesial (T?=?17.13); in HS-ve the main clustering was inferolateral (T?=?17.63). When directly compared, HS+ve had greater hypometabolism inmesial temporal/hippocampal regions (T?=?4.86); HS-ve had greater inferolateral temporal hypometabolism (T?=?4.18).Conclusions??These data support the hypothesis that focal hypometabolism involves primarily lateal neocortical rather than mesial temporal structures in ?MRI-negative PET-positive TLE.? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantum computer needs the assistance of a classical algorithm to detect and identify errors that affect encoded quantum information. At this interface of classical and quantum computing the technique of machine learning has appeared as a way to tailor such an algorithm to the specific error processes of an experiment—without the need for a priori knowledge of the error model. Here, we apply this technique to topological color codes. We demonstrate that a recurrent neural network with long short-term memory cells can be trained to reduce the error rate ϵL of the encoded logical qubit to values much below the error rate ϵphys of the physical qubits—fitting the expected power law scaling , with d the code distance. The neural network incorporates the information from ‘flag qubits’ to avoid reduction in the effective code distance caused by the circuit. As a test, we apply the neural network decoder to a density-matrix based simulation of a superconducting quantum computer, demonstrating that the logical qubit has a longer life-time than the constituting physical qubits with near-term experimental parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nova LMC 2009a is confirmed as a recurrent nova (RN) from positional coincidence with nova LMC 1971b. The observational data set is one of the most comprehensive for any Galactic or extragalactic RN: optical and near-IR photometry from outburst until over 6 years later; optical spectra for the first 6 months, and Swift satellite ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray observations from 9 days to almost 1 year post-outburst. We find MV = −8.4 ± 0.8r ± 0.7s and expansion velocities between 1000 and 4000 km s−1. Coronal line emission before day 9 indicates shocks in the ejecta. Strengthening of He iiλ4686 preceded the emergence of the super-soft source (SSS) in X-rays at ∼63–70 days, which was initially very variable. Periodic modulations, P = 1.2 days, most probably orbital in nature, were evident in the UV and optical from day 43. Subsequently, the SSS shows an oscillation with the same period but with a delay of 0.28P. The progenitor system has been identified; the secondary is most likely a sub-giant feeding a luminous accretion disk. Properties of the SSS infer a white dwarf (WD) mass 1.1 M⊙ ≲ MWD ≲ 1.3 M⊙. If the accretion occurs at a constant rate, yr−1 is needed, consistent with nova models for an inter-eruption interval of 38 years, low outburst amplitude, progenitor position in the color–magnitude diagram, and spectral energy distribution at quiescence. We note striking similarities between LMC 2009a and the Galactic nova KT Eri, suggesting that KT Eri is a candidate RN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining reliable distances to classical novae is a challenging but crucial step in deriving their ejected masses and explosion energetics. Here we combine radio expansion measurements from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array with velocities derived from optical spectra to estimate an expansion parallax for nova V959 Mon, the first nova discovered through its γ-ray emission. We spatially resolve the nova at frequencies of 4.5–36.5 GHz in nine different imaging epochs. The first five epochs cover the expansion of the ejecta from 2012 October to 2013 January, while the final four epochs span 2014 February–May. These observations correspond to days 126 through 199 and days 615 through 703 after the first detection of the nova. The images clearly show a non-spherical ejecta geometry. Utilizing ejecta velocities derived from three-dimensional modeling of optical spectroscopy, the radio expansion implies a distance between 0.9 ± 0.2 and 2.2 ± 0.4 kpc, with a most probable distance of 1.4 ± 0.4 kpc. This distance implies a γ-ray luminosity of erg s−1, which is much less than the prototype γ-ray-detected nova, V407 Cyg, possibly due to the lack of a red giant companion in the V959 Mon system. V959 Mon also has a much lower γ-ray luminosity than other classical novae detected in γ-rays to date, indicating a range of at least a factor of 10 in the γ-ray luminosities for these explosions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]