Search

COVID-19 pneumonia is a highly contagious viral pneumonia spread worldwide, caused by SARS-CoV-2. Adults may be more susceptible to disease, especially in those with comorbidities while young people show milder signs of the disease. Between January 1st and February 28th 2021, seven consecutive patients, ranging from 26 to 41 years, were admitted to our hospital with a diagnosis of COVID disease confirmed by a RT-PCR swab test. On HRCT, a Severity Index Score was performed to estimate pulmonary involvement. Focusing our attention on anterior mediastinum, we found that five of the seven cases enrolled had thymic gland. Two patients had not thymic gland. In our preliminary experience, five patients who had thymic gland showed a mild or negative clinical and radiological COVID-19 pneumonia. Instead, two patients who experienced severe COVID-19 pneumonia did not show the thymic gland. Further studies carried out prospectively are needed in order to exceed the limitations of this study and to ascertain the relationship between the persistence of the thymic gland as a protective factor against severe forms of COVID-19 pneumonia.

[REFEREED]

The botanical exploration of the Majella National Park has a long tradition dating back to the eighteenth century. However, the lichen biota of this area is still poorly investigated. To provide a baseline for future investigations, in this annotated checklist, we summarised all available information on the occurrence of lichens in the Majella National Park, retrieved from previous literature, herbarium material and original data produced by recent research.The checklist includes 342 infrageneric taxa. However, seven taxa are considered as dubious, thus setting the number of accepted taxa at 335, i.e. 45.8% of those currently known to occur in the Abruzzo Region. This checklist provides a baseline of the lichens known to occur in the Majella National Park, highlighting the potential of this area as a hotspot of lichen biodiversity, especially from a biogeographical point of view as indicated by the occurrence of several arctic-alpine species that form disjunct populations in the summit area of the massif.

Appropriate GPR data processing and inversion require a reliable estimation of the radar pulse. In particular the knowledge of the shape and frequency content of the wavelet sent into the ground is an important issue not only for processing an interpreting reflection profilles, but also for GPR tomography, especially for amplitude tomography. Common practice considers the nominal antenna frequency as a measure of the bandwidth of the radar wavelet in the air, which in turn is assumed to be equal to the peak (dominant) frequency. Raising the antenna above a totally-reflecting metallic slab is the simplest way to gain information on the shape of the radar pulse in the air. This is the experimental calibration method generally used for correcting zero-time drift and to obtain a reference signal for amplitude analysis. This method was applied in this study to extract information on the frequency content of the emitted radar wave. Experimental errors related to ambient noise and positioning inaccuracies impose great care for a correct extraction of the needed attributes. The same test was also useful to gain insights into the influence of the filters applied in the acquisition stage.

CD-Rom, P074.

The purpose of this work is to propose a model of integration between features of geophysical, physical, and chemical variables, obtained using multiple and different techniques, in the field of safeguard of works of art. Such type of integration has never been applied in this field, and the results of this application appear to be very powerful, in order to assess the reasons of previous or potential damages of the artistic monuments, due to physical and chemical conditions. Furthermore advanced tools for analysis, query, selection, and display have been used to seek patterns on a large number of data, that may not be visible without using them. The results of the different surveys are displayed at the URL http://gis.unile.it/santacroce/radar, showing a method useful to explore relationships between different variables, during the local and the network analysis of the database.

Aims and background This study aimed to describe the mammographic and sonographic features of tubular carcinoma of the breast. Methods A retrospective review of 198 consecutive cases of surgically proven breast cancer revealed ten cases of tubular carcinoma of the breast. Only tumors with a tubular component of at least 75% were included in the study. Mean patient age was 56 ± 9 years, range 35 to 70 years. Results The mean size of the tumors was 11 ± 4 mm. On mammography, all tubular carcinomas appeared as an irregularly shaped mass with a central density in 6/10 cases. Eight tubular carcinomas were described as having spiculated margins. Microcalcifications were present in 4/10 cases. On ultrasound the tumor presented as a hypoechoic mass with irregular margins and posterior acoustic shadowing in 7/10 cases. In three cases the tumor presented as a hypoechoic mass with ill-defined margins and posterior acoustic shadowing. Conclusions Although some specific mammographic and sonographic features may suggest the presence of a tubular carcinoma, the final differential diagnosis from other spiculated lesions of the breast should rely on histologic evidence only. Therefore, surgical biopsy should be recommended in all cases of stellate lesions of the breast detected at mammography or ultrasonogram.

The present work shows some results of an early ground-penetrating radar (GPR) study performed in a hazardous karstic area near the village of Nociglia in the central part of the Salento peninsula (Apulia, southern Italy), after a sudden subsidence event occurred on March 13th, 1996. The geophysical study, also involving vertical electric sounding (VES) and refraction seismics, is part of a multidisciplinary research project, aimed at determining the climatic, geological, morphological and hydrogeological conditions of the area in order to assess geological hazards and to prevent groundwater pollution due to agricultural activities. GPR transects led to the identification of some shallow subsurface structures including a known cave and probable karstified bedding joints, weakened shallow layers, fractures, fault zones, and burrows. The VES and seismic surveys resulted in a better understanding of the geology of the area and supported the interpretation of the GPR data.