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Objective: Our aim was to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB), the number needed to screen (NNS), and the diagnostic accuracy of chest X-ray (CXR) screening to detect active pulmonary TB during the 2015 European refugee crisis.Materials and Methods: We evaluated data of all refugees who underwent CXR screening in a single-centre of one German metropolitan area in 2015. We determined the prevalence of TB, NNS, and accuracy of CXR to detect active pulmonary TB. Reference method for active TB was the database of all definite TB cases registered at the Department of Public Health.Results: A total of 17,487 immigrants underwent single-centre CXR screening in 2015; prevalence of definite pulmonary TB was 0.103%. The NNS for detecting one case of active pulmonary TB was 1749. CXR had a sensitivity of 55.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 30.8-78.5%) and a specificity 98.3% (CI 98.1-98.5%) to reveal one case of active TB.Conclusion: Our single-centre study indicates that chest X-ray screening for TB during the 2015 European refugee crisis was of low yield due the low prevalence of TB and high number needed to screen, thus implicating the need for improved screening algorithms adapted to the overwhelming number of refugees.Key Points: • Prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) among refugees in 2015 was low (0.103%). • The number needed to screen to detect one case of active pulmonary TB was 1749. • Tuberculosis X-ray screening resulted in a low sensitivity and high specificity. • Tuberculosis X-ray screening during the European refugee crisis is of low yield. • Improved screening algorithms are needed due to the overwhelming the number of refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe has a very rich and diversified cultural heritage of art works, including buildings, monuments and objects of all sizes, involving a great variety of materials. The continuous discovery of new art works opens the problem of their authentication. Advanced analytical techniques can be fundamental to understand the way of life, the culture and the technical and intellectual know-how of the artists. Indeed, the authentication of an art work involves the identification of the used materials, their production techniques and procedures used for the work realization. It is possible to know the origin and provenance of materials, including the location of the natural sources. Advanced analytical techniques also help one to understand degradation processes, corrosion, weathering, and preservation-conservation protocols. In this paper we present a painting attributed to Domenico Ghirlandaio. Ghirlandaio is a well-known artist of fifteenth century who contributes to the apprenticeship of Michelangelo Buonarroti. The study of the pigments used in this painting, which belongs to a private collection, has been supported mainly by means of laboratory two-dimensional X-ray microdiffraction (μXRD2). The possibility to obtain information about not only the phase, but also microstructure allows one to extract interesting consideration and to obtain evidence of the painter’s style and intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to develop clinical guidelines for multidetector computed tomography urography (CTU) by a group of experts from the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR). Peer-reviewed papers and reviews were systematically scrutinized. A summary document was produced and discussed at the ESUR 2006 and ECR 2007 meetings with the goal to reach consensus. True evidence-based guidelines could not be formulated, but expert guidelines on indications and CTU examination technique were produced. CTU is justified as a first-line test for patients with macroscopic haematuria, at high-risk for urothelial cancer. Otherwise, CTU may be used as a problem-solving examination. A differential approach using a one-, two- or three-phase protocol is proposed, whereby the clinical indication and the patient population will determine which CTU protocol is employed. Either a combined nephrographic-excretory phase following a split-bolus intravenous injection of contrast medium, or separate nephrographic and excretory phases following a single-bolus injection can be used. Lower dose (CTDIvol 5–6 mGy) is used for benign conditions and normal dose (CTDIvol 9–12 mGy) for potential malignant disease. A low-dose (CTDIvol 2–3 mGy) unenhanced series can be added on indication. The expert-based CTU guidelines provide recommendations to optimize techniques and to unify the radiologist’s approach to CTU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]