1,721,044 research outputs found

    Imaging of Penile Traumas – Therapeutic Implications.

    No full text
    Injury to the penis may result from penetrating or nonpenetrating trauma. Nonpenetrating injury to the erect penis can produce albugineal tear, intracavernous hematoma or extraalbugineal hematoma from rupture of the dorsal vessels. Nonpenetrating injury to the flaccid penis usually follows blunt perineal traumas producing extratunical or cavernosal haematomas, or cavernosal artery tear followed by high flow priapism. Differential diagnosis between albugineal tear and other penile injuries must be obtained as soon as possible, since early surgical repair of albugineal tear reduces significantly the rate of postraumatic curvature and fibrosis. Ultrasonography (US) is able to detect the exact site of the tear in most patients as an interruption of the thin echogenic line of the tunica albuginea. Other imaging techniques are rarely required in the clinical practice. Color Doppler US is the imaging modality of choice to evaluate patients with high flow priapism. Focal or diffuse cavernosal fibrosis can be identified with US as echogenic areas in the cavernosal bodies. Postraumatic erectile dysfunction can result from fibrotic changes, nerve and vascular impairment or both. Doppler evaluation of penile vasculature is required in young patients with postraumatic impotence before surgical revascularization procedures

    Characterization of focal hepatic lesions in cirrhotic patients by Pulse Inversion Harmonic Imaging US contrast specific technique with Levovist

    No full text
    PURPOSE: To evaluate the capabilities of Pulse Inversion Harmonic Imaging (PIHI) with hepatospecific US contrast agent Levovist in the characterization of focal liver lesions in cirrhotic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-nine focal hepatic lesions in 25 consecutive cirrhotic patients identified by conventional ultrasound (US), were evaluated by color Doppler (CD), power Doppler (PD) with spectral analysis of tumoural vessels and PIHI. PIHI was performed 30 seconds (vascular phase) and 3-5 minutes (late phase) after Levovist injection. To definitely characterize the evaluated focal hepatic lesions, helical-CT (HCT) enhancement patterns (15 patients) and/or surgical/bioptic histologic findings (10 patients) were considered as reference procedures. RESULTS: Thirty focal hepatic lesions classified as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by reference procedures appeared hypoechoic (n=19), isoechoic (n=5) or hyperechoic (n=6) on conventional US, with basket arterial pattern (n=10), vessels within the tumor (n=6), peripheral arterial pattern (n=4) or no vascular pattern (n=10) on CD/PD evaluation. On PIHI they appeared hyperechoic (n=26) or isoechoic (n=4) in the vascular phase, if compared to the surrounding liver parenchyma, and hypoechoic (n=23) or isoechoic (n=7) in the late phase. Four focal hepatic lesions classified as regenerative nodules (RNs) by reference procedures appeared hypoechoic on conventional US, with peripheral venous/arterial pattern (n=1) or no vascular pattern (n=3) on CD/PD. On PIHI they appeared hypoechoic (n=3) or isoechoic (n=1) in the vascular phase, remaining prevalently hypoechoic (n=3) or isoechoic (n=1) in the late phase. Five focal hepatic lesions classified as hemangioma by reference procedures appeared hyperechoic (n=4) or hypoechoic (n=1) on conventional US with few peripheral venous vessels on CD/PD. On PIHI they revealed progressive fill-in from the periphery toward the centre during the vascular and late phase after Levovist injectio

    Rotational angiography of the carotid artery bifurcation: technical aspects and preliminary results.

    No full text
    PURPOSE: Rotational Angiography (RA), a new modality for performing conventional catheter angiography, enables an accurate evaluation of the artery to be obtained from different points of view by means of the contemporary rotation of the X-ray tube and image intensifier during intrarterial selective injection of contrast media. This paper describes the examination technique and compares the diagnostic accuracy of the RA oblique projections with the data obtained in the antero-posterior (AP) and latero-lateral (LL) projections in the study of the carotid bifurcation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients underwent RA of the supra-aortic vessels to evaluate the degree of a stenosis at the carotid bifurcation suspected at color Doppler imaging. The angiographic examinations were performed on a Philips Integris Allura system able to rotate the arc at a speed of 55 degrees /s with selective catheterisation of both common carotid arteries. RESULTS: The frame showing the greatest degree of stenosis was compared with the frames obtained in the AP and LL projections. 57/60 carotid bifurcations were assessable (3 cases of internal carotid arteries were obstructed). The degree of stenosis evaluated on the most significant of the oblique projections was superior to that shown in the AP and LL projections for 16/30 cases on the right side and for 14/27 cases on the left side. In 4/57 cases (7%) the degree of stenosis was modified from less than 70% to more than 70%. No adverse event was observed due to catheterisation. CONCLUSIONS: RA enables the complete three-dimensional evaluation of the carotid bifurcation, and generally yields more accurate information on the degree of the stenosis in comparison with AP and LL technique. The study was successfully carried out in all cases, however slightly longer examination times due to the setup requirements of the system. This was largely compensated by the quality of the information yielded, which required no additional projections to be performed. Moreover, the high frame rate of 25 frames per second showed the haemodynamic flow through the lesion

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

    Full text link
    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

    Full text link
    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
    corecore