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Background: Although artificial intelligence (AI) has potential in the field of screening of breast cancer, there are still issues. It is vital to make sure AI does not overlook cancer or cause needless recalls. The aim of this work was to investigate the effectiveness of indulging AI in combination with one radiologist in the routine double reading of mammography for breast cancer screening. The study prospectively analyzed 32,822 screening mammograms. Reading was performed in a blind-paired style by (i) two radiologists and (ii) one radiologist paired with AI. A heatmap and abnormality scoring percentage were provided by AI for abnormalities detected on mammograms. Negative mammograms and benign-looking lesions that were not biopsied were confirmed by a 2-year follow-up. Results: Double reading by the radiologist and AI detected 1324 cancers (6.4%); on the other side, reading by two radiologists revealed 1293 cancers (6.2%) and presented a relative proportion of 1·02 (p < 0·0001). At the recall stage, suspicion and biopsy recommendation were more presented by the AI plus one radiologist combination than by the two radiologists. The interpretation of the mammogram by AI plus only one radiologist showed a sensitivity of 94.03%, a specificity of 99.75%, a positive predictive value of 96.571%, a negative predictive value of 99.567%, and an accuracy of 99.369% (from 99.252 to 99.472%). The positive likelihood ratio was 387.260, negative likelihood ratio was 0.060, and AUC "area under the curve" was 0.969 (0.967–0.971). Conclusions: AI could be used as an initial reader for the evaluation of screening mammography in routine workflow. Implementation of AI enhanced the opportunity to reduce false negative cases and supported the decision to recall or biopsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different dyes are discharged into water streams, causing significant pollution to the entire ecosystem. The present work deals with the removal of acid red 2 dye (methyl red—as an anionic dye) by green sorbents based on chitosan derivatization. In this regard, two classes of chitosan derivatives—a total of six—were prepared by gamma irradiation at 30 kGy. The first group (group A) constitutes a crosslinked chitosan/polyacrylamide/aluminum oxide with different feed ratios, while the second group, identified as group B, is composed of crosslinked carboxymethyl chitosan/polyacrylamide/aluminum oxide with different ratios. Glycerol was added to soften the resultant hydrogels. The products were characterized by different tools, including FTIR for confirming the chemical modification, TGA for investigating their thermal properties, and XRD for verifying their crystalline structure. The morphology of the prepared derivatives was studied through SEM, while their topography before and after dye adsorption was monitored via the AFM. The removal efficiencies of the prepared sorbents were verified at different operation conditions, such as pH, temperature, adsorbent dose, initial concentration of dye solutions, and contact time. The data revealed that the optimum conditions for maximum dye uptake were as follows: pH 4, contact time 120 min, 0.1-g sorbent dose, and 50-ppm dye concentration. Additionally, the prepared sorbents demonstrated potent adsorption capacity and removal efficiency. It was found that the elements of the second group displayed higher performance than their counterparts. The data showed also that the adsorption process best fits with the Freundlich model and obeyed pseudo-first-order kinetic isotherm. In addition, the synthesized composites showed observable antibacterial potency toward E. coli as a Gram-negative bacterium and S. aureus as a Gram-positive bacterium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer nanocomposites have attracted substantial interest in the field of lubricants due to their improved properties compared to neat polymers. However, creating environmentally friendly lubricating additives with outstanding tribological qualities with higher sliding speeds under higher friction conditions remains a challenge. Therefore, the aim of this work is to develop and evaluate polymeric nanocomposite compounds, which primarily contain montmorillonite as viscosity index improver lube oil additives, at various ratios of the used polymeric nanocomposites (0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 3%). This is achieved by preparing 15 samples with various ratios of 1-dodecene and acrylamide, as well as various concentrations of the prepared nanoparticles (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 3%). The particle size and size distribution of nanoclay-based samples were determined by dynamic light scattering using Zeta Sizer Nano at 25 °C. The molecular structure, content, and purity of the samples were determined using FTIR and NMR spectrometer. Thermal stability was studied using thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. All of the prepared compounds were evaluated as viscosity index improvers before their rheological properties were studied. A comparison study of various other viscosity index improvers revealed that sample of 3% E12 has a Newtonian liquid behavior than commercial ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Star-like structural compounds were synthesized from different moles % of either dodecyl acrylate or triethylenetetramine using a one-pot commercial synthesis technique. The polymers that were created had various terminations. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and 1HNMR were used to verify the produced polymers' chemical composition with different terminations. Furthermore, by analysis of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), the size and distribution of the synthesised branched polymers were evaluated. Using a Gel-permeation chromatograph, the modified hyperbranched polymer's molecular weight, synthesized with various end points, were assessed. The unorganized structured prepared compounds with various molar feed ratios dodecyl acrylate: triethylenetetramine (DDA: TETA) was designed as A, B, C, D and E. Moreover, the synthesized additives function as viscosity index improvers (VII). As the concentration of polymeric additives increases, it leads to higher VI values. Similarly, with the increase in percentage of triethylenetetramine in the prepared hyperbranched polymers, the VI also increases. Notably, the most effective VI achieved is (E) = 212. It is noteworthy that all the synthesized hyperbranched polymers exhibited Newtonian behavior in the rheological study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Invasive lobular carcinoma is the second most prevalent histological subtype of breast cancer after invasive duct carcinoma, with a reported increased incidence in the last two decades. It often presents with challenging imaging characteristics that lower the sensitivity of mammography in their detection and delineation of their extent. Moreover, an increased risk of having synchronous lesions in the same or opposite breast was reported in cases with invasive lobular carcinoma. This obviates the need for other imaging modalities, specifically contrast-enhanced imaging modalities, to improve early detection as well as allow precise determination of the extent of the disease. Our aim in this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced digital mammography and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the local staging of invasive lobular carcinoma regarding the size, extensions, multiplicity and bilaterality. Methods: This study included 46 female patients with pathologically proven invasive lobular carcinoma. They underwent full-field digital mammography with a complementary ultrasound examination, contrast-enhanced digital mammography, and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. The findings encountered by the three imaging modalities were evaluated independently, and the results were compared with final histopathology. Results: In the current study, dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI study was the most sensitive modality in the detection of the index lesion, synchronous ipsilateral and contralateral lesions and achieved a sensitivity of 100% in each analysis as compared to contrast-enhanced digital mammography, which achieved a sensitivity of 97.8%, 85.7% and 80%, respectively. Regarding the assessment of the lesion extent to the surroundings, there was a tendency to overestimation by MRI examination. Conclusions: Although dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI is the most sensitive imaging modality for detecting the index lesion, multiplicity and bilaterality, contrast-enhanced digital mammography achieved comparable overall accuracy. Regarding the locoregional staging of invasive lobular carcinoma, there was a tendency for relative overestimation by MRI examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different petroleum operations produce huge amount of oil sludge annually. For instance, US EPA estimates the annual sludge production of each US refinery of 30,000 tons, while the average oily sludge produced from petrochemical industries in China is estimated about 3 million tons per year. In the last year, our center could recover about 30,206 barrels of raw oil from 32,786 barrels of tank bottom sludge (TBS) for different petroleum companies. This sludge causes huge economic losses besides its negative environmental impacts. The accumulation of sludge in the tanks results in reducing the tanks' capacity for storing liquid crude, accelerating the corrosion of the tanks, delay in the production schedule, and disturbing the whole production operation. There are diverse treatment methodologies such as solvent treatment, addition of certain chemicals, and centrifuging. Of course, the environmental regulations and the overall cost limitations are very important in deciding the preferred applicable method(s). Although several works handled the problem of sludge deposition and treatment from different aspects, we intend to introduce a different work. First, composition, formation, types, and properties of TBS were reviewed. Then, environmental and economic problems caused by TBS were revised. At last, different methodologies applied for treatment of oily TBS to recover oil and safe disposal of hazardous remains were investigated focusing on the most straightforward and environmentally friendly protocols. It is expected that this review attracts the experts in petroleum chemistry, and other relevant fields and provides a comprehensive understanding of current sludge control and treatment research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of Review : To discuss how advanced breast imaging modalities can supplement standard breast imaging with mammography, ultrasound, and MRI. Recent Findings: For the last 40–50 years, the primary breast cancer screening examination has been mammography which has undergone many changes from xeromammography, film-screen analog, to digital mammography techniques. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) are the most recent advances to digital mammography. Molecular breast imaging (MBI) and positron emission mammography (PEM) are nuclear medicine breast examinations that utilize mammographic positioning and are useful supplements to standard breast imaging examination. Summary: Advances in mammographic techniques have improved the sensitivity and specificity of mammography in detecting breast cancer, demonstrating the extent of disease, and evaluating the response to systemic treatments. Understanding how advanced mammographic techniques fit in with other available breast imaging examinations helps ensure optimal evaluation to help guide treatment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogel composites comprised of N,O carboxymethyl chitosan crosslinked with different weight ratios of acrylic acid and fabricated with nanoclay particle were prepared via gamma irradiation at 25 kGy irradiation dose. The prepared composites were coded as CsAA1Cl, CsAA2Cl and CsAA3Cl based on the weight ratio of acrylic acid to the chitosan derivative. The claimed hydrogels were characterized by FTIR, TGA and XRD. The TGA data implied that the incorporation of clay nanoparticles enhanced the thermal stability of the composites; the decomposition temperature increased up to 500 °C for CsAA3Cl. Three AFM outcomes were used to compare the surface features of the samples; topography, height and surface roughness. The topography data reveals that the nanoclay particles incorporated in CsAA3Cl are intercalated and exfoliated. Then, the optimized sorbent (CsAA3Cl) was investigated as green sorbents for chromium (VI) and lead (II). The data revealed that CsAA3Cl displayed maximum removal performance towards both lead and chromium with removal efficiencies 125 mg/g and 205 mg/g respectively at the optimum application conditions within 90 min only. Also, it was found that the optimum pH value was 9 for chromium and 8 for lead. The data proved that the adsorption of both cations followed pseudo-first order kinetic model. The prepared composites showed acceptable metal uptake capacity at three successive cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast asymmetry is a prevalent mammographic finding described in BI-RADS atlas as asymmetry, focal asymmetry, global asymmetry, and developing asymmetry. Mammography has a limited role in discrimination between benign and malignant asymmetry, and digital mammography can overlook up to 15–30% of breast tumors. The purpose of our study was to assess the role of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) in distinction between benign and malignant asymmetries. Results: Out of the studied 540 indeterminate and suspicious asymmetries, and according to final histopathological results, 97/540 (17.9%) asymmetries were benign, 395/540(73%) asymmetries were malignant, 48/540 (8.9%) asymmetries were normal with no underlying pathology. After comparing results of sonomammography and CEM, CEM showed higher sensitivity (96.5% vs. 85.8), specificity (77.1% vs. 64.4%), NPV (88.8% vs. 62.7%), PPV (92.04% vs. 86.7%) and accuracy (91.3% vs. 80%). Conclusions: CEM has proven to be a valuable and beneficial imaging technicality for patients and radiologists, with breast cancer detection sensitivities superior to that of full-field digital mammography (FFDM) with ultrasonography (US). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Unilateral primary breast edema may pose a diagnostic challenge. Excluding malignant etiologies is of utmost importance and may require the use of dynamic MRI examination as a problem solver. Yet, the enhancement pattern of benign and malignant disorders associated with edematous breasts may overlap, and this may add to the dilemma. So, our aim in the current study was to assess the role of T2-weighted MR imaging as a problem-solving sequence in differentiating benign from malignant causes of the edematous breast. Results: In the current prospective study, 65/96 cases were benign and 31/96 cases were malignant. By the individual analysis of the signal intensity in T2-weighted imaging of MRI examination, there was a significant correlation between low T2 signal intensity lesion and malignant etiology of breast edema with a resultant higher sensitivity of 83.87% and a higher specificity of 98.46% as compared to the contrast-enhanced series, which achieved a sensitivity of 80.65% and a specificity of 20.00%. The combined assessment of T2 WI and the contrast-enhanced series yielded a higher sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 98.46%. Conclusions: T2WI is a problem-solving sequence in the evaluation of the primary edematous breast, yielding a significant added value in the diagnostic approach and improving the overall diagnostic performance of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: On mammography many cancers may be missed even in retrospect either due to the breast density, the small size of the tumor or the subtle signs of cancer that are imperceptible. We aimed to compare the sensitivity of artificial intelligence (AI) to that of digital mammography in the detection of different types of breast cancer. Also, the sensitivity of AI in picking up the different breast cancer morphologies namely mass, pathological calcifications, asymmetry, and distortion was assessed. Tissue biopsy and pathology were used as the standard reference. The study included 123 female patients with 134 proved carcinoma. All patients underwent digital mammogram (DM) examination scanned with artificial intelligence algorithm. Results: AI achieved higher sensitivity than mammography in detecting malignant breast lesions. The sensitivity of AI was 96.6%, and false negative rate was 3.4%, while mammography sensitivity was 87.3% and false negative rate 12.7%. Our study showed AI performed better than mammography in detecting ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive lobular carcinoma with sensitivity (100% and 96.6%) vs (88.9% and 82.2%) respectively. AI was more sensitive to detect cancers presented with suspicious mass 95.2% vs 75%, suspicious calcifications 100% vs 86.5% and asymmetry and distortion 100% vs 84.6%, than mammography. Conclusions: AI showed potential values to overcome mammographic limitations in the detection of breast cancer even those with challenging morphology as invasive lobular carcinoma, ductal carcinoma in situ, tubular carcinoma and micropapillary carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Conventional ultrasound elastography is a relatively novel noninvasive imaging study that assesses tissue stiffness and helps in the characterization of breast lesions. However, strain elastography is not available in some ultrasound machines especially those before 2003 and is susceptible by motion artifacts. Our aim was to compare the results of conventional ultrasound elastography and the results of an advanced intelligence-enabled elastography software. Also, we aimed to assess the feasibility of the AI-enabled elastography software to overcome the unavailability of the conventional elastography software in some new ultrasound machines. Results: The study included 53 patients, who had breast lesions either clinically felt or detected during screening. All patients were subjected to both grayscale US imaging and conventional ultrasound elastography; quasi-static compression was applied during acquiring one of the cine-loops of the grayscale US imaging. Also, the cine-loops of the grayscale US imaging while quasi-static compression were processed by an AI-enabled elastography software. Then, the results of the strain ratio (SR) calculated by conventional elastography software and those by AI-enabled elastography software were compared. The strain ratio calculated using the AI-enabled elastography software showed better results than conventional ultrasound elastography strain ratio. The AI-enabled software shows better specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive values, and negative predictive values than the conventional ultrasound elastography. Conclusion: The AI-enabled elastography software shows promising results compared to the conventional US elastography. Elastography does not have the potential to replace conventional B-mode US for the detection of breast cancer but may complement the conventional US to improve diagnostic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) is a revolution regarding screening and diagnosis of breast cancer. Yet, sometimes it is not the appropriate choice of imaging since the examination needs to be scheduled and may take place in another department. Contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) is contrast-based digital mammogram, and consequently, it has emerged as a potential and promising replacer to DCE-MRI. There is a frequently asked question during the multidisciplinary breast cancer tumor boards is: which modality is more appropriate to be used in each clinical scenario? This article provided a detailed understanding of these two modalities in order to achieve a successful implementation of them into the clinical practice. Which modality to start with, in the context of the detection (screening) followed by characterization or diagnosis of the identified lesions? What is the appropriate application of both modalities in local staging and follow-up? All of these issues would be discussed in this article. Short conclusion: MRI is a safe tool for breast imaging and has a superior diagnostic performance compared to CEM. However, CEM is getting close: this lies in its accessibility, short-time procedure, requirement of less training and feasibility to standardize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of female morbidity and mortality. Management options vary between lesions of BIRADS categories 3 and 4. Therefore, reliable differentiation would improve outcome. Although sonomammography and contrast-enhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) remain the cornerstone for assessment of breast disease, additional, non-invasive techniques can be used to increase the efficiency of evaluation such as shear wave elastography (SWE) and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI). This prospective study included 66 breast lesions that were categorized as BIRADS 3 or 4 by ultrasound ± mammography. All lesions were evaluated by SWE, CE-MRI and DW-MRI. For SWE, lesions were evaluated by both qualitative and quantitative methods. For CE-MRI, both morphological and kinematic evaluations were done and for DW-MRI, both qualitative and quantitative assessments were studied. Results of all imaging modalities were correlated to histopathology. Results: Thirty-seven out of the examined 66 lesions (56.06%) were categorised as BIRADS 3, out of which 1 (2.7%) turned out to be malignant on histopathology and 36 (97.29%) were proved benign. Twenty-nine (43.93%) were categorized as BIRADS 4, out of which 2 (6.89%) turned out to be benign on pathology and 27 (93.1%) were proved malignant. Morphological and kinematic evaluations of CE-MRI showed 92.59% and 92.86%sensitivity, 94.74% and 84.21% specificity, 92.59 and 81.25%PPV, 94.74 and 94.12% NPV, and 93.85% and 87.88% accuracy respectively. Color-coded scoring of SWE showed indices of 89.29%, 68.42%, 67.57%, 89.66%, and 77.27% respectively. The calculated cut-off value for Emax differentiating benign from malignant was 65.15 kpa, resulting in indices of 96.43%, 57.89%, 95.65%, 62.79%, and 74.24% respectively. For Eratio, the calculated cut-off value was 4.55, resulting in indices of 71.43%, 68.42%, 76.47%, 62.50% and 69.70% respectively. For qualitative evaluation of DW-MRI, indices were 78.57%, 65.79%, 62.86%, 80.65%, and 71.21% respectively. For ADC, the calculated cut-off value was 1.25 × 103 mm2/s, which resulted in indices of 75.00%, 84.21%, 82.05%, 77.78%, and 80.30% respectively. Conclusion: CE-MRI showed the best diagnostic performance indices. While, SWE and DW-MRI present variable diagnostic performance, both techniques can be used as an adjunct to other imaging modalities to aid the clinical decision and increase its diagnostic confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Axillary nodal status is crucial for the management of cases with recently diagnosed breast cancer; usually addressed via axillary ultrasonography (US) along with tissue sampling in case of suspicion. Axillary nodal dissection and sentinel biopsy may be done, but are rather invasive, carrying a potential complication risk, which raises the need for non-invasive, reliable, pre-operative axillary imaging. We aimed at evaluating the performance of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) regarding preoperative axillary evaluation, using functional information derived from diffusion capacity differences between benign and malignant tissue. We included 77 axillary nodes from 77 patients (age range 20–78 years, mean 50 ± 12.6 SD) in our prospective study, presenting with variable clinical breast complaints, all scoring BIRADS 4/5 on sonomammography (SM). They underwent axillary evaluation by both US and DW-MRI where US classified nodes into benign, indeterminate, or malignant by evaluating nodal size, shape, cortical thickness, and hilar fat. Qualitative DWI classified them into either restricted or not and a cut-off apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value was calculated to differentiate benign and malignant nodal involvement. Results for each modality were correlated to those of final histopathology, which served as the standard of reference. Results: The calculated sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV for US was 100%, 36.6%, 75.3%, 71.2%, and 100%, respectively. Statistical indices for qualitative DWI were 76.6%, 63.3%, 76.6%, 63.3%, and 71.4%, respectively (P value < 0.001). The calculated cut off value for ADC between infiltrated and non-infiltrated nodes was 0.95 × 10−3 mm2/s concluding statistical indices of 76.6%, 63.3%, 76.6%, 63.3%, and 71.4%, respectively (P value < 0.001). Conclusion: Combining DW-MRI to conventional US improves diagnostic specificity and overall accuracy of preoperative axillary evaluation of patients with recently discovered breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) has been discovered to be more sensitive and specific than two-dimensional full-field digital mammography (FFDM) in both screening and diagnostic settings. The aim of the study was to assess the additive role of CEM in the detection and characterization of breast lesions in women with increased risk of developing breast cancer. This prospective study included 283 female patients with increased risk of developing breast cancer (i.e., positive family history of breast cancer, personal history of breast cancer, and heterogeneously dense mammary parenchyma) coming for either screening (n = 127/283 (49.1%)) or diagnostic (n = 156/283 (55.1%)) purpose. All patients had FFDM and CEM done, and the findings were evaluated independently; final Breast Imaging Reporting And Data System (BIRADS) classification was given for each modality. Results were then compared with histopathology or ultrasound findings with routine follow-up for normal and typically benign findings. Results: In this study, 283 women with mean age of 48 were enrolled. Among the studied cases regardless to a specific risk factor, 15/283 (5.3%) were diagnosed as normal, 13/283 (4.6%) as inflammatory lesions, 72/283(25.4%) as benign lesions, 6/283 (2.1%) as benign precancerous lesions, and 177/283 (62.5%) as malignant. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the CEM were 92.7 and 71.43 %, respectively, while FFDM were 80.90 and 59.05%, respectively. Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced mammography is a valuable screening and diagnostic imaging modality in patients with increased risk of developing breast cancer with diagnostic indices higher than mammography resulting in a significantly higher cancer detection rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In women with diagnosed breast cancer, accurate loco-regional staging and preoperative examination are of utmost importance for optimal patient management decisions. MRI may be warranted for correct preoperative staging as recommended from international guidelines. DWI-MRI can be combined with CE-MRI to assess more functional data. So we aimed to evaluate the performance of CE-MRI and qualitative DWI-MRI in preoperative loco-regional staging of malignant breast lesions as regards the local extension of the disease and axillary lymph node status, beyond standard assessment with mammography and ultrasound. This prospective study included 50 female patients with pathologically proven malignant breast lesions (BIRADS VI) coming for preoperative staging. Full-field digital mammography (FFDM) and ultrasound, CE-MRI, and DWI-MRI findings were compared for all patients, and the findings were evaluated independently. Results were then correlated to postoperative histopathology. Results: Fifty women with pathologically proven malignant breast lesions (BIRADS VI) were enrolled in this study; the mean age of this study population was 43.25 years. The 50 patients were divided into 2 groups: 37/50 (74%) underwent upfront surgery and 13/50 (26%) received neoadjuvant therapy before surgery. All patients performed DCE and DWI-MRI breast. Among patients who underwent upfront surgery, DCE-MRI showed the highest correlation with the postoperative pathology size and the overall sensitivity regarding multiplicity. Regarding patients who received neoadjuvant therapy, DCE-MRI was found to have the highest correlation with the postoperative pathology concerning lesion size and multiplicity after completion of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy cycles. Conclusion: CE-MRI can accurately map lesion extension and detect multifocality/multicentricity, thus tailor surgical management options (either conservative surgery or mastectomy). Qualitative DWI can be combined with ultrasonography for better evaluation of the axillary nodal status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we prepared different alkyl acrylates by esterifying acrylic acid with different alcohols (decanol, dodecanol, hexadecanol and octadecanol). Anilimide was then produced by the reaction of aniline with maleic anhydride. Different teropolymers were prepared by polymerization reaction of anilimide, different alkyl acrylate esters and olefins in different ratios. The thermal stability of the prepared terpolymers was measured by thermal gravimetric analysis which demonstrated a high thermal stability. The polymers were degraded above 500 °C. The rheology behavior shows shear-thinning, it approaches the ideal Newtonian behavior in case of polymer (C). The prepared terpolymers succeeded in raising the viscosity index of oil to 118 in case of polymer (C) and decreasing the pour point of oil to -12 in case of polymer (E). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mammography is accused of having low sensitivity and specificity in dense breast parenchyma. Also, women with dense breasts show an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Breast ultrasound has been used for several years for a better characterization of breast lesions. Contrast-enhanced mammography and tomosynthesis are relative novel imaging techniques that have been implicated in breast cancer detection and diagnosis. We aimed to compare breast tomosynthesis, contrast-enhanced mammography, and breast ultrasound as complementary techniques to mammography in dense breast parenchyma. Results: The study included 37 patients with 63 inconclusive mammography breast lesions. They all performed contrast-enhanced mammography, single-view tomosynthesis, and breast ultrasound. Mammography had a sensitivity of 83%, a specificity of 48%, a positive predictive value of 68%, a negative predictive value of 68%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 68%. Contrast-enhanced mammography had a sensitivity of 89%, a specificity of 89%, a positive predictive value of 91%, a negative predictive value of 86%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 89%. Tomosynthesis had a sensitivity of 86%, a specificity of 81%, a positive predictive value of 86%, a negative predictive value of 81%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 84%. Breast ultrasound had a sensitivity of 97%, a specificity of 85%, a positive predictive value of 90%, a negative predictive value of 96%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 92%. Conclusion: Breast ultrasound, tomosynthesis, and contrast-enhanced mammography showed better performance compared to mammography in dense breasts. However, ultrasound being safe with no radiation hazards should be the second step modality of choice after mammography in the assessment of mammography dense breasts. Adding tomosynthesis to mammography in screening increases its sensitivity. Contrast-enhanced mammography should be reserved for cases with inconclusive sonomammographic results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI of the breast has been used for several years in the assessment of indeterminate mammographic findings. Contrast-enhanced mammography is a relatively novel imaging technique that has shown comparable sensitivity and specificity to MRI. Contrast-enhanced mammography is a relatively easy feasible study with high sensitivity and low cost. Our aim was to assess the feasibility of replacing dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI by contrast-enhanced mammography in the assessment of sonomammographic indeterminate lesions (BIRADS 3 and 4). Results: The study included 82 patients with 171 breast lesions. They all performed contrast-enhanced mammography and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. DCE-MRI sensitivity and NPV were significantly higher than those of contrast-enhanced mammogram (CEM). The overall accuracy of MRI was better than that of CEM; however, no statistically significant difference could be detected. Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced mammography and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI improved the characterization of breast lesions. CEM showed slightly lower sensitivity and accuracy compared to MRI; however, because of being relatively easy, available, cheap, and acceptable by women, CEM can replace DC-MRI as a problem-solving tool in the characterization of indeterminate breast lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer is undoubtedly the world's most frequent cancer among women. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype of breast cancer that does not express estrogen, progesterone, or human epidermal growth factor receptors, yet its imaging is considered a challenge to radiologists having imprecise features. In this study, we aimed at defining the MRI characteristics of triple-negative breast cancer to validate its impact on management. Results: Most of the TNBCs in this study showed malignant pattern kinetic curves (types II and III), 87/104 (83.7%), and P value 0.673 (not significant), and regarding the type of lesion enhancement, 104/172 cases (60.5%) showed mass enhancement compared to 52/172 (30.2%) non-mass enhancement and 16/172 (9.3%) focus enhancement, P value 0.185 (not significant). As for the internal enhancement pattern of mass lesions, rim internal enhancement was predominant in TNBC mass lesions, 48/104 (46.2%), as well as intratumoral bright signal intensity on T2-weighted images, 108/172 (62.8%), P value 0.001 (highly significant). Conclusion: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are larger, better defined, and more necrotic than conventional cancers. On MRI, necrosis yields high T2-weighted signal intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To assess the impact of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and magnetic resonance mammography (MRM) in enhancing the performance of digital mammography (DM) in the detection and evaluation of different breast lesions. Patients and methods In this retrospective study, 98 patients with 103 breast lesions were assessed by DM, DBT and MRM. Mammography images were acquired using the “combo mode", where both DM and DBT scanned in the same compression. MRM was performed by 1T open system. Each lesion was assigned a blinded category in an individual performance for each modality. The resultant BI-RADS categories were correlated with reports of the pathology specimens or outcome of 18-month follow-up. Results Both DBT and MRM showed equivalent sensitivity of 92%. The specificity for DBT and MRM was 80.7% and 89.7% respectively. The efficacy of DM was raised from 61% to 83.5% with DBT and 90.2% with MRM. The results of the three modalities and the final diagnosis revealed a significant correlation ( p = 0.035).The association between the results of DBT and those of MRM showed statistically significant difference between DBT and MRM for diagnosing breast lesions ( p = 0.001). Conclusion Both MRM and DBT provide better performance than classic DM. Adding either of these modalities to the classic examination enhances diagnosis and precise disease distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard imaging modality for evaluation of response for neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer as it has the advantage of providing both; morphology assessment together with providing functional information which can be obtained by contrast injection. Until the recent emergence of contrast-enhanced mammography as a promising breast imaging modality, these features were considered unique for MRI. The aim of the study is to evaluate the competence of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) in the prediction of response to NAC and the assessment of residual disease extent, as well as the assessment of a new combined (quantitative and qualitative) evaluation approach that is proposed by the authors. The study included 81 patients with pathologically proved breast cancer scheduled for receiving NAC. They underwent 2 CESM examinations; pre- and post-NAC (maximum 10 days before surgery). All patients were assessed using the RECIST 1.1 criteria and a combined approach (RECIST+ qualitative subjective assessment). Results were in correlation to postoperative pathology using the Miller-Payne grading. For statistical evaluation, patients were classified into responders and non-responders. Results: Postoperative histopathology showed that 60/81 lesions were responders (Miller-Payne grades 3, 4, and 5) while the combined response evaluation approach and RECIST 1.1 alone showed 57/60 (95%) patients and 46/60 patients (76.7%) as responders respectively. The combined response evaluation approach showed higher sensitivity and positive and negative predictive values compared to the evaluation based on RECIST alone (95%, 87.6%, and 81.2% compared to 76.6%, 86.7%, and 50% respectively). Conclusion: CESM can be readily used to assess tumor response to NAC and allows the assessment of functional changes in residual tumor cells in addition to size discrepancy. Using CESM, we could accurately assess residual tumor extent and thus enable better surgical planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]