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The reporting of lung neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) according to the 2021 World Health Organisation (WHO) is based on mitotic count per 2 mm2, necrosis assessment and a constellation of cytological and immunohistochemical details. Accordingly, typical carcinoid and atypical carcinoid are low‐ to intermediate‐grade neuroendocrine tumours (NETs), while large‐cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) and small‐cell lung carcinoma are high‐grade NECs. In small‐sized diagnostic material (cytology and biopsy), the noncommittal term of carcinoid tumour/NET not otherwise specified (NOS) and metastatic carcinoid NOS have been introduced with regard to primary and metastatic diagnostic settings, respectively. Ki‐67 antigen, a well‐known marker of cell proliferation, has been included in the WHO classification as a non‐essential but desirable criterion, especially to distinguish NETs from high‐grade NECs and to delineate the provisional category of carcinoid tumours/NETs with elevated mitotic counts (> 10 mitoses per mm2) and/or Ki‐67 proliferation index (≥ 30%). However, a wider use of this marker in the spectrum of lung NENs continues to be highly reported and debated, thus witnessing a never‐subsided attention. Therefore, the arguments for and against incorporating Ki‐67 in the classification and clinical practice of these neoplasms are discussed herein in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general approach for the synthesis of the optimal sequential network for use in sequentially rotated antenna (SRA) arrays with an arbitrary number of elements is presented. The performance of this class of antennas are strictly bound to the capacity of the feeding network to produce the nominal power distribution and phase progression. Despite the very high interest in the scientific community on SRA architectures, very few papers have addressed the problem of synthesizing a generic network, with an arbitrary number of outputs. In this paper we propose a novel approach based on closed formulas which solves the synthesis problem exactly, for a given frequency. The proposed approach is then validated with a set of simulations and with the fabrication and measurement of a prototype. Both the simulations and the experimental validation confirms the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known as to whether there may be any pathogenetic link between pulmonary carcinoids and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). A gene signature we previously found to cluster pulmonary carcinoids, large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), and which encompassed MEN1, MYC, MYCL1, RICTOR, RB1, SDHA, SRC and TP53 mutations or copy number variations (CNVs), was used to reclassify an independent cohort of 54 neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) [31 typical carcinoids (TC), 11 atypical carcinoids (AC) and 12 SCLC], by means of transcriptome and mutation data. Unsupervised clustering analysis identified two histology-independent clusters, namely CL1 and CL2, where 17/42 (40.5%) carcinoids and all the SCLC samples fell into the latter. CL2 carcinoids affected survival adversely, were enriched in T to G transversions or T > C/C > T transitions in the context of specific mutational signatures, presented with at least 1.5-fold change (FC) increase of gene mutations including TSC2 , SMARCA2 , SMARCA4 , ERBB4 and PTPRZ1 , differed for gene expression and showed epigenetic changes in charge of MYC and MTORC1 pathways, cellular senescence, inflammation, high-plasticity cell state and immune system exhaustion. Similar results were also found in two other independent validation sets comprising 101 lung NENs (24 carcinoids, 21 SCLC and 56 LCNEC) and 30 carcinoids, respectively. We herein confirmed an unexpected sharing of molecular traits along the spectrum of lung NENs, with a subset of genomically distinct aggressive carcinoids sharing molecular features of high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a single‐layer via‐less antenna array operating in circular polarisation for wide‐band operation in C‐band. The antenna comprises 2×2 disc based elements arranged in a sequential rotation architecture. Each element is tuned to exhibit multiple resonances with good circular polarisation performance over a broadband of frequencies. A proper feeding network is then designed so that the resulting array is capable of a wide‐band operation and enhanced gain, equalising the frequency response of the set of elements. Simulations are validated by fabricating and measuring a prototype realised on a commercial FR408 dielectric substrate. Notwithstanding a dimension of only 7×7cm2, that is only 1.66λ02 at centre frequency, measured performance of the proposed array can be summarised in a gain better than 7 dB over an operation bandwidth of 24.45%, which is an unmatched result, given the via‐less single‐layer technology and the specific available area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The next generation interferometric gravitational wave detectors require arm lengths measured in tens of kilometers, with each cavity storing megawatts of optical power. The beams are contained in ultrahigh vacuum pipes. Scattered interferometer light in the pipes may reenter the cavities and inject extra noise. The pipes are, therefore, provided with optical baffles necessary to eliminate the scattered light. The design of the vacuum pipes and of the optical baffles is tightly intertwined. We present a thorough discussion that opens the door to the design of an optimized stepped-diameter vacuum pipe system using novel helical baffles. Our analysis suggests that a more efficient pipe design (with special reference to scattered light) may use spiral baffles and sectioned stepped tubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identify friend or foe antenna is a complement to many radar antennas which allows the discrimination between friendly and hostile targets by receiving identification data. Such antenna must synthesize both a sum and a difference pattern in azimuth to allow target discrimination and must point to the target being inquired, either by mechanical or electronic scanning in azimuth. In this paper, to attain optimal electronic scanning, an array of antennas lying on a generic planar curve is considered. A multi-objective optimization based on the invasive weed optimization algorithm is then applied to the shape of such curve, aimed at maximizing performances. Whereas a conventional linear array of 6 elements can effectively scan ±30°, with respect to broadside, the proposed array, notwithstanding the same number of elements and overall length, can scan ±45° and still synthesize effective sum and difference patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An elementary dipole in presence of a perfectly conducting wedge radiates a field whose analytic expression can be written in terms of a double infinite series. A dipole located at a point characterized by complex coordinates behaves in the real space as a directive source akin to a Gaussian beam in the paraxial region. In this article, the series solution, originally conceived for a dipole located at a point characterized by real coordinates, is extended to the case of a complex coordinates source, hence providing an analytical solution approximating the problem of a wedge illuminated by a Gaussian beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Spread through air spaces is suggested to be invasion way of lung parenchyma. • Spread through air spaces has been described around lung neuroendocrine neoplasms. • Spread through air spaces may be made up by hyperplastic neuroendocrine cells. • Spread through air spaces is likely to be an ex vivo artifact due to tissue manipulation. Spread through air spaces (STAS) is a recently proposed invasion way of lung cancer, including neuroendocrine (NE) neoplasms. However, if this phenomenon is a real one or an artifact while manipulating lung specimens, it is still matter of debate. Three consecutive patients with newly diagnosed diffuse idiopathic pulmonary NE cell hyperplasia (DIPNECH) were reviewed for STAS. In well-fixed lung specimens, DIPNECH was seen to coexist with atypical carcinoid, bifocal typical carcinoid and adenocarcinoma in the three patients, respectively. While STAS was not observed at the growing edges of tumors, a few freely-floating aggregates of hyperplastic NE cells within air spaces were noticed to emanate from foci of NE hyperplasia and tumorlets and in intimate association with normal bronchiolar cells and erythrocytes to denote artifactual derivation upon tissue manipulation. Traveling of hyperplastic NE cells through air spaces is likely to artifactually occur via knife, surgeon or other way, thus challenging invasion by STAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well‐known symmetry property of the scattering matrix relative to propagating modes becomes tricky in the case of arbitrary polarization or arbitrary complex modal functions, as in the case of waveguide polarizers and ortho‐mode transducers. A straightforward transformation between different modal bases for the guided waves leads to a loss of symmetry. Only by gaining a deeper insight on the properties of the scattering matrices and with separate transformations for the incident and reflected waves is symmetry recovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accrual of metastatic pulmonary carcinoid patients for therapy is usually relied on clinical and histologic characterization, with no role for the proliferation activity as defined by Ki-67 labelling index (LI). A total of 14 carcinoid patients with tumour primaries (TP) and 19 corresponding tumour metastases (TM) were blindly reviewed by 2 different pathologists for necrosis, mitotic count, and Ki-67 LI. Ki-67 LI outperformed histologic subtyping, mitotic count, and necrosis with good to almost excellent (0.40-0.75) inter-observer agreement. About 10% cut-off Ki-67 LI predicted survival better than histology for TP and TM for both observers. The TM patients survived differently according to diverse treatments (somatostatin analogues [SSAs], analogues plus additional treatments except for platinum; platinum-based chemotherapy) in close correlation with <10%, 10% to 20%, and >20% cut-off thresholds of Ki-67 LI, respectively. There was also a trend for an increase in Ki-67 LI in TM as compared with TP. This is the first proof of concept in which a clinical potential is preliminarily suggested for Ki-67 LI to better stratify pulmonary metastatic carcinoid patients for treatment according to a criterion of histology-independent biological aggressiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a wide band monopole antenna with a shaped profile is presented. Shaped profile and end-caps allow for a compact antenna with respect to wavelength. Antenna is designed to be as isotropic as possible and with low phase deviation from spherical wave front to allow accurate detection of the direction of arrival of an unknown signal when used in radiogoniometry applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an efficient highfrequency analysis framework for studying diffraction occurring at irises, or baffles, in the arms of a Fabry-Perot optical interferometer, relevant to the design and operation of interferometric detectors of gravitational waves like LIGO and Virgo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A pentagonal circular polarized subarray composed of five elements is proposed for operation at 2.45 GHz. The array is based on the sequential rotation architecture (SRA), implemented with a sequential phase distribution network. Despite a more complex design in comparison to the canonical 4-elements SRA, a pentagonal subarray is more suited to be packed in a Bucky-ball or icosahedral arrangement, ideal for smart antennas with wide angle spatial coverage. A single-layer via-less prototype is fabricated on a common FR4 substrate. Measurements show a realized gain of 6.15 dBi with a polarization purity exceeding 20 dB at 2.45 GHz. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 59:1077-1081, 2017 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scattering problem of the electromagnetic field generated by an elementary dipole in the presence of a perfectly conducting wedge is here addressed in terms of a Sommerfeld integral which can be expressed by an infinite summation. The analytic solution presented is valid also in the case in which the dipole, the observation point, or both are close to the edge of the wedge. Approximations are also presented, and comparison with the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UTD) solution provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Large cell carcinoma (LCC) is a merely descriptive term indicating a subtype of lung cancer with no specific features of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), adenocarcinoma (ADC) or squamous cell carcinoma (SQC). This diagnosis is allowed on surgical specimens only, whereas its counterpart in biopsy/cytology samples is non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), not otherwise specified (NOS). Although these two terms do not fulfill the same concept, they can be interchangeable synonyms at the clinical level, reflecting, in different ways, the inability to define a specific subtype. Immunohistochemistry (IHC), next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis and, historically, electron microscopy have been unveiling diverse cell differentiation lineages in LCC, resulting in LCC-favor ADC, LCC-favor SQC and LCC-favor large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC), the latter hopefully to be included into the neuroendocrine tumor (NET) group in the future. Paradoxically, however, the interpretation issues of LCC/NSCLC-NOS are not diminishing, but even increasing albeight an accurate diagnosis is oncologically required and crucial. Also, rare LCC/NSCLC-NOS cases exhibiting null/unclear phenotype, are difficult to classify, and this terminology could be maintained for the sake of classification (basically these tumors are serendipitous ADC, as also confirmed by the lack of p40). In this review article, seven relevant issues to LCC have been addressed by using a question–answer methodology, with final key points discussing major interpretation issues. In conclusion, most LCC/NSCLC-NOS may be eventually re-classified and addressed by exploiting IHC and/or molecular testing to satisfy the criteria of precision medicine (the right drug, to the right patient, at the right time). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether non–small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) unveiled by immunohistochemistry (IHC) has the same clinical outcome as those typed by morphology is still matter of debate. A total of 145 stage III-IV, consecutive inoperable NSCLC patients treated by chemotherapy (133 cases) or EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (12 cases) and including 100 biopsies, 11 surgical specimens, and 34 cytological samples had originally accounted for 120 adenocarcinomas (ADs), 19 squamous cell carcinomas (SQCs), and 6 adenosquamous carcinomas (ADSQCs) by integrating morphology and thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF1)/p40 IHC. Thirty-two NSCLC–not otherwise specified (NSCLC-NOS) cases were identified by morphology revision of the original diagnoses, which showed solid growth pattern (P < .001), 22 ADs, 5 SQCs, and 5 ADSQCs by IHC profiling (P < .001), and 10 gene-altered tumors (3 EGFR, 5 KRAS, and 2 ALK). While no significant relationships were observed between response to therapy and original, morphology or IHC diagnoses, driver mutations and tumor differentiation by TTF1 expression, AD run better progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) than other tumor types by morphology (P = .010 and P = .047) and IHC (P = .033 and P = .046), respectively. Furthermore, patients with NSCLC-NOS confirmed as AD by IHC tended to have poorer OS (P = .179) and PFS (P = .193) similar to that of ADSQC and SQC (P = .702 and P = .540, respectively). A category of less differentiated AD with poorer prognosis on therapy could be identified by IHC, while there were no differences for SQC or ADSQC. The terminology of “NSCLC-NOS, favor by IHC” is appropriate to alert clinicians toward more aggressive tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphology still remains the cornerstone in lung cancer classification and cytology and small biopsy samples should be interpreted by morphology, whenever feasible, according to shared and widely agreed-upon diagnostic schemes. However, as novel therapy strategies are being offered on the basis of the diverse tumor characteristics, pathologists are now challenged by the need to offer clinicians more detailed typing of non–small cell lung cancer, not otherwise specified (NSCLC-NOS), especially when dealing with limited diagnostic material or poorly differentiated tumors. Close integration of morphology, immunohistochemistry, and clinical data is highly warranted according to a multidisciplinary approach to limit the category of NSCLC-NOS as much as possible or exclude unsuspected metastases, so rendering more definite and clinically useful diagnoses. Among the many proposed immunohistochemical markers, which as a whole are more practical and diagnostically useful than cumbersome and expensive molecular assays, a 2-hit model including thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and p40 (the latter more specific for squamous differentiation than p63) seems to be the most effective to basically highlight adenocarcinoma (positivity for TTF-1 regardless of p63) and squamous (always strongly and diffusely positive for p40 or p63 and negative for TTF-1) differentiation. This minimalist 2-hit diagnostic approach paves the way to novel perspectives in clinical trials on lung cancer, and it is also in keeping with the need of strategically preserving diagnostic material for molecular assays that are essential for personalizing therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT Taguchi's method is a quality design technique recently expanded to multiobjective optimization and electromagnetic engineering problems. This novel technique is applied here to multibeam array synthesis and compared to a standard multiobjective genetic algorithm. Results indicate fast convergence, good spreading, and a good number of nondominated solutions. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:1836-1840, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ΔNp63 (henceforth simply p40) is a squamous/basal-type biomarker corresponding to nontransactivating (non-TA) isoforms of p63 gene. Its prospective relevance as driver biomarker in lung cancer has not yet been thoroughly investigated. In all, 72 adenocarcinomas (ADs), 27 squamous cell carcinomas (SQCs), 13 pleomorphic carcinomas (PLCs), 10 small-cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs), 5 large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNECs), 5 adenosquamous carcinomas (ADSQCs), 3 large-cell carcinomas with basaloid features (B-LCC), 2 carcinoids, 2 carcinosarcomas (CS), 2 salivary-gland type tumors (SGTTs) of the lung, and 5 pleural malignant epithelioid mesotheliomas (MEMs) were prospectively diagnosed by morphology and verified by immunohistochemistry for p40, p63, and thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF1). Histological scores (HS) were devised by multiplying the percentage of immunoreactive cells (0 to 100%) by immunostaining intensity (low = 1 vs strong = 2, according to internal controls). There was a nonrandom distribution of p40 across the diverse tumor groups and cell differentiation lineages, with p40-HS > 100 closely paralleling squamous or myoepithelial carcinomas (SQC, B-LCC, SQC-containing PLC, ADSQC with predominant SQC, SGTT), and p40-HS ≤ 10 pinpointing AD, AD-containing PLC, or CS and neuroendocrine (NE) tumors. At variance, p63-HS was significantly higher than p40 in AD (P < .0001) and NE tumors (P = .0156), with positive predictive value being 83% and 95% and overall accuracy being 95% and 99%, respectively. Also, TTF1 was shared by gland-differentiated and NE tumors. MEM cases were always negative for all biomarkers. The HS-guided assessment of p40 allowed an effective orientation among thoracic malignancies at the level of individual tumor patients thereby contributing to prospectively realize a driver, holistic approach to cancer characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taguchi's method is a quality design technique whose applications in numerical single-objective optimization have been recently exploited. In this article, a novel multi-objective (MO) algorithm based on Taguchi's technique is illustrated and its performances assessed. Validation is performed through a comparison between the presented algorithm and a MO genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization, first on different sets of test functions and then on a practical antenna array synthesis problem. Results indicate a generally better behavior of the proposed algorithm in terms of convergence and spreading over the Pareto front with respect to the GA benchmark. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE , 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Genetic alterations for targeting therapy are largely unexplored issues in pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC), a life-threatening tumor subset. Methods: EGFR, HER2, KRAS, p53, CTNNB1, BRAF and PIK3CA mutations were assessed by direct sequencing, ALK, EGFR and HER2 gene status by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and ALK protein expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 20 pleomorphic carcinomas (PLC), two pulmonary blastomas (PB) and one carcinosarcoma (CS). Surgical specimens and, in case of positivity, the corresponding preoperative biopsies were analyzed. Furthermore, 51 consecutive metastatic lung adenocarcinomas (MELAD) were used as controls for FISH and IHC assays of ALK gene. Results: While no rearrangements of ALK were detected in PSC, relevant amplification was identified 5/23 (22%) surgical specimens and paired biopsies (four PLC and one PB, two females and three males, four current and one never smoker, aged 30–83 years). Considering tumor heterogeneity, the percentage of ALK amplified tumor cells ranged from 11% to 43%, with a mean gene copy gain (GCG±SD) of 6.9±0.8 and no signal differences between the epithelial (6.5±0.9) and the sarcoma-like components (6.8±0.9) of tumors. In the remaining 18 non-amplified PSC, the relevant value was 2.9±0.5 in 1–80% tumor cells (p <0.001). ALK amplification was closely associated with chromosome 7 (EGFR) or 17 (HER2) polysomy (p <0.001). Out of 51 MELAD, 10 were ALK-rearranged (p =0.026) and only one amplified (p =0.009). No amplified tumors, either PSC or MELAD, expressed the relevant protein by IHC, while the 10 ALK-rearranged MELAD were strongly positive. TP53, KRAS and CTNNB1 mutations accounted for 30%, 22%, and 4% of cases, respectively, with no significant relationship with ALK amplification. No mutations for EGFR, HER2, BRAF or PIK3CA gene were observed. Conclusion: ALK gene amplification is a nonrandom and clonally related event in a subset of PSC, but its biologic rationale deserves further investigation. KRAS mutation could represent a novel tool for therapy of such so deadly tumors with MEK inhibitors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Transformation optics is a powerful tool allowing remapping a generic domain into another yet maintaining a correspondence of the solution of Maxwell's equations within the two domains. Transformation optics has been used in the past to conveniently solve for modes in a generic waveguide by transforming its cross‐section into a circular one. Such a transformation needs particular care in enforcing boundary conditions in the transformed, circular, domain. In this paper, a theoretical treatment of boundary conditions is presented, allowing for an accurate computation of all field components in a generic waveguide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative method for fast analysis of electromagnetic problems comprising nonlinear dielectrics is proposed. The method is based on the combination of finite elements and domain decomposition methods. This latter technique allows for the separation of the problem in multiple subproblems which can be solved separately. By appropriately defining one of such subdomains as containing all the nonlinear dielectrics it is possible to restrict the application of an iterative algorithm for the numerical solution of nonlinear equations only to this latter, smaller, domain. Numerical results showing the accuracy and efficiency of this technique are presented in few 2D cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphology still remains the cornerstone in lung cancer classification and always has been accompanying pathologists in their daily activity, even though several ancillary techniques have been incorporated over time to improve diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive capabilities in lung cancer. Currently, we are also faced with a global rethinking of lung cancer care, especially once novel therapy strategies have been made available on the basis of the diverse characteristics of tumors. Although morphology still remains a not easily replaceable tool for lung cancer classification, we are now challenged by the need of offering clinicians more detailed subtyping of non-small-cell lung cancer especially in event of limited diagnostic material, poorly differentiated tumors, or unresectable lesions. Close integration of improved morphology, immunohistochemistry, and molecular tests will be able to not only sharpen our diagnostic algorithms and prognostic and predictive potentialities but also get insights into several lung cancer biology issues, such as histogenesis and new classification schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinomas (PSCs) are currently defined as poorly differentiated non-small-cell carcinomas containing a component with sarcoma or sarcoma-like (spindle and/or giant cell) features. They consist of 5 major histological variants, namely pleomorphic carcinoma, spindle cell carcinoma, giant cell carcinoma, carcinosarcoma, and pulmonary blastoma. The segregation of PSCs into a distinct clinicopathologic entity seems justified on the basis of morphologic, behavioral, and genotypic/phenotypic attributes. As a group, PSCs generally run an aggressive clinical course and may cause major difficulties in the differential diagnosis with other primary and secondary malignancies of the lung. At present, PSCs are believed to represent a family of carcinomas "in transition," in which diverse pathways of clonal evolution account for histological differences of a common ancestor lesion. The sarcomatous or sarcomatoid component of these tumors is thought to derive from carcinoma cells during the progression of carcinogenesis through the activation of an epithelial-mesenchymal transition program leading to sarcomatous transformation or metaplasia (conversion paradigm). Conceivably, targeting the epithelial-mesenchymal transition program could become a valid therapeutic strategy for these life-threatening tumors, whose sensitivity to current medical manipulation is disappointing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: The hypothesis that chemotherapy increases morbidity after pneumonectomy remains under debate, as the results of previous surgical series remain controversial. The hypothesis of the study is that patients who received preoperative chemotherapy may have subclinical parenchymal damage, increasing their risk of respiratory complications. Methods: The study population was composed of 10 patients who underwent pneumonectomy after chemotherapy for lung cancer (cisplatin+gemcitabine) randomly selected from our database and compared with 10 matched patients who underwent pneumonectomy without previous chemotherapy during the same period. Healthy lung tissue was obtained from surgical specimens, processed according to standard methods and evaluated on ematossilin and eosin-stained sections. Two pathologists without information on the preoperative treatment were asked to review the slides in order to reach a consensus on the type and extent of lung damage. Relevant information was then compared with functional tests and postoperative outcome. Results: Severe and diffuse (more than 50% of lung parenchyma) interstitial alterations were detected in the lungs of eight patients, seven of which belonged to the chemotherapy group (70%, p 0.02). Six of these patients developed postoperative respiratory complications. In the chemotherapy group, patterns of interstitial involvement were variable interstitial inflammation and fibrosis associated with obliterative bronchiolitis [Roberts JR, Eustis C, Devore R, et al. Induction chemotherapy increases perioperative complications in patients undergoing resection for non-small cell lung carcinoma. Ann Thorac Surg 2001;72:885–8], bronchiolitis obliterans-organizing pneumonia [Leo F, Solli P, Veronesi G, et al. Does chemotherapy increase the risk of respiratory complications after pneumonectomy? J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2006;132:519–23], diffuse alveolar damage [Novoa N, Varela G, Jimenez MF. Morbidity after surgery for non-small cell lung carcinoma is not related to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Eur J Cardiothor Surg 2001;20:700–4], DIP (desquamative interstitial pneumonia)-like reaction [Roberts JR, Eustis C, Devore R, et al. Induction chemotherapy increases perioperative complications in patients undergoing resection for non-small cell lung carcinoma. Ann Thorac Surg 2001;72:885–8] and UIP (usual interstitial pneumonia)-like changes [Roberts JR, Eustis C, Devore R, et al. Induction chemotherapy increases perioperative complications in patients undergoing resection for non-small cell lung carcinoma. Ann Thorac Surg 2001;72:885–8]. The only preoperative clinical predictor of severe diffuse damage was preoperative diffusion by carbon monoxide (Dlco). Conclusions: Preoperative chemotherapy is associated with an increased risk of severe and diffuse pulmonary disease even in the presence of normal spirometric parameters. These alterations may play an important role in the occurrence of postoperative respiratory complications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The classification of lung cancer has always been primarily based on the morphologic assessment of routinely stained histological sections, but this approach may be difficult or even unfeasible in cytological preparations or small biopsies. Moreover, the simplistic dichotomization between small-cell carcinoma and non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC) should be overcome, as new drugs have been discovered that are effective in specific subtypes of lung cancer. A more accurate characterization of NSCLC, however, may be hard in carcinomas lacking clear-cut signs of differentiation. The incorporation into the diagnostic algorithm of poorly differentiated carcinomas of an immunohistochemical panel including markers of squamous (high-molecular-weight cytokeratins, p63) and glandular (TTF-1, cytokeratin 7) cell differentiation seems the most promising approach. The evaluation of lung cancer for gene mutations, gene amplification, tumor-related angiogenesis, expression levels of DNA repair genes and genomic or proteomic profiles represents an exciting challenge for the pathologist in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A domain decomposition approach is here applied to the finite element solution of a multiport waveguide passive device. The approach allows separating the problem in multiple, coupled subproblems which can be solved individually. By appropriately defining one of these subdomains as containing all the possible variations to be studied it is hence possible to restrict the tolerance analysis to this latter, smaller domain. Numerical results showing the gain in computing time are presented. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative method for fast analysis of geometrical variations in electromagnetic wave problems is proposed. The method is based on a perturbative approach applied to the solution of the linear integro-differential operator of the electromagnetic problem in presence of small domain modifications. This approach has been embedded in a classical finite-element framework to achieve a very fast technique for field evaluation in synthesis or tolerance investigation of microwave passive devices. The proposed technique can handle geometrical variations without the need of re-meshing the domain and without any deformation of the original mesh of the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Detailed studies on the pathologic and molecular features of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT)-detected carcinomas and comparison with unscreened tumors are still lacking. We evaluated the histopathologic features of 89 LDCT-detected lung cancers resected between 2004 and 2006. These tumors occurred within a cohort of 5202 volunteers undergoing annual LDCT, aged ≥50 years, and with a minimum 20 pack-year index. In adenocarcinomas, central scar diameter, invasion foci size and K-ras mutations were also assessed. The results were compared with those of 89 consecutive lung carcinomas matched for confounding factors (sex, smoking habit), selected from group of 363 consecutive clinically worked-up lung cancer, surgically resected in the same period and at the same Institution. The tumors were diagnosed in 63 males and 26 females (range 50–79 years), 55 of which diagnosed at the baseline (1.05%) and 34 (including 10 repeat cancers) operated after work-up during the second year (0.72%). LDCT-detected tumors showed high resectability rate (89%), earlier stage (63%) and prevalence of adenocarcinoma nodules (72%), most often of the mixed subtype, in comparison with unscreened tumors. A similar prevalence of K-ras mutations was found in both screened and unscreened adenocarcinomas. Repeat cancers were found in 10 screened patients, and were predominantly stage I adenocarcinomas of mixed subtype exhibiting smaller dimension but greater central scar diameter and stromal invasion size in comparison with the other second-year, slower-growing adenocarcinomas. Multiple tumor nodules were identified in 10 patients exclusively at the baseline, were mostly mixed adenocarcinomas and differed in their K-ras mutation profile. Screening-detected lung cancers shared most of the histologic features of fully malignant tumors, in addition to a similar prevalence of K-ras mutations, despite their earlier detection and less advanced clinical stage. Repeat cancers are potentially aggressive tumors. K-ras mutation analysis supports the impression that multifocal tumors at baseline are separate synchronous primaries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Malignant extragonadal germ cell tumors primary to the lung are quite uncommon lesions, but pure yolk sac tumor is even more exceptional. This is believed to be the first reported case of yolk sac tumor of the lung in which an intense and diffuse immunoreactivity for CDX2, a marker of intestinal differentiation reportedly expressed also in gonadal yolk sac tumor, was associated with increased serum levels of the alkaline phosphatase intestinal isoform. Nine months after radical surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy, the patient is alive and well without evidence of recurrent or metastatic disease and with serum levels of the alkaline phosphatase intestinal isoform within normal limits. The pathologist should be aware of yolk sac tumor arising in the lung and that alkaline phosphatase intestinal isoform could become an additional serum marker for such a tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: High levels of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (S-CEA) are considered a negative prognostic factor in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), while the prognostic value of tumour CEA (T-CEA) is unknown. We investigated the prognostic role of T-CEA in radically resected early stage NSCLC. We measured preoperative S-CEA levels and T-CEA in 146 patients with stage 1–2 NSCLC, and analysed their influence on survival. In patients positive for T-CEA, 3-year survival was 80%, compared to 65% in T-CEA-negative patients (p =0.03). After stratification by histology, T-CEA positivity was prognostic of better survival in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (p =0.024) but not in adenocarcinomas (ADK) (p =0.87). Multiple Cox regression analysis showed that T-CEA positivity was an independent predictor of better survival in patients with early stage NSCLC (p =0.02). In SCC patients, the magnitude of the hazard ratio was confirmed even if the precision of the estimate is decreased (p =0.06). In conclusion, T-CEA expression appears to be an important prognostic factor in early stage SSC of the lung. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Immunoreactivity for fascin, an actin-bundling protein related to cell motility, has been reported in breast, ovary, pancreas, skin, and non-small cell carcinomas, and associated with more advanced disease stage and poorer prognosis. Data on pulmonary neuroendocrine (NE) tumors, however, are lacking. We evaluated the expression of fascin by immunohistochemistry—using two different monoclonal antibodies—in surgical specimens of pulmonary NE tumors of all the diverse histological types from 128 consecutive patients recruited between 1987 and 2001, and investigated its relationship with the presence of lymph node metastases. Overall, fascin immunoreactivity was detected in 5% of 38 typical carcinoids (TC), 35% of 23 atypical carcinoids (AC), 83% of 40 large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNEC), and 100% of 27 small-cell lung carcinomas (SCLC) (P<0.001), Normal NE cells or hyperplastic NE tumorlets were consistently unreactive. No statistically significant differences in fascin immunoreactivity were found between the two antibodies. In TC and AC but not high-grade NE tumors, fascin immunoreactivity closely correlated with the occurrence of lymph node metastases, the pN class and the number of involved lymph nodes (P<0.001). It was also significantly associated with an increased proliferative activity (Ki-67 labeling index >5%) (P=0.020), and with either down-regulation or altered subcellular compartmentalization of E-cadherin (P<0.001) and CD99 (P=0.030), two cell adhesion complexes in pulmonary NE tumors. At multivariate analysis, only fascin emerged as an independent predictor of lymph node metastases in this tumor group (HR 30.28; 95% confidence intervals: 1.59–574.49; P=0.023). This study indicates that fascin immunoreactivity may identify subsets of pulmonary carcinoid patients with different metastatic potential to regional lymph nodes. Targeting the fascin pathway could be a novel therapeutic strategy of pulmonary carcinoids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Focuses on line integral representation of physical optics scattering from a perfectly conducting plate illuminated by a Gaussian beam modeled as a complex point source. Assessment of complex point sources under observation; Comparison of the process with that of surface integration; Overview of the feasibility of the proposed approach.

A hybrid finite-element-modal-expansion procedure for the three-dimensional analysis of passive microwave devices exploiting higher order vector basis functions and an innovative class of curved elements is presented. If modal expansions on ports are not analytically known, they can be numerically obtained via a preliminary two-and-one-half-dimensional finite-element analysis; curved triangular and tetrahedrical elements are defined by a rational Bézier mapping, which provides a remarkable increase in accuracy and flexibility over the conventional polynomial mapping without a significant increase in computational burden. Numerical results are provided to illustrate the efficiency and feasibility of the proposed technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two hundred and forty six consecutive patients with pathological T1-2 N0 M0 non-small cell lung cancer were reviewed. Median follow-up was 79 months (range 3–144). So far, 110 patients have relapsed (45.6%). Actuarial median time to recurrence was 26 months in the 45 patients with thoracic relapses versus 12 months of the 65 metastatic (P<0.001). Disease-free survival (DFS) rates at 5 and 10-year were 62 and 49%, respectively. Fifteen percent of the patients (20) disease-free at 5 years relapsed in the following years; of them, 40% (8) underwent new surgery. Extrapulmonary malignancies other than lung cancer occurred in 27 patients (11.2%), mostly (21) after the diagnosis of lung cancer; in this subset median time to occurrence was 52 months (range 8–105) with a rate of occurrence remaining constant over the years after operation. Univariate and multivariate analysis demonstrated that large cell histology, lower performance status (PS) and presence of symptoms were unfavourable prognostic factors both for DFS and survival. In conclusion: this study found a non-negligible proportion of late events and identified some prognostic factors (PS, presence of symptoms and large cell histology) using information obtained from routine data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents a study that applied the parabolic equation (PE) method to the problem of the high-frequency scattering from a diaphanous wedge. Significance of isorefractive wedge; Discussion on the application of the PE method; Information on the computation of the geometrical optics field.

Proposes a uniform solution to describe the diffraction by a penetrable anistropic dielectric halfplane illuminated at normal incidence by an electromagnetic plane wave. Physical optics approximation for the surface currents; Uniform asymptotic physical optics solution for the diffracted field; Benefits of a uniform symptotic evaluation of the corresponding radiation integral.

Proposes a technique for the analysis of electromagnetic scattering from an infinite periodic structure containing an impurity. Role of the combined finite element method/Floquet modes expansion in the technique; Application of the Method of Moments solution of the surface integral equation; Numerical results obtained through the application of the proposed technique.

Provides an efficient numerical procedure for evaluating the field scattered by two-dimensional photonic crystals when they are illuminated by Gaussian beams. Formulation; Numerical testing and results.

The standard hybrid finite-element boundary-integral (FE–BI) technique has been extended to deal with the problem of electromagnetic scattering from buried objects. The presence of the ground–air interface is taken into account by using the half-space Green's function, thus reducing the number of unknowns necessary to numerically solve the problem. The problem has been conveniently formulated by using the field transmitted into the half space containing the object as an incident field. ©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 24: 422–426, 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a finite difference solution to the problem of high-frequency scattering from a perfectly conducting wedge of arbitrary external angle illuminated by a Gaussian beam. Formulation of the problem; Discussion on the parabolic approach; Numerical results for the scattering of Gaussian beams.

Presents a technique to characterize homogeneous and inhomogeneous dielectric materials based on measurements and computations. Measurement of resonant frequencies of an arbitrarily shaped cavity; Finite-element method; Inverse problems; Permittivity measurement.

A finite-difference (FD) solution to the problem of high-frequency scattering from an impedance wedge illuminated by an inhomogeneous plane wave is presented. The solution is obtained through the application of the parabolic equation method. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 14, 207–210, 1997. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides suitable diffraction coefficients in the format of the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UTD) for describing plane wave scattering. Formulation of the problem; Derivation of the spectral functions; Information on UTD solution; Numerical results; Conclusions.

Analyzes the scattering from a wedge with nonuniform impedance faces illuminated by a plane wave, perpendicularly incident on its edge. Geometry for plane-wave scattering; Generalized reflection coefficients; Residue contributions; Integration contours on the complex alpha plane; Contributions of SDP integrals.

The article discusses the role of BRAF gene mutations in patients with melanoma. Evidence from studies conducted suggested that BRAF mutations are unlikely to occur as homozygous alterations in a sample of patients with melanoma, with gene amplification contributing to mask the heterozygous state. BRAF's key role in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway is also discussed.

Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH) is a benign, florid proliferation of endothelial cells forming hyaline papillae covered by monolayered cells, which has rarely been described in the renal vein, most often being equated to tumors because of the difficulties in correctly interpreting imaging findings and accordingly treated by nephrectomy. If the kidney is end-staged for preexisting medical diseases, the risk of overtreatment is obviously negligible, but overdiagnosing IPEH as an intravascular tumor, either benign or malignant, may be perilous for the patient because of the possible consequences on the clinical management. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]