Influence of Noncompliance With Radiation Therapy Protocol Guidelines and Operative Bed Recurrences for Children With Rhabdomyosarcoma and Microscopic Residual Disease: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Million, Lynn, E-mail: lynn.million@hci.utah.ed; Anderson, James; Breneman, John

2011-06-01

Purpose: Postoperative radiation therapy (RT) is recommended for patients with rhabdomyosarcoma having microscopic disease. Sometimes RT dose/volume is reduced or omitted in an attempt to avoid late effects, particularly in young children. We reviewed operative bed recurrences to determine if noncompliance with RT protocol guidelines influenced local-regional control. Methods and Materials: All operative bed recurrences among 695 Group II rhabdomyosarcoma patients in Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group (IRS) I through IV were reviewed for deviation from RT protocol. Major/minor dose deviation was defined as >10% or 6-10% of the prescribed dose (40-60 Gy), respectively. Major/minor volume deviation was defined as tumormore » excluded from the RT field or treatment volume not covered by the specified margin (preoperative tumor volume and 2- to 5-cm margin), respectively. No RT was a major deviation. Results: Forty-six of 83 (55%) patients with operative bed recurrences did not receive the intended RT (39 major and 7 minor deviations). RT omission was the most frequent RT protocol deviation (19/46, 41%), followed by dose (17/46, 37%), volume (9/46, 20%), and dose and volume deviation (1/46, 2%). Only 7 operative bed recurrences occurred in IRS IV (5% local-regional failure) with only 3 RT protocol deviations. Sixty-three (76%) patients with recurrence died of disease despite retrieval therapy, including 13 of 19 nonirradiated children. Conclusion: Over half of the operative bed recurrences were associated with noncompliance; omission of RT was the most common protocol deviation. Three fourths of children die when local-regional disease is not controlled, emphasizing the importance of RT in Group II rhabdomyosarcoma.« less

SU-E-J-244: Development and Validation of a Knowledge Based Planning Model for External Beam Radiation Therapy of Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Z; Kennedy, A; Larsen, E

2015-06-15

Purpose: The study aims to develop and validate a knowledge based planning (KBP) model for external beam radiation therapy of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC). Methods: RapidPlan™ technology was used to develop a lung KBP model. Plans from 65 patients with LA-NSCLC were used to train the model. 25 patients were treated with VMAT, and the other patients were treated with IMRT. Organs-at-risk (OARs) included right lung, left lung, heart, esophagus, and spinal cord. DVH and geometric distribution DVH were extracted from the treated plans. The model was trained using principal component analysis and step-wise multiple regression. Boxmore » plot and regression plot tools were used to identify geometric outliers and dosimetry outliers and help fine-tune the model. The validation was performed by (a) comparing predicted DVH boundaries to actual DVHs of 63 patients and (b) using an independent set of treatment planning data. Results: 63 out of 65 plans were included in the final KBP model with PTV volume ranging from 102.5cc to 1450.2cc. Total treatment dose prescription varied from 50Gy to 70Gy based on institutional guidelines. One patient was excluded due to geometric outlier where 2.18cc of spinal cord was included in PTV. The other patient was excluded due to dosimetric outlier where the dose sparing to spinal cord was heavily enforced in the clinical plan. Target volume, OAR volume, OAR overlap volume percentage to target, and OAR out-of-field volume were included in the trained model. Lungs and heart had two principal component scores of GEDVH, whereas spinal cord and esophagus had three in the final model. Predicted DVH band (mean ±1 standard deviation) represented 66.2±3.6% of all DVHs. Conclusion: A KBP model was developed and validated for radiotherapy of LA-NSCLC in a commercial treatment planning system. The clinical implementation may improve the consistency of IMRT/VMAT planning.« less

Evaluation of the Dosimetric Feasibility of Hippocampal Sparing Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

PubMed Central

Gan, Hua; Denniston, Kyle A.; Li, Sicong; Tan, Wenyong; Wang, Zhaohua

2014-01-01

Purpose The objective of this study was to evaluate the dosimetric feasibility of using hippocampus (HPC) sparing intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Materials/Methods Eight cases of either T3 or T4 NPC were selected for this study. Standard IMRT treatment plans were constructed using the volume and dose constraints for the targets and organs at risk (OAR) per Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0615 protocol. Experimental plans were constructed using the same criteria, with the addition of the HPC as an OAR. The two dose-volume histograms for each case were compared for the targets and OARs. Results All plans achieved the protocol dose criteria. The homogeneity index, conformity index, and coverage index for the planning target volumes (PTVs) were not significantly compromised by the avoidance of the HPC. The doses to all OARs, excluding the HPC, were similar. Both the dose (Dmax, D2%, D40%, Dmean, Dmedian, D98% and Dmin) and volume (V5, V10, V15, V20, V30, V40 and V50) parameters for the HPC were significantly lower in the HPC sparing plans (p<0.05), except for Dmin (P = 0.06) and V5 (P = 0.12). Conclusions IMRT for patients with locally advanced NPC exposes the HPC to a significant radiation dose. HPC sparing IMRT planning significantly decreases this dose, with minimal impact on the therapeutic targets and other OARs. PMID:24587184

Protein Stability in Mixed Solvents: A Balance of Contact Interaction and Excluded Volume

PubMed Central

Schellman, John A.

2003-01-01

Changes in excluded volume and contact interaction with the surface of a protein have been suggested as mechanisms for the changes in stability induced by cosolvents. The aim of the present paper is to present an analysis that combines both effects in a quantitative manner. The result is that both processes are present in both stabilizing and destabilizing interactions and neither can be ignored. Excluded volume was estimated using accessible surface area calculations of the kind introduced by Lee and Richards. The change in excluded volume on unfolding, ΔX, is quite large. For example, ΔX for ribonuclease is 6.7 L in urea and ∼16 L in sucrose. The latter number is greater than the molar volume of the protein. Direct interaction with the protein is represented as the solvent exchange mechanism, which differs from ordinary association theory because of the weakness of the interaction and the high concentrations of cosolvents. The balance between the two effects and their contribution to overall stability are most simply presented as bar diagrams as in Fig. 3. Our finding for five proteins is that excluded volume contributes to the stabilization of the native structure and that contact interaction contributes to destabilization. This is true for five proteins and four cosolvents including both denaturants and osmolytes. Whether a substance stabilizes a protein or destabilizes it depends on the relative size of these two contributions. The constant for the cosolvent contact with the protein is remarkably uniform for four of the proteins, indicating a similarity of groups exposed during unfolding. One protein, staphylococcus nuclease, is anomalous in almost all respects. In general, the strength of the interaction with guanidinium is about twice that of urea, which is about twice that of trimethylamine-N-oxide and sucrose. Arguments are presented for the use of volume fractions in equilibrium equations and the ignoring of activity coefficients of the cosolvent. It is shown in the Appendix that both the excluded volume and the direct interaction can be extracted in a unified way from the McMillan-Mayer formula for the second virial coefficient. PMID:12829469

Diffusion, subdiffusion, and localization of active colloids in random post lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morin, Alexandre; Lopes Cardozo, David; Chikkadi, Vijayakumar; Bartolo, Denis

2017-10-01

Combining experiments and theory, we address the dynamics of self-propelled particles in crowded environments. We first demonstrate that motile colloids cruising at constant speed through random lattices undergo a smooth transition from diffusive to subdiffusive to localized dynamics upon increasing the obstacle density. We then elucidate the nature of these transitions by performing extensive simulations constructed from a detailed analysis of the colloid-obstacle interactions. We evidence that repulsion at a distance and hard-core interactions both contribute to slowing down the long-time diffusion of the colloids. In contrast, the localization transition stems solely from excluded-volume interactions and occurs at the void-percolation threshold. Within this critical scenario, equivalent to that of the random Lorentz gas, genuine asymptotic subdiffusion is found only at the critical density where the motile particles explore a fractal maze.

Radiofrequency ablation of liver metastases-software-assisted evaluation of the ablation zone in MDCT: tumor-free follow-up versus local recurrent disease.

PubMed

Keil, Sebastian; Bruners, Philipp; Schiffl, Katharina; Sedlmair, Martin; Mühlenbruch, Georg; Günther, Rolf W; Das, Marco; Mahnken, Andreas H

2010-04-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in change of size and CT value between local recurrences and tumor-free areas after CT-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of hepatic metastases during follow-up by means of dedicated software for automatic evaluation of hepatic lesions. Thirty-two patients with 54 liver metastases from breast or colorectal cancer underwent triphasic contrast-enhanced multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) to evaluate hepatic metastatic spread and localization before CT-guided RFA and for follow-up after intervention. Sixteen of these patients (65.1 + or - 10.3 years) with 30 metastases stayed tumor-free (group 1), while the other group (n = 16 with 24 metastases; 62.0 + or - 13.8 years) suffered from local recurrent disease (group 2). Applying an automated software tool (SyngoCT Oncology; Siemens Healthcare, Forchheim, Germany), size parameters (volume, RECIST, WHO) and attenuation were measured within the lesions before, 1 day after, and 28 days after RFA treatment. The natural logarithm (ln) of the quotient of the volume 1 day versus 28 days after RFA treament was computed: lnQ1//28/0(volume). Analogously, ln ratios of RECIST, WHO, and attenuation were computed and statistically evaluated by repeated-measures ANOVA. One lesion in group 2 was excluded from further evaluation due to automated missegmentation. Statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed with respect to initial volume, RECIST, and WHO (p < 0.05). Furthermore, ln ratios corresponding to volume, RECIST, and WHO differed significantly between the two groups. Attenuation evaluations showed no significant differences, but there was a trend toward attenuation assessment for the parameter lnQ28/0(attenuation) (p = 0.0527), showing higher values for group 1 (-0.4 + or - 0.3) compared to group 2 (-0.2 + or - 0.2). In conclusion, hepatic metastases and their zone of coagulation necrosis after RFA differed significantly between tumor-free and local-recurrent ablation zones with respect to the corresponding size parameters. A new parameter (lnQ1//28/0(volume/RECIST/WHO/attenuation)) was introduced, which appears to be of prognostic value at early follow-up CT.

Extending the excluded volume for percolation threshold estimates in polydisperse systems: The binary disk system

DOE PAGES

Meeks, Kelsey; Pantoya, Michelle L.; Green, Micah; ...

2017-06-01

For dispersions containing a single type of particle, it has been observed that the onset of percolation coincides with a critical value of volume fraction. When the volume fraction is calculated based on excluded volume, this critical percolation threshold is nearly invariant to particle shape. The critical threshold has been calculated to high precision for simple geometries using Monte Carlo simulations, but this method is slow at best, and infeasible for complex geometries. This article explores an analytical approach to the prediction of percolation threshold in polydisperse mixtures. Specifically, this paper suggests an extension of the concept of excluded volume,more » and applies that extension to the 2D binary disk system. The simple analytical expression obtained is compared to Monte Carlo results from the literature. In conclusion, the result may be computed extremely rapidly and matches key parameters closely enough to be useful for composite material design.« less

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for intracranial meningiomas: Do we need to treat the dural tail? A single-center retrospective analysis and an overview of the literature.

PubMed

Bulthuis, Vincent J; Hanssens, Patrick E J; Lie, Suan Te; van Overbeeke, Jacobus J

2014-01-01

The dural tail (DT) has been described as a common feature in meningiomas. There is a great variation of tumor invasion and extent of tumor cells in the DT. Therefore, the necessity to include the whole DT in Gamma Knife radiosurgery is not clear, since inclusion increases the target volume and therefore increases the risk of complications. In this analysis, we evaluated whether the complete tail should be included as part of the target in Gamma Knife radiosurgery for meningiomas. Between June 2002 and December 2010, Gamma Knife radiosurgery was performed in 160 patients with 203 meningiomas with a DT. In 105 tumors, the diagnosis was based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics, and in 98 tumors, the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathologic examination after surgery. The median volume of the tumors was 3.55 cc. All tumors were treated with Gamma Knife radiosurgery with a median prescribed dose of 13 Gy (range 11-15), resulting in a median marginal dose of 11 Gy (range 10-15). Only the part of the DT closely related to the tumor mass was included in the target. The median follow-up period was 41 months (range 12-123). In image-based meningiomas, the overall local control rate was 96.2% with 2- and 5-year control rates of 98.0% and 95.1%, respectively. In WHO grade I tumors, the overall local control rate was 85.9% with 2- and 5-year control rates of 94.5% and 88.0%, respectively. The overall local control rate in World Health Organization (WHO) grade II tumors was 70.6% with control rates of 83.4% and 64.4% after 2 and 5 years, respectively. The growth of all new tumors was found in the radiation target area. No tumor growth was observed in the part of the DT that had been excluded from the target volume. We found in this study that routinely excluding the DT from the target does not lead to out-of-field tumor progression. Given the possibility that the DT is infiltrated with tumor cells, regular follow-up is needed.

Wyoming Low-Volume Roads Traffic Volume Estimation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-10-01

Low-volume roads are excluded from regular traffic counts except on a need to know basis. But needs for traffic volume data on low-volume roads in road infrastructure management, safety, and air quality analysis have necessitated regular traffic volu...

Toward an Accurate Theoretical Framework for Describing Ensembles for Proteins under Strongly Denaturing Conditions

PubMed Central

Tran, Hoang T.; Pappu, Rohit V.

2006-01-01

Our focus is on an appropriate theoretical framework for describing highly denatured proteins. In high concentrations of denaturants, proteins behave like polymers in a good solvent and ensembles for denatured proteins can be modeled by ignoring all interactions except excluded volume (EV) effects. To assay conformational preferences of highly denatured proteins, we quantify a variety of properties for EV-limit ensembles of 23 two-state proteins. We find that modeled denatured proteins can be best described as follows. Average shapes are consistent with prolate ellipsoids. Ensembles are characterized by large correlated fluctuations. Sequence-specific conformational preferences are restricted to local length scales that span five to nine residues. Beyond local length scales, chain properties follow well-defined power laws that are expected for generic polymers in the EV limit. The average available volume is filled inefficiently, and cavities of all sizes are found within the interiors of denatured proteins. All properties characterized from simulated ensembles match predictions from rigorous field theories. We use our results to resolve between conflicting proposals for structure in ensembles for highly denatured states. PMID:16766618

Ionic Asymmetry and Solvent Excluded Volume Effects on Spherical Electric Double Layers: A Density Functional Approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Medasani, Bharat; Ovanesyan, Zaven; Thomas, Dennis G.

In this article we present a classical density functional theory for electrical double layers of spherical macroions that extends the capabilities of conventional approaches by accounting for electrostatic ion correlations, size asymmetry and excluded volume effects. The approach is based on a recent approximation introduced by Hansen-Goos and Roth for the hard sphere excess free energy of inhomogeneous fluids (J. Chem. Phys. 124, 154506). It accounts for the proper and efficient description of the effects of ionic asymmetry and solvent excluded volume, especially at high ion concentrations and size asymmetry ratios including those observed in experimental studies. Additionally, we utilizemore » a leading functional Taylor expansion approximation of the ion density profiles. In addition, we use the Mean Spherical Approximation for multi-component charged hard sphere fluids to account for the electrostatic ion correlation effects. These approximations are implemented in our theoretical formulation into a suitable decomposition of the excess free energy which plays a key role in capturing the complex interplay between charge correlations and excluded volume effects. We perform Monte Carlo simulations in various scenarios to validate the proposed approach, obtaining a good compromise between accuracy and computational cost. We use the proposed computational approach to study the effects of ion size, ion size asymmetry and solvent excluded volume on the ion profiles, integrated charge, mean electrostatic potential, and ionic coordination number around spherical macroions in various electrolyte mixtures. Our results show that both solvent hard sphere diameter and density play a dominant role in the distribution of ions around spherical macroions, mainly for experimental water molarity and size values where the counterion distribution is characterized by a tight binding to the macroion, similar to that predicted by the Stern model.« less

Abnormal hippocampal shape in offenders with psychopathy.

PubMed

Boccardi, Marina; Ganzola, Rossana; Rossi, Roberta; Sabattoli, Francesca; Laakso, Mikko P; Repo-Tiihonen, Eila; Vaurio, Olli; Könönen, Mervi; Aronen, Hannu J; Thompson, Paul M; Frisoni, Giovanni B; Tiihonen, Jari

2010-03-01

Posterior hippocampal volumes correlate negatively with the severity of psychopathy, but local morphological features are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate hippocampal morphology in habitually violent offenders having psychopathy. Manual tracings of hippocampi from magnetic resonance images of 26 offenders (age: 32.5 +/- 8.4), with different degrees of psychopathy (12 high, 14 medium psychopathy based on the Psychopathy Checklist Revised), and 25 healthy controls (age: 34.6 +/- 10.8) were used for statistical modelling of local changes with a surface-based radial distance mapping method. Both offenders and controls had similar hippocampal volume and asymmetry ratios. Local analysis showed that the high psychopathy group had a significant depression along the longitudinal hippocampal axis, on both the dorsal and ventral aspects, when compared with the healthy controls and the medium psychopathy group. The opposite comparison revealed abnormal enlargement of the lateral borders in both the right and left hippocampi of both high and medium psychopathy groups versus controls, throughout CA1, CA2-3 and the subicular regions. These enlargement and reduction effects survived statistical correction for multiple comparisons in the main contrast (26 offenders vs. 25 controls) and in most subgroup comparisons. A statistical check excluded a possible confounding effect from amphetamine and polysubstance abuse. These results indicate that habitually violent offenders exhibit a specific abnormal hippocampal morphology, in the absence of total gray matter volume changes, that may relate to different autonomic modulation and abnormal fear-conditioning. 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Fast radioactive seed localization in intraoperative cone beam CT for low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yu-chi; Xiong, Jian-ping; Cohan, Gilad; Zaider, Marco; Mageras, Gig; Zelefsky, Michael

2013-03-01

A fast knowledge-based radioactive seed localization method for brachytherapy was developed to automatically localize radioactive seeds in an intraoperative volumetric cone beam CT (CBCT) so that corrections, if needed, can be made during prostate implant surgery. A transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) scan is acquired for intraoperative treatment planning. Planned seed positions are transferred to intraoperative CBCT following TRUS-to-CBCT registration using a reference CBCT scan of the TRUS probe as a template, in which the probe and its external fiducial markers are pre-segmented and their positions in TRUS are known. The transferred planned seeds and probe serve as an atlas to reduce the search space in CBCT. Candidate seed voxels are identified based on image intensity. Regions are grown from candidate voxels and overlay regions are merged. Region volume and intensity variance is checked against known seed volume and intensity profile. Regions meeting the above criteria are flagged as detected seeds; otherwise they are flagged as likely seeds and sorted by a score that is based on volume, intensity profile and distance to the closest planned seed. A graphical interface allows users to review and accept or reject likely seeds. Likely seeds with approximately twice the seed volume are automatically split. Five clinical cases are tested. Without any manual correction in seed detection, the method performed the localization in 5 seconds (excluding registration time) for a CBCT scan with 512×512×192 voxels. The average precision rate per case is 99% and the recall rate is 96% for a total of 416 seeds. All false negative seeds are found with 15 in likely seeds and 1 included in a detected seed. With the new method, updating of calculations of dose distribution during the procedure is possible and thus facilitating evaluation and improvement of treatment quality.

Electric Double-Layer Structure in Primitive Model Electrolytes. Comparing Molecular Dynamics with Local-Density Approximations

DOE PAGES

Giera, Brian; Lawrence Livermore National Lab.; Henson, Neil; ...

2015-02-27

We evaluate the accuracy of local-density approximations (LDAs) using explicit molecular dynamics simulations of binary electrolytes comprised of equisized ions in an implicit solvent. The Bikerman LDA, which considers ions to occupy a lattice, poorly captures excluded volume interactions between primitive model ions. Instead, LDAs based on the Carnahan–Starling (CS) hard-sphere equation of state capture simulated values of ideal and excess chemical potential profiles extremely well, as is the relationship between surface charge density and electrostatic potential. Excellent agreement between the EDL capacitances predicted by CS-LDAs and computed in molecular simulations is found even in systems where ion correlations drivemore » strong density and free charge oscillations within the EDL, despite the inability of LDAs to capture the oscillations in the detailed EDL profiles.« less

SoftWAXS: a computational tool for modeling wide-angle X-ray solution scattering from biomolecules.

PubMed

Bardhan, Jaydeep; Park, Sanghyun; Makowski, Lee

2009-10-01

This paper describes a computational approach to estimating wide-angle X-ray solution scattering (WAXS) from proteins, which has been implemented in a computer program called SoftWAXS. The accuracy and efficiency of SoftWAXS are analyzed for analytically solvable model problems as well as for proteins. Key features of the approach include a numerical procedure for performing the required spherical averaging and explicit representation of the solute-solvent boundary and the surface of the hydration layer. These features allow the Fourier transform of the excluded volume and hydration layer to be computed directly and with high accuracy. This approach will allow future investigation of different treatments of the electron density in the hydration shell. Numerical results illustrate the differences between this approach to modeling the excluded volume and a widely used model that treats the excluded-volume function as a sum of Gaussians representing the individual atomic excluded volumes. Comparison of the results obtained here with those from explicit-solvent molecular dynamics clarifies shortcomings inherent to the representation of solvent as a time-averaged electron-density profile. In addition, an assessment is made of how the calculated scattering patterns depend on input parameters such as the solute-atom radii, the width of the hydration shell and the hydration-layer contrast. These results suggest that obtaining predictive calculations of high-resolution WAXS patterns may require sophisticated treatments of solvent.

Water resources data, Ohio, water year 2003 : Volume 1. Ohio River basin excluding project data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shindel, H.L.; Mangus, J.P.; Frum, S.R.

2004-01-01

Water-resources data for the 2003 water year for Ohio consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality of ground-water wells. This report, in two volumes, contains records for water discharge at 138 gaging stations and various partial-record sites; water levels at 217 observation wells and 35 crest-stage gages; and water quality at 30 gaging stations, 34 observation wells, and no partial-record sites. Also included are data from miscellaneous and synoptic sites. Additional water data were collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data-collection program and are published as miscellaneous measurements and analyses. These data represent that part of the National Water Information System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating Federal, State, and local agencies in Ohio.

Surface Water Records of California, 1961; Volume 1: Colorado River Basin, Southern Great Basin and Pacific Slope Basins excluding Central Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

1961-01-01

Beginning with the 1961 water year, streamflow records and related data will be released by the Geological Survey in annual reports on a State-boundary basis. Distribution of these basicdata reports will be limited and primarily for local needs. The records later will be published in Geological Survey water-supply papers at 5-year intervals. These 5-year water-supply papers will show daily discharge and will be compiled on the same geographical areas previously used for the annual series; however, some of the 14 parts of conterminous United States will be further subdivided.

The interstitial distribution of macromolecules in rat tumours is influenced by the negatively charged matrix components

PubMed Central

Wiig, Helge; Gyenge, Christina C; Tenstad, Olav

2005-01-01

Knowledge of macromolecular distribution volumes is essential in understanding fluid transport within normal and pathological tissues. In this study in vivo we determined the distribution volumes of several macromolecules, including one monoclonal antibody, in tumours and tested whether charges associated with the tumour extracellular matrix influence their available volumes. Steady state levels of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) (pI = 9.2), IgG (pI = 7.6) as well as native (pI = 5.0) and cationized albumin (pI = 7.6) were established in rats bearing dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumours by continuous infusion using osmotic minipumps. After a 5–7 day infusion period, the rats were nephrectomized and the extracellular volume was determined with 51Cr-labelled EDTA. Plasma volumes were measured with 125I-labelled human serum albumin or rat IgM in a separate series. Steady state concentrations of probes were determined in the interstitial fluid that was isolated by centrifugation from tumours or by post mortem wick implantation in the back skin. Calculations were made for interstitial fluid volume (Vi), along with the available (Va/Vi) and excluded (Ve/Vi) relative interstitial volume fractions. The Ve/Vi for the positively charged trastuzumab in tumours averaged 0.29 ± 0.03 (n = 16), a value which was significantly lower than the corresponding one for IgG of 0.36 ± 0.02 (n = 16). Native albumin was excluded from 38% of the tumour interstitial fluid, whereas cationization of albumin reduced the excluded volume by ∼50%. Our experiments suggest that the tumour interstitium acts as a negatively charged matrix and is an important factor in determining the macromolecular distribution volume. PMID:15994186

The interstitial distribution of macromolecules in rat tumours is influenced by the negatively charged matrix components.

PubMed

Wiig, Helge; Gyenge, Christina C; Tenstad, Olav

2005-09-01

Knowledge of macromolecular distribution volumes is essential in understanding fluid transport within normal and pathological tissues. In this study in vivo we determined the distribution volumes of several macromolecules, including one monoclonal antibody, in tumours and tested whether charges associated with the tumour extracellular matrix influence their available volumes. Steady state levels of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) (pI = 9.2), IgG (pI = 7.6) as well as native (pI = 5.0) and cationized albumin (pI = 7.6) were established in rats bearing dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumours by continuous infusion using osmotic minipumps. After a 5-7 day infusion period, the rats were nephrectomized and the extracellular volume was determined with 51Cr-labelled EDTA. Plasma volumes were measured with 125I-labelled human serum albumin or rat IgM in a separate series. Steady state concentrations of probes were determined in the interstitial fluid that was isolated by centrifugation from tumours or by post mortem wick implantation in the back skin. Calculations were made for interstitial fluid volume (Vi), along with the available (Va/Vi) and excluded (Ve/Vi) relative interstitial volume fractions. The Ve/Vi for the positively charged trastuzumab in tumours averaged 0.29 +/- 0.03 (n = 16), a value which was significantly lower than the corresponding one for IgG of 0.36 +/- 0.02 (n = 16). Native albumin was excluded from 38% of the tumour interstitial fluid, whereas cationization of albumin reduced the excluded volume by approximately 50%. Our experiments suggest that the tumour interstitium acts as a negatively charged matrix and is an important factor in determining the macromolecular distribution volume.

Molecular finite-size effects in stochastic models of equilibrium chemical systems.

PubMed

Cianci, Claudia; Smith, Stephen; Grima, Ramon

2016-02-28

The reaction-diffusion master equation (RDME) is a standard modelling approach for understanding stochastic and spatial chemical kinetics. An inherent assumption is that molecules are point-like. Here, we introduce the excluded volume reaction-diffusion master equation (vRDME) which takes into account volume exclusion effects on stochastic kinetics due to a finite molecular radius. We obtain an exact closed form solution of the RDME and of the vRDME for a general chemical system in equilibrium conditions. The difference between the two solutions increases with the ratio of molecular diameter to the compartment length scale. We show that an increase in the fraction of excluded space can (i) lead to deviations from the classical inverse square root law for the noise-strength, (ii) flip the skewness of the probability distribution from right to left-skewed, (iii) shift the equilibrium of bimolecular reactions so that more product molecules are formed, and (iv) strongly modulate the Fano factors and coefficients of variation. These volume exclusion effects are found to be particularly pronounced for chemical species not involved in chemical conservation laws. Finally, we show that statistics obtained using the vRDME are in good agreement with those obtained from Brownian dynamics with excluded volume interactions.

Prognosis of patients excluded by the definition of septic shock based on their lactate levels after initial fluid resuscitation: a prospective multi-center observational study.

PubMed

Ko, Byuk Sung; Kim, Kyuseok; Choi, Sung-Hyuk; Kang, Gu Hyun; Shin, Tae Gun; Jo, You Hwan; Ryoo, Seung Mok; Beom, Jin Ho; Kwon, Woon Yong; Han, Kap Su; Choi, Han Sung; Chung, Sung Phil; Suh, Gil Joon; Lim, Tae Ho; Kim, Won Young

2018-02-24

Septic shock can be defined both by the presence of hyperlactatemia and need of vasopressors. Lactate levels should be measured after volume resuscitation (as per the Sepsis-3 definition). However, currently, no studies have evaluated patients who have been excluded by the new criteria for septic shock. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics and prognosis of these patients, based on their lactate levels after initial fluid resuscitation. This observational study was performed using a prospective, multi-center registry of septic shock, with the participation of 10 hospitals in the Korean Shock Society, between October 2015 and February 2017. We compared the 28-day mortality between patients who were excluded from the new definition (defined as lactate level <2 mmol/L after volume resuscitation) and those who were not (≥2 mmol/L after volume resuscitation), from among a cohort of patients with refractory hypotension, and requiring the use of vasopressors. Other outcome variables such as in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) stay (days), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores were also analyzed. Of 567 patients with refractory hypotension, requiring the use of vasopressors, 435 had elevated lactate levels, while 83 did not have elevated lactate levels (either initially or after volume resuscitation), and 49 (8.2%) had elevated lactate levels initially, which normalized after fluid resuscitation. Thus, these 49 patients were excluded by the new definition of septic shock. These patients, in whom perfusion was restored, demonstrated significantly lower age, platelet count, and initial and subsequent lactate levels (all p < 0.01). Similarly, significantly lower 28-day mortality was observed in these patients than in those who had not been excluded (8.2% vs 25.5%, p = 0.02). In-hospital mortality and the maximum SOFA score were also significantly lower in the excluded patients group (p = 0.03, both). It seems reasonable for septic shock to be defined by the lactate levels after volume resuscitation. However, owing to the small number of patients in whom lactate levels were improved, further study is warranted.

THE EDUCATIONAL MEDIA INDEX.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Educational Media Council, Inc., New York, NY.

THIS 14-VOLUME SERIES INCLUDES TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS FOR ALL CURRENT AND GENERALLY AVAILABLE EDUCATIONAL MEDIA, EXCLUDING STANDARD PRINT MATERIALS. EACH VOLUME COVERS A SPECIFIC SUBJECT AREA, LISTS TITLES ALPHABETICALLY AND BY SUBJECT, DESCRIBES EACH ENTRY, AND LISTS NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF SOURCES FOR THE MATERIALS. VOLUME 14 IS A CUMULATIVE…

78 FR 21443 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-10

... (``ETF'') option (as discussed below, excluding mini options) ADV, as reported by the Options Clearing... Exchange notes that Equity and ETF Customer volume is a widely followed benchmark of industry volume and is... product categories: equity and ETF volume and index volume, and the information can be filtered to show...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reiss, T.F.; Golden, J.

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was suggested by a diffuse, bilateral pulmonary uptake of gallium-67 in an asymptomatic, homosexual male with the antibody to the immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who was undergoing staging evaluation for lymphoma clinically localized to a left inguinal lymph node. Chest radiograph and pulmonary function evaluation, including lung volumes, diffusing capacity and arterial blood gases, were within normal limits. Bronchoalveolar lavage revealed Pneumocystis carinii organisms. In this asymptomatic, HIV-positive patient, active alveolar infection, evidenced by abnormal gallium-67 scanning, predated pulmonary physiologic abnormalities. This observation raises questions concerning the natural history of this disease process and the specificity of physiologicmore » tests for excluding disease. It also has implications for the treatment of neoplasia in the HIV-positive patient population.« less

Monte Carlo simulations of flexible polyanions complexing with whey proteins at their isoelectric point

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Vries, R.

2004-02-01

Electrostatic complexation of flexible polyanions with the whey proteins α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin is studied using Monte Carlo simulations. The proteins are considered at their respective isoelectric points. Discrete charges on the model polyelectrolytes and proteins interact through Debye-Hückel potentials. Protein excluded volume is taken into account through a coarse-grained model of the protein shape. Consistent with experimental results, it is found that α-lactalbumin complexes much more strongly than β-lactoglobulin. For α-lactalbumin, strong complexation is due to localized binding to a single large positive "charge patch," whereas for β-lactoglobulin, weak complexation is due to diffuse binding to multiple smaller charge patches.

40 CFR 80.40 - Fuel certification procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... volume percent ethanol, or RBOB intended for blending with 10 to 15 volume percent ethanol, that is... contain denatured, anhydrous ethanol. The concentration of the ethanol, excluding the required denaturing agent, must be at least 9 percent and no more than 15 percent (by volume) of the gasoline. The ethanol...

40 CFR 80.40 - Fuel certification procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... volume percent ethanol, or RBOB intended for blending with 10 volume percent ethanol, that is intended... contain denatured, anhydrous ethanol. The concentration of the ethanol, excluding the required denaturing agent, must be at least 9% and no more than 10% (by volume) of the gasoline. The ethanol content of the...

40 CFR 80.40 - Fuel certification procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... volume percent ethanol, or RBOB intended for blending with 10 to 15 volume percent ethanol, that is... contain denatured, anhydrous ethanol. The concentration of the ethanol, excluding the required denaturing agent, must be at least 9 percent and no more than 15 percent (by volume) of the gasoline. The ethanol...

40 CFR 80.40 - Fuel certification procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... volume percent ethanol, or RBOB intended for blending with 10 volume percent ethanol, that is intended... contain denatured, anhydrous ethanol. The concentration of the ethanol, excluding the required denaturing agent, must be at least 9% and no more than 10% (by volume) of the gasoline. The ethanol content of the...

40 CFR 80.40 - Fuel certification procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... volume percent ethanol, or RBOB intended for blending with 10 to 15 volume percent ethanol, that is... contain denatured, anhydrous ethanol. The concentration of the ethanol, excluding the required denaturing agent, must be at least 9 percent and no more than 15 percent (by volume) of the gasoline. The ethanol...

40 CFR 80.990 - What are the toxics reporting requirements?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... averaging report per § 80.75(e) the compliance baseline and incremental volume, Vinc, for its reformulated... compliance baseline and incremental volume, Vinc, for its conventional gasoline per § 80.850. (3) Exclude...

Competition between excluded-volume and electrostatic interactions for nanogel swelling: effects of the counterion valence and nanogel charge.

PubMed

Adroher-Benítez, Irene; Martín-Molina, Alberto; Ahualli, Silvia; Quesada-Pérez, Manuel; Odriozola, Gerardo; Moncho-Jordá, Arturo

2017-03-01

In this work the equilibrium distribution of ions around a thermo-responsive charged nanogel particle in an electrolyte aqueous suspension is explored using coarse-grained Monte Carlo computer simulations and the Ornstein-Zernike integral equation theory. We explicitly consider the ionic size in both methods and study the interplay between electrostatic and excluded-volume effects for swollen and shrunken nanogels, monovalent and trivalent counterions, and for two different nanogel charges. We find good quantitative agreement between the ionic density profiles obtained using both methods when the excluded repulsive force exerted by the cross-linked polymer network is taken into account. For the shrunken conformation, the electrostatic repulsion between the charged groups provokes a heterogeneous polymer density profile, leading to a nanogel structure with an internal low density hole surrounded by a dense corona. The results show that the excluded-volume repulsion strongly hinders the ion permeation for shrunken nanogels, where volume exclusion is able to significantly reduce the concentration of counterions in the more dense regions of the nanogel. In general, we demonstrate that the thermosensitive behaviour of nanogels, as well as their internal structure, is strongly influenced by the valence of the counterions and also by the charge of the particles. On the one hand, an increase of the counterion valence moves the swelling transition to lower temperatures, and induces a major structuring of the charged monomers into internal and external layers around the crown for shrunken nanogels. On the other hand, increasing the particle charge shifts the swelling curve to larger values of the effective radius of the nanogel.

Diffusion of multiple species with excluded-volume effects.

PubMed

Bruna, Maria; Chapman, S Jonathan

2012-11-28

Stochastic models of diffusion with excluded-volume effects are used to model many biological and physical systems at a discrete level. The average properties of the population may be described by a continuum model based on partial differential equations. In this paper we consider multiple interacting subpopulations/species and study how the inter-species competition emerges at the population level. Each individual is described as a finite-size hard core interacting particle undergoing brownian motion. The link between the discrete stochastic equations of motion and the continuum model is considered systematically using the method of matched asymptotic expansions. The system for two species leads to a nonlinear cross-diffusion system for each subpopulation, which captures the enhancement of the effective diffusion rate due to excluded-volume interactions between particles of the same species, and the diminishment due to particles of the other species. This model can explain two alternative notions of the diffusion coefficient that are often confounded, namely collective diffusion and self-diffusion. Simulations of the discrete system show good agreement with the analytic results.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meeks, Kelsey; Pantoya, Michelle L.; Green, Micah

For dispersions containing a single type of particle, it has been observed that the onset of percolation coincides with a critical value of volume fraction. When the volume fraction is calculated based on excluded volume, this critical percolation threshold is nearly invariant to particle shape. The critical threshold has been calculated to high precision for simple geometries using Monte Carlo simulations, but this method is slow at best, and infeasible for complex geometries. This article explores an analytical approach to the prediction of percolation threshold in polydisperse mixtures. Specifically, this paper suggests an extension of the concept of excluded volume,more » and applies that extension to the 2D binary disk system. The simple analytical expression obtained is compared to Monte Carlo results from the literature. In conclusion, the result may be computed extremely rapidly and matches key parameters closely enough to be useful for composite material design.« less

40 CFR 280.104 - Local government bond rating test.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... million or more, excluding refunded obligations, with a Moody's rating of Aaa, Aa, A, or Baa, or a Standard & Poor's rating of AAA, AA, A, or BBB. Where a local government has multiple outstanding issues... bonds of $1 million or more, excluding refunded issues and by also having a Moody's rating of Aaa, A, A...

29 CFR 794.121 - Exclusion of excise taxes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... From Overtime Pay Requirements Under Section 7(b)(3) of the Act Annual Gross Volume of Sales § 794.121 Exclusion of excise taxes. The computation of the annual gross volume of sales of the enterprise for... excise taxes which are included in the sales price may be excluded in computing the annual gross volume...

Microscopic theory of topologically entangled fluids of rigid macromolecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sussman, Daniel M.; Schweizer, Kenneth S.

2011-06-01

We present a first-principles theory for the slow dynamics of a fluid of entangling rigid crosses of zero excluded volume based on a generalization of the dynamic mean-field approach of Szamel for infinitely thin nonrotating rods. The latter theory exactly includes topological constraints at the two-body collision level and self-consistently renormalizes an effective diffusion tensor to account for many-body effects. Remarkably, it predicts scaling laws consistent with the phenomenological reptation-tube predictions of Doi and Edwards for the long-time diffusion and the localization length in the heavily entangled limit. We generalize this approach to a different macromolecular architecture, infinitely thin three-dimensional crosses, and also extend the range of densities over which a dynamic localization length can be calculated for rods. Ideal gases of nonrotating crosses have recently received attention in computer simulations and are relevant as a simple model of both a strong-glass former and entangling star-branched polymers. Comparisons of our theory with these simulations reveal reasonable agreement for the magnitude and reduced density dependence of the localization length and also the self-diffusion constant if the consequences of local density fluctuations are taken into account.

MITA Working Papers in Psycholinguistics, Volume 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Otsu, Yukio, Ed.

1993-01-01

This volume of working papers in psycholinguistics, from the "MITA Psycholinguistics Circle", contains the following articles: "Some Problems in the Acquisition of Derived Nouns" (Mika Endo); "World Knowledge in Children's Sentence Comprehension" (Yuki Hirose); "Examining the Including and Excluding Roles of…

A novel fMRI paradigm suggests that pedaling-related brain activation is altered after stroke

PubMed Central

Promjunyakul, Nutta-on; Schmit, Brian D.; Schindler-Ivens, Sheila M.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure pedaling-related brain activation in individuals with stroke and age-matched controls. We also sought to identify stroke-related changes in brain activation associated with pedaling. Fourteen stroke and 12 control subjects were asked to pedal a custom, MRI-compatible device during fMRI. Subjects also performed lower limb tapping to localize brain regions involved in lower limb movement. All stroke and control subjects were able to pedal while positioned for fMRI. Two control subjects were withdrawn due to claustrophobia, and one control data set was excluded from analysis due to an incidental finding. In the stroke group, one subject was unable to enter the gantry due to excess adiposity, and one stroke data set was excluded from analysis due to excessive head motion. Consequently, 81% of subjects (12/14 stroke, 9/12 control) completed all procedures and provided valid pedaling-related fMRI data. In these subjects, head motion was ≤3 mm. In both groups, brain activation localized to the medial aspect of M1, S1, and Brodmann’s area 6 (BA6) and to the cerebellum (vermis, lobules IV, V, VIII). The location of brain activation was consistent with leg areas. Pedaling-related brain activation was apparent on both sides of the brain, with values for laterality index (LI) of –0.06 (0.20) in the stroke cortex, 0.05 (±0.06) in the control cortex, 0.29 (0.33) in the stroke cerebellum, and 0.04 (0.15) in the control cerebellum. In the stroke group, activation in the cerebellum – but not cortex – was significantly lateralized toward the damaged side of the brain (p = 0.01). The volume of pedaling-related brain activation was smaller in stroke as compared to control subjects. Differences reached statistical significance when all active regions were examined together [p = 0.03; 27,694 (9,608) μL stroke; 37,819 (9,169) μL control]. When individual regions were examined separately, reduced brain activation volume reached statistical significance in BA6 [p = 0.04; 4,350 (2,347) μL stroke; 6,938 (3,134) μL control] and cerebellum [p = 0.001; 4,591 (1,757) μL stroke; 8,381 (2,835) μL control]. Regardless of whether activated regions were examined together or separately, there were no significant between-group differences in brain activation intensity [p = 0.17; 1.30 (0.25)% stroke; 1.16 (0.20)% control]. Reduced volume in the stroke group was not observed during lower limb tapping and could not be fully attributed to differences in head motion or movement rate. There was a tendency for pedaling-related brain activation volume to increase with increasing work performed by the paretic limb during pedaling (p = 0.08, r = 0.525). Hence, the results of this study provide two original and important contributions. First, we demonstrated that pedaling can be used with fMRI to examine brain activation associated with lower limb movement in people with stroke. Unlike previous lower limb movements examined with fMRI, pedaling involves continuous, reciprocal, multijoint movement of both limbs. In this respect, pedaling has many characteristics of functional lower limb movements, such as walking. Thus, the importance of our contribution lies in the establishment of a novel paradigm that can be used to understand how the brain adapts to stroke to produce functional lower limb movements. Second, preliminary observations suggest that brain activation volume is reduced during pedaling post-stroke. Reduced brain activation volume may be due to anatomic, physiology, and/or behavioral differences between groups, but methodological issues cannot be excluded. Importantly, brain action volume post-stroke was both task-dependent and mutable, which suggests that it could be modified through rehabilitation. Future work will explore these possibilities. PMID:26089789

Monte Carlo simulations of flexible polyanions complexing with whey proteins at their isoelectric point.

PubMed

de Vries, R

2004-02-15

Electrostatic complexation of flexible polyanions with the whey proteins alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin is studied using Monte Carlo simulations. The proteins are considered at their respective isoelectric points. Discrete charges on the model polyelectrolytes and proteins interact through Debye-Huckel potentials. Protein excluded volume is taken into account through a coarse-grained model of the protein shape. Consistent with experimental results, it is found that alpha-lactalbumin complexes much more strongly than beta-lactoglobulin. For alpha-lactalbumin, strong complexation is due to localized binding to a single large positive "charge patch," whereas for beta-lactoglobulin, weak complexation is due to diffuse binding to multiple smaller charge patches. Copyright 2004 American Institute of Physics

On the ability of trehalose to offset the denaturing activity of urea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graziano, Giuseppe

2013-01-01

Experimental and computational studies indicate that trehalose offsets the denaturing activity of urea. According to a statistical thermodynamic model, the fundamental stabilizing contribution arises from the difference in the work to create a cavity suitable to host the D-state and the N-state, respectively. The magnitude of this solvent-excluded volume effect increases with aqueous solution density. Trehalose and urea addition to water leads to a density increase, that translates in an increase in the magnitude of the solvent-excluded volume effect which is so large to overwhelm the destabilizing contribution arising from the energetic attractions of urea with protein surface groups.

Self-consistent field theory of tethered polymers: one dimensional, three dimensional, strong stretching theories and the effects of excluded-volume-only interactions.

PubMed

Suo, Tongchuan; Whitmore, Mark D

2014-11-28

We examine end-tethered polymers in good solvents, using one- and three-dimensional self-consistent field theory, and strong stretching theories. We also discuss different tethering scenarios, namely, mobile tethers, fixed but random ones, and fixed but ordered ones, and the effects and important limitations of including only binary interactions (excluded volume terms). We find that there is a "mushroom" regime in which the layer thickness is independent of the tethering density, σ, for systems with ordered tethers, but we argue that there is no such plateau for mobile or disordered anchors, nor is there one in the 1D theory. In the other limit of brushes, all approaches predict that the layer thickness scales linearly with N. However, the σ(1/3) scaling is a result of keeping only excluded volume interactions: when the full potential is included, the dependence is faster and more complicated than σ(1/3). In fact, there does not appear to be any regime in which the layer thickness scales in the combination Nσ(1/3). We also compare the results for two different solvents with each other, and with earlier Θ solvent results.

Probabilistic analysis for identifying the driving force of protein folding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokunaga, Yoshihiko; Yamamori, Yu; Matubayasi, Nobuyuki

2018-03-01

Toward identifying the driving force of protein folding, energetics was analyzed in water for Trp-cage (20 residues), protein G (56 residues), and ubiquitin (76 residues) at their native (folded) and heat-denatured (unfolded) states. All-atom molecular dynamics simulation was conducted, and the hydration effect was quantified by the solvation free energy. The free-energy calculation was done by employing the solution theory in the energy representation, and it was seen that the sum of the protein intramolecular (structural) energy and the solvation free energy is more favorable for a folded structure than for an unfolded one generated by heat. Probabilistic arguments were then developed to determine which of the electrostatic, van der Waals, and excluded-volume components of the interactions in the protein-water system governs the relative stabilities between the folded and unfolded structures. It was found that the electrostatic interaction does not correspond to the preference order of the two structures. The van der Waals and excluded-volume components were shown, on the other hand, to provide the right order of preference at probabilities of almost unity, and it is argued that a useful modeling of protein folding is possible on the basis of the excluded-volume effect.

Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy in Oropharyngeal Carcinoma: Effect of Tumor Volume on Clinical Outcomes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lok, Benjamin H.; New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY; Setton, Jeremy

2012-04-01

Purpose: To analyze the effect of primary gross tumor volume (pGTV) and nodal gross tumor volume (nGTV) on treatment outcomes in patients treated with definitive intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). Methods and Materials: Between September 1998 and April 2009, a total of 442 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx were treated with IMRT with curative intent at our center. Thirty patients treated postoperatively and 2 additional patients who started treatment more than 6 months after diagnosis were excluded. A total of 340 patients with restorable treatment plans were included in this present study. The majoritymore » of the patients underwent concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy. The pGTV and nGTV were calculated using the original clinical treatment plans. Cox proportional hazards models and log-rank tests were used to evaluate the correlation between tumor volumes and overall survival (OS), and competing risks analysis tools were used to evaluate the correlation between local failure (LF), regional failure (RF), distant metastatic failure (DMF) vs. tumor volumes with death as a competing risk. Results: Median follow-up among surviving patients was 34 months (range, 5-67). The 2-year cumulative incidence of LF, RF and DF in this cohort of patients was 6.1%, 5.2%, and 12.2%, respectively. The 2-year OS rate was 88.6%. Univariate analysis determined pGTV and T-stage correlated with LF (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.004, respectively), whereas nGTV was not associated with RF. On multivariate analysis, pGTV and N-stage were independent risk factors for overall survival (p = 0.0003 and p = 0.0073, respectively) and distant control (p = 0.0008 and p = 0.002, respectively). Conclusions: In this cohort of patients with OPC treated with IMRT, pGTV was found to be associated with overall survival, local failure, and distant metastatic failure.« less

Virial coefficients of anisotropic hard solids of revolution: The detailed influence of the particle geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herold, Elisabeth; Hellmann, Robert; Wagner, Joachim

2017-11-01

We provide analytical expressions for the second virial coefficients of differently shaped hard solids of revolution in dependence on their aspect ratio. The second virial coefficients of convex hard solids, which are the orientational averages of the mutual excluded volume, are derived from volume, surface, and mean radii of curvature employing the Isihara-Hadwiger theorem. Virial coefficients of both prolate and oblate hard solids of revolution are investigated in dependence on their aspect ratio. The influence of one- and two-dimensional removable singularities of the surface curvature to the mutual excluded volume is analyzed. The virial coefficients of infinitely thin oblate and infinitely long prolate particles are compared, and analytical expressions for their ratios are derived. Beyond their dependence on the aspect ratio, the second virial coefficients are influenced by the detailed geometry of the particles.

Virial coefficients of anisotropic hard solids of revolution: The detailed influence of the particle geometry.

PubMed

Herold, Elisabeth; Hellmann, Robert; Wagner, Joachim

2017-11-28

We provide analytical expressions for the second virial coefficients of differently shaped hard solids of revolution in dependence on their aspect ratio. The second virial coefficients of convex hard solids, which are the orientational averages of the mutual excluded volume, are derived from volume, surface, and mean radii of curvature employing the Isihara-Hadwiger theorem. Virial coefficients of both prolate and oblate hard solids of revolution are investigated in dependence on their aspect ratio. The influence of one- and two-dimensional removable singularities of the surface curvature to the mutual excluded volume is analyzed. The virial coefficients of infinitely thin oblate and infinitely long prolate particles are compared, and analytical expressions for their ratios are derived. Beyond their dependence on the aspect ratio, the second virial coefficients are influenced by the detailed geometry of the particles.

Pseudo tumors of the lung after lung volume reduction surgery.

PubMed

Oey, Inger F; Jeyapalan, Kanagaratnam; Entwisle, James J; Waller, David A

2004-03-01

We describe 2 patients who underwent lung volume reduction surgery, who postoperatively had computed tomographic scans that showed symptomatic mass lesions suggestive of malignancy and an inhaled foreign body. Investigations excluded these conditions with the remaining likely diagnosis of pseudotumor secondary to buttressing material. These potential sequelae of lung volume reduction surgery should be recognized in follow-up investigations.

Cerebral grey, white matter and csf in never-medicated, first-episode schizophrenia.

PubMed

Chua, Siew E; Cheung, Charlton; Cheung, Vinci; Tsang, Jack T K; Chen, Eric Y H; Wong, Jason C H; Cheung, Jason P Y; Yip, Lawrance; Tai, Kin-Shing; Suckling, John; McAlonan, Gráinne M

2007-01-01

We report the first voxel-based morphometric (VBM) study to examine cerebral grey and white matter and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using computational morphometry in never-medicated, first-episode psychosis (FEP). Region-of-interest (ROI) analysis was also performed blind to group membership. 26 never-medicated individuals with FEP (23 with DSM-IV schizophrenia) and 38 healthy controls had MRI brain scans. Groups were balanced for age, sex, handedness, ethnicity, paternal socio-economic status, and height. Healthy controls were recruited from the local community by advertisement. Grey matter, white matter, and CSF: global brain volume ratios were significantly smaller in patients. Patients had significantly less grey matter volume in L and R caudate nuclei, cingulate gyri, parahippocampal gyri, superior temporal gyri, cerebellum and R thalamus, prefrontal cortex. They also had significantly less white matter volume in the R anterior limb of the internal capsule fronto-occipital fasciculus and L and R fornices, and significantly greater CSF volume especially in the R lateral ventricle. Excluding the 3 subjects with brief psychotic disorder did not alter our results. Our data suggest that fronto-temporal and subcortical-limbic circuits are morphologically abnormal in never-medicated, schizophrenia. ROI analysis comparing the schizophrenia group (n=23) with the healthy controls (n=38) confirmed caudate volumes were significantly smaller bilaterally by 11%, and lateral ventricular volume was significantly larger on the right by 26% in the patients. Caudate nuclei and lateral ventricular volume measurements were uncorrelated (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.30, p=0.10), ruling out the possibility of segmentation artefact. Ratio of lateral ventricle to caudate volume was bilaterally significantly increased (p<0.005, 2-tailed), which could represent an early biomarker in first-episode, never-medicated schizophrenia.

Combination of external beam irradiation and multiple-site perineal applicator (MUPIT) for treatment of locally advanced or recurrent prostatic, anorectal, and gynecologic malignancies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinez, A.; Edmundson, G.K.; Cox, R.S.

1985-02-01

The authors have devised a single after-loading applicator, the Martinez Universal Perineal Interstitital Template (MUPIT), which has been used in combination with external beam irradiation to treat 104 patients with either locally advanced or recurrent malignancies of the cervix, vagina, female uretha, prostate, or anorectal region. Twenty-six patients treated for prostate cancer are excluded because of their short follow-up. Local failure developed in 13 of the 78 remaining patients (16.6%) - major complications developed in 4 patients (5.1%). All local recurrences and complications occurred before 18 months. The device consists of two acrylic cyclinders, an acrylic template with an arraymore » of holes that serve as guides for trocars, and a cover plate. In use, the cylinders are placed in the vagina and/or rectum or both and then fastened to the template so that a fixed geometric relationship among the tumor volume, normal structures, and source placement is preserved throughout the course of the implantation. Appropriate computer programs have been developed to calculate the dose from these implants. They conclude that the local control rate (83.4%) with low morbidity (5.1%) achieved with the combination of external beam irradiation and MUPIT applicator in these patients with locally advanced malignancies represents an improvement over previous published results with other applicators.« less

Automatic segmentation of tumor-laden lung volumes from the LIDC database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Dell, Walter G.

2012-03-01

The segmentation of the lung parenchyma is often a critical pre-processing step prior to application of computer-aided detection of lung nodules. Segmentation of the lung volume can dramatically decrease computation time and reduce the number of false positive detections by excluding from consideration extra-pulmonary tissue. However, while many algorithms are capable of adequately segmenting the healthy lung, none have been demonstrated to work reliably well on tumor-laden lungs. Of particular challenge is to preserve tumorous masses attached to the chest wall, mediastinum or major vessels. In this role, lung volume segmentation comprises an important computational step that can adversely affect the performance of the overall CAD algorithm. An automated lung volume segmentation algorithm has been developed with the goals to maximally exclude extra-pulmonary tissue while retaining all true nodules. The algorithm comprises a series of tasks including intensity thresholding, 2-D and 3-D morphological operations, 2-D and 3-D floodfilling, and snake-based clipping of nodules attached to the chest wall. It features the ability to (1) exclude trachea and bowels, (2) snip large attached nodules using snakes, (3) snip small attached nodules using dilation, (4) preserve large masses fully internal to lung volume, (5) account for basal aspects of the lung where in a 2-D slice the lower sections appear to be disconnected from main lung, and (6) achieve separation of the right and left hemi-lungs. The algorithm was developed and trained to on the first 100 datasets of the LIDC image database.

Comparative ultrasound measurement of normal thyroid gland dimensions in school aged children in our local environment.

PubMed

Marchie, T T; Oyobere, O; Eze, K C

2012-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine the measurement of normal range of ultrasound (US) thyroid gland dimensions in school-aged children (6-16 years) in our environment and compared with what is obtained elsewhere. A prospective ultrasound measurement study done in University of Benin Teaching Hospital Benin, Nigeria. A prospective ultrasound (US) study of thyroid dimensions of 500 school-aged children in our environment consisting of 227 boys and 273 girls was done from 1 December 2006 to July 2007. The subjects were examined by the authors and subjects with palpable abnormal thyroid gland were excluded from the study. The thyroid dimensions (length, height, and diameter) were taken for each lobe by means of ultrasound (US). In addition volume of each thyroid lobe was calculated and the summation of volume of the lobes was taken as thyroid gland volume of each subject. Also height and weight of patients were documented from which the subject's body surface was calculated. Incidental thyroid gland lesion in US was excluded from the study. Using the Statistical program of social science (SPSS) and INSTAT (Graph Pad Inc. USA) the data were analyzed. Informed consent was obtained from all the subjects and the study was done in line with the ethical guidelines of the centers. The US thyroid gland volume in school-aged children in Benin City from this study ranges between 1.17 cm 3 and 7.19 cm 3 , mean volume range of 1.76-4.95 cm 3 , median volume range of 1.73-4.73 cm 3 , and range of standard deviation from 0.39 cm 3 to 1.49 cm 3 . The average mean thyroid volume is 2.32 cm 3 with the following average dimensions; anteroposterior right lobe =1.06 cm, mediolateral right lobe = 1.01 cm and craniocaudal right lobe = 2.34 cm, and anteroposterior left lobe = 1.01 cm, mediolateral left lobe = 1.04 cm and craniocaudal left lobe = 2.41 cm for both boys and girls respectively. These data are significantly lower than data obtained by European based World Health Organization/International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (WHO/ICCIDD) 1997. However there is significant similarity with data obtained in similar environment. Ultrasound thyroid gland dimensions in school-aged children in our environment are reproducible and the data obtained are comparable to those obtained in other environment. The values may be better used in our environment as reference data for screening purposes.

Initial clinical experience of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography in patients with ischemic and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shiota, T.; McCarthy, P. M.; White, R. D.; Qin, J. X.; Greenberg, N. L.; Flamm, S. D.; Wong, J.; Thomas, J. D.

1999-01-01

The geometry of the left ventricle in patients with cardiomyopathy is often sub-optimal for 2-dimensional ultrasound when assessing left ventricular (LV) function and localized abnormalities such as a ventricular aneurysm. The aim of this study was to report the initial experience of real-time 3-D echocardiography for evaluating patients with cardiomyopathy. A total of 34 patients were evaluated with the real-time 3D method in the operating room (n = 15) and in the echocardiographic laboratory (n = 19). Thirteen of 28 patients with cardiomyopathy and 6 other subjects with normal LV function were evaluated by both real-time 3-D echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for obtaining LV volumes and ejection fractions for comparison. There were close relations and agreements for LV volumes (r = 0.98, p <0.0001, mean difference = -15 +/- 81 ml) and ejection fractions (r = 0.97, p <0.0001, mean difference = 0.001 +/- 0.04) between the real-time 3D method and MRI when 3 cardiomyopathy cases with marked LV dilatation (LV end-diastolic volume >450 ml by MRI) were excluded. In these 3 patients, 3D echocardiography significantly underestimated the LV volumes due to difficulties with imaging the entire LV in a 60 degrees x 60 degrees pyramidal volume. The new real-time 3D echocardiography is feasible in patients with cardiomyopathy and may provide a faster and lower cost alternative to MRI for evaluating cardiac function in patients.

Effect of bipolar electric fatigue on polarization switching in lead-zirconate-titanate ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhukov, Sergey; Fedosov, Sergey; Glaum, Julia; Granzow, Torsten; Genenko, Yuri A.; von Seggern, Heinz

2010-07-01

From comparison of experimental results on polarization switching in fresh and electrically fatigued lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) over a wide range of applied fields and switching times it is concluded that fatigue alters the local field distribution inside the sample due to the generation of discrete defects, such as voids and cracks. Such defects have a strong influence on the overall electric field distribution by their shape and dielectric permittivity. On this hypothesis, a new phenomenological model of polarization switching in fatigued PZT is proposed. The model assumes that the fatigued sample can be composed of different local regions which exhibit different field strengths but otherwise can be considered as unfatigued. Consequently the temporal response of a fatigued sample is assumed to be the superposition of the field-dependent temporal responses of unfatigued samples weighted by their respective volume fraction. A certain part of the volume is excluded from the overall switching process due to the domain pinning even at earlier stages of fatigue, which can be recovered by annealing. Suitability of the proposed model is demonstrated by a good correlation between experimental and calculated data for differently fatigued samples. Plausible cause of the formation of such regions is the generation of defects such as microcracks and the change in electrical properties at imperfections such as pores or voids.

Risk of hemorrhage in ischemic stroke and its relationship with cerebral microbleeds.

PubMed

Ozbek, Damla; Ozturk Tan, Ozlem; Ekinci, Gazanfer; Midi, Ipek

2018-05-01

Stroke is an important public health problem in most countries. Therefore, the treatment of stroke and its complications is important. Intracerebral hemorrhage is one of the complications of ischemic stroke. This study aimed to investigate the risk of hemorrhage in patients with acute ischemic stroke and prospectively study its relationship with cerebral microbleeds (MBs) using susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) that is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence. Patients with acute ischemic stroke were included. Those who underwent treatment with tissue plasminogen activator were excluded. The patients were analyzed according to their risk factors for stroke and their relationship with intracerebral hemorrhage. A total of 148 patients were included. Of these, 41 (28%) had hemorrhages in the ischemic area. The mean waist circumferences, left atrium diameter, and heart rate in these patients were higher than those in patients without hemorrhage. MBs were detected in 66 patients (44.6%) using SWI, and there was no significant relationship with the presence of hemorrhage. Intracerebral hemorrhages were significantly associated with the volume and localization of infarcts. Intracerebral hemorrhage in patients with acute ischemic stroke within the first 7 days after stroke onset was related to their waist circumference as well as the volume and localization of the infarct. However, there was no relationship found between the risk of hemorrhage and MBs using SWI. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Odijk excluded volume interactions during the unfolding of DNA confined in a nanochannel.

PubMed

Reifenberger, Jeffrey G; Cao, Han; Dorfman, Kevin D

2018-02-13

We report experimental data on the unfolding of human and E. coli genomic DNA molecules shortly after injection into a 45 nm nanochannel. The unfolding dynamics are deterministic, consistent with previous experiments and modeling in larger channels, and do not depend on the biological origin of the DNA. The measured entropic unfolding force per friction per unit contour length agrees with that predicted by combining the Odijk excluded volume with numerical calculations of the Kirkwood diffusivity of confined DNA. The time scale emerging from our analysis has implications for genome mapping in nanochannels, especially as the technology moves towards longer DNA, by setting a lower bound for the delay time before making a measurement.

Scattering from Colloid-Polymer Conjugates with Excluded Volume Effect

DOE PAGES

Li, Xin; Sanchez-Diaz, Luis E.; Smith, Gregory Scott; ...

2015-01-13

This work presents scattering functions of conjugates consisting of a colloid particle and a self-avoiding polymer chain as a model for protein-polymer conjugates and nanoparticle-polymer conjugates in solution. The model is directly derived from the two-point correlation function with the inclusion of excluded volume effects. The dependence of the calculated scattering function on the geometric shape of the colloid and polymer stiffness is investigated. The model is able to describe the experimental scattering signature of the solutions of suspending hard particle-polymer conjugates and provide additional conformational information. This model explicitly elucidates the link between the global conformation of a conjugatemore » and the microstructure of its constituent components.« less

Detection and 3D representation of pulmonary air bubbles in HRCT volumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, Jose S.; Silva, Augusto F.; Santos, Beatriz S.; Madeira, Joaquim

2003-05-01

Bubble emphysema is a disease characterized by the presence of air bubbles within the lungs. With the purpose of identifying pulmonary air bubbles, two alternative methods were developed, using High Resolution Computer Tomography (HRCT) exams. The search volume is confined to the pulmonary volume through a previously developed pulmonary contour detection algorithm. The first detection method follows a slice by slice approach and uses selection criteria based on the Hounsfield levels, dimensions, shape and localization of the bubbles. Candidate regions that do not exhibit axial coherence along at least two sections are excluded. Intermediate sections are interpolated for a more realistic representation of lungs and bubbles. The second detection method, after the pulmonary volume delimitation, follows a fully 3D approach. A global threshold is applied to the entire lung volume returning candidate regions. 3D morphologic operators are used to remove spurious structures and to circumscribe the bubbles. Bubble representation is accomplished by two alternative methods. The first generates bubble surfaces based on the voxel volumes previously detected; the second method assumes that bubbles are approximately spherical. In order to obtain better 3D representations, fits super-quadrics to bubble volume. The fitting process is based on non-linear least squares optimization method, where a super-quadric is adapted to a regular grid of points defined on each bubble. All methods were applied to real and semi-synthetical data where artificial and randomly deformed bubbles were embedded in the interior of healthy lungs. Quantitative results regarding bubble geometric features are either similar to a priori known values used in simulation tests, or indicate clinically acceptable dimensions and locations when dealing with real data.

Cathode signal in a TPC directional detector: implementation and validation measuring the drift velocity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Couturier, C.; Riffard, Q.; Sauzet, N.; Guillaudin, O.; Naraghi, F.; Santos, D.

2017-11-01

Low-pressure gaseous TPCs are well suited detectors to correlate the directions of nuclear recoils to the galactic Dark Matter (DM) halo. Indeed, in addition to providing a measure of the energy deposition due to the elastic scattering of a DM particle on a nucleus in the target gas, they allow for the reconstruction of the track of the recoiling nucleus. In order to exclude the background events originating from radioactive decays on the surfaces of the detector materials within the drift volume, efforts are ongoing to precisely localize the track nuclear recoil in the drift volume along the axis perpendicular to the cathode plane. We report here the implementation of the measure of the signal induced on the cathode by the motion of the primary electrons toward the anode in a MIMAC chamber. As a validation, we performed an independent measurement of the drift velocity of the electrons in the considered gas mixture, correlating in time the cathode signal with the measure of the arrival times of the electrons on the anode.

'Boomerang' technique: an improved method for conformal treatment of locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer.

PubMed

Corry, June; Hornby, Colin; Fisher, Richard; D'Costa, Ieta; Porceddu, Sandro; Rischin, Danny; Peters, Lester J

2004-06-01

The primary aim of the present study was to assess radiation dosimetry and subsequent clinical outcomes in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer using a novel radiation technique termed the 'Boomerang'. Dosimetric comparisons were made with both conventional and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) techniques. This is a study of 22 patients treated with this technique from June 1995 to October 1998. The technique used entailed delivery of 36 Gy in 18 fractions via parallel opposed fields, then 24 Gy in 12 fractions via asymmetric rotating arc fields for a total of 60 Gy in 30 fractions. Patients also received induction and concurrent chemotherapy. The radiation dosimetry was excellent. Dose-volume histograms showed that with the arc fields, 90% of the planning target volume received 94% of the prescribed dose. Relative to other conventional radiation therapy off-cord techniques, the Boomerang technique results in a 27% greater proportion of the prescribed dose being received by 90% of the planning target volume. This translates into an overall 10% greater dose received for the same prescribed dose. At 3 years, the actuarial loco-regional control rate, the failure-free survival rate and the overall survival rate were 91, 75 and 91%, respectively. At 5 years, the actuarial loco-regional control rate, the failure-free survival rate and the overall survival rate were 74, 62 and 71%, respectively. The Boomerang technique provided excellent radiation dosimetry with correspondingly good loco-regional control rates (in conjunction with chemotherapy) and very acceptable acute and late toxicity profiles. Because treatment can be delivered with conventional standard treatment planning and delivery systems, it is a validated treatment option for centres that do not have the capability or capacity for IMRT. A derivative of the Boomerang technique, excluding the parallel opposed component, is now our standard for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer when IMRT is not available.

The effect of volume exclusion on the formation of DNA minicircle networks: implications to kinetoplast DNA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diao, Y.; Hinson, K.; Sun, Y.; Arsuaga, J.

2015-10-01

Kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) is the mitochondrial of DNA of disease causing organisms such as Trypanosoma Brucei (T. Brucei) and Trypanosoma Cruzi (T. Cruzi). In most organisms, KDNA is made of thousands of small circular DNA molecules that are highly condensed and topologically linked forming a gigantic planar network. In our previous work we have developed mathematical and computational models to test the confinement hypothesis, that is that the formation of kDNA minicircle networks is a product of the high DNA condensation achieved in the mitochondrion of these organisms. In these studies we studied three parameters that characterize the growth of the network topology upon confinement: the critical percolation density, the mean saturation density and the mean valence (i.e. the number of mini circles topologically linked to any chosen minicircle). Experimental results on insect-infecting organisms showed that the mean valence is equal to three, forming a structure similar to those found in medieval chain-mails. These same studies hypothesized that this value of the mean valence was driven by the DNA excluded volume. Here we extend our previous work on kDNA by characterizing the effects of DNA excluded volume on the three descriptive parameters. Using computer simulations of polymer swelling we found that (1) in agreement with previous studies the linking probability of two minicircles does not decrease linearly with the distance between the two minicircles, (2) the mean valence grows linearly with the density of minicircles and decreases with the thickness of the excluded volume, (3) the critical percolation and mean saturation densities grow linearly with the thickness of the excluded volume. Our results therefore suggest that the swelling of the DNA molecule, due to electrostatic interactions, has relatively mild implications on the overall topology of the network. Our results also validate our topological descriptors since they appear to reflect the changes in the physical properties of the polymeric chains and at the same time remain faithful to their description of kDNA.

Beth-Uhlenbeck approach for repulsive interactions between baryons in a hadron gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vovchenko, Volodymyr; Motornenko, Anton; Gorenstein, Mark I.; Stoecker, Horst

2018-03-01

The quantum mechanical Beth-Uhlenbeck (BU) approach for repulsive hard-core interactions between baryons is applied to the thermodynamics of a hadron gas. The second virial coefficient a2—the "excluded volume" parameter—calculated within the BU approach is found to be temperature dependent, and it differs dramatically from the classical excluded volume (EV) model result. At temperatures T =100 -200 MeV, the widely used classical EV model underestimates the EV parameter for nucleons at a given value of the nucleon hard-core radius by large factors of 3-4. Previous studies, which employed the hard-core radii of hadrons as an input into the classical EV model, have to be re-evaluated using the appropriately rescaled EV parameters. The BU approach is used to model the repulsive baryonic interactions in the hadron resonance gas (HRG) model. Lattice data for the second- and fourth-order net baryon susceptibilities are described fairly well when the temperature dependent BU baryonic excluded volume parameter corresponds to nucleon hard-core radii of rc=0.25 -0.3 fm. Role of the attractive baryonic interactions is also considered. It is argued that HRG model with a constant baryon-baryon EV parameter vN N≃1 fm3 provides a simple yet efficient description of baryon-baryon interaction in the crossover temperature region.

Effect of urea on protein-ligand association.

PubMed

Stepanian, Lora; Son, Ikbae; Chalikian, Tigran V

2017-12-01

We combine experimental and theoretical approaches to investigate the influence of a cosolvent on a ligand-protein association event. We apply fluorescence measurements to determining the affinity of the inhibitor tri-N-acetylglucosamine [(GlcNAc) 3 ] for lysozyme at urea concentrations ranging from 0 to 8M. Notwithstanding that, at room temperature and neutral pH, lysozyme retains its native conformation up to the solubility limit of urea, the affinity of (GlcNAc) 3 for the protein steadily decreases as the concentration of urea increases. We analyze the urea dependence of the binding free energy within the framework of a simplified statistical thermodynamics-based model that accounts for the excluded volume effect and direct solute-solvent interactions. The analysis reveals that the detrimental action of urea on the inhibitor-lysozyme binding originates from competition between the free energy contributions of the excluded volume effect and direct solute-solvent interactions. The free energy contribution of direct urea-solute interactions narrowly overcomes the excluded volume contribution thereby resulting in urea weakening the protein-ligand association. More broadly, the successful application of the simple model employed in this work points to the possibility of its use in quantifying the stabilizing/destabilizing action of individual cosolvents on biochemical folding and binding reactions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of local friction in protein folding dynamics using a helix cross-linker.

PubMed

Markiewicz, Beatrice N; Jo, Hyunil; Culik, Robert M; DeGrado, William F; Gai, Feng

2013-11-27

Internal friction arising from local steric hindrance and/or the excluded volume effect plays an important role in controlling not only the dynamics of protein folding but also conformational transitions occurring within the native state potential well. However, experimental assessment of such local friction is difficult because it does not manifest itself as an independent experimental observable. Herein, we demonstrate, using the miniprotein trp-cage as a testbed, that it is possible to selectively increase the local mass density in a protein and hence the magnitude of local friction, thus making its effect directly measurable via folding kinetic studies. Specifically, we show that when a helix cross-linker, m-xylene, is placed near the most congested region of the trp-cage it leads to a significant decrease in both the folding rate (by a factor of 3.8) and unfolding rate (by a factor of 2.5 at 35 °C) but has little effect on protein stability. Thus, these results, in conjunction with those obtained with another cross-linked trp-cage and two uncross-linked variants, demonstrate the feasibility of using a nonperturbing cross-linker to help quantify the effect of internal friction. In addition, we estimate that a m-xylene cross-linker could lead to an increase in the roughness of the folding energy landscape by as much as 0.4-1.0k(B)T.

Novel computational approach for studying ph effects, excluded volume and ion-ion correlations in electrical double layers around polyelectrolytes and nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ovanesyan, Zaven

Highly charged cylindrical and spherical objects (macroions) are probably the simplest structures for modeling nucleic acids, proteins and nanoparticles. Their ubiquitous presence within biophysical systems ensures that Coulomb forces are among the most important interactions that regulate the behavior of these systems. In these systems, ions position themselves in a strongly correlated manner near the surface of a macroion and form electrical double layers (EDLs). These EDLs play an important role in many biophysical and biochemical processes. For instance, the macroion's net charge can change due to the binding of many multivalent ions to its surface. Thus, proper description of EDLs near the surface of a macroion may reveal a counter-intuitive charge inversion behavior, which can generate attraction between like-charged objects. This is relevant for the variety of fields such as self-assembly of DNA and RNA folding, as well as for protein aggregation and neurodegenerative diseases. Certainly, the key factors that contribute to these phenomena cannot be properly understood without an accurate solvation model. With recent advancements in computer technologies, the possibility to use computational tools for fundamental understanding of the role of EDLs around biomolecules and nanoparticles on their physical and chemical properties is becoming more feasible. Establishing the impact of the excluded volume and ion-ion correlations, ionic strength and pH of the electrolyte on the EDL around biomolecules and nanoparticles, and how changes in these properties consequently affect the Zeta potential and surface charge density are still not well understood. Thus, modeling and understanding the role of these properties on EDLs will provide more insights on the stability, adsorption, binding and function of biomolecules and nanoparticles. Existing mean-field theories such as Poisson Boltzmann (PB) often neglect the ion-ion correlations, solvent and ion excluded volume effects, which are important details for proper description of EDL properties. In this thesis, we implement an efficient and accurate classical solvation density functional theory (CDSFT) for EDLs of spherical macroions and cylindrical polyelectrolytes embedded in aqueous electrolytes. This approach extends the capabilities of mean field approximations by taking into account electrostatic ion-ion correlations, size asymmetry and excluded volume effects without compromising the computational cost. We apply the computational tool to study the structural and thermodynamic properties of the ionic atmosphere around B-DNA and spherical nanoparticles. We demonstrate that the presence of solvent molecules at experimental concentration and size values has a significant impact on the layering of ions. This layering directly influences the integrated charge and mean electrostatic potential in the diffuse region of the spherical electrical double layer (SEDL) and have a noticeable impact on the behavior of zeta potential (ZP). Recently, we have extended the aforementioned CSDFT to account for the charge-regulated mechanisms of the macroion surface on the structural and thermodynamic properties of spherical EDLs. In the approach, the CSDFT is combined with a surface complexation model to account for ion correlation and excluded volume effects on the surface titration of spherical macroions. We apply the proposed computational approach to describe the role that the ion size and solvent excluded volume play on the surface titration properties of silica nanoparticles. We analyze the effects of the nanoparticle size, pH and salt concentration of the aqueous solution on the nanoparticle's surface charge and zeta potential. The results reveal that surface charge density and zeta potential significantly depend on excluded volume and ion-ion correlation effects as well as on pH for monovalent ion species at high salt concentrations. Overall, our results are in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations and available experimental data. We discuss future directions of this work, which includes extension of the solvation model for studying the flexibility properties of rigid peptides and globular proteins, and describes benefits that this research can potentially bring to scientific and non scientific communities.

A phase II, open-label study of the efficacy and safety of imiquimod in the treatment of superficial and mixed infantile hemangioma.

PubMed

McCuaig, Catherine C; Dubois, Josée; Powell, Julie; Belleville, Claude; David, Michèle; Rousseau, Elisabeth; Gendron, Roxanne; Jafarian, Fatemeh; Auger, Isabelle

2009-01-01

To explore the efficacy and safety of imiquimod 5% cream as a treatment for infantile hemangioma. Phase II, open-label, noncomparative study of imiquimod applied during 16 weeks, with posttherapy follow-up 16 weeks later (8 months total). Outpatient pediatric tertiary care referral center in Quebec, Canada. Healthy infants up to 8.8 months of age with previously untreated, nonulcerated, proliferative superficial or mixed infantile hemangioma, excluding periorbital, or perineal localization, > or =100 cm2 in size. Topical imiquimod applied three to seven times per week for 16 weeks to infantile hemangioma. Lesion area, volume, depth (Doppler ultrasound), and color (erythema), serum drug, and interferon-alpha levels. Sixteen infants (11 girls, 5 boys) with a mean age at entry of 4.1 months and mean lesion area of 32.89 cm2, and volume of 39.98 cm3 were enrolled. Two participants discontinued treatment early, one for an adverse event (crying upon application), the other because of the lack of compliance. Local skin reactions were consistent with those reported in adults. Two cases had a decrease and three had an increase in lesion parameters; otherwise no meaningful changes in lesion area, volume, or depth were observed. At the 4-month posttreatment visit, 11 of 14 subjects had improvement in erythema (marginal homogeneity test = 2.668, p = 0.008). Measured serum drug and interferon-alpha levels were low or undetectable. Treatment of infants with infantile hemangioma with imiquimod up to seven times per week for 16 weeks was generally well tolerated with low systemic exposure. Improvement was observed in hemangioma coloration, but not lesion size, suggesting effects were limited to the superficial component.

Physician awareness of decompressive hemicraniectomy for malignant middle cerebral artery infarction in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.

PubMed

Al-Jehani, Hosam M; Alsharydah, Abdulaziz; Rammal, Seba A; Baeesa, Saleh S; Mekhlafi, Mohammad

2018-04-01

To explore the perspective on Decompressive craniectomy (DH) of each of these specialties to establish common grounds for improved clinical practice. An electronic survey was distributed via email and social media groups to members of these specialties in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. Local practices, common triggers for referral for DH, perceived outcomes of these procedures, individual impression of what constitutes good clinical outcomes were explored. There are 89 physicians participated: 41 (46.1%) neurologists, 34 (38.2%) neurosurgeons, and 14 (15.7%) intensivests. Participants are mostly practicing in intermediate volume centers or high volume centers. Half of the neurosurgeons preferred to be consulted immediately on candidates with large middle cerebral artery (MCA) strokes. The most important referral trigger for DH was clinical changes. The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) cutoff for good clinical outcome was 3 for 73.6% of respondents. There was agreement that DH only improves survival (64.4%). A third of the neurologists considered it to improve functional outcome compared to 15.4% of intensivests and 14.8% of neurosurgeons. There was agreement (66.7%) that patients older than 60 years with involvement of more than one territory should be excluded from DH. Only 7.7% of neurosurgeons excluded patients with dominant hemispheric strokes. Our physicians` views are variable in what`s called acceptable outcome, and further studies are needed to to test the characteristics that helps in decision making such as hemisphere dominancy, time onset of stroke and vital radiological signs. This is seen despite the literature being full of data that supports the DC over medical management in malignant MCA infarction. Better multidisciplinary education initiatives are needed to unify the understanding and help improve the practices in this challenging subset of patients.

Radiotherapy planning: PET/CT scanner performances in the definition of gross tumour volume and clinical target volume.

PubMed

Brianzoni, Ernesto; Rossi, Gloria; Ancidei, Sergio; Berbellini, Alfonso; Capoccetti, Francesca; Cidda, Carla; D'Avenia, Paola; Fattori, Sara; Montini, Gian Carlo; Valentini, Gianluca; Proietti, Alfredo; Algranati, Carlo

2005-12-01

Positron emission tomography is the most advanced scintigraphic imaging technology and can be employed in the planning of radiation therapy (RT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of fused images (anatomical CT and functional FDG-PET), acquired with a dedicated PET/CT scanner, in delineating gross tumour volume (GTV) and clinical target volume (CTV) in selected patients and thus in facilitating RT planning. Twenty-eight patients were examined, 24 with lung cancer (17 non-small cell and seven small cell) and four with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the head and neck region. All patients underwent a whole-body PET scan after a CT scan. The CT images provided morphological volumetric information, and in a second step, the corresponding PET images were overlaid to define the effective target volume. The images were exported off-line via an internal network to an RT simulator. Three patient were excluded from the study owing to change in the disease stage subsequent to the PET/CT study. Among the remaining 25 patients, PET significantly altered the GTV or CTV in 11 (44%) . In five of these 11 cases there was a reduction in GTV or CTV, while in six there was an increase in GTV or CTV. FDG-PET is a highly sensitive imaging modality that offers better visualisation of local and locoregional tumour extension. This study confirmed that co-registration of CT data and FDG-PET images may lead to significant modifications of RT planning and patient management.

Local structure in anisotropic systems determined by molecular dynamics simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komolkin, Andrei V.; Maliniak, Arnold

In the present communication we describe the investigation of local structure using a new visualization technique. The approach is based on two-dimensional pair correlation functions derived from a molecular dynamics computer simulation. We have used this method to analyse a trajectory produced in a simulation of a nematic liquid crystal of 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) (Komolkin et al., 1994, J. chem. Phys., 101, 4103). The molecule is assumed to have cylindrical symmetry, and the liquid crystalline phase is treated as uniaxial. The pair correlation functions or cylindrical distribution functions (CDFs) are calculated in the molecular (m) and laboratory (l) frames, gm2(z1 2, d1 2) and g12(Z1 2, D1 2). Anisotropic molecular organization in the liquid crystal is reflected in laboratory frame CDFs. The molecular excluded volume is determined and the effect of the fast motion in the alkyl chain is observed. The intramolecular distributions are included in the CDFs and indicate the size of the motional amplitude in the chain. Absence of long range order was confirmed, a feature typical for a nematic liquid crystal.

Multiscale Modeling of Diffusion in a Crowded Environment.

PubMed

Meinecke, Lina

2017-11-01

We present a multiscale approach to model diffusion in a crowded environment and its effect on the reaction rates. Diffusion in biological systems is often modeled by a discrete space jump process in order to capture the inherent noise of biological systems, which becomes important in the low copy number regime. To model diffusion in the crowded cell environment efficiently, we compute the jump rates in this mesoscopic model from local first exit times, which account for the microscopic positions of the crowding molecules, while the diffusing molecules jump on a coarser Cartesian grid. We then extract a macroscopic description from the resulting jump rates, where the excluded volume effect is modeled by a diffusion equation with space-dependent diffusion coefficient. The crowding molecules can be of arbitrary shape and size, and numerical experiments demonstrate that those factors together with the size of the diffusing molecule play a crucial role on the magnitude of the decrease in diffusive motion. When correcting the reaction rates for the altered diffusion we can show that molecular crowding either enhances or inhibits chemical reactions depending on local fluctuations of the obstacle density.

Constraining particle dark matter using local galaxy distribution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ando, Shin’ichiro; Ishiwata, Koji

It has been long discussed that cosmic rays may contain signals of dark matter. In the last couple of years an anomaly of cosmic-ray positrons has drawn a lot of attentions, and recently an excess in cosmic-ray anti-proton has been reported by AMS-02 collaboration. Both excesses may indicate towards decaying or annihilating dark matter with a mass of around 1–10 TeV. In this article we study the gamma rays from dark matter and constraints from cross correlations with distribution of galaxies, particularly in a local volume. We find that gamma rays due to inverse-Compton process have large intensity, and hencemore » they give stringent constraints on dark matter scenarios in the TeV scale mass regime. Taking the recent developments in modeling astrophysical gamma-ray sources as well as comprehensive possibilities of the final state products of dark matter decay or annihilation into account, we show that the parameter regions of decaying dark matter that are suggested to explain the excesses are excluded. We also discuss the constrains on annihilating scenarios.« less

Lipid vesicles chaperone an encapsulated RNA aptamer.

PubMed

Saha, Ranajay; Verbanic, Samuel; Chen, Irene A

2018-06-13

The organization of molecules into cells is believed to have been critical for the emergence of living systems. Early protocells likely consisted of RNA functioning inside vesicles made of simple lipids. However, little is known about how encapsulation would affect the activity and folding of RNA. Here we find that confinement of the malachite green RNA aptamer inside fatty acid vesicles increases binding affinity and locally stabilizes the bound conformation of the RNA. The vesicle effectively 'chaperones' the aptamer, consistent with an excluded volume mechanism due to confinement. Protocellular organization thereby leads to a direct benefit for the RNA. Coupled with previously described mechanisms by which encapsulated RNA aids membrane growth, this effect illustrates how the membrane and RNA might cooperate for mutual benefit. Encapsulation could thus increase RNA fitness and the likelihood that functional sequences would emerge during the origin of life.

Comparison of the thermal stabilization of proteins by oligosaccharides and monosaccharide mixtures: Measurement and analysis in the context of excluded volume theory.

PubMed

Beg, Ilyas; Minton, Allen P; Islam, Asimul; Hassan, Md Imtaiyaz; Ahmad, Faizan

2018-06-01

The thermal stability of apo α-lactalbumin (α-LA) and lysozyme was measured in the presence of mixtures of glucose, fructose, and galactose. Mixtures of these monosaccharides in the appropriate stoichiometric ratio were found to have a greater stabilizing effect on each of the two proteins than equal weight/volume concentrations of di- tri- and tetrasaccharides with identical subunit composition (sucrose, trehalose, raffinose, and stachyose). The excluded volume model for the effect of a single saccharide on the stability of a protein previously proposed by Beg et al. [Biochemistry 54 (2015) 3594] was extended to treat the case of saccharide mixtures. The extended model predicts quantitatively the stabilizing effect of all monosaccharide mixtures on α-LA and lysozyme reported here, as well as previously published results obtained for ribonuclease A [Biophys. Chem. 138 (2008) 120] to within experimental uncertainty. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement of lung fluid volumes and albumin exclusion in sheep

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pou, N.A.; Roselli, R.J.; Parker, R.E.

1989-10-01

A radioactive tracer technique was used to determine interstitial diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and albumin distribution volume in sheep lungs. {sup 125}I- and/or {sup 131}I-labeled albumin were injected intravenously and allowed to equilibrate for 24 h. {sup 99m}Tc-labeled DTPA and {sup 51}Cr-labeled erythrocytes were injected and allowed to equilibrate (2 h and 15 min, respectively) before a lethal dose of thiamylal sodium. Two biopsies (1-3 g) were taken from each lung and the remaining tissue was homogenized for wet-to-dry lung weight and volume calculations. Estimates of distribution volumes from whole lung homogenized samples were statistically smaller than biopsy samples for extravascularmore » water, interstitial {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA, and interstitial albumin. The mean fraction of the interstitium (Fe), which excludes albumin, was 0.68 +/- 0.04 for whole lung samples compared with 0.62 +/- 0.03 for biopsy samples. Hematocrit may explain the consistent difference. To make the Fe for biopsy samples match that for homogenized samples, a mean hematocrit, which was 82% of large vessel hematocrit, was required. Excluded volume fraction for exogenous sheep albumin was compared with that of exogenous human albumin in two sheep, and no difference was found at 24 h.« less

Retrospective review of voluntary reports of nonsurgical paresthesia in dentistry.

PubMed

Gaffen, Andrew S; Haas, Daniel A

2009-10-01

Paresthesia is an adverse event that may be associated with the administration of local anesthetics in dentistry. The purpose of this retrospective study was to analyze cases of paresthesia associated with local anesthetic injection that were voluntarily reported to Ontario"s Professional Liability Program (PLP) from 1999 to 2008 inclusive, to see if the findings were consistent with those from 1973 to 1998 from this same source. All cases of nonsurgical paresthesia reported from 1999 to 2008 were reviewed; cases involving surgical procedures were excluded. Variables examined included patient age and gender, type and volume of local anesthetic, anatomic site of nerve injury, affected side and pain on injection or any other symptoms. During the study period, 182 PLP reports of paresthesia following nonsurgical procedures were made; all but 2 were associated with mandibular block injection. There was no significant gender predilection, but the lingual nerve was affected more than twice as frequently as the inferior alveolar nerve. During 2006-2008 alone, 64 cases of nonsurgical paresthesia were reported to PLP, a reported incidence of 1 in 609,000 injections. For the 2 local anesthetic drugs available in dental cartridges as 4% solutions, i.e., articaine and prilocaine, the frequencies of reporting of paresthesia were significantly greater than expected (chi2, exact binomial distribution; p < 0.01) based on their level of use by Ontario dentists. These data suggest that local anesthetic neurotoxicity may be at least partly involved in the development of postinjection paresthesia.

Local Education Spending in Scotland and England: Problems of Comparison in the LACE Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Midwinter, Arthur

1997-01-01

The LACE (Local Authority Current Expenditure) report on comparable local education expenditure in Scotland, England, and Wales, 1993-95, found that Scottish expenditure was 23% higher than in England, largely from the higher incidence of local authority-educated children in Scotland. However, the LACE report excludes several important variables…

Resemblance of the properties of superimposed volume holograms to the properties of human memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlov, V. V.

2006-09-01

According to current concepts in psychology, a collection of patterns stored in human memory has the property of integrity and contains new information not contained in the individual patterns. It is shown that superimposed volume holograms possess similar properties if the information in them is written by a method that excludes the appearance of crosstalk of the holograms.

New daily persistent headache.

PubMed

Tyagi, Alok

2012-08-01

New daily persistent headache (NDPH) is a chronic headache developing in a person who does not have a past history of headaches. The headache begins acutely and reaches its peak within 3 days. It is important to exclude secondary causes, particularly headaches due to alterations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure and volume. A significant proportion of NDPH sufferers may have intractable headaches that are refractory to treatment. The condition is best viewed as a syndrome rather than a diagnosis. The headache can mimic chronic migraine and chronic tension-type headache, and it is also important to exclude secondary causes, particularly headaches due to alterations in CSF pressure and volume. A large proportion of NDPH sufferers have migrainous features to their headache and should be managed with treatments used for treating migraine. A small group of NDPH sufferers may have intractable headaches that are refractory to treatment.

Role of ion hydration for the differential capacitance of an electric double layer.

PubMed

Caetano, Daniel L Z; Bossa, Guilherme V; de Oliveira, Vinicius M; Brown, Matthew A; de Carvalho, Sidney J; May, Sylvio

2016-10-12

The influence of soft, hydration-mediated ion-ion and ion-surface interactions on the differential capacitance of an electric double layer is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations and compared to various mean-field models. We focus on a planar electrode surface at physiological concentration of monovalent ions in a uniform dielectric background. Hydration-mediated interactions are modeled on the basis of Yukawa potentials that add to the Coulomb and excluded volume interactions between ions. We present a mean-field model that includes hydration-mediated anion-anion, anion-cation, and cation-cation interactions of arbitrary strengths. In addition, finite ion sizes are accounted for through excluded volume interactions, described either on the basis of the Carnahan-Starling equation of state or using a lattice gas model. Both our Monte Carlo simulations and mean-field approaches predict a characteristic double-peak (the so-called camel shape) of the differential capacitance; its decrease reflects the packing of the counterions near the electrode surface. The presence of hydration-mediated ion-surface repulsion causes a thin charge-depleted region close to the surface, which is reminiscent of a Stern layer. We analyze the interplay between excluded volume and hydration-mediated interactions on the differential capacitance and demonstrate that for small surface charge density our mean-field model based on the Carnahan-Starling equation is able to capture the Monte Carlo simulation results. In contrast, for large surface charge density the mean-field approach based on the lattice gas model is preferable.

Effects of image charges, interfacial charge discreteness, and surface roughness on the zeta potential of spherical electric double layers.

PubMed

Gan, Zecheng; Xing, Xiangjun; Xu, Zhenli

2012-07-21

We investigate the effects of image charges, interfacial charge discreteness, and surface roughness on spherical electric double layer structures in electrolyte solutions with divalent counterions in the setting of the primitive model. By using Monte Carlo simulations and the image charge method, the zeta potential profile and the integrated charge distribution function are computed for varying surface charge strengths and salt concentrations. Systematic comparisons were carried out between three distinct models for interfacial charges: (1) SURF1 with uniform surface charges, (2) SURF2 with discrete point charges on the interface, and (3) SURF3 with discrete interfacial charges and finite excluded volume. By comparing the integrated charge distribution function and the zeta potential profile, we argue that the potential at the distance of one ion diameter from the macroion surface is a suitable location to define the zeta potential. In SURF2 model, we find that image charge effects strongly enhance charge inversion for monovalent interfacial charges, and strongly suppress charge inversion for multivalent interfacial charges. For SURF3, the image charge effect becomes much smaller. Finally, with image charges in action, we find that excluded volumes (in SURF3) suppress charge inversion for monovalent interfacial charges and enhance charge inversion for multivalent interfacial charges. Overall, our results demonstrate that all these aspects, i.e., image charges, interfacial charge discreteness, their excluding volumes, have significant impacts on zeta potentials of electric double layers.

Scaling behavior of knotted random polygons and self-avoiding polygons: Topological swelling with enhanced exponent.

PubMed

Uehara, Erica; Deguchi, Tetsuo

2017-12-07

We show that the average size of self-avoiding polygons (SAPs) with a fixed knot is much larger than that of no topological constraint if the excluded volume is small and the number of segments is large. We call it topological swelling. We argue an "enhancement" of the scaling exponent for random polygons with a fixed knot. We study them systematically through SAP consisting of hard cylindrical segments with various different values of the radius of segments. Here we mean by the average size the mean-square radius of gyration. Furthermore, we show numerically that the topological balance length of a composite knot is given by the sum of those of all constituent prime knots. Here we define the topological balance length of a knot by such a number of segments that topological entropic repulsions are balanced with the knot complexity in the average size. The additivity suggests the local knot picture.

Scaling behavior of knotted random polygons and self-avoiding polygons: Topological swelling with enhanced exponent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uehara, Erica; Deguchi, Tetsuo

2017-12-01

We show that the average size of self-avoiding polygons (SAPs) with a fixed knot is much larger than that of no topological constraint if the excluded volume is small and the number of segments is large. We call it topological swelling. We argue an "enhancement" of the scaling exponent for random polygons with a fixed knot. We study them systematically through SAP consisting of hard cylindrical segments with various different values of the radius of segments. Here we mean by the average size the mean-square radius of gyration. Furthermore, we show numerically that the topological balance length of a composite knot is given by the sum of those of all constituent prime knots. Here we define the topological balance length of a knot by such a number of segments that topological entropic repulsions are balanced with the knot complexity in the average size. The additivity suggests the local knot picture.

Temporal Lobe Reactions After Radiotherapy With Carbon Ions: Incidence and Estimation of the Relative Biological Effectiveness by the Local Effect Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schlampp, Ingmar; Karger, Christian P.; Jaekel, Oliver

2011-07-01

Purpose: To identify predictors for the development of temporal lobe reactions (TLR) after carbon ion radiation therapy (RT) for radiation-resistant tumors in the central nervous system and to evaluate the predictions of the local effect model (LEM) used for calculation of the biologically effective dose. Methods and Materials: This retrospective study reports the TLR rates in patients with skull base chordomas and chondrosarcomas irradiated with carbon ions at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany, in the years 2002 and 2003. Calculation of the relative biological effectiveness and dose optimization of treatment plans were performed on the basis of the LEM. Clinical examinations andmore » magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed at 3, 6, and 12 months after RT and annually thereafter. Local contrast medium enhancement in temporal lobes, as detected on MRI, was regarded as radiation-induced TLR. Dose-volume histograms of 118 temporal lobes in 59 patients were analyzed, and 16 therapy-associated and 2 patient-associated factors were statistically evaluated for their predictive value for the occurrence of TLR. Results: Median follow-up was 2.5 years (range, 0.3--6.6 years). Age and maximum dose applied to at least 1 cm{sup 3} of the temporal lobe (D{sub max,V-1cm}3, maximum dose in the remaining temporal lobe volume, excluding the volume 1 cm{sup 3} with the highest dose) were found to be the most important predictors for TLR. Dose response curves of D{sub max,V-1cm}3 were calculated. The biologically equivalent tolerance doses for the 5% and 50% probabilities to develop TLR were 68.8 {+-} 3.3 Gy equivalents (GyE) and 87.3 {+-} 2.8 GyE, respectively. Conclusions: D{sub max,V-1cm}3 is predictive for radiation-induced TLR. The tolerance doses obtained seem to be consistent with published data for highly conformal photon and proton irradiations. We could not detect any clinically relevant deviations between clinical findings and expectations based on predictions of the LEM.« less

In vivo determination of steric and electrostatic exclusion of albumin in rat skin and skeletal muscle

PubMed Central

Gyenge, Christina C; Tenstad, Olav; Wiig, Helge

2003-01-01

In order to estimate the magnitude of electrostatic exclusion provided by the fixed negative charges of the skin and muscle interstitia of rat in vivo we measured the distribution volumes of two differently charged albumin probes within these tissues. An implanted osmotic pump was used to reach and maintain a steady-state extracellular concentration of a mixture containing two iodine-labelled probes: a charged-modified human serum albumin, cHSA (i.e. a positive probe, isoelectirc point (pI) = 7.6) and a native human serum albumin, HSA (i.e. a normally charged, negative probe, pI = 5.0). Steady-state tissue concentrations were achieved after intravenous infusion of probes for 5–7 days. At the end of this period the animals were nephrectomized and a bolus of 51Cr-EDTA was administered for estimating the extracellular volume. Plasma volumes were measured as 5-min distribution volume of 125I-HSA in separate experiments. The steady-state interstitial fluid concentrations of all probes were determined using nylon wicks implanted postmortem. Calculations of labelled probes were made for interstitial fluid volumes (Vi), extravascular albumin distribution volumes (Vav,a) and relative interstitial excluded volume fractions (Vex,a/Vi). We found that the positive probe is excluded from a significantly smaller fraction of the interstitium. Specifically, the average relative albumin exclusion fractions obtained were: 16% and 26% in skeletal muscle and 30% and 40% in skin, for cHSA and HSA, respectively. On average, the fixed negative charges of the interstitium are responsible for about 40% of the total albumin exclusion in skeletal muscle and 25% in the whole skin tissue and thus, contribute significantly to volume exclusion in these tissues. PMID:12937287

In vivo determination of steric and electrostatic exclusion of albumin in rat skin and skeletal muscle.

PubMed

Gyenge, Christina C; Tenstad, Olav; Wiig, Helge

2003-11-01

In order to estimate the magnitude of electrostatic exclusion provided by the fixed negative charges of the skin and muscle interstitia of rat in vivo we measured the distribution volumes of two differently charged albumin probes within these tissues. An implanted osmotic pump was used to reach and maintain a steady-state extracellular concentration of a mixture containing two iodine-labelled probes: a charged-modified human serum albumin, cHSA (i.e. a positive probe, isoelectirc point (pI) = 7.6) and a native human serum albumin, HSA (i.e. a normally charged, negative probe, pI = 5.0). Steady-state tissue concentrations were achieved after intravenous infusion of probes for 5-7 days. At the end of this period the animals were nephrectomized and a bolus of 51Cr-EDTA was administered for estimating the extracellular volume. Plasma volumes were measured as 5-min distribution volume of 125I-HSA in separate experiments. The steady-state interstitial fluid concentrations of all probes were determined using nylon wicks implanted postmortem. Calculations of labelled probes were made for interstitial fluid volumes (Vi), extravascular albumin distribution volumes (Vav,a) and relative interstitial excluded volume fractions (Vex,a/Vi). We found that the positive probe is excluded from a significantly smaller fraction of the interstitium. Specifically, the average relative albumin exclusion fractions obtained were: 16% and 26% in skeletal muscle and 30% and 40% in skin, for cHSA and HSA, respectively. On average, the fixed negative charges of the interstitium are responsible for about 40% of the total albumin exclusion in skeletal muscle and 25% in the whole skin tissue and thus, contribute significantly to volume exclusion in these tissues.

Effect of hydration on interstitial distribution of charged albumin in rat dermis in vitro

PubMed Central

Wiig, Helge; Tenstad, Olav; Bert, Joel L

2005-01-01

At physiological pH, negatively charged glycosaminoglycans in the extracellular matrix may influence distribution volume of macromolecular probes, a phenomenon of importance for hydration of the interstitium and therefore for body fluid balance. We hypothesized that such charge effect was dependent on hydration. Human serum albumin (HSA) (the pH value for the isoelectric point (pI) = 4.9) was made neutral by cationization (cHSA) (pI = 7.6). Rat dermis was studied in vitro in a specially designed equilibration cell allowing control of hydration. Using a buffer containing labelled native HSA and cHSA, the distribution volumes were calculated relative to that of 51Cr-EDTA, an extracellular tracer. During changes in hydration (H), defined as (wet weight – dry weight) (dry weight)−1), the slope of the equation describing the relationship between extracellular fluid volume (Vx) (in g H2O (g dry weight)−1) and H (Vx = 0.925 H + 0.105) differed significantly from that for available volumes of cHSA (Va,cHSA = 0.624 H – 0.538) and HSA (Va,HSA = 0.518 H – 0.518). A gradual reduction in H led to a reduction in difference between available volumes for the two albumin species. Screening the fixed charges by 1 m NaCl resulted in similar available and excluded volumes of native HSA and neutral cHSA. We conclude that during gradual dehydration, there is a reduced effect of fixed negative charges on interstitial exclusion of charged macromolecules. This effect may be explained by a reduced hydration domain surrounding tissue and probe macromolecules in conditions of increased electrostatic interactions. Furthermore, screening of negative charges suggested that hyaluronan associated with collagen may influence intrafibrillar volume of collagen and thereby available and excluded volume fraction. PMID:16210353

Local bone graft harvesting and volumes in posterolateral lumbar fusion: a technical report.

PubMed

Carragee, Eugene J; Comer, Garet C; Smith, Micah W

2011-06-01

In lumbar surgery, local bone graft is often harvested and used in posterolateral fusion procedures. The volume of local bone graft available for posterolateral fusion has not been determined in North American patients. Some authors have described this as minimal, but others have suggested the volume was sufficient to be reliably used as a stand-alone bone graft substitute for single-level fusion. To describe the technique used and determine the volume of local bone graft available in a cohort of patients undergoing single-level primary posterolateral fusion by the authors harvesting technique. Technical description and cohort report. Consecutive patients undergoing lumbar posterolateral fusion with or without instrumentation for degenerative processes. Local bone graft volume. Consecutive patients undergoing lumbar posterolateral fusion with or without instrumentation for degenerative processes of were studied. Local bone graft was harvested by a standard method in each patient and the volume measured by a standard procedure. Twenty-five patients were studied, and of these 11 (44%) had a previous decompression. The mean volume of local bone graft harvested was measured to be 25 cc (range, 12-36 cc). Local bone graft was augmented by iliac crest bone in six of 25 patients (24%) if the posterolateral fusion bed was not well packed with local bone alone. There was a trend to greater local bone graft volumes in men and in patients without previous decompression. Large volumes of local bone can be harvested during posterolateral lumbar fusion surgery. Even in patients with previous decompression the volume harvested is similar to that reported harvested from the posterior iliac crest for single-level fusion. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparative receptor mapping of serotoninergic 5-HT3 and 5-HT4 binding sites*

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López-Rodríguez, María L.; Morcillo, María José; Benhamú, Bellinda; Rosado, María Luisa

1997-11-01

The clinical use of currently available drugs acting at the5-HT4 receptor has been hampered by their lack of selectivityover 5-HT3 binding sites. For this reason, there is considerableinterest in the medicinal chemistry of these serotonin receptor subtypes, andsignificant effort has been made towards the discovery of potent and selectiveligands. Computer-aided conformational analysis was used to characterizeserotoninergic 5-HT3 and 5-HT4 receptorrecognition. On the basis of the generally accepted model of the5-HT3 antagonist pharmacophore, we have performed a receptormapping of this receptor binding site, following the active analog approach(AAA) defined by Marshall. The receptor excluded volume was calculated as theunion of the van der Waals density maps of nine active ligands(pKi ≥ 8.9), superimposed in pharmacophoric conformations.Six inactive analogs (pKi < 7.0) were subsequently used todefine the essential volume, which in its turn can be used to define theregions of steric intolerance of the 5-HT3 receptor. Five activeligands (pKi ≥ 9.3) at 5-HT4 receptors wereused to construct an antagonist pharmacophore for this receptor, and todetermine its excluded volume by superimposition of pharmacophoricconformations. The volume defined by the superimposition of five inactive5-HT4 receptor analogs that possess the pharmacophoric elements(pKi ≤ 6.6) did not exceed the excluded volume calculated forthis receptor. In this case, the inactivity may be due to the lack of positiveinteraction of the amino moiety with a hypothetical hydrophobic pocket, whichwould interact with the voluminous substituents of the basic nitrogen ofactive ligands. The difference between the excluded volumes of both receptorshas confirmed that the main difference is indeed in the basic moiety. Thus,the 5-HT3 receptor can only accommodate small substituents inthe position of the nitrogen atom, whereas the 5-HT4 receptorrequires more voluminous groups. Also, the basic nitrogen is located at ca.8.0 Å from the aromatic moiety in the 5-HT4 antagonistpharmacophore, whereas this distance is ca. 7.5 Å in the5-HT3 antagonist model. The comparative mapping of bothserotoninergic receptors has allowed us to confirm the three-componentpharmacophore accepted for the 5-HT3 receptor, as well as topropose a steric model for the 5-HT4 receptor binding site. Thisstudy offers structural insights to aid the design of new selective ligands,and the resulting models have received some support from the synthesis of twonew active and selective ligands: 24 (Ki(5-HT3)= 3.7 nM; Ki(5-HT4) > 1000 nM) and 25(Ki(5-HT4) = 13.7 nM;Ki(5-HT3) > 10 000 nM).

Modeling cytoskeletal traffic: an interplay between passive diffusion and active transport.

PubMed

Neri, Izaak; Kern, Norbert; Parmeggiani, Andrea

2013-03-01

We introduce the totally asymmetric simple exclusion process with Langmuir kinetics on a network as a microscopic model for active motor protein transport on the cytoskeleton, immersed in the diffusive cytoplasm. We discuss how the interplay between active transport along a network and infinite diffusion in a bulk reservoir leads to a heterogeneous matter distribution on various scales: we find three regimes for steady state transport, corresponding to the scale of the network, of individual segments, or local to sites. At low exchange rates strong density heterogeneities develop between different segments in the network. In this regime one has to consider the topological complexity of the whole network to describe transport. In contrast, at moderate exchange rates the transport through the network decouples, and the physics is determined by single segments and the local topology. At last, for very high exchange rates the homogeneous Langmuir process dominates the stationary state. We introduce effective rate diagrams for the network to identify these different regimes. Based on this method we develop an intuitive but generic picture of how the stationary state of excluded volume processes on complex networks can be understood in terms of the single-segment phase diagram.

Micro-flock patterns and macro-clusters in chiral active Brownian disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levis, Demian; Liebchen, Benno

2018-02-01

Chiral active particles (or self-propelled circle swimmers) feature a rich collective behavior, comprising rotating macro-clusters and micro-flock patterns which consist of phase-synchronized rotating clusters with a characteristic self-limited size. These patterns emerge from the competition of alignment interactions and rotations suggesting that they might occur generically in many chiral active matter systems. However, although excluded volume interactions occur naturally among typical circle swimmers, it is not yet clear if macro-clusters and micro-flock patterns survive their presence. The present work shows that both types of pattern do survive but feature strongly enhance fluctuations regarding the size and shape of the individual clusters. Despite these fluctuations, we find that the average micro-flock size still follows the same characteristic scaling law as in the absence of excluded volume interactions, i.e. micro-flock sizes scale linearly with the single-swimmer radius.

New daily persistent headache

PubMed Central

Tyagi, Alok

2012-01-01

New daily persistent headache (NDPH) is a chronic headache developing in a person who does not have a past history of headaches. The headache begins acutely and reaches its peak within 3 days. It is important to exclude secondary causes, particularly headaches due to alterations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure and volume. A significant proportion of NDPH sufferers may have intractable headaches that are refractory to treatment. The condition is best viewed as a syndrome rather than a diagnosis. The headache can mimic chronic migraine and chronic tension-type headache, and it is also important to exclude secondary causes, particularly headaches due to alterations in CSF pressure and volume. A large proportion of NDPH sufferers have migrainous features to their headache and should be managed with treatments used for treating migraine. A small group of NDPH sufferers may have intractable headaches that are refractory to treatment. PMID:23024565

Local sequence information in cellular retinoic acid-binding protein I: specific residue roles in beta-turns.

PubMed

Rotondi, Kenneth S; Gierasch, Lila M

2003-01-01

We have recently shown that two of the beta-turns (III and IV) in the ten-stranded, beta-clam protein, cellular retinoic acid-binding protein I (CRABP I), are favored in short peptide fragments, arguing that they are encoded by local interactions (K. S. Rotondi and L. M. Gierasch, Biochemistry, 2003, Vol. 42, pp. 7976-7985). In this paper we examine these turns in greater detail to dissect the specific local interactions responsible for their observed native conformational biases. Conformations of peptides corresponding to the turn III and IV fragments were examined under conditions designed to selectively disrupt stabilizing interactions, using pH variation, chaotrope addition, or mutagenesis to probe specific side-chain influences. We find that steric constraints imposed by excluded volume effects between near neighbor residues (i,i+2), favorable polar (i,i+2) interactions, and steric permissiveness of glycines are the principal factors accounting for the observed native bias in these turns. Longer-range stabilizing interactions across the beta-turns do not appear to play a significant role in turn stability in these short peptides, in contrast to their importance in hairpins. Additionally, our data add to a growing number of examples of the 3:5 type I turn with a beta-bulge as a class of turns with high propensity to form locally defined structure. Current work is directed at the interplay between the local sequence information in the turns and more long-range influences in the mechanism of folding of this predominantly beta-sheet protein. Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Localized Arm Volume Index: A New Method for Body Type-Corrected Evaluation of Localized Arm Lymphedematous Volume Change.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Takumi; Yamamoto, Nana; Yoshimatsu, Hidehiko

2017-10-01

Volume measurement is a common evaluation for upper extremity lymphedema. However, volume comparison between different patients with different body types may be inappropriate, and it is difficult to evaluate localized limb volume change using arm volume. Localized arm volumes (Vk, k = 1-5) and localized arm volume indices (LAVIk) at 5 points (1, upper arm; 2, elbow; 3, forearm; 4, wrist; 5, hand) of 106 arms of 53 examinees with no arm edema were calculated based on physical measurements (arm circumferences and lengths and body mass index [BMI]). Interrater and intrarater reliabilities of LAVIk were assessed, and Vk and LAVIk were compared between lower BMI (BMI, <22 kg/m) group and higher BMI (BMI, ≥22 kg/m) group. Interrater and intrarater reliabilities of LAVIk were all high (all, r > 0.98). Between lower and higher BMI groups, significant differences were observed in all Vk (V1 [P = 6.8 × 10], V2 [P = 3.1 × 10], V3 [P = 1.1 × 10], V4 [P = 8.3 × 10], and V5 [P = 3.0 × 10]). Regarding localized arm volume index (LAVI) between groups, significant differences were seen in LAVI1 (P = 9.7 × 10) and LAVI5 (P = 1.2 × 10); there was no significant difference in LAVI2 (P = 0.60), LAVI3 (P = 0.61), or LAVI4 (P = 0.22). Localized arm volume index is a convenient and highly reproducible method for evaluation of localized arm volume change, which is less affected by body physique compared with arm volumetry.

Institutional Change and Its Impact on the Poor and Excluded: The Indian Decentralisation Experience. OECD Development Centre Working Paper No. 242

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Narayana, D.

2005-01-01

This study analyses the impact of democratic decentralisation on the chances of socially excluded groups to participate in newly created local governance institutions--Panchayati Raj Institutions--in three Indian states. This institutional reform included a quota for the disadvantaged--women and lower castes--to ensure their effective…

A new multicompartmental reaction-diffusion modeling method links transient membrane attachment of E. coli MinE to E-ring formation.

PubMed

Arjunan, Satya Nanda Vel; Tomita, Masaru

2010-03-01

Many important cellular processes are regulated by reaction-diffusion (RD) of molecules that takes place both in the cytoplasm and on the membrane. To model and analyze such multicompartmental processes, we developed a lattice-based Monte Carlo method, Spatiocyte that supports RD in volume and surface compartments at single molecule resolution. Stochasticity in RD and the excluded volume effect brought by intracellular molecular crowding, both of which can significantly affect RD and thus, cellular processes, are also supported. We verified the method by comparing simulation results of diffusion, irreversible and reversible reactions with the predicted analytical and best available numerical solutions. Moreover, to directly compare the localization patterns of molecules in fluorescence microscopy images with simulation, we devised a visualization method that mimics the microphotography process by showing the trajectory of simulated molecules averaged according to the camera exposure time. In the rod-shaped bacterium Escherichia coli, the division site is suppressed at the cell poles by periodic pole-to-pole oscillations of the Min proteins (MinC, MinD and MinE) arising from carefully orchestrated RD in both cytoplasm and membrane compartments. Using Spatiocyte we could model and reproduce the in vivo MinDE localization dynamics by accounting for the previously reported properties of MinE. Our results suggest that the MinE ring, which is essential in preventing polar septation, is largely composed of MinE that is transiently attached to the membrane independently after recruited by MinD. Overall, Spatiocyte allows simulation and visualization of complex spatial and reaction-diffusion mediated cellular processes in volumes and surfaces. As we showed, it can potentially provide mechanistic insights otherwise difficult to obtain experimentally. The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11693-009-9047-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Equations of state for real gases on the nuclear scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vovchenko, Volodymyr

2017-07-01

The formalism to augment the classical models of the equation of state for real gases with quantum statistical effects is presented. It allows an arbitrary excluded volume procedure to model repulsive interactions, and an arbitrary density-dependent mean field to model attractive interactions. Variations on the excluded volume mechanism include van der Waals (VDW) and Carnahan-Starling models, while the mean fields are based on VDW, Redlich-Kwong-Soave, Peng-Robinson, and Clausius equations of state. The VDW parameters of the nucleon-nucleon interaction are fitted in each model to the properties of the ground state of nuclear matter, and the following range of values is obtained: a =330 -430 MeV fm3 and b =2.5 -4.4 fm3 . In the context of the excluded volume approach, the fits to the nuclear ground state disfavor the values of the effective hard-core radius of a nucleon significantly smaller than 0.5 fm , at least for the nuclear matter region of the phase diagram. Modifications to the standard VDW repulsion and attraction terms allow one to improve significantly the value of the nuclear incompressibility factor K0, bringing it closer to empirical estimates. The generalization to include the baryon-baryon interactions into the hadron resonance gas model is performed. The behavior of the baryon-related lattice QCD observables at zero chemical potential is shown to be strongly correlated to the nuclear matter properties: an improved description of the nuclear incompressibility also yields an improved description of the lattice data at μ =0 .

Results of multifield conformal radiation therapy of nonsmall-cell lung carcinoma using multileaf collimation beams.

PubMed

Bahri, S; Flickinger, J C; Kalend, A M; Deutsch, M; Belani, C P; Sciurba, F C; Luketich, J D; Greenberger, J S

1999-01-01

A five-field conformal technique with three-dimensional radiation therapy treatment planning (3-DRTP) has been shown to permit better definition of the target volume for lung cancer, while minimizing the normal tissue volume receiving greater than 50% of the target dose. In an initial study to confirm the safety of conventional doses, we used the five-field conformal 3-DRTP technique. We then used the technique in a second study, enhancing the therapeutic index in a series of 42 patients, as well as to evaluate feasibility, survival outcome, and treatment toxicity. Forty-two consecutive patients with nonsmall-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) were evaluated during the years 1993-1997. The median age was 60 years (range 34-80). The median radiation therapy (RT) dose to the gross tumor volume was 6,300 cGy (range 5,000-6,840 cGy) delivered over 6 to 6.5 weeks in 180-275 cGy daily fractions, 5 days per week. There were three patients who received a split course treatment of 5,500 cGy in 20 fractions, delivering 275 cGy daily with a 2-week break built into the treatment course after 10 fractions. The stages of disease were II in 2%, IIIA in 40%, IIIB in 42.9%, and recurrent disease in 14.3% of the patients. The mean tumor volume was 324.14 cc (range 88.3-773.7 cc); 57.1% of the patients received combined chemoradiotherapy, while the others were treated with radiation therapy alone. Of the 42 patients, 7 were excluded from the final analysis because of diagnosis of distant metastasis during treatment. Two of the patients had their histology reinterpreted as being other than NSCLC, 2 patients did not complete RT at the time of analysis, and 1 patient voluntarily discontinued treatment because of progressive deterioration. Median follow-up was 11.2 months (range 3-32.5 months). Survival for patients with Stage III disease was 70.2% at 1 year and 51.5% at 2 years, with median survival not yet reached. Local control for the entire series was 23.3+/-11.4% at 2 years. However, for Stage III patients, local control was 50% at 1 year and 30% at 2 years. Patients who received concurrent chemotherapy had significantly improved survival (P = 0.002) and local control (P = 0.004), compared with RT alone. Late esophageal toxicity of > or =Grade 3 occurred in 14.1+/-9.3% of patients (3 of 20) receiving combined chemoradiotherapy, but in none of the 15 patients treated with RT alone. Pulmonary toxicity limited to Grades 1-2 occurred in 6.8% of the patients, and none developed > or =Grade 3 pulmonary toxicity. Patients with locally advanced NSCLC, who commonly have tumor volumes in excess of 200 cc, presenta challenge for adequate dose delivery without significant toxicity. Our five-field conformal 3-DRTP technique, which incorporates treatment planning by dose/volume histogram (DVH) was associated with minimal toxicity and may facilitate dose escalation to the gross tumor.

Fast Radio Bursts’ Emission Mechanism: Implication from Localization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lyutikov, Maxim

2017-03-20

We argue that the localization of the repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) at ∼1 Gpc excludes a rotationally powered type of radio emission (e.g., analogs of Crab’s giant pulses coming from very young energetic pulsars) as the origin of FRBs.

Magnetic resonance imaging-radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) in breast cancer using Tc-99m macro-aggregated albumin and distilled water control.

PubMed

Philadelpho Arantes Pereira, Fernanda; Martins, Gabriela; Gregorio Calas, Maria Julia; Fonseca Torres de Oliveira, Maria Veronica; Gasparetto, Emerson Leandro; Barbosa da Fonseca, Lea Mirian

2013-09-18

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided wire localization presents several challenges apart from the technical difficulties. An alternative to this conventional localization method using a wire is the radio-guided occult lesion localization (ROLL), more related to safe surgical margins and reductions in excision volume. The purpose of this study was to establish a safe and reliable magnetic resonance imaging-radioguided occult lesion localization (MRI-ROLL) technique and to report our initial experience with the localization of nonpalpable breast lesions only observed on MRI. Sixteen women (mean age 53.2 years) with 17 occult breast lesions underwent radio-guided localization in a 1.5-T MR system using a grid-localizing system. All patients had a diagnostic MRI performed prior to the procedure. An intralesional injection of Technetium-99m macro-aggregated albumin followed by distilled water was performed. After the procedure, scintigraphy was obtained. Surgical resection was performed with the help of a gamma detector probe. The lesion histopathology and imaging concordance; the procedure's positive predictive value (PPV), duration time, complications, and accuracy; and the rate of exactly excised lesions evaluated with MRI six months after the surgery were assessed. One lesion in one patient had to be excluded because the radioactive substance came back after the injection, requiring a wire placement. Of the remaining cases, there were four malignant lesions, nine benign lesions, and three high-risk lesions. Surgical histopathology and imaging findings were considered concordant in all benign and high-risk cases. The PPV of MRI-ROLL was greater if the indication for the initial MR examination was active breast cancer. The median procedure duration time was 26 minutes, and all included procedures were defined as accurate. The exact and complete lesion removal was confirmed in all (100%) patients who underwent six-month postoperative MRI (50%). MRI-ROLL offers a precise, technically feasible, safe, and rapid means for performing preoperative MRI localizations in the breast.

Twenty-year trends of authorship and sampling in applied biomechanics research.

PubMed

Knudson, Duane

2012-02-01

This study documented the trends in authorship and sampling in applied biomechanics research published in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics and ISBS Proceedings. Original research articles of the 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2009 volumes of these serials were reviewed, excluding reviews, modeling papers, technical notes, and editorials. Compared to 1989 volumes, the mean number of authors per paper significantly increased (35 and 100%, respectively) in the 2009 volumes, along with increased rates of hyperauthorship, and a decline in rates of single authorship. Sample sizes varied widely across papers and did not appear to change since 1989.

Proximal Versus Distal Splenic Artery Embolisation for Blunt Splenic Trauma: What is the Impact on Splenic Immune Function?

PubMed

Foley, P T; Kavnoudias, H; Cameron, P U; Czarnecki, C; Paul, E; Lyon, S M

2015-10-01

To compare the impact of proximal or distal splenic artery embolisation versus that of splenectomy on splenic immune function as measured by IgM memory B cell levels. Patients with splenic trauma who were treated by splenic artery embolisation (SAE) were enrolled. After 6 months splenic volume was assessed by CT, and IgM memory B cells in peripheral blood were measured and compared to a local normal reference population and to a post-splenectomy population. Of the 71 patients who underwent embolisation, 38 underwent proximal embolisation, 11 underwent distal embolisation, 22 patients were excluded, 1 had both proximal and distal embolisation, 5 did not survive and 16 did not return for evaluation. There was a significant difference between splenectomy and proximal or distal embolisation and a trend towards greater preservation of IgM memory B cell number in those with distal embolisation-a difference that could not be attributed to differences in age, grade of injury or residual splenic volume. IgM memory B cell levels are significantly higher in those treated with SAE compared to splenectomy. Our data provide evidence that splenic embolisation should reduce immunological complications of spleen trauma and suggest that distal embolisation may maintain better function.

Proximal Versus Distal Splenic Artery Embolisation for Blunt Splenic Trauma: What is the Impact on Splenic Immune Function?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Foley, P. T., E-mail: pfoley@doctors.org.uk; Kavnoudias, H., E-mail: h.kavnoudias@alfred.org.au; Cameron, P. U., E-mail: paul.cameron@unimelb.edu.au

PurposeTo compare the impact of proximal or distal splenic artery embolisation versus that of splenectomy on splenic immune function as measured by IgM memory B cell levels.Materials and MethodsPatients with splenic trauma who were treated by splenic artery embolisation (SAE) were enrolled. After 6 months splenic volume was assessed by CT, and IgM memory B cells in peripheral blood were measured and compared to a local normal reference population and to a post-splenectomy population.ResultsOf the 71 patients who underwent embolisation, 38 underwent proximal embolisation, 11 underwent distal embolisation, 22 patients were excluded, 1 had both proximal and distal embolisation, 5 didmore » not survive and 16 did not return for evaluation. There was a significant difference between splenectomy and proximal or distal embolisation and a trend towards greater preservation of IgM memory B cell number in those with distal embolisation—a difference that could not be attributed to differences in age, grade of injury or residual splenic volume.ConclusionIgM memory B cell levels are significantly higher in those treated with SAE compared to splenectomy. Our data provide evidence that splenic embolisation should reduce immunological complications of spleen trauma and suggest that distal embolisation may maintain better function.« less

42 CFR 493.643 - Fee for determination of program compliance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... laboratory's scope and volume of testing (excluding tests performed for quality control, quality assurance... procedure or examination for a single analyte. (Tests performed for quality control, quality assurance, and... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION LABORATORY REQUIREMENTS General Administration...

7 CFR 205.302 - Calculating the percentage of organically produced ingredients.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... the finished product. (2) Dividing the fluid volume of all organic ingredients (excluding water and...) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) ORGANIC FOODS PRODUCTION ACT PROVISIONS NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM Labels, Labeling, and Market...

Coupling volume-excluding compartment-based models of diffusion at different scales: Voronoi and pseudo-compartment approaches

PubMed Central

Taylor, P. R.; Baker, R. E.; Simpson, M. J.; Yates, C. A.

2016-01-01

Numerous processes across both the physical and biological sciences are driven by diffusion. Partial differential equations are a popular tool for modelling such phenomena deterministically, but it is often necessary to use stochastic models to accurately capture the behaviour of a system, especially when the number of diffusing particles is low. The stochastic models we consider in this paper are ‘compartment-based’: the domain is discretized into compartments, and particles can jump between these compartments. Volume-excluding effects (crowding) can be incorporated by blocking movement with some probability. Recent work has established the connection between fine- and coarse-grained models incorporating volume exclusion, but only for uniform lattices. In this paper, we consider non-uniform, hybrid lattices that incorporate both fine- and coarse-grained regions, and present two different approaches to describe the interface of the regions. We test both techniques in a range of scenarios to establish their accuracy, benchmarking against fine-grained models, and show that the hybrid models developed in this paper can be significantly faster to simulate than the fine-grained models in certain situations and are at least as fast otherwise. PMID:27383421

Evaluation of QT and P wave dispersion and mean platelet volume among inflammatory bowel disease patients.

PubMed

Dogan, Yuksel; Soylu, Aliye; Eren, Gulay A; Poturoglu, Sule; Dolapcioglu, Can; Sonmez, Kenan; Duman, Habibe; Sevindir, Isa

2011-01-01

In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) number of thromboembolic events are increased due to hypercoagulupathy and platelet activation. Increases in mean platelet volume (MPV) can lead to platelet activation, this leads to thromboembolic events and can cause acute coronary syndromes. In IBD patients, QT-dispersion and P-wave dispersion are predictors of ventricular arrhythmias and atrial fibrilation; MPV is accepted as a risk factor for acute coronary syndromes, we aimed at evaluating the correlations of these with the duration of disease, its localization and activity. The study group consisted of 69 IBD (Ulcerative colitis n: 54, Crohn's Disease n: 15) patients and the control group included 38 healthy individuals. Disease activity was evaluated both endoscopically and clinically. Patients with existing cardiac conditions, those using QT prolonging medications and having systemic diseases, anemia and electrolyte imbalances were excluded from the study. QT-dispersion, P-wave dispersion and MPV values of both groups were compared with disease activity, its localization, duration of disease and the antibiotics used. The P-wave dispersion values of the study group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Duration of the disease was not associated with QT-dispersion, and MPV levels. QT-dispersion, P-wave dispersion, MPV and platelet count levels were similar between the active and in mild ulcerative colitis patients. QT-dispersion levels were similar between IBD patients and the control group. No difference was observed between P-wave dispersion, QT-dispersion and MPV values; with regards to disease duration, disease activity, and localization in the study group (p>0.05). P-wave dispersion which is accepted as a risk factor for the development of atrial fibirilation was found to be high in our IBD patients. This demonstrates us that the risk of developing atrial fibrillation may be high in patients with IBD. No significant difference was found in the QT-dispersion, and in the MPV values when compared to the control group.

Assessment of potential additions to conventional oil and gas resources in discovered fields of the United States from reserve growth, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated volumes of technically recoverable, conventional petroleum resources that have the potential to be added to reserves from reserve growth in 70 discovered oil and gas accumulations of the United States, excluding Federal offshore areas. The mean estimated volumes are 32 billion barrels of crude oil, 291 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 10 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.

Evaluation of Proteins' Rotational Diffusion Coefficients from Simulations of Their Free Brownian Motion in Volume-Occupied Environments.

PubMed

Długosz, Maciej; Antosiewicz, Jan M

2014-01-14

We have investigated the rotational dynamics of hen egg white lysozyme in monodisperse aqueous solutions of concentrations up to 250 mg/mL, using a rigid-body Brownian dynamics method that accurately accounts for anisotropies of diffusing objects. We have examined the validity of the free diffusion concept in the analysis of computer simulations of volume-occupied molecular solutions. We have found that, when as the only intermolecular interaction, the excluded volume effect is considered, rotational diffusion of molecules adheres to the free diffusion model. Further, we present a method based on the exact (in the case of the free diffusion) analytic forms of autocorrelation functions of particular vectors rigidly attached to diffusing objects, which allows one to obtain from results of molecular simulations the three principal rotational diffusion coefficients characterizing rotational Brownian motion of an arbitrarily shaped rigid particle for an arbitrary concentration of crowders. We have applied this approach to trajectories resulting from Brownian dynamics simulations of hen egg white lysozyme solutions. We show that the apparent anisotropy of proteins' rotational motions increases with an increasing degree of crowding. Finally, we demonstrate that even if the hydrodynamic anisotropy of molecules is neglected and molecules are simulated using their average translational and rotational diffusion coefficients, excluded volume effects still lead to their anisotropic rotational dynamics.

7 CFR 1245.103 - Instructions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE U.S. HONEY PRODUCER RESEARCH... volume of U.S. honey produced, during a representative period determined by the Department, have been engaged in the production of honey and are subject to assessments under this Order and excluding those...

Ion-ion correlation, solvent excluded volume and pH effects on physicochemical properties of spherical oxide nanoparticles.

PubMed

Ovanesyan, Zaven; Aljzmi, Amal; Almusaynid, Manal; Khan, Asrar; Valderrama, Esteban; Nash, Kelly L; Marucho, Marcelo

2016-01-15

One major source of complexity in the implementation of nanoparticles in aqueous electrolytes arises from the strong influence that biological environments has on their physicochemical properties. A key parameter for understanding the molecular mechanisms governing the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles is the formation of the surface charge density. In this article, we present an efficient and accurate approach that combines a recently introduced classical solvation density functional theory for spherical electrical double layers with a surface complexation model to account for ion-ion correlation and excluded volume effects on the surface titration of spherical nanoparticles. We apply the proposed computational approach to account for the charge-regulated mechanisms on the surface chemistry of spherical silica (SiO2) nanoparticles. We analyze the effects of the nanoparticle size, as well as pH level and electrolyte concentration of the aqueous solution on the nanoparticle's surface charge density and Zeta potential. We validate our predictions for 580Å and 200Å nanoparticles immersed in acid, neutral and alkaline mono-valent aqueous electrolyte solutions against experimental data. Our results on mono-valent electrolyte show that the excluded volume and ion-ion correlations contribute significantly to the surface charge density and Zeta potential of the nanoparticle at high electrolyte concentration and pH levels, where the solvent crowding effects and electrostatic screening have shown a profound influence on the protonation/deprotonation reactions at the liquid/solute interface. The success of this approach in describing physicochemical properties of silica nanoparticles supports its broader application to study other spherical metal oxide nanoparticles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A theoretical method to compute sequence dependent configurational properties in charged polymers and proteins.

PubMed

Sawle, Lucas; Ghosh, Kingshuk

2015-08-28

A general formalism to compute configurational properties of proteins and other heteropolymers with an arbitrary sequence of charges and non-uniform excluded volume interaction is presented. A variational approach is utilized to predict average distance between any two monomers in the chain. The presented analytical model, for the first time, explicitly incorporates the role of sequence charge distribution to determine relative sizes between two sequences that vary not only in total charge composition but also in charge decoration (even when charge composition is fixed). Furthermore, the formalism is general enough to allow variation in excluded volume interactions between two monomers. Model predictions are benchmarked against the all-atom Monte Carlo studies of Das and Pappu [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 110, 13392 (2013)] for 30 different synthetic sequences of polyampholytes. These sequences possess an equal number of glutamic acid (E) and lysine (K) residues but differ in the patterning within the sequence. Without any fit parameter, the model captures the strong sequence dependence of the simulated values of the radius of gyration with a correlation coefficient of R(2) = 0.9. The model is then applied to real proteins to compare the unfolded state dimensions of 540 orthologous pairs of thermophilic and mesophilic proteins. The excluded volume parameters are assumed similar under denatured conditions, and only electrostatic effects encoded in the sequence are accounted for. With these assumptions, thermophilic proteins are found-with high statistical significance-to have more compact disordered ensemble compared to their mesophilic counterparts. The method presented here, due to its analytical nature, is capable of making such high throughput analysis of multiple proteins and will have broad applications in proteomic studies as well as in other heteropolymeric systems.

Interaction-component analysis of the hydration and urea effects on cytochrome c

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamori, Yu; Ishizuka, Ryosuke; Karino, Yasuhito; Sakuraba, Shun; Matubayasi, Nobuyuki

2016-02-01

Energetics was analyzed for cytochrome c in pure-water solvent and in a urea-water mixed solvent to elucidate the solvation effect in the structural variation of the protein. The solvation free energy was computed through all-atom molecular dynamics simulation combined with the solution theory in the energy representation, and its correlations were examined over sets of protein structures against the electrostatic and van der Waals components in the average interaction energy of the protein with the solvent and the excluded-volume component in the solvation free energy. It was observed in pure-water solvent that the solvation free energy varies in parallel to the electrostatic component with minor roles played by the van der Waals and excluded-volume components. The effect of urea on protein structure was then investigated in terms of the free-energy change upon transfer of the protein solute from pure-water solvent to the urea-water mixed solvent. The decomposition of the transfer free energy into the contributions from urea and water showed that the urea contribution is partially canceled by the water contribution and governs the total free energy of transfer. When correlated against the change in the solute-solvent interaction energy upon transfer and the corresponding changes in the electrostatic, van der Waals, and excluded-volume components, the transfer free energy exhibited strong correlations with the total change in the solute-solvent energy and its van der Waals component. The solute-solvent energy was decomposed into the contributions from the protein backbone and side chain, furthermore, and neither of the contributions was seen to be decisive in the correlation to the transfer free energy.

Linking topology of tethered polymer rings with applications to chromosome segregation and estimation of the knotting length.

PubMed

Marko, John F

2009-05-01

The Gauss linking number (Ca) of two flexible polymer rings which are tethered to one another is investigated. For ideal random walks, mean linking-squared varies with the square root of polymer length while for self-avoiding walks, linking-squared increases logarithmically with polymer length. The free-energy cost of linking of polymer rings is therefore strongly dependent on degree of self-avoidance, i.e., on intersegment excluded volume. Scaling arguments and numerical data are used to determine the free-energy cost of fixed linking number in both the fluctuation and large-Ca regimes; for ideal random walks, for |Ca|>N;{1/4} , the free energy of catenation is found to grow proportional, variant|Ca/N;{1/4}|;{4/3} . When excluded volume interactions between segments are present, the free energy rapidly approaches a linear dependence on Gauss linking (dF/dCa approximately 3.7k_{B}T) , suggestive of a novel "catenation condensation" effect. These results are used to show that condensation of long entangled polymers along their length, so as to increase excluded volume while decreasing number of statistical segments, can drive disentanglement if a mechanism is present to permit topology change. For chromosomal DNA molecules, lengthwise condensation is therefore an effective means to bias topoisomerases to eliminate catenations between replicated chromatids. The results for mean-square catenation are also used to provide a simple approximate estimate for the "knotting length," or number of segments required to have a knot along a single circular polymer, explaining why the knotting length ranges from approximately 300 for an ideal random walk to 10;{6} for a self-avoiding walk.

Inhibition of Microtubule Depolymerization by Osmolytes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bachand, George D.; Jain, Rishi; Ko, Randy

Microtubule dynamics play a critical role in the normal physiology of eukaryotic cells as well as a number of cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. The polymerization/depolymerization of microtubules is regulated by a variety of stabilizing and destabilizing factors, including microtubule-associated proteins and therapeutic agents (e.g., paclitaxel, nocodazole). Here in this paper, we describe the ability of the osmolytes polyethylene glycol (PEG) and trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) to inhibit the depolymerization of individual microtubule filaments for extended periods of time (up to 30 days). We further show that PEG stabilizes microtubules against both temperature- and calcium-induced depolymerization. Our results collectively suggest that the observedmore » inhibition may be related to combination of the kosmotropic behavior and excluded volume/osmotic pressure effects associated with PEG and TMAO. Lastly, taken together with prior studies, our data suggest that the physiochemical properties of the local environment can regulate microtubule depolymerization and may potentially play an important role in in vivo microtubule dynamics.« less

Inhibition of Microtubule Depolymerization by Osmolytes

DOE PAGES

Bachand, George D.; Jain, Rishi; Ko, Randy; ...

2018-04-24

Microtubule dynamics play a critical role in the normal physiology of eukaryotic cells as well as a number of cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. The polymerization/depolymerization of microtubules is regulated by a variety of stabilizing and destabilizing factors, including microtubule-associated proteins and therapeutic agents (e.g., paclitaxel, nocodazole). Here in this paper, we describe the ability of the osmolytes polyethylene glycol (PEG) and trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) to inhibit the depolymerization of individual microtubule filaments for extended periods of time (up to 30 days). We further show that PEG stabilizes microtubules against both temperature- and calcium-induced depolymerization. Our results collectively suggest that the observedmore » inhibition may be related to combination of the kosmotropic behavior and excluded volume/osmotic pressure effects associated with PEG and TMAO. Lastly, taken together with prior studies, our data suggest that the physiochemical properties of the local environment can regulate microtubule depolymerization and may potentially play an important role in in vivo microtubule dynamics.« less

The electrostatic persistence length of polymers beyond the OSF limit.

PubMed

Everaers, R; Milchev, A; Yamakov, V

2002-05-01

We use large-scale Monte Carlo simulations to test scaling theories for the electrostatic persistence length l(e) of isolated, uniformly charged polymers with Debye-Hückel intrachain interactions in the limit where the screening length kappa(-1) exceeds the intrinsic persistence length of the chains. Our simulations cover a significantly larger part of the parameter space than previous studies. We observe no significant deviations from the prediction l(e) proportional to kappa(-2) by Khokhlov and Khachaturian which is based on applying the Odijk-Skolnick-Fixman theories of electrostatic bending rigidity and electrostatically excluded volume to the stretched de Gennes-Pincus-Velasco-Brochard polyelectrolyte blob chain. A linear or sublinear dependence of the persistence length on the screening length can be ruled out. We show that previous results pointing into this direction are due to a combination of excluded-volume and finite chain length effects. The paper emphasizes the role of scaling arguments in the development of useful representations for experimental and simulation data.

Association of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with thoracic irradiation (RT)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Byhardt, R.W.; Abrams, R.; Almagro, U.

1988-12-01

The authors report two cases of apparent adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) following limited thoracic irradiation for lung cancer. Respiratory failure followed rapidly after irradiation with diffuse bilateral infiltrates, both in and out of the irradiated volume along with progressive hypoxemia unresponsive to oxygen management. Other potential causes of lung injury such as lymphangitic tumor, cardiac failure, and infections were excluded by both premortem and postmortem examination. Autopsy findings in both irradiated and unirradiated volumes of lung were consistent with hyaline membrane changes. The possible relationship between radiation therapy to limited lung volumes and the development of adult respiratory distressmore » syndrome is discussed.« less

Arachidonate 15-Lipoxygenase 2 as an Endogenous Inhibitor of Prostate Cancer Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

dehydrogenase; NHP, normal human prostate epithelial cells; PCa, prostate cancer; NLS, nuclear localization signal; PPAR -, peroxisome proliferator...cloned, i.e., 15-LOX2sv-a/b/c, are mostly excluded from the nucleus. A potential bi-partite nuclear localization signal (NLS...only partially involved in the nuclear import of 15-LOX2. To elucidate the relationship between nuclear localization , enzymatic activity, and tumor

Application of single-shot spiral scanning for volume localization.

PubMed

Ra, J B; Rim, C Y; Cho, Z H

1991-02-01

A new technique using a spiral scan single-shot RF pulse for localized volume selection has been developed and its experimental results are presented. This technique employs an additional radial-gradient coil in conjunction with the oscillating gradients for the spiral scan to localize the 3D volume. The short selection time in this technique minimizes both signal contamination from unwanted regions and signal attenuation due to T2 decay. We provide both the theoretical background of the technique and the experimental results obtained from a phantom as well as a human volunteer. The proposed method appears simple and accurate in localizing a volume which would be used as either fast imaging or localized spectroscopy.

Involvement of posterior cingulate cortex in ketamine-induced psychosis relevant behaviors in rats.

PubMed

Ma, Jingyi; Leung, L Stan

2018-02-15

The involvement of posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) on ketamine-induced psychosis relevant behaviors was investigated in rats. Bilateral infusion of muscimol, a GABA A receptor agonist, into the PCC significantly antagonized ketamine-induced deficit in prepulse inhibition of a startle reflex (PPI), deficit in gating of hippocampal auditory evoked potentials, and behavioral hyperlocomotion in a dose dependent manner. Local infusion of ketamine directly into the PCC also induced a PPI deficit. Systemic injection of ketamine (3mg/kg,s.c.) induced an increase in power of electrographic activity in the gamma band (30-100Hz) in both the PCC and the hippocampus; peak theta (4-10Hz) power was not significantly altered, but peak theta frequency was increased by ketamine. In order to exclude volume conduction from the hippocampus to PCC, inactivation of the hippocampus was made by local infusion of muscimol into the hippocampus prior to ketamine administration. Muscimol in the hippocampus effectively blocked ketamine-induced increase of gamma power in the hippocampus but not in the PCC, suggesting independent generation of gamma waves in PCC and hippocampus. It is suggested that the PCC is part of the brain network mediating ketamine-induced psychosis related behaviors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the resistive index of prostatic blood flow in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

PubMed

Abdelwahab, Osama; El-Barky, Ehab; Khalil, Mostafa Mahmoud; Kamar, Ahmad

2012-01-01

The aim of this work is to study the resistive index (RI) of prostatic blood flow by transrectal power Doppler sonography in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) to determine its correlation with other parameters of BPH. Eighty-two male patients aged 52-86 years with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to BPH were included in the study. Patients with prostate cancer, neurogenic bladder, or with other pathology (e.g. prostatitis, bladder stone) were excluded from the study. All patients were evaluated by full history including Internatinoal Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS), general and local examination (DRE), neurologic examination, uroflowmetry, laboratory investigations including urine analysis, routine laboratory tests and serum prostate specific antigen (PSA). Transrectal ultrasonography was used to calculate the total prostatic volume. Transrectal Power Doppler Ultrasound (PUD) was used to identify the capsular and urethral arteries of the prostate and to measures the RI value. The mean prostate volume was 75.1 ± 44.7 g. The mean RI of the right and left capsular arteries were 0.76 ± 0.06 and 0.76 ± 0.07, respectively. The mean RI of the urethral arteries was 0.76 ± 0.08. There was a high significative correlation between the increase of the RI of the right and left capsular and urethral arteries and the degree of obstruction (P value < 0.001), severity of symptoms (P value < 0.001) and also the prostatic volume (P value < 0.001). Resistive index of the prostatic blood flow can be applied as an easy and non-invasive tool to evaluate the lower urinary tract obstruction due to BPH.

Ultrasound assessment of cranial spread during caudal blockade in children: the effect of different volumes of local anaesthetics.

PubMed

Brenner, L; Marhofer, P; Kettner, S C; Willschke, H; Machata, A-M; Al-Zoraigi, U; Lundblad, M; Lönnqvist, P A

2011-08-01

Despite the large amount of literature on caudal anaesthesia in children, the issue of volume of local anaesthetics and cranial spread is still not settled. Thus, the aim of the present prospective randomized study was to evaluate the cranial spread of caudally administered local anaesthetics in children by means of real-time ultrasound, with a special focus on the effects of using different volumes of local anaesthetics. Seventy-five children, 1 month to 6 yr, undergoing inguinal hernia repair or more distal surgery were randomized to receive a caudal block with 0.7, 1.0, or 1.3 ml kg(-1) ropivacaine. The cranial spread of the local anaesthetic within the spinal canal was assessed by real-time ultrasound scanning; the absolute cranial segmental level and the cranial level relative to the conus medullaris were determined. All the blocks were judged to be clinically successful. A significant correlation was found between the injected volume and the cranial level reached by the local anaesthetic both with regards to the absolute cranial segmental level and the cranial level relative to the conus medullaris. The main finding of the present study was positive, but numerically small correlation between injected volumes of local anaesthetic and the cranial spread of caudally administered local anaesthetics. Therefore, the prediction of the cranial spread of local anaesthetic, depending on the injected volume of the local anaesthetic, was not possible. EudraCT Number: 2008-007627-40.

49 CFR 193.2513 - Transfer procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Practice.” (2) Before transfer, verify that each receiving container or tank vehicle does not contain any... volume of each receiving container or tank vehicle to ensure that expansion of the incoming fluid due to... partially filled (excluding cooldown heel) container, determine any differences in temperature or specific...

49 CFR 193.2513 - Transfer procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Practice.” (2) Before transfer, verify that each receiving container or tank vehicle does not contain any... volume of each receiving container or tank vehicle to ensure that expansion of the incoming fluid due to... partially filled (excluding cooldown heel) container, determine any differences in temperature or specific...

49 CFR 193.2513 - Transfer procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Practice.” (2) Before transfer, verify that each receiving container or tank vehicle does not contain any... volume of each receiving container or tank vehicle to ensure that expansion of the incoming fluid due to... partially filled (excluding cooldown heel) container, determine any differences in temperature or specific...

49 CFR 193.2513 - Transfer procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Practice.” (2) Before transfer, verify that each receiving container or tank vehicle does not contain any... volume of each receiving container or tank vehicle to ensure that expansion of the incoming fluid due to... partially filled (excluding cooldown heel) container, determine any differences in temperature or specific...

77 FR 18916 - Production Measurement Documents Incorporated by Reference

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-29

... products, or lubricating oils. Natural gas liquids and liquid petroleum gases are excluded from this... into the regulations governing oil, gas, and sulphur operations in the Outer Continental Shelf... measuring oil and gas production volumes. This rule will result in more accurate and efficient measurement...

Brain tissue volumes in the general elderly population. The Rotterdam Scan Study.

PubMed

Ikram, M Arfan; Vrooman, Henri A; Vernooij, Meike W; van der Lijn, Fedde; Hofman, Albert; van der Lugt, Aad; Niessen, Wiro J; Breteler, Monique M B

2008-06-01

We investigated how volumes of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) varied with age, sex, small vessel disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the Rotterdam Scan Study. Participants (n=490; 60-90 years) were non-demented and 51.0% had hypertension, 4.9% had diabetes mellitus, 17.8% were current smoker and 54.0% were former smoker. We segmented brain MR-images into GM, normal WM, white matter lesion (WML) and CSF. Brain infarcts were rated visually. Volumes were expressed as percentage of intra-cranial volume. With increasing age, volumes of total brain, normal WM and total WM decreased; that of GM remained unchanged; and that of WML increased, in both men and women. Excluding persons with infarcts did not alter these results. Persons with larger load of small vessel disease had smaller brain volume, especially normal WM volume. Diastolic blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and current smoking were also related to smaller brain volume. In the elderly, higher age, small vessel disease and cardiovascular risk factors are associated with smaller brain volume, especially WM volume.

7 CFR 1924.104 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... to the local public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of... public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of traffic. Subdivision...

7 CFR 1924.104 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... to the local public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of... public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of traffic. Subdivision...

7 CFR 1924.104 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... to the local public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of... public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of traffic. Subdivision...

7 CFR 1924.104 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... to the local public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of... public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of traffic. Subdivision...

7 CFR 1924.104 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... to the local public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of... public body for use with local climate, soil, gradient, and volume and character of traffic. Subdivision...

Microscopic diffusion and hydrodynamic interactions of hemoglobin in red blood cells.

PubMed

Doster, Wolfgang; Longeville, Stéphane

2007-08-15

The cytoplasm of red blood cells is congested with the oxygen storage protein hemoglobin occupying a quarter of the cell volume. The high protein concentration leads to a reduced mobility; the self-diffusion coefficient of hemoglobin in blood cells is six times lower than in dilute solution. This effect is generally assigned to excluded volume effects in crowded media. However, the collective or gradient diffusion coefficient of hemoglobin is only weakly dependent on concentration, suggesting the compensation of osmotic and friction forces. This would exclude hydrodynamic interactions, which are of dynamic origin and do not contribute to the osmotic pressure. Hydrodynamic coupling between protein molecules is dominant at short time- and length scales before direct interactions are fully established. Employing neutron spin-echo-spectroscopy, we study hemoglobin diffusion on a nanosecond timescale and protein displacements on the scale of a few nanometers. A time- and wave-vector dependent diffusion coefficient is found, suggesting the crossover of self- and collective diffusion. Moreover, a wave-vector dependent friction function is derived, which is a characteristic feature of hydrodynamic interactions. The wave-vector and concentration dependence of the long-time self-diffusion coefficient of hemoglobin agree qualitatively with theoretical results on hydrodynamics in hard spheres suspensions. Quantitative agreement requires us to adjust the volume fraction by including part of the hydration shell: Proteins exhibit a larger surface/volume ratio compared to standard colloids of much larger size. It is concluded that hydrodynamic and not direct interactions dominate long-range molecular transport at high concentration.

29 CFR 553.10 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... LABOR STANDARDS ACT TO EMPLOYEES OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS General Section 3(e)(2)(c)-Exclusions § 553.10 General. Section 3(e)(2)(C) of the Act excludes from the definition of “employee”, and thus... State and local governments. A condition for exclusion is that the employee must not be subject to the...

29 CFR 553.10 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... LABOR STANDARDS ACT TO EMPLOYEES OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS General Section 3(e)(2)(c)-Exclusions § 553.10 General. Section 3(e)(2)(C) of the Act excludes from the definition of “employee”, and thus... State and local governments. A condition for exclusion is that the employee must not be subject to the...

Towards Loophole-Free Optical Bell Test of CHSH Inequality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Yong-gang; Li, Hong-wei

2016-09-01

Bell test had been suggested to end the long-standing debate on the EPR paradox, while the imperfections of experimental devices induce some loopholes in Bell test experiments and hence the assumption of local reality by EPR cannot be excluded with current experimental results. In optical Bell test experiments, the locality loophole can be closed easily, while the attempt of closing detection loophole requires very high efficiency of single photon detectors. Previous studies showed that the violation of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality with maximally entangled states requires the detection efficiency to be higher than 82.8 %. In this paper, we raise a modified CHSH inequality that covers all measurement events including the efficient and inefficient detections in the Bell test and prove that all local hidden models can be excluded when the inequality is violated. We find that, when non-maximally entangled states are applied to the Bell test, the lowest detection efficiency for violation of the present inequality is 66.7 %. This makes it feasible to close the detection loophole and the locality loophole simultaneously in optical Bell test of CHSH inequality.

Dynamic Geometric Analysis of the Renal Arteries and Aorta following Complex Endovascular Aneurysm Repair.

PubMed

Ullery, Brant W; Suh, Ga-Young; Kim, John J; Lee, Jason T; Dalman, Ronald L; Cheng, Christopher P

2017-08-01

Aneurysm regression and target vessel patency during early and mid-term follow-up may be related to the effect of stent-graft configuration on the anatomy. We quantified geometry and remodeling of the renal arteries and aneurysm following fenestrated (F-) or snorkel/chimney (Sn-) endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Twenty-nine patients (mean age, 76.8 ± 7.8 years) treated with F- or Sn-EVAR underwent computed tomography angiography at preop, postop, and follow-up. Three-dimensional geometric models of the aorta and renal arteries were constructed. Renal branch angle was defined relative to the plane orthogonal to the aorta. End-stent angle was defined as the angulation between the stent and native distal artery. Aortic volumes were computed for the whole aorta, lumen, and their difference (excluded lumen). Renal patency, reintervention, early mortality, postoperative renal impairment, and endoleak were reviewed. From preop to postop, F-renal branches angled upward, Sn-renal branches angled downward (P < 0.05), and Sn-renals exhibited increased end-stent angulation (12 ± 15°, P < 0.05). From postop to follow-up, branch angles did not change for either F- or Sn-renals, whereas F-renals exhibited increased end-stent angulation (5 ± 10°, P < 0.05). From preop to postop, whole aortic and excluded lumen volumes increased by 5 ± 14% and 74 ± 81%, whereas lumen volume decreased (39 ± 27%, P < 0.05). From postop to follow-up, whole aortic and excluded lumen volumes decreased similarly (P < 0.05), leaving the lumen volume unchanged. At median follow-up of 764 days (range, 7-1,653), primary renal stent patency was 94.1% and renal impairment occurred in 2 patients (6.7%). Although F- and Sn-EVAR resulted in significant, and opposite, changes to renal branch angle, only Sn-EVAR resulted in significant end-stent angulation increase. Longitudinal geometric analysis suggests that these anatomic alterations are primarily generated early as a consequence of the procedure itself and, although persistent, they show no evidence of continued significant change during the subsequent postoperative follow-up period. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Disparities in Prostate Cancer Treatment Modality and Quality of Life

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-01

Exclusion Criteria: White and African American men, age 35 and over, diagnosed with localized prostate cancer who entered the North Carolina Central...Americans, have been diagnosed with localized prostate cancer. Therefore, stage at diagnosis will not be used to exclude participants. The age to begin... Locale : Males 35 and over who are registered in the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry and have met the inclusion/exclusion criteria

Children's Literature: The Great Excluded. Volume Two.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, Francelia, Ed.

This collection of essays is intended to stimulate writing, teaching, and study of children's literature by humanists. Among the included essays are: "Back to Pooh Corner,""Sophisticated Reading for Children,""Medieval Songs of Innocence and Experience,""Milton's 'Comus' as Children's Literature,""Fantasy in a Mythless Age,""Science Fiction and…

40 CFR 261.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

.... Examples are recovery of lead values from spent batteries and regeneration of spent solvents. In addition... different site for recycling, equals at least 75 percent by weight or volume of the amount of that material... they are removed from accumulation for recycling, however. (9) “Excluded scrap metal” is processed...

40 CFR 261.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

.... Examples are recovery of lead values from spent batteries and regeneration of spent solvents. In addition... different site for recycling, equals at least 75 percent by weight or volume of the amount of that material... they are removed from accumulation for recycling, however. (9) “Excluded scrap metal” is processed...

40 CFR 261.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... different site for recycling, equals at least 75 percent by weight or volume of the amount of that material... they are removed from accumulation for recycling, however. (9) “Excluded scrap metal” is processed... which have been agglomerated. (Note: shredded circuit boards being sent for recycling are not considered...

Reconciling transport models across scales: The role of volume exclusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, P. R.; Yates, C. A.; Simpson, M. J.; Baker, R. E.

2015-10-01

Diffusive transport is a universal phenomenon, throughout both biological and physical sciences, and models of diffusion are routinely used to interrogate diffusion-driven processes. However, most models neglect to take into account the role of volume exclusion, which can significantly alter diffusive transport, particularly within biological systems where the diffusing particles might occupy a significant fraction of the available space. In this work we use a random walk approach to provide a means to reconcile models that incorporate crowding effects on different spatial scales. Our work demonstrates that coarse-grained models incorporating simplified descriptions of excluded volume can be used in many circumstances, but that care must be taken in pushing the coarse-graining process too far.

On the Uniqueness Conditions and Bifurcation Criteria in Coupled Thermo-Elasto-Plasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Śloderbach, Z.

2017-02-01

The global and local conditions of uniqueness and the criteria excluding a possibility of bifurcation of the equilibrium state for small strains are derived. The conditions and criteria are derived analyzing the problem of uniqueness of solution of the basic incremental boundary problem of coupled generalized thermo-elasto-plasticity. This paper is a continuation of some previous works by the author, but contains new derivation of the global and local criteria excluding a possibility of bifurcation of the equilibrium state for a comparison body dependent on statically admissible fields of stress velocity. All the thermal elastoplastic coupling effects, non-associated laws of plastic flow and influence of plastic strains on thermoplastic properties of a body were taken into account in this work. Thus, the mathematical problem considered here is not a self-conjugated problem. The paper contains four Appendices A, B, C and D where the local necessery and sufficient conditions of uniqueness have been derived.

Heart Dose Is an Independent Dosimetric Predictor of Overall Survival in Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

PubMed

Speirs, Christina K; DeWees, Todd A; Rehman, Sana; Molotievschi, Alerson; Velez, Maria A; Mullen, Daniel; Fergus, Sandra; Trovo, Marco; Bradley, Jeffrey D; Robinson, Cliff G

2017-02-01

In the randomized trial of standard- versus high-dose chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced (LA) NSCLC (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0617), overall survival (OS) was worse in the high-dose arm. Although heart dose was suggested as a contributing factor, actionable parameters have not been established. We present an analysis of clinical and dosimetric parameters affecting OS in this patient population, focusing on heart dose. Clinical data were collected on 416 patients with LA NSCLC treated at a single institution, with a subset of 333 available treatment plans recontoured using Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0617 normal tissue guidelines. Toxicity and dosimetry data were analyzed for 322 patients; multivariate analysis was performed on 251 patients. Dosimetric parameters of radiation to tumor and organs at risk were analyzed with clinical data pertaining to OS, disease-free survival, and toxicity. Patients were treated with radiation therapy to prescribed doses of 50.0 to 84.9 Gy (median 66.0 Gy). Median follow-up was 14.5 months. Median OS was 16.8 months. The 1- and 2-year OS rates were 61.4% and 38.8%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, factors independently associated with worse OS were increasing heart V 50 (volume receiving ≥50 Gy), heart volume, lung V 5 (proportion of the lung structure [excluding the target volume]) receiving at least 5 Gy), bilateral mediastinal lymph node involvement, and lack of concurrent chemotherapy. When stratified by heart V 50 less than 25% versus 25% or greater, the 1-year OS rates were 70.2% versus 46.8% and the 2-year OS rates were 45.9% versus 26.7% (p < 0.0001). Median heart V 50 was significantly higher (20.8% versus 13.9%, p < 0.0001) for patients with cardiac toxicity with a Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade of 1 or higher. Heart dose is associated with OS and cardiac toxicity for patients with LA NSCLC treated with chemoradiotherapy. Copyright © 2016 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predicting the proportion of full-thickness involvement for any given burn size based on burn resuscitation volumes.

PubMed

Liu, Nehemiah T; Salinas, José; Fenrich, Craig A; Serio-Melvin, Maria L; Kramer, George C; Driscoll, Ian R; Schreiber, Martin A; Cancio, Leopoldo C; Chung, Kevin K

2016-11-01

The depth of burn has been an important factor often overlooked when estimating the total resuscitation fluid needed for early burn care. The goal of this study was to determine the degree to which full-thickness (FT) involvement affected overall 24-hour burn resuscitation volumes. We performed a retrospective review of patients admitted to our burn intensive care unit from December 2007 to April 2013, with significant burns that required resuscitation using our computerized decision support system for burn fluid resuscitation. We defined the degree of FT involvement as FT Index (FTI; percentage of FT injury/percentage of total body surface area (TBSA) burned [%FT / %TBSA]) and compared variables on actual 24-hour fluid resuscitation volumes overall as well as for any given burn size. A total of 203 patients admitted to our burn center during the study period were included in the analysis. Mean age and weight were 47 ± 19 years and 87 ± 18 kg, respectively. Mean %TBSA was 41 ± 20 with a mean %FT of 18 ± 24. As %TBSA, %FT, and FTI increased, so did actual 24-hour fluid resuscitation volumes (mL/kg). However, increase in FTI did not result in increased volume indexed to burn size (mL/kg per %TBSA). This was true even when patients with inhalation injury were excluded. Further investigation revealed that as %TBSA increased, %FT increased nonlinearly (quadratic polynomial) (R = 0.994). Total burn size and FT burn size were both highly correlated with increased 24-hour fluid resuscitation volumes. However, FTI did not correlate with a corresponding increase in resuscitation volumes for any given burn size, even when patients with inhalation injury were excluded. Thus, there are insufficient data to presume that those who receive more volume at any given burn size are likely to be mostly full thickness or vice versa. This was influenced by a relatively low sample size at each 10%TBSA increment and larger burn sizes disproportionately having more FT burns. A more robust sample size may elucidate this relationship better. Therapeutic/care management study, level IV.

Promoting Participation in Public Life through Secondary Education: Evidence from Honduras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy-Graham, Erin

2007-01-01

This article is not about local governance of education "per se," but rather whether education can be used as a tool to foster citizen participation, particularly that of women. It examines how education might empower women, who are often excluded from local, regional and national governance, to participate in public life. It draws on…

Personnel Attrition Rates in Historical Land Combat Operations: Susceptibility and Vulnerability of Major Anatomical Regions

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-08-01

effectiveness , estimate personnel attr;i"on, perform studies and analyses. or assess protective equipment for personnel. i II CAA-RP-93-3 DEPARTMENT OF THE...weapons or weapons effects that are difficult to localize are excluded from the 1-1 CAA-RP-93-3 scope of this paper Some examples of the types of weapons...or weapon effects excluded atr" .;i,nical weapons (encompassing war gases and other toxic substances, flame weapons. and biological agents), nuclear

Magnetic resonance imaging-radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) in breast cancer using Tc-99m macro-aggregated albumin and distilled water control

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided wire localization presents several challenges apart from the technical difficulties. An alternative to this conventional localization method using a wire is the radio-guided occult lesion localization (ROLL), more related to safe surgical margins and reductions in excision volume. The purpose of this study was to establish a safe and reliable magnetic resonance imaging-radioguided occult lesion localization (MRI-ROLL) technique and to report our initial experience with the localization of nonpalpable breast lesions only observed on MRI. Methods Sixteen women (mean age 53.2 years) with 17 occult breast lesions underwent radio-guided localization in a 1.5-T MR system using a grid-localizing system. All patients had a diagnostic MRI performed prior to the procedure. An intralesional injection of Technetium-99m macro-aggregated albumin followed by distilled water was performed. After the procedure, scintigraphy was obtained. Surgical resection was performed with the help of a gamma detector probe. The lesion histopathology and imaging concordance; the procedure’s positive predictive value (PPV), duration time, complications, and accuracy; and the rate of exactly excised lesions evaluated with MRI six months after the surgery were assessed. Results One lesion in one patient had to be excluded because the radioactive substance came back after the injection, requiring a wire placement. Of the remaining cases, there were four malignant lesions, nine benign lesions, and three high-risk lesions. Surgical histopathology and imaging findings were considered concordant in all benign and high-risk cases. The PPV of MRI-ROLL was greater if the indication for the initial MR examination was active breast cancer. The median procedure duration time was 26 minutes, and all included procedures were defined as accurate. The exact and complete lesion removal was confirmed in all (100%) patients who underwent six-month postoperative MRI (50%). Conclusions MRI-ROLL offers a precise, technically feasible, safe, and rapid means for performing preoperative MRI localizations in the breast. PMID:24044428

78 FR 3934 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-17

... Symbols, 2) increase the maker fee for complex orders that trade against Priority Customer complex orders... provides volume-based tiered rebates for Priority Customer complex orders in the Select Symbols (excluding... orders trade with non-Priority Customer orders in the complex order book. In the Select Symbols, the...

Prediction of Solution Properties of Flexible-Chain Polymers: A Computer Simulation Undergraduate Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de la Torre, Jose Garcia; Cifre, Jose G. Hernandez; Martinez, M. Carmen Lopez

2008-01-01

This paper describes a computational exercise at undergraduate level that demonstrates the employment of Monte Carlo simulation to study the conformational statistics of flexible polymer chains, and to predict solution properties. Three simple chain models, including excluded volume interactions, have been implemented in a public-domain computer…

The Great Excluded: Critical Essays on Children's Literature. Volume One.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, Francelia, Ed.

This collection of essays is intended to stimulate writing, teaching, and study of children's literature by humanists. Among the essays are: "Aesop as Litmus: The Acid Test of Children's Literature,""Children's Literature in Old English,""Children's Literature in the Middle Ages,""Pilgrim's Progress as Fairy Tale,""Out of the Ordinary Road: Locke…

Dissipative properties of hot and dense hadronic matter in an excluded-volume hadron resonance gas model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadam, Guru Prakash; Mishra, Hiranmaya

2015-09-01

We estimate dissipative properties, viz., shear and bulk viscosities of hadronic matter using relativistic Boltzmann equation in relaxation time approximation within the framework of excluded-volume hadron resonance gas (EHRG) model. We find that at zero baryon chemical potential the shear viscosity to entropy ratio (η /s ) decreases with temperature while at finite baryon chemical potential this ratio shows the same behavior as a function of temperature but reaches close to the Kovtun-Son-Starinets (KSS) bound. Further along the chemical freezeout curve, ratio η /s is almost constant apart from small initial monotonic rise. This observation may have some relevance to the experimental finding that the differential elliptic flow of charged hadrons does not change considerably at lower center-of-mass energy. We further find that bulk viscosity to entropy density (ζ /s ) decreases with temperature while this ratio has higher value at finite baryon chemical potential at higher temperature. Along the freezeout curve ζ /s decreases monotonically at lower center-of-mass energy and then saturates.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Suo, Tongchuan, E-mail: suotc@physics.umanitoba.ca; Whitmore, Mark D., E-mail: mark-whitmore@umanitoba.ca

We examine end-tethered polymers in good solvents, using one- and three-dimensional self-consistent field theory, and strong stretching theories. We also discuss different tethering scenarios, namely, mobile tethers, fixed but random ones, and fixed but ordered ones, and the effects and important limitations of including only binary interactions (excluded volume terms). We find that there is a “mushroom” regime in which the layer thickness is independent of the tethering density, σ, for systems with ordered tethers, but we argue that there is no such plateau for mobile or disordered anchors, nor is there one in the 1D theory. In the othermore » limit of brushes, all approaches predict that the layer thickness scales linearly with N. However, the σ{sup 1/3} scaling is a result of keeping only excluded volume interactions: when the full potential is included, the dependence is faster and more complicated than σ{sup 1/3}. In fact, there does not appear to be any regime in which the layer thickness scales in the combination Nσ{sup 1/3}. We also compare the results for two different solvents with each other, and with earlier Θ solvent results.« less

Morphological statistics of the cosmic web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shandarin, Sergei F.

2004-07-01

We report the first systematic study of the supercluster-void network in the ΛCDM concordance cosmology treating voids and superclusters on an equal footing. We study the dark matter density field in real space smoothed with the Ls = 5 h[minus sign]1Mpc Gaussian window. Superclusters and voids are defined as individual members of over-dense and under-dense excursion sets respectively. We determine the morphological properties of the cosmic web at a large number of dark matter density levels by computing Minkowski functionals for every supercluster and void. At the adopted smoothing scale individual superclusters totally occupy no more than about 5% of the total volume and contain no more than 20% of mass if the largest supercluster is excluded. Likewise, individual voids totally occupy no more than 14% of volume and contain no more than 4% of mass if the largest void is excluded. The genus of individual superclusters can be ˜ 5 while the genus of individual voids reaches ˜ 55, implying significant amount of substructure in superclusters and especially in voids. Large voids are typically distinctly non-spherical.

Influence of fluid and volume state on PaO2 oscillations in mechanically ventilated pigs.

PubMed

Bodenstein, Marc; Bierschock, Stephan; Boehme, Stefan; Wang, Hemei; Vogt, Andreas; Kwiecien, Robert; David, Matthias; Markstaller, Klaus

2013-03-01

Varying pulmonary shunt fractions during the respiratory cycle cause oxygen oscillations during mechanical ventilation. In artificially damaged lungs, cyclical recruitment of atelectasis is responsible for varying shunt according to published evidence. We introduce a complimentary hypothesis that cyclically varying shunt in healthy lungs is caused by cyclical redistribution of pulmonary perfusion. Administration of crystalloid or colloid infusions would decrease oxygen oscillations if our hypothesis was right. Therefore, n=14 mechanically ventilated healthy pigs were investigated in 2 groups: crystalloid (fluid) versus no-fluid administration. Additional volume interventions (colloid infusion, blood withdrawal) were carried out in each pig. Intra-aortal PaO2 oscillations were recorded using fluorescence quenching technique. Phase shift of oxygen oscillations during altered inspiratory to expiratory (I:E) ventilation ratio and electrical impedance tomography (EIT) served as control methods to exclude that recruitment of atelectasis is responsible for oxygen oscillations. In hypovolemia relevant oxygen oscillations could be recorded. Fluid and volume state changed PaO2 oscillations according to our hypothesis. Fluid administration led to a mean decline of 105.3 mmHg of the PaO2 oscillations amplitude (P<0.001). The difference of the amplitudes between colloid administration and blood withdrawal was 62.4 mmHg in pigs not having received fluids (P=0.0059). Fluid and volume state also changed the oscillation phase during altered I:E ratio. EIT excluded changes of regional ventilation (i.e., recruitment of atelectasis) to be responsible for these oscillations. In healthy pigs, cyclical redistribution of pulmonary perfusion can explain the size of respiratory-dependent PaO2 oscillations.

Autologous fat transplantation: volumetric tools for estimation of volume survival. A systematic review.

PubMed

Herold, Christian; Ueberreiter, Klaus; Busche, Marc N; Vogt, Peter M

2013-04-01

Autologous fat transplantation has gained great recognition in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. Two main aspects are of predominant importance for progress control after autologous fat transplantation to the breast: quantitative information about the rate of fat survival in terms of effective volume persistence and qualitative information about the breast tissue to exclude potential complications of autologous fat transplantation. There are several tools available for use in evaluating the rate of volume survival. They are extensively compared in this review. The anthropometric method, thermoplastic casts, and Archimedes' principle of water displacement are not up to date anymore because of major drawbacks, first and foremost being reduced reproducibility and exactness. They have been replaced by more exact and reproducible tools such as MRI volumetry or 3D body surface scans. For qualitative and quantitative progress control, MRI volumetry offers all the necessary information: evaluation of fat survival and diagnostically valuable imaging to exclude possible complications of autologous fat transplantation. For frequent follow-up, e.g., monthly volume analysis, repeated MRI exams would not be good for the patient and are not cost effective. In these cases, 3D surface imaging is a good tool and especially helpful in a private practice setting where fast data acquisition is needed. This tool also offers the possibility of simulating the results of autologous fat transplantation. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Breast surgery techniques: preoperative bracketing wire localization by surgeons.

PubMed

Burkholder, Hans C; Witherspoon, Laura E; Burns, R Phillip; Horn, Jeffrey S; Biderman, Michael D

2007-06-01

With the development of expertise in image guidance for breast surgery, many surgeons now perform preoperative wire localization themselves. Use of a single wire versus multiple wires to bracket a radiographic breast abnormality has previously been described, although benefits of this technique based on clinical outcomes such as margin status, tissue volume removed, and re-excision rates have not been established. This study is a retrospective analysis of wire-localized breast biopsies performed by 14 surgeons over 29 months; stereotactic and ultrasound guidance were used. During this time, 489 wire localizations were done, of which 159 used multiple wires. Two hundred eleven of these biopsies were done for malignant disease, 86 using multiple wires. After controlling for tumor node metastases stage, single and multiple wire placements were compared using endpoints of margin status, need for re-excision, and total volume of tissue removed. Neither margin status nor re-excision was related to the number of wires placed. However, the number of wires placed was significantly related to the total volume of tissue removed. Use of more than one localizing wire was associated with greater volume of tissue removal (measured in centimeters cubed) in benign disease (46 vs 25, P < 0.001), equivalent volumes in stage 0 disease (73 vs 67), less volume in stage 1 disease (113 vs 164), and less volume in stages 2 through 4 (158 vs 207, P = 0.03). Outcomes based on surgeon case volume during the study period demonstrated that low- (1-40), medium- (41-80), and high-volume (>80) surgeons did not differ in the type or stage of breast pathology treated. Surgeons with high case volumes were more likely to place multiple localizing wires (P < 0.001) and were more likely to do a breast-conserving procedure if re-excision was performed (P < 0.018). Surgeons with low case volumes were more likely to perform a re-excision (P < 0.025). Surgeon experience has a positive impact on quality outcome measures such as performance of a definitive procedure at the time of initial surgery and use of breast-conserving procedures at the time of re-excision. Multiple wire localization can be used to significantly reduce the volume of breast tissue removed in malignant disease without sacrificing margin status or increasing the need for future re-excision.

I. Excluded volume effects in Ising cluster distributions and nuclear multifragmentation. II. Multiple-chance effects in alpha-particle evaporation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breus, Dimitry Eugene

In Part I, geometric clusters of the Ising model are studied as possible model clusters for nuclear multifragmentation. These clusters may not be considered as non-interacting (ideal gas) due to excluded volume effect which predominantly is the artifact of the cluster's finite size. Interaction significantly complicates the use of clusters in the analysis of thermodynamic systems. Stillinger's theory is used as a basis for the analysis, which within the RFL (Reiss, Frisch, Lebowitz) fluid-of-spheres approximation produces a prediction for cluster concentrations well obeyed by geometric clusters of the Ising model. If thermodynamic condition of phase coexistence is met, these concentrations can be incorporated into a differential equation procedure of moderate complexity to elucidate the liquid-vapor phase diagram of the system with cluster interaction included. The drawback of increased complexity is outweighted by the reward of greater accuracy of the phase diagram, as it is demonstrated by the Ising model. A novel nuclear-cluster analysis procedure is developed by modifying Fisher's model to contain cluster interaction and employing the differential equation procedure to obtain thermodynamic variables. With this procedure applied to geometric clusters, the guidelines are developed to look for excluded volume effect in nuclear multifragmentation. In Part II, an explanation is offered for the recently observed oscillations in the energy spectra of alpha-particles emitted from hot compound nuclei. Contrary to what was previously expected, the oscillations are assumed to be caused by the multiple-chance nature of alpha-evaporation. In a semi-empirical fashion this assumption is successfully confirmed by a technique of two-spectra decomposition which treats experimental alpha-spectra as having contributions from at least two independent emitters. Building upon the success of the multiple-chance explanation of the oscillations, Moretto's single-chance evaporation theory is augmented to include multiple-chance emission and tested on experimental data to yield positive results.

Novel high dose rate lip brachytherapy technique to improve dose homogeneity and reduce toxicity by customized mold.

PubMed

Feldman, Jon; Appelbaum, Limor; Sela, Mordechay; Voskoboinik, Ninel; Kadouri, Sarit; Weinberger, Jeffrey; Orion, Itzhak; Meirovitz, Amichay

2014-12-23

The purpose of this study is to describe a novel brachytherapy technique for lip Squamous Cell Carcinoma, utilizing a customized mold with embedded brachytherapy sleeves, which separates the lip from the mandible, and improves dose homogeneity. Seven patients with T2 lip cancer treated with a "sandwich" technique of High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy to the lip, consisting of interstitial catheters and a customized mold with embedded catheters, were reviewed for dosimetry and outcome using 3D planning. Dosimetric comparison was made between the "sandwich" technique to "classic" - interstitial catheters only plan. We compared dose volume histograms for Clinical Tumor Volume (CTV), normal tissue "hot spots" and mandible dose. We are reporting according to the ICRU 58 and calculated the Conformal Index (COIN) to show the advantage of our technique. The seven patients (ages 36-81 years, male) had median follow-up of 47 months. Four patients received Brachytherapy and External Beam Radiation Therapy, 3 patients received brachytherapy alone. All achieved local control, with excellent esthetic and functional results. All patients are disease free. The Customized Mold Sandwich technique (CMS) reduced the high dose region receiving 150% (V150) by an average of 20% (range 1-47%), The low dose region (les then 90% of the prescribed dose) improved by 73% in average by using the CMS technique. The COIN value for the CMS was in average 0.92 as opposed to 0.88 for the interstitial catheter only. All differences (excluding the low dose region) were statistically significant. The CMS technique significantly reduces the high dose volume and increases treatment homogeneity. This may reduce the potential toxicity to the lip and adjacent mandible, and results in excellent tumor control, cosmetic and functionality.

Improving the Test-Retest Reliability of Resting State fMRI by Removing the Impact of Sleep.

PubMed

Wang, Jiahui; Han, Junwei; Nguyen, Vinh T; Guo, Lei; Guo, Christine C

2017-01-01

Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) provides a powerful tool to examine large-scale neural networks in the human brain and their disturbances in neuropsychiatric disorders. Thanks to its low demand and high tolerance, resting state paradigms can be easily acquired from clinical population. However, due to the unconstrained nature, resting state paradigm is associated with excessive head movement and proneness to sleep. Consequently, the test-retest reliability of rs-fMRI measures is moderate at best, falling short of widespread use in the clinic. Here, we characterized the effect of sleep on the test-retest reliability of rs-fMRI. Using measures of heart rate variability (HRV) derived from simultaneous electrocardiogram (ECG) recording, we identified portions of fMRI data when subjects were more alert or sleepy, and examined their effects on the test-retest reliability of functional connectivity measures. When volumes of sleep were excluded, the reliability of rs-fMRI is significantly improved, and the improvement appears to be general across brain networks. The amount of improvement is robust with the removal of as much as 60% volumes of sleepiness. Therefore, test-retest reliability of rs-fMRI is affected by sleep and could be improved by excluding volumes of sleepiness as indexed by HRV. Our results suggest a novel and practical method to improve test-retest reliability of rs-fMRI measures.

Stochastic entangled chain dynamics of dense polymer solutions.

PubMed

Kivotides, Demosthenes; Wilkin, S Louise; Theofanous, Theo G

2010-10-14

We propose an adjustable-parameter-free, entangled chain dynamics model of dense polymer solutions. The model includes the self-consistent dynamics of molecular chains and solvent by describing the former via coarse-grained polymer dynamics that incorporate hydrodynamic interaction effects, and the latter via the forced Stokes equation. Real chain elasticity is modeled via the inclusion of a Pincus regime in the polymer's force-extension curve. Excluded volume effects are taken into account via the combined action of coarse-grained intermolecular potentials and explicit geometric tracking of chain entanglements. We demonstrate that entanglements are responsible for a new (compared to phantom chain dynamics), slow relaxation mode whose characteristic time scale agrees very well with experiment. Similarly good agreement between theory and experiment is also obtained for the equilibrium chain size. We develop methods for the solution of the model in periodic flow domains and apply them to the computation of entangled polymer solutions in equilibrium. We show that the number of entanglements Π agrees well with the number of entanglements expected on the basis of tube theory, satisfactorily reproducing the latter's scaling of Π with the polymer volume fraction φ. Our model predicts diminishing chain size with concentration, thus vindicating Flory's suggestion of excluded volume effects screening in dense solutions. The predicted scaling of chain size with φ is consistent with the heuristic, Flory theory based value.

Transgressive Local Act: Tackling Domestic Violence with Forum and Popular Theatre in "Sisterhood Bound as Yuan Ze Flowers"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Wan-Jung

2010-01-01

This paper examines a community theatre project in Kaohsiung County, Taiwan that aimed to tackle domestic violence through a collaboration between local community female elders and the facilitator. The paper investigates how an outside facilitator could unfix the assumed community identities which tend to exclude outsiders or sub-groups, in this…

Effect of local anesthetic dilution on the onset time and duration of double-injection sciatic nerve block: a prospective, randomized, blinded evaluation.

PubMed

Cappelleri, Gianluca; Ambrosoli, Andrea Luigi; Turconi, Stefania; Gemma, Marco; Ricci, Erika Basso; Cornaggia, Gabriele

2014-08-01

Among the various factors influencing the success rate, onset time, and duration of peripheral nerve blocks, the role of local anesthetics concentration remains uncertain. In this prospective, randomized, single-blinded study, we evaluated whether varying the dilution of a fixed dose of mepivacaine solution influenced onset time and duration of sciatic nerve block. Ninety ASA physical status I to II patients scheduled for foot surgery were randomly allocated to receive a double-injection Labat sciatic nerve block with 12 mL mepivacaine 2% (group concentration I = 45 patients) or 24 mL of mepivacaine 1% (group volume II = 45 patients). The nerve stimulator was initially set at 2 Hz, 0.1 millisecond, 1 mA. The total amount of local anesthetic (240 mg) was kept constant and equally divided between the peroneal and tibial nerves. All patients also received an ultrasound-guided popliteal sciatic nerve catheter for postoperative analgesia. Times to readiness for surgery, performance, and offset of local anesthetic were recorded. Our primary end point was to determine a possible difference in offset time between groups. Continuous variables were expressed as median (IQR) and compared with the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test; WMWodds are reported together with their 95% confidence interval. The overall success rate of sciatic nerve block was 99%. Time of performance was shorter in group I, 120 seconds (90-150 seconds), than that in group II, 150 seconds (120-180 seconds) (P = 0.0048; WMWodds 2.26 [1.35-4.34]). The onset time of sensory and motor sciatic nerve block was 4 minutes (2-9 minutes) in group I and 6 minutes (4-10 minutes) in group II (P = 0.41; WMWodds 1.21 [0.77-1.95]), while the duration of sensory block was 235 minutes (203-250 minutes) in group I, and 240 minutes (218-247 minutes) in group II respectively (P = 0.51; WMWodds 1.20 [0.69-2.16]). We found no evidence that varying volume and concentration while maintaining a fixed total dose of mepivacaine alters the onset time and duration of double-injection sciatic nerve block. Considering our WMWodds results, possible differences in onset time and duration comparable to differences in the performance time between groups cannot be excluded.

Finite volume analysis of temperature effects induced by active MRI implants: 2. Defects on active MRI implants causing hot spots.

PubMed

Busch, Martin H J; Vollmann, Wolfgang; Grönemeyer, Dietrich H W

2006-05-26

Active magnetic resonance imaging implants, for example stents, stent grafts or vena cava filters, are constructed as wireless inductively coupled transmit and receive coils. They are built as a resonator tuned to the Larmor frequency of a magnetic resonance system. The resonator can be added to or incorporated within the implant. This technology can counteract the shielding caused by eddy currents inside the metallic implant structure. This may allow getting diagnostic information of the implant lumen (in stent stenosis or thrombosis for example). The electro magnetic rf-pulses during magnetic resonance imaging induce a current in the circuit path of the resonator. A by material fatigue provoked partial rupture of the circuit path or a broken wire with touching surfaces can set up a relatively high resistance on a very short distance, which may behave as a point-like power source, a hot spot, inside the body part the resonator is implanted to. This local power loss inside a small volume can reach (1/4) of the total power loss of the intact resonating circuit, which itself is proportional to the product of the resonator volume and the quality factor and depends as well from the orientation of the resonator with respect to the main magnetic field and the imaging sequence the resonator is exposed to. First an analytical solution of a hot spot for thermal equilibrium is described. This analytical solution with a definite hot spot power loss represents the worst case scenario for thermal equilibrium inside a homogeneous medium without cooling effects. Starting with this worst case assumptions additional conditions are considered in a numerical simulation, which are more realistic and may make the results less critical. The analytical solution as well as the numerical simulations use the experimental experience of the maximum hot spot power loss of implanted resonators with a definite volume during magnetic resonance imaging investigations. The finite volume analysis calculates the time developing temperature maps for the model of a broken linear metallic wire embedded in tissue. Half of the total hot spot power loss is assumed to diffuse into both wire parts at the location of a defect. The energy is distributed from there by heat conduction. Additionally the effect of blood perfusion and blood flow is respected in some simulations because the simultaneous appearance of all worst case conditions, especially the absence of blood perfusion and blood flow near the hot spot, is very unlikely for vessel implants. The analytical solution as worst case scenario as well as the finite volume analysis for near worst case situations show not negligible volumes with critical temperature increases for part of the modeled hot spot situations. MR investigations with a high rf-pulse density lasting below a minute can establish volumes of several cubic millimeters with temperature increases high enough to start cell destruction. Longer exposure times can involve volumes larger than 100 mm3. Even temperature increases in the range of thermal ablation are reached for substantial volumes. MR sequence exposure time and hot spot power loss are the primary factors influencing the volume with critical temperature increases. Wire radius, wire material as well as the physiological parameters blood perfusion and blood flow inside larger vessels reduce the volume with critical temperature increases, but do not exclude a volume with critical tissue heating for resonators with a large product of resonator volume and quality factor. The worst case scenario assumes thermal equilibrium for a hot spot embedded in homogeneous tissue without any cooling due to blood perfusion or flow. The finite volume analysis can calculate the results for near and not close to worst case conditions. For both cases a substantial volume can reach a critical temperature increase in a short time. The analytical solution, as absolute worst case, points out that resonators with a small product of inductance volume and quality factor (Q V(ind) < 2 cm3) are definitely save. Stents for coronary vessels or resonators used as tracking devices for interventional procedures therefore have no risk of high temperature increases. The finite volume analysis shows for sure that also conditions not close to the worst case reach physiologically critical temperature increases for implants with a large product of inductance volume and quality factor (Q V(ind) > 10 cm3). Such resonators exclude patients from exactly the MRI investigation these devices are made for.

Finite volume analysis of temperature effects induced by active MRI implants: 2. Defects on active MRI implants causing hot spots

PubMed Central

Busch, Martin HJ; Vollmann, Wolfgang; Grönemeyer, Dietrich HW

2006-01-01

Background Active magnetic resonance imaging implants, for example stents, stent grafts or vena cava filters, are constructed as wireless inductively coupled transmit and receive coils. They are built as a resonator tuned to the Larmor frequency of a magnetic resonance system. The resonator can be added to or incorporated within the implant. This technology can counteract the shielding caused by eddy currents inside the metallic implant structure. This may allow getting diagnostic information of the implant lumen (in stent stenosis or thrombosis for example). The electro magnetic rf-pulses during magnetic resonance imaging induce a current in the circuit path of the resonator. A by material fatigue provoked partial rupture of the circuit path or a broken wire with touching surfaces can set up a relatively high resistance on a very short distance, which may behave as a point-like power source, a hot spot, inside the body part the resonator is implanted to. This local power loss inside a small volume can reach ¼ of the total power loss of the intact resonating circuit, which itself is proportional to the product of the resonator volume and the quality factor and depends as well from the orientation of the resonator with respect to the main magnetic field and the imaging sequence the resonator is exposed to. Methods First an analytical solution of a hot spot for thermal equilibrium is described. This analytical solution with a definite hot spot power loss represents the worst case scenario for thermal equilibrium inside a homogeneous medium without cooling effects. Starting with this worst case assumptions additional conditions are considered in a numerical simulation, which are more realistic and may make the results less critical. The analytical solution as well as the numerical simulations use the experimental experience of the maximum hot spot power loss of implanted resonators with a definite volume during magnetic resonance imaging investigations. The finite volume analysis calculates the time developing temperature maps for the model of a broken linear metallic wire embedded in tissue. Half of the total hot spot power loss is assumed to diffuse into both wire parts at the location of a defect. The energy is distributed from there by heat conduction. Additionally the effect of blood perfusion and blood flow is respected in some simulations because the simultaneous appearance of all worst case conditions, especially the absence of blood perfusion and blood flow near the hot spot, is very unlikely for vessel implants. Results The analytical solution as worst case scenario as well as the finite volume analysis for near worst case situations show not negligible volumes with critical temperature increases for part of the modeled hot spot situations. MR investigations with a high rf-pulse density lasting below a minute can establish volumes of several cubic millimeters with temperature increases high enough to start cell destruction. Longer exposure times can involve volumes larger than 100 mm3. Even temperature increases in the range of thermal ablation are reached for substantial volumes. MR sequence exposure time and hot spot power loss are the primary factors influencing the volume with critical temperature increases. Wire radius, wire material as well as the physiological parameters blood perfusion and blood flow inside larger vessels reduce the volume with critical temperature increases, but do not exclude a volume with critical tissue heating for resonators with a large product of resonator volume and quality factor. Conclusion The worst case scenario assumes thermal equilibrium for a hot spot embedded in homogeneous tissue without any cooling due to blood perfusion or flow. The finite volume analysis can calculate the results for near and not close to worst case conditions. For both cases a substantial volume can reach a critical temperature increase in a short time. The analytical solution, as absolute worst case, points out that resonators with a small product of inductance volume and quality factor (Q Vind < 2 cm3) are definitely save. Stents for coronary vessels or resonators used as tracking devices for interventional procedures therefore have no risk of high temperature increases. The finite volume analysis shows for sure that also conditions not close to the worst case reach physiologically critical temperature increases for implants with a large product of inductance volume and quality factor (Q Vind > 10 cm3). Such resonators exclude patients from exactly the MRI investigation these devices are made for. PMID:16729878

Intranasal Localizability of Odorants: Influence of Stimulus Volume

PubMed Central

Frasnelli, J.; Berg, J.; Huang, G.; Doty, R.L.

2011-01-01

When an odorant is presented to one side of the nose and air to the other, the ability to localize which side received the odorant depends upon trigeminal nerve stimulation. It has been shown that performance on this lateralization task increases as stimulus concentration increases. In this study, we determined the influences of stimulus volume and sex on the ability to localize each of 8 odorants presented at neat concentrations: anethole, geraniol, limonene, linalool, menthol, methyl salicyclate, phenyl ethanol, and vanillin. At a low stimulus volume (11 mL), only menthol was localized at an above-chance level. At a high stimulus volume (21 mL), above-chance localization occurred for all odorants except vanillin. Women were significantly better than men in localizing menthol. Stimuli rated as most intense were those that were most readily localized. The detection performance measures, as well as rated intensity values, significantly correlated with earlier findings of the trigeminal detectability of odorants presented to anosmic and normosmic subjects. This study suggests that differences in stimulus volume may explain some discrepant findings within the trigeminal chemosensory literature and supports the concept that vanillin may be a “relatively pure” olfactory stimulus. PMID:21310764

Intranasal localizability of odorants: influence of stimulus volume.

PubMed

Frasnelli, J; Hummel, T; Berg, J; Huang, G; Doty, R L

2011-05-01

When an odorant is presented to one side of the nose and air to the other, the ability to localize which side received the odorant depends upon trigeminal nerve stimulation. It has been shown that performance on this lateralization task increases as stimulus concentration increases. In this study, we determined the influences of stimulus volume and sex on the ability to localize each of 8 odorants presented at neat concentrations: anethole, geraniol, limonene, linalool, menthol, methyl salicylate, phenyl ethanol, and vanillin. At a low stimulus volume (11 mL), only menthol was localized at an above-chance level. At a high stimulus volume (21 mL), above-chance localization occurred for all odorants except vanillin. Women were significantly better than men in localizing menthol. Stimuli rated as most intense were those that were most readily localized. The detection performance measures, as well as rated intensity values, significantly correlated with earlier findings of the trigeminal detectability of odorants presented to anosmic and normosmic subjects. This study suggests that differences in stimulus volume may explain some discrepant findings within the trigeminal chemosensory literature and supports the concept that vanillin may be a "relatively pure" olfactory stimulus.

Normal expiratory flow rate and lung volumes in patients with combined emphysema and interstitial lung disease: a case series and literature review.

PubMed

Heathcote, Karen L; Cockcroft, Donald W; Fladeland, Derek A; Fenton, Mark E

2011-01-01

Pulmonary function tests in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis characteristically show a restrictive pattern including small lung volumes and increased expiratory flow rates resulting from a reduction in pulmonary compliance due to diffuse fibrosis. Conversely, an obstructive pattern with hyperinflation results in emphysema by loss of elastic recoil, expiratory collapse of the peripheral airways and air trapping. When the diseases coexist, pulmonary volumes are compensated, and a smaller than expected reduction or even normal lung volumes can be found. The present report describes 10 patients with progressive breathlessness, three of whom experienced severe limitation in their quality of life. All patients showed lung interstitial involvement and emphysema on computed tomography scan of the chest. The 10 patients showed normal spirometry and lung volumes with severe compromise of gas exchange. Normal lung volumes do not exclude diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in patients with concomitant emphysema. The relatively preserved lung volumes may underestimate the severity of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and attenuate its effects on lung function parameters.

29 CFR 779.259 - What is included in annual gross volume.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... requirements for exemption from the pay provisions of the Act under section 13(a)(2), does not exclude the... establishment is a part. (c) Likewise, where franchise or other arrangements result in the creation of a larger... integral part of the related activities of the enterprise which grants the franchise, right, or concession...

78 FR 59738 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-27

... Rule Change To Make a Minor Modification To Pricing Incentive Programs September 23, 2013. Pursuant to... Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to make a minor modification to pricing.... Specifically, PHLX is proposing to exclude from volume-based pricing calculations any trading day on which PHLX...

A Mobile Phone Faraday Cage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

French, M. M. J.

2011-01-01

A Faraday cage is an interesting physical phenomenon where an electromagnetic wave can be excluded from a volume of space by enclosure with an electrically conducting material. The practical application of this in the classroom is to block the signal to a mobile phone by enclosing it in a metal can. The background of the physics behind this is…

Bottle Characteristics of Topical International Glaucoma Medications versus Local Brands in Saudi Arabia

PubMed Central

Al-Jumaian, Nasser; Malik, Rizwan; Khandekar, Rajiv; Al-Humaidan, Abdullah; Al-Madany, Rana; Al-Qahtani, Reham; Altowairqi, Ahmed; Al-Theeb, Abdulwahab; Zaman, Babar; Al-Djasim, Leyla; Craven, E. Randy; Edward, Deepak P.

2016-01-01

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Physical bottle characteristics differ of brand name topical glaucoma medications and local generic equivalents. This study compares the bottle characteristics of international topical glaucoma brands versus local brands from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: Data were collected on bottle drum volume, drop volume, bottle squeezability, bottle tip diameter, labels and instructions, cap color coding, and clarity of the drug label. Density-based calculations of drops in bottle volume were assessed using an analytic balance. Bottle tip diameter was measured using 0.05 mm Vernier calipers. A Likert scale-based questionnaire was used to evaluate the subjective opinions of patients on bottle squeezability, clarity of usage and storage instructions, and the consistency of the cap color coding. RESULTS: The volumes of international brands were statistically significantly higher than the local brands (P < 0.001). A number of drops per bottle and tip diameter were comparable between the international local brands. Cap color coding was inconsistent for international and local brands. Patients were dissatisfied with the label font size. Patients reported that the international and local brands were similar in terms of the ease of opening the bottle, instilling a drop, and the clarity of the instructions; but the local brands were subjectively easier to squeeze than international brands. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to compare bottle characteristics of local Saudi Arabia brands with international brands. The bottle characteristics and patient feedback were similar between the local and international topical glaucoma medications. However, there were differences between the local and international brands in drug volume, bottle squeezability. Hence, patient compliance and drop dosage may differ based on the origin of manufacture. PMID:27994392

Production and delivery of a fluid mixture to an annular volume of a wellbore

DOEpatents

Hermes, Robert E [Los Alamos, NM; Bland, Ronald Gene [Houston, TX; Foley, Ron Lee [Magnolia, TX; Bloys, James B [Katy, TX; Gonzalez, Manuel E [Kingwood, NM; Daniel, John M [Germantown, TN; Robinson, Ian M [Guisborough, GB; Carpenter, Robert B [Tomball, TX

2012-01-24

The methods described herein generally relate to preparing and delivering a fluid mixture to a confined volume, specifically an annular volume located between two concentrically oriented casing strings within a hydrocarbon fluid producing well. The fluid mixtures disclosed herein are useful in controlling pressure in localized volumes. The fluid mixtures comprise at least one polymerizable monomer and at least one inhibitor. The processes and methods disclosed herein allow the fluid mixture to be stored, shipped and/or injected into localized volumes, for example, an annular volume defined by concentric well casing strings.

Radiotherapy treatment planning: benefits of CT-MR image registration and fusion in tumor volume delineation.

PubMed

Djan, Igor; Petrović, Borislava; Erak, Marko; Nikolić, Ivan; Lucić, Silvija

2013-08-01

Development of imaging techniques, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET), made great impact on radiotherapy treatment planning by improving the localization of target volumes. Improved localization allows better local control of tumor volumes, but also minimizes geographical misses. Mutual information is obtained by registration and fusion of images achieved manually or automatically. The aim of this study was to validate the CT-MRI image fusion method and compare delineation obtained by CT versus CT-MRI image fusion. The image fusion software (XIO CMS 4.50.0) was applied to delineate 16 patients. The patients were scanned on CT and MRI in the treatment position within an immobilization device before the initial treatment. The gross tumor volume (GTV) and clinical target volume (CTV) were delineated on CT alone and on CT+MRI images consecutively and image fusion was obtained. Image fusion showed that CTV delineated on a CT image study set is mainly inadequate for treatment planning, in comparison with CTV delineated on CT-MRI fused image study set. Fusion of different modalities enables the most accurate target volume delineation. This study shows that registration and image fusion allows precise target localization in terms of GTV and CTV and local disease control.

34 CFR 222.40 - How does a local educational agency select a local contribution rate based on generally...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... LEAs exclusive of significantly impacted LEAs described in § 222.39(b)(1)) that matches the factor or... these factors, if it were not excluded as significantly impacted in § 222.39(b)(1). Example. An LEA..., size, location, or a combination of these factors, (that is, in the case of the significantly impacted...

34 CFR 222.40 - How does a local educational agency select a local contribution rate based on generally...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... LEAs exclusive of significantly impacted LEAs described in § 222.39(b)(1)) that matches the factor or... these factors, if it were not excluded as significantly impacted in § 222.39(b)(1). Example. An LEA..., size, location, or a combination of these factors, (that is, in the case of the significantly impacted...

34 CFR 222.40 - How does a local educational agency select a local contribution rate based on generally...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... LEAs exclusive of significantly impacted LEAs described in § 222.39(b)(1)) that matches the factor or... these factors, if it were not excluded as significantly impacted in § 222.39(b)(1). Example. An LEA..., size, location, or a combination of these factors, (that is, in the case of the significantly impacted...

34 CFR 222.40 - How does a local educational agency select a local contribution rate based on generally...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... LEAs exclusive of significantly impacted LEAs described in § 222.39(b)(1)) that matches the factor or... these factors, if it were not excluded as significantly impacted in § 222.39(b)(1). Example. An LEA..., size, location, or a combination of these factors, (that is, in the case of the significantly impacted...

Localized hippocampus measures are associated with Alzheimer pathology and cognition independent of total hippocampal volume.

PubMed

Carmichael, Owen; Xie, Jing; Fletcher, Evan; Singh, Baljeet; DeCarli, Charles

2012-06-01

Hippocampal injury in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathological process is region-specific and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based measures of localized hippocampus (HP) atrophy are known to detect region-specific changes associated with clinical AD, but it is unclear whether these measures provide information that is independent of that already provided by measures of total HP volume. Therefore, this study assessed the strength of association between localized HP atrophy measures and AD-related measures including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid beta and tau concentrations, and cognitive performance, in statistical models that also included total HP volume as a covariate. A computational technique termed localized components analysis (LoCA) was used to identify 7 independent patterns of HP atrophy among 390 semiautomatically delineated HP from baseline magnetic resonance imaging of participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Among cognitively normal participants, multiple measures of localized HP atrophy were significantly associated with CSF amyloid concentration, while total HP volume was not. In addition, among all participants, localized HP atrophy measures and total HP volume were both independently and additively associated with CSF tau concentration, performance on numerous neuropsychological tests, and discrimination between normal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD clinical diagnostic groups. Together, these results suggest that regional measures of hippocampal atrophy provided by localized components analysis may be more sensitive than total HP volume to the effects of AD pathology burden among cognitively normal individuals and may provide information about HP regions whose deficits may have especially profound cognitive consequences throughout the AD clinical course. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adverse radiation effect after stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases: incidence, time course, and risk factors.

PubMed

Sneed, Penny K; Mendez, Joe; Vemer-van den Hoek, Johanna G M; Seymour, Zachary A; Ma, Lijun; Molinaro, Annette M; Fogh, Shannon E; Nakamura, Jean L; McDermott, Michael W

2015-08-01

The authors sought to determine the incidence, time course, and risk factors for overall adverse radiation effect (ARE) and symptomatic ARE after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases. All cases of brain metastases treated from 1998 through 2009 with Gamma Knife SRS at UCSF were considered. Cases with less than 3 months of follow-up imaging, a gap of more than 8 months in imaging during the 1st year, or inadequate imaging availability were excluded. Brain scans and pathology reports were reviewed to ensure consistent scoring of dates of ARE, treatment failure, or both; in case of uncertainty, the cause of lesion worsening was scored as indeterminate. Cumulative incidence of ARE and failure were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method with censoring at last imaging. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed. Among 435 patients and 2200 brain metastases evaluable, the median patient survival time was 17.4 months and the median lesion imaging follow-up was 9.9 months. Calculated on the basis of 2200 evaluable lesions, the rates of treatment failure, ARE, concurrent failure and ARE, and lesion worsening with indeterminate cause were 9.2%, 5.4%, 1.4%, and 4.1%, respectively. Among 118 cases of ARE, approximately 60% were symptomatic and 85% occurred 3-18 months after SRS (median 7.2 months). For 99 ARE cases managed without surgery or bevacizumab, the probabilities of improvement observed on imaging were 40%, 57%, and 76% at 6, 12, and 18 months after onset of ARE. The most important risk factors for ARE included prior SRS to the same lesion (with 20% 1-year risk of symptomatic ARE vs 3%, 4%, and 8% for no prior treatment, prior whole brain radiotherapy [WBRT], or concurrent WBRT) and any of these volume parameters: target, prescription isodose, 12-Gy, or 10-Gy volume. Excluding lesions treated with repeat SRS, the 1-year probabilities of ARE were < 1%, 1%, 3%, 10%, and 14% for maximum diameter 0.3-0.6 cm, 0.7-1.0 cm, 1.1-1.5 cm, 1.6-2.0 cm, and 2.1-5.1 cm, respectively. The 1-year probabilities of symptomatic ARE leveled off at 13%-14% for brain metastases maximum diameter > 2.1 cm, target volume > 1.2 cm(3), prescription isodose volume > 1.8 cm(3), 12-Gy volume > 3.3 cm(3), and 10-Gy volume > 4.3 cm(3), excluding lesions treated with repeat SRS. On both univariate and multivariate analysis, capecitabine, but not other systemic therapy within 1 month of SRS, appeared to increase ARE risk. For the multivariate analysis considering only metastases with target volume > 1.0 cm(3), risk factors for ARE included prior SRS, kidney primary tumor, connective tissue disorder, and capecitabine. Although incidence of ARE after SRS was low overall, risk increased rapidly with size and volume, leveling off at a 1-year cumulative incidence of 13%-14%. This study describes the time course of ARE and provides risk estimates by various lesion characteristics and treatment parameters to aid in decision-making and patient counseling.

Effective orbital volume and eyeball position: an MRI study.

PubMed

Detorakis, Efstathios T; Drakonaki, Eleni; Papadaki, Efrosini; Pallikaris, Ioannis G; Tsilimbaris, Miltiadis K

2010-10-01

Previous studies have examined factors affecting the position of the eyeball to the orbit. This study examined the role of effective orbital volume (EOV), defined as the difference between orbital and eyeball volume, as a determinant of eyeball position, using MRI scans. Forty-six patients were recruited from the Department of Ophthalmology of the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete Greece. Patients with a history of orbital disease were excluded. Distances between eyeball poles and orbital landmarks were measured in T1 weighted transverse, sagittal and coronal orbital images. The protrusion of the eyeball in the sagittal and transverse planes was recorded. The volume of the eyeball and bony orbit, the EOV, the volume of the extraocular muscles as well as clinical information (age, gender, Hertel exophthalmometry) were also recorded. EOV was significantly associated with orbital volume but not with eyeball volume. EOV was also significantly associated with transverse and sagittal globe protrusions. Females displayed significantly lower orbital and eyeball volumes as well as EOV than males but higher transverse globe protrusion than males. Variations in EOV are associated with orbital volume rather than with eyeball volume. EOV is associated with globe protrusion and may be taken into account in the planning of various procedures, including orbital decompression, treatment of enophthalmos or the size of orbital implants following enucleation.

Dissociation of local and global skeletal muscle oxygen transport metrics in type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Mason McClatchey, P; Bauer, Timothy A; Regensteiner, Judith G; Schauer, Irene E; Huebschmann, Amy G; Reusch, Jane E B

2017-08-01

Exercise capacity is impaired in type 2 diabetes, and this impairment predicts excess morbidity and mortality. This defect appears to involve excess skeletal muscle deoxygenation, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that reduced blood flow, reduced local recruitment of blood volume/hematocrit, or both contribute to excess skeletal muscle deoxygenation in type 2 diabetes. In patients with (n=23) and without (n=18) type 2 diabetes, we recorded maximal reactive hyperemic leg blood flow, peak oxygen utilization during cycling ergometer exercise (VO 2peak ), and near-infrared spectroscopy-derived measures of exercise-induced changes in skeletal muscle oxygenation and blood volume/hematocrit. We observed a significant increase (p<0.05) in skeletal muscle deoxygenation in type 2 diabetes despite similar blood flow and recruitment of local blood volume/hematocrit. Within the control group skeletal muscle deoxygenation, local recruitment of microvascular blood volume/hematocrit, blood flow, and VO 2peak are all mutually correlated. None of these correlations were preserved in type 2 diabetes. These results suggest that in type 2 diabetes 1) skeletal muscle oxygenation is impaired, 2) this impairment may occur independently of bulk blood flow or local recruitment of blood volume/hematocrit, and 3) local and global metrics of oxygen transport are dissociated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SYNCHROTRON RADIATION, FREE ELECTRON LASER, APPLICATION OF NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY, ETC. Employing a Cerenkov detector for the thickness measurement of X-rays in a scattering background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shu-Wei; Kang, Ke-Jun; Wang, Yi; Li, Jin; Li, Yuan-Jing; Zhang, Qing-Jun

2010-12-01

The variation in environmental scattering background is a major source of systematic errors in X-ray inspection and measurement systems. As the energy of these photons consisting of environmental scattering background is much lower generally, the Cerenkov detectors having the detection threshold are likely insensitive to them and able to exclude their influence. A thickness measurement experiment is designed to verify the idea by employing a Cerenkov detector and an ionizing chamber for comparison. Furthermore, it is also found that the application of the Cerenkov detectors is helpful to exclude another systematic error from the variation of low energy components in the spectrum incident on the detector volume.

Comparing Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use with or without Including Prayer as a Modality in a Local and Diverse United States Jurisdiction.

PubMed

Robles, Brenda; Upchurch, Dawn M; Kuo, Tony

2017-01-01

Few studies to date have examined the utilization of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a local, ethnically diverse population in the United States (U.S.). Fewer have addressed the differences in their use based on inclusion or exclusion of prayer as a modality. Variable definitions of CAM are known to affect public health surveillance (i.e., continuous, systematic data collection, analysis, and interpretation) or benchmarking (i.e., identifying and comparing key indicators of health to inform community planning) related to this non-mainstream collection of health and wellness therapies. The present study sought to better understand how including or excluding prayer could affect reporting of CAM use among residents of a large, urban U.S. jurisdiction. Using population-weighted data from a cross-sectional Internet panel survey collected as part of a larger countywide population health survey, the study compared use of CAM based on whether prayer or no prayer was included in its definition. Patterns of CAM use by socio-demographic characteristics were described for the two operationalized definitions. Multivariable binomial regression analyses were performed to control for gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, employment, income, and health insurance status. One of the analyses explored the associations between CAM use and racial/ethnic characteristics in the study sample. Los Angeles County, California. A socio-demographically diverse sample of Los Angeles County residents. CAM use (with prayer) and CAM use (excluding prayer). Blacks were among the highest users of CAM when compared to Whites, especially when prayer was included as a CAM modality. Regardless of prayer inclusion, being a woman predicted higher use of CAM. How CAM is defined matters in gauging the utilization of this non-mainstream collection of therapies. Given that surveillance and/or benchmarking data are often used to inform resource allocation and planning decisions, results from the present study suggest that when prayer is included as part of the CAM definition, utilization/volume estimates of its use increased correspondingly, especially among non-White residents of the region.

Calculation of Local Volume Factors for Relascope Cruising

Treesearch

Charles B. Briscoe

1957-01-01

In these days of climbing stumpage prices it is frequently desirable to attain more precision from a relascope cruise than is possible using ready-made volume factors. Like any factors made to be approximately applicalble over a wide range of conditions, volume factors may give very misleading results under certain local condition. For this reason it is desirable to...

Local fluctuations of the signed traded volumes and the dependencies of demands: a copula analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shanshan; Guhr, Thomas

2018-03-01

We investigate how the local fluctuations of the signed traded volumes affect the dependence of demands between stocks. We analyze the empirical dependence of demands using copulas and show that they are well described by a bivariate K copula density function. We find that large local fluctuations strongly increase the positive dependence but lower slightly the negative one in the copula density. This interesting feature is due to cross-correlations of volume imbalances between stocks. Also, we explore the asymmetries of tail dependencies of the copula density, which are moderate for the negative dependencies but strong for the positive ones. For the latter, we reveal that large local fluctuations of the signed traded volumes trigger stronger dependencies of demands than of supplies, probably indicating a bull market with persistent raising of prices.

Computerized detection of breast lesions in multi-centre and multi-instrument DCE-MR data using 3D principal component maps and template matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ertas, Gokhan; Doran, Simon; Leach, Martin O.

2011-12-01

In this study, we introduce a novel, robust and accurate computerized algorithm based on volumetric principal component maps and template matching that facilitates lesion detection on dynamic contrast-enhanced MR. The study dataset comprises 24 204 contrast-enhanced breast MR images corresponding to 4034 axial slices from 47 women in the UK multi-centre study of MRI screening for breast cancer and categorized as high risk. The scans analysed here were performed on six different models of scanner from three commercial vendors, sited in 13 clinics around the UK. 1952 slices from this dataset, containing 15 benign and 13 malignant lesions, were used for training. The remaining 2082 slices, with 14 benign and 12 malignant lesions, were used for test purposes. To prevent false positives being detected from other tissues and regions of the body, breast volumes are segmented from pre-contrast images using a fast semi-automated algorithm. Principal component analysis is applied to the centred intensity vectors formed from the dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images of the segmented breasts, followed by automatic thresholding to eliminate fatty tissues and slowly enhancing normal parenchyma and a convolution and filtering process to minimize artefacts from moderately enhanced normal parenchyma and blood vessels. Finally, suspicious lesions are identified through a volumetric sixfold neighbourhood connectivity search and calculation of two morphological features: volume and volumetric eccentricity, to exclude highly enhanced blood vessels, nipples and normal parenchyma and to localize lesions. This provides satisfactory lesion localization. For a detection sensitivity of 100%, the overall false-positive detection rate of the system is 1.02/lesion, 1.17/case and 0.08/slice, comparing favourably with previous studies. This approach may facilitate detection of lesions in multi-centre and multi-instrument dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MR data.

Phase I trial of gefitinib with concurrent radiotherapy and fixed 2-h gemcitabine infusion, in locally advanced pancreatic cancer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maurel, Joan; Martin-Richard, Marta; Conill, Carlos

Purpose: Pancreatic cancers are resistant to radiotherapy (RT) and current chemotherapy agents. Epidermal growth factor receptor is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer, and in vitro studies have shown that epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors can overcome radio- and chemoresistance. The aim of the study was to determine whether the addition of gefitinib to RT and gemcitabine for patients with locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma (LAPC) was feasible and safe. Methods and Materials: Eighteen patients with pathologically proven LAPC, based on major vascular invasion based on helical computed tomography (CT) and endoscopic ultrasound, were entered into the study. The targeted irradiated volume includedmore » the tumor and 2-cm margin. Prophylactic irradiation of regional nodes was not allowed. Patients with >500 cm{sup 3} of planning tumor volume were excluded. An initial cohort of 6 patients was treated with RT (45 Gy/25 fractions/5 weeks) plus concomitant gefitinib (250 mg/day). Successive cohorts of patients received 100, 150, and 200 mg/m{sup 2}/day of gemcitabine in a 2-h infusion over Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 with gefitinib (250 mg/day) and RT. Gefitinib was continued after RT until progression. A pharmacodynamic study of angiogenic markers was also performed to evaluate a possible antiangiogenic effect. Results: There were no dose-limiting toxicities. Common toxicities were mild neutropenia, asthenia, diarrhea, cutaneous rash and nausea/vomiting. The median (95% confidence interval [CI]) progression-free survival was 3.7 (95% CI = 1.9-5.5) months, and the median overall survival was 7.5 (95% CI 5.2-9.9) months. No significant reduction of vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-8 was observed after treatment. Conclusion: Our results support that the combination of gefitinib, RT, and gemcitabine has an acceptable toxicity but with modest activity in LAPC.« less

Stability of radiomic features in CT perfusion maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogowicz, M.; Riesterer, O.; Bundschuh, R. A.; Veit-Haibach, P.; Hüllner, M.; Studer, G.; Stieb, S.; Glatz, S.; Pruschy, M.; Guckenberger, M.; Tanadini-Lang, S.

2016-12-01

This study aimed to identify a set of stable radiomic parameters in CT perfusion (CTP) maps with respect to CTP calculation factors and image discretization, as an input for future prognostic models for local tumor response to chemo-radiotherapy. Pre-treatment CTP images of eleven patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma and eleven patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were analyzed. 315 radiomic parameters were studied per perfusion map (blood volume, blood flow and mean transit time). Radiomics robustness was investigated regarding the potentially standardizable (image discretization method, Hounsfield unit (HU) threshold, voxel size and temporal resolution) and non-standardizable (artery contouring and noise threshold) perfusion calculation factors using the intraclass correlation (ICC). To gain added value for our model radiomic parameters correlated with tumor volume, a well-known predictive factor for local tumor response to chemo-radiotherapy, were excluded from the analysis. The remaining stable radiomic parameters were grouped according to inter-parameter Spearman correlations and for each group the parameter with the highest ICC was included in the final set. The acceptance level was 0.9 and 0.7 for the ICC and correlation, respectively. The image discretization method using fixed number of bins or fixed intervals gave a similar number of stable radiomic parameters (around 40%). The potentially standardizable factors introduced more variability into radiomic parameters than the non-standardizable ones with 56-98% and 43-58% instability rates, respectively. The highest variability was observed for voxel size (instability rate  >97% for both patient cohorts). Without standardization of CTP calculation factors none of the studied radiomic parameters were stable. After standardization with respect to non-standardizable factors ten radiomic parameters were stable for both patient cohorts after correction for inter-parameter correlations. Voxel size, image discretization, HU threshold and temporal resolution have to be standardized to build a reliable predictive model based on CTP radiomics analysis.

Localization of U(1) gauge vector field on flat branes with five-dimension (asymptotic) AdS5 spacetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Zhen-Hua; Xie, Qun-Ying

2018-05-01

In order to localize U(1) gauge vector field on Randall-Sundrum-like braneworld model with infinite extra dimension, we propose a new kind of non-minimal coupling between the U(1) gauge field and the gravity. We propose three kinds of coupling methods and they all support the localization of zero mode. In addition, one of them can support the localization of massive modes. Moreover, the massive tachyonic modes can be excluded. And our method can be used not only in the thin braneword models but also in the thick ones.

CT and MRI assessment of symptomatic organized pancreatic fluid collections and pancreatic duct disruption: an interreader variability study using the revised Atlanta classification 2012.

PubMed

Kamal, Ayesha; Singh, Vikesh K; Akshintala, Venkata S; Kawamoto, Satomi; Tsai, Salina; Haider, Maera; Fishman, Elliot K; Kamel, Ihab R; Zaheer, Atif

2015-08-01

Compare CT and MRI for fluid/debris component estimate and pancreatic duct (PD) communication with organized pancreatic fluid collections in acute pancreatitis. Evaluate fat density globules on CT as marker for debris. 29 Patients with 46 collections with CECT and MRI performed ≥4 weeks of symptom onset assessed for necrotizing pancreatitis, estimated percentage of fluid volume and PD involvement by two radiologists on separate occasions. T2WI used as standard for estimated percentage of fluid volume. Presence of fat globules and fluid attenuation on CT was recorded. Spearman rank correlation and kappa statistics were used to assess the correlation between imaging techniques and interreader agreement, respectively. Necrotizing pancreatitis seen on CT in 27 (93%, κ 0.119) vs. 20 (69%, κ 0.748) patients on MRI. CT identified 42 WON and 4 pseudocysts vs. 34 WON, and 12 pseudocysts on MRI. Higher interreader agreement for percentage fluid volume on MRI (κ = 0.55) vs. CT (κ = 0.196). Accuracy of CT in evaluation of percentage fluid volume was 65% using T2WI MRI used as standard. Fat globules identified on CT in 13(65%) out of 20 collections containing <75% fluid vs. 4(15%) out of 26 collections containing >75% fluid (p = 0.0001). PD involvement confidently excluded on CT in 68% collections vs. 93% on MRI. MRI demonstrates higher reproducibility for fluid to debris component estimation. Fat globules on CT were frequently seen in organized pancreatic fluid collections with large amount of debris. PD disruption more confidently excluded on MRI. This information may be helpful for pre-procedure planning.

Dilatancy of Shear Transformations in a Colloidal Glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Y. Z.; Jiang, M. Q.; Lu, X.; Qin, Z. X.; Huang, Y. J.; Shen, J.

2018-01-01

Shear transformations, as fundamental rearrangement events operating in local regions, hold the key of plastic flow of amorphous solids. Despite their importance, the dynamic features of shear transformations are far from clear, which is the focus of the present study. Here, we use a colloidal glass under shear as the prototype to directly observe the shear-transformation events in real space. By tracing the colloidal-particle rearrangements, we quantitatively determine two basic properties of shear transformations: local shear strain and dilatation (or free volume). It is revealed that the local free volume undergoes a significantly temporary increase prior to shear transformations, eventually leading to a jump of local shear strain. We clearly demonstrate that shear transformations have no memory of the initial free volume of local regions. Instead, their emergence strongly depends on the dilatancy ability of these local regions, i.e., the dynamic creation of free volume. More specifically, the particles processing the high dilatancy ability directly participate in subsequent shear transformations. These results experimentally enrich Argon's statement about the dilatancy nature of shear transformations and also shed insight into the structural origin of amorphous plasticity.

Weak correlations between local density and dynamics near the glass transition.

PubMed

Conrad, J C; Starr, F W; Weitz, D A

2005-11-17

We perform experiments on two different dense colloidal suspensions with confocal microscopy to probe the relationship between local structure and dynamics near the glass transition. We calculate the Voronoi volume for our particles and show that this quantity is not a universal probe of glassy structure for all colloidal suspensions. We correlate the Voronoi volume to displacement and find that these quantities are only weakly correlated. We observe qualitatively similar results in a simulation of a polymer melt. These results suggest that the Voronoi volume does not predict dynamical behavior in experimental colloidal suspensions; a purely structural approach based on local single particle volume likely cannot describe the colloidal glass transition.

SU-E-J-179: Prediction of Pelvic Nodal Coverage Using Mutual Information Between Cone-Beam and Planning CTs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jani, S; Kishan, A; O'Connell, D

2014-06-01

Purpose: To investigate if pelvic nodal coverage for prostate patients undergoing intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) can be predicted using mutual image information computed between planning and cone-beam CTs (CBCTs). Methods: Four patients with high-risk prostate adenocarcinoma were treated with IMRT on a Varian TrueBeam. Plans were designed such that 95% of the nodal planning target volume (PTV) received the prescription dose of 45 Gy (N=1) or 50.4 Gy (N=3). Weekly CBCTs (N=25) were acquired and the nodal clinical target volumes and organs at risk were contoured by a physician. The percent nodal volume receiving prescription dose was recorded as amore » ground truth. Using the recorded shifts performed by the radiation therapists at the time of image acquisition, CBCTs were aligned with the planning kVCT. Mutual image information (MI) was calculated between the CBCT and the aligned planning CT within the contour of the nodal PTV. Due to variable CBCT fields-of-view, CBCT images covering less than 90% of the nodal volume were excluded from the analysis, resulting in the removal of eight CBCTs. Results: A correlation coefficient of 0.40 was observed between the MI metric and the percent of the nodal target volume receiving the prescription dose. One patient's CBCTs had clear outliers from the rest of the patients. Upon further investigation, we discovered image artifacts that were present only in that patient's images. When those four images were excluded, the correlation improved to 0.81. Conclusion: This pilot study shows the potential of predicting pelvic nodal dosimetry by computing the mutual image information between planning CTs and patient setup CBCTs. Importantly, this technique does not involve manual or automatic contouring of the CBCT images. Additional patients and more robust exclusion criteria will help validate our findings.« less

Forest statistics for Central Florida - 1970

Treesearch

Nolan L. Snyder; Herbert A. Knight

1970-01-01

Since 1959, area of commercial forest in Central Florida has declined from 3.2 to 2.7 million acres, or 16 percent, excluding the reclassification of 1.7 million acres from non-stocked forest to natural rangeland. Some 589,400 acres were actually diverted from commercial forest to other land uses, while only 56,400 acres of new forest were added. Volume of softwood...

Timber resource statistics of the northern interior resource area of California.

Treesearch

Perry Colclasure; Joel Moen; Charles L. Bolsinger

1986-01-01

This report is one of five that provide timber resource statistics for 57 of the 58 counties in California (San Francisco is excluded). This report presents statistics from a 1981-84 inventory of the timber resources of Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, and Trinity Counties. Tables presented are of forest area and of timber volume, growth, and mortality. Timberland area...

Timber resource statistics of the north coast resource area of California.

Treesearch

J.D. Lloyd; Joel Moen; Charles L. Bolsinger

1986-01-01

This report is one of five that provide timber resource statistics for 57 of the 58 counties in California (San Francisco is excluded). This report presents statistics from a 1981-84 inventory of the timber resources of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties. Tables presented are of forest area and of timber volume, growth, and mortality. The north coast...

Excluded volume and ion-ion correlation effects on the ionic atmosphere around B-DNA: Theory, simulations, and experiments

PubMed Central

Ovanesyan, Zaven; Fenley, Marcia O.; Guerrero-García, Guillermo Iván; Olvera de la Cruz, Mónica

2014-01-01

The ionic atmosphere around a nucleic acid regulates its stability in aqueous salt solutions. One major source of complexity in biological activities involving nucleic acids arises from the strong influence of the surrounding ions and water molecules on their structural and thermodynamic properties. Here, we implement a classical density functional theory for cylindrical polyelectrolytes embedded in aqueous electrolytes containing explicit (neutral hard sphere) water molecules at experimental solvent concentrations. Our approach allows us to include ion correlations as well as solvent and ion excluded volume effects for studying the structural and thermodynamic properties of highly charged cylindrical polyelectrolytes. Several models of size and charge asymmetric mixtures of aqueous electrolytes at physiological concentrations are studied. Our results are in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations. Our numerical calculations display significant differences in the ion density profiles for the different aqueous electrolyte models studied. However, similar results regarding the excess number of ions adsorbed to the B-DNA molecule are predicted by our theoretical approach for different aqueous electrolyte models. These findings suggest that ion counting experimental data should not be used alone to validate the performance of aqueous DNA-electrolyte models. PMID:25494770

47 CFR 36.191 - Equal access equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... provided by long distance carriers affiliated with the local exchange company is included. (d) Effective... AND RESERVES FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES 1 Telecommunications Property Equal Access Equipment... excluded. In the case of independent telephone companies, intrastate toll service provided by the...

Eleven fetal echocardiographic planes using 4-dimensional ultrasound with spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC): a logical approach to fetal heart volume analysis.

PubMed

Jantarasaengaram, Surasak; Vairojanavong, Kittipong

2010-09-15

Theoretically, a cross-sectional image of any cardiac planes can be obtained from a STIC fetal heart volume dataset. We described a method to display 11 fetal echocardiographic planes from STIC volumes. Fetal heart volume datasets were acquired by transverse acquisition from 200 normal fetuses at 15 to 40 weeks of gestation. Analysis of the volume datasets using the described technique to display 11 echocardiographic planes in the multiplanar display mode were performed offline. Volume datasets from 18 fetuses were excluded due to poor image resolution. The mean visualization rates for all echocardiographic planes at 15-17, 18-22, 23-27, 28-32 and 33-40 weeks of gestation fetuses were 85.6% (range 45.2-96.8%, N = 31), 92.9% (range 64.0-100%, N = 64), 93.4% (range 51.4-100%, N = 37), 88.7%(range 54.5-100%, N = 33) and 81.8% (range 23.5-100%, N = 17) respectively. Overall, the applied technique can favorably display the pertinent echocardiographic planes. Description of the presented method provides a logical approach to explore the fetal heart volumes.

Better diet quality relates to larger brain tissue volumes: The Rotterdam Study.

PubMed

Croll, Pauline H; Voortman, Trudy; Ikram, M Arfan; Franco, Oscar H; Schoufour, Josje D; Bos, Daniel; Vernooij, Meike W

2018-05-16

To investigate the relation of diet quality with structural brain tissue volumes and focal vascular lesions in a dementia-free population. From the population-based Rotterdam Study, 4,447 participants underwent dietary assessment and brain MRI scanning between 2005 and 2015. We excluded participants with an implausible energy intake, prevalent dementia, or cortical infarcts, leaving 4,213 participants for the current analysis. A diet quality score (0-14) was calculated reflecting adherence to Dutch dietary guidelines. Brain MRI was performed to obtain information on brain tissue volumes, white matter lesion volume, lacunes, and cerebral microbleeds. The associations of diet quality score and separate food groups with brain structures were assessed using multivariable linear and logistic regression. We found that better diet quality related to larger brain volume, gray matter volume, white matter volume, and hippocampal volume. Diet quality was not associated with white matter lesion volume, lacunes, or microbleeds. High intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, dairy, and fish and low intake of sugar-containing beverages were associated with larger brain volumes. A better diet quality is associated with larger brain tissue volumes. These results suggest that the effect of nutrition on neurodegeneration may act via brain structure. More research, in particular longitudinal research, is needed to unravel direct vs indirect effects between diet quality and brain health. © 2018 American Academy of Neurology.

The influence of inspiratory effort and emphysema on pulmonary nodule volumetry reproducibility.

PubMed

Moser, J B; Mak, S M; McNulty, W H; Padley, S; Nair, A; Shah, P L; Devaraj, A

2017-11-01

To evaluate the impact of inspiratory effort and emphysema on reproducibility of pulmonary nodule volumetry. Eighty-eight nodules in 24 patients with emphysema were studied retrospectively. All patients had undergone volumetric inspiratory and end-expiratory thoracic computed tomography (CT) for consideration of bronchoscopic lung volume reduction. Inspiratory and expiratory nodule volumes were measured using commercially available software. Local emphysema extent was established by analysing a segmentation area extended circumferentially around each nodule (quantified as percent of lung with density of -950 HU or less). Lung volumes were established using the same software. Differences in inspiratory and expiratory nodule volumes were illustrated using the Bland-Altman test. The influences of percentage reduction in lung volume at expiration, local emphysema extent, and nodule size on nodule volume variability were tested with multiple linear regression. The majority of nodules (59/88 [67%]) showed an increased volume at expiration. Mean difference in nodule volume between expiration and inspiration was +7.5% (95% confidence interval: -24.1, 39.1%). No relationships were demonstrated between nodule volume variability and emphysema extent, degree of expiration, or nodule size. Expiration causes a modest increase in volumetry-derived nodule volumes; however, the effect is unpredictable. Local emphysema extent had no significant effect on volume variability in the present cohort. Copyright © 2017 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transfer-matrix study of a hard-square lattice gas with two kinds of particles and density anomaly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Tiago J.; Stilck, Jürgen F.

2015-09-01

Using transfer matrix and finite-size scaling methods, we study the thermodynamic behavior of a lattice gas with two kinds of particles on the square lattice. Only excluded volume interactions are considered, so that the model is athermal. Large particles exclude the site they occupy and its four first neighbors, while small particles exclude only their site. Two thermodynamic phases are found: a disordered phase where large particles occupy both sublattices with the same probability and an ordered phase where one of the two sublattices is preferentially occupied by them. The transition between these phases is continuous at small concentrations of the small particles and discontinuous at larger concentrations, both transitions are separated by a tricritical point. Estimates of the central charge suggest that the critical line is in the Ising universality class, while the tricritical point has tricritical Ising (Blume-Emery-Griffiths) exponents. The isobaric curves of the total density as functions of the fugacity of small or large particles display a minimum in the disordered phase.

Improved estimates of partial volume coefficients from noisy brain MRI using spatial context.

PubMed

Manjón, José V; Tohka, Jussi; Robles, Montserrat

2010-11-01

This paper addresses the problem of accurate voxel-level estimation of tissue proportions in the human brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Due to the finite resolution of acquisition systems, MRI voxels can contain contributions from more than a single tissue type. The voxel-level estimation of this fractional content is known as partial volume coefficient estimation. In the present work, two new methods to calculate the partial volume coefficients under noisy conditions are introduced and compared with current similar methods. Concretely, a novel Markov Random Field model allowing sharp transitions between partial volume coefficients of neighbouring voxels and an advanced non-local means filtering technique are proposed to reduce the errors due to random noise in the partial volume coefficient estimation. In addition, a comparison was made to find out how the different methodologies affect the measurement of the brain tissue type volumes. Based on the obtained results, the main conclusions are that (1) both Markov Random Field modelling and non-local means filtering improved the partial volume coefficient estimation results, and (2) non-local means filtering was the better of the two strategies for partial volume coefficient estimation. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Localization and elasticity in entangled polymer liquids as a mesoscopic glass transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweizer, Kenneth

2010-03-01

The reptation-tube model is widely viewed as the correct zeroth order model for entangled linear polymer dynamics under quiescent conditions. Its key ansatz is the existence of a mesoscopic dynamical length scale that prohibits transverse chain motion beyond a tube diameter of order 3-10 nm. However, the theory is phenomenological and lacks a microscopic foundation, and many fundamental questions remain unanswered. These include: (i) where does the confining tube field come from and can it be derived from statistical mechanics? (ii) what is the microscopic origin of the magnitude, and power law scaling with concentration and packing length, of the plateau shear modulus? (iii) is the tube diameter time-dependent? (iv) does the confinement field contribute to elasticity ? (v) do entanglement constraints have a finite strength? Building on our new force-level theories for the dynamical crossover and activated barrier hopping in glassy colloidal suspensions and polymer melts, a first principles self-consistent theory has been developed for entangled polymers. Its basic physical elements, and initial results that address the questions posed above, will be presented. The key idea is that beyond a critical degree of polymerization, the chain connectivity and excluded volume induced intermolecular correlation hole drives temporary localization on an intermediate length scale resulting in a mesoscopic ``ideal kinetic glass transition.'' Large scale isotropic motion is effectively quenched due to the emergence of chain length dependent entropic barriers. However, the barrier height is not infinite, resulting in softening of harmonic localization at large displacements, temporal increase of the confining length scale, and a finite strength of entanglement constraints which can be destroyed by applied stress.

Parsing partial molar volumes of small molecules: a molecular dynamics study.

PubMed

Patel, Nisha; Dubins, David N; Pomès, Régis; Chalikian, Tigran V

2011-04-28

We used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in conjunction with the Kirkwood-Buff theory to compute the partial molar volumes for a number of small solutes of various chemical natures. We repeated our computations using modified pair potentials, first, in the absence of the Coulombic term and, second, in the absence of the Coulombic and the attractive Lennard-Jones terms. Comparison of our results with experimental data and the volumetric results of Monte Carlo simulation with hard sphere potentials and scaled particle theory-based computations led us to conclude that, for small solutes, the partial molar volume computed with the Lennard-Jones potential in the absence of the Coulombic term nearly coincides with the cavity volume. On the other hand, MD simulations carried out with the pair interaction potentials containing only the repulsive Lennard-Jones term produce unrealistically large partial molar volumes of solutes that are close to their excluded volumes. Our simulation results are in good agreement with the reported schemes for parsing partial molar volume data on small solutes. In particular, our determined interaction volumes() and the thickness of the thermal volume for individual compounds are in good agreement with empirical estimates. This work is the first computational study that supports and lends credence to the practical algorithms of parsing partial molar volume data that are currently in use for molecular interpretations of volumetric data.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Local Heat Therapy Versus Intravenous Sodium Stibogluconate for the Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmania Major Infection

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Local Heat Therapy Versus Intravenous Sodium Stibogluconate for the Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmania major...United States of America Abstract Background: Cutaneous Leishmania major has affected many travelers including military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan...with other species of Leishmania , or more than 20 lesions were excluded. Primary outcome was complete re-epithelialization or visual healing at two

Can recording only the day-time voided volumes predict bladder capacity?

PubMed

Cho, Won Yeol; Kim, Seong Cheol; Kim, Sun-Ouck; Park, Sungchan; Lee, Sang Don; Chung, Jae Min; Kim, Kyung Do; Moon, Du Geon; Kim, Young Sig; Kim, Jun Mo

2018-05-01

This study aimed to demonstrate a method to easily assess bladder capacity using knowledge of day-time voided volumes, which can be obtained even from patients with nocturnal enuresis where the first morning void cannot accurately predict the bladder capacity due to bladder emptying overnight. We evaluated 177 healthy children from 7 Korean medical centres entered the study between January 2008 and January 2009. Voided volumes measured for more than 48 hours were recorded in the frequency volume chart (FVC). Most voided volumes during day-time were showed between 30% and 80% of the maximal voided volume (MVV). The maximal voided volume during day-time (MVVDT) was significantly less than the MVV (179.5±71.1 mL vs. 227.0±79.2 mL, p<0.001). The correlation coefficients with the MVV were 0.801 for the estimated MVV using the MVVDT (MVVDT×1.25), which suggested a fairly strong relationship between the MVVDT×1.25 and the MVV. The MVV derived from the FVC excluding the FMV was less than if the FMV had been included. When an accurate first morning voided volume cannot be obtained, as in patients with nocturnal enuresis, calculating MVVDT×1.25 allows estimation of the bladder capacity in place of the MVV.

Can rove beetles (Staphylinidae) be excluded in studies focusing on saproxylic beetles in central European beech forests?

PubMed

Parmain, G; Bouget, C; Müller, J; Horak, J; Gossner, M M; Lachat, T; Isacsson, G

2015-02-01

Monitoring saproxylic beetle diversity, though challenging, can help identifying relevant conservation sites or key drivers of forest biodiversity, and assessing the impact of forestry practices on biodiversity. Unfortunately, monitoring species assemblages is costly, mainly due to the time spent on identification. Excluding families which are rich in specimens and species but are difficult to identify is a frequent procedure used in ecological entomology to reduce the identification cost. The Staphylinidae (rove beetle) family is both one of the most frequently excluded and one of the most species-rich saproxylic beetle families. Using a large-scale beetle and environmental dataset from 238 beech stands across Europe, we evaluated the effects of staphylinid exclusion on results in ecological forest studies. Simplified staphylinid-excluded assemblages were found to be relevant surrogates for whole assemblages. The species richness and composition of saproxylic beetle assemblages both with and without staphylinids responded congruently to landscape, climatic and stand gradients, even when the assemblages included a high proportion of staphylinid species. At both local and regional scales, the species richness as well as the species composition of staphylinid-included and staphylinid-excluded assemblages were highly positively correlated. Ranking of sites according to their biodiversity level, which either included or excluded Staphylinidae in species richness, also gave congruent results. From our results, species assemblages omitting staphylinids can be taken as efficient surrogates for complete assemblages in large scale biodiversity monitoring studies.

Pedagogy in the Age of Media Control: Language Deception and Digital Democracy. Minding the Media: Critical Issues for Learning and Teaching. Volume 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosa, Joao J.; Rosa, Ricardo D.

2011-01-01

Supported by critical theoretical frameworks, this book is a purposeful engagement with bodies of knowledge rooted in popular culture, yet routinely excluded from "common sense" visions of curriculum. Aimed at teachers as well as teacher-educators, the book examines areas such as Disney, African American stand-up comedy, intersections of…

Novel Breast Cancer Therapeutics Based on Bacterial Cupredoxin

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

M. and Lim, C. (1999) Exploring the dynamic information content of a protein NMR structure: comparison of a molecular dynamics simulation with the...crowding has structural effects on the folded ensemble of polypeptides. energy landscape theory excluded volume effect molecular simulations protein... molecular simulations (51). Thermo- dynamic properties such as the radius of gyration (Rg), shape parameters ( and S) (11), and the fraction of native

Physical-Chemical Properties of Articulated Rodlike Polymers

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-01

poly-lysine have shown an ’ordinary to extraordinary’ transition where long range forces are postulated to create a lattice -like structure between...concentrations, the scattering moieties are held in a pseudo- lattice order, As the concentration increases, the 57 effects of excluded volume become...were intermolecular since the chains were already fully extended. The long range nature of the electrostatic interactions created a pseudo- lattice

Netscape Communicator 4.5. Volume II: Beyond the Basics. Advanced Searches, Multimedia, and Composing a Web Page.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallo, Gail; Wichowski, Chester P.

This second of two guides on Netscape Communicator 4.5 contains six lessons on advanced searches, multimedia, and composing a World Wide Web page. Lesson 1 is a review of the Navigator window, toolbars, and menus. Lesson 2 covers AltaVista's advanced search tips, searching for information excluding certain text, and advanced and nested Boolean…

Lumber and plywood used in California apartment construction, 1969

Treesearch

George B. Harpole

1973-01-01

The volume of lumber and plywood products used in apartment construction in California was estimated from a sample of apartments for which architectural plans were completed in 1969. Excluding wood mouldings, doors, cabinets, and shelving, an average of 4.85 board feet of lumber and 2.03 square feet (318-inch basis) of plywood per square foot of floor area were used in...

Geometric k-nearest neighbor estimation of entropy and mutual information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lord, Warren M.; Sun, Jie; Bollt, Erik M.

2018-03-01

Nonparametric estimation of mutual information is used in a wide range of scientific problems to quantify dependence between variables. The k-nearest neighbor (knn) methods are consistent, and therefore expected to work well for a large sample size. These methods use geometrically regular local volume elements. This practice allows maximum localization of the volume elements, but can also induce a bias due to a poor description of the local geometry of the underlying probability measure. We introduce a new class of knn estimators that we call geometric knn estimators (g-knn), which use more complex local volume elements to better model the local geometry of the probability measures. As an example of this class of estimators, we develop a g-knn estimator of entropy and mutual information based on elliptical volume elements, capturing the local stretching and compression common to a wide range of dynamical system attractors. A series of numerical examples in which the thickness of the underlying distribution and the sample sizes are varied suggest that local geometry is a source of problems for knn methods such as the Kraskov-Stögbauer-Grassberger estimator when local geometric effects cannot be removed by global preprocessing of the data. The g-knn method performs well despite the manipulation of the local geometry. In addition, the examples suggest that the g-knn estimators can be of particular relevance to applications in which the system is large, but the data size is limited.

The Effect of Fiber Strength Stochastics and Local Fiber Volume Fraction on Multiscale Progressive Failure of Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ricks, Trenton M.; Lacy, Jr., Thomas E.; Bednarcyk, Brett A.; Arnold, Steven M.

2013-01-01

Continuous fiber unidirectional polymer matrix composites (PMCs) can exhibit significant local variations in fiber volume fraction as a result of processing conditions that can lead to further local differences in material properties and failure behavior. In this work, the coupled effects of both local variations in fiber volume fraction and the empirically-based statistical distribution of fiber strengths on the predicted longitudinal modulus and local tensile strength of a unidirectional AS4 carbon fiber/ Hercules 3502 epoxy composite were investigated using the special purpose NASA Micromechanics Analysis Code with Generalized Method of Cells (MAC/GMC); local effective composite properties were obtained by homogenizing the material behavior over repeating units cells (RUCs). The predicted effective longitudinal modulus was relatively insensitive to small (8%) variations in local fiber volume fraction. The composite tensile strength, however, was highly dependent on the local distribution in fiber strengths. The RUC-averaged constitutive response can be used to characterize lower length scale material behavior within a multiscale analysis framework that couples the NASA code FEAMAC and the ABAQUS finite element solver. Such an approach can be effectively used to analyze the progressive failure of PMC structures whose failure initiates at the RUC level. Consideration of the effect of local variations in constituent properties and morphologies on progressive failure of PMCs is a central aspect of the application of Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) principles for composite materials.

[Vaccines: producers in countries of the Southern hemisphere].

PubMed

Bertrand, J J

2007-08-01

Vaccine producers in southern hemisphere countries now contribute significantly to global output. In 2006 southern hemisphere countries accounted for more than 10% of the total worldwide production with a progression approximately 70% greater than all producers combined in the two-year period between 2004 and 2006. Though difficult to measure, production in volume is higher due to lower prices practiced in most of these countries. For many years before the 1980s, production was scattered among numerous limited-scale companies. Most were founded at the initiative of governments striving to cover the needs of the population for essential vaccines. A number of institutions and private structures such as Institut Pasteur Production, Connaught Laboratories, and Institut Merieux have also set up production facilities. Today's producers can be divided into two categories, i.e., local producers that produce mainly monovalent vaccines and worldwide producers with strong R&D investment programs. Local producers are located mainly in large southern hemisphere countries such as China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia as well as in eastern countries. For the most dynamic companies, international development is focused on southern hemisphere countries excluding North America and Europe. With the support international organization such as WHO, UNICEF and GAVI, alliances are now being formed and networks are being organized in an effort to ensure reliable supplies of high quality vaccines at affordable prices in developing countries. The contribution of these producers will increase for the greater benefit of the people living in the southern hemisphere.

Polymer diffusion in quenched disorder: A renormalization group approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebert, Ute

1996-01-01

We study the diffusion of polymers through quenched short-range correlated random media by renormalization group (RG) methods, which allow us to derive universal predictions in the limit of long chains and weak disorder. We take local quenched random potentials with second moment v and the excluded-volume interaction u of the chain segments into account. We show that our model contains the relevant features of polymer diffusion in random media in the RG sense if we focus on the local entropic effects rather than on the topological constraints of a quenched random medium. The dynamic generating functional and the general structure of its perturbation expansion in u and v are derived. The distribution functions for the center-of-mass motion and the internal modes of one chain and for the correlation of the center of mass motions of two chains are calculated to one-loop order. The results allow for sufficient cross-checks to have trust in the one-loop renormalizability of the model. The general structure as well as the one-loop results of the integrated RG flow of the parameters are discussed. Universal results can be found for the effective static interaction w≔u-v≥0 and for small effective disorder couplingbar v(l) on the intermediate length scale l. As a first physical prediction from our analysis, we determine the general nonlinear scaling form of the chain diffusion constant and evaluate it explicitly as[Figure not available: see fulltext.] forbar v(l) ≪ 1.

Local weather is associated with rates of online searches for musculoskeletal pain symptoms.

PubMed

Telfer, Scott; Obradovich, Nick

2017-01-01

Weather conditions are commonly believed to influence musculoskeletal pain, however the evidence for this is mixed. This study aimed to examine the relationship between local meteorological conditions and online search trends for terms related to knee pain, hip pain, and arthritis. Five years of relative online search volumes for these terms were obtained for the 50 most populous cities in the contiguous United States, along with corresponding local weather data for temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and precipitation. Methods from the climate econometrics literature were used to assess the casual impact of these meteorological variables on the relative volumes of searches for pain. For temperatures between -5°C and 30°C, search volumes for hip pain increased by 12 index points, and knee pain increased by 18 index points. Precipitation had a negative effect on search volumes for these terms. At temperatures >30°C, search volumes for arthritis related pain decreased by 7 index points. These patterns were not seen for pain searches unrelated to the musculoskeletal system. In summary, selected local weather conditions are significantly associated with online search volumes for specific musculoskeletal pain symptoms. We believe the predominate driver for this to be the relative changes in physical activity levels associated with meteorological conditions.

Scan-based volume animation driven by locally adaptive articulated registrations.

PubMed

Rhee, Taehyun; Lewis, J P; Neumann, Ulrich; Nayak, Krishna S

2011-03-01

This paper describes a complete system to create anatomically accurate example-based volume deformation and animation of articulated body regions, starting from multiple in vivo volume scans of a specific individual. In order to solve the correspondence problem across volume scans, a template volume is registered to each sample. The wide range of pose variations is first approximated by volume blend deformation (VBD), providing proper initialization of the articulated subject in different poses. A novel registration method is presented to efficiently reduce the computation cost while avoiding strong local minima inherent in complex articulated body volume registration. The algorithm highly constrains the degrees of freedom and search space involved in the nonlinear optimization, using hierarchical volume structures and locally constrained deformation based on the biharmonic clamped spline. Our registration step establishes a correspondence across scans, allowing a data-driven deformation approach in the volume domain. The results provide an occlusion-free person-specific 3D human body model, asymptotically accurate inner tissue deformations, and realistic volume animation of articulated movements driven by standard joint control estimated from the actual skeleton. Our approach also addresses the practical issues arising in using scans from living subjects. The robustness of our algorithms is tested by their applications on the hand, probably the most complex articulated region in the body, and the knee, a frequent subject area for medical imaging due to injuries. © 2011 IEEE

Popper's experiment and communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerjuoy, Edward; Sessler, Andrew M.

2006-07-01

We comment on an analysis by Qureshi of an experiment proposed by Popper and show that an analysis based solely on conventional nonrelativistic quantum mechanics is sufficient to exclude the possibility of subluminal or superluminal communication. That is, local operations cannot be employed to transmit information.

Policy Decisions in Scabies Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foutes, James A.; And Others

1981-01-01

In a Kansas elementary school, an outbreak of scabies was discovered by the school nurse. Through cooperative planning with the local health department, the infected children were excluded from school pending medical treatment, and a screening program was set up for the entire student population. (JN)

Nonlinear Frequency Conversion in III-V Semiconductor Photonic Crystals

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

nanocavities, by localizing light into sub-cubic optical wavelength volumes with long photon storage times, can greatly enhance the efficiency of...dissertation shows how optical nanocavities, by localizing light into sub-cubic optical wavelength volumes with long photon storage times, can greatly...8.2.3 Lithographic localization of molecules to cavity region . . . . . 86 8.2.4 Low temperature spectroscopy of DNQDI . . . . . . . . . . . 89 8.2.5

The effect of increased genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease on hippocampal and amygdala volume

PubMed Central

Lupton, Michelle K.; Strike, Lachlan; Hansell, Narelle K.; Wen, Wei; Mather, Karen A.; Armstrong, Nicola J.; Thalamuthu, Anbupalam; McMahon, Katie L.; de Zubicaray, Greig I.; Assareh, Amelia A.; Simmons, Andrew; Proitsi, Petroula; Powell, John F.; Montgomery, Grant W.; Hibar, Derrek P.; Westman, Eric; Tsolaki, Magda; Kloszewska, Iwona; Soininen, Hilkka; Mecocci, Patrizia; Velas, Bruno; Lovestone, Simon; Brodaty, Henry; Ames, David; Trollor, Julian N.; Martin, Nicholas G.; Thompson, Paul M.; Sachdev, Perminder S.; Wright, Margaret J.

2016-01-01

Reduction in hippocampal and amygdala volume measured via structural magnetic resonance imaging is an early marker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Whether genetic risk factors for AD exert an effect on these subcortical structures independent of clinical status has not been fully investigated. We examine whether increased genetic risk for AD influences hippocampal and amygdala volumes in case-control and population cohorts at different ages, in 1674 older (aged >53 years; 17% AD, 39% mild cognitive impairment [MCI]) and 467 young (16–30 years) adults. An AD polygenic risk score combining common risk variants excluding apolipoprotein E (APOE), and a single nucleotide polymorphism in TREM2, were both associated with reduced hippocampal volume in healthy older adults and those with MCI. APOE ɛ4 was associated with hippocampal and amygdala volume in those with AD and MCI but was not associated in healthy older adults. No associations were found in young adults. Genetic risk for AD affects the hippocampus before the clinical symptoms of AD, reflecting a neurodegenerative effect before clinical manifestations in older adults. PMID:26973105

Effective detection of the tumors causing osteomalacia using [Tc-99m]-HYNIC-octreotide (99mTc-HYNIC-TOC) whole body scan.

PubMed

Jing, Hongli; Li, Fang; Zhuang, Hongming; Wang, Zhenghua; Tian, Jian; Xing, Xiaoping; Jin, Jin; Zhong, Dingrong; Zhang, Jingjing

2013-11-01

Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is an endocrine disorder caused by tumors producing excessive fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23). The causative tumors are generally small, slow-growing benign mesenchymal tumors. The only cure of the disease depends on resection of the tumors, which are extremely difficult to localize due to their small sizes and rare locations. Since these tumors are known to express somatostatin receptors, this research was undertaken to evaluate efficacy of [Tc-99m]-HYNIC-octreotide (99mTc-HYNIC-TOC) whole body imaging in this clinical setting Images of 99mTc-HYNIC-TOC scans and clinical chart from 183 patients with hypophosphatemia and clinically suspected TIO were retrospectively reviewed. The scan findings were compared to the results of histopathological examinations and clinical follow-ups. Among 183 patients, 72 were confirmed to have TIO while 103 patients were found to have other causes of hypophosphatemia. The possibility of TIO could not be either diagnosed or excluded in the remaining 8 patients. For analytical purposes, these 8 patients who could neither be diagnosed nor excluded as having TIO were regarded as having the disease, bringing the total of TIO patients to 80. The 99mTc-HYNIC-TOC scan identified 69 tumors in 80 patients with TIO, which rendered a sensitivity of 86.3% (69/80). 99mTc-HYNIC-TOC scintigraphy excluded 102 patients without TIO with a specificity of 99.1% (102/103). The overall accuracy of 99mTc-HYNIC-TOC whole body scan in the localization of tumors responsible for osteomalacia is 93.4% (171/183). Whole body 99mTc-HYNIC-TOC imaging is effective in the localization of occult tumors causing TIO. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water Resources Data. Ohio - Water Year 1992. Volume 1. Ohio River Basin excluding project data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

H.L. Shindel; J.H. Klingler; J.P. Mangus

Water-resources data for the 1992 water year for Ohio consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality of ground-water wells. This report, in two volumes, contains records for water discharge at 121 gaging stations, 336 wells, and 72 partial-record sites; and water levels at 312 observation wells. Also included are data from miscellaneous sites. Additional water data were collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data-collection program and are published as miscellaneous measurements and analyses. These data represent that part of themore » National Water Data System collected by the US Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Ohio. Volume 1 covers the central and southern parts of Ohio, emphasizing the Ohio River Basin. (See Order Number DE95010451 for Volume 2 covering the northern part of Ohio.)« less

On the theory of electric double layer with explicit account of a polarizable co-solvent.

PubMed

Budkov, Yu A; Kolesnikov, A L; Kiselev, M G

2016-05-14

We present a continuation of our theoretical research into the influence of co-solvent polarizability on a differential capacitance of the electric double layer. We formulate a modified Poisson-Boltzmann theory, using the formalism of density functional approach on the level of local density approximation taking into account the electrostatic interactions of ions and co-solvent molecules as well as their excluded volume. We derive the modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation, considering the three-component symmetric lattice gas model as a reference system and minimizing the grand thermodynamic potential with respect to the electrostatic potential. We apply present modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation to the electric double layer theory, showing that accounting for the excluded volume of co-solvent molecules and ions slightly changes the main result of our previous simplified theory. Namely, in the case of small co-solvent polarizability with its increase under the enough small surface potentials of electrode, the differential capacitance undergoes the significant growth. Oppositely, when the surface potential exceeds some threshold value (which is slightly smaller than the saturation potential), the increase in the co-solvent polarizability results in a differential capacitance decrease. However, when the co-solvent polarizability exceeds some threshold value, its increase generates a considerable enhancement of the differential capacitance in a wide range of surface potentials. We demonstrate that two qualitatively different behaviors of the differential capacitance are related to the depletion and adsorption of co-solvent molecules at the charged electrode. We show that an additive of the strongly polarizable co-solvent to an electrolyte solution can shift significantly the saturation potential in two qualitatively different manners. Namely, a small additive of strongly polarizable co-solvent results in a shift of saturation potential to higher surface potentials. On the contrary, a sufficiently large additive of co-solvent shifts the saturation potential to lower surface potentials. We obtain that an increase in the co-solvent polarizability makes the electrostatic potential profile longer-ranged. However, increase in the co-solvent concentration in the bulk leads to non-monotonic behavior of the electrostatic potential profile. An increase in the co-solvent concentration in the bulk at its sufficiently small values makes the electrostatic potential profile longer-ranged. Oppositely, when the co-solvent concentration in the bulk exceeds some threshold value, its further increase leads to decrease in electrostatic potential at all distances from the electrode.

Ion size effects upon ionic exclusion from dielectric interfaces and slit nanopores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buyukdagli, Sahin; Achim, C. V.; Ala-Nissila, T.

2011-05-01

A previously developed field-theoretic model (Coalson et al 1995 J. Chem. Phys. 102 4584) that treats core collisions and Coulomb interactions on the same footing is investigated in order to understand ion size effects on the partition of neutral and charged particles at planar interfaces and the ionic selectivity of slit nanopores. We introduce a variational scheme that can go beyond the mean-field (MF) regime and couple in a consistent way pore-modified core interactions, steric effects, electrostatic solvation and image-charge forces, and surface charge induced electrostatic potential. Density profiles of neutral particles in contact with a neutral hard wall, obtained from Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are compared with the solutions of mean-field and variational equations. A recently proposed random-phase approximation (RPA) method is tested as well. We show that in the dilute limit, the MF and the variational theories agree well with simulation results, in contrast to the RPA method. The partition of charged Yukawa particles at a neutral dielectric interface (e.g. an air-water or protein-water interface) is investigated. It is shown that as a result of the competition between core collisions that push the ions toward the surface, and repulsive solvation and image forces that exclude them from the interface, a concentration peak of finite size ions sets in close to the dielectric interface. This effect is amplified with increasing ion size and bulk concentration. An integral expression for the surface tension that accounts for excluded volume effects is computed and the decrease of the surface tension with increasing ion size is illustrated. We also characterize the role played by the ion size in the ionic selectivity of neutral slit nanopores. We show that the complex interplay between electrostatic forces, excluded volume effects induced by core collisions and steric effects leads to an unexpected reversal in the ionic selectivity of the pore with varying pore size: while large pores exhibit a higher conductivity for large ions, narrow pores exclude large ions more efficiently than small ones.

Performance of chip seals using local and minimally processed aggregates for preservation of low traffic volume roadways.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-07-01

This report documents the performance of two low traffic volume experimental chip seals constructed using : locally available, minimally processed sand and gravel aggregates after four winters of service. The projects : were constructed by CDOT maint...

Impacts of future climate change on urban flood volumes in Hohhot in northern China: benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Qianqian; Leng, Guoyong; Huang, Maoyi

2018-01-01

As China becomes increasingly urbanised, flooding has become a regular occurrence in its major cities. Assessing the effects of future climate change on urban flood volumes is crucial to informing better management of such disasters given the severity of the devastating impacts of flooding (e.g. the 2016 flooding events across China). Although recent studies have investigated the impacts of future climate change on urban flooding, the effects of both climate change mitigation and adaptation have rarely been accounted for together in a consistent framework. In this study, we assess the benefits of mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and locally adapting to climate change by modifying drainage systems to reduce urban flooding under various climate change scenarios through a case study conducted in northern China. The urban drainage model - Storm Water Management Model - was used to simulate urban flood volumes using current and two adapted drainage systems (i.e. pipe enlargement and low-impact development, LID), driven by bias-corrected meteorological forcing from five general circulation models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 archive. Results indicate that urban flood volume is projected to increase by 52 % over 2020-2040 compared to the volume in 1971-2000 under the business-as-usual scenario (i.e. Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5). The magnitudes of urban flood volumes are found to increase nonlinearly with changes in precipitation intensity. On average, the projected flood volume under RCP 2.6 is 13 % less than that under RCP 8.5, demonstrating the benefits of global-scale climate change mitigation efforts in reducing local urban flood volumes. Comparison of reduced flood volumes between climate change mitigation and local adaptation (by improving drainage systems) scenarios suggests that local adaptation is more effective than climate change mitigation in reducing future flood volumes. This has broad implications for the research community relative to drainage system design and modelling in a changing environment. This study highlights the importance of accounting for local adaptation when coping with future urban floods.

The value of magnetoencephalography for seizure-onset zone localization in magnetic resonance imaging-negative partial epilepsy

PubMed Central

Bouet, Romain; Delpuech, Claude; Ryvlin, Philippe; Isnard, Jean; Guenot, Marc; Bertrand, Olivier; Hammers, Alexander; Mauguière, François

2013-01-01

Surgical treatment of epilepsy is a challenge for patients with non-contributive brain magnetic resonance imaging. However, surgery is feasible if the seizure-onset zone is precisely delineated through intracranial electroencephalography recording. We recently described a method, volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes, to delineate the spiking volume of patients with focal epilepsy using magnetoencephalography. We postulated that the extent of the spiking volume delineated with volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes could predict the localizability of the seizure-onset zone by intracranial electroencephalography investigation and outcome of surgical treatment. Twenty-one patients with non-contributive magnetic resonance imaging findings were included. All patients underwent intracerebral electroencephalography investigation through stereotactically implanted depth electrodes (stereo-electroencephalography) and magnetoencephalography with delineation of the spiking volume using volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes. We evaluated the spatial congruence between the spiking volume determined by magnetoencephalography and the localization of the seizure-onset zone determined by stereo-electroencephalography. We also evaluated the outcome of stereo-electroencephalography and surgical treatment according to the extent of the spiking volume (focal, lateralized but non-focal or non-lateralized). For all patients, we found a spatial overlap between the seizure-onset zone and the spiking volume. For patients with a focal spiking volume, the seizure-onset zone defined by stereo-electroencephalography was clearly localized in all cases and most patients (6/7, 86%) had a good surgical outcome. Conversely, stereo-electroencephalography failed to delineate a seizure-onset zone in 57% of patients with a lateralized spiking volume, and in the two patients with bilateral spiking volume. Four of the 12 patients with non-focal spiking volumes were operated upon, none became seizure-free. As a whole, patients having focal magnetoencephalography results with volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes are good surgical candidates and the implantation strategy should incorporate volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes results. On the contrary, patients with non-focal magnetoencephalography results are less likely to have a localized seizure-onset zone and stereo electroencephalography is not advised unless clear localizing information is provided by other presurgical investigation methods. PMID:24014520

Impacts of future climate change on urban flood volumes in Hohhot in northern China: benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptations

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Qianqian; Leng, Guoyong; Huang, Maoyi

2018-01-15

As China becomes increasingly urbanised, flooding has become a regular occurrence in its major cities. Assessing the effects of future climate change on urban flood volumes is crucial to informing better management of such disasters given the severity of the devastating impacts of flooding (e.g. the 2016 flooding events across China). Although recent studies have investigated the impacts of future climate change on urban flooding, the effects of both climate change mitigation and adaptation have rarely been accounted for together in a consistent framework. In this study, we assess the benefits of mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)more » emissions and locally adapting to climate change by modifying drainage systems to reduce urban flooding under various climate change scenarios through a case study conducted in northern China. The urban drainage model – Storm Water Management Model – was used to simulate urban flood volumes using current and two adapted drainage systems (i.e. pipe enlargement and low-impact development, LID), driven by bias-corrected meteorological forcing from five general circulation models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 archive. Results indicate that urban flood volume is projected to increase by 52 % over 2020–2040 compared to the volume in 1971–2000 under the business-as-usual scenario (i.e. Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5). The magnitudes of urban flood volumes are found to increase nonlinearly with changes in precipitation intensity. On average, the projected flood volume under RCP 2.6 is 13 % less than that under RCP 8.5, demonstrating the benefits of global-scale climate change mitigation efforts in reducing local urban flood volumes. Comparison of reduced flood volumes between climate change mitigation and local adaptation (by improving drainage systems) scenarios suggests that local adaptation is more effective than climate change mitigation in reducing future flood volumes. This has broad implications for the research community relative to drainage system design and modelling in a changing environment. Furthermore, this study highlights the importance of accounting for local adaptation when coping with future urban floods.« less

The value of magnetoencephalography for seizure-onset zone localization in magnetic resonance imaging-negative partial epilepsy.

PubMed

Jung, Julien; Bouet, Romain; Delpuech, Claude; Ryvlin, Philippe; Isnard, Jean; Guenot, Marc; Bertrand, Olivier; Hammers, Alexander; Mauguière, François

2013-10-01

Surgical treatment of epilepsy is a challenge for patients with non-contributive brain magnetic resonance imaging. However, surgery is feasible if the seizure-onset zone is precisely delineated through intracranial electroencephalography recording. We recently described a method, volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes, to delineate the spiking volume of patients with focal epilepsy using magnetoencephalography. We postulated that the extent of the spiking volume delineated with volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes could predict the localizability of the seizure-onset zone by intracranial electroencephalography investigation and outcome of surgical treatment. Twenty-one patients with non-contributive magnetic resonance imaging findings were included. All patients underwent intracerebral electroencephalography investigation through stereotactically implanted depth electrodes (stereo-electroencephalography) and magnetoencephalography with delineation of the spiking volume using volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes. We evaluated the spatial congruence between the spiking volume determined by magnetoencephalography and the localization of the seizure-onset zone determined by stereo-electroencephalography. We also evaluated the outcome of stereo-electroencephalography and surgical treatment according to the extent of the spiking volume (focal, lateralized but non-focal or non-lateralized). For all patients, we found a spatial overlap between the seizure-onset zone and the spiking volume. For patients with a focal spiking volume, the seizure-onset zone defined by stereo-electroencephalography was clearly localized in all cases and most patients (6/7, 86%) had a good surgical outcome. Conversely, stereo-electroencephalography failed to delineate a seizure-onset zone in 57% of patients with a lateralized spiking volume, and in the two patients with bilateral spiking volume. Four of the 12 patients with non-focal spiking volumes were operated upon, none became seizure-free. As a whole, patients having focal magnetoencephalography results with volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes are good surgical candidates and the implantation strategy should incorporate volumetric imaging of epileptic spikes results. On the contrary, patients with non-focal magnetoencephalography results are less likely to have a localized seizure-onset zone and stereo electroencephalography is not advised unless clear localizing information is provided by other presurgical investigation methods.

Impacts of future climate change on urban flood volumes in Hohhot in northern China: benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Qianqian; Leng, Guoyong; Huang, Maoyi

As China becomes increasingly urbanised, flooding has become a regular occurrence in its major cities. Assessing the effects of future climate change on urban flood volumes is crucial to informing better management of such disasters given the severity of the devastating impacts of flooding (e.g. the 2016 flooding events across China). Although recent studies have investigated the impacts of future climate change on urban flooding, the effects of both climate change mitigation and adaptation have rarely been accounted for together in a consistent framework. In this study, we assess the benefits of mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)more » emissions and locally adapting to climate change by modifying drainage systems to reduce urban flooding under various climate change scenarios through a case study conducted in northern China. The urban drainage model – Storm Water Management Model – was used to simulate urban flood volumes using current and two adapted drainage systems (i.e. pipe enlargement and low-impact development, LID), driven by bias-corrected meteorological forcing from five general circulation models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 archive. Results indicate that urban flood volume is projected to increase by 52 % over 2020–2040 compared to the volume in 1971–2000 under the business-as-usual scenario (i.e. Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5). The magnitudes of urban flood volumes are found to increase nonlinearly with changes in precipitation intensity. On average, the projected flood volume under RCP 2.6 is 13 % less than that under RCP 8.5, demonstrating the benefits of global-scale climate change mitigation efforts in reducing local urban flood volumes. Comparison of reduced flood volumes between climate change mitigation and local adaptation (by improving drainage systems) scenarios suggests that local adaptation is more effective than climate change mitigation in reducing future flood volumes. This has broad implications for the research community relative to drainage system design and modelling in a changing environment. Furthermore, this study highlights the importance of accounting for local adaptation when coping with future urban floods.« less

Probing the Dusty Stellar Populations of the Local Volume Galaxies with JWST/MIRI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Olivia C.; Meixner, Margaret; Justtanont, Kay; Glasse, Alistair

2017-05-01

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will revolutionize our understanding of infrared stellar populations in the Local Volume. Using the rich Spitzer-IRS spectroscopic data set and spectral classifications from the Surveying the Agents of Galaxy Evolution (SAGE)-Spectroscopic survey of more than 1000 objects in the Magellanic Clouds, the Grid of Red Supergiant and Asymptotic Giant Branch Star Model (grams), and the grid of YSO models by Robitaille et al., we calculate the expected flux densities and colors in the MIRI broadband filters for prominent infrared stellar populations. We use these fluxes to explore the JWST/MIRI colors and magnitudes for composite stellar population studies of Local Volume galaxies. MIRI color classification schemes are presented; these diagrams provide a powerful means of identifying young stellar objects, evolved stars, and extragalactic background galaxies in Local Volume galaxies with a high degree of confidence. Finally, we examine which filter combinations are best for selecting populations of sources based on their JWST colors.

The potential influence of regionalization strategies on delivery of care for elective total joint arthroplasty.

PubMed

Dy, Christopher J; Marx, Robert G; Ghomrawi, Hassan M K; Pan, Ting Jung; Westrich, Geoffrey H; Lyman, Stephen

2015-01-01

Regionalization of total joint arthroplasty (TJA) to high volume hospitals (HVHs) may affect access to care and complication risk. Using administrative data, 2,560,314 patients who underwent primary total hip or knee arthroplasty from 1991 to 2006 were categorized by whether an HVH (>200 annual TJAs) was available locally. Associations among patient characteristics, hospital utilization, and in-hospital complications were estimated using regression modeling. The complication risk was higher (Odds Ratio 1.18 [95% CI: 1.16, 1.20]) if patients went to a local low volume hospital. Black and Medicaid patients were more likely to utilize the local low volume hospital than a local HVH. Utilizing a local HVH is associated with lower complication risks. However, patients from vulnerable groups were less likely to utilize these patterns. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A systematic review of the impact of volume of surgery and specialization on patient outcome.

PubMed

Chowdhury, M M; Dagash, H; Pierro, A

2007-02-01

Volume of surgery and specialization may affect patient outcome. Articles examining the effects of one or more of three variables (hospital volume of surgery, surgeon volume and specialization) on outcome (measured by length of hospital stay, mortality and complication rate) were analysed. Reviews, opinion articles and observational studies were excluded. The methodological quality of each study was assessed, a correlation between the variables analysed and the outcome accepted if it was significant. The search identified 55,391 articles published between 1957 and 2002; 1075 were relevant to the study, of which 163 (9,904,850 patients) fulfilled the entry criteria. These 163 examined 42 different surgical procedures, spanning 13 surgical specialities. None were randomized and 40 investigated more than one variable. Hospital volume was reported in 127 studies; high-volume hospitals had significantly better outcomes in 74.2 per cent of studies, but this effect was limited in prospective studies (40 per cent). Surgeon volume was reported in 58 studies; high-volume surgeons had significantly better outcomes in 74 per cent of studies. Specialization was reported in 22 studies; specialist surgeons had significantly better outcomes than general surgeons in 91 per cent of studies. The benefit of high surgeon volume and specialization varied in magnitude between specialities. High surgeon volume and specialization are associated with improved patient outcome, while high hospital volume is of limited benefit. Copyright (c) 2007 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd.

Protein diffusion along DNA: on the effect of roadblocks and crowders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krepel, Dana; Levy, Yaakov

2016-12-01

Rapid recognition by a protein of its DNA target site is achieved through a combination of one- and three-dimensional (1D and 3D) diffusion, which allows efficient scanning of the many alternative sites. This facilitated diffusion mechanism is expected to be affected by cellular conditions, particularly crowding, given that up to 40% of the total cellular volume may by occupied by macromolecules. Both experimental and theoretical studies showed that crowding particles can enhance facilitated diffusion and accelerate search kinetics. This effect may originate from crowding forcing a trade-off between 3D and 1D diffusion. In this study, using coarse-grained molecular dynamic simulations, we investigate how the molecular properties of the crowders may modulate the effect exerted by crowding on a searcher protein. We show that crowders with an affinity to the DNA are less effective search facilitators than particles whose contribution is solely entropic. Crowders that have affinity to DNA may occupy DNA sites and thereby function as obstacles or roadblocks that slow down the searcher protein, and they may also produce a smaller excluded volume effect and so reduce usage of the hopping searching mode in favor of less-effective 3D diffusion in the bulk. We discuss how strong repulsive interactions between the crowding particles themselves may affect the overall dynamics of the crowders and their excluded volume effect. Our study shows that search kinetics and its mechanism are modulated not only by salt concentration and crowding occupancy, but also by the properties of the crowding particles.

Maintenance fluid therapy in a tertiary hospital: A prevalence study.

PubMed

Uña Orejón, R; Gisbert de la Cuadra, L; Garríguez Pérez, D; Díez Sebastián, J; Ureta Tolsada, M P

To assess the types of maintenance fluids used in our hospital, comparing their volume and composition to the standards recommended by the guidelines. Observational, cross-sectional study. Volume and type of fluid therapy administered during 24h to patients admitted to various hospital departments were recorded. Patients receiving fluid therapy because of water-electrolyte imbalance were excluded. Out of 198 patients registered, 74 (37.4%) were excluded because they did not meet the criteria for inclusion. Mean administered volume was 2,500cc/day. Mean daily glucose dose was 36g per 24h (SD: 31.4). The most frequent combination included normal saline solution (NSS) and glucose 5% (64.4%). Mean daily dose of sodium and chlorine was, respectively, 173mEq (SD: 74.8) and 168mEq (SD: 75), representing a surplus daily dose of +87.4mEq and +85mEq. Potassium, magnesium and calcium daily deficit was, respectively, -50mEq, -22mEq and -21mEq per day. Buffer administration was exceptional, bicarbonate (2.29%), acetate (1.29%), lactate (1.15%) and gluconate (1.10%) being the buffering agents most frequently used. NNS is the most frequently used solution. In contrast to excess doses of sodium and chlorine, there is a great deficit of other ions, buffering agents and caloric intake in the fluid therapy regimens that are usually prescribed. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Liposuction: Anaesthesia challenges

PubMed Central

Sood, Jayashree; Jayaraman, Lakshmi; Sethi, Nitin

2011-01-01

Liposuction is one of the most popular treatment modalities in aesthetic surgery with certain unique anaesthetic considerations. Liposuction is often performed as an office procedure. There are four main types of liposuction techniques based on the volume of infiltration or wetting solution injected, viz dry, wet, superwet, and tumescent technique. The tumescent technique is one of the most common liposuction techniques in which large volumes of dilute local anaesthetic (wetting solution) are injected into the fat to facilitate anaesthesia and decrease blood loss. The amount of lignocaine injected may be very large, approximately 35-55 mg/kg, raising concerns regarding local anaesthetic toxicity. Liposuction can be of two types according to the volume of solution aspirated: High volume (>4,000 ml aspirated) or low volume (<4,000 ml aspirated). While small volume liposuction may be done under local/monitored anaesthesia care, large-volume liposuction requires general anaesthesia. As a large volume of wetting solution is injected into the subcutaneous tissue, the intraoperative fluid management has to be carefully titrated along with haemodynamic monitoring and temperature control. Assessment of blood loss is difficult, as it is mixed with the aspirated fat. Since most obese patients opt for liposuction as a quick method to lose weight, all concerns related to obesity need to be addressed in a preoperative evaluation. PMID:21808392

Facilitative glucose transporter Glut1 is actively excluded from rod outer segments.

PubMed

Gospe, Sidney M; Baker, Sheila A; Arshavsky, Vadim Y

2010-11-01

Photoreceptors are among the most metabolically active cells in the body, relying on both oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis to satisfy their high energy needs. Local glycolysis is thought to be particularly crucial in supporting the function of the photoreceptor's light-sensitive outer segment compartment, which is devoid of mitochondria. Accordingly, it has been commonly accepted that the facilitative glucose transporter Glut1 responsible for glucose entry into photoreceptors is localized in part to the outer segment plasma membrane. However, we now demonstrate that Glut1 is entirely absent from the rod outer segment and is actively excluded from this compartment by targeting information present in its cytosolic C-terminal tail. Our data indicate that glucose metabolized in the outer segment must first enter through other parts of the photoreceptor cell. Consequently, the entire energy supply of the outer segment is dependent on diffusion of energy-rich substrates through the thin connecting cilium that links this compartment to the rest of the cell.

Closed set of the uniqueness conditions and bifurcation criteria in generalized coupled thermoplasticity for small deformations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Śloderbach, Zdzisław

2016-05-01

This paper reports the results of a study into global and local conditions of uniqueness and the criteria excluding the possibility of bifurcation of the equilibrium state for small strains. The conditions and criteria are derived on the basis of an analysis of the problem of uniqueness of a solution involving the basic incremental boundary problem of coupled generalized thermo-elasto-plasticity. This work forms a follow-up of previous research (Śloderbach in Bifurcations criteria for equilibrium states in generalized thermoplasticity, IFTR Reports, 1980, Arch Mech 3(35):337-349, 351-367, 1983), but contains a new derivation of global and local criteria excluding a possibility of bifurcation of an equilibrium state regarding a comparison body dependent on the admissible fields of stress rate. The thermal elasto-plastic coupling effects, non-associated laws of plastic flow and influence of plastic strains on thermoplastic properties of a body were taken into account in this work. Thus, the mathematical problem considered here is not a self-conjugated problem.

Data Summarization in the Node by Parameters (DSNP): Local Data Fusion in an IoT Environment.

PubMed

Maschi, Luis F C; Pinto, Alex S R; Meneguette, Rodolfo I; Baldassin, Alexandro

2018-03-07

With the advent of the Internet of Things, billions of objects or devices are inserted into the global computer network, generating and processing data at a volume never imagined before. This paper proposes a way to collect and process local data through a data fusion technology called summarization. The main feature of the proposal is the local data fusion, through parameters provided by the application, ensuring the quality of data collected by the sensor node. In the evaluation, the sensor node was compared when performing the data summary with another that performed a continuous recording of the collected data. Two sets of nodes were created, one with a sensor node that analyzed the luminosity of the room, which in this case obtained a reduction of 97% in the volume of data generated, and another set that analyzed the temperature of the room, obtaining a reduction of 80% in the data volume. Through these tests, it has been proven that the local data fusion at the node can be used to reduce the volume of data generated, consequently decreasing the volume of messages generated by IoT environments.

A representation of an NTCP function for local complication mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alber, M.; Nüsslin, F.

2001-02-01

A mathematical formalism was tailored for the description of mechanisms complicating radiation therapy with a predominantly local component. The functional representation of an NTCP function was developed based on the notion that it has to be robust against population averages in order to be applicable to experimental data. The model was required to be invariant under scaling operations of the dose and the irradiated volume. The NTCP function was derived from the model assumptions that the complication is a consequence of local tissue damage and that the probability of local damage in a small reference volume is independent of the neighbouring volumes. The performance of the model was demonstrated with an animal model which has been published previously (Powers et al 1998 Radiother. Oncol. 46 297-306).

Communication Environments for Local Networks.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-01

San Francisco, February-March 1979, pp.272.275. [Frank 75] Frank, H., I. Gitman , and R. Van Slyke, "Packet radio system - Network * -considerations...34 in AFIPS Conference Proceedings, Volume 44: National Computer Conference, Anaheim, Calif., May 1975, pp. 217-231. [Frank 76a] Frank, H., I. Gitman ...Local, Regional and Larger Scale Integrated Networks, Volume 2, 4 February 1976. [Frank 76b] Frank, H., I. Gitman , and R. Van Slyke, Local and Regional

Radical surgery for treatment of primary localized bladder amyloidosis: could prostate-sparing robot-assisted cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion be an option?

PubMed

Hosseini, Abolfazl; Ploumidis, Achilles; Adding, Christofer; Wiklund, N Peter

2013-02-01

Primary localized bladder amyloidosis is a rare pathology that mimics urothelial cancer. Systemic disease and lymphoproliferative disorders should be excluded. Transurethral resection is the mainstay of treatment, although in cases of extensive bladder involvement or massive haematuria radical cystectomy has been reported. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first robot-assisted prostate-sparing simple cystectomy with intracorporeal neobladder and preservation of the seminal vesicles and vas deferens reported in the literature, in a patient with primary localized amyloidosis of the bladder.

The New York Head—A precise standardized volume conductor model for EEG source localization and tES targeting

PubMed Central

Huang, Yu; Parra, Lucas C.; Haufe, Stefan

2018-01-01

In source localization of electroencephalograpic (EEG) signals, as well as in targeted transcranial electric current stimulation (tES), a volume conductor model is required to describe the flow of electric currents in the head. Boundary element models (BEM) can be readily computed to represent major tissue compartments, but cannot encode detailed anatomical information within compartments. Finite element models (FEM) can capture more tissue types and intricate anatomical structures, but with the higher precision also comes the need for semiautomated segmentation, and a higher computational cost. In either case, adjusting to the individual human anatomy requires costly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and thus head modeling is often based on the anatomy of an ‘arbitrary’ individual (e.g. Colin27). Additionally, existing reference models for the human head often do not include the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and their field of view excludes portions of the head and neck—two factors that demonstrably affect current-flow patterns. Here we present a highly detailed FEM, which we call ICBM-NY, or “New York Head”. It is based on the ICBM152 anatomical template (a non-linear average of the MRI of 152 adult human brains) defined in MNI coordinates, for which we extended the field of view to the neck and performed a detailed segmentation of six tissue types (scalp, skull, CSF, gray matter, white matter, air cavities) at 0.5 mm 3 resolution. The model was solved for 231 electrode locations. To evaluate its performance, additional FEMs and BEMs were constructed for four individual subjects. Each of the four individual FEMs (regarded as the ‘ground truth’) is compared to its BEM counterpart, the ICBM-NY, a BEM of the ICBM anatomy, an ‘individualized’ BEM of the ICBM anatomy warped to the individual head surface, and FEMs of the other individuals. Performance is measured in terms of EEG source localization and tES targeting errors. Results show that the ICBM-NY outperforms FEMs of mismatched individual anatomies as well as the BEM of the ICBM anatomy according to both criteria. We therefore propose the New York Head as a new standard head model to be used in future EEG and tES studies whenever an individual MRI is not available. We release all model data online at neuralengr.com/nyhead/ to facilitate broad adoption. PMID:26706450

The New York Head-A precise standardized volume conductor model for EEG source localization and tES targeting.

PubMed

Huang, Yu; Parra, Lucas C; Haufe, Stefan

2016-10-15

In source localization of electroencephalograpic (EEG) signals, as well as in targeted transcranial electric current stimulation (tES), a volume conductor model is required to describe the flow of electric currents in the head. Boundary element models (BEM) can be readily computed to represent major tissue compartments, but cannot encode detailed anatomical information within compartments. Finite element models (FEM) can capture more tissue types and intricate anatomical structures, but with the higher precision also comes the need for semi-automated segmentation, and a higher computational cost. In either case, adjusting to the individual human anatomy requires costly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and thus head modeling is often based on the anatomy of an 'arbitrary' individual (e.g. Colin27). Additionally, existing reference models for the human head often do not include the cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF), and their field of view excludes portions of the head and neck-two factors that demonstrably affect current-flow patterns. Here we present a highly detailed FEM, which we call ICBM-NY, or "New York Head". It is based on the ICBM152 anatomical template (a non-linear average of the MRI of 152 adult human brains) defined in MNI coordinates, for which we extended the field of view to the neck and performed a detailed segmentation of six tissue types (scalp, skull, CSF, gray matter, white matter, air cavities) at 0.5mm(3) resolution. The model was solved for 231 electrode locations. To evaluate its performance, additional FEMs and BEMs were constructed for four individual subjects. Each of the four individual FEMs (regarded as the 'ground truth') is compared to its BEM counterpart, the ICBM-NY, a BEM of the ICBM anatomy, an 'individualized' BEM of the ICBM anatomy warped to the individual head surface, and FEMs of the other individuals. Performance is measured in terms of EEG source localization and tES targeting errors. Results show that the ICBM-NY outperforms FEMs of mismatched individual anatomies as well as the BEM of the ICBM anatomy according to both criteria. We therefore propose the New York Head as a new standard head model to be used in future EEG and tES studies whenever an individual MRI is not available. We release all model data online at neuralengr.com/nyhead/ to facilitate broad adoption. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Size-exclusion chromatography of perfluorosulfonated ionomers.

PubMed

Mourey, T H; Slater, L A; Galipo, R C; Koestner, R J

2011-08-26

A size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) method in N,N-dimethylformamide containing 0.1 M LiNO(3) is shown to be suitable for the determination of molar mass distributions of three classes of perfluorosulfonated ionomers, including Nafion(®). Autoclaving sample preparation is optimized to prepare molecular solutions free of aggregates, and a solvent exchange method concentrates the autoclaved samples to enable the use of molar-mass-sensitive detection. Calibration curves obtained from light scattering and viscometry detection suggest minor variation in the specific refractive index increment across the molecular size distributions, which introduces inaccuracies in the calculation of local absolute molar masses and intrinsic viscosities. Conformation plots that combine apparent molar masses from light scattering detection with apparent intrinsic viscosities from viscometry detection partially compensate for the variations in refractive index increment. The conformation plots are consistent with compact polymer conformations, and they provide Mark-Houwink-Sakurada constants that can be used to calculate molar mass distributions without molar-mass-sensitive detection. Unperturbed dimensions and characteristic ratios calculated from viscosity-molar mass relationships indicate unusually free rotation of the perfluoroalkane backbones and may suggest limitations to applying two-parameter excluded volume theories for these ionomers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SHIELD: FITGALAXY -- A Software Package for Automatic Aperture Photometry of Extended Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Melissa

2013-01-01

Determining the parameters of extended sources, such as galaxies, is a common but time-consuming task. Finding a photometric aperture that encompasses the majority of the flux of a source and identifying and excluding contaminating objects is often done by hand - a lengthy and difficult to reproduce process. To make extracting information from large data sets both quick and repeatable, I have developed a program called FITGALAXY, written in IDL. This program uses minimal user input to automatically fit an aperture to, and perform aperture and surface photometry on, an extended source. FITGALAXY also automatically traces the outlines of surface brightness thresholds and creates surface brightness profiles, which can then be used to determine the radial properties of a source. Finally, the program performs automatic masking of contaminating sources. Masks and apertures can be applied to multiple images (regardless of the WCS solution or plate scale) in order to accurately measure the same source at different wavelengths. I present the fluxes, as measured by the program, of a selection of galaxies from the Local Volume Legacy Survey. I then compare these results with the fluxes given by Dale et al. (2009) in order to assess the accuracy of FITGALAXY.

Operative outcomes of conventional specimen radiography versus in-operating room specimen radiography in radioactive seed-localized segmental mastectomies.

PubMed

Rhee, Daniel; Pockaj, Barbara; Wasif, Nabil; Stucky, Chee-Chee; Pizzitola, Victor; Giurescu, Marina; Patel, Bhavika; McCarthy, Janice; Gray, Richard

2018-01-01

In-operating room specimen radiography (ORSR) has not been studied among women undergoing radioactive seed localization (RSL) for breast cancer surgery and had the potential to decrease operative time and perhaps improve intraoperative margin management. One hundred consecutive RSL segmental mastectomies among 98 patients using ORSR were compared to 100 consecutive segmental mastectomies among 98 patients utilizing conventional radiography (CSR) prior to the initiation of ORSR from December 2013 to January 2015 after radioactive seed localization. Final pathologic margins were considered to be 10 mm for all cases of no residual disease after biopsy or neoadjuvant therapy, but such patients were excluded from analyses involving tumor size. All patients' specimens were subjected to intraoperative pathologic consultation in addition to ORSR or CSR. The median age of the cohort was 65 years (range 36-97), and the median tumor size was 1 cm. There were no differences between the ORSR and CSR groups in age, tumor size, percentage of cases with only DCIS, and percentage of cases with microcalcifications. The ORSR group had a statistically significant lower BMI. Mean operative time from cut-to-close was not significantly different (ORSR 77 min, SD 24.8 vs CSR 76 min, SD 24.8, p = 0.75). There was no statistical difference in mean closest final pathologic margin (4.99 mm, SD 3.3 vs 4.88 mm, SD 3.5, p = 0.9). The percentage undergoing intraoperative margin re-excision (ORSR 40%, CR 47%, p = 0.31) and the mean total number of margins excised intraoperatively (ORSR 0.9, CR 1.0 p = 0.65) were similar. The rate of any margin <2 mm was 14% vs 12% for ORSR and CR, respectively (p = 0.64). The mean specimen volume for ORSR was 76cm3 (SD 101.8) vs 90cm3 (SD 61.2) for CSR; this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.25). The mean ratio of segmental mastectomy volume to maximum tumor diameter was less for ORSR (82.7cm2 vs 139.4cm2, p = 0.014). ORSR for RSL breast surgery, in the setting of routine intraoperative pathology consultation, does not significantly impact operative time, the rate or number of additional intraoperative margins excised, the number of reoperations for margins, or the width of final pathological margins. ORSR was associated with a decrease in the volume of segmental mastectomies relative to the tumor diameter. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (20th, Raleigh, NC, October 31-November 3, 1998). Volume 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berenson, Sarah, Ed.; Dawkins, Karen, Ed.; Blanton, Maria, Ed.; Coulombe, Wendy, Ed.; Kolb, John, Ed.; Norwood, Karen, Ed.; Stiff, Lee, Ed.

This conference proceedings contains three plenary session reports, 12 working group and 79 research reports, 35 short oral reports, 60 poster session reports, and two discussion group reports. Major papers (excluding "short orals" and "posters") include: (1) "Semantical Obstacles in Mathematics Understanding" (Carlos Arteaga and Manuel Santos);…

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (20th, Raleigh, NC, October 31-November 3, 1998). Volume 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berenson, Sarah, Ed.; Dawkins, Karen, Ed.; Blanton, Maria, Ed.; Coulombe, Wendy, Ed.; Kolb, John, Ed.; Norwood, Karen, Ed.; Stiff, Lee, Ed.

This conference proceedings contains three plenary session reports, 12 working group and 79 research reports, 35 short oral reports, 60 poster session reports, and two discussion group reports. The titles of all papers (excluding "short orals", "posters", and brief discussion group reports) are: (1) "On Relationships…

Kinetics of Internal-Loop Formation in Polypeptide Chains: A Simulation Study

PubMed Central

Doucet, Dana; Roitberg, Adrian; Hagen, Stephen J.

2007-01-01

The speed of simple diffusional motions, such as the formation of loops in the polypeptide chain, places one physical limit on the speed of protein folding. Many experimental studies have explored the kinetics of formation of end-to-end loops in polypeptide chains; however, protein folding more often requires the formation of contacts between interior points on the chain. One expects that, for loops of fixed contour length, interior loops will form more slowly than end-to-end loops, owing to the additional excluded volume associated with the “tails”. We estimate the magnitude of this effect by generating ensembles of randomly coiled, freely jointed chains, and then using the theory of Szabo, Schulten, and Schulten to calculate the corresponding contact formation rates for these ensembles. Adding just a few residues, to convert an end-to-end loop to an internal loop, sharply decreases the contact rate. Surprisingly, the relative change in rate increases for a longer loop; sufficiently long tails, however, actually reverse the effect and accelerate loop formation slightly. Our results show that excluded volume effects in real, full-length polypeptides may cause the rates of loop formation during folding to depart significantly from the values derived from recent loop-formation experiments on short peptides. PMID:17208979

Conformation and Dynamics of a Flexible Sheet in Solvent Media by Monte Carlo Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, Ras; Anderson, Kelly; Heinz, Hendrik; Farmer, Barry

2005-03-01

Flexibility of the clay sheet is limited even in the ex-foliated state in some solvent media. A coarse grained model is used to investigate dynamics and conformation of a flexible sheet to model such a clay platelet in an effective solvent medium on a cubic lattice of size L^3 with lattice constant a. The undeformed sheet is described by a square lattice of size Ls^2, where, each node of the sheet is represented by the unit cube of the cubic lattice and 2a is the minimum distance between the nearest neighbor nodes to incorporate the excluded volume constraints. Additionally, each node interacts with neighboring nodes and solvent (empty) sites within a range ri. Each node execute their stochastic motion with the Metropolis algorithm subject to bond length fluctuation and excluded volume constraints. Mean square displacements of the center node and that of its center of mass are investigated as a function of time step for a set of these parameters. The radius of gyration (Rg) is also examined concurrently to understand its relaxation. Multi-scale segmental dynamics of the sheet is studied by identifying the power-law dependence in various time regimes. Relaxation of Rg and its dependence of temperature are planned to be discussed.

Interaction-component analysis of the effects of urea and its alkylated derivatives on the structure of T4-lysozyme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamori, Yu; Matubayasi, Nobuyuki

2017-06-01

The effects of urea and its alkylated derivatives on the structure of T4-lysozyme were analyzed from the standpoint of energetics. Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted with explicit solvent, and the energy-representation method was employed to compute the free energy of transfer of the protein from pure-water solvent to the mixed solvents of water with urea, methylurea, 1,1-dimethylurea, and isopropylurea. Through the decomposition of the transfer free energy into the cosolvent and water contributions, it was observed that the former is partially cancelled by the latter and governs the total free energy of transfer. To determine the interaction component responsible for the transfer energetics, the correlations of the transfer free energy were also examined against the change in the solute-solvent interaction energy upon transfer and the corresponding changes in the electrostatic, van der Waals, and excluded-volume components. It was then found over the set of protein structures ranging from native to (partially) unfolded ones that the transfer free energy changes in parallel with the van der Waals component even when the cosolvent is alkylated. The electrostatic and excluded-volume components play minor roles in the structure modification of the protein, and the denaturing ability of alkylurea is brought by the van der Waals interaction.

A reappraisal of drug release laws using Monte Carlo simulations: the prevalence of the Weibull function.

PubMed

Kosmidis, Kosmas; Argyrakis, Panos; Macheras, Panos

2003-07-01

To verify the Higuchi law and study the drug release from cylindrical and spherical matrices by means of Monte Carlo computer simulation. A one-dimensional matrix, based on the theoretical assumptions of the derivation of the Higuchi law, was simulated and its time evolution was monitored. Cylindrical and spherical three-dimensional lattices were simulated with sites at the boundary of the lattice having been denoted as leak sites. Particles were allowed to move inside it using the random walk model. Excluded volume interactions between the particles was assumed. We have monitored the system time evolution for different lattice sizes and different initial particle concentrations. The Higuchi law was verified using the Monte Carlo technique in a one-dimensional lattice. It was found that Fickian drug release from cylindrical matrices can be approximated nicely with the Weibull function. A simple linear relation between the Weibull function parameters and the specific surface of the system was found. Drug release from a matrix, as a result of a diffusion process assuming excluded volume interactions between the drug molecules, can be described using a Weibull function. This model, although approximate and semiempirical, has the benefit of providing a simple physical connection between the model parameters and the system geometry, which was something missing from other semiempirical models.

18 CFR 281.206 - Priority 1 reclassification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... entitlements” means, with respect to a particular interstate pipeline. (1) In the case of a direct sale customer, the volume of natural gas such direct sale customer is entitled to receive for high-priority uses...; (2) In the case of a local distribution company, the volume of natural gas which such local...

CTIC Cablebooks. Volume 2: A Guide for Local Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jesuale, Nancy, Ed.; And Others

The second in a two-part series, this volume presents 13 chapters discussing many of the most pressing cable policy issues facing local government, describing alternative policy options, and suggesting regulatory procedures successfully used by decision makers in the United States. Topics covered are (1) "The Rationale for Regulation,"…

[Hemapheresis using vesicular plant separation materials].

PubMed

Mavrina, L; Ehwald, R; Matthes, G; Stamminger, G

1990-01-01

The present paper deals with the separation of cells from soluble compounds of blood by means of exclusion chromatography using a recently described vesicular packing material made from the cell wall framework of the small duckweed Wolffia arrhiza. The cells of the periphere blood are hardly retarded in passing through a packing of the vesicular material and eluted as sharp peak at an elution volume which is near to 30% of the column volume. The behavior of cells is similar to that of the excluded high molecular weight plasma proteins (e.g. serumalbumin). Low molecular weight solutes (e.g. salts, glucose, urea, kreatinin), but also substances of considerable molecular weight (e.g. myoglobin and Vitamin B12) which are usually difficult to separate by dialysis from serum, are eluted at nearly 100% of the packing volume and may be separated completely from cells and high molecular weight proteins. In vitro-Tests did not show a reduced vitality of eluted blood cells.

An optimized strategy to measure protein stability highlights differences between cold and hot unfolded states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfano, Caterina; Sanfelice, Domenico; Martin, Stephen R.; Pastore, Annalisa; Temussi, Piero Andrea

2017-05-01

Macromolecular crowding ought to stabilize folded forms of proteins, through an excluded volume effect. This explanation has been questioned and observed effects attributed to weak interactions with other cell components. Here we show conclusively that protein stability is affected by volume exclusion and that the effect is more pronounced when the crowder's size is closer to that of the protein under study. Accurate evaluation of the volume exclusion effect is made possible by the choice of yeast frataxin, a protein that undergoes cold denaturation above zero degrees, because the unfolded form at low temperature is more expanded than the corresponding one at high temperature. To achieve optimum sensitivity to changes in stability we introduce an empirical parameter derived from the stability curve. The large effect of PEG 20 on cold denaturation can be explained by a change in water activity, according to Privalov's interpretation of cold denaturation.

Factors affecting the lung perfused blood volume in patients with intrapulmonary clots after anti-coagulation therapy.

PubMed

Okada, Munemasa; Masuda, Yu; Nakashima, Yoshiteru; Nomura, Takafumi; Nakao, Sei; Suga, Kazuyoshi; Kido, Shoji; Matsunaga, Naofumi

2015-08-01

Factors affecting the improvement in the lung perfused blood volume (LPBV) were evaluated based on the presence of intrapulmonary clots (IPCs) after anti-coagulation therapy using 64-slice dual-energy CT. 96 patients exhibiting venous thromboembolism underwent initial and repeated LPBV examinations between December 2008 and July 2014. Fifteen patients were excluded due to pulmonary comorbidities, and a total of 81 patients were included in this study. Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) was diagnosed in 46 of the patients (56.7%). LPBV images were three-dimensionally reconstructed with two threshold ranges: 1-120 HU (V120) and 1-5 HU (V5), and the relative value of V5 per V120 expressed as %V5. These values were subsequently compared with indicators of the severity of PE, such as the D-dimer level, heart rate and CT measurements. This study was approved by the local ethics committee. In patients with IPCs, the D-dimer, V5 and %V5values were significantly larger (p≤0.01) in the initial LPBV, although these differences disappeared in subsequent LPBV after treatment. The right ventricular (RV) diameter, RV/left ventricular (RV/LV) diameter ratio and %V5 values were also significantly reduced, whereas the V5 value did not significantly decrease (p=0.07), but V120 value significantly increased (p<0.001) after treatment. However, in patients with IPCs the change rate in %V5 [(subsequent-initial)/initial %V5] showed a better correlation with that in V5 (r=0.94, p<0.001) rate than that in V120 (r=0.19, p=0.19) after treatment. Increased whole lung perfusion (V120) and a decreased low perfusion volume (V5) affect the improvement in the %V5 values after treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

EXCLUSION OF RARE TAXA AFFECTS PERFORMANCE OF THE O/E INDEX IN BIOASSESSMENTS

EPA Science Inventory

The contribution of rare taxa to bioassessments based on multispecies assemblages is the subject of continued debate. As a result, users of predictive models such as River InVertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS) disagree on whether to exclude locally rare taxa...

33 CFR 117.968 - Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. 117... BRIDGES DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS Specific Requirements Texas § 117.968 Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.... to 8 p.m. on weekdays only, excluding federal, state, and local holidays, the drawspan need open only...

33 CFR 117.968 - Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. 117... BRIDGES DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS Specific Requirements Texas § 117.968 Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.... to 8 p.m. on weekdays only, excluding federal, state, and local holidays, the drawspan need open only...

33 CFR 117.968 - Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. 117... BRIDGES DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS Specific Requirements Texas § 117.968 Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.... to 8 p.m. on weekdays only, excluding federal, state, and local holidays, the drawspan need open only...

33 CFR 117.968 - Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. 117... BRIDGES DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS Specific Requirements Texas § 117.968 Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.... to 8 p.m. on weekdays only, excluding federal, state, and local holidays, the drawspan need open only...

33 CFR 117.968 - Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. 117... BRIDGES DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS Specific Requirements Texas § 117.968 Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.... to 8 p.m. on weekdays only, excluding federal, state, and local holidays, the drawspan need open only...

Failure Patterns in Patients with Esophageal Cancer Treated with Definitive Chemoradiation

PubMed Central

Welsh, James; Settle, Stephen H.; Amini, Arya; Xiao, Lianchun; Suzuki, Akihiro; Hayashi, Yuki; Hofstetter, Wayne; Komaki, Ritsuko; Liao, Zhongxing; Ajani, Jaffer A.

2012-01-01

Purpose Local failure after definitive chemoradiation therapy for unresectable esophageal cancer remains problematic. Little is known about the failure pattern based on modern day radiation treatment volumes. We hypothesized that most local failures would be within the gross tumor volume (GTV), where the bulk of the tumor burden resides. Methods and Materials We reviewed treatment volumes for 239 patients who underwent definitive chemoradiation therapy and compared this information with failure patterns on follow-up positron emission (PET). Failures were categorized as within the GTV, the larger clinical target volume (CTV, which encompasses microscopic disease), or the still larger planning target volume (PTV, which encompasses setup variability) or outside the radiation field. Results At a median follow-up time of 52.6 months (95% CI: 46.1 – 56.7 months), 119 patients (50%) had experienced local failure, 114 (48%) had distant failure, and 74 (31%) had no evidence of failure. Of all local failures, 107 (90%) were in the GTV, 27 (23%) in the CTV; and 14 (12%) in the PTV. In multivariate analysis, GTV failure was associated with tumor status (T3/T4 vs. T1/T2: OR=6.35, p value =0.002), change in standardized uptake value on PET before and after treatment (decrease >52%: OR=0.368, p value = 0.003) and tumor length (>8 cm: 4.08, p value = 0.009). Conclusions Most local failures after definitive chemoradiation for unresectable esophageal cancer occur in the GTV. Future therapeutic strategies should focus on enhancing local control. PMID:22565611

Correlations between ventricular enlargement and gray and white matter volumes of cortex, thalamus, striatum, and internal capsule in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Horga, Guillermo; Bernacer, Javier; Dusi, Nicola; Entis, Jonathan; Chu, Kingwai; Hazlett, Erin A; Haznedar, M Mehmet; Kemether, Eileen; Byne, William; Buchsbaum, Monte S

2011-10-01

Ventricular enlargement is one of the most consistent abnormal structural brain findings in schizophrenia and has been used to infer brain shrinkage. However, whether ventricular enlargement is related to local overlying cortex and/or adjacent subcortical structures or whether it is related to brain volume change globally has not been assessed. We systematically assessed interrelations of ventricular volumes with gray and white matter volumes of 40 Brodmann areas (BAs), the thalamus and its medial dorsal nucleus and pulvinar, the internal capsule, caudate and putamen. We acquired structural MRI ( patients with schizophrenia (n = 64) and healthy controls (n = 56)) and diffusion tensor fractional anisotropy (FA) (untreated schizophrenia n = 19, controls n = 32). Volumes were assessed by manual tracing of central structures and a semi-automated parcellation of BAs. Patients with schizophrenia had increased ventricular size associated with decreased cortical gray matter volumes widely across the brain; a similar but less pronounced pattern was seen in normal controls; local correlations (e.g. temporal horn with temporal lobe volume) were not appreciably higher than non-local correlations (e.g. temporal horn with prefrontal volume). White matter regions adjacent to the ventricles similarly did not reveal strong regional relationships. FA and center of mass of the anterior limb of the internal capsule also appeared differentially influenced by ventricular volume but findings were similarly not regional. Taken together, these findings indicate that ventricular enlargement is globally interrelated with gray matter volume diminution but not directly correlated with volume loss in the immediately adjacent caudate, putamen, or internal capsule.

Morphology and function: MR pineal volume and melatonin level in human saliva are correlated.

PubMed

Liebrich, Luisa-Sophie; Schredl, Michael; Findeisen, Peter; Groden, Christoph; Bumb, Jan Malte; Nölte, Ingo S

2014-10-01

To investigate the relation between circadian saliva melatonin levels and pineal volume as determined by MRI. Plasma melatonin levels follow a circadian rhythm with a high interindividual variability. In 103 healthy individuals saliva melatonin levels were determined at four time points within 24 h and MRI was performed once (3.0 Tesla, including three-dimensional T2 turbo spin echo [3D-T2-TSE], susceptibility-weighted imaging [SWI]). Pineal volume as well as cyst volume were assessed from multiplanar reconstructed 3D-T2-TSE images. Pineal calcification volume tissue was determined on SWI. To correct for hormonal inactive pineal tissue, cystic and calcified areas were excluded. Sleep quality was assessed with the Landeck Inventory for sleep quality disturbance. Solid and uncalcified pineal volume correlated to melatonin maximum (r = 0.28; P < 0.05) and area under the curve (r = 0.29; P < 0.05). Of interest, solid and uncalcified pineal volume correlated negatively with the sleep rhythm disturbances subscore (r = -0.17; P < 0.05) despite a very homogenous population. Uncalcified solid pineal tissue measured by 3D-T2-TSE and SWI is related to human saliva melatonin levels. The analysis of the sleep quality and pineal volume suggests a linkage between better sleep quality and hormonal active pineal tissue. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A randomized controlled pilot trial of modified whole blood versus component therapy in severely injured patients requiring large volume transfusions.

PubMed

Cotton, Bryan A; Podbielski, Jeanette; Camp, Elizabeth; Welch, Timothy; del Junco, Deborah; Bai, Yu; Hobbs, Rhonda; Scroggins, Jamie; Hartwell, Beth; Kozar, Rosemary A; Wade, Charles E; Holcomb, John B

2013-10-01

To determine whether resuscitation of severely injured patients with modified whole blood (mWB) resulted in fewer overall transfusions compared with component (COMP) therapy. For decades, whole blood (WB) was the primary product for resuscitating patients in hemorrhagic shock. After dramatic advances in blood banking in the 1970s, blood donor centers began supplying hospitals with individual components [red blood cell (RBC), plasma, platelets] and removed WB as an available product. However, no studies of efficacy or hemostatic potential in trauma patients were performed before doing so. Single-center, randomized trial of severely injured patients predicted to large transfusion volume. Pregnant patients, prisoners, those younger than 18 years or with more than 20% total body surface area burns (TBSA) burns were excluded. Patients were randomized to mWB (1 U mWB) or COMP therapy (1 U RBC+ 1 U plasma) immediately on arrival. Each group also received 1 U platelets (apheresis or prepooled random donor) for every 6 U of mWB or 6 U of RBC + 6 U plasma. The study was performed under the Exception From Informed Consent (Food and Drug Administration 21 code of federal regulations [CFR] 50.24). Primary outcome was 24-hour transfusion volumes. A total of 107 patients were randomized (55 mWB, 52 COMP therapy) over 14 months. There were no differences in demographics, arrival vitals or laboratory values, injury severity, or mechanism. Transfusions were similar between groups (intent-to-treat analysis). However, when excluding patients with severe brain injury (sensitivity analysis), WB group received less 24-hour RBC (median 3 vs 6, P = 0.02), plasma (4 vs 6, P = 0.02), platelets (0 vs 3, P = 0.09), and total products (11 vs 16, P = 0.02). Compared with COMP therapy, WB did not reduce transfusion volumes in severely injured patients predicted to receive massive transfusion. However, in the sensitivity analysis (patients without severe brain injuries), use of mWB significantly reduced transfusion volumes, achieving the prespecified endpoint of this initial pilot study.

Importance of 18F-FDG PET/CT to select patients with nonresectable colorectal liver metastases for liver transplantation.

PubMed

Grut, Harald; Revheim, Mona-Elisabeth; Line, Pål-Dag; Dueland, Svein

2018-04-20

The aim of this study was to evaluate fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/CT for the selection of patients with nonresectable colorectal liver metastases (NCLM) for liver transplantation (LT). In the secondary cancer study, we reported an improved 5-year overall survival in patients treated with LT for NCLM (56%) compared with chemotherapy (9%). However, many patients were rejected for LT owing to the detection of extrahepatic disease at preoperative imaging. F-FDG PET/CT and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (ceCT) examinations before tentative LT for NCLM were assessed, and findings contraindicating LT were registered. Maximum, mean and peak standardized uptake values; tumor-to-background ratio; metabolic tumor volume; and total lesion glycolysis were measured and calculated for all liver metastases. Overall survival was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Thirty-two patients excluded by F-FDG PET/CT and/or ceCT before tentative LT for NCLM were identified. F-FDG PET/CT from 20 of the 32 excluded patients revealed extrahepatic disease. Eight of the other 12 patients had a negative F-FDG PET/CT finding but were excluded by ceCT. Ten patients were excluded by F-FDG PET/CT only. Four patients were excluded owing to detected malignancy from frozen sections at the start of the intended transplant operation. Tumor-to-background ratio of the liver metastases was significantly higher in patients where F-FDG PET/CT detected extrahepatic disease (P=0.03). The median (range) survival after exclusion was 16 (0-52) months. The ability of F-FDG PET/CT to detect extrahepatic disease before LT for NCLM is vital to establish LT as a treatment option.

RCRA, superfund and EPCRA hotline training module. Introduction to: Solid waste programs updated July 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-07-01

The module focuses on EPA`s efforts in two areas: municipal and industrial solid waste. The garbage that is managed by the local governments is known as municipal solid waste (MSW). Garbage excluded from hazardous waste regulation but not typically collected by local governments is commonly known as industrial solid waste. This category includes domestic sewage and other wastewater treatment sludge, demolition and construction wastes, agricultural and mining residues, combustion ash, and industrial process wastes.

Predictors of Individual Tumor Local Control After Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Garsa, Adam A.; Badiyan, Shahed N.; DeWees, Todd

2014-10-01

Purpose: To evaluate local control rates and predictors of individual tumor local control for brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Methods and Materials: Between June 1998 and May 2011, 401 brain metastases in 228 patients were treated with Gamma Knife single-fraction SRS. Local failure was defined as an increase in lesion size after SRS. Local control was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards model was used for univariate and multivariate analysis. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to identify an optimal cutpoint for conformality index relative to local control. Amore » P value <.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Median age was 60 years (range, 27-84 years). There were 66 cerebellar metastases (16%) and 335 supratentorial metastases (84%). The median prescription dose was 20 Gy (range, 14-24 Gy). Median overall survival from time of SRS was 12.1 months. The estimated local control at 12 months was 74%. On multivariate analysis, cerebellar location (hazard ratio [HR] 1.94, P=.009), larger tumor volume (HR 1.09, P<.001), and lower conformality (HR 0.700, P=.044) were significant independent predictors of local failure. Conformality index cutpoints of 1.4-1.9 were predictive of local control, whereas a cutpoint of 1.75 was the most predictive (P=.001). The adjusted Kaplan-Meier 1-year local control for conformality index ≥1.75 was 84% versus 69% for conformality index <1.75, controlling for tumor volume and location. The 1-year adjusted local control for cerebellar lesions was 60%, compared with 77% for supratentorial lesions, controlling for tumor volume and conformality index. Conclusions: Cerebellar tumor location, lower conformality index, and larger tumor volume were significant independent predictors of local failure after SRS for brain metastases from NSCLC. These results warrant further investigation in a prospective setting.« less

3D Pathology Volumetric Technique: A Method for Calculating Breast Tumour Volume from Whole-Mount Serial Section Images

PubMed Central

Clarke, G. M.; Murray, M.; Holloway, C. M. B.; Liu, K.; Zubovits, J. T.; Yaffe, M. J.

2012-01-01

Tumour size, most commonly measured by maximum linear extent, remains a strong predictor of survival in breast cancer. Tumour volume, proportional to the number of tumour cells, may be a more accurate surrogate for size. We describe a novel “3D pathology volumetric technique” for lumpectomies and compare it with 2D measurements. Volume renderings and total tumour volume are computed from digitized whole-mount serial sections using custom software tools. Results are presented for two lumpectomy specimens selected for tumour features which may challenge accurate measurement of tumour burden with conventional, sampling-based pathology: (1) an infiltrative pattern admixed with normal breast elements; (2) a localized invasive mass separated from the in situ component by benign tissue. Spatial relationships between key features (tumour foci, close or involved margins) are clearly visualized in volume renderings. Invasive tumour burden can be underestimated using conventional pathology, compared to the volumetric technique (infiltrative pattern: 30% underestimation; localized mass: 3% underestimation for invasive tumour, 44% for in situ component). Tumour volume approximated from 2D measurements (i.e., maximum linear extent), assuming elliptical geometry, was seen to overestimate volume compared to the 3D volumetric calculation (by a factor of 7x for the infiltrative pattern; 1.5x for the localized invasive mass). PMID:23320179

28 CFR 54.420 - Access to schools operated by LEAs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....420 Section 54.420 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE... operated by LEAs. A recipient that is a local educational agency shall not, on the basis of sex, exclude...; or (b) Any other school or educational unit operated by such recipient, unless such recipient...

10 CFR 1042.420 - Access to schools operated by LEAs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

....420 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (GENERAL PROVISIONS) NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEX IN EDUCATION PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Discrimination on the Basis of Sex... recipient that is a local educational agency shall not, on the basis of sex, exclude any person from...

28 CFR 54.420 - Access to schools operated by LEAs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... BASIS OF SEX IN EDUCATION PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 54.420 Access to schools operated by LEAs. A recipient that is a local educational agency shall not, on the basis of sex, exclude...

43 CFR 41.420 - Access to schools operated by LEAs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... BASIS OF SEX IN EDUCATION PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 41.420 Access to schools operated by LEAs. A recipient that is a local educational agency shall not, on the basis of sex, exclude...

Curbing the Financial Exploitation of the Poor: Financial Literacy and Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karger, Howard

2015-01-01

The article investigates the importance of financial literacy content for social work students who at some point in their career will encounter financially-excluded clients. Financial literacy content can include understanding how fringe economy businesses operate, including their business model, knowledge of local and national nonpredatory…

20 CFR 404.1018b - Medicare qualified government employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Medicare qualified government employment. 404... Excluded from Employment § 404.1018b Medicare qualified government employment. (a) General. The work of a Federal, State, or local government employee not otherwise subject to Social Security coverage may...

42 CFR 426.518 - NCD record furnished to the aggrieved party.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICARE PROGRAM REVIEW OF NATIONAL COVERAGE DETERMINATIONS AND LOCAL... section, the NCD record consists of any document or material that CMS considered during the development of... decision memoranda. (5) An index of documents considered that are excluded under paragraph (b) of this...

42 CFR 426.518 - NCD record furnished to the aggrieved party.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICARE PROGRAM REVIEW OF NATIONAL COVERAGE DETERMINATIONS AND LOCAL... section, the NCD record consists of any document or material that CMS considered during the development of... decision memoranda. (5) An index of documents considered that are excluded under paragraph (b) of this...

Local volume tables for Pacific madrone, tanoak, and California black oak in north-central California

Treesearch

Philip M. McDonald

1983-01-01

Local volume tables for Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii Pursh), tanoak (Lithocarpus densifiorus [Hook. & Am.] Rehd.), and California black oak (Quercus kelloggii Newb.), developed from data recorded by an optical dendrometer, are presented by 1-inch diameter classes in the range of 3 to 30 inches. Cubic...

Probing the Dusty Stellar Populations of the Local Volume Galaxies with JWST /MIRI

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Olivia C.; Meixner, Margaret; Justtanont, Kay

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) for the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) will revolutionize our understanding of infrared stellar populations in the Local Volume. Using the rich Spitzer -IRS spectroscopic data set and spectral classifications from the Surveying the Agents of Galaxy Evolution (SAGE)–Spectroscopic survey of more than 1000 objects in the Magellanic Clouds, the Grid of Red Supergiant and Asymptotic Giant Branch Star Model (grams), and the grid of YSO models by Robitaille et al., we calculate the expected flux densities and colors in the MIRI broadband filters for prominent infrared stellar populations. We use these fluxes tomore » explore the JWST /MIRI colors and magnitudes for composite stellar population studies of Local Volume galaxies. MIRI color classification schemes are presented; these diagrams provide a powerful means of identifying young stellar objects, evolved stars, and extragalactic background galaxies in Local Volume galaxies with a high degree of confidence. Finally, we examine which filter combinations are best for selecting populations of sources based on their JWST colors.« less

Evaluation of the effect of localized skin cooling on nasal airway volume by acoustic rhinometry.

PubMed

Yamagiwa, M; Hilberg, O; Pedersen, O F; Lundqvist, G R

1990-04-01

Ten healthy subjects (four men and six women) were subjected to localized skin cooling by submersion for 5 min of both feet and, in another experiment, one hand and forearm into ice-cold water. Repeated measurements of nasal cavity volumes by a new method, acoustic rhinometry, showed characteristic patterns ranging from marked increases in volumes lasting the entire exposure period to transient monophasic or biphasic responses to no change at all. The pattern in individual subjects was reproducible with the two methods of cooling, and it could be characterized by five types when related to baseline measurements during the preexposure period. Because of large minute-to-minute variations, probably determined by local differences and fluctuations in blood flow in tissues through the nose, evaluation of induced changes in the nasal cavity volume cannot be based on single measurements as has frequently been done in the past by using rhinomanometry as the experimental method. The mechanisms behind the characteristic patterns in immediate human nasal response to local skin cooling challenge remains to be explored.

Can we use lower volume of local anesthetic for infraclavicular brachial plexus nerve block under ultrasound guidance in children?

PubMed

Ince, Ilker; Aksoy, Mehmet; Dostbil, Aysenur; Tuncer, Kutsi

2017-09-01

To determine if the infraclavicular brachial plexus block can be applied with lower volume of local anesthetic. Randomised, double-blinded clinical trial. 60 patients aged 5-15years with ASA I-II who underwent emergent or elective arm, forearm or hand operations were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups randomly; standard volume local anesthetic administered group (Group S, n=30) and low volume anesthetic administered group (Group L, n=30). Postoperative pain scores, sensory and motor block durations were noted. Pain scores (Wong-Baker Face Scale) were evaluated and the results were detected to be similar at all times (30min, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24h). Durations of motor block were 168(±16) minutes and 268(±15) minutes in Group L and Group S respectively and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). Durations of sensory block were 385(±26) and 402(±39) in Group L and Group S respectively and no statistically significant difference was detected (p=0.064). Similar block success, postoperative sensory block durations and pain scores could be obtained during infraclavicular brachial plexus in pediatric patients with lower local anesthetic volumes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A classical density functional theory of ionic liquids.

PubMed

Forsman, Jan; Woodward, Clifford E; Trulsson, Martin

2011-04-28

We present a simple, classical density functional approach to the study of simple models of room temperature ionic liquids. Dispersion attractions as well as ion correlation effects and excluded volume packing are taken into account. The oligomeric structure, common to many ionic liquid molecules, is handled by a polymer density functional treatment. The theory is evaluated by comparisons with simulations, with an emphasis on the differential capacitance, an experimentally measurable quantity of significant practical interest.

LOGAM (Logistic Analysis Model). Volume 2. Users Manual.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-08-01

as opposed to simulation models which represent a system’s behavior as a function of time. These latter classes of models are often complex. They...includes the cost of ammunition and missiles comsumed by the system being costed during unit training. Excluded is the cost of ammunition consumed during...data. The results obtained from sensitivity testing may be used to construct graphs which display the behavior of the maintenance concept over the range

The Operational Equations of State, 3: Recovery of the EOS for Hydrocode From the Measured Heat Capacity, Isentrope, and Hugoniot Adiabat

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-01

hydrocode from experimental data. It is assumed that the substance in question possesses only two thermodynamic degrees of freedom – the specific volume V...excludes the possibility of phase transformations). 15. SUBJECT TERMS thermodynamics , EOS, hydrocode 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION...we gave several examples of generating complete thermodynamically consistent equations of state (EOS). The methodology used there was based on

Volume monogamy of quantum steering ellipsoids for multiqubit systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Shuming; Milne, Antony; Hall, Michael J. W.; Wiseman, Howard M.

2016-10-01

The quantum steering ellipsoid can be used to visualize 2-qubit states, and thus provides a generalization of the Bloch picture for the single qubit. Recently, a monogamy relation for the volumes of steering ellipsoids has been derived for pure 3-qubit states and shown to be stronger than the celebrated Coffman-Kundu-Wootters inequality. We first demonstrate the close connection between this volume monogamy relation and the classification of pure 3-qubit states under stochastic local operations and classical communication. We then show that this monogamy relation does not hold for general mixed 3-qubit states and derive a weaker monogamy relation that does hold for such states. We also prove a volume monogamy relation for pure 4-qubit states (further conjectured to hold for the mixed case), and generalize our 3-qubit inequality to n qubits. Finally, we study the effect of noise on the quantum steering ellipsoid and find that the volume of any 2-qubit state is nonincreasing when the state is exposed to arbitrary local noise. This implies that any volume monogamy relation for a given class of multiqubit states remains valid under the addition of local noise. We investigate this quantitatively for the experimentally relevant example of isotropic noise.

A maximally stable extremal region based scene text localization method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Chengqiu; Ji, Lixin; Gao, Chao; Li, Shaomei

2015-07-01

Text localization in natural scene images is an important prerequisite for many content-based image analysis tasks. This paper proposes a novel text localization algorithm. Firstly, a fast pruning algorithm is designed to extract Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MSER) as basic character candidates. Secondly, these candidates are filtered by using the properties of fitting ellipse and the distribution properties of characters to exclude most non-characters. Finally, a new extremal regions projection merging algorithm is designed to group character candidates into words. Experimental results show that the proposed method has an advantage in speed and achieve relatively high precision and recall rates than the latest published algorithms.

Knowledge-based automated technique for measuring total lung volume from CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Matthew S.; McNitt-Gray, Michael F.; Mankovich, Nicholas J.; Goldin, Jonathan G.; Aberle, Denise R.

1996-04-01

A robust, automated technique has been developed for estimating total lung volumes from chest computed tomography (CT) images. The technique includes a method for segmenting major chest anatomy. A knowledge-based approach automates the calculation of separate volumes of the whole thorax, lungs, and central tracheo-bronchial tree from volumetric CT data sets. A simple, explicit 3D model describes properties such as shape, topology and X-ray attenuation, of the relevant anatomy, which constrain the segmentation of these anatomic structures. Total lung volume is estimated as the sum of the right and left lungs and excludes the central airways. The method requires no operator intervention. In preliminary testing, the system was applied to image data from two healthy subjects and four patients with emphysema who underwent both helical CT and pulmonary function tests. To obtain single breath-hold scans, the healthy subjects were scanned with a collimation of 5 mm and a pitch of 1.5, while the emphysema patients were scanned with collimation of 10 mm at a pitch of 2.0. CT data were reconstructed as contiguous image sets. Automatically calculated volumes were consistent with body plethysmography results (< 10% difference).

Comparison of Tc-99m GSA scintigraphy and CT volumetry for evaluation in portal vein embolization.

PubMed

Kono, Yumiko; Kariya, Shuji; Komemushi, Atsushi; Nakatani, Miyuki; Yoshida, Rie Yagi; Suzuki, Satoshi; Ha-Kawa, Sung Kil; Utsunomiya, Keita; Ueno, Yasuhiro; Satoi, Sohei; Kaibori, Masaki; Kon, Masanori; Tanigawa, Noboru

2014-08-01

To determine the correlation of the rate of change of each future remnant liver (FRL) before and after portal vein embolization (PVE), by CT volumetry and Tc-99m galactosyl human serum albumin scintigraphy (GSA scintigraphy). From December 2007 to July 2012, ten patients underwent PVE before hepatic resection. CT volumetry and GSA scintigraphy were performed before and after PVE. The FRL was divided at Cantlie's line for CT volumetry, and volume change rates before and after PVE were calculated. The maximum removal rate (Rmax) was calculated using a radiopharmacokinetic model in GSA scintigraphy. The FRL Rmax change rates before and after PVE were calculated. The correlation between the volume change rates and the Rmax change rates was analyzed. The FRL volume change rate was 1.28 ± 0.26 (mean ± SD); the FRL hypertrophied in all patients significantly (p = 0.005). The FRL Rmax change rate was 1.66 ± 0.75; excluding one patient, there was significant FRL Rmax increase (p = 0.022). Although both increased significantly, no correlation between the volume change rate and the Rmax change rate was observed. No correlation was observed between the FRL volume rate and the Rmax rate.

[Normal lung volumes in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema].

PubMed

Casas, Juan Pablo; Abbona, Horacio; Robles, Adriana; López, Ana María

2008-01-01

Pulmonary function tests in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis characteristically show a restrictive pattern, resulting from reduction of pulmonary compliance due to diffuse fibrosis. Conversely, an obstructive pattern with hyperinflation results in emphysema by loss of elastic recoil, expiratory collapse of the peripheral airways and air trapping. Previous reports suggest that when both diseases coexist, pulmonary volumes are compensated and a smaller than expected reduction or even normal lung volumes can be found. We report 4 male patients of 64, 60, 73 and 70 years, all with heavy cigarette smoking history and progressive breathlessness. Three of them had severe limitation in their quality of life. All four showed advanced lung interstitial involvement, at high resolution CT scan, fibrotic changes predominantly in the subpleural areas of lower lung fields and concomitant emphysema in the upper lobes. Emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis was confirmed by open lung biopsy in one patient. The four patients showed normal spirometry and lung volumes with severe compromise of gas exchange and poor exercise tolerance evaluated by 6 minute walk test. Severe pulmonary arterial hypertension was also confirmed in three patients. Normal lung volumes does not exclude diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in patients with concomitant emphysema. The relatively preserved lung volumes may underestimate the severity of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and attenuate its effects on lung function parameters.

A coupling strategy for nonlocal and local diffusion models with mixed volume constraints and boundary conditions

DOE PAGES

D'Elia, Marta; Perego, Mauro; Bochev, Pavel B.; ...

2015-12-21

We develop and analyze an optimization-based method for the coupling of nonlocal and local diffusion problems with mixed volume constraints and boundary conditions. The approach formulates the coupling as a control problem where the states are the solutions of the nonlocal and local equations, the objective is to minimize their mismatch on the overlap of the nonlocal and local domains, and the controls are virtual volume constraints and boundary conditions. When some assumptions on the kernel functions hold, we prove that the resulting optimization problem is well-posed and discuss its implementation using Sandia’s agile software components toolkit. As a result,more » the latter provides the groundwork for the development of engineering analysis tools, while numerical results for nonlocal diffusion in three-dimensions illustrate key properties of the optimization-based coupling method.« less

Adsorption of polypropylene from dilute solutions on a zeolite column packing.

PubMed

Macko, Tibor; Pasch, Harald; Denayer, Joeri F

2005-01-01

Faujasite type zeolite CBV-780 was tested as adsorbent for isotactic polypropylene by liquid chromatography. When cyclohexane, cyclohexanol, n-decanol, n-dodecanol, diphenylmethane, or methylcyclohexane was used as mobile phase, polypropylene was fully or partially retained within the column packing. This is the first series of sorbent-solvent systems to show a pronounced retention of isotactic polypropylene. According to the hydrodynamic volumes of polypropylene in solution, macromolecules of polypropylene should be fully excluded from the pore volume of the sorbent. Sizes of polypropylene macromolecules in linear conformations, however, correlate with the pore size of the column packing used. It is presumed that the polypropylene chains partially penetrate into the pores and are retained due to the high adsorption potential in the narrow pores.

Macromolecular crowding impacts on the diffusion and conformation of DNA hairpins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stiehl, Olivia; Weidner-Hertrampf, Kathrin; Weiss, Matthias

2015-01-01

Biochemical reactions in crowded fluids differ significantly from those in dilute solutions. Both, excluded-volume interactions with surrounding macromolecules ("crowders") and an enhanced rebinding of reaction partners due to crowding-induced viscoelasticity and subdiffusion have been hypothesized to shift chemical equilibria towards the associated state. We have explored the impact of both cues in an experimentally tunable system by monitoring the steady-state fraction of open DNA hairpins in crowded fluids with varying viscoelastic characteristics but similar occupied volume fractions. As a result, we observed an increased fraction of closed DNA hairpins in viscoelastic crowded fluids. Our observations compare favorably to a simple statistical model that considers both facets of crowding, while preferential interactions between crowders and DNA hairpins appear to have little influence.

Neuropharmacological lesion localization in idiopathic Horner's syndrome in Golden Retrievers and dogs of other breeds.

PubMed

Simpson, Katherine M; Williams, David L; Cherubini, Giunio B

2015-01-01

To investigate whether idiopathic Horner's syndrome (HS) in Golden Retrievers is an exclusively preganglionic disorder based on denervation hypersensitivity pharmacological testing with phenylephrine. Medical records of dogs presented with HS between 2000 and 2012. Dogs presented with additional ocular or systemic signs were excluded. Clinical data examined included age, sex, duration of clinical signs, ancillary diagnostic test results, and time to mydriasis on topical ocular application of 1% phenylephrine. Lesions were diagnosed as postganglionic (mydriasis within 20 min) or preganglionic (mydriasis between 20 and 45 min). Medical records of 21 dogs of nine different breeds were included. An etiopathogenesis for Horner's syndrome was determined in five dogs, none of which were Golden Retrievers. All diagnoses correlated with pharmacological lesion localization. Ten Golden Retrievers were included (eight male and two female) with a mean age of 8.5 years (range: 4-13). Lesion localization was diagnosed as postganglionic in eight (mean: 10 min [range: 6-18]) and preganglionic in two Golden Retrievers (20 and 24 min). All cases were unilateral and had completely resolved within 15 weeks (range: 11-20). Recurrence was not reported in any of the patients. Idiopathic postganglionic HS was diagnosed in eight of 10 Golden Retrievers contradicting previous reports of a purely preganglionic localization. Etiopathogenesis of canine idiopathic HS remains to be determined; nevertheless, a vascular etiology cannot be excluded. Future studies using magnetic resonance angiography may aid in clarifying the pathogenesis. © 2013 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.

Chained Bell Inequality Experiment with High-Efficiency Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, T. R.; Wan, Y.; Erickson, S.; Bierhorst, P.; Kienzler, D.; Glancy, S.; Knill, E.; Leibfried, D.; Wineland, D. J.

2017-03-01

We report correlation measurements on two 9Be+ ions that violate a chained Bell inequality obeyed by any local-realistic theory. The correlations can be modeled as derived from a mixture of a local-realistic probabilistic distribution and a distribution that violates the inequality. A statistical framework is formulated to quantify the local-realistic fraction allowable in the observed distribution without the fair-sampling or independent-and-identical-distributions assumptions. We exclude models of our experiment whose local-realistic fraction is above 0.327 at the 95% confidence level. This bound is significantly lower than 0.586, the minimum fraction derived from a perfect Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality experiment. Furthermore, our data provide a device-independent certification of the deterministically created Bell states.

Nonlinear-regression flow model of the Gulf Coast aquifer systems in the south-central United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kuiper, L.K.

1994-01-01

A multiple-regression methodology was used to help answer questions concerning model reliability, and to calibrate a time-dependent variable-density ground-water flow model of the gulf coast aquifer systems in the south-central United States. More than 40 regression models with 2 to 31 regressions parameters are used and detailed results are presented for 12 of the models. More than 3,000 values for grid-element volume-averaged head and hydraulic conductivity are used for the regression model observations. Calculated prediction interval half widths, though perhaps inaccurate due to a lack of normality of the residuals, are the smallest for models with only four regression parameters. In addition, the root-mean weighted residual decreases very little with an increase in the number of regression parameters. The various models showed considerable overlap between the prediction inter- vals for shallow head and hydraulic conductivity. Approximate 95-percent prediction interval half widths for volume-averaged freshwater head exceed 108 feet; for volume-averaged base 10 logarithm hydraulic conductivity, they exceed 0.89. All of the models are unreliable for the prediction of head and ground-water flow in the deeper parts of the aquifer systems, including the amount of flow coming from the underlying geopressured zone. Truncating the domain of solution of one model to exclude that part of the system having a ground-water density greater than 1.005 grams per cubic centimeter or to exclude that part of the systems below a depth of 3,000 feet, and setting the density to that of freshwater does not appreciably change the results for head and ground-water flow, except for locations close to the truncation surface.

Grey matter volume patterns in thalamic nuclei are associated with familial risk for schizophrenia.

PubMed

Pergola, Giulio; Trizio, Silvestro; Di Carlo, Pasquale; Taurisano, Paolo; Mancini, Marina; Amoroso, Nicola; Nettis, Maria Antonietta; Andriola, Ileana; Caforio, Grazia; Popolizio, Teresa; Rampino, Antonio; Di Giorgio, Annabella; Bertolino, Alessandro; Blasi, Giuseppe

2017-02-01

Previous evidence suggests reduced thalamic grey matter volume (GMV) in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). However, it is not considered an intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia, possibly because previous studies did not assess the contribution of individual thalamic nuclei and employed univariate statistics. Here, we hypothesized that multivariate statistics would reveal an association of GMV in different thalamic nuclei with familial risk for schizophrenia. We also hypothesized that accounting for the heterogeneity of thalamic GMV in healthy controls would improve the detection of subjects at familial risk for the disorder. We acquired MRI scans for 96 clinically stable SCZ, 55 non-affected siblings of patients with schizophrenia (SIB), and 249 HC. The thalamus was parceled into seven regions of interest (ROIs). After a canonical univariate analysis, we used GMV estimates of thalamic ROIs, together with total thalamic GMV and premorbid intelligence, as features in Random Forests to classify HC, SIB, and SCZ. Then, we computed a Misclassification Index for each individual and tested the improvement in SIB detection after excluding a subsample of HC misclassified as patients. Random Forests discriminated SCZ from HC (accuracy=81%) and SIB from HC (accuracy=75%). Left anteromedial thalamic volumes were significantly associated with both multivariate classifications (p<0.05). Excluding HC misclassified as SCZ improved greatly HC vs. SIB classification (Cohen's d=1.39). These findings suggest that multivariate statistics identify a familial background associated with thalamic GMV reduction in SCZ. They also suggest the relevance of inter-individual variability of GMV patterns for the discrimination of individuals at familial risk for the disorder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Morphology of the supercluster-void network in ΛCDM cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shandarin, Sergei F.; Sheth, Jatush V.; Sahni, Varun

2004-09-01

We report here the first systematic study of the supercluster-void network in the ΛCDM concordance cosmology in which voids and superclusters are treated on an equal footing. We study the dark matter density field in real space smoothed on a scale of 5 h-1 Mpc. Superclusters are defined as individual members of an overdense excursion set, and voids are defined as individual members of a complementary underdense excursion set at the same density threshold. We determine the geometric, topological and morphological properties of the cosmic web at a large set of density levels by computing Minkowski functionals for every supercluster and void using SURFGEN (described recently by Sheth et al.). The properties of the largest (percolating) supercluster and the complementary void are found to be very different from those of the individual superclusters and voids. In total, the individual superclusters occupy no more than about 5 per cent of the volume and contain no more than 20 per cent of the mass if the largest supercluster is excluded. Likewise, in total, individual voids occupy no more than 14 per cent of the volume and contain no more than 4 per cent of the mass if the largest void is excluded. Although superclusters are more massive and voids are more voluminous, the difference in maximum volumes is no greater than an order of magnitude. The genus value of individual superclusters can be ~5, while the genus of individual voids can reach ~50, implying a significant amount of substructure in superclusters and especially in voids. One of our main results is that large voids, as defined through the dark matter density field in real space, are distinctly non-spherical.

Osmolyte depletion viewed in terms of the dividing membrane and its work of expansion against osmotic pressure.

PubMed

Shimizu, Seishi; Matubayasi, Nobuyuki

2017-12-01

How osmolytes enhance the folding, binding, and self-assembly of biological macromolecules at a microscopic scale has long been a matter of debate. Ambiguities persist on the key interpretive concepts, such as the "effective membrane" (which marks the boundary of the volume from which osmolytes are excluded) and the "free energy of exclusion" of osmolytes from biomolecular surfaces. In this paper, we formulate these elusive concepts based upon chemical thermodynamics and rigorous statistical thermodynamics (the Kirkwood-Buff theory). Positioning of the membrane at the osmotic dividing surface is crucial in order not to affect the thermodynamics of solvation. The notion of the free energy (work) of excluding osmolytes is refined to the expansion work against the osmotic pressure, which indeed describes the change of solvation free energy at dilute osmolyte concentrations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dose-Volume Analysis of Predictors for Gastrointestinal Toxicity After Concurrent Full-Dose Gemcitabine and Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang Jiayi; Robertson, John M., E-mail: jrobertson@beaumont.edu; Ye Hong

2012-07-15

Purpose: To identify dosimetric predictors for the development of gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity in patients with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma (LAPC) treated with concurrent full-dose gemcitabine and radiotherapy (GemRT). Methods and Materials: From June 2002 to June 2009, 46 LAPC patients treated with definitive GemRT were retrospectively analyzed. The stomach and duodenum were retrospectively contoured separately to determine their dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters. GI toxicity was defined as Grade 3 or higher GI toxicity. The follow-up time was calculated from the start of RT to the date of death or last contact. Univariate analysis (UVA) and multivariate analysis (MVA) using Kaplan-Meiermore » and Cox regression models were performed to identify risk factors associated with GI toxicity. The receiver operating characteristic curve and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were used to determine the best DVH parameter to predict for GI toxicity. Results: Of the patients, 28 (61%) received concurrent gemcitabine alone, and 18 (39%) had concurrent gemcitabine with daily erlotinib. On UVA, only the V{sub 20Gy} to V{sub 35Gy} of duodenum were significantly associated with GI toxicity (all p {<=} 0.05). On MVA, the V{sub 25Gy} of duodenum and the use of erlotinib were independent risk factors for GI toxicity (p = 0.006 and 0.02, respectively). For the entire cohort, the V{sub 25Gy} of duodenum is the best predictor for GI toxicity (AUC = 0.717), and the 12-month GI toxicity rate was 8% vs. 48% for V{sub 25Gy} {<=} 45% and V{sub 25Gy} > 45%, respectively (p = 0.03). However, excluding the erlotinib group, the V{sub 35Gy} is the best predictor (AUC = 0.725), and the 12-month GI toxicity rate was 0% vs. 41% for V{sub 35Gy} {<=} 20% and V{sub 35Gy} > 20%, respectively (p = 0.04). Conclusions: DVH parameters of duodenum may predict Grade 3 GI toxicity after GemRT for LAPC. Concurrent use of erlotinib during GemRT may increase GI toxicity.« less

Outside-bark form class volume tables for some southern Appalachian species

Treesearch

Jesse H. Buell

1942-01-01

Board-foot volume tables applicable to restricted localities are in continual demand. Pulic foresters need local tables for use on lands under their supervision or for helping farmers and other owners of small woodlands to prepae forest management plans. Privatr foresteres need tables which wil give dependable results in a wide variety of stands.

Comparison of the performance of tracer kinetic model-driven registration for dynamic contrast enhanced MRI using different models of contrast enhancement.

PubMed

Buonaccorsi, Giovanni A; Roberts, Caleb; Cheung, Sue; Watson, Yvonne; O'Connor, James P B; Davies, Karen; Jackson, Alan; Jayson, Gordon C; Parker, Geoff J M

2006-09-01

The quantitative analysis of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data is subject to model fitting errors caused by motion during the time-series data acquisition. However, the time-varying features that occur as a result of contrast enhancement can confound motion correction techniques based on conventional registration similarity measures. We have therefore developed a heuristic, locally controlled tracer kinetic model-driven registration procedure, in which the model accounts for contrast enhancement, and applied it to the registration of abdominal DCE-MRI data at high temporal resolution. Using severely motion-corrupted data sets that had been excluded from analysis in a clinical trial of an antiangiogenic agent, we compared the results obtained when using different models to drive the tracer kinetic model-driven registration with those obtained when using a conventional registration against the time series mean image volume. Using tracer kinetic model-driven registration, it was possible to improve model fitting by reducing the sum of squared errors but the improvement was only realized when using a model that adequately described the features of the time series data. The registration against the time series mean significantly distorted the time series data, as did tracer kinetic model-driven registration using a simpler model of contrast enhancement. When an appropriate model is used, tracer kinetic model-driven registration influences motion-corrupted model fit parameter estimates and provides significant improvements in localization in three-dimensional parameter maps. This has positive implications for the use of quantitative DCE-MRI for example in clinical trials of antiangiogenic or antivascular agents.

[Bibliographic errors in Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas. A retrospective study of the year 1995].

PubMed

Acea Nebril, B; Gómez Freijoso, C

1997-03-01

To determine the accuracy of bibliographic citation in Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas (REED) and compare it with other Spanish and international journals. We reviewed all 1995 volumes of the REED and randomly selected 100 references from these volumes. Nine citations of non-journal articles were excluded and the remaining 91 citations were carefully scrutinized. Each original article was compared for author's name, title of article, name of journal, volume number, year of publication and pages. Some type of error was detected in 61.6% of the references and on 3 occasions (3.3%) impeded finding to the original article. Errors were found in authors (37.3%); article title (16.4%), pages (6.6%), journal title (4.4%), volume (2.2%) and year (1%). A single error was found in 42 citations, 2 were found in 13 and 3 were found in 1. REED's rate of error in references is comparable to the rates of other spanish and international journals. Authors should exercise more care in preparing bibliographies and should invest more effort in verification of quoted references.

Local shear stress and its correlation with local volume fraction in concentrated non-Brownian suspensions: Lattice Boltzmann simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Young Ki; Ahn, Kyung Hyun; Lee, Seung Jong

2014-12-01

The local shear stress of non-Brownian suspensions was investigated using the lattice Boltzmann method coupled with the smoothed profile method. Previous studies have only focused on the bulk rheology of complex fluids because the local rheology of complex fluids was not accessible due to technical limitations. In this study, the local shear stress of two-dimensional solid particle suspensions in Couette flow was investigated with the method of planes to correlate non-Newtonian fluid behavior with the structural evolution of concentrated particle suspensions. Shear thickening was successfully captured for highly concentrated suspensions at high particle Reynolds number, and both the local rheology and local structure of the suspensions were analyzed. It was also found that the linear correlation between the local particle stress and local particle volume fraction was dramatically reduced during shear thickening. These results clearly show how the change in local structure of suspensions influences the local and bulk rheology of the suspensions.

Ambiguous Spaces for Troubled Youth: Home, Therapeutic Institution or School?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Severinsson, Susanne; Nord, Catharina; Reimers, Eva

2015-01-01

In Sweden and elsewhere, students permanently excluded from school are removed from their local environment, and sometimes their parental home, and moved to a rural residential care home. Thus "home" and "school" are clearly considered places where problems exist, but it is the young people themselves who are scrutinised and…

49 CFR 25.420 - Access to schools operated by LEAs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 25.420 Transportation Office of the Secretary of Transportation NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEX... Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 25.420 Access to schools operated by LEAs. A recipient that is a local educational agency shall not, on the basis of sex, exclude any person...

40 CFR 5.420 - Access to schools operated by LEAs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... ON THE BASIS OF SEX IN EDUCATION PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 5.420 Access to schools operated by LEAs. A recipient that is a local educational agency shall not, on the basis of sex, exclude...

40 CFR 5.420 - Access to schools operated by LEAs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... ON THE BASIS OF SEX IN EDUCATION PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Discrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Prohibited § 5.420 Access to schools operated by LEAs. A recipient that is a local educational agency shall not, on the basis of sex, exclude...

Pupils, the Forgotten Partners in Education Action Zones

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitehead, Joan; Clough, Nick

2004-01-01

Education action zones (EAZs) involving local partnerships are one of the government's policies set up to help raise standards in pupils' performance and behaviour in areas of economic and social disadvantage. This article explores the nature of these partnerships and the fact that pupils are excluded. It reviews literature on student voice and…

Weighting factors for computing the relation between tree volume and d.b.h. in the Pacific Northwest.

Treesearch

Donald R. Gedney; Floyd A. Johnson

1959-01-01

Timber cruising is frequently made easier through use of local volume tables based on d.b.h. alone. These tables are made by establishing the relation between volume and d.b.h. from measurements (including height) made on sample trees in the stand. The sample-tree measurements are converted to volumes through use of standard volume tables, and a volume-diameter curve...

ASDIR-II. Volume I. User Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-12-01

normally the most significant part of the overall aircraft IR signature. The 4 radiance is directly dependent upon the geometric view factors , a set...tactors as punched card output in. a view factor computer run. For the view factor computer run IB49 through 53 and all IDS input A, from IDS-2 to IDS-6...may be excluded from the input string if the * program execution is requested to stop after punching the viewv factors . Inputs required for punching

A mobile phone Faraday cage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

French, M. M. J.

2011-05-01

A Faraday cage is an interesting physical phenomenon where an electromagnetic wave can be excluded from a volume of space by enclosure with an electrically conducting material. The practical application of this in the classroom is to block the signal to a mobile phone by enclosing it in a metal can. The background of the physics behind this is described in some detail, and this is followed by a explanation of some demonstrations and experiments which I have used.

The Dental Needs of Reserve Component Soldiers. Volume 1. Introduction, Methods, and Characteristics of Study Sample

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-11-01

each soldier, we selected one side of the mouth at random and examined all teeth on that side, except third molars . The rationale and measurement...any third molars that had at least one of the following signs or symptoms: suppuration, swelling, or pain. Because acute necrotizing ulcerative...explanatory. DMFS DETERMINATION GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS For the DMFS assessment, examine all teeth, excluding third molars . Make an entry for every tooth on

A Van der Waals-like theory of plasma double layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, Ira; Davis, V. A.

1989-01-01

A theory describing plasma double layers in terms of multiple roots of the charge density expression is presented. The theory presented uses the fact that equilibrium plasmas shield small potential perturbations linearly; for high potentials, the shielding decreases. The approach is analogous to Van der Waals' theory of simple fluids in which inclusion of approximate expressions for both excluded volume and long range attractive forces sufficiently describes the first-order liquid-gas phase transition.

Collective motion of active Brownian particles with polar alignment.

PubMed

Martín-Gómez, Aitor; Levis, Demian; Díaz-Guilera, Albert; Pagonabarraga, Ignacio

2018-04-04

We present a comprehensive computational study of the collective behavior emerging from the competition between self-propulsion, excluded volume interactions and velocity-alignment in a two-dimensional model of active particles. We consider an extension of the active brownian particles model where the self-propulsion direction of the particles aligns with the one of their neighbors. We analyze the onset of collective motion (flocking) in a low-density regime (10% surface area) and show that it is mainly controlled by the strength of velocity-alignment interactions: the competition between self-propulsion and crowding effects plays a minor role in the emergence of flocking. However, above the flocking threshold, the system presents a richer pattern formation scenario than analogous models without alignment interactions (active brownian particles) or excluded volume effects (Vicsek-like models). Depending on the parameter regime, the structure of the system is characterized by either a broad distribution of finite-sized polar clusters or the presence of an amorphous, highly fluctuating, large-scale traveling structure which can take a lane-like or band-like form (and usually a hybrid structure which is halfway in between both). We establish a phase diagram that summarizes collective behavior of polar active brownian particles and propose a generic mechanism to describe the complexity of the large-scale structures observed in systems of repulsive self-propelled particles.

Entropic and Electrostatic Effects on the Folding Free Energy of a Surface-Attached Biomolecule: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

PubMed Central

Watkins, Herschel M.; Vallée-Bélisle, Alexis; Ricci, Francesco; Makarov, Dmitrii E.; Plaxco, Kevin W.

2012-01-01

Surface-tethered biomolecules play key roles in many biological processes and biotechnologies. However, while the physical consequences of such surface attachment have seen significant theoretical study, to date this issue has seen relatively little experimental investigation. In response we present here a quantitative experimental and theoretical study of the extent to which attachment to a charged –but otherwise apparently inert– surface alters the folding free energy of a simple biomolecule. Specifically, we have measured the folding free energy of a DNA stem loop both in solution and when site-specifically attached to a negatively charged, hydroxyl-alkane-coated gold surface. We find that, whereas surface attachment is destabilizing at low ionic strength it becomes stabilizing at ionic strengths above ~130 mM. This behavior presumably reflects two competing mechanisms: excluded volume effects, which stabilize the folded conformation by reducing the entropy of the unfolded state, and electrostatics, which, at lower ionic strengths, destabilizes the more compact folded state via repulsion from the negatively charged surface. To test this hypothesis we have employed existing theories of the electrostatics of surface-bound polyelectrolytes and the entropy of surface-bound polymers to model both effects. Despite lacking any fitted parameters, these theoretical models quantitatively fit our experimental results, suggesting that, for this system, current knowledge of both surface electrostatics and excluded volume effects is reasonably complete and accurate. PMID:22239220

Unique strain history during ejection in canine left ventricle.

PubMed

Douglas, A S; Rodriguez, E K; O'Dell, W; Hunter, W C

1991-05-01

Understanding the relationship between structure and function in the heart requires a knowledge of the connection between the local behavior of the myocardium (e.g., shortening) and the pumping action of the left ventricle. We asked the question, how do changes in preload and afterload affect the relationship between local myocardial deformation and ventricular volume? To study this, a set of small radiopaque beads was implanted in approximately 1 cm3 of the isolated canine heart left ventricular free wall. Using biplane cineradiography, we tracked the motion of these markers through various cardiac cycles (controlling pre- and afterload) using the relative motion of six markers to quantify the local three dimensional Lagrangian strain. Two different reference states (used to define the strains) were considered. First, we used the configuration of the heart at end diastole for that particular cardiac cycle to define the individual strains (which gave the local "shortening fraction") and the ejection fraction. Second, we used a single reference state for all cardiac cycles i.e., the end-diastolic state at maximum volume, to define absolute strains (which gave local fractional length) and the volume fraction. The individual strain versus ejection fraction trajectories were dependent on preload and afterload. For any one heart, however, each component of absolute strain was more tightly correlated to volume fraction. Around each linear regression, the individual measurements of absolute strain scattered with standard errors that averaged less than 7% of their range. Thus the canine hearts examined had a preferred kinematic (shape) history during ejection, different from the kinematics of filling and independent or pre-or afterload and of stroke volume.

Mechanistic Fluid Transport Model to Estimate Gastrointestinal Fluid Volume and Its Dynamic Change Over Time.

PubMed

Yu, Alex; Jackson, Trachette; Tsume, Yasuhiro; Koenigsknecht, Mark; Wysocki, Jeffrey; Marciani, Luca; Amidon, Gordon L; Frances, Ann; Baker, Jason R; Hasler, William; Wen, Bo; Pai, Amit; Sun, Duxin

2017-11-01

Gastrointestinal (GI) fluid volume and its dynamic change are integral to study drug disintegration, dissolution, transit, and absorption. However, key questions regarding the local volume and its absorption, secretion, and transit remain unanswered. The dynamic fluid compartment absorption and transit (DFCAT) model is proposed to estimate in vivo GI volume and GI fluid transport based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) quantified fluid volume. The model was validated using GI local concentration of phenol red in human GI tract, which was directly measured by human GI intubation study after oral dosing of non-absorbable phenol red. The measured local GI concentration of phenol red ranged from 0.05 to 168 μg/mL (stomach), to 563 μg/mL (duodenum), to 202 μg/mL (proximal jejunum), and to 478 μg/mL (distal jejunum). The DFCAT model characterized observed MRI fluid volume and its dynamic changes from 275 to 46.5 mL in stomach (from 0 to 30 min) with mucus layer volume of 40 mL. The volumes of the 30 small intestine compartments were characterized by a max of 14.98 mL to a min of 0.26 mL (0-120 min) and a mucus layer volume of 5 mL per compartment. Regional fluid volumes over 0 to 120 min ranged from 5.6 to 20.38 mL in the proximal small intestine, 36.4 to 44.08 mL in distal small intestine, and from 42 to 64.46 mL in total small intestine. The DFCAT model can be applied to predict drug dissolution and absorption in the human GI tract with future improvements.

Assessment of cardiovascular risk profile based on measurement of tophus volume in patients with gout.

PubMed

Lee, Kyung-Ann; Ryu, Se-Ri; Park, Seong-Jun; Kim, Hae-Rim; Lee, Sang-Heon

2018-05-01

Hyperuricemia and gout are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation of total tophus volumes, measured using dual-energy computed tomography, with cardiovascular risk and the presence of metabolic syndrome. Dual-energy computed tomography datasets from 91 patients with a diagnosis of gout were analyzed retrospectively. Patients who received urate lowering therapy were excluded to avoid the effect on tophus volume. The total volumes of tophaceous deposition were quantified using automated volume assessment software. The 10-year cardiovascular risk using the Framingham Risk Score and metabolic syndrome based on the Third Adult Treatment Panel criteria were estimated. Fifty-five and 36 patients with positive and negative dual-energy computed tomography results, respectively, were assessed. Patients with positive dual-energy computed tomography results showed significantly higher systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and higher prevalence of chronic kidney disease, compared with those with negative dual-energy computed tomography results. The total tophus volumes were significantly correlated with the Framingham Risk Score, and the number of metabolic syndrome components (r = 0.22 and p = 0.036 and r = 0.373 and p < 0.001, respectively). The total tophus volume was one of the independent prognostic factors for the Framingham Risk Score in a multivariate analysis. This study showed the correlation of total tophus volumes with cardiovascular risk and metabolic syndrome-related comorbidities. A high urate burden could affect unfavorable cardiovascular profiles.

The role of intraoperative radiation therapy in patients with pancreatic cancer.

PubMed

Palta, Manisha; Willett, Christopher; Czito, Brian

2014-04-01

Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) techniques allow for the delivery of high doses of radiation therapy while excluding part or all of the nearby dose-limiting sensitive structures. Therefore, the effective radiation dose is increased and local tumor control potentially improved. This is pertinent in the case of pancreatic cancer because local failure rates are as high as 50%-80% in patients with resected and locally advanced disease. Available data in patients receiving IORT after pancreaticoduodenectomy reveal an improvement in local control, though overall survival benefit is unclear. Series of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer also suggest pain relief, and in select studies, improved survival associated with the inclusion of IORT. At present, no phase III data clearly supports the use of IORT in the management of pancreatic cancer. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc.

The relationship between air layers and evaporative resistance of male Chinese ethnic clothing.

PubMed

Wang, Faming; Peng, Hui; Shi, Wen

2016-09-01

In this study, the air layer distribution and evaporative resistances of 39 sets of male Chinese ethnic clothing were investigated using a sweating thermal manikin and the three-dimensional (3D) body scanning technique. Relationships between the evaporative resistance and air layers (i.e., air gap thickness and air volume) were explored. The results demonstrated that the clothing total evaporative resistance increases with the increasing air gap size/air volume, but the rate of increase gradually decreases as the mean air gap size or the total air volume becomes larger. The clothing total evaporative resistance reaches its maximum when the average air gap size and the total air volume are 41.6 mm and 69.9 dm(3), respectively. Similar general trends were also found between local mean air gap size and clothing local evaporative resistance at different body parts. However, different body parts show varied rates of increase and decrease in the local evaporative resistance. The research findings provide a comprehensive database for predicting overall and local human thermal comfort while wearing male Chinese ethnic clothing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Liver Function After Proton Beam Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mizumoto, Masashi; Okumura, Toshiyuki; Hashimoto, Takayuki

Purpose: Our previous results for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with proton beam therapy (PBT) revealed excellent local control. In this study, we focused on the impact of PBT on normal liver function. Methods and Materials: The subjects were 259 patients treated with PBT at University of Tsukuba between January 2001 and December 2007. We evaluated the Child-Pugh score pretreatment, on the final day of PBT, and 6, 12, and 24 months after treatment with PBT. Patients who had disease progression or who died with tumor progression at each evaluation point were excluded from the analysis to rule out an effectmore » of tumor progression. An increase in the Child-Pugh score of 1 or more was defined as an adverse event. Results: Of the 259 patients, 241 had no disease progression on the final day of PBT, and 91 had no progression within 12 months after PBT. In univariate analysis, the percentage volumes of normal liver receiving at least 0, 10, 20, and 30 GyE in PBT (V0, 10, 20, and 30) were significantly associated with an increase of Child-Pugh score at 12 months after PBT. Of the 91 patients evaluated at 12 months, 66 had no increase of Child-Pugh score, 15 had a 1-point increase, and 10 had an increase of {>=}2 points. For the Youden index, the optimal cut-offs for V0, V10, V20, and V30 were 30%, 20%, 26%, and 18%, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that liver function after PBT is significantly related to the percentage volume of normal liver that is not irradiated. This suggests that further study of the relationship between liver function and PBT is required.« less

Dark matter directionality revisited with a high pressure xenon gas detector

DOE PAGES

Mohlabeng, Gopolang; Kong, Kyoungchul; Li, Jin; ...

2015-07-20

An observation of the anisotropy of dark matter interactions in a direction-sensitive detector would provide decisive evidence for the discovery of galactic dark matter. Directional information would also provide a crucial input to understanding its distribution in the local Universe. Most of the existing directional dark matter detectors utilize particle tracking methods in a low-pressure gas time projection chamber. These low pressure detectors require excessively large volumes in order to be competitive in the search for physics beyond the current limit. In order to avoid these volume limitations, we consider a novel proposal, which exploits a columnar recombination effect inmore » a high-pressure gas time projection chamber. The ratio of scintillation to ionization signals observed in the detector carries the angular information of the particle interactions. In this paper, we investigate the sensitivity of a future directional detector focused on the proposed high-pressure Xenon gas time projection chamber. We study the prospect of detecting an anisotropy in the dark matter velocity distribution. We find that tens of events are needed to exclude an isotropic distribution of dark matter interactions at 95% confidence level in the most optimistic case with head-to-tail information. However, one needs at least 10-20 times more events without head-to-tail information for light dark matter below ~50 GeV. For an intermediate mass range, we find it challenging to observe an anisotropy of the dark matter distribution. Our results also show that the directional information significantly improves precision measurements of dark matter mass and the elastic scattering cross section for a heavy dark matter.« less

A very rare case of bloody tears with enigmatic epistaxis and haematuria.

PubMed

Ho, Jason Z S; de Silva, Julian; Olver, Jane

2011-03-01

Bloody tears are a rare symptom that can be caused by local or systemic pathology. We describe a very rare case of bloody tears that resulted from hyperthyroidism. A 15-year-old female patient presented with a 6-month history of bloody tears and epistaxis. Examination excluded local ocular and nasal pathology, including neoplasm and coagulopathy. Systemic investigations identified elevated thyroid function and following treatment her symptoms resolved. We discuss the mechanism by which hyperthyroidism may induce haemostatic dysfunction. We present the first case of bloody tears secondary to thyroid dysfunction.

Magnetoelectric force microscopy based on magnetic force microscopy with modulated electric field.

PubMed

Geng, Yanan; Wu, Weida

2014-05-01

We present the realization of a mesoscopic imaging technique, namely, the Magnetoelectric Force Microscopy (MeFM), for visualization of local magnetoelectric effect. The basic principle of MeFM is the lock-in detection of local magnetoelectric response, i.e., the electric field-induced magnetization, using magnetic force microscopy. We demonstrate MeFM capability by visualizing magnetoelectric domains on single crystals of multiferroic hexagonal manganites. Results of several control experiments exclude artifacts or extrinsic origins of the MeFM signal. The parameters are tuned to optimize the signal to noise ratio.

Reliability of tanoak volume equations when applied to different areas

Treesearch

Norman H. Pillsbury; Philip M. McDonald; Victor Simon

1995-01-01

Tree volume equations for tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) were developed for seven stands throughout its natural range and compared by a volume prediction and a parameter difference method. The objective was to test if volume estimates from a species growing in a local, relatively uniform habitat could be applied more widely. Results indicated...

Volume-controlled Ventilation Does Not Prevent Injurious Inflation during Spontaneous Effort.

PubMed

Yoshida, Takeshi; Nakahashi, Susumu; Nakamura, Maria Aparecida Miyuki; Koyama, Yukiko; Roldan, Rollin; Torsani, Vinicius; De Santis, Roberta R; Gomes, Susimeire; Uchiyama, Akinori; Amato, Marcelo B P; Kavanagh, Brian P; Fujino, Yuji

2017-09-01

Spontaneous breathing during mechanical ventilation increases transpulmonary pressure and Vt, and worsens lung injury. Intuitively, controlling Vt and transpulmonary pressure might limit injury caused by added spontaneous effort. To test the hypothesis that, during spontaneous effort in injured lungs, limitation of Vt and transpulmonary pressure by volume-controlled ventilation results in less injurious patterns of inflation. Dynamic computed tomography was used to determine patterns of regional inflation in rabbits with injured lungs during volume-controlled or pressure-controlled ventilation. Transpulmonary pressure was estimated by using esophageal balloon manometry [Pl(es)] with and without spontaneous effort. Local dependent lung stress was estimated as the swing (inspiratory change) in transpulmonary pressure measured by intrapleural manometry in dependent lung and was compared with the swing in Pl(es). Electrical impedance tomography was performed to evaluate the inflation pattern in a larger animal (pig) and in a patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Spontaneous breathing in injured lungs increased Pl(es) during pressure-controlled (but not volume-controlled) ventilation, but the pattern of dependent lung inflation was the same in both modes. In volume-controlled ventilation, spontaneous effort caused greater inflation and tidal recruitment of dorsal regions (greater than twofold) compared with during muscle paralysis, despite the same Vt and Pl(es). This was caused by higher local dependent lung stress (measured by intrapleural manometry). In injured lungs, esophageal manometry underestimated local dependent pleural pressure changes during spontaneous effort. Limitation of Vt and Pl(es) by volume-controlled ventilation could not eliminate harm caused by spontaneous breathing unless the level of spontaneous effort was lowered and local dependent lung stress was reduced.

Local D3/D7 μ-SPLIT SUSY, 125 GeV Higgs and Large Volume Ricci-Flat Swiss-Cheese Metrics:. a Brief Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misra, Aalok

In this paper, we review briefly recent progress made in realizing local(ized around a mobile spacetime filling D3-brane in) D3/D7 μ-split Supersymmetry in (the large volume limit of Type IIB) String Theory (compactified on Swiss-Cheese Calabi-Yau orientifolds) as well as obtaining a 125 GeV (light) Higgs in the same setup. We also discuss obtaining the geometric Kähler potential (and hence the Ricci-flat metric) for the Swiss-Cheese Calabi-Yau in the large volume limit using the Donaldson's algorithm and intuition from GLSM-based calculations — we present new results for Swiss-Cheese Calabi-Yau (used in the setup) metrics at points finitely away from the "big" divisor.

Normal reference values for bladder wall thickness on CT in a healthy population.

PubMed

Fananapazir, Ghaneh; Kitich, Aleksandar; Lamba, Ramit; Stewart, Susan L; Corwin, Michael T

2018-02-01

To determine normal bladder wall thickness on CT in patients without bladder disease. Four hundred and nineteen patients presenting for trauma with normal CTs of the abdomen and pelvis were included in our retrospective study. Bladder wall thickness was assessed, and bladder volume was measured using both the ellipsoid formula and an automated technique. Patient age, gender, and body mass index were recorded. Linear regression models were created to account for bladder volume, age, gender, and body mass index, and the multiple correlation coefficient with bladder wall thickness was computed. Bladder volume and bladder wall thickness were log-transformed to achieve approximate normality and homogeneity of variance. Variables that did not contribute substantively to the model were excluded, and a parsimonious model was created and the multiple correlation coefficient was calculated. Expected bladder wall thickness was estimated for different bladder volumes, and 1.96 standard deviation above expected provided the upper limit of normal on the log scale. Age, gender, and bladder volume were associated with bladder wall thickness (p = 0.049, 0.024, and < 0.001, respectively). The linear regression model had an R 2 of 0.52. Age and gender were negligible in contribution to the model, and a parsimonious model using only volume was created for both the ellipsoid and automated volumes (R 2  = 0.52 and 0.51, respectively). Bladder wall thickness correlates with bladder wall volume. The study provides reference bladder wall thicknesses on CT utilizing both the ellipsoid formula and automated bladder volumes.

SU-E-I-91: Reproducibility in Prescribed Dose in AEC CT Scans Due to Table Height, Patient Size, and Localizer Acquisition Order

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Winslow, J; Hurwitz, L; Christianson, O

2014-06-01

Purpose: In CT scanners, the automatic exposure control (AEC) tube current prescription depends on the acquired prescan localizer image(s). The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect that table height, patient size, and localizer acquisition order may have on the reproducibility in prescribed dose. Methods: Three phantoms were used for this study: the Mercury Phantom (comprises three tapered and four uniform regions of polyethylene 16, 23, 30, and 37 cm in diameter), acrylic sheets, and an adult anthropomorphic phantom. Phantoms were positioned per clinical protocol by our chief CT technologist or broader symmetry. Using a GE Discovery CT750HDmore » scanner, a lateral (LAT) and posterior-anterior (PA) localizer was acquired for each phantom at different table heights. AEC scan acquisitions were prescribed for each combination of phantom, localizer orientation, and table height; the displayed volume CTDI was recorded for each. Results were analyzed versus table height. Results: For the two largest Mercury Phantom section scans based on the PA localizer, the percent change in volume CTDI from ideal were at least 20% lower and 35% greater for table heights 4 cm above and 4 cm below proper centering, respectively. For scans based on the LAT localizer, the percent change in volume CTDI from ideal were no greater than 12% different for 4 cm differences in table height. The properly centered PA and LAT localizer-based volume CTDI values were within 13% of each other. Conclusion: Since uncertainty in vertical patient positioning is inherently greater than lateral positioning and because the variability in dose exceeds any dose penalties incurred, the LAT localizer should be used to precisely and reproducibly deliver the intended amount of radiation prescribed by CT protocols. CT protocols can be adjusted to minimize the expected change in average patient dose.« less

Nonlocal birth-death competitive dynamics with volume exclusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalil, Nagi; López, Cristóbal; Hernández-García, Emilio

2017-06-01

A stochastic birth-death competition model for particles with excluded volume is proposed. The particles move, reproduce, and die on a regular lattice. While the death rate is constant, the birth rate is spatially nonlocal and implements inter-particle competition by a dependence on the number of particles within a finite distance. The finite volume of particles is accounted for by fixing an upper value to the number of particles that can occupy a lattice node, compromising births and movements. We derive closed macroscopic equations for the density of particles and spatial correlation at two adjacent sites. Under different conditions, the description is further reduced to a single equation for the particle density that contains three terms: diffusion, a linear death, and a highly nonlinear and nonlocal birth term. Steady-state homogeneous solutions, their stability which reveals spatial pattern formation, and the dynamics of time-dependent homogeneous solutions are discussed and compared, in the one-dimensional case, with numerical simulations of the particle system.

Suppression of pulmonary vasculature in lung perfusion MRI using correlation analysis.

PubMed

Risse, Frank; Kuder, Tristan A; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich; Semmler, Wolfhard; Fink, Christian

2009-11-01

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of suppressing the pulmonary vasculature in lung perfusion MRI using cross-correlation analysis (CCA). Perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (3D FLASH, TR/TE/flip angle: 0.8 ms/2.1 ms/40 degrees ) of the lungs was performed in seven healthy volunteers at 1.5 Tesla after injection of Gd-DTPA. CCA was performed pixel-wise in lung segmentations using the signal time-course of the main pulmonary artery and left atrium as references. Pixels with high correlation coefficients were considered as arterial or venous and excluded from further analysis. Quantitative perfusion parameters [pulmonary blood flow (PBF) and volume (PBV)] were calculated for manual lung segmentations separately, with the entire left and right lung with all intrapulmonary vessels (IPV) included, excluded manually or excluded using CCA. The application of CCA allowed reliable suppression of hilar and large IPVs. Using vascular suppression by CCA, perfusion parameters were significantly reduced (p

Local breast density assessment using reacquired mammographic images.

PubMed

García, Eloy; Diaz, Oliver; Martí, Robert; Diez, Yago; Gubern-Mérida, Albert; Sentís, Melcior; Martí, Joan; Oliver, Arnau

2017-08-01

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the spatial glandular volumetric tissue distribution as well as the density measures provided by Volpara™ using a dataset composed of repeated pairs of mammograms, where each pair was acquired in a short time frame and in a slightly changed position of the breast. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 99 pairs of repeatedly acquired full-field digital mammograms from 99 different patients. The commercial software Volpara™ Density Maps (Volpara Solutions, Wellington, New Zealand) is used to estimate both the global and the local glandular tissue distribution in each image. The global measures provided by Volpara™, such as breast volume, volume of glandular tissue, and volumetric breast density are compared between the two acquisitions. The evaluation of the local glandular information is performed using histogram similarity metrics, such as intersection and correlation, and local measures, such as statistics from the difference image and local gradient correlation measures. Global measures showed a high correlation (breast volume R=0.99, volume of glandular tissue R=0.94, and volumetric breast density R=0.96) regardless the anode/filter material. Similarly, histogram intersection and correlation metric showed that, for each pair, the images share a high degree of information. Regarding the local distribution of glandular tissue, small changes in the angle of view do not yield significant differences in the glandular pattern, whilst changes in the breast thickness between both acquisition affect the spatial parenchymal distribution. This study indicates that Volpara™ Density Maps is reliable in estimating the local glandular tissue distribution and can be used for its assessment and follow-up. Volpara™ Density Maps is robust to small variations of the acquisition angle and to the beam energy, although divergences arise due to different breast compression conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Revisiting measuring colour gamut of the color-reproducing system: interpretation aspects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sysuev, I. A.; Varepo, L. G.; Trapeznikova, O. V.

2018-04-01

According to the ISO standard, the color gamut body volume is used to evaluate the color reproduction quality. The specified volume describes the number of colors that are in a certain area of the color space. There are ways for evaluating the reproduction quality of a multi-colour image using numerical integration methods, but this approach does not provide high accuracy of the analysis. In this connection, the task of increasing the accuracy of the color reproduction evaluation is still relevant. In order to determine the color mass of a color space area, it is suggested to select the necessary color density values from a map corresponding to a given degree of sampling, excluding its mathematical calculations, which reflects the practical significance and novelty of this solution.

Water Lone Pair Delocalization in Classical and Quantum Descriptions of the Hydration of Model Ions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Remsing, Richard C.; Duignan, Timothy T.; Baer, Marcel D.

Understanding the nature of ionic hydration at a fundamental level has eluded scientists despite intense interest for nearly a century. In particular, the microscopic origins of the asymmetry of ion solvation thermodynamics with respect to the sign of the ionic charge remains a mystery. Here, we determine the response of accurate quantum mechanical water models to strong nanoscale solvation forces arising from excluded volumes and ionic electrostatic fields. This is compared to the predictions of two important limiting classes of classical models of water with fixed point changes, differing in their treatment of "lone-pair" electrons. Using the quantum water modelmore » as our standard of accuracy, we find that a single fixed classical treatment of lone pair electrons cannot accurately describe solvation of both apolar and cationic solutes, underlining the need for a more flexible description of local electronic effects in solvation processes. However, we explicitly show that all water models studied respond to weak long-ranged electrostatic perturbations in a manner that follows macroscopic dielectric continuum models, as would be expected. We emphasize the importance of these findings in the context of realistic ion models, using density functional theory and empirical models, and discuss the implications of our results for quantitatively accurate reduced descriptions of solvation in dielectric media.« less

[Ultrasonic monitoring foam sclerotherapy for serious varicosis of lower extremity].

PubMed

Yin, Heng-hui; Pan, Fu-shun; Huang, Xue-ling; Chang, Guang-qi; Wang, Shen-ming

2013-11-19

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of foam sclerotherapy for lower extremity varicosis in C4 to C6 patients. A total of 32 patients (32 limbs) with serious lower extremity varicosis classified as C4 to C6 were enrolled. Ultrasonic monitoring of foam sclerotherapy was performed after subfascial endoscopic perforator suture and saphenous vein ligation. They were followed up monthly at outpatient department. Duplex Doppler scan was performed during each interview. All patients were treated successfully. An average of 3.2 perforators were ligated per leg (1-5 perforators). The average volume of foam sclerosing agent was 27.5 ml per leg. Mild chest tightness was observed in one patient but computed tomography (CT) scan excluded pulmonary embolism. Obvious local inflammatory reaction was observed in 4 patients. Residual vein mass without blood signal was seen in 3 patients. No such serious complication as cerebral ischemia was observed. The average follow-up period was 4.8 (1-10) months. Obvious varicose veins and clinical symptoms disappeared at 1 month. And venous ulcers in patients classified as C5 healed within 3 months. Ultrasonic monitoring of foam sclerotherapy, incorporation with saphenous vein ligation and subfascial endoscopic perforator suture, is both safe and effective in the treatment of serious lower extremity varicosis classified as C4 to C6.

Target margins in radiotherapy of prostate cancer

PubMed Central

Bauman, Glenn

2016-01-01

We reviewed the literature on the use of margins in radiotherapy of patients with prostate cancer, focusing on different options for image guidance (IG) and technical issues. The search in PubMed database was limited to include studies that involved external beam radiotherapy of the intact prostate. Post-prostatectomy studies, brachytherapy and particle therapy were excluded. Each article was characterized according to the IG strategy used: positioning on external marks using room lasers, bone anatomy and soft tissue match, usage of fiducial markers, electromagnetic tracking and adapted delivery. A lack of uniformity in margin selection among institutions was evident from the review. In general, introduction of pre- and in-treatment IG was associated with smaller planning target volume (PTV) margins, but there was a lack of definitive experimental/clinical studies providing robust information on selection of exact PTV values. In addition, there is a lack of comparative research regarding the cost–benefit ratio of the different strategies: insertion of fiducial markers or electromagnetic transponders facilitates prostate gland localization but at a price of invasive procedure; frequent pre-treatment imaging increases patient in-room time, dose and labour; online plan adaptation should improve radiation delivery accuracy but requires fast and precise computation. Finally, optimal protocols for quality assurance procedures need to be established. PMID:27377353

Management of non-neoplastic ovarian cysts with sclerotherapy.

PubMed

Kafali, H; Yurtseven, S; Atmaca, F; Ozardali, I

2003-04-01

To evaluate sclerotherapy with alcohol and erythromycin in the management of simple ovarian cysts. Twenty-four simple ovarian cysts were subjected to sclerotherapy with alcohol and erythromycin. All procedures were performed under local anesthesia and in an outpatient setting. Cytological examination was carried out in all cases and two patients were excluded from the study because of suspicious cytological results. The patients were followed up monthly with color Doppler sonography for more than 12 months. Cyst fluid was serous in 17 cases and dark-chocolate colored in seven cases. The volume of aspirated fluid ranged from 100 to 220 ml. The size of ovarian masses and cyst-wall thickness ranged from 5.5 to 8.5 cm and 1.5 to 5 mm, respectively. Cytological analysis of 15 cysts revealed acellular sediment, seven cysts were compatible with endometrioma, and two were reported as suspicious. During the 12-month follow-up, seven cyst recurrences were detected. Aspiration and sclerotherapy with alcohol and erythromycin are followed by a relatively high recurrence rate when the aspirate is bloody. However, patients with a simple cyst that is painful or liable to torsion could benefit from sclerotherapy. Such patients, who are at low risk for malignancy, are relieved with sclerotherapy while avoiding surgery.

Differentiating prenatal exposure to methamphetamine and alcohol versus alcohol and not methamphetamine using tensor based brain morphometry and discriminant analysis

PubMed Central

Sowell, Elizabeth R.; Leow, Alex D.; Bookheimer, Susan Y.; Smith, Lynne M.; O’Connor, Mary J.; Kan, Eric; Rosso, Carly; Houston, Suzanne; Dinov, Ivo D.; Thompson, Paul M.

2010-01-01

Here we investigate the effects of prenatal exposure to methamphetamine (MA) on local brain volume using magnetic resonance imaging. Because many who use MA during pregnancy also use alcohol, a known teratogen, we examined whether local brain volumes differed among 61 children (ages 5 to 15), 21 with prenatal MA exposure, 18 with concomitant prenatal alcohol exposure (the MAA group), 13 with heavy prenatal alcohol but not MA exposure (ALC group), and 27 unexposed controls (CON group). Volume reductions were observed in both exposure groups relative to controls in striatal and thalamic regions bilaterally, and right prefrontal and left occipitoparietal cortices. Striatal volume reductions were more severe in the MAA group than in the ALC group, and within the MAA group, a negative correlation between full-scale IQ (FSIQ) scores and caudate volume was observed. Limbic structures including the anterior and posterior cingulate, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and ventral and lateral temporal lobes bilaterally were increased in volume in both exposure groups. Further, cingulate and right IFG volume increases were more pronounced in the MAA than ALC group. Discriminant function analyses using local volume measurements and FSIQ were used to predict group membership, yielding factor scores that correctly classified 72% of participants in jackknife analyses. These findings suggest that striatal and limbic structures, known to be sites of neurotoxicity in adult MA abusers, may be more vulnerable to prenatal MA exposure than alcohol exposure, and that more severe striatal damage is associated with more severe cognitive deficit. PMID:20237258

Origin of Tumor Recurrence After Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy for Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Raktoe, Sawan A.S.; Dehnad, Homan, E-mail: h.dehnad@umcutrecht.nl; Raaijmakers, Cornelis P.J.

Purpose: To model locoregional recurrences of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) treated with primary intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in order to find the origins from which recurrences grow and relate their location to original target volume borders. Methods and Materials: This was a retrospective analysis of OSCC treated with primary IMRT between January 2002 and December 2009. Locoregional recurrence volumes were delineated on diagnostic scans and coregistered rigidly with treatment planning computed tomography scans. Each recurrence was analyzed with two methods. First, overlapping volumes of a recurrence and original target were measured ('volumetric approach') and assessed as 'in-field', 'marginal',more » or 'out-field'. Then, the center of mass (COM) of a recurrence volume was assumed as the origin from where a recurrence expanded, the COM location was compared with original target volume borders and assessed as 'in-field', 'marginal', or 'out-field'. Results: One hundred thirty-one OSCC were assessed. For all patients alive at the end of follow-up, the mean follow-up time was 40 months (range, 12-83 months); 2 patients were lost to follow-up. The locoregional recurrence rate was 27%. Of all recurrences, 51% were local, 23% were regional, and 26% had both local and regional recurrences. Of all recurrences, 74% had imaging available for assessment. Regarding volumetric analysis of local recurrences, 15% were in-field gross tumor volume (GTV), and 65% were in-field clinical tumor volume (CTV). Using the COM approach, we found that 70% of local recurrences were in-field GTV and 90% were in-field CTV. Of the regional recurrences, 25% were volumetrically in-field GTV, and using the COM approach, we found 54% were in-field GTV. The COM of local out-field CTV recurrences were maximally 16 mm outside CTV borders, whereas for regional recurrences, this was 17 mm. Conclusions: The COM model is practical and specific for recurrence assessment. Most recurrences originated in the GTV. This suggests radioresistance in certain tumor parts.« less

37 CFR 201.17 - Statements of Account covering compulsory licenses for secondary transmissions by cable systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...., a local news or public affairs program). (9) For purposes of this section, the “rules and..., regardless of when accrued: (i) Less the amount of any bad debts actually written-off during that accounting period, excluding bad debts for secondary transmission service furnished before January 1, 1978; (ii...

Projecting other public inventories for the 2005 RPA timber assessment update.

Treesearch

Xiaoping Zhou; John R. Mills; Richard W. Haynes

2007-01-01

This study gives an overview of the current inventory status and the projection of future forest inventories on other public timberland. Other public lands are lands administered by state, local, and federal government but excluding National Forest System lands. These projections were used as part of the 2005 USDA Forest Service Resource Planning Act timber assessment...

27 CFR 53.101 - Limitation on aggregate of exclusions and price readjustments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... exclusions and price readjustments. 53.101 Section 53.101 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND... aggregate of exclusions and price readjustments. (a) In general. The sum of the amount excluded from taxable price in respect of charges for local advertising, as provided in section 4216(e)(1) of the Code and...

26 CFR 48.4216(e)-2 - Limitation on aggregate of exclusions and price readjustments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Limitation on aggregate of exclusions and price... Applicable to Manufacturers Taxes § 48.4216(e)-2 Limitation on aggregate of exclusions and price readjustments. (a) In general. The sum of the amount excluded from taxable price in respect of charges for local...

"Bitchy Girls and Silly Boys": Gender and Exclusion from School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlile, Anna

2009-01-01

This paper is concerned with findings about gender which form part of a larger ethnographic study. The study was undertaken during the author's employment as a local authority (school district) Pupil Support Officer, where the author's work involved the support of young people who had been permanently excluded (expelled) from school for a variety…

7 CFR 3015.205 - General provisions for grants and cooperative agreements with institutions of higher education...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... cooperative agreements with State and local governments are set forth in the Office of Management and Budget... national origin unless these characteristics are factors to be studied. (2) It will comply with the Animal... national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to...

20 CFR 404.1014 - Domestic service by a student for a local college club, fraternity or sorority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Work Excluded from Employment § 404.1014 Domestic service by a student for..., your work is not covered as employment. (b) Explanation of terms—(1) Work of a household nature means...

20 CFR 404.1014 - Domestic service by a student for a local college club, fraternity or sorority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Work Excluded from Employment § 404.1014 Domestic service by a student for..., your work is not covered as employment. (b) Explanation of terms—(1) Work of a household nature means...

20 CFR 404.1014 - Domestic service by a student for a local college club, fraternity or sorority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Work Excluded from Employment § 404.1014 Domestic service by a student for..., your work is not covered as employment. (b) Explanation of terms—(1) Work of a household nature means...

20 CFR 404.1014 - Domestic service by a student for a local college club, fraternity or sorority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Work Excluded from Employment § 404.1014 Domestic service by a student for..., your work is not covered as employment. (b) Explanation of terms—(1) Work of a household nature means...

20 CFR 404.1014 - Domestic service by a student for a local college club, fraternity or sorority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Work Excluded from Employment § 404.1014 Domestic service by a student for..., your work is not covered as employment. (b) Explanation of terms—(1) Work of a household nature means...

75 FR 38710 - Special Local Regulation, Fran Schnarr Open Water Championships, Huntington Bay, NY

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-06

... Regulation on the navigable waters of Huntington Bay, New York due to the annual Fran Schnarr Open Water..., New York that excludes all unauthorized persons and vessels from approaching within 100 yards of any... Championships, Huntington Bay, New York. (a) Regulated area. All navigable waters of Huntington Bay, NY within...

Water Resources Data for California, 1967; Part 1: Surface Water Records; Volume 1: Colorado River Basin, Southern Great Basin, and Pacific Slope Basins excluding Central Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

1968-01-01

The surface-water records for the 1967 water year for gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites within California are given in this report. For convenience, also included are records for a few pertinent gaging stations in bordering States. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, under the direction of R. Stanley Lord, district chief, Menlo Park, Calif.

Water resources data for California, 1968; Part 1: Surface water records; Volume 1: Colorado River Basin, Southern Great Basin, and Pacific Slope Basins excluding Central Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1969-01-01

The surface-water records for the 1968 water year for gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites within California are given in this report. For convenience, also included are records for a few pertinent gaging stations in bordering States. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, under the direction of R. Stanley Lord, district chief, Menlo Park, Calif.

Orbiter subsystem hardware/software interaction analysis. Volume 8: AFT reaction control system, part 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, D. D.

1980-01-01

The orbiter subsystems and interfacing program elements which interact with the orbiter computer flight software are analyzed. The failure modes identified in the subsystem/element failure mode and effects analysis are examined. Potential interaction with the software is examined through an evaluation of the software requirements. The analysis is restricted to flight software requirements and excludes utility/checkout software. The results of the hardware/software interaction analysis for the forward reaction control system are presented.

Spacecraft/Environment Interactions CAE Tool. Volume 1. Users Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

aproe fo ubii-: K Arr A /- - " ,-’- .71 . IX, Iy- ,, A A GAUDE’, LT COL, USAF FOR -1E COMltaNDE > (SignturJ; RITA C. SAGCALYN Division Director Thi...report hay boen reviwed by the ESD Public Affairs Office (PA) and is relea-able to the ,.rAtional Techni.a1 Infor-,ation Service (NTIS). Qualified...Parts. Other Options TlY- procedure described above is the simplest method , r ,. files, but excludes several options provided by . K \\11. 5000. If the

Feasibility of Epidemiologic Research on Nonauditory Health Effects of Residential Aircraft Noise Exposure. Volume 3. Summary of Literature on Cardiovascular Effects on Noise Exposure

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-01

analyser epinephrine, dopamine, Cigala, F.; shop and sorting, and General Rodo cortisol measured Ricco, M.; matched for age, exposed personal dosimeters ...old sured by calibrated person- BP with semi-automatic de Vries, F. F.; duction depart- 31% 25-34 yrs.; al dosimeters with a short Waterpik...with without noise strain, history of hyper- tension excluded. 84 Table 3-23: continued. Suammuy of Epid oSl c Sades - contnud Bias and Potential

Characterizations of Nanofluid Heat Transfer Enhancements

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-06

nanoparticles used were measured using a dynamic light scattering method through Delsa Nano C (Beckman Coulter Inc, Brea, CA) with 658 nm laser and...Alfa Aesar, Ward Hill, MA, 12733), size was verified at 54.2 ± 2.0 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.25 ± 0.02 using DLS with a 658 nm laser and a... polypropylene centrifuge tube (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, 12-565-286B) creating a total volume of 16.7 mL of mixture that excluded any

Water Resources Data for California, 1965; Part 1: Surface Water Records; Volume 1: Colorado River Basin, Southern Great Basin, and Pacific Slope Basins excluding Central Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

1965-01-01

The surface-water records for the 1965 water year for gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites within California are given in this report. For convenience, also included are records for a few pertinent gaging stations in bordering States. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, under the direction of Walter Hofmann, district chief, Menlo Park, Calif.

Surface water records of California, 1964; Volume 1: Colorado River Basin, Southern Great Basin, and Pacific Slope Basins excluding Central Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

1965-01-01

The surface-water records for the 1964 water year for gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites within the State of California are given in this report. For convenience there are also included records for a few pertinent gaging stations in bordering States. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, under the direction of Walter Hofmann, district engineer, Surface Water Branch.

Atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion: review of ancillary testing modalities and implications for follow-up.

PubMed

Davey, Diane Davis; Greenspan, David L; Kurtycz, Daniel F I; Husain, Mujtaba; Austin, R Marshall

2010-07-01

To review the cytology category atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H), with human papillomavirus (HPV) and other ancillary testing results and according to age group. A literature search was performed on the ASC-H category, and studies analyzing ASC-H according to ancillary testing modalities or patient age groups during the past 4 years were emphasized. The ASC-H category accounts for less than 1% of cytology reports, and 33% to 84% will test positive for oncogenic HPV. The number of patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3 and cancer on biopsy is quite variable, from about 12% to more than 70%, averaging about 40%. The variation reflects patient population as well as local laboratory practices, but older subgroups are more likely to have negative HPV results and negative follow-up. Both the sensitivity of HPV testing for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3 detection and the negative predictive value for a patient with ASC-H and negative HPV testing average more than 95%. Additional studies evaluating other types of ancillary testing for the ASC-H category are needed. Atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, is an uncommon cytology result, and HPV testing results and biopsy follow-up show variation according to patient age group and local laboratory practices. A negative HPV result in ASC-H offers a high negative predictive value and could be considered as a management strategy in mature women as well as women 30 years and older receiving combined cytology and HPV screening.

Brief communication: 3-D reconstruction of a collapsed rock pillar from Web-retrieved images and terrestrial lidar data - the 2005 event of the west face of the Drus (Mont Blanc massif)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerin, Antoine; Abellán, Antonio; Matasci, Battista; Jaboyedoff, Michel; Derron, Marc-Henri; Ravanel, Ludovic

2017-07-01

In June 2005, a series of major rockfall events completely wiped out the Bonatti Pillar located in the legendary Drus west face (Mont Blanc massif, France). Terrestrial lidar scans of the west face were acquired after this event, but no pre-event point cloud is available. Thus, in order to reconstruct the volume and the shape of the collapsed blocks, a 3-D model has been built using photogrammetry (structure-from-motion (SfM) algorithms) based on 30 pictures collected on the Web. All these pictures were taken between September 2003 and May 2005. We then reconstructed the shape and volume of the fallen compartment by comparing the SfM model with terrestrial lidar data acquired in October 2005 and November 2011. The volume is calculated to 292 680 m3 (±5.6 %). This result is close to the value previously assessed by Ravanel and Deline (2008) for this same rock avalanche (265 000 ± 10 000 m3). The difference between these two estimations can be explained by the rounded shape of the volume determined by photogrammetry, which may lead to a volume overestimation. However it is not excluded that the volume calculated by Ravanel and Deline (2008) is slightly underestimated, the thickness of the blocks having been assessed manually from historical photographs.

Fluid extravasation during hip arthroscopy.

PubMed

Stafford, Giles H; Malviya, Ajay; Villar, Richard N

2011-01-01

The amount of fluid that may be lost into the soft tissues during hip arthroscopic surgery is unknown. We measured the volumes of irrigation fluid infused, operating time, fluid pressures and volumes of fluid recovered in 36 therapeutic hip arthroscopies. We excluded those where fluid was lost to the floor, leaving 28 patients. The majority were undergoing surgery for the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement. In 5 patients an intra-articular contrast medium was instilled, in order to establish the likely location of any extravasated fluid. The mean operating time was 68 minutes (31 to 120), and the mean infusion pressure was 46 mm Hg (30 to 70). The mean volume of infused fluid was 9677 ml (95% confidence interval (CI) 7715 to 11638) and the mean volume of fluid recovered was 8544 ml (95% CI 6715 to 10373). The mean fluid extravasation loss into the peri-articular tissues was 1132 ml (95% CI 808 ml to 1456 ml). There was a significant correlation between the volume of extravasated fluid and both the length of operation and the volume of infused fluid used. We had no adverse events in our series. During arthroscopic hip surgery more than a litre of irrigation fluid may be extravasated into the soft tissues. In order to reduce problems related to this we attempt to keep operating times low, and maintain intra-operative fluid pressures as low as possible.

Definitive Radiotherapy for T1-T2 Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Pyriform Sinus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rabbani, Anna; Amdur, Robert J.; Mancuso, Anthony A.

2008-10-01

Purpose: To report the long-term results after definitive radiotherapy (RT) for T1-T2 pyriform sinus squamous cell carcinoma. Patients and Methods: The data from 123 patients with T1-T2 pyriform sinus squamous cell carcinoma treated with RT with or without neck dissection between November 1964 and June 2003 were analyzed. The median follow-up for all patients was 3.2 years, and the median follow-up for living patients was 10.7 years. Results: The 5-year local control, locoregional control, freedom from distant metastasis, cause-specific survival, and overall survival rate was 85%, 70%, 75%, 61%, and 35%, respectively. The ultimate local control rate, including successful salvagemore » of RT failure, for T1 and T2 cancer patients was 96% and 94%, respectively. The overall local control rate with a functional larynx was 83%. Pretreatment computed tomography tumor volume data were available for 55 patients. The median computed tomography tumor volume was 4.2 cm{sup 3} (range, 0-22.4). Local control was worse for patients with a tumor volume >6.5 cm{sup 3} compared with those with a smaller tumor volume. Of the 123 patients, 16% developed moderate to severe acute (2%), late (9%), or postoperative (5%) complications. Conclusions: Local control with larynx preservation after definitive RT for T1-T2 pyriform sinus squamous cell carcinoma likely results in local control and survival similar to that after total laryngectomy or larynx-conserving surgery. Two-thirds of our living patients retained a functional larynx.« less

Diagnostic Capability of Peripapillary Three-dimensional Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Volume for Glaucoma Using Optical Coherence Tomography Volume Scans.

PubMed

Khoueir, Ziad; Jassim, Firas; Poon, Linda Yi-Chieh; Tsikata, Edem; Ben-David, Geulah S; Liu, Yingna; Shieh, Eric; Lee, Ramon; Guo, Rong; Papadogeorgou, Georgia; Braaf, Boy; Simavli, Huseyin; Que, Christian; Vakoc, Benjamin J; Bouma, Brett E; de Boer, Johannes F; Chen, Teresa C

2017-10-01

To determine the diagnostic capability of peripapillary 3-dimensional (3D) retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) volume measurements from spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) volume scans for open-angle glaucoma (OAG). Assessment of diagnostic accuracy. Setting: Academic clinical setting. Total of 180 patients (113 OAG and 67 normal subjects). One eye per subject was included. Peripapillary 3D RNFL volumes were calculated for global, quadrant, and sector regions, using 4 different-size annuli. Peripapillary 2D RNFL thickness circle scans were also obtained. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) values, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, positive and negative likelihood ratios. Among all 2D and 3D RNFL parameters, best diagnostic capability was associated with inferior quadrant 3D RNFL volume of the smallest annulus (AUROC value 0.977). Otherwise, global 3D RNFL volume AUROC values were comparable to global 2D RNFL thickness AUROC values for all 4 annulus sizes (P values: .0593 to .6866). When comparing the 4 annulus sizes for global RNFL volume, the smallest annulus had the best AUROC values (P values: .0317 to .0380). The smallest-size annulus may have the best diagnostic potential, partly owing to having no areas excluded for being larger than the 6 × 6 mm 2 scanned region. Peripapillary 3D RNFL volume showed excellent diagnostic performance for detecting glaucoma. Peripapillary 3D RNFL volume parameters have the same or better diagnostic capability compared to peripapillary 2D RNFL thickness measurements, although differences were not statistically significant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An analysis of Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and Glutathione S-transferase omega-1 genes as modifiers of the cerebral response to ischemia

PubMed Central

Peddareddygari, Leema Reddy; Dutra, Ana Virginia; Levenstien, Mark A; Sen, Souvik; Grewal, Raji P

2009-01-01

Background Cerebral ischemia involves a series of reactions which ultimately influence the final volume of a brain infarction. We hypothesize that polymorphisms in genes encoding proteins involved in these reactions could act as modifiers of the cerebral response to ischemia and impact the resultant stroke volume. The final volume of a cerebral infarct is important as it correlates with the morbidity and mortality associated with non-lacunar ischemic strokes. Methods The proteins encoded by the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and glutathione S-transferase omega-1 (GSTO-1) genes are, through oxidative mechanisms, key participants in the cerebral response to ischemia. On the basis of these biological activities, they were selected as candidate genes for further investigation. We analyzed the C677T polymorphism in the MTHFR gene and the C419A polymorphism in the GSTO-1 gene in 128 patients with non-lacunar ischemic strokes. Results We found no significant association of either the MTHFR (p = 0.72) or GSTO-1 (p = 0.58) polymorphisms with cerebral infarct volume. Conclusion Our study shows no major gene effect of either the MTHFR or GSTO-1 genes as a modifier of ischemic stroke volume. However, given the relatively small sample size, a minor gene effect is not excluded by this investigation. PMID:19624857

Association of Alzheimer's disease GWAS loci with MRI markers of brain aging.

PubMed

Chauhan, Ganesh; Adams, Hieab H H; Bis, Joshua C; Weinstein, Galit; Yu, Lei; Töglhofer, Anna Maria; Smith, Albert Vernon; van der Lee, Sven J; Gottesman, Rebecca F; Thomson, Russell; Wang, Jing; Yang, Qiong; Niessen, Wiro J; Lopez, Oscar L; Becker, James T; Phan, Thanh G; Beare, Richard J; Arfanakis, Konstantinos; Fleischman, Debra; Vernooij, Meike W; Mazoyer, Bernard; Schmidt, Helena; Srikanth, Velandai; Knopman, David S; Jack, Clifford R; Amouyel, Philippe; Hofman, Albert; DeCarli, Charles; Tzourio, Christophe; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Bennett, David A; Schmidt, Reinhold; Longstreth, William T; Mosley, Thomas H; Fornage, Myriam; Launer, Lenore J; Seshadri, Sudha; Ikram, M Arfan; Debette, Stephanie

2015-04-01

Whether novel risk variants of Alzheimer's disease (AD) identified through genome-wide association studies also influence magnetic resonance imaging-based intermediate phenotypes of AD in the general population is unclear. We studied association of 24 AD risk loci with intracranial volume, total brain volume, hippocampal volume (HV), white matter hyperintensity burden, and brain infarcts in a meta-analysis of genetic association studies from large population-based samples (N = 8175-11,550). In single-SNP based tests, AD risk allele of APOE (rs2075650) was associated with smaller HV (p = 0.0054) and CD33 (rs3865444) with smaller intracranial volume (p = 0.0058). In gene-based tests, there was associations of HLA-DRB1 with total brain volume (p = 0.0006) and BIN1 with HV (p = 0.00089). A weighted AD genetic risk score was associated with smaller HV (beta ± SE = -0.047 ± 0.013, p = 0.00041), even after excluding the APOE locus (p = 0.029). However, only association of AD genetic risk score with HV, including APOE, was significant after multiple testing correction (including number of independent phenotypes tested). These results suggest that novel AD genetic risk variants may contribute to structural brain aging in nondemented older community persons. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MRI volumetry of prefrontal cortex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheline, Yvette I.; Black, Kevin J.; Lin, Daniel Y.; Pimmel, Joseph; Wang, Po; Haller, John W.; Csernansky, John G.; Gado, Mokhtar; Walkup, Ronald K.; Brunsden, Barry S.; Vannier, Michael W.

1995-05-01

Prefrontal cortex volumetry by brain magnetic resonance (MR) is required to estimate changes postulated to occur in certain psychiatric and neurologic disorders. A semiautomated method with quantitative characterization of its performance is sought to reliably distinguish small prefrontal cortex volume changes within individuals and between groups. Stereological methods were tested by a blinded comparison of measurements applied to 3D MR scans obtained using an MPRAGE protocol. Fixed grid stereologic methods were used to estimate prefrontal cortex volumes on a graphic workstation, after the images are scaled from 16 to 8 bits using a histogram method. In addition images were resliced into coronal sections perpendicular to the bicommissural plane. Prefrontal cortex volumes were defined as all sections of the frontal lobe anterior to the anterior commissure. Ventricular volumes were excluded. Stereological measurement yielded high repeatability and precision, and was time efficient for the raters. The coefficient of error was

On the emergence of a generalised Gamma distribution. Application to traded volume in financial markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duarte Queirós, S. M.

2005-08-01

This letter reports on a stochastic dynamical scenario whose associated stationary probability density function is exactly a generalised form, with a power law instead of exponencial decay, of the ubiquitous Gamma distribution. This generalisation, also known as F-distribution, was empirically proposed for the first time to adjust for high-frequency stock traded volume distributions in financial markets and verified in experiments with granular material. The dynamical assumption presented herein is based on local temporal fluctuations of the average value of the observable under study. This proposal is related to superstatistics and thus to the current nonextensive statistical mechanics framework. For the specific case of stock traded volume, we connect the local fluctuations in the mean stock traded volume with the typical herding behaviour presented by financial traders. Last of all, NASDAQ 1 and 2 minute stock traded volume sequences and probability density functions are numerically reproduced.

OCT-based angiography of human dermal microvascular reactions to local stimuli: Implications for increasing capillary blood collection volumes.

PubMed

Men, Shaojie; Wong, Jennifer Manyu; Welch, Emily J; Xu, Jingjiang; Song, Shaozhen; Deegan, Anthony J; Ravichander, Aarthi; Casavant, Benjamin; Berthier, Erwin; Wang, Ruikang K

2018-05-25

To measure and compare microvascular responses within the skin of the upper arm to local stimuli, such as heating or rubbing, through the use of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), and to investigate its impact on blood volume collection. With the use of heat packs or rubbing, local stimulation was applied to the skin of either the left or right upper arm. Data from the stimulated sites were obtained using OCTA comparing pre- and post-stimulation microvascular parameters, such as vessel density, mean vessel diameter, and mean avascular pore size. Additionally, blood was collected using a newly designed collection device and volume was recorded to evaluate the effect of the skin stimulation. Nineteen subjects were recruited for local stimulation study (including rubbing and heating) and 21 subjects for blood drawn study. Of these subjects, 14 agreed to participate in both studies. OCTA was successful in monitoring and measuring minute changes in the microvasculature of the stimulated skin. Compared to baseline, significant changes after local heating and rubbing were respectively found in vessel density (16% [P = 0.0004] and 33% [P < 0.0001] increase), mean vessel diameter (14% and 11% increase) and mean avascular pore size (5% [P = 0.0068] and 8% [P = 0.0005] decrease) after stimulations. A gradual recovery was recorded for each parameter, with no difference being measured after 30 minutes. Blood collection volumes significantly increased after stimulations of heating (48% increase; P = 0.049) and rubbing (78% increase; P = 0.048). Significant correlations were found between blood volume and microvascular parameters except mean avascular pore size under the heating condition. OCTA can provide important information regarding microvascular adaptations to local stimuli. With that, both heating and rubbing of the skin have positive effects on blood collection capacity, with rubbing having the most significant effect. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Association of Hospital Volume With Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer Treatment.

PubMed

Uppal, Shitanshu; Chapman, Christina; Spencer, Ryan J; Jolly, Shruti; Maturen, Kate; Rauh-Hain, J Alejandro; delCarmen, Marcela G; Rice, Laurel W

2017-02-01

To evaluate racial-ethnic disparities in guideline-based care in locally advanced cervical cancer and their relationship to hospital case volume. Using the National Cancer Database, we performed a retrospective cohort study of women diagnosed between 2004 and 2012 with locally advanced squamous or adenocarcinoma of the cervix undergoing definitive primary radiation therapy. The primary outcome was the race-ethnicity-based rates of adherence to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline-based care. The secondary outcome was the effect of guideline-based care on overall survival. Multivariable models and propensity matching were used to compare the hospital risk-adjusted rates of guideline-based adherence and overall survival based on hospital case volume. The final cohort consisted of 16,195 patients. The rate of guideline-based care was 58.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 57.4-59.4%) for non-Hispanic white, 53% (95% CI 51.4-54.9%) for non-Hispanic black, and 51.5% (95% CI 49.4-53.7%) for Hispanic women (P<.001). From 2004 to 2012, the rate of guideline-based care increased from 49.5% (95% CI 47.1-51.9%) to 59.1% (95% CI 56.9-61.2%) (Ptrend<.001). Based on a propensity score-matched analysis, patients receiving guideline-based care had a lower risk of mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 0.65, 95% CI 0.62-0.68). Compared with low-volume hospitals, the increase in adherence to guideline-based care in high-volume hospitals was 48-63% for non-Hispanic white, 47-53% for non-Hispanic black, and 41-54% for Hispanic women. Racial and ethnic disparities in the delivery of guideline-based care are the highest in high-volume hospitals. Guideline-based care in locally advanced cervical cancer is associated with improved survival.

Bladder–Rectum Spacer Balloon in High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy in Cervix Carcinoma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rai, Bhavana; Patel, Firuza D., E-mail: firuzapatel@gmail.com; Chakraborty, Santam

2013-04-01

Purpose: To compare bladder and rectum doses with the use of a bladder–rectum spacer balloon (BRSB) versus standard gauze packing in the same patient receiving 2 high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy fractions. Methods and Materials: This was a randomized study to compare the reduction in bladder and rectum doses with the use of a BRSB compared with standard gauze packing in patients with carcinoma of the cervix being treated with high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy. The patients were randomized between 2 arms. In arm A, vaginal packing was done with standard gauze packing in the first application, and BRSB was used in the secondmore » application. Arm B was the reverse of arm A. The International Commission for Radiation Units and Measurement (ICRU) point doses and doses to 0.1-cm{sup 3}, 1-cm{sup 3}, 2-cm{sup 3}, 5-cm{sup 3}, and 10-cm{sup 3} volumes of bladder and rectum were compared. The patients were also subjectively assessed for the ease of application and the time taken for application. Statistical analysis was done using the paired t test. Results: A total of 43 patients were enrolled; however, 3 patients had to be excluded because the BRSB could not be inserted owing to unfavorable local anatomy. Thus 40 patients (80 plans) were evaluated. The application was difficult in 3 patients with BRSB, and in 2 patients with BRSB the application time was prolonged. There was no significant difference in bladder doses to 0.1 cm{sup 3}, 1 cm{sup 3}, 2 cm{sup 3}, 5 cm{sup 3}, and 10 cm{sup 3} and ICRU bladder point. Statistically significant dose reductions to 0.1-cm{sup 3}, 1-cm{sup 3}, and 2-cm{sup 3} volumes for rectum were observed with the BRSB. No significant differences in 5-cm{sup 3} and 10-cm{sup 3} volumes and ICRU rectum point were observed. Conclusion: A statistically significant dose reduction was observed for small high-dose volumes in rectum with the BRSB. The doses to bladder were comparable for BRSB and gauze packing. Transparent balloons of variable sizes are recommended for patients with a less spacious vaginal cavity.« less

The Economic Impact of Ten Cultural Institutions on the Economy of the Springfield, Illinois SMSA. Technical Supplement. Volume I [and] Volume II--Appendices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cwi, David; Smith, D. Alden

The research methods, procedures, and data for determining the impact of 10 fine arts institutions on the Springfield, Illinois, economy (1978) are outlined. A 30-equation model was used to identify a variety of effects on local businesses, government, and individuals. Researchers examined internal records of the 10 institutions as well as local,…

The Economic Impact of Five Cultural Institutions on the Economy of the San Antonio SMSA. Technical Supplement. Volume I [and] Volume II--Appendices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cwi, David; Smith, D. Alden

The research methods, procedures, and data for determining the impact of five cultural institutions on the San Antonio, Texas, economy (1978) are outlined. A 30-equation model was used to identify a variety of effects on local businesses, government, and individuals. Researchers examined internal records of the five institutions as well as local,…

The Economic Impact of Six Cultural Institutions on the Economy of the Columbus SMSA. Technical Supplement. Volume I [and] Volume II--Appendices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cwi, David; Smith, D. Alden

The research methods, procedures, and data for determining the impact of six fine arts institutions on the Columbus, Ohio, economy (1978) are outlined. A 30-equation model was used to identify a variety of effects on local businesses, government, and individuals. Researchers examined internal records of the six institutions as well as local,…

The Economic Impact of Ten Cultural Institutions on the Economy of the Salt Lake SMSA. Technical Supplement. Volume I [and] Volume II--Appendices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cwi, David; Smith, D. Alden

The research methods, procedures, and data for determining the impact of 10 cultural institutions on the Salt Lake City economy (1978) are outlined. A 30-equation model was used to identify a variety of effects on local businesses, government, and individuals. Researchers examined internal records of the 10 institutions as well as local, state,…

The Economic Impact of Ten Cultural Institutions on the Economy of the Minneapolis-St. Paul SMSA. Technical Supplement. Volume I [and] Volume II--Appendices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cwi, David; Smith, D. Alden

The research methods, procedures, and data for determining the impact of 10 fine arts institutions on the Minneapolis-St. Paul economy (1978) are outlined. A 30-equation model was used to identify a variety of effects on local businesses, government, and individuals. Researchers examined internal records of the 10 institutions as well as local,…

Tumor Volume Is a Prognostic Factor in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Chemoradiotherapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alexander, Brian M.; Othus, Megan; Caglar, Hale B.

2011-04-01

Purpose: To investigate whether primary tumor and nodal volumes defined on radiotherapy planning scans are correlated with outcome (survival and recurrence) after combined-modality treatment. Methods and Materials: A retrospective review of patients with Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer treated with chemoradiation at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute from 2000 to 2006 was performed. Tumor and nodal volume measurements, as computed by Eclipse (Varian, Palo Alto, CA), were used as independent variables, along with existing clinical factors, in univariate and multivariate analyses for association with outcomes. Results: For patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy, both nodal volume (hazard ratio [HR], 1.09;more » p < 0.01) and tumor volume (HR, 1.03; p < 0.01) were associated with overall survival on multivariate analysis. Both nodal volume (HR, 1.10; p < 0.01) and tumor volume (HR, 1.04; p < 0.01) were also associated with local control but not distant metastases. Conclusions: In addition to traditional surgical staging variables, disease burden, measured by primary tumor and nodal metastases volume, provides information that may be helpful in determining prognosis and identifying groups of patients for which more aggressive local therapy is warranted.« less

Local structure of percolating gels at very low volume fractions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffiths, Samuel; Turci, Francesco; Royall, C. Patrick

2017-01-01

The formation of colloidal gels is strongly dependent on the volume fraction of the system and the strength of the interactions between the colloids. Here we explore very dilute solutions by the means of numerical simulations and show that, in the absence of hydrodynamic interactions and for sufficiently strong interactions, percolating colloidal gels can be realised at very low values of the volume fraction. Characterising the structure of the network of the arrested material we find that, when reducing the volume fraction, the gels are dominated by low-energy local structures, analogous to the isolated clusters of the interaction potential. Changing the strength of the interaction allows us to tune the compactness of the gel as characterised by the fractal dimension, with low interaction strength favouring more chain-like structures.

Efficient visibility encoding for dynamic illumination in direct volume rendering.

PubMed

Kronander, Joel; Jönsson, Daniel; Löw, Joakim; Ljung, Patric; Ynnerman, Anders; Unger, Jonas

2012-03-01

We present an algorithm that enables real-time dynamic shading in direct volume rendering using general lighting, including directional lights, point lights, and environment maps. Real-time performance is achieved by encoding local and global volumetric visibility using spherical harmonic (SH) basis functions stored in an efficient multiresolution grid over the extent of the volume. Our method enables high-frequency shadows in the spatial domain, but is limited to a low-frequency approximation of visibility and illumination in the angular domain. In a first pass, level of detail (LOD) selection in the grid is based on the current transfer function setting. This enables rapid online computation and SH projection of the local spherical distribution of visibility information. Using a piecewise integration of the SH coefficients over the local regions, the global visibility within the volume is then computed. By representing the light sources using their SH projections, the integral over lighting, visibility, and isotropic phase functions can be efficiently computed during rendering. The utility of our method is demonstrated in several examples showing the generality and interactive performance of the approach.

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 2: Motor Vehicle Registration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 2 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) describes the purposes and specific objectives of motor vehicle registration. Federal authority for vehicle registration and general policies regarding vehicle registration systems are outlined.…

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 13: Traffic Engineering Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 13 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) focuses on traffic engineering services. The introduction outlines the purposes and objectives of Highway Safety Program Standard 13 and the Highway Safety Program Manual. Program development and…

Distributed shared memory for roaming large volumes.

PubMed

Castanié, Laurent; Mion, Christophe; Cavin, Xavier; Lévy, Bruno

2006-01-01

We present a cluster-based volume rendering system for roaming very large volumes. This system allows to move a gigabyte-sized probe inside a total volume of several tens or hundreds of gigabytes in real-time. While the size of the probe is limited by the total amount of texture memory on the cluster, the size of the total data set has no theoretical limit. The cluster is used as a distributed graphics processing unit that both aggregates graphics power and graphics memory. A hardware-accelerated volume renderer runs in parallel on the cluster nodes and the final image compositing is implemented using a pipelined sort-last rendering algorithm. Meanwhile, volume bricking and volume paging allow efficient data caching. On each rendering node, a distributed hierarchical cache system implements a global software-based distributed shared memory on the cluster. In case of a cache miss, this system first checks page residency on the other cluster nodes instead of directly accessing local disks. Using two Gigabit Ethernet network interfaces per node, we accelerate data fetching by a factor of 4 compared to directly accessing local disks. The system also implements asynchronous disk access and texture loading, which makes it possible to overlap data loading, volume slicing and rendering for optimal volume roaming.

Radiating leg pain and positive straight leg raising in spondylolysis in children.

PubMed

Halperin, N; Copeliovitch, L; Schachner, E

1983-09-01

Three children presented with low back pain radiating to the leg and with spasm of the hamstring and paravertebral muscles. Since the pain could not be ascribed to trauma, it was necessary to exclude the presence of infection or tumors. All the signs--localization of the pain, tenderness on one side of the back, X-ray film findings of unilateral or bilateral spondylolysis, and localized positive bone scan--pointed to spondylolysis as the cause of pain. All three children exhibited symptoms resembling those found in the facet syndrome described by Mooney and Robertson.

Use of diffusion-weighted MRI to modify radiosurgery planning in brain metastases may reduce local recurrence.

PubMed

Zakaria, Rasheed; Pomschar, Andreas; Jenkinson, Michael D; Tonn, Jörg-Christian; Belka, Claus; Ertl-Wagner, Birgit; Niyazi, Maximilian

2017-02-01

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an effective and well tolerated treatment for selected brain metastases; however, local recurrence still occurs. We investigated the use of diffusion weighted MRI (DWI) as an adjunct for SRS treatment planning in brain metastases. Seventeen consecutive patients undergoing complete surgical resection of a solitary brain metastasis underwent image analysis retrospectively. SRS treatment plans were generated based on standard 3D post-contrast T1-weighted sequences at 1.5T and then separately using apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps in a blinded fashion. Control scans immediately post operation confirmed complete tumour resection. Treatment plans were compared to one another and with volume of local recurrence at progression quantitatively and qualitatively by calculating the conformity index (CI), the overlapping volume as a proportion of the total combined volume, where 1 = identical plans and 0 = no conformation whatsoever. Gross tumour volumes (GTVs) using ADC and post-contrast T1-weighted sequences were quantitatively the same (related samples Wilcoxon signed rank test = -0.45, p = 0.653) but showed differing conformations (CI 0.53, p < 0.001). The diffusion treatment volume (DTV) obtained by combining the two target volumes was significantly greater than the treatment volume based on post contrast T1-weighted MRI alone, both quantitatively (median 13.65 vs. 9.52 cm 3 , related samples Wilcoxon signed rank test p < 0.001) and qualitatively (CI 0.74, p = 0.001). This DTV covered a greater volume of subsequent tumour recurrence than the standard plan (median 3.53 cm 3 vs. 3.84 cm 3 , p = 0.002). ADC maps may be a useful tool in addition to the standard post-contrast T1-weighted sequence used for SRS planning.

Low Herbivory among Targeted Reforestation Sites in the Andean Highlands of Southern Ecuador

PubMed Central

Adams, Marc-Oliver; Fiedler, Konrad

2016-01-01

Insect herbivory constitutes an important constraint in the viability and management of targeted reforestation sites. Focusing on young experimental stands at about 2000 m elevation in southern Ecuador, we examined foliar damage over one season as a function of tree species and habitat. Native tree species (Successional hardwood: Cedrela montana and Tabebuia chrysantha; fast-growing pioneer: Heliocarpus americanus) have been planted among prevailing local landcover types (abandoned pasture, secondary shrub vegetation, and a Pinus patula plantation) in 2003/4. Plantation trees were compared to conspecifics in the spontaneous undergrowth of adjacent undisturbed rainforest matched for height and foliar volume. Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that H. americanus as a pioneer species suffers more herbivory compared to the two successional tree species, and that damage is inversely related to habitat complexity. Overall leaf damage caused by folivorous insects (excluding leafcutter ants) was low. Average leaf loss was highest among T. chrysantha (7.50% ± 0.19 SE of leaf area), followed by H. americanus (4.67% ± 0.18 SE) and C. montana (3.18% ± 0.15 SE). Contrary to expectations, leaf area loss was highest among trees in closed-canopy natural rainforest, followed by pine plantation, pasture, and secondary shrub sites. Harvesting activity of leafcutter ants (Acromyrmex sp.) was strongly biased towards T. chrysantha growing in open habitat (mean pasture: 2.5%; shrub: 10.5%) where it could result in considerable damage (> 90.0%). Insect folivory is unlikely to pose a barrier for reforestation in the tropical Andean mountain forest zone at present, but leafcutter ants may become problematic if local temperatures increase in the wake of global warming. PMID:26963395

Low Herbivory among Targeted Reforestation Sites in the Andean Highlands of Southern Ecuador.

PubMed

Adams, Marc-Oliver; Fiedler, Konrad

2016-01-01

Insect herbivory constitutes an important constraint in the viability and management of targeted reforestation sites. Focusing on young experimental stands at about 2000 m elevation in southern Ecuador, we examined foliar damage over one season as a function of tree species and habitat. Native tree species (Successional hardwood: Cedrela montana and Tabebuia chrysantha; fast-growing pioneer: Heliocarpus americanus) have been planted among prevailing local landcover types (abandoned pasture, secondary shrub vegetation, and a Pinus patula plantation) in 2003/4. Plantation trees were compared to conspecifics in the spontaneous undergrowth of adjacent undisturbed rainforest matched for height and foliar volume. Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that H. americanus as a pioneer species suffers more herbivory compared to the two successional tree species, and that damage is inversely related to habitat complexity. Overall leaf damage caused by folivorous insects (excluding leafcutter ants) was low. Average leaf loss was highest among T. chrysantha (7.50% ± 0.19 SE of leaf area), followed by H. americanus (4.67% ± 0.18 SE) and C. montana (3.18% ± 0.15 SE). Contrary to expectations, leaf area loss was highest among trees in closed-canopy natural rainforest, followed by pine plantation, pasture, and secondary shrub sites. Harvesting activity of leafcutter ants (Acromyrmex sp.) was strongly biased towards T. chrysantha growing in open habitat (mean pasture: 2.5%; shrub: 10.5%) where it could result in considerable damage (> 90.0%). Insect folivory is unlikely to pose a barrier for reforestation in the tropical Andean mountain forest zone at present, but leafcutter ants may become problematic if local temperatures increase in the wake of global warming.

Preoperative Renal Volume: A Surrogate Measure for Radical Nephrectomy-Induced Chronic Kidney Disease.

PubMed

Wu, Fiona Mei Wen; Tay, Melissa Hui Wen; Tai, Bee Choo; Chen, Zhaojin; Tan, Lincoln; Goh, Benjamin Yen Seow; Raman, Lata; Tiong, Ho Yee

2015-12-01

Surgically induced chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been found to have less impact on survival as well as function when compared to medical causes for CKD. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether preoperative remaining kidney volume correlates with renal function after nephrectomy, which represents an individual's renal reserve before surgically induced CKD. A retrospective review of 75 consecutive patients (29.3% females) who underwent radical nephrectomy (RN) (2000-2010) was performed. Normal side kidney parenchyma, excluding renal vessels and central sinus fat, was manually outlined in each transverse slice of CT image and multiplied by slice thickness to calculate volume. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was determined using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation. CKD is defined as eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2). Mean preoperative normal kidney parenchymal volume (mean age 55 [SD 13] years) is 150.7 (SD 36.4) mL. Over median follow-up of 36 months postsurgery, progression to CKD occurred in 42.6% (n = 32) of patients. On multivariable analysis, preoperative eGFR and preoperative renal volume <144 mL are independent predictors for postoperative CKD. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, median time to reach CKD postnephrectomy is 12.7 (range 0.03-43.66) months for renal volume <144 mL but not achieved if renal volume is >144 mL. Normal kidney parenchymal volume and preoperative eGFR are independent predictive factors for postoperative CKD after RN and may represent renal reserve for both surgically and medically induced CKD, respectively. Preoperative remaining kidney volume may be an adjunct representation of renal reserve postsurgery and predict later renal function decline due to perioperative loss of nephrons.

Lung volume quantified by MRI reflects extracellular-matrix deposition and altered pulmonary function in bleomycin models of fibrosis: effects of SOM230.

PubMed

Egger, Christine; Gérard, Christelle; Vidotto, Nella; Accart, Nathalie; Cannet, Catherine; Dunbar, Andrew; Tigani, Bruno; Piaia, Alessandro; Jarai, Gabor; Jarman, Elizabeth; Schmid, Herbert A; Beckmann, Nicolau

2014-06-15

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive and lethal disease, characterized by loss of lung elasticity and alveolar surface area, secondary to alveolar epithelial cell injury, reactive inflammation, proliferation of fibroblasts, and deposition of extracellular matrix. The effects of oropharyngeal aspiration of bleomycin in Sprague-Dawley rats and C57BL/6 mice, as well as of intratracheal administration of ovalbumin to actively sensitized Brown Norway rats on total lung volume as assessed noninvasively by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were investigated here. Lung injury and volume were quantified by using nongated or respiratory-gated MRI acquisitions [ultrashort echo time (UTE) or gradient-echo techniques]. Lung function of bleomycin-challenged rats was examined additionally using a flexiVent system. Postmortem analyses included histology of collagen and hydroxyproline assays. Bleomycin induced an increase of MRI-assessed total lung volume, lung dry and wet weights, and hydroxyproline content as well as collagen amount. In bleomycin-treated rats, gated MRI showed an increased volume of the lung in the inspiratory and expiratory phases of the respiratory cycle and a temporary decrease of tidal volume. Decreased dynamic lung compliance was found in bleomycin-challenged rats. Bleomycin-induced increase of MRI-detected lung volume was consistent with tissue deposition during fibrotic processes resulting in decreased lung elasticity, whereas influences by edema or emphysema could be excluded. In ovalbumin-challenged rats, total lung volume quantified by MRI remained unchanged. The somatostatin analog, SOM230, was shown to have therapeutic effects on established bleomycin-induced fibrosis in rats. This work suggests MRI-detected total lung volume as readout for tissue-deposition in small rodent bleomycin models of pulmonary fibrosis. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

Non-universal tracer diffusion in crowded media of non-inert obstacles.

PubMed

Ghosh, Surya K; Cherstvy, Andrey G; Metzler, Ralf

2015-01-21

We study the diffusion of a tracer particle, which moves in continuum space between a lattice of excluded volume, immobile non-inert obstacles. In particular, we analyse how the strength of the tracer-obstacle interactions and the volume occupancy of the crowders alter the diffusive motion of the tracer. From the details of partitioning of the tracer diffusion modes between trapping states when bound to obstacles and bulk diffusion, we examine the degree of localisation of the tracer in the lattice of crowders. We study the properties of the tracer diffusion in terms of the ensemble and time averaged mean squared displacements, the trapping time distributions, the amplitude variation of the time averaged mean squared displacements, and the non-Gaussianity parameter of the diffusing tracer. We conclude that tracer-obstacle adsorption and binding triggers a transient anomalous diffusion. From a very narrow spread of recorded individual time averaged trajectories we exclude continuous type random walk processes as the underlying physical model of the tracer diffusion in our system. For moderate tracer-crowder attraction the motion is found to be fully ergodic, while at stronger attraction strength a transient disparity between ensemble and time averaged mean squared displacements occurs. We also put our results into perspective with findings from experimental single-particle tracking and simulations of the diffusion of tagged tracers in dense crowded suspensions. Our results have implications for the diffusion, transport, and spreading of chemical components in highly crowded environments inside living cells and other structured liquids.

Organochlorine contaminants in double-crested cormorants from Green Bay, WI: I. Large-scale extraction and isolation from eggs using semi-permeable membrane dialysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Meadows, J.C.; Tillitt, D.E.; Schwartz, T.R.; Schroeder, D.J.; Echols, K.R.; Gale, R.W.; Powell, D.C.; Bursian, S.J.

1996-01-01

A 41.3-kg sample of double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) egg contents was extracted, yielding over 2 L of egg lipid. The double-crested cormorant (DCC) egg extract, after clean-up and concentration, was intended for use in egg injection studies to determine the embryotoxicity of the organic contaminants found within the eggs. Large-scale dialysis was used as a preliminary treatment to separate the extracted contaminants from the co-extracted sample lipids. The lipid was dialyzed in 80×5 cm semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) in 50-ml aliquants. After the removal of 87 g of cholesterol by freeze-fractionation, the remaining lipid carryover (56 g) was removed by 100 routine gel permeation chromatography (GPC) operations. A 41,293-g sample was thus extracted and purified to the extent that it could easily be placed at a volume of 5 ml, the volume calculated to be necessary for the egg injection study. Analyses were performed comparing contaminant concentrations in the final purified extract to those present in the original egg material, in the extract after dialysis and cholesterol removal, and in the excluded materials. Recoveries of organochlorine pesticides through dialysis and cholesterol ranged from 96% to 135%. Total polychlorinated biphenyls in the final extract were 96% of those measured in the original egg material. Analysis of excluded lipid and cholesterol indicated that 92% of the polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins and-furans were separated into the final extract.

37 CFR 201.17 - Statements of Account covering compulsory licenses for secondary transmissions by cable systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... community (e.g., a local news or public affairs program). (9) For purposes of this section, the “rules and..., regardless of when accrued: (i) Less the amount of any bad debts actually written-off during that accounting period, excluding bad debts for secondary transmission service furnished before January 1, 1978; (ii...

Thermally Targeted Delivery of a c-Myc Inhibitory Peptide In Vivo Using Elastin-like Polypeptide

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

cytoplasm. Also, in a subset of cells, Bac-ELP1⁎-H1 showed very bright nuclear staining exclusive of nucleoli (Fig. 5, lower right, arrows). 3.6. Time...localization was very bright relative to the amount of polypeptide in the cytoplasm, and it appeared to be nucleoplasmic and excluded from nucleoli . The

Reconstituting the ADHD Girl: Accomplishing Exclusion and Solidifying a Biomedical Identity in an ADHD Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hjörne, Eva; Evaldsson, Ann-Carita

2015-01-01

In this study, we explore what happens to young people labelled as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after they have been excluded from mainstream class and placed in a special class. More specifically, we focus on how a specific disability identity is locally accomplished and ascribed to a girl placed in an ADHD class…

A model for the optimization of the detection and eradication of isolated gypsy moth colonies

Treesearch

Tiffany L. Bogich; Andrew Liebhold; Katriona Shea

2007-01-01

Biological invasions of pest species pose a threat to the stability of ecosystems, both natural and managed (Liebhold et al. 1995, Shogren and Tschirhart 2005). Considerable effort is expended by national and local governments on excluding alien species via detection and eradication of invading populations, but these efforts are not necessarily designed in the most...

Somali Opposition to Government Education: R. E. Ellison and the Berbera School Affair, 1938-1940

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olden, Anthony

2008-01-01

British Somaliland, a protectorate from which Christian missionaries were excluded, opened its first government-run school in 1938. The intention of the new director of education, Randall Ellison, was to use written Somali in preference to Arabic. This drew intense criticism from local religious leaders, and had to be abandoned. Accused of being a…

Localized and generalized simulated wear of resin composites.

PubMed

Barkmeier, W W; Takamizawa, T; Erickson, R L; Tsujimoto, A; Latta, M; Miyazaki, M

2015-01-01

A laboratory study was conducted to examine the wear of resin composite materials using both a localized and generalized wear simulation model. Twenty specimens each of seven resin composites (Esthet•X HD [HD], Filtek Supreme Ultra [SU], Herculite Ultra [HU], SonicFill [SF], Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill [TB], Venus Diamond [VD], and Z100 Restorative [Z]) were subjected to a wear challenge of 400,000 cycles for both localized and generalized wear in a Leinfelder-Suzuki wear simulator (Alabama machine). The materials were placed in custom cylinder-shaped stainless steel fixtures. A stainless steel ball bearing (r=2.387 mm) was used as the antagonist for localized wear, and a stainless steel, cylindrical antagonist with a flat tip was used for generalized wear. A water slurry of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads was used as the abrasive media. A noncontact profilometer (Proscan 2100) with Proscan software was used to digitize the surface contours of the pretest and posttest specimens. AnSur 3D software was used for wear assessment. For localized testing, maximum facet depth (μm) and volume loss (mm(3)) were used to compare the materials. The mean depth of the facet surface (μm) and volume loss (mm(3)) were used for comparison of the generalized wear specimens. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey post hoc test were used for data analysis of volume loss for both localized and generalized wear, maximum facet depth for localized wear, and mean depth of the facet for generalized wear. The results for localized wear simulation were as follows [mean (standard deviation)]: maximum facet depth (μm)--Z, 59.5 (14.7); HU, 99.3 (16.3); SU, 102.8 (13.8); HD, 110.2 (13.3); VD, 114.0 (10.3); TB, 125.5 (12.1); SF, 195.9 (16.9); volume loss (mm(3))--Z, 0.013 (0.002); SU, 0.026 (0.006); HU, 0.043 (0.008); VD, 0.057 (0.009); HD, 0.058 (0.014); TB, 0.061 (0.010); SF, 0.135 (0.024). Generalized wear simulation results were as follows: mean depth of facet (μm)--Z, 9.3 (3.4); SU, 12.8 (3.1); HU, 15.6 (3.2); TB, 19.2 (4.8); HD, 26.8 (6.5); VD, 29.1 (5.5); SF, 35.6 (8.4); volume loss (mm(3))--Z, 0.132 (0.049); SU, 0.0179 (0.042); HU, 0.224 (0.044); TB, 0.274 (0.065); HD, 0.386 (0.101); VD, 0.417 (0.076); SF, 0.505 (0.105). The ANOVA showed a significant difference among materials (p<0.001) for facet depth and volume loss for both localized and generalized wear. The post hoc test revealed differences (p<0.05) in localized and generalized wear values among the seven resin composites examined in this study. The findings provide valuable information regarding the relative wear characteristics of the materials in this study.

Optimising health care within given budgets: primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in different regions of Sweden.

PubMed

Löfroth, Emil; Lindholm, Lars; Wilhelmsen, Lars; Rosén, Måns

2006-01-01

This study investigated the consequences of applying strict health maximisation to the choice between three different interventions with a defined budget. We analysed three interventions of preventing cardiovascular diseases, through doctor's advice on smoking secession, through blood-pressure-lowering drugs, and through lipid-lowering drugs. A state transition model has been used to estimate the cost-utility ratios for entire population in three different county councils in Sweden, where the populations were stratified into mutually excluding risk groups. The incremental cost-utility ratios are being presented in a league table and combined with the local resources and the local epidemiological data as a proxy for need for treatment. All interventions with an incremental cost-utility ratio exceeding the threshold ratios are excluded from being funded. The threshold varied between 1687 Euro and 6192 Euro. The general reallocation of resources between the three interventions was a 60% reduction of blood-pressure-lowering drugs with redistribution of resources to advice on smoking secession and to lipid-lowering drugs. One advantage of this method is that the results are very concrete. Recommendations can thereby be more precise which hopefully will create a public debate between decision-makers, practising physicians and patient groups.

Symposium on Urban Cable Television, Volume II. Thursday, October 19, 1972. Morning Workshop Themes: Economics and Financing of Cable; Public Ownership: Myth and Reality; Programming: Community and Local; New Patterns of Minority Participation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitre Corp., McLean, VA.

Accounts of the workshops conducted during the morning of the second day of the symposium are contained in this volume. These focus on the economics and financing of cable television (CATV), public ownership of cable, community and local programing, and minority participation in CATV. Visual presentations dealing, respectively, with research…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nigro, Valentina, E-mail: nigro@fis.uniroma3.it; Bruni, Fabio; Ricci, Maria Antonietta

The temperature dependence of the local intra-particle structure of colloidal microgel particles, composed of interpenetrated polymer networks, has been investigated by small-angle neutron scattering at different pH and concentrations, in the range (299÷315) K, where a volume phase transition from a swollen to a shrunken state takes place. Data are well described by a theoretical model that takes into account the presence of both interpenetrated polymer networks and cross-linkers. Two different behaviors are found across the volume phase transition. At neutral pH and T ≈ 307 K, a sharp change of the local structure from a water rich open inhomogeneousmore » interpenetrated polymer network to a homogeneous porous solid-like structure after expelling water is observed. Differently, at acidic pH, the local structure changes almost continuously. These findings demonstrate that a fine control of the pH of the system allows to tune the sharpness of the volume-phase transition.« less

Species richness and morphological diversity of passerine birds

PubMed Central

Ricklefs, Robert E.

2012-01-01

The relationship between species richness and the occupation of niche space can provide insight into the processes that shape patterns of biodiversity. For example, if species interactions constrained coexistence, one might expect tendencies toward even spacing within niche space and positive relationships between diversity and total niche volume. I use morphological diversity of passerine birds as a proxy for diet, foraging maneuvers, and foraging substrates and examine the morphological space occupied by regional and local passerine avifaunas. Although independently diversified regional faunas exhibit convergent morphology, species are clustered rather than evenly distributed, the volume of the morphological space is weakly related to number of species per taxonomic family, and morphological volume is unrelated to number of species within both regional avifaunas and local assemblages. These results seemingly contradict patterns expected when species interactions constrain regional or local diversity, and they suggest a larger role for diversification, extinction, and dispersal limitation in shaping species richness. PMID:22908271

A Centrifugal Microfluidic Platform That Separates Whole Blood Samples into Multiple Removable Fractions Due to Several Discrete but Continuous Density Gradient Sections

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moen, Scott T.; Hatcher, Christopher L.; Singh, Anup K.

We present a miniaturized centrifugal platform that uses density centrifugation for separation and analysis of biological components in small volume samples (~5 μL). We demonstrate the ability to enrich leukocytes for on-disk visualization via microscopy, as well as recovery of viable cells from each of the gradient partitions. In addition, we simplified the traditional Modified Wright-Giemsa staining by decreasing the time, volume, and expertise involved in the procedure. From a whole blood sample, we were able to extract 95.15% of leukocytes while excluding 99.8% of red blood cells. Furthermore, this platform has great potential in both medical diagnostics and researchmore » applications as it offers a simpler, automated, and inexpensive method for biological sample separation, analysis, and downstream culturing.« less

A Centrifugal Microfluidic Platform That Separates Whole Blood Samples into Multiple Removable Fractions Due to Several Discrete but Continuous Density Gradient Sections

DOE PAGES

Moen, Scott T.; Hatcher, Christopher L.; Singh, Anup K.

2016-04-07

We present a miniaturized centrifugal platform that uses density centrifugation for separation and analysis of biological components in small volume samples (~5 μL). We demonstrate the ability to enrich leukocytes for on-disk visualization via microscopy, as well as recovery of viable cells from each of the gradient partitions. In addition, we simplified the traditional Modified Wright-Giemsa staining by decreasing the time, volume, and expertise involved in the procedure. From a whole blood sample, we were able to extract 95.15% of leukocytes while excluding 99.8% of red blood cells. Furthermore, this platform has great potential in both medical diagnostics and researchmore » applications as it offers a simpler, automated, and inexpensive method for biological sample separation, analysis, and downstream culturing.« less

Measuring stone volume - three-dimensional software reconstruction or an ellipsoid algebra formula?

PubMed

Finch, William; Johnston, Richard; Shaida, Nadeem; Winterbottom, Andrew; Wiseman, Oliver

2014-04-01

To determine the optimal method for assessing stone volume, and thus stone burden, by comparing the accuracy of scalene, oblate, and prolate ellipsoid volume equations with three-dimensional (3D)-reconstructed stone volume. Kidney stone volume may be helpful in predicting treatment outcome for renal stones. While the precise measurement of stone volume by 3D reconstruction can be accomplished using modern computer tomography (CT) scanning software, this technique is not available in all hospitals or with routine acute colic scanning protocols. Therefore, maximum diameters as measured by either X-ray or CT are used in the calculation of stone volume based on a scalene ellipsoid formula, as recommended by the European Association of Urology. In all, 100 stones with both X-ray and CT (1-2-mm slices) were reviewed. Complete and partial staghorn stones were excluded. Stone volume was calculated using software designed to measure tissue density of a certain range within a specified region of interest. Correlation coefficients among all measured outcomes were compared. Stone volumes were analysed to determine the average 'shape' of the stones. The maximum stone diameter on X-ray was 3-25 mm and on CT was 3-36 mm, with a reasonable correlation (r = 0.77). Smaller stones (<9 mm) trended towards prolate ellipsoids ('rugby-ball' shaped), stones of 9-15 mm towards oblate ellipsoids (disc shaped), and stones >15 mm towards scalene ellipsoids. There was no difference in stone shape by location within the kidney. As the average shape of renal stones changes with diameter, no single equation for estimating stone volume can be recommended. As the maximum diameter increases, calculated stone volume becomes less accurate, suggesting that larger stones have more asymmetric shapes. We recommend that research looking at stone clearance rates should use 3D-reconstructed stone volumes when available, followed by prolate, oblate, or scalene ellipsoid formulas depending on the maximum stone diameter. © 2013 The Authors. BJU International © 2013 BJU International.

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 12: Highway Design, Construction and Maintenance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 12 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) focuses on highway design, construction and maintenance. The purpose and specific objectives of such a program are described. Federal authority in the area of highway safety and policies regarding…

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 14: Pedestrian Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 14 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) concentrates on pedestrian safety. The purpose and objectives of a pedestrian safety program are outlined. Federal authority in the area of pedestrian safety and policies regarding a safety program…

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 15: Police Traffic Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 15 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) focuses on police traffic services. The purpose and objectives of a police services program are described. Federal authority in the areas of highway safety and policies regarding a police traffic…

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 11: Emergency Medical Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 11 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) concentrates on emergency medical services. The purpose of the program, Federal authority in the area of medical services, and policies related to an emergency medical services (EMS) program are…

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 6: Codes and Laws.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 6 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred safety practices) concentrates on codes and laws. The purpose and specific objectives of the Codes and Laws Program, Federal authority in the area of highway safety, and policies regarding traffic regulation are described.…

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 3: Motorcycle Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 3 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) concentrates on aspects of motorcycle safety. The purpose and specific objectives of a State motorcycle safety program are outlined. Federal authority in the highway safety area and general policies…

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 9: Identification and Surveillance of Accident Locations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 9 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) focuses on identification and surveillance of accident locations. The purpose of the program, its specific objectives, and its relationship with other programs are explored. Federal authority in the…

Variation in orbitofrontal cortex volume: relation to sex, emotion regulation and affect.

PubMed

Welborn, B Locke; Papademetris, Xenophon; Reis, Deidre L; Rajeevan, Nallakkandi; Bloise, Suzanne M; Gray, Jeremy R

2009-12-01

Sex differences in brain structure have been examined extensively but are not completely understood, especially in relation to possible functional correlates. Our two aims in this study were to investigate sex differences in brain structure, and to investigate a possible relation between orbitofrontal cortex subregions and affective individual differences. We used tensor-based morphometry to estimate local brain volume from MPRAGE images in 117 healthy right-handed adults (58 female), age 18-40 years. We entered estimates of local brain volume as the dependent variable in a GLM, controlling for age, intelligence and whole-brain volume. Men had larger left planum temporale. Women had larger ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), right lateral orbitofrontal (rlOFC), cerebellum, and bilateral basal ganglia and nearby white matter. vmPFC but not rlOFC volume covaried with self-reported emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal, suppression), expressivity of positive emotions (but not of negative), strength of emotional impulses, and cognitive but not somatic anxiety. vmPFC volume statistically mediated sex differences in emotion suppression. The results confirm prior reports of sex differences in orbitofrontal cortex structure, and are the first to show that normal variation in vmPFC volume is systematically related to emotion regulation and affective individual differences.

[Liver and lung metastases of colorectal cancer. Long-term survival and prognostic factors].

PubMed

Sponholz, S; Bölükbas, S; Schirren, M; Oguzhan, S; Kudelin, N; Schirren, J

2016-02-01

The resection of liver and lung metastases from colorectal cancer has not yet been completely investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the overall survival and prognostic factors for patients with liver and lung metastases from colorectal cancer. A retrospective review of a prospective database of 52 patients with liver and lung metastases from colorectal cancer, undergoing metastasectomy with curative intent from 1999-2009 at a single institution was carried out. The mean overall survival (OS) was 64 months. For synchronous liver and lung metastases the mean overall survival was 63 months (5-year survival 54 %) and for metachronous liver and lung metastases 74 months (5-year survival 58 %, p = 0.451). A poor prognostic outcome was observed in cases of localization of the primary tumor in the rectum (OS 81 vs. 38 months, p = 0.004), with multiple lung metastases (≥ 2 metastases, OS 74 vs. 59 months, p = 0.032) and with disease progression after premetastasectomy chemotherapy (OS 74 vs. 63 vs. 15 months, p < 0.001). No influence on overall survival was detected for bilateral lung metastases, thoracic lymph node metastases, disease recurrence and disease-free interval < 36 months. Metastasectomy for liver and lung metastases of colorectal cancer is associated with a good overall survival in selected cases. Patients with liver and lung metastases should not be routinely excluded from metastasectomy and patients with thoracic lymph node metastases should also not be routinely excluded. Negative prognostic factors for survival are localization of the tumor in the rectum, multiple metastases and disease progression after premetastasectomy chemotherapy. Patients with disease progression after premetastasectomy chemotherapy should be excluded from metastasectomy.

Enhancing economic competiveness of dish Stirling technology through production volume and localization: Case study for Morocco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larchet, Kevin; Guédez, Rafael; Topel, Monika; Gustavsson, Lars; Machirant, Andrew; Hedlund, Maria-Lina; Laumert, Björn

2017-06-01

The present study quantifies the reduction in the levelized cost of electricity (LCoE) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) of a dish Stirling power plant (DSPP) through an increase in localization and unit production volume. Furthermore, the localization value of the plant is examined to determine how much investment is brought into the local economy. Ouarzazate, Morocco, was chosen as the location of the study due to the country's favorable regulatory framework with regards to solar power technologies and its established industry in the concentrating solar power (CSP) field. A detailed techno-economic model of a DSPP was developed using KTH's in-house modelling tool DYESOPT, which allows power plant evaluation by means of technical and economic performance indicators. Results on the basis of LCoE and CAPEX were compared between two different cases of production volume, examining both a minimum and maximum level of localization. Thereafter, the DSPP LCoE and localization value were compared against competing solar technologies to evaluate its competitiveness. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was conducted around key design parameters. The study confirms that the LCoE of a DSPP can be reduced to values similar to solar photovoltaic (PV) and lower than other CSP technologies. Furthermore, the investment in the local economy is far greater when compared to PV and of the same magnitude to other CSP technologies. The competiveness of a DSPP has the potential to increase further when coupled with thermal energy storage (TES), which is currently under development.

Testing-adjusted chlamydia notification trends in New South Wales, Australia, 2000 to 2010.

PubMed

Cretikos, Michelle; Mayne, Darren; Reynolds, Roderick; Spokes, Paula; Madeddu, Daniel

2014-01-01

Between 2005 and 2010, Australian notification rates for chlamydia infection increased by 64% from 203 to 333 per 100 000 population. Interpreting this trend is difficult without examining rates and local patterns of testing. We examined the effect of adjusting for local testing rates on chlamydia notification trends in New South Wales (NSW), Australia from 2000 to 2010. We used testing data for NSW residents for Medicare Benefits Schedule items for chlamydia from 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2005 and 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2010. This data set excluded testing by public sector laboratories. We also obtained laboratory-confirmed genital chlamydia notifications in NSW residents for 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2010 and excluded notifications from public laboratories. We used negative binomial regression to assess trends in chlamydia notification rates by age and sex after adjusting for local government area (LGA)-level Medicare-funded testing rates, socioeconomic disadvantage, remoteness and Medicare provider density. Testing-adjusted rates of chlamydia notifications declined by 5.2% per annum (rate ratio [RR] = 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.93-0.96) for women overall, and 2.3% (RR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.96-1.00) and 5.0% per annum (RR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.93-0.98) for men in LGAs with moderate and high densities of Medicare providers, respectively. Notification rates remained stable for men in low Medicare provider density LGAs (RR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.96-1.07). It is likely that increased testing for chlamydia has driven increases in chlamydia notification in NSW over the last decade. Notification data provide no evidence for a general increase in the prevalence of chlamydia in the NSW community for this period. Notification-based chlamydia surveillance should be routinely adjusted for local testing rates.

The effects of local anaesthetic solution in the navicular bursa of horses with lameness caused by distal interphalangeal joint pain.

PubMed

Schumacher, John; Schumacher, Jim; Gillette, R; DeGraves, F; Schramme, M; Smith, R; Perkins, J; Coker, M

2003-07-01

Analgesia of the palmar digital (PD) nerves has been demonstrated to cause analgesia of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint as well as the sole. Because the PD nerves lie in close proximity to the navicular bursa, we suspected that that analgesia of the navicular bursa would anaesthetise the PD nerves, which would result in analgesia of the DIP joint. To determine the response of horses with pain in the DIP joint to instillation of local anaesthetic solution into the navicular bursa. Lameness was induced in 6 horses by creating painful synovitis in the DIP joint of one forefoot by administering endotoxin into the joint. Horses were videorecorded while trotting, before and after induction of lameness, at three 10 min intervals after instilling 3.5 ml local anaesthetic solution into the navicular bursa and, finally, after instilling 6 ml solution into the DIP joint. Lameness scores were assigned by grading the videorecorded gaits subjectively. At the 10 and -20 min observations, median lameness scores were not significantly different from those before administration of local anaesthetic solution into the navicular bursa (P > or = 0.05), although lameness scores of 3 of 6 horses improved during this period, and the 20 min observation scores tended toward significance (P = 0.07). At the 30 min observation, and after analgesia of the DIP joint, median lameness scores were significantly improved (P < or = 0.05). These results indicate that pain arising from the DIP joint can probably be excluded as a cause of lameness, when lameness is attenuated within 10 mins by analgesia of the navicular bursa. Pain arising from the DIP joint cannot be excluded as a cause of lameness when lameness is attenuated after 20 mins after analgesia of the navicular bursa.

A Genetic and Molecular Analysis of the 46c Chromosomal Region Surrounding the Fmrfamide Neuropeptide Gene in Drosophila Melanogaster

PubMed Central

O'Brien, M. A.; Roberts, M. S.; Taghert, P. H.

1994-01-01

We have analyzed the FMRFamide neuropeptide gene region of Drosophila melanogaster. This gene maps to the 46C region of chromosome 2R; this interval previously was not well characterized. For this genetic and molecular analysis, we have used X-ray mutagenesis, EMS mutagenesis, and the recently reported local P element transposition method. We identified four overlapping deletions, two of which have proximal breakpoints that define a 50-60-kb region surrounding the FMRFamide gene in 46C. To this small region, we mapped three lethal complementation groups; 10 additional lethal complementation groups were mapped to more distal regions of 46CD. One of these groups corresponds to even-skipped, the other 12 are previously unidentified. Using various lines of evidence we excluded the possibility that FMRFamide corresponds to any of the three lethal complementation groups mapping to its immediate 50-60-kb vicinity. The positions of two of the three lethal complementation groups were identified with P elements using a local transposition scheme. The third lethal complementation group was excluded as being FMRFamide mutants by sequence analysis and by immunocytochemistry with proFMRFamide precursor-specific antibodies. This analysis has (1) provided a genetic map of the 46CD chromosomal region and a detailed molecular map of a portion of the 46C region and (2) provided additional evidence of the utility of local transposition for targeting nearby genes. PMID:8056304

Comparison of ultrasound-guided supraclavicular block according to the various volumes of local anesthetic

PubMed Central

Kim, Seok Kon; Kang, Bong Jin; Kwon, Min A; Song, Jae Gyok; Jeon, Soo Mi

2013-01-01

Background The ultrasound guidance in regional nerve blocks has recently been introduced and gaining popularity. Ultrasound-guided supraclavicular block has many advantages including the higher success rate, faster onset time, and fewer complications. The aim of this study was to examine the clinical data according to the varied volume of local anesthetics in the ultrasound-guided supraclavicular block. Methods One hundred twenty patients were randomized into four groups, according to the local anesthetic volume used: Group 35 (n = 30), Group 30 (n = 30), Group 25 (n = 30), and Group 20 (n = 30). Supraclavicular blocks were performed with 1% mepivacaine 35 ml, 30 ml, 25 ml, and 20 ml, respectively. The success rate, onset time, and complications were checked and evaluated. Results The success rate (66.7%) was lower in Group 20 than that of Group 35 (96.7%) (P < 0.05). The average onset times of Group 35, Group 30, Group 25, and Group 20 were 14.3 ± 6.9 min, 13.6 ± 4.5 min, 16.7 ± 4.6 min, and 16.5 ± 3.7 min, respectively. There were no significant differences. Horner's syndrome was higher in Group 35 (P < 0.05). Conclusions In conclusion, we achieved 90% success rate with 30 ml of 1% mepivacaine. Therefore, we suggest 30 ml of local anesthetic volume for ultrasound-guided supraclavicular block. PMID:23814648

Towards local progression estimation of pulmonary emphysema using CT.

PubMed

Staring, M; Bakker, M E; Stolk, J; Shamonin, D P; Reiber, J H C; Stoel, B C

2014-02-01

Whole lung densitometry on chest CT images is an accepted method for measuring tissue destruction in patients with pulmonary emphysema in clinical trials. Progression measurement is required for evaluation of change in health condition and the effect of drug treatment. Information about the location of emphysema progression within the lung may be important for the correct interpretation of drug efficacy, or for determining a treatment plan. The purpose of this study is therefore to develop and validate methods that enable the local measurement of lung density changes, which requires proper modeling of the effect of respiration on density. Four methods, all based on registration of baseline and follow-up chest CT scans, are compared. The first naïve method subtracts registered images. The second employs the so-called dry sponge model, where volume correction is performed using the determinant of the Jacobian of the transformation. The third and the fourth introduce a novel adaptation of the dry sponge model that circumvents its constant-mass assumption, which is shown to be invalid. The latter two methods require a third CT scan at a different inspiration level to estimate the patient-specific density-volume slope, where one method employs a global and the other a local slope. The methods were validated on CT scans of a phantom mimicking the lung, where mass and volume could be controlled. In addition, validation was performed on data of 21 patients with pulmonary emphysema. The image registration method was optimized leaving a registration error below half the slice increment (median 1.0 mm). The phantom study showed that the locally adapted slope model most accurately measured local progression. The systematic error in estimating progression, as measured on the phantom data, was below 2 gr/l for a 70 ml (6%) volume difference, and 5 gr/l for a 210 ml (19%) difference, if volume correction was applied. On the patient data an underlying linearity assumption relating lung volume change with density change was shown to hold (fitR(2) = 0.94), and globalized versions of the local models are consistent with global results (R(2) of 0.865 and 0.882 for the two adapted slope models, respectively). In conclusion, image matching and subsequent analysis of differences according to the proposed lung models (i) has good local registration accuracy on patient data, (ii) effectively eliminates a dependency on inspiration level at acquisition time, (iii) accurately predicts progression in phantom data, and (iv) is reasonably consistent with global results in patient data. It is therefore a potential future tool for assessing local emphysema progression in drug evaluation trials and in clinical practice.

The Socioeconomic Benefits Generated by Hawkeye Community College. Executive Summary [and] Volume 1: Main Report [and] Volume 2: Detailed Results.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robison, M. Henry; Christophersen, Kjell A.

This paper examines the ways in which the State of Iowa and the local economy benefit from the presence of the Hawkeye Community College (HCC) District. Volume 1 is the Main Report, and Volume 2 includes detailed results by entry level of education, gender and ethnicity. The Hawkeye Community College District paid $17.4 million in direct faculty…

MDCT quantification is the dominant parameter in decision–making regarding chest tube drainage for stable patients with traumatic pneumothorax

PubMed Central

Cai, Wenli; Lee, June-Goo; Fikry, Karim; Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Novelline, Robert; de Moya, Marc

2013-01-01

It is commonly believed that the size of a pneumothorax is an important determinant of treatment decision, in particular regarding whether chest tube drainage (CTD) is required. However, the volumetric quantification of pneumothoraces has not routinely been performed in clinics. In this paper, we introduced an automated computer-aided volumetry (CAV) scheme for quantification of volume of pneumothoraces in chest multi-detect CT (MDCT) images. Moreover, we investigated the impact of accurate volume of pneumothoraces in the improvement of the performance in decision-making regarding CTD in the management of traumatic pneumothoraces. For this purpose, an occurrence frequency map was calculated for quantitative analysis of the importance of each clinical parameter in the decision-making regarding CTD by a computer simulation of decision-making using a genetic algorithm (GA) and a support vector machine (SVM). A total of 14 clinical parameters, including volume of pneumothorax calculated by our CAV scheme, was collected as parameters available for decision-making. The results showed that volume was the dominant parameter in decision-making regarding CTD, with an occurrence frequency value of 1.00. The results also indicated that the inclusion of volume provided the best performance that was statistically significant compared to the other tests in which volume was excluded from the clinical parameters. This study provides the scientific evidence for the application of CAV scheme in MDCT volumetric quantification of pneumothoraces in the management of clinically stable chest trauma patients with traumatic pneumothorax. PMID:22560899

Calibration of a semi-automated segmenting method for quantification of adipose tissue compartments from magnetic resonance images of mice.

PubMed

Garteiser, Philippe; Doblas, Sabrina; Towner, Rheal A; Griffin, Timothy M

2013-11-01

To use an automated water-suppressed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method to objectively assess adipose tissue (AT) volumes in whole body and specific regional body components (subcutaneous, thoracic and peritoneal) of obese and lean mice. Water-suppressed MR images were obtained on a 7T, horizontal-bore MRI system in whole bodies (excluding head) of 26 week old male C57BL6J mice fed a control (10% kcal fat) or high-fat diet (60% kcal fat) for 20 weeks. Manual (outlined regions) versus automated (Gaussian fitting applied to threshold-weighted images) segmentation procedures were compared for whole body AT and regional AT volumes (i.e., subcutaneous, thoracic, and peritoneal). The AT automated segmentation method was compared to dual-energy X-ray (DXA) analysis. The average AT volumes for whole body and individual compartments correlated well between the manual outlining and the automated methods (R2>0.77, p<0.05). Subcutaneous, peritoneal, and total body AT volumes were increased 2-3 fold and thoracic AT volume increased more than 5-fold in diet-induced obese mice versus controls (p<0.05). MRI and DXA-based method comparisons were highly correlative (R2=0.94, p<0.0001). Automated AT segmentation of water-suppressed MRI data using a global Gaussian filtering algorithm resulted in a fairly accurate assessment of total and regional AT volumes in a pre-clinical mouse model of obesity. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular simulation of the swelling of polyelectrolyte gels by monovalent and divalent counterions

PubMed Central

Yin, De-Wei; Horkay, Ferenc; Douglas, Jack F.; de Pablo, Juan J.

2008-01-01

Permanently crosslinked polyelectrolyte gels are known to undergo discontinuous first-order volume phase transitions, the onset of which may be caused by a number of factors. In this study we examine the volumetric properties of such polyelectrolyte gels in relation to the progressive substitution of monovalent counterions by divalent counterions as the gels are equilibrated in solvents of different dielectric qualities. We compare the results of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of polyelectrolyte gels with previous experimental measurements by others on polyacrylate gels. The simulations show that under equilibrium conditions there is an approximate cancellation between the electrostatic contribution and the counterion excluded-volume contribution to the osmotic pressure in the gel-solvent system; these two contributions to the osmotic pressure have, respectively, energetic and entropic origins. The finding of such a cancellation between the two contributions to the osmotic pressure of the gel-solvent system is consistent with experimental observations that the swelling behavior of polyelectrolyte gels can be described by equations of state for neutral gels. Based on these results, we show and explain that a modified form of the Flory–Huggins model for nonionic polymer solutions, which accounts for neither electrostatic effects nor counterion excluded-volume effects, fits both experimental and simulated data for polyelectrolyte gels. The Flory–Huggins interaction parameters obtained from regression to the simulation data are characteristic of ideal polymer solutions, whereas the experimentally obtained interaction parameters, particularly that associated with the third virial coefficient, exhibit a significant departure from ideality, leading us to conclude that further enhancements to the simulation model, such as the inclusion of excess salt, the allowance for size asymmetric electrolytes, or the use of a distance-dependent solvent dielectricity model, may be required. Molecular simulations also reveal that the condensation of divalent counterions onto the polyelectrolyte network backbone occurs preferentially over that of monovalent counterions. PMID:19045224

Molecular simulation of the swelling of polyelectrolyte gels by monovalent and divalent counterions.

PubMed

Yin, De-Wei; Horkay, Ferenc; Douglas, Jack F; de Pablo, Juan J

2008-10-21

Permanently crosslinked polyelectrolyte gels are known to undergo discontinuous first-order volume phase transitions, the onset of which may be caused by a number of factors. In this study we examine the volumetric properties of such polyelectrolyte gels in relation to the progressive substitution of monovalent counterions by divalent counterions as the gels are equilibrated in solvents of different dielectric qualities. We compare the results of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of polyelectrolyte gels with previous experimental measurements by others on polyacrylate gels. The simulations show that under equilibrium conditions there is an approximate cancellation between the electrostatic contribution and the counterion excluded-volume contribution to the osmotic pressure in the gel-solvent system; these two contributions to the osmotic pressure have, respectively, energetic and entropic origins. The finding of such a cancellation between the two contributions to the osmotic pressure of the gel-solvent system is consistent with experimental observations that the swelling behavior of polyelectrolyte gels can be described by equations of state for neutral gels. Based on these results, we show and explain that a modified form of the Flory-Huggins model for nonionic polymer solutions, which accounts for neither electrostatic effects nor counterion excluded-volume effects, fits both experimental and simulated data for polyelectrolyte gels. The Flory-Huggins interaction parameters obtained from regression to the simulation data are characteristic of ideal polymer solutions, whereas the experimentally obtained interaction parameters, particularly that associated with the third virial coefficient, exhibit a significant departure from ideality, leading us to conclude that further enhancements to the simulation model, such as the inclusion of excess salt, the allowance for size asymmetric electrolytes, or the use of a distance-dependent solvent dielectricity model, may be required. Molecular simulations also reveal that the condensation of divalent counterions onto the polyelectrolyte network backbone occurs preferentially over that of monovalent counterions.

Including hydrological self-regulating processes in peatland models: Effects on peatmoss drought projections.

PubMed

Nijp, Jelmer J; Metselaar, Klaas; Limpens, Juul; Teutschbein, Claudia; Peichl, Matthias; Nilsson, Mats B; Berendse, Frank; van der Zee, Sjoerd E A T M

2017-02-15

The water content of the topsoil is one of the key factors controlling biogeochemical processes, greenhouse gas emissions and biosphere - atmosphere interactions in many ecosystems, particularly in northern peatlands. In these wetland ecosystems, the water content of the photosynthetic active peatmoss layer is crucial for ecosystem functioning and carbon sequestration, and is sensitive to future shifts in rainfall and drought characteristics. Current peatland models differ in the degree in which hydrological feedbacks are included, but how this affects peatmoss drought projections is unknown. The aim of this paper was to systematically test whether the level of hydrological detail in models could bias projections of water content and drought stress for peatmoss in northern peatlands using downscaled projections for rainfall and potential evapotranspiration in the current (1991-2020) and future climate (2061-2090). We considered four model variants that either include or exclude moss (rain)water storage and peat volume change, as these are two central processes in the hydrological self-regulation of peatmoss carpets. Model performance was validated using field data of a peatland in northern Sweden. Including moss water storage as well as peat volume change resulted in a significant improvement of model performance, despite the extra parameters added. The best performance was achieved if both processes were included. Including moss water storage and peat volume change consistently reduced projected peatmoss drought frequency with >50%, relative to the model excluding both processes. Projected peatmoss drought frequency in the growing season was 17% smaller under future climate than current climate, but was unaffected by including the hydrological self-regulating processes. Our results suggest that ignoring these two fine-scale processes important in hydrological self-regulation of northern peatlands will have large consequences for projected climate change impact on ecosystem processes related to topsoil water content, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tuning the dielectric properties of polystyrene/poly(vinylidene fluoride) blends by selectively localizing carbon black nanoparticles.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiaodong; Zhao, Jun; Cao, Jian-Ping; Wang, Xiaoyan; Chen, Min; Dang, Zhi-Min

2013-02-28

In this work, the dielectric properties of immiscible polystyrene (PS)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) blends are tuned by selectively localizing carbon black (CB) nanoparticles in different phases. The PS/PVDF blends have a wide window of cocontinuity (ca. 30-80 vol % in terms of the volume fraction of PS component (v(PS))). The selective localization of CB nanoparticles is achieved by using the masterbatch process during melt mixing. For the volume ratio PS/PVDF 1/1 and the volume fraction of CB nanoparticles (v(CB)) below but close to the percolation threshold (v(c)(CB)), the selective localization of CB nanoparticles in PVDF phase produces higher dielectric constant (ε) than that in PS phase, whereas the ε of the ternary mixtures without selective localization of fillers is in the middle. For the volume ratios PS/PVDF 1/2 and 2/1, the selective location of CB nanoparticles in different phases can be used to easily tune the system from conductive to insulating or inverse, which might have potential applications in industry. The fillers are found to be "fixed" in the masterbatch of PS or PVDF component and there is no migration of the fillers to another phase occurring during the further mixing process for the mixing time up to 30 min. Furthermore, the addition of CB nanoparticles to the polymer matrix is found to induce the brittle-ductile transition in the system and increase the compatibility between the immiscible PS and PVDF components, which should benefit the mechanical properties.

Left atrial volume and function in dogs with naturally occurring myxomatous mitral valve disease.

PubMed

Höllmer, M; Willesen, J L; Tolver, A; Koch, J

2017-02-01

Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) induces progressive left atrial (LA) enlargement. The LA modulates left ventricular filling and performance through its reservoir, conduit, and contractile function. Assessment of LA size and function may provide valuable information on the level of cardiac compensation. Left atrial function in dogs with naturally occurring MMVD remains largely unexplored. The objective of this study was to evaluate LA volume and function in dogs with naturally occurring MMVD. This prospective study included 205 client-owned dogs of different breeds, 114 healthy dogs, and 91 dogs with MMVD of different disease severities. Using two-dimensional echocardiography, the biplane area-length method was applied to assess LA volume and calculate volumetric indices of LA reservoir, conduit, and contractile function. Left atrial volume and LA stroke volume increased, whereas LA reservoir and contractile function decreased with increasing disease severity. A maximal LA volume <2.25mL/kg was the optimal cut off identified for excluding congestive heart failure in dogs with chronic MMVD with a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 100%. An active LA emptying fraction <24% and/or a LA expansion index <126% were suggestive of congestive heart failure in dogs with chronic MMVD with a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 89% and a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 82%, respectively. Dogs with MMVD appear to have larger LA volumes with poorer LA function. Deteriorating LA function, characterized by a decreasing reservoir and active contractile function, was evident in dogs with MMVD with increasing disease severity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural MRI correlates of apathy symptoms in older persons without dementia

PubMed Central

Grool, Anne M.; Geerlings, Mirjam I.; Sigurdsson, Sigurdur; Eiriksdottir, Gudny; Jonsson, Palmi V.; Garcia, Melissa E.; Siggeirsdottir, Kristin; Harris, Tamara B.; Sigmundsson, Thordur; Gudnason, Vilmundur

2014-01-01

Objective: We aimed to investigate the relation between apathy symptoms and structural brain changes on MRI, including white matter lesions (WMLs) and atrophy, in a large cohort of older persons. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses are based on 4,354 persons without dementia (aged 76 ± 5 years) participating in the population-based Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility–Reykjavik Study. Apathy symptoms were assessed with 3 items from the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Brain volumes and total WML volume were estimated on 1.5-tesla MRI using an automated segmentation program; regional WML load was calculated using a semiquantitative scale. Regression analyses were adjusted for age, sex, education, intracranial volume, vascular risk factors, physical activity, brain infarcts, depressive symptoms, antidepressants, and cognitive status. Results: Compared to those with <2 apathy symptoms, participants with ≥2 apathy symptoms (49% of the cohort) had significantly smaller gray matter volumes (mean adjusted difference −3.6 mL, 95% confidence interval [CI] −6.2 to −1.0), particularly in the frontal and temporal lobes; smaller white matter volumes (mean adjusted difference −1.9 mL, 95% CI −3.6 to −0.3), mainly in the parietal lobe; and smaller thalamus volumes. They were also more likely to have WMLs in the frontal lobe (adjusted odds ratio = 1.08, 95% CI 0.9–1.3). Excluding participants with a depression diagnosis did not change the associations. Conclusions: In this older population without dementia, apathy symptoms are associated with a more diffuse loss of both gray and white matter volumes, independent of depression. PMID:24739783

Explaining Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Use of High-Volume Hospitals

PubMed Central

Gray, Bradford H.; Schlesinger, Mark

2014-01-01

Racial/ethnic minorities are less likely to use higher-quality hospitals than whites. We propose that a higher level of information-related complexity in their local hospital environments compounds the effects of discrimination and more limited access to services, contributing to racial/ethnic disparities in hospital use. While minorities live closer than whites to high-volume hospitals, minorities also face greater choice complexity and live in neighborhoods with lower levels of medical experience. Our empirical results reveal that it is generally the overall context associated with proximity, choice complexity, and local experience, rather than differential sensitivity to these factors, that provides a partial explanation of the disparity gap in high-volume hospital use. PMID:25316717

Uncommon localizations of hydatid cyst. Review of the literature.

PubMed

Salamone, G; Licari, L; Randisi, B; Falco, N; Tutino, R; Vaglica, A; Gullo, R; Porello, C; Cocorullo, G; Gulotta, G

2016-01-01

Hydatid disease is an endemic anthropozoonosis with usual localization in liver and lungs. Rarely it localizes in uncommon sites as spleen, skeleton, kidney, brain, cardiac muscle, peritoneum, sub cutis. Complications of uncommon localizations are the same that for usual ones. Review of the literature on rare and atypical localization of hydatid cysts in soft tissues. Key-words used on Pub-Med [(echinococ OR hydatid) AND (soft tissue OR subcutaneous OR cutaneous)] without time limit. There were found 282 articles; 242 were excluded because of muscular or bone localizations. 40 were coherent. Different variables are taken into account: age, sex, geographic area, anatomic localization of the cyst, dimension, symptoms, signs, mobility, blood exams and specific serological tests, imaging techniques for diagnosis, existing of septa in the structure, treatment, anaesthesia, spillage, neo-adjuvant and adjuvant treatment, follow-up period, recurrent lesions. It would be useful create an homogeneous and standardized collection of data of these rare and potentially life-threatening conditions in order to create guide-line of diagnostic and therapeutic process and create (or adopt) unique classification of the lesions.

Charged Polymer Brushes: Counterion Incorporation and Scaling Relations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahrens, Heiko; Förster, Stephan; Helm, Christiane A.

1998-11-01

Amphiphilic block copolymers consisting of a fluid hydrophobic and a polyelectrolyte part form monolayers at the air/water interface. With x-ray reflectivity it is shown that the hydrophobic block is a nm-thick melt, while the polyelectrolyte forms an osmotically swollen brush of constant thickness, independent of grafting density and with stochiometric counter ion incorporation. Only at high salt conditions (above 0.1 M), the brush shrinks and the thickness scales with the molecular area and the salt concentration (corrected for excluded volume interactions) with an exponent -1/3.

Engineering and Environmental Study of DDT Contamination of Huntsville Spring Branch, Indian Creek, and Adjacent Lands and Waters, Wheeler Reservoir, Alabama. Volume 1. Summary.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-11-01

health effects. That aspect of the problem is being investigated by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. 2.0 EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM Historically...AIR POLLUTION CONTROL ACT OF 1971 111-85 8.12 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION 111-85 8.13 EXECUTIVE ORDER 11988 111-85 8.14 EXECUTIVE...that was specifically excluded from this study was human health effects. That aspect of the problem is being investigated by the Center for Disease

Beaver Brook, Keene, New Hampshire. Flood Damage Reduction Project. Detailed Project Report for Water Resources Development.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-02-01

Project Report/ Environmental Assessment Beaver Brook, Keene, New Hampshire I ~ j~j~i iii ii.. A Flood Damage Reduction AD-A 14 3 376 I 𔃾, W " FEBRUARY...STATEMENT (of tme abestwee enteed to Sleok I0. Of dlfieme W booer IS. SUPPLEMENTARY MOTES 2 volume set: vol 1- Flood Damage Reduction - vol 2- Flood Damage...that are considered reasonably characteristic of the region, excluding extremely rare combinations. 2 ,4INN (0 ( w a 12 7’ PLATE * -..- ~ -- - 7 ’ k 47

Numerical simulation of the sedimentation of a sphere in a sheared granular fluid: a granular Stokes experiment.

PubMed

Tripathi, Anurag; Khakhar, D V

2011-09-02

We study, computationally, the sedimentation of a sphere of higher mass in a steady, gravity-driven granular flow of otherwise identical spheres, on a rough inclined plane. Taking a hydrodynamic approach at the scale of the particle, we find the drag force to be given by a modified Stokes law and the buoyancy force by the Archimedes principle, with excluded volume effects taken into account. We also find significant differences between the hydrodynamic case and the granular case, which are highlighted.

Numerical Simulation of the Sedimentation of a Sphere in a Sheared Granular Fluid: A Granular Stokes Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathi, Anurag; Khakhar, D. V.

2011-09-01

We study, computationally, the sedimentation of a sphere of higher mass in a steady, gravity-driven granular flow of otherwise identical spheres, on a rough inclined plane. Taking a hydrodynamic approach at the scale of the particle, we find the drag force to be given by a modified Stokes law and the buoyancy force by the Archimedes principle, with excluded volume effects taken into account. We also find significant differences between the hydrodynamic case and the granular case, which are highlighted.

Water Resources Data for California, 1966; Part 1: Surface Water Records; Volume 1: Colorado River Basin, Southern Great Basin, and Pacific Slope Basins excluding Cenral Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

1967-01-01

The surface-water records for the 1966 water year for gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites within California are given in this report. For convenience, also included are records for a few pertinent gaging stations in bordering States. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, under the direction of Walter Hofmann and R. Stanley Lord, successive district chiefs, Menlo Park, Calif.

Impact of hydrodynamics on effective interactions in suspensions of active and passive matter.

PubMed

Krafnick, Ryan C; García, Angel E

2015-02-01

Passive particles exhibit unique properties when immersed in an active bath of self-propelling entities. In particular, an effective attraction can appear between particles that repel each other when in a passive solution. Here we numerically study the effect of hydrodynamics on an active-passive hybrid system, where we observe qualitative differences as compared to simulations with excluded volume effects alone. The results shed light on an existing discrepancy in pair lifetimes between simulation and experiment, due to the hydrodynamically enhanced stability of coupled passive particles.

Comparison of the outcomes for laparoscopic gastrectomy performed by the same surgeon between a low-volume hospital and a high-volume center.

PubMed

Kim, Min Gyu; Kwon, Sung Joon

2014-05-01

The volume-outcome relationship in laparoscopic surgery is controversial. This study was designed to identify differences in laparoscopic gastrectomy outcomes between a low-volume hospital and a high-volume center and to provide guidelines for overcoming the problems associated with a low-volume hospital. From April 2009 to November 2012, one surgeon performed 134 totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomies (TLDGs) at a high-volume center (HVC; ASAN Medical Center) and at a low-volume hospital (LVH; Hanyang University Guri Hospital). All laparoscopically assisted gastrectomies were excluded from this study. During the early period of laparoscopic gastrectomy at the low-volume hospital, TLDG with Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy (RYGJ) was performed according to the surgeon's choice. The reconstruction method was classified as gastroduodenostomy (GD) or RYGJ. Early surgical outcomes achieved at the LVH were investigated and compared with those obtained at the HVC. The early surgical outcomes differed significantly between the two hospitals. In particular, the postoperative complication rate for the patients who underwent TLDG RYGJ at the LVH was higher than at the HVC (LVH 15.4 % vs. HVC 0 %; p = 0.037). Furthermore, significant differences were observed in the mean operation time (TLDG GD: LVH 141.0 min vs. HVC 117.4 min, p = 0.001; TLDG RYGJ: LVH 186.3 min vs. HVC 134.6 min, p = 0.009) and length of hospital stay (TLDG GD: LVH 8.1 days vs. HVC 7.2 days, p = 0.044; TLDG RYGJ: LVH 11.5 day vs. HVC 6.8 day, p = 0.009). Although all the operations were performed by one experienced surgeon, the early surgical outcomes differed significantly between the low- and high-volume hospitals. Low-volume hospitals often lack well-trained surgical professionals such as first assistants and scrub nurses. Therefore, the authors recommend that a surgeon who works at an LVH should assess potential personnel shortages and find a solution before operating.

The Resource Consumption Principle: Attention and Memory in Volumes of Neural Tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montague, P. Read

1996-04-01

In the cerebral cortex, the small volume of the extracellular space in relation to the volume enclosed by synapses suggests an important functional role for this relationship. It is well known that there are atoms and molecules in the extracellular space that are absolutely necessary for synapses to function (e.g., calcium). I propose here the hypothesis that the rapid shift of these atoms and molecules from extracellular to intrasynaptic compartments represents the consumption of a shared, limited resource available to local volumes of neural tissue. Such consumption results in a dramatic competition among synapses for resources necessary for their function. In this paper, I explore a theory in which this resource consumption plays a critical role in the way local volumes of neural tissue operate. On short time scales, this principle of resource consumption permits a tissue volume to choose those synapses that function in a particular context and thereby helps to integrate the many neural signals that impinge on a tissue volume at any given moment. On longer time scales, the same principle aids in the stable storage and recall of information. The theory provides one framework for understanding how cerebral cortical tissue volumes integrate, attend to, store, and recall information. In this account, the capacity of neural tissue to attend to stimuli is intimately tied to the way tissue volumes are organized at fine spatial scales.

Vinken and Bruyn's Handbook of Clinical Neurology. A witness of late-twentieth century neurological progress.

PubMed

Koehler, P J; Jennekens, F G I

2008-01-01

Vinken and Bruyn's Handbook of Clinical Neurology (HCN) is best characterized as an encyclopedia. In this paper we describe the origin, production, and reception of HCN. Data were gathered from a literature search, by screening of HCN-volumes, interviewing key-role persons and a study of an HCN-archive. The initiative for HCN was taken by two Excerpta Medica staff members, the one a strategist with expertise in information systems, the other a gifted neurologist with an expert knowledge of who is who in the world of neurological literature. Within a period of 38 years, 2799 authors, 28 volume editors, the two initiators, and a third chief editor for the American continent described the whole of neurology in 1909 chapters on all together 46,025 pages (excluding index volumes). HCN was sold mainly to medical institutes in affluent countries. A digital version of the revised edition was proposed by the editors but refused by the publisher for commercial reasons. HCN was in general well received by book reviewers. The main criticisms concerned the price of the volumes, lack of editorial control, inadequacy of indexes, and lack of cross references. HCN offers unrivalled information on the state of the art of the clinical neurosciences in the second half of the twentieth century. In addition, it contains extensive reviews of the history of neurological diseases in the volumes of the original edition.

Influence of Media on Seasonal Influenza Epidemic Curves.

PubMed

Saito, Satoshi; Saito, Norihiro; Itoga, Masamichi; Ozaki, Hiromi; Kimura, Toshiyuki; Okamura, Yuji; Murakami, Hiroshi; Kayaba, Hiroyuki

2016-09-01

Theoretical investigations predicting the epidemic curves of seasonal influenza have been demonstrated so far; however, there is little empirical research using ever accumulated epidemic curves. The effects of vaccine coverage and information distribution on influenza epidemics were evaluated. Four indices for epidemics (i.e., onset-peak duration, onset-end duration, ratio of the onset-peak duration to onset-end duration and steepness of epidemic curves) were defined, and the correlations between these indices and anti-flu drug prescription dose, vaccine coverage, the volume of media and search trend on influenza through internet were analyzed. Epidemiological data on seasonal influenza epidemics from 2002/2003 to 2013/2014 excluding 2009/2010 season were collected from National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan. The onset-peak duration and its ratio to onset-end duration correlated inversely with the volume of anti-flu drug prescription. Onset-peak duration correlated positively with media information volume on influenza. The steepness of the epidemic curve, and anti-flu drug prescription dose inversely correlated with the volume of media information. Pre-epidemic search trend and media volume on influenza correlated with the vaccine coverage in the season. Vaccine coverage had no strong effect on epidemic curve. Education through media has an effect on the epidemic curve of seasonal influenza. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Investigating structural brain changes of dehydration using voxel-based morphometry.

PubMed

Streitbürger, Daniel-Paolo; Möller, Harald E; Tittgemeyer, Marc; Hund-Georgiadis, Margret; Schroeter, Matthias L; Mueller, Karsten

2012-01-01

Dehydration can affect the volume of brain structures, which might imply a confound in volumetric and morphometric studies of normal or diseased brain. Six young, healthy volunteers were repeatedly investigated using three-dimensional T(1)-weighted magnetic resonance imaging during states of normal hydration, hyperhydration, and dehydration to assess volume changes in gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The datasets were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), a widely used voxel-wise statistical analysis tool, FreeSurfer, a fully automated volumetric segmentation measure, and SIENAr a longitudinal brain-change detection algorithm. A significant decrease of GM and WM volume associated with dehydration was found in various brain regions, most prominently, in temporal and sub-gyral parietal areas, in the left inferior orbito-frontal region, and in the extra-nuclear region. Moreover, we found consistent increases in CSF, that is, an expansion of the ventricular system affecting both lateral ventricles, the third, and the fourth ventricle. Similar degrees of shrinkage in WM volume and increase of the ventricular system have been reported in studies of mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease during disease progression. Based on these findings, a potential confound in GM and WM or ventricular volume studies due to the subjects' hydration state cannot be excluded and should be appropriately addressed in morphometric studies of the brain.

Investigating Structural Brain Changes of Dehydration Using Voxel-Based Morphometry

PubMed Central

Streitbürger, Daniel-Paolo; Möller, Harald E.; Tittgemeyer, Marc; Hund-Georgiadis, Margret; Schroeter, Matthias L.; Mueller, Karsten

2012-01-01

Dehydration can affect the volume of brain structures, which might imply a confound in volumetric and morphometric studies of normal or diseased brain. Six young, healthy volunteers were repeatedly investigated using three-dimensional T 1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging during states of normal hydration, hyperhydration, and dehydration to assess volume changes in gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The datasets were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), a widely used voxel-wise statistical analysis tool, FreeSurfer, a fully automated volumetric segmentation measure, and SIENAr a longitudinal brain-change detection algorithm. A significant decrease of GM and WM volume associated with dehydration was found in various brain regions, most prominently, in temporal and sub-gyral parietal areas, in the left inferior orbito-frontal region, and in the extra-nuclear region. Moreover, we found consistent increases in CSF, that is, an expansion of the ventricular system affecting both lateral ventricles, the third, and the fourth ventricle. Similar degrees of shrinkage in WM volume and increase of the ventricular system have been reported in studies of mild cognitive impairment or Alzheime s disease during disease progression. Based on these findings, a potential confound in GM and WM or ventricular volume studies due to the subjects’ hydration state cannot be excluded and should be appropriately addressed in morphometric studies of the brain. PMID:22952926

Impacts of lung and tumor volumes on lung dosimetry for nonsmall cell lung cancer.

PubMed

Lei, Weijie; Jia, Jing; Cao, Ruifen; Song, Jing; Hu, Liqin

2017-09-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the impacts of lung and tumor volumes on normal lung dosimetry in three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), step-and-shoot intensity-modulated radiotherapy (ssIMRT), and single full-arc volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancers (NSCLC). All plans were designed to deliver a total dose of 66 Gy in 33 fractions to PTV for the 32 NSCLC patients with various total (bilateral) lung volumes, planning target volumes (PTVs), and PTV locations. The ratio of the lung volume (total lung volume excluding the PTV volume) to the PTV volume (LTR) was evaluated to represent the impacts in three steps. (a) The least squares method was used to fit mean lung doses (MLDs) to PTVs or LTRs with power-law function in the population cohort (N = 32). (b) The population cohort was divided into three groups by LTRs based on first step and then by PTVs, respectively. The MLDs were compared among the three techniques in each LTR group (LG) and each PTV group (PG). (c) The power-law correlation was tested by using the adaptive radiation therapy (ART) planning data of individual patients in the individual cohort (N = 4). Different curves of power-law function with high R 2 values were observed between averaged LTRs and averaged MLDs for 3DCRT, ssIMRT, and VMAT, respectively. In the individual cohort, high R 2 values of fitting curves were also observed in individual patients in ART, although the trend was highly patient-specific. There was a more obvious correlation between LTR and MLD than that between PTV and MLD. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Validating automated kidney stone volumetry in computed tomography and mathematical correlation with estimated stone volume based on diameter.

PubMed

Wilhelm, Konrad; Miernik, Arkadiusz; Hein, Simon; Schlager, Daniel; Adams, Fabian; Benndorf, Matthias; Fritz, Benjamin; Langer, Mathias; Hesse, Albrecht; Schoenthaler, Martin; Neubauer, Jakob

2018-06-02

To validate AutoMated UroLithiasis Evaluation Tool (AMULET) software for kidney stone volumetry and compare its performance to standard clinical practice. Maximum diameter and volume of 96 urinary stones were measured as reference standard by three independent urologists. The same stones were positioned in an anthropomorphic phantom and CT scans acquired in standard settings. Three independent radiologists blinded to the reference values took manual measurements of the maximum diameter and automatic measurements of maximum diameter and volume. An "expected volume" was calculated based on manual diameter measurements using the formula: V=4/3 πr³. 96 stones were analyzed in the study. We had initially aimed to assess 100. Nine were replaced during data acquisition due of crumbling and 4 had to be excluded because the automated measurement did not work. Mean reference maximum diameter was 13.3 mm (5.2-32.1 mm). Correlation coefficients among all measured outcomes were compared. The correlation between the manual and automatic diameter measurements to the reference was 0.98 and 0.91, respectively (p<0.001). Mean reference volume was 1200 mm³ (10-9000 mm³). The correlation between the "expected volume" and automatically measured volume to the reference was 0.95 and 0.99, respectively (p<0.001). Patients' kidney stone burden is usually assessed according to maximum diameter. However, as most stones are not spherical, this entails a potential bias. Automated stone volumetry is possible and significantly more accurate than diameter-based volumetric calculations. To avoid bias in clinical trials, size should be measured as volume. However, automated diameter measurements are not as accurate as manual measurements.

Pain and efficacy rating of a microprocessor-controlled metered injection system for local anaesthesia in minor hand surgery.

PubMed

Nimigan, André S; Gan, Bing Siang

2011-01-01

Purpose. Little attention has been given to syringe design and local anaesthetic administration methods. A microprocessor-controlled anaesthetic delivery device has become available that may minimize discomfort during injection. The purpose of this study was to document the pain experience associated with the use of this system and to compare it with use of a conventional syringe. Methods. A prospective, randomized clinical trial was designed. 40 patients undergoing carpal tunnel release were block randomized according to sex into a two groups: a traditional syringe group and a microprocessor-controlled device group. The primary outcome measure was surgical pain and local anaesthetic administration pain. Secondary outcomes included volume of anaesthetic used and injection time. Results. Analysis showed that equivalent anaesthesia was achieved in the microprocessor-controlled group despite using a significantly lower volume of local anaesthetic (P = .0002). This same group, however, has significantly longer injection times (P < .0001). Pain during the injection process or during surgery was not different between the two groups. Conclusions. This RCT comparing traditional and microprocessor controlled methods of administering local anaesthetic showed similar levels of discomfort in both groups. While the microprocessor-controlled group used less volume, the total time for the administration was significantly greater.

"If the Social Worker Had Called at Least It Would Show They Cared". Young Care Leaver's Perspectives on the Importance of Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaskell, Carolyn

2010-01-01

Young people leaving local authority care are frequently discussed in terms of being socially excluded and having "poor life outcomes". In terms of educational achievement, employment and involvement in the criminal justice system, those with an experience of the care system fare the worst. Within the context of these poor outcomes, the Government…

Productivity and technical efficiency of suckler beef production systems: trends for the period 1990 to 2012.

PubMed

Veysset, P; Lherm, M; Roulenc, M; Troquier, C; Bébin, D

2015-12-01

Over the past 23 years (1990 to 2012), French beef cattle farms have expanded in size and increased labour productivity by over 60%, chiefly, though not exclusively, through capital intensification (labour-capital substitution) and simplifying herd feeding practices (more concentrates used). The technical efficiency of beef sector production systems, as measured by the ratio of the volume value (in constant euros) of farm output excluding aids to volume of intermediate consumption, has fallen by nearly 20% while income per worker has held stable thanks to subsidies and the labour productivity gains made. This aggregate technical efficiency of beef cattle systems is positively correlated to feed self-sufficiency, which is in turn negatively correlated to farm and herd size. While volume of farm output per hectare of agricultural area has not changed, forage feed self-sufficiency decreased by 6 percentage points. The continual increase in farm size and labour productivity has come at a cost of lower production-system efficiency - a loss of technical efficiency that 20 years of genetic, technical, technological and knowledge-driven progress has barely managed to offset.

World Energy Data System (WENDS). Volume X. Nuclear facility profiles, PO--ZA. [Brief tabulated information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1979-06-01

In this compendium each profile of a nuclear facility is a capsule summary of pertinent facts regarding that particular installation. The facilities described include the entire fuel cycle in the broadest sense, encompassing resource recovery through waste management. Power plants and all US facilities have been excluded. To facilitate comparison the profiles have been recorded in a standard format. Because of the breadth of the undertaking some data fields do not apply to the establishment under discussion and accordingly are blank. The set of nuclear facility profiles occupies four volumes; the profiles are ordered by country name, and then bymore » facility code. Each nuclear facility profile volume contains two complete indexes to the information. The first index aggregates the facilities alphabetically by country. It is further organized by category of facility, and then by the four-character facility code. It provides a quick summary of the nuclear energy capability or interest in each country and also an identifier, the facility code, which can be used to access the information contained in the profile.« less

The Mathematics of Four or More N-Localizers for Stereotactic Neurosurgery.

PubMed

Brown, Russell A

2015-10-13

The mathematics that were originally developed for the N-localizer apply to three N-localizers that produce three sets of fiducials in a tomographic image. Some applications of the N-localizer use four N-localizers that produce four sets of fiducials; however, the mathematics that apply to three sets of fiducials do not apply to four sets of fiducials. This article presents mathematics that apply to four or more sets of fiducials that all lie within one planar tomographic image. In addition, these mathematics are extended to apply to four or more fiducials that do not all lie within one planar tomographic image, as may be the case with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging where a volume is imaged instead of a series of planar tomographic images. Whether applied to a planar image or a volume image, the mathematics of four or more N-localizers provide a statistical measure of the quality of the image data that may be influenced by factors, such as the nonlinear distortion of MR images.

Functional characterization and cellular dynamics of the CDC-42 - RAC - CDC-24 module in Neurospora crassa.

PubMed

Araujo-Palomares, Cynthia L; Richthammer, Corinna; Seiler, Stephan; Castro-Longoria, Ernestina

2011-01-01

Rho-type GTPases are key regulators that control eukaryotic cell polarity, but their role in fungal morphogenesis is only beginning to emerge. In this study, we investigate the role of the CDC-42 - RAC - CDC-24 module in Neurospora crassa. rac and cdc-42 deletion mutants are viable, but generate highly compact colonies with severe morphological defects. Double mutants carrying conditional and loss of function alleles of rac and cdc-42 are lethal, indicating that both GTPases share at least one common essential function. The defects of the GTPase mutants are phenocopied by deletion and conditional alleles of the guanine exchange factor (GEF) cdc-24, and in vitro GDP-GTP exchange assays identify CDC-24 as specific GEF for both CDC-42 and RAC. In vivo confocal microscopy shows that this module is organized as membrane-associated cap that covers the hyphal apex. However, the specific localization patterns of the three proteins are distinct, indicating different functions of RAC and CDC-42 within the hyphal tip. CDC-42 localized as confined apical membrane-associated crescent, while RAC labeled a membrane-associated ring excluding the region labeled by CDC42. The GEF CDC-24 occupied a strategic position, localizing as broad apical membrane-associated crescent and in the apical cytosol excluding the Spitzenkörper. RAC and CDC-42 also display distinct localization patterns during branch initiation and germ tube formation, with CDC-42 accumulating at the plasma membrane before RAC. Together with the distinct cellular defects of rac and cdc-42 mutants, these localizations suggest that CDC-42 is more important for polarity establishment, while the primary function of RAC may be maintaining polarity. In summary, this study identifies CDC-24 as essential regulator for RAC and CDC-42 that have common and distinct functions during polarity establishment and maintenance of cell polarity in N. crassa.

Direct observation of nucleation in the bulk of an opaque sample

DOE PAGES

Xu, Chaoling; Zhang, Yubin; Godfrey, Andrew; ...

2017-02-14

Remarkably little is known about the physical phenomena leading to nucleation of new perfect crystals within deformed metals during annealing, in particular how and where volumes with nearly perfect lattices evolve from structures filled with dislocations, and how local variations at the micrometer length scale affect this nucleation process. We present here the first experimental measurements that relate directly nucleation of recrystallization to the local deformation microstructure in the bulk of a sample of cold rolled aluminum, further deformed locally by a hardness indentation. White beam differential aperture X-ray microscopy is used for the measurements, allowing us to map amore » selected gauge volume in the bulk of the sample in the deformed state, then anneal the sample and map the exact same gauge volume in the annealed state. It is found that nuclei develop at sites of high stored energy and they have crystallographic orientations from those present in the deformed state. Accordingly we suggest that for each nucleus the embryonic volume arises from a structural element contained within the voxels identified with the same orientation. In conclusion, possible nucleation mechanisms are discussed and the growth potentials of the nuclei are also analyzed and discussed.« less

A 3D Hermite-based multiscale local active contour method with elliptical shape constraints for segmentation of cardiac MR and CT volumes.

PubMed

Barba-J, Leiner; Escalante-Ramírez, Boris; Vallejo Venegas, Enrique; Arámbula Cosío, Fernando

2018-05-01

Analysis of cardiac images is a fundamental task to diagnose heart problems. Left ventricle (LV) is one of the most important heart structures used for cardiac evaluation. In this work, we propose a novel 3D hierarchical multiscale segmentation method based on a local active contour (AC) model and the Hermite transform (HT) for LV analysis in cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) volumes in short axis view. Features such as directional edges, texture, and intensities are analyzed using the multiscale HT space. A local AC model is configured using the HT coefficients and geometrical constraints. The endocardial and epicardial boundaries are used for evaluation. Segmentation of the endocardium is controlled using elliptical shape constraints. The final endocardial shape is used to define the geometrical constraints for segmentation of the epicardium. We follow the assumption that epicardial and endocardial shapes are similar in volumes with short axis view. An initialization scheme based on a fuzzy C-means algorithm and mathematical morphology was designed. The algorithm performance was evaluated using cardiac MR and CT volumes in short axis view demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed method.

Direct observation of nucleation in the bulk of an opaque sample.

PubMed

Xu, Chaoling; Zhang, Yubin; Godfrey, Andrew; Wu, Guilin; Liu, Wenjun; Tischler, Jonathan Z; Liu, Qing; Juul Jensen, Dorte

2017-02-14

Remarkably little is known about the physical phenomena leading to nucleation of new perfect crystals within deformed metals during annealing, in particular how and where volumes with nearly perfect lattices evolve from structures filled with dislocations, and how local variations at the micrometer length scale affect this nucleation process. We present here the first experimental measurements that relate directly nucleation of recrystallization to the local deformation microstructure in the bulk of a sample of cold rolled aluminum, further deformed locally by a hardness indentation. White beam differential aperture X-ray microscopy is used for the measurements, allowing us to map a selected gauge volume in the bulk of the sample in the deformed state, then anneal the sample and map the exact same gauge volume in the annealed state. It is found that nuclei develop at sites of high stored energy and they have crystallographic orientations from those present in the deformed state. Accordingly we suggest that for each nucleus the embryonic volume arises from a structural element contained within the voxels identified with the same orientation. Possible nucleation mechanisms are discussed and the growth potentials of the nuclei are also analyzed and discussed.

A Local Net Volume Equation for Iowa

Treesearch

Jerold T. Hahn

1976-01-01

As a part of the 1974 Forest Survey of Iowa, the Station''s Forst Resources Evaluatioin Research Staff developed a merchantable tree volume equation and tables of coefficients for Iowa. They were developed for both board-foot (International ?-inch rule) and cubic foot volumes, for several species and species groups of growing-stock trees. The equation and...

Highway Safety Program Manual: Volume 16: Debris Hazard Control and Cleanup.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

Volume 16 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) concentrates on debris hazard control and cleanup. The purpose and objectives of such a program are outlined. Federal authority in the area of highway safety and policies regarding a debris control…

Study of New Youth Initiatives in Apprenticeship. Interim Report. Volume 2: Site Visit Reports.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CSR, Inc., Washington, DC.

This second volume of the interim report provides detailed case study reports on each of the eight Youth Apprenticeship Projects. (Volume 1, an overview of data from the site visits, is available separately as CE 032 791.) Discussion areas covered in each site visit report are local context/operational environment, administrative information,…

Temporal Lobe Reactions After Carbon Ion Radiation Therapy: Comparison of Relative Biological Effectiveness–Weighted Tolerance Doses Predicted by Local Effect Models I and IV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gillmann, Clarissa, E-mail: clarissa.gillmann@med.uni-heidelberg.de; Jäkel, Oliver; Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center

2014-04-01

Purpose: To compare the relative biological effectiveness (RBE)–weighted tolerance doses for temporal lobe reactions after carbon ion radiation therapy using 2 different versions of the local effect model (LEM I vs LEM IV) for the same patient collective under identical conditions. Methods and Materials: In a previous study, 59 patients were investigated, of whom 10 experienced temporal lobe reactions (TLR) after carbon ion radiation therapy for low-grade skull-base chordoma and chondrosarcoma at Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany in 2002 and 2003. TLR were detected as visible contrast enhancements on T1-weighted MRI images within a median follow-up time ofmore » 2.5 years. Although the derived RBE-weighted temporal lobe doses were based on the clinically applied LEM I, we have now recalculated the RBE-weighted dose distributions using LEM IV and derived dose-response curves with Dmax,V-1 cm³ (the RBE-weighted maximum dose in the remaining temporal lobe volume, excluding the volume of 1 cm³ with the highest dose) as an independent dosimetric variable. The resulting RBE-weighted tolerance doses were compared with those of the previous study to assess the clinical impact of LEM IV relative to LEM I. Results: The dose-response curve of LEM IV is shifted toward higher values compared to that of LEM I. The RBE-weighted tolerance dose for a 5% complication probability (TD{sub 5}) increases from 68.8 ± 3.3 to 78.3 ± 4.3 Gy (RBE) for LEM IV as compared to LEM I. Conclusions: LEM IV predicts a clinically significant increase of the RBE-weighted tolerance doses for the temporal lobe as compared to the currently applied LEM I. The limited available photon data do not allow a final conclusion as to whether RBE predictions of LEM I or LEM IV better fit better clinical experience in photon therapy. The decision about a future clinical application of LEM IV therefore requires additional analysis of temporal lobe reactions in a comparable photon-treated collective using the same dosimetric variable as in the present study.« less

The Potential for Human Resources and Economic Growth in a Declining Local Community, A Socio-Economic Study of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Economy, Volume II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Louis; And Others

The data provided in the second volume of this two-volume report are interpreted within the context of the social and economic problems identified in the first volume. With its lack of diversified industry, Johnstown, Pennsylvania was found to have the revenue problems typical of a depressed economy, accentuated by a decline in markets for its…

Position of the Translator as an Agent in Website Localization: The Case of Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alkan, Sinem Canim

2017-01-01

The rapid growth of e-commerce has contributed to the development of website localization activity as a major professional industry. Despite the high volume of website localization practices, there is little research on translators participating in website localization projects. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the position of…

Perceptions of Local Health Care Quality in 7 Rural Communities with Telemedicine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nesbitt, Thomas S.; Marcin, James P.; Daschbach, Martha M.; Cole, Stacey L.

2005-01-01

Rural health services are difficult to maintain because of low patient volumes, limited numbers of providers, and unfavorable economies of scale. Rural patients may perceive poor quality in local health care, directly impacting the sustainability of local health care services. This study examines perceptions of local health care quality in 7…

CT Urography: Segmentation of Urinary Bladder using CLASS with Local Contour Refinement

PubMed Central

Cha, Kenny; Hadjiiski, Lubomir; Chan, Heang-Ping; Caoili, Elaine M.; Cohan, Richard H.; Zhou, Chuan

2016-01-01

Purpose We are developing a computerized system for bladder segmentation on CT urography (CTU), as a critical component for computer-aided detection of bladder cancer. Methods The presence of regions filled with intravenous contrast and without contrast presents a challenge for bladder segmentation. Previously, we proposed a Conjoint Level set Analysis and Segmentation System (CLASS). In case the bladder is partially filled with contrast, CLASS segments the non-contrast (NC) region and the contrast-filled (C) region separately and automatically conjoins the NC and C region contours; however, inaccuracies in the NC and C region contours may cause the conjoint contour to exclude portions of the bladder. To alleviate this problem, we implemented a local contour refinement (LCR) method that exploits model-guided refinement (MGR) and energy-driven wavefront propagation (EDWP). MGR propagates the C region contours if the level set propagation in the C region stops prematurely due to substantial non-uniformity of the contrast. EDWP with regularized energies further propagates the conjoint contours to the correct bladder boundary. EDWP uses changes in energies, smoothness criteria of the contour, and previous slice contour to determine when to stop the propagation, following decision rules derived from training. A data set of 173 cases was collected for this study: 81 cases in the training set (42 lesions, 21 wall thickenings, 18 normal bladders) and 92 cases in the test set (43 lesions, 36 wall thickenings, 13 normal bladders). For all cases, 3D hand segmented contours were obtained as reference standard and used for the evaluation of the computerized segmentation accuracy. Results For CLASS with LCR, the average volume intersection ratio, average volume error, absolute average volume error, average minimum distance and Jaccard index were 84.2±11.4%, 8.2±17.4%, 13.0±14.1%, 3.5±1.9 mm, 78.8±11.6%, respectively, for the training set and 78.0±14.7%, 16.4±16.9%, 18.2±15.0%, 3.8±2.3 mm, 73.8±13.4% respectively, for the test set. With CLASS only, the corresponding values were 75.1±13.2%, 18.7±19.5%, 22.5±14.9%, 4.3±2.2 mm, 71.0±12.6%, respectively, for the training set and 67.3±14.3%, 29.3±15.9%, 29.4±15.6%, 4.9±2.6 mm, 65.0±13.3%, respectively, for the test set. The differences between the two methods for all five measures were statistically significant (p<0.001) for both the training and test sets. Conclusions The results demonstrate the potential of CLASS with LCR for segmentation of the bladder. PMID:24801066

Right-Turn Traffic Volume Adjustments in Traffic Signal Warrant Analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-01-01

To accomplish this research, a comprehensive literature review of existing guidelines and findings based on national and local studies was conducted. Ultimately, guidelines for consistent application for adjusting right-turn traffic volumes were deve...

A governor's guide to emergency management. Volume two : homeland security

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-09-19

Homeland security is a complex challenge that demands significant investment; collaboration among local, state, and federal governments; and integration with the private sector. The purpose of A Governor's Guide to Emergency Management Volume Two: Ho...

Nanoscale volume confinement and fluorescence enhancement with double nanohole aperture

PubMed Central

Regmi, Raju; Al Balushi, Ahmed A.; Rigneault, Hervé; Gordon, Reuven; Wenger, Jérôme

2015-01-01

Diffraction ultimately limits the fluorescence collected from a single molecule, and sets an upper limit to the maximum concentration to isolate a single molecule in the detection volume. To overcome these limitations, we introduce here the use of a double nanohole structure with 25 nm gap, and report enhanced detection of single fluorescent molecules in concentrated solutions exceeding 20 micromolar. The nanometer gap concentrates the light into an apex volume down to 70 zeptoliter (10−21 L), 7000-fold below the diffraction-limited confocal volume. Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and time-correlated photon counting, we measure fluorescence enhancement up to 100-fold, together with local density of optical states (LDOS) enhancement of 30-fold. The distinctive features of double nanoholes combining high local field enhancement, efficient background screening and relative nanofabrication simplicity offer new strategies for real time investigation of biochemical events with single molecule resolution at high concentrations. PMID:26511149

Boron-containing chlorins and tetraazaporphyrins: synthesis and cell uptake of boronated pyropheophorbide a derivatives.

PubMed

Ratajski, Michal; Osterloh, Jens; Gabel, Detlef

2006-03-01

The literature on the synthesis and the biological properties of boron-containing chlorins and phthalocyanines is reviewed. A series of homologous derivatives of pyropheophorbide A is described. The compounds contain the B(12)H(11)SH(2-) cluster attached to the single carboxyl group and vary in the length of the alkyl chain (methyl, propyl, pentyl, heptyl and nonyl) attached via an ether linkage to the former vinyl group. Cellular uptake was found for all derivatives except the nonyl sidechain. The compounds were moderately cell-toxic. Localization in lysosomes could be excluded; the compounds localized probably in the mitochondria.

Remarks on High Reynolds Numbers Hydrodynamics and the Inviscid Limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Constantin, Peter; Vicol, Vlad

2018-04-01

We prove that any weak space-time L^2 vanishing viscosity limit of a sequence of strong solutions of Navier-Stokes equations in a bounded domain of R^2 satisfies the Euler equation if the solutions' local enstrophies are uniformly bounded. We also prove that t-a.e. weak L^2 inviscid limits of solutions of 3D Navier-Stokes equations in bounded domains are weak solutions of the Euler equation if they locally satisfy a scaling property of their second-order structure function. The conditions imposed are far away from boundaries, and wild solutions of Euler equations are not a priori excluded in the limit.

Capturing the Elite in Marine Conservation in Northeast Kalimantan.

PubMed

Kusumawati, Rini; Visser, Leontine

This article takes the existence of power networks of local elites as a social fact of fundamental importance and the starting point for the study of patronage in the governance of the coastal waters of East Kalimantan. We address the question of how to capture the elites for project implementation, rather than assuming the inevitability of elite capture of project funds. We analyze the multiple-scale networks of local power holders ( punggawa ) and the collaboration and friction between the political-economic interests and historical values of local actors and the scientific motivations of international environmental organizations. We describe how collaboration and friction between members of the elite challenge models that categorically exclude or co-opt local elites in foreign projects. In-depth ethnographic study of these networks shows their resilience through flows of knowledge and power in a highly volatile coastal environment. Results indicate the need for inclusion in decision making of local entrepreneurs, and - indirectly - their dependents in decentralized coastal governance.

The 3-D unstructured mesh generation using local transformations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barth, Timothy J.

1993-01-01

The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: 3D combinatorial edge swapping; 3D incremental triangulation via local transformations; a new approach to multigrid for unstructured meshes; surface mesh generation using local transforms; volume triangulations; viscous mesh generation; and future directions.

Light Emission by Nonequilibrium Bodies: Local Kirchhoff Law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greffet, Jean-Jacques; Bouchon, Patrick; Brucoli, Giovanni; Marquier, François

2018-04-01

The goal of this paper is to introduce a local form of Kirchhoff law to model light emission by nonequilibrium bodies. While absorption by a finite-size body is usually described using the absorption cross section, we introduce a local absorption rate per unit volume and also a local thermal emission rate per unit volume. Their equality is a local form of Kirchhoff law. We revisit the derivation of this equality and extend it to situations with subsystems in local thermodynamic equilibrium but not in equilibrium between them, such as hot electrons in a metal or electrons with different Fermi levels in the conduction band and in the valence band of a semiconductor. This form of Kirchhoff law can be used to model (i) thermal emission by nonisothermal finite-size bodies, (ii) thermal emission by bodies with carriers at different temperatures, and (iii) spontaneous emission by semiconductors under optical (photoluminescence) or electrical pumping (electroluminescence). Finally, we show that the reciprocity relation connecting light-emitting diodes and photovoltaic cells derived by Rau is a particular case of the local Kirchhoff law.

Investigation of maximum local specific absorption rate in 7 T magnetic resonance with respect to load size by use of electromagnetic simulations.

PubMed

Tiberi, Gianluigi; Fontana, Nunzia; Costagli, Mauro; Stara, Riccardo; Biagi, Laura; Symms, Mark Roger; Monorchio, Agostino; Retico, Alessandra; Cosottini, Mirco; Tosetti, Michela

2015-07-01

Local specific absorption rate (SAR) evaluation in ultra high field (UHF) magnetic resonance (MR) systems is a major concern. In fact, at UHF, radiofrequency (RF) field inhomogeneity generates hot-spots that could cause localized tissue heating. Unfortunately, local SAR measurements are not available in present MR systems; thus, electromagnetic simulations must be performed for RF fields and SAR analysis. In this study, we used three-dimensional full-wave numerical electromagnetic simulations to investigate the dependence of local SAR at 7.0 T with respect to subject size in two different scenarios: surface coil loaded by adult and child calves and quadrature volume coil loaded by adult and child heads. In the surface coil scenario, maximum local SAR decreased with decreasing load size, provided that the RF magnetic fields for the different load sizes were scaled to achieve the same slice average value. On the contrary, in the volume coil scenario, maximum local SAR was up to 15% higher in children than in adults. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Study of Two-Dimensional Compressible Non-Acoustic Modeling of Stirling Machine Type Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tew, Roy C., Jr.; Ibrahim, Mounir B.

2001-01-01

A two-dimensional (2-D) computer code was developed for modeling enclosed volumes of gas with oscillating boundaries, such as Stirling machine components. An existing 2-D incompressible flow computer code, CAST, was used as the starting point for the project. CAST was modified to use the compressible non-acoustic Navier-Stokes equations to model an enclosed volume including an oscillating piston. The devices modeled have low Mach numbers and are sufficiently small that the time required for acoustics to propagate across them is negligible. Therefore, acoustics were excluded to enable more time efficient computation. Background information about the project is presented. The compressible non-acoustic flow assumptions are discussed. The governing equations used in the model are presented in transport equation format. A brief description is given of the numerical methods used. Comparisons of code predictions with experimental data are then discussed.

Miscibility phase diagram of ring-polymer blends: A topological effect.

PubMed

Sakaue, Takahiro; Nakajima, Chihiro H

2016-04-01

The miscibility of polymer blends, a classical problem in polymer science, may be altered, if one or both of the component do not have chain ends. Based on the idea of topological volume, we propose a mean-field theory to clarify how the topological constraints in ring polymers affect the phase behavior of the blends. While the large enhancement of the miscibility is expected for ring-linear polymer blends, the opposite trend toward demixing, albeit comparatively weak, is predicted for ring-ring polymer blends. Scaling formulas for the shift of critical point for both cases are derived. We discuss the valid range of the present theory, and the crossover to the linear polymer blends behaviors, which is expected for short chains. These analyses put forward a view that the topological constraints could be represented as an effective excluded-volume effects, in which the topological length plays a role of the screening factor.