Qualitative and quantitative observations of bone tissue reactions to anodised implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Sul, Young-Taeg; Johansson, Carina B; Röser, Kerstin; Albrektsson, Tomas

2002-04-01

Research projects focusing on biomaterials related factors; the bulk implant material, the macro-design of the implant and the microsurface roughness are routinely being conducted at our laboratories. In this study, we have investigated the bone tissue reactions to turned commercially pure (c.p.) titanium implants with various thicknesses of the oxide films after 6 weeks of insertion in rabbit bone. The control c.p. titanium implants had an oxide thickness of 17-200 nm while the test implants revealed an oxide thickness between 600 and 1000 nm. Routine histological investigations of the tissue reactions around the implants and enzyme histochemical detections of alkaline and acid phosphatase activities demonstrated similar findings around both the control and test implants. In general, the histomorphometrical parameters (bone to implant contact and newly formed bone) revealed significant quantitative differences between the control and test implants. The test implants demonstrated a greater bone response histomorphometrically than control implants and the osteoconductivity was more pronounced around the test implant surfaces. The parameters that differed between the implant surfaces, i.e. the oxide thickness, the pore size distribution, the porosity and the crystallinity of the surface oxides may represent factors that have an influence on the histomorphometrical results indicated by a stronger bone tissue response to the test implant surfaces, with an oxide thickness of more than 600 nm.

Accuracy of quantitative visual soil assessment

Science.gov (United States)

van Leeuwen, Maricke; Heuvelink, Gerard; Stoorvogel, Jetse; Wallinga, Jakob; de Boer, Imke; van Dam, Jos; van Essen, Everhard; Moolenaar, Simon; Verhoeven, Frank; Stoof, Cathelijne

2016-04-01

Visual soil assessment (VSA) is a method to assess soil quality visually, when standing in the field. VSA is increasingly used by farmers, farm organisations and companies, because it is rapid and cost-effective, and because looking at soil provides understanding about soil functioning. Often VSA is regarded as subjective, so there is a need to verify VSA. Also, many VSAs have not been fine-tuned for contrasting soil types. This could lead to wrong interpretation of soil quality and soil functioning when contrasting sites are compared to each other. We wanted to assess accuracy of VSA, while taking into account soil type. The first objective was to test whether quantitative visual field observations, which form the basis in many VSAs, could be validated with standardized field or laboratory measurements. The second objective was to assess whether quantitative visual field observations are reproducible, when used by observers with contrasting backgrounds. For the validation study, we made quantitative visual observations at 26 cattle farms. Farms were located at sand, clay and peat soils in the North Friesian Woodlands, the Netherlands. Quantitative visual observations evaluated were grass cover, number of biopores, number of roots, soil colour, soil structure, number of earthworms, number of gley mottles and soil compaction. Linear regression analysis showed that four out of eight quantitative visual observations could be well validated with standardized field or laboratory measurements. The following quantitative visual observations correlated well with standardized field or laboratory measurements: grass cover with classified images of surface cover; number of roots with root dry weight; amount of large structure elements with mean weight diameter; and soil colour with soil organic matter content. Correlation coefficients were greater than 0.3, from which half of the correlations were significant. For the reproducibility study, a group of 9 soil scientists and 7

A quantitative framework for assessing ecological resilience

Science.gov (United States)

Quantitative approaches to measure and assess resilience are needed to bridge gaps between science, policy, and management. In this paper, we suggest a quantitative framework for assessing ecological resilience. Ecological resilience as an emergent ecosystem phenomenon can be de...

2D histomorphometric quantification from 3D computerized tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, Inaya; Oliveira, Luis Fernando de; Lopes, Ricardo T.; Jesus, Edgar Francisco O. de; Alves, Jose Marcos

2002-01-01

In the present article, preliminary results are presented showing the application of the tridimensional computerized microtomographic technique (3D-μCT) to bone tissue characterization, through histomorphometric quantification which are based on stereologic concepts. Two samples of human bone were correctly prepared to be submitted to the tomographic system. The system used to realize that process were a radiographic system with a microfocus X-ray tube. Through these three processes, acquisition, reconstruction and quantification, it was possible to get the good results and coherent to the literature data. From this point, it is intended to compare these results with the information due the conventional method, that is, conventional histomorphometry. (author)

Bone response to hydroxyapatites with open porosity of animal origin (porcine [OsteoBiol mp3] and bovine [Endobon]): a radiological and histomorphometric study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramírez-Fernández, MaPiedad; Calvo-Guirado, Jose Luis; Delgado-Ruiz, Rafael Arcesio; Maté-Sánchez Del Val, José Eduardo; Vicente-Ortega, Vicente; Meseguer-Olmos, Luis

2011-07-01

To carry out a radiological and histomorphometric evaluation of bone response to two xenografts of animal origin, one porcine, and the other bovine, inserted in rabbits' tibiae. Twenty New Zealand rabbits weighing 3900-4500 g were used. Twenty bovine bone grafts (Endobon) in granulated form of 500-1000 μm granulometry were inserted in the proximal metaphyseal area of the animals' right tibia, and 20 porcine bone grafts (OsteoBiol mp3) in granulated form of 600-1000 μm granulometry were inserted in the proximal metaphyseal area of the animals' left tibia. Following graft insertion, the animals were sacrificed in four groups of five, after 1, 2, 3 and 4 months, respectively. Anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were taken. Samples were processed for observation under light microscopy. Histomorphometric measurements were presented as mean values ± standard deviations. At 4 months after treatment, the bone defects displayed radiological images that showed complete repair of osseous defects. Histomorphometric evaluation showed that for the porcine xenograft, the study averages for newly formed bone represented 22.8 ± 1.8%, for residual graft material 23.6 ± 3% and for connective tissue 53.5 ± 2.5%, while for the bovine xenograft newly formed bone represented 23.1 ± 1.8%, residual graft material 39.4 ± 3% and non-mineralized connective tissue 37.5 ± 2.5%. The biomaterials assessed in the study were shown to be biocompatible and osteoconductive. Collagenized porcine xenografts proved more resorbable than bovine xenografts. Both can be used as possible bone substitutes without interfering with normal reparative bone processes. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Statistical characteristics and correlations of histomorphometric, clinical and biochemical indices in systemic therapy in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Hryhorovskyi

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Actuality. The correlation analysis between various indices of bone tissue condition was not previously carried out in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta. Aim. On purpose to determine differences and index correlations before and after intake of pamidronate systemic therapy in 13 patients with osteogenesis imperfecta indices of some methods including histomorphometric were studied. Results. We found correlation parametres of biochemical indices, on one side and histomorphometric – on the other. Conclusion. After systemic therapy mean parametres of «bone volume» in iliobiopsies increase, and «osteoid surface» and «osteoclast index per surface unit» in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta of I type – decrease, that one can regard as a tendency to improvement of the bone tissue structural-functional condition.

Comparative study and histomorphometric analysis of bone allografts lyophilized and sterilized by autoclaving, gamma irradiation and ethylene oxide in rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Otavio Machado de Almeida

2013-01-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: To compare three sterilization methods (autoclave, gamma irradiation and ethylene oxide over non demineralized lyophilized bone allografts. METHODS: Bone allografts were implanted on paravertebral muscles of 21 rats. After 30 days animals were sacrificed and grafts underwent comparative analysis regarding histomorphometric and macroscopic parameters. RESULTS: Allografts that underwent the three sterilization methods presents similar weight gain, cortical thickness similar to control group, and less fibrosis than the control group. Grafts that underwent sterilization in autoclave presented less presence of multinucleated giant cells, although not statistically significant. There was also no statistically significant difference regarding mineralization on the three groups. CONCLUSION: The three sterilization methods cause similar effects on bone allografts regarding macroscopic and histomorphometric parameters.

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Tutorial - Primer

Science.gov (United States)

This document provides a Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) primer that organizes QMRA tutorials. The tutorials describe functionality of a QMRA infrastructure, guide the user through software use and assessment options, provide step-by-step instructions for implementi...

Plasma rich in growth factors and bone formation: a radiological and histomorphometric study in New Zealand rabbits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Molina-Miñano

2009-09-01

Full Text Available A radiographic and histomorphometric study was conducted on the influence of autologous plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF upon bone healing in surgically created defects in rabbits. Radiographically, bone regeneration was significantly greater with the use of PRGF after one month (p = 0.005, though no differences were recorded after the second month. In the histomorphometric analysis one month after surgery, the defects filled with autologous bone plus PRGF showed a greater percentage of neoformed bone (35.01 ± 5.31 than the control defects (22.90 ± 12.23, though the differences were not significant. Two months after surgery, the defects filled with autologous bone showed greater regeneration (46.04 ± 10.36% than the control defects (30.59 ± 5.69%, though the differences were not significant. The application of PRGF in the bone defects produced in New Zealand rabbits exerted a limited effect on local bone formation.

Dynamics of bone healing after osteotomy with piezosurgery or conventional drilling - histomorphometrical, immunohistochemical, and molecular analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Esteves, Jônatas Caldeira; Marcantonio, Elcio; de Souza Faloni, Ana Paula; Rocha, Fernanda Regina Godoy; Marcantonio, Rosemary Adriana; Wilk, Katarzyna; Intini, Giuseppe

2013-09-23

Piezosurgery is an osteotomy system used in medical and dental surgery. Many studies have proven clinical advantages of piezosurgery in terms of quality of cut, maneuverability, ease of use, and safety. However, few investigations have tested its superiority over the traditional osteotomy systems in terms of dynamics of bone healing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of bone healing after osteotomies with piezosurgery and to compare them with those associated to traditional bone drilling. One hundred and ten rats were divided into two groups with 55 animals each. The animals were anesthetized and the tibiae were surgically exposed to create defects 2 mm in diameter by using piezosurgery (Piezo group) and conventional drilling (Drill group). Animals were sacrificed at 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days post-surgery. Bone samples were collected and processed for histological, histomorphometrical, immunohistochemical, and molecular analysis. The histological analysis was performed at all time points (n = 8) whereas the histomorphometrical analysis was performed at 7, 14, 30 and 60 days post-surgery (n = 8). The immunolabeling was performed to detect Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), Caspase-3 (CAS-3), Osteoprotegerin (OPG), Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor kappa-B Ligand (RANKL), and Osteocalcin (OC) at 3, 7, and 14 days (n = 3). For the molecular analysis, animals were sacrificed at 3, 7 and 14 days, total RNA was collected, and quantification of the expression of 21 genes related to BMP signaling, Wnt signaling, inflammation, osteogenenic and apoptotic pathways was performed by qRT-PCR (n = 5). Histologically and histomorphometrically, bone healing was similar in both groups with the exception of a slightly higher amount of newly formed bone observed at 30 days after piezosurgery (p piezosurgery are comparable to those observed with conventional drilling.

Assessing agreement between preclinical magnetic resonance imaging and histology: An evaluation of their image qualities and quantitative results

Science.gov (United States)

Elschner, Cindy; Korn, Paula; Hauptstock, Maria; Schulz, Matthias C.; Range, Ursula; Jünger, Diana; Scheler, Ulrich

2017-01-01

One consequence of demographic change is the increasing demand for biocompatible materials for use in implants and prostheses. This is accompanied by a growing number of experimental animals because the interactions between new biomaterials and its host tissue have to be investigated. To evaluate novel materials and engineered tissues the use of non-destructive imaging modalities have been identified as a strategic priority. This provides the opportunity for studying interactions repeatedly with individual animals, along with the advantages of reduced biological variability and decreased number of laboratory animals. However, histological techniques are still the golden standard in preclinical biomaterial research. The present article demonstrates a detailed method comparison between histology and magnetic resonance imaging. This includes the presentation of their image qualities as well as the detailed statistical analysis for assessing agreement between quantitative measures. Exemplarily, the bony ingrowth of tissue engineered bone substitutes for treatment of a cleft-like maxillary bone defect has been evaluated. By using a graphical concordance analysis the mean difference between MRI results and histomorphometrical measures has been examined. The analysis revealed a slightly but significant bias in the case of the bone volume (biasHisto−MRI:Bone volume=2.40 %, p<0.005) and a clearly significant deviation for the remaining defect width (biasHisto−MRI:Defect width=−6.73 %, p≪0.005). But the study although showed a considerable effect of the analyzed section position to the quantitative result. It could be proven, that the bias of the data sets was less originated due to the imaging modalities, but mainly on the evaluation of different slice positions. The article demonstrated that method comparisons not always need the use of an independent animal study, additionally. PMID:28666026

Effects of type I collagen coating on titanium osseointegration: histomorphometric, cellular and molecular analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sverzut, Alexander Tadeu; Crippa, Grasiele Edilaine; Tambasco de Oliveira, Paulo; Beloti, Marcio Mateus; Rosa, Adalberto Luiz; Morra, Marco

2012-01-01

The investigation of titanium (Ti) surface modifications aiming to increase implant osseointegration is one of the most active research areas in dental implantology. This study was carried out to evaluate the benefits of coating Ti with type I collagen on the osseointegration of dental implants. Acid etched Ti implants (AETi), either untreated or coated with type I collagen (ColTi), were placed in dog mandibles for three and eight weeks for histomorphometric, cellular and molecular evaluations of bone tissue response. While the histological aspects were essentially the same with both implants being surrounded by lamellar bone trabeculae, histomorphometric analysis showed more abundant bone formation in ColTi, mainly at three weeks. Cellular evaluation showed that cells harvested from bone fragments in close contact with ColTi display lower proliferative capacity and higher alkaline phosphatase activity, phenotypic features associated with more differentiated osteoblasts. Confirming these findings, molecular analyses showed that ColTi implants up-regulates the expression of a panel of genes well known as osteoblast markers. Our results present a set of evidences that coating AETi with collagen fastens the osseointegration by stimulating bone formation at the cellular and molecular levels, making this combination of morphological and biochemical modification a promising approach to treat Ti surfaces. (paper)

DIFFERENTIAL HISTOMORPHOMETRIC CHANGES IN NORMAL AND INFLAMED GINGIVAL EPITHELIUM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tanaskovic Stankovic Sanja

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction and aim: In recent decades, many factors such as smoking, unhealthy diet as well as high alcohol intake were marked as risk factors that can lead to increased incidence of malignant alterations, gingivitis, periodontal disease and other oral epithelium pathological changes. Having in mind that in the group of non-malignant and non-dental oral pathology gingivitis and periodontal disease are the most common oral mucosa alterations aim of our research was to investigate histomorphometric characteristics of healthy and altered oral and gingival epithelium. Material and methods: Tissue samples of 24 oral and gingival mucosa specimens were collected. Samples were fixed in 10% buffered paraformaldehyde, routinely processed and embedded in paraffin blocks. From each block sections 5 micrometer thin were made and standard H/E staining as well as immunocytochemical detection of Ki-67 proliferation marker and CD79a lymphocyte marker were performed. Measurements and image analysis was performed with Image Pro Plus software (Media Cybernetics, USA and Axiovision (Ziess, USA. Results: We showed that inflamed gingival epithelium is increasing its thickness in proportion to the severity of adjacent inflammation. Furthermore, mitotic index is rising (up to 132% in the same manner as well as basal lamina length (up to 70% when normal and inflamed gingiva is compared. Architecture of epithelial ridges is changed from straightforward to mesh-like. Conclusion: Assessment of the free gingival epithelium thickness is directly related to the severity of the inflammation process i

BBN based Quantitative Assessment of Software Design Specification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, Heung-Seop; Park, Gee-Yong; Kang, Hyun-Gook; Kwon, Kee-Choon; Chang, Seung-Cheol

2007-01-01

Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA), which is one of the important methods in assessing the overall safety of a nuclear power plant (NPP), requires quantitative reliability information of safety-critical software, but the conventional reliability assessment methods can not provide enough information for PSA of a NPP. Therefore current PSA which includes safety-critical software does not usually consider the reliability of the software or uses arbitrary values for it. In order to solve this situation this paper proposes a method that can produce quantitative reliability information of safety-critical software for PSA by making use of Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN). BBN has generally been used to model an uncertain system in many research fields including the safety assessment of software. The proposed method was constructed by utilizing BBN which can combine the qualitative and the quantitative evidence relevant to the reliability of safety critical software. The constructed BBN model can infer a conclusion in a formal and a quantitative way. A case study was carried out with the proposed method to assess the quality of software design specification (SDS) of safety-critical software that will be embedded in a reactor protection system. The intermediate V and V results of the software design specification were used as inputs to the BBN model

Dynamics of bone healing after osteotomy with piezosurgery or conventional drilling – histomorphometrical, immunohistochemical, and molecular analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Piezosurgery is an osteotomy system used in medical and dental surgery. Many studies have proven clinical advantages of piezosurgery in terms of quality of cut, maneuverability, ease of use, and safety. However, few investigations have tested its superiority over the traditional osteotomy systems in terms of dynamics of bone healing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of bone healing after osteotomies with piezosurgery and to compare them with those associated to traditional bone drilling. Methods One hundred and ten rats were divided into two groups with 55 animals each. The animals were anesthetized and the tibiae were surgically exposed to create defects 2 mm in diameter by using piezosurgery (Piezo group) and conventional drilling (Drill group). Animals were sacrificed at 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days post-surgery. Bone samples were collected and processed for histological, histomorphometrical, immunohistochemical, and molecular analysis. The histological analysis was performed at all time points (n = 8) whereas the histomorphometrical analysis was performed at 7, 14, 30 and 60 days post-surgery (n = 8). The immunolabeling was performed to detect Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), Caspase-3 (CAS-3), Osteoprotegerin (OPG), Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor kappa-B Ligand (RANKL), and Osteocalcin (OC) at 3, 7, and 14 days (n = 3). For the molecular analysis, animals were sacrificed at 3, 7 and 14 days, total RNA was collected, and quantification of the expression of 21 genes related to BMP signaling, Wnt signaling, inflammation, osteogenenic and apoptotic pathways was performed by qRT-PCR (n = 5). Results Histologically and histomorphometrically, bone healing was similar in both groups with the exception of a slightly higher amount of newly formed bone observed at 30 days after piezosurgery (p piezosurgery are comparable to those observed with conventional drilling. PMID:24053147

Histomorphometric analysis and immunolocalization of RANKL and OPG during the alveolar healing process in female ovariectomized rats treated with oestrogen or raloxifene.

Science.gov (United States)

Luvizuto, Eloá Rodrigues; Queiroz, Thallita Pereira; Dias, Sheila Mônica Damásio; Okamoto, Tetuo; Dornelles, Rita Cássia Menegati; Garcia, Idelmo Rangel; Okamoto, Roberta

2010-01-01

To investigate the effects of bone-resorption inhibitors (oestrogen and raloxifene) on the RANKL/OPG balance during the chronology of the alveolar healing process in ovariectomized (OVX) rats by means of immunocolocalization and histomorphometric analysis. One hundred sixty female Wistar rats at 70 days of age were either OVX or sham-operated and divided into four groups: sham, OVX/Oil, OVX with E(2) replacement (17beta-estradiol, 400 microg/month), OVX with RLX treatment (1mg/kg bw/day). The 60-day treatment started 8 days after ovariectomy. The incisors were extracted to allow analysis of 7, 14, 21, 28 and 42 days of wound healing. After obtaining the histological samples, slides were stained with hematoxylin and eosin or subjected to immunocolocalization reaction for RANKL and OPG. Results were quantitatively evaluated. Histomorphometric analysis showed that the sham group presented the highest and OVX/Oil group the lowest mean bone formation value in the post-extraction period. The immunocolocalization analysis showed a larger increase in bone turnover at 7 postoperative days in OVX/Oil and sham groups and decreasing bone turnover in the other periods. The OVX/Oil group showed a large decrease in bone turnover at 14 postoperative days, a period demonstrated by mild cellular activity. OVX/E(2) and sham groups showed a decreased bone turnover at 28 postoperative days while OVX/RLX group showed a decreased bone turnover at 21 postoperative days. On the 42nd postoperative day, sham and OVX/RLX groups showed an established alveolar bone healing process. Ovariectomy delays the alveolar healing process and interferes with bone turnover through the balance between RANKL and OPG. Oestrogen replacement or raloxifene treatment did not totally recover the oestrogen-deficient state. However raloxifene treatment showed more satisfactory results than oestrogen replacement. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Histomorphometric examination of long-term changes in temporomandibular joints after mandibular lengthening by distraction osteogenesis in rabbits.

Science.gov (United States)

Mihmanli, Ahmet; Dolanmaz, Doğan; Tüz, Hakan; Pampu, Alper; Dönmez, Hasan Hüseyin

2012-05-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term histomorphometric changes in temporomandibular joints (TMJs) of rabbits after mandibular distraction osteogenesis (DO). Twenty-six rabbits were used in this study. Two of them served as control subjects, and the remaining 24 underwent DO procedures in their left mandibular bodies. After a latency period of 5 days, 5 mm lengthening was performed at a rate of 1 mm/d. The rabbits in the experimental group were randomly divided into 4 subgroups and killed after 1, 2, 4, and 6 months. TMJs from both sides were harvested and prepared with hematoxylin and eosin stain for histomorphometric examination under an optical microscope. Compared with control subjects and nondistracted sides, fibrous articular, proliferative, and hypertrophic areas were significantly increased (P distracted sides. The changes were insignificant in the fourth and sixth postoperative months. Unilateral mandibular distraction of 5 mm was found to be well tolerated and no degenerative changes were observed histologically in the rabbit TMJs in the long-term period. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Short-term vs long-term calcium hydroxide therapy after immediate tooth replantation: a histomorphometric study in monkey's teeth.

Science.gov (United States)

Panzarini, Sônia Regina; Gulinelli, Jéssica Lemos; Saito, Célia T M H; Poi, Wilson Roberto; Sonoda, Celso Koogi; Américo de Oliveira, José; Melo, Moriel Evangelista; de Souza Gomes, Weglis Dyanne

2012-06-01

Endodontic treatment is an important step of tooth replantation protocols, but the ideal moment for definitive obturation of replanted teeth has not yet been established. In this study, a histomorphometric analysis was undertaken to evaluate the repair process on immediate replantation of monkey's teeth after calcium hydroxide (CH) therapy for 1 and 6 months followed by root canal filling with a CH-based sealer (Sealapex(®) ). The maxillary and mandibular lateral incisors of five female Cebus apella monkeys were extracted, kept in sterile saline for 15 min, replanted and splinted with stainless steel orthodontic wire and composite resin for 10 days. In Group I (control), definitive root canal filling was performed before tooth extraction. In Groups II and III, CH therapy started after removal of splint, and definitive root canal filling was performed 1 and 6 months later, respectively. The animals were euthanized 9 months after replantation, and specimens were processed for histomorphometric analysis. In all groups, epithelial attachment occurred at the cementoenamel junction or very close to this region; the areas of resorption on root surface had small extension and depth and were repaired by newly formed cementum; and the periodontal ligament was organized. Statistical analysis of the scores obtained for the histomorphometric parameters did not show any statistically significant difference (P = 0.1221) among the groups. The results suggests that when endodontic treatment is initiated 10 days after immediate replantation and an antibiotic regimen is associated, definitive root canal filling can be performed after a short-term CH therapy. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Histomorphometric and immunohistochemical analysis of human maxillary sinus-floor augmentation using porous β-tricalcium phosphate for dental implant treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamoto, Shinji; Shinmyouzu, Kouhei; Miyamoto, Ikuya; Takeshita, Kenji; Terada, Toshihisa; Takahashi, Tetsu

2013-08-01

This study utilized the constitution and expression of Runx2/Cbfa1 to conduct 6-month-post-operation histomorphometrical and histochemical analysis of osteocalcin in bone regeneration following sinus-floor augmentation procedures using β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and autogenous cortical bone. Thirteen sinuses of nine patients were treated with sinus-floor augmentation using 50% β-TCP and 50% autogenous cancellous bone harvested from the ramus of the mandible. Biopsies of augmented sinuses were taken at 6 months for histomorphometric and immunohistochemical measurements. Runx2/Cbfa1- and osteocalcin-positive cells were found around TCP particles and on the bone surface. Approximately 60% of cells found around TCP particles stained positive for Runx2/Cbfa1. Fewer cells stained positive for osteocalcin. These positive cells decreased apically with increasing vertical distance from the maxillary bone surface. Histomorphometric analysis showed that the augmented site close to residual bone and periosteum contained approximately 42% bony tissue and 42% soft connective tissue, and the remaining 16% consisted of TCP particles. On the other hand, the augmented bone far from residual bone and periosteum contained 35% bony tissue and 50% soft connective tissue. Our data suggest that TCP particles attract osteoprogenitor cells that migrate into the interconnecting micropores of the bone-substitute material by 6 months. The augmented site close to residual bone contained a higher proportion of bony tissue and a lower proportion of soft connective tissue than did the augmented site far from residual bone. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Quantitative risk assessment system (QRAS)

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstock, Robert M (Inventor); Smidts, Carol S (Inventor); Mosleh, Ali (Inventor); Chang, Yung-Hsien (Inventor); Swaminathan, Sankaran (Inventor); Groen, Francisco J (Inventor); Tan, Zhibin (Inventor)

2001-01-01

A quantitative risk assessment system (QRAS) builds a risk model of a system for which risk of failure is being assessed, then analyzes the risk of the system corresponding to the risk model. The QRAS performs sensitivity analysis of the risk model by altering fundamental components and quantifications built into the risk model, then re-analyzes the risk of the system using the modifications. More particularly, the risk model is built by building a hierarchy, creating a mission timeline, quantifying failure modes, and building/editing event sequence diagrams. Multiplicities, dependencies, and redundancies of the system are included in the risk model. For analysis runs, a fixed baseline is first constructed and stored. This baseline contains the lowest level scenarios, preserved in event tree structure. The analysis runs, at any level of the hierarchy and below, access this baseline for risk quantitative computation as well as ranking of particular risks. A standalone Tool Box capability exists, allowing the user to store application programs within QRAS.

The reliability of cone-beam computed tomography to assess bone density at dental implant recipient sites: a histomorphometric analysis by micro-CT.

Science.gov (United States)

González-García, Raúl; Monje, Florencio

2013-08-01

The aim of this study was to objectively assess the reliability of the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) as a tool to pre-operatively determine radiographic bone density (RBD) by the density values provided by the system, analyzing its relationship with histomorphometric bone density expressed as bone volumetric fraction (BV/TV) assessed by micro-CT of bone biopsies at the site of insertion of dental implants in the maxillary bones. Thirty-nine bone biopsies of the maxillary bones at the sites of 39 dental implants from 31 edentulous healthy patients were analyzed. The NobelGuide™ software was used for implant planning, which also allowed fabrication of individual stereolithographic surgical guides. The analysis of CBCT images allowed pre-operative determination of mean density values of implant recipient sites along the major axis of the planned implants (axial RBD). Stereolithographic surgical guides were used to guide implant insertion and also to extract cylindrical bone biopsies from the core of the exact implant site. Further analysis of several osseous micro-structural variables including BV/TV was performed by micro-CT of the extracted bone biopsies. Mean axial RBD was 478 ± 212 (range: 144-953). A statistically significant difference (P = 0.02) was observed among density values of the cortical bone of the upper maxilla and mandible. A high positive Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.858, P micro-CT at the site of dental implants in the maxillary bones. Pre-operative estimation of density values by CBCT is a reliable tool to objectively determine bone density. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

urrent status and assessment of quantitative and qualitative one leg ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... of only a quantitative assessment. These findings indicate that, when evaluating the one leg balance in children aged 3-6 years, a quantitative and qualitative assessment should be used in combination together to assure a more accurate assessment. (S. African J. for Research in Sport, Physical Ed. and Recreation: 2001 ...

Histomorphometric assessment of bone necrosis produced by two cryosurgery protocols using liquid nitrogen: an experimental study on rat femurs.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Fábio Wildson Gurgel; Brito, Gerly Anne de Castro; Pessoa, Rosana Maria Andrade; Studart-Soares, Eduardo Costa

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of liquid nitrogen cryosurgery on the femoral diaphysis of rats. The femoral diaphyses of 42 Wistar rats were exposed to three local and sequential applications of liquid nitrogen for 1 or 2 min, intercalated with periods of 5 min of passive thawing. The animals were sacrificed after 1, 2, 4 and 12 weeks and the specimens obtained were processed and analyzed histomorphometrically. The depth and extent of peak bone necrosis were 124.509 µm and 2087.094 µm for the 1-min protocol, respectively, and 436.424 µm and 12046.426 µm for the 2-min protocol. Peak necrosis was observed in the second experimental week with both cryotherapy protocols. The present results indicate that the 2-min protocol produced more marked bone necrosis than the 1-min protocol. Although our results cannot be entirely extrapolated to clinical practice, they contribute to the understanding of the behavior of bone tissue submitted to different cycles of liquid nitrogen freezing and may serve as a basis for new studies.

Quantitative Risk Assessment of Contact Sensitization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Api, Anne Marie; Belsito, Donald; Bickers, David

2010-01-01

Background: Contact hypersensitivity quantitative risk assessment (QRA) for fragrance ingredients is being used to establish new international standards for all fragrance ingredients that are potential skin sensitizers. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the retrospective clinical data...... as potential sensitizers. Methods: This article reviews clinical data for three fragrance ingredients cinnamic aldehyde, citral, and isoeugenol to assess the utility of the QRA approach for fragrance ingredients. Results: This assessment suggests that had the QRA approach been available at the time standards...

Histomorphometrical aspects of the postnatal development of masticatory muscle in the muscular dystrophic mouse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vilmann, H; Kirkeby, S

1991-01-01

amount of connective tissue between the fibres. The histomorphometrical observations revealed an increase in mean size of the fibres with age, both in normal and dystrophic masticatory muscles. The fibre size variance which has been shown to be a reliable parameter for description of degree of affection...... criteria to separate dystrophic muscles from normal muscles at birth. From 2 weeks onwards marked differences between the affected and unaffected muscles appeared, as the affected fibres from this age are rounded with marked variations in size. Central nucleation is frequent and there is an increased...

Radiological interpretation 2020: Toward quantitative image assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boone, John M.

2007-01-01

The interpretation of medical images by radiologists is primarily and fundamentally a subjective activity, but there are a number of clinical applications such as tumor imaging where quantitative imaging (QI) metrics (such as tumor growth rate) would be valuable to the patient’s care. It is predicted that the subjective interpretive environment of the past will, over the next decade, evolve toward the increased use of quantitative metrics for evaluating patient health from images. The increasing sophistication and resolution of modern tomographic scanners promote the development of meaningful quantitative end points, determined from images which are in turn produced using well-controlled imaging protocols. For the QI environment to expand, medical physicists, physicians, other researchers and equipment vendors need to work collaboratively to develop the quantitative protocols for imaging, scanner calibrations, and robust analytical software that will lead to the routine inclusion of quantitative parameters in the diagnosis and therapeutic assessment of human health. Most importantly, quantitative metrics need to be developed which have genuine impact on patient diagnosis and welfare, and only then will QI techniques become integrated into the clinical environment.

The use of quantitative risk assessment in HACCP

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoornstra, E.; Northolt, M.D.; Notermans, S.; Barendsz, A.W.

2001-01-01

During the hazard analysis as part of the development of a HACCP-system, first the hazards (contaminants) have to be identified and then the risks have to be assessed. Often, this assessment is restricted to a qualitative analysis. By using elements of quantitative risk assessment (QRA) the hazard

Quantitative reliability assessment for safety critical system software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Dae Won; Kwon, Soon Man

2005-01-01

An essential issue in the replacement of the old analogue I and C to computer-based digital systems in nuclear power plants is the quantitative software reliability assessment. Software reliability models have been successfully applied to many industrial applications, but have the unfortunate drawback of requiring data from which one can formulate a model. Software which is developed for safety critical applications is frequently unable to produce such data for at least two reasons. First, the software is frequently one-of-a-kind, and second, it rarely fails. Safety critical software is normally expected to pass every unit test producing precious little failure data. The basic premise of the rare events approach is that well-tested software does not fail under normal routine and input signals, which means that failures must be triggered by unusual input data and computer states. The failure data found under the reasonable testing cases and testing time for these conditions should be considered for the quantitative reliability assessment. We will present the quantitative reliability assessment methodology of safety critical software for rare failure cases in this paper

Qualitative and Quantitative Hippocampal MRI Assessments in Intractable Epilepsy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paramdeep Singh

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Aims. To acquire normative data of hippocampal volumes and T2 relaxation times, to evaluate and compare qualitative and quantitative assessments in evaluating hippocampi in patients with different durations of intractable epilepsy, and to propose an imaging protocol based on performance of these techniques. Methods. MRI analysis was done in 50 nonepileptic controls and 30 patients with intractable epilepsy on 1.5T scanner. Visual assessment and hippocampal volumetry were done on oblique coronal IR/T2W and T1W MP-RAGE images, respectively. T2 relaxation times were measured using 16-echo Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill sequence. Volumetric data was normalized for variation in head size between individuals. Patients were divided into temporal ( and extratemporal ( groups based on clinical and EEG localization. Results. In controls, right hippocampal volume was slightly more than the left with no effect of age or gender. In TLE patients, hippocampal volumetry provided maximum concordance with EEG. Visual assessment of unilateral pathology concurred well with measured quantitative values but poorly in cases with bilateral pathologies. There were no significant differences of mean values between extratemporal group and controls group. Quantitative techniques detected mild abnormalities, undetected on visual assessment. Conclusions. Quantitative techniques are more sensitive to diagnose bilateral and mild unilateral hippocampal abnormalities.

Quantitative ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging for the assessment of vascular parameters

CERN Document Server

Meiburger, Kristen M

2017-01-01

This book describes the development of quantitative techniques for ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging in the assessment of architectural and vascular parameters. It presents morphological vascular research based on the development of quantitative imaging techniques for the use of clinical B-mode ultrasound images, and preclinical architectural vascular investigations on quantitative imaging techniques for ultrasounds and photoacoustics. The book is divided into two main parts, the first of which focuses on the development and validation of quantitative techniques for the assessment of vascular morphological parameters that can be extracted from B-mode ultrasound longitudinal images of the common carotid artery. In turn, the second part highlights quantitative imaging techniques for assessing the architectural parameters of vasculature that can be extracted from 3D volumes, using both contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging and photoacoustic imaging without the addition of any contrast agent. Sharing and...

Histomorphometric and histologic evaluation of titanium-zirconium (aTiZr) implants with anodized surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Ajay; McQuillan, A James; Shibata, Yo; Sharma, Lavanya A; Waddell, John Neil; Duncan, Warwick John

2016-05-01

The choice of implant surface has a significant influence on osseointegration. Modification of TiZr surface by anodization is reported to have the potential to modulate the osteoblast cell behaviour favouring more rapid bone formation. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of anodizing the surface of TiZr discs with respect to osseointegration after four weeks implantation in sheep femurs. Titanium (Ti) and TiZr discs were anodized in an electrolyte containing DL-α-glycerophosphate and calcium acetate at 300 V. The surface characteristics were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and goniometry. Forty implant discs with thickness of 1.5 and 10 mm diameter (10 of each-titanium, titanium-zirconium, anodized titanium and anodized titanium-zirconium) were placed in the femoral condyles of 10 sheep. Histomorphometric and histologic analysis were performed 4 weeks after implantation. The anodized implants displayed hydrophilic, porous, nano-to-micrometer scale roughened surfaces. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis revealed calcium and phosphorous incorporation into the surface of both titanium and titanium-zirconium after anodization. Histologically there was new bone apposition on all implanted discs, slightly more pronounced on anodised discs. The percentage bone-to-implant contact measurements of anodized implants were higher than machined/unmodified implants but there was no significant difference between the two groups with anodized surfaces (P > 0.05, n = 10). The present histomorphometric and histological findings confirm that surface modification of titanium-zirconium by anodization is similar to anodised titanium enhances early osseointegration compared to machined implant surfaces.

Clinical and Histomorphometric Assessment of Lateral Alveolar Ridge Augmentation Using a Corticocancellous Freeze-Dried Allograft Bone Block.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadi, Roya Shariatmadar; Sayar, Ferena; Rakhshan, Vahid; Iranpour, Babak; Jahanbani, Jahanfar; Toumaj, Ahmad; Akhoondi, Nasrin

2017-06-01

Horizontal ridge augmentation with allografts has attracted notable attention because of its proper success rate and the lack of disadvantages of autografts. Corticocancellous block allografts have not been adequately studied in humans. Therefore, this study clinically and histomorphometrically evaluated the increase in ridge width after horizontal ridge augmentation using corticocancellous block allografts as well as implant success after 12 to 18 months after implantation. In 10 patients receiving implants (3 women, 7 men; mean age = 45 years), defective maxillary alveolar ridges were horizontally augmented using freeze-dried bone allograft blocks. Ridge widths were measured before augmentation, immediately after augmentation, and ∼6 months later in the reentry surgery for implantation. This was done at points 2 mm (A) and 5 mm (B) apically to the crest. Biopsy cores were acquired from the implantation site. Implant success was assessed 15.1 ± 2.7 months after implantation (range = 12-18 months). Data were analyzed using Friedman and Dunn tests (α = 0.05). At point A, ridge widths were 2.77 ± 0.37, 8.02 ± 0.87, and 6.40 ± 0.66 mm, respectively, before surgery, immediately after surgery, and before implantation. At point B, ridge widths were 3.40 ± 0.39, 9.35 ± 1.16, and 7.40 ± 1.10 mm, respectively, before surgery, immediately after surgery, and before implantation. The Friedman test showed significant increases in ridge widths, both at point A and point B (both P = .0000). Postaugmentation resorption was about 1.5-2 mm and was statistically significant at points A and B (P < .05, Dunn). The percentage of newly formed bone, residual graft material, and soft tissue were 33.0% ± 11.35% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 24.88%-41.12%), 37.50% ± 19.04% (95% CI = 23.88%-51.12%), and 29.5%, respectively. The inflammation was limited to grades 1 or zero. Twelve to 18 months after implantation, no implants caused pain or showed exudates or pockets. Radiographic

Histomorphometric evaluation of a calcium-phosphosilicate putty bone substitute in extraction sockets.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotsakis, Georgios A; Joachim, Frederic P C; Saroff, Stephen A; Mahesh, Lanka; Prasad, Hari; Rohrer, Michael D

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate bone regeneration in 24 sockets grafted with a calcium phosphosilicate putty alloplastic bone substitute. A core was obtained from 17 sockets prior to implant placement for histomorphometry at 5 to 6 months postextraction. Radiographic analysis during the same postextraction healing period showed radiopaque tissue in all sockets. Histomorphometric analysis revealed a mean vital bone content of 31.76% (± 14.20%) and residual graft content of 11.47% (± 8.99%) after a mean healing period of 5.7 months. The high percentage of vital bone in the healed sites in combination with its timely absorption rate suggest that calcium phosphosilicate putty can be a reliable choice for osseous regeneration in extraction sockets.

Quantitative assessment of breast density from digitized mammograms into Tabar's patterns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamal, N; Ng, K-H; Looi, L-M; McLean, D; Zulfiqar, A; Tan, S-P; Liew, W-F; Shantini, A; Ranganathan, S

2006-01-01

We describe a semi-automated technique for the quantitative assessment of breast density from digitized mammograms in comparison with patterns suggested by Tabar. It was developed using the MATLAB-based graphical user interface applications. It is based on an interactive thresholding method, after a short automated method that shows the fibroglandular tissue area, breast area and breast density each time new thresholds are placed on the image. The breast density is taken as a percentage of the fibroglandular tissue to the breast tissue areas. It was tested in four different ways, namely by examining: (i) correlation of the quantitative assessment results with subjective classification, (ii) classification performance using the quantitative assessment technique, (iii) interobserver agreement and (iv) intraobserver agreement. The results of the quantitative assessment correlated well (r 2 = 0.92) with the subjective Tabar patterns classified by the radiologist (correctly classified 83% of digitized mammograms). The average kappa coefficient for the agreement between the readers was 0.63. This indicated moderate agreement between the three observers in classifying breast density using the quantitative assessment technique. The kappa coefficient of 0.75 for intraobserver agreement reflected good agreement between two sets of readings. The technique may be useful as a supplement to the radiologist's assessment in classifying mammograms into Tabar's pattern associated with breast cancer risk

Histomorphometric comparative study of blood vessels and their pattern in follicular cyst, odontogenic keratocyst, and ameloblastoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Seifi, Safora; Feizi, Farideh; Khafri, Thoraya; Aram, Mehrdad

2013-03-01

The present study aimed at assessment and histomorphometric analysis of intratumoral and peritumoral (cystic) blood vessels in odontogenic lesions and their pattern on their clinical behavior by immunohistochemistry and morphometry. In a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study, 45 paraffin blocks of ameloblastoma, odontogenic keratocyst, and follicular cyst were selected and stained immunohistochemically for CD34. In each slide, images of 3 microscopic fields with the highest microvessel density in intratumoral and peritumoral (cystic) areas were captured at 40× magnification with attached camera system. Inner vascular diameter (IVD) and outer vascular diameter (OVD), cross-sectional area (CSA), and the wall thickness (WT) of the vessels were measured with Motic Plus 2 software. The vascular pattern in odontogenic lesions was analyzed. Outer vascular diameter, IVD, and CSA of the vessels in peritumoral (cystic) areas were greater in ameloblastoma than keratocyst (P = 0.001) and follicular cyst (P keratocyst and follicular cyst. Morphometric specifications of blood vessels (IVD, OVD, CSA) and their pattern in peritumoral (cystic) areas may influence the aggressive clinical behavior of ameloblastoma in comparison with keratocyst and follicular cyst.

Assessment of neural networks training strategies for histomorphometric analysis of synchrotron radiation medical images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarenga de Moura Meneses, Anderson; Gomes Pinheiro, Christiano Jorge; Rancoita, Paola; Schaul, Tom; Gambardella, Luca Maria; Schirru, Roberto; Barroso, Regina Cely; Oliveira, Luis Fernando de

2010-01-01

Micro-computed tomography (μCT) obtained by synchrotron radiation (SR) enables magnified images with a high space resolution that might be used as a non-invasive and non-destructive technique for the quantitative analysis of medical images, in particular the histomorphometry (HMM) of bony mass. In the preprocessing of such images, conventional operations such as binarization and morphological filtering are used before calculating the stereological parameters related, for example, to the trabecular bone microarchitecture. However, there is no standardization of methods for HMM based on μCT images, especially the ones obtained with SR X-ray. Notwithstanding the several uses of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in medical imaging, their application to the HMM of SR-μCT medical images is still incipient, despite the potential of both techniques. The contribution of this paper is the assessment and comparison of well-known training algorithms as well as the proposal of training strategies (combinations of training algorithms, sub-image kernel and symmetry information) for feed-forward ANNs in the task of bone pixels recognition in SR-μCT medical images. For a quantitative comparison, the results of a cross validation and a statistical analysis of the results for 36 training strategies are presented. The ANNs demonstrated both very low mean square errors in the validation, and good quality segmentation of the image of interest for application to HMM in SR-μCT medical images.

Assessment of neural networks training strategies for histomorphometric analysis of synchrotron radiation medical images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarenga de Moura Meneses, Anderson, E-mail: ameneses@lmp.ufrj.b [Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, COPPE, Nuclear Engineering Program, CP 68509, CEP 21.941-972, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); IDSIA (Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence), University of Lugano (Switzerland); Gomes Pinheiro, Christiano Jorge [State University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Rancoita, Paola [IDSIA (Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence), University of Lugano (Switzerland); Mathematics Department, Universita degli Studi di Milano (Italy); Schaul, Tom; Gambardella, Luca Maria [IDSIA (Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence), University of Lugano (Switzerland); Schirru, Roberto [Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, COPPE, Nuclear Engineering Program, CP 68509, CEP 21.941-972, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Barroso, Regina Cely; Oliveira, Luis Fernando de [State University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2010-09-21

Micro-computed tomography ({mu}CT) obtained by synchrotron radiation (SR) enables magnified images with a high space resolution that might be used as a non-invasive and non-destructive technique for the quantitative analysis of medical images, in particular the histomorphometry (HMM) of bony mass. In the preprocessing of such images, conventional operations such as binarization and morphological filtering are used before calculating the stereological parameters related, for example, to the trabecular bone microarchitecture. However, there is no standardization of methods for HMM based on {mu}CT images, especially the ones obtained with SR X-ray. Notwithstanding the several uses of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in medical imaging, their application to the HMM of SR-{mu}CT medical images is still incipient, despite the potential of both techniques. The contribution of this paper is the assessment and comparison of well-known training algorithms as well as the proposal of training strategies (combinations of training algorithms, sub-image kernel and symmetry information) for feed-forward ANNs in the task of bone pixels recognition in SR-{mu}CT medical images. For a quantitative comparison, the results of a cross validation and a statistical analysis of the results for 36 training strategies are presented. The ANNs demonstrated both very low mean square errors in the validation, and good quality segmentation of the image of interest for application to HMM in SR-{mu}CT medical images.

HERMES docking/berthing system pilot study. Quantitative assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munoz Blasco, J.; Goicoechea Sanchez, F.J.

1993-01-01

This study falls within the framework of the incorporation of quantitative risk assessment to the activities planned for the ESA-HERMES project (ESA/ CNES). The main objective behind the study was the analysis and evaluation of the potential contribution of so-called probabilistic or quantitative safety analysis to the optimization of the safety development process for the systems carrying out the safety functions required by the new and complex HERMES Space Vehicle. For this purpose, a pilot study was considered a good start in quantitative safety assessments (QSA), as this approach has been frequently used in the past to establish a solid base in large-scale QSA application programs while avoiding considerable economic risks. It was finally decided to select the HERMES docking/berthing system with Man Tender Free Flyer as the case-study. This report describes the different steps followed in the study, along with the main insights obtained and the general conclusions drawn from the study results. (author)

Quantitative health impact assessment: current practice and future directions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.L. Veerman (Lennert); J.J.M. Barendregt (Jan); J.P. Mackenbach (Johan)

2005-01-01

textabstractSTUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess what methods are used in quantitative health impact assessment (HIA), and to identify areas for future research and development. DESIGN: HIA reports were assessed for (1) methods used to quantify effects of policy on determinants of health

HISTOMORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE KNEE ARTICULAR CARTILAGE AND SYNOVIUM FOR METADIAPHYSEAL LEG LENGTHENING (EXPERIMENTAL-AND-MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY)

OpenAIRE

T. A. Stupina; N. A. Schoudlo; N. V. Petrovskaya; M. A. Stepanov

2013-01-01

The knee articular cartilage and synovial membrane have been studied for metadiaphyseal leg lengthening using the methods of light miscroscopy, computer morpho- and stereometry. The manner of bone integrity breaking, the rate and rhythm of distraction conformed to the lengthening technique most often used in the clinic. The results of the histomorphometric analysis have demonstrated that when osteotomy at the level of metadiaphysis and manual distraction by 1 mm a day for 4 times is performed...

Deforestation since independence: A quantitative assessment of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Deforestation since independence: A quantitative assessment of four decades of land-cover change in Malawi. ... pressure and demographic factors are important predictors of deforestation rate within our study area. Keywords: afforestation, Africa, deforestation, drivers, land-use change, reforestation, rural, urban ...

Pregnancy and Lactation-Associated Osteoporosis: Bone Histomorphometric Analysis and Response to Treatment with Zoledronic Acid.

Science.gov (United States)

Grizzo, Felipe Merchan Ferraz; da Silva Martins, Janaina; Pinheiro, Marcelo M; Jorgetti, Vanda; Carvalho, Maria Dalva Barros; Pelloso, Sandra Marisa

2015-10-01

Pregnancy and lactation-associated osteoporosis (PAO) is a rare condition with little known pathophysiology. Most cases are diagnosed in the third trimester of pregnancy or in the first weeks postpartum, particularly in first pregnancies. Vertebral fractures are most commonly observed and characterised by prolonged severe pain, functional limitations and a loss of height. Measurements of bone mineral density and biochemical markers of bone remodelling are the clinical methods most commonly used for the management of these patients. However, a bone biopsy with histomorphometric analysis has been considered to be the gold-standard. Few studies have evaluated the histomorphometry in patients with this clinical condition and none of them performed the procedure at the beginning of the clinical assessment. In this study, we report a case of PAO in a 31-year-old postpartum patient who had undergone a twin pregnancy. We describe the clinical, laboratory tests and imaging features. Bone histomorphometry showed a high resorption rate and excellent evolution after 1 year of treatment with intravenous zoledronic acid. Our data suggest that osteoclastogenesis plays a central role in the pathophysiological processes of this disease.

Bone Healing in Extraction Sockets Covered With Collagen Membrane Alone or Associated With Porcine-Derived Bone Graft: a Comparative Histological and Histomorphometric Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Guarnieri, Renzo; Testarelli, Luca; Stefanelli, Luigi; De Angelis, Francesca; Mencio, Francesca; Pompa, Giorgio; Di Carlo, Stefano

2017-01-01

The present paper reports data of a randomized study aimed to analyse and compare the histologic and histomorphometric aspects of bone healing in extraction sites covered with collagen membrane alone or associated with porcine-derived bone graft. Thirty patients, with single extraction sockets without severe bone wall defects in the premolar/molar region, were included. Ten extraction sockets were grafted with porcine-derived bone and covered with collagen membrane (group 1), 10 sites were covered with collagen membrane alone (group 2), and 10 sites healed spontaneously (group 3). After 4 months of healing, 26 (8 in group 1, 9 in group 2, and 9 in group 3) bone core specimens were harvested for histologic evaluation, then dental implants were placed. Sites in the group 1 and in the group 2 showed similar histologic and histomorphometric results without significantly differences in the percentage of vital bone (57.43% [SD 4.8] vs. 60.01% [SD 3.2]), and non-mineralized connective tissue 22.99% (SD 5.3) vs. 18.53% (SD 6.2). In group 1 a 16.57% (SD 3.8) of residual material was found. Results showed that the use of collagen membrane alone or associated to porcine-derived bone improves the healing bone process compared to that of extraction sites spontaneously healed. Moreover, histomorphometric data related to bone quality, indicated that extraction sites without severe walls defects and with a vestibular bone thickness > 1.5 mm, treated with a low resorbtion rate collagen membrane alone, do not need more than 4 months for dental implant insertion.

Distinguishing nanomaterial particles from background airborne particulate matter for quantitative exposure assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Ono-Ogasawara, Mariko; Serita, Fumio; Takaya, Mitsutoshi

2009-10-01

As the production of engineered nanomaterials quantitatively expands, the chance that workers involved in the manufacturing process will be exposed to nanoparticles also increases. A risk management system is needed for workplaces in the nanomaterial industry based on the precautionary principle. One of the problems in the risk management system is difficulty of exposure assessment. In this article, examples of exposure assessment in nanomaterial industries are reviewed with a focus on distinguishing engineered nanomaterial particles from background nanoparticles in workplace atmosphere. An approach by JNIOSH (Japan National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) to quantitatively measure exposure to carbonaceous nanomaterials is also introduced. In addition to real-time measurements and qualitative analysis by electron microscopy, quantitative chemical analysis is necessary for quantitatively assessing exposure to nanomaterials. Chemical analysis is suitable for quantitative exposure measurement especially at facilities with high levels of background NPs.

Experimental model of bone response to collagenized xenografts of porcine origin (OsteoBiol® mp3): a radiological and histomorphometric study.

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo Guirado, Jose Luis; Ramírez Fernández, Maria Piedad; Negri, Bruno; Delgado Ruiz, Rafael Arcesio; Maté Sánchez de-Val, José Eduardo; Gómez-Moreno, Gerardo

2013-02-01

Adequate alveolar ridges are fundamental to successful rehabilitation with implants. There are diverse techniques for reconstructing atrophied ridges, of which bone substitute grafts is one possibility. The aim of this study was to carry out radiological and histomorphometric evaluations of bone response to collagenized porcine bone xenografts over a 4-month period following their insertion in rabbits' tibiae. Twenty New Zealand rabbits were used. Twenty collagenized porcine bone xenografts (Osteobiol® mp3, Tecnoss Dental s.r.l., Torino, Italy), in granulated form of 600 to 1,000 µm, were inserted in the proximal metaphyseal area of the animals' tibiae and 20 control areas were created. Following implantation, the animals were sacrificed in four groups of five, after 1, 2, 3, and 4 months, respectively. Radiological and histomorphometric studies were made. After 4 months, radiological images revealed bone defects with a decrease in graft volume and the complete repair of the osseous defect. No healed or residual bone alterations attributable to the presence of the implants were observed. Histomorphometric analysis at 4 months found mean values for newly formed bone, residual graft material, and non-mineralized connective tissue of 25.4 ± 1.8%, 36.37 ± 3.0%, and 38.22 ± 2.5%, respectively. There were no statistical differences in the length of cortical formation with collagenized porcine xenograft (98.9 ± 1.1%) compared with the control samples (99.1 ± 0.7%) at the end of the study period. The biomaterial used proved to be biocompatible, bioabsorbable, and osteoconductive and as such, a possible bone substitute that did not interfere with the bone's normal reparative processes. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Automatic quantitative micro-computed tomography evaluation of angiogenesis in an axially vascularized tissue-engineered bone construct.

Science.gov (United States)

Arkudas, Andreas; Beier, Justus Patrick; Pryymachuk, Galyna; Hoereth, Tobias; Bleiziffer, Oliver; Polykandriotis, Elias; Hess, Andreas; Gulle, Heinz; Horch, Raymund E; Kneser, Ulrich

2010-12-01

We invented an automatic observer-independent quantitative method to analyze vascularization using micro-computed tomography (CT) along with three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction in a tissue engineering model. An arteriovenous loop was created in the medial thigh of 30 rats and was placed in a particulated porous hydroxyapatite and beta-tricalcium phosphate matrix, filled with fibrin (10 mg/mL fibrinogen and 2 IU/mL thrombin) without (group A) or with (group B) application of fibrin-gel-immobilized angiogenetic growth factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF¹⁶⁵) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The explantation intervals were 2, 4, and 8 weeks. Specimens were investigated by means of micro-CT followed by an automatic 3D analysis, which was correlated to histomorphometrical findings. In both groups, the arteriovenous loop led to generation of dense vascularized connective tissue with differentiated and functional vessels inside the matrix. Quantitative analysis of vascularization using micro-CT showed to be superior to histological analysis. The micro-CT analysis also allows the assessment of different other, more complex vascularization parameters within 3D constructs, demonstrating an early improvement of vascularization by application of fibrin-gel-immobilized VEGF¹⁶⁵ and bFGF. In this study quantitative analysis of vascularization using micro-CT along with 3D reconstruction and automatic analysis exhibit to be a powerful method superior to histological evaluation of cross sections.

Qualitative and quantitative assessment of interior moisture buffering by enclosures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Janssen, Hans; Roels, Staf

2009-01-01

The significance of interior humidity in attaining sustainable, durable, healthy and comfortable buildings is increasingly recognised. Given their significant interaction, interior humidity appraisals need a qualitative and/or quantitative assessment of interior moisture buffering. While the effe......The significance of interior humidity in attaining sustainable, durable, healthy and comfortable buildings is increasingly recognised. Given their significant interaction, interior humidity appraisals need a qualitative and/or quantitative assessment of interior moisture buffering. While...... the effective moisture penetration depth and effective capacitance models allow quantified assessment, their reliance on the ‘moisture penetration depth’ necessitates comprehensive material properties and hampers their application to multi-dimensional interior objects. On the other hand, while various recently...... an alternative basis for quantitative evaluation of interior moisture buffering by the effective moisture penetration depth and effective capacitance models. The presented methodology uses simple and fast measurements only and can also be applied to multimaterial and/or multidimensional interior elements....

DREAM: a method for semi-quantitative dermal exposure assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wendel de Joode, B. van; Brouwer, D.H.; Kromhout, H.; Hemmen, J.J. van

2003-01-01

This paper describes a new method (DREAM) for structured, semi-quantitative dermal exposure assessment for chemical or biological agents that can be used in occupational hygiene or epidemiology. It is anticipated that DREAM could serve as an initial assessment of dermal exposure, amongst others,

A histologic, histomorphometric, and radiographic comparison between two complexes of CenoBoen/CenoMembrane and Bio-Oss/Bio-Gide in lateral ridge augmentation: A clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Amoian, Babak; Moudi, Ehsan; Majidi, Maryam Seyed; Ali Tabatabaei, S M

2016-09-01

Several grafting materials have been used for alveolar ridge augmentation. The literature lacks researches to compare CenoBone to other grafting materials. The aim of this study was to compare CenoBone/CenoMembrane complex to Bio-Oss/Bio-Gide complex in lateral alveolar bone augmentation in terms of radiographic, histologic, and histomorphometric parameters. In this randomized controlled trial, ten patients who needed lateral ridge augmentation were selected and augmentations were done using either of CenoBone/CenoMembrane or Bio-Oss/Bio-Gide complexes. In the re-entry surgery in 6 months following augmentation, core biopsies were taken and clinical, radiographic, histologic, and histomorphometric evaluations were performed. No statistically significant difference was seen between groups except for the number of blood vessels and percentage of residual graft materials. CenoBone seems to present a comparable lateral ridge augmentation to Bio-Oss in.

Towards quantitative condition assessment of biodiversity outcomes: Insights from Australian marine protected areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Addison, Prue F E; Flander, Louisa B; Cook, Carly N

2017-08-01

Protected area management effectiveness (PAME) evaluation is increasingly undertaken to evaluate governance, assess conservation outcomes and inform evidence-based management of protected areas (PAs). Within PAME, quantitative approaches to assess biodiversity outcomes are now emerging, where biological monitoring data are directly assessed against quantitative (numerically defined) condition categories (termed quantitative condition assessments). However, more commonly qualitative condition assessments are employed in PAME, which use descriptive condition categories and are evaluated largely with expert judgement that can be subject to a range of biases, such as linguistic uncertainty and overconfidence. Despite the benefits of increased transparency and repeatability of evaluations, quantitative condition assessments are rarely used in PAME. To understand why, we interviewed practitioners from all Australian marine protected area (MPA) networks, which have access to long-term biological monitoring data and are developing or conducting PAME evaluations. Our research revealed that there is a desire within management agencies to implement quantitative condition assessment of biodiversity outcomes in Australian MPAs. However, practitioners report many challenges in transitioning from undertaking qualitative to quantitative condition assessments of biodiversity outcomes, which are hampering progress. Challenges include a lack of agency capacity (staff numbers and money), knowledge gaps, and diminishing public and political support for PAs. We point to opportunities to target strategies that will assist agencies overcome these challenges, including new decision support tools, approaches to better finance conservation efforts, and to promote more management relevant science. While a single solution is unlikely to achieve full evidence-based conservation, we suggest ways for agencies to target strategies and advance PAME evaluations toward best practice. Copyright �

A Review of Quantitative Situation Assessment Models for Nuclear Power Plant Operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hyun Chul; Seong, Poong Hyun

2009-01-01

Situation assessment is the process of developing situation awareness and situation awareness is defined as 'the perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning and the projection of their status in the near future.' Situation awareness is an important element influencing human actions because human decision making is based on the result of situation assessment or situation awareness. There are many models for situation awareness and those models can be categorized into qualitative or quantitative. As the effects of some input factors on situation awareness can be investigated through the quantitative models, the quantitative models are more useful for the design of operator interfaces, automation strategies, training program, and so on, than the qualitative models. This study presents the review of two quantitative models of situation assessment (SA) for nuclear power plant operators

Peri-Implant Endosseous Healing Properties of Dual Acid-Etched Mini-Implants with a Nanometer-Sized Deposition of CaP : A Histological and Histomorphometric Human Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Telleman, Gerdien; Albrektsson, Tomas; Hoffman, Maria; Johansson, Carina B.; Vissink, Arjan; Meijer, Henny J. A.; Raghoebar, Gerry M.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this histological and histomorphometric study was to compare the early peri-implant endosseous healing properties of a dual acid-etched (DAE) surface (Osseotite (R), Implant Innovations Inc., Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA) with a DAE surface modified with nanometer-sized calcium

Micro-computed tomography and histomorphometric analysis of the effects of platelet-rich fibrin on bone regeneration in the rabbit calvarium.

Science.gov (United States)

Acar, Ahmet Hüseyin; Yolcu, Ümit; Gül, Mehmet; Keleş, Ali; Erdem, Necip Fazıl; Altundag Kahraman, Sevil

2015-04-01

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) on bone regeneration when used alone or in combination with hydroxyapatite (HA)/beta-tricalcium phosphate (βTCP). In this study, 20 New Zealand white rabbits were used and four calvarial defects were prepared in each animal. PRF, Straumann(®) Bone Ceramic (SBC), or PRF+SBC was applied to the defects; one defect was left untreated as a control. Ten rabbits were sacrificed at week 4 (T1) and 10 at week 8 (T2). After micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning, the samples were sent for histological and histomorphometric analysis to evaluate and compare the volume and area of regenerated bone. Histomorphometric and micro-CT analysis showed that both PRF and SBC significantly increased bone regeneration at T1 and T2 (P<0.01). When PRF was used in combination with HA/βTCP, a further significant increase in new bone formation was observed at T1 and T2 compared with that when PRF or SBC was used alone (P<0.01). PRF has a positive effect on bone formation when used alone and in combination with HA/βTCP. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Protection against T1DM-Induced Bone Loss by Zinc Supplementation: Biomechanical, Histomorphometric, and Molecular Analyses in STZ-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raul Hernandes Bortolin

Full Text Available Several studies have established an association between diabetes and alterations in bone metabolism; however, the underlying mechanism is not well established. Although zinc is recognized as a potential preventive agent against diabetes-induced bone loss, there is no evidence demonstrating its effect in chronic diabetic conditions. This study evaluated the effects of zinc supplementation in a chronic (90 days type 1 diabetes-induced bone-loss model. Male Wistar rats were distributed in three groups: control, type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM, and T1DM plus zinc supplementation (T1DMS. Serum biochemical analysis; tibia histomorphometric, biomechanical, and collagen-content analyses; and femur mRNA expression were evaluated. Relative to T1DM, the zinc-supplemented group showed increased histomorphometric parameters such as TbWi and BAr and decreased TbSp, increased biomechanical parameters (maximum load, stiffness, ultimate strain, and Young's modulus, and increased type I collagen content. Interestingly, similar values for these parameters were observed between the T1DMS and control groups. These results demonstrate the protective effect of zinc on the maintenance of bone strength and flexibility. In addition, downregulation of OPG, COL1A, and MMP-9 genes was observed in T1DMS, and the anabolic effects of zinc were evidenced by increased OC expression and serum ALP activity, both related to osteoblastogenesis, demonstrating a positive effect on bone formation. In contrast, T1DM showed excessive bone loss, observed through reduced histomorphometric and biomechanical parameters, characterizing diabetes-associated bone loss. The bone loss was also observed through upregulation of OPG, COL1A, and MMP-9 genes. In conclusion, zinc showed a positive effect on the maintenance of bone architecture and biomechanical parameters. Indeed, OC upregulation and control of expression of OPG, COL1A, and MMP-9 mRNAs, even in chronic hyperglycemia, support an anabolic

Effects of alveolar bone displacement with segmental osteotomy: micro-CT and histomorphometric analysis in rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taegun KIM

Full Text Available Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of segmental osteotomy on the blood vessels and osteoclasts in rats using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT and histomorphometric analysis. After segmental osteotomy was performed around the maxillary first molars of 36 male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 72, the samples were divided into a control group (no displacement, 0.5 D group (0.5 mm buccal displacement and 1.0 D group (1.0 mm buccal displacement (n = 24/group. At 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks after surgery, changes in the blood vessel volume were investigated using micro-CT with perfusion of radiopaque silicone rubber. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP staining was used for histomorphometric analysis. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (rmANOVA was performed to compare the volume of blood vessels and number of TRAP-positive osteoclasts among the groups. Regarding blood vessel volume, the displacement groups had no significant effects, while the time points had significant effects (p = 0.014. The blood vessel volume at 1 week was significantly smaller than that at 2, 4, and 8 weeks (p = 0.004, p = 0.026, and p = 0.005, respectively. Regarding TRAP cell count, the displacement groups had no significant effects, while the time points had significant effects (p < 0.001. The number of TRAP-positive osteoclasts at 8 weeks was significantly smaller than that at 1, 2, and 4 weeks (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.002, respectively, and the count at 4 weeks was smaller than that at 1 week (p = 0.011. Therefore, a regional osteoclast-related acceleratory phenomenon was maintained until 4 weeks after surgery.

Quantitative assessment of breast density from digitized mammograms into Tabar's patterns

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamal, N [Medical Technology Division, Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT) 43000 Kajang (Malaysia); Ng, K-H [Department of Radiology, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Looi, L-M [Department of Pathology, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); McLean, D [Medical Physics Department, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2145 (Australia); Zulfiqar, A [Department of Radiology, Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000 Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Malaysia); Tan, S-P [Department of Radiology, Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000 Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Malaysia); Liew, W-F [Department of Radiology, Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000 Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Malaysia); Shantini, A [Department of Radiology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, 50586 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Ranganathan, S [Department of Radiology, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

2006-11-21

We describe a semi-automated technique for the quantitative assessment of breast density from digitized mammograms in comparison with patterns suggested by Tabar. It was developed using the MATLAB-based graphical user interface applications. It is based on an interactive thresholding method, after a short automated method that shows the fibroglandular tissue area, breast area and breast density each time new thresholds are placed on the image. The breast density is taken as a percentage of the fibroglandular tissue to the breast tissue areas. It was tested in four different ways, namely by examining: (i) correlation of the quantitative assessment results with subjective classification, (ii) classification performance using the quantitative assessment technique, (iii) interobserver agreement and (iv) intraobserver agreement. The results of the quantitative assessment correlated well (r{sup 2} = 0.92) with the subjective Tabar patterns classified by the radiologist (correctly classified 83% of digitized mammograms). The average kappa coefficient for the agreement between the readers was 0.63. This indicated moderate agreement between the three observers in classifying breast density using the quantitative assessment technique. The kappa coefficient of 0.75 for intraobserver agreement reflected good agreement between two sets of readings. The technique may be useful as a supplement to the radiologist's assessment in classifying mammograms into Tabar's pattern associated with breast cancer risk.

Relationship between Plaque Echo, Thickness and Neovascularization Assessed by Quantitative and Semi-quantitative Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography in Different Stenosis Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Yan; Feng, Jun; Dang, Ying; Zhao, Chao; Zheng, Jie; Ruan, Litao

2017-12-01

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between plaque echo, thickness and neovascularization in different stenosis groups using quantitative and semi-quantitative contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in patients with carotid atherosclerosis plaque. A total of 224 plaques were divided into mild stenosis (Quantitative and semi-quantitative methods were used to assess plaque neovascularization and determine the relationship between plaque echo, thickness and neovascularization. Correlation analysis revealed no relationship of neovascularization with plaque echo in the groups using either quantitative or semi-quantitative methods. Furthermore, there was no correlation of neovascularization with plaque thickness using the semi-quantitative method. The ratio of areas under the curve (RAUC) was negatively correlated with plaque thickness (r = -0.317, p = 0.001) in the mild stenosis group. With the quartile method, plaque thickness of the mild stenosis group was divided into four groups, with significant differences between the 1.5-2.2 mm and ≥3.5 mm groups (p = 0.002), 2.3-2.8 mm and ≥3.5 mm groups (p quantitative and quantitative CEUS methods characterizing neovascularization of plaque are equivalent with respect to assessing relationships between neovascularization, echogenicity and thickness. However, the quantitative method could fail for plaque <3.5 mm because of motion artifacts. Copyright © 2017 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantitative assessment of growth plate activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harcke, H.T.; Macy, N.J.; Mandell, G.A.; MacEwen, G.D.

1984-01-01

In the immature skeleton the physis or growth plate is the area of bone least able to withstand external forces and is therefore prone to trauma. Such trauma often leads to premature closure of the plate and results in limb shortening and/or angular deformity (varus or valgus). Active localization of bone seeking tracers in the physis makes bone scintigraphy an excellent method for assessing growth plate physiology. To be most effective, however, physeal activity should be quantified so that serial evaluations are accurate and comparable. The authors have developed a quantitative method for assessing physeal activity and have applied it ot the hip and knee. Using computer acquired pinhole images of the abnormal and contralateral normal joints, ten regions of interest are placed at key locations around each joint and comparative ratios are generated to form a growth plate profile. The ratios compare segmental physeal activity to total growth plate activity on both ipsilateral and contralateral sides and to adjacent bone. In 25 patients, ages 2 to 15 years, with angular deformities of the legs secondary to trauma, Blount's disease, and Perthes disease, this technique is able to differentiate abnormal segmental physeal activity. This is important since plate closure does not usually occur uniformly across the physis. The technique may permit the use of scintigraphy in the prediction of early closure through the quantitative analysis of serial studies

Visual and quantitative assessment of lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis with magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sipola, Petri; Vanninen, Ritva; Manninen, Hannu; Leinonen, Ville; Niemelaeinen, Riikka; Aalto, Timo; Airaksinen, Olavi; Battie, Michele C.

2011-01-01

Background. Lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis is a common etiology of lumbar radicular symptoms. Quantitative measurements have commonly demonstrated better repeatability than visual assessments. We are not aware of any studies examining the repeatability of quantitative assessment of the lateral canal. Purpose. To evaluate the repeatability of visual assessments and newly developed quantitative measurements of lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Material and Methods. Twenty-eight patients with lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis or prior spinal surgery with recurrent symptoms were imaged with MRI. A radiologist, a neurosurgeon and a spine research trainee graded visually and quantitatively subarticular (n = 188) and foraminal zones (n = 260) of the lateral spinal canal. Quantitative measurements included the minimal subarticular width and the cross-sectional area of the foramen. Results. The repeatability of visual assessment at the subarticular zone and foraminal zones between raters varied from 0.45-0.59 and 0.42-0.53, respectively. Similarly, the intraclass correlation coefficients for the quantitative measurements varied from 0.67-0.71 and 0.66-0.76, respectively. The intra-rater repeatability for the visual assessments of the subarticular and foraminal zones was 0.70 and 0.62, respectively, while the corresponding intraclass correlation coefficients for quantitative measurements were 0.83 and 0.81, respectively. Conclusion. Inter-rater repeatability of visual assessments of lateral stenosis is moderate, whereas quantitative measurements of both subarticular width and the cross-sectional area of the foramen have substantial reproducibility and may be particularly useful for longitudinal studies and research purposes. The clinical value of these parameters requires further study

Visual and quantitative assessment of lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis with magnetic resonance imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sipola, Petri; Vanninen, Ritva; Manninen, Hannu (Univ. of Eastern Finland, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Inst. of Clinical Medicine, Dept. of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio (Finland); Kuopio Univ. Hospital, Clinical Imaging Centre, Dept. of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio (Finland)), email: petri.sipola@kuh.fi; Leinonen, Ville (Kuopio Univ. Hospital, Dept. of Neurosurgery, Kuopio (Finland)); Niemelaeinen, Riikka (Kuopio Univ. Hospital, Clinical Imaging Centre, Dept. of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio (Finland); Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)); Aalto, Timo (Kyyhkylae Rehabilitation Center and Hospital, Mikkeli (Finland)); Airaksinen, Olavi (Kuopio Univ. Hospital, Dept. of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine and Univ. of Eastern Finland, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Inst. of Clinical Medicine, Kuopio (Finland)); Battie, Michele C. (Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada))

2011-11-15

Background. Lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis is a common etiology of lumbar radicular symptoms. Quantitative measurements have commonly demonstrated better repeatability than visual assessments. We are not aware of any studies examining the repeatability of quantitative assessment of the lateral canal. Purpose. To evaluate the repeatability of visual assessments and newly developed quantitative measurements of lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Material and Methods. Twenty-eight patients with lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis or prior spinal surgery with recurrent symptoms were imaged with MRI. A radiologist, a neurosurgeon and a spine research trainee graded visually and quantitatively subarticular (n = 188) and foraminal zones (n = 260) of the lateral spinal canal. Quantitative measurements included the minimal subarticular width and the cross-sectional area of the foramen. Results. The repeatability of visual assessment at the subarticular zone and foraminal zones between raters varied from 0.45-0.59 and 0.42-0.53, respectively. Similarly, the intraclass correlation coefficients for the quantitative measurements varied from 0.67-0.71 and 0.66-0.76, respectively. The intra-rater repeatability for the visual assessments of the subarticular and foraminal zones was 0.70 and 0.62, respectively, while the corresponding intraclass correlation coefficients for quantitative measurements were 0.83 and 0.81, respectively. Conclusion. Inter-rater repeatability of visual assessments of lateral stenosis is moderate, whereas quantitative measurements of both subarticular width and the cross-sectional area of the foramen have substantial reproducibility and may be particularly useful for longitudinal studies and research purposes. The clinical value of these parameters requires further study

Modeling Logistic Performance in Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rijgersberg, H.; Tromp, S.O.; Jacxsens, L.; Uyttendaele, M.

2010-01-01

In quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), food safety in the food chain is modeled and simulated. In general, prevalences, concentrations, and numbers of microorganisms in media are investigated in the different steps from farm to fork. The underlying rates and conditions (such as storage

Quantitative assessment of breast density from mammograms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamal, N.; Ng, K.H.

2004-01-01

Full text: It is known that breast density is increasingly used as a risk factor for breast cancer. This study was undertaken to develop and validate a semi-automated computer technique for the quantitative assessment of breast density from digitised mammograms. A computer technique had been developed using MATLAB (Version 6.1) based GUI applications. This semi-automated image analysis tool consists of gradient correction, segmentation of breast region from background, segmentation of fibroglandular and adipose region within the breast area and calculation of breast density. The density is defined as the percentage of fibroglandular tissue area divided by the total breast area in the mammogram. This technique was clinically validated with 122 normal mammograms; these were subjectively evaluated and classified according to the five parenchyma patterns of the Tabar's scheme (Class I- V) by a consultant radiologist. There was a statistical significant correlation between the computer technique and subjective classification (r 2 = 0.84, p<0.05). 71.3% of subjective classification was correctly classified using the computer technique. We had developed a computer technique for the quantitative assessment of breast density and validated its accuracy for computerized classification based on Tabar's scheme. This quantitative tool is useful for the evaluation of a large dataset of mammograms to predict breast cancer risk based on density. Furthermore it has the potential to provide an early marker for success or failure in chemoprevention studies such as hormonal replacement therapy. Copyright (2004) Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine

Bone marrow stem cells assuage radiation-induced damage in a murine model of distraction osteogenesis: A histomorphometric evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheutlin, Alexander R; Deshpande, Sagar S; Nelson, Noah S; Kang, Stephen Y; Gallagher, Kathleen K; Polyatskaya, Yekaterina; Rodriguez, Jose J; Donneys, Alexis; Ranganathan, Kavitha; Buchman, Steven R

2016-05-01

The purpose of this study is to determine if intraoperatively placed bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) will permit successful osteocyte and mature bone regeneration in an isogenic murine model of distraction osteogenesis (DO) following radiation therapy (XRT). Lewis rats were split into three groups, DO only (Control), XRT followed by DO (xDO) and XRT followed by DO with intraoperatively placed BMSCs (xDO-BMSC). Coronal sections from the distraction site were obtained, stained and analyzed via statistical analysis with analysis of variance (ANOVA) and subsequent Tukey or Games-Howell post-hoc tests. Comparison of the xDO-BMSC and xDO groups demonstrated significantly improved osteocyte count (87.15 ± 10.19 vs. 67.88 ± 15.38, P = 0.00), and empty lacunae number (2.18 ± 0.79 vs 12.34 ± 6.61, P = 0.00). Quantitative analysis revealed a significant decrease in immature osteoid volume relative to total volume (P = 0.00) and improved the ratio of mature woven bone to immature osteoid (P = 0.02) in the xDO-BMSC compared with the xDO group. No significant differences were found between the Control and xDO-BMSC groups. In an isogenic murine model of DO, BMSC therapy assuaged XRT-induced cellular depletion, resulting in a significant improvement in histological and histomorphometric outcomes. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantitative assessment of target dependence of pion fluctuation in ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

journal of. December 2012 physics pp. 1395–1405. Quantitative assessment ... The analysis reveals the erratic behaviour of the produced pions signifying ..... authors (Sitaram Pal) gratefully acknowledges the financial help from the University.

Differentiation of Brain Tumor Recurrence from Post-Radiotherapy Necrosis with 11C-Methionine PET: Visual Assessment versus Quantitative Assessment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryogo Minamimoto

Full Text Available The aim of this multi-center study was to assess the diagnostic capability of visual assessment in L-methyl-11C-methionine positron emission tomography (MET-PET for differentiating a recurrent brain tumor from radiation-induced necrosis after radiotherapy, and to compare it to the accuracy of quantitative analysis.A total of 73 brain lesions (glioma: 31, brain metastasis: 42 in 70 patients who underwent MET-PET were included in this study. Visual analysis was performed by comparison of MET uptake in the brain lesion with MET uptake in one of four regions (around the lesion, contralateral frontal lobe, contralateral area, and contralateral cerebellar cortex. The concordance rate and logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the diagnostic ability of visual assessment. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was used to compare visual assessment with quantitative assessment based on the lesion-to-normal (L/N ratio of MET uptake.Interobserver and intraobserver κ-values were highest at 0.657 and 0.714, respectively, when assessing MET uptake in the lesion compared to that in the contralateral cerebellar cortex. Logistic regression analysis showed that assessing MET uptake in the contralateral cerebellar cortex with brain metastasis was significantly related to the final result. The highest area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC with visual assessment for brain metastasis was 0.85, showing no statistically significant difference with L/Nmax of the contralateral brain (AUC = 0.89 or with L/Nmean of the contralateral cerebellar cortex (AUC = 0.89, which were the areas that were the highest in the quantitative assessment. For evaluation of gliomas, no specific candidate was confirmed among the four areas used in visual assessment, and no significant difference was seen between visual assessment and quantitative assessment.The visual assessment showed no significant difference from quantitative assessment of MET

Histologic and histomorphometric evaluation of bone regeneration using nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite and human freeze-dried bone graft : An experimental study in rabbit.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghi, Rokhsareh; Najafi, Mohammad; Semyari, Hassan; Mashhadiabbas, Fatemeh

2017-03-01

Bone regeneration is an important concern in periodontal treatment and implant dentistry. Different biomaterials and surgical techniques have been used for this purpose. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite and human freeze-dried bone graft (FDBG) in regeneration of rabbit calvarium bony defects by histologic and histomorphometric evaluation. In this experimental study, three similar defects, measuring 8 mm in diameter, were created in the calvaria of 16 white New Zealand rabbits. Two defects were filled with FDBG and nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite silica gel, while the other one remained unfilled to be considered as control. All the defects were covered with collagen membranes. During the healing period, two animals perished; so 14 rabbits were divided into two groups: half of them were euthanized after 6 weeks of healing and the other half after 12 weeks. The specimens were subjected to histologic and histomorphometric examinations for assessment of the following variables: percentage of bone formation and residual graft material, inflammation scores, patterns of bone formation and type of newly formed bone. The percentages of new bone formation after 6 weeks were 14.22 ± 7.85, 21.57 ± 6.91, and 20.54 ± 10.07% in FDBG, NanoBone, and control defects. These values were 27.54 ± 20.19, 23.86 ± 6.27, and 26.48 ± 14.18% in 12-week specimens, respectively. No significant differences were found in the amount of bone formation between the groups. With regard to inflammation, the control and NanoBone groups showed significantly less inflammation compared to FDBG at the 6-week healing phase (P = 0.04); this difference was not significant in the 12-week specimens. Based on the results of this experimental study, both NanoBone and FDBG exhibited a similar effect on bone formation.

[Research progress and development trend of quantitative assessment techniques for urban thermal environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Tie Gang; Xiao, Rong Bo; Cai, Yun Nan; Wang, Yao Wu; Wu, Chang Guang

2016-08-01

Quantitative assessment of urban thermal environment has become a focus for urban climate and environmental science since the concept of urban heat island has been proposed. With the continual development of space information and computer simulation technology, substantial progresses have been made on quantitative assessment techniques and methods of urban thermal environment. The quantitative assessment techniques have been developed to dynamics simulation and forecast of thermal environment at various scales based on statistical analysis of thermal environment on urban-scale using the historical data of weather stations. This study reviewed the development progress of ground meteorological observation, thermal infrared remote sensing and numerical simulation. Moreover, the potential advantages and disadvantages, applicability and the development trends of these techniques were also summarized, aiming to add fundamental knowledge of understanding the urban thermal environment assessment and optimization.

Multiparametric Quantitative Ultrasound Imaging in Assessment of Chronic Kidney Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Jing; Perlman, Alan; Kalache, Safa; Berman, Nathaniel; Seshan, Surya; Salvatore, Steven; Smith, Lindsey; Wehrli, Natasha; Waldron, Levi; Kodali, Hanish; Chevalier, James

2017-11-01

To evaluate the value of multiparametric quantitative ultrasound imaging in assessing chronic kidney disease (CKD) using kidney biopsy pathologic findings as reference standards. We prospectively measured multiparametric quantitative ultrasound markers with grayscale, spectral Doppler, and acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in 25 patients with CKD before kidney biopsy and 10 healthy volunteers. Based on all pathologic (glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy, arteriosclerosis, and edema) scores, the patients with CKD were classified into mild (no grade 3 and quantitative ultrasound parameters included kidney length, cortical thickness, pixel intensity, parenchymal shear wave velocity, intrarenal artery peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), and resistive index. We tested the difference in quantitative ultrasound parameters among mild CKD, moderate to severe CKD, and healthy controls using analysis of variance, analyzed correlations of quantitative ultrasound parameters with pathologic scores and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) using Pearson correlation coefficients, and examined the diagnostic performance of quantitative ultrasound parameters in determining moderate CKD and an estimated GFR of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. There were significant differences in cortical thickness, pixel intensity, PSV, and EDV among the 3 groups (all P quantitative ultrasound parameters, the top areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for PSV and EDV were 0.88 and 0.97, respectively, for determining pathologic moderate to severe CKD, and 0.76 and 0.86 for estimated GFR of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . Moderate to good correlations were found for PSV, EDV, and pixel intensity with pathologic scores and estimated GFR. The PSV, EDV, and pixel intensity are valuable in determining moderate to severe CKD. The value of shear wave velocity in

A histomorphometric and scanning electron microscopy study of human condylar cartilage and bone tissue changes in relation to age

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paulsen, Hans Ulrik; Thomsen, J.S.; Hougen, Hans Petter

1999-01-01

To determine the possibility for adaptive growth in human condyles, quantifying the thickness of fibrocartilage and the constitution of cells with potential activity, the trabecular bone volume, and the structural parameter: marrow space star volume in a larger sample of human autopsy condyles....... EXPERIMENTAL SETTING AND DESIGN: A histomorphometric and scanning electron microscopic analysis of cartilage characteristics and bone remodelling activity. The Departments of Orthodontics and Cell Biology at Aarhus University, Denmark. An autopsy sample of condyles from 20 individuals, 18-31 years of age...

A Bayesian belief nets based quantitative software reliability assessment for PSA: COTS case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, H. S.; Sung, T. Y.; Jeong, H. S.; Park, J. H.; Kang, H. G.; Lee, K. Y.; Park, J. K

2002-03-01

Current reliability assessments of safety critical software embedded in the digital systems in nuclear power plants are based on the rule-based qualitative assessment methods. Then recently practical needs require the quantitative features of software reliability for Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) that is one of important methods being used in assessing the whole safety of nuclear power plant. But conventional quantitative software reliability assessment methods are not enough to get the necessary results in assessing the safety critical software used in nuclear power plants. Thus, current reliability assessment methods for these digital systems exclude the software part or use arbitrary values for the software reliability in the assessment. This reports discusses a Bayesian Belief Nets (BBN) based quantification method that models current qualitative software assessment in formal way and produces quantitative results required for PSA. Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software dedication process that KAERI developed was applied to the discussed BBN based method for evaluating the plausibility of the proposed method in PSA

Assessing framing assumptions in quantitative health impact assessments: a housing intervention example.

Science.gov (United States)

Mesa-Frias, Marco; Chalabi, Zaid; Foss, Anna M

2013-09-01

Health impact assessment (HIA) is often used to determine ex ante the health impact of an environmental policy or an environmental intervention. Underpinning any HIA is the framing assumption, which defines the causal pathways mapping environmental exposures to health outcomes. The sensitivity of the HIA to the framing assumptions is often ignored. A novel method based on fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) is developed to quantify the framing assumptions in the assessment stage of a HIA, and is then applied to a housing intervention (tightening insulation) as a case-study. Framing assumptions of the case-study were identified through a literature search of Ovid Medline (1948-2011). The FCM approach was used to identify the key variables that have the most influence in a HIA. Changes in air-tightness, ventilation, indoor air quality and mould/humidity have been identified as having the most influence on health. The FCM approach is widely applicable and can be used to inform the formulation of the framing assumptions in any quantitative HIA of environmental interventions. We argue that it is necessary to explore and quantify framing assumptions prior to conducting a detailed quantitative HIA during the assessment stage. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A qualitative and quantitative assessment for a bone marrow harvest simulator.

Science.gov (United States)

Machado, Liliane S; Moraes, Ronei M

2009-01-01

Several approaches to perform assessment in training simulators based on virtual reality have been proposed. There are two kinds of assessment methods: offline and online. The main requirements related to online training assessment methodologies applied to virtual reality systems are the low computational complexity and the high accuracy. In the literature it can be found several approaches for general cases which can satisfy such requirements. An inconvenient about those approaches is related to an unsatisfactory solution for specific cases, as in some medical procedures, where there are quantitative and qualitative information available to perform the assessment. In this paper, we present an approach to online training assessment based on a Modified Naive Bayes which can manipulate qualitative and quantitative variables simultaneously. A special medical case was simulated in a bone marrow harvest simulator. The results obtained were satisfactory and evidenced the applicability of the method.

Quantitative Cardiac Assessment in Fetal Tetralogy of Fallot.

Science.gov (United States)

Jatavan, Phudit; Tongprasert, Fuanglada; Srisupundit, Kasemsri; Luewan, Suchaya; Traisrisilp, Kuntharee; Tongsong, Theera

2016-07-01

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively assess cardiac function and biometric parameters in fetuses with a diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot and compare them to those in healthy fetuses. Two hundred healthy fetuses and 20 fetuses with a diagnosis of classic tetralogy of Fallot were quantitatively assessed for 16 cardiac parameters, including morphologic characteristics and functions. All recruited fetuses were in the second trimester with correct gestational ages. The measured values that were out of normal reference ranges were considered abnormal. Rates of abnormalities of these parameters were compared between the groups. The significant parameters were further analyzed for their sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratio. Of the 16 parameters, rates of abnormalities in 7 parameters, including right ventricular wall thickness, peak systolic velocities (PSVs) in the pulmonary artery and aorta, time to peak velocity, or acceleration time, in the pulmonary artery, aortic valve diameter, pulmonary valve diameter, and aortic-to-pulmonary valve diameter ratio, were significantly higher in fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot (P tetralogy of Fallot.

Quantitative assessment of valvular regurgitation using radionuclide ventriculography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Rongfang

1992-01-01

Radionuclide ventriculography has been used to assess quantitatively the extent of mitral and aortic regurgitation in 70 patients and compared to echocardiography and the finding of surgery. Two radionuclide parameters were measured: regurgitant index (RI) = left ventricular stroke counts/right ventricular stroke counts; and regurgitant fraction (RF) = left ventricular stroke counts-right ventricular stroke counts/left ventricular stroke counts. In 28 patients without valvular heart disease, the RI was 1.10 ± 0.15 and Rf was 10.3 ± 15.0%, respectively. However, in patients with valvular regurgitation, the RI and RF were 3.41 ± 1.73 and 61.1 ± 21.2%, respectively. A good correlation was found between the results obtained by radionuclide techniques and the findings of surgery and doppler studies. The level of concordance between RI and surgical findings was 91.7%. Follow up studies in 10 patients after valvular replacement surgery showed the RI and RF return to normal. These data suggested that radionuclide ventriculography is very useful for quantitative assessment of valvular regurgitation

Reliability of a semi-quantitative method for dermal exposure assessment (DREAM)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wendel de Joode, B. van; Hemmen, J.J. van; Meijster, T.; Major, V.; London, L.; Kromhout, H.

2005-01-01

Valid and reliable semi-quantitative dermal exposure assessment methods for epidemiological research and for occupational hygiene practice, applicable for different chemical agents, are practically nonexistent. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of a recently developed

Quantitative proteomic assessment of very early cellular signaling events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dengjel, Joern; Akimov, Vyacheslav; Olsen, Jesper V

2007-01-01

Technical limitations have prevented proteomic analyses of events occurring less than 30 s after signal initiation. We developed an automated, continuous quench-flow system allowing quantitative proteomic assessment of very early cellular signaling events (qPACE) with a time resolution of 1 s...

NecroQuant: quantitative assessment of radiological necrosis

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Darryl H.; Mohamed, Passant; Varghese, Bino A.; Cen, Steven Y.; Duddalwar, Vinay

2017-11-01

Clinicians can now objectively quantify tumor necrosis by Hounsfield units and enhancement characteristics from multiphase contrast enhanced CT imaging. NecroQuant has been designed to work as part of a radiomics pipelines. The software is a departure from the conventional qualitative assessment of tumor necrosis, as it provides the user (radiologists and researchers) a simple interface to precisely and interactively define and measure necrosis in contrast-enhanced CT images. Although, the software is tested here on renal masses, it can be re-configured to assess tumor necrosis across variety of tumors from different body sites, providing a generalized, open, portable, and extensible quantitative analysis platform that is widely applicable across cancer types to quantify tumor necrosis.

Combined visual and semi-quantitative assessment of 123I-FP-CIT SPECT for the diagnosis of dopaminergic neurodegenerative diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Ueda, Jun; Yoshimura, Hajime; Shimizu, Keiji; Hino, Megumu; Kohara, Nobuo

2017-07-01

Visual and semi-quantitative assessments of 123 I-FP-CIT single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are useful for the diagnosis of dopaminergic neurodegenerative diseases (dNDD), including Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy, and corticobasal degeneration. However, the diagnostic value of combined visual and semi-quantitative assessment in dNDD remains unclear. Among 239 consecutive patients with a newly diagnosed possible parkinsonian syndrome who underwent 123 I-FP-CIT SPECT in our medical center, 114 patients with a disease duration less than 7 years were diagnosed as dNDD with the established criteria or as non-dNDD according to clinical judgment. We retrospectively examined their clinical characteristics and visual and semi-quantitative assessments of 123 I-FP-CIT SPECT. The striatal binding ratio (SBR) was used as a semi-quantitative measure of 123 I-FP-CIT SPECT. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of visual assessment alone, semi-quantitative assessment alone, and combined visual and semi-quantitative assessment for the diagnosis of dNDD. SBR was correlated with visual assessment. Some dNDD patients with a normal visual assessment had an abnormal SBR, and vice versa. There was no statistically significant difference between sensitivity of the diagnosis with visual assessment alone and semi-quantitative assessment alone (91.2 vs. 86.8%, respectively, p = 0.29). Combined visual and semi-quantitative assessment demonstrated superior sensitivity (96.7%) to visual assessment (p = 0.03) or semi-quantitative assessment (p = 0.003) alone with equal specificity. Visual and semi-quantitative assessments of 123 I-FP-CIT SPECT are helpful for the diagnosis of dNDD, and combined visual and semi-quantitative assessment shows superior sensitivity with equal specificity.

Objective, Quantitative, Data-Driven Assessment of Chemical Probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Antolin, Albert A; Tym, Joseph E; Komianou, Angeliki; Collins, Ian; Workman, Paul; Al-Lazikani, Bissan

2018-02-15

Chemical probes are essential tools for understanding biological systems and for target validation, yet selecting probes for biomedical research is rarely based on objective assessment of all potential compounds. Here, we describe the Probe Miner: Chemical Probes Objective Assessment resource, capitalizing on the plethora of public medicinal chemistry data to empower quantitative, objective, data-driven evaluation of chemical probes. We assess >1.8 million compounds for their suitability as chemical tools against 2,220 human targets and dissect the biases and limitations encountered. Probe Miner represents a valuable resource to aid the identification of potential chemical probes, particularly when used alongside expert curation. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The Quantitative Reasoning for College Science (QuaRCS) Assessment: Emerging Themes from 5 Years of Data

Science.gov (United States)

Follette, Katherine; Dokter, Erin; Buxner, Sanlyn

2018-01-01

The Quantitative Reasoning for College Science (QuaRCS) Assessment is a validated assessment instrument that was designed to measure changes in students' quantitative reasoning skills, attitudes toward mathematics, and ability to accurately assess their own quantitative abilities. It has been administered to more than 5,000 students at a variety of institutions at the start and end of a semester of general education college science instruction. I will begin by briefly summarizing our published work surrounding validation of the instrument and identification of underlying attitudinal factors (composite variables identified via factor analysis) that predict 50% of the variation in students' scores on the assessment. I will then discuss more recent unpublished work, including: (1) Development and validation of an abbreviated version of the assessment (The QuaRCS Light), which results in marked improvements in students' ability to maintain a high effort level throughout the assessment and has broad implications for quantitative reasoning assessments in general, and (2) Our efforts to revise the attitudinal portion of the assessment to better assess math anxiety level, another key factor in student performance on numerical assessments.

Quantitative Reasoning in Environmental Science: Rasch Measurement to Support QR Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert L. Mayes

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The ability of middle and high school students to reason quantitatively within the context of environmental science was investigated. A quantitative reasoning (QR learning progression, with associated QR assessments in the content areas of biodiversity, water, and carbon, was developed based on three QR progress variables: quantification act, quantitative interpretation, and quantitative modeling. Diagnostic instruments were developed specifically for the progress variable quantitative interpretation (QI, each consisting of 96 Likert-scale items. Each content version of the instrument focused on three scale levels (macro scale, micro scale, and landscape scale and four elements of QI identified in prior research (trend, translation, prediction, and revision. The QI assessments were completed by 362, 6th to 12th grade students in three U.S. states. Rasch (1960/1980 measurement was used to determine item and person measures for the QI instruments, both to examine validity and reliability characteristics of the instrument administration and inform the evolution of the learning progression. Rasch methods allowed identification of several QI instrument revisions, including modification of specific items, reducing number of items to avoid cognitive fatigue, reconsidering proposed item difficulty levels, and reducing Likert scale to 4 levels. Rasch diagnostics also indicated favorable levels of instrument reliability and appropriate targeting of item abilities to student abilities for the majority of participants. A revised QI instrument is available for STEM researchers and educators.

Qualitative and quantitative ultrasound assessment of gastric content

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flora Margarida Barra Bisinotto

Full Text Available Summary Objective: Pulmonary aspiration of the gastric contents is one of the most feared complications in anesthesia. Its prevention depends on preoperative fasting as well as identification of risky patients. A reliable diagnostic tool to assess gastric volume is currently lacking. The aim of this study performed on volunteers was to evaluate the feasibility of ultrasonography to identify qualitative and quantitative gastric content. Method: A standardized gastric scanning protocol was applied on 67 healthy volunteers to assess the gastric antrum in four different situations: fasting, after ingesting clear fluid, milk and a solid meal. A qualitative and quantitative assessment of the gastric content in the antrum was performed by a blinded sonographer. The antrum was considered either as empty, or containing clear or thick fluid, or solids. Total gastric volume was predicted based on a cross-sectional area of the antrum. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: For each type of gastric content, the sonographic characteristics of the antrum and its content were described and illustrated. Sonographic qualitative assessment allowed to distinguish between an empty stomach and one with different kinds of meal. The predicted gastric volume was significantly larger after the consumption of any food source compared to fasting. Conclusion: Bedside sonography can determine the nature of gastric content. It is also possible to estimate the difference between an empty gastric antrum and one that has some food in it. Such information may be useful to estimate the risk of aspiration, particularly in situations when prandial status is unknown or uncertain.

Qualitative and quantitative ultrasound assessment of gastric content.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisinotto, Flora Margarida Barra; Pansani, Patrícia Luísa; Silveira, Luciano Alves Matias da; Naves, Aline de Araújo; Peixoto, Ana Cristina Abdu; Lima, Hellen Moreira de; Martins, Laura Bisinotto

2017-02-01

Pulmonary aspiration of the gastric contents is one of the most feared complications in anesthesia. Its prevention depends on preoperative fasting as well as identification of risky patients. A reliable diagnostic tool to assess gastric volume is currently lacking. The aim of this study performed on volunteers was to evaluate the feasibility of ultrasonography to identify qualitative and quantitative gastric content. A standardized gastric scanning protocol was applied on 67 healthy volunteers to assess the gastric antrum in four different situations: fasting, after ingesting clear fluid, milk and a solid meal. A qualitative and quantitative assessment of the gastric content in the antrum was performed by a blinded sonographer. The antrum was considered either as empty, or containing clear or thick fluid, or solids. Total gastric volume was predicted based on a cross-sectional area of the antrum. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. For each type of gastric content, the sonographic characteristics of the antrum and its content were described and illustrated. Sonographic qualitative assessment allowed to distinguish between an empty stomach and one with different kinds of meal. The predicted gastric volume was significantly larger after the consumption of any food source compared to fasting. Bedside sonography can determine the nature of gastric content. It is also possible to estimate the difference between an empty gastric antrum and one that has some food in it. Such information may be useful to estimate the risk of aspiration, particularly in situations when prandial status is unknown or uncertain.

Histological and histomorphometrical analysis of a silica matrix embedded nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite bone substitute using the subcutaneous implantation model in Wistar rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghanaati, Shahram; Orth, Carina; Barbeck, Mike; Kirkpatrick, Charles James [Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Langenbeckstrasse 1, 55101 Mainz (Germany); Willershausen, Ines [Institute for Dental Material Sciences and Technology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Anselm-Franz-von-Bentzel-Weg 14, 55128 Mainz (Germany); Thimm, Benjamin W [Institute for Biomechanics, ETH Zuerich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str.10, 8093 Zuerich (Switzerland); Booms, Patrick [Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, Section of Medicine, Surgery and Anaesthesia, University of Leeds (United Kingdom); Stuebinger, Stefan; Landes, Constantin; Sader, Robert Anton, E-mail: ghanaati@uni-mainz.d [Department for Oral, Cranio-Maxillofacial and Facial Plastic Surgery, Medical Center of the Goethe University Frankfurt, Theodor-Stein-Kai 7, 60596 Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

2010-06-01

The clinical suitability of a bone substitute material is determined by the ability to induce a tissue reaction specific to its composition. The aim of this in vivo study was to analyze the tissue reaction to a silica matrix-embedded, nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite bone substitute. The subcutaneous implantation model in Wistar rats was chosen to assess the effect of silica degradation on the vascularization of the biomaterial and its biodegradation within a time period of 6 months. Already at day 10 after implantation, histomorphometrical analysis showed that the vascularization of the implantation bed reached its peak value compared to all other time points. Both vessel density and vascularization significantly decreased until day 90 after implantation. In this time period, the bone substitute underwent a significant degradation initiated by TRAP-positive and TRAP-negative multinucleated giant cells together with macrophages and lymphocytes. Although no specific tissue reaction could be related to the described silica degradation, the biomaterial was close to being fully degraded without a severe inflammatory response. These characteristics are advantageous for bone regeneration and remodeling processes.

Histological and histomorphometrical analysis of a silica matrix embedded nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite bone substitute using the subcutaneous implantation model in Wistar rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghanaati, Shahram; Orth, Carina; Barbeck, Mike; Kirkpatrick, Charles James; Willershausen, Ines; Thimm, Benjamin W; Booms, Patrick; Stuebinger, Stefan; Landes, Constantin; Sader, Robert Anton

2010-01-01

The clinical suitability of a bone substitute material is determined by the ability to induce a tissue reaction specific to its composition. The aim of this in vivo study was to analyze the tissue reaction to a silica matrix-embedded, nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite bone substitute. The subcutaneous implantation model in Wistar rats was chosen to assess the effect of silica degradation on the vascularization of the biomaterial and its biodegradation within a time period of 6 months. Already at day 10 after implantation, histomorphometrical analysis showed that the vascularization of the implantation bed reached its peak value compared to all other time points. Both vessel density and vascularization significantly decreased until day 90 after implantation. In this time period, the bone substitute underwent a significant degradation initiated by TRAP-positive and TRAP-negative multinucleated giant cells together with macrophages and lymphocytes. Although no specific tissue reaction could be related to the described silica degradation, the biomaterial was close to being fully degraded without a severe inflammatory response. These characteristics are advantageous for bone regeneration and remodeling processes.

Histomorphometric characteristics of immune cells in small intestine of pigs perorally immunized with vaccine candidate F18ac+ nonenterotoxigenic E. coli strain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Valpotic

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Colidiarrhea and colienterotoxemia caused by F4+ and/or F18+ enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC strains are the most prevalent infections of suckling and weaned pigs. Here we tested the immunogenicity and protective effectiveness of attenuated F18ac+ non-ETEC vaccine candidate strain against challenge infection with F4ac+ ETEC strain by quantitative phenotypic analysis of small intestinal leukocyte subsets in weaned pigs. We also evaluated levamisole as an immune response modifier (IRM and its adjuvanticity when given in the combination with the experimental vaccine. The pigs were parenterally immunized with either levamisole (at days -2, -1 and 0 or with levamisole and perorally given F18ac+ non-ETEC strain (at day 0, and challenged with F4ac+ ETEC strain 7 days later. At day 13 the pigs were euthanatized and sampled for immunohistological/histomorphometrical analyses. Lymphoid CD3+, CD45RA+, CD45RC+, CD21+, IgA+ and myeloid SWC3+ cell subsets were identified in jejunal and ileal epithelium, lamina propria and Peyer’s patches using the avidin-biotin complex method, and their numbers were determined by computer-assisted histomorphometry. Quantitative immunophenotypic analyses showed that levamisole treated pigs had highly increased numbers of jejunal CD3+, CD45RC+ and SWC3+ cells (p<0.05 as compared to those recorded in nontreated control pigs. In the ileum of these pigs we have recorded that only CD21+ cells were significantly increased (p<0.01. The pigs that were treated with levamisole adjuvanted experimental vaccine had significantly increased numbers of all tested cell subsets in both segments of the small intestine. It was concluded that levamisole adjuvanted F18ac+ non-ETEC vaccine was a requirement for the elicitation of protective gut immunity in this model; nonspecific immunization with levamisole was less effective, but confirmed its potential as an IRM.

Assessing College Students’ Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning: The James Madison University Story

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John D. Hathcoat

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Quantitative and scientific reasoning is a critical student learning outcome in higher education. Data are presented for large samples of undergraduate students who were assessed as entering freshmen and then again after completing 45-70 credit hours. Results are presented around four key issues that are central to educational assessment. First, entering freshmen with transfer credits for quantitative and scientific reasoning courses that fulfill general education requirements, on average, score similar to entering freshmen without such credit. About 97% of entering freshmen who had transfer credits received their credits through dual enrollment programs. As a sophomore-junior, students who had completed their general education requirements performed similar to students who had started, but not yet finished these requirements. Second, small to moderate correlations were observed between grade-point averages in relevant general education coursework and quantitative and scientific reasoning. Third, students’ quantitative and scientific reasoning, on average, increases from freshmen to sophomore/junior years. Finally, the proportion of students who meet faculty-set standards substantially increases from pre-test to post-test. Taken together, results suggest that changes in quantitative and scientific reasoning are a function of relevant courses. Additional research is needed to examine the role of lower-level versus higher-level courses in student performance. Results also indicate a need to investigate how differences in the quality of dual enrollment courses facilitate quantitative and scientific reasoning.

Method for quantitative assessment of nuclear safety computer codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dearien, J.A.; Davis, C.B.; Matthews, L.J.

1979-01-01

A procedure has been developed for the quantitative assessment of nuclear safety computer codes and tested by comparison of RELAP4/MOD6 predictions with results from two Semiscale tests. This paper describes the developed procedure, the application of the procedure to the Semiscale tests, and the results obtained from the comparison

Histologic and Histomorphometric Comparison between Sintered Nanohydroxyapatite and Anorganic Bovine Xenograft in Maxillary Sinus Grafting: A Split-Mouth Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudio Stacchi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The presence of vital bone after maxillary sinus augmentation is crucial to enhance the quality of bone-implant interface, ensuring predictable long-term results. The aims of this RCT with split-mouth design were the histologic and histomorphometric comparison of two different biomaterials in sinus elevation after 6 months of healing and the evaluation of the clinical outcomes of implants inserted in the augmented areas after 12 months of prosthetic loading. Twenty-eight patients (10 females, 18 males were treated with bilateral sinus floor elevation with lateral approach. Pure sintered nanohydroxyapatite (NHA and anorganic bovine bone (ABB were used as test and active control, respectively. After six months, 52 bone biopsies were harvested from 26 patients, and 107 implants were inserted in the augmented areas. Histomorphometry showed that, in the two groups, vital bone percentages were 34.9±15% (NHA and 38.5±17% (ABB (p=0.428, marrow spaces percentages were 44.5±18% (NHA and 43.5±23% (ABB (p=0.866, and residual graft percentages were 20.6±13% (NHA and 22.3±12% (ABB (p=0.638. After 6 months of healing, no statistically significant difference was present in histomorphometric outcomes between NHA and ABB groups. Implant survival rate in NHA group after 12 months of loading was 96.4%, showing no statistically significant differences with ABB group.

Simulation evaluation of quantitative myocardial perfusion assessment from cardiac CT

Science.gov (United States)

Bindschadler, Michael; Modgil, Dimple; Branch, Kelley R.; La Riviere, Patrick J.; Alessio, Adam M.

2014-03-01

Contrast enhancement on cardiac CT provides valuable information about myocardial perfusion and methods have been proposed to assess perfusion with static and dynamic acquisitions. There is a lack of knowledge and consensus on the appropriate approach to ensure 1) sufficient diagnostic accuracy for clinical decisions and 2) low radiation doses for patient safety. This work developed a thorough dynamic CT simulation and several accepted blood flow estimation techniques to evaluate the performance of perfusion assessment across a range of acquisition and estimation scenarios. Cardiac CT acquisitions were simulated for a range of flow states (Flow = 0.5, 1, 2, 3 ml/g/min, cardiac output = 3,5,8 L/min). CT acquisitions were simulated with a validated CT simulator incorporating polyenergetic data acquisition and realistic x-ray flux levels for dynamic acquisitions with a range of scenarios including 1, 2, 3 sec sampling for 30 sec with 25, 70, 140 mAs. Images were generated using conventional image reconstruction with additional image-based beam hardening correction to account for iodine content. Time attenuation curves were extracted for multiple regions around the myocardium and used to estimate flow. In total, 2,700 independent realizations of dynamic sequences were generated and multiple MBF estimation methods were applied to each of these. Evaluation of quantitative kinetic modeling yielded blood flow estimates with an root mean square error (RMSE) of ~0.6 ml/g/min averaged across multiple scenarios. Semi-quantitative modeling and qualitative static imaging resulted in significantly more error (RMSE = ~1.2 and ~1.2 ml/min/g respectively). For quantitative methods, dose reduction through reduced temporal sampling or reduced tube current had comparable impact on the MBF estimate fidelity. On average, half dose acquisitions increased the RMSE of estimates by only 18% suggesting that substantial dose reductions can be employed in the context of quantitative myocardial

Reproducibility of radionuclide gastroesophageal reflux studies using quantitative parameters and potential role of quantitative assessment in follow-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fatima, S.; Khursheed, K.; Nasir, W.; Saeed, M.A.; Fatmi, S.; Jafri, S.; Asghar, S.

2004-01-01

Radionuclide gastroesophageal reflux studies have been widely used in the assessment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in infants and children. Various qualitative and quantitative parameters have been used for the interpretation of reflux studies but there is little consensus on the use of these parameters in routine gastroesophageal reflux scintigraphic studies. Aim of this study was to evaluate the methodological issues underlying the qualitative and quantitative assessment of gastroesophageal reflux and to determine the potential power of the reflux index calculation in follow-up assessment of the reflux positive patients. Methods: Total 147 patients suffering from recurrent lower respiratory tract infection, asthma and having strong clinical suspicion of GER were recruited in the study. Dynamic scintigraphic study was acquired for 30 minutes after oral administration of 99mTc phytate. Each study was analyzed three times by two nuclear medicine physicians. Clinical symptoms were graded according to predefined criteria and there correlation with severity reflux was done. Time activity curves were generated by drawing ROIs from esophagus. Reflux index was calculated by the standard formula and cut off value of 4% was used for RI calculation. Reflux indices were used for follow-up assessments in reflux positive patients. Kappa statistics and chi square test were used to evaluate the agreement and concordance between qualitative and quantitative parameters. Results: Tlae over all incidence of reflux in total study population was 63.94 %( 94 patients). The kappa value for both qualitative and quantitative parameters showed good agreement for intra and inter-observer reproducibility (kappa value > 0.75). Concordance between visual analysis and time activity curves was not observed. Reflux index and visuat interpretation shows concordance in the interpretation. The severity of clinical symptoms was directly related to the severity of the reflux observed in the

Clinical and histomorphometrical study on titanium dioxide-coated external fixation pins.

Science.gov (United States)

Koseki, Hironobu; Asahara, Tomohiko; Shida, Takayuki; Yoda, Itaru; Horiuchi, Hidehiko; Baba, Koumei; Osaki, Makoto

2013-01-01

Pin site infection is the most common and significant complication of external fixation. In this work, the efficacy of pins coated with titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) for inhibition of infection was compared with that of stainless steel control pins in an in vivo study. Pins contaminated with an identifiable Staphylococcus aureus strain were inserted into femoral bone in a rat model and exposed to ultraviolet A light for 30 minutes. On day 14, the animals were sacrificed and the bone and soft tissue around the pin were retrieved. The clinical findings and histological findings were evaluated in 60 samples. Clinical signs of infection were present in 76.7% of untreated pins, but in only 36.7% of TiO(2)-coated pins. The histological bone infection score and planimetric rate of occupation for bacterial colonies and neutrophils in the TiO(2)-coated pin group were lower than those in the control group. The bone-implant contact ratio of the TiO(2)-coated pin group was significantly higher (71.4%) than in the control pin group (58.2%). The TiO(2) was successful in decreasing infection both clinically and histomorphometrically. The photocatalytic bactericidal effect of TiO(2) is thought to be useful for inhibiting pin site infection after external fixation.

Communicating Quantitative Literacy: An Examination of Open-Ended Assessment Items in TIMSS, NALS, IALS, and PISA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karl W. Kosko

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Quantitative Literacy (QL has been described as the skill set an individual uses when interacting with the world in a quantitative manner. A necessary component of this interaction is communication. To this end, assessments of QL have included open-ended items as a means of including communicative aspects of QL. The present study sought to examine whether such open-ended items typically measured aspects of quantitative communication, as compared to mathematical communication, or mathematical skills. We focused on public-released items and rubrics from four of the most widely referenced assessments: the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS-95: the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS; now the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, NAAL in 1985 and 1992, the International Adult Literacy Skills (IALS beginning in 1994; and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA beginning in 2000. We found that open-ended item rubrics in these QL assessments showed a strong tendency to assess answer-only responses. Therefore, while some open-ended items may have required certain levels of quantitative reasoning to find a solution, it is the solution rather than the reasoning that was often assessed.

Energy potential of region and its quantitative assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatyana Aleksandrovna Kovalenko

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is the development of the concept of the energy potential of the region (EPR, the analysis of the existing structure of relationships for the EPR elements in Ukraine and improvement of a quantitative assessment of energy potential of the region (country. The methods of an assessment of the existing condition of energy potential of the territory are the subject matter of the research. As a result of the analysis of concept’s definitions of energy potential of the region, it has further development and included the consumer potential of energy resources and capacity of management. The structure of relationships between elements of energy potential is developed for the Ukraine region. The new economic indicator — the realized energy potential is offered for an EPR assessment. By means of this indicator, the assessment of energy potential for the different countries of the world and a number of Ukraine areas of is performed.

Classification System for Desertification and Its Quantitative Assessment Methodology in China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Wang Junhou; Zhang Zhiqiang; Jia Baoquan; Meng Fanrong

2003-01-01

Based on the desertification definition of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and features of desertification in China, three-level hierarchical classification system for desertification and quantitative assessment methodology of desertification degree were developed and used to evaluate desertification danger degree across the country. The system is composed of three components: type of desertification, type of land utilization and degree of desertification. The type of desertification monitored in China was divided into 4 major categories, 15 sub-categories and 52 types. Vegetation coverage, soil characteristics, and topography are considered as three major indicators for quantitative assessment of desertified land. A simple, yet practically sound mathematical assessment model was built using these indicators. Furthurmore, a regional land desertification warning model was also constructed on the basis of the ratios of non-desertified land area to desertified land area in different degrees. The warning result of wind-erosion desertification at county scale for 12 provinces in northern China was also calculated by this model.

Genetic toxicology at the crossroads-from qualitative hazard evaluation to quantitative risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Paul A; Johnson, George E

2016-05-01

Applied genetic toxicology is undergoing a transition from qualitative hazard identification to quantitative dose-response analysis and risk assessment. To facilitate this change, the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Genetic Toxicology Technical Committee (GTTC) sponsored a workshop held in Lancaster, UK on July 10-11, 2014. The event included invited speakers from several institutions and the contents was divided into three themes-1: Point-of-departure Metrics for Quantitative Dose-Response Analysis in Genetic Toxicology; 2: Measurement and Estimation of Exposures for Better Extrapolation to Humans and 3: The Use of Quantitative Approaches in Genetic Toxicology for human health risk assessment (HHRA). A host of pertinent issues were discussed relating to the use of in vitro and in vivo dose-response data, the development of methods for in vitro to in vivo extrapolation and approaches to use in vivo dose-response data to determine human exposure limits for regulatory evaluations and decision-making. This Special Issue, which was inspired by the workshop, contains a series of papers that collectively address topics related to the aforementioned themes. The Issue includes contributions that collectively evaluate, describe and discuss in silico, in vitro, in vivo and statistical approaches that are facilitating the shift from qualitative hazard evaluation to quantitative risk assessment. The use and application of the benchmark dose approach was a central theme in many of the workshop presentations and discussions, and the Special Issue includes several contributions that outline novel applications for the analysis and interpretation of genetic toxicity data. Although the contents of the Special Issue constitutes an important step towards the adoption of quantitative methods for regulatory assessment of genetic toxicity, formal acceptance of quantitative methods for HHRA and regulatory decision-making will require consensus regarding the

Towards Developing a Quantitative Literacy/Reasoning Assessment Instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Gaze

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This article reports on the development and implementation of a non-proprietary assessment instrument for Quantitative Literacy/Reasoning. This instrument was based on prior work by Bowdoin College, Colby-Sawyer College, and Wellesley College and was piloted in 2012 and 2013. This article presents a discussion of its development as well as the results of the pilot implementation. This work was supported by a TUES Type 1 grant from the National Science Foundation.

Quantitative cholescintigraphy in the assessment of choledochoduodenal bile flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cicala, M.; Scopinaro, F.; Corazziari, E.; Vignoni, A.; Viscardi, A.; Habib, F.I.; Torsoli, A.

1991-01-01

Quantitative cholescintigraphy has been proposed as a noninvasive method to assess function of the sphincter of Oddi in cholecystectomized subjects. The present study evaluated several quantitative cholescintigraphic variables to assess their time-related variability as well as their capability to detect delay of choledochoduodenal bile flow. Cholescintigraphy with 2,6-diethylphenylcarbahoylmethyl diacetic acid 99mTc was performed in 24 cholecystectomized patients with recurrent biliary-like pain, laboratory evidence of bile stasis, normal hepatocellular function tests, and no evidence of choledocholithiasis. The study was also performed in 26 asymptomatic cholecystectomized subjects and repeated at 2-week intervals during identical experimental conditions in 10 of them. Of the following quantitative cholescintigraphic variables investigated, (a) hepatic T peak, (b) 50% hepatic retention (T peak, 1/2), (c) percent hepatic retention at 30 minutes, (d) percent hepatic retention at 40 minutes, (e) vein-hepatic hilum transit time, (f) vein-duodenum transit time, and (g) hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time, only the hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time showed a statistically significant correlation between the duplicate studies. Only vein-duodenum transit time and hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time discriminated the symptomatic from the asymptomatic patients; of the two variables, however, hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time showed less intrasubject variability and no overlap between the two groups of patients. Hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time showed a positive linear correlation with the maximum diameter of the choledochus. It is concluded that in cholecystectomized patients, the hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time appears to detect a delay of bile flow into the intestine better than any other cholescintigraphic variable

EFFICIENT QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT OF JUMP PROCESSES: IMPLICATIONS FOR FOOD SAFETY

OpenAIRE

Nganje, William E.

1999-01-01

This paper develops a dynamic framework for efficient quantitative risk assessment from the simplest general risk, combining three parameters (contamination, exposure, and dose response) in a Kataoka safety-first model and a Poisson probability representing the uncertainty effect or jump processes associated with food safety. Analysis indicates that incorporating jump processes in food safety risk assessment provides more efficient cost/risk tradeoffs. Nevertheless, increased margin of safety...

Intramembranous bone healing process subsequent to tooth extraction in mice: micro-computed tomography, histomorphometric and molecular characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira, Andreia Espindola; Repeke, Carlos Eduardo; Ferreira Junior, Samuel de Barros; Colavite, Priscila Maria; Biguetti, Claudia Cristina; Oliveira, Rodrigo Cardoso; Assis, Gerson Francisco; Taga, Rumio; Trombone, Ana Paula Favaro; Garlet, Gustavo Pompermaier

2015-01-01

Bone tissue has a significant potential for healing, which involves a significant the interplay between bone and immune cells. While fracture healing represents a useful model to investigate endochondral bone healing, intramembranous bone healing models are yet to be developed and characterized. In this study, a micro-computed tomography, histomorphometric and molecular (RealTimePCRarray) characterization of post tooth-extraction alveolar bone healing was performed on C57Bl/6 WT mice. After the initial clot dominance (0 h), the development of a provisional immature granulation tissue is evident (7 d), characterized by marked cell proliferation, angiogenesis and inflammatory cells infiltration; associated with peaks of growth factors (BMP-2-4-7,TGFβ1,VEGFa), cytokines (TNFα, IL-10), chemokines & receptors (CXCL12, CCL25, CCR5, CXCR4), matrix (Col1a1-2, ITGA4, VTN, MMP1a) and MSCs (CD105, CD106, OCT4, NANOG, CD34, CD146) markers expression. Granulation tissue is sequentially replaced by more mature connective tissue (14 d), characterized by inflammatory infiltrate reduction along the increased bone formation, marked expression of matrix remodeling enzymes (MMP-2-9), bone formation/maturation (RUNX2, ALP, DMP1, PHEX, SOST) markers, and chemokines & receptors associated with healing (CCL2, CCL17, CCR2). No evidences of cartilage cells or tissue were observed, strengthening the intramembranous nature of bone healing. Bone microarchitecture analysis supports the evolving healing, with total tissue and bone volumes as trabecular number and thickness showing a progressive increase over time. The extraction socket healing process is considered complete (21 d) when the dental socket is filled by trabeculae bone with well-defined medullary canals; it being the expression of mature bone markers prevalent at this period. Our data confirms the intramembranous bone healing nature of the model used, revealing parallels between the gene expression profile and the

Intramembranous bone healing process subsequent to tooth extraction in mice: micro-computed tomography, histomorphometric and molecular characterization.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreia Espindola Vieira

Full Text Available Bone tissue has a significant potential for healing, which involves a significant the interplay between bone and immune cells. While fracture healing represents a useful model to investigate endochondral bone healing, intramembranous bone healing models are yet to be developed and characterized. In this study, a micro-computed tomography, histomorphometric and molecular (RealTimePCRarray characterization of post tooth-extraction alveolar bone healing was performed on C57Bl/6 WT mice. After the initial clot dominance (0 h, the development of a provisional immature granulation tissue is evident (7 d, characterized by marked cell proliferation, angiogenesis and inflammatory cells infiltration; associated with peaks of growth factors (BMP-2-4-7,TGFβ1,VEGFa, cytokines (TNFα, IL-10, chemokines & receptors (CXCL12, CCL25, CCR5, CXCR4, matrix (Col1a1-2, ITGA4, VTN, MMP1a and MSCs (CD105, CD106, OCT4, NANOG, CD34, CD146 markers expression. Granulation tissue is sequentially replaced by more mature connective tissue (14 d, characterized by inflammatory infiltrate reduction along the increased bone formation, marked expression of matrix remodeling enzymes (MMP-2-9, bone formation/maturation (RUNX2, ALP, DMP1, PHEX, SOST markers, and chemokines & receptors associated with healing (CCL2, CCL17, CCR2. No evidences of cartilage cells or tissue were observed, strengthening the intramembranous nature of bone healing. Bone microarchitecture analysis supports the evolving healing, with total tissue and bone volumes as trabecular number and thickness showing a progressive increase over time. The extraction socket healing process is considered complete (21 d when the dental socket is filled by trabeculae bone with well-defined medullary canals; it being the expression of mature bone markers prevalent at this period. Our data confirms the intramembranous bone healing nature of the model used, revealing parallels between the gene expression profile and the

Rapid and Quantitative Assessment of Cancer Treatment Response Using In Vivo Bioluminescence Imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alnawaz Rehemtulla

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Current assessment of orthotopic tumor models in animals utilizes survival as the primary therapeutic end point. In vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI is a sensitive imaging modality that is rapid and accessible, and may comprise an ideal tool for evaluating antineoplastic therapies [1 ]. Using human tumor cell lines constitutively expressing luciferase, the kinetics of tumor growth and response to therapy have been assessed in intraperitoneal [2], subcutaneous, and intravascular [3] cancer models. However, use of this approach for evaluating orthotopic tumor models has not been demonstrated. In this report, the ability of BLI to noninvasively quantitate the growth and therapeuticinduced cell kill of orthotopic rat brain tumors derived from 9L gliosarcoma cells genetically engineered to stably express firefly luciferase (9LLuc was investigated. Intracerebral tumor burden was monitored over time by quantitation of photon emission and tumor volume using a cryogenically cooled CCD camera and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, respectively. There was excellent correlation (r=0.91 between detected photons and tumor volume. A quantitative comparison of tumor cell kill determined from serial MRI volume measurements and BLI photon counts following 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl-1-nitrosourea (BCNU treatment revealed that both imaging modalities yielded statistically similar cell kill values (P=.951. These results provide direct validation of BLI imaging as a powerful and quantitative tool for the assessment of antineoplastic therapies in living animals.

Short Course Introduction to Quantitative Mineral Resource Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Singer, Donald A.

2007-01-01

This is an abbreviated text supplementing the content of three sets of slides used in a short course that has been presented by the author at several workshops. The slides should be viewed in the order of (1) Introduction and models, (2) Delineation and estimation, and (3) Combining estimates and summary. References cited in the slides are listed at the end of this text. The purpose of the three-part form of mineral resource assessments discussed in the accompanying slides is to make unbiased quantitative assessments in a format needed in decision-support systems so that consequences of alternative courses of action can be examined. The three-part form of mineral resource assessments was developed to assist policy makers evaluate the consequences of alternative courses of action with respect to land use and mineral-resource development. The audience for three-part assessments is a governmental or industrial policy maker, a manager of exploration, a planner of regional development, or similar decision-maker. Some of the tools and models presented here will be useful for selection of exploration sites, but that is a side benefit, not the goal. To provide unbiased information, we recommend the three-part form of mineral resource assessments where general locations of undiscovered deposits are delineated from a deposit type's geologic setting, frequency distributions of tonnages and grades of well-explored deposits serve as models of grades and tonnages of undiscovered deposits, and number of undiscovered deposits are estimated probabilistically by type. The internally consistent descriptive, grade and tonnage, deposit density, and economic models used in the design of the three-part form of assessments reduce the chances of biased estimates of the undiscovered resources. What and why quantitative resource assessments: The kind of assessment recommended here is founded in decision analysis in order to provide a framework for making decisions concerning mineral

Comparison of clinical semi-quantitative assessment of muscle fat infiltration with quantitative assessment using chemical shift-based water/fat separation in MR studies of the calf of post-menopausal women.

Science.gov (United States)

Alizai, Hamza; Nardo, Lorenzo; Karampinos, Dimitrios C; Joseph, Gabby B; Yap, Samuel P; Baum, Thomas; Krug, Roland; Majumdar, Sharmila; Link, Thomas M

2012-07-01

The goal of this study was to compare the semi-quantitative Goutallier classification for fat infiltration with quantitative fat-fraction derived from a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) chemical shift-based water/fat separation technique. Sixty-two women (age 61 ± 6 years), 27 of whom had diabetes, underwent MRI of the calf using a T1-weighted fast spin-echo sequence and a six-echo spoiled gradient-echo sequence at 3 T. Water/fat images and fat fraction maps were reconstructed using the IDEAL algorithm with T2* correction and a multi-peak model for the fat spectrum. Two radiologists scored fat infiltration on the T1-weighted images using the Goutallier classification in six muscle compartments. Spearman correlations between the Goutallier grades and the fat fraction were calculated; in addition, intra-observer and inter-observer agreement were calculated. A significant correlation between the clinical grading and the fat fraction values was found for all muscle compartments (P infiltration of muscle commonly occurs in many metabolic and neuromuscular diseases. • Image-based semi-quantitative classifications for assessing fat infiltration are not well validated. • Quantitative MRI techniques provide an accurate assessment of muscle fat.

Quantitative assessment of left ventricular systolic wall thickening using multidetector computed tomography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Thomas S; Kofoed, Klaus F; Møller, Daniel V

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) of the heart provides both anatomical and functional information. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of quantitative assessment of left ventricular contractile function in relation to two-dimensional transthoracic echocard......BACKGROUND: Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) of the heart provides both anatomical and functional information. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of quantitative assessment of left ventricular contractile function in relation to two-dimensional transthoracic...... echocardiography (TTE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-four patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease underwent ECG-gated 64-slice MDCT and TTE. Regional left ventricular contractile function was measured by percent systolic wall thickening (SWT) in 16 myocardial segments using MDCT, and compared...

Quantitative assessment for pneumoconiosis severity diagnosis using 3D CT images

Science.gov (United States)

Hino, Koki; Matsuhiro, Mikio; Suzuki, Hidenobu; Kawata, Yoshiki; Niki, Noboru; Kato, Katsuya; Kishimoto, Takumi; Ashizawa, Kazuto

2018-02-01

Pneumoconiosis is an occupational respiratory illness that occur by inhaling dust to the lungs. 240,000 participants are screened for diagnosis of pneumoconiosis every year in Japan. Radiograph is used for staging of severity rate in pneumoconiosis worldwide. CT imaging is useful for the differentiation of requirements for industrial accident approval because it can detect small lesions in comparison with radiograph. In this paper, we extracted lung nodules from 3D pneumoconiosis CT images by two manual processes and automatic process, and created a database of pneumoconiosis CT images. We used the database to analyze, compare, and evaluate visual diagnostic results of radiographs and quantitative assessment (number, size and volume) of lung nodules. This method was applied to twenty pneumoconiosis patients. Initial results showed that the proposed method can assess severity rate in pneumoconiosis quantitatively. This study demonstrates effectiveness on diagnosis and prognosis of pneumoconiosis in CT screening.

New developments in quantitative risk assessment of campylobacteriosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Havelaar, Arie; Nauta, Maarten

meat to ready-to-eat foods is the main pathway of consumer exposure. Undercooking appears to be of minor importance. However, this conclusion may need to be reconsidered in the light of increasing consumption of minced meat preparations. Five QMRA models have been compared in detail, and detailed......Quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) is now broadly accepted as an important decision support tool in food safety risk management. It has been used to support decision making at the global level (Codex Alimentarius, FAO and WHO), at the European level (European Food Safety Authority...

A method of quantitative risk assessment for transmission pipeline carrying natural gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jo, Young-Do; Ahn, Bum Jong

2005-01-01

Regulatory authorities in many countries are moving away from prescriptive approaches for keeping natural gas pipelines safe. As an alternative, risk management based on a quantitative assessment is being considered to improve the level of safety. This paper focuses on the development of a simplified method for the quantitative risk assessment for natural gas pipelines and introduces parameters of fatal length and cumulative fatal length. The fatal length is defined as the integrated fatality along the pipeline associated with hypothetical accidents. The cumulative fatal length is defined as the section of pipeline in which an accident leads to N or more fatalities. These parameters can be estimated easily by using the information of pipeline geometry and population density of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS). To demonstrate the proposed method, individual and societal risks for a sample pipeline have been estimated from the historical data of European Gas Pipeline Incident Data Group and BG Transco. With currently acceptable criteria taken into account for individual risk, the minimum proximity of the pipeline to occupied buildings is approximately proportional to the square root of the operating pressure of the pipeline. The proposed method of quantitative risk assessment may be useful for risk management during the planning and building stages of a new pipeline, and modification of a buried pipeline

Interface mechanics and histomorphometric analysis of hydroxyapatite-coated and porous glass-ceramic implants in canine bone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nimb, L; Jensen, J S; Gotfredsen, K

1995-01-01

A canine study was performed to make a histological and biomechanical evaluation of the interface between bone and two different bioceramic implants. A newly developed glass-ceramic formed by P2O5, CaO, SiO2, and Al2O3, giving a crystal phase composed of CaP2O6-AlPO4-SiP2O7, was compared...... analysis. The ultimate shear strength for the HA-coated implants was significantly higher than in the glass-ceramic group. When these values were related to the histomorphometric measurements, the difference could be explained by the tissue-to-implant contact. The glass-ceramic showed direct contact only...... with nonmineralized, osteoid bone. The HA-coated implants, however, were integrated into the bone. The study indicated that porous glass-ceramic containing AlPO4 causes local osteomalacia and might not be suitable for clinical purposes....

Survey of bayesian belif nets for quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software used in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eom, H.S.; Sung, T.Y.; Jeong, H.S.; Park, J.H.; Kang, H.G.; Lee, K

2001-03-01

As part of the Probabilistic Safety Assessment of safety grade digital systems used in Nuclear Power plants research, measures and methodologies applicable to quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software were surveyed. Among the techniques proposed in the literature we selected those which are in use widely and investigated their limitations in quantitative software reliability assessment. One promising methodology from the survey is Bayesian Belief Nets (BBN) which has a formalism and can combine various disparate evidences relevant to reliability into final decision under uncertainty. Thus we analyzed BBN and its application cases in digital systems assessment area and finally studied the possibility of its application to the quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software.

Survey of bayesian belif nets for quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software used in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, H. S.; Sung, T. Y.; Jeong, H. S.; Park, J. H.; Kang, H. G.; Lee, K.

2001-03-01

As part of the Probabilistic Safety Assessment of safety grade digital systems used in Nuclear Power plants research, measures and methodologies applicable to quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software were surveyed. Among the techniques proposed in the literature we selected those which are in use widely and investigated their limitations in quantitative software reliability assessment. One promising methodology from the survey is Bayesian Belief Nets (BBN) which has a formalism and can combine various disparate evidences relevant to reliability into final decision under uncertainty. Thus we analyzed BBN and its application cases in digital systems assessment area and finally studied the possibility of its application to the quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software

Quantitative Security Risk Assessment of Android Permissions and Applications

OpenAIRE

Wang , Yang; Zheng , Jun; Sun , Chen; Mukkamala , Srinivas

2013-01-01

Part 6: Mobile Computing; International audience; The booming of the Android platform in recent years has attracted the attention of malware developers. However, the permissions-based model used in Android system to prevent the spread of malware, has shown to be ineffective. In this paper, we propose DroidRisk, a framework for quantitative security risk assessment of both Android permissions and applications (apps) based on permission request patterns from benign apps and malware, which aims ...

Histomorphological and histomorphometrical investigations of early bone damage following incorporation of optimal carcinogenic doses of 239-plutonium in male rats of different age

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gamer, A.O.

1988-02-01

There is early damage to bone at small carcinogenic amounts of the nuclide, including heavy defects of bone structure and bone marrow osteoporotic features of trabecular bone and only histomorphometrically detectable changes in bone metabolism. The dependence of radiation dose to skeleton and the spacial distribution of the nuclide on age and growth of the experimental animals is demonstrated and correlated to the histological findings. It is also shown that growth and metabolism parameters of bone influence the decorporation performance of the chelating agent Zn-DTPA. (orig.) [de

Comparison study on qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methods for urban natural gas pipeline network.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Z Y; Weng, W G

2011-05-15

In this paper, a qualitative and a quantitative risk assessment methods for urban natural gas pipeline network are proposed. The qualitative method is comprised of an index system, which includes a causation index, an inherent risk index, a consequence index and their corresponding weights. The quantitative method consists of a probability assessment, a consequences analysis and a risk evaluation. The outcome of the qualitative method is a qualitative risk value, and for quantitative method the outcomes are individual risk and social risk. In comparison with previous research, the qualitative method proposed in this paper is particularly suitable for urban natural gas pipeline network, and the quantitative method takes different consequences of accidents into consideration, such as toxic gas diffusion, jet flame, fire ball combustion and UVCE. Two sample urban natural gas pipeline networks are used to demonstrate these two methods. It is indicated that both of the two methods can be applied to practical application, and the choice of the methods depends on the actual basic data of the gas pipelines and the precision requirements of risk assessment. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Peri-Implant Behavior of Sloped Shoulder Dental Implants Used for All-On-Four Protocols: An Histomorphometric Analysis in Dogs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Luis Calvo Guirado

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the soft tissue thickness and marginal bone loss around dental implants with sloped micro-threaded shoulder (35° angle in comparing with conventional design, inserted 35° degrees angulated in post extraction sockets and immediate loaded with temporary prosthesis simulating the all-on-four protocol. Materials and Methods: Six fox hound dogs received forty-eight post extraction dental implants with the same diameter and length (Medentika, Germany, but with different neck configurations. Two group of implants were inserted 1mm subcrestal. Control group has a micro-threaded neck and the Test group has a sloped microthreaded neck. Immediate loading was applied using a constructed metallic structure. After three months, soft and hard tissue levels were assessed by histomorphometric analysis. Results: The mean soft tissue thickness (STT was 2.5 ± 0.2 mm for the Control group and 3.3 ± 0.3 mm for Test group (p = 0.036, meanwhile the mean marginal bone loss (MBL was 1.53 ± 0.34 mm for Control group and, 1.62 ± 0.22 mm for Test group (p > 0.05. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this experimental model in dogs, the findings showed that dental implants with microthreaded and microthreaded sloped necks installed in immediate post extraction sites with immediate load, presented a comparable perimplant tissue behavior.

Quantitative imaging biomarkers: a review of statistical methods for technical performance assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Raunig, David L; McShane, Lisa M; Pennello, Gene; Gatsonis, Constantine; Carson, Paul L; Voyvodic, James T; Wahl, Richard L; Kurland, Brenda F; Schwarz, Adam J; Gönen, Mithat; Zahlmann, Gudrun; Kondratovich, Marina V; O'Donnell, Kevin; Petrick, Nicholas; Cole, Patricia E; Garra, Brian; Sullivan, Daniel C

2015-02-01

Technological developments and greater rigor in the quantitative measurement of biological features in medical images have given rise to an increased interest in using quantitative imaging biomarkers to measure changes in these features. Critical to the performance of a quantitative imaging biomarker in preclinical or clinical settings are three primary metrology areas of interest: measurement linearity and bias, repeatability, and the ability to consistently reproduce equivalent results when conditions change, as would be expected in any clinical trial. Unfortunately, performance studies to date differ greatly in designs, analysis method, and metrics used to assess a quantitative imaging biomarker for clinical use. It is therefore difficult or not possible to integrate results from different studies or to use reported results to design studies. The Radiological Society of North America and the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance with technical, radiological, and statistical experts developed a set of technical performance analysis methods, metrics, and study designs that provide terminology, metrics, and methods consistent with widely accepted metrological standards. This document provides a consistent framework for the conduct and evaluation of quantitative imaging biomarker performance studies so that results from multiple studies can be compared, contrasted, or combined. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Quantitative Assessment of Breast Cosmetic Outcome After Whole-Breast Irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reddy, Jay P. [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Lei, Xiudong [Department of Health Services Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Huang, Sheng-Cheng; Nicklaus, Krista M. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, Texas (United States); Fingeret, Michelle C. [Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Shaitelman, Simona F. [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Hunt, Kelly K. [Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Buchholz, Thomas A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Merchant, Fatima [Department of Engineering Technology, University of Houston, Houston, Texas (United States); Markey, Mia K. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, Texas (United States); Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Smith, Benjamin D., E-mail: bsmith3@mdanderson.org [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Department of Health Services Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States)

2017-04-01

Purpose: To measure, by quantitative analysis of digital photographs, breast cosmetic outcome within the setting of a randomized trial of conventionally fractionated (CF) and hypofractionated (HF) whole-breast irradiation (WBI), to identify how quantitative cosmesis metrics were associated with patient- and physician-reported cosmesis and whether they differed by treatment arm. Methods and Materials: From 2011 to 2014, 287 women aged ≥40 with ductal carcinoma in situ or early invasive breast cancer were randomized to HF-WBI (42.56 Gy/16 fractions [fx] + 10-12.5 Gy/4-5 fx boost) or CF-WBI (50 Gy/25 fx + 10-14 Gy/5-7 fx). At 1 year after treatment we collected digital photographs, patient-reported cosmesis using the Breast Cancer Treatment and Outcomes Scale, and physician-reported cosmesis using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scale. Six quantitative measures of breast symmetry, labeled M1-M6, were calculated from anteroposterior digital photographs. For each measure, values closer to 1 imply greater symmetry, and values closer to 0 imply greater asymmetry. Associations between M1-M6 and patient- and physician-reported cosmesis and treatment arm were evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Among 245 evaluable patients, patient-reported cosmesis was strongly associated with M1 (vertical symmetry measure) (P<.01). Physician-reported cosmesis was similarly correlated with M1 (P<.01) and also with M2 (vertical symmetry, P=.01) and M4 (horizontal symmetry, P=.03). At 1 year after treatment, HF-WBI resulted in better values of M2 (P=.02) and M3 (P<.01) than CF-WBI; treatment arm was not significantly associated with M1, M4, M5, or M6 (P≥.12). Conclusions: Quantitative assessment of breast photographs reveals similar to improved cosmetic outcome with HF-WBI compared with CF-WBI 1 year after treatment. Assessing cosmetic outcome using these measures could be useful for future comparative effectiveness studies and outcome reporting.

Quantitative Assessment of Breast Cosmetic Outcome After Whole-Breast Irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reddy, Jay P.; Lei, Xiudong; Huang, Sheng-Cheng; Nicklaus, Krista M.; Fingeret, Michelle C.; Shaitelman, Simona F.; Hunt, Kelly K.; Buchholz, Thomas A.; Merchant, Fatima; Markey, Mia K.; Smith, Benjamin D.

2017-01-01

Purpose: To measure, by quantitative analysis of digital photographs, breast cosmetic outcome within the setting of a randomized trial of conventionally fractionated (CF) and hypofractionated (HF) whole-breast irradiation (WBI), to identify how quantitative cosmesis metrics were associated with patient- and physician-reported cosmesis and whether they differed by treatment arm. Methods and Materials: From 2011 to 2014, 287 women aged ≥40 with ductal carcinoma in situ or early invasive breast cancer were randomized to HF-WBI (42.56 Gy/16 fractions [fx] + 10-12.5 Gy/4-5 fx boost) or CF-WBI (50 Gy/25 fx + 10-14 Gy/5-7 fx). At 1 year after treatment we collected digital photographs, patient-reported cosmesis using the Breast Cancer Treatment and Outcomes Scale, and physician-reported cosmesis using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scale. Six quantitative measures of breast symmetry, labeled M1-M6, were calculated from anteroposterior digital photographs. For each measure, values closer to 1 imply greater symmetry, and values closer to 0 imply greater asymmetry. Associations between M1-M6 and patient- and physician-reported cosmesis and treatment arm were evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Among 245 evaluable patients, patient-reported cosmesis was strongly associated with M1 (vertical symmetry measure) (P<.01). Physician-reported cosmesis was similarly correlated with M1 (P<.01) and also with M2 (vertical symmetry, P=.01) and M4 (horizontal symmetry, P=.03). At 1 year after treatment, HF-WBI resulted in better values of M2 (P=.02) and M3 (P<.01) than CF-WBI; treatment arm was not significantly associated with M1, M4, M5, or M6 (P≥.12). Conclusions: Quantitative assessment of breast photographs reveals similar to improved cosmetic outcome with HF-WBI compared with CF-WBI 1 year after treatment. Assessing cosmetic outcome using these measures could be useful for future comparative effectiveness studies and outcome reporting.

A Quantitative Needs Assessment Technique for Cross-Cultural Work Adjustment Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Selmer, Lyn

2000-01-01

A study of 67 Swedish expatriate bosses and 104 local Hong Kong middle managers tested a quantitative needs assessment technique measuring work values. Two-thirds of middle managers' work values were not correctly estimated by their bosses, especially instrumental values (pay, benefits, security, working hours and conditions), indicating a need…

The value of quantitative methods for assessment of renal transplant and comparison with physician expertness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Firouzi, F.; Fazeli, M.

2002-01-01

Radionuclide renal diagnostic studies play an important role in assessing renal allograft. Various quantitative parameters have been derived from the Radionuclide renogram to facilitate and confirm the changes in perfusion and/or function of kidney allograft. These quantitative methods were divided into parameters used for assessing renal graft perfusion and parameters used for evaluating parenchymal function. The blood flow in renal transplants can be quantified by measuring the rate of activity appearance in the kidney graft and the ratio of the integral activity under the transplanted kidney and arterial curves e.g. Hilton's perfusion index and Karachi's kidney/aortic ratio. Quantitative evaluation of graft extraction and excretion was assessed by parameters derived from 123 I/ 131 I-OH, 99 mTc-DTPA or 99 mTc-Mag renogram. In this study we review retrospectively renal transplanted patients scintigraphies that all of them under gone to renal allograft needle biopsy nearly to date of allograft scan. We performed quantitative methods for all patients. We observed perfusion parameters affected by quality of bolus injection and numerical aviations related to changes in the site and size of region of interest. Quantitative methods for renal parenchymal functions were nonspecific and far from defining a specific cause of graft dysfunction. In conclusion, neither perfusion nor parenchymal parameters have not enough diagnostic power for specific diagnosis of graft dysfunction. Physician expertness by using scintigraphic images and renogram curves is more sensitive and specific for diagnosis of renal allograft dysfunction

Study on quantitative risk assessment model of the third party damage for natural gas pipelines based on fuzzy comprehensive assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu, Zeyang; Liang, Wei; Lin, Yang; Zhang, Meng; Wang, Xue

2017-01-01

As an important part of national energy supply system, transmission pipelines for natural gas are possible to cause serious environmental pollution, life and property loss in case of accident. The third party damage is one of the most significant causes for natural gas pipeline system accidents, and it is very important to establish an effective quantitative risk assessment model of the third party damage for reducing the number of gas pipelines operation accidents. Against the third party damage accident has the characteristics such as diversity, complexity and uncertainty, this paper establishes a quantitative risk assessment model of the third party damage based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE). Firstly, risk sources of third party damage should be identified exactly, and the weight of factors could be determined via improved AHP, finally the importance of each factor is calculated by fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model. The results show that the quantitative risk assessment model is suitable for the third party damage of natural gas pipelines and improvement measures could be put forward to avoid accidents based on the importance of each factor. (paper)

Sinus Augmentation with Biomimetic Nanostructured Matrix: Tomographic, Radiological, Histological and Histomorphometrical Results after 6 Months in Humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Scarano

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Many bone substitutes have been applied for sinus regeneration procedures, such as autogenous bone, inorganic bovine bone, porous and resorbable hydroxyapatite, tricalcium phosphate, bioactive glass, and blood clots. The aim of the present study was a tomographic, histological and histomorphometrical evaluation in humans, of specimens retrieved from sinuses augmented with MgHA/collagen-based scaffolds, after a healing period of 6 months.Materials and Methods: Eleven healthy patients and a total of 15 sinuses were included in this study. The maxillary sinuses were filled with commercial MgHA/collagen-based scaffolds (RegenOss with a porous three-dimensional (3D structure (Fin-Ceramica Faenza S.p.A., Faenza, Italy. These grafts have a composite design, that replicate the organization of bone structure, obtained by a technique in which a specific hybrid organic–inorganic composite is spontaneously built by a biological mechanism. The CBCT scans were done before the procedure, after the surgical protocol (T1, and 6 months after sinus surgery (T2 for implantology. Bone specimens were stored in 10% formalin solution, embedded in a glycolmethacrylate resin and sectioned by a high-precision diamond disc. Histologic and histomorphometric analysis were carried out to evaluate the graft reabsorption and bone healing.Results: The mean volume after graft elevation, calculated for each of the 15 sinuses, was 2,906 mm3 in the immediate postoperative period (5–7 days, ranging from 2,148.8 to 3,146.4 mm3. In the late postoperative period (6 months it was 2,806.7 mm3, ranging from 2,010.9 to 3,008.9 mm3. The sinuses were completely healed and no residual MgHA/collagen-based scaffolds were visible. Osteoblasts appeared actively secreting bone matrix and marrow spaces contained moderate numbers of stromal cells and vascular network. Osteoblasts were observed actively secreting osteoid matrix. The tissues present in the samples were composed of 1.9 �

Quantitative assessment of in-solution digestion efficiency identifies optimal protocols for unbiased protein analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leon, Ileana R; Schwämmle, Veit; Jensen, Ole N

2013-01-01

a combination of qualitative and quantitative LC-MS/MS methods and statistical data analysis. In contrast to previous studies we employed both standard qualitative as well as data-independent quantitative workflows to systematically assess trypsin digestion efficiency and bias using mitochondrial protein...... conditions (buffer, RapiGest, deoxycholate, urea), and two methods for removal of detergents prior to analysis of peptides (acid precipitation or phase separation with ethyl acetate). Our data-independent quantitative LC-MS/MS workflow quantified over 3700 distinct peptides with 96% completeness between all...... protocols and replicates, with an average 40% protein sequence coverage and an average of 11 peptides identified per protein. Systematic quantitative and statistical analysis of physicochemical parameters demonstrated that deoxycholate-assisted in-solution digestion combined with phase transfer allows...

Affordable, automatic quantitative fall risk assessment based on clinical balance scales and Kinect data.

Science.gov (United States)

Colagiorgio, P; Romano, F; Sardi, F; Moraschini, M; Sozzi, A; Bejor, M; Ricevuti, G; Buizza, A; Ramat, S

2014-01-01

The problem of a correct fall risk assessment is becoming more and more critical with the ageing of the population. In spite of the available approaches allowing a quantitative analysis of the human movement control system's performance, the clinical assessment and diagnostic approach to fall risk assessment still relies mostly on non-quantitative exams, such as clinical scales. This work documents our current effort to develop a novel method to assess balance control abilities through a system implementing an automatic evaluation of exercises drawn from balance assessment scales. Our aim is to overcome the classical limits characterizing these scales i.e. limited granularity and inter-/intra-examiner reliability, to obtain objective scores and more detailed information allowing to predict fall risk. We used Microsoft Kinect to record subjects' movements while performing challenging exercises drawn from clinical balance scales. We then computed a set of parameters quantifying the execution of the exercises and fed them to a supervised classifier to perform a classification based on the clinical score. We obtained a good accuracy (~82%) and especially a high sensitivity (~83%).

Histomorphometric Parameters of the Growth Plate and Trabecular Bone in Wild-Type and Trefoil Factor Family 3 (Tff3)-Deficient Mice Analyzed by Free and Open-Source Image Processing Software.

Science.gov (United States)

Bijelić, Nikola; Belovari, Tatjana; Stolnik, Dunja; Lovrić, Ivana; Baus Lončar, Mirela

2017-08-01

Trefoil factor family 3 (Tff3) peptide is present during intrauterine endochondral ossification in mice, and its deficiency affects cancellous bone quality in secondary ossification centers of mouse tibiae. The aim of this study was to quantitatively analyze parameters describing the growth plate and primary ossification centers in tibiae of 1-month-old wild-type and Tff3 knock-out mice (n=5 per genotype) by using free and open-source software. Digital photographs of the growth plates and trabecular bone were processed by open-source computer programs GIMP and FIJI. Histomorphometric parameters were calculated using measurements made with FIJI. Tff3 knock-out mice had significantly smaller trabecular number and significantly larger trabecular separation. Trabecular bone volume, trabecular bone surface, and trabecular thickness showed no significant difference between the two groups. Although such histomorphological differences were found in the cancellous bone structure, no significant differences were found in the epiphyseal plate histomorphology. Tff3 peptide probably has an effect on the formation and quality of the cancellous bone in the primary ossification centers, but not through disrupting the epiphyseal plate morphology. This work emphasizes the benefits of using free and open-source programs for morphological studies in life sciences.

Quantitative risk assessment of continuous liquid spill fires based on spread and burning behaviours

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhao, Jinlong; Huang, Hong; Li, Yuntao

2017-01-01

Spill fires usually occur during the storage and transportation of hazardous materials, posing a threat to the people and environment in their immediate proximity. In this paper, a classical Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) method is used to assess the risk of spill fires. In this method......, the maximum spread area and the steady burning area are introduced as parameters to clearly assess the range of influence of the spill fire. In the calculations, a modified spread model that takes into consideration the burning rate variation is established to calculate the maximum spread area. Furthermore......, large-scale experiments of spill fires on water and a glass sheet were conducted to verify the accuracy and application of the model. The results show that the procedure we developed can be used to quantitatively calculate the risk associated with a continuous spill fire....

Incorporating assumption deviation risk in quantitative risk assessments: A semi-quantitative approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khorsandi, Jahon; Aven, Terje

2017-01-01

Quantitative risk assessments (QRAs) of complex engineering systems are based on numerous assumptions and expert judgments, as there is limited information available for supporting the analysis. In addition to sensitivity analyses, the concept of assumption deviation risk has been suggested as a means for explicitly considering the risk related to inaccuracies and deviations in the assumptions, which can significantly impact the results of the QRAs. However, challenges remain for its practical implementation, considering the number of assumptions and magnitude of deviations to be considered. This paper presents an approach for integrating an assumption deviation risk analysis as part of QRAs. The approach begins with identifying the safety objectives for which the QRA aims to support, and then identifies critical assumptions with respect to ensuring the objectives are met. Key issues addressed include the deviations required to violate the safety objectives, the uncertainties related to the occurrence of such events, and the strength of knowledge supporting the assessments. Three levels of assumptions are considered, which include assumptions related to the system's structural and operational characteristics, the effectiveness of the established barriers, as well as the consequence analysis process. The approach is illustrated for the case of an offshore installation. - Highlights: • An approach for assessing the risk of deviations in QRA assumptions is presented. • Critical deviations and uncertainties related to their occurrence are addressed. • The analysis promotes critical thinking about the foundation and results of QRAs. • The approach is illustrated for the case of an offshore installation.

Using integrated environmental modeling to automate a process-based Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Integrated Environmental Modeling (IEM) organizes multidisciplinary knowledge that explains and predicts environmental-system response to stressors. A Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) is an approach integrating a range of disparate data (fate/transport, exposure, an...

[A quantitative risk assessment model of salmonella on carcass in poultry slaughterhouse].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yu; Chen, Yuzhen; Hu, Chunguang; Zhang, Huaning; Bi, Zhenwang; Bi, Zhenqiang

2015-05-01

To construct a quantitative risk assessment model of salmonella on carcass in poultry slaughterhouse and to find out effective interventions to reduce salmonella contamination. We constructed a modular process risk model (MPRM) from evisceration to chilling in Excel Sheet using the data of the process parameters in poultry and the Salmomella concentration surveillance of Jinan in 2012. The MPRM was simulated by @ risk software. The concentration of salmonella on carcass after chilling was 1.96MPN/g which was calculated by model. The sensitive analysis indicated that the correlation coefficient of the concentration of salmonella after defeathering and in chilling pool were 0.84 and 0.34,which were the primary factors to the concentration of salmonella on carcass after chilling. The study provided a quantitative assessment model structure for salmonella on carcass in poultry slaughterhouse. The risk manager could control the contamination of salmonella on carcass after chilling by reducing the concentration of salmonella after defeathering and in chilling pool.

Role of computed tomography in quantitative assessment of emphysema

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choromańska, Agnieszka; Macura, Katarzyna J.

2012-01-01

Pulmonary emphysema, together with chronic bronchitis is a part of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and worldwide. There are many methods to diagnose emphysema. Unfortunately many of them, for example pulmonary function tests (PFTs), clinical signs and conventional radiology are able to detect emphysema usually in its late stages when a great portion of lung parenchyma has been already destroyed by the disease. Computed tomography (CT) allows for early detection of emphysema. CT also makes it possible to quantify the total amount of emphysema in the lungs which is important in order to precisely estimate the severity of the disease. Those abilities of CT are important in monitoring the course of the disease and in attempts to prevent its further progression. In this review we discuss currently available methods for imaging emphysema with emphasis on the quantitative assessment of emphysema. To date, quantitative methods have not been widely used clinically, however, the initial results of several research studies regarding this subject are very encouraging

Quantitative Assessment of Obstructive Uropathy with Diuretic Renography in children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Ho; Lee, Dong Soo; Kwark, Cheol Eun; Lee, Kyung Han; Choi, Chang Woon; Chung, June Key; Lee, Myung Chul; Koh, Chang Soon; Choi, Yong; Choi, Hwang

1993-01-01

Differentiating the various causes of hydronephrosis from that of obstruction can be very difficult. The decision-marking process for those instances of urinary tract dilatation that require surgical correction and those that do not is based in part on the findings of diuresis renography. The methodology for performing this test has differed among nuclear medicine practitioners and the surgical findings are occasionally discrepant from the diuretic renogram interpretation. Consequently we made an automatic computer software program that calculates the slope of the response curve. The quantitative indices, such as the injection and response t1/2 by linear-fitting and monoexponential-fitting, were compared with the visual assessment of the diuretic cinerenography and clinical outcome in 50 children (62 kidneys) with ureteropelvic junction obstruction. Pooled diuresis renogram data indicated that: (1) Visual evaluation of the diuretic cinerenography is a sensitive (87%, 54/62) tool to differentiate obstruction in suspected ureteropelvic junction obstruction. (2) The cut-off value (maximum washout t1/2 with non-obstruction) of injection and response t1/2 by linear-fitting were 40 min. (3) The sensitivity and specificity using injection and response t1/2 by linear-fitting for obstruction were 89%(23/26) and 100%(30/30), respectively. (4) Response t1/2 as well as injection t1/2 by monoexponential-fitting do not stratify children with possible ureteropelivic junction obstruction. In conclusion, quantitative assessment of diuretic renography as well as visual assessment of diuretic cinerenography correlate well with surgical and clinical outcome of suspected ureteropelvic junction obstruction.

Comprehensive, Quantitative Risk Assessment of CO{sub 2} Geologic Sequestration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lepinski, James

2013-09-30

A Quantitative Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (QFMEA) was developed to conduct comprehensive, quantitative risk assessments on CO{sub 2} capture, transportation, and sequestration or use in deep saline aquifers, enhanced oil recovery operations, or enhanced coal bed methane operations. The model identifies and characterizes potential risks; identifies the likely failure modes, causes, effects and methods of detection; lists possible risk prevention and risk mitigation steps; estimates potential damage recovery costs, mitigation costs and costs savings resulting from mitigation; and ranks (prioritizes) risks according to the probability of failure, the severity of failure, the difficulty of early failure detection and the potential for fatalities. The QFMEA model generates the necessary information needed for effective project risk management. Diverse project information can be integrated into a concise, common format that allows comprehensive, quantitative analysis, by a cross-functional team of experts, to determine: What can possibly go wrong? How much will damage recovery cost? How can it be prevented or mitigated? What is the cost savings or benefit of prevention or mitigation? Which risks should be given highest priority for resolution? The QFMEA model can be tailored to specific projects and is applicable to new projects as well as mature projects. The model can be revised and updated as new information comes available. It accepts input from multiple sources, such as literature searches, site characterization, field data, computer simulations, analogues, process influence diagrams, probability density functions, financial analysis models, cost factors, and heuristic best practices manuals, and converts the information into a standardized format in an Excel spreadsheet. Process influence diagrams, geologic models, financial models, cost factors and an insurance schedule were developed to support the QFMEA model. Comprehensive, quantitative risk assessments

HISTOMORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE KNEE ARTICULAR CARTILAGE AND SYNOVIUM FOR METADIAPHYSEAL LEG LENGTHENING (EXPERIMENTAL-AND-MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. A. Stupina

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The knee articular cartilage and synovial membrane have been studied for metadiaphyseal leg lengthening using the methods of light miscroscopy, computer morpho- and stereometry. The manner of bone integrity breaking, the rate and rhythm of distraction conformed to the lengthening technique most often used in the clinic. The results of the histomorphometric analysis have demonstrated that when osteotomy at the level of metadiaphysis and manual distraction by 1 mm a day for 4 times is performed, synovitis of mild and moderate degree develops through subsynovial layer hypervascularization, as well as reactive-destructive changes in nerve fibers with the tendency to regeneration. The structural-functional changes of reactive and/or destructive-reparative character have been revealed in the articular cartilage, and the manifestation degree of these changes correlates with synovial membrane changes. The intensity of the destructive-reparative processes in the articular cartilage and synovial membrane depends on fixation stability.

Quantitative assessment of breast density: comparison of different methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Naishan; Guo Li; Dang Yi; Song Luxin; Wang Xiaoying

2011-01-01

Objective: To Compare different methods of quantitative breast density measurement. Methods: The study included sixty patients who underwent both mammography and breast MRI. The breast density was computed automatically on digital mammograms with R2 workstation, Two experienced radiologists read the mammograms and assessed the breast density with Wolfe and ACR classification respectively. Fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm (FCM) was used to assess breast density on MRI. Each assessment method was repeated after 2 weeks. Spearman and Pearson correlations of inter- and intrareader and intermodality were computed for density estimates. Results: Inter- and intrareader correlation of Wolfe classification were 0.74 and 0.65, and they were 0.74 and 0.82 for ACR classification respectively. Correlation between Wolfe and ACR classification was 0.77. High interreader correlation of 0.98 and intrareader correlation of 0.96 was observed with MR FCM measurement. And the correlation between digital mammograms and MRI was high in the assessment of breast density (r=0.81, P<0.01). Conclusion: High correlation of breast density estimates on digital mammograms and MRI FCM suggested the former could be used as a simple and accurate method. (authors)

Swine cortical and cancellous bone: histomorphometric and densitometric characterisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Elena Andreis

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Swine bone morphology, composition and remodelling are similar to humans’, therefore they are considered good models in bone-related research. They have been used for several studies involving bone growth, bone and cartilage fractures and femoral head osteonecrosis. Nevertheless, the literature about pig normal bone features is incomplete. This work aims to fill the literature gaps on the microarchitecture and Bone Mineral Density (BMD of swine femoral diaphysis and distal epiphysis and tibial plateau and diaphysis. Materials and methods: Five hind limbs were collected from slaughtered 80-100 kg pigs. Microscopic analysis of cortical and cancellous bone from middle/distal femur and proximal/middle tibia was performed to determine basic histomorphometric parameters at different sites. Dual-energy X-Rays Absorptiometry was also employed to evaluate BMD. ANOVA and correlation between BMD, bone area (BA and cortical thickness were performed. Results and discussion: Diaphyseal cortical bone was mostly plexiform both in the tibia and the femur; primary/secondary osteons without clear organization were also found. Mean values for bone area, bone perimeter, trabecular width, number and separation and BMD at different anatomical sites were defined. No significant difference was found for these values at different anatomical sites. BMD proved to be positively correlated with cortical thickness (r=0,80; p<0,01. Despite the small sample size, these results seem homogeneous. They could therefore represent reference values for normal bone parameters in pigs. Applied anatomy and regenerative medicine, in fact, demand very precise information about bone micromorphology, composition and density to provide reliable indication in bone substitutes building. Moreover, since the interpretation of bone abnormalities is based on mastering normal bone characteristics, the definition of reference parameters is mandatory to avoid misinterpretation and

Development of CD3 cell quantitation algorithms for renal allograft biopsy rejection assessment utilizing open source image analysis software.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Andres; Smith, Geoffrey H; Kong, Jun; Rogers, Thomas E; Ellis, Carla L; Farris, Alton B Brad

2018-02-01

Renal allograft rejection diagnosis depends on assessment of parameters such as interstitial inflammation; however, studies have shown interobserver variability regarding interstitial inflammation assessment. Since automated image analysis quantitation can be reproducible, we devised customized analysis methods for CD3+ T-cell staining density as a measure of rejection severity and compared them with established commercial methods along with visual assessment. Renal biopsy CD3 immunohistochemistry slides (n = 45), including renal allografts with various degrees of acute cellular rejection (ACR) were scanned for whole slide images (WSIs). Inflammation was quantitated in the WSIs using pathologist visual assessment, commercial algorithms (Aperio nuclear algorithm for CD3+ cells/mm 2 and Aperio positive pixel count algorithm), and customized open source algorithms developed in ImageJ with thresholding/positive pixel counting (custom CD3+%) and identification of pixels fulfilling "maxima" criteria for CD3 expression (custom CD3+ cells/mm 2 ). Based on visual inspections of "markup" images, CD3 quantitation algorithms produced adequate accuracy. Additionally, CD3 quantitation algorithms correlated between each other and also with visual assessment in a statistically significant manner (r = 0.44 to 0.94, p = 0.003 to algorithms presents salient correlations with established methods of CD3 quantitation. These analysis techniques are promising and highly customizable, providing a form of on-slide "flow cytometry" that can facilitate additional diagnostic accuracy in tissue-based assessments.

Quantitative Approach to Collaborative Learning: Performance Prediction, Individual Assessment, and Group Composition

Science.gov (United States)

Cen, Ling; Ruta, Dymitr; Powell, Leigh; Hirsch, Benjamin; Ng, Jason

2016-01-01

The benefits of collaborative learning, although widely reported, lack the quantitative rigor and detailed insight into the dynamics of interactions within the group, while individual contributions and their impacts on group members and their collaborative work remain hidden behind joint group assessment. To bridge this gap we intend to address…

Using Non-Invasive Multi-Spectral Imaging to Quantitatively Assess Tissue Vasculature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vogel, A; Chernomordik, V; Riley, J; Hassan, M; Amyot, F; Dasgeb, B; Demos, S G; Pursley, R; Little, R; Yarchoan, R; Tao, Y; Gandjbakhche, A H

2007-10-04

This research describes a non-invasive, non-contact method used to quantitatively analyze the functional characteristics of tissue. Multi-spectral images collected at several near-infrared wavelengths are input into a mathematical optical skin model that considers the contributions from different analytes in the epidermis and dermis skin layers. Through a reconstruction algorithm, we can quantify the percent of blood in a given area of tissue and the fraction of that blood that is oxygenated. Imaging normal tissue confirms previously reported values for the percent of blood in tissue and the percent of blood that is oxygenated in tissue and surrounding vasculature, for the normal state and when ischemia is induced. This methodology has been applied to assess vascular Kaposi's sarcoma lesions and the surrounding tissue before and during experimental therapies. The multi-spectral imaging technique has been combined with laser Doppler imaging to gain additional information. Results indicate that these techniques are able to provide quantitative and functional information about tissue changes during experimental drug therapy and investigate progression of disease before changes are visibly apparent, suggesting a potential for them to be used as complementary imaging techniques to clinical assessment.

Quantitative Assessment of a Field-Based Course on Integrative Geology, Ecology and Cultural History

Science.gov (United States)

Sheppard, Paul R.; Donaldson, Brad A.; Huckleberry, Gary

2010-01-01

A field-based course at the University of Arizona called Sense of Place (SOP) covers the geology, ecology and cultural history of the Tucson area. SOP was quantitatively assessed for pedagogical effectiveness. Students of the Spring 2008 course were given pre- and post-course word association surveys in order to assess awareness and comprehension…

Effect of Porous Titanium Granules on Bone Regeneration and Primary Stability in Maxillary Sinus: A Human Clinical, Histomorphometric, and Microcomputed Tomography Analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Dursun, Ceyda Kanli; Dursun, Erhan; Eratalay, Kenan; Orhan, Kaan; Tatar, Ilkan; Baris, Emre; Tözüm, Tolga Fikret

2016-03-01

The aim of this randomized controlled study was to comparatively analyze the new bone (NB), residual bone, and graft-bone association in bone biopsies retrieved from augmented maxillary sinus sites by histomorphometry and microcomputed tomography (MicroCT) in a split-mouth model to test the efficacy of porous titanium granules (PTG) in maxillary sinus augmentation. Fifteen patients were included in the study and each patient was treated with bilateral sinus augmentation procedure using xenograft (equine origine, granule size 1000-2000 μm) and xenograft (1 g) + PTG (granule size 700-1000 μm, pore size >50 μm) (1 g), respectively. After a mean of 8.4 months, 30 bone biopsies were retrieved from the implant sites for three-dimensional MicroCT and two-dimensional histomorphometric analyses. Bone volume and vital NB percentages were calculated. Immediate after core biopsy, implants having standard dimensions were placed and implant stability quotient values were recorded at baseline and 3 months follow-up. There were no significant differences between groups according to residual bone height, residual bone width, implant dimensions, and implant stability quotient values (baseline and 3 months). According to MicroCT and two-dimensional histomorphometric analyses, the volume of newly formed bone was 57.05% and 52.67%, and 56.5% and 55.08% for xenograft + PTG and xenograft groups, respectively. No statistically significant differences found between groups according to NB percentages and higher Hounsfield unit values were found for xenograft + PTG group. The findings of the current study supports that PTG, which is a porous, permanent nonresorbable bone substitute, may have a beneficial osteoconductive effect on mechanical strength of NB in augmented maxillary sinus.

In vivo biological performance of a novel highly bioactive glass-ceramic (Biosilicate®): A biomechanical and histomorphometric study in rat tibial defects.

Science.gov (United States)

Granito, Renata N; Rennó, Ana Claudia; Ravagnani, Christian; Bossini, Paulo S; Mochiuti, Daniel; Jorgetti, Vanda; Driusso, Patricia; Peitl, Oscar; Zanotto, Edgar D; Parizotto, Nivaldo A; Oishi, Jorge

2011-04-01

This study aimed to investigate bone responses to a novel bioactive fully crystallized glass-ceramic of the quaternary system P(2)O(5)-Na(2)O-CaO-SiO(2) (Biosilicate®). Although a previous study demonstrated positive effects of Biosilicate® on in vitro bone-like matrix formation, its in vivo effect was not studied yet. Male Wistar rats (n = 40) with tibial defects were used. Four experimental groups were designed to compare this novel biomaterial with a gold standard bioactive material (Bioglass® 45S5), unfilled defects and intact controls. A three-point bending test was performed 20 days after the surgical procedure, as well as the histomorphometric analysis in two regions of interest: cortical bone and medullary canal where the particulate biomaterial was implanted. The biomechanical test revealed a significant increase in the maximum load at failure and stiffness in the Biosilicate® group (vs. control defects), whose values were similar to uninjured bones. There were no differences in the cortical bone parameters in groups with bone defects, but a great deal of woven bone was present surrounding Biosilicate® and Bioglass® 45S5 particulate. Although both bioactive materials supported significant higher bone formation; Biosilicate® was superior to Bioglass® 45S5 in some histomorphometric parameters (bone volume and number of osteoblasts). Regarding bone resorption, Biosilicate® group showed significant higher number of osteoclasts per unit of tissue area than defect and intact controls, despite of the non-significant difference in the osteoclastic surface as percentage of bone surface. This study reveals that the fully crystallized Biosilicate® has good bone-forming and bone-bonding properties. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Quantitative Assessment of Hepatic Fibrosis by Contrast-enhanced Ultrasonography

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Ming-bo Zhang; En-ze Qu; Ji-Bin Liu; Jin-rui Wang

2011-01-01

Objective To explore the contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic features for quantitative assessment of hepatic fibrosis.Methods 86 patients with chronic viral hepatitis B were enrolled in this study from March 2007 to August 2009.The patients were classified into 5 groups (S0-S4) according to fibrosis stage evaluated with ultrasound guided liver biopsy.New contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) features including area under the time-intensity curve (TIC) of portal venous phase/hepatic arterial phase (Qp/Qa) and intensity of portal venons phase/hepatic arterial phase (Ip/Ia) were used to detect the blood supply ratio (portal vein/hepatic artery) in each group.Arrival time of portal vein trunk (Tp) and decreasing rate of TIC (β) were also analyzed.Results Qp/Qa and Ip/Ia decreased from So to S4,while Tp and β increased These 4 features were significantly correlated with the degree of fibrosis (P＜0.001) and were significantly different among the five groups (P＜0.001).Sensitivity and specificity of Ip/Ia were 80% and 86% for groups ≥S1,75% and 86% for groups ≥ S2,71% and 84% for groups ≥ S3,and 76% and 80% for group S4,respectively.Sensitivity and specificity of Qp/Qa were 70% and 88% for groups ≥ S1,80% and 76% for groups ≥ S2,74% and 70% for groups ≥ S3,and 81% and 95% for group S4,respectively.Conclusion Ip/Ia and Qp/Qa could be adopted as reliable,non-invasive features for quantitative assessment of hepatic fibrosis.

A spatially explicit and quantitative vulnerability assessment of ecosystem service change in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Metzger, M.J.; Schröter, D.; Leemans, R.; Cramer, W.

2008-01-01

Environmental change alters ecosystem functioning and may put the provision of services to human at risk. This paper presents a spatially explicit and quantitative assessment of the corresponding vulnerability for Europe, using a new framework designed to answer multidisciplinary policy relevant

Quantitative risk assessment of drinking water contaminants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cothern, C.R.; Coniglio, W.A.; Marcus, W.L.

1986-01-01

The development of criteria and standards for the regulation of drinking water contaminants involves a variety of processes, one of which is risk estimation. This estimation process, called quantitative risk assessment, involves combining data on the occurrence of the contaminant in drinking water and its toxicity. The human exposure to a contaminant can be estimated from occurrence data. Usually the toxicity or number of health effects per concentration level is estimated from animal bioassay studies using the multistage model. For comparison, other models will be used including the Weibull, probit, logit and quadratic ones. Because exposure and toxicity data are generally incomplete, assumptions need to be made and this generally results in a wide range of certainty in the estimates. This range can be as wide as four to six orders of magnitude in the case of the volatile organic compounds in drinking water and a factor of four to five for estimation of risk due to radionuclides in drinking water. As examples of the differences encountered in risk assessment of drinking water contaminants, discussions are presented on benzene, lead, radon and alachlor. The lifetime population risk estimates for these contaminants are, respectively, in the ranges of: <1 - 3000, <1 - 8000, 2000-40,000 and <1 - 80. 11 references, 1 figure, 1 table

Fixing the cracks in the crystal ball: A maturity model for quantitative risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rae, Andrew; Alexander, Rob; McDermid, John

2014-01-01

Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) is widely practiced in system safety, but there is insufficient evidence that QRA in general is fit for purpose. Defenders of QRA draw a distinction between poor or misused QRA and correct, appropriately used QRA, but this distinction is only useful if we have robust ways to identify the flaws in an individual QRA. In this paper we present a comprehensive maturity model for QRA which covers all the potential flaws discussed in the risk assessment literature and in a collection of risk assessment peer reviews. We provide initial validation of the completeness and realism of the model. Our risk assessment maturity model provides a way to prioritise both process development within an organisation and empirical research within the QRA community. - Highlights: • Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) is widely practiced, but there is insufficient evidence that it is fit for purpose. • A given QRA may be good, or it may not – we need systematic ways to distinguish this. • We have created a maturity model for QRA which covers all the potential flaws discussed in the risk assessment literature. • We have provided initial validation of the completeness and realism of the model. • The maturity model can also be used to prioritise QRA research discipline-wide

Computed-tomography-guided anatomic standardization for quantitative assessment of dopamine transporter SPECT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yokoyama, Kota [National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Radiology, Tokyo (Japan); National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Integrative Brain Imaging Center, Tokyo (Japan); Imabayashi, Etsuko; Matsuda, Hiroshi [National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Integrative Brain Imaging Center, Tokyo (Japan); Sumida, Kaoru; Sone, Daichi; Kimura, Yukio; Sato, Noriko [National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Radiology, Tokyo (Japan); Mukai, Youhei; Murata, Miho [National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Neurology, Tokyo (Japan)

2017-03-15

For the quantitative assessment of dopamine transporter (DAT) using [{sup 123}I]FP-CIT single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (DaTscan), anatomic standardization is preferable for achieving objective and user-independent quantification of striatal binding using a volume-of-interest (VOI) template. However, low accumulation of DAT in Parkinson's disease (PD) would lead to a deformation error when using a DaTscan-specific template without any structural information. To avoid this deformation error, we applied computed tomography (CT) data obtained using SPECT/CT equipment to anatomic standardization. We retrospectively analyzed DaTscan images of 130 patients with parkinsonian syndromes (PS), including 80 PD and 50 non-PD patients. First we segmented gray matter from CT images using statistical parametric mapping 12 (SPM12). These gray-matter images were then anatomically standardized using the diffeomorphic anatomical registration using exponentiated Lie algebra (DARTEL) algorithm. Next, DaTscan images were warped with the same parameters used in the CT anatomic standardization. The target striatal VOIs for decreased DAT in PD were generated from the SPM12 group comparison of 20 DaTscan images from each group. We applied these VOIs to DaTscan images of the remaining patients in both groups and calculated the specific binding ratios (SBRs) using nonspecific counts in a reference area. In terms of the differential diagnosis of PD and non-PD groups using SBR, we compared the present method with two other methods, DaTQUANT and DaTView, which have already been released as software programs for the quantitative assessment of DaTscan images. The SPM12 group comparison showed a significant DAT decrease in PD patients in the bilateral whole striatum. Of the three methods assessed, the present CT-guided method showed the greatest power for discriminating PD and non-PD groups, as it completely separated the two groups. CT-guided anatomic standardization using

Histomorphometric Evaluation of the Small Coronary Arteries in Rats Exposed to Industrial Noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Lousinha

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Morphological changes induced by industrial noise (IN have been experimentally observed in several organs. Histological observations of the coronary arteries showed prominent perivascular tissue and fibrosis among IN-exposed rats. The effects on the small arteries are unknown. Objective: To evaluate the histomorphometric changes induced by IN on rat heart small arteries. Methods: Twenty Wistar rats exposed to IN during a maximum period of seven months and 20 age-matched controls were studied. Hearts were transversely sectioned from ventricular apex to atria and a mid-ventricular fragment was selected for analysis. The histological images were obtained with an optical microscope using 400× magnifications. A total of 634 arterial vessels (298 IN-exposed and 336 controls were selected. The mean lumen-to-vessel wall (L/W and mean vessel wall-to-perivascular tissue (W/P ratios were calculated using image J software. Results: There were no differences between exposed and control animals in their L/W ratios (p = 0.687 and time variations in this ratio were non-significant (p = 0.110. In contrast, exposed animals showed lower W/P ratios than control animals (p < 0.001, with significant time variations (p = 0.004. Conclusions: Industrial noise induced an increase in the perivascular tissue of rat small coronary arteries, with significant development of periarterial fibrosis.

Quantitative assessment of videolaryngostroboscopic images in patients with glottic pathologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Niebudek-Bogusz, Ewa; Kopczynski, Bartosz; Strumillo, Pawel; Morawska, Joanna; Wiktorowicz, Justyna; Sliwinska-Kowalska, Mariola

2017-07-01

Digital imaging techniques enable exploration of novel visualization modalities of the vocal folds during phonation and definition of parameters, facilitating more precise diagnosis of voice disorders. Application of computer vision algorithms for analysis of videolaryngostroboscopic (VLS) images aimed at qualitative and quantitative description of phonatory vibrations. VLS examinations were conducted for 45 females, including 15 subjects with vocal nodules, 15 subjects with glottal incompetence, and 15 normophonic females. The recorded VLS images were preprocessed, the glottis area was segmented out, and the glottal cycles were identified. The glottovibrograms were built, and then the glottal area waveforms (GAW) were quantitatively described by computing the following parameters: open quotient (OQ), closing quotient (CQ), speed quotient (SQ), minimal relative glottal area (MRGA), and a new parameter termed closure difference index (CDI). Profiles of the glottal widths assessed along the glottal length differentiated the study groups (P diagnostics. Results of the performed ROC curve analysis suggest that the evaluated parameters can distinguish patients with voice disorders from normophonic subjects.

Quantitative Assessment of Arrhythmia Using Non-linear Approach: A Non-invasive Prognostic Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborty, Monisha; Ghosh, Dipak

2018-04-01

Accurate prognostic tool to identify severity of Arrhythmia is yet to be investigated, owing to the complexity of the ECG signal. In this paper, we have shown that quantitative assessment of Arrhythmia is possible using non-linear technique based on "Hurst Rescaled Range Analysis". Although the concept of applying "non-linearity" for studying various cardiac dysfunctions is not entirely new, the novel objective of this paper is to identify the severity of the disease, monitoring of different medicine and their dose, and also to assess the efficiency of different medicine. The approach presented in this work is simple which in turn will help doctors in efficient disease management. In this work, Arrhythmia ECG time series are collected from MIT-BIH database. Normal ECG time series are acquired using POLYPARA system. Both time series are analyzed in thelight of non-linear approach following the method "Rescaled Range Analysis". The quantitative parameter, "Fractal Dimension" (D) is obtained from both types of time series. The major finding is that Arrhythmia ECG poses lower values of D as compared to normal. Further, this information can be used to access the severity of Arrhythmia quantitatively, which is a new direction of prognosis as well as adequate software may be developed for the use of medical practice.

A novel iris transillumination grading scale allowing flexible assessment with quantitative image analysis and visual matching.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chen; Brancusi, Flavia; Valivullah, Zaheer M; Anderson, Michael G; Cunningham, Denise; Hedberg-Buenz, Adam; Power, Bradley; Simeonov, Dimitre; Gahl, William A; Zein, Wadih M; Adams, David R; Brooks, Brian

2018-01-01

To develop a sensitive scale of iris transillumination suitable for clinical and research use, with the capability of either quantitative analysis or visual matching of images. Iris transillumination photographic images were used from 70 study subjects with ocular or oculocutaneous albinism. Subjects represented a broad range of ocular pigmentation. A subset of images was subjected to image analysis and ranking by both expert and nonexpert reviewers. Quantitative ordering of images was compared with ordering by visual inspection. Images were binned to establish an 8-point scale. Ranking consistency was evaluated using the Kendall rank correlation coefficient (Kendall's tau). Visual ranking results were assessed using Kendall's coefficient of concordance (Kendall's W) analysis. There was a high degree of correlation among the image analysis, expert-based and non-expert-based image rankings. Pairwise comparisons of the quantitative ranking with each reviewer generated an average Kendall's tau of 0.83 ± 0.04 (SD). Inter-rater correlation was also high with Kendall's W of 0.96, 0.95, and 0.95 for nonexpert, expert, and all reviewers, respectively. The current standard for assessing iris transillumination is expert assessment of clinical exam findings. We adapted an image-analysis technique to generate quantitative transillumination values. Quantitative ranking was shown to be highly similar to a ranking produced by both expert and nonexpert reviewers. This finding suggests that the image characteristics used to quantify iris transillumination do not require expert interpretation. Inter-rater rankings were also highly similar, suggesting that varied methods of transillumination ranking are robust in terms of producing reproducible results.

Impact Assessment of Abiotic Resources in LCA: Quantitative Comparison of Selected Characterization Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rørbech, Jakob Thaysen; Vadenbo, Carl; Hellweg, Stefanie

2014-01-01

Resources have received significant attention in recent years resulting in development of a wide range of resource depletion indicators within life cycle assessment (LCA). Understanding the differences in assessment principles used to derive these indicators and the effects on the impact assessment...... results is critical for indicator selection and interpretation of the results. Eleven resource depletion methods were evaluated quantitatively with respect to resource coverage, characterization factors (CF), impact contributions from individual resources, and total impact scores. We included 2247...... groups, according to method focus and modeling approach, to aid method selection within LCA....

Quantitative sonoelastography for the in vivo assessment of skeletal muscle viscoelasticity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoyt, Kenneth; Kneezel, Timothy; Castaneda, Benjamin; Parker, Kevin J

2008-01-01

A novel quantitative sonoelastography technique for assessing the viscoelastic properties of skeletal muscle tissue was developed. Slowly propagating shear wave interference patterns (termed crawling waves) were generated using a two-source configuration vibrating normal to the surface. Theoretical models predict crawling wave displacement fields, which were validated through phantom studies. In experiments, a viscoelastic model was fit to dispersive shear wave speed sonoelastographic data using nonlinear least-squares techniques to determine frequency-independent shear modulus and viscosity estimates. Shear modulus estimates derived using the viscoelastic model were in agreement with that obtained by mechanical testing on phantom samples. Preliminary sonoelastographic data acquired in healthy human skeletal muscles confirm that high-quality quantitative elasticity data can be acquired in vivo. Studies on relaxed muscle indicate discernible differences in both shear modulus and viscosity estimates between different skeletal muscle groups. Investigations into the dynamic viscoelastic properties of (healthy) human skeletal muscles revealed that voluntarily contracted muscles exhibit considerable increases in both shear modulus and viscosity estimates as compared to the relaxed state. Overall, preliminary results are encouraging and quantitative sonoelastography may prove clinically feasible for in vivo characterization of the dynamic viscoelastic properties of human skeletal muscle

Quantitative assessment of emphysema from whole lung CT scans: comparison with visual grading

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Brad M.; Reeves, Anthony P.; Apanosovich, Tatiyana V.; Wang, Jianwei; Yankelevitz, David F.; Henschke, Claudia I.

2009-02-01

Emphysema is a disease of the lungs that destroys the alveolar air sacs and induces long-term respiratory dysfunction. CT scans allow for imaging of the anatomical basis of emphysema and for visual assessment by radiologists of the extent present in the lungs. Several measures have been introduced for the quantification of the extent of disease directly from CT data in order to add to the qualitative assessments made by radiologists. In this paper we compare emphysema index, mean lung density, histogram percentiles, and the fractal dimension to visual grade in order to evaluate the predictability of radiologist visual scoring of emphysema from low-dose CT scans through quantitative scores, in order to determine which measures can be useful as surrogates for visual assessment. All measures were computed over nine divisions of the lung field (whole lung, individual lungs, and upper/middle/lower thirds of each lung) for each of 148 low-dose, whole lung scans. In addition, a visual grade of each section was also given by an expert radiologist. One-way ANOVA and multinomial logistic regression were used to determine the ability of the measures to predict visual grade from quantitative score. We found that all measures were able to distinguish between normal and severe grades (p<0.01), and between mild/moderate and all other grades (p<0.05). However, no measure was able to distinguish between mild and moderate cases. Approximately 65% prediction accuracy was achieved from using quantitative score to predict visual grade, with 73% if mild and moderate cases are considered as a single class.

A quantitative model to assess Social Responsibility in Environmental Science and Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Valcárcel, M; Lucena, R

2014-01-01

The awareness of the impact of human activities in society and environment is known as "Social Responsibility" (SR). It has been a topic of growing interest in many enterprises since the fifties of the past Century, and its implementation/assessment is nowadays supported by international standards. There is a tendency to amplify its scope of application to other areas of the human activities, such as Research, Development and Innovation (R + D + I). In this paper, a model of quantitative assessment of Social Responsibility in Environmental Science and Technology (SR EST) is described in detail. This model is based on well established written standards as the EFQM Excellence model and the ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on SR. The definition of five hierarchies of indicators, the transformation of qualitative information into quantitative data and the dual procedure of self-evaluation and external evaluation are the milestones of the proposed model, which can be applied to Environmental Research Centres and institutions. In addition, a simplified model that facilitates its implementation is presented in the article. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Clinical and histomorphometrical study on titanium dioxide-coated external fixation pins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koseki H

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Hironobu Koseki,1 Tomohiko Asahara,1 Takayuki Shida,1 Itaru Yoda,1 Hidehiko Horiuchi,1 Koumei Baba,2 Makoto Osaki11Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagasaki University, 2Industrial Technology Center of Nagasaki, Nagasaki, JapanBackground: Pin site infection is the most common and significant complication of external fixation. In this work, the efficacy of pins coated with titanium dioxide (TiO2 for inhibition of infection was compared with that of stainless steel control pins in an in vivo study.Methods: Pins contaminated with an identifiable Staphylococcus aureus strain were inserted into femoral bone in a rat model and exposed to ultraviolet A light for 30 minutes. On day 14, the animals were sacrificed and the bone and soft tissue around the pin were retrieved. The clinical findings and histological findings were evaluated in 60 samples.Results: Clinical signs of infection were present in 76.7% of untreated pins, but in only 36.7% of TiO2-coated pins. The histological bone infection score and planimetric rate of occupation for bacterial colonies and neutrophils in the TiO2-coated pin group were lower than those in the control group. The bone-implant contact ratio of the TiO2-coated pin group was significantly higher (71.4% than in the control pin group (58.2%. The TiO2 was successful in decreasing infection both clinically and histomorphometrically.Conclusion: The photocatalytic bactericidal effect of TiO2 is thought to be useful for inhibiting pin site infection after external fixation.Keywords: titanium dioxide, external fixation, bactericidal activity, Staphylococcus aureus

Using Integrated Environmental Modeling to Automate a Process-Based Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Integrated Environmental Modeling (IEM) organizes multidisciplinary knowledge that explains and predicts environmental-system response to stressors. A Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) is an approach integrating a range of disparate data (fate/transport, exposure, and...

A methodology for the quantitative risk assessment of major accidents triggered by seismic events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonioni, Giacomo; Spadoni, Gigliola; Cozzani, Valerio

2007-01-01

A procedure for the quantitative risk assessment of accidents triggered by seismic events in industrial facilities was developed. The starting point of the procedure was the use of available historical data to assess the expected frequencies and the severity of seismic events. Available equipment-dependant failure probability models (vulnerability or fragility curves) were used to assess the damage probability of equipment items due to a seismic event. An analytic procedure was subsequently developed to identify, evaluate the credibility and finally assess the expected consequences of all the possible scenarios that may follow the seismic events. The procedure was implemented in a GIS-based software tool in order to manage the high number of event sequences that are likely to be generated in large industrial facilities. The developed methodology requires a limited amount of additional data with respect to those used in a conventional QRA, and yields with a limited effort a preliminary quantitative assessment of the contribution of the scenarios triggered by earthquakes to the individual and societal risk indexes. The application of the methodology to several case-studies evidenced that the scenarios initiated by seismic events may have a relevant influence on industrial risk, both raising the overall expected frequency of single scenarios and causing specific severe scenarios simultaneously involving several plant units

Quantitative assessment of paretic limb dexterity and interlimb coordination during bilateral arm rehabilitation training.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Chang; Li, Siyi; Wang, Kui; Hou, Zengguang; Yu, Ningbo

2017-07-01

In neuro-rehabilitation after stroke, the conventional constrained induced movement therapy (CIMT) has been well-accepted. Existing bilateral trainings are mostly on mirrored symmetrical motion. However, complementary bilateral movements are dominantly involved in activities of daily living (ADLs), and functional bilateral therapies may bring better skill transfer from trainings to daily life. Neurophysiological evidence is also growing. In this work, we firstly introduce our bilateral arm training system realized with a haptic interface and a motion sensor, as well as the tasks that have been designed to train both the manipulation function of the paretic arm and coordination of bilateral upper limbs. Then, we propose quantitative measures for functional assessment of complementary bilateral training performance, including kinematic behavior indices, smoothness, submovement and bimanual coordination. After that, we describe the experiments with healthy subjects and the results with respect to these quantitative measures. Feasibility and sensitivity of the proposed indices were evaluated through comparison of unilateral and bilateral training outcomes. The proposed bilateral training system and tasks, as well as the quantitative measures, have been demonstrated effective for training and assessment of unilateral and bilateral arm functions.

Quantitative assessment of 201TlCl myocardial SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uehara, Toshiisa

1987-01-01

Clinical evaluation of the quantitative analysis of Tl-201 myocardial tomography by SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) was performed in comparison with visual evaluation. The method of quantitative analysis has been already reported in our previous paper. In this study, the program of re-standardization in the case of lateral myocardial infarction was added. This program was useful mainly for the evaluation of lesions in the left circumflex coronary artery. Regarding the degree of diagnostic accuracy of myocardial infarction in general, quantitative evaluation of myocardial SPECT images was highest followed by visual evaluation of myocardial SPECT images, and visual evaluation of myocardial planar images. However, in the case of anterior myocardial infarction, visual evaluation of myocardial SPECT images has almost the same detectability as quantitative evaluation of myocardial SPECT images. In the case of infero-posterior myocardial infarction, quantitative evaluation was superior to visual evaluation. As for specificity, quantitative evaluation of SPECT images was slightly inferior to visual evaluation of SPECT images. An infarction map was made by quantitative analysis and this enabled us to determine the infarction site, extent and degree according to easily recognizable patterns. As a result, the responsible coronary artery lesion could be inferred correctly and the calculated infarction score could be correlated with the residual left ventricular function after myocardial infarction. (author)

A quantitative assessment of alkaptonuria: testing the reliability of two disease severity scoring systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Trevor F; Ranganath, Lakshminarayan

2011-12-01

Alkaptonuria (AKU) is due to excessive homogentisic acid accumulation in body fluids due to lack of enzyme homogentisate dioxygenase leading in turn to varied clinical manifestations mainly by a process of conversion of HGA to a polymeric melanin-like pigment known as ochronosis. A potential treatment, a drug called nitisinone, to decrease formation of HGA is available. However, successful demonstration of its efficacy in modifying the natural history of AKU requires an effective quantitative assessment tool. We have described two potential tools that could be used to quantitate disease burden in AKU. One tool describes scoring the clinical features that includes clinical assessments, investigations and questionnaires in 15 patients with AKU. The second tool describes a scoring system that only includes items obtained from questionnaires used in 44 people with AKU. Statistical analyses were carried out on the two patient datasets to assess the AKU tools; these included the calculation of Chronbach's alpha, multidimensional scaling and simple linear regression analysis. The conclusion was that there was good evidence that the tools could be adopted as AKU assessment tools, but perhaps with further refinement before being used in the practical setting of a clinical trial.

Serial quantitative MR assessment of optic neuritis in a case of neuromyelitis optica, using gadolinium-'enhanced' STIR imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barkhof, F.; Scheltens, P.; Valk, J.; Waalewijn, C.; Uitdehaag, B.M.J.; Polman, C.H.

1991-01-01

A patient is presented with neuromyelitis optica. MR imaging, using a short inversion time inversion recovery (STIR) technique, clearly depicted the lesion in the left optic nerve. Subsequent serial STIR imaging, with and without Gadolinium-DTPA, allowed quantitative assessment of changes parallel to improved optic nerve function. STIR imaging is a sensitive technique to demonstrate optic nerve lesions, and enables quantitative assessment to be made of the effect of (steroid) medication. (orig.)

Coronary CT Angiography in the Quantitative Assessment of Coronary Plaques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhonghua Sun

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA has been recently evaluated for its ability to assess coronary plaque characteristics, including plaque composition. Identification of the relationship between plaque composition by CCTA and patient clinical presentations may provide insight into the pathophysiology of coronary artery plaque, thus assisting identification of vulnerable plaques which are associated with the development of acute coronary syndrome. CCTA-generated 3D visualizations allow evaluation of both coronary lesions and lumen changes, which are considered to enhance the diagnostic performance of CCTA. The purpose of this review is to discuss the recent developments that have occurred in the field of CCTA with regard to its diagnostic accuracy in the quantitative assessment of coronary plaques, with a focus on the characterization of plaque components and identification of vulnerable plaques.

Quantitative muscle MRI as an assessment tool for monitoring disease progression in LGMD2I: a multicentre longitudinal study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tracey A Willis

Full Text Available Outcome measures for clinical trials in neuromuscular diseases are typically based on physical assessments which are dependent on patient effort, combine the effort of different muscle groups, and may not be sensitive to progression over short trial periods in slow-progressing diseases. We hypothesised that quantitative fat imaging by MRI (Dixon technique could provide more discriminating quantitative, patient-independent measurements of the progress of muscle fat replacement within individual muscle groups.To determine whether quantitative fat imaging could measure disease progression in a cohort of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2I (LGMD2I patients over a 12 month period.32 adult patients (17 male;15 female from 4 European tertiary referral centres with the homozygous c.826C>A mutation in the fukutin-related protein gene (FKRP completed baseline and follow up measurements 12 months later. Quantitative fat imaging was performed and muscle fat fraction change was compared with (i muscle strength and function assessed using standardized physical tests and (ii standard T1-weighted MRI graded on a 6 point scale.There was a significant increase in muscle fat fraction in 9 of the 14 muscles analyzed using the quantitative MRI technique from baseline to 12 months follow up. Changes were not seen in the conventional longitudinal physical assessments or in qualitative scoring of the T₁w images.Quantitative muscle MRI, using the Dixon technique, could be used as an important longitudinal outcome measure to assess muscle pathology and monitor therapeutic efficacy in patients with LGMD2I.

Quantitative assessment of integrated phrenic nerve activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, Nicole L; Mitchell, Gordon S

2016-06-01

Integrated electrical activity in the phrenic nerve is commonly used to assess within-animal changes in phrenic motor output. Because of concerns regarding the consistency of nerve recordings, activity is most often expressed as a percent change from baseline values. However, absolute values of nerve activity are necessary to assess the impact of neural injury or disease on phrenic motor output. To date, no systematic evaluations of the repeatability/reliability have been made among animals when phrenic recordings are performed by an experienced investigator using standardized methods. We performed a meta-analysis of studies reporting integrated phrenic nerve activity in many rat groups by the same experienced investigator; comparisons were made during baseline and maximal chemoreceptor stimulation in 14 wild-type Harlan and 14 Taconic Sprague Dawley groups, and in 3 pre-symptomatic and 11 end-stage SOD1(G93A) Taconic rat groups (an ALS model). Meta-analysis results indicate: (1) consistent measurements of integrated phrenic activity in each sub-strain of wild-type rats; (2) with bilateral nerve recordings, left-to-right integrated phrenic activity ratios are ∼1.0; and (3) consistently reduced activity in end-stage SOD1(G93A) rats. Thus, with appropriate precautions, integrated phrenic nerve activity enables robust, quantitative comparisons among nerves or experimental groups, including differences caused by neuromuscular disease. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integration of quantitative risk assessment in the health impact assessment of the recently amended Hungarian anti-smoking policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ádám, Balázs; Molnár, Ágnes; Gulis, Gabriel

2011-01-01

Health impact assessments (HIA) dominantly apply only qualitative evaluation, although a comprehensive HIA ideally integrates both qualitative and quantitative evidence and methods, since quantification has several advantages when using assessment results in the decision making process......-smokers to introduce smoking ban in closed public places, workplaces and public transport vehicles. Full chain approach was used to identify basic rules for prioritizing the major impact pathways with special attention to the feasibility of quantifying exposure and outcome. Exposure assessment relied on international...... experiences, while outcome assessment calculated measures of disease burden, like attributable death and disability adjusted life years, for a baseline and a predicted situation after the proposed changes take place. The major impact of the proposal was identified to decreases prevalence of active and passive...

Simplified quantitative treatment of uncertainty and interindividual variability in health risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogen, K.T.

1993-01-01

A distinction between uncertainty (or the extent of lack of knowledge) and interindividual variability (or the extent of person-to-person heterogeneity) regarding the values of input variates must be maintained if a quantitative characterization of uncertainty in population risk or in individual risk is sought. Here, some practical methods are presented that should facilitate implementation of the analytic framework for uncertainty and variability proposed by Bogen and Spear. (1,2) Two types of methodology are discussed: one that facilitates the distinction between uncertainty and variability per se, and another that may be used to simplify quantitative analysis of distributed inputs representing either uncertainty or variability. A simple and a complex form for modeled increased risk are presented and then used to illustrate methods facilitating the distinction between uncertainty and variability in reference to characterization of both population and individual risk. Finally, a simple form of discrete probability calculus is proposed as an easily implemented, practical altemative to Monte-Carlo based procedures to quantitative integration of uncertainty and variability in risk assessment

Development of a quantitative safety assessment method for nuclear I and C systems including human operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Man Cheol

2004-02-01

Conventional PSA (probabilistic safety analysis) is performed in the framework of event tree analysis and fault tree analysis. In conventional PSA, I and C systems and human operators are assumed to be independent for simplicity. But, the dependency of human operators on I and C systems and the dependency of I and C systems on human operators are gradually recognized to be significant. I believe that it is time to consider the interdependency between I and C systems and human operators in the framework of PSA. But, unfortunately it seems that we do not have appropriate methods for incorporating the interdependency between I and C systems and human operators in the framework of Pasa. Conventional human reliability analysis (HRA) methods are not developed to consider the interdependecy, and the modeling of the interdependency using conventional event tree analysis and fault tree analysis seem to be, event though is does not seem to be impossible, quite complex. To incorporate the interdependency between I and C systems and human operators, we need a new method for HRA and a new method for modeling the I and C systems, man-machine interface (MMI), and human operators for quantitative safety assessment. As a new method for modeling the I and C systems, MMI and human operators, I develop a new system reliability analysis method, reliability graph with general gates (RGGG), which can substitute conventional fault tree analysis. RGGG is an intuitive and easy-to-use method for system reliability analysis, while as powerful as conventional fault tree analysis. To demonstrate the usefulness of the RGGG method, it is applied to the reliability analysis of Digital Plant Protection System (DPPS), which is the actual plant protection system of Ulchin 5 and 6 nuclear power plants located in Republic of Korea. The latest version of the fault tree for DPPS, which is developed by the Integrated Safety Assessment team in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), consists of 64

Bone histomorphometry using free and commonly available software.

Science.gov (United States)

Egan, Kevin P; Brennan, Tracy A; Pignolo, Robert J

2012-12-01

Histomorphometric analysis is a widely used technique to assess changes in tissue structure and function. Commercially available programs that measure histomorphometric parameters can be cost-prohibitive. In this study, we compared an inexpensive method of histomorphometry to a current proprietary software program. Image J and Adobe Photoshop(®) were used to measure static and kinetic bone histomorphometric parameters. Photomicrographs of Goldner's trichrome-stained femurs were used to generate black-and-white image masks, representing bone and non-bone tissue, respectively, in Adobe Photoshop(®) . The masks were used to quantify histomorphometric parameters (bone volume, tissue volume, osteoid volume, mineralizing surface and interlabel width) in Image J. The resultant values obtained using Image J and the proprietary software were compared and differences found to be statistically non-significant. The wide-ranging use of histomorphometric analysis for assessing the basic morphology of tissue components makes it important to have affordable and accurate measurement options available for a diverse range of applications. Here we have developed and validated an approach to histomorphometry using commonly and freely available software that is comparable to a much more costly, commercially available software program. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Limited.

A simplified method for quantitative assessment of the relative health and safety risk of environmental management activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eide, S.A.; Smith, T.H.; Peatross, R.G.; Stepan, I.E.

1996-09-01

This report presents a simplified method to assess the health and safety risk of Environmental Management activities of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The method applies to all types of Environmental Management activities including waste management, environmental restoration, and decontamination and decommissioning. The method is particularly useful for planning or tradeoff studies involving multiple conceptual options because it combines rapid evaluation with a quantitative approach. The method is also potentially applicable to risk assessments of activities other than DOE Environmental Management activities if rapid quantitative results are desired

Quantitative Assessment of the Arm/Hand Movements in Parkinson’s Disease Using a Wireless Armband Device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofija Spasojević

2017-08-01

Full Text Available We present an approach for quantitative assessment of the arm/hand movements in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD, from sensor data acquired with a wearable, wireless armband device (Myo sensor. We propose new Movement Performance Indicators that can be adopted by practitioners for the quantitative evaluation of motor performance and support their clinical evaluations. In addition, specific Movement Performance Indicators can indicate the presence of the bradykinesia symptom. The study includes seventeen PD patients and sixteen age-matched controls. A set of representative arm/hand movements is defined under the supervision of movement disorder specialist. In order to assist the evaluations, and for progress monitoring purposes, as well as for assessing the amount of bradykinesia in PD, a total set of 84 Movement Performance Indicators are computed from the sensor readings. Subsequently, we investigate whether wireless armband device, with the use of the proposed Movement Performance Indicators can be utilized: (1 for objective and precise quantitative evaluation of the arm/hand movements of Parkinson’s patients, (2 for assessment of the bradykinesia motor symptom, and (3 as an adequate low-cost alternative for the sensor glove. We conducted extensive analysis of proposed Movement Performance Indicators and results are indicating following clinically relevant characteristics: (i adequate reliability as measured by ICC; (ii high accuracy in discrimination between the patients and controls, and between the disease stages (support to disease diagnosis and progress monitoring, respectively; (iii substantial difference in comparison between the left-hand and the right-hand movements across controls and patients, as well as between disease stage groups; (iv statistically significant correlation with clinical scales (tapping test and UPDRS-III Motor Score; and (v quantitative evaluation of bradykinesia symptom. Results suggest that the proposed

Discussion of quantitative assessment index system of suitability of the site for geological disposal repository of high-level radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su Rui; Wang Ju

2014-01-01

Site selection and suitability assessment of site are one of important tasks of research and development of geological disposal engineering for high-level radioactive waste (HLW). Quantitative assessment of suitability of the site is based on the scientific, reasonable and operational index system. The discussion of index screening of quantitative assessment of suitability of the site is conducted. Principle of index screening is presented and index systems are established for different stages of site selection, including planning stage of site selection, region or area investigation stage, site characterization and site confirmation stage. But the considerations are taken of the complexity of site selection of geological disposal engineering for HLW and itself development of quantitative assessment method, so improvement of the index systems presented above is needed in the further. (authors)

A framework for the quantitative assessment of climate change impacts on water-related activities at the basin scale

OpenAIRE

Anghileri, D.; Pianosi, F.; Soncini-Sessa, R.

2011-01-01

While quantitative assessment of the climate change impact on hydrology at the basin scale is quite addressed in the literature, extension of quantitative analysis to impact on the ecological, economic and social sphere is still limited, although well recognized as a key issue to support water resource planning and promote public participation. In this paper we propose a framework for assessing climate change impact on water-related activities at the basin scale. The specific features of our ...

Fixation of total hip components in rheumatoid arthritis and arthrosis. A radiographic, roentgen stereophotogrammetric, densitometric and histomorphometric study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oensten, I.

1994-01-01

The radiographic survival of the Charnley prosthesis was studied in two retrospective, matched-pair cohorts of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and arthrosis (OA) patients. In RA, the 7-year radiographic socket survival improved from 87% to 96% after the introduction of flanged sockets, bone transplants in cases of acetabular protrusion and the rejection of the pilot hole technique. In OA the 10-year radiographic socket survival was 95%. In both groups the 7-year radiographic stem survival improved from 80% to 96% following the introduction of the new cementing technique. Migration of the Charnley prosthesis in the first two years was evaluated by roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA) in RA and OA patients, and related to the histomorphometric characteristics of trabecular bone in the acetabulum and the femur. In RA, sockets migrated six times more in the proximal direction as compared with OA; there was no difference in migration in other directions. Stem fixation was equally secure in RA and OA. RA cases had more osteoid in both the femur and the acetabulum, but the amount of osteoid was not correlated with the degree of migration. The bone mineral content (BMC) of RA and OA hips was assessed by dual photone roentgen absorptiometry prior to hip replacement. Patients with RA had 20% less BMC than those with OA but there were no signs of a relative peri-acetabular deficit. In two randomized trials of 81 OA patients, migration of the uncemented, Harris-Galante type I socket was evaluated by RSA and compared with Charnley sockets. After a minimum follow-up of 2 years, no difference in migration between the two socket designs was found. 98 refs, 18 figs, 2 tabs

Fixation of total hip components in rheumatoid arthritis and arthrosis. A radiographic, roentgen stereophotogrammetric, densitometric and histomorphometric study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oensten, I.

1994-10-14

The radiographic survival of the Charnley prosthesis was studied in two retrospective, matched-pair cohorts of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and arthrosis (OA) patients. In RA, the 7-year radiographic socket survival improved from 87% to 96% after the introduction of flanged sockets, bone transplants in cases of acetabular protrusion and the rejection of the pilot hole technique. In OA the 10-year radiographic socket survival was 95%. In both groups the 7-year radiographic stem survival improved from 80% to 96% following the introduction of the new cementing technique. Migration of the Charnley prosthesis in the first two years was evaluated by roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA) in RA and OA patients, and related to the histomorphometric characteristics of trabecular bone in the acetabulum and the femur. In RA, sockets migrated six times more in the proximal direction as compared with OA; there was no difference in migration in other directions. Stem fixation was equally secure in RA and OA. RA cases had more osteoid in both the femur and the acetabulum, but the amount of osteoid was not correlated with the degree of migration. The bone mineral content (BMC) of RA and OA hips was assessed by dual photone roentgen absorptiometry prior to hip replacement. Patients with RA had 20% less BMC than those with OA but there were no signs of a relative peri-acetabular deficit. In two randomized trials of 81 OA patients, migration of the uncemented, Harris-Galante type I socket was evaluated by RSA and compared with Charnley sockets. After a minimum follow-up of 2 years, no difference in migration between the two socket designs was found. 98 refs, 18 figs, 2 tabs.

Quantitative assessment of exposure and risk for three carcinogenics in long-standing pollution sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wichmann, H.E.; Wuppertal Univ.; Ihme, W.; Mekel, O.C.L.; Wuppertal Univ.

1993-01-01

The project attempts a quantitative assessment of risks for three carcinogenics that are common in sites of long-standing pollution. Benzo(a)pyrene stands for the group of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, cadmium for heavy metals, and benzene for volatile aromatic compounds. The report discusses the general fundamentals of exposure and risk assessment. The exposure model is described in detail and applied to the three test substances. (orig./MG) [de

The role of quantitative optimization techniques in assessment of best practicable environmental options for radioactive waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnston, P.D.

1987-01-01

The interpretation of the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) and ALARA concepts in radioactive waste management is given. The quantitative analysis of the financial and radiological impacts of different options for waste management is discussed. Finally, the role of quantitative multi-attribute analysis in the DOE's assessment of BPEOs for radioactive waste is described. (UK)

A quantitative method for risk assessment of agriculture due to climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Zhiqiang; Pan, Zhihua; An, Pingli; Zhang, Jingting; Zhang, Jun; Pan, Yuying; Huang, Lei; Zhao, Hui; Han, Guolin; Wu, Dong; Wang, Jialin; Fan, Dongliang; Gao, Lin; Pan, Xuebiao

2018-01-01

Climate change has greatly affected agriculture. Agriculture is facing increasing risks as its sensitivity and vulnerability to climate change. Scientific assessment of climate change-induced agricultural risks could help to actively deal with climate change and ensure food security. However, quantitative assessment of risk is a difficult issue. Here, based on the IPCC assessment reports, a quantitative method for risk assessment of agriculture due to climate change is proposed. Risk is described as the product of the degree of loss and its probability of occurrence. The degree of loss can be expressed by the yield change amplitude. The probability of occurrence can be calculated by the new concept of climate change effect-accumulated frequency (CCEAF). Specific steps of this assessment method are suggested. This method is determined feasible and practical by using the spring wheat in Wuchuan County of Inner Mongolia as a test example. The results show that the fluctuation of spring wheat yield increased with the warming and drying climatic trend in Wuchuan County. The maximum yield decrease and its probability were 3.5 and 64.6%, respectively, for the temperature maximum increase 88.3%, and its risk was 2.2%. The maximum yield decrease and its probability were 14.1 and 56.1%, respectively, for the precipitation maximum decrease 35.2%, and its risk was 7.9%. For the comprehensive impacts of temperature and precipitation, the maximum yield decrease and its probability were 17.6 and 53.4%, respectively, and its risk increased to 9.4%. If we do not adopt appropriate adaptation strategies, the degree of loss from the negative impacts of multiclimatic factors and its probability of occurrence will both increase accordingly, and the risk will also grow obviously.

Evaluating quantitative and qualitative models: An application for nationwide water erosion assessment in Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sonneveld, B.G.J.S.; Keyzer, M.A.; Stroosnijder, L

2011-01-01

This paper tests the candidacy of one qualitative response model and two quantitative models for a nationwide water erosion hazard assessment in Ethiopia. After a descriptive comparison of model characteristics the study conducts a statistical comparison to evaluate the explanatory power of the

Evaluating quantitative and qualitative models: an application for nationwide water erosion assessment in Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sonneveld, B.G.J.S.; Keyzer, M.A.; Stroosnijder, L.

2011-01-01

This paper tests the candidacy of one qualitative response model and two quantitative models for a nationwide water erosion hazard assessment in Ethiopia. After a descriptive comparison of model characteristics the study conducts a statistical comparison to evaluate the explanatory power of the

A relative quantitative assessment of myocardial perfusion by first-pass technique: animal study

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jun; Zhang, Zhang; Yu, Xuefang; Zhou, Kenneth J.

2015-03-01

The purpose of this study is to quantitatively assess the myocardial perfusion by first-pass technique in swine model. Numerous techniques based on the analysis of Computed Tomography (CT) Hounsfield Unit (HU) density have emerged. Although these methods proposed to be able to assess haemodynamically significant coronary artery stenosis, their limitations are noticed. There are still needs to develop some new techniques. Experiments were performed upon five (5) closed-chest swine. Balloon catheters were placed into the coronary artery to simulate different degrees of luminal stenosis. Myocardial Blood Flow (MBF) was measured using color microsphere technique. Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) was measured using pressure wire. CT examinations were performed twice during First-pass phase under adenosine-stress condition. CT HU Density (HUDCT) and CT HU Density Ratio (HUDRCT) were calculated using the acquired CT images. Our study presents that HUDRCT shows a good (y=0.07245+0.09963x, r2=0.898) correlation with MBF and FFR. In receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses, HUDRCT provides excellent diagnostic performance for the detection of significant ischemia during adenosine-stress as defined by FFR indicated by the value of Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.927. HUDRCT has the potential to be developed as a useful indicator of quantitative assessment of myocardial perfusion.

Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite bone substitute leads to sufficient bone tissue formation already after 3 months: histological and histomorphometrical analysis 3 and 6 months following human sinus cavity augmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghanaati, Shahram; Barbeck, Mike; Willershausen, Ines; Thimm, Benjamin; Stuebinger, Stefan; Korzinskas, Tadas; Obreja, Karina; Landes, Constantin; Kirkpatrick, Charles J; Sader, Robert A

2013-12-01

In this study the de novo bone formation capacity of a nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite bone substitute was assessed 3 and 6 months after its insertion into the human sinus cavity. Sinus cavity augmentation was performed in a total of 14 patients (n = 7 implantation after 3 months; n = 7 implantation after 6 months) with severely atrophic maxillary bone. The specimens obtained after 3 and 6 months were analyzed histologically and histomorphometrically with special focus on bone metabolism within the residual bone and the augmented region. This study revealed that bone tissue formation started from the bone-biomaterial-interface and was directed into the most cranial parts of the augmented region. There was no statistically significant difference in new bone formation after 3 and 6 months (24.89 ± 10.22% vs 31.29 ± 2.29%), respectively. Within the limits of the present study and according to previously published data, implant insertion in regions augmented with this bone substitute material could be considered already after 3 months. Further clinical studies with bone substitute materials are necessary to validate these findings. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The quantitative assessment of epicardial fat distribution on human hearts: Implications for epicardial electrophysiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattson, Alexander R; Soto, Mario J; Iaizzo, Paul A

2018-07-01

Epicardial electrophysiological procedures rely on dependable interfacing with the myocardial tissue. For example, epicardial pacing systems must generate sustainable chronic pacing capture, while epicardial ablations must effectively deliver energy to the target hyper-excitable myocytes. The human heart has a significant adipose layer which may impede epicardial procedures. The objective of this study was to quantitatively assess the relative location of epicardial adipose on the human heart, to define locations where epicardial therapies might be performed successfully. We studied perfusion-fixed human hearts (n = 105) in multiple isolated planes including: left ventricular margin, diaphragmatic surface, and anterior right ventricle. Relative adipose distribution was quantitatively assessed via planar images, using a custom-generated image analysis algorithm. In these specimens, 76.7 ± 13.8% of the left ventricular margin, 72.7 ± 11.3% of the diaphragmatic surface, and 92.1 ± 8.7% of the anterior right margin were covered with superficial epicardial adipose layers. Percent adipose coverage significantly increased with age (P history of coronary artery disease (P history of hypertension, and/or history of congestive heart failure. Additionally, we describe two-dimensional probability distributions of epicardial adipose coverage for each of the three analysis planes. In this study, we detail the quantitative assessment and probabilistic mapping of the distribution of superficial epicardial adipose on the adult human heart. These findings have implications relative to performing epicardial procedures and/or designing procedures or tools to successfully perform such treatments. Clin. Anat. 31:661-666, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Compressed Sensing-Based Wearable Sensor Network for Quantitative Assessment of Stroke Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Yu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Clinical rehabilitation assessment is an important part of the therapy process because it is the premise for prescribing suitable rehabilitation interventions. However, the commonly used assessment scales have the following two drawbacks: (1 they are susceptible to subjective factors; (2 they only have several rating levels and are influenced by a ceiling effect, making it impossible to exactly detect any further improvement in the movement. Meanwhile, energy constraints are a primary design consideration in wearable sensor network systems since they are often battery-operated. Traditionally, for wearable sensor network systems that follow the Shannon/Nyquist sampling theorem, there are many data that need to be sampled and transmitted. This paper proposes a novel wearable sensor network system to monitor and quantitatively assess the upper limb motion function, based on compressed sensing technology. With the sparse representation model, less data is transmitted to the computer than with traditional systems. The experimental results show that the accelerometer signals of Bobath handshake and shoulder touch exercises can be compressed, and the length of the compressed signal is less than 1/3 of the raw signal length. More importantly, the reconstruction errors have no influence on the predictive accuracy of the Brunnstrom stage classification model. It also indicated that the proposed system can not only reduce the amount of data during the sampling and transmission processes, but also, the reconstructed accelerometer signals can be used for quantitative assessment without any loss of useful information.

A Compressed Sensing-Based Wearable Sensor Network for Quantitative Assessment of Stroke Patients

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Lei; Xiong, Daxi; Guo, Liquan; Wang, Jiping

2016-01-01

Clinical rehabilitation assessment is an important part of the therapy process because it is the premise for prescribing suitable rehabilitation interventions. However, the commonly used assessment scales have the following two drawbacks: (1) they are susceptible to subjective factors; (2) they only have several rating levels and are influenced by a ceiling effect, making it impossible to exactly detect any further improvement in the movement. Meanwhile, energy constraints are a primary design consideration in wearable sensor network systems since they are often battery-operated. Traditionally, for wearable sensor network systems that follow the Shannon/Nyquist sampling theorem, there are many data that need to be sampled and transmitted. This paper proposes a novel wearable sensor network system to monitor and quantitatively assess the upper limb motion function, based on compressed sensing technology. With the sparse representation model, less data is transmitted to the computer than with traditional systems. The experimental results show that the accelerometer signals of Bobath handshake and shoulder touch exercises can be compressed, and the length of the compressed signal is less than 1/3 of the raw signal length. More importantly, the reconstruction errors have no influence on the predictive accuracy of the Brunnstrom stage classification model. It also indicated that the proposed system can not only reduce the amount of data during the sampling and transmission processes, but also, the reconstructed accelerometer signals can be used for quantitative assessment without any loss of useful information. PMID:26861337

Bisphosphonate-associated atypical sub-trochanteric femur fractures: paired bone biopsy quantitative histomorphometry before and after teriparatide administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Paul D; McCarthy, Edward F

2015-04-01

Bisphosphonate-associated atypical sub-trochanteric femur fractures (ASFF) may be seen with long-term bisphosphonate use, though these fractures are also seen in patients never exposed to bisphosphonates. One theory for the mechanism of action whereby bisphosphonates may induce these ASFF is over-suppression of bone turnover. Bisphosphonates suppress bone turnover, but in bisphosphonate clinical trials, over-suppression defined whether by maintaining the biochemical markers of bone turnover below the defined reference range or by quantitative bone histomorphometry, has not been observed. We studied 15 clinic patients referred to The Colorado Center for Bone Research (CCBR) after they had a bisphosphonate-associated ASFF and performed quantitative bone histomorphometry both before and after 12 months of teriparatide (20µg SQ/day). All patients had been on long-term alendronate (mean = 7 years, range: 6-11 years) and had already had intramedullary rods placed when first seen (6 weeks to 7 months after rod placement). Alendronate had been discontinued in all patients at the time of their first clinic visit to CCBR. All of the fractures fulfilled The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research major radiological criteria for ASFF. Three key dynamic histomorphometric features show that 7 of the 15 patients had unmeasurable bone formation, mineralizing surface, and mineral apposition, while the other 8 patients had measurable dynamic parameters; although for all 15 patients, the mean values for all 3 dynamic parameters was far below the average for the published normal population. Administration of teriparatide was associated with an increase in all 3 dynamic histomorphometric parameters. Baseline bone turnover markers did not correlate with the baseline histomorphometry. While there is heterogeneity in the bone turnover in patients with bisphosphonate ASFF, there is a large portion in this uncontrolled series that had absent bone turnover at the standard biopsy site

Supplementing quantitative risk assessments with a stage addressing the risk understanding of the decision maker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aven, Terje

2016-01-01

A quantitative probabilistic risk assessment produces a conditional risk description given the knowledge of the analysts (formulated to a large extent through assumptions). However, important aspects of the risk may be concealed in the background knowledge of the analyst and the assumptions. This paper discusses this issue, the main purpose being to present a two-stage risk assessment approach where the second stage addresses the risk understanding of the decision maker. This second-stage is to a large extent qualitative. The approach is novel with its separation between the analysts' conditional risk descriptions using probability judgments, and the decision maker's risk understanding. The approach aims at improving the use of risk assessment in practical decision making by ensuring that the results of the risk assessments are properly interpreted and the key aspects of risk, uncertainty and knowledge are brought to attention for the decision makers. Examples are used to illustrate the approach. - Highlights: • A quantitative risk assessment produces a conditional risk description. • The decision maker (DM) needs to address risk beyond this description. • The paper presents a related two-stage process, covering analyst and DM judgments. • The second stage relates to the DM's risk understanding. • Strength of knowledge judgments are included in both stages.

A Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment for Salmonella in Pigs for the European Union

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Snary, Emma L.; Swart, Arno N.; Simons, Robin R. L.

2016-01-01

,000 and 1 in 10 million servings given consumption of one of the three product types considered (pork cuts, minced meat, and fermented ready‐to‐eat sausages). Further analyses of the farm‐to‐consumption QMRA suggest that the vast majority of human risk derives from infected pigs with a high concentration......A farm‐to‐consumption quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) for Salmonella in pigs in the European Union has been developed for the European Food Safety Authority. The primary aim of the QMRA was to assess the impact of hypothetical reductions of slaughter‐pig prevalence...

The Use of Quantitative SPECT/CT Imaging to Assess Residual Limb Health

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

of secondary health ef- fects following traumatic extremity injuries places a significant physical and psychosocial burden on SMs with LL and LS...been reported as the most important health -related physical condition con- tributing to a reduced QoL among veterans who had sustained a traumatic...AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0669 TITLE: The Use of Quantitative SPECT/CT Imaging to Assess Residual Limb Health PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Development and Assessment of Modules to Integrate Quantitative Skills in Introductory Biology Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Kathleen; Leupen, Sarah; Dowell, Kathy; Kephart, Kerrie; Leips, Jeff

2016-01-01

Redesigning undergraduate biology courses to integrate quantitative reasoning and skill development is critical to prepare students for careers in modern medicine and scientific research. In this paper, we report on the development, implementation, and assessment of stand-alone modules that integrate quantitative reasoning into introductory biology courses. Modules are designed to improve skills in quantitative numeracy, interpreting data sets using visual tools, and making inferences about biological phenomena using mathematical/statistical models. We also examine demographic/background data that predict student improvement in these skills through exposure to these modules. We carried out pre/postassessment tests across four semesters and used student interviews in one semester to examine how students at different levels approached quantitative problems. We found that students improved in all skills in most semesters, although there was variation in the degree of improvement among skills from semester to semester. One demographic variable, transfer status, stood out as a major predictor of the degree to which students improved (transfer students achieved much lower gains every semester, despite the fact that pretest scores in each focus area were similar between transfer and nontransfer students). We propose that increased exposure to quantitative skill development in biology courses is effective at building competency in quantitative reasoning. © 2016 K. Hoffman, S. Leupen, et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Histomorphometric and radioimmunoassay studies of the rat endometrium following peanut oil treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Venant Tchokonte-Nana

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The pregnancy rate during in-vitro fertilization (IVF following progesterone supplement still remains very low at around 20%.Objective: To investigate the effects of peanut oil itself on the endometrial receptivity, the pregnancy success rate and fertility during the peri-implantation time in hyper stimulated and normal rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six adult Sprague Dawley rats with at least four regular oestrus cycles were randomly divided into 4 groups: two groups were hyper stimulated by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG and treated with progesterone or with peanut oil; the two other groups were not hyper stimulated and treated with saline solution or peanut oil. On day 5.5 of pregnancy, the uterine horns were removed and blood was collected for histomorphometric and serum progesterone evaluation. 12 rats were allowed to continue the presumed pregnancy to term. Analysis of variance (ANOVA and student t-test were used to compare the means of morphometric and radioimmunoassay data between groups. p-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: The mean values of morphometric parameters and serum progesterone varied significantly between the groups (ANOVA, p<0.0001. The lowest values of progesterone parameters were observed in the hyperstimulated groups that did not deliver pups; both hyperstimulated groups had deleterious luminal epithelium with varying degrees of mucosal projections. There were isolated decidualised zones observed in hyper stimulated peanut oil group, whereas peanut oil group had the highest number of implantation sites and deliveries.Conclusion: The results show that hype stimulation reduces the endometrial receptivity, while peanut oil increases endometrial receptivity, pregnancy rates and fertility by triggering decidualisation

Quantitative Vulnerability Assessment of Cyber Security for Distribution Automation Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaming Ye

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The distribution automation system (DAS is vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to the widespread use of terminal devices and standard communication protocols. On account of the cost of defense, it is impossible to ensure the security of every device in the DAS. Given this background, a novel quantitative vulnerability assessment model of cyber security for DAS is developed in this paper. In the assessment model, the potential physical consequences of cyber-attacks are analyzed from two levels: terminal device level and control center server level. Then, the attack process is modeled based on game theory and the relationships among different vulnerabilities are analyzed by introducing a vulnerability adjacency matrix. Finally, the application process of the proposed methodology is illustrated through a case study based on bus 2 of the Roy Billinton Test System (RBTS. The results demonstrate the reasonability and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Indicators validation for the improvement of environmental and social impact quantitative assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cloquell-Ballester, Vicente-Agustin; Cloquell-Ballester, Victor-Andres; Monterde-Diaz, Rafael; Santamarina-Siurana, Maria-Cristina

2006-01-01

Environmental and social impact quantitative assessment is an essential tool for the correct location of economic activities within the territory. The main problem of impact quantification lies in establishing the appropriateness of the instruments (indicators) utilised, such that their level of objectivity is the highest possible. To improve the quality of this kind of studies, the present contribution discusses this problematic question and its consequences and proposes a methodology for the validation of indicators. Finally, the methodology proposed is subjected to an observational and experimental test to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal. The test is performed on four indicators, which are designed ad hoc to assess alternatives in industrial facility location problems where the decision-making process has to be supported by an environmental and social impact assessment

A comparative study between subjective assessment and quantitative evaluation of CT findings with cerebral palsy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugie, Yoko; Sugie, Hideo; Kitai, Akiko; Maruyama, Hiroshi; Fukuyama, Yukio

1982-01-01

Computed tomography (CT) was performed on 200 children with children palsy with Hitachi CT-H250. The CT scans of 136 cases revealed cerebral atrophy with ventricular and/or subarachnoid space enlargement. The lateral ventricles, the third ventricle and the two parts of subarachnoid space on the CT picture were subjectively evaluated and divided into five grades ranging from no enlargement to marked enlargement. In addition, the size of the ventricles and the subarachnoid spaces were quantitatively determined; the transverse diameter of brain (b), the largest width of the anterior horns of the lateral ventricles (c), the bicaudate nuclear distance (d), the greatest width of the third ventricle, the longitudinal cerebral fissure and sylvian fissures as described by Miyao et al. (1978). Comparison of these quantitative techniques confirmed the initial subjective evaluation. However, in some cases, amendment of the subjective evaluation was needed. As mentioned before (Miyao et al.), the cerebral longitudinal fissure was relatively wide in normal infants. Accordingly, it was often difficult to find out abnormal widening only by subjective evaluation. The purpose of this paper was to establish the criteria of quantitative measuring and assessing of the lateral and third ventricles, the cerebral longitudinal fissurem, and the sylvian fissures enlargement. Interpretation of some problem cases associated with measuring was also discussed. The quantitative CT evaluation may be a good reference in assessing cerebral atrophy in cerebral palsy and other neurological diseases. (author)

A framework for quantitative assessment of impacts related to energy and mineral resource development

Science.gov (United States)

Haines, Seth S.; Diffendorfer, James; Balistrieri, Laurie S.; Berger, Byron R.; Cook, Troy A.; Gautier, Donald L.; Gallegos, Tanya J.; Gerritsen, Margot; Graffy, Elisabeth; Hawkins, Sarah; Johnson, Kathleen; Macknick, Jordan; McMahon, Peter; Modde, Tim; Pierce, Brenda; Schuenemeyer, John H.; Semmens, Darius; Simon, Benjamin; Taylor, Jason; Walton-Day, Katherine

2013-01-01

Natural resource planning at all scales demands methods for assessing the impacts of resource development and use, and in particular it requires standardized methods that yield robust and unbiased results. Building from existing probabilistic methods for assessing the volumes of energy and mineral resources, we provide an algorithm for consistent, reproducible, quantitative assessment of resource development impacts. The approach combines probabilistic input data with Monte Carlo statistical methods to determine probabilistic outputs that convey the uncertainties inherent in the data. For example, one can utilize our algorithm to combine data from a natural gas resource assessment with maps of sage grouse leks and piñon-juniper woodlands in the same area to estimate possible future habitat impacts due to possible future gas development. As another example: one could combine geochemical data and maps of lynx habitat with data from a mineral deposit assessment in the same area to determine possible future mining impacts on water resources and lynx habitat. The approach can be applied to a broad range of positive and negative resource development impacts, such as water quantity or quality, economic benefits, or air quality, limited only by the availability of necessary input data and quantified relationships among geologic resources, development alternatives, and impacts. The framework enables quantitative evaluation of the trade-offs inherent in resource management decision-making, including cumulative impacts, to address societal concerns and policy aspects of resource development.

Preliminary quantitative assessment of earthquake casualties and damages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Badal, J.; Vázquez-Prada, M.; González, Á.

2005-01-01

Prognostic estimations of the expected number of killed or injured people and about the approximate cost associated with the damages caused by earthquakes are made following a suitable methodology of wide-ranging application. For the preliminary assessment of human life losses due to the occurrence...... of a relatively strong earthquake we use a quantitative model consisting of a correlation between the number of casualties and the earthquake magnitude as a function of population density. The macroseismic intensity field is determined in accordance with an updated anelastic attenuation law, and the number...... the local social wealth as a function of the gross domestic product of the country. This last step is performed on the basis of the relationship of the macroseismic intensity to the earthquake economic loss in percentage of the wealth. Such an approach to the human casualty and damage levels is carried out...

Quantitative Elastography for Cervical Stiffness Assessment during Pregnancy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Fruscalzo

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. Feasibility and reliability of tissue Doppler imaging-(TDI- based elastography for cervical quantitative stiffness assessment during all three trimesters of pregnancy were evaluated. Materials and Methods. Prospective case-control study including seventy-four patients collected between the 12th and 42nd weeks of gestation. The tissue strain (TS was measured by two independent operators as natural strain. Intra- and interoperator intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC agreements were evaluated. Results. TS measurement was always feasible and exhibited a high performance in terms of reliability (intraoperator ICC-agreement = 0.93; interoperator ICC agreement = 0.89 and 0.93 for a single measurement and for the average of two measurements, resp.. Cervical TS showed also a significant correlation with gestational age, cervical length, and parity. Conclusions. TS measurement during pregnancy demonstrated high feasibility and reliability. Furthermore, TS significantly correlated with gestational age, cervical length, and parity.

Integrating expert opinion with modelling for quantitative multi-hazard risk assessment in the Eastern Italian Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lixia; van Westen, Cees J.; Hussin, Haydar; Ciurean, Roxana L.; Turkington, Thea; Chavarro-Rincon, Diana; Shrestha, Dhruba P.

2016-11-01

Extreme rainfall events are the main triggering causes for hydro-meteorological hazards in mountainous areas, where development is often constrained by the limited space suitable for construction. In these areas, hazard and risk assessments are fundamental for risk mitigation, especially for preventive planning, risk communication and emergency preparedness. Multi-hazard risk assessment in mountainous areas at local and regional scales remain a major challenge because of lack of data related to past events and causal factors, and the interactions between different types of hazards. The lack of data leads to a high level of uncertainty in the application of quantitative methods for hazard and risk assessment. Therefore, a systematic approach is required to combine these quantitative methods with expert-based assumptions and decisions. In this study, a quantitative multi-hazard risk assessment was carried out in the Fella River valley, prone to debris flows and flood in the north-eastern Italian Alps. The main steps include data collection and development of inventory maps, definition of hazard scenarios, hazard assessment in terms of temporal and spatial probability calculation and intensity modelling, elements-at-risk mapping, estimation of asset values and the number of people, physical vulnerability assessment, the generation of risk curves and annual risk calculation. To compare the risk for each type of hazard, risk curves were generated for debris flows, river floods and flash floods. Uncertainties were expressed as minimum, average and maximum values of temporal and spatial probability, replacement costs of assets, population numbers, and physical vulnerability. These result in minimum, average and maximum risk curves. To validate this approach, a back analysis was conducted using the extreme hydro-meteorological event that occurred in August 2003 in the Fella River valley. The results show a good performance when compared to the historical damage reports.

Quantitative rock-fall hazard and risk assessment for Yosemite Valley, California

Science.gov (United States)

Stock, G. M.; Luco, N.; Collins, B. D.; Harp, E.; Reichenbach, P.; Frankel, K. L.

2011-12-01

Rock falls are a considerable hazard in Yosemite Valley, California with more than 835 rock falls and other slope movements documented since 1857. Thus, rock falls pose potentially significant risk to the nearly four million annual visitors to Yosemite National Park. Building on earlier hazard assessment work by the U.S. Geological Survey, we performed a quantitative rock-fall hazard and risk assessment for Yosemite Valley. This work was aided by several new data sets, including precise Geographic Information System (GIS) maps of rock-fall deposits, airborne and terrestrial LiDAR-based point cloud data and digital elevation models, and numerical ages of talus deposits. Using Global Position Systems (GPS), we mapped the positions of over 500 boulders on the valley floor and measured their distance relative to the mapped base of talus. Statistical analyses of these data yielded an initial hazard zone that is based on the 90th percentile distance of rock-fall boulders beyond the talus edge. This distance was subsequently scaled (either inward or outward from the 90th percentile line) based on rock-fall frequency information derived from a combination of cosmogenic beryllium-10 exposure dating of boulders beyond the edge of the talus, and computer model simulations of rock-fall runout. The scaled distances provide the basis for a new hazard zone on the floor of Yosemite Valley. Once this zone was delineated, we assembled visitor, employee, and resident use data for each structure within the hazard zone to quantitatively assess risk exposure. Our results identify areas within the new hazard zone that may warrant more detailed study, for example rock-fall susceptibility, which can be assessed through examination of high-resolution photographs, structural measurements on the cliffs, and empirical calculations derived from LiDAR point cloud data. This hazard and risk information is used to inform placement of existing and potential future infrastructure in Yosemite Valley.

Quality Assessments of Long-Term Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Breast Cancer Xenograft Tissues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Jian-Ying; Chen, Lijun; Zhang, Bai; Tian, Yuan; Liu, Tao; Thomas, Stefani N.; Chen, Li; Schnaubelt, Michael; Boja, Emily; Hiltket, Tara; Kinsinger, Christopher; Rodriguez, Henry; Davies, Sherri; Li, Shunqiang; Snider, Jacqueline E.; Erdmann-Gilmore, Petra; Tabb, David L.; Townsend, Reid; Ellis, Matthew; Rodland, Karin D.; Smith, Richard D.; Carr, Steven A.; Zhang, Zhen; Chan, Daniel W.; Zhang, Hui

2017-09-21

The identification of protein biomarkers requires large-scale analysis of human specimens to achieve statistical significance. In this study, we evaluated the long-term reproducibility of an iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification) based quantitative proteomics strategy using one channel for universal normalization across all samples. A total of 307 liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) analyses were completed, generating 107 one-dimensional (1D) LC-MS/MS datasets and 8 offline two-dimensional (2D) LC-MS/MS datasets (25 fractions for each set) for human-in-mouse breast cancer xenograft tissues representative of basal and luminal subtypes. Such large-scale studies require the implementation of robust metrics to assess the contributions of technical and biological variability in the qualitative and quantitative data. Accordingly, we developed a quantification confidence score based on the quality of each peptide-spectrum match (PSM) to remove quantification outliers from each analysis. After combining confidence score filtering and statistical analysis, reproducible protein identification and quantitative results were achieved from LC-MS/MS datasets collected over a 16 month period.

Qualitative and quantitative methods for human factor analysis and assessment in NPP. Investigations and results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hristova, R.; Kalchev, B.; Atanasov, D.

2005-01-01

We consider here two basic groups of methods for analysis and assessment of the human factor in the NPP area and give some results from performed analyses as well. The human factor is the human interaction with the design equipment, with the working environment and takes into account the human capabilities and limits. In the frame of the qualitative methods for analysis of the human factor are considered concepts and structural methods for classifying of the information, connected with the human factor. Emphasize is given to the HPES method for human factor analysis in NPP. Methods for quantitative assessment of the human reliability are considered. These methods allow assigning of probabilities to the elements of the already structured information about human performance. This part includes overview of classical methods for human reliability assessment (HRA, THERP), and methods taking into account specific information about human capabilities and limits and about the man-machine interface (CHR, HEART, ATHEANA). Quantitative and qualitative results concerning human factor influence in the initiating events occurrences in the Kozloduy NPP are presented. (authors)

MO-DE-303-03: Session on quantitative imaging for assessment of tumor response to radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowen, S.

2015-01-01

This session will focus on quantitative imaging for assessment of tumor response to radiation therapy. This is a technically challenging method to translate to practice in radiation therapy. In the new era of precision medicine, however, delivering the right treatment, to the right patient, and at the right time, can positively impact treatment choices and patient outcomes. Quantitative imaging provides the spatial sensitivity required by radiation therapy for precision medicine that is not available by other means. In this Joint ESTRO -AAPM Symposium, three leading-edge investigators will present specific motivations for quantitative imaging biomarkers in radiation therapy of esophageal, head and neck, locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Experiences with the use of dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI, diffusion- weighted (DW) MRI, PET/CT, and SPECT/CT will be presented. Issues covered will include: response prediction, dose-painting, timing between therapy and imaging, within-therapy biomarkers, confounding effects, normal tissue sparing, dose-response modeling, and association with clinical biomarkers and outcomes. Current information will be presented from investigational studies and clinical practice. Learning Objectives: Learn motivations for the use of quantitative imaging biomarkers for assessment of response to radiation therapy Review the potential areas of application in cancer therapy Examine the challenges for translation, including imaging confounds and paucity of evidence to date Compare exemplary examples of the current state of the art in DCE-MRI, DW-MRI, PET/CT and SPECT/CT imaging for assessment of response to radiation therapy Van der Heide: Research grants from the Dutch Cancer Society and the European Union (FP7) Bowen: RSNA Scholar grant

MO-DE-303-03: Session on quantitative imaging for assessment of tumor response to radiation therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowen, S. [University of Washington, School of Medicine: PET/CT and SPECT/CT for Lung and Liver Radiation Therapy Response Assessment of Tumor and Normal Tissue (United States)

2015-06-15

This session will focus on quantitative imaging for assessment of tumor response to radiation therapy. This is a technically challenging method to translate to practice in radiation therapy. In the new era of precision medicine, however, delivering the right treatment, to the right patient, and at the right time, can positively impact treatment choices and patient outcomes. Quantitative imaging provides the spatial sensitivity required by radiation therapy for precision medicine that is not available by other means. In this Joint ESTRO -AAPM Symposium, three leading-edge investigators will present specific motivations for quantitative imaging biomarkers in radiation therapy of esophageal, head and neck, locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Experiences with the use of dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI, diffusion- weighted (DW) MRI, PET/CT, and SPECT/CT will be presented. Issues covered will include: response prediction, dose-painting, timing between therapy and imaging, within-therapy biomarkers, confounding effects, normal tissue sparing, dose-response modeling, and association with clinical biomarkers and outcomes. Current information will be presented from investigational studies and clinical practice. Learning Objectives: Learn motivations for the use of quantitative imaging biomarkers for assessment of response to radiation therapy Review the potential areas of application in cancer therapy Examine the challenges for translation, including imaging confounds and paucity of evidence to date Compare exemplary examples of the current state of the art in DCE-MRI, DW-MRI, PET/CT and SPECT/CT imaging for assessment of response to radiation therapy Van der Heide: Research grants from the Dutch Cancer Society and the European Union (FP7) Bowen: RSNA Scholar grant.

Quantitative MRI assessments of white matter in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Science.gov (United States)

Reddick, Wilburn E.; Glass, John O.; Helton, Kathleen J.; Li, Chin-Shang; Pui, Ching-Hon

2005-04-01

The purpose of this study was to use objective quantitative MR imaging methods to prospectively assess changes in the physiological structure of white matter during the temporal evolution of leukoencephalopathy (LE) in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The longitudinal incidence, extent (proportion of white matter affect), and intensity (elevation of T1 and T2 relaxation rates) of LE was evaluated for 44 children. A combined imaging set consisting of T1, T2, PD, and FLAIR MR images and white matter, gray matter and CSF a priori maps from a spatially normalized atlas were analyzed with a neural network segmentation based on a Kohonen Self-Organizing Map (SOM). Quantitative T1 and T2 relaxation maps were generated using a nonlinear parametric optimization procedure to fit the corresponding multi-exponential models. A Cox proportional regression was performed to estimate the effect of intravenous methotrexate (IV-MTX) exposure on the development of LE followed by a generalized linear model to predict the probability of LE in new patients. Additional T-tests of independent samples were performed to assess differences in quantitative measures of extent and intensity at four different points in therapy. Higher doses and more courses of IV-MTX placed patients at a higher risk of developing LE and were associated with more intense changes affecting more of the white matter volume; many of the changes resolved after completion of therapy. The impact of these changes on neurocognitive functioning and quality of life in survivors remains to be determined.

QACD: A method for the quantitative assessment of compositional distribution in geologic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Loocke, M. P.; Lissenberg, J. C. J.; MacLeod, C. J.

2017-12-01

In order to fully understand the petrogenetic history of a rock, it is critical to obtain a thorough characterization of the chemical and textural relationships of its mineral constituents. Element mapping combines the microanalytical techniques that allow for the analysis of major- and minor elements at high spatial resolutions (e.g., electron microbeam analysis) with 2D mapping of samples in order to provide unprecedented detail regarding the growth histories and compositional distributions of minerals within a sample. We present a method for the acquisition and processing of large area X-ray element maps obtained by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) to produce a quantitative assessment of compositional distribution (QACD) of mineral populations within geologic materials. By optimizing the conditions at which the EDS X-ray element maps are acquired, we are able to obtain full thin section quantitative element maps for most major elements in relatively short amounts of time. Such maps can be used to not only accurately identify all phases and calculate mineral modes for a sample (e.g., a petrographic thin section), but, critically, enable a complete quantitative assessment of their compositions. The QACD method has been incorporated into a python-based, easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) called Quack. The Quack software facilitates the generation of mineral modes, element and molar ratio maps and the quantification of full-sample compositional distributions. The open-source nature of the Quack software provides a versatile platform which can be easily adapted and modified to suit the needs of the user.

Assessment of acute myocarditis by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging: Comparison of qualitative and quantitative analysis methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Imbriaco, Massimo; Nappi, Carmela; Puglia, Marta; De Giorgi, Marco; Dell'Aversana, Serena; Cuocolo, Renato; Ponsiglione, Andrea; De Giorgi, Igino; Polito, Maria Vincenza; Klain, Michele; Piscione, Federico; Pace, Leonardo; Cuocolo, Alberto

2017-10-26

To compare cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) qualitative and quantitative analysis methods for the noninvasive assessment of myocardial inflammation in patients with suspected acute myocarditis (AM). A total of 61 patients with suspected AM underwent coronary angiography and CMR. Qualitative analysis was performed applying Lake-Louise Criteria (LLC), followed by quantitative analysis based on the evaluation of edema ratio (ER) and global relative enhancement (RE). Diagnostic performance was assessed for each method by measuring the area under the curves (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic analyses. The final diagnosis of AM was based on symptoms and signs suggestive of cardiac disease, evidence of myocardial injury as defined by electrocardiogram changes, elevated troponin I, exclusion of coronary artery disease by coronary angiography, and clinical and echocardiographic follow-up at 3 months after admission to the chest pain unit. In all patients, coronary angiography did not show significant coronary artery stenosis. Troponin I levels and creatine kinase were higher in patients with AM compared to those without (both P quantitative (ER 0.89 and global RE 0.80) analyses were also similar. Qualitative and quantitative CMR analysis methods show similar diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis of AM. These findings suggest that a simplified approach using a shortened CMR protocol including only T2-weighted STIR sequences might be useful to rule out AM in patients with acute coronary syndrome and normal coronary angiography.

The spermatogenic process of the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus under a histomorphometric view.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danielle Barbosa Morais

Full Text Available Among all bat species, Desmodus rotundus stands out as one of the most intriguing due to its exclusively haematophagous feeding habits. However, little is known about their spermatogenic cycle. This study aimed at describing the spermatogenic process of common vampire bats through testicular histomorphometric characterization of adult specimens, spermatogenic production indexes, description of stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle and estimative of the spermatogenic process duration. Morphometrical and immunohistochemical analyzes for bromodeoxiuridine were conducted under light microscopy and ultrastructural analyzes were performed under transmission electron microscopy. Vampire bats showed higher investment in gonadal tissue (gonadosomatic index of 0.54% and in seminiferous tubules (tubulesomatic index of 0.49% when compared to larger mammals. They also showed a high tubular length per gram of testis (34.70 m. Approximately half of the intertubular compartment was found to be comprised by Leydig cells (51.20%, and an average of 23.77x106 of these cells was found per gram of testis. The germline cells showed 16.93% of mitotic index and 2.51% of meiotic index. The overall yield of spermatogenesis was 60% and the testicular spermatic reserve was 71.44x107 spermatozoa per gram of testis. With a total spermatogenesis duration estimated at 37.02 days, vampire bats showed a daily sperm production of 86.80x106 gametes per gram of testis. These findings demonstrate a high sperm production, which is commonly observed in species with promiscuous mating system.

Sugar concentration in nectar: a quantitative metric of crop attractiveness for refined pollinator risk assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Knopper, Loren D; Dan, Tereza; Reisig, Dominic D; Johnson, Josephine D; Bowers, Lisa M

2016-10-01

Those involved with pollinator risk assessment know that agricultural crops vary in attractiveness to bees. Intuitively, this means that exposure to agricultural pesticides is likely greatest for attractive plants and lowest for unattractive plants. While crop attractiveness in the risk assessment process has been qualitatively remarked on by some authorities, absent is direction on how to refine the process with quantitative metrics of attractiveness. At a high level, attractiveness of crops to bees appears to depend on several key variables, including but not limited to: floral, olfactory, visual and tactile cues; seasonal availability; physical and behavioral characteristics of the bee; plant and nectar rewards. Notwithstanding the complexities and interactions among these variables, sugar content in nectar stands out as a suitable quantitative metric by which to refine pollinator risk assessments for attractiveness. Provided herein is a proposed way to use sugar nectar concentration to adjust the exposure parameter (with what is called a crop attractiveness factor) in the calculation of risk quotients in order to derive crop-specific tier I assessments. This Perspective is meant to invite discussion on incorporating such changes in the risk assessment process. © 2016 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Quantitative assessment of finger motor impairment in multiple sclerosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Bonzano

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To address the disability impact on fine hand motor functions in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS by quantitatively measuring finger opposition movements, with the aim of providing a new "score" integrating current methods for disability assessment. METHODS: 40 MS patients (Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS: 0-7 and 80 healthy controls (HC performed a repetitive finger-to-thumb opposition sequence with their dominant hand at spontaneous and maximal velocity, and uni- and bi-manually metronome-paced. A sensor-engineered glove was used to measure finger motor performance. Twenty-seven HC were tested twice, one month apart, to assess test-retest reliability. RESULTS: The motor parameters showed a good reproducibility in HC and demonstrated significantly worse performance in MS patients with respect to HC. A multivariate model revealed that rate of movement in the spontaneous velocity condition and inter-hand interval (IHI, indicating bimanual coordination, contributed independently to differentiate the two groups. A finger motor impairment score based on these two parameters was able to discriminate HC from MS patients with very low EDSS scores (p<0.001: a significant difference was already evident for patients with EDSS = 0. Further, in the MS group, some motor performance parameters correlated with the clinical scores. In particular, significant correlations were found between IHI and EDSS (r = 0.56; p<0.0001, MS Functional Composite (r = -0.40; p = 0.01, Paced Auditory Serial Addition (r = -0.38; p = 0.02. No motor performance parameter correlated with Timed 25-Foot Walk. CONCLUSIONS: A simple, quantitative, objective method measuring finger motor performance could be used to define a score discriminating healthy controls and MS patients, even with very low disability. This sensitivity might be of crucial importance for monitoring the disease course and the treatment effects in early MS patients, when

Serial quantitative MR assessment of optic neuritis in a case of neuromyelitis optica, using gadolinium-'enhanced' STIR imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barkhof, F.; Scheltens, P.; Valk, J. (Vrije Univ., Amsterdam (Netherlands). Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology); Waalewijn, C.; Uitdehaag, B.M.J.; Polman, C.H. (Vrije Univ., Amsterdam (Netherlands). Dept. of Neurology)

1991-02-01

A patient is presented with neuromyelitis optica. MR imaging, using a short inversion time inversion recovery (STIR) technique, clearly depicted the lesion in the left optic nerve. Subsequent serial STIR imaging, with and without Gadolinium-DTPA, allowed quantitative assessment of changes parallel to improved optic nerve function. STIR imaging is a sensitive technique to demonstrate optic nerve lesions, and enables quantitative assessment to be made of the effect of (steroid) medication. (orig.).

Anatomic and Quantitative Temporal Bone CT for Preoperative Assessment of Branchio-Oto-Renal Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Ginat, D T; Ferro, L; Gluth, M B

2016-12-01

We describe the temporal bone computed tomography (CT) findings of an unusual case of branchio-oto-renal syndrome with ectopic ossicles that are partially located in the middle cranial fossa. We also describe quantitative temporal bone CT assessment pertaining to cochlear implantation in the setting of anomalous cochlear anatomy associated with this syndrome.

A study on framework for assessing limiting condition for operation(LCOs) quantitatively in a CANDU reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Kyung Min

2003-02-01

Limiting conditions for operations define the allowed outage times and the actions to be taken if the repair cannot be completed within the AOT. Typically the actions required are plant shutdown. In situations where the risk associated with the action, i.e., the risk of plant shutdown given a failure in the safety system, may be substantial, a strategy is needed to control the risk implications. In this study the strategy is evaluated quantitatively using a tool of system dynamics. The strategic actions associated with LCO needs to be assessed dynamically. System dynamics technique is easy enough to be applied for quantitative assessment of LCO, where the system dynamics is an important factor in evaluating operational modes of nuclear power plants. The review on the improvements of overly conservative technical specification has been performed in this study. The VENSIM tool has been applied to evaluate quantitatively the LCO of the auxiliary feed water systems in the Wol-Sung nuclear power plant. A value of core damage frequency in PSA is used as risk measure. The analysis of both full power operation and shutdown operation has been compared for the value of the CDF. This study shows a plot of LCO full power operating and shutdown risks in term of core damage probability for failure of AFWS (auxiliary feedwater system). Obtaining a lower risk level in a stable mode, compared to the LCO operation alternative, is the principal motivation of going to full power operational mode or shutdown operational mode. A time dependent framework developed in this study has been applied to assess the LCO of the example problem and it is shown that it is very flexible in that it can be applied to assess LCO quantitatively under any operational context of the technical specifications. This study contributes risk informed regulation to enhance and optimize the LCO of previous technical specifications for CANDU through developing framework in application proposed in this methodology

Digital photogrammetry and histomorphometric assessment of the effect of non-coherent light (light-emitting diode) therapy (λ640 ± 20 nm) on the repair of third-degree burns in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Neves, Silvana Maria Véras; Nicolau, Renata Amadei; Filho, Antônio Luiz Martins Maia; Mendes, Lianna Martha Soares; Veloso, Ana Maria

2014-01-01

Recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of coherent light therapy from the red region of the electromagnetic spectrum on the tissue-healing process. This study analysed the effect of non-coherent light therapy (light-emitting diode-LED) with or without silver sulfadiazine (sulpha) on the healing process of third-degree burns. In this study, 72 rats with third-degree burns were randomly divided into six groups (n = 12): Gr1 (control), Gr2 (non-contact LED), Gr3 (contact LED), Gr4 (sulfadiazine), Gr5 (sulfadiazine + non-contact LED) and Gr6 (sulfadiazine + contact LED). The groups treated with LED therapy received treatment every 48 h (λ = 640 ± 20 nm, 110 mW, 16 J/cm(2); 41 s with contact and 680 s without contact). The digital photometric and histomorphometric analyses were conducted after the burn occurred. The combination of sulpha and LED (contact or non-contact) improved the healing of burn wounds. These results demonstrate that the combination of silver sulfadiazine with LED therapy (λ = 640 ± 20 nm, 4 J/cm(2), without contact) improves healing of third-degree burn wounds, significantly reduces the lesion area and increases the granulation tissue, increases the number of fibroblasts, promotes collagen synthesis and prevents burn infections by accelerating recovery.

Expert judgement models in quantitative risk assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosqvist, T. [VTT Automation, Helsinki (Finland); Tuominen, R. [VTT Automation, Tampere (Finland)

1999-12-01

Expert judgement is a valuable source of information in risk management. Especially, risk-based decision making relies significantly on quantitative risk assessment, which requires numerical data describing the initiator event frequencies and conditional probabilities in the risk model. This data is seldom found in databases and has to be elicited from qualified experts. In this report, we discuss some modelling approaches to expert judgement in risk modelling. A classical and a Bayesian expert model is presented and applied to real case expert judgement data. The cornerstone in the models is the log-normal distribution, which is argued to be a satisfactory choice for modelling degree-of-belief type probability distributions with respect to the unknown parameters in a risk model. Expert judgements are qualified according to bias, dispersion, and dependency, which are treated differently in the classical and Bayesian approaches. The differences are pointed out and related to the application task. Differences in the results obtained from the different approaches, as applied to real case expert judgement data, are discussed. Also, the role of a degree-of-belief type probability in risk decision making is discussed.

Expert judgement models in quantitative risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosqvist, T.; Tuominen, R.

1999-01-01

Expert judgement is a valuable source of information in risk management. Especially, risk-based decision making relies significantly on quantitative risk assessment, which requires numerical data describing the initiator event frequencies and conditional probabilities in the risk model. This data is seldom found in databases and has to be elicited from qualified experts. In this report, we discuss some modelling approaches to expert judgement in risk modelling. A classical and a Bayesian expert model is presented and applied to real case expert judgement data. The cornerstone in the models is the log-normal distribution, which is argued to be a satisfactory choice for modelling degree-of-belief type probability distributions with respect to the unknown parameters in a risk model. Expert judgements are qualified according to bias, dispersion, and dependency, which are treated differently in the classical and Bayesian approaches. The differences are pointed out and related to the application task. Differences in the results obtained from the different approaches, as applied to real case expert judgement data, are discussed. Also, the role of a degree-of-belief type probability in risk decision making is discussed

Quantitative assessment of wound-healing process as a response to laser-induced micro-injuries

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yang; Bargo, Paulo; Kollias, Nikiforos

2009-02-01

Currently, most investigations of wound healing rely on invasive biopsy followed by histology and immunohistochemistry staining. There is a great need to develop non-invasive techniques for in vivo diagnostic, clinical and scientific evaluation. Here, we performed a comprehensive investigation on the dynamic wound healing process as a response to laser-induced microinjuries using non-invasive imaging techniques such as reflectance laser-scanning confocal microscopy and video microscopy. Eight healthy subjects ranging from Fitzpatrick skin type II-VI with age from 27 to 57 years were recruited. The volar forearm of each subject was treated with a laser device that generates an array of microbeams with an infrared wavelength. The microscopic changes of epidermal cells and collagen during the wound healing process were assessed non-invasively using confocal microscopy. We also developed a quantitative method to evaluate the dynamic wound healing process at the microscopic level in three areas of interest: (1) treated micro-wounding zone, (2) surrounding collateral damage zone and (3) normal area. The depth-dependent intensity profile derived from reflectance confocal microscope images clearly distinguishes the three areas of interest and quantitatively measures the cellular structure-associated changes. A progressive change in depth-dependent intensity profiles in subjects with different ages parallels the clinical observation of wound healing rate. The quantitative analysis developed in this study may find broad applications in assessing the skin response to treatment at a microscopic level.

Analysis of Experts’ Quantitative Assessment of Adolescent Basketball Players and the Role of Anthropometric and Physiological Attributes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Štrumbelj Erik

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigated two questions: (1 can measurements of anthropometric and physiological attributes substitute for expert assessment of adolescent basketball players, and (2 how much does the quantitative assessment of a player vary among experts? The first question is relevant to the potential simplification of the player selection process. The second question pertains directly to the validity of expert quantitative assessment. Our research was based on data from 148 U14 female and male basketball players. For each player, an array of anthropometric and physiological attributes was recorded, including body height, body mass, BMI, and several motor skill tests. Furthermore, each player's current ability and potential ability were quantitatively evaluated by two different experts from a group of seven experts. Analysis of the recorded data showed that the anthropometric and physiological attributes explained between 15% and 40% of the variance in experts’ scores. The primary predictive attributes were speed and agility (for predicting current ability and body height and growth potential (for predicting potential ability. We concluded that these attributes were not sufficiently informative to act as a substitute for expert assessment of the players’ current or potential ability. There is substantial variability in different experts' scores of the same player’s ability. However, the differences between experts are mostly in scale, and the relationships between experts’ scores are monotonic. That is, different experts rank players on ability very similarly, but their scores are not well calibrated.

A combined usage of stochastic and quantitative risk assessment methods in the worksites: Application on an electric power provider

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marhavilas, P.K.; Koulouriotis, D.E.

2012-01-01

An individual method cannot build either a realistic forecasting model or a risk assessment process in the worksites, and future perspectives should focus on the combined forecasting/estimation approach. The main purpose of this paper is to gain insight into a risk prediction and estimation methodological framework, using the combination of three different methods, including the proportional quantitative-risk-assessment technique (PRAT), the time-series stochastic process (TSP), and the method of estimating the societal-risk (SRE) by F–N curves. In order to prove the usefulness of the combined usage of stochastic and quantitative risk assessment methods, an application on an electric power provider industry is presented to, using empirical data.

Deformation of the Early Glaucomatous Monkey Optic Nerve Head Connective Tissue after Acute IOP Elevation in 3-D Histomorphometric Reconstructions

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hongli; Thompson, Hilary; Roberts, Michael D.; Sigal, Ian A.; Downs, J. Crawford

2011-01-01

Purpose. To retest the hypothesis that monkey ONH connective tissues become hypercompliant in early experimental glaucoma (EEG), by using 3-D histomorphometric reconstructions, and to expand the characterization of EEG connective tissue deformation to nine EEG eyes. Methods. Trephinated ONH and peripapillary sclera from both eyes of nine monkeys that were perfusion fixed, with one normal eye at IOP 10 mm Hg and the other EEG eye at 10 (n = 3), 30 (n = 3), or 45 (n = 3) mm Hg were serial sectioned, 3-D reconstructed, 3-D delineated, and quantified with 3-D reconstruction techniques developed in prior studies by the authors. Overall, and for each monkey, intereye differences (EEG eye minus normal eye) for each parameter were calculated and compared by ANOVA. Hypercompliance in the EEG 30 and 45 eyes was assessed by ANOVA, and deformations in all nine EEG eyes were separately compared by region without regard for fixation IOP. Results. Hypercompliant deformation was not significant in the overall ANOVA, but was suggested in a subset of EEG 30/45 eyes. EEG eye deformations included posterior laminar deformation, neural canal expansion, lamina cribrosa thickening, and posterior (outward) bowing of the peripapillary sclera. Maximum posterior laminar deformation and scleral canal expansion co-localized to either the inferior nasal or superior temporal quadrants in the eyes with the least deformation and involved both quadrants in the eyes achieving the greatest deformation. Conclusions. The data suggest that, in monkey EEG, ONH connective tissue hypercompliance may occur only in a subset of eyes and that early ONH connective tissue deformation is maximized in the superior temporal and/or inferior nasal quadrants. PMID:20702834

Qualitative versus quantitative assessment of cerebrovascular reserve capacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuguchi, Taku

2000-01-01

Quantitative studies of cerebral blood flow (CBF) combined with a acetazolamide (ACZ) challenge have defined a subgroup of patients with symptomatic carotid or middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusive diseases who are at an increased risk for stroke. Recent reports suggest that qualitative CBF techniques could also define the same high-risk subgroup. To evaluate the accuracy of the qualitative method, we compared qualitative ratios with quantitative CBF data, obtained using iodine-123-N-isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine (IMP) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We analyzed qualitative and quantitative IMP SPECT images for 50 patients with symptomatic carotid or middle cerebral artery occlusive diseases. Quantitative CBF data were measured by the autoradiographic technique. One region-of-interest within each hemisphere was within the MCA territory. Relative cerebrovascular reserve capacity (CVRC) obtained using qualitative images before and after the intravenous administration of 1 g of ACZ was defined as follows: ( ACZ C occl / ACZ C non )/( baseline C occl / baseline C non ). The threshold for abnormal relative CVRC was defined as less than 1.0. Quantitative CBF was considered abnormal when the response to ACZ (percent change) on the symptomatic side (absolute CVRC) was a decrease of more than 10%. Of 39 patients whose relative CVRC were considered abnormal, 29 (74%) were normal in absolute CVRC (i.e., false positive). Two of 12 (17%) who were not considered compromised by qualitative criteria had abnormal absolute CVRC (i.e., false negative). This study demonstrates that this important subgroup cannot be accurately defined with qualitative methodology. (author)

Qualitative versus quantitative assessment of cerebrovascular reserve capacity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okuguchi, Taku [Iwate Medical Univ., Morioka (Japan). School of Medicine

2000-06-01

Quantitative studies of cerebral blood flow (CBF) combined with a acetazolamide (ACZ) challenge have defined a subgroup of patients with symptomatic carotid or middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusive diseases who are at an increased risk for stroke. Recent reports suggest that qualitative CBF techniques could also define the same high-risk subgroup. To evaluate the accuracy of the qualitative method, we compared qualitative ratios with quantitative CBF data, obtained using iodine-123-N-isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine (IMP) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We analyzed qualitative and quantitative IMP SPECT images for 50 patients with symptomatic carotid or middle cerebral artery occlusive diseases. Quantitative CBF data were measured by the autoradiographic technique. One region-of-interest within each hemisphere was within the MCA territory. Relative cerebrovascular reserve capacity (CVRC) obtained using qualitative images before and after the intravenous administration of 1 g of ACZ was defined as follows: ({sub ACZ}C{sub occl}/{sub ACZ}C{sub non})/({sub baseline}C{sub occl}/{sub baseline}C{sub n}= {sub on}). The threshold for abnormal relative CVRC was defined as less than 1.0. Quantitative CBF was considered abnormal when the response to ACZ (percent change) on the symptomatic side (absolute CVRC) was a decrease of more than 10%. Of 39 patients whose relative CVRC were considered abnormal, 29 (74%) were normal in absolute CVRC (i.e., false positive). Two of 12 (17%) who were not considered compromised by qualitative criteria had abnormal absolute CVRC (i.e., false negative). This study demonstrates that this important subgroup cannot be accurately defined with qualitative methodology. (author)

Development of performance assessment methodology for establishment of quantitative acceptance criteria of near-surface radioactive waste disposal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, C. R.; Lee, E. Y.; Park, J. W.; Chang, G. M.; Park, H. Y.; Yeom, Y. S. [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2002-03-15

The contents and the scope of this study are as follows : review of state-of-the-art on the establishment of waste acceptance criteria in foreign near-surface radioactive waste disposal facilities, investigation of radiological assessment methodologies and scenarios, investigation of existing models and computer codes used in performance/safety assessment, development of a performance assessment methodology(draft) to derive quantitatively radionuclide acceptance criteria of domestic near-surface disposal facility, preliminary performance/safety assessment in accordance with the developed methodology.

Quantitative assessment of finger motor performance: Normative data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessio Signori

Full Text Available Finger opposition movements are the basis of many daily living activities and are essential in general for manipulating objects; an engineered glove quantitatively assessing motor performance during sequences of finger opposition movements has been shown to be useful to provide reliable measures of finger motor impairment, even subtle, in subjects affected by neurological diseases. However, the obtained behavioral parameters lack published reference values.To determine mean values for different motor behavioral parameters describing the strategy adopted by healthy people in performing repeated sequences of finger opposition movements, examining associations with gender and age.Normative values for finger motor performance parameters were obtained on a sample of 255 healthy volunteers executing sequences of finger-to-thumb opposition movements, stratified by gender and over a wide range of ages. Touch duration, inter-tapping interval, movement rate, correct sequences (%, movements in advance compared with a metronome (% and inter-hand interval were assessed.Increasing age resulted in decreased movement speed, advance movements with respect to a cue, correctness of sequences, and bimanual coordination. No significant performance differences were found between male and female subjects except for the duration of the finger touch, the interval between two successive touches and their ratio.We report age- and gender-specific normal mean values and ranges for different parameters objectively describing the performance of finger opposition movement sequences, which may serve as useful references for clinicians to identify possible deficits in subjects affected by diseases altering fine hand motor skills.

Osseointegration of dental implants in Macaca fascicularis

Science.gov (United States)

Dewi, R. S.; Odang, R. W.; Odelia, L.

2017-08-01

Osseointegration is an important factor in determining the success of a dental implant. It can be assessed from the osseointegration that occurs between the implant and the bone. The implant stability is determined by the osseous support at the implant-bone interface, which is commonly evaluated by histomorphometric analysis. This study aimed to evaluate whether the osseointegration level measured by a Low Resonance Frequency Analyzer (LRFA) gave results as good as those obtained by histomorphometric examination. Six male Macaca fascicularis were used in this study. In each animal, two types of loading were performed: immediate and delayed loading. Clinical examination and LRFA measurement were performed to determine osseointegration at the first and second weeks and at the first, second, third, and fourth months. After four months, histomorphometric examination was performed. The relationship between the histomorphometric examination and LRFA measurement was compared using the Pearson correlation coefficient. There was no significant difference in the osseointegration between immediate loading and delayed loading (p > 0.05) The bone-implant contact percentage in the first group did not differ significantly from that in the second group. Statistical analysis showed that there was a strong correlation between LRFA measurement and histomorphometric examination. Osseointegration could be evaluated through LRFA measurement as well as through histomorphometric examination.

Quantitative Analysis of Ductile Iron Microstructure – A Comparison of Selected Methods for Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mrzygłód B.

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Stereological description of dispersed microstructure is not an easy task and remains the subject of continuous research. In its practical aspect, a correct stereological description of this type of structure is essential for the analysis of processes of coagulation and spheroidisation, or for studies of relationships between structure and properties. One of the most frequently used methods for an estimation of the density Nv and size distribution of particles is the Scheil - Schwartz - Saltykov method. In this article, the authors present selected methods for quantitative assessment of ductile iron microstructure, i.e. the Scheil - Schwartz - Saltykov method, which allows a quantitative description of three-dimensional sets of solids using measurements and counts performed on two-dimensional cross-sections of these sets (microsections and quantitative description of three-dimensional sets of solids by X-ray computed microtomography, which is an interesting alternative for structural studies compared to traditional methods of microstructure imaging since, as a result, the analysis provides a three-dimensional imaging of microstructures examined.

Quantitative bronchial luminal volumetric assessment of pulmonary function loss by thin-section MDCT in pulmonary emphysema patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koyama, Hisanobu; Ohno, Yoshiharu; Yamazaki, Youichi; Onishi, Yumiko; Takenaka, Daisuke; Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Nishio, Mizuho; Matsumoto, Sumiaki; Murase, Kenya; Nishimura, Yoshihiro; Sugimura, Kazuro

2012-01-01

Objectives: To determine the capability of quantitative bronchial luminal volume to assess pulmonary function loss and disease severity in pulmonary emphysema patients. Methods: Thirty-seven smokers (mean age, 68.1 years) underwent CT examinations and pulmonary function tests. For the quantitative assessment, luminal voxels of trachea and bronchi were computationally counted and the ratio of the following luminal voxels to all luminal voxels was obtained: (1) the lobe bronchi and the peripheral bronchi (Ratio lobe ), and (2) the main bronchi and the peripheral bronchi (Ratio main ). To determine the capability of these assessments to predict pulmonary function loss, these ratios were correlated with pulmonary function tests. To determine the capability for predicting disease severity, these ratios were compared between clinical groups. Results: These ratios were no significant correlated with vital capacity and forced vital capacity (FVC) (p > 0.05), however significantly correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) (Ratio lobe : r = 0.61, p main : r = 0.58, p lobe : r = 0.36, p main : r = 0.33, p lobe of smokers without COPD was significantly different from those of moderate COPD and severe or very severe COPD (p main of severe or very severe COPD patients was significantly different from those of other groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Quantitative bronchial luminal volumes were reflected the airflow limitation parameters and was corresponded to clinical groups in emphysema patients.

A suite of models to support the quantitative assessment of spread in pest risk analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Robinet, C.; Kehlenbeck, H.; Werf, van der W.

2012-01-01

In the frame of the EU project PRATIQUE (KBBE-2007-212459 Enhancements of pest risk analysis techniques) a suite of models was developed to support the quantitative assessment of spread in pest risk analysis. This dataset contains the model codes (R language) for the four models in the suite. Three

Databases applicable to quantitative hazard/risk assessment-Towards a predictive systems toxicology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waters, Michael; Jackson, Marcus

2008-01-01

The Workshop on The Power of Aggregated Toxicity Data addressed the requirement for distributed databases to support quantitative hazard and risk assessment. The authors have conceived and constructed with federal support several databases that have been used in hazard identification and risk assessment. The first of these databases, the EPA Gene-Tox Database was developed for the EPA Office of Toxic Substances by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and is currently hosted by the National Library of Medicine. This public resource is based on the collaborative evaluation, by government, academia, and industry, of short-term tests for the detection of mutagens and presumptive carcinogens. The two-phased evaluation process resulted in more than 50 peer-reviewed publications on test system performance and a qualitative database on thousands of chemicals. Subsequently, the graphic and quantitative EPA/IARC Genetic Activity Profile (GAP) Database was developed in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A chemical database driven by consideration of the lowest effective dose, GAP has served IARC for many years in support of hazard classification of potential human carcinogens. The Toxicological Activity Profile (TAP) prototype database was patterned after GAP and utilized acute, subchronic, and chronic data from the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. TAP demonstrated the flexibility of the GAP format for air toxics, water pollutants and other environmental agents. The GAP format was also applied to developmental toxicants and was modified to represent quantitative results from the rodent carcinogen bioassay. More recently, the authors have constructed: 1) the NIEHS Genetic Alterations in Cancer (GAC) Database which quantifies specific mutations found in cancers induced by environmental agents, and 2) the NIEHS Chemical Effects in Biological Systems (CEBS) Knowledgebase that integrates genomic and other biological data including

Quantitative assessment of biological impact using transcriptomic data and mechanistic network models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomson, Ty M.; Sewer, Alain; Martin, Florian; Belcastro, Vincenzo; Frushour, Brian P.; Gebel, Stephan; Park, Jennifer; Schlage, Walter K.; Talikka, Marja; Vasilyev, Dmitry M.; Westra, Jurjen W.; Hoeng, Julia; Peitsch, Manuel C.

2013-01-01

Exposure to biologically active substances such as therapeutic drugs or environmental toxicants can impact biological systems at various levels, affecting individual molecules, signaling pathways, and overall cellular processes. The ability to derive mechanistic insights from the resulting system responses requires the integration of experimental measures with a priori knowledge about the system and the interacting molecules therein. We developed a novel systems biology-based methodology that leverages mechanistic network models and transcriptomic data to quantitatively assess the biological impact of exposures to active substances. Hierarchically organized network models were first constructed to provide a coherent framework for investigating the impact of exposures at the molecular, pathway and process levels. We then validated our methodology using novel and previously published experiments. For both in vitro systems with simple exposure and in vivo systems with complex exposures, our methodology was able to recapitulate known biological responses matching expected or measured phenotypes. In addition, the quantitative results were in agreement with experimental endpoint data for many of the mechanistic effects that were assessed, providing further objective confirmation of the approach. We conclude that our methodology evaluates the biological impact of exposures in an objective, systematic, and quantifiable manner, enabling the computation of a systems-wide and pan-mechanistic biological impact measure for a given active substance or mixture. Our results suggest that various fields of human disease research, from drug development to consumer product testing and environmental impact analysis, could benefit from using this methodology. - Highlights: • The impact of biologically active substances is quantified at multiple levels. • The systems-level impact integrates the perturbations of individual networks. • The networks capture the relationships between

Development, validation and implementation of a quantitative food frequency questionnaire to assess habitual vitamin D intake

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiely, M.; Collins, A.; Lucey, A. J.

2016-01-01

Background A well-designed, validated quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) could offer an efficient and cost-effective method for assessing habitual vitamin D intake. The present study aimed to describe the development, validation and implementation of a vitamin D FFQ. Methods National...

Occupational hand eczema caused by nickel and evaluated by quantitative exposure assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Peter; Thyssen, Jacob Pontoppidan; Johansen, Jeanne D

2011-01-01

Background. EU legislation has reduced the epidemic of nickel contact allergy affecting the consumer, and shifted the focus towards occupational exposure. The acid wipe sampling technique was developed to quantitatively determine skin exposure to metals. Objectives. To assess the clinical...... dilution series were performed. Results. Nickel was detected in all samples from the hands. In all patients, the nickel content on the hands was higher than on the non-exposed control area. Conclusions. Occupational exposure to nickel-releasing items raised the nickel content on exposed skin as compared...

Local scale multiple quantitative risk assessment and uncertainty evaluation in a densely urbanised area (Brescia, Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Lari

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The study of the interactions between natural and anthropogenic risks is necessary for quantitative risk assessment in areas affected by active natural processes, high population density and strong economic activities.

We present a multiple quantitative risk assessment on a 420 km² high risk area (Brescia and surroundings, Lombardy, Northern Italy, for flood, seismic and industrial accident scenarios. Expected economic annual losses are quantified for each scenario and annual exceedance probability-loss curves are calculated. Uncertainty on the input variables is propagated by means of three different methodologies: Monte-Carlo-Simulation, First Order Second Moment, and point estimate.

Expected losses calculated by means of the three approaches show similar values for the whole study area, about 64 000 000 € for earthquakes, about 10 000 000 € for floods, and about 3000 € for industrial accidents. Locally, expected losses assume quite different values if calculated with the three different approaches, with differences up to 19%.

The uncertainties on the expected losses and their propagation, performed with the three methods, are compared and discussed in the paper. In some cases, uncertainty reaches significant values (up to almost 50% of the expected loss. This underlines the necessity of including uncertainty in quantitative risk assessment, especially when it is used as a support for territorial planning and decision making. The method is developed thinking at a possible application at a regional-national scale, on the basis of data available in Italy over the national territory.

Development of quantitative analysis method for stereotactic brain image. Assessment of reduced accumulation in extent and severity using anatomical segmentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizumura, Sunao; Kumita, Shin-ichiro; Cho, Keiichi; Ishihara, Makiko; Nakajo, Hidenobu; Toba, Masahiro; Kumazaki, Tatsuo

2003-01-01

Through visual assessment by three-dimensional (3D) brain image analysis methods using stereotactic brain coordinates system, such as three-dimensional stereotactic surface projections and statistical parametric mapping, it is difficult to quantitatively assess anatomical information and the range of extent of an abnormal region. In this study, we devised a method to quantitatively assess local abnormal findings by segmenting a brain map according to anatomical structure. Through quantitative local abnormality assessment using this method, we studied the characteristics of distribution of reduced blood flow in cases with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). Using twenty-five cases with DAT (mean age, 68.9 years old), all of whom were diagnosed as probable Alzheimer's disease based on National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA), we collected I-123 iodoamphetamine SPECT data. A 3D brain map using the 3D-stereotactic surface projections (SSP) program was compared with the data of 20 cases in the control group, who age-matched the subject cases. To study local abnormalities on the 3D images, we divided the whole brain into 24 segments based on anatomical classification. We assessed the extent of an abnormal region in each segment (rate of the coordinates with a Z-value that exceeds the threshold value, in all coordinates within a segment), and severity (average Z-value of the coordinates with a Z-value that exceeds the threshold value). This method clarified orientation and expansion of reduced accumulation, through classifying stereotactic brain coordinates according to the anatomical structure. This method was considered useful for quantitatively grasping distribution abnormalities in the brain and changes in abnormality distribution. (author)

Residual Isocyanates in Medical Devices and Products: A Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gillian Franklin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We conducted a pilot qualitative and quantitative assessment of residual isocyanates and their potential initial exposures in neonates, as little is known about their contact effect. After a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU stockroom inventory, polyurethane (PU and PU foam (PUF devices and products were qualitatively evaluated for residual isocyanates using Surface SWYPE ™ . Those containing isocyanates were quantitatively tested for methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI species, using UPLC-UV-MS/MS method. Ten of 37 products and devices tested, indicated both free and bound residual surface isocyanates; PU/PUF pieces contained aromatic isocyanates; one product contained aliphatic isocyanates. Overall, quantified mean MDI concentrations were low (4,4‘-MDI = 0.52 to 140.1 pg/mg and (2,4‘-MDI = 0.01 to 4.48 pg/mg. The 4,4‘-MDI species had the highest measured concentration (280 pg/mg. Commonly used medical devices/products contain low, but measurable concentrations of residual isocyanates. Quantifying other isocyanate species and neonatal skin exposure to isocyanates from these devices and products requires further investigation.

The additive prognostic value of perfusion and functional data assessed by quantitative gated SPECT in women

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Y.G.C.J. America (Yves); J.J. Bax (Jeroen); H. Boersma (Eric); M. Stokkel (Marcel); E.E. van der Wall (Ernst)

2009-01-01

textabstractBackground: The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of technetium-99m tetrofosmin gated SPECT imaging in women using quantitative gated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. Methods: We followed 453 consecutive female patients. Average follow-up was

A quantitative genetic approach to assess the evolutionary potential of a coastal marine fish to ocean acidification

KAUST Repository

Malvezzi, Alex J.; Murray, Christopher S.; Feldheim, Kevin A.; DiBattista, Joseph; Garant, Dany; Gobler, Christopher J.; Chapman, Demian D.; Baumann, Hannes

2015-01-01

Assessing the potential of marine organisms to adapt genetically to increasing oceanic CO2 levels requires proxies such as heritability of fitness-related traits under ocean acidification (OA). We applied a quantitative genetic method to derive

Quantitative assessment of spinal cord injury using circularly polarized coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Kideog; Zheng, Wei; Huang, Zhiwei

2017-08-01

We report the quantitative assessment of spinal cord injury using the circularly polarized coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CP-CARS) technique together with Stokes parameters in the Poincaré sphere. The pump and Stokes excitation beams are circularly polarized to suppress both the linear polarization-dependent artifacts and the nonresonant background of tissue CARS imaging, enabling quantitative CP-CARS image analysis. This study shows that CP-CARS imaging uncovers significantly increased phase retardance of injured spinal cord tissue as compared to normal tissue, suggesting that CP-CARS is an appealing label-free imaging tool for determining the degree of tissue phase retardance, which could serve as a unique diagnostic parameter associated with nervous tissue injury.

Monitoring and quantitative assessment of tumor burden using in vivo bioluminescence imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, C.-C. [Cancer Research Division, National Health Research Institute, Miaoli 350, Taiwan (China); Hwang, Jeng-Jong [Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan (China)]. E-mail: jjhwang@ym.edu.tw; Ting, G. [Cancer Research Division, National Health Research Institute, Miaoli 350, Taiwan (China); Tseng, Y.-L. [Taiwan Liposome Company, Taipei 115, Taiwan (China); Wang, S.-J. [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan (China); Whang-Peng, J. [Cancer Research Division, National Health Research Institute, Miaoli 350, Taiwan (China)

2007-02-01

In vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) is a sensitive imaging modality that is rapid and accessible, and may comprise an ideal tool for evaluating tumor growth. In this study, the kinetic of tumor growth has been assessed in C26 colon carcinoma bearing BALB/c mouse model. The ability of BLI to noninvasively quantitate the growth of subcutaneous tumors transplanted with C26 cells genetically engineered to stably express firefly luciferase and herpes simplex virus type-1 thymidine kinase (C26/tk-luc). A good correlation (R {sup 2}=0.998) of photon emission to the cell number was found in vitro. Tumor burden and tumor volume were monitored in vivo over time by quantitation of photon emission using Xenogen IVIS 50 and standard external caliper measurement, respectively. At various time intervals, tumor-bearing mice were imaged to determine the correlation of in vivo BLI to tumor volume. However, a correlation of BLI to tumor volume was observed when tumor volume was smaller than 1000 mm{sup 3} (R {sup 2}=0.907). {gamma} Scintigraphy combined with [{sup 131}I]FIAU was another imaging modality used for verifying the previous results. In conclusion, this study showed that bioluminescence imaging is a powerful and quantitative tool for the direct assay to monitor tumor growth in vivo. The dual reporter genes transfected tumor-bearing animal model can be applied in the evaluation of the efficacy of new developed anti-cancer drugs.

Monitoring and quantitative assessment of tumor burden using in vivo bioluminescence imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, C.-C.; Hwang, Jeng-Jong; Ting, G.; Tseng, Y.-L.; Wang, S.-J.; Whang-Peng, J.

2007-01-01

In vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) is a sensitive imaging modality that is rapid and accessible, and may comprise an ideal tool for evaluating tumor growth. In this study, the kinetic of tumor growth has been assessed in C26 colon carcinoma bearing BALB/c mouse model. The ability of BLI to noninvasively quantitate the growth of subcutaneous tumors transplanted with C26 cells genetically engineered to stably express firefly luciferase and herpes simplex virus type-1 thymidine kinase (C26/tk-luc). A good correlation (R 2 =0.998) of photon emission to the cell number was found in vitro. Tumor burden and tumor volume were monitored in vivo over time by quantitation of photon emission using Xenogen IVIS 50 and standard external caliper measurement, respectively. At various time intervals, tumor-bearing mice were imaged to determine the correlation of in vivo BLI to tumor volume. However, a correlation of BLI to tumor volume was observed when tumor volume was smaller than 1000 mm 3 (R 2 =0.907). γ Scintigraphy combined with [ 131 I]FIAU was another imaging modality used for verifying the previous results. In conclusion, this study showed that bioluminescence imaging is a powerful and quantitative tool for the direct assay to monitor tumor growth in vivo. The dual reporter genes transfected tumor-bearing animal model can be applied in the evaluation of the efficacy of new developed anti-cancer drugs

Bone Response to Two Dental Implants with Different Sandblasted/Acid-Etched Implant Surfaces: A Histological and Histomorphometrical Study in Rabbits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Scarano

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Scientific evidence in the field of implant dentistry of the past 20 years established that titanium rough surfaces have shown improved osseointegration rates. In a majority of dental implants, the surface microroughness was obtained by grit blasting and/or acid etching. The aim of the study was to evaluate in vivo two different highly hydrophilic surfaces at different experimental times. Methods. Calcium-modified (CA and SLActive surfaces were evaluated and a total of 18 implants for each type of surface were positioned into the rabbit articular femoral knee-joint in a split model experiment, and they were evaluated histologically and histomorphometrically at 15, 30, and 60 days of healing. Results. Bone-implant contact (BIC at the two-implant surfaces was significantly different in favor of the CA surface at 15 days (p=0.027, while SLActive displayed not significantly higher values at 30 (p=0.51 and 60 days (p=0.061. Conclusion. Both implant surfaces show an intimate interaction with newly formed bone.

The quantitative assessment of peri-implant bone responses using histomorphometry and micro-computed tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Schouten, Corinne; Meijer, Gert J; van den Beucken, Jeroen J J P; Spauwen, Paul H M; Jansen, John A

2009-09-01

In the present study, the effects of implant design and surface properties on peri-implant bone response were evaluated with both conventional histomorphometry and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), using two geometrically different dental implants (Screw type, St; Push-in, Pi) either or not surface-modified (non-coated, CaP-coated, or CaP-coated+TGF-beta1). After 12 weeks of implantation in a goat femoral condyle model, peri-implant bone response was evaluated in three different zones (inner: 0-500 microm; middle: 500-1000 microm; and outer: 1000-1500 microm) around the implant. Results indicated superiority of conventional histomorphometry over micro-CT, as the latter is hampered by deficits in the discrimination at the implant/tissue interface. Beyond this interface, both analysis techniques can be regarded as complementary. Histomorphometrical analysis showed an overall higher bone volume around St compared to Pi implants, but no effects of surface modification were observed. St implants showed lowest bone volumes in the outer zone, whereas inner zones were lowest for Pi implants. These results implicate that for Pi implants bone formation started from two different directions (contact- and distance osteogenesis). For St implants it was concluded that undersized implantation technique and loosening of bone fragments compress the zones for contact and distant osteogenesis, thereby improving bone volume at the interface significantly.

Histologic diagnosis of metabolic bone diseases: bone histomorphometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Dalle Carbonare

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Histomorphometry or quantitative histology is the analysis on histologic sections of bone resorption parameters, formation and structure. It is the only technique that allows a dynamic evaluation of the activity of bone modelling after labelling with tetracycline. Moreover, the new measurement procedures through the use of the computer allow an assessment of bone microarchitecture too. Histomorphometric bone biopsy is a reliable and well-tolerated procedure. Complications are reported only in 1% of the subjects (hematoma, pain, transient neuralgia. Histomorphometry is used to exclude or confirm the diagnosis of osteomalacia. It is employed in the evaluation of bone damage associated with particular treatments (for example, anticonvulsants or in case of rare bone diseases (osteogenesis imperfecta, systemic mastocytosis. It is also an essential approach when clinical, biochemical and other diagnostic data are not consistent. Finally, it is a useful method to understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms of drugs. The bone sample is taken at the level of iliac crest under local anesthesia. It is then put into methyl-metacrilate resin where the sections are prepared for the microscopic analysis of the various histomorphometric parameters.

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Tutorial Installation of Software for Watershed Modeling in Support of QMRA - Updated 2017

Science.gov (United States)

This tutorial provides instructions for accessing, retrieving, and downloading the following software to install on a host computer in support of Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) modeling: • QMRA Installation • SDMProjectBuilder (which includes the Microbial ...

Three-Dimensional Photography for Quantitative Assessment of Penile Volume-Loss Deformities in Peyronie's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Margolin, Ezra J; Mlynarczyk, Carrie M; Mulhall, John P; Stember, Doron S; Stahl, Peter J

2017-06-01

Non-curvature penile deformities are prevalent and bothersome manifestations of Peyronie's disease (PD), but the quantitative metrics that are currently used to describe these deformities are inadequate and non-standardized, presenting a barrier to clinical research and patient care. To introduce erect penile volume (EPV) and percentage of erect penile volume loss (percent EPVL) as novel metrics that provide detailed quantitative information about non-curvature penile deformities and to study the feasibility and reliability of three-dimensional (3D) photography for measurement of quantitative penile parameters. We constructed seven penis models simulating deformities found in PD. The 3D photographs of each model were captured in triplicate by four observers using a 3D camera. Computer software was used to generate automated measurements of EPV, percent EPVL, penile length, minimum circumference, maximum circumference, and angle of curvature. The automated measurements were statistically compared with measurements obtained using water-displacement experiments, a tape measure, and a goniometer. Accuracy of 3D photography for average measurements of all parameters compared with manual measurements; inter-test, intra-observer, and inter-observer reliabilities of EPV and percent EPVL measurements as assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient. The 3D images were captured in a median of 52 seconds (interquartile range = 45-61). On average, 3D photography was accurate to within 0.3% for measurement of penile length. It overestimated maximum and minimum circumferences by averages of 4.2% and 1.6%, respectively; overestimated EPV by an average of 7.1%; and underestimated percent EPVL by an average of 1.9%. All inter-test, inter-observer, and intra-observer intraclass correlation coefficients for EPV and percent EPVL measurements were greater than 0.75, reflective of excellent methodologic reliability. By providing highly descriptive and reliable measurements of

Survey of Quantitative Research Metrics to Assess Pilot Performance in Upset Recovery

Science.gov (United States)

Le Vie, Lisa R.

2016-01-01

Accidents attributable to in-flight loss of control are the primary cause for fatal commercial jet accidents worldwide. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted a literature review to determine and identify the quantitative standards for assessing upset recovery performance. This review contains current recovery procedures for both military and commercial aviation and includes the metrics researchers use to assess aircraft recovery performance. Metrics include time to first input, recognition time and recovery time and whether that input was correct or incorrect. Other metrics included are: the state of the autopilot and autothrottle, control wheel/sidestick movement resulting in pitch and roll, and inputs to the throttle and rudder. In addition, airplane state measures, such as roll reversals, altitude loss/gain, maximum vertical speed, maximum/minimum air speed, maximum bank angle and maximum g loading are reviewed as well.

Osteoarthritis of the knee at 3.0 T: comparison of a quantitative and a semi-quantitative score for the assessment of the extent of cartilage lesion and bone marrow edema pattern in a 24-month longitudinal study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stahl, Robert [University of California, San Francisco, Department of Radiology, San Francisco, CA (United States); Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospitals, Campus Grosshadern, Munich (Germany); Jain, Sapna K.; Majumdar, Sharmila; Link, Thomas M. [University of California, San Francisco, Department of Radiology, San Francisco, CA (United States); Lutz, Juergen [Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospitals, Campus Grosshadern, Munich (Germany); Wyman, Bradley T.; Hellio Le Graverand-Gastineau, Marie-Pierre [Pfizer Inc., Groton, CT (United States); Vignon, Eric [Claude Bernard University Lyon I, Lyon (France)

2011-10-15

To compare a semi-quantitative and a quantitative morphological score for assessment of early osteoarthritis (OA) evolution. 3.0 T MRI of the knee was performed in 60 women, 30 with early OA (each 15 with Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2 and 3) and 30 age-matched controls at baseline and at 12 and 24 months. Pathological condition was assessed with the whole-organ magnetic resonance imaging score (WORMS). Cartilage abnormalities and bone marrow edema pattern (BMEP) were also quantified using a previously introduced morphological quantitative score. These data were correlated with changes in clinical parameters and joint space width using generalized estimation equations (GEE). At baseline, OA patients had significantly (p < 0.05) more and larger cartilage lesions and BMEP. During follow-up, cartilage lesions increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the patients compared with controls: WORMS showed progression only at the lateral patella, whereas the quantitative score revealed progression additionally at the trochlea and at the medial compartment. Both scores showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase in BMEP at the lateral femur in OA patients. In addition, quantitative scores of BMEP of the whole knee decreased significantly (p < 0.05) after 12 months and increased after 24 months in the patients, but showed an increase in controls at all follow-up examinations. Only weak correlations between structural imaging findings and clinical parameters were observed. Quantitative assessment of cartilage lesions and BMEP is more sensitive to changes during the course of the disease than semi-quantitative scoring. However, structural imaging findings do not correlate well with the clinical progression of OA. (orig.)

Quantitative assessment of myofibroblast in severe dysplasia, microinvasion and oral squamous cell carcinoma: an immunohistochemical study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapse, Sonam C; Rathod, Nanita; Baad, Rajendra; Mandlik, Jyoti; Sharma, Anupam S; Bommanavar, Sushma

2013-01-01

Myofibroblast are essential for the integrity of human body by virtue of its role in wound healing and pathological organ remodeling. Myofibroblast is a universal cellular component in mammalian lesions, but not a typical component of normal untraumatized tissues. Therefore its presence in abundance in case of cancer is a matter of concern. Tumor microenvironment plays a pivotal role in tumor progression. These so called cancer associated fibroblast or myofibroblast are the major components and occur in stromal tissue during carcinogenesis processes. This study is a quantitative assessment of presence and distribution of myofibroblast in severe dysplasia, microinvasion and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Myofibroblast, Vimentin, α-SMA, OSCC, Severe dysplasia, Microinvasion. How to cite this article: Kapse SC, Rathod N, Baad R, Mandlik J, Sharma AS, Bommanavar S. Quantitative Assessment of Myofibroblast in Severe Dysplasia, Microinvasion and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: An Immunohistochemical Study. J Contemp Dent Pract 2013;14(1):34-38. Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: None declared.

Integrating a quantitative risk appraisal in a health impact assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adám, Balázs; Molnár, Agnes; Gulis, Gabriel

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: Although the quantification of health outcomes in a health impact assessment (HIA) is scarce in practice, it is preferred by policymakers, as it assists various aspects of the decision-making process. This article provides an example of integrating a quantitative risk appraisal...... in an HIA performed for the recently adopted Hungarian anti-smoking policy which introduced a smoking ban in closed public places, workplaces and public transport vehicles, and is one of the most effective measures to decrease smoking-related ill health. METHODS: A comprehensive, prospective HIA...... to decrease the prevalence of active and passive smoking and result in a considerably positive effect on several diseases, among which lung cancer, chronic pulmonary diseases, coronary heart diseases and stroke have the greatest importance. The health gain calculated for the quantifiable health outcomes...

Quantitative thallium-201 myocardial imaging in assessing right ventricular pressure in patients with congenital heart defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabinovitch, M.; Fischer, K.C.; Treves, S.

1981-01-01

Thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy was performed in patients with congenital heart defects to determine whether, by quantification of right ventricular isotope uptake, one could assess the degree of right ventricular hypertrophy and so predict the level of right ventricular pressure. It is shown that quantitative analysis of myocardial imaging with thallium-201 is of use clinically in patients with congenital heart defects, in assessing the severity of pulmonary stenosis or the presence of pulmonary artery hypertension. (author)

Quantitative cervical vertebral maturation assessment in adolescents with normal occlusion: a mixed longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Li-Li; Xu, Tian-Min; Jiang, Jiu-Hui; Zhang, Xing-Zhong; Lin, Jiu-Xiang

2008-12-01

The purpose of this study was to establish a quantitative cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) system for adolescents with normal occlusion. Mixed longitudinal data were used. The subjects included 87 children and adolescents from 8 to 18 years old with normal occlusion (32 boys, 55 girls) selected from 901 candidates. Sequential lateral cephalograms and hand-wrist films were taken once a year for 6 years. The lateral cephalograms of all subjects were divided into 11 maturation groups according to the Fishman skeletal maturity indicators. The morphologic characteristics of the second, third, and fourth cervical vertebrae at 11 developmental stages were measured and analyzed. Three characteristic parameters (H4/W4, AH3/PH3, @2) were selected to determine the classification of CVM. With 3 morphologic variables, the quantitative CVM system including 4 maturational stages was established. An equation that can accurately estimate the maturation of the cervical vertebrae was established: CVM stage=-4.13+3.57xH4/W4+4.07xAH3/PH3+0.03x@2. The quantitative CVM method is an efficient, objective, and relatively simple approach to assess the level of skeletal maturation during adolescence.

Quantitatively assessed CT imaging measures of pulmonary interstitial pneumonia: Effects of reconstruction algorithms on histogram parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koyama, Hisanobu; Ohno, Yoshiharu; Yamazaki, Youichi; Nogami, Munenobu; Kusaka, Akiko; Murase, Kenya; Sugimura, Kazuro

2010-01-01

This study aimed the influences of reconstruction algorithm for quantitative assessments in interstitial pneumonia patients. A total of 25 collagen vascular disease patients (nine male patients and 16 female patients; mean age, 57.2 years; age range 32-77 years) underwent thin-section MDCT examinations, and MDCT data were reconstructed with three kinds of reconstruction algorithm (two high-frequencies [A and B] and one standard [C]). In reconstruction algorithm B, the effect of low- and middle-frequency space was suppressed compared with reconstruction algorithm A. As quantitative CT parameters, kurtosis, skewness, and mean lung density (MLD) were acquired from a frequency histogram of the whole lung parenchyma in each reconstruction algorithm. To determine the difference of quantitative CT parameters affected by reconstruction algorithms, these parameters were compared statistically. To determine the relationships with the disease severity, these parameters were correlated with PFTs. In the results, all the histogram parameters values had significant differences each other (p < 0.0001) and those of reconstruction algorithm C were the highest. All MLDs had fair or moderate correlation with all parameters of PFT (-0.64 < r < -0.45, p < 0.05). Though kurtosis and skewness in high-frequency reconstruction algorithm A had significant correlations with all parameters of PFT (-0.61 < r < -0.45, p < 0.05), there were significant correlations only with diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide (DLco) and total lung capacity (TLC) in reconstruction algorithm C and with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), DLco and TLC in reconstruction algorithm B. In conclusion, reconstruction algorithm has influence to quantitative assessments on chest thin-section MDCT examination in interstitial pneumonia patients.

Quantitatively assessed CT imaging measures of pulmonary interstitial pneumonia: Effects of reconstruction algorithms on histogram parameters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koyama, Hisanobu [Department of Radiology, Hyogo Kaibara Hospital, 5208-1 Kaibara, Kaibara-cho, Tanba 669-3395 (Japan)], E-mail: hisanobu19760104@yahoo.co.jp; Ohno, Yoshiharu [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan)], E-mail: yosirad@kobe-u.ac.jp; Yamazaki, Youichi [Department of Medical Physics and Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 1-7 Yamadaoka, Suita 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: y.yamazk@sahs.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Nogami, Munenobu [Division of PET, Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation, 2-2 MInamimachi, Minatojima, Chu0-ku, Kobe 650-0047 (Japan)], E-mail: aznogami@fbri.org; Kusaka, Akiko [Division of Radiology, Kobe University Hospital, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan)], E-mail: a.kusaka@hosp.kobe-u.ac.jp; Murase, Kenya [Department of Medical Physics and Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 1-7 Yamadaoka, Suita 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: murase@sahs.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Sugimura, Kazuro [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan)], E-mail: sugimura@med.kobe-u.ac.jp

2010-04-15

This study aimed the influences of reconstruction algorithm for quantitative assessments in interstitial pneumonia patients. A total of 25 collagen vascular disease patients (nine male patients and 16 female patients; mean age, 57.2 years; age range 32-77 years) underwent thin-section MDCT examinations, and MDCT data were reconstructed with three kinds of reconstruction algorithm (two high-frequencies [A and B] and one standard [C]). In reconstruction algorithm B, the effect of low- and middle-frequency space was suppressed compared with reconstruction algorithm A. As quantitative CT parameters, kurtosis, skewness, and mean lung density (MLD) were acquired from a frequency histogram of the whole lung parenchyma in each reconstruction algorithm. To determine the difference of quantitative CT parameters affected by reconstruction algorithms, these parameters were compared statistically. To determine the relationships with the disease severity, these parameters were correlated with PFTs. In the results, all the histogram parameters values had significant differences each other (p < 0.0001) and those of reconstruction algorithm C were the highest. All MLDs had fair or moderate correlation with all parameters of PFT (-0.64 < r < -0.45, p < 0.05). Though kurtosis and skewness in high-frequency reconstruction algorithm A had significant correlations with all parameters of PFT (-0.61 < r < -0.45, p < 0.05), there were significant correlations only with diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide (DLco) and total lung capacity (TLC) in reconstruction algorithm C and with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), DLco and TLC in reconstruction algorithm B. In conclusion, reconstruction algorithm has influence to quantitative assessments on chest thin-section MDCT examination in interstitial pneumonia patients.

Approaches to quantitative risk assessment with applications to PP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geiger, G.; Schaefer, A.

2002-01-01

Full text: Experience with accidents such as Goiania in Brazil and indications of a considerable number of orphan sources suggest that improved protection would be desirable for some types of radioactive material of wide-spread use such as radiation sources for civil purposes. Regarding large potential health and economic consequences (in particular, if terrorists attacks cannot be excluded), significant costs of preventive actions, and large uncertainties about both the likelihood of occurrence and the potential consequences of PP safety and security incidents, an optimum relationship between preventive and mitigative efforts is likely to be a key issue for successful risk management in this field. Thus, possible violations of physical protection combined with threats of misuse of nuclear materials, including terrorist attack, pose considerable challenges to global security from various perspectives. In view of these challenges, recent advance in applied risk and decision analysis suggests methodological and procedural improvements in quantitative risk assessment, the demarcation of acceptable risk, and risk management. Advance is based on a recently developed model of optimal risky choice suitable for assessing and comparing the cumulative probability distribution functions attached to safety and security risks. Besides quantification of risk (e. g., in economic terms), the standardization of various risk assessment models frequently used in operations research can be approached on this basis. The paper explores possible applications of these improved methods to the safety and security management of nuclear materials, cost efficiency of risk management measures, and the establishment international safety and security standards of PP. Examples will be presented that are based on selected scenarios of misuse involving typical radioactive sources. (author)

Assessing quantitative EEG spectrograms to identify non-epileptic events.

Science.gov (United States)

Goenka, Ajay; Boro, Alexis; Yozawitz, Elissa

2017-09-01

To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of quantitative EEG (QEEG) spectrograms in order to distinguish epileptic from non-epileptic events. Seventeen patients with paroxysmal non-epileptic events, captured during EEG monitoring, were retrospectively assessed using QEEG spectrograms. These patients were compared to a control group of 13 consecutive patients (ages 25-60 years) with epileptic seizures of similar semiology. Assessment of raw EEG was employed as the gold standard against which epileptic and non-epileptic events were validated. QEEG spectrograms, available using Persyst 12 EEG system integration software, were each assessed with respect to their usefulness to distinguish epileptic from non-epileptic seizures. The given spectrogram was interpreted as indicating a seizure if, at the time of the clinically identified event, it showed a visually significant change from baseline. Eighty-two clinically identified paroxysmal events were analysed (46 non-epileptic and 36 epileptic). The "seizure detector trend analysis" spectrogram correctly classified 33/46 (71%) non-epileptic events (no seizure indicated during a clinically identified event) vs. 29/36 (81%) epileptic seizures (seizure indicated during a clinically identified event) (p=0.013). Similarly, "rhythmicity spectrogram", FFT spectrogram, "asymmetry relative spectrogram", and integrated-amplitude EEG spectrogram detected 28/46 (61%), 30/46 (65%), 22/46 (48%) and 27/46 (59%) non-epileptic events vs. 27/36 (75%), 25/36 (69%), 25/36 (69%) and 27/36 (75%) epileptic events, respectively. High sensitivities and specificities for QEEG seizure detection analyses suggest that QEEG may have a role at the bedside to facilitate early differentiation between epileptic seizures and non-epileptic events in order to avoid unnecessary administration of antiepileptic drugs and possible iatrogenic consequences.

Investigation of the feasibility of non-invasive optical sensors for the quantitative assessment of dehydration.

Science.gov (United States)

Visser, Cobus; Kieser, Eduard; Dellimore, Kiran; van den Heever, Dawie; Smith, Johan

2017-10-01

This study explores the feasibility of prospectively assessing infant dehydration using four non-invasive, optical sensors based on the quantitative and objective measurement of various clinical markers of dehydration. The sensors were investigated to objectively and unobtrusively assess the hydration state of an infant based on the quantification of capillary refill time (CRT), skin recoil time (SRT), skin temperature profile (STP) and skin tissue hydration by means of infrared spectrometry (ISP). To evaluate the performance of the sensors a clinical study was conducted on a cohort of 10 infants (aged 6-36 months) with acute gastroenteritis. High sensitivity and specificity were exhibited by the sensors, in particular the STP and SRT sensors, when combined into a fusion regression model (sensitivity: 0.90, specificity: 0.78). The SRT and STP sensors and the fusion model all outperformed the commonly used "gold standard" clinical dehydration scales including the Gorelick scale (sensitivity: 0.56, specificity: 0.56), CDS scale (sensitivity: 1.0, specificity: 0.2) and WHO scale (sensitivity: 0.13, specificity: 0.79). These results suggest that objective and quantitative assessment of infant dehydration may be possible using the sensors investigated. However, further evaluation of the sensors on a larger sample population is needed before deploying them in a clinical setting. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Screening for trisomy 21 based on maternal age, nuchal translucency measurement, first trimester biochemistry and quantitative and qualitative assessment of the flow in the DV - the assessment of efficacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Czuba, Bartosz; Zarotyński, Dariusz; Dubiel, Mariusz; Borowski, Dariusz; Węgrzyn, Piotr; Cnota, Wojciech; Reska-Nycz, Małgorzata; Mączka, Marek; Wielgoś, Mirosław; Sodowski, Krzysztof; Serafin, Dawid; Kubaty, Anna; Bręborowicz, Grzegorz H

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to compare effects of addition of two methods of ductus venosus (DV) flow assessment: qualitative - the assessment of shape of the A-wave (positive or negative), and quantitative - based on the pulsatility index for veins (DVPI) to the basic screening for trisomy 21 at 11 to 13 + 6 weeks of pregnancy. The ultrasound examination was performed in 8230 fetuses in singleton pregnancies at 11- -13 + 6 wks, as a part of a routine screening for chromosomal defects. In DV A-wave was assessed and DVPI was calculated. After the scan blood sample was taken for first trimester biochemistry (BC). Risk for chromosomal defects was calculated and high-risk patients were offered an invasive test for karyotyping. Basic screening with following combination of markers: MA, NT and BC provided lowest detection rate (DR) 87.50% for FPR = 6.94%. After adding qualitative DV A-wave assessment DR increased to 88.75% for FPR = 5.65%. The best DR = 93.75% for FPR = 5.55% was achieved when quantitative DVPI was added. The application of the Receiver Operating Curves curve confirmed validity of the addition of DV flow assessment to the screening model. The highest diagnostic power of the test was achieved when DVPI was added, with the ROC AUC of 0.974. The assessment of DV flow performed at 11-13 + 6 weeks increases DR for trisomy 21 and reduces FPR. The screening model based on the quantitative DV flow analysis (DVPI) gives better results compared to the qualitative flow assessment.

Challenges in Risk Assessment: Quantitative Risk Assessment

OpenAIRE

Jacxsens, Liesbeth; Uyttendaele, Mieke; De Meulenaer, Bruno

2016-01-01

The process of risk analysis consists out of three components, risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. These components are internationally well spread by Codex Alimentarius Commission as being the basis for setting science based standards, criteria on food safety hazards, e.g. setting maximum limits of mycotoxins in foodstuffs. However, the technical component risk assessment is hard to elaborate and to understand. Key in a risk assessment is the translation of biological or...

An approach to quantitative assessment of relative proliferation risks from nuclear fuel cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silvennoinen, P.; Vira, J.

1981-01-01

Feasibility of quantitative assessments of the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation is discussed in this paper. The proliferation risk is defined as a combined utility of the different fuel cycle processes or materials for the proscribed acquisition of a nuclear weapon. Based on a set of selected weighted criteria, the process utilities are calculated employing utility functions or fuzzy expectation values. The methods are compared to each other. The scheme appears feasible in relative comparisons while certain leeway must still be retained for political judgement. (author)

Quantitative meta-analytic approaches for the analysis of animal toxicology and epidemiologic data in human health risk assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Often, human health risk assessments have relied on qualitative approaches for hazard identification to integrate evidence across multiple studies to conclude whether particular hazards exist. However, quantitative approaches for evidence integration, including the application o...

Climate Change Education: Quantitatively Assessing the Impact of a Botanical Garden as an Informal Learning Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Sellmann, Daniela; Bogner, Franz X.

2013-01-01

Although informal learning environments have been studied extensively, ours is one of the first studies to quantitatively assess the impact of learning in botanical gardens on students' cognitive achievement. We observed a group of 10th graders participating in a one-day educational intervention on climate change implemented in a botanical garden.…

Quantitative assessment of airborne exposures generated during common cleaning tasks: a pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perry Melissa J

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A growing body of epidemiologic evidence suggests an association between exposure to cleaning products with asthma and other respiratory disorders. Thus far, these studies have conducted only limited quantitative exposure assessments. Exposures from cleaning products are difficult to measure because they are complex mixtures of chemicals with a range of physicochemical properties, thus requiring multiple measurement techniques. We conducted a pilot exposure assessment study to identify methods for assessing short term, task-based airborne exposures and to quantitatively evaluate airborne exposures associated with cleaning tasks simulated under controlled work environment conditions. Methods Sink, mirror, and toilet bowl cleaning tasks were simulated in a large ventilated bathroom and a small unventilated bathroom using a general purpose, a glass, and a bathroom cleaner. All tasks were performed for 10 minutes. Airborne total volatile organic compounds (TVOC generated during the tasks were measured using a direct reading instrument (DRI with a photo ionization detector. Volatile organic ingredients of the cleaning mixtures were assessed utilizing an integrated sampling and analytic method, EPA TO-17. Ammonia air concentrations were also measured with an electrochemical sensor embedded in the DRI. Results Average TVOC concentrations calculated for 10 minute tasks ranged 0.02 - 6.49 ppm and the highest peak concentrations observed ranged 0.14-11 ppm. TVOC time concentration profiles indicated that exposures above background level remained present for about 20 minutes after cessation of the tasks. Among several targeted VOC compounds from cleaning mixtures, only 2-BE was detectable with the EPA method. The ten minute average 2- BE concentrations ranged 0.30 -21 ppm between tasks. The DRI underestimated 2-BE exposures compared to the results from the integrated method. The highest concentration of ammonia of 2.8 ppm occurred

Cellular response of healing tissue to DegraPol tube implantation in rabbit Achilles tendon rupture repair: an in vivo histomorphometric study.

Science.gov (United States)

Buschmann, Johanna; Meier-Bürgisser, Gabriella; Bonavoglia, Eliana; Neuenschwander, Peter; Milleret, Vincent; Giovanoli, Pietro; Calcagni, Maurizio

2013-05-01

In tendon rupture repair, improvements such as higher primary repair strength, anti-adhesion and accelerated healing are needed. We developed a potential carrier system of an electrospun DegraPol tube, which was tightly implanted around a transected and conventionally sutured rabbit Achilles tendon. Histomorphometric analysis of the tendon tissue 12 weeks postoperation showed that the tenocyte density, tenocyte morphology and number of inflammation zones were statistically equivalent, whether or not DegraPol tube was implanted; only the collagen fibres were slightly less parallelly orientated in the tube-treated case. Comparison of rabbits that were operated on both hind legs with ones that were operated on only one hind leg showed that there were significantly more inflammation zones in the two-leg cases compared to the one-leg cases, while the implantation of a DegraPol tube had no such adverse effects. These findings are a prerequisite for using DegraPol tube as a carrier system for growth factors, cytokines or stem cells in order to accelerate the healing process of tendon tissue. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

78 FR 9701 - Draft Joint Food and Drug Administration/Health Canada Quantitative Assessment of the Risk of...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-11

... on the sources of L. monocytogenes contamination, the effects of individual manufacturing and/or... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2012-N-1182] Draft Joint Food and Drug Administration/Health Canada Quantitative Assessment of the Risk of...

A quantitative method for assessing resilience of interdependent infrastructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nan, Cen; Sansavini, Giovanni

2017-01-01

The importance of understanding system resilience and identifying ways to enhance it, especially for interdependent infrastructures our daily life depends on, has been recognized not only by academics, but also by the corporate and public sectors. During recent years, several methods and frameworks have been proposed and developed to explore applicable techniques to assess and analyze system resilience in a comprehensive way. However, they are often tailored to specific disruptive hazards/events, or fail to properly include all the phases such as absorption, adaptation, and recovery. In this paper, a quantitative method for the assessment of the system resilience is proposed. The method consists of two components: an integrated metric for system resilience quantification and a hybrid modeling approach for representing the failure behavior of infrastructure systems. The feasibility and applicability of the proposed method are tested using an electric power supply system as the exemplary infrastructure. Simulation results highlight that the method proves effective in designing, engineering and improving the resilience of infrastructures. Finally, system resilience is proposed as a proxy to quantify the coupling strength between interdependent infrastructures. - Highlights: • A method for quantifying resilience of interdependent infrastructures is proposed. • It combines multi-layer hybrid modeling and a time-dependent resilience metric. • The feasibility of the proposed method is tested on the electric power supply system. • The method provides insights to decision-makers for strengthening system resilience. • Resilience capabilities can be used to engineer interdependencies between subsystems.

Early Quantitative Assessment of Non-Functional Requirements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kassab, M.; Daneva, Maia; Ormandjieva, O.

2007-01-01

Non-functional requirements (NFRs) of software systems are a well known source of uncertainty in effort estimation. Yet, quantitatively approaching NFR early in a project is hard. This paper makes a step towards reducing the impact of uncertainty due to NRF. It offers a solution that incorporates

Toward comparability of coronary magnetic resonance angiography: proposal for a standardized quantitative assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dirksen, Martijn S.; Lamb, Hildo J.; Geest, Rob van der; Roos, Albert de

2003-01-01

A method is proposed for the quantitative assessment of coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) acquisitions. The method is based on four parameters: signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR); vessel length; and vessel-edge definition. A pig model (n=7) was used to illustrate the proposed quantitative analysis method. Three-dimensional gradient-echo coronary MRA was performed with and without exogenous contrast enhancement using a gadolinium-based blood-pool contrast agent (Vistarem, Guerbet, Aulnay-Sous-Bois, France). The acquired images could be well differentiated based on the four parameters. The SNR was calculated as 9.0±1.4 vs 10.4±2.1, the CNR as 6.2±0.8 vs 8.2±0.9, the vessel length as 48.2±11.6 vs 86.5±13.8 mm, and the vessel-edge definition as 4.9±1.5 vs 7.7±3.4. Different coronary MRA techniques can be evaluated objectively with the combined use of SNR, CNR, vessel length, and vessel-edge parameters. (orig.)

Diagnostic performance of semi-quantitative and quantitative stress CMR perfusion analysis: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

van Dijk, R; van Assen, M; Vliegenthart, R; de Bock, G H; van der Harst, P; Oudkerk, M

2017-11-27

Stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) perfusion imaging is a promising modality for the evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD) due to high spatial resolution and absence of radiation. Semi-quantitative and quantitative analysis of CMR perfusion are based on signal-intensity curves produced during the first-pass of gadolinium contrast. Multiple semi-quantitative and quantitative parameters have been introduced. Diagnostic performance of these parameters varies extensively among studies and standardized protocols are lacking. This study aims to determine the diagnostic accuracy of semi- quantitative and quantitative CMR perfusion parameters, compared to multiple reference standards. Pubmed, WebOfScience, and Embase were systematically searched using predefined criteria (3272 articles). A check for duplicates was performed (1967 articles). Eligibility and relevance of the articles was determined by two reviewers using pre-defined criteria. The primary data extraction was performed independently by two researchers with the use of a predefined template. Differences in extracted data were resolved by discussion between the two researchers. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the 'Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies Tool' (QUADAS-2). True positives, false positives, true negatives, and false negatives were subtracted/calculated from the articles. The principal summary measures used to assess diagnostic accuracy were sensitivity, specificity, andarea under the receiver operating curve (AUC). Data was pooled according to analysis territory, reference standard and perfusion parameter. Twenty-two articles were eligible based on the predefined study eligibility criteria. The pooled diagnostic accuracy for segment-, territory- and patient-based analyses showed good diagnostic performance with sensitivity of 0.88, 0.82, and 0.83, specificity of 0.72, 0.83, and 0.76 and AUC of 0.90, 0.84, and 0.87, respectively. In per territory

Retrospective Analysis of the Outcome of Ridge Preservation with Anorganic Bovine Bone Minerals: Microcomputed Tomographic Assessment of Wound Healing in Grafted Extraction Sockets.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakhshalian, Neema; Freire, Marcelo; Min, Seiko; Wu, Ivy; Zadeh, Homayoun H

A total of 68 extraction sockets were grafted with anorganic bovine bone mineral and covered by dense polytetrafluoroethylene membrane. Quantitative analysis of three-dimensional microcomputed tomography imaging of core samples retrieved after a mean of 21.0 ± 14.2 weeks revealed 40.1% bone volume fraction (bone volume [BV]/total volume [TV]) and 12% residual graft. Evidence of de novo bone formation was observed in the form of discrete islands of newly formed bone in direct apposition to graft particles, separated from parent bone. Anterior sockets exhibited a significantly higher percentage of residual graft compared to premolar sockets (P = .05). The BV/TV and percentage of residual graft correlated well with histomorphometric analysis of the same sites, but not with implant outcomes.

Assessment of the health impact of an environmental pollution and quantitative assessment of health risks; Estimation de l'impact sanitaire d'une pollution environnementale et evaluation quantitative des risques sanitaires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-09-15

The report made by a working group is written for experts in health risk assessment or for professionals involved in risk management. It proposes a methodological and conceptual framework which could build a unified approach to a quantitative assessment of health risks. In the first part, under the form of questions and answers, it defines the health impact, describes how to assess the excess of individual risk and the related hypothesis, how to pass from the excess of individual risk to the health impact, how to express the results of an health impact calculation, how to take the lack of knowledge into account at the different steps of this calculation, what is the significance of the result of such a calculation, and how useful an health impact assessment can be. The second part proposes a more detailed presentation of the scientific background for the health impact calculation with its indicators, its uncertainties, its practice in other countries, its relevance, and its fields of application. Then, after a comment of the dose-response relationship, it reports the scientific validity of the assessment of a number of cases.

Noninvasive and Quantitative Assessment of In Vivo Fetomaternal Interface Angiogenesis Using RGD-Based Fluorescence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Keramidas

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Angiogenesis is a key process for proper placental development and for the success of pregnancy. Although numerous in vitro methods have been developed for the assessment of this process, relatively few reliable in vivo methods are available to evaluate this activity throughout gestation. Here we report an in vivo technique that specifically measures placental neovascularization. The technique is based on the measurement of a fluorescent alpha v beta 3 (αvβ3 integrin-targeting molecule called Angiolone-Alexa-Fluor 700. The αvβ3 integrin is highly expressed by endothelial cells during the neovascularization and by trophoblast cells during their invasion of the maternal decidua. Angiolone was injected to gravid mice at 6.5 and 11.5 days post coitus (dpc. The fluorescence was analyzed one day later at 7.5 and 12.5 dpc, respectively. We demonstrated that (i Angiolone targets αvβ3 protein in the placenta with a strong specificity, (ii this technique is quantitative as the measurement was correlated to the increase of the placental size observed with increasing gestational age, and (iii information on the outcome is possible, as abnormal placentation could be detected early on during gestation. In conclusion, we report the validation of a new noninvasive and quantitative method to assess the placental angiogenic activity, in vivo.

MRI and image quantitation for drug assessment - growth effects of anabolic steroids and precursors.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Haiying; Wu, Ed; Vasselli, Joseph

2005-01-01

MRI and image quantitation play an expanding role in modern drug research, because MRI offers high resolution and non-invasive ability, and provides excellent soft tissue contrast. Moreover, with development of effective image segmentation and analysis methods, in-vivo and serial tissue growth measurements could be assessed. In the study, MR image acquisition and analysis protocol were established and validated for investigating the effects of anabolic steroids and precursors on muscle growth and body composition in a guinea pig model. Semi-automatic and interactive segmentation methods were developed to accurately label the tissue of interest for tissue volume estimation. In addition, a longitudinal tissue area outlining procedure was proposed for study of tissue geometric features in relation to tissue growth. Finally, a fully automatic data retrieval and analysis scheme was implemented to facilitate the overall huge amount of image quantitation, statistical analysis, as well as study group comparisons. As a result, highly significant differences in muscle and organ growth were detected between intact and castrated guinea pigs using the selected anabolic steroids, indicating the viability of employing such protocol to assess other anabolic steroids. Furthermore, the anabolic potential of selected steroid precursors and their effects on muscle growth, in comparison with that in respective positive control groups of castrated guinea pigs, were evaluated with the proposed protocol.

Modeling logistic performance in quantitative microbial risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Rijgersberg, Hajo; Tromp, Seth; Jacxsens, Liesbeth; Uyttendaele, Mieke

2010-01-01

In quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), food safety in the food chain is modeled and simulated. In general, prevalences, concentrations, and numbers of microorganisms in media are investigated in the different steps from farm to fork. The underlying rates and conditions (such as storage times, temperatures, gas conditions, and their distributions) are determined. However, the logistic chain with its queues (storages, shelves) and mechanisms for ordering products is usually not taken into account. As a consequence, storage times-mutually dependent in successive steps in the chain-cannot be described adequately. This may have a great impact on the tails of risk distributions. Because food safety risks are generally very small, it is crucial to model the tails of (underlying) distributions as accurately as possible. Logistic performance can be modeled by describing the underlying planning and scheduling mechanisms in discrete-event modeling. This is common practice in operations research, specifically in supply chain management. In this article, we present the application of discrete-event modeling in the context of a QMRA for Listeria monocytogenes in fresh-cut iceberg lettuce. We show the potential value of discrete-event modeling in QMRA by calculating logistic interventions (modifications in the logistic chain) and determining their significance with respect to food safety.

Urban flooding and health risk analysis by use of quantitative microbial risk assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Signe Tanja

D thesis is to identify the limitations and possibilities for optimising microbial risk assessments of urban flooding through more evidence-based solutions, including quantitative microbial data and hydrodynamic water quality models. The focus falls especially on the problem of data needs and the causes......, but also when wading through a flooded area. The results in this thesis have brought microbial risk assessments one step closer to more uniform and repeatable risk analysis by using actual and relevant measured data and hydrodynamic water quality models to estimate the risk from flooding caused...... are expected to increase in the future. To ensure public health during extreme rainfall, solutions are needed, but limited knowledge on microbial water quality, and related health risks, makes it difficult to implement microbial risk analysis as a part of the basis for decision making. The main aim of this Ph...

Real-time elastography with a novel quantitative technology for assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Juan; Guo Long; Shi Xiuying; Pan Wenqian; Bai Yunfei; Ai Hong

2012-01-01

Background: The accurate evaluation of liver fibrosis stage is important in determining the treatment strategy. The limitations of percutaneous liver biopsy as the gold standard are obvious for invasion. Real-time elastography with conventional ultrasound probes and a new quantitative technology for diffuse histological lesion is a novel approach for staging of liver fibrosis. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the value of real-time tissue elastography with a new quantitative technology for the assessment of liver fibrosis stage. Materials and methods: Real-time elastography was performed in 55 patients with liver fibrosis and chronic hepatitis B and in 20 healthy volunteers. Eleven parameters for every patient in colorcode image obtained from the real-time elastography were analyzed with principal components analysis. We analyzed the correlation between elasticity index and liver fibrosis stage and the accuracy of real-time elastography for liver fibrosis staging. Additionally, aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index was also included in the analysis. Results: The Spearman's correlation coefficient between the elasticity index and the histologic fibrosis stage was 0.81, which is highly significant (p 0.05), respectively. Conclusions: Real-time elastography with a new quantitative technology for diffuse histological lesion is a new and promising sonography-based noninvasive method for the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

An electronic portfolio for quantitative assessment of surgical skills in undergraduate medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez Gómez, Serafín; Ostos, Elisa María Cabot; Solano, Juan Manuel Maza; Salado, Tomás Francisco Herrero

2013-05-06

We evaluated a newly designed electronic portfolio (e-Portfolio) that provided quantitative evaluation of surgical skills. Medical students at the University of Seville used the e-Portfolio on a voluntary basis for evaluation of their performance in undergraduate surgical subjects. Our new web-based e-Portfolio was designed to evaluate surgical practical knowledge and skills targets. Students recorded each activity on a form, attached evidence, and added their reflections. Students self-assessed their practical knowledge using qualitative criteria (yes/no), and graded their skills according to complexity (basic/advanced) and participation (observer/assistant/independent). A numerical value was assigned to each activity, and the values of all activities were summated to obtain the total score. The application automatically displayed quantitative feedback. We performed qualitative evaluation of the perceived usefulness of the e-Portfolio and quantitative evaluation of the targets achieved. Thirty-seven of 112 students (33%) used the e-Portfolio, of which 87% reported that they understood the methodology of the portfolio. All students reported an improved understanding of their learning objectives resulting from the numerical visualization of progress, all students reported that the quantitative feedback encouraged their learning, and 79% of students felt that their teachers were more available because they were using the e-Portfolio. Only 51.3% of students reported that the reflective aspects of learning were useful. Individual students achieved a maximum of 65% of the total targets and 87% of the skills targets. The mean total score was 345 ± 38 points. For basic skills, 92% of students achieved the maximum score for participation as an independent operator, and all achieved the maximum scores for participation as an observer and assistant. For complex skills, 62% of students achieved the maximum score for participation as an independent operator, and 98% achieved

The evaluation of a novel method comparing quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) with spectrophotometry to assess staining and bleaching of teeth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adeyemi, A.A.; Jarad, F.D.; de Josselin de Jong, E.; Pender, N.; Higham, S.M.

2010-01-01

This study reports the development and evaluation of a novel method using quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF), which enables its use for quantifying and assessing whole tooth surface staining and tooth whitening. The method was compared with a spectrophotometer to assess reliability. Two

The Moment of Learning: Quantitative Analysis of Exemplar Gameplay Supports CyGaMEs Approach to Embedded Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Debbie Denise; Tabachnick, Barbara G.

2010-01-01

In this paper, the authors summarize a quantitative analysis demonstrating that the CyGaMEs toolset for embedded assessment of learning within instructional games measures growth in conceptual knowledge by quantifying player behavior. CyGaMEs stands for Cyberlearning through GaME-based, Metaphor Enhanced Learning Objects. Some scientists of…

Quantitative assessment of the brain perfusion using the short-lived isotope 195m-Au

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindner, P.; Nickel, O.

1985-01-01

The possibilities of quantitatively assessing the brain perfusion on the basis of a modified transit time theory, using the favourable properties of the ultrashort-lived isotope 195m-Au, are shown. The intravascular deposition of the isotope 195m-Au enables quantitative brain perfusion studies based on both the dorsal and lateral projection. The 195m-Au isotope has a half-life of 30 sec and is able to be eluated from the 195m-Hg 195m-Au generator (Byk-Mallinckrodt). The quantification of brain perfusion (in terms of ml/min/100 g) is based on a recently published theory for non-diffusing radio-indicators, using a first-pass technique. This method of quantification corresponds to a modification of the transit time theory from Maier and Zierler (1) and accounts for the influences of dispersion and recirculation of an intravenously injected non-diffused tracer bolus (2, 3). The energy spectrum of the eluate from the generator shows two lines of high intensity at 262 keV and 68 keV. The low-energy peak is suited for the lateral view, i.e. brain perfusion studies of one hemisphere, without a significant 'look-through-effect'. The high-energy peak is successfully used for dorsal projections of brain perfusion studies. An examination takes less time than one minute and can be repeated after three minutes. Dynamic brain perfusion studies enable parametric images of the quantitative regional brain perfusion distribution, or the reciprocal mean transit times, to be obtained by calculation. Infarcted areas are able to be visualized with high sensitivity. Quantitative perfusion patterns during activation of the visual centre are detectable. The advantages of this method are discussed. (orig.) [de

The results of questionnaire on quantitative assessment of 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy in heart failure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimura, Tsunehiko; Sugishita, Yasurou; Sasaki, Yasuhito.

1997-01-01

This study was done by working group under the cooperation between Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine and Japanese Circulation Society. We evaluated the usefulness of quantitative assessment of 123 I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy in heart failure by the results of questionnaire. Forty-nine (72.1%) of 68 selected institutions participated in this study. The incidence of MIBG myocardial scintigraphy used in heart failure was 41.1%. The imaging protocol was mostly done by both planar and SPECT at 15 min and 3.6 hr after intravenous injection of 111 MBq of MIBG. The quantitative assessment was mostly done by heart/mediastinum (H/M) ratio and washout rate analysis based on planar imaging. The mean normal value of H/M ratio were 2.34±0.36, and 2.49±0.40, at early and delayed images, respectively. The normal value of washout rate was 27.74±5.34%. On the other hand, those of H/M ratio in heart failure were 1.87±0.27, and 1.75±0.24, at early and delayed images, respectively. That of washout rate was 42.30±6.75%. These parameters were very useful for the evaluation of heart failure. In conclusion, MIBG myocardial scintigraphy was widely used for not only early detection and severity assessment, but also indication for therapy and prognosis evaluation in heart failure patients. (author)

Understanding rural poverty and investment in agriculture: an assessment of integreated quantitative and qualitative research in Western Kenya

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Place, F.; Adato, M.; Hebinck, P.G.M.

2005-01-01

This article addresses the methodological complexities inherent in researching poverty, examining how to differentiate the poor from other social groups, and how to assess the relationships between poverty and technology adoption and impact. The use of specific types of quantitative and qualitative

Understanding rural poverty and investment in agriculture: an assessment of integrated quantitative and qualitative research in Western Kenya

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Place, F.; Adato, M.; Hebinck, P.G.M.

2007-01-01

This article addresses the methodological complexities inherent in researching poverty, examining how to differentiate the poor from other social groups, and how to assess the relationships between poverty and technology adoption and impact. The use of specific types of quantitative and qualitative

Cross-sectional evaluation of electrical impedance myography and quantitative ultrasound for the assessment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in a clinical trial setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Rutkove, Seward B; Geisbush, Tom R; Mijailovic, Aleksandar; Shklyar, Irina; Pasternak, Amy; Visyak, Nicole; Wu, Jim S; Zaidman, Craig; Darras, Basil T

2014-07-01

Electrical impedance myography and quantitative ultrasound are two noninvasive, painless, and effort-independent approaches for assessing neuromuscular disease. Both techniques have potential to serve as useful biomarkers in clinical trials in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. However, their comparative sensitivity to disease status and how they relate to one another are unknown. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of electrical impedance myography and quantitative ultrasound in 24 healthy boys and 24 with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, aged 2 to 14 years with trained research assistants performing all measurements. Three upper and three lower extremity muscles were studied unilaterally in each child, and the data averaged for each individual. Both electrical impedance myography and quantitative ultrasound differentiated healthy boys from those with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (P Duchenne muscular dystrophy boys (rho = 0.45; P = 0.029), whereas electrical impedance myography did not (rho = -0.31; P = 0.14). However, electrical impedance myography phase correlated with age in healthy boys (rho = 0.51; P = 0.012), whereas quantitative ultrasound did not (rho = -0.021; P = 0.92). In Duchenne muscular dystrophy boys, electrical impedance myography phase correlated with the North Star Ambulatory Assessment (rho = 0.65; P = 0.022); quantitative ultrasound revealed a near-significant association (rho = -0.56; P = 0.060). The two technologies trended toward a moderate correlation with one another in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy cohort but not in the healthy group (rho = -0.40; P = 0.054 and rho = -0.32; P = 0.13, respectively). Electrical impedance myography and quantitative ultrasound are complementary modalities for the assessment of boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy; further study and application of these two modalities alone or in combination in a longitudinal fashion are warranted. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantitative and Qualitative Criteria for Assessing Endurance in Women over 60 Years of Age – Findings from a Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kortas Jakub

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction. If it is to be effective, health training needs to be monitored based on regular and periodic assessment. The norms that have been proposed for standardised endurance tests for the 60-plus age group, particularly for women, still require evaluation. In light of the above, we have undertaken to design quantitative and qualitative criteria for assessing the level of endurance. Such criteria are urgently needed by persons working with this age group. Material and methods. We developed a quantitative and qualitative system for evaluating endurance based on Zatsiorky’s model, and we verified it in a group of 90 women aged over 60 years. We analysed data measured directly during a 2-km walk test. Results. We developed a set of quantitative and qualitative criteria for assessing endurance in women aged over 60 years based on the results of a 2-km walk test, measured on a scale ranging from 24:18 to 15:52 min:s. Conclusion. The pilot study has proven that a scale based on Zatsiorsky’s model can be an effective tool for assessing endurance in women aged over 60 years. We can thus recommend that it be widely used in practice. It is important to compare these results with the norms for the group in question and to establish comprehensive norms that could be useful for persons who organise physical activity for older adults.

A histomorphometric study of the effect of doxycycline and erythromycin on bone formation in dental alveolar socket of rat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Shahabooei

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether subantimicrobial doses of doxycycline (DOX and erythromycin (EM used for the treatment of peri-implant osteolysis due to their anti-osteoclastogenesis can interfere with the osseous wound healing process in rat alveolar socket. Materials and Methods: Forty-five male Wistar rats had their first maxillary right molar extracted and were divided into three groups. DOX and EM at the doses of 5 mg/kg/day orally (p.o. and 2 mg/kg/day intraperitoneally (i.p. were administered respectively to two separate groups for 7 days after operation. In the control group the animals received normal saline (5 ml/kg. Five rats were sacrificed at 7, 14 and 21 days post-extraction in each study group. A histomorphometric analysis was used to evaluate new bone formation inside the alveolar socket. Significant level was set at 0.05. Results: The findings showed that the percentage of new bone formation (NBF enhanced significantly on days 7 and 14. There was no significant difference in the NBF between DOX and EM groups. Conclusion: Short-term treatment with both DOX and EM enhanced new bone formation without any advances in favor of each drug.

A Human Clinical, Histological, Histomorphometrical, and Radiographical Study on Biphasic HA-Beta-TCP 30/70 in Maxillary Sinus Augmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mangano, Carlo; Sinjari, Bruna; Shibli, Jamil A; Mangano, Francesco; Hamisch, Sabine; Piattelli, Adriano; Perrotti, Vittoria; Iezzi, Giovanna

2015-06-01

By mixing hydroxyapatite (HA) and tricalcium phosphate (TCP), biphasic calcium phosphate ceramics can be obtained, and by varying their ratio it is possible to tailor the characteristics of the biomaterial. The aim of the present human study was to evaluate the histological and radiographical aspects of bone formation in maxillary sinus augmentation using a 30/70 HA-beta-TCP with a reticular structure. A total of 12 patients, undergoing two-stage sinus augmentation procedure using HA-beta-TCP at a ratio of 30/70, were included in the present study. After a 6-month healing period, during implant insertion, radiographical analysis was performed, and then the bone core biopsies were harvested and processed for histology. At radiographic evaluation, the bone gain was on average 6.85 ± 0.60 mm. HA-beta-TCP 30/70 appeared to be lined by newly formed bone, with no gaps at the interface. The histomorphometric analysis revealed 26 ± 2% of residual grafted biomaterial, 29 ± 3% of newly formed bone, and 45 ± 2% of marrow spaces. The present results indicate histologically the high biocompatibility and osteoconductivity of HA-beta-TCP 30/70, and clinically its successful use for sinus augmentation procedures. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effects of PRGF on bone regeneration and on titanium implant osseointegration in goats: a histologic and histomorphometric study.

Science.gov (United States)

Anitua, Eduardo; Orive, Gorka; Pla, Rafael; Roman, Pedro; Serrano, Victoriano; Andía, Isabel

2009-10-01

The effect of local application of scaffold-like preparation rich in growth factors (PRGF) on bone regeneration in artificial defects and the potential effect of humidifying titanium dental implants with liquid PRGF on their osseointegration were investigated. The PRGF formulations were obtained from venous blood of three goats and applied either as a 3D fibrin scaffold (scaffold-like PRGF) in the regeneration of artificial defects or as liquid PRGF via humidifying the implants before their insertion. Initially, 12 defects were filled with scaffold-like PRGF and another 12 were used as controls. The histological analysis at 8 weeks revealed mature bone trabeculae when PRGF was used, whereas the control samples showed mainly connective tissue with incipient signs of bone formation. For the second set of experiments, 26 implants (13 humidified with liquid PRGF) were placed in the tibiae of goats. Histological and histomorphometric results demonstrated that application of liquid PRGF increased the percentage of bone-implant contact in 84.7%. The whole surface of the PRGF-treated implants was covered by newly formed bone, whereas only the upper half was surrounded in control implants. In summary, PRGF can accelerate bone regeneration in artificial defects and improve the osseointegration of titanium dental implants.

Quantitative assessment of safety barrier performance in the prevention of domino scenarios triggered by fire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landucci, Gabriele; Argenti, Francesca; Tugnoli, Alessandro; Cozzani, Valerio

2015-01-01

The evolution of domino scenarios triggered by fire critically depends on the presence and the performance of safety barriers that may have the potential to prevent escalation, delaying or avoiding the heat-up of secondary targets. The aim of the present study is the quantitative assessment of safety barrier performance in preventing the escalation of fired domino scenarios. A LOPA (layer of protection analysis) based methodology, aimed at the definition and quantification of safety barrier performance in the prevention of escalation was developed. Data on the more common types of safety barriers were obtained in order to characterize the effectiveness and probability of failure on demand of relevant safety barriers. The methodology was exemplified with a case study. The results obtained define a procedure for the estimation of safety barrier performance in the prevention of fire escalation in domino scenarios. - Highlights: • We developed a methodology for the quantitative assessment of safety barriers. • We focused on safety barriers aimed at preventing domino effect triggered by fire. • We obtained data on effectiveness and availability of the safety barriers. • The methodology was exemplified with a case study of industrial interest. • The results showed the role of safety barriers in preventing fired domino escalation

Quantitative and qualitative assessment of structural magnetic resonance imaging data in a two-center study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chalavi, Sima; Simmons, Andrew; Dijkstra, Hildebrand; Barker, Gareth J; Reinders, AAT Simone

2012-01-01

Multi-center magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies present an opportunity to advance research by pooling data. However, brain measurements derived from MR-images are susceptible to differences in MR-sequence parameters. It is therefore necessary to determine whether there is an interaction between the sequence parameters and the effect of interest, and to minimise any such interaction by careful choice of acquisition parameters. As an exemplar of the issues involved in multi-center studies, we present data from a study in which we aimed to optimize a set of volumetric MRI-protocols to define a protocol giving data that are consistent and reproducible across two centers and over time. Optimization was achieved based on data quality and quantitative measures, in our case using FreeSurfer and Voxel Based Morphometry approaches. Our approach consisted of a series of five comparisons. Firstly, a single-center dataset was collected, using a range of candidate pulse-sequences and parameters chosen on the basis of previous literature. Based on initial results, a number of minor changes were implemented to optimize the pulse-sequences, and a second single-center dataset was collected. FreeSurfer data quality measures were compared between datasets in order to determine the best performing sequence(s), which were taken forward to the next stage of testing. We subsequently acquired short-term and long-term two-center reproducibility data, and quantitative measures were again assessed to determine the protocol with the highest reproducibility across centers. Effects of a scanner software and hardware upgrade on the reproducibility of the protocols at one of the centers were also evaluated. Assessing the quality measures from the first two datasets allowed us to define artefact-free protocols, all with high image quality as assessed by FreeSurfer. Comparing the quantitative test and retest measures, we found high within-center reproducibility for all protocols, but lower

Comparison of capability of dynamic O2-enhanced MRI and quantitative thin-section MDCT to assess COPD in smokers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohno, Yoshiharu; Koyama, Hisanobu; Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Matsumoto, Keiko; Aoyama, Nobukazu; Onishi, Yumiko; Takenaka, Daisuke; Matsumoto, Sumiaki; Nishimura, Yoshihiro; Sugimura, Kazuro

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to directly and prospectively compare the capability of dynamic O 2 -enhanced MRI and quantitatively assessed thin-section MDCT to assess smokers’ COPD in a large prospective cohort. Materials and methods: The GOLD criteria for smokers were used to classify 187 smokers into four clinical stage groups as follows: smokers without COPD (n = 56) and with mild (n = 54), moderate (n = 52) and severe or very severe COPD (n = 24). All smokers underwent dynamic O 2 -enhanced MRI, MDCT and pulmonary function tests. Mean relative enhancement ratio and mean wash-in time on MRI and CT-based functional lung volume (CT-based FLV) as well as the ratio of airway wall area to total airway area on MDCT were computationally calculated. Then, all indexes were significantly correlated with functional parameters. To determine the efficacy of all indexes for clinical stage classification, the indexes for the four clinical groups were statistically compared by using Tukey's honestly significant difference multiple comparison test. Results: All indexes had significant correlations with functional parameters (p 2 -enhanced MRI for assessment of COPD in smokers is potentially as efficacious as quantitatively assessed thin-section MDCT.

Videodensitometric quantitative angiography after coronary balloon angioplasty, compared to edge-detection quantitative angiography and intracoronary ultrasound imaging

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, R. J.; Kok, W. E.; Pasterkamp, G.; von Birgelen, C.; Prins, M. [=Martin H.; Serruys, P. W.

2000-01-01

AIMS: To assess the value of videodensitometric quantification of the coronary lumen after angioplasty by comparison to two other techniques of coronary artery lumen quantification. METHODS AND RESULTS: Videodensitometric quantitative angiography, edge detection quantitative angiography and 30 MHz

Quantitative echocardiographic measures in the assessment of single ventricle function post-Fontan: Incorporation into routine clinical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Rios, Rodrigo; Ginde, Salil; Saudek, David; Loomba, Rohit S; Stelter, Jessica; Frommelt, Peter

2017-01-01

Quantitative echocardiographic measurements of single ventricular (SV) function have not been incorporated into routine clinical practice. A clinical protocol, which included quantitative measurements of SV deformation (global circumferential and longitudinal strain and strain rate), standard deviation of time to peak systolic strain, myocardial performance index (MPI), dP/dT from an atrioventricular valve regurgitant jet, and superior mesenteric artery resistance index, was instituted for all patients with a history of Fontan procedure undergoing echocardiography. All measures were performed real time during clinically indicated studies and were included in clinical reports. A total of 100 consecutive patients (mean age = 11.95±6.8 years, range 17 months-31.3 years) completed the protocol between September 1, 2014 to April 29, 2015. Deformation measures were completed in 100% of the studies, MPI in 93%, dP/dT in 55%, and superior mesenteric artery Doppler in 82%. The studies were reviewed to assess for efficiency in completing the protocol. The average time for image acquisition was 27.4±8.8 (range 10-62 minutes). The average time to perform deformation measures was 10.8±5.5 minutes (range 5-35 minutes) and time from beginning of imaging to report completion was 53.4±13.7 minutes (range 27-107 minutes). There was excellent inter-observer reliability when deformation indices were blindly repeated. Patients with a single left ventricle had significantly higher circumferential strain and strain rate, longitudinal strain and strain rate, and dP/dT compared to a single right ventricle. There were no differences in quantitative indices of ventricular function between patients 10 years post-Fontan. Advanced quantitative assessment of SV function post-Fontan can be consistently and efficiently performed real time during clinically indicated echocardiograms with excellent reliability. © 2016, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Rapid Quantification of Viable Campylobacter Bacteria on Chicken Carcasses, Using Real-Time PCR and Propidium Monoazide Treatment, as a Tool for Quantitative Risk Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Josefsen, Mathilde Hartmann; Löfström, Charlotta; Hansen, Tina Beck

2010-01-01

A number of intervention strategies against Campylobacter contaminated poultry focus on post-slaughter reduction of the number of cells, emphasizing the need for rapid and reliable quantitative detection of only viable Campylobacter. We present a new and rapid quantitative approach for enumeration...... method does not detect DNA from dead Campylobacter, but recognises the infectious potential of the VBNC state, and is thereby able to assess the effect of control strategies, and provide trustworthy data for risk assessment....

Comparison of CT and chemical-shift MRI for differentiating thymoma from non-thymomatous conditions in myasthenia gravis: value of qualitative and quantitative assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Priola, A.M.; Priola, S.M.; Gned, D.; Giraudo, M.T.; Fornari, A.; Veltri, A.

2016-01-01

Aim: To evaluate the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) and chemical-shift magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) for differentiating thymoma (THY) from thymic lymphoid hyperplasia (TLH) and normal thymus (NT), and to determine which technique is more accurate. Materials and methods: Eighty-three patients with generalised MG who underwent surgery were divided into the TLH/NT group (A; 65 patients) and THY group (B; 24 patients). Differences in qualitative characteristics and quantitative data (CT: radiodensity in Hounsfield units; MRI: signal intensity index [SII]) between groups were tested using Fisher's exact test and Student's t-test. Logistic regression models were estimated for both qualitative and quantitative analyses. At quantitative analysis, discrimination abilities were determined according to the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUROC) with computation of optimal cut-off points. The diagnostic accuracies of CT and MRI were compared using McNemar's test. Results: At qualitative assessment, MRI had higher accuracy than CT (96.4%, 80/83 and 86.7%, 72/83, respectively). At quantitative analysis, both the radiodensity and SII were significantly different between groups (p<0.0001). For CT, at quantitative assessment, the AUROC of the radiodensity in discriminating between groups was 0.904 (optimal cut-off point, 20 HU) with an accuracy of 77.1% (64/83). For MRI, the AUROC of the SII was 0.989 (optimal cut-off point, 7.766%) with an accuracy of 96.4% (80/83), which was significantly higher than CT (p<0.0001). By using optimal cut-off points for cases with an erroneous diagnosis at qualitative assessment, accuracy improved both for CT (89.2%, 74/83) and MRI (97.6%, 81/83). Conclusion: Quantitative analysis is useful in evaluating patients with MG and improves the diagnostic accuracy of CT and MRI based on qualitative assessment. Chemical-shift MRI is more reliable than CT in differentiating

Malignant gliomas: current perspectives in diagnosis, treatment, and early response assessment using advanced quantitative imaging methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed R

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Rafay Ahmed,1 Matthew J Oborski,2 Misun Hwang,1 Frank S Lieberman,3 James M Mountz11Department of Radiology, 2Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; 3Department of Neurology and Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USAAbstract: Malignant gliomas consist of glioblastomas, anaplastic astrocytomas, anaplastic oligodendrogliomas and anaplastic oligoastrocytomas, and some less common tumors such as anaplastic ependymomas and anaplastic gangliogliomas. Malignant gliomas have high morbidity and mortality. Even with optimal treatment, median survival is only 12–15 months for glioblastomas and 2–5 years for anaplastic gliomas. However, recent advances in imaging and quantitative analysis of image data have led to earlier diagnosis of tumors and tumor response to therapy, providing oncologists with a greater time window for therapy management. In addition, improved understanding of tumor biology, genetics, and resistance mechanisms has enhanced surgical techniques, chemotherapy methods, and radiotherapy administration. After proper diagnosis and institution of appropriate therapy, there is now a vital need for quantitative methods that can sensitively detect malignant glioma response to therapy at early follow-up times, when changes in management of nonresponders can have its greatest effect. Currently, response is largely evaluated by measuring magnetic resonance contrast and size change, but this approach does not take into account the key biologic steps that precede tumor size reduction. Molecular imaging is ideally suited to measuring early response by quantifying cellular metabolism, proliferation, and apoptosis, activities altered early in treatment. We expect that successful integration of quantitative imaging biomarker assessment into the early phase of clinical trials could provide a novel approach for testing new therapies

Quantitative assessment of hematopoietic chimerism by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction of sequence polymorphism systems after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Xiao-ying; Li, Guo-xuan; Qin, Ya-zhen; Wang, Yu; Wang, Feng-rong; Liu, Dai-hong; Xu, Lan-ping; Chen, Huan; Han, Wei; Wang, Jing-zhi; Zhang, Xiao-hui; Li, Jin-lan; Li, Ling-di; Liu, Kai-yan; Huang, Xiao-jun

2011-08-01

Analysis of changes in recipient and donor hematopoietic cell origin is extremely useful to monitor the effect of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and sequential adoptive immunotherapy by donor lymphocyte infusions. We developed a sensitive, reliable and rapid real-time PCR method based on sequence polymorphism systems to quantitatively assess the hematopoietic chimerism after HSCT. A panel of 29 selected sequence polymorphism (SP) markers was screened by real-time PCR in 101 HSCT patients with leukemia and other hematological diseases. The chimerism kinetics of bone marrow samples of 8 HSCT patients in remission and relapse situations were followed longitudinally. Recipient genotype discrimination was possible in 97.0% (98 of 101) with a mean number of 2.5 (1-7) informative markers per recipient/donor pair. Using serial dilutions of plasmids containing specific SP markers, the linear correlation (r) of 0.99, the slope between -3.2 and -3.7 and the sensitivity of 0.1% were proved reproducible. By this method, it was possible to very accurately detect autologous signals in the range from 0.1% to 30%. The accuracy of the method in the very important range of autologous signals below 5% was extraordinarily high (standard deviation real-time PCR method over short tandem repeat PCR chimerism assays is the absence of PCR competition and plateau biases, with demonstrated greater sensitivity and linearity. Finally, we prospectively analyzed bone marrow samples of 8 patients who received allografts and presented the chimerism kinetics of remission and relapse situations that illustrated the sensitivity level and the promising clinical application of this method. This SP-based real-time PCR assay provides a rapid, sensitive, and accurate quantitative assessment of mixed chimerism that can be useful in predicting graft rejection and early relapse.

Quantitative assessment of developmental levels in overarm throwing using wearable inertial sensing technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Grimpampi, Eleni; Masci, Ilaria; Pesce, Caterina; Vannozzi, Giuseppe

2016-09-01

Motor proficiency in childhood has been recently recognised as a public health determinant, having a potential impact on the physical activity level and possible sedentary behaviour of the child later in life. Among fundamental motor skills, ballistic skills assessment based on in-field quantitative observations is progressively needed in the motor development community. The aim of this study was to propose an in-field quantitative approach to identify different developmental levels in overarm throwing. Fifty-eight children aged 5-10 years performed an overarm throwing task while wearing three inertial sensors located at the wrist, trunk and pelvis level and were then categorised using a developmental sequence of overarm throwing. A set of biomechanical parameters were defined and analysed using multivariate statistics to evaluate whether they can be used as developmental indicators. Trunk and pelvis angular velocities and time durations before the ball release showed increasing/decreasing trends with increasing developmental level. Significant differences between developmental level pairs were observed for selected biomechanical parameters. The results support the suitability and feasibility of objective developmental measures in ecological learning contexts, suggesting their potential supportiveness to motor learning experiences in educational and youth sports training settings.

Variability and uncertainty in Swedish exposure factors for use in quantitative exposure assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Filipsson, Monika; Öberg, Tomas; Bergbäck, Bo

2011-01-01

Information of exposure factors used in quantitative risk assessments has previously been compiled and reported for U.S. and European populations. However, due to the advancement of science and knowledge, these reports are in continuous need of updating with new data. Equally important is the change over time of many exposure factors related to both physiological characteristics and human behavior. Body weight, skin surface, time use, and dietary habits are some of the most obvious examples covered here. A wealth of data is available from literature not primarily gathered for the purpose of risk assessment. Here we review a number of key exposure factors and compare these factors between northern Europe--here represented by Sweden--and the United States. Many previous compilations of exposure factor data focus on interindividual variability and variability between sexes and age groups, while uncertainty is mainly dealt with in a qualitative way. In this article variability is assessed along with uncertainty. As estimates of central tendency and interindividual variability, mean, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, and multiple percentiles were calculated, while uncertainty was characterized using 95% confidence intervals for these parameters. The presented statistics are appropriate for use in deterministic analyses using point estimates for each input parameter as well as in probabilistic assessments. © 2010 Society for Risk Analysis.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound for quantitative assessment of portal pressure in canine liver fibrosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Lin; Qiu, Lan-Yan; Zu, Yuan; Yan, Yan; Ren, Xiao-Zhuan; Zhao, Jun-Feng; Liu, Yu-Jiang; Liu, Ji-Bin; Qian, Lin-Xue

2015-04-21

To explore the feasibility of non-invasive quantitative estimation of portal venous pressure by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in a canine model. Liver fibrosis was established in adult canines (Beagles; n = 14) by subcutaneous injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). CEUS parameters, including the area under the time-intensity curve and intensity at portal/arterial phases (Qp/Qa and Ip/Ia, respectively), were used to quantitatively assess the blood flow ratio of the portal vein/hepatic artery at multiple time points. The free portal venous pressures (FPP) were measured by a multi-channel baroreceptor using a percutaneous approach at baseline and 8, 16, and 24 wk after CCl4 injections in each canine. Liver biopsies were obtained at the end of 8, 16, and 24 wk from each animal, and the stage of the fibrosis was assessed according to the Metavir scoring system. A Pearson correlation test was performed to compare the FPP with Qp/Qa and Ip/Ia. Pathologic examination of 42 biopsies from the 14 canines at weeks 8, 16, and 24 revealed that liver fibrosis was induced by CCl4 and represented various stages of liver fibrosis, including F0 (n = 3), F1 (n = 12), F2 (n = 14), F3 (n = 11), and F4 (n = 2). There were significant differences in the measurements of Qp/Qa (19.85 ± 3.30 vs 10.43 ± 1.21, 9.63 ± 1.03, and 8.77 ± 0.96) and Ip/Ia (1.77 ± 0.37 vs 1.03 ± 0.12, 0.83 ± 0.10, and 0.69 ± 0.13) between control and canine fibrosis at 8, 16, and 24 wk, respectively (all P fibrosis model. Prediction of elevated FPP based on Qp/Qa and Ip/Ia was highly sensitive, as assessed by the area under the receiver operating curve (0.866 and 0.895, respectively). CEUS is a potential method to accurately, but non-invasively, estimate portal venous pressure through measurement of Qp/Qa and Ip/Ia parameters.

Micro-CT characterization of human trabecular bone in osteogenesis imperfecta

Science.gov (United States)

Jameson, John; Albert, Carolyne; Smith, Peter; Molthen, Robert; Harris, Gerald

2011-03-01

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic syndrome affecting collagen synthesis and assembly. Its symptoms vary widely but commonly include bone fragility, reduced stature, and bone deformity. Because of the small size and paucity of human specimens, there is a lack of biomechanical data for OI bone. Most literature has focused on histomorphometric analyses, which rely on assumptions to extrapolate 3-D properties. In this study, a micro-computed tomography (μCT) system was used to directly measure structural and mineral properties in pediatric OI bone collected during routine surgical procedures. Surface renderings suggested a poorly organized, plate-like orientation. Patients with a history of bone-augmenting drugs exhibited increased bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), and connectivity density (Eu.Conn.D). The latter two parameters appeared to be related to OI severity. Structural results were consistently higher than those reported in a previous histomorphometric study, but these differences can be attributed to factors such as specimen collection site, drug therapy, and assumptions associated with histomorphometry. Mineral testing revealed strong correlations with several structural parameters, highlighting the importance of a dual approach in trabecular bone testing. This study reports some of the first quantitative μCT data of human OI bone, and it suggests compelling possibilities for the future of OI bone assessment.

Quantitative MRI and strength measurements in the assessment of muscle quality in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wokke, B H; van den Bergen, J C; Versluis, M J; Niks, E H; Milles, J; Webb, A G; van Zwet, E W; Aartsma-Rus, A; Verschuuren, J J; Kan, H E

2014-05-01

The purpose of this study was to assess leg muscle quality and give a detailed description of leg muscle involvement in a series of Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients using quantitative MRI and strength measurements. Fatty infiltration, as well as total and contractile (not fatty infiltrated) cross sectional areas of various leg muscles were determined in 16 Duchenne patients and 11 controls (aged 8-15). To determine specific muscle strength, four leg muscle groups (quadriceps femoris, hamstrings, anterior tibialis and triceps surae) were measured and related to the amount of contractile tissue. In patients, the quadriceps femoris showed decreased total and contractile cross sectional area, attributable to muscle atrophy. The total, but not the contractile, cross sectional area of the triceps surae was increased in patients, corresponding to hypertrophy. Specific strength decreased in all four muscle groups of Duchenne patients, indicating reduced muscle quality. This suggests that muscle hypertrophy and fatty infiltration are two distinct pathological processes, differing between muscle groups. Additionally, the quality of remaining muscle fibers is severely reduced in the legs of Duchenne patients. The combination of quantitative MRI and quantitative muscle testing could be a valuable outcome parameter in longitudinal studies and in the follow-up of therapeutic effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Osseointegration of a Zirconia Implant : A Histologic Assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schepke, Ulf; Meijer, Gert J; Meijer, Henny Ja; Walboomers, X Frank; Cune, Marco

2017-01-01

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to describe the histologic and histomorphometric features of a retrieved, functional endosseous zirconia implant in a human subject. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A maxillary zirconia implant (ZV3) placed in a 52-year-old man was retrieved after 2 years of uncompromised

A methodology for a quantitative assessment of safety culture in NPPs based on Bayesian networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Young Gab; Lee, Seung Min; Seong, Poong Hyun

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A safety culture framework and a quantitative methodology to assess safety culture were proposed. • The relation among Norm system, Safety Management System and worker's awareness was established. • Safety culture probability at NPPs was updated by collecting actual organizational data. • Vulnerable areas and the relationship between safety culture and human error were confirmed. - Abstract: For a long time, safety has been recognized as a top priority in high-reliability industries such as aviation and nuclear power plants (NPPs). Establishing a safety culture requires a number of actions to enhance safety, one of which is changing the safety culture awareness of workers. The concept of safety culture in the nuclear power domain was established in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety series, wherein the importance of employee attitudes for maintaining organizational safety was emphasized. Safety culture assessment is a critical step in the process of enhancing safety culture. In this respect, assessment is focused on measuring the level of safety culture in an organization, and improving any weakness in the organization. However, many continue to think that the concept of safety culture is abstract and unclear. In addition, the results of safety culture assessments are mostly subjective and qualitative. Given the current situation, this paper suggests a quantitative methodology for safety culture assessments based on a Bayesian network. A proposed safety culture framework for NPPs would include the following: (1) a norm system, (2) a safety management system, (3) safety culture awareness of worker, and (4) Worker behavior. The level of safety culture awareness of workers at NPPs was reasoned through the proposed methodology. Then, areas of the organization that were vulnerable in terms of safety culture were derived by analyzing observational evidence. We also confirmed that the frequency of events involving human error

Prognostic Value of Quantitative Stress Perfusion Cardiac Magnetic Resonance.

Science.gov (United States)

Sammut, Eva C; Villa, Adriana D M; Di Giovine, Gabriella; Dancy, Luke; Bosio, Filippo; Gibbs, Thomas; Jeyabraba, Swarna; Schwenke, Susanne; Williams, Steven E; Marber, Michael; Alfakih, Khaled; Ismail, Tevfik F; Razavi, Reza; Chiribiri, Amedeo

2018-05-01

This study sought to evaluate the prognostic usefulness of visual and quantitative perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) ischemic burden in an unselected group of patients and to assess the validity of consensus-based ischemic burden thresholds extrapolated from nuclear studies. There are limited data on the prognostic value of assessing myocardial ischemic burden by CMR, and there are none using quantitative perfusion analysis. Patients with suspected coronary artery disease referred for adenosine-stress perfusion CMR were included (n = 395; 70% male; age 58 ± 13 years). The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, aborted sudden death, and revascularization after 90 days. Perfusion scans were assessed visually and with quantitative analysis. Cross-validated Cox regression analysis and net reclassification improvement were used to assess the incremental prognostic value of visual or quantitative perfusion analysis over a baseline clinical model, initially as continuous covariates, then using accepted thresholds of ≥2 segments or ≥10% myocardium. After a median 460 days (interquartile range: 190 to 869 days) follow-up, 52 patients reached the primary endpoint. At 2 years, the addition of ischemic burden was found to increase prognostic value over a baseline model of age, sex, and late gadolinium enhancement (baseline model area under the curve [AUC]: 0.75; visual AUC: 0.84; quantitative AUC: 0.85). Dichotomized quantitative ischemic burden performed better than visual assessment (net reclassification improvement 0.043 vs. 0.003 against baseline model). This study was the first to address the prognostic benefit of quantitative analysis of perfusion CMR and to support the use of consensus-based ischemic burden thresholds by perfusion CMR for prognostic evaluation of patients with suspected coronary artery disease. Quantitative analysis provided incremental prognostic value to visual assessment and

Development of Quantitative Framework for Event Significance Evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Durk Hun; Kim, Min Chull; Kim, Inn Seock

2010-01-01

There is an increasing trend in quantitative evaluation of the safety significance of operational events using Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) technique. An integrated framework for evaluation of event significance has been developed by Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), which consists of an assessment hierarchy and a number of matrices. The safety significance of various events, e.g., internal or external initiating events that occurred during at-power or shutdown conditions, can be quantitatively analyzed using this framework, and then, the events rated according to their significance. This paper briefly describes the basic concept of the integrated quantitative framework for evaluation of event significance, focusing on the assessment hierarchy

Smile line assessment comparing quantitative measurement and visual estimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Van der Geld, Pieter; Oosterveld, Paul; Schols, Jan; Kuijpers-Jagtman, Anne Marie

2011-02-01

Esthetic analysis of dynamic functions such as spontaneous smiling is feasible by using digital videography and computer measurement for lip line height and tooth display. Because quantitative measurements are time-consuming, digital videography and semiquantitative (visual) estimation according to a standard categorization are more practical for regular diagnostics. Our objective in this study was to compare 2 semiquantitative methods with quantitative measurements for reliability and agreement. The faces of 122 male participants were individually registered by using digital videography. Spontaneous and posed smiles were captured. On the records, maxillary lip line heights and tooth display were digitally measured on each tooth and also visually estimated according to 3-grade and 4-grade scales. Two raters were involved. An error analysis was performed. Reliability was established with kappa statistics. Interexaminer and intraexaminer reliability values were high, with median kappa values from 0.79 to 0.88. Agreement of the 3-grade scale estimation with quantitative measurement showed higher median kappa values (0.76) than the 4-grade scale estimation (0.66). Differentiating high and gummy smile lines (4-grade scale) resulted in greater inaccuracies. The estimation of a high, average, or low smile line for each tooth showed high reliability close to quantitative measurements. Smile line analysis can be performed reliably with a 3-grade scale (visual) semiquantitative estimation. For a more comprehensive diagnosis, additional measuring is proposed, especially in patients with disproportional gingival display. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Is there a place for quantitative risk assessment?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hall, Eric J [Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY (United States)

2009-06-01

The use of ionising radiations is so well established, especially in the practice of medicine, that it is impossible to imagine contemporary life without them. At the same time, ionising radiations are a known and proven human carcinogen. Exposure to radiation in some contexts elicits fear and alarm (nuclear power for example) while in other situations, until recently at least, it was accepted with alacrity (diagnostic x-rays for example). This non-uniform reaction to the potential hazards of radiation highlights the importance of quantitative risk estimates, which are necessary to help put things into perspective. Three areas will be discussed where quantitative risk estimates are needed and where uncertainties and limitations are a problem. First, the question of diagnostic x-rays. CT usage over the past quarter of a century has increased about 12 fold in the UK and more than 20 fold in the US. In both countries, more than 90% of the collective population dose from diagnostic x-rays comes from the few high dose procedures, such as interventional radiology, CT scans, lumbar spine x-rays and barium enemas. These all involve doses close to the lower limit at which there are credible epidemiological data for an excess cancer incidence. This is a critical question; what is the lowest dose at which there is good evidence of an elevated cancer incidence? Without low dose risk estimates the risk-benefit ratio of diagnostic procedures cannot be assessed. Second, the use of new techniques in radiation oncology. IMRT is widely used to obtain a more conformal dose distribution, particularly in children. It results in a larger total body dose, due to an increased number of monitor units and to the application of more radiation fields. The Linacs used today were not designed for IMRT and are based on leakage standards that were decided decades ago. It will be difficult and costly to reduce leakage from treatment machines, and a necessary first step is to refine the available

Is there a place for quantitative risk assessment?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, Eric J

2009-01-01

The use of ionising radiations is so well established, especially in the practice of medicine, that it is impossible to imagine contemporary life without them. At the same time, ionising radiations are a known and proven human carcinogen. Exposure to radiation in some contexts elicits fear and alarm (nuclear power for example) while in other situations, until recently at least, it was accepted with alacrity (diagnostic x-rays for example). This non-uniform reaction to the potential hazards of radiation highlights the importance of quantitative risk estimates, which are necessary to help put things into perspective. Three areas will be discussed where quantitative risk estimates are needed and where uncertainties and limitations are a problem. First, the question of diagnostic x-rays. CT usage over the past quarter of a century has increased about 12 fold in the UK and more than 20 fold in the US. In both countries, more than 90% of the collective population dose from diagnostic x-rays comes from the few high dose procedures, such as interventional radiology, CT scans, lumbar spine x-rays and barium enemas. These all involve doses close to the lower limit at which there are credible epidemiological data for an excess cancer incidence. This is a critical question; what is the lowest dose at which there is good evidence of an elevated cancer incidence? Without low dose risk estimates the risk-benefit ratio of diagnostic procedures cannot be assessed. Second, the use of new techniques in radiation oncology. IMRT is widely used to obtain a more conformal dose distribution, particularly in children. It results in a larger total body dose, due to an increased number of monitor units and to the application of more radiation fields. The Linacs used today were not designed for IMRT and are based on leakage standards that were decided decades ago. It will be difficult and costly to reduce leakage from treatment machines, and a necessary first step is to refine the available

A new method for quantitative assessment of resilience engineering by PCA and NT approach: A case study in a process industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shirali, Gh.A.; Mohammadfam, I.; Ebrahimipour, V.

2013-01-01

In recent years, resilience engineering (RE) has attracted widespread interest from industry as well as academia because it presents a new way of thinking about safety and accident. Although the concept of RE was defined scholarly in various areas, there are only few which specifically focus on how to measure RE. Therefore, there is a gap in assessing resilience by quantitative methods. This research aimed at presenting a new method for quantitative assessment of RE using questionnaire and based on principal component analysis. However, six resilience indicators, i.e., top management commitment, Just culture, learning culture, awareness and opacity, preparedness, and flexibility were chosen, and the data related to those in the 11 units of a process industry using a questionnaire was gathered. The data was analyzed based on principal component analysis (PCA) approach. The analysis also leads to determination of the score of resilience indicators and the process units. The process units were ranked using these scores. Consequently, the prescribed approach can determine the poor indicators and the process units. This is the first study that considers a quantitative assessment in RE area which is conducted through PCA. Implementation of the proposed methods would enable the managers to recognize the current weaknesses and challenges against the resilience of their system. -- Highlights: •We quantitatively measure the potential of resilience. •The results are more tangible to understand and interpret. •The method facilitates comparison of resilience state among various process units. •The method facilitates comparison of units' resilience state with the best practice

Bone metabolic activity measured with positron emission tomography and [18F] fluoride ion in renal osteodystrophy: Correlation with bone histomorphometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Messa, C.; Goodman, W.G.; Hoh, C.K.; Choi, Y.; Nissenson, A.R.; Salusky, I.B.; Phelps, M.E.; Hawkins, R.A.

1993-01-01

The authors evaluated the bone metabolic activity in patients with renal osteodystrophy using positron emission tomography and [ 18 F] fluoride ion. Eight patients had secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPT), and three had low-turnover bone disease. Eleven normal subjects were also studied, and three of the eight HPT patients were reevaluated after therapy. A rate constant (K) describing the net transport of [ 18 F] fluoride ion into a bound compartment in bone was calculated using both a three-compartment model and Patlak graphical analysis. Values of K were compared with biochemical data and with histomorphometric indices. The results indicate that K is significantly higher (P 18 F] fluoride ion can differentiate low turnover from high turnover lesions of renal osteodystropy and provide quantitative estimates of bone cell activity that correlate with histomorphometric data

Quantitative assessment of morphology, T_1_ρ, and T_2 of shoulder cartilage using MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nardo, Lorenzo; Carballido-Gamio, Julio; Tang, Solomon; Lai, Andrew; Krug, Roland

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of quantifying shoulder cartilage morphology and relaxometry in a clinically feasible scan time comparing different pulse sequences and assessing their reproducibility at 3 Tesla. Three pulse sequences were compared for morphological assessments of shoulder cartilage thickness and volume (SPGR, MERGE, FIESTA), while a combined T1ρ-T2 sequence was optimized for relaxometry measurements. The shoulders of six healthy subjects were scanned twice with repositioning, and the cartilage was segmented and quantified. The degree of agreement between the three morphological sequences was assessed using Bland-Altman plots, while the morphological and relaxometry reproducibility were assessed with root-mean-square coefficients of variation (RMS-CVs) Bland-Altman plots indicated good levels of agreement between the morphological assessments of the three sequences. The reproducibility of morphological assessments yielded RMS-CVs between 4.0 and 17.7 %. All sequences correlated highly (R > 0.9) for morphologic assessments with no statistically significant differences. For relaxometry assessments of humeral cartilage, RMS-CVs of 6.4 and 10.6 % were found for T1ρ and T2, respectively. The assessment of both cartilage morphology and relaxometry is feasible in the shoulder with SPGR, humeral head, and T1ρ being the more reproducible morphological sequence, anatomic region, and quantitative sequence, respectively. (orig.)

Current developments in the assessment of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sites: Analysis, interpretation, and use of the TPH parameter for quantitative risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Surette, M.; Maynard, P.; Lamie, P.O.; Kaslick, C.

1995-01-01

In 1994, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) estimated that petroleum-only cases comprised approximately one-half of the state's hazardous waste sites currently under investigation and/or remediation. Because of this significant percentage, it became clear that assessing petroleum sites more efficiently in terms of risk and cleanup alternatives was necessary. One of these key MDEP policies describes an alternative risk assessment approach enabling the quantitative characterization of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)-related health risks. The approach relies on the use of an analytical technique by which the mass of petroleum hydrocarbons within specified carbon ranges is quantified. MDEP's TPH risk assessment approach was successfully employed at a residential site contaminated with No. 2 fuel oil. The combined use of MDEP's suggested analytical methods, alternative reference compounds and toxicity values, as well as chromatograms, standard dose equations, and an EPA-approved box model, facilitated the performance of a more realistic and cost-effective assessment of risk. Such assessment provided key management information to regulatory agencies, and project managers, as well as property owners concerned with potential property value loss

Quantitative Risk Assessment of Human Trichinellosis Caused by Consumption of Pork Meat Sausages in Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Sequeira, G J; Zbrun, M V; Soto, L P; Astesana, D M; Blajman, J E; Rosmini, M R; Frizzo, L S; Signorini, M L

2016-03-01

In Argentina, there are three known species of genus Trichinella; however, Trichinella spiralis is most commonly associated with domestic pigs and it is recognized as the main cause of human trichinellosis by the consumption of products made with raw or insufficiently cooked pork meat. In some areas of Argentina, this disease is endemic and it is thus necessary to develop a more effective programme of prevention and control. Here, we developed a quantitative risk assessment of human trichinellosis following pork meat sausage consumption, which may be used to identify the stages with greater impact on the probability of acquiring the disease. The quantitative model was designed to describe the conditions in which the meat is produced, processed, transported, stored, sold and consumed in Argentina. The model predicted a risk of human trichinellosis of 4.88 × 10(-6) and an estimated annual number of trichinellosis cases of 109. The risk of human trichinellosis was sensitive to the number of Trichinella larvae that effectively survived the storage period (r = 0.89), the average probability of infection (PPinf ) (r = 0.44) and the storage time (Storage) (r = 0.08). This model allowed assessing the impact of different factors influencing the risk of acquiring trichinellosis. The model may thus help to select possible strategies to reduce the risk in the chain of by-products of pork production. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Delayed villous maturation of the placenta: quantitative assessment in different cohorts.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Treacy, Ann

2013-01-01

Placental villous maturation is maximal in the 3rd trimester, with an abundance of terminal villi. Delayed villous maturation (DVM) of the placenta is associated with chromosomal abnormalities, gestational diabetes, and an adverse outcome. This study compares quantitative assessment of vasculo-syncytial membranes (VSM) in cases of liveborn infants, perinatal deaths, and controls. Cases were selected as follows: (1) liveborn infants with a qualitative diagnosis of DVM (n  =  15); (2) controls matched for gestational age whose placentas did not have DVM (n  =  15); (3) stillbirths (SB)\\/neonatal deaths (NND) showing DVM (n  =  13); and (4) SB from autopsies in which DVM was felt to be the cause of death (COD) (n  =  12). Vasculo-syncytial membranes were counted in 10 terminal villi in each of 10 consecutive high-power fields on 3 slides. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS. Liveborn cases with DVM showed statistically significantly less VSM than controls (mean 1.01 vs 2.42, P < 0.0001). The SB\\/NND group also showed significantly less VSM than the control group (mean 0.46 vs 2.42, P < 0.0001) and less than the liveborn DVM group (mean 0.46 vs 1.01, P  =  0.001). The COD group was significantly different from the control group (mean 0.42 vs 2.42, P < 0.0001) and the liveborn DVM group (mean 0.42 vs 1.01, P < 0.0001) but not significantly different from the SB\\/NND group. There is a quantitative reduction in VSM in cases of DVM compared to controls.

Quantitative assessment of desertification in south of Iran using MEDALUS method.

Science.gov (United States)

Sepehr, A; Hassanli, A M; Ekhtesasi, M R; Jamali, J B

2007-11-01

The main aim of this study was the quantitative assessment of desertification process in the case study area of the Fidoye-Garmosht plain (Southern Iran). Based on the MEDALUS approach and the characteristics of study area a regional model developed using GIS. Six main factors or indicators of desertification including: soil, climate, erosion, plant cover, groundwater and management were considered for evaluation. Then several sub-indicators affecting the quality of each main indicator were identified. Based on the MEDALUS approach, each sub-indicator was quantified according to its quality and given a weighting of between 1.0 and 2.0. ArcGIS 9 was used to analyze and prepare the layers of quality maps using the geometric mean to integrate the individual sub-indicator maps. In turn the geometric mean of all six quality maps was used to generate a single desertification status map. Results showed that 12% of the area is classified as very severe, 81% as severe and 7% as moderately affected by desertification. In addition the plant cover and groundwater indicators were the most important factors affecting desertification process in the study area. The model developed may be used to assess desertification process and distinguish the areas sensitive to desertification in the study region and in regions with the similar characteristics.

Physically based dynamic run-out modelling for quantitative debris flow risk assessment: a case study in Tresenda, northern Italy

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Quan Luna, B.; Blahůt, Jan; Camera, C.; Van Westen, C.; Apuani, T.; Jetten, V.; Sterlacchini, S.

2014-01-01

Roč. 72, č. 3 (2014), s. 645-661 ISSN 1866-6280 Institutional support: RVO:67985891 Keywords : debris flow * FLO-2D * run-out * quantitative hazard and risk assessment * vulnerability * numerical modelling Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 1.765, year: 2014

Plant-wide quantitative assessment of a process industry system's operating state based on color-spectrum

Science.gov (United States)

Kai, Sun; Jianmin, Gao; Zhiyong, Gao; Hongquan, Jiang; Xu, Gao

2015-08-01

This paper presents a general theoretical framework to assess the operating state of a process industry system quantitatively based on meshing the theory of scientific data visualization and digital image processing. First, a series of color-spectrum, which represent the operating state of the system, is formed by mapping the monitor data set to a group of digital color images. Second, the common feature of color-spectrum, which is named benchmark-color-spectrum, is extracted as a standard of the normal state. Third, the abnormal degree can be quantified by calculating the difference of the benchmark-color-spectrum with observed color-spectrum. At last, a plant-wide operating state of the system in a period of time can be shown by plotting quantitative abnormal degree. Two case is included to illustrate the proposed method and its appropriateness. One is a general process industry system simulator named Tennessee Eastman Process. Another is an air compressor group which belongs to a real chemical plant.

Current Understanding of the Pathophysiology of Myocardial Fibrosis and Its Quantitative Assessment in Heart Failure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tong Liu

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Myocardial fibrosis is an important part of cardiac remodeling that leads to heart failure and death. Myocardial fibrosis results from increased myofibroblast activity and excessive extracellular matrix deposition. Various cells and molecules are involved in this process, providing targets for potential drug therapies. Currently, the main detection methods of myocardial fibrosis rely on serum markers, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and endomyocardial biopsy. This review summarizes our current knowledge regarding the pathophysiology, quantitative assessment, and novel therapeutic strategies of myocardial fibrosis.

The results of questionnaire on quantitative assessment of {sup 123}I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy in heart failure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishimura, Tsunehiko [Osaka Univ., Suita (Japan). Medical school; Sugishita, Yasurou; Sasaki, Yasuhito

1997-12-01

This study was done by working group under the cooperation between Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine and Japanese Circulation Society. We evaluated the usefulness of quantitative assessment of {sup 123}I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy in heart failure by the results of questionnaire. Forty-nine (72.1%) of 68 selected institutions participated in this study. The incidence of MIBG myocardial scintigraphy used in heart failure was 41.1%. The imaging protocol was mostly done by both planar and SPECT at 15 min and 3.6 hr after intravenous injection of 111 MBq of MIBG. The quantitative assessment was mostly done by heart/mediastinum (H/M) ratio and washout rate analysis based on planar imaging. The mean normal value of H/M ratio were 2.34{+-}0.36, and 2.49{+-}0.40, at early and delayed images, respectively. The normal value of washout rate was 27.74{+-}5.34%. On the other hand, those of H/M ratio in heart failure were 1.87{+-}0.27, and 1.75{+-}0.24, at early and delayed images, respectively. That of washout rate was 42.30{+-}6.75%. These parameters were very useful for the evaluation of heart failure. In conclusion, MIBG myocardial scintigraphy was widely used for not only early detection and severity assessment, but also indication for therapy and prognosis evaluation in heart failure patients. (author)

Non-small cell carcinoma: Comparison of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence assessment capability of qualitatively and/or quantitatively assessed FDG-PET/CT and standard radiological examinations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onishi, Yumiko, E-mail: onitan@med.kobe-u.ac.jp [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Ohno, Yoshiharu, E-mail: yosirad@kobe-u.ac.jp [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Koyama, Hisanobu; Nogami, Munenobu; Takenaka, Daisuke [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Matsumoto, Keiko [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Department of Radiology, Yamanashi University, Shimokato, Yamanashi (Japan); Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Matsumoto, Sumiaki [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Maniwa, Yoshimasa [Division of Thoracic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo (Japan); Nishimura, Yoshihiro [Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo (Japan); Sugimura, Kazuro [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan)

2011-09-15

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the capability of integrated FDG-PET/CT for assessment of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with that of standard radiological examinations. Materials and methods: A total of 121 consecutive pathologically diagnosed NSCLC patients (80 males, 41 females; mean age, 71 years) underwent pathologically and surgically confirmed complete resection, followed by prospective integrated FDG-PET/CT and standard radiological examinations. Final diagnosis of recurrence was based on the results of more than 12 months of follow-up and/or pathological examinations. The probability of recurrence was assessed with either method for each patient by using 5-point visual scoring system, and final diagnosis was made by consensus between two readers. ROC analysis was used to compare the capability of the two methods for assessment of postoperative recurrence on a per-patient basis. The ROC-based positive test was used to determine optimal cut-off value for FDG uptake measurement at a site suspected on the basis of qualitatively assessed PET/CT. Finally, sensitivities, specificities and accuracies of all methods were compared by means of McNemar's test. Results: Areas under the curve of qualitatively assessed PET/CT and standard radiological examinations showed no significant differences (p > 0.05). At an optimal cut-off value of 2.5, specificity and accuracy of quantitatively and qualitatively assessed PET/CT were significantly higher than those of qualitatively assessed PET/CT and standard radiological examinations (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Accuracy of assessment of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence in NSCLC patients by qualitative and/or quantitative FDG-PET/CT is equivalent to or higher than that by standard radiological examinations.

Non-small cell carcinoma: Comparison of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence assessment capability of qualitatively and/or quantitatively assessed FDG-PET/CT and standard radiological examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onishi, Yumiko; Ohno, Yoshiharu; Koyama, Hisanobu; Nogami, Munenobu; Takenaka, Daisuke; Matsumoto, Keiko; Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Matsumoto, Sumiaki; Maniwa, Yoshimasa; Nishimura, Yoshihiro; Sugimura, Kazuro

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the capability of integrated FDG-PET/CT for assessment of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with that of standard radiological examinations. Materials and methods: A total of 121 consecutive pathologically diagnosed NSCLC patients (80 males, 41 females; mean age, 71 years) underwent pathologically and surgically confirmed complete resection, followed by prospective integrated FDG-PET/CT and standard radiological examinations. Final diagnosis of recurrence was based on the results of more than 12 months of follow-up and/or pathological examinations. The probability of recurrence was assessed with either method for each patient by using 5-point visual scoring system, and final diagnosis was made by consensus between two readers. ROC analysis was used to compare the capability of the two methods for assessment of postoperative recurrence on a per-patient basis. The ROC-based positive test was used to determine optimal cut-off value for FDG uptake measurement at a site suspected on the basis of qualitatively assessed PET/CT. Finally, sensitivities, specificities and accuracies of all methods were compared by means of McNemar's test. Results: Areas under the curve of qualitatively assessed PET/CT and standard radiological examinations showed no significant differences (p > 0.05). At an optimal cut-off value of 2.5, specificity and accuracy of quantitatively and qualitatively assessed PET/CT were significantly higher than those of qualitatively assessed PET/CT and standard radiological examinations (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Accuracy of assessment of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence in NSCLC patients by qualitative and/or quantitative FDG-PET/CT is equivalent to or higher than that by standard radiological examinations.

Intravenous streptokinase therapy in acute myocardial infarction: Assessment of therapy effects by quantitative 201Tl myocardial imaging (including SPECT) and radionuclide ventriculography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koehn, H.; Bialonczyk, C.; Mostbeck, A.; Frohner, K.; Unger, G.; Steinbach, K.

1984-01-01

To evaluate a potential beneficial effect of systemic streptokinase therapy in acute myocardial infarction, 36 patients treated with streptokinase intravenously were assessed by radionuclide ventriculography and quantitative 201 Tl myocardial imaging (including SPECT) in comparison with 18 conventionally treated patients. Patients after thrombolysis had significantly higher EF, PFR, and PER as well as fewer wall motion abnormalities compared with controls. These differences were also observed in the subset of patients with anterior wall infarction (AMI), but not in patients with inferior wall infarction (IMI). Quantitative 201 Tl imaging demonstrated significantly smaller percent myocardial defects and fewer pathological stress segments in patients with thrombolysis compared with controls. The same differences were also found in both AMI and IMI patients. Our data suggest a favorable effect of intravenous streptokinase on recovery of left ventricular function and myocardial salvage. Radionuclide ventriculography and quantitative 201 Tl myocardial imaging seem to be reliable tools for objective assessment of therapy effects. (orig.)

Assessment of Nutritional Status of Nepalese Hemodialysis Patients by Anthropometric Examinations and Modified Quantitative Subjective Global Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arun Sedhain

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective To assess the nutritional status of patients on maintenance hemodialysis by using modified quantitative subjective global assessment (MQSGA and anthropometric measurements. Method We Conducted a cross sectional descriptive analytical study to assess the nutritional status of fifty four patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing maintenance hemodialysis by using MQSGA and different anthropometric and laboratory measurements like body mass index (BMI, mid-arm circumference (MAC, mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC, triceps skin fold (TSF and biceps skin fold (BSF, serum albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP and lipid profile in a government tertiary hospital at Kathmandu, Nepal. Results Based on MQSGA criteria, 66.7% of the patients suffered from mild to moderate malnutrition and 33.3% were well nourished. None of the patients were severely malnourished. CRP was positive in 56.3% patients. Serum albumin, MAC and BMI were (mean + SD 4.0 + 0.3 mg/dl, 22 + 2.6 cm and 19.6 ± 3.2 kg/m 2 respectively. MQSGA showed negative correlation with MAC ( r = −0.563; P = < 0.001, BMI ( r = −0.448; P = < 0.001, MAMC ( r = −0.506; P = < .0001, TSF ( r = −0.483; P = < .0002, and BSF ( r = −0.508; P = < 0.0001. Negative correlation of MQSGA was also found with total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol without any statistical significance. Conclusion Mild to moderate malnutrition was found to be present in two thirds of the patients undergoing hemodialysis. Anthropometric measurements like BMI, MAC, MAMC, BSF and TSF were negatively correlated with MQSGA. Anthropometric and laboratory assessment tools could be used for nutritional assessment as they are relatively easier, cheaper and practical markers of nutritional status.

A Study on the Quantitative Assessment Method of Software Requirement Documents Using Software Engineering Measures and Bayesian Belief Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, Heung Seop; Kang, Hyun Gook; Park, Ki Hong; Kwon, Kee Choon; Chang, Seung Cheol

2005-01-01

One of the major challenges in using the digital systems in a NPP is the reliability estimation of safety critical software embedded in the digital safety systems. Precise quantitative assessment of the reliability of safety critical software is nearly impossible, since many of the aspects to be considered are of qualitative nature and not directly measurable, but they have to be estimated for a practical use. Therefore an expert's judgment plays an important role in estimating the reliability of the software embedded in safety-critical systems in practice, because they can deal with all the diverse evidence relevant to the reliability and can perform an inference based on the evidence. But, in general, the experts' way of combining the diverse evidence and performing an inference is usually informal and qualitative, which is hard to discuss and will eventually lead to a debate about the conclusion. We have been carrying out research on a quantitative assessment of the reliability of safety critical software using Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN). BBN has been proven to be a useful modeling formalism because a user can represent a complex set of events and relationships in a fashion that can easily be interpreted by others. In the previous works we have assessed a software requirement specification of a reactor protection system by using our BBN-based assessment model. The BBN model mainly employed an expert's subjective probabilities as inputs. In the process of assessing the software requirement documents we found out that the BBN model was excessively dependent on experts' subjective judgments in a large part. Therefore, to overcome the weakness of our methodology we employed conventional software engineering measures into the BBN model as shown in this paper. The quantitative relationship between the conventional software measures and the reliability of software were not identified well in the past. Then recently there appeared a few researches on a ranking of

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment in Occupational Settings Applied to the Airborne Human Adenovirus Infection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annalaura Carducci

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA methodology, which has already been applied to drinking water and food safety, may also be applied to risk assessment and management at the workplace. The present study developed a preliminary QMRA model to assess microbial risk that is associated with inhaling bioaerosols that are contaminated with human adenovirus (HAdV. This model has been applied to air contamination data from different occupational settings, including wastewater systems, solid waste landfills, and toilets in healthcare settings and offices, with different exposure times. Virological monitoring showed the presence of HAdVs in all the evaluated settings, thus confirming that HAdV is widespread, but with different average concentrations of the virus. The QMRA results, based on these concentrations, showed that toilets had the highest probability of viral infection, followed by wastewater treatment plants and municipal solid waste landfills. Our QMRA approach in occupational settings is novel, and certain caveats should be considered. Nonetheless, we believe it is worthy of further discussions and investigations.

Quantitative assessment of periimplant bone density (HU) on CBCT image

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goo, Jong Gook; Kim, Jin Soo; Kim, Jae Duk

2008-01-01

The primary aims of this retrospective study were to compare subjective bone quality and bone quality based on the Hounsfield scale in different segments of the edentulous jaw, and to establish quantitative and objective assessment of the bone quality. Twenty eight randomly selected cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) scans were analyzed. For evaluation one hundred and twelve edentulous areas were selected. Implant recipient sites were evaluated visually for Lekholm and Zarb classification. The same sites were subsequently evaluated digitally using the Hounsfield scale with Vimplant 2.0 TM , and the results were correlated with visual classification. Data was subject for statistical analysis in order to determine correlation between recorded HU and the regions of the mouth with the Kruskal-Wallis test. The highest unit/mean density value (311 HU) was found in the anterior mandible, followed by 259 HU for the posterior mandible, 216 HU for the anterior maxilla, and 127 HU for the posterior maxilla. These results demonstrate a strong correlation for HU depending on the region of the mouth (p TM with Vimplant TM software.

Comparing models for quantitative risk assessment: an application to the European Registry of foreign body injuries in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Berchialla, Paola; Scarinzi, Cecilia; Snidero, Silvia; Gregori, Dario

2016-08-01

Risk Assessment is the systematic study of decisions subject to uncertain consequences. An increasing interest has been focused on modeling techniques like Bayesian Networks since their capability of (1) combining in the probabilistic framework different type of evidence including both expert judgments and objective data; (2) overturning previous beliefs in the light of the new information being received and (3) making predictions even with incomplete data. In this work, we proposed a comparison among Bayesian Networks and other classical Quantitative Risk Assessment techniques such as Neural Networks, Classification Trees, Random Forests and Logistic Regression models. Hybrid approaches, combining both Classification Trees and Bayesian Networks, were also considered. Among Bayesian Networks, a clear distinction between purely data-driven approach and combination of expert knowledge with objective data is made. The aim of this paper consists in evaluating among this models which best can be applied, in the framework of Quantitative Risk Assessment, to assess the safety of children who are exposed to the risk of inhalation/insertion/aspiration of consumer products. The issue of preventing injuries in children is of paramount importance, in particular where product design is involved: quantifying the risk associated to product characteristics can be of great usefulness in addressing the product safety design regulation. Data of the European Registry of Foreign Bodies Injuries formed the starting evidence for risk assessment. Results showed that Bayesian Networks appeared to have both the ease of interpretability and accuracy in making prediction, even if simpler models like logistic regression still performed well. © The Author(s) 2013.

Quantitative assessment of cerebral blood flow employing the Rutland method using N-isopropyl-(123I)-p-iodoamphetamine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, Shigeru; Kitano, Tokio.

1992-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate clinical usefulness as the quantitative assessment of the cerebral blood flow by venous sampling supersede arterial sampling using N-isopropyl-( 123 I)-p-iodoamphetamine (IMP) and single-photon emission computed tomography. The method employed Ono's report using the Rutland method. The mean value of total cerebral blood flow by arterial sampling was 388.0±79.4 (standard deviation) ml/min, and that by venous sampling was 448.5±110.3 ml/min. The value of temporal lobe, including basal ganglia where there was no evidence of neurological, electroencephalographic, and other imaging findings was 44.0±3.8 ml/100g/min using arterial sampling and 49.7±6.0 ml/100g/min using venous sampling. (n=22, mean age 57.6) The value of cases with poor peripheral circulation varied a great deal between the arterial and venous samplings. There was a good correlation between arterial and venous samplings in 76 patients without poor peripheral circulation. In conclusion, this method is available for noninvasive quantitative assessment of the cerebral blood flow in patients without poor peripheral circulation. (author)

A quantitative swab is a good non-invasive alternative to a quantitative biopsy for quantifying bacterial load in wounds healing by second intention in horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Hecke, L L; Hermans, K; Haspeslagh, M; Chiers, K; Pint, E; Boyen, F; Martens, A M

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate different techniques for diagnosing wound infection in wounds healing by second intention in horses and to assess the effect of a vortex and sonication protocol on quantitative bacteriology in specimens with a histologically confirmed biofilm. In 50 wounds healing by second intention, a clinical assessment, a quantitative swab, a semi-quantitative swab, and a swab for cytology were compared to a quantitative tissue biopsy (reference standard). Part of the biopsy specimen was examined histologically for evidence of a biofilm. There was a significant, high correlation (Pquantitative swabs and the quantitative biopsies. The semi-quantitative swabs showed a significant, moderate correlation with the quantitative biopsies (Pquantitative swab is an acceptable non-invasive alternative to a quantitative biopsy for quantifying bacterial load in equine wounds healing by second intention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative assessment of changes in landslide risk using a regional scale run-out model

Science.gov (United States)

Hussin, Haydar; Chen, Lixia; Ciurean, Roxana; van Westen, Cees; Reichenbach, Paola; Sterlacchini, Simone

2015-04-01

The risk of landslide hazard continuously changes in time and space and is rarely a static or constant phenomena in an affected area. However one of the main challenges of quantitatively assessing changes in landslide risk is the availability of multi-temporal data for the different components of risk. Furthermore, a truly "quantitative" landslide risk analysis requires the modeling of the landslide intensity (e.g. flow depth, velocities or impact pressures) affecting the elements at risk. Such a quantitative approach is often lacking in medium to regional scale studies in the scientific literature or is left out altogether. In this research we modelled the temporal and spatial changes of debris flow risk in a narrow alpine valley in the North Eastern Italian Alps. The debris flow inventory from 1996 to 2011 and multi-temporal digital elevation models (DEMs) were used to assess the susceptibility of debris flow triggering areas and to simulate debris flow run-out using the Flow-R regional scale model. In order to determine debris flow intensities, we used a linear relationship that was found between back calibrated physically based Flo-2D simulations (local scale models of five debris flows from 2003) and the probability values of the Flow-R software. This gave us the possibility to assign flow depth to a total of 10 separate classes on a regional scale. Debris flow vulnerability curves from the literature and one curve specifically for our case study area were used to determine the damage for different material and building types associated with the elements at risk. The building values were obtained from the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) and were classified per cadastral zone according to the Real Estate Observatory data (Osservatorio del Mercato Immobiliare, Agenzia Entrate - OMI). The minimum and maximum market value for each building was obtained by multiplying the corresponding land-use value (€/msq) with building area and number of floors

Quantitative risk assessment of foods containing peanut advisory labeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Remington, Benjamin C; Baumert, Joseph L; Marx, David B; Taylor, Steve L

2013-12-01

Foods with advisory labeling (i.e. "may contain") continue to be prevalent and the warning may be increasingly ignored by allergic consumers. We sought to determine the residual levels of peanut in various packaged foods bearing advisory labeling, compare similar data from 2005 and 2009, and determine any potential risk for peanut-allergic consumers. Of food products bearing advisory statements regarding peanut or products that had peanut listed as a minor ingredient, 8.6% and 37.5% contained detectable levels of peanut (>2.5 ppm whole peanut), respectively. Peanut-allergic individuals should be advised to avoid such products regardless of the wording of the advisory statement. Peanut was detected at similar rates and levels in products tested in both 2005 and 2009. Advisory labeled nutrition bars contained the highest levels of peanut and an additional market survey of 399 products was conducted. Probabilistic risk assessment showed the risk of a reaction to peanut-allergic consumers from advisory labeled nutrition bars was significant but brand-dependent. Peanut advisory labeling may be overused on some nutrition bars but prudently used on others. The probabilistic approach could provide the food industry with a quantitative method to assist with determining when advisory labeling is most appropriate. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative and qualitative assessment of reactive hematopoietic bone marrow in aplastic anemia using MR spectroscopy with variable echo times

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amano, Yasuo; Kumazaki, Tatsuo [Department of Radiology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo (Japan)

2002-01-01

Objective: To assess quantitative and qualitative differences in water components between normal bone marrow and reactive hematopoietic marrow in aplastic anemia using magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy with variable echo times (TEs). Design: Water content, T2 value of the water component, and signal change in water related to TE were assessed in normal bone marrow and reactive hematopoietic bone marrow by a stimulated echo acquisition mode with TEs of 30, 45, 60, and 90 ms. Patients: Six patients with aplastic anemia (13-84 years) and seven normal volunteers (25-38 years) were examined. Results and conclusion: Reactive hematopoietic marrow showed significantly higher water content than normal bone marrow. The T2 value of water components tended to be longer in reactive hematopoietic marrow. Water signal ratio related to TE was significantly higher in reactive hematopoietic marrow. These results suggest a quantitative and qualitative difference in water components between normal and reactive hematopoietic bone marrow. (orig.)

Computer-assisted quantitative assessment of power Doppler US: effects of microbubble contrast agent in the differentiation of breast tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kettenbach, Joachim; Helbich, Thomas H.; Huber, Sabine; Zuna, Ivan; Dock, Wolfgang

2005-01-01

Rationale and objectives: To objectively quantify the effects of a microbubble contrast agent to differentiate breast tumors with power doppler ultrasound and to compare these results with color doppler ultrasound (CD US). Methods: In 47 patients a microbubble contrast agent was injected intravenously. Computer-assisted quantitative assessment of the color pixel density was performed to evaluate the increase in Doppler signals. Results were compared to previously published results of a color Doppler ultrasound study. Results: Peak color pixel density at contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasound was higher for carcinomas than for benign tumors (P < 0.03). Time to peak enhancement was shorter in carcinomas than in benign tumors (P < 0.01). For both parameters, diagnostic accuracy of power Doppler ultrasound was 69 and 78%, and for color Doppler ultrasound 62 and 76%, respectively. Conclusions: Quantitative assessment of contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasound showed significant differences in malignant and benign breast tumors. Diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasound was higher compared to color Doppler ultrasound

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment for Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica, and Listeria monocytogenes in Leafy Green Vegetables Consumed at Salad Bars, Based on Modeling Supply Chain Logistics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tromp, S.O.; Rijgersberg, H.; Franz, E.

2010-01-01

Quantitative microbial risk assessments do not usually account for the planning and ordering mechanisms (logistics) of a food supply chain. These mechanisms and consumer demand determine the storage and delay times of products. The aim of this study was to quantitatively assess the difference

Quantitative Methods in the Study of Local History

Science.gov (United States)

Davey, Pene

1974-01-01

The author suggests how the quantitative analysis of data from census records, assessment roles, and newspapers may be integrated into the classroom. Suggestions for obtaining quantitative data are provided. (DE)

Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Pulmonary Emphysema with T2-Weighted PROPELLER MRI in a High-Risk Population Compared to Low-Dose CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier-Schroers, Michael; Sprinkart, Alois Martin; Becker, Manuel; Homsi, Rami; Thomas, Daniel

2018-03-07

 To determine the suitability of T2-weighted PROPELLER MRI for the assessment of pulmonary emphysema.  60 participants in a lung cancer screening program (30 subjects with pulmonary emphysema, and 30 control subjects without emphysema) were included for this retrospective study. All subjects were examined with low-dose CT (LDCT) and MRI within the screening program. The use of a T2-weighted PROPELLER sequence for the assessment of emphysema was analyzed and correlated with the results of LDCT. The presence and the extent of pulmonary emphysema were first assessed qualitatively using a three-point score, and then quantitatively with a semi-automated software program to obtain emphysema indices.  All 30 cases with pulmonary emphysema were accurately detected by MRI. There were 3 cases with emphysema according to MRI without emphysematous changes on LDCT (false-positive results). The qualitative scores as well as the emphysema indices were significantly higher in the emphysema group compared to the control group for MRI and LDCT (p emphysema group and r = 0.668/p emphysema index: r = 0.960/p emphysema group and r = 0.746/p pulmonary emphysema may be assessed qualitatively and quantitatively by T2-weighted PROPELLER MRI with very good correlation to LDCT.   · T2-weighted PROPELLER MRI may be suitable for the assessment of pulmonary emphysema.. · There was significant correlation between MRI and LDCT regarding qualitative scores and quantitative emphysema indices in our study with correlation coefficients for different subgroups ranging from r = 0.668 to r = 0.960.. · T2-weighted PROPELLER MRI may have the potential to be used for follow-up examinations in patients with severe emphysema to avoid radiation exposure of repeated CTs.. · Meier-Schroers M, Sprinkart AM, Becker M et al. Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Pulmonary Emphysema with T2-Weighted PROPELLER MRI in a High-Risk Population Compared to Low-Dose CT

Synthesis, characterization and histomorphometric analysis of cellular response to a new elastic DegraPol® polymer for rabbit Achilles tendon rupture repair.

Science.gov (United States)

Buschmann, Johanna; Calcagni, Maurizio; Bürgisser, Gabriella Meier; Bonavoglia, Eliana; Neuenschwander, Peter; Milleret, Vincent; Giovanoli, Pietro

2015-05-01

Tendon rupture repair is a surgical field where improvements are still required due to problems such as repeat ruptures, adhesion formation and joint stiffness. In the current study, a reversibly expandable and contractible electrospun tube based on a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer was implanted around a transected and conventionally sutured rabbit Achilles tendon. The material used was DegraPol® (DP), a polyester urethane. To make DP softer, more elastic and surgeon-friendly, the synthesis protocol was slightly modified. Material properties of conventional and new DP film electrospun meshes are presented. At 12 weeks post-surgery, tenocyte and tenoblast density, nuclei and width, collagen fibre structure and inflammation levels were analyzed histomorphometrically. Additionally, a comprehensive histological scoring system by Stoll et al. (2011) was used to compare healing outcomes. Results showed that there were no adverse reactions of the tendon tissue following the implant. No differences were found whether the DP tube was applied or not for both traditional and new DP materials. As a result, the new DP material was shown to be an excellent carrier for delivery of growth factors, stem cells and other agents responsible for tendon healing. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quantitative Metrics and Risk Assessment: The Three Tenets Model of Cybersecurity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeff Hughes

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Progress in operational cybersecurity has been difficult to demonstrate. In spite of the considerable research and development investments made for more than 30 years, many government, industrial, financial, and consumer information systems continue to be successfully attacked and exploited on a routine basis. One of the main reasons that progress has been so meagre is that most technical cybersecurity solutions that have been proposed to-date have been point solutions that fail to address operational tradeoffs, implementation costs, and consequent adversary adaptations across the full spectrum of vulnerabilities. Furthermore, sound prescriptive security principles previously established, such as the Orange Book, have been difficult to apply given current system complexity and acquisition approaches. To address these issues, the authors have developed threat-based descriptive methodologies to more completely identify system vulnerabilities, to quantify the effectiveness of possible protections against those vulnerabilities, and to evaluate operational consequences and tradeoffs of possible protections. This article begins with a discussion of the tradeoffs among seemingly different system security properties such as confidentiality, integrity, and availability. We develop a quantitative framework for understanding these tradeoffs and the issues that arise when those security properties are all in play within an organization. Once security goals and candidate protections are identified, risk/benefit assessments can be performed using a novel multidisciplinary approach, called “QuERIES.” The article ends with a threat-driven quantitative methodology, called “The Three Tenets”, for identifying vulnerabilities and countermeasures in networked cyber-physical systems. The goal of this article is to offer operational guidance, based on the techniques presented here, for informed decision making about cyber-physical system security.

Histomorphometric, fractal and lacunarity comparative analysis of sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) compact bone samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Gudea, A I; Stefan, A C

2013-08-01

Quantitative and qualitative studies dealing with histomorphometry of the bone tissue play a new role in modern legal medicine/forensic medicine and archaeozoology nowadays. This study deals with the differences found in case of humerus and metapodial bones of recent sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus) and roedeer (Capreolus capreolus) specimens, both from a qualitative point of view, but mainly from a quantitative perspective. A novel perspective given by the fractal analysis performed on the digital histological images is approached. This study shows that the qualitative assessment may not be a reliable one due to the close resemblance of the structures. From the quantitative perspective (several measurements performed on osteonal units and statistical processing of data),some of the elements measured show significant differences among 3 species(the primary osteonal diameter, etc.). The fractal analysis and the lacunarity of the images show a great deal of potential, proving that this type of analysis can be of great help in the separation of the material from this perspective.

MRI quantitative assessment of brain maturation and prognosis in premature infants using total maturation score

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi Ying; Wang Xiaoming

2009-01-01

Objective: To quantitatively assess brain maturation and prognosis in premature infants on conventional MRI using total maturation score (TMS). Methods: Nineteen cases of sequelae of white matter damage (WMD group )and 21 cases of matched controls (control group) in premature infants confirmed by MRI examinations were included in the study. All cases underwent conventional MR imaging approximately during the perinatal period after birth. Brain development was quantitatively assessed using Childs AM's validated scoring system of TMS by two sophisticated radiology physicians. Interobserver agreement and reliability was evaluated by using intraclass correlation (ICC). Linear regression analysis between TMS and postmenstrual age (PMA) was made(Y: TMS, X: PMA). Independent-sample t test of the two groups' TMS was made. Results: Sixteen of 19 cases revealed MRI abnormalities. Lesions showing T 1 and T 2 shortening tended to occur in clusters or a linear pattern in the deep white matter of the centrum semiovale, periventricular white matter. Diffusion-weighted MR image (DWI) showed 3 cases with greater lesions and 4 cases with new lesions in corpus callosum. There was no abnormality in control group on MRI and DWI. The average numbers of TMS between the two observers were 7.13±2.27, 7.13±2.21. Interobservcer agreement was found to be high (ICC=0.990, P 2 =0.6401,0.5156 respectively, P 0.05). Conclusion: Conventional MRI is able to quantify the brain maturation and prognosis of premature infants using TMS. (authors)

Theory and Practice in Quantitative Genetics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Posthuma, Daniëlle; Beem, A Leo; de Geus, Eco J C

2003-01-01

With the rapid advances in molecular biology, the near completion of the human genome, the development of appropriate statistical genetic methods and the availability of the necessary computing power, the identification of quantitative trait loci has now become a realistic prospect for quantitative...... geneticists. We briefly describe the theoretical biometrical foundations underlying quantitative genetics. These theoretical underpinnings are translated into mathematical equations that allow the assessment of the contribution of observed (using DNA samples) and unobserved (using known genetic relationships......) genetic variation to population variance in quantitative traits. Several statistical models for quantitative genetic analyses are described, such as models for the classical twin design, multivariate and longitudinal genetic analyses, extended twin analyses, and linkage and association analyses. For each...

Quantitative assessment of limb blood flow using Tc-99m labeled red blood cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoh, Kazuo; Shougase, Takashi; Kawamura, Naoyuki; Tsukamoto, Eriko; Nakada, Kunihiro; Sakuma, Makoto; Furudate, Masayori

1987-01-01

A quantitative assessment of limb blood flow using a non-diffusible radioindicator, Tc-99m labeled red blood cells, was reported. This was an application of venous occlusion plethysmography using radionuclide which was originally proposed by M. Fukuoka et al. The peripheral blood flow (mean ± s.e.) of 30 legs in a normal control group was 1.87 ± 0.08 ml/100 ml/min. In heart diseases (46 legs), it was 1.49 ± 0.13 ml/100 ml/min. The limb blood flow between a control group and heart diseases was statistically significant (p < 0.01) in the t-test. The peripheral blood flow at rest between diseased legs and normal legs in occlusive arterial disorders was also statistically significant (p < 0.01) in a paired t-test. RAVOP was done after the completion of objective studies such as radionuclide angiography or ventriculography. Technique and calculation of a blood flow were very easy and simple. RAVOP study which was originally proposed by Fukuoka et al. was reappraised to be hopeful for quantitative measurement of limb blood flow as a non-invasive technique using Tc-99m labeled red blood cells. (author)

A quantitative method to analyze the quality of EIA information in wind energy development and avian/bat assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Tony; Nielsen, Erik; Auberle, William; Solop, Frederic I.

2013-01-01

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been a tool for decision makers since the enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Since that time, few analyses have been performed to verify the quality of information and content within EIAs. High quality information within assessments is vital in order for decision makers, stake holders, and the public to understand the potential impact of proposed actions on the ecosystem and wildlife species. Low quality information has been a major cause for litigation and economic loss. Since 1999, wind energy development has seen an exponential growth with unknown levels of impact on wildlife species, in particular bird and bat species. The purpose of this article is to: (1) develop, validate, and apply a quantitative index to review avian/bat assessment quality for wind energy EIAs; and (2) assess the trends and status of avian/bat assessment quality in a sample of wind energy EIAs. This research presents the development and testing of the Avian and Bat Assessment Quality Index (ABAQI), a new approach to quantify information quality of ecological assessments within wind energy development EIAs in relation to avian and bat species based on review areas and factors derived from 23 state wind/wildlife siting guidance documents. The ABAQI was tested through a review of 49 publicly available EIA documents and validated by identifying high variation in avian and bat assessments quality for wind energy developments. Of all the reviewed EIAs, 66% failed to provide high levels of preconstruction avian and bat survey information, compared to recommended factors from state guidelines. This suggests the need for greater consistency from recommended guidelines by state, and mandatory compliance by EIA preparers to avoid possible habitat and species loss, wind energy development shut down, and future lawsuits. - Highlights: ► We developed, validated, and applied a quantitative index to review avian/bat assessment quality

A quantitative method to analyze the quality of EIA information in wind energy development and avian/bat assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Tony, E-mail: tc282@nau.edu [Environmental Science and Policy Program, School of Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, 602 S Humphreys P.O. Box 5694, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011 (United States); Nielsen, Erik, E-mail: erik.nielsen@nau.edu [Environmental Science and Policy Program, School of Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, 602 S Humphreys P.O. Box 5694, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011 (United States); Auberle, William, E-mail: william.auberle@nau.edu [Civil and Environmental Engineering Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northern Arizona University, 2112 S Huffer Ln P.O. Box 15600, Flagstaff, AZ, 860011 (United States); Solop, Frederic I., E-mail: fred.solop@nau.edu [Political Science Program, Department of Politics and International Affairs, Northern Arizona University, P.O. Box 15036, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States)

2013-01-15

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been a tool for decision makers since the enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Since that time, few analyses have been performed to verify the quality of information and content within EIAs. High quality information within assessments is vital in order for decision makers, stake holders, and the public to understand the potential impact of proposed actions on the ecosystem and wildlife species. Low quality information has been a major cause for litigation and economic loss. Since 1999, wind energy development has seen an exponential growth with unknown levels of impact on wildlife species, in particular bird and bat species. The purpose of this article is to: (1) develop, validate, and apply a quantitative index to review avian/bat assessment quality for wind energy EIAs; and (2) assess the trends and status of avian/bat assessment quality in a sample of wind energy EIAs. This research presents the development and testing of the Avian and Bat Assessment Quality Index (ABAQI), a new approach to quantify information quality of ecological assessments within wind energy development EIAs in relation to avian and bat species based on review areas and factors derived from 23 state wind/wildlife siting guidance documents. The ABAQI was tested through a review of 49 publicly available EIA documents and validated by identifying high variation in avian and bat assessments quality for wind energy developments. Of all the reviewed EIAs, 66% failed to provide high levels of preconstruction avian and bat survey information, compared to recommended factors from state guidelines. This suggests the need for greater consistency from recommended guidelines by state, and mandatory compliance by EIA preparers to avoid possible habitat and species loss, wind energy development shut down, and future lawsuits. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We developed, validated, and applied a quantitative index to review

Fertility preservation: a pilot study to assess previsit patient knowledge quantitatively.

Science.gov (United States)

Balthazar, Ursula; Fritz, Marc A; Mersereau, Jennifer E

2011-05-01

To provide a quantitative assessment of patient knowledge about fertility and fertility preservation treatment options before the initial fertility preservation consultation at a university-based fertility preservation center. Prospective pilot survey containing 13 items assessing patient knowledge about fertility preservation, including the available treatment options and their requirements, success rates, and associated risks. University-based IVF center. Women aged 18 to 41 years with illnesses requiring treatments posing a serious threat to future fertility who were referred for fertility preservation consultation between April 2009 and June 2010. None. Knowledge score. Forty-one eligible patients were identified, and all completed surveys before their consultation. A knowledge score was generated for each patient with 1 point awarded for each correct answer. Overall, patients had poor previsit fertility preservation knowledge (mean score 5.9±2.7). Higher knowledge scores were correlated with personal experience with infertility and previous exposure to fertility preservation treatment information. There was no correlation between knowledge score and age, relationship status, pregnancy history, education, or income. Patients seen for fertility preservation consultation at our university-based center generally tend to be in their early 30s, white, well educated, and married. Previsit knowledge about fertility preservation treatment options was poor and did not correlate with age, education, and relationship status. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring probabilistic tools for the development of a platform for Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) of hydro-meteorological hazards in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Zumpano, V.; Hussin, H. Y.; Breinl, K.

2012-04-01

Mass-movements and floods are hydro-meteorological hazards that can have catastrophic effects on communities living in mountainous areas prone to these disastrous events. Environmental, climate and socio-economic changes are expected to affect the tempo-spatial patterns of hydro-meteorological hazards and associated risks in Europe. These changes and their effects on the occurrence of future hazards need to be analyzed and modeled using probabilistic hazard and risk assessment methods in order to assist stakeholders in disaster management strategies and policy making. Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) using probabilistic methods can further calculate damage and losses to multi-hazards and determine the uncertainties related to all the probabilistic components of the hazard and the vulnerability of the elements at risk. Therefore, in order to develop an effective platform that can quantitatively calculate the risk of mass-movements and floods in several European test sites, an extensive inventory and analysis has been carried out of the available tools and software related to the probabilistic risk assessment of single and multi-hazards. The tools have been reviewed based on whether they are open source and freely available, their required input data, the availability and type of hazard and vulnerability modules, transparency of methods used, their validation and calibration techniques, the inclusion of uncertainties and their state of the art. The analysis also specially focused on the applicability of the tools to European study areas. The findings showed that assumptions and simplifications are made when assessing and quantifying the hazards. The interaction between multiple hazards, like cascading effects are not assessed in most tools and some consider the hazard and vulnerability as qualitative components, rather than quantitative ones. This analysis of hazard and risk assessment tools and software will give future developers and experts a better overview of

Using MFM methodology to generate and define major accident scenarios for quantitative risk assessment studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hua, Xinsheng; Wu, Zongzhi; Lind, Morten

2017-01-01

to calculate likelihood of each MAS. Combining the likelihood of each scenario with a qualitative risk matrix, each major accident scenario is thereby ranked for consideration for detailed consequence analysis. The methodology is successfully highlighted using part of BMA-process for production of hydrogen......Generating and defining Major Accident Scenarios (MAS) are commonly agreed as the key step for quantitative risk assessment (QRA). The aim of the study is to explore the feasibility of using Multilevel Flow Modeling (MFM) methodology to formulating MAS. Traditionally this is usually done based...

An approach to quantitative sustainability assessment in the early stages of process design.

Science.gov (United States)

Tugnoli, Alessandro; Santarelli, Francesco; Cozzani, Valerio

2008-06-15

A procedure was developed for the quantitative assessment of key performance indicators suitable for the sustainability analysis of alternative processes, mainly addressing the early stages of process design. The methodology was based on the calculation of a set of normalized impact indices allowing a direct comparison of the additional burden of each process alternative on a selected reference area. Innovative reference criteria were developed to compare and aggregate the impact indicators on the basis of the site-specific impact burden and sustainability policy. An aggregation procedure also allows the calculation of overall sustainability performance indicators and of an "impact fingerprint" of each process alternative. The final aim of the method is to support the decision making process during process development, providing a straightforward assessment of the expected sustainability performances. The application of the methodology to case studies concerning alternative waste disposal processes allowed a preliminary screening of the expected critical sustainability impacts of each process. The methodology was shown to provide useful results to address sustainability issues in the early stages of process design.

A Study on Quantitative Assessment of Design Specification of Reactor Protection System Software Using Bayesian Belief Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, H. S.; Kang, H. G.; Chang, S. C.; Park, G. Y.; Kwon, K. C.

2007-02-01

This report propose a method that can produce quantitative reliability of safety-critical software for PSA by making use of Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN). BBN has generally been used to model the uncertain system in many research fields. The proposed method was constructed by utilizing BBN that can combine the qualitative and the quantitative evidence relevant to the reliability of safety-critical software, and then can infer a conclusion in a formal and a quantitative way. A case study was also carried out with the proposed method to assess the quality of software design specification of safety-critical software that will be embedded in reactor protection system. The V and V results of the software were used as inputs for the BBN model. The calculation results of the BBN model showed that its conclusion is mostly equivalent to those of the V and V expert for a given input data set. The method and the results of the case study will be utilized in PSA of NPP. The method also can support the V and V expert's decision making process in controlling further V and V activities

A study on quantitative V and V of safety-critical software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, H. S.; Kang, H. G.; Chang, S. C.; Ha, J. J.; Son, H. S.

2004-03-01

Recently practical needs have required quantitative features for the software reliability for Probabilistic Safety Assessment which is one of the important methods being used in assessing the overall safety of nuclear power plant. But the conventional assessment methods of software reliability could not provide enough information for PSA of NPP, therefore current assessments of a digital system which includes safety-critical software usually exclude the software part or use arbitrary values. This paper describes a Bayesian Belief Networks based method that models the rule-based qualitative software assessment method for a practical use and can produce quantitative results for PSA. The framework was constructed by utilizing BBN that can combine the qualitative and quantitative evidence relevant to the reliability of safety-critical software and can infer a conclusion in a formal and a quantitative way. The case study was performed by applying the method for assessing the quality of software requirement specification of safety-critical software that will be embedded in reactor protection system

Computer vision approach to morphometric feature analysis of basal cell nuclei for evaluating malignant potentiality of oral submucous fibrosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Muthu Rama Krishnan, M; Pal, Mousumi; Paul, Ranjan Rashmi; Chakraborty, Chandan; Chatterjee, Jyotirmoy; Ray, Ajoy K

2012-06-01

This research work presents a quantitative approach for analysis of histomorphometric features of the basal cell nuclei in respect to their size, shape and intensity of staining, from surface epithelium of Oral Submucous Fibrosis showing dysplasia (OSFD) to that of the Normal Oral Mucosa (NOM). For all biological activity, the basal cells of the surface epithelium form the proliferative compartment and therefore their morphometric changes will spell the intricate biological behavior pertaining to normal cellular functions as well as in premalignant and malignant status. In view of this, the changes in shape, size and intensity of staining of the nuclei in the basal cell layer of the NOM and OSFD have been studied. Geometric, Zernike moments and Fourier descriptor (FD) based as well as intensity based features are extracted for histomorphometric pattern analysis of the nuclei. All these features are statistically analyzed along with 3D visualization in order to discriminate the groups. Results showed increase in the dimensions (area and perimeter), shape parameters and decreasing mean nuclei intensity of the nuclei in OSFD in respect to NOM. Further, the selected features are fed to the Bayesian classifier to discriminate normal and OSFD. The morphometric and intensity features provide a good sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 98.53% and positive predicative accuracy of 97.35%. This comparative quantitative characterization of basal cell nuclei will be of immense help for oral onco-pathologists, researchers and clinicians to assess the biological behavior of OSFD, specially relating to their premalignant and malignant potentiality. As a future direction more extensive study involving more number of disease subjects is observed.

Quantitative benefit-harm assessment for setting research priorities: the example of roflumilast for patients with COPD.

Science.gov (United States)

Puhan, Milo A; Yu, Tsung; Boyd, Cynthia M; Ter Riet, Gerben

2015-07-02

When faced with uncertainties about the effects of medical interventions regulatory agencies, guideline developers, clinicians, and researchers commonly ask for more research, and in particular for more randomized trials. The conduct of additional randomized trials is, however, sometimes not the most efficient way to reduce uncertainty. Instead, approaches such as value of information analysis or other approaches should be used to prioritize research that will most likely reduce uncertainty and inform decisions. In situations where additional research for specific interventions needs to be prioritized, we propose the use of quantitative benefit-harm assessments that illustrate how the benefit-harm balance may change as a consequence of additional research. The example of roflumilast for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease shows that additional research on patient preferences (e.g., how important are exacerbations relative to psychiatric harms?) or outcome risks (e.g., what is the incidence of psychiatric outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease without treatment?) is sometimes more valuable than additional randomized trials. We propose that quantitative benefit-harm assessments have the potential to explore the impact of additional research and to identify research priorities Our approach may be seen as another type of value of information analysis and as a useful approach to stimulate specific new research that has the potential to change current estimates of the benefit-harm balance and decision making.

A quantitative microbial risk assessment model for Listeria monocytogenes in RTE sandwiches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tirloni, E.; Stella, S.; de Knegt, Leonardo

2018-01-01

within each serving. Then, two dose-response models were alternatively applied: the first used a fixed r value for each of the three population groups, while the second considered a variable r value (lognormal distribution), taking into account the variability in strain virulence and different host...... subpopulations susceptibility. The stochastic model predicted zero cases for total population for both the substrates by using the fixed r approach, while 3 cases were expected when a higher variability (in virulence and susceptibility) was considered in the model; the number of cases increased to 45......A Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) was performed to estimate the expected number of listeriosis cases due to the consumption, on the last day of shelf life, of 20 000 servings of multi-ingredient sandwiches produced by a medium scale food producer in Italy, by different population...

Approaches to advancing quantitative human health risk assessment of environmental chemicals in the post-genomic era.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Weihsueh A; Euling, Susan Y; Scott, Cheryl Siegel; Subramaniam, Ravi P

2013-09-15

The contribution of genomics and associated technologies to human health risk assessment for environmental chemicals has focused largely on elucidating mechanisms of toxicity, as discussed in other articles in this issue. However, there is interest in moving beyond hazard characterization to making more direct impacts on quantitative risk assessment (QRA)--i.e., the determination of toxicity values for setting exposure standards and cleanup values. We propose that the evolution of QRA of environmental chemicals in the post-genomic era will involve three, somewhat overlapping phases in which different types of approaches begin to mature. The initial focus (in Phase I) has been and continues to be on "augmentation" of weight of evidence--using genomic and related technologies qualitatively to increase the confidence in and scientific basis of the results of QRA. Efforts aimed towards "integration" of these data with traditional animal-based approaches, in particular quantitative predictors, or surrogates, for the in vivo toxicity data to which they have been anchored are just beginning to be explored now (in Phase II). In parallel, there is a recognized need for "expansion" of the use of established biomarkers of susceptibility or risk of human diseases and disorders for QRA, particularly for addressing the issues of cumulative assessment and population risk. Ultimately (in Phase III), substantial further advances could be realized by the development of novel molecular and pathway-based biomarkers and statistical and in silico models that build on anticipated progress in understanding the pathways of human diseases and disorders. Such efforts would facilitate a gradual "reorientation" of QRA towards approaches that more directly link environmental exposures to human outcomes. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Approaches to advancing quantitative human health risk assessment of environmental chemicals in the post-genomic era

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiu, Weihsueh A., E-mail: chiu.weihsueh@epa.gov [National Center for Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, 20460 (United States); Euling, Susan Y.; Scott, Cheryl Siegel; Subramaniam, Ravi P. [National Center for Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, 20460 (United States)

2013-09-15

The contribution of genomics and associated technologies to human health risk assessment for environmental chemicals has focused largely on elucidating mechanisms of toxicity, as discussed in other articles in this issue. However, there is interest in moving beyond hazard characterization to making more direct impacts on quantitative risk assessment (QRA) — i.e., the determination of toxicity values for setting exposure standards and cleanup values. We propose that the evolution of QRA of environmental chemicals in the post-genomic era will involve three, somewhat overlapping phases in which different types of approaches begin to mature. The initial focus (in Phase I) has been and continues to be on “augmentation” of weight of evidence — using genomic and related technologies qualitatively to increase the confidence in and scientific basis of the results of QRA. Efforts aimed towards “integration” of these data with traditional animal-based approaches, in particular quantitative predictors, or surrogates, for the in vivo toxicity data to which they have been anchored are just beginning to be explored now (in Phase II). In parallel, there is a recognized need for “expansion” of the use of established biomarkers of susceptibility or risk of human diseases and disorders for QRA, particularly for addressing the issues of cumulative assessment and population risk. Ultimately (in Phase III), substantial further advances could be realized by the development of novel molecular and pathway-based biomarkers and statistical and in silico models that build on anticipated progress in understanding the pathways of human diseases and disorders. Such efforts would facilitate a gradual “reorientation” of QRA towards approaches that more directly link environmental exposures to human outcomes.

Approaches to advancing quantitative human health risk assessment of environmental chemicals in the post-genomic era

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiu, Weihsueh A.; Euling, Susan Y.; Scott, Cheryl Siegel; Subramaniam, Ravi P.

2013-01-01

The contribution of genomics and associated technologies to human health risk assessment for environmental chemicals has focused largely on elucidating mechanisms of toxicity, as discussed in other articles in this issue. However, there is interest in moving beyond hazard characterization to making more direct impacts on quantitative risk assessment (QRA) — i.e., the determination of toxicity values for setting exposure standards and cleanup values. We propose that the evolution of QRA of environmental chemicals in the post-genomic era will involve three, somewhat overlapping phases in which different types of approaches begin to mature. The initial focus (in Phase I) has been and continues to be on “augmentation” of weight of evidence — using genomic and related technologies qualitatively to increase the confidence in and scientific basis of the results of QRA. Efforts aimed towards “integration” of these data with traditional animal-based approaches, in particular quantitative predictors, or surrogates, for the in vivo toxicity data to which they have been anchored are just beginning to be explored now (in Phase II). In parallel, there is a recognized need for “expansion” of the use of established biomarkers of susceptibility or risk of human diseases and disorders for QRA, particularly for addressing the issues of cumulative assessment and population risk. Ultimately (in Phase III), substantial further advances could be realized by the development of novel molecular and pathway-based biomarkers and statistical and in silico models that build on anticipated progress in understanding the pathways of human diseases and disorders. Such efforts would facilitate a gradual “reorientation” of QRA towards approaches that more directly link environmental exposures to human outcomes

Quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of a rockfall warning system

Science.gov (United States)

Bründl, Michael; Sättele, Martina; Krautblatter, Michael; Straub, Daniel

2016-04-01

Rockslides and rockfalls can pose high risk to human settlements and traffic infrastructure. In addition to structural mitigation measures like rockfall nets, warning systems are increasingly installed to reduce rockfall risks. Whereas for structural mitigation measures with reducing effects on the spatial extent a structured evaluation method is existing, no or only few approaches to assess the effectiveness for warning systems are known. Especially for higher magnitude rockfalls structural mitigation measures are not effective, and reliable early warning systems will be essential in future. In response to that, we developed a classification and a framework to assess the reliability and effectiveness of early warning systems (Sättele et al, 2015a; 2016). Here, we demonstrate an application for the rockfall warning system installed in Preonzo prior to a major rockfall in May 2012 (Sättele et al., 2015b). We show that it is necessary to design such a warning system as fail-safe construction, which has to incorporate components with low failure probabilities, high redundancy, low warning thresholds, and additional control systems. With a hypothetical probabilistic analysis, we investigate the effect of the risk attitude of decision makers and of the number of sensors on the probability of detecting an event and on initiating a timely evacuation, as well as on related intervention cost. We conclude that it is possible to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of warning systems, which helps to optimize mitigation strategies against rockfall events. References Sättele, M., Bründl, M., and Straub, D.: Reliability and effectiveness of warning systems for natural hazards: concept and application to debris flow warning, Rel. Eng. Syst. Safety, 142, 192-202, 2015a. Sättele, M., Krautblatter, M., Bründl, M., and Straub, D.: Forecasting rock slope failure: How reliable and effective are warning systems?, Landslides, 605, 1-14, 2015b. Sättele, M., Bründl, M., and

Reflections on the Introduction of Quantitative Assessment in Persuasive Writing Classes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul H. Grawe

2014-01-01

Full Text Available If quantitative reasoning is to be a legitimate part of composition curricula, it must be seen as a valuable tool for composition instructors to use in exploring their own subject. Composition instructors must see the relevance of QR not merely to their students in other subject areas but also directly in their literary and rhetorical studies and careers. Here we reflect on a highly successful program of using quantitative techniques in teaching advanced levels of professional rhetoric, namely persuasive speech and writing. We recount our 15-year experience of running an in-class, empirical and progressive experiment in group negotiations, the Legislative Simulation (LS. The LS provided statistically significant results, some eye-opening, reported in various publications, but here our reflections concern what such an experiment tells us about opportunities and challenges of using quantitative techniques for the improvement of teaching rhetoric in and for itself. It is clear from our experience that QR takes on a somewhat different appearance within the humanities requiring adjustments in pedagogy and expectations. None of the challenges, however, are insuperable, and the rewards for the discipline as well as for a quantitatively competent university are very great.

Quantitative assessment of the BETHSY 6.9c test simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hrvatin, S.; Prosek, A.

2000-01-01

In the field of nuclear engineering, complex thermal-hydraulic computer codes are used to simulate and predict various transients in nuclear power plants. These computer codes are validated for overall system simulation by using experimental results, obtained on the integral test facilities. A post-test calculation of BETHSY 6.9c test with the RELAP5/MOD3.2 computer code has been performed in order to improve the input model in the future. The qualitative comparison of the results showed that most of the relevant parameters are predicted reasonably well. The quantitative assessment of the results was performed using the so-called Fast Fourier Transform Based Methodology. The FFTBM delineates and quantifies differences between calculated and experimental parameters in the frequency domain. The analysis showed that the the code calculations yield acceptable results. However, the primary pressure acceptability criterion is not fulfilled. This indicates that primary pressure calculation at low pressures is less accurate than at typical transient conditions. In general, it can be concluded that the RELAP5/MOD3.2 computer code can be used to analyze midloop operation at low power and pressure conditions. (author)

Comparison of semi-quantitative and quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI evaluations of vertebral marrow perfusion in a rat osteoporosis model.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jingqi; Xiong, Zuogang; Zhang, Jiulong; Qiu, Yuyou; Hua, Ting; Tang, Guangyu

2017-11-14

This study aims to investigate the technical feasibility of semi-quantitative and quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in the assessment of longitudinal changes of marrow perfusion in a rat osteoporosis model, using bone mineral density (BMD) measured by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histopathology as the gold standards. Fifty rats were randomly assigned to the control group (n=25) and ovariectomy (OVX) group whose bilateral ovaries were excised (n=25). Semi-quantitative and quantitative DCE-MRI, micro-CT, and histopathological examinations were performed on lumbar vertebrae at baseline and 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks after operation. The differences between the two groups in terms of semi-quantitative DCE-MRI parameter (maximum enhancement, E max ), quantitative DCE-MRI parameters (volume transfer constant, K trans ; interstitial volume, V e ; and efflux rate constant, K ep ), micro-CT parameter (BMD), and histopathological parameter (microvessel density, MVD) were compared at each of the time points using an independent-sample t test. The differences in these parameters between baseline and other time points in each group were assessed via Bonferroni's multiple comparison test. A Pearson correlation analysis was applied to assess the relationships between DCE-MRI, micro-CT, and histopathological parameters. In the OVX group, the E max values decreased significantly compared with those of the control group at weeks 6 and 9 (p=0.003 and 0.004, respectively). The K trans values decreased significantly compared with those of the control group from week 3 (pquantitative DCE-MRI, the quantitative DCE-MRI parameter K trans is a more sensitive and accurate index for detecting early reduced perfusion in osteoporotic bone.

Evolution of bone disease after kidney transplantation: A prospective histomorphometric analysis of trabecular and cortical bone.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Catarina; Magalhães, Juliana; Pereira, Luciano; Simões-Silva, Liliana; Castro-Ferreira, Inês; Frazão, João Miguel

2016-01-01

Post-transplant bone disease results from multiple factors, including previous bone and mineral metabolism disturbances and effects from transplant-related medications. Bone biopsy remains the gold-standard diagnostic tool. We aimed to prospectively evaluate trabecular and cortical bone by histomorphometry after kidney transplantation. Seven patients, willing to perform follow-up bone biopsy, were included in the study. Dual-X-ray absorptiometry and trans-iliac bone biopsy were performed within the first 2 months after renal transplantation and repeated after 2-5 years of follow-up. Follow-up biopsy revealed a significant decrease in osteoblast surface/bone surface (0.91 ± 0.81 to 0.47 ± 0.12%, P = 0.036), osteoblasts number/bone surface (0.45 (0.23, 0.94) to 0.00/mm(2) , P = 0.018) and erosion surface/bone surface (3.75 ± 2.02 to 2.22 ± 1.38%, P = 0.044). A decrease in trabecular number (3.55 (1.81, 2.89) to 1.55/mm (1.24, 2.06), P = 0.018) and increase in trabecular separation (351.65 ± 135.04 to 541.79 ± 151.91 μm, P = 0.024) in follow-up biopsy suggest loss in bone quantity. We found no significant differences in cortical analysis, except a reduction in external cortical osteonal eroded surface (5.76 (2.94, 13.97) to 3.29% (0.00, 6.67), P = 0.043). Correlations between bone histomorphometric and dual-X-ray absorptiometry parameters gave inconsistent results. The results show a reduction in bone activity, suggesting increased risk of adynamic bone and loss of bone volume. Cortical bone seems less affected by post-transplant biological changes in the first years after kidney transplantation. © 2015 Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology.

A systematic framework for effective uncertainty assessment of severe accident calculations; Hybrid qualitative and quantitative methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoseyni, Seyed Mohsen; Pourgol-Mohammad, Mohammad; Tehranifard, Ali Abbaspour; Yousefpour, Faramarz

2014-01-01

This paper describes a systematic framework for characterizing important phenomena and quantifying the degree of contribution of each parameter to the output in severe accident uncertainty assessment. The proposed methodology comprises qualitative as well as quantitative phases. The qualitative part so called Modified PIRT, being a robust process of PIRT for more precise quantification of uncertainties, is a two step process for identifying and ranking based on uncertainty importance in severe accident phenomena. In this process identified severe accident phenomena are ranked according to their effect on the figure of merit and their level of knowledge. Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) serves here as a systematic approach for severe accident phenomena ranking. Formal uncertainty importance technique is used to estimate the degree of credibility of the severe accident model(s) used to represent the important phenomena. The methodology uses subjective justification by evaluating available information and data from experiments, and code predictions for this step. The quantitative part utilizes uncertainty importance measures for the quantification of the effect of each input parameter to the output uncertainty. A response surface fitting approach is proposed for estimating associated uncertainties with less calculation cost. The quantitative results are used to plan in reducing epistemic uncertainty in the output variable(s). The application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated for the ACRR MP-2 severe accident test facility. - Highlights: • A two stage framework for severe accident uncertainty analysis is proposed. • Modified PIRT qualitatively identifies and ranks uncertainty sources more precisely. • Uncertainty importance measure quantitatively calculates effect of each uncertainty source. • Methodology is applied successfully on ACRR MP-2 severe accident test facility

Quantitative safety assessment of air traffic control systems through system control capacity

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Jingjing

Quantitative Safety Assessments (QSA) are essential to safety benefit verification and regulations of developmental changes in safety critical systems like the Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems. Effectiveness of the assessments is particularly desirable today in the safe implementations of revolutionary ATC overhauls like NextGen and SESAR. QSA of ATC systems are however challenged by system complexity and lack of accident data. Extending from the idea "safety is a control problem" in the literature, this research proposes to assess system safety from the control perspective, through quantifying a system's "control capacity". A system's safety performance correlates to this "control capacity" in the control of "safety critical processes". To examine this idea in QSA of the ATC systems, a Control-capacity Based Safety Assessment Framework (CBSAF) is developed which includes two control capacity metrics and a procedural method. The two metrics are Probabilistic System Control-capacity (PSC) and Temporal System Control-capacity (TSC); each addresses an aspect of a system's control capacity. And the procedural method consists three general stages: I) identification of safety critical processes, II) development of system control models and III) evaluation of system control capacity. The CBSAF was tested in two case studies. The first one assesses an en-route collision avoidance scenario and compares three hypothetical configurations. The CBSAF was able to capture the uncoordinated behavior between two means of control, as was observed in a historic midair collision accident. The second case study compares CBSAF with an existing risk based QSA method in assessing the safety benefits of introducing a runway incursion alert system. Similar conclusions are reached between the two methods, while the CBSAF has the advantage of simplicity and provides a new control-based perspective and interpretation to the assessments. The case studies are intended to investigate the

EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards; Scientific Opinion on a Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment of Salmonella in slaughter and breeder pigs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hald, Tine

This Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment (QMRA) represents a major step forward in terms of modelling Salmonella in pigs from farm to consumption as it takes into account the variability between and within EU Member States (MSs). Around 10-20% of human Salmonella infections in EU may...

Skin sensitisation quantitative risk assessment (QRA) based on aggregate dermal exposure to methylisothiazolinone in personal care and household cleaning products.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ezendam, J; Bokkers, B G H; Bil, W; Delmaar, J E

2017-01-01

Contact allergy to preservatives is an important public health problem. Ideally, new substances should be evaluated for the risk on skin sensitization before market entry, for example by using a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) as developed for fragrances. As a proof-of-concept, this QRA was

Relationships between diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (D{sub L}CO), and quantitative computed tomography measurements and visual assessment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nambu, Atsushi, E-mail: nambu-a@gray.plala.or.jp [Department of Radiology, National Jewish Health, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206 (United States); Department of Radiology, Teikyo University Mizonokuchi Hospital (Japan); Zach, Jordan, E-mail: ZachJ@NJHealth.org [Department of Radiology, National Jewish Health, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206 (United States); Schroeder, Joyce, E-mail: Joyce.schroeder@stanfordalumni.org [Department of Radiology, National Jewish Health, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206 (United States); Jin, Gong Yong, E-mail: gyjin@chonbuk.ac.kr [Department of Radiology, National Jewish Health, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206 (United States); Department of Radiology, Chonbuk National University Hospital (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Song Soo, E-mail: haneul88@hanmail.net [Department of Radiology, National Jewish Health, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206 (United States); Department of Radiology, Chungnam National Hospital, Chungnam National University School of Medicine (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yu-IL, E-mail: kyionly@chonnam.ac.kr [Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO (United States); Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Schnell, Christina, E-mail: SchnellC@NJHealth.org [Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO (United States); Bowler, Russell, E-mail: BowlerR@NJHealth.org [Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health (United States); Lynch, David A., E-mail: LynchD@NJHealth.org [Department of Radiology, National Jewish Health, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206 (United States)

2015-05-15

Highlights: • Quantitative CT measurements significantly correlated with D{sub L}CO/V{sub A}. • 15{sup th} percentile HU had the strongest correlation with D{sub L}CO/V{sub A}. • Visual scoring of emphysema had independent significant correlations with D{sub L}CO/V{sub A}. - Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate the relationships between D{sub L}CO, and Quantitative CT (QCT) measurements and visual assessment of pulmonary emphysema and to test the relative roles of visual and quantitative assessment of emphysema. Materials and methods: The subjects included 199 current and former cigarette smokers from the COPDGene cohort who underwent inspiratory and expiratory CT and also had diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide corrected for alveolar volume (D{sub L}CO/V{sub A}). Quantitative CT measurements included % low attenuation areas (%LAA−950ins = voxels ≤−950 Hounsfield unit (HU), % LAA{sub −910ins}, and % LAA{sub −856ins}), mean CT attenuation and 15th percentile HU value on inspiratory CT, and %LAA{sub −856exp} (voxels ≤−856 HU on expiratory CT). The extent of emphysema was visually assessed using a 5-point grading system. Univariate and multiple variable linear regression analyses were employed to evaluate the correlations between D{sub L}CO/V{sub A} and QCT parameters and visual extent of emphysema. Results: The D{sub L}CO/V{sub A} correlated most strongly with 15th percentile HU (R{sup 2} = 0.440, p < 0.001) closely followed by % LAA{sub −950ins} (R{sup 2} = 0.417, p < 0.001) and visual extent of emphysema (R{sup 2} = 0.411, p < 0.001). Multiple variable analysis showed that visual extent of emphysema and 15th percentile HU were independent significant predictors of D{sub L}CO/V{sub A} at an R{sup 2} of 0.599. Conclusions: 15th percentile HU seems the best parameter to represent the respiratory condition of COPD. Visual and Quantitative CT assessment of emphysema provide complementary information to QCT analysis.

Smile line assessment comparing quantitative measurement and visual estimation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geld, P. Van der; Oosterveld, P.; Schols, J.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.

2011-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Esthetic analysis of dynamic functions such as spontaneous smiling is feasible by using digital videography and computer measurement for lip line height and tooth display. Because quantitative measurements are time-consuming, digital videography and semiquantitative (visual) estimation

Delayed tooth replantation after root surface treatment with sodium hypochlorite and sodium fluoride: histomorphometric analysis in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Sottovia, André Dotto; Sonoda, Celso Koogi; Poi, Wilson Roberto; Panzarini, Sônia Regina; Lauris, José Roberto Pereira

2006-04-01

In cases of delayed tooth replantation, non-vital periodontal ligament remnants have been removed with sodium hypochlorite in an attempt to control root resorption. Nevertheless, reports of its irritating potential in contact with the alveolar connective tissue have been described. Therefore, this study evaluated the healing process on delayed replantation of rat teeth, after periodontal ligament removal by different treatment modalities. Twenty-four rats, assigned to 3 groups (n=8), had their upper right incisor extracted and left on the workbench for desiccation during 60 min. Afterwards, the teeth in group I were immersed in saline for 2 min. In group II, root surfaces were scrubbed with gauze soaked in saline for 2 min; and in group III, scrubbing was done with gauze soaked in 1% sodium hypochlorite solution. Thereafter, root surfaces were etched with 37% phosphoric acid and immersed in 2% acidulate-phosphate sodium fluoride solution, at pH 5.5. Root canals were filled with a calcium hydroxide-based paste and the teeth were replanted. The animals were sacrificed 60 days postoperatively and the pieces containing the replanted teeth were processed and paraffin- embedded. Semi-serial transversally sections were obtained from the middle third of the root and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histomorphometric analysis. Data were analyzed statistically using Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's tests. The results showed that root structure and cementum extension were more affected by resorption in group III (p<0.05). All groups were affected by root resorption but the treatment performed in group III was the least effective for its control. The treatment accomplished in groups I and II yielded similar results to each other.

SYN-JEM : A Quantitative Job-Exposure Matrix for Five Lung Carcinogens

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, Susan; Vermeulen, Roel; Portengen, Lützen; Olsson, Ann C.; Kendzia, Benjamin; Vincent, Raymond; Savary, Barbara; LavouCrossed Sign, Jcrossed D.Signrôme; Cavallo, Domenico; Cattaneo, Andrea; Mirabelli, Dario; Plato, Nils; Fevotte, Joelle; Pesch, Beate; Brüning, Thomas; Straif, Kurt; Kromhout, Hans

2016-01-01

Objective: The use of measurement data in occupational exposure assessment allows more quantitative analyses of possible exposure-response relations. We describe a quantitative exposure assessment approach for five lung carcinogens (i.e. asbestos, chromium-VI, nickel, polycyclic aromatic

Inter- and intra-observer agreement of BI-RADS-based subjective visual estimation of amount of fibroglandular breast tissue with magnetic resonance imaging: comparison to automated quantitative assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wengert, G.J.; Helbich, T.H.; Woitek, R.; Kapetas, P.; Clauser, P.; Baltzer, P.A.; Vogl, W.D.; Weber, M.; Meyer-Baese, A.; Pinker, Katja

2016-01-01

To evaluate the inter-/intra-observer agreement of BI-RADS-based subjective visual estimation of the amount of fibroglandular tissue (FGT) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to investigate whether FGT assessment benefits from an automated, observer-independent, quantitative MRI measurement by comparing both approaches. Eighty women with no imaging abnormalities (BI-RADS 1 and 2) were included in this institutional review board (IRB)-approved prospective study. All women underwent un-enhanced breast MRI. Four radiologists independently assessed FGT with MRI by subjective visual estimation according to BI-RADS. Automated observer-independent quantitative measurement of FGT with MRI was performed using a previously described measurement system. Inter-/intra-observer agreements of qualitative and quantitative FGT measurements were assessed using Cohen's kappa (k). Inexperienced readers achieved moderate inter-/intra-observer agreement and experienced readers a substantial inter- and perfect intra-observer agreement for subjective visual estimation of FGT. Practice and experience reduced observer-dependency. Automated observer-independent quantitative measurement of FGT was successfully performed and revealed only fair to moderate agreement (k = 0.209-0.497) with subjective visual estimations of FGT. Subjective visual estimation of FGT with MRI shows moderate intra-/inter-observer agreement, which can be improved by practice and experience. Automated observer-independent quantitative measurements of FGT are necessary to allow a standardized risk evaluation. (orig.)

Inter- and intra-observer agreement of BI-RADS-based subjective visual estimation of amount of fibroglandular breast tissue with magnetic resonance imaging: comparison to automated quantitative assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wengert, G.J.; Helbich, T.H.; Woitek, R.; Kapetas, P.; Clauser, P.; Baltzer, P.A. [Medical University of Vienna/ Vienna General Hospital, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Division of Molecular and Gender Imaging, Vienna (Austria); Vogl, W.D. [Medical University of Vienna, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Wien (Austria); Weber, M. [Medical University of Vienna, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Division of General and Pediatric Radiology, Wien (Austria); Meyer-Baese, A. [State University of Florida, Department of Scientific Computing in Medicine, Tallahassee, FL (United States); Pinker, Katja [Medical University of Vienna/ Vienna General Hospital, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Division of Molecular and Gender Imaging, Vienna (Austria); State University of Florida, Department of Scientific Computing in Medicine, Tallahassee, FL (United States); Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging and Therapy Services, New York City, NY (United States)

2016-11-15

To evaluate the inter-/intra-observer agreement of BI-RADS-based subjective visual estimation of the amount of fibroglandular tissue (FGT) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to investigate whether FGT assessment benefits from an automated, observer-independent, quantitative MRI measurement by comparing both approaches. Eighty women with no imaging abnormalities (BI-RADS 1 and 2) were included in this institutional review board (IRB)-approved prospective study. All women underwent un-enhanced breast MRI. Four radiologists independently assessed FGT with MRI by subjective visual estimation according to BI-RADS. Automated observer-independent quantitative measurement of FGT with MRI was performed using a previously described measurement system. Inter-/intra-observer agreements of qualitative and quantitative FGT measurements were assessed using Cohen's kappa (k). Inexperienced readers achieved moderate inter-/intra-observer agreement and experienced readers a substantial inter- and perfect intra-observer agreement for subjective visual estimation of FGT. Practice and experience reduced observer-dependency. Automated observer-independent quantitative measurement of FGT was successfully performed and revealed only fair to moderate agreement (k = 0.209-0.497) with subjective visual estimations of FGT. Subjective visual estimation of FGT with MRI shows moderate intra-/inter-observer agreement, which can be improved by practice and experience. Automated observer-independent quantitative measurements of FGT are necessary to allow a standardized risk evaluation. (orig.)

Quantitative gait measurement with pulse-Doppler radar for passive in-home gait assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fang; Skubic, Marjorie; Rantz, Marilyn; Cuddihy, Paul E

2014-09-01

In this paper, we propose a pulse-Doppler radar system for in-home gait assessment of older adults. A methodology has been developed to extract gait parameters including walking speed and step time using Doppler radar. The gait parameters have been validated with a Vicon motion capture system in the lab with 13 participants and 158 test runs. The study revealed that for an optimal step recognition and walking speed estimation, a dual radar set up with one radar placed at foot level and the other at torso level is necessary. An excellent absolute agreement with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.97 was found for step time estimation with the foot level radar. For walking speed, although both radars show excellent consistency they all have a system offset compared to the ground truth due to walking direction with respect to the radar beam. The torso level radar has a better performance (9% offset on average) in the speed estimation compared to the foot level radar (13%-18% offset). Quantitative analysis has been performed to compute the angles causing the systematic error. These lab results demonstrate the capability of the system to be used as a daily gait assessment tool in home environments, useful for fall risk assessment and other health care applications. The system is currently being tested in an unstructured home environment.

Investigation of airways using MDCT for visual and quantitative assessment in COPD patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierre-Yves Brillet

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Pierre-Yves Brillet1, Catalin I Fetita2, Amaury Saragaglia2, Anne-Laure Brun3, Catherine Beigelman-Aubry3, Françoise Prêteux2, Philippe A Grenier31Department of Radiology, Avicenne Hospital, Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Léonard de Vinci–Paris Nord, EA 2361, Bobigny, France; 2ARTEMIS Department, Institut National des Télécommunications, Université Paris V, Evry, France; 3Department of Radiology, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, FranceAbstract: Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT acquisition during a single breath hold using thin collimation provides high resolution volumetric data set permitting multiplanar and three dimensional reconstruction of the proximal airways. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD patients, this technique provides an accurate assessment of bronchial wall thickening, tracheobronchial deformation, outpouchings reflecting dilatation of the submucous glands, tracheobronchomalacia, and expiratory air trapping. New software developed to segment adequately the lumen and walls of the airways on MDCT scans allows quantitative assessment of the airway dimensions which has shown to be reliable in clinical practice. This technique can become important in longitudinal studies of the pathogenesis of COPD, and in the assessment of therapeutic interventions.Keywords: COPD – tracheobronchial tree, multidetector CT – airway remodeling, tracheobronchomalacia

SYN-JEM : A Quantitative Job-Exposure Matrix for Five Lung Carcinogens

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, Susan; Vermeulen, Roel; Portengen, L??tzen; Olsson, Ann; Kendzia, Benjamin; Vincent, Raymond; Savary, Barbara; LavouCrossed Sign, Jcrossed D Signr??me; Cavallo, Domenico; Cattaneo, Andrea; Mirabelli, Dario; Plato, Nils; Fevotte, Joelle; Pesch, Beate; Br??ning, Thomas; Straif, Kurt; Kromhout, Hans

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVE The use of measurement data in occupational exposure assessment allows more quantitative analyses of possible exposure-response relations. We describe a quantitative exposure assessment approach for five lung carcinogens (i.e. asbestos, chromium-VI, nickel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

A framework for the quantitative assessment of performance-based system resilience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran, Huy T.; Balchanos, Michael; Domerçant, Jean Charles; Mavris, Dimitri N.

2017-01-01

Increasing system complexity and threat uncertainty require the consideration of resilience in the design and analysis of engineered systems. While the resilience engineering community has begun to converge on a definition and set of characteristics for resilience, methods for quantifying the concept are still limited in their applicability to system designers. This paper proposes a framework for assessing resilience that focuses on the ability of a system to absorb disruptions, recover from them, and adapt over time. The framework extends current approaches by explicitly considering temporal aspects of system responses to disruptions, volatility in system performance data, and the possibility of multiple disruption events. Notional system performance data is generated using the logistic function, providing an experimental platform for a parametric comparison of the proposed resilience metric with an integration-based metric. An information exchange network model is used to demonstrate the applicability of the framework towards system design tradeoff studies using stochastic simulations. The presented framework is domain-agnostic and flexible, such that it can be applied to a variety of systems and adjusted to focus on specific aspects of resilience. - Highlights: • We propose a quantitative framework and metrics for assessing system resilience. • Metrics focus on absorption, recovery, and adaptation to disruptions. • The framework accepts volatile data and is easily automated for simulation studies. • The framework is applied to a model of adaptive information exchange networks. • Results show benefits of network adaptation against random and targeted threats.

Iterative reconstruction technique vs filter back projection: utility for quantitative bronchial assessment on low-dose thin-section MDCT in patients with/without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koyama, Hisanobu; Seki, Shinichiro; Sugimura, Kazuro [Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Division of Radiology, Department of Radiology, Kobe, Hyogo (Japan); Ohno, Yoshiharu; Nishio, Mizuho; Matsumoto, Sumiaki; Yoshikawa, Takeshi [Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research Centre, Kobe (Japan); Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Division of Functional and Diagnostic Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Kobe (Japan); Sugihara, Naoki [Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Ohtawara, Tochigi (Japan)

2014-08-15

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of the iterative reconstruction (IR) technique for quantitative bronchial assessment during low-dose computed tomography (CT) as a substitute for standard-dose CT in patients with/without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Fifty patients (mean age, 69.2; mean % predicted FEV1, 79.4) underwent standard-dose CT (150mAs) and low-dose CT (25mAs). Except for tube current, the imaging parameters were identical for both protocols. Standard-dose CT was reconstructed using filtered back-projection (FBP), and low-dose CT was reconstructed using IR and FBP. For quantitative bronchial assessment, the wall area percentage (WA%) of the sub-segmental bronchi and the airway luminal volume percentage (LV%) from the main bronchus to the peripheral bronchi were acquired in each dataset. The correlation and agreement of WA% and LV% between standard-dose CT and both low-dose CTs were statistically evaluated. WA% and LV% between standard-dose CT and both low-dose CTs were significant correlated (r > 0.77, p < 0.00001); however, only the LV% agreement between SD-CT and low-dose CT reconstructed with IR was moderate (concordance correlation coefficient = 0.93); the other agreement was poor (concordance correlation coefficient <0.90). Quantitative bronchial assessment via low-dose CT has potential as a substitute for standard-dose CT by using IR and airway luminal volumetry techniques. circle Quantitative bronchial assessment of COPD using low-dose CT is possible. (orig.)

Quantitative Assessment of Thermodynamic Constraints on the Solution Space of Genome-Scale Metabolic Models

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Joshua J.; Dwivedi, Vivek; Reed, Jennifer L.

2013-01-01

Constraint-based methods provide powerful computational techniques to allow understanding and prediction of cellular behavior. These methods rely on physiochemical constraints to eliminate infeasible behaviors from the space of available behaviors. One such constraint is thermodynamic feasibility, the requirement that intracellular flux distributions obey the laws of thermodynamics. The past decade has seen several constraint-based methods that interpret this constraint in different ways, including those that are limited to small networks, rely on predefined reaction directions, and/or neglect the relationship between reaction free energies and metabolite concentrations. In this work, we utilize one such approach, thermodynamics-based metabolic flux analysis (TMFA), to make genome-scale, quantitative predictions about metabolite concentrations and reaction free energies in the absence of prior knowledge of reaction directions, while accounting for uncertainties in thermodynamic estimates. We applied TMFA to a genome-scale network reconstruction of Escherichia coli and examined the effect of thermodynamic constraints on the flux space. We also assessed the predictive performance of TMFA against gene essentiality and quantitative metabolomics data, under both aerobic and anaerobic, and optimal and suboptimal growth conditions. Based on these results, we propose that TMFA is a useful tool for validating phenotypes and generating hypotheses, and that additional types of data and constraints can improve predictions of metabolite concentrations. PMID:23870272

Engineering approach to relative quantitative assessment of safety culture and related social issues in NPP operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sivokon, V.; Gladyshev, M.; Malkin, S.

2005-01-01

The report is devoted to presentation of engineering approach and software tool developed for Safety Culture (SC) assessment as well as to the results of their implementation at Smolensk NPP. The engineering approach is logic evolution of the IAEA ASSET method broadly used at European NPPs in 90-s. It was implemented at Russian and other plants including Olkiluoto NPP in Finland. The approach allows relative quantitative assessing and trending the aspects of SC by the analysis of evens features and causes, calculation and trending corresponding indicators. At the same time plant's operational performances and related social issues, including efficiency of plant operation and personnel reliability, can be monitored. With the help of developed tool the joint team combined from personnel of Smolensk NPP and RRC 'Kurchatov Institute' ('KI') issued the SC self-assessment report, which identifies: families of recurrent events, main safety and operational problems ; their trends and importance to SC and plant efficiency; recommendations to enhance SC and operational performance

Basic quantitative assessment of visual performance in patients with very low vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Bach, Michael; Wilke, Michaela; Wilhelm, Barbara; Zrenner, Eberhart; Wilke, Robert

2010-02-01

A variety of approaches to developing visual prostheses are being pursued: subretinal, epiretinal, via the optic nerve, or via the visual cortex. This report presents a method of comparing their efficacy at genuinely improving visual function, starting at no light perception (NLP). A test battery (a computer program, Basic Assessment of Light and Motion [BaLM]) was developed in four basic visual dimensions: (1) light perception (light/no light), with an unstructured large-field stimulus; (2) temporal resolution, with single versus double flash discrimination; (3) localization of light, where a wedge extends from the center into four possible directions; and (4) motion, with a coarse pattern moving in one of four directions. Two- or four-alternative, forced-choice paradigms were used. The participants' responses were self-paced and delivered with a keypad. The feasibility of the BaLM was tested in 73 eyes of 51 patients with low vision. The light and time test modules discriminated between NLP and light perception (LP). The localization and motion modules showed no significant response for NLP but discriminated between LP and hand movement (HM). All four modules reached their ceilings in the acuity categories higher than HM. BaLM results systematically differed between the very-low-acuity categories NLP, LP, and HM. Light and time yielded similar results, as did localization and motion; still, for assessing the visual prostheses with differing temporal characteristics, they are not redundant. The results suggest that this simple test battery provides a quantitative assessment of visual function in the very-low-vision range from NLP to HM.

Quantitative Assessment of Eye Phenotypes for Functional Genetic Studies Using Drosophila melanogaster

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janani Iyer

2016-05-01

Full Text Available About two-thirds of the vital genes in the Drosophila genome are involved in eye development, making the fly eye an excellent genetic system to study cellular function and development, neurodevelopment/degeneration, and complex diseases such as cancer and diabetes. We developed a novel computational method, implemented as Flynotyper software (http://flynotyper.sourceforge.net, to quantitatively assess the morphological defects in the Drosophila eye resulting from genetic alterations affecting basic cellular and developmental processes. Flynotyper utilizes a series of image processing operations to automatically detect the fly eye and the individual ommatidium, and calculates a phenotypic score as a measure of the disorderliness of ommatidial arrangement in the fly eye. As a proof of principle, we tested our method by analyzing the defects due to eye-specific knockdown of Drosophila orthologs of 12 neurodevelopmental genes to accurately document differential sensitivities of these genes to dosage alteration. We also evaluated eye images from six independent studies assessing the effect of overexpression of repeats, candidates from peptide library screens, and modifiers of neurotoxicity and developmental processes on eye morphology, and show strong concordance with the original assessment. We further demonstrate the utility of this method by analyzing 16 modifiers of sine oculis obtained from two genome-wide deficiency screens of Drosophila and accurately quantifying the effect of its enhancers and suppressors during eye development. Our method will complement existing assays for eye phenotypes, and increase the accuracy of studies that use fly eyes for functional evaluation of genes and genetic interactions.

Quantitative Assessment of the IT Agile Transformation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orłowski Cezary

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present the quantitative perspective of the agile transformation processes in IT organisations. The phenomenon of agile transformation becomes a complex challenge for an IT organisation since it has not been analysed in detail so far. There is no research on the readiness of IT organisations to realise agile transformation processes. Such processes also prove to have uncontrolled character. Therefore, to minimise the risk of failure referring to the realisation of transformation processes, it is necessary to monitor them. It is also necessary to identify and analyse such processes to ensure their continuous character.

Edge detection versus densitometry for assessing coronary stenting quantitatively

NARCIS (Netherlands)

B.H. Strauss (Bradley); Y. Juilliere; B.J.W.M. Rensing (Benno); J.H.C. Reiber (Johan); P.W.J.C. Serruys (Patrick)

1991-01-01

textabstractThe optimal method used to analyze quantitatively the immediate angiographic results of coronary stenting in the coronary arteries has not been studied. Accordingly, minimal luminal cross-sectional area was determined by 2 methods, edge detection and densitometry, in 19 patients who

Histomorphometric evaluation of bone regeneration using autogenous bone and beta-tricalcium phosphate in diabetic rabbits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Živadinović Milka

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. The mechanism of impaired bone healing in diabetes mellitus includes different tissue and cellular level activities due to micro- and macrovascular changes. As a chronic metabolic disease with vascular complications, diabetes affects a process of bone regeneration as well. The therapeutic approach in bone regeneration is based on the use of osteoinductive autogenous grafts as well as osteoconductive synthetic material, like a β-tricalcium phosphate. The aim of the study was to determine the quality and quantity of new bone formation after the use of autogenous bone and β-tricalcium phosphate in the model of calvarial critical-sized defect in rabbits with induced diabetes mellitus type I. Methods. The study included eight 4-month-old Chincilla rabbits with alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus type I. In all animals, there were surgically created two calvarial bilateral defects (diameter 12 mm, which were grafted with autogenous bone and β-tricalcium phosphate (n = 4 or served as unfilled controls (n = 4. After 4 weeks of healing, animals were sacrificed and calvarial bone blocks were taken for histologic and histomorphometric analysis. Beside descriptive histologic evaluation, the percentage of new bone formation, connective tissue and residual graft were calculated. All parameters were statistically evaluated by Friedman Test and post hock Wilcoxon Singed Ranks Test with a significance of p < 0.05. Results. Histology revealed active new bone formation peripherally with centrally located connective tissue, newly formed woven bone and well incorporated residual grafts in all treated defects. Control samples showed no bone bridging of defects. There was a significantly more new bone in autogeonous graft (53% compared with β-tricalcium phosphate (30%, (p < 0.030 and control (7%, (p < 0.000 groups. A significant difference was also recorded between β-tricalcium phosphate and control groups (p < 0.008. Conclusion. In the present

Assessment of stress reactions of recruits based on quantitative analysis of the characteristics of fingertip photoplethysmographic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li-jun XIAO

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Objective To investigate the feasibility of stress assessment based on specific quantification techniques and analysis of stress status with photoplethysmographic(PPG signals.Methods The PPG signals were stratified and randomly sampled from 58 recruits before and after stress induced by International Affective Pictures Systems(IAPS images of negative emotion.The signals were collected and processed in a tool called HC2180-D,an enhanced solution of a blood flow monitoring system,through which the characteristic parameters of pulsatile waveform were derived as components of bioinformation for quantitative and comparative study.A concise mental rating scale,the "brief profile of mood state"(BPOMS,was used as criterion.Results As the characteristic parameter and biomarker were derived,significant increases in values were observed in both the vasoconstriction/vasodilation fraction(CDF and the ordinate of the area under the pulse contour of the vasoconstriction phase(Y2 when the recruits were shown IAPS images of negative emotion(P 0.05 were shown.The values of both the CDF and the Y2 were positively correlated in mid-range to tension,depression,and anger(P < 0.05,and in low-range to fatigue and confusion(P < 0.05.The values were negatively correlated in mid-range with vigor(P < 0.05.Conclusion The characteristic parameter and biomarker derived from the pulsatile waveform obtained at the fingertip are highly sensitive and can be utilized as measures in the quantitative assessment of stress response among recruits.

Assessment of left ventricular function by electrocardiogram-gated myocardial single photon emission computed tomography using quantitative gated single photon emission computed tomography software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morita, Koichi; Adachi, Itaru; Konno, Masanori

1999-01-01

Electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) can assess left ventricular (LV) perfusion and function easily using quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) software. ECG-gated SPECT was performed in 44 patients with coronary artery disease under post-stress and resting conditions to assess the values of LV functional parameters, by comparison to LV ejection fraction derived from gated blood pool scan and myocardial characteristics. A good correlation was obtained between ejection fraction using QGS and that using cardiac blood pool scan (r=0.812). Some patients with myocardial ischemia had lower ejection fraction under post-stress compared to resting conditions, indicating post-stress LV dysfunction. LV wall motion and wall thickening were significantly impaired in ischemic and infarcted myocardium, and the degree of abnormality in the infarcted areas was greater than in the ischemia area. LV functional parameters derived using QGS were useful to assess post-stress LV dysfunction and myocardial viability. In conclusion, ECG-gated myocardial SPECT permits simultaneous quantitative assessment of myocardial perfusion and function. (author)

Quantitative Literacy at Michigan State University, 2: Connection to Financial Literacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dennis Gilliland

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The lack of capability of making financial decisions has been recently described for the adult United States population. A concerted effort to increase awareness of this crisis, to improve education in quantitative and financial literacy, and to simplify financial decision-making processes is critical to the solution. This paper describes a study that was undertaken to explore the relationship between quantitative literacy and financial literacy for entering college freshmen. In summer 2010, incoming freshmen to Michigan State University were assessed. Well-tested financial literacy items and validated quantitative literacy assessment instruments were administered to 531 subjects. Logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between level of financial literacy and independent variables including quantitative literacy score, ACT mathematics score, and demographic variables including gender. The study establishes a strong positive association between quantitative literacy and financial literacy on top of the effects of the other independent variables. Adding one percent to the performance on a quantitative literacy assessment changes the odds for being at the highest level of financial literacy by a factor estimated to be 1.05. Gender is found to have a large, statistically significant effect as well with being female changing the odds by a factor estimated to be 0.49.

Quantitative method to assess caries via fluorescence imaging from the perspective of autofluorescence spectral analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Q. G.; Zhu, H. H.; Xu, Y.; Lin, B.; Chen, H.

2015-08-01

A quantitative method to discriminate caries lesions for a fluorescence imaging system is proposed in this paper. The autofluorescence spectral investigation of 39 teeth samples classified by the International Caries Detection and Assessment System levels was performed at 405 nm excitation. The major differences in the different caries lesions focused on the relative spectral intensity range of 565-750 nm. The spectral parameter, defined as the ratio of wavebands at 565-750 nm to the whole spectral range, was calculated. The image component ratio R/(G + B) of color components was statistically computed by considering the spectral parameters (e.g. autofluorescence, optical filter, and spectral sensitivity) in our fluorescence color imaging system. Results showed that the spectral parameter and image component ratio presented a linear relation. Therefore, the image component ratio was graded as 1.62 to quantitatively classify sound, early decay, established decay, and severe decay tissues, respectively. Finally, the fluorescence images of caries were experimentally obtained, and the corresponding image component ratio distribution was compared with the classification result. A method to determine the numerical grades of caries using a fluorescence imaging system was proposed. This method can be applied to similar imaging systems.

Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS with heterogeneity of nuclear grade: prognostic effects of quantitative nuclear assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fu Yuejiao

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previously, 50% of patients with breast ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS had more than one nuclear grade, and neither worst nor predominant nuclear grade was significantly associated with development of invasive carcinoma. Here, we used image analysis in addition to histologic evaluation to determine if quantification of nuclear features could provide additional prognostic information and hence impact prognostic assessments. Methods Nuclear image features were extracted from about 200 nuclei of each of 80 patients with DCIS who underwent lumpectomy alone, and received no adjuvant systemic therapy. Nuclear images were obtained from 20 representative nuclei per duct, from each of a group of 5 ducts, in two separate fields, for 10 ducts. Reproducibility of image analysis features was determined, as was the ability of features to discriminate between nuclear grades. Patient information was available about clinical factors (age and method of DCIS detection, pathologic factors (DCIS size, nuclear grade, margin size, and amount of parenchymal involvement, and 39 image features (morphology, densitometry, and texture. The prognostic effects of these factors and features on the development of invasive breast cancer were examined with Cox step-wise multivariate regression. Results Duplicate measurements were similar for 89.7% to 97.4% of assessed image features. For the pooled assessment with ~200 nuclei per patient, a discriminant function with one densitometric and two texture features was significantly (p Conclusion Image analysis provided reproducible assessments of nuclear features which quantitated differences in nuclear grading for patients. Quantitative nuclear image features indicated prognostically significant differences in DCIS, and may contribute additional information to prognostic assessments of which patients are likely to develop invasive disease.

Quantitative assessment of human and pet exposure to Salmonella associated with dry pet foods.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambertini, Elisabetta; Buchanan, Robert L; Narrod, Clare; Ford, Randall M; Baker, Robert C; Pradhan, Abani K

2016-01-04

Recent Salmonella outbreaks associated with dry pet foods and treats highlight the importance of these foods as previously overlooked exposure vehicles for both pets and humans. In the last decade efforts have been made to raise the safety of this class of products, for instance by upgrading production equipment, cleaning protocols, and finished product testing. However, no comprehensive or quantitative risk profile is available for pet foods, thus limiting the ability to establish safety standards and assess the effectiveness of current and proposed Salmonella control measures. This study sought to develop an ingredients-to-consumer quantitative microbial exposure assessment model to: 1) estimate pet and human exposure to Salmonella via dry pet food, and 2) assess the impact of industry and household-level mitigation strategies on exposure. Data on prevalence and concentration of Salmonella in pet food ingredients, production process parameters, bacterial ecology, and contact transfer in the household were obtained through literature review, industry data, and targeted research. A probabilistic Monte Carlo modeling framework was developed to simulate the production process and basic household exposure routes. Under the range of assumptions adopted in this model, human exposure due to handling pet food is null to minimal if contamination occurs exclusively before extrusion. Exposure increases considerably if recontamination occurs post-extrusion during coating with fat, although mean ingested doses remain modest even at high fat contamination levels, due to the low percent of fat in the finished product. Exposure is highly variable, with the distribution of doses ingested by adult pet owners spanning 3Log CFU per exposure event. Child exposure due to ingestion of 1g of pet food leads to significantly higher doses than adult doses associated with handling the food. Recontamination after extrusion and coating, e.g., via dust or equipment surfaces, may also lead to

Quantitative assessment of morphology, T{sub 1ρ}, and T{sub 2} of shoulder cartilage using MRI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nardo, Lorenzo; Carballido-Gamio, Julio; Tang, Solomon; Lai, Andrew; Krug, Roland [University of California, San Francisco, Musculoskeletal Quantitative Imaging Research Group, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, San Francisco, CA (United States)

2016-12-15

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of quantifying shoulder cartilage morphology and relaxometry in a clinically feasible scan time comparing different pulse sequences and assessing their reproducibility at 3 Tesla. Three pulse sequences were compared for morphological assessments of shoulder cartilage thickness and volume (SPGR, MERGE, FIESTA), while a combined T1ρ-T2 sequence was optimized for relaxometry measurements. The shoulders of six healthy subjects were scanned twice with repositioning, and the cartilage was segmented and quantified. The degree of agreement between the three morphological sequences was assessed using Bland-Altman plots, while the morphological and relaxometry reproducibility were assessed with root-mean-square coefficients of variation (RMS-CVs) Bland-Altman plots indicated good levels of agreement between the morphological assessments of the three sequences. The reproducibility of morphological assessments yielded RMS-CVs between 4.0 and 17.7 %. All sequences correlated highly (R > 0.9) for morphologic assessments with no statistically significant differences. For relaxometry assessments of humeral cartilage, RMS-CVs of 6.4 and 10.6 % were found for T1ρ and T2, respectively. The assessment of both cartilage morphology and relaxometry is feasible in the shoulder with SPGR, humeral head, and T1ρ being the more reproducible morphological sequence, anatomic region, and quantitative sequence, respectively. (orig.)

Groundwater availability in the United States: the value of quantitative regional assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Dennehy, Kevin F.; Reilly, Thomas E.; Cunningham, William L.

2015-01-01

The sustainability of water resources is under continued threat from the challenges associated with a growing population, competing demands, and a changing climate. Freshwater scarcity has become a fact in many areas. Much of the United States surface-water supplies are fully apportioned for use; thus, in some areas the only potential alternative freshwater source that can provide needed quantities is groundwater. Although frequently overlooked, groundwater serves as the principal reserve of freshwater in the US and represents much of the potential supply during periods of drought. Some nations have requirements to monitor and characterize the availability of groundwater such as the European Union’s Water Framework Directive (EPCEU 2000). In the US there is no such national requirement. Quantitative regional groundwater availability assessments, however, are essential to document the status and trends of groundwater availability for the US and make informed water-resource decisions possible now and in the future. Barthel (2014) highlighted that the value of regional groundwater assessments goes well beyond just quantifying the resource so that it can be better managed. The tools and techniques required to evaluate these unique regional systems advance the science of hydrogeology and provide enhanced methods that can benefit local-scale groundwater investigations. In addition, a significant, yet under-utilized benefit is the digital spatial and temporal data sets routinely generated as part of these studies. Even though there is no legal or regulatory requirement for regional groundwater assessments in the US, there is a logical basis for their implementation. The purpose of this essay is to articulate the rationale for and reaffirm the value of regional groundwater assessments primarily in the US; however, the arguments hold for all nations. The importance of the data sets and the methods and model development that occur as part of these assessments is stressed

Skin sensitization quantitative risk assessment for occupational exposure of hairdressers to hair dye ingredients.

Science.gov (United States)

Goebel, Carsten; Diepgen, Thomas L; Blömeke, Brunhilde; Gaspari, Anthony A; Schnuch, Axel; Fuchs, Anne; Schlotmann, Kordula; Krasteva, Maya; Kimber, Ian

2018-06-01

Occupational exposure of hairdressers to hair dyes has been associated with the development of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) involving the hands. p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) and toluene-2,5-diamine (PTD) have been implicated as important occupational contact allergens. To conduct a quantitative risk assessment for the induction of contact sensitization to hair dyes in hairdressers, available data from hand rinsing studies following typical occupational exposure conditions to PPD, PTD and resorcinol were assessed. By accounting for wet work, uneven exposure and inter-individual variability for professionals, daily hand exposure concentrations were derived. Secondly, daily hand exposure was compared with the sensitization induction potency of the individual hair dye defined as the No Expected Sensitization Induction Levels (NESIL). For PPD and PTD hairdresser hand exposure levels were 2.7 and 5.9 fold below the individual NESIL. In contrast, hand exposure to resorcinol was 50 fold below the NESIL. Correspondingly, the risk assessment for PPD and PTD indicates that contact sensitization may occur, when skin protection and skin care are not rigorously applied. We conclude that awareness of health risks associated with occupational exposure to hair dyes, and of the importance of adequate protective measures, should be emphasized more fully during hairdresser education and training. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rat optic nerve head anatomy within 3D histomorphometric reconstructions of normal control eyes.

Science.gov (United States)

Pazos, Marta; Yang, Hongli; Gardiner, Stuart K; Cepurna, William O; Johnson, Elaine C; Morrison, John C; Burgoyne, Claude F

2015-10-01

The purpose of this study is to three-dimensionally (3D) characterize the principal macroscopic and microscopic relationships within the rat optic nerve head (ONH) and quantify them in normal control eyes. Perfusion-fixed, trephinated ONH from 8 normal control eyes of 8 Brown Norway Rats were 3D histomorphometrically reconstructed, visualized, delineated and parameterized. The rat ONH consists of 2 scleral openings, (a superior neurovascular and inferior arterial) separated by a thin connective tissue strip we have termed the "scleral sling". Within the superior opening, the nerve abuts a prominent extension of Bruch's Membrane (BM) superiorly and is surrounded by a vascular plexus, as it passes through the sclera, that is a continuous from the choroid into and through the dural sheath and contains the central retinal vein (CRV), (inferiorly). The inferior scleral opening contains the central retinal artery and three long posterior ciliary arteries which obliquely pass through the sclera to obtain the choroid. Bruch's Membrane Opening (BMO) is irregular and vertically elongated, enclosing the nerve (superiorly) and CRV and CRA (inferiorly). Overall mean BMO Depth, BMO Area, Choroidal Thickness and peripapillary Scleral Thickness were 29 μm, 56.5 × 10(3) μm(2), 57 μm and 104 μm respectively. Mean anterior scleral canal opening (ASCO) and posterior scleral canal opening (PSCO) radii were 201 ± 15 μm and 204 ± 16 μm, respectively. Mean optic nerve area at the ASCO and PSCO were 46.3 × 10(3)±4.4 × 10(3) μm(2) and 44.1 × 10(3)±4.5 × 10(3) μm(2) respectively. In conclusion, the 3D complexity of the rat ONH and the extent to which it differs from the primate have been under-appreciated within previous 2D studies. Properly understood, these anatomic differences may provide new insights into the relative susceptibilities of the rat and primate ONH to elevated intraocular pressure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disturbed Intracardiac Flow Organization After Atrioventricular Septal Defect Correction as Assessed With 4D Flow Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Quantitative Particle Tracing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Calkoen, Emmeline E.; de Koning, Patrick J. H.; Blom, Nico A.; Kroft, Lucia J. M.; de Roos, Albert; Wolterbeek, Ron; Roest, Arno A. W.; Westenberg, Jos J. M.

2015-01-01

Objectives Four-dimensional (3 spatial directions and time) velocity-encoded flow magnetic resonance imaging with quantitative particle tracing analysis allows assessment of left ventricular (LV) blood flow organization. Corrected atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) patients have an abnormal left

Toward standardized quantitative image quality (IQ) assessment in computed tomography (CT): A comprehensive framework for automated and comparative IQ analysis based on ICRU Report 87.

Science.gov (United States)

Pahn, Gregor; Skornitzke, Stephan; Schlemmer, Hans-Peter; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich; Stiller, Wolfram

2016-01-01

Based on the guidelines from "Report 87: Radiation Dose and Image-quality Assessment in Computed Tomography" of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU), a software framework for automated quantitative image quality analysis was developed and its usability for a variety of scientific questions demonstrated. The extendable framework currently implements the calculation of the recommended Fourier image quality (IQ) metrics modulation transfer function (MTF) and noise-power spectrum (NPS), and additional IQ quantities such as noise magnitude, CT number accuracy, uniformity across the field-of-view, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of simulated lesions for a commercially available cone-beam phantom. Sample image data were acquired with different scan and reconstruction settings on CT systems from different manufacturers. Spatial resolution is analyzed in terms of edge-spread function, line-spread-function, and MTF. 3D NPS is calculated according to ICRU Report 87, and condensed to 2D and radially averaged 1D representations. Noise magnitude, CT numbers, and uniformity of these quantities are assessed on large samples of ROIs. Low-contrast resolution (CNR, SNR) is quantitatively evaluated as a function of lesion contrast and diameter. Simultaneous automated processing of several image datasets allows for straightforward comparative assessment. The presented framework enables systematic, reproducible, automated and time-efficient quantitative IQ analysis. Consistent application of the ICRU guidelines facilitates standardization of quantitative assessment not only for routine quality assurance, but for a number of research questions, e.g. the comparison of different scanner models or acquisition protocols, and the evaluation of new technology or reconstruction methods. Copyright © 2015 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Qualitative vs. quantitative data: Controls on the accuracy of PID field screening in petroleum contamination assessment applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luessen, M.J.; Allex, M.K.; Holzel, F.R.

1995-01-01

The use of photoionization detectors (PIDs) for field screening of soils for volatile organic contaminants has become a standard industry practice. PID screening data is generally utilized as a qualitative basis for selection of samples for laboratory analysis to quantify concentrations of specific contaminants of concern. Both qualitative field screening data and quantitative laboratory analytical data were reviewed for more than 100 hydrogeologic assessment sites in Ohio to evaluate controls on the effectiveness of field screening data. Assessment data evaluated was limited to sites at which the suspected contaminant source was a gasoline underground storage tanks system. In each case, a 10.0 eV (or greater) PID calibrated for benzene was used to screen soils which were analyzed for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) by SW 846 method 8020. Controls on field screening which were evaluated for each site included (1) soil classification, (2) soil moisture, (3) weather conditions, (4) background levels, (5) equipment quality, (6) screening methodology, and (7) laboratory QA/QC. Statistical data analysis predictably indicated a general overestimate of total BTEX levels based on field screening (gasoline is approximately 25 weight percent BTEX). However, data locally indicated cases of both significant (i.e., more than an order of magnitude difference) over- and under-estimation of actual BTEX concentrations (i.e., quantitative laboratory data) by field screening data

Enhancing quantitative approaches for assessing community resilience

Science.gov (United States)

Chuang, W. C.; Garmestani, A.S.; Eason, T. N.; Spanbauer, T. L.; Fried-Peterson, H. B.; Roberts, C.P.; Sundstrom, Shana M.; Burnett, J.L.; Angeler, David G.; Chaffin, Brian C.; Gunderson, L.; Twidwell, Dirac; Allen, Craig R.

2018-01-01

Scholars from many different intellectual disciplines have attempted to measure, estimate, or quantify resilience. However, there is growing concern that lack of clarity on the operationalization of the concept will limit its application. In this paper, we discuss the theory, research development and quantitative approaches in ecological and community resilience. Upon noting the lack of methods that quantify the complexities of the linked human and natural aspects of community resilience, we identify several promising approaches within the ecological resilience tradition that may be useful in filling these gaps. Further, we discuss the challenges for consolidating these approaches into a more integrated perspective for managing social-ecological systems.

Multiple-Strain Approach and Probabilistic Modeling of Consumer Habits in Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment: A Quantitative Assessment of Exposure to Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A in Raw Milk.

Science.gov (United States)

Crotta, Matteo; Rizzi, Rita; Varisco, Giorgio; Daminelli, Paolo; Cunico, Elena Cosciani; Luini, Mario; Graber, Hans Ulrich; Paterlini, Franco; Guitian, Javier

2016-03-01

Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) models are extensively applied to inform management of a broad range of food safety risks. Inevitably, QMRA modeling involves an element of simplification of the biological process of interest. Two features that are frequently simplified or disregarded are the pathogenicity of multiple strains of a single pathogen and consumer behavior at the household level. In this study, we developed a QMRA model with a multiple-strain approach and a consumer phase module (CPM) based on uncertainty distributions fitted from field data. We modeled exposure to staphylococcal enterotoxin A in raw milk in Lombardy; a specific enterotoxin production module was thus included. The model is adaptable and could be used to assess the risk related to other pathogens in raw milk as well as other staphylococcal enterotoxins. The multiplestrain approach, implemented as a multinomial process, allowed the inclusion of variability and uncertainty with regard to pathogenicity at the bacterial level. Data from 301 questionnaires submitted to raw milk consumers were used to obtain uncertainty distributions for the CPM. The distributions were modeled to be easily updatable with further data or evidence. The sources of uncertainty due to the multiple-strain approach and the CPM were identified, and their impact on the output was assessed by comparing specific scenarios to the baseline. When the distributions reflecting the uncertainty in consumer behavior were fixed to the 95th percentile, the risk of exposure increased up to 160 times. This reflects the importance of taking into consideration the diversity of consumers' habits at the household level and the impact that the lack of knowledge about variables in the CPM can have on the final QMRA estimates. The multiple-strain approach lends itself to use in other food matrices besides raw milk and allows the model to better capture the complexity of the real world and to be capable of geographical

Strategic design assessment of a hotel company through qualitative and quantitative indicators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dinaidys Gómez-Selemeneva

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The strategic design process and subsequent evaluation of results and their feedback and control are key moments in the management of an organization. This is therefore a topic of great relevance today in all publications in this subject area, especially empirical studies that provide both quantitative and qualitative information on the performance of companies in dynamic sectors such as tourism. That is why this article focuses on assessing the effectiveness of different strategies: generic, growth and diversification of a hotel company in the Caribbean area through the financial performance indicators and other qualitative. Results presented correspond to 100% of the study population, all of which made possible the information needed to detect major deviations from the strategic approach and possible alternatives for improving the performance and future competitiveness of the different facilities hotel. So empirical research of a tourist destination in growth and consolidation, as well as also a generalizable methodology for diagnosis and strategic design of organizations is provided.

Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) shows increased public health risk associated with exposure to river water under conditions of riverbed sediment resuspension

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Abia

2016-10-01

Full Text Available of The Total Environment, 556-557, pp 1143-1151 Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) shows increased public health risk associated with exposure to river water under conditions of riverbed sediment resuspension Akebe Luther King Abia a...

Testicular Histomorphometric Evaluation of Zebu Bull Breeds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo Antônio Terrabuio Andreussi

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the quantitative histology and testicular biometrics in zebu bulls of different breeds. Testicular fragments of Nelore (n=10, Polled Nelore (n=6, Gir (n=5, Guzerat (n=5 and Tabapuã bulls (n=5 were used. The fragments were perfusion-fixed in Karnovsky solution, embedded in glycol methacrylate and stained with toluidine blue-1% sodium borate. The Nelore animals had a higher tubular volumetric proportion (85.2% and greater height of the seminiferous epithelium (73.2 µm than the Gir, Guzerat and Tabapuã breeds. The Nelore animals also had a higher volumetric proportion of Leydig cells (5.2% than the Guzerat and Tabapuã breeds. There was no significant difference for any of these parameters between the Nelore and Polled Nelore breeds. The gonadosomatic index, seminiferous tubule diameter, cross-sectional area of the seminiferous tubule and tubule length (total length and length per gram of testicular parenchyma did not vary among the breeds studied. The morphometric parameters evaluated suggested that the genetic selection applied to the Nelore and Polled Nelore breeds improved the efficiency of spermatogenesis in these breeders.

Quantitative myocardial blood flow with Rubidium-82 PET

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hagemann, Christoffer E; Ghotbi, Adam A; Kjær, Andreas

2015-01-01

Positron emission tomography (PET) allows assessment of myocardial blood flow in absolute terms (ml/min/g). Quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) extend the scope of conventional semi-quantitative myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI): e.g. in 1) identificat......Positron emission tomography (PET) allows assessment of myocardial blood flow in absolute terms (ml/min/g). Quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) extend the scope of conventional semi-quantitative myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI): e.g. in 1...... global MFR and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and together with new diagnostic possibilities from measuring the longitudinal myocardial perfusion gradient, cardiac (82)Rb PET faces a promising clinical future. This article reviews current evidence on quantitative (82)Rb PET's ability...

Quantitative assessment of motor functions post-stroke: Responsiveness of upper-extremity robotic measures and its task dependence.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, Asif; Budhota, Aamani; Contu, Sara; Kager, Simone; Vishwanath, Deshmukh A; Kuah, Christopher W K; Yam, Lester H L; Chua, Karen S G; Masia, Lorenzo; Campolo, Domenico

2017-07-01

Technology aided measures offer a sensitive, accurate and time-efflcient approach for the assessment of sensorimotor function after neurological impairment compared to standard clinical assessments. This preliminary study investigated the relationship between task definition and its effect on robotic measures using a planar, two degree of freedom, robotic-manipulator (H-Man). Four chronic stroke participants (49.5±11.95 years, 2 Female, FMA: 37.5±13.96) and eight healthy control participants (26.25± 4.70 years, 2 Female) participated in the study. Motor functions were evaluated using line tracing and circle tracing tasks with dominant and nondominant hand of healthy and affected vs. non affected hand of stroke participants. The results show significant dependence of quantitative measures on investigated tasks.

Assessment of salivary gland dysfunction following chemoradiotherapy using quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosuda, Shigeru; Satoh, Michinao; Yamamoto, Fuyumi; Uematsu, Minoru; Kusano, Shoichi

1999-01-01

Purpose:To assess chemoradiotherapy-induced salivary gland dysfunction using quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy (QSGS), and whether QSGS is capable of predicting the grade of persistent salivary dysfunction after chemoradiotherapy. Methods: From a time-activity curve using a stimulation test, the washout rate (WR) calculated was assessed. All glands (n = 155) were classified into four groups: a no-therapy group (n = 18), a chemotherapy alone group (n = 31), a radiotherapy alone group (n = 50), and a chemoradiotherapy group (n = 56). Subjective descriptions of xerostomia were recorded 1 year after the completion of the treatment period, and the 32 glands subjected to irradiation with or without chemotherapy were assessed. Results: The WR values were significantly lower in glands that received chemoradiotherapy than in glands treated with radiotherapy alone (mean: 0.75 x 10 -3 , n = 40 vs. 0.22, n = 36, p < 0.015), but there was no significant difference in the WR values between the no-therapy group and the chemotherapy alone group. The mean values of WR were lower in the chemoradiotherapy glands than in the radiotherapy alone glands in each of cumulative dose ranges of 1-20, 21-30, and 31-60 Gy. With regard to recovery from xerostomia, the WR values at a cumulative dose range of 20 to 40 Gy were significantly lower in the not improved group (-0.418, n = 16) than in the improved group (0.245, n = 16) (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Chemotherapy per se has no or little adverse effect on salivary function, but combination chemotherapy can deteriorate radiation-induced injury of the salivary glands. QSGS appears useful in predicting the grade of persistent xerostomia following chemoradiotherapy

Assessment of quantitative FDG PET data in primary colorectal tumours: which parameters are important with respect to tumour detection?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strauss, Ludwig G.; Pan, Leyun; Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss, Antonia; Klippel, Sven; Schoenleben, Klaus; Haberkorn, Uwe

2007-01-01

The impact of quantitative parameters on the differentiation of primary colorectal tumours from normal colon tissue was assessed. Dynamic PET data (DPET) were acquired, and compartment and non-compartment modelling applied. The discriminant power of single parameters and the combination of PET parameters was assessed. All lesions were confirmed by histology. FDG DPET studies were acquired in 22 patients with colorectal tumours prior to surgery. Five of these patients also had liver metastases at the time of the PET study. The SUV 56-60 min p.i. was included in the evaluation. A two-tissue compartment model was applied and the parameters k 1 -k 4 as well as the fractional blood volume (V B ) were obtained. The FDG influx was calculated from the compartment data. Non-compartment modelling was used to calculate the fractal dimension (FD) of the time-activity data. FD, SUV, influx and k 3 were the most important single parameters for lesion differentiation. The highest accuracy was achieved for FD (88.78%). The overall tracer uptake was mainly dependent on k 3 and not on k 1 or V B . The support vector machines (SVM) algorithm was used to predict the classification based on the combination of individual PET parameters. The overall accuracy was 97.3%, with only one false positive case and no false negative results. The analysis of the subgroup of five patients with primary tumours and synchronous metastases revealed no significant differences for the individual PET parameters. However, V B tended to be lower while k 1 and k 2 were higher in patients with synchronous metastases. The SVM classification analysis predicted the presence of metastases based on the PET data of the primary tumour in three of five patients. Quantitative FDG PET studies provide very accurate data for the differentiation of primary colorectal tumours from normal tissue. The use of quantitative data has the advantage that the detection of a colorectal tumour is not primarily dependent on the

Quantitative Assessment of Knee Progression Angle During Gait in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Davids, Jon R; Cung, Nina Q; Pomeroy, Robin; Schultz, Brooke; Torburn, Leslie; Kulkarni, Vedant A; Brown, Sean; Bagley, Anita M

2018-04-01

Abnormal hip rotation is a common deviation in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Clinicians typically assess hip rotation during gait by observing the direction that the patella points relative to the path of walking, which is referred to as the knee progression angle (KPA). Two kinematic methods for calculating the KPA are compared with each other. Video-based qualitative assessment of KPA is compared with the quantitative methods to determine reliability and validity. The KPA was calculated by both direct and indirect methods for 32 typically developing (TD) children and a convenience cohort of 43 children with hemiplegic type CP. An additional convenience cohort of 26 children with hemiplegic type CP was selected for qualitative assessment of KPA, performed by 3 experienced clinicians, using 3 categories (internal, >10 degrees; neutral, -10 to 10 degrees; and external, >-10 degrees). Root mean square (RMS) analysis comparing the direct and indirect KPAs was 1.14+0.43 degrees for TD children, and 1.75+1.54 degrees for the affected side of children with CP. The difference in RMS among the 2 groups was statistically, but not clinically, significant (P=0.019). Intraclass correlation coefficient revealed excellent agreement between the direct and indirect methods of KPA for TD and CP children (0.996 and 0.992, respectively; P<0.001).For the qualitative assessment of KPA there was complete agreement among all examiners for 17 of 26 cases (65%). Direct KPA matched for 49 of 78 observations (63%) and indirect KPA matched for 52 of 78 observations (67%). The RMS analysis of direct and indirect methods for KPA was statistically but not clinically significant, which supports the use of either method based upon availability. Video-based qualitative assessment of KPA showed moderate reliability and validity. The differences between observed and calculated KPA indicate the need for caution when relying on visual assessments for clinical interpretation, and demonstrate the

A preliminary quantitative assessment of gillnet fishing in subtropical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Between January 1998 and January 1999 a quantitative investigation was done on the fish populations of Lake Tzaneen, Northern Province, South Africa. Two graded series of multi-filament gillnets were set overnight every six weeks capturing 14 species of fish. Of the 2 692 fish caught, Schilbe intermedius was most ...

Quantitative assessment of the enamel machinability in tooth preparation with dental diamond burs.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xiao-Fei; Jin, Chen-Xin; Yin, Ling

2015-01-01

Enamel cutting using dental handpieces is a critical process in tooth preparation for dental restorations and treatment but the machinability of enamel is poorly understood. This paper reports on the first quantitative assessment of the enamel machinability using computer-assisted numerical control, high-speed data acquisition, and force sensing systems. The enamel machinability in terms of cutting forces, force ratio, cutting torque, cutting speed and specific cutting energy were characterized in relation to enamel surface orientation, specific material removal rate and diamond bur grit size. The results show that enamel surface orientation, specific material removal rate and diamond bur grit size critically affected the enamel cutting capability. Cutting buccal/lingual surfaces resulted in significantly higher tangential and normal forces, torques and specific energy (pmachinability for clinical dental practice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative assessment of thermodynamic constraints on the solution space of genome-scale metabolic models.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Joshua J; Dwivedi, Vivek; Reed, Jennifer L

2013-07-16

Constraint-based methods provide powerful computational techniques to allow understanding and prediction of cellular behavior. These methods rely on physiochemical constraints to eliminate infeasible behaviors from the space of available behaviors. One such constraint is thermodynamic feasibility, the requirement that intracellular flux distributions obey the laws of thermodynamics. The past decade has seen several constraint-based methods that interpret this constraint in different ways, including those that are limited to small networks, rely on predefined reaction directions, and/or neglect the relationship between reaction free energies and metabolite concentrations. In this work, we utilize one such approach, thermodynamics-based metabolic flux analysis (TMFA), to make genome-scale, quantitative predictions about metabolite concentrations and reaction free energies in the absence of prior knowledge of reaction directions, while accounting for uncertainties in thermodynamic estimates. We applied TMFA to a genome-scale network reconstruction of Escherichia coli and examined the effect of thermodynamic constraints on the flux space. We also assessed the predictive performance of TMFA against gene essentiality and quantitative metabolomics data, under both aerobic and anaerobic, and optimal and suboptimal growth conditions. Based on these results, we propose that TMFA is a useful tool for validating phenotypes and generating hypotheses, and that additional types of data and constraints can improve predictions of metabolite concentrations. Copyright © 2013 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Regional sustainability in Northern Australia. A quantitative assessment of social, economic and environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, Richard; Garnett, Stephen

2010-01-01

This paper seeks to provide a picture of sustainability of the Northern Territory by analysing a number of sustainability indicators across indigenous status and remoteness class. The paper seeks to extend current socio-economic statistics and analysis by including environmental considerations in a 'triple bottom line' or 'sustainability assessment' approach. Further, a life-cycle approach is employed for a number of indicators so that both direct and indirect impacts are considered where applicable. Whereas urban populations are generally doing better against most quantitative economic and social indicators, environmental indicators show the opposite, reflecting the increasing market-based environmental impacts of urban populations. As we seek to value these environmental impacts appropriately, it would be beneficial to start incorporating these results in policy and planning. (author)

Quantification of age-related changes in the structure model type and trabecular thickness of human tibial cancellous

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, Ming; Hvid, I

2000-01-01

Structure model type and trabecular thickness are important characteristics in describing cancellous bone architecture. It has been qualitatively observed that a radical change of trabeculae from plate-like to rod-like occurs in aging, bone remodeling, and osteoporosis. Thickness of trabeculae has...... traditionally been measured using model-based histomorphometric methods on two-dimensional (2-D) sections. However, no quantitative study has been published based on three-dimensional (3-D) methods on the age-related changes in structure model type and trabecular thickness for human peripheral (tibial......, structure model type and trabecular thickness were quantified by means of novel 3-D methods. Structure model type was assessed by calculating the structure model index (SMI). The SMI was quantified based on a differential analysis of the triangulated bone surface of a structure. This technique allows...

Theoretical consideration of metabolic and histomorphometric data for alkaline earth and actinide distribution dynamics in the beagle skeleton

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, N.J.

1989-01-01

The beagle has been used for thirty years as a putative model for human skeletal dynamics in terms of metabolic behaviour and response to in situ radiation insults. The partitioned clearance model (PCM) is a bone by bone description of radionuclide redistribution in the beagle skeleton after the end of exposure to 226 Ra by eight semi-monthly injections at 435-535 days or by continuous ingestion of 90 Sr from in utero to 540 days. The PCM describes both the clearance of radium after deposition on surfaces following injection and the clearance of 90 Sr after uniform deposition in the skeleton as a function of Ca mass. The PCM relates the metabolically determined time-zero deposition fraction (% A) per skeletal component to the calcium fraction (%Ca) per component. The ratio of these two fractions is defined as an estimator of relative 'surface',S, in PCM for the alkaline earths (ae). A comparison is made of 'surface' as defined, in PCM, by activity fraction per mass fraction in a given skeletal component for bone seeking alkaline earths (S ae ), to similarly defined 'surface' (S act ) for injected plutonium citrate. For inhaled soluble plutonium nitrate that translocates to bone, the S act values are very similar to the S ae values for injected radium. The physiochemical determinants of Pu deposition in bone after inhalation appear to be similar to those for alkaline earths. Histomorphometric data from actual bone surfaces marked in vivo with fluorescent labels given to a juvenile dog and then 13 years later give direct evidence that actinides not removed metabolically may never be removed by remodelling processes. (author)

Histomorphometric evaluation of intestinal cellular immune responses in pigs immunized with live oral F4ac+ non-enterotoxigenic E. coli vaccine against postweaning colibacillosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Kovšca Janjatovic

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC infection is the most common type of porcine postweaning colibacillosis (PWC. Among fimbriae of porcine ETEC strains the best studied family of fimbriae are the members of F4 adhesins, existing in at least three variants: ab, ac, ad. Active immunization against porcine PWC is difficult due to: i ETEC strains are only one of the essential predisposing factors, ii the success of vaccinal antigen uptake depends on the presence of enterocyte receptors for F4 adhesins, iii the intestinal immune system may react with tolerance or hypersensitivity to the same antigens depending on the dose and form of the vaccinal immunogen, and iv kinetics of the specific immune responses may be different in the case of F4 (earlier and the other ETEC adhesins, particularly F18 (later. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of a live attenuated F4ac+ non-ETEC vaccine against porcine PWC by analyzing quantitative differences in the small intestinal lymphoid and myeloid cell subsets of immunized (with or without levamisole given as an adjuvant vs control non-immunized pigs. Four week-old pigs were intragastrically immunized with a vaccine candidate F4ac+ non-ETEC strain 2407 at day 0, challenged 7 days later with a virulent F4ac+ strain ETEC 11-800/1/94, euthanatized at day 13 and sampled for immunohistology. Non-immunized pigs received saline at day 0 and were processed as the principals. Immuno-phenotypes of lymphoid and myeloid cell subsets were demonstrated within jejunal and ileal mucosa by immunohistochemical avidin-biotin complex method and corresponding morphometric data were analyzed using software program Lucia G for digital image analyses. Monoclonal antibodies reactive with surface molecules on porcine immune cells such as CD3, CD45RA, CD45RC, CD21 and SWC3 enabled clear insight into distribution patterns and amount of these cells within the gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT examined. The numbers of

Improvements in the Quantitative Assessment of Cerebral Blood Volume and Flow with the Removal of Vessel Voxels from MR Perfusion Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Mu Huo Teng

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To improve the quantitative assessment of cerebral blood volume (CBV and flow (CBF in the brain voxels from MR perfusion images. Materials and Methods. Normal brain parenchyma was automatically segmented with the time-to-peak criteria after cerebrospinal fluid removal and preliminary vessel voxel removal. Two scaling factors were calculated by comparing the relative CBV and CBF of the segmented normal brain parenchyma with the absolute values in the literature. Using the scaling factors, the relative values were converted to the absolute CBV and CBF. Voxels with either CBV > 8 mL/100 g or CBF > 100 mL/100 g/min were characterized as vessel voxels and were excluded from the quantitative measurements. Results. The segmented brain parenchyma with normal perfusion was consistent with the angiographic findings for each patient. We confirmed the necessity of dual thresholds including CBF and CBV for proper removal of vessel voxels. The scaling factors were 0.208 ± 0.041 for CBV, and 0.168 ± 0.037, 0.172 ± 0.037 for CBF calculated using standard and circulant singular value decomposition techniques, respectively. Conclusion. The automatic scaling and vessel removal techniques provide an alternative method for obtaining improved quantitative assessment of CBV and CBF in patients with thromboembolic cerebral arterial disease.

A potential quantitative method for assessing individual tree performance

Science.gov (United States)

Lance A. Vickers; David R. Larsen; Daniel C. Dey; John M. Kabrick; Benjamin O. Knapp

2014-01-01

By what standard should a tree be judged? This question, perhaps unknowingly, is posed almost daily by practicing foresters. Unfortunately, there are few cases in which clearly defined quantitative (i.e., directly measurable) references have been established in forestry. A lack of common references may be an unnecessary source of error in silvicultural application and...

Simple Macroeconomic Policies and Welfare: A Quantitative Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eurilton Araújo

2014-09-01

Full Text Available We quantitatively compare three macroeconomic policies in a cash-credit goods framework. The policies are: the optimal one; another one that fully smoothes out oscillations in output; and a simple one that prescribes constant values for tax and monetary growth rates. As often found in the related literature, the welfare gains or losses from changing from a given policy to another are small. We also show that the simple policy dominates the one that leads to constant output.

Quantitative assessments of distributed systems methodologies and techniques

CERN Document Server

Bruneo, Dario

2015-01-01

Distributed systems employed in critical infrastructures must fulfill dependability, timeliness, and performance specifications. Since these systems most often operate in an unpredictable environment, their design and maintenance require quantitative evaluation of deterministic and probabilistic timed models. This need gave birth to an abundant literature devoted to formal modeling languages combined with analytical and simulative solution techniques The aim of the book is to provide an overview of techniques and methodologies dealing with such specific issues in the context of distributed

Quantitative imaging methods in osteoporosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Oei, Ling; Koromani, Fjorda; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Zillikens, M Carola; Oei, Edwin H G

2016-12-01

Osteoporosis is characterized by a decreased bone mass and quality resulting in an increased fracture risk. Quantitative imaging methods are critical in the diagnosis and follow-up of treatment effects in osteoporosis. Prior radiographic vertebral fractures and bone mineral density (BMD) as a quantitative parameter derived from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) are among the strongest known predictors of future osteoporotic fractures. Therefore, current clinical decision making relies heavily on accurate assessment of these imaging features. Further, novel quantitative techniques are being developed to appraise additional characteristics of osteoporosis including three-dimensional bone architecture with quantitative computed tomography (QCT). Dedicated high-resolution (HR) CT equipment is available to enhance image quality. At the other end of the spectrum, by utilizing post-processing techniques such as the trabecular bone score (TBS) information on three-dimensional architecture can be derived from DXA images. Further developments in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) seem promising to not only capture bone micro-architecture but also characterize processes at the molecular level. This review provides an overview of various quantitative imaging techniques based on different radiological modalities utilized in clinical osteoporosis care and research.

Apatite Formation and Biocompatibility of a Low Young’s Modulus Ti-Nb-Sn Alloy Treated with Anodic Oxidation and Hot Water

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Hidetatsu; Mori, Yu; Noro, Atsushi; Kogure, Atsushi; Kamimura, Masayuki; Yamada, Norikazu; Hanada, Shuji; Masahashi, Naoya; Itoi, Eiji

2016-01-01

Ti-6Al-4V alloy is widely prevalent as a material for orthopaedic implants because of its good corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. However, the discrepancy in Young’s modulus between metal prosthesis and human cortical bone sometimes induces clinical problems, thigh pain and bone atrophy due to stress shielding. We designed a Ti-Nb-Sn alloy with a low Young’s modulus to address problems of stress disproportion. In this study, we assessed effects of anodic oxidation with or without hot water treatment on the bone-bonding characteristics of a Ti-Nb-Sn alloy. We examined surface analyses and apatite formation by SEM micrographs, XPS and XRD analyses. We also evaluated biocompatibility in experimental animal models by measuring failure loads with a pull-out test and by quantitative histomorphometric analyses. By SEM, abundant apatite formation was observed on the surface of Ti-Nb-Sn alloy discs treated with anodic oxidation and hot water after incubation in Hank’s solution. A strong peak of apatite formation was detected on the surface using XRD analyses. XPS analysis revealed an increase of the H2O fraction in O 1s XPS. Results of the pull-out test showed that the failure loads of Ti-Nb-Sn alloy rods treated with anodic oxidation and hot water was greater than those of untreated rods. Quantitative histomorphometric analyses indicated that anodic oxidation and hot water treatment induced higher new bone formation around the rods. Our findings indicate that Ti-Nb-Sn alloy treated with anodic oxidation and hot water showed greater capacity for apatite formation, stronger bone bonding and higher biocompatibility for osteosynthesis. Ti-Nb-Sn alloy treated with anodic oxidation and hot water treatment is a promising material for orthopaedic implants enabling higher osteosynthesis and lower stress disproportion. PMID:26914329

Apatite Formation and Biocompatibility of a Low Young's Modulus Ti-Nb-Sn Alloy Treated with Anodic Oxidation and Hot Water.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hidetatsu Tanaka

Full Text Available Ti-6Al-4V alloy is widely prevalent as a material for orthopaedic implants because of its good corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. However, the discrepancy in Young's modulus between metal prosthesis and human cortical bone sometimes induces clinical problems, thigh pain and bone atrophy due to stress shielding. We designed a Ti-Nb-Sn alloy with a low Young's modulus to address problems of stress disproportion. In this study, we assessed effects of anodic oxidation with or without hot water treatment on the bone-bonding characteristics of a Ti-Nb-Sn alloy. We examined surface analyses and apatite formation by SEM micrographs, XPS and XRD analyses. We also evaluated biocompatibility in experimental animal models by measuring failure loads with a pull-out test and by quantitative histomorphometric analyses. By SEM, abundant apatite formation was observed on the surface of Ti-Nb-Sn alloy discs treated with anodic oxidation and hot water after incubation in Hank's solution. A strong peak of apatite formation was detected on the surface using XRD analyses. XPS analysis revealed an increase of the H2O fraction in O 1s XPS. Results of the pull-out test showed that the failure loads of Ti-Nb-Sn alloy rods treated with anodic oxidation and hot water was greater than those of untreated rods. Quantitative histomorphometric analyses indicated that anodic oxidation and hot water treatment induced higher new bone formation around the rods. Our findings indicate that Ti-Nb-Sn alloy treated with anodic oxidation and hot water showed greater capacity for apatite formation, stronger bone bonding and higher biocompatibility for osteosynthesis. Ti-Nb-Sn alloy treated with anodic oxidation and hot water treatment is a promising material for orthopaedic implants enabling higher osteosynthesis and lower stress disproportion.

Quantitative assessment of bone defect healing by multidetector CT in a pig model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riegger, Carolin; Kroepil, Patric; Lanzman, Rotem S.; Miese, Falk R.; Antoch, Gerald; Scherer, Axel; Jungbluth, Pascal; Hakimi, Mohssen; Wild, Michael; Hakimi, Ahmad R.

2012-01-01

To evaluate multidetector CT volumetry in the assessment of bone defect healing in comparison to histopathological findings in an animal model. In 16 mini-pigs, a circumscribed tibial bone defect was created. Multidetector CT (MDCT) of the tibia was performed on a 64-row scanner 42 days after the operation. The extent of bone healing was estimated quantitatively by MDCT volumetry using a commercially available software programme (syngo Volume, Siemens, Germany).The volume of the entire defect (including all pixels from -100 to 3,000 HU), the nonconsolidated areas (-100 to 500 HU), and areas of osseous consolidation (500 to 3,000 HU) were assessed and the extent of consolidation was calculated. Histomorphometry served as the reference standard. The extent of osseous consolidation in MDCT volumetry ranged from 19 to 92% (mean 65.4 ± 18.5%). There was a significant correlation between histologically visible newly formed bone and the extent of osseous consolidation on MDCT volumetry (r = 0.82, P < 0.0001). A significant negative correlation was detected between osseous consolidation on MDCT and histological areas of persisting defect (r = -0.9, P < 0.0001). MDCT volumetry is a promising tool for noninvasive monitoring of bone healing, showing excellent correlation with histomorphometry. (orig.)

Quantitative assessment of bone defect healing by multidetector CT in a pig model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Riegger, Carolin; Kroepil, Patric; Lanzman, Rotem S.; Miese, Falk R.; Antoch, Gerald; Scherer, Axel [University Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Duesseldorf (Germany); Jungbluth, Pascal; Hakimi, Mohssen; Wild, Michael [University Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Department of Traumatology and Hand Surgery, Duesseldorf (Germany); Hakimi, Ahmad R. [Universtity Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Department of Oral Surgery, Duesseldorf (Germany)

2012-05-15

To evaluate multidetector CT volumetry in the assessment of bone defect healing in comparison to histopathological findings in an animal model. In 16 mini-pigs, a circumscribed tibial bone defect was created. Multidetector CT (MDCT) of the tibia was performed on a 64-row scanner 42 days after the operation. The extent of bone healing was estimated quantitatively by MDCT volumetry using a commercially available software programme (syngo Volume, Siemens, Germany).The volume of the entire defect (including all pixels from -100 to 3,000 HU), the nonconsolidated areas (-100 to 500 HU), and areas of osseous consolidation (500 to 3,000 HU) were assessed and the extent of consolidation was calculated. Histomorphometry served as the reference standard. The extent of osseous consolidation in MDCT volumetry ranged from 19 to 92% (mean 65.4 {+-} 18.5%). There was a significant correlation between histologically visible newly formed bone and the extent of osseous consolidation on MDCT volumetry (r = 0.82, P < 0.0001). A significant negative correlation was detected between osseous consolidation on MDCT and histological areas of persisting defect (r = -0.9, P < 0.0001). MDCT volumetry is a promising tool for noninvasive monitoring of bone healing, showing excellent correlation with histomorphometry. (orig.)

Using the Quantitative Literacy and Reasoning Assessment (QLRA for Early Detection of Students in Need of Academic Support in Introductory Courses in a Quantitative Discipline: A Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathan Grawe

2018-01-01

Full Text Available As the number of young people attending college has increased, the diversity of college students� educational backgrounds has also risen. Some students enter introductory courses with math anxiety or gaps in their quantitative training that impede their ability to master or even grasp relevant disciplinary content. Too often professors learn of these anxieties and gaps only during the post mortem of the first midterm. By that time, a good portion of a student�s grade is determined and successful recovery may be impossible. During the 2016-17 academic year, the Department of Economics at Carleton College ran a pilot project using the Quantitative Literacy and Reasoning Assessment (QLRA as a pre-course diagnostic tool. Results show that the QLRA predicts student grades even after controlling for other SAT/ACT math scores and overall GPA. This finding suggests that quantitative reasoning is an important input into success in Principles of Economics (both Macro and Micro. When the QLRA alone is used to predict success in a course (as defined by either a grade of C- or better, or a grade of B- or better, we find that we could nearly always pick out students who were on the way to sub-par performance. On the other hand, the tool has a fairly high false positive rate; almost half of students identified as �at risk� based on QLRA performance went on to earn a successful grade in the course. In total, we argue that the QLRA may be a useful and inexpensive early-warning device for introductory courses in economics; it may be worth exploring a similar use of the instrument in other disciplinary settings where introductory courses require quantitative reasoning.

Quantitative assessment of periodontal bone defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stelt, P.F. van der; Geraets, W.G.M.

1987-01-01

Radiographs are a well-accepted tool in diagnosing periodontal bone lesions and making an accurate evaluation of the treatment. However, the assessment of bone is hampered by the complicated and as it were unpredictable pattern of bone structure. Therefore, and to compensate for the bias always present in human observations, a computer aided procedure was developed to detect and describe periodontal bone lesions. This paper describes a comparison of the performance by human observers and of the computer program. Two series of artificial periodontal bone lesions served as material for the assessments. This study shows that the automated lesion detection program enables an assessment of periodontal bone lesions, which is at least comparable with the results of a group of experienced observers and probably better. It is considerably better than the results of observers individually, and decreases the time-dependent variability appearing in repeated assessments of a single observer. The computer aided detection of periodontal lesions can be considered as a useful and reliable tool in periodontal diagnosis. 9 ref.; 2 figs

A quantitative assessment of Arctic shipping in 2010–2014

KAUST Repository

Eguí luz, Victor M.; Ferná ndez-Gracia, Juan; Irigoien, Xabier; Duarte, Carlos M.

2016-01-01

considerable uncertainty because Arctic shipping was previously considered too sparse to allow for adequate validation. Here, we provide quantitative evidence that the extent of Arctic shipping in the period 2011–2014 is already significant

Quantitative method to assess caries via fluorescence imaging from the perspective of autofluorescence spectral analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Q G; Xu, Y; Zhu, H H; Chen, H; Lin, B

2015-01-01

A quantitative method to discriminate caries lesions for a fluorescence imaging system is proposed in this paper. The autofluorescence spectral investigation of 39 teeth samples classified by the International Caries Detection and Assessment System levels was performed at 405 nm excitation. The major differences in the different caries lesions focused on the relative spectral intensity range of 565–750 nm. The spectral parameter, defined as the ratio of wavebands at 565–750 nm to the whole spectral range, was calculated. The image component ratio R/(G + B) of color components was statistically computed by considering the spectral parameters (e.g. autofluorescence, optical filter, and spectral sensitivity) in our fluorescence color imaging system. Results showed that the spectral parameter and image component ratio presented a linear relation. Therefore, the image component ratio was graded as <0.66, 0.66–1.06, 1.06–1.62, and >1.62 to quantitatively classify sound, early decay, established decay, and severe decay tissues, respectively. Finally, the fluorescence images of caries were experimentally obtained, and the corresponding image component ratio distribution was compared with the classification result. A method to determine the numerical grades of caries using a fluorescence imaging system was proposed. This method can be applied to similar imaging systems. (paper)

IWGT report on quantitative approaches to genotoxicity risk assessment II. Use of point-of-departure (PoD) metrics in defining acceptable exposure limits and assessing human risk.

Science.gov (United States)

MacGregor, James T; Frötschl, Roland; White, Paul A; Crump, Kenny S; Eastmond, David A; Fukushima, Shoji; Guérard, Melanie; Hayashi, Makoto; Soeteman-Hernández, Lya G; Johnson, George E; Kasamatsu, Toshio; Levy, Dan D; Morita, Takeshi; Müller, Lutz; Schoeny, Rita; Schuler, Maik J; Thybaud, Véronique

2015-05-01

This is the second of two reports from the International Workshops on Genotoxicity Testing (IWGT) Working Group on Quantitative Approaches to Genetic Toxicology Risk Assessment (the QWG). The first report summarized the discussions and recommendations of the QWG related to the need for quantitative dose-response analysis of genetic toxicology data, the existence and appropriate evaluation of threshold responses, and methods to analyze exposure-response relationships and derive points of departure (PoDs) from which acceptable exposure levels could be determined. This report summarizes the QWG discussions and recommendations regarding appropriate approaches to evaluate exposure-related risks of genotoxic damage, including extrapolation below identified PoDs and across test systems and species. Recommendations include the selection of appropriate genetic endpoints and target tissues, uncertainty factors and extrapolation methods to be considered, the importance and use of information on mode of action, toxicokinetics, metabolism, and exposure biomarkers when using quantitative exposure-response data to determine acceptable exposure levels in human populations or to assess the risk associated with known or anticipated exposures. The empirical relationship between genetic damage (mutation and chromosomal aberration) and cancer in animal models was also examined. It was concluded that there is a general correlation between cancer induction and mutagenic and/or clastogenic damage for agents thought to act via a genotoxic mechanism, but that the correlation is limited due to an inadequate number of cases in which mutation and cancer can be compared at a sufficient number of doses in the same target tissues of the same species and strain exposed under directly comparable routes and experimental protocols. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring a new quantitative image marker to assess benefit of chemotherapy to ovarian cancer patients

Science.gov (United States)

Mirniaharikandehei, Seyedehnafiseh; Patil, Omkar; Aghaei, Faranak; Wang, Yunzhi; Zheng, Bin

2017-03-01

Accurately assessing the potential benefit of chemotherapy to cancer patients is an important prerequisite to developing precision medicine in cancer treatment. The previous study has shown that total psoas area (TPA) measured on preoperative cross-section CT image might be a good image marker to predict long-term outcome of pancreatic cancer patients after surgery. However, accurate and automated segmentation of TPA from the CT image is difficult due to the fuzzy boundary or connection of TPA to other muscle areas. In this study, we developed a new interactive computer-aided detection (ICAD) scheme aiming to segment TPA from the abdominal CT images more accurately and assess the feasibility of using this new quantitative image marker to predict the benefit of ovarian cancer patients receiving Bevacizumab-based chemotherapy. ICAD scheme was applied to identify a CT image slice of interest, which is located at the level of L3 (vertebral spines). The cross-sections of the right and left TPA are segmented using a set of adaptively adjusted boundary conditions. TPA is then quantitatively measured. In addition, recent studies have investigated that muscle radiation attenuation which reflects fat deposition in the tissue might be a good image feature for predicting the survival rate of cancer patients. The scheme and TPA measurement task were applied to a large national clinical trial database involving 1,247 ovarian cancer patients. By comparing with manual segmentation results, we found that ICAD scheme could yield higher accuracy and consistency for this task. Using a new ICAD scheme can provide clinical researchers a useful tool to more efficiently and accurately extract TPA as well as muscle radiation attenuation as new image makers, and allow them to investigate the discriminatory power of it to predict progression-free survival and/or overall survival of the cancer patients before and after taking chemotherapy.

Performance of two quantitative PCR methods for microbial source tracking of human sewage and implications for microbial risk assessment in recreational waters

Science.gov (United States)

Before new, rapid quantitative PCR (qPCR) methods for recreational water quality assessment and microbial source tracking (MST) can be useful in a regulatory context, an understanding of the ability of the method to detect a DNA target (marker) when the contaminant soure has been...

Quantitative myocardial perfusion by O-15-water PET

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomassen, Anders; Petersen, Henrik; Johansen, Allan

2015-01-01

AIMS: Reporting of quantitative myocardial blood flow (MBF) is typically performed in standard coronary territories. However, coronary anatomy and myocardial vascular territories vary among individuals, and a coronary artery may erroneously be deemed stenosed or not if territorial demarcation...... disease (CAD). METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty-four patients with suspected CAD were included prospectively and underwent coronary CT-angiography and quantitative MBF assessment with O-15-water PET followed by invasive, quantitative coronary angiography, which served as reference. MBF was calculated...

Quantitative falls risk estimation through multi-sensor assessment of standing balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Barry R; McGrath, Denise; Walsh, Lorcan; Doheny, Emer P; McKeown, David; Garattini, Chiara; Cunningham, Clodagh; Crosby, Lisa; Caulfield, Brian; Kenny, Rose A

2012-12-01

Falls are the most common cause of injury and hospitalization and one of the principal causes of death and disability in older adults worldwide. Measures of postural stability have been associated with the incidence of falls in older adults. The aim of this study was to develop a model that accurately classifies fallers and non-fallers using novel multi-sensor quantitative balance metrics that can be easily deployed into a home or clinic setting. We compared the classification accuracy of our model with an established method for falls risk assessment, the Berg balance scale. Data were acquired using two sensor modalities--a pressure sensitive platform sensor and a body-worn inertial sensor, mounted on the lower back--from 120 community dwelling older adults (65 with a history of falls, 55 without, mean age 73.7 ± 5.8 years, 63 female) while performing a number of standing balance tasks in a geriatric research clinic. Results obtained using a support vector machine yielded a mean classification accuracy of 71.52% (95% CI: 68.82-74.28) in classifying falls history, obtained using one model classifying all data points. Considering male and female participant data separately yielded classification accuracies of 72.80% (95% CI: 68.85-77.17) and 73.33% (95% CI: 69.88-76.81) respectively, leading to a mean classification accuracy of 73.07% in identifying participants with a history of falls. Results compare favourably to those obtained using the Berg balance scale (mean classification accuracy: 59.42% (95% CI: 56.96-61.88)). Results from the present study could lead to a robust method for assessing falls risk in both supervised and unsupervised environments.

The Strategic Environment Assessment bibliographic network: A quantitative literature review analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caschili, Simone, E-mail: s.caschili@ucl.ac.uk [UCL QASER Lab, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); De Montis, Andrea; Ganciu, Amedeo; Ledda, Antonio; Barra, Mario [Dipartimento di Agraria, University of Sassari, viale Italia, 39, 07100 Sassari (Italy)

2014-07-01

Academic literature has been continuously growing at such a pace that it can be difficult to follow the progression of scientific achievements; hence, the need to dispose of quantitative knowledge support systems to analyze the literature of a subject. In this article we utilize network analysis tools to build a literature review of scientific documents published in the multidisciplinary field of Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA). The proposed approach helps researchers to build unbiased and comprehensive literature reviews. We collect information on 7662 SEA publications and build the SEA Bibliographic Network (SEABN) employing the basic idea that two publications are interconnected if one cites the other. We apply network analysis at macroscopic (network architecture), mesoscopic (sub graph) and microscopic levels (node) in order to i) verify what network structure characterizes the SEA literature, ii) identify the authors, disciplines and journals that are contributing to the international discussion on SEA, and iii) scrutinize the most cited and important publications in the field. Results show that the SEA is a multidisciplinary subject; the SEABN belongs to the class of real small world networks with a dominance of publications in Environmental studies over a total of 12 scientific sectors. Christopher Wood, Olivia Bina, Matthew Cashmore, and Andrew Jordan are found to be the leading authors while Environmental Impact Assessment Review is by far the scientific journal with the highest number of publications in SEA studies. - Highlights: • We utilize network analysis to analyze scientific documents in the SEA field. • We build the SEA Bibliographic Network (SEABN) of 7662 publications. • We apply network analysis at macroscopic, mesoscopic and microscopic network levels. • We identify SEABN architecture, relevant publications, authors, subjects and journals.

The Strategic Environment Assessment bibliographic network: A quantitative literature review analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caschili, Simone; De Montis, Andrea; Ganciu, Amedeo; Ledda, Antonio; Barra, Mario

2014-01-01

Academic literature has been continuously growing at such a pace that it can be difficult to follow the progression of scientific achievements; hence, the need to dispose of quantitative knowledge support systems to analyze the literature of a subject. In this article we utilize network analysis tools to build a literature review of scientific documents published in the multidisciplinary field of Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA). The proposed approach helps researchers to build unbiased and comprehensive literature reviews. We collect information on 7662 SEA publications and build the SEA Bibliographic Network (SEABN) employing the basic idea that two publications are interconnected if one cites the other. We apply network analysis at macroscopic (network architecture), mesoscopic (sub graph) and microscopic levels (node) in order to i) verify what network structure characterizes the SEA literature, ii) identify the authors, disciplines and journals that are contributing to the international discussion on SEA, and iii) scrutinize the most cited and important publications in the field. Results show that the SEA is a multidisciplinary subject; the SEABN belongs to the class of real small world networks with a dominance of publications in Environmental studies over a total of 12 scientific sectors. Christopher Wood, Olivia Bina, Matthew Cashmore, and Andrew Jordan are found to be the leading authors while Environmental Impact Assessment Review is by far the scientific journal with the highest number of publications in SEA studies. - Highlights: • We utilize network analysis to analyze scientific documents in the SEA field. • We build the SEA Bibliographic Network (SEABN) of 7662 publications. • We apply network analysis at macroscopic, mesoscopic and microscopic network levels. • We identify SEABN architecture, relevant publications, authors, subjects and journals

Quantitative assessment of contact and non-contact lateral force calibration methods for atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tran Khac, Bien Cuong; Chung, Koo-Hyun, E-mail: khchung@ulsan.ac.kr

2016-02-15

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been widely used for measuring friction force at the nano-scale. However, one of the key challenges faced by AFM researchers is to calibrate an AFM system to interpret a lateral force signal as a quantifiable force. In this study, five rectangular cantilevers were used to quantitatively compare three different lateral force calibration methods to demonstrate the legitimacy and to establish confidence in the quantitative integrity of the proposed methods. The Flat-Wedge method is based on a variation of the lateral output on a surface with flat and changing slopes, the Multi-Load Pivot method is based on taking pivot measurements at several locations along the cantilever length, and the Lateral AFM Thermal-Sader method is based on determining the optical lever sensitivity from the thermal noise spectrum of the first torsional mode with a known torsional spring constant from the Sader method. The results of the calibration using the Flat-Wedge and Multi-Load Pivot methods were found to be consistent within experimental uncertainties, and the experimental uncertainties of the two methods were found to be less than 15%. However, the lateral force sensitivity determined by the Lateral AFM Thermal-Sader method was found to be 8–29% smaller than those obtained from the other two methods. This discrepancy decreased to 3–19% when the torsional mode correction factor for an ideal cantilever was used, which suggests that the torsional mode correction should be taken into account to establish confidence in Lateral AFM Thermal-Sader method. - Highlights: • Quantitative assessment of three lateral force calibration methods for AFM. • Advantages and disadvantages of three different lateral force calibration method. • Implementation of Multi-Load Pivot method as non-contact calibration technique. • The torsional mode correction for Lateral AFM Thermal-Sader method.

Quantitative assessment of contact and non-contact lateral force calibration methods for atomic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran Khac, Bien Cuong; Chung, Koo-Hyun

2016-01-01

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been widely used for measuring friction force at the nano-scale. However, one of the key challenges faced by AFM researchers is to calibrate an AFM system to interpret a lateral force signal as a quantifiable force. In this study, five rectangular cantilevers were used to quantitatively compare three different lateral force calibration methods to demonstrate the legitimacy and to establish confidence in the quantitative integrity of the proposed methods. The Flat-Wedge method is based on a variation of the lateral output on a surface with flat and changing slopes, the Multi-Load Pivot method is based on taking pivot measurements at several locations along the cantilever length, and the Lateral AFM Thermal-Sader method is based on determining the optical lever sensitivity from the thermal noise spectrum of the first torsional mode with a known torsional spring constant from the Sader method. The results of the calibration using the Flat-Wedge and Multi-Load Pivot methods were found to be consistent within experimental uncertainties, and the experimental uncertainties of the two methods were found to be less than 15%. However, the lateral force sensitivity determined by the Lateral AFM Thermal-Sader method was found to be 8–29% smaller than those obtained from the other two methods. This discrepancy decreased to 3–19% when the torsional mode correction factor for an ideal cantilever was used, which suggests that the torsional mode correction should be taken into account to establish confidence in Lateral AFM Thermal-Sader method. - Highlights: • Quantitative assessment of three lateral force calibration methods for AFM. • Advantages and disadvantages of three different lateral force calibration method. • Implementation of Multi-Load Pivot method as non-contact calibration technique. • The torsional mode correction for Lateral AFM Thermal-Sader method.

Regional sustainability in Northern Australia. A quantitative assessment of social, economic and environmental impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wood, Richard [School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909 (Australia); Industrial Ecology Program, NTNU, Trondheim (Norway); Integrated Sustainability Analysis, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Garnett, Stephen [School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909 (Australia)

2010-07-15

This paper seeks to provide a picture of sustainability of the Northern Territory by analysing a number of sustainability indicators across indigenous status and remoteness class. The paper seeks to extend current socio-economic statistics and analysis by including environmental considerations in a 'triple bottom line' or 'sustainability assessment' approach. Further, a life-cycle approach is employed for a number of indicators so that both direct and indirect impacts are considered where applicable. Whereas urban populations are generally doing better against most quantitative economic and social indicators, environmental indicators show the opposite, reflecting the increasing market-based environmental impacts of urban populations. As we seek to value these environmental impacts appropriately, it would be beneficial to start incorporating these results in policy and planning. (author)

Quantitative assessment of therapeutic effects in the critically ischemic limb using 99mTc-diethylene-triamine-pentaacetic acid human serum albumin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawanishi, Jun; Ohta, Takashi; Ishibashi, Hiroyuki; Sugimoto, Ikuo; Iwata, Hirohide; Takahashi, Masayuki; Yamada, Tetsuya; Hida, Noriyuki

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and limitations of a new radioisotope method using 99m Tc-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid human serum albumin (Tc-99m-DTPA-HSA) and to evaluate the diagnostic ability of isotope infusion for assessing hemodynamic changes in the foot before and after treatment. Hemodynamic changes before and after treatment were assessed in 21 limbs with ulcer or gangrene, by analyzing changes in the time-activity curve, the uptake ratio, and the values obtained with noninvasive techniques. There were significant differences between each pair of the three types of time-activity curve and their uptake counts. The uptake ratio was correlated with ankle blood pressure (ABP) and toe blood pressure (TBP), but not with transcutaneous oxygen pressure (tcPO 2 ) or skin perfusion pressure (SPP). The hemodynamic change induced by pharmacotherapy was subtle, but that induced by arterial reconstruction was remarkable. Although there was not always a good correlation between the degree of hemodynamic change and the clinical outcome in limbs treated with pharmacotherapy, the hemodynamic change was quantitatively assessed. Our study suggests that this isotope technique is a useful quantitative method to evaluate hemodynamic change from a different perspective to conventional noninvasive methods. (author)

The National Benchmark Test of quantitative literacy: Does it ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article explores the relationship between these two standardised assessments in the domain of mathematical/quantitative literacy. This is accomplished through a Pearson correlation analysis of 6,363 test scores obtained by Grade 12 learners on the NSC Mathematical Literacy examination and the Quantitative ...

Quantitative risk analysis of urban flooding in lowland areas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ten Veldhuis, J.A.E.

2010-01-01

Urban flood risk analyses suffer from a lack of quantitative historical data on flooding incidents. Data collection takes place on an ad hoc basis and is usually restricted to severe events. The resulting data deficiency renders quantitative assessment of urban flood risks uncertain. The study

Influence of the association between platelet-rich fibrin and bovine bone on bone regeneration. A histomorphometric study in the calvaria of rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, M R; deC Silva, A; Ferreira, S; Avelino, C C; Garcia, I R; Mariano, R C

2015-05-01

This study aimed to investigate the effects of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) associated or not with Bio-Oss on bone defects in the calvaria of rats. A critical-size defect of 5-mm diameter was performed in the calvaria of 48 rats. These animals were divided into six groups of eight animals each, according to the treatment received: homogeneous clot, autogenous clot, autogenous PRF, homogeneous PRF, Bio-Oss, or Bio-Oss associated with PRF. The animals were euthanized after 30 or 60 days. Bone regeneration was evaluated by histomorphometric analysis. The highest mean percentages of new bone formation at 30 days (54.05% ± 5.78) and 60 days (63.58% ± 5.78) were observed in the Bio-Oss associated with PRF group; in particular, the percentage of new bone at 30 days was significantly higher than that of all of the other groups (P<0.01). At 60 days, the Bio-Oss associated with PRF (63.58% ± 5.78) and Bio-Oss (57.34% ± 5.78) groups had similar results, and both showed a statistical difference compared to the other groups. PRF had a positive effect on bone regeneration only when associated with Bio-Oss. Copyright © 2014 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relative validity and reproducibility of a parent-administered semi-quantitative FFQ for assessing food intake in Danish children aged 3-9 years

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buch-Andersen, Tine; Perez-Cueto, Armando; Toft, Ulla Marie Nørgaard

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relative validity and reproducibility of the semi-quantitative FFQ (SFFQ) applied in the evaluation of a community intervention study, SoL-Bornholm, for estimating food intakes. DESIGN: The reference measure was a 4 d estimated food record. The SFFQ was completed two time...

Effects of a 20 year rain event: a quantitative microbial risk assessment of a case of contaminated bathing water in Copenhagen, Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Signe Tanja; Erichsen, A. C.; Mark, O.

2013-01-01

Quantitative microbial risk assessments (QMRAs) often lack data on water quality leading to great uncertainty in the QMRA because of the many assumptions. The quantity of waste water contamination was estimated and included in a QMRA on an extreme rain event leading to combined sewer overflow (CS...

Quantitative assessment of nutrition in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Science.gov (United States)

Szczuko, Małgorzata; Skowronek, Magdalena; Zapałowska-Chwyć, Marta; Starczewski, Andrzej

PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) is called a pathology of the XX century and affects at least 10-15% women of childbearing age. The therapy involves pharmacotherapy of hormonal imbalance, as well as the change of lifestyle, including the diet. Performing the quantitative assessment of components of diets of women with PCOS, comparing the results with current dietary standards for Polish people and defining dietary requirements for the patients. The study was performed on 54 women of childbearing age (average age 26.03± 5.52) with PCOS syndrome diagnosed according to on the Rotterdam criteria. Anthropometric measurements of the patients were made and BMI and WHR calculated. Quantitative assessment of women’s diets was performed based on the analysis of 3-day food diaries and food records taken from the previous 24h with the interview method. The data were introduced to a dietary software DIETA 5.0, calculating the average intake of the energy, nutrients, vitamins, minerals, cholesterol and dietary fibre. The obtained results were compared to Polish dietary guidelines. Examined group was characterized by increased waist circumference (98.71± 13.6 cm) and an average WHR was 0.92± 0.08. An increased average value of BMI was also shown (28.91± 5.54 kg/m2). The patients consumed, on average, 1952.5±472.7 kcal daily, and the risk of insufficient intake of protein was determined in 36.7% of examined women. The highest risk of deficiency in minerals in women with PCOS was related to calcium (634 mg), potassium (3493 mg) and magnesium (250.1 mg), whereas with reference to vitamins deficiency as much as 70% of tested women were at risk of insufficient intake of folic acid, 36.7% of them - vitamin C, and 26.7% - vitamin B12. The average consumption of vitamin D was at the level of 3.4 μg. Test group was characterized by excessive average consumption of total fat (50%), SFA (70.4%) and saccharose (50%). The percentage of people with excessive average intake of

A risk assessment-driven quantitative comparison of gene expression profiles in PBMCs and white adipose tissue of humans and rats after isoflavone supplementation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Velpen, van der V.; Veer, van 't P.; Islam, M.A.; Braak, ter C.J.F.; Leeuwen, F.X.R.; Afman, L.A.; Hollman, P.C.H.; Schouten, A.; Geelen, M.M.E.E.

2016-01-01

Quantitative insight into species differences in risk assessment is expected to reduce uncertainty and variability related to extrapolation from animals to humans. This paper explores quantification and comparison of gene expression data between tissues and species from intervention studies with

Quantitative risk assessment of E. coli in street-vended cassava-based delicacies in the Philippines

Science.gov (United States)

Mesias, I. C. P.

2018-01-01

In the Philippines, rootcrop-based food products are gaining popularity in street food trade. However, a number of street-vended food products in the country are reported to be contaminated with E. coli posing possible risk among consumers. In this study, information on quantitative risk assessment of E. coli in street-vended cassava-based delicacies was generated. The assessment started with the prevalence and concentration of E. coli at post production in packages of the cassava-based delicacies. Combase growth predictor was used to trace the microbial population of E. coli in each step of the food chain. The @Risk software package, version 6 (Palisade USA) was used to run the simulations. Scenarios in the post-production to consumption pathway were simulated. The effect was then assessed in relation to exposure to the defined infective dose. In the worst case scenario, a minimum and most likely concentration of 6.3 and 7.8 log CFU of E. coli per serving respectively were observed. The simulation revealed that lowering the temperature in the chain considerably decreased the E. coli concentration prior to consumption and subsequently decreased the percentage of exposure to the infective dose. Exposure to infective dose however was increased with longer lag time from postproduction to consumption.

Meta-analysis for quantitative microbiological risk assessments and benchmarking data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Besten, den H.M.W.; Zwietering, M.H.

2012-01-01

Meta-analysis studies are increasingly being conducted in the food microbiology area to quantitatively integrate the findings of many individual studies on specific questions or kinetic parameters of interest. Meta-analyses provide global estimates of parameters and quantify their variabilities, and

Quantitative assessment of the effect of corrosion product buildup on occupational exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Divine, J.R.

1982-10-01

The program was developed to provide a method for predicting occupational exposures caused by the deposition of radioactive corrosion products outside the core of the primary system of an operating power reactor. This predictive capability will be useful in forecasting total occupational doses during maintenance, inspection, decontamination, waste treatment, and disposal. In developing a reliable predictive model, a better understanding of the parameters important to corrosion product film formation, corrosion product transport, and corrosion product film removal will be developed. This understanding can lead to new concepts in reactor design to minimize the buildup and transport of radioactive corrosion products or to improve methods of operation. To achieve this goal, three objectives were established to provide: (1) criteria for acceptable coolant sampling procedures and sampling equipment that will provide data which will be used in the model development; (2) a quantitative assessment of the effect of corrosion product deposits on occupational exposure; and (3) a model which describes the influence of flow, temperature, coolant chemistry, construction materials, radiation, and other operating parameters on the transport and buildup of corrosion products

Development of a Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE)

Science.gov (United States)

Stanhope, Liz; Ziegler, Laura; Haque, Tabassum; Le, Laura; Vinces, Marcelo; Davis, Gregory K.; Zieffler, Andrew; Brodfuehrer, Peter; Preest, Marion; Belitsky, Jason M.; Umbanhowar, Charles, Jr.; Overvoorde, Paul J.

2017-01-01

Multiple reports highlight the increasingly quantitative nature of biological research and the need to innovate means to ensure that students acquire quantitative skills. We present a tool to support such innovation. The Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE) is an assessment instrument designed to measure the quantitative…

Comparison of clinical semi-quantitative assessment of muscle fat infiltration with quantitative assessment using chemical shift-based water/fat separation in MR studies of the calf of post-menopausal women

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alizai, Hamza; Nardo, Lorenzo; Karampinos, Dimitrios C.; Joseph, Gabby B.; Yap, Samuel P.; Baum, Thomas; Krug, Roland; Majumdar, Sharmila; Link, Thomas M. [University of California, San Francisco, Musculoskeletal and Quantitative Imaging Research Group, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, San Francisco, CA (United States)

2012-07-15

The goal of this study was to compare the semi-quantitative Goutallier classification for fat infiltration with quantitative fat-fraction derived from a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) chemical shift-based water/fat separation technique. Sixty-two women (age 61 {+-} 6 years), 27 of whom had diabetes, underwent MRI of the calf using a T1-weighted fast spin-echo sequence and a six-echo spoiled gradient-echo sequence at 3 T. Water/fat images and fat fraction maps were reconstructed using the IDEAL algorithm with T2* correction and a multi-peak model for the fat spectrum. Two radiologists scored fat infiltration on the T1-weighted images using the Goutallier classification in six muscle compartments. Spearman correlations between the Goutallier grades and the fat fraction were calculated; in addition, intra-observer and inter-observer agreement were calculated. A significant correlation between the clinical grading and the fat fraction values was found for all muscle compartments (P < 0.0001, R values ranging from 0.79 to 0.88). Goutallier grades 0-4 had a fat fraction ranging from 3.5 to 19%. Intra-observer and inter-observer agreement values of 0.83 and 0.81 were calculated for the semi-quantitative grading. Semi-quantitative grading of intramuscular fat and quantitative fat fraction were significantly correlated and both techniques had excellent reproducibility. However, the clinical grading was found to overestimate muscle fat. (orig.)

The chemical composition of synthetic bone substitutes influences tissue reactions in vivo: histological and histomorphometrical analysis of the cellular inflammatory response to hydroxyapatite, beta-tricalcium phosphate and biphasic calcium phosphate ceramics