Enlargement of the iliopsoas comportment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, M.; Gonzalez, J.; Martinez, A.; Garcia, M.A.; Relea, A.; Narajo, G.

1996-01-01

The iliopsoas or iliopectineal comportment is a normal structure that occasionally communicates with the synovial cavity of the hip. Rarely, in association with certain pathologies that raise the intraarticular pressure, it becomes enlarged, producing an inguinal or pelvic mass, also referred to as iliopsas bursitis. We present five cases of this pathology detected over the past year in our hospitals. Three of the patients had undergone previous vascular punctures in the hip involved, one presented brucellosis-related arthropathy and the fifth had generative joint abnormalities. The plain radiography, arthrography, ultrasound, CT,CT-guided arthrography and MR images are provided and discussed. We present an etiological factor of this process (previous vascular puncture) that has not been previously reported in the literature. 13 refs

The Next Round of NATO Enlargement

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Simon, Jeffrey

2000-01-01

.... Political, geostrategic, and technical factors will frame policy options on enlargement though the shifting importance of these factors will likely influence any decision on enlarging the Alliance...

European Enlargement Across Rounds and Beyond Borders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Enlargement has been an almost constant part of European integration history – going from an improvised exercise to the EU’s most developed foreign policy tool. However, neither the longevity nor the complexity of enlargement has been properly historicised. European Enlargement across Rounds...... and Beyond Borders offers three interdisciplinary, innovative, and indeed radical, new ways of understanding and analysing EC/EU enlargements: first, tracing Longue Durée developments; second, investigating enlargement Beyond the Road to Membership; and third, exploring the Entangled Exchanges and synergies...... scholars, should engage with it. This publication will be of key interest to scholars and students of modern European history and politics, the European integration process, EU studies, and more broadly multilateral international institutions, history, law and the social sciences....

EU Enlargement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Peder J.; Pytlikova, Mariola

We look at migration flows from 8 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) to 5 Nordic countries over the years 1985 - 2005 and we can exploit a natural experiment that arose from the fact that while Sweden opened its labour market from the day one of the 2004 EU enlargement, the other Nordic...... countries chose a transition period in relation to the "new" EU members. We employ a differences-in-differences estimator in our analysis. The results show that the estimated effect of the opening of Swedish labour market in 2004 on migration is insignificantly different from zero. Further, we...... are interested in the overall effect of the "EU entry" on migration. Therefore we look at migration flows from CEECs during the first round EU enlargement towards CEECs in 2004 and compare them with migration flows from Bulgaria and Romania. We again used a DD estimator in our analysis. The estimated effect...

Penis-Enlargement Products: Do They Work?

Science.gov (United States)

... and surgeries. By Mayo Clinic Staff Ads for penis-enlargement products and procedures are everywhere. A plethora of ... your penis. Companies offer many types of nonsurgical penis-enlargement treatments, and often promote them with serious-looking ...

Airport Performance and Construction Enlargement Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Hanun, Y.; Setiawan, M. I.; Kurniasih, N.; Hasyim, C.; Ahmar, A. S.

2018-01-01

The evaluation of transportation infrastructure project should consider the contribution towards infrastructure growth. This research aims to analyze the effect of Construction enlargement activities towards airport performance. This research is correlation study. The population includes 148 airports in Indonesia. By using total sampling, there were 148 sample airports. The result shows that the construction enlargement activities variable has relatively strong relationship to Airport Performance variable, while the adjusted R Square score shows the increasing construction enlargement activities that affected by the other factors aside from airport performance.

Sudden Onset, Rapidly Expansile, Cervical Cystic Hygroma in an Adult: A Rare Case with Unusual Presentation and Extensive Review of the Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vivek Dokania

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Cystic hygroma (CH is a benign infiltrative malformation of the lymphatic channels. We report a case of a 28-year-old Indian female who presented with rapidly enlarging right sided neck swelling over the posterior triangle since 5 days. Complete resection of CH is sometimes not amenable because of its infiltrative nature and involvement of surrounding vital structures. However, in our patient successful complete surgical resection was undertaken. The MRI findings of our patient were consistent with brachial cleft cyst; this posed a challenge in the diagnosis of CH. The histopathological analysis of the resected mass confirmed CH. CH is rare in adults and such an acute presentation is exceptionally atypical. History of prior trauma and infection are known etiological factors for adult CH; these were conspicuously absent in our patient. CH should be considered in the differentials of rapidly enlarging cystic swelling of posterior region of neck in adults. Optimal and timely management is necessary to achieve a favorable prognosis. Therefore, we report a case of rapidly enlarging cervical CH in an adult along with extensive literature review to have a better understanding regarding epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, clinical presentation, optimal management, and prognosis of such a rare entity in adults.

Rapid tryptic mapping using enzymatically active mass spectrometer probe tips

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dogruel, D.; Williams, P.; Nelson, R.W. [Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)

1995-12-01

A method has been developed for rapid, sensitive, and accurate tryptic mapping of polypeptides using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass analysis. The technique utilizes mass spectrometer probe tips which have been activated through the covalent immobilization of trypsin. The enzymatically active probe tips were used for the tryptic mapping of chicken egg lysozyme and the results compared with those obtained using either free trypsin or agarose-immobilized trypsin. A significant increase in the overall sensitivity of the process was observed using the active probe tips, as well as the production of more characteristic proteolytic fragments and the elimination of background signals due to the autolysis of the trypsin. Further, probe tip digestions were found to be rapid and convenient. 19 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

EU ENLARGEMENT AT A CROSSROADS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreea Cătălina Paul

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The present article aims to explore the general theme of the EU enlargement strategy in the new 2012 European context. Until now, the EU’s enlargement strategy has yielded impressive results. It succeeded in transforming ten central and eastern European countries from post-communism confusion into open-market, mature and effective systems of democratic governments, and even on the economic front, they have also made astonishing progress. It is no doubt that people in the new EU countries live better then before. In this context, the EU must continue the enlargement process to help stabilize the Balkan region that lie beyond its expanded eastern border. No one can deny that major issues concerning western Balkan countries’ accession are still on the table, and they even exert a geopolitical influence of sorts. This makes it all the more important to see stability and regional co-operation there are strategically vital. An all-out effort must now be made to complete the enlargement process and ensure there is no strategic vacuum. This article provides the framework of analyses for the EU problems and the challenges for the Balkans governments as for Brussels.

Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas presenting as diffuse pancreatic enlargement: Two case reports and literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yaping; Hu, Guilan; Ma, Yanru; Guo, Ning; Li, Fang

2017-09-01

Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignant tumor of exocrine pancreas. It is typically a well-marginated large solid mass arising in a certain aspect of the pancreas. Diffuse involvement of ACC in the pancreas is very rare, and may simulate pancreatitis in radiological findings. We report 2 cases of ACC presenting as diffuse enlargement of the pancreas due to tumor involvement without formation of a distinct mass. The patients consisted of a 41-year-old man with weight loss and a 77-year-old man who was asymptomatic. Computed tomography (CT) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT showed diffuse enlargement of the pancreas forming a sausage-like shape with homogenously increased FDG activity. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy of the pancreatic lesion was performed. Histopathology results from the pancreas confirmed the diagnosis of pancreatic ACC. Because diffuse enlargement of the pancreas is a common imaging feature of pancreatitis, recognition of this rare morphologic pattern of ACC is important for radiological diagnosis of this tumor.

Childhood asymmetrical labium majus enlargement sonographic and MR imaging appearances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gokli, Ami; Neuman, Jeremy; Lukse, Ruby; Koshy, June [Staten Island University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Staten Island, NY (United States); Kong, Fanyi [Staten Island University Hospital, Department of Pathology, Staten Island, NY (United States); Laor, Tal [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States)

2016-05-15

Childhood asymmetrical labium majus enlargement (CALME) has been described sparsely in recent surgery, pathology, pediatric and gynecology literature; however, no comprehensive description from a radiology perspective has been developed. The purpose of this case series is to describe the imaging findings of CALME and to review the current understanding of this recently described clinical entity with regard to clinical presentation, pathophysiology, differential diagnosis and treatment options. This is a retrospective analysis of 3 girls, ages 5-7 years, who presented for imaging evaluation with subsequent pathologically proven CALME. Each child's clinical history, length of symptoms, imaging appearance and pathological findings were reviewed. All three girls presented with unilateral enlargement of the labium majus (two right-side, one left-side) with no history of trauma or other inciting cause. Two girls had painless labial enlargement that was recognized for weeks, and one had similar symptoms for 1 year prior to presentation. One girl was evaluated initially with sonography, and all three children underwent MR imaging. Sonographic evaluation showed asymmetrical labial enlargement without a definable mass. In each girl, the MR imaging findings were characterized by relatively ill-defined T1-weighted hypointense signal, T2-weighted hypo- to isointense signal with interspersed hyperintense septae, and heterogeneous patchy and feathery strands of enhancement on post-contrast imaging. Biopsy from each child showed benign fibrous tissue with intervening mature fibroadipose tissue, vessels and nerves without findings of inflammation or neoplasia. The MR imaging appearance of CALME is consistent. Recognition and appreciation of this unique pediatric entity by the radiologist may be essential for appropriate diagnosis and can help to guide therapy. Current preferred treatment approach is conservative. (orig.)

Childhood asymmetrical labium majus enlargement sonographic and MR imaging appearances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gokli, Ami; Neuman, Jeremy; Lukse, Ruby; Koshy, June; Kong, Fanyi; Laor, Tal

2016-01-01

Childhood asymmetrical labium majus enlargement (CALME) has been described sparsely in recent surgery, pathology, pediatric and gynecology literature; however, no comprehensive description from a radiology perspective has been developed. The purpose of this case series is to describe the imaging findings of CALME and to review the current understanding of this recently described clinical entity with regard to clinical presentation, pathophysiology, differential diagnosis and treatment options. This is a retrospective analysis of 3 girls, ages 5-7 years, who presented for imaging evaluation with subsequent pathologically proven CALME. Each child's clinical history, length of symptoms, imaging appearance and pathological findings were reviewed. All three girls presented with unilateral enlargement of the labium majus (two right-side, one left-side) with no history of trauma or other inciting cause. Two girls had painless labial enlargement that was recognized for weeks, and one had similar symptoms for 1 year prior to presentation. One girl was evaluated initially with sonography, and all three children underwent MR imaging. Sonographic evaluation showed asymmetrical labial enlargement without a definable mass. In each girl, the MR imaging findings were characterized by relatively ill-defined T1-weighted hypointense signal, T2-weighted hypo- to isointense signal with interspersed hyperintense septae, and heterogeneous patchy and feathery strands of enhancement on post-contrast imaging. Biopsy from each child showed benign fibrous tissue with intervening mature fibroadipose tissue, vessels and nerves without findings of inflammation or neoplasia. The MR imaging appearance of CALME is consistent. Recognition and appreciation of this unique pediatric entity by the radiologist may be essential for appropriate diagnosis and can help to guide therapy. Current preferred treatment approach is conservative. (orig.)

MASS SPECTROMETRY PROTEOMICS METHOD AS A RAPID SCREENING TOOL FOR BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION OF FOOD

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-01

MASS SPECTROMETRY PROTEOMICS METHOD AS A RAPID SCREENING TOOL FOR BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION OF FOOD ECBC-TR...TITLE AND SUBTITLE Mass Spectrometry Proteomics Method as a Rapid Screening Tool for Bacterial Contamination of Food 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b...the MSPM to correctly classify whether or not food samples were contaminated with Salmonella enterica serotype Newport in this blinded pilot study

Fetal adrenal gland enlargement - prenatal and postnatal management.

Science.gov (United States)

Lackova, Eliska; Cunderlik, Anton; Ticha, Lubica; Gabor, Maria

2017-11-01

The enlargement of suprarenal gland is related to preterm birth and the birth weight. The ultrasound measurement of fetal adrenal gland volume may identify women at risk for impending preterm birth. The aim of our study was to investigate the newborns in the region of western Slovakia followed up due to suprarenal gland enlargement. To set the ratio of prenatally diagnosed suprarenal gland enlargment, postnatal managment and treatment and interventions. The newborns with congenital adrenal hyperplasia were excluded. We have analyzed 6 years of medical records of all cases from the western Slovakia region of suprarenal gland enlargement encountered to 1st Pediatric Department, Children's University Hospital Bratislava Republic in the time period of January 2010 to Janurary 2016. The diagnosis of suprarenal gland enlargement was set by ultrasound examination performed on the 4th postnatal day as an overall screening test. Newborns with positive laboratory screening on congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) were excluded from our study. We analyzed the origin of surarenal gland enlargement, gestation week on the due date, the birth weight and other comorbidities and genetic pathologies in newborns with the enlarged suprarenal glands. There were 6 newborns followed up due to suprarenal gland enlargement. All of the patients had diagnosed the adrenal haemorrhage. Adrenal lesions like adrenal cysts or neuroblastomas were not confirmed. All of the adrenal enlargements were benign with no need of other medical or surgical intervention. None of the newborn patients had other genetic abnormalities, mineral or hormonal imbalances, problems with arterial pressure or haemodynamic instability. All of the patients underwent at least 5 prenatal ultrasound tests and at least 2 postnatal ultrasound measurements. The avarage birth weight was 3030 grams (2700 grams - to 3750 grams). The avarage birth lenght was 50 cm (47 centimeter to 53 cm).The average gestation week (gw) on due date

Detecting rapid mass movements using electrical self-potential measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Heinze, Thomas; Limbrock, Jonas; Pudasaini, Shiva P.; Kemna, Andreas

2017-04-01

Rapid mass movements are a latent danger for lives and infrastructure in almost any part of the world. Often such mass movements are caused by increasing pore pressure, for example, landslides after heavy rainfall or dam breaking after intrusion of water in the dam. Among several other geophysical methods used to observe water movement, the electrical self-potential method has been applied to a broad range of monitoring studies, especially focusing on volcanism and dam leakage but also during hydraulic fracturing and for earthquake prediction. Electrical self-potential signals may be caused by various mechanisms. Though, the most relevant source of the self-potential field in the given context is the streaming potential, caused by a flowing electrolyte through porous media with electrically charged internal surfaces. So far, existing models focus on monitoring water flow in non-deformable porous media. However, as the self-potential is sensitive to hydraulic parameters of the soil, any change in these parameters will cause an alteration of the electric signal. Mass movement will significantly influence the hydraulic parameters of the solid as well as the pressure field, assuming that fluid movement is faster than the pressure diffusion. We will present results of laboratory experiments under drained and undrained conditions with fluid triggered as well as manually triggered mass movements, monitored with self-potential measurements. For the undrained scenarios, we observe a clear correlation between the mass movements and signals in the electric potential, which clearly differ from the underlying potential variations due to increased saturation and fluid flow. In the drained experiments, we do not observe any measurable change in the electric potential. We therefore assume that change in fluid properties and release of the load causes disturbances in flow and streaming potential. We will discuss results of numerical simulations reproducing the observed effect. Our

Spontaneous hemorrhage simulating rapid growth of a benign subperiosteal plexiform neurofibroma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blitman, Netta M.; Levsky, Jeffrey M.; Thornhill, Beverly A.; Villanueva-Siles, Esperanza

2007-01-01

Spontaneous subperiosteal hemorrhage is a rare complication of von Recklinghausen's disease. There are few reports describing the MR imaging characteristics of this entity. Our case is unique among these as an underlying plexiform neurofibroma was visualized by MR imaging. We present a 12-year-old child with neurofibromatosis 1 who presented with a rapidly enlarging mass of the fibula. Surgery and pathology revealed subperiosteal hemorrhage into a benign, plexiform neurofibroma. The MR imaging features, pathogenesis and clinical implications of this entity are discussed. Recognition of this disease process and differentiating it from malignant transformation can prevent unnecessary surgery. (orig.)

Sodium valproate induced gingival enlargement with pre-existing chronic periodontitis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vaibhavi Joshipura

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Gingival enlargement is a common clinical feature of gingival and periodontal diseases. Currently, more than 20 prescription medications are associated with gingival enlargement. Although the mechanisms of action may be different, the clinical and microscopic appearance of drug-induced gingival enlargement is similar with any drug. Gingival enlargement produces esthetic changes, and clinical symptoms including pain, tenderness, bleeding, speech disturbances, abnormal tooth movement, dental occlusion problems, enhancement of caries development and periodontal disorders. Sodium valproate is considered to produce gingival enlargement, but very rarely. This case report features sodium valproate induced gingival enlargement in a patient with pre-existing chronic periodontitis, who came to the Dental Department, Chinmaya Mission Hospital, Bangalore. The case is special as the patient did not develop the enlargement in spite of taking phenytoin for 1 year and developed enlargement with sodium valproate within 6 months.

Sodium valproate induced gingival enlargement with pre-existing chronic periodontitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Joshipura, Vaibhavi

2012-04-01

Gingival enlargement is a common clinical feature of gingival and periodontal diseases. Currently, more than 20 prescription medications are associated with gingival enlargement. Although the mechanisms of action may be different, the clinical and microscopic appearance of drug-induced gingival enlargement is similar with any drug. Gingival enlargement produces esthetic changes, and clinical symptoms including pain, tenderness, bleeding, speech disturbances, abnormal tooth movement, dental occlusion problems, enhancement of caries development and periodontal disorders. Sodium valproate is considered to produce gingival enlargement, but very rarely. This case report features sodium valproate induced gingival enlargement in a patient with pre-existing chronic periodontitis, who came to the Dental Department, Chinmaya Mission Hospital, Bangalore. The case is special as the patient did not develop the enlargement in spite of taking phenytoin for 1 year and developed enlargement with sodium valproate within 6 months.

Enlarged facial pores: an update on treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Joanna; Lanoue, Julien; Goldenberg, Gary

2016-07-01

Enlarged facial pores remain a common dermatologic and cosmetic concern from acne and rosacea, among other conditions, that is difficult to treat due to the multifactorial nature of their pathogenesis and negative impact on patients' quality of life. Enlarged facial pores are primarily treated through addressing associative factors, such as increased sebum production and cutaneous aging. We review the current treatment modalities for enlarged or dense facial pores, including topical retinoids, chemical peels, oral antiandrogens, and lasers and devices, with a focus on newer therapies.

Enlargement of the Baldone near-surface radioactive waste repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreimanis, A.

2007-01-01

A unified analysis of the enlargement of the Baldone near-surface radioactive waste (RW) repository RADONS considers the interplay of the existing engineering, safety and infrastructure premises, with the foreseen newly socio-technical features. This enlargement consists in construction of two additional RW disposal vaults and in building a long-term storage facility for spent sealed sources at the RADONS territory. Our approach is based on consecutive analysis of following basic elements: - the origin of enlargement - the RADONS safety analysis and a set of optimal socio-technical solutions of Salaspils research reactor decommissioning waste management; - the enlargement - a keystone of the national RW management concept, including the long-term approach; - the enlargement concept - the result of international co-operation and obligations; - arrangement optimization of new disposal and storage space; - environmental impact assessment for the repository enlargement - the update of socio-technical studies. The study of the public opinion revealed: negative attitude to repository enlargement is caused mainly due to missing information on radiation level and on the RADONS previous operations. These results indicate: basic measures to improve the public attitude to repository enlargement: the safety upgrade, public education and compensation mechanisms. A detailed stakeholders engagement and public education plan is elaborated. (author)

A mass spectrometer for the rapid analysis of gaseous mixtures; Spectrometre de masse pour l'analyse rapide des melanges gazeux

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cassignol, C; Ortel, Y; Taieb, J

1950-07-01

A mass spectrometer for leak detection and rapid gas analysis were constructed, having the characteristics and several structural features of a simple instrument described by Siry in Rev. Sri. Instruments. 540 (1947). Although exhibiting a good resolving power, the apparatus, which has no ion lenses and whose electrodes can be regulated during the performance, has not been sufficiently tested. Since several design defects have been discovered, it will probably be rebuilt with various improvements (ion source outside the magnetic field, modified circuits, etc.). (author)

Twisted Acceleration-Enlarged Newton-Hooke Hopf Algebras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daszkiewicz, M.

2010-01-01

Ten Abelian twist deformations of acceleration-enlarged Newton-Hooke Hopf algebra are considered. The corresponding quantum space-times are derived as well. It is demonstrated that their contraction limit τ → ∞ leads to the new twisted acceleration-enlarged Galilei spaces. (author)

Morphology and morphometry of the human sublingual glands in mouth floor enlargements of edentulous patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josiane Costa Rodrigues de SA

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Asymptomatic mouth floor enlargements may be observed in edentulous patients. These masses, which protrude from the mouth floor, may complicate the fitting of dentures and require surgery. Whether this "entity" may be considered an anatomical variation of the mouth floor or represent specific alterations in the sublingual gland is not known. Objective: The aim of this work is to investigate the morphological and morphometric aspects of the sublingual glands of edentulous patients with mouth floor enlargements and compare the glands of these patients with the sublingual glands of human cadavers. Material and Methods: Microscopic evaluation was performed on human sublingual glands from edentulous patients with mouth floor enlargements (n=20 and edentulous cadavers (n=20. The patients and cadavers were of similar ages. The data were compared using Mann-Whitney U, Fisher's exact and Student's t tests (p0.05. Only the variables "autolysis" and "congested blood vessels" presented statistical difference between groups (p=0.014; p=0.043. The morphometric study revealed that the volume densities of acini, ducts, stroma and adipose tissue were similar between the groups (p>0.05. CONCLUSION: The microscopic characteristics of the sublingual glands in mouth floor enlargements in edentulous patients correspond to characteristics associated with the normal aging process. The glands are not pathological and represent an age-related alteration that occurs with or without the presence of the mouth floor enlargements.

The "New Politics" of EU's Eastern Enlargement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zank, Wolfgang

The paper gives an overview of EU's eastern enlargement and draws some theoretical conclusions. In particular, it stresses the point that the EU member states in the process of enlargement have entered a phase of "new politics", characterised by multilateralism, conditionality, help and binding...

CHANGING FROM WITHIN? THE INTRA-ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS OF EU ENLARGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Velibor JAKOVLESKI

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper opens up the black box of enlargement, focusing on how the intra-organizational relationships among the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, and the European Parliament affect the process of enlargement. Formally speaking, enlargement is an intergovernmental process, suggesting that member states are firmly in control of its outcomes. However, the EU’s supranational actors, specifically the European Parliament and European Commission also attempt to influence enlargement at various stages. I posit that the process of enlargement to the Western Balkans has evolved, influenced by changing constraints which are operating on the aforementioned actors. The added value of this work is in disaggregating the enlargement process based on its institutionalized relationships in both a vertical and horizontal dimension. It provides a supply-side argument for how enlargement policy has evolved from within the EU, rather than simply as a function of external factors.

Enlargement of filtration with finance in view

CERN Document Server

Aksamit, Anna

2017-01-01

This volume presents classical results of the theory of enlargement of filtration. The focus is on the behavior of martingales with respect to the enlarged filtration and related objects. The study is conducted in various contexts including immersion, progressive enlargement with a random time and initial enlargement with a random variable.  The aim of this book is to collect the main mathematical results (with proofs) previously spread among numerous papers, great part of which is only available in French. Many examples and applications to finance, in particular to credit risk modelling and the study of asymmetric information, are provided to illustrate the theory. A detailed summary of further connections and applications is given in bibliographic notes which enables to deepen study of the topic.  This book fills a gap in the literature and serves as a guide for graduate students and researchers interested in the role of information in financial mathematics and in econometric science. A basic knowledge of...

Improving the Effect and Efficiency of FMD Control by Enlarging Protection or Surveillance Zones

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hisham Beshara Halasa, Tariq; Toft, Nils; Boklund, Anette

2015-01-01

An epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in a FMD-free country with large exports of livestock and livestock products would result in profound economic damage. This could be reduced by rapid and efficient control of the disease spread. The objectives of this study were to estimate the economic...... impact of a hypothetical FMD outbreak in Denmark based on changes to the economic assumptions of the model, and to investigate whether the control of an FMD epidemic can be improved by combining the enlargement of protection or surveillance zones with pre-emptive depopulation or emergency vaccination....... The stochastic spatial simulation model DTU-DADS was used to simulate the spread of FMD in Denmark. The control strategies were the basic EU and Danish strategy, pre-emptive depopulation, suppressive or protective vaccination, enlarging protection or surveillance zones, and a combination of pre...

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia as an Unusual Cause of Rapid Airway Compromise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian R. Bersabe

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL is the most prevalent form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL in Western countries predominantly affecting adults over the age of 65. CLL is commonly indolent in nature but can present locally and aggressively at extranodal sites. Although CLL may commonly present with cervical lymphadenopathy, manifestation in nonlymphoid regions of the head and neck is not well described. CLL causing upper airway obstruction is even more uncommon. We describe a case of a patient with known history of CLL and stable lymphocytosis that developed an enlarging lymphoid base of tongue (BOT mass resulting in rapid airway compromise.

Rapid species specific identification and subtyping of Yersinia enterocolitica by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephan, Roger; Cernela, Nicole; Ziegler, Dominik; Pflüger, Valentin; Tonolla, Mauro; Ravasi, Damiana; Fredriksson-Ahomaa, Maria; Hächler, Herbert

2011-11-01

Yersinia enterocolitica are Gram-negative pathogens and known as important causes of foodborne infections. Rapid and reliable identification of strains of the species Y. enterocolitica within the genus Yersinia and the differentiation of the pathogenic from the non-pathogenic biotypes has become increasingly important. We evaluated here the application of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for rapid species identification and subtyping of Y. enterocolitica. To this end, we developed a reference MS database library including 19 Y. enterocolitica (non-pathogenic biotype 1A and pathogenic biotypes 2 and 4) as well as 24 non-Y. enterocolitica strains, belonging to eleven different other Yersinia spp. The strains provided reproducible and unique mass spectra profiles covering a wide molecular mass range (2000 to 30,000 Da). Species-specific and biotype-specific biomarker protein mass patterns were determined for Y. enterocolitica. The defined biomarker mass patterns (SARAMIS SuperSpectrum™) were validated using 117 strains from various Y. enterocolitica bioserotypes in a blind-test. All strains were correctly identified and for all strains the mass spectrometry-based identification scheme yielded identical results compared to a characterization by a combination of biotyping and serotyping. Our study demonstrates that MALDI-TOF-MS is a reliable and powerful tool for the rapid identification of Y. enterocolitica strains to the species level and allows subtyping of strains to the biotype level. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enlarged prostate - after care

Science.gov (United States)

... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000398.htm Enlarged prostate - after care To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. The prostate is a gland that produces the fluid that ...

High-Throughput and Rapid Screening of Low-Mass Hazardous Compounds in Complex Samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Liu, Qian; Gao, Yan; Wang, Yawei; Guo, Liangqia; Jiang, Guibin

2015-07-07

Rapid screening and identification of hazardous chemicals in complex samples is of extreme importance for public safety and environmental health studies. In this work, we report a new method for high-throughput, sensitive, and rapid screening of low-mass hazardous compounds in complex media without complicated sample preparation procedures. This method is achieved based on size-selective enrichment on ordered mesoporous carbon followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis with graphene as a matrix. The ordered mesoporous carbon CMK-8 can exclude interferences from large molecules in complex samples (e.g., human serum, urine, and environmental water samples) and efficiently enrich a wide variety of low-mass hazardous compounds. The method can work at very low concentrations down to part per trillion (ppt) levels, and it is much faster and more facile than conventional methods. It was successfully applied to rapidly screen and identify unknown toxic substances such as perfluorochemicals in human serum samples from athletes and workers. Therefore, this method not only can sensitively detect target compounds but also can identify unknown hazardous compounds in complex media.

Sodium valproate induced gingival enlargement with pre-existing chronic periodontitis

OpenAIRE

Joshipura, Vaibhavi

2012-01-01

Gingival enlargement is a common clinical feature of gingival and periodontal diseases. Currently, more than 20 prescription medications are associated with gingival enlargement. Although the mechanisms of action may be different, the clinical and microscopic appearance of drug-induced gingival enlargement is similar with any drug. Gingival enlargement produces esthetic changes, and clinical symptoms including pain, tenderness, bleeding, speech disturbances, abnormal tooth movement, dental oc...

Rapid identification of DNA-binding proteins by mass spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordhoff, E.; Korgsdam, A.-M.; Jørgensen, H.F.

1999-01-01

We report a protocol for the rapid identification of DNA-binding proteins. Immobilized DNA probes harboring a specific sequence motif are incubated with cell or nuclear extract. Proteins are analyzed directly off the solid support by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass...... was validated by the identification of known prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA-binding proteins, and its use provided evidence that poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase exhibits DNA sequence-specific binding to DNA....

Elastic uplift in southeast Greenland due to rapid ice mass loss

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khan, Shfaqat Abbas; Van dam, Tonie; Hamilton, Gordon S.

2007-01-01

The rapid unloading of ice from the southeastern sector of the Greenland ice sheet between 2001 and 2006 caused an elastic uplift of 35 mm at a GPS site in Kulusuk. Most of the uplift results from ice dynamic-induced volume losses on two nearby outlet glaciers. Volume loss from Helheim Glacier...... between 62N and 66N. Citation: Khan, S. A., J. Wahr, L. A. Stearns, G. S. Hamilton, T. van Dam, K. M. Larson, and O. Francis (2007), Elastic uplift in southeast Greenland due to rapid ice mass loss....

Rib enlargement in premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, Hye Kyung; Han, Kim Bokyung; Chang, Yun Sil; Choo, In Wook [Samsung Medical Center, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Kyeong Ah [Anyang General Hospital, Anyang (Korea, Republic of)

2000-04-01

The purpose of this study is to describe the rib changes seen in patients with brochopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Serial chest radiographs of nine premature infants with BPD who showed diffuse rib enlargement were reviewed for hyperinflation, which was compared with the observed degree of rib enlargement. Vibrator chest physiotherapy was performed in all cases, and five infants underwent conventional ventilation plus high frequency oscillatory ventilation therapy. Their calcium level was normal whereas alkaline phosphatase and phosphate levels were high. In all infants except one, liver enzyme levels were normal. For the treatment of patent ductus arteriosus, infection, and BPD, medications including indomethacin, antibiotics, and dexamethasone were administered. Vitamin D was given to all patients with total parenteral nutrition. Rib enlargement was found to be severe (n=3D4), moderate (n=3D3), or mild (n=3D2) with undulating margins or posterior tapering (n=3D2). Hyperinflation was noted in eight patients, in seven of whom it was moderate to severe. Among these seven, rib enlargement was severe (n=3D2), moderate (n=3D3), or mild (n=3D2). In one infant with mild hyperinflation, rib enlargement was severe. Bilateral irregular infiltrates and atelectases were noted in all patients. In BPD patients, rib enlargement may be seen. In order to differentiate this process from systemic bone disease or bony dysplasia, an awareness of the rib changes occurring in patients with BPD may be important. (author)

Rib enlargement in premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Hye Kyung; Han, Kim Bokyung; Chang, Yun Sil; Choo, In Wook; Kim, Kyeong Ah

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study is to describe the rib changes seen in patients with brochopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Serial chest radiographs of nine premature infants with BPD who showed diffuse rib enlargement were reviewed for hyperinflation, which was compared with the observed degree of rib enlargement. Vibrator chest physiotherapy was performed in all cases, and five infants underwent conventional ventilation plus high frequency oscillatory ventilation therapy. Their calcium level was normal whereas alkaline phosphatase and phosphate levels were high. In all infants except one, liver enzyme levels were normal. For the treatment of patent ductus arteriosus, infection, and BPD, medications including indomethacin, antibiotics, and dexamethasone were administered. Vitamin D was given to all patients with total parenteral nutrition. Rib enlargement was found to be severe (n=3D4), moderate (n=3D3), or mild (n=3D2) with undulating margins or posterior tapering (n=3D2). Hyperinflation was noted in eight patients, in seven of whom it was moderate to severe. Among these seven, rib enlargement was severe (n=3D2), moderate (n=3D3), or mild (n=3D2). In one infant with mild hyperinflation, rib enlargement was severe. Bilateral irregular infiltrates and atelectases were noted in all patients. In BPD patients, rib enlargement may be seen. In order to differentiate this process from systemic bone disease or bony dysplasia, an awareness of the rib changes occurring in patients with BPD may be important. (author)

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for rapid diagnosis of postoperative endophthalmitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mailhac, Adriane; Durand, Harmonie; Boisset, Sandrine; Maubon, Danièle; Berger, Francois; Maurin, Max; Chiquet, Christophe; Bidart, Marie

2017-01-30

This study describes an innovative strategy for rapid detection and identification of bacteria causing endophthalmitis, combining the use of an automated blood culture system with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry methodology. Using this protocol, we could identify 96% of 45 bacterial strains isolated from vitreous samples collected in acute post-operative endophthalmitis patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Advantages of utilizing DMD based rapid manufacturing systems in mass customization applications

Science.gov (United States)

El-Siblani, A.

2010-02-01

The Use of DMD based Rapid Manufacturing Systems has proven to be very advantageous in the production of highly accurate plastic based components for use in mass customization market such as hearing aids, and dental markets. The voxelization process currently afforded with the DLP technology eliminates any layering effect associated with all existing additive Rapid Manufacturing technologies. The smooth accurate surfaces produced in an additive process utilizing DLP technology, through the voxelization approach, allow for the production of custom finished products. The implementation of DLP technology in rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing systems allow for the usage of highly viscous photopolymer based liquid and paste composites for rapid manufacturing that could not be used in any other additive process prior to implementation of DLP technology in RP and RM systems. It also allowed for the greater throughput in production without sacrificing quality and accuracy.

Enlarged Adenoids (For Parents)

Science.gov (United States)

... frequent "sinus" symptoms ongoing middle ear infections or middle ear fluid in a school-aged child If enlarged adenoids are suspected, the doctor may ... apnea repeated infections frequent sinus infections ear infections, ... your child's adenoids removed is especially important if repeated infections ...

Rapid screening of pharmaceutical drugs using thermal desorption – SALDI mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grechnikov, A A; Kubasov, A E; Borodkov, A S; Georgieva, V B; Nikiforov, S M; Simanovsky, Ya O; Alimpiev, S S

2012-01-01

A novel approach to the rapid screening of pharmaceutical drugs by surface assisted laser desorption-ionization (SALDI) mass spectrometry with the rotating ball interface coupled with temperature programmed thermal desorption has been developed. Analytes were thermally desorbed and deposited onto the surface of amorphous silicon substrate attached to the rotating ball. The ball was rotated and the deposited analytes were analyzed using SALDI. The effectiveness of coupling SALDI mass spectrometry with thermal desorption was evaluated by the direct and rapid analysis of tablets containing lidocaine, diphenhydramine and propranolol without any sample pretreatment. The overall duration of the screening procedure was 30÷40 sec. Real urine samples were studied for drug analysis. It is shown that with simple preparation steps, urine samples can be quantitatively analyzed using the proposed technique with the detection limits in the range of 0.2÷0.5 ng/ml.

The performance of a centrifugal fan with enlarged impeller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Chunxi; Song Lingwang; Jia Yakui

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The influence of impeller enlargement is evaluated numerically and experimentally. → Variation equations of the operation points for enlarged impellers are derived. → Impeller enlargement leads to louder fan noise due to reduced impeller-volute gap. - Abstract: The influence of enlarged impeller in unchanged volute on G4-73 type centrifugal fan performance is investigated in this paper. Comparisons are conducted between the fan with original impeller and two larger impellers with the increments in impeller outlet diameter of 5% and 10% respectively in the numerical and experimental investigations. The internal characteristics are obtained by the numerical simulation, which indicate there is more volute loss in the fan with larger impeller. Experiment results show that the flow rate, total pressure rise, shaft power and sound pressure level have increased, while the efficiency have decreased when the fan operates with larger impeller. Variation equations on the performance of the operation points for the fan with enlarged impellers are suggested. Comparisons between experiment results and the trimming laws show that the trimming laws for usual situation can predict the performance of the enlarged fan impeller with less error for higher flow rate, although the situation of application is not in agreement. The noise frequency analysis shows that higher noise level with the larger impeller fan is caused by the reduced impeller-volute gap.

The performance of a centrifugal fan with enlarged impeller

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Chunxi, E-mail: leechunxi@163.com [School of Energy and Power Engineering, North China Electric Power University, 071003 Baoding, Hebei (China); Song Lingwang [School of Energy and Power Engineering, North China Electric Power University, 071003 Baoding, Hebei (China); Jia Yakui [Hebei Electric Power Design and Research Institute, 050031 Shijiazhuang, Hebei (China)

2011-08-15

Highlights: {yields} The influence of impeller enlargement is evaluated numerically and experimentally. {yields} Variation equations of the operation points for enlarged impellers are derived. {yields} Impeller enlargement leads to louder fan noise due to reduced impeller-volute gap. - Abstract: The influence of enlarged impeller in unchanged volute on G4-73 type centrifugal fan performance is investigated in this paper. Comparisons are conducted between the fan with original impeller and two larger impellers with the increments in impeller outlet diameter of 5% and 10% respectively in the numerical and experimental investigations. The internal characteristics are obtained by the numerical simulation, which indicate there is more volute loss in the fan with larger impeller. Experiment results show that the flow rate, total pressure rise, shaft power and sound pressure level have increased, while the efficiency have decreased when the fan operates with larger impeller. Variation equations on the performance of the operation points for the fan with enlarged impellers are suggested. Comparisons between experiment results and the trimming laws show that the trimming laws for usual situation can predict the performance of the enlarged fan impeller with less error for higher flow rate, although the situation of application is not in agreement. The noise frequency analysis shows that higher noise level with the larger impeller fan is caused by the reduced impeller-volute gap.

Use of Macrolane VRF 30 in emicircumferential penis enlargement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sito, Giuseppe; Marlino, Sergio; Santorelli, Adriano

2013-02-01

Penis enlargement is increasingly in demand. Methods for penis enlargement can be classified into surgical, nonsurgical (filling), and mechanical. Each method has shown only relatively successful results. A new formulation of injectable, stabilized, hyaluronic acid (HA)-based, nonanimal gel is available that may have applications for this use. The authors propose a new technique for emicircumferential-injection filling of the penis and assess the safety and efficacy of this procedure compared with lipofilling. The authors retrospectively reviewed the charts of 83 patients who underwent penis enlargement with either their HA-injection technique or lipofilling between December 2007 and July 2011. Safety, efficacy, and patient satisfaction were assessed. The circumferential enlargement obtained from both techniques ranged from 3.2 to 4.5 cm, with a decrement during erection. In all patients, the increase in penis length ranged from 1.8 to 3.6 cm. No complications were seen in patients treated with HA, whereas 8 patients treated with lipofilling developed granuloma, and another experienced fat necrosis. The vast majority (n = 72) of patients reported being "very satisfied" with the results. The ideal technique for penis enlargement should be nonsurgical, with a satisfactory and predictable result, a low rate of complications, and long-term stability. Emicircumferential enlargement with HA filler meets these requirements. However, results have been durable but not definitive, and repeated treatment (with associated costs) is necessary.

Normalization of Bilateral Adrenal Gland Enlargement after Treatment for Cryptococcosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuka Muraoka

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Cryptococcosis usually occurs in immunocompromised patients and can cause enlargement of the adrenal glands, although the morphologic changes after treatment have not been reported in detail. We report the case of 24-year-old man with fevers, headaches, and impaired consciousness who had been treated with glucocorticoids for a protein-losing gastroenteropathy. The cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed cryptococcal meningitis. Computed tomography showed bilateral adrenal enlargement. A retrospective analysis revealed that the enlargement had been detected 5 months before admission and gradually increased. The enlargement was improved with antifungal therapy and normalized 6 months later. This is the first report describing morphological changes in the adrenal glands associated with cryptococcal meningitis. Adrenal enlargement by cryptococcosis can be improved without any abnormal findings, including calcifications, which may be a unique characteristic from other diseases, including tuberculosis.

Rapid localization of carbon 14-labeled molecules in biological samples by ion mass microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hindie, E.; Escaig, F.; Coulomb, B.; Lebreton, C.; Galle, P.

1989-01-01

We report here on the ability of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to provide rapid imaging of the intracellular distribution of 14 C-labeled molecules. The validity of this method, using mass discrimination of carbon 14 atoms, was assessed by imaging the distribution of two molecules of well-known metabolism, [ 14 C]-thymidine and [ 14 C]-uridine, incorporated by human fibroblasts in culture. As expected, 14 C ion images showed the presence of [ 14 C]-thymidine in the nucleus of dividing cells, whereas [ 14 C]-uridine was present in the cytoplasm as well as the nucleus of all cells, with a large concentration in the nucleoli. The time required to obtain the distribution images with the SMI 300 microscope was less than 6 min, whereas microautoradiography, the classical method for mapping the tissue distribution of 14 C-labeled molecules, usually requires exposure times of several months. Secondary ion mass spectrometry using in situ mass discrimination is proposed here as a very sensitive method which permits rapid imaging of the subcellular distribution of molecules labeled with carbon 14

Ubx regulates differential enlargement and diversification of insect hind legs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Najmus Mahfooz

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Differential enlargement of hind (T3 legs represents one of the hallmarks of insect evolution. However, the actual mechanism(s responsible are yet to be determined. To address this issue, we have now studied the molecular basis of T3 leg enlargement in Oncopeltus fasciatus (milkweed bug and Acheta domesticus (house cricket. In Oncopeltus, the T3 tibia displays a moderate increase in size, whereas in Acheta, the T3 femur, tibia, and tarsus are all greatly enlarged. Here, we show that the hox gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx is expressed in the enlarged segments of hind legs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that depletion of Ubx during embryogenesis has a primary effect in T3 legs and causes shortening of leg segments that are enlarged in a wild type. This result shows that Ubx is regulating the differential growth and enlargement of T3 legs in both Oncopeltus and Acheta. The emerging view suggests that Ubx was co-opted for a novel role in regulating leg growth and that the transcriptional modification of its expression may be a universal mechanism for the evolutionary diversification of insect hind legs.

Modeling rapidly disseminating infectious disease during mass gatherings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chowell Gerardo

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract We discuss models for rapidly disseminating infectious diseases during mass gatherings (MGs, using influenza as a case study. Recent innovations in modeling and forecasting influenza transmission dynamics at local, regional, and global scales have made influenza a particularly attractive model scenario for MG. We discuss the behavioral, medical, and population factors for modeling MG disease transmission, review existing model formulations, and highlight key data and modeling gaps related to modeling MG disease transmission. We argue that the proposed improvements will help integrate infectious-disease models in MG health contingency plans in the near future, echoing modeling efforts that have helped shape influenza pandemic preparedness plans in recent years.

Prevalence of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes in heavy smokers - a comparative study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirchner, Johannes; Lorenz, Vivian-Wilma [Allgemeines Krankenhaus Hagen, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hagen (Germany); Kirchner, Esther Maria [Staedtisches Klinikum Wedau, Clinic for Medicine, Duisburg (Germany); Goltz, Jan Peter; Kickuth, Ralph [University Hospital of Wuerzburg, Department of Radiology, Wuerzburg (Germany)

2011-08-15

To evaluate the frequency of enlarged hilar or mediastinal lymph nodes in heavy smokers (more than 10 pack years) compared with non- smokers. In a prospective study the CT findings of 88 consecutive patients (44 heavy smokers, 44 non- smokers) were analysed. Exclusion criteria were history of thoracic malignancy, sarcoidosis, occupational dust exposure or clinical evidence of pneumonia. Prevalence, size and site of enlarged lymph nodes were assessed by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and correlated with the cigarette consumption and the CT- findings of bronchitis and emphysema. Twenty-three of the 44 heavy smokers (52%) showed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. Non- smokers showed enlarged lymph nodes in 9% (4/44). The most common site of enlarged lymph nodes was the regional station 7 according to the ATS mapping (subcarinal). The difference between the frequency of enlarged lymph nodes in heavy smokers and non- smokers was significant (chi- square 19.3, p < 0.0001). Airway wall thickening and emphysema were often associated with an increased number of enlarged nodes. The present study demonstrates that enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes may occur in a rather high percentage of heavy smokers, especially in those with a MDCT finding of severe bronchitis. (orig.)

Prevalence of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes in heavy smokers - a comparative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirchner, Johannes; Lorenz, Vivian-Wilma; Kirchner, Esther Maria; Goltz, Jan Peter; Kickuth, Ralph

2011-01-01

To evaluate the frequency of enlarged hilar or mediastinal lymph nodes in heavy smokers (more than 10 pack years) compared with non- smokers. In a prospective study the CT findings of 88 consecutive patients (44 heavy smokers, 44 non- smokers) were analysed. Exclusion criteria were history of thoracic malignancy, sarcoidosis, occupational dust exposure or clinical evidence of pneumonia. Prevalence, size and site of enlarged lymph nodes were assessed by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and correlated with the cigarette consumption and the CT- findings of bronchitis and emphysema. Twenty-three of the 44 heavy smokers (52%) showed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. Non- smokers showed enlarged lymph nodes in 9% (4/44). The most common site of enlarged lymph nodes was the regional station 7 according to the ATS mapping (subcarinal). The difference between the frequency of enlarged lymph nodes in heavy smokers and non- smokers was significant (chi- square 19.3, p < 0.0001). Airway wall thickening and emphysema were often associated with an increased number of enlarged nodes. The present study demonstrates that enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes may occur in a rather high percentage of heavy smokers, especially in those with a MDCT finding of severe bronchitis. (orig.)

Efficient stereological approaches for the volumetry of a normal or enlarged spleen from MDCT images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazonakis, Michalis; Stratakis, John; Damilakis, John [University of Crete, Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, P.O. Box 2208, Iraklion, Crete (Greece)

2015-06-01

To introduce efficient stereological approaches for estimating the volume of a normal or enlarged spleen from MDCT. All study participants underwent an abdominal MDCT. The first group included 20 consecutive patients with splenomegaly and the second group consisted of 20 subjects with a normal spleen. Splenic volume estimations were performed using the stereological point counting method. Stereological assessments were optimized using the systematic slice sampling procedure. Planimetric measurements based on manual tracing of splenic boundaries on each slice were taken as reference values. Stereological analysis using five to eight systematically sampled slices provided enlarged splenic volume estimations with a mean precision of 4.9 ± 1.0 % in a mean time of 2.3 ± 0.4 min. A similar measurement duration and error was observed for normal splenic volume assessment using four to seven systematically selected slices. These stereological approaches slightly but insignificantly overestimated the volume of a normal and enlarged spleen compared to planimetry (P > 0.05) with a mean difference of -1.3 ± 4.3 % and -2.7 ± 5.2 %, respectively. The two methods were highly correlated (r ≥ 0.96). The variability of repeated stereological estimations was below 3.8 %. The proposed stereological approaches enable the rapid, reproducible, and accurate splenic volume estimation from MDCT data in patients with or without splenomegaly. (orig.)

Bacterial rapid identification with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: development of an 'in-house method' and comparison with Bruker Sepsityper(®) kit.

Science.gov (United States)

Frédéric Ric, S; Antoine, M; Bodson, A; Lissoir, B

2015-10-01

The objective of this study was to compare an in-house matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization with time of flight (MALDI-TOF) method and a commercial MALDI-TOF kit (Sepsityper(®) kit) for direct bacterial identification in positive blood cultures. We also evaluated the time saved and the cost associated with the rapid identification techniques. We used the BACTEC(®) automated system for detecting positive blood cultures. Direct identification using Sepsityper kit and the in-house method were compared with conventional identification by MALDI-TOF using pure bacterial culture on the solid phase. We also evaluated different cut-off scores for rapid bacterial identification. In total, 127 positive blood vials were selected. The rate of rapid identification with the MALDI Sepsityper kit was 25.2% with the standard cut-off and 33.9% with the enlarged cut-off, while the results for the in-house method were 44.1 and 61.4%, respectively. Error rates with the enlarged cut-off were 6.98 (n = 3) and 2.56% (n = 2) for Sepsityper and the in-house method, respectively. Identification rates were higher for gram-negative bacteria. Direct bacterial identification succeeded in supplying rapid identification of the causative organism in cases of sepsis. The time taken to obtain a result was nearly 24  hours shorter for the direct bacterial identification methods than for conventional MALDI-TOF on solid phase culture. Compared with the Sepsityper kit, the in-house method offered better results and fewer errors, was more cost-effective and easier to use.

Doorkeepers and Gatecrashers: EU Enlargement and Negotiation Strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brücker, Herbert; Schröder, Philipp; Weise, Christian

2004-01-01

This paper discusses the eastward enlargement process of the EU in the framework of a simple war of attrition bargaining game. Both players -- the existing EU members and the applicants -- benefit from enlargement, yet for the applicants, reform to the acquis is costly, while the EU prefers subst...... the benefits for new members are all effective negotiation strategies for the EU that have been applied in the process....

Differential Rapid Screening of Phytochemicals by Leaf Spray Mass Spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, Thomas; Graham Cooks, R.

2014-01-01

Ambient ionization can be achieved by generating an electrospray directly from plant tissue ('leaf spray'). The resulting mass spectra are characteristic of ionizable phytochemicals in the plant material. By subtracting the leaf spray spectra recorded from the petals of two hibiscus species H. moscheutos and H. syriacus one gains rapid access to the metabolites that differ most in the two petals. One such compound was identified as the sambubioside of quercitin (or delphinidin) while others are known flavones. Major interest centered on a C 19 H 29 NO 5 compound that occurs only in the large H. moscheutos bloom. Attempts were made to characterize this compound by mass spectrometry alone as a test of such an approach. This showed that the compound is an alkaloid, assigned to the polyhydroxylated pyrrolidine class, and bound via a C 3 hydrocarbon unit to a monoterpene

Surgical management of generalized gingival enlargement - a case series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhtar, M.U.; Nazir, A.; Montmorency College of Dentistry, Lahore; Kiran, S.; Montmorency College of Dentistry, Lahore

2014-01-01

Generalized gingival enlargement is characterized by massive and exuberant gingival overgrowth that poses social, aesthetic, phonetic and functional problems for the patient. Therefore, it requires meticulous management. Objective: To describe the surgical management of generalized gingival enlargement by electrosurgical excision of patients presenting to a tertiary care centre. Study Design: Case series. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, de'Montmorency College of Dentistry, Lahore, from January 2010 to December 2012. A total of sixteen patients were operated by using electrosurgical approach under general anaesthesia for surgical excision of generalized gingival enlargement. Results: All of the sixteen patients, 11 males and 5 females, showed excellent healing postoperatively without any recurrent gingival overgrowth. Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, the current study presents the largest case series of generalized gingival enlargement. Most of these cases were with massive disease due to lack of information of the study population about their disease, delay in referral by the general dental practitioners, painless and innocent nature of the problem. Early referral of such patients to tertiary care centers can prevent the patients from social and psychological embarrassment. Conclusion: Electrosurgical excision is an excellent surgical technique for management of generalized gingival enlargement. Moreover, cross comparative studies are required to establish some diagnostic and therapeutic standards for such patients. (author)

A mass spectrometer for the rapid analysis of gaseous mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cassignol, C.; Ortel, Y.; Taieb, J.

1950-01-01

A mass spectrometer for leak detection and rapid gas analysis were constructed, having the characteristics and several structural features of a simple instrument described by Siry in Rev. Sri. Instruments. 540 (1947). Although exhibiting a good resolving power, the apparatus, which has no ion lenses and whose electrodes can be regulated during the performance, has not been sufficiently tested. Since several design defects have been discovered, it will probably be rebuilt with various improvements (ion source outside the magnetic field, modified circuits, etc.). (author)

Experimental investigation of impingement cooling with turbulators or surface enlarging elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Persson, Johan

2000-02-01

For the materials in modern gas turbines to sustain, a considerable amount of cooling is required. In cases where large amounts of heat need to be removed, impingement cooling with its high heat transfer coefficients may be the only alternative. In this work the possibilities of enhancing impingement cooling by introducing surface enlarging - turbulence enhancing elements are examined experimentally. A configuration consisting of a staggered array of 45 impingement jets distributed over 10 rows is used for the purpose. A thermo camera is used to measure the temperature distribution on the target plate, giving an opportunity to separately evaluate the Nusselt number enhancement for different areas. Experiments are conducted for five different area enlarging geometries: triangle, wing, cylinder, dashed rib, and angel, all made from aluminium. Comparison between each area enlarged surface and a flat plate is made, with results presented as Nusselt number enhancement factors. The effect of pumping power required is also investigated in order to maximize the cooling efficiency. Parameters varied are Reynolds number and jet to plate distance. Overall Nusselt number enhancement factors show values of 1 to 1.3, the trend being decreasing with increased jet to plane distance and Reynolds number. When taking into account pumping power the enhancement factors drop to 0.4 to 1.2. The best results are achieved with the rib geometry and when not using a too large value of enlarger height over jet to plate distance (h/z). Row wise evaluation of Nusselt number enhancement shows an increased enhancement with row number and thereby crossflow ratio (Gc/Gj). Typical increases in enhancement of 1 to 1.5 with Gc/Gj from 0 to 0.8 are found. The thermo camera pictures reveal that the enhancement is found in three different areas, on the enlarger base area, the area just downstream the enlarger and in diagonal streaks with increased turbulence caused by the enlargers. Tests using an

Multi drug resistant tuberculosis presenting as anterior mediastinal mass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parmarth Chandane

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Enlargement of the mediastinal lymphatic glands is a common presentation of intrathoracic tuberculosis (TB in children. However, usually, the mediastinal TB nodes enlarge to 2.8 ± 1.0 cm. In this report, we describe a case of anterior mediastinal lymphnode TB seen as huge mass (7 cm on computed tomography (CT thorax without respiratory or food pipe compromise despite anterior mediastinum being an enclosed space. CT guided biopsy of the mass cultured Mycobacterium TB complex which was resistant to isoniazide, rifampicin, streptomycin ofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and pyrazinamide. Hence, we report primary multi drug resistant TB presenting as anterior mediastinal mass as a rare case report.

Analysis of the number of enlarged pores according to site, age, and sex.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, H J; Ahn, J Y; Lee, J I; Bae, J Y; Kim, H L; Suh, H Y; Youn, J I; Park, M Y

2018-02-02

Increasing the number of enlarged pores causes cosmetic problems. The difference in the number of enlarged pores according to facial site, age, and sex is unclear. To analyze the distribution of the number of enlarged pores according to facial site, age, and sex. We analyzed the number of the enlarged pores and the percentage of wrinkles in the nose, forehead, and cheek from 434 polarized images. The measurement results were analyzed according to site, age, and sex. Relationship between enlarged pore counts and wrinkle severity was also analyzed. The study was conducted by using DermaVision,™ which can take cross-polarization, parallel polarization, and ultraviolet light images. The enlarged pores of the nose and forehead were more prominent than in the cheeks. Pore counts were increased with age, and the increment was significant between the 30's and 40's. There was no significant difference by gender. Enlarged pore counts were related to wrinkle severity. The number of enlarged pores differs depending on body site and increased with age. The enlarged pore counts correlate with wrinkle severity and the correlation varies depending on the body site. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Rapid Analysis of Corni fructus Using Paper Spray-Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yuan; Gu, Zhixin; Liu, Xuemei; Liu, Jingjing; Ma, Ming; Chen, Bo; Wang, Liping

2017-07-01

Paper spray-mass spectrometry (PS-MS) is a kind of ambient MS technique for the rapid analysis of samples. Corni fructus has been widely used in traditional Chinese compound preparations and healthy food. However, a number of counterfeits of Corni fructus, such as Crataegi fructus, Lycii fructus, and grape skin are illegally sold in crude herb markets. Therefore, the development of a rapid and high-throughput quality evaluation method is important for ensuring the effectiveness and safety of the crude materials of Corni fructus. To develop PS-MS chemical profiles and a semi-quantitative method of Corni fructus for quality assessment and control, and species distinction of Corni fructus. Both positive and negative ion PS-MS chemical profiles were constructed for species distinction. The statistical analysis of the chemical profiles was accomplished by principal component analysis (PCA). Rapid semi-quantitative analysis of loganin and morroniside in the extracts of Corni fructus were accomplished by PS-MS. The profiles of the Corni fructus and Crataegi fructus samples were clearly clustered into two categories. The limit of quantification (LOQ) in the semi-quantitative analysis was 6 μg/mL and 5.6 μg/mL for loganin and morroniside, respectively. PS-MS is a simple, rapid, and high-throughput method for the quality control and species distinction of Corni fructus. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ultrasonography of hydronephrosis and renal masses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kyung Weon; Kim, Chong Gun; Kim, Yeon Jin; Rhee, Byung Chull

1984-01-01

We have analyzed ultrasonographic findings of 55 cases of hydronephrosis and 34 cases of renal masses. The results are as follows: 1. 55 cases of hydronephrosis revealed renal enlargement in 55 cases, separation of central echo complex in 27 cases, multiple anechoic areas radiating from the center in 25 cases and dilated renal pelvis in 24 cases. 2. Among the masses in 34 cases, simple renal cyst were 15 cases, polycystic kidney in 8 cases, hypernephroma in 8 cases, Wilm's tumor in 2 cases and agiomyolipoma in 1 case. 3. Simple renal cyst revealed single in 14 cases (93%) and well defined anechoic mass with posterior enhancement in all cases. 4. Polycystic kidney revealed bilateral irregular shaped renal enlargement and multiple anechoic cysts throughout the kidney. 2 cases (25%) involved liver. 5. 6 cases (75%) of hypernephroma revealed ill defined moderately echogenic mass without posterior enhancement. 6. All cases of Wilm's tumor revealed well defined large mixed echogenic mass in right kidney. 7. Angiomyolipoma revealed bilateral dense echogenic mass with large hemorrhage cyst in right kidney. 8. The ultrasonography is useful noninvasive diagnostic modality of evaluation of renal masses and hydronephrosis.

Differential Rapid Screening of Phytochemicals by Leaf Spray Mass Spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, Thomas; Graham Cooks, R. [Univ. of Innsbruck, Innsbruck (Austria)

2014-03-15

Ambient ionization can be achieved by generating an electrospray directly from plant tissue ('leaf spray'). The resulting mass spectra are characteristic of ionizable phytochemicals in the plant material. By subtracting the leaf spray spectra recorded from the petals of two hibiscus species H. moscheutos and H. syriacus one gains rapid access to the metabolites that differ most in the two petals. One such compound was identified as the sambubioside of quercitin (or delphinidin) while others are known flavones. Major interest centered on a C{sub 19}H{sub 29}NO{sub 5} compound that occurs only in the large H. moscheutos bloom. Attempts were made to characterize this compound by mass spectrometry alone as a test of such an approach. This showed that the compound is an alkaloid, assigned to the polyhydroxylated pyrrolidine class, and bound via a C{sub 3} hydrocarbon unit to a monoterpene.

Aortic Annular Enlargement during Aortic Valve Replacement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selman Dumani

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In the surgery of aortic valve replacement is always attempted, as much as possible, to implant the larger prosthesis with the mains goals to enhance the potential benefits, to minimise transvalvular gradient, decrease left ventricular size and avoid the phenomenon of patient-prosthesis mismatch. Implantation of an ideal prosthesis often it is not possible, due to a small aortic annulus. A variety of aortic annulus enlargement techniques is reported to avoid patient-prosthesis mismatch. We present the case that has submitted four three times open heart surgery. We used Manouguian technique to enlarge aortic anulus with excellent results during the fourth time of surgery.

Reversible enlargement of the hypophysis in clinically latent hypothyroidism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuemichen, C.

1982-12-01

A case is reported, in which the combination of high TT/sub 3/- and FT/sub 4/ plasma levels, increased TSH basal secretion and enlargement of the pituitary gland did not reflect secondary hyperthyroidism, but was cuased by clinically latent hypothyroidism, probably due to thyroid hormone antibodies. High doses of thyroid hormones lowered the TSH and prolactin basal secretion, and reduced the enlargement of the pituitary gland.

Reversible enlargement of the hypophysis in clinically latent hypothyroidism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuemichen, C.

1982-01-01

A case is reported, in which the combination of high TT 3 - and FT 4 plasma levels, increased TSH basal secretion and enlargement of the pituitary gland did not reflect secondary hyperthyroidism, but was cuased by clinically latent hypothyroidism, probably due to thyroid hormone antibodies. High doses of thyroid hormones lowered the TSH and prolactin basal secretion, and reduced the enlargement of the pituitary gland. (orig.) [de

The EU and ‘Enlargement Fatigue’: Why Has the European Union Not Been Able to Counter ‘Enlargement Fatigue’?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Szolucha

2010-05-01

Full Text Available This article provides an up-to-date overview of the problems connected with European integration. It focuses on the phenomenon of ‘enlargement fatigue’ and examines its meaning as utilised by the media, EU officials and academics. The article argues that ‘enlargement fatigue’ is not a new concept since the EU has witnessed many 'symptoms' of fatigue at multiple times in its history. The two main arguments that are often presented in order to explain why the EU has not been able to counter ‘enlargement fatigue’, namely the insufficiently tight conditionality applied to prospective members and the EU's crisis of confidence and accountability after the failed attempt to introduce the Constitutional Treaty and prolonged Lisbon Treaty ratification process, are insufficient to explain why fatigue has been so persistent a phenomenon. This article argues that the EU's failure to develop a new vision of the organisation and adjust its structural design accordingly is a reason why the Union has not dealt successfully with fatigue. Such a vision would encompass notions of “variable geometry”, “avant-garde groups” and make European borders flexible and fuzzy.

Nato enlarging into the Baltic States

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2003-01-01

Prahas 21.-22. novembrini 2002 toimunud NATO tippkohtumisest ja seal vastu võetud otsusest Balti riikide alliansiga ühinemise kohta. Vt. samas: Russia's attitude to the NATO enlargement; Bush in Vilnius; Baltic states' prime ministers' met; Supporting USA?

Enlarged perivascular spaces and cognitive impairment after stroke and transient ischemic attack.

Science.gov (United States)

Arba, Francesco; Quinn, Terence J; Hankey, Graeme J; Lees, Kennedy R; Wardlaw, Joanna M; Ali, Myzoon; Inzitari, Domenico

2018-01-01

Background Previous studies suggested that enlarged perivascular spaces are neuroimaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease. However, it is not clear whether enlarged perivascular spaces are associated with cognitive impairment. We aimed to determine the cross-sectional relationship between enlarged perivascular spaces and small vessel disease, and to investigate the relationship between enlarged perivascular spaces and subsequent cognitive impairment in patients with recent cerebral ischemic event. Methods Anonymized data were accessed from the virtual international stroke trial archive. We rated number of lacunes, white matter hyperintensities, brain atrophy, and enlarged perivascular spaces with validated scales on magnetic resonance brain images after the index stroke. We defined cognitive impairment as a mini mental state examination score of ≤26, recorded at one year post stroke. We examined the associations between enlarged perivascular spaces and clinical and imaging markers of small vessel disease at presentation and clinical evidence of cognitive impairment at one year using linear and logistic regression models. Results We analyzed data on 430 patients with mean (±SD) age 64.7 (±12.7) years, 276 (64%) males. In linear regression analysis, age (β = 0.24; p cognitive impairment at one year after adjusting for clinical confounders (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.22-2.42) and for clinical and imaging confounders (OR = 1.54; 95% CI = 1.03-2.31). Conclusions Our data show that in patients with ischemic cerebral events, enlarged perivascular spaces are cross-sectionally associated with age, hypertension, and white matter hyperintensities and suggest that enlarged perivascular spaces in the basal ganglia are associated with cognitive impairment after one year.

Mitral-aortic annular enlargement: modification of Manouguian's technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Costa Mario Gesteira

2002-01-01

Full Text Available We hereby present a technical modification for mitral-aortic annular enlargement. The mitral valve is replaced through the retro-septal approach, avoiding patches for left atrial roof closure. We report a mitral-aortic valve replacement in a patient whose original annuli would preclude adequate prostheses. The simultaneous annular enlargement may be necessary for avoiding patient-prosthesis mismatch and for reconstructing destroyed mitral and aortic annuli. The technique may minimize the risk of bleeding and of paravalvular leakage, using an approach well known to cardiac surgeons.

Rapid detection of undesired cosmetic ingredients by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouyang, Jie; An, Dongli; Chen, Tengteng; Lin, Zhiwei

2017-10-01

In recent years, cosmetic industry profits soared due to the widespread use of cosmetics, which resulted in illicit manufacturers and products of poor quality. Therefore, the rapid and accurate detection of the composition of cosmetics has become crucial. At present, numerous methods, such as gas chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, were available for the analysis of cosmetic ingredients. However, these methods present several limitations, such as failure to perform comprehensive and rapid analysis of the samples. Compared with other techniques, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry offered the advantages of wide detection range, fast speed and high accuracy. In this article, we briefly summarized how to select a suitable matrix and adjust the appropriate laser energy. We also discussed the rapid identification of undesired ingredients, focusing on antibiotics and hormones in cosmetics.

Strategy to avoid patient-prosthesis mismatch: aortic root enlargement.

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Dharmendra Kumar; Sanki, Prokash; Bhattacharya, Subhankar; Siddique, Javed Veqar

2014-02-01

The choice of a valve with an effective orifice area matching the body surface area and providing efficient hemodynamics is an important factor affecting mortality and morbidity in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement. Our preventative strategy was to implant a larger prosthetic valve by aortic root enlargement using the Nunez procedure in 17 patients between February 2010 and January 2011. The decision to enlarge the aortic root was taken when the 19-mm sizer could not be negotiated easily through the aortic root, or on the basis of body surface area of the patient or type of prosthesis available. Postoperative reductions in peak and mean pressure gradients across aortic valve of 12.8-16.5 and 10.2-12.6 mm Hg, respectively, were observed. Postoperative effective orifice areas of the aortic valves were 1.1-1.5 cm(2). By upsizing the aortic valve, we were able to eliminate patient-prosthesis mismatch in 5 patients, and reduce severe patient-prosthesis mismatch to moderate in 11. Aortic root enlargement is a safe procedure. Therefore, cardiac surgeons should not be reluctant to enlarge the aortic root with an autologous pericardial patch to permit implantation of an adequate size of aortic valve prosthesis, with minimal additional aortic crossclamp time and no added cost.

Ventricular enlargement in patients with affective disorders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murashita, Jun; Kato, Tadafumi; Shioiri, Toshiki; Hamakawa, Inubushi, Toshiro; Hiroshi; Takahashi, Saburo

1994-01-01

Ventricular enlargement was determined using linear measurement on MR images in a total of 71 patients with affective disorders, including bipolar affective disorder (41) and depression (30). Fourty-one healthy persons served as controls. Evans ratio, Huckman number and minimum distance of caudate nuclei (MDCN) were used as indices for ventricular enlargment. No significant difference in Evans ratio was observed between both the group of bipolar affective disorder and the group of depression and the control group. Nor did it correlate with age in any of the groups. Huckman number was significantly higher in the group of bipolar affective disorder than the other two groups. It positively correlated with age in the group of depression. MDCN was significantly increased in the group of bipolar affective disorder, as compared with the control group; and there was a positive correlation between MDCN and age in both the group of dipolar affective disorder and the group of depression. In conclusion, ventricular enlargement was dependent upon aging in affetive disorder patients. This tendency was more noticeable in the group of depression. In addition, atrophy of the caudate nuclei was likely to be severer in the group of dipolar affective disorder than the group of depression. (N.K.)

Calf enlargement associated with neurologic disease: two uncommon cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Harwood, S C; Honet, J C

1988-01-01

Muscle enlargement and hypertrophy are rare findings in neurogenic lesions. The two in combination have been reported in cases of peripheral nerve lesions, polyneuropathy, and poliomyelitis. True and pseudo muscle hypertrophy are the two possible etiologies, whereas infiltration, stretch, or exercise of the muscle are the causative factors. We report two cases of unilateral calf enlargement, one occurring after surgery for S1 radiculopathy with associated cramping, and the other after poliomyelitis.

Penile Enlargement : From Medication to Surgery

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nugteren, Helena M.; Balkema, G. T.; Pascal, A. L.; Schultz, W. C. M. Weijmar; Nijman, J. M.; Van Driel, M. F.

2010-01-01

Penis lengthening pills, stretch apparatus, vacuum pumps, silicone injections, and lengthening and thickening operations are available for men who worry about their penis size. Surgery is thus far the only proven scientific method for penile enlargement. In this article, we consider patient

Mass Balance Evolution of Black Rapids Glacier, Alaska, 1980–2100, and Its Implications for Surge Recurrence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Kienholz

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Surge-type Black Rapids Glacier, Alaska, has undergone strong retreat since it last surged in 1936–1937. To assess its evolution during the late Twentieth and Twenty-first centuries and determine potential implications for surge likelihood, we run a simplified glacier model over the periods 1980–2015 (hindcasting and 2015–2100 (forecasting. The model is forced by daily temperature and precipitation fields, with downscaled reanalysis data used for the hindcasting. A constant climate scenario and an RCP 8.5 scenario based on the GFDL-CM3 climate model are employed for the forecasting. Debris evolution is accounted for by a debris layer time series derived from satellite imagery (hindcasting and a parametrized debris evolution model (forecasting. A retreat model accounts for the evolution of the glacier geometry. Model calibration, validation and parametrization rely on an extensive set of in situ and remotely sensed observations. To explore uncertainties in our projections, we run the glacier model in a Monte Carlo fashion, varying key model parameters and input data within plausible ranges. Our results for the hindcasting period indicate a negative mass balance trend, caused by atmospheric warming in the summer, precipitation decrease in the winter and surface elevation lowering (climate-elevation feedback, which exceed the moderating effects from increasing debris cover and glacier retreat. Without the 2002 rockslide deposits on Black Rapids' lower reaches, the mass balances would be more negative, by ~20% between the 2003 and 2015 mass-balance years. Despite its retreat, Black Rapids Glacier is substantially out of balance with the current climate. By 2100, ~8% of Black Rapids' 1980 area are projected to vanish under the constant climate scenario and ~73% under the RCP 8.5 scenario. For both scenarios, the remaining glacier portions are out of balance, suggesting continued retreat after 2100. Due to mass starvation, a surge in the Twenty

Rapidly progressive cryptogenic organising pneumonia presenting as a lung mass

Science.gov (United States)

Akram, Saeed; Irfan, Muhammad; Aftab, Kanwal

2009-01-01

A very rare case of a rapidly progressive variant of cryptogenic organising pneumonia (COP) presenting as a focal mass-like lesion with compression of the large airways leading to respiratory failure is described. A 60-year-old lady presented to the Aga Khan University Hospital Emergency Department in hypoxaemic respiratory failure with a 6-day history of dyspnoea, productive cough and fever. Chest x ray showed a right upper lobe mass-like lesion compressing the large airways and right pleural effusion. She deteriorated in the Emergency Department and was intubated due to worsening hypoxaemic respiratory failure. The pleural fluid and bronchoscopic specimens were negative on microbiological and cytological examination. CT-guided right lung biopsy revealed chronic non-specific inflammation without granuloma and malignancy. COP was diagnosed on video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lung biopsy. She was successfully treated with high dose steroids and discharged in a stable condition; her 3-month follow-up chest x rays showed complete resolution of the lung lesion with some residual fibrosis. PMID:21686529

Coral mass spawning predicted by rapid seasonal rise in ocean temperature

KAUST Repository

Keith, Sally A.

2016-05-11

Coral spawning times have been linked to multiple environmental factors; however, to what extent these factors act as generalized cues across multiple species and large spatial scales is unknown. We used a unique dataset of coral spawning from 34 reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to test if month of spawning and peak spawning month in assemblages of Acropora spp. can be predicted by sea surface temperature (SST), photosynthetically available radiation, wind speed, current speed, rainfall or sunset time. Contrary to the classic view that high mean SST initiates coral spawning, we found rapid increases in SST to be the best predictor in both cases (month of spawning: R2 = 0.73, peak: R2 = 0.62). Our findings suggest that a rapid increase in SST provides the dominant proximate cue for coral mass spawning over large geographical scales. We hypothesize that coral spawning is ultimately timed to ensure optimal fertilization success.

Coral mass spawning predicted by rapid seasonal rise in ocean temperature

KAUST Repository

Keith, Sally A.; Maynard, Jeffrey A.; Edwards, Alasdair J.; Guest, James R.; Bauman, Andrew G.; van Hooidonk, Ruben; Heron, Scott F.; Berumen, Michael L.; Bouwmeester, Jessica; Piromvaragorn, Srisakul; Rahbek, Carsten; Baird, Andrew H.

2016-01-01

Coral spawning times have been linked to multiple environmental factors; however, to what extent these factors act as generalized cues across multiple species and large spatial scales is unknown. We used a unique dataset of coral spawning from 34 reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to test if month of spawning and peak spawning month in assemblages of Acropora spp. can be predicted by sea surface temperature (SST), photosynthetically available radiation, wind speed, current speed, rainfall or sunset time. Contrary to the classic view that high mean SST initiates coral spawning, we found rapid increases in SST to be the best predictor in both cases (month of spawning: R2 = 0.73, peak: R2 = 0.62). Our findings suggest that a rapid increase in SST provides the dominant proximate cue for coral mass spawning over large geographical scales. We hypothesize that coral spawning is ultimately timed to ensure optimal fertilization success.

U.S. Decision Making and Post-Cold War NATO Enlargement

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-01

interactions with one another and by external events. Additionally, enlarging NATO entails modifying the North Atlantic Treaty, which, by constitutional ...III discusses NATO’s second enlargement round, which welcomed Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia into the...membership for Romania and Slovenia , it might give the impression that Russian objections carried weight, discouraging the future pursuit of membership and

A case of huge neurofibroma expanding extra- and intracranially through the enlarged jugular foramen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanakita, Junya; Imataka, Kiyoharu; Handa, Hajime

1984-01-01

The surgical approach to the jugular foramen has been considered to be very difficult and troublesome, because of the location in which important structures, such as the internal jugular vein, internal carotid artery and lower cranial nerves, converge in the narrow deep space. A case of huge neurofibroma, which extended from the tentorium cerebelli through the dilated jugular foramen to the level of the vertebral body of C 3 was presented. A 12-year-old girl was admitted with complaints of visual disturbance and palsy of the V-XII cranial nerves of the left side. Plain skull film showed prominent widening of the cranial sutures and enlargement of the sella turcica. Horizontal CT scan with contrast showed symmetrical ventricular dilatation and a heterogeneously enhanced mass, which was situated mainly in the left CP angle. Coronal CT scan with contrast revealed a huge mass and enlarged jugular foramen, through which the tumor extended to the level of the vertebral body of C 3 . Occlusion of the sigmoid sinus and the internal jugular vein of the left side was noticed in the vertebral angiography. Two-stage approach, the first one for removal of the intracranial tumor and the second one for extracranial tumor, was performed for its huge tumor. Several authors have reported excellent surgical approaches for the tumors situated in the jugular foramen. By our approach, modifying Gardner's original one, a wide operative field was obtained to remove the tumor around the jugular foramen with success. Our approach for the jugular foramen was described with illustrations. (author)

The prevalence of incidentally detected adrenal enlargement on CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Y.Z.; Bharwani, N.; Micco, M.; Akker, S.; Rockall, A.G.; Sahdev, A.

2014-01-01

Aim: To assess the prevalence and the department's detection rate of adrenocortical hyperplasia. Materials and methods: All computed tomography (CT) examinations of the adrenal glands between February and April 2011 were reviewed. The study excluded patients with known underlying cancer, abdominal trauma, or endocrine disease. The adrenal gland was deemed enlarged if its body was greater than 10 mm diameter, or a limb greater than 5 mm. Results: There were a total of 564 eligible CT studies during this period. A total of 64 cases of incidental adrenal enlargement were found giving a prevalence of 11.3%. Only nine cases were reported in the contemporaneous CT report. Conclusion: The results of the present study show that incidental adrenal enlargement has a significant prevalence. It is often dismissed during reporting, and awareness needs to be raised in the radiological community. Equally, the clinical and biochemical significance needs to be assessed with endocrine correlation

[Transient enlargement of craniopharyngioma cysts after stereotactic radiotherapy and radiosurgery].

Science.gov (United States)

Mazerkina, N A; Savateev, A N; Gorelyshev, S K; Konovalov, A N; Trunin, Yu Yu; Golanov, A V; Medvedeva, O A; Kalinin, P L; Kutin, M A; Astafieva, L I; Krasnova, T S; Ozerova, V I; Serova, N K; Butenko, E I; Strunina, Yu V

Stereotactic radiotherapy/radiosurgery (RT/ES) is an effective technique for treating craniopharyngiomas (CPs). However, enlargement of the cystic part of the tumor occurs in some cases after irradiation. The enlargement may be transient and not require treatment or be a true relapse requiring treatment. In this study, we performed a retrospective analysis of 79 pediatric patients who underwent stereotactic RT or RS after resection of craniopharyngioma. Five-year relapse-free survival after complex treatment of CP was 86%. In the early period after irradiation, 3.5 months (2.7-9.4) on average, enlargement of the cystic component of the tumor was detected in 10 (12.7%) patients; in 9 (11.4%) of them, the enlargement was transient and did not require treatment; in one case, the patient underwent surgery due to reduced visual acuity. In 8 (10.1%) patients, an increase in the residual tumor (a solid component of the tumor in 2 cases and a cystic component of the tumor in 6 cases) occurred in the long-term period after irradiation - after 26.3 months (16.6-48.9) and did not decrease during follow-up in none of the cases, i.e. continued growth of the tumor was diagnosed. A statistical analysis revealed that differences in the terms of transient enlargement and true continued growth were statistically significant (pcraniopharyngioma cyst in the early period (up to 1 year) after RT/RS is usually transient and does not require surgical treatment (except cases where worsening of neurological symptoms occurs, or occlusive hydrocephalus develops).

NATO Enlargement: Balancing Economic and Military Objectives

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Bostick, Thomas

1997-01-01

The military requirements of NATO Enlargement should be tied to NATO's overall goal of seeking stability in all of Europe such that it does not undermine political and economic success in new member countries...

Rapid typing of Mannheimia haemolytica major genotypes 1 and 2 using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Genotype 2 M. haemolytica predominantly associate over genotype 1 with the lungs of cattle with respiratory disease and ICEs containing antimicrobial resistance genes. Distinct protein masses were detected by MALDI-TOF MS between genotype 1 and 2 strains. MALDI-TOF MS could rapidly differentiate ge...

Direct Analysis in Real-time Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Identification of Traditional Chinese Medicines with Coumarins as Primary Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhiyong; Yang, Yuanyuan; Tao, Hongxun; Liao, Liping; Li, Ye; Zhang, Zijia

2017-05-01

The increasing popularity of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) necessitates rapid and reliable methods for controlling their quality. Direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) represents a novel approach to analysing TCMs. To develop a quick and reliable method of identifying TCMs with coumarins as primary characteristics. DART-MS coupled with ion trap mass spectrometry was employed to rapidly identify TCMs with coumarins as primary characteristics and to explore the ionisation mechanisms of simple coumarins, furocoumarins and pyranocoumarins in detail. With minimal sample pretreatment, mass spectra of Fraxini Cortex, Angelicae Pubescentis Radix, Peucedani Radix and Psoraleae Fructus samples were obtained within seconds. The operating parameters of the DART ion source (e.g. grid electrode voltage and ionisation gas temperature) were carefully investigated to obtain high-quality mass spectra. The mass spectra of samples and DART-MS/MS spectra of marker compounds were used to identify sample materials. Successful authentication was achieved by analysing the same materials of different origins. Some simple coumarins, furocoumarins and pyranocoumarins can be directly detected by DART-MS as marker compounds. Our results demonstrated that DART-MS can provide a rapid and reliable method for the identification of TCMs containing different configurations of coumarins; the method may also be applicable to other plants. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

MRI of enlarged dorsal ganglia, lumbar nerve roots, and cranial nerves in polyradiculoneuropathies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castillo, M.; Mukherji, S.K.

1996-01-01

This paper describes the MRI findings in four patients with a clinical diagnosis of hypertrophic polyradiculoneuropathies. In two examination of the lumbar spine showed enlarged nerve roots and dorsal ganglia, and similar findings were present in the cervical spine in a third. The cisternal portions of the cranial nerves were enlarged in another patient. MRI allows identification of enlarged nerves in hypertrophic polyradiculopathies. (orig.)

Salivary gland enlargement during oesophageal stricture dilatation.

OpenAIRE

Martin, D.

1980-01-01

A case of recurrent salivary gland enlargement occurring during fibreoptic oesophagoscopy and oesophageal stricture dilatation with Eder-Puestow dilators is described. The genesis of this condition is discussed and its transient and usually benign nature emphasized.

Body-enlarging effect of royal jelly in a non-holometabolous insect species, Gryllus bimaculatus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atsushi Miyashita

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Honeybee royal jelly is reported to have body-enlarging effects in holometabolous insects such as the honeybee, fly and silkmoth, but its effect in non-holometabolous insect species has not yet been examined. The present study confirmed the body-enlarging effect in silkmoths fed an artificial diet instead of mulberry leaves used in the previous literature. Administration of honeybee royal jelly to silkmoth from early larval stage increased the size of female pupae and adult moths, but not larvae (at the late larval stage or male pupae. We further examined the body-enlarging effect of royal jelly in a non-holometabolous species, the two-spotted cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, which belongs to the evolutionarily primitive group Polyneoptera. Administration of royal jelly to G. bimaculatus from its early nymph stage enlarged both males and females at the mid-nymph and adult stages. In the cricket, the body parts were uniformly enlarged in both males and females; whereas the enlarged female silkmoths had swollen abdomens. Administration of royal jelly increased the number, but not the size, of eggs loaded in the abdomen of silkmoth females. In addition, fat body cells were enlarged by royal jelly in the silkmoth, but not in the cricket. These findings suggest that the body-enlarging effect of royal jelly is common in non-holometabolous species, G. bimaculatus, but it acts in a different manner than in holometabolous species.

The fifth wave of the European Union enlargement: pro et contra

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Batorshina Irina

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This article analyses the principal complex of economic and political motivations of the states of Central and Eastern Europe and the EU members related to the EU enlargement towards the East. Special attention is paid to the discussion on the reasonableness of the EU enlargement and the positions of certain EU members.

Channel erosion in a rapidly urbanizing region of Tijuana, Mexico: Enlargement downstream of channel hardpoints

Science.gov (United States)

Taniguchi, Kristine; Biggs, Trent; Langendoen, Eddy; Castillo, Carlos; Gudiño, Napoleon; Yuan, Yongping; Liden, Douglas

2016-04-01

Urban-induced erosion in Tijuana, Mexico, has led to excessive sediment deposition in the Tijuana Estuary in the United States. Urban areas in developing countries, in contrast to developed countries, are characterized by much lower proportions of vegetation and impervious surfaces due to limited access to urban services such as road paving and landscaping, and larger proportions of exposed soils. In developing countries, traditional watershed scale variables such as impervious surfaces may not be good predictors of channel enlargement. In this research, we surveyed the stream channel network of an erodible tributary of the Tijuana River Watershed, Los Laureles Canyon, at 125 locations, including repeat surveys from 2008. Structure from Motion (SfM) and 3D photo-reconstruction techniques were used to create digital terrain models of stream reaches upstream and downstream of channel hardpoints. Channels are unstable downstream of hardpoints, with incision up to 2 meters and widening up to 12 meters. Coordinated channelization is essential to avoid piece-meal approaches that lead to channel degradation. Watershed impervious area is not a good predictor of channel erosion due to the overriding importance of hardpoints and likely to the high sediment supply from the unpaved roads which prevents channel erosion throughout the stream network.

Mid-Pleistocene climate transition drives net mass loss from rapidly uplifting St. Elias mountains, Alaska

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gulick, S.P.S.; Jaeger, J.M.; Mix, A.C.; Asahi, H.; Bahlburg, H.; Belanger, C.L.; Berbel, G.B.B.; Childress, L.; Cowan, E.; Drab, L.; Forwick, M.; Fukumura, A.; Ge, S.; Gupta, S.M.; Kioka, A.; Konno, S.; LeVay, L.J.; Marz, C.; Matsuzaki, K.M.; McClymont, E.L.; Moy, C.; Muller, J.; Nakamura, A.; Ojima, T.; Ribeiro, F.R.; Ridgway, K.D.; Romero, O.E.; Slagle, A.L.; Stoner, J.S.; St-Onge, G.; Suto, I.; Walczak, M.D.; Worthington, L.L.; Bailey, I.; Enkelmann, E.; Reece, R.; Swartz, J.M.

the onset of quasi-periodic (~100-ky) glacial cycles in the mid-Pleistocene climate transition (1.2–0.7 Ma). Since then, erosion and transport of material out of the orogen has outpaced tectonic influx by 50–80%. Such a rapid net mass loss explains apparent...

Western Balkan States and the European Union Enlargement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gelina Maliqi (Ramolli

2011-07-01

Full Text Available For half a century, European Union-(EU has pursued ever-deeper integration while taking in new members. It’s marked as an important step in relationship deepening between EU and Western Balkans-(WBs where Albania is part of. In 2003, EU declared that the future of WBs is within EU. Initially it adopted a generous strategy that linked the timetable for accession to the pace of reform in WBs. The declaration contained a conditional promise; EU would consider WBs for membership only if they reached EU standards. The EU was motivated by usual economic considerations connected to enlargement and a desire to increase regional stability. The enlargement process regarding Albania will bring several reforms on different fields. Our country will benefit from a share of multibeneficiary funds for competitiveness, SMEs, energy efficiency and banking sector regulation. This presentation handles out these main issues: EU policy and the enlargement process regarding Albania inspecting the way and progress done up to now by our country, the main features of our national EUcoordination system, concluding in a SWOT Analysis of EU-coordination system in Albania. Eventually, I believe that Albania being part of WBs is at one time an opportunity and a challenge for the future of EU.

Salivary gland enlargement during oesophageal stricture dilatation.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, D.

1980-01-01

A case of recurrent salivary gland enlargement occurring during fibreoptic oesophagoscopy and oesophageal stricture dilatation with Eder-Puestow dilators is described. The genesis of this condition is discussed and its transient and usually benign nature emphasized. Images Fig. 1 PMID:7393809

Tumescent power liposuction in the treatment of the enlarged male breast.

Science.gov (United States)

Boni, Roland

2006-01-01

Tumescent power liposuction is widely used on various parts of the body for minimal-access lipectomy. The undesired fat deposits are injected with tumescence fluid containing saline, epinephrine, bicarbonate and lidocaine; the latter is used as the only source of pain control. The fat is then removed using vibrating microcannulas. To evaluate the value of tumescent power liposuction in the treatment of the enlarged male breast. 38 male patients aged 23-64 years (mean age 39.8 +/- 9.7 years) with enlarged breasts were enrolled in the study. In 32 patients, breasts were enlarged due to fat tissue, and the ductal glands were not palpable (pseudogynecomastia). In 6 patients, the ductal glands were enlarged (gynecomastia). All patients were treated with tumescent liposuction over a 2-year period using a single entry site from the axillary fossa. Both fat as well as ductal and stromal tissue were removed by microcannulas. None of the patients had early postoperative complications of infection, hematoma or seroma. There were no treatment-induced asymmetries, contour deformities or irregularities. No open excision or skin reduction procedures were required. Tumescent liposuction using a single entry site in the axillary fossa is a minimally invasive technique to treat enlarged male breasts. Both fat (pseudogynecomastia in adipose patients) as well as ductal and stromal tissue (in gynecomastia) can be removed with tumescent liposuction, resulting in a high level of patient satisfaction. Copyright 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Relationship between intracranial internal carotid artery calcification and enlarged cerebral perivascular space

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tao, Xiao-Xiao [Shanghai Ninth People' s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Shanghai (China); The First People' s Hospital of Wenling, Department of Neurology, Wenling (China); Li, Ge-Fei; Wu, Yi-Lan; Liu, Yi-Sheng; Zhao, Ying; Shi, Yan-Hui; Zhuang, Mei-Ting; Hou, Tian-Yu; Zhao, Rong; Liu, Feng-Di; Wang, Xue-Mei; Shen, Ying; Cui, Guo-Hong; Su, Jing-Jing; Chen, Wei [Shanghai Ninth People' s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Shanghai (China); Tang, Xue-Mei; Sun, Ji; Liu, Jian-Ren [Shanghai Ninth People' s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Shanghai (China); Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Clinical Research Center, Shanghai (China)

2017-06-15

The association between intracranial internal carotid artery (IICA) calcification and lacunes, white matter hyperintensity (WMH), and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) has been well researched. However, enlarged cerebral perivascular space (PVS) has not yet been reported to correlate with intracranial internal carotid artery calcification. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between IICA calcification and enlarged PVS. A total of 189 patients with ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory who presented within 7 days of ictus from 2012 to 2015 were enrolled respectively. All patients were required to have undergone head computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance angiography, or computed tomography angiography. Clinical characteristics were recorded. IICA calcification and enlarged PVS were semi-quantitatively evaluated, and the presence of lacunes, WMH, and CMBs was recorded. Of the 189 patients, 63.5% were male. Mean age of the patients was 68.6 ± 12.2 years. There were 104 patients with IICA calcification. Age, diabetes mellitus, lacunes, and white matter hyperintensity were significantly associated with IICA calcification (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, diabetes mellitus, and lacunes were independent predictors of IICA calcification (P < 0.05). A lower risk of IICA calcification was found in patients with a higher enlarged PVS score (P = 0.004). Higher enlarged PVS scores were associated with a lesser degree of IICA calcification. There appears to be a relationship between reduced risk of IICA calcification and enlarged PVS. (orig.)

Rapid determination of uranium in natural waters by fthermal emission mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferguson, J.R.; Caylor, J.D.; Rogers, E.R.; Cole, S.H.

1977-03-01

A method has been developed to rapidly analyze natural water samples for part-per-trillion (ng/l) concentrations of uranium using a custom-built thermal-emission mass spectrometer. The filtered water sample is spiked with 233 U as an internal standard and extracted with a 2 percent solution of TOPO (trioctylphosphine oxide) in carbon tetrachloride. An aliquot of the organic phase is evaporated and the uranium in the residue extracted with aqueous ammonium carbonate. A 5j-μl aliquot is taken and dried on a flat uranium concentration of 3 ng/l will yield a count rate greater than three times the standard deviation, plus the mean of the background, and is defined as the lowest determinable concentration. The standard deviation of the method is 3 percent at accuracy of the method has been evaluated by comparing the results with a fluorescence procedure. There is very good agreement for water samples with uranium concentrations from 200 to 1000 ng/l. The mass spectrometer is a 6-in. -radius, 60-degree-sector instrument equipped for ion counting and having a vacuum system allowing rapid sample changing while maintaining a high source vacuum. A multiplexer and high-voltage s witch provide synchronized peak switching and scaler gating for monitoring three isotopes of uranium 238, 235, and 233. With this instrument, an analyst can achieve an analysis rate in excess of 50 samples per eight-hour shift

Peculiar enlargement of the nasopharynx in patients with anorexia nervosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okamoto, K. [Department of Radiology, School of Dentistry, Niigata Univ. (Japan); Ito, J. [Department of Radiology, School of Dentistry, Niigata Univ. (Japan); Tokiguchi, S. [Department of Radiology, School of Dentistry, Niigata Univ. (Japan); Kuwabara, G. [Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Niigata University, Niigata (Japan); Nishihara, M. [Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Niigata University, Niigata (Japan)

1995-11-01

We examined the nasopharynx and brain in 17 patients with anorexia nervosa by CT and compared the findings with those of 44 normal subjects and of 5 patients of the same age with marked emaciation caused by various psychiatric disorders. An enlarged nasopharyngeal space with a flattened posterior wall and enlarged lateral pharyngeal recesses were demonstrated in all patients with anorexia nervosa whose weight was lowest at the time of the CT examination, and these CT features regressed or became normal quickly after they had gained some weight. This characteristic enlargement of the nasopharynx and lateral pharyngeal recesses was observed neither in the markedly emaciated patients (2 with schizophrenia, 1 with major depression, 1 with stupor and the other with an extremely unbalanced diet) nor in 44 normal subjects without emaciation. These features were therefore thought to be characteristic and of diagnostic significance. (orig.). With 5 figs., 3 tabs.

Peculiar enlargement of the nasopharynx in patients with anorexia nervosa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamoto, K.; Ito, J.; Tokiguchi, S.; Kuwabara, G.; Nishihara, M.

1995-01-01

We examined the nasopharynx and brain in 17 patients with anorexia nervosa by CT and compared the findings with those of 44 normal subjects and of 5 patients of the same age with marked emaciation caused by various psychiatric disorders. An enlarged nasopharyngeal space with a flattened posterior wall and enlarged lateral pharyngeal recesses were demonstrated in all patients with anorexia nervosa whose weight was lowest at the time of the CT examination, and these CT features regressed or became normal quickly after they had gained some weight. This characteristic enlargement of the nasopharynx and lateral pharyngeal recesses was observed neither in the markedly emaciated patients (2 with schizophrenia, 1 with major depression, 1 with stupor and the other with an extremely unbalanced diet) nor in 44 normal subjects without emaciation. These features were therefore thought to be characteristic and of diagnostic significance. (orig.). With 5 figs., 3 tabs

Gingival enlargement unveiling sarcoidosis: Report of a rare case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabeeha Abbas Kadiwala

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Sarcoidosis is classified as an acquired systemic granulomatous disease. Because of the fact that sarcoidosis affects multiple tissues and organs, it is characterized by many potential signs and symptoms, as well as by the presence of non-caseating granulomas in the organs involved. Although oral sarcoidosis is relatively rare, it may however, present in the oral cavity. This report presents a rare case of sarcoidosis with the initial presenting symptom as severe generalized gingival enlargement. The gingival enlargement was treated by gingivectomy. After histopathological examination of gingival biopsy and certain special investigations, a diagnosis of sarcoidosis was made.

Aortic Root Enlargement or Sutureless Valve Implantation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolaos G. Baikoussis

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Aortic valve replacement (AVR in patients with a small aortic annulus is a challenging issue. The importance of prosthesis–patient mismatch (PPM post aortic valve replacement (AVR is controversial but has to be avoided. Many studies support the fact that PPM has a negative impact on short and long term survival. In order to avoid PPM, aortic root enlargement may be performed. Alternatively and keeping in mind that often some comorbidities are present in old patients with small aortic root, the Perceval S suturelles valve implantation could be a perfect solution. The Perceval sutureless bioprosthesis provides reasonable hemodynamic performance avoiding the PPM and providing the maximum of aortic orifice area. We would like to see in the near future the role of the aortic root enlargement techniques in the era of surgical implantation of the sutureless valve (SAVR and the transcatheter valve implantation (TAVI.

Morphological analysis of enlarged ventricle on CT image, using multivariate analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwasaki, Satoru; Kichikawa, Kimihiko; Otsuji, Hideyuki; Fukusumi, Akio; Kobayashi, Yasuo.

1983-01-01

Multivariate analysis of enlarged cerebral ventricle on CT was undertaken to study the characteristics of ventricular morphology. Several ventricular segments of enlarged ventricle, defined on the basis of the study of normal group, were linearly measured on CT image. Then the discriminant analysis with the increase and decrease of variable was applied. The following are the results obtained. The error ratio of discrimination between pressure hydrocephalus and cerebral atrophy was 8.4 %, and between obstructive hydrocephalus and communicating hydrocephalus was 11.3 %. Ventricular segments were divided into three groups according to their character of enlargement: (1) the temporal horn and trigone are large in pressure hydrocephalus; (2) the hypothalamic segment of the third ventricle and the body of lateral ventricle are larger in obstructive hydrocephalus than in communicating hydrocephalus; (3) the anterior horn, cellae mediae at the level of the head of caudate nuclei and thalamic segment of the third ventricle are relatively large in cerebral atrophy and communicating hydrocephalus. The hypothalamic segment of the third ventricle assumes a round or oval shape in pressure hydrocephalus but a rectangular or teardrop shape in cerebral atrophy. These findings are contributory to pathological evaluation of ventricular enlargement. (author)

Tissue spray ionization mass spectrometry for rapid recognition of human lung squamous cell carcinoma

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Yiping; Chen, Liru; Zhou, Wei; Chingin, Konstantin; Ouyang, Yongzhong; Zhu, Tenggao; Wen, Hua; Ding, Jianhua; Xu, Jianjun; Chen, Huanwen

2015-05-01

Tissue spray ionization mass spectrometry (TSI-MS) directly on small tissue samples has been shown to provide highly specific molecular information. In this study, we apply this method to the analysis of 38 pairs of human lung squamous cell carcinoma tissue (cancer) and adjacent normal lung tissue (normal). The main components of pulmonary surfactants, dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC, m/z 757.47), phosphatidylcholine (POPC, m/z 782.52), oleoyl phosphatidylcholine (DOPC, m/z 808.49), and arachidonic acid stearoyl phosphatidylcholine (SAPC, m/z 832.43), were identified using high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Monte Carlo sampling partial least squares linear discriminant analysis (PLS-LDA) was used to distinguish full-mass-range mass spectra of cancer samples from the mass spectra of normal tissues. With 5 principal components and 30 - 40 Monte Carlo samplings, the accuracy of cancer identification in matched tissue samples reached 94.42%. Classification of a tissue sample required less than 1 min, which is much faster than the analysis of frozen sections. The rapid, in situ diagnosis with minimal sample consumption provided by TSI-MS is advantageous for surgeons. TSI-MS allows them to make more informed decisions during surgery.

The analysis of initial cranial CT of early hematoma enlargement in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage

OpenAIRE

BEI Yu-zhang; CHEN Ben-yang; QI Hao-bo; ZHOU Zheng-ping; LI Yu-bo

2012-01-01

Objective To investigate the predictive effect of initial cranial CT on early hematoma enlargement in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods Three hundred patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage within 6 hours after onset were studied. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were used to detect the related factors which may indicate hematoma enlargement. Results Sixty-one (20.33% ) patients presented hematoma enlargement on cranial CT. Single factor and multivariate...

Penis enlargement: complication of lipotransfer

OpenAIRE

Conde, C.G.; Soria, J.H.; Orduna, O.D.; Alcoba, E.

2012-01-01

La solicitud de engrosamiento del pene por parte de los pacientes tiene un crecimiento sostenido. El empleo de grasa autóloga como relleno puede causar una deformidad que provoca un menoscabo funcional y estético. Presentamos un caso de complicación que requirió de tratamiento quirúrgico.Penis enlargement is a practice widely requested by the patients. The use of autologous fat transplantation can produce deformity and functional and aesthetic deficiency. The authors present a clinical case o...

Chest CT findings in EBUS-TBNA-proven anthracosis in enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirchner, J. [Allgemeines Krankenhaus Hagen (Germany). Dept. of Interventional and Diagnostic Radiology; Mueller, P. [Allgemeines Krankenhaus Hagen (Germany). Dept. of Medicine; Broll, M.; Kirchner, E.M. [Sana Klinikum Duisburg (Germany). Dept. of Medicine; Pomjanski, N.; Biesterfeld, S. [University Hospital Duesseldorf (Germany). Dept. of Pathology; Liermann, D. [Marien Hospital, Herne (Germany). Dept. of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine; Kickuth, R. [University Hospital Wuerzburg (Germany). Dept. of Radiology

2014-12-15

We demonstrate the multislice computed tomography (MSCT) findings of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA)-proven hilar and mediastinal lymph node enlargement with signs of anthracosis. 53 enlarged lymph nodes in 39 patients (28 male, 11 female) with EBUS-TBNA-confirmed anthracosis were analyzed retrospectively. The mean short axis diameter of the enlarged lymph nodes with signs of anthracosis was 13.7 mm. Lymph nodes most often showed an oval shape (84%) and were well defined in 66% of cases. Lymph node confluence was observed in 32% of cases. Calcifications were documented in 24.5% of cases. Contrast enhancement and fatty involution were seen seldom (3.8%). Lymph node necrosis was not seen. Lymph node anthracosis may be found most often in enlarged, well defined lymph nodes with an oval shape, frequently associated with confluence and calcifications.

Role of radionuclide studies in cases of enlarged prostate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singhvi, S.D.; Shrimali, R.; Singhal, N.C.

1985-01-01

The present study of radionuclide 131 I hyppuran in 30 positive cases of enlarged prostate and 10 normal subjects has been found effective in giving information about functional status of the kidneys and presence of obstructive unropathy by renography, enlargement of the prostate causing bladder base contour deformity in bladder scan and the presence of residual urine by external counting method over bladder. It is a non-invasive method of investigation and can be undertaken safely in cases sensitive iodine-containing contrast medium. It is also cheap, easy to perform and does not require any pre-examination preparation and can be repeated frequently. (author)

Diagnosis and laparoscopic management of a rare endometriosis-related peritoneal mass with rapid growth in early pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Donato, Nadine; Facchini, Chiara; Leggieri, Concetta; Caprara, Giacomo; Seracchioli, Renato

2015-08-01

Herein is described the diagnosis, clinical management and laparoscopic removal of a rapid growing retro-uterine mass in a pregnant woman. After laparoscopic removal of the pelvic mass, diagnosis of peritoneal endometriotic cyst was made on histology. The patient was asymptomatic and no history of endometriosis was reported. The laparoscopic management of the peritoneal mass was safe and effective and to our knowledge this is the first case report describing a decidualized endometriotic lesion in the absence of a pre-pregnancy endometriosis diagnosis. © 2015 The Authors Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2015 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

CT screening for lung cancer: Frequency of enlarged adrenal glands identified in baseline and annual repeat rounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Minxia [Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Capital Medical University, Department of Diagnostic Ultrasound, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Beijing (China); Yip, Rowena; Yankelevitz, David Y.; Henschke, Claudia I. [Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States)

2016-12-15

To determine the frequency of adrenal enlargement of participants in a CT-screening program for lung cancer and demonstrate the progression during follow-up, separately for baseline and annual repeat rounds. HIPAA-compliant informed consent was obtained in 4,776 participants. The adrenal gland was defined as enlarged if it measured ≥6 mm at its largest diameter. Logistic regression analyses were performed. At baseline, 202 (4 %) of 4,776 participants had adrenal enlargement. Significant factors were age (OR = 1.4, 95 % CI: 1.2-1.7) and current smoker (OR = 1.8, 95 % CI: 1.3-2.4). Follow-up 7-18 months after baseline for 133 cases with adrenal enlargement <40 mm showed it decreased or was stable in 85 (64 %), and increased by <10 mm in 48 (36 %). Five (0.04 %) cases of adrenal enlargement were newly identified, none increased beyond 40 mm on follow-up. Adrenal enlargement was a significant predictor of a subsequent diagnosis of lung cancer (OR = 2.0, 95 % CI: 1.2-3.4). Participants with adrenal enlargement <40 mm identified at baseline and on repeat screening could be reasonably assessed on subsequent annual screening. Adrenal enlargement increased with increasing pack-years of smoking. Adrenal enlargement was an independent predictor of a subsequent diagnosis of lung cancer. (orig.)

Penile enlargement: from medication to surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Nugteren, Helena M; Balkema, G T; Pascal, A L; Schultz, W C M Weijmar; Nijman, J M; van Driel, M F

2010-01-01

Penis lengthening pills, stretch apparatus, vacuum pumps, silicone injections, and lengthening and thickening operations are available for men who worry about their penis size. Surgery is thus far the only proven scientific method for penile enlargement. In this article, we consider patient selection, outcome evaluation, and techniques applied. In our view, sexological counseling and detailed explanation of risks and complications are mandatory before any operative intervention.

Gingival enlargement as an early diagnostic indicator in therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia: A rare case report and review of literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Triveni M Gowda

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Treatment for Hodgkin′s lymphoma (HL has resulted in excellent survival rates but is associated with increased risks of secondary therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML. Gingival enlargement associated with bleeding and ulceration is the most common rapidly appearing oral manifestations of leukemic involvement. An 8 months pregnant patient reported with generalized gingival enlargement, with localized cyanotic and necrotic papillary areas. Co-relating the hematological report with the oral lesions and her past medical history of HL, a diagnosis of t-AML secondary to treatment for HL was made by the oncologist. As oral lesions are one of the initial manifestations of acute leukemia, they may serve as a significant diagnostic indicator for the dental surgeons and their important role in diagnosing and treating such cases. Furthermore, this case report highlights the serious complication of t-AML subsequent to HL treatment and the important role that a general and oral health care professional may play in diagnosing and treating such cases.

Mediastinal lymph node enlargement on CT scans in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Joong Mo; Im, Jung Gi; Yu, Kyu In; Kim, Hyeong Seog; Kim, Dae Young; Yu, Pil Mun

1992-01-01

The increase in size of lymph node on CT scan is the single most important finding of lymphadenopathy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the size of mediastinal lymph nodes in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with no evidence of malignancy or current infection. CT scans of 70 patients (16 with conventional CT and 54 with high-resolution CT) were assessed for lymph node size and location. The duration of symptoms, and the extent and pattern of the parenchymal lung disease on CT scans were correlated with lymph node enlargement. In 54 of 70 patients, more than one lymph nodes were large than 1-1.5 cm. The prevalence of node enlargement increased significant with a longer duration of symptom (p=0.001), large extent of the disease (p=0.043), and with a greater proportion of honeycomb pattern (p=0.033). Right paratracheal, subcarinal, right tracheobronchial, and paraesophageal nodes were the most common sites of node enlargement. In conclusion, mediastinal lymph node enlargement is common in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and is more frequently seen in patients with a longer duration of clinical symptoms, greater extent of the disease, and with a larger proportion of honeycomb pattern

Mediastinal lymph node enlargement on CT scans in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, Joong Mo; Im, Jung Gi; Yu, Kyu In; Kim, Hyeong Seog [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Dae Young [Chung Buk National University College of Medicine, Chungju (Korea, Republic of); Yu, Pil Mun [Dankuk University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1992-09-15

The increase in size of lymph node on CT scan is the single most important finding of lymphadenopathy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the size of mediastinal lymph nodes in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with no evidence of malignancy or current infection. CT scans of 70 patients (16 with conventional CT and 54 with high-resolution CT) were assessed for lymph node size and location. The duration of symptoms, and the extent and pattern of the parenchymal lung disease on CT scans were correlated with lymph node enlargement. In 54 of 70 patients, more than one lymph nodes were large than 1-1.5 cm. The prevalence of node enlargement increased significant with a longer duration of symptom (p=0.001), large extent of the disease (p=0.043), and with a greater proportion of honeycomb pattern (p=0.033). Right paratracheal, subcarinal, right tracheobronchial, and paraesophageal nodes were the most common sites of node enlargement. In conclusion, mediastinal lymph node enlargement is common in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and is more frequently seen in patients with a longer duration of clinical symptoms, greater extent of the disease, and with a larger proportion of honeycomb pattern.

The dilemmas of tax coordination in the enlarged European Union

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brøchner, Jens; Jensen, Jesper; Svensson, Patrik

2007-01-01

This study evaluates the economic effects of corporate tax coordination in the enlarged European Union (EU) using a computable general equilibrium model. Our main findings are as follows: (i) Corporate tax coordination can yield modest aggregate welfare gains. The 2004 enlargement of the EU has...... elaborate compensation mechanisms. (iii) The large and diverse country effects suggest that Enhanced Cooperation for a subset of the Member States may be the most likely route towards tax coordination. (iv) Identifying winners and losers from coordination for the purpose of a compensation mechanism may...

Spleen and liver enlargement in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bedoya, María Eugenia; Ceccato, Federico; Paira, Sergio

2015-01-01

We describe the case of a 51-year-old woman with a seropositive, erosive, and non-nodular rheumatoid arthritis of 15 year of evolution. The patient had poor compliance with medical visits and treatment. She came to the clinic with persistent pancytopenia and spleen and liver enlargement. Liver and bone marrow biopsies were carried out and amyloidosis, neoplasias and infections were ruled out. We discuss the differential diagnosis of pancytopenia and spleen and liver enlargement in a long-standing rheumatoid arthritis patient. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Process Modelling of Rapid Manufacturing Based Mass Customisation System for Fabrication of Custom Foot Orthoses: Review Paper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saleh Jumani

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The need for custom-made devices, rehabilitation aids and treatments is explicit in the medical sector. Applications of rapid manufacturing techniques based on additive fabrication processes combined with medical digitising technologies can generate high quality solutions in situations where the need for custom-made devices and rehabilitation aids and low-lead times are very important factors. Foot orthoses are medical devices applied in the treatment of biomechanical foot disorders, foot injuries and foot diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. The significant challenge in the treatment of foot related diseases is progressing pathological deterioration in the affected sites of the foot which requires quick provision of the orthoses. A process model is developed using the IDEF0 modelling technique in which a rapid manufacturing approach is integrated in the design and fabrication process of custom foot orthoses. The process model will be used in the development of rapid manufacturing based design and fabrication system for mass customisation of foot orthoses. The developed system is aimed at mass scale production of custom foot orthoses with the advantages of reduced cost, reduced lead-time and improved product in terms of increased fit, consistency and accuracy in the final product.

Etiologic significance of enlargement of the left atrial appendage in adults

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, C.E.; Kelley, M.J.; Higgins, C.B.

1982-01-01

Fifty-one patients were divided into two groups: 20 patients with proven rheumatic mitral valve disease (RMVD) and 31 patients with left atrial enlargement (LAE) of a nonrheumatic etiology. The latter group included patients with ischemic papillary muscle dysfunction, mitral valve prolapse, and congestive cardiomyopathy. Radiographic studies showed that enlargement of the left atrial appendage (LAAE) was present in 18 of 20 rheumatics but in only one of 31 nonrheumatics. There was no direct relationship between enlargement of the LAA and radiographic or echocardiographic left atrial size, degree of pulmonary venous hypertension (PVH), or presence of atrial fibrillation. It is postulated that rheumatic influammation of the LAA allows it to dilate out of proportion to the body of the left atrium. In the adult patient with radiographic findings of PVH, LAAE is a valuable and specific radiographic sign of rheumatic mitral valve disease

Rapid enhancement of nodal quasiparticle mass with heavily underdoping in Bi2212

Science.gov (United States)

Anzai, Hiroaki; Arita, Masashi; Namatame, Hirofumi; Taniguchi, Masaki; Ishikado, Motoyuki; Fujita, Kazuhiro; Ishida, Shigeyuki; Uchida, Shin-ichi; Ino, Akihiro

2018-05-01

We report substantial advance of our low-energy angle-resolved photoemission study of nodal quasiparticles in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ. The new data cover the samples from underdoped down to heavily underdoped levels. We also present the nodal Fermi velocities that determined by using an excitation-photon energy of hν = 7.0 eV over a wide doping range. The consistency between the results with hν = 8.1 and 7.0 eV allows us to rule out the effect of photoemission matrix elements. In comparison with the data previously reported, the nodal effective mass increases by a factor of ∼ 1.5 in going from optimally doped to heavily underdoped levels. We find a rapid enhancement of the nodal quasiparticle mass at low doping levels near the superconductor-to-insulator transition. The effective coupling spectrum, λ (ω) , is extracted directly from the energy derivatives of the quasiparticle dispersion and scattering rate, as a causal function of the mass enhancement factor. A steplike increase in Reλ (ω) around ∼ 65 meV is demonstrated clearly by the Kramers-Kronig transform of Imλ (ω) . To extract the low-energy renormalization effect, we calculated a simple model for the electron-boson interaction. This model reveals that the contribution of the renormalization at | ω | ≤ 15 meV to the quasiparticle mass is larger than that around 65 meV in underdoped samples.

Isolated amygdala enlargement in temporal lobe epilepsy: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Beh, S M Jessica; Cook, Mark J; D'Souza, Wendyl J

2016-07-01

The objective of this study was to compare the seizure characteristics and treatment outcomes in patient groups with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) identified with isolated amygdala enlargement (AE) on magnetic resonance imaging studies. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies using the keywords 'amygdala enlargement', 'epilepsy', and 'seizures' in April 2015. Human studies, written in English, that investigated cohorts of patients with TLE and AE were included. Of 204 abstracts initially identified using the search strategy, 14 studies met the inclusion criteria (11 epilepsy studies and 3 psychiatry studies). Ultimately, 8 full studies on AE and TLE involving 107 unique patients were analyzed. Gender distribution consisted of 50 males and 57 females. Right amygdala enlargement was seen in 39 patients, left enlargement in 58 patients, and bilateral enlargement in 7 patients. Surgical resection was performed in 28 patients, with the most common finding being dysplasia/hamartoma or focal cortical dysplasia. Most studies involved small samples of less than 12 patients. There was a wide discrepancy in the methods used to measure amygdala volume, in both patients and controls, hindering comparisons. Most TLE with AE studies observed a later age of seizure onset (mean: 32.2years) compared with studies involving TLE with HS (mean of mid- to late childhood). A higher frequency of complex partial seizures compared with that of convulsive seizures is seen in patients with AE (67-100% vs. 26-47%), and they have an excellent response to antiepileptic drugs (81.8%-100% of seizure-free patients). All studies that included controls also found a significant difference in frequency of seizure types between their cases and controls. Reliable assessment of amygdala volume remains a critical issue hindering better understanding of the clinical management and research of this focal epilepsy syndrome. Within these limitations, the literature suggests

Long term follow up of idiopathic gingival enlargement associated with chronic periodontitis: A case report and review

OpenAIRE

Girish P Nagarale; S Ravindra; Srinath Thakur; Swati Setty

2013-01-01

Background: Idiopathic gingival enlargement is a rare condition characterized by massive enlargement of the gingiva. It may be associated with other diseases/conditions characterizing a syndrome, but rarely associated with periodontitis. Case Description: This case report describes an unusual clinical form of gingival enlargement associated with chronic periodontitis. Clinical examination revealed diffuse gingival enlargement. The lesion was asymptomatic, firm, and pinkish red. Generalized pe...

Mass Housing Using GFRG Panels: A Sustainable, Rapid and Affordable Solution

Science.gov (United States)

Cherian, Philip; Paul, Shinto; Krishna, S. R. Gouri; Menon, Devdas; Meher Prasad, A.

2017-06-01

This work gives an overview of research and development carried out at IIT Madras, using glass fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRG) panels, to provide an innovative solution for rapid and affordable mass housing. The GFRG panels (124 mm thick), made from recycled industrial waste gypsum (from the fertilizer industry), are prefabricated in 3 m × 12 m sizes with cellular cavities inside, which can be filled with reinforced concrete wherever required and can be used as walls as well as floor slabs. The tests carried out (over the past 12 years) establish the performance of GFRG building systems to resist gravity and lateral loads as a load-bearing system (without beams and columns) in multi-storeyed buildings up to 8-10 storeys, with adequate strength, serviceability, durability and ductility. A two-storeyed four-apartment demonstration building has also been successfully constructed in the IIT Madras campus and presently a mass housing scheme (40 apartment units) using this technology is being demonstrated at Nellore. A structural design code has also been approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards, based on the extensive studies carried out on GFRG building systems.

Bacterial Cell Enlargement Requires Control of Cell Wall Stiffness Mediated by Peptidoglycan Hydrolases.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheeler, Richard; Turner, Robert D; Bailey, Richard G; Salamaga, Bartłomiej; Mesnage, Stéphane; Mohamad, Sharifah A S; Hayhurst, Emma J; Horsburgh, Malcolm; Hobbs, Jamie K; Foster, Simon J

2015-07-28

Most bacterial cells are enclosed in a single macromolecule of the cell wall polymer, peptidoglycan, which is required for shape determination and maintenance of viability, while peptidoglycan biosynthesis is an important antibiotic target. It is hypothesized that cellular enlargement requires regional expansion of the cell wall through coordinated insertion and hydrolysis of peptidoglycan. Here, a group of (apparent glucosaminidase) peptidoglycan hydrolases are identified that are together required for cell enlargement and correct cellular morphology of Staphylococcus aureus, demonstrating the overall importance of this enzyme activity. These are Atl, SagA, ScaH, and SagB. The major advance here is the explanation of the observed morphological defects in terms of the mechanical and biochemical properties of peptidoglycan. It was shown that cells lacking groups of these hydrolases have increased surface stiffness and, in the absence of SagB, substantially increased glycan chain length. This indicates that, beyond their established roles (for example in cell separation), some hydrolases enable cellular enlargement by making peptidoglycan easier to stretch, providing the first direct evidence demonstrating that cellular enlargement occurs via modulation of the mechanical properties of peptidoglycan. Understanding bacterial growth and division is a fundamental problem, and knowledge in this area underlies the treatment of many infectious diseases. Almost all bacteria are surrounded by a macromolecule of peptidoglycan that encloses the cell and maintains shape, and bacterial cells must increase the size of this molecule in order to enlarge themselves. This requires not only the insertion of new peptidoglycan monomers, a process targeted by antibiotics, including penicillin, but also breakage of existing bonds, a potentially hazardous activity for the cell. Using Staphylococcus aureus, we have identified a set of enzymes that are critical for cellular enlargement. We

Asymmetric Meckel Cave Enlargement: A Potential Marker of PHACES Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, J N; Wycoco, V

2017-06-01

PHACES syndrome is a complex of morphologic abnormalities of unknown cause and includes posterior fossa abnormalities; head and neck infantile hemangiomas; arterial, cardiac, and eye anomalies; and sternal or abdominal wall defects. Accurate identification of the syndrome is important for optimal treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of asymmetric Meckel cave enlargement, a potential novel imaging marker, in a population of patients referred for evaluation of possible PHACES syndrome. Eighty-five patients referred for neuroimaging evaluation of possible PHACES syndrome were identified and stratified on the basis of their ultimate clinical PHACES diagnosis categorization into PHACES, possible PHACES, or not PHACES. MR imaging studies were subsequently reviewed for the presence or absence of unilateral Meckel cave enlargement, with the reviewer blinded to the ultimate PHACES syndrome categorization. Twenty-five of 85 patients (29%) were ultimately categorized as having PHACES or possible PHACES according to consensus guidelines. Asymmetric Meckel cave enlargement was present in 76% (19/25) of these patients and in 82% (19/23) of only those patients with definite PHACES. This finding was present in none of the 60 patients determined not to have PHACES syndrome. In 7/19 patients (37%) with this finding, subtle MR imaging abnormalities consistent with PHACES were missed on the initial MR imaging interpretation. Asymmetric Meckel cave enlargement was a common feature of patients with PHACES in our cohort and may serve as a novel imaging marker. Increased awareness of this imaging feature has the potential to increase the diagnostic accuracy of PHACES. © 2017 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Rapid discrimination of bergamot essential oil by paper spray mass spectrometry and chemometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Taverna, Domenico; Di Donna, Leonardo; Mazzotti, Fabio; Tagarelli, Antonio; Napoli, Anna; Furia, Emilia; Sindona, Giovanni

2016-09-01

A novel approach for the rapid discrimination of bergamot essential oil from other citrus fruits oils is presented. The method was developed using paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS) allowing for a rapid molecular profiling coupled with a statistic tool for a precise and reliable discrimination between the bergamot complex matrix and other similar matrices, commonly used for its reconstitution. Ambient mass spectrometry possesses the ability to record mass spectra of ordinary samples, in their native environment, without sample preparation or pre-separation by creating ions outside the instrument. The present study reports a PS-MS method for the determination of oxygen heterocyclic compounds such as furocoumarins, psoralens and flavonoids present in the non-volatile fraction of citrus fruits essential oils followed by chemometric analysis. The volatile fraction of Bergamot is one of the most known and fashionable natural products, which found applications in flavoring industry as ingredient in beverages and flavored foodstuff. The development of the presented method employed bergamot, sweet orange, orange, cedar, grapefruit and mandarin essential oils. PS-MS measurements were carried out in full scan mode for a total run time of 2 min. The capability of PS-MS profiling to act as marker for the classification of bergamot essential oils was evaluated by using multivariate statistical analysis. Two pattern recognition techniques, linear discriminant analysis and soft independent modeling of class analogy, were applied to MS data. The cross-validation procedure has shown excellent results in terms of the prediction ability because both models have correctly classified all samples for each category. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rapid Screening of Bovine Milk Oligosaccharides in a Whey Permeate Product and Domestic Animal Milks by Accurate Mass Database and Tandem Mass Spectral Library

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyeyoung; Cuthbertson, Daniel J.; Otter, Don E.; Barile, Daniela

2018-01-01

A bovine milk oligosaccharide (BMO) library, prepared from cow colostrum, with 34 structures was generated and used to rapidly screen oligosaccharides in domestic animal milks and a whey permeate powder. The novel library was entered into a custom Personal Compound Database and Library (PCDL) and included accurate mass, retention time, and tandem mass spectra. Oligosaccharides in minute-sized samples were separated using nanoliquid chromatography (nanoLC) coupled to a high resolution and sensitive quadrupole-Time of Flight (Q-ToF) MS system. Using the PCDL, 18 oligosaccharides were found in a BMO-enriched product obtained from whey permeate processing. The usefulness of the analytical system and BMO library was further validated using milks from domestic sheep and buffaloes. Through BMO PCDL searching, 15 and 13 oligosaccharides in the BMO library were assigned in sheep and buffalo milks, respectively, thus demonstrating significant overlap between oligosaccharides in bovine (cow and buffalo) and ovine (sheep) milks. This method was shown to be an efficient, reliable, and rapid tool to identify oligosaccharide structures using automated spectral matching. PMID:27428379

The paradox of EU enlargement and member states' policies: Dilemmas and challenges: The case of Portugal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neves Santos Miguel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper addresses the issue of EU enlargement with its dual nature: of an intra-EU process, related to the consolidation of a democratic-peace based on collective security, and an external process, involving EU foreign policy and impact on relations with other major global players. Although enlargement is a multidimensional process that combines different perspectives - candidate countries' enlargement politics, member states' politics/policy, EU enlargement politics and external global impact - the paper focuses on Member States policies towards enlargement by looking at the case of Portugal, in particular in relation with the Big Bang Eastern enlargement, and aims at explaining the paradox of Portugal's strong political support to enlargement while it was one of the main potential losers in terms of economic interests. A 'foreign policy analysis' framework is adopted in order to understand the process of decision-making and the interaction between the domestic and the EU levels. The argument put forward is that an exclusive constructivist approach does not provide a satisfactory explanation, as there was also rationalist-interest logic at play. The Portuguese policy towards enlargement was determined not only by the 'solidaritysimilarity' logic, dominant in the formal political discourse but also by the consideration of long-term interests in the EU related to the preservation of the strategic alliance with Germany. The overall systemic impact of enlargement tends to weaken the EU as it presents a major paradox functioning as a double-edged sword. While it has a positive impact by contributing to the enhancement of the EU international profile as it grows in size raising expectations about its potential global role, it also leads to greater heterogeneity, undermining the EU cohesion and its ability to act together with a single voice becoming a robust global player, thus frustrating the expectations raised in the first place.

Atmospheric Pressure-Thermal Desorption (AP-TD)/Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry for the Rapid Analysis of Bacillus Spores

Science.gov (United States)

A technique is described where an atmospheric pressure-thermal desorption (AP-TD) device and electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometry are coupled and used for the rapid analysis of Bacillus spores in complex matrices. The resulting AP-TD/ESI-MS technique combines the generation of volatile co...

Rapidly Growing Thyroid Mass in an Immunocompromised Young Male Adult

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mónica Santiago

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We describe a 20-year-old man diagnosed with a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS, admitted to our hospital due to pancytopenia and fever of undetermined origin after myelosuppression with chemotherapy. Disseminated aspergillosis (DIA was suspected when he developed skin and lung involvement. A rapidly growing mass was detected on the left neck area, during hospitalization. A thyroid ultrasound reported a 3.7×2.5×2.9 cm oval heterogeneous structure, suggestive of an abscess versus a hematoma. Fine needle aspiration of the thyroid revealed invasion of aspergillosis. Fungal thyroiditis is a rare occurrence. Thyroid fungal infection is difficult to diagnose; for this reason it is rarely diagnosed antemortem. To our knowledge, this is the 10th case reported in the literature in an adult where the diagnosis of fungal invasion to the thyroid was able to be corroborated antemortem by fine needle aspiration biopsy.

Amygdala and hippocampus enlargement during adolescence in autism.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groen, W.B.; Teluij, M.; Buitelaar, J.K.; Tendolkar, I.

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The amygdala and hippocampus are key components of the neural system mediating emotion perception and regulation and are thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of autism. Although some studies in children with autism suggest that there is an enlargement of amygdala and hippocampal

Extractive Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization (EAPPI) Mass Spectrometry: Rapid Analysis of Chemicals in Complex Matrices.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chengyuan; Yang, Jiuzhong; Wang, Jian; Hu, Yonghua; Zhao, Wan; Zhou, Zhongyue; Qi, Fei; Pan, Yang

2016-10-01

Extractive atmospheric pressure photoionization (EAPPI) mass spectrometry was designed for rapid qualitative and quantitative analysis of chemicals in complex matrices. In this method, an ultrasonic nebulization system was applied to sample extraction, nebulization, and vaporization. Mixed with a gaseous dopant, vaporized analytes were ionized through ambient photon-induced ion-molecule reactions, and were mass-analyzed by a high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS). After careful optimization and testing with pure sample solution, EAPPI was successfully applied to the fast screening of capsules, soil, natural products, and viscous compounds. Analysis was completed within a few seconds without the need for preseparation. Moreover, the quantification capability of EAPPI for matrices was evaluated by analyzing six polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil. The correlation coefficients (R (2) ) for standard curves of all six PAHs were above 0.99, and the detection limits were in the range of 0.16-0.34 ng/mg. In addition, EAPPI could also be used to monitor organic chemical reactions in real time. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Giant Juvenile Fibroadenoma in a 12-Year-Old Girl: Ultrasonography, Elastography, Clinical, and Pathology Findings of This Rare Type of Fibroadenoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Gkali, Christina; Giannos, Aris; Primetis, Elias; Chalazonitis, Athanasios; Anastasiadi, Thenia; Feida, Eleni; Sotiropoulou, Maria; Dimitrakakis, Constantine; Antoniou, Aris

2017-03-01

A 12-year-old girl was referred to our radiology department with a rapidly enlarging mass in the right breast. Fine-needle aspiration cytology was suggestive of fibroadenoma. Total excision of the mass was done, and diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology.

Rapid species diagnosis for invasive candidiasis using mass spectrometry.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carine Marinach-Patrice

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF-MS allows the identification of most bacteria and an increasing number of fungi. The potential for the highest clinical benefit of such methods would be in severe acute infections that require prompt treatment adapted to the infecting species. Our objective was to determine whether yeasts could be identified directly from a positive blood culture, avoiding the 1-3 days subculture step currently required before any therapeutic adjustments can be made. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using human blood spiked with Candida albicans to simulate blood cultures, we optimized protocols to obtain MALDI TOF-MS fingerprints where signals from blood proteins are reduced. Simulated cultures elaborated using a set of 12 strains belonging to 6 different species were then tested. Quantifiable spectral differences in the 5000-7400 Da mass range allowed to discriminate between these species and to build a reference database. The validation of the method and the statistical approach to spectral analysis were conducted using individual simulated blood cultures of 36 additional strains (six for each species. Correct identification of the species of these strains was obtained. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Direct MALDI TOF-MS analysis of aliquots from positive blood cultures allowed rapid and accurate identification of the main Candida species, thus obviating the need for sub-culturing on specific media. Subsequent to this proof-of-principle demonstration, the method can be extended to other clinically relevant yeast species, and applied to an adequate number of clinical samples in order to establish its potential to improve antimicrobial management of patients with fungemia.

Effect analysis of intradermal hyaluronic acid injection to treat enlarged facial pores.

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Wei; Zhang, Yan-Kun; Hou, Ying; Lyu, Wei; Cao, Qian; Li, Yan-Qi; Fan, Ju-Feng

2017-08-08

To investigate the clinical application and efficacy of intradermal injection of low molecular weight hyaluronic acid (LMW-HA) for treating enlarged facial pores. From January 2015 to May 2016, 42 subjects who sought aesthetic treatment underwent intradermal injection of LMW-HA to improve enlarged facial pores. For each treatment, 2.5 mL (25 mg) of LMW-HA was injected into the skin of the full face. The treatment was repeated 2-5 times with an interval of 1 to 1.5 months between consecutive treatments. The postoperative follow-up period was 1 to 6 months. Statistical analysis was used to compare the degree of enlargement of facial pores before and after injection. The clinical efficacy and adverse effects were recorded. The enlarged facial pores before and after treatment were categorized and subjected to the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test. The difference was statistically significant (Pinjection sites in the subjects who sought aesthetic treatment. The overall satisfaction rate was 92.8%. Intradermal injection of LMW-HA can significantly improve skin texture, reduce pore size, and enhance skin radiance. The injection technique was simple, safe, and effective and could easily be extended to clinical practice. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Chronic inflammatory gingival enlargement associated with orthodontic therapy--a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Jadhav, Tanya; Bhat, K Mahalinga; Bhat, G Subraya; Varghese, Jothi M

2013-02-01

Gingival enlargement, also synonymous with the terms gingival hyperplasia or hypertrophy, is defined as an abnormal overgrowth of gingival tissues. A case of a 19-year-old male presenting with maxillary and mandibular chronic inflammatory gingival enlargement associated with prolonged orthodontic therapy is reported here. Surgical therapy was carried out to provide a good aesthetic outcome. No recurrence was reported at the end of 1 year. The importance of patient motivation and compliance during and after therapy as a critical factor in the success of treatment has also been highlighted through this case report.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Implications Related to Eastward Enlargement

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Vaagland, John

1997-01-01

... Truman's Marshall Plan. The study concludes that the main issue as far as Western security is concerned is not a hasty enlargement of NATO but rather how to guarantee peaceful relations between Russia and NATO...

The enlargement of geniculate fossa of facial nerve canal: a new CT finding of facial nerve canal fracture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong Ruozhen; Li Yuhua; Gong Wuxian; Wu Lebin

2006-01-01

Objective: To discuss the value of enlargement of geniculate fossa of facial nerve canal in the diagnosis of facial nerve canal fracture. Methods: Thirty patients with facial nerve canal fracture underwent axial and coronal CT scan. The correlation between the fracture and the enlargement of geniculate fossa of facial nerve canal was analyzed. The ability of showing the fracture and enlargement of geniculate fossa of facial nerve canal in axial and coronal imaging were compared. Results: Fracture of geniculate fossa of facial nerve canal was found in the operation in 30 patients, while the fracture was detected in CT in 18 patients. Enlargement of geniculate ganglion of facial nerve was detected in 30 patients in the operation, while the enlargement of fossa was found in CT in 28 cases. Enlargement and fracture of geniculate fossa of facial nerve canal were both detected in CT images in 18 patients. Only the enlargement of geniculate fossa of facial nerve canal was shown in 12 patients in CT. Conclusion: Enlargement of geniculate fossa of facial nerve canal was a useful finding in the diagnosis of fracture of geniculate fossa in patients with facial paralysis, even no fracture line was shown on CT images. (authors)

Rapid identification of bacteria in positive blood culture broths by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Lindsay G; Drake, Steven K; Murray, Patrick R

2010-02-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry is a rapid, accurate method for identifying bacteria and fungi recovered on agar culture media. We report herein a method for the direct identification of bacteria in positive blood culture broths by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. A total of 212 positive cultures were examined, representing 32 genera and 60 species or groups. The identification of bacterial isolates by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry was compared with biochemical testing, and discrepancies were resolved by gene sequencing. No identification (spectral score of blood culture broth. Of the bacteria with a spectral score of > or = 1.7, 162 (95.3%) of 170 isolates were correctly identified. All 8 isolates of Streptococcus mitis were misidentified as being Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates. This method provides a rapid, accurate, definitive identification of bacteria within 1 h of detection in positive blood cultures with the caveat that the identification of S. pneumoniae would have to be confirmed by an alternative test.

Rapid mass segregation in small stellar clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Spera, Mario; Capuzzo-Dolcetta, Roberto

2017-12-01

In this paper we focus our attention on small-to-intermediate N-body systems that are, initially, distributed uniformly in space and dynamically `cool' (virial ratios Q=2T/|Ω| below ˜0.3). In this work, we study the mass segregation that emerges after the initial violent dynamical evolution. At this scope, we ran a set of high precision N-body simulations of isolated clusters by means of HiGPUs, our direct summation N-body code. After the collapse, the system shows a clear mass segregation. This (quick) mass segregation occurs in two phases: the first shows up in clumps originated by sub-fragmentation before the deep overall collapse; this segregation is partly erased during the deep collapse to re-emerge, abruptly, during the second phase, that follows the first bounce of the system. In this second stage, the proper clock to measure the rate of segregation is the dynamical time after virialization, which (for cold and cool systems) may be significantly different from the crossing time evaluated from initial conditions. This result is obtained for isolated clusters composed of stars of two different masses (in the ratio mh/ml=2), at varying their number ratio, and is confirmed also in presence of a massive central object (simulating a black hole of stellar size). Actually, in stellar systems starting their dynamical evolution from cool conditions, the fast mass segregation adds to the following, slow, secular segregation which is collisionally induced. The violent mass segregation is an effect persistent over the whole range of N (128 ≤ N ≤1,024) investigated, and is an interesting feature on the astronomical-observational side, too. The semi-steady state reached after virialization corresponds to a mass segregated distribution function rather than that of equipartition of kinetic energy per unit mass as it should result from violent relaxation.

Prolactin deficiency, obesity, and enlarged testes--a new syndrome?

Science.gov (United States)

Roitman, A; Assa, S; Kauli, R; Laron, Z

1980-01-01

A 4-year-old boy is described who was obese and slightly mentally retarded. His testes were enlarged. The only endocrine disorder present was a failure to increase plasma prolactin after stimulation. Images Figure PMID:7436524

Pain following foraminal enlargement in mandibular molars with necrosis and apical periodontitis: A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Saini, H R; Sangwan, P; Sangwan, A

2016-12-01

This randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of foraminal enlargement during chemomechanical root canal preparation on postoperative pain. Seventy mandibular first molars with asymptomatic pulp necrosis and chronic apical periodontitis were randomized into two groups - foraminal enlargement (FE) and conventional nonforaminal enlargement (NFE). Canals were prepared according to the respective protocols, and the teeth were restored temporarily. Postoperatively, the patients were prescribed ibuprofen 400 mg, to be taken if required. Pain experience and analgesic intake were recorded for 7 days following chemomechanical preparation. The data were analysed using Mann-Whitney U-test and chi-square tests. Pain experience was higher with foraminal enlargement than when using a conventional technique. A significant difference was observed in postoperative pain during the first 4 days and the sixth day (P  0.05). Enlargement of the apical foramen during root canal treatment increased the incidence and intensity of postoperative pain. © 2015 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A case of the persistence of the primitive hypoglossal artery with an enlarged hypoglossal canal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomura, Noriaki; Inugami, Atsushi; Uemura, Kazuo; Asakura, Ken

1987-01-01

A case of the persistence of the primitive hypoglossal artery is reported, with a roentgenographic demonstration of the enlarged hypoglossal canal. A 63-year-old man was admitted to this hospital as a result of a malfunction of the ventriculo-peritoneal shunt. At the age of 51, the patient had been operated on in this hospital for an aneurysm of the right middle cerebral artery; at that time, the right primitive hypoglossal artery was observed on right carotid angiograms. On the day following admission, bilateral retrograde vertebral angiography was performed and the right persistent primitive hypoglossal artery was recognized again. Stenvers views of the skull demonstrated an enlargement of the hypoglossal canal, with a smooth sclerotic rim. High-resolution computed tomography with a contrast infusion delineated the right primitive hypoglossal artery through the enlarged hypoglossal canal. The diameter of the enlarged right hypoglossal canal and that of the left one were found to be 8 mm and 4 mm respectively on the CT. When an enlargement of the hypoglossal canal with a sclerotic rim is observed, the persistence of the primitive hypoglossal artery should be considered in the differential diagnosis. (author)

Enlarged thalamostriate vein causing unilateral Monro foramen obstruction. Case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Leonardo, Jody; Grand, Walter

2009-06-01

Causes of unilateral hydrocephalus resulting from an obstruction at the Monro foramen include foraminal atresia, tumors, gliosis, contralateral shunting, and infectious and inflammatory conditions. However, few reports in the literature cite vascular lesions as the cause of the obstruction. To their knowledge, the authors present the first report of unilateral hydrocephalus occurring due to an abnormally enlarged thalamostriate vein independent of an arteriovenous malformation or developmental venous angioma. The condition was treated successfully by endoscopic septum pellucidum fenestration. A 28-year-old man was referred for evaluation due to a 10-year history of chronic headaches that worsened in severity over the past year. A CT scan of the head revealed unilateral right ventricular dilation. Cranial MR imaging with and without contrast administration showed a dilated right thalamostriate-internal vein complex without any evidence of associated arteriovenous malformation or venous angioma. Endoscopic exploration of the right lateral ventricle showed an enlarged subependymal thalamostriate vein obstructing the Monro foramen. An endoscopic fenestration of the septum pellucidum was performed, resulting in alleviation of the patient's symptoms. Abnormally enlarged venous structures may cause obstructive unilateral hydrocephalus and can be a rare cause of chronic, intermittent headaches in adults. Endoscopic fenestration of the septum pellucidum is an effective treatment.

Bactec™ blood culture bottles allied to MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry: rapid etiologic diagnosis of bacterial endophthalmitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Tatiana; Oliveira, Luiza Manhezi de Freitas; Ferreira, Bruno Fortaleza de Aquino; Kato, Juliana Mika; Rossi, Flavia; Correa, Karoline de Lemes Giuntini; Pimentel, Sergio Luis Gianotti; Yamamoto, Joyce Hisae; Almeida Junior, João Nóbrega

2017-07-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) has been used for direct identification of pathogens from blood-inoculated blood culture bottles (BCBs). We showed that MALDI-TOF MS is an useful technique for rapid identification of the causative agents of endophthalmitis from vitreous humor-inoculated BCBs with a simple protocol. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Long term follow up of idiopathic gingival enlargement associated with chronic periodontitis: A case report and review.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagarale, Girish P; Ravindra, S; Thakur, Srinath; Setty, Swati

2013-03-01

Idiopathic gingival enlargement is a rare condition characterized by massive enlargement of the gingiva. It may be associated with other diseases/conditions characterizing a syndrome, but rarely associated with periodontitis. This case report describes an unusual clinical form of gingival enlargement associated with chronic periodontitis. Clinical examination revealed diffuse gingival enlargement. The lesion was asymptomatic, firm, and pinkish red. Generalized periodontal pockets were observed. Radiographic evaluation revealed generalized severe alveolar bone loss. Histopathological investigations revealed atrophic epithelium with dense fibrocollagenous tissue. Lesions healed successfully following extraction and surgical excision, and no recurrence was observed after 1 year follow-up but recurrence was observed at 3 and 5-years follow-up. Successful treatment of idiopathic gingival enlargement depends on proper identification of etiologic factors and improving esthetics and function through surgical excision of the over growth. However, there may be recurrence.

Amygdala and Hippocampus Enlargement during Adolescence in Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Groen, Wouter; Teluij, Michelle; Buitelaar, Jan; Tendolkar, Indira

2010-01-01

Objective: The amygdala and hippocampus are key components of the neural system mediating emotion perception and regulation and are thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of autism. Although some studies in children with autism suggest that there is an enlargement of amygdala and hippocampal volume, findings in adolescence are sparse.…

Rapid fingerprinting and classification of extra virgin olive oil by microjet sampling and extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Wai Siang; Chen, Huan Wen; Balabin, Roman; Berchtold, Christian; Meier, Lukas; Zenobi, Renato

2010-04-01

Microjet sampling in combination with extractive electrospray ionization (EESI) mass spectrometry (MS) was applied to the rapid characterization and classification of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) without any sample pretreatment. When modifying the composition of the primary ESI spray solvent, mass spectra of an identical EVOO sample showed differences. This demonstrates the capability of this technique to extract molecules with varying polarities, hence generating rich molecular information of the EVOO. Moreover, with the aid of microjet sampling, compounds of different volatilities (e.g.E-2-hexenal, trans-trans-2,4-heptadienal, tyrosol and caffeic acid) could be sampled simultaneously. EVOO data was also compared with that of other edible oils. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed to discriminate EVOO and EVOO adulterated with edible oils. Microjet sampling EESI-MS was found to be a simple, rapid (less than 2 min analysis time per sample) and powerful method to obtain MS fingerprints of EVOO without requiring any complicated sample pretreatment steps.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) as an Unusual Cause of Rapid Airway Compromise

Science.gov (United States)

2017-04-15

obstruction is even more uncommon. We describe a case of a patient with known history of CLL and stable lymphocytosis that developed an enlarging...lymphoid base of tongue (BOT) mass which was identified as non- transformed CLL. Case Presentation: A 62-year-old woman with untreated Rai stage II

Acceleration-enlarged symmetries in nonrelativistic space-time with a cosmological constant TH1"-->

Science.gov (United States)

Lukierski, J.; Stichel, P. C.; Zakrzewski, W. J.

2008-05-01

By considering the nonrelativistic limit of de Sitter geometry one obtains the nonrelativistic space-time with a cosmological constant and Newton Hooke (NH) symmetries. We show that the NH symmetry algebra can be enlarged by the addition of the constant acceleration generators and endowed with central extensions (one in any dimension (D) and three in D=(2+1)). We present a classical Lagrangian and Hamiltonian framework for constructing models quasi-invariant under enlarged NH symmetries that depend on three parameters described by three nonvanishing central charges. The Hamiltonian dynamics then splits into external and internal sectors with new noncommutative structures of external and internal phase spaces. We show that in the limit of vanishing cosmological constant the system reduces to the one, which possesses acceleration-enlarged Galilean symmetries.

Enlargement of the European Union and agricultural policy reform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Maria Skovager; Lind, Kim Martin Hjorth; Zobbe, Henrik

2009-01-01

A connection exists between enlargement of the European Union and reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Based upon rational choice theory, we examine whether the member states’ CAP positions are related to structures in their agricultural sectors. The overall hypothesis...

Analysis of reforming process of large distorted ring in final enlarging forging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyazawa, Takeshi; Murai, Etsuo

2002-01-01

In the construction of reactors or pressure vessels for oil chemical plants and nuclear power stations, mono block open-die forging rings are often utilized. Generally, a large forged ring is manufactured by means of enlarging forging with reductions of the wall thickness. During the enlarging process the circular ring is often distorted and becomes an ellipse in shape. However the shape control of the ring is a complicated work. This phenomenon makes the matter still worse in forging of larger rings. In order to make precision forging of large rings, we have developed the forging method using a v-shape anvil. The v-shape anvil is geometrically adjusted to fit the distorted ring in the final circle and reform automatically the shape of the ring during enlarging forging. This paper has analyzed the reforming process of distorted ring by computer program based on F.E.M. and examined the effect on the precision of ring forging. (author)

A Rare Case Report of Amlodipine-Induced Gingival Enlargement and Review of Its Pathogenesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjeev Joshi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Gingival enlargement is a common clinical feature of gingival and periodontal diseases. It is an unwanted side effect of certain systemic drugs given for nondental treatment. It is being reported with three main groups of drugs like calcium channel blockers (CCBs, immunosuppressants, and anticonvulsants. Among calcium channel blockers, nifedipine causes gingival hyperplasia in about 10% of patients, whereas the incidence of amlodipine-, a third generation calcium channel blocker, induced gingival hyperplasia is very limited. There are very few reports of amlodipine-induced gingival enlargement at a dose of 5 mg. We report a case of amlodipine-induced gingival enlargement in a 45-year-old hypertensive patient taking amlodipine at a dose of 5 mg.

Long term follow up of idiopathic gingival enlargement associated with chronic periodontitis: A case report and review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Girish P Nagarale

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Idiopathic gingival enlargement is a rare condition characterized by massive enlargement of the gingiva. It may be associated with other diseases/conditions characterizing a syndrome, but rarely associated with periodontitis. Case Description: This case report describes an unusual clinical form of gingival enlargement associated with chronic periodontitis. Clinical examination revealed diffuse gingival enlargement. The lesion was asymptomatic, firm, and pinkish red. Generalized periodontal pockets were observed. Radiographic evaluation revealed generalized severe alveolar bone loss. Histopathological investigations revealed atrophic epithelium with dense fibrocollagenous tissue. Lesions healed successfully following extraction and surgical excision, and no recurrence was observed after 1 year follow-up but recurrence was observed at 3 and 5-years follow-up. Clinical Implications: Successful treatment of idiopathic gingival enlargement depends on proper identification of etiologic factors and improving esthetics and function through surgical excision of the over growth. However, there may be recurrence.

Disappearance of enlarged nuchal translucency before 14 weeks' gestation: relationship with chromosomal abnormalities and pregnancy outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, M A; Pajkrt, E; Bleker, O P; Bonsel, G J; Bilardo, C M

2004-08-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the natural course of enlarged nuchal translucency (NT) and to determine if its disappearance before 14 weeks' gestation is a favorable prognostic sign in relation to fetal karyotype and pregnancy outcome. A total of 147 women with increased NT (> 95th centile) at first measurement were included in this study. A second measurement was performed in all cases, at an interval of at least 2 days. Both measurements were taken between 10 + 3 and 14 + 0 weeks. All women underwent chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis for subsequent karyotyping. In those women with a normal karyotype, a fetal anomaly scan was performed at 20 weeks' gestation. Pregnancy outcome was recorded in all cases. The finding of persistent or disappearing NT enlargement was analyzed in relation to fetal karyotype and pregnancy outcome. Of the 147 paired measurements, NT remained enlarged at the second measurement in 121 (82%) cases. An abnormal karyotype was found in 35% of these cases. In 26 (18%) fetuses the NT measurement was found to be below the 95th percentile at the second measurement and in only two of them an abnormal karyotype was found (8%). In the 103 chromosomally normal fetuses an adverse outcome (i.e. fetal loss or structural defects) was recorded in 22 fetuses with persistent enlargement (28%) and in four fetuses with disappearing enlargement (17%). Disappearance of an enlarged NT before 14 weeks' gestation is not a rare phenomenon and seems to be a favorable prognostic sign with respect to fetal karyotype. Overall, no significant difference in pregnancy outcome was found between chromosomally normal fetuses with persisting or disappearing NT enlargement. Copyright 2004 ISUOG

Identification of the Related Substances in Ampicillin Capsule by Rapid Resolution Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Rapid Resolution Liquid Chromatography coupled with Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry (RRLC-ESI-MSn was used to separate and identify related substances in ampicillin capsule. The fragmentation behaviors of related substances were used to identify their chemical structures. Finally, a total of 13 related substances in ampicillin capsule were identified, including four identified components for the first time and three groups of isomers on the basis of the exact mass, fragmentation behaviors, retention time, and chemical structures in the literature. This study avoided time-consuming and complex chemosynthesis of related substances of ampicillin and the results could be useful for the quality control of ampicillin capsule to guarantee its safety in clinic. In the meantime, it provided a good example for the rapid identification of chemical structures of related substances of drugs.

Enlargement of lumbar spinal canal in lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis. Evaluation with three-dimensional computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunishi, Yoshihiko

2003-01-01

A number of clinical studies have demonstrated that enlargement of the lumbar spinal canal is one of the effective surgical procedures for the treatment of the lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis and provides a good result. In the present study, we have evaluated the long-term outcome of the enlargement of the lumbar canal without fusion in thirty eight patients with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis using three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) The improvement rate was excellent in 80% of the patients (mean improvement ratio, 83%) according to the Japanese Orthopedic Association scoring system. We found that the sufficient enlargement of the canal was obtained by the surgery and maintained for a long period of time. The results from 3D-CT suggested that a round shape was maintained in the canal after the surgery because of pressures of the dura mater against to the bony canal. None of patients showed lumbar instability. In conclusion, enlargement of lumbar canal without fusion is useful for the treatment of lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis, and the enlarged canal has been maintained for a long period of time after the surgery. The results demonstrated the clinical utility of 3D-CT to evaluate the preoperative and postoperative shape of the spine. (author)

Influence of platform screen doors on energy consumption of the environment control system of a mass rapid transit system: case study of the Taipei MRT [mass rapid transit] system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shih-Cheng Hu; Jen-Ho Lee [National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei (China). Dept. of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering

2004-03-01

This investigation studies how platform screen doors (PSD) affect the energy consumption of the environmental control system of a mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Taipei. The environmental parameter simulation was conducted using the subway environmental simulation (SES) program, while the associated air conditioning (A/C) cooling load was predicted with the carrier E20-II program. Results show that PSD can significantly decrease average and peak cooling load, thus reducing the capacity/size of cooling equipment and allowing the chiller cooling load to be abridged. However, electricity consumption by ventilation equipment increases notably when PSD are used, particularly the electricity consumption by the under platform exhaust (UPE) fan, and thus, ultimately, little difference exists in the overall energy consumption with and without UPE. (author)

Wellbore enlargement investigation: Potential analogs to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant during inadvertent intrusion of the repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boak, D.M.; Dotson, L.; Aguilar, R.

1997-01-01

This study involved the evaluation and documentation of cases in which petroleum wellbores were enlarged beyond the nominal hole diameter as a consequence of erosion during exploratory drilling, particularly as a function of gas flow into the wellbore during blowout conditions. A primary objective was to identify analogs to potential wellbore enlargement at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) during inadvertent human intrusion. Secondary objectives were to identify drilling scenarios associated with enlargement, determine the physical extent of enlargement, and establish the physical properties of the formation in which the enlargement occurred. No analogs of sufficient quality to establish quantitative limits on wellbore enlargement at the WIPP disposal system were identified. However, some information was obtained regarding the frequency of petroleum well blowouts and the likelihood that such blowouts would bridge downhole, self-limiting the surface release of disposal-system material. Further work would be necessary, however, to determine the conditions under which bridging could occur and the extent to which the bridging might be applicable to WIPP. In addition, data on casing sizes of petroleum boreholes in the WIPP vicinity support the use of a 12-1/4 inch borehole size in WIPP performance assessment calculations. Finally, although data are limited, there was no evidence of significant wellbore enlargement in any of three blowouts that occur-red in wellbores in the Delaware Basin (South Culebra Bluff Unit No. 1, Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) 6, and WIPP 12)

Dissolution-Enlarged Fractures Imaging Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT)

Science.gov (United States)

Siami-Irdemoosa, Elnaz

In recent years the electrical imaging techniques have been largely applied to geotechnical and environmental investigations. These techniques have proven to be the best geophysical methods for site investigations in karst terrain, particularly when the overburden soil is clay-dominated. Karst is terrain with a special landscape and distinctive hydrological system developed by dissolution of rocks, particularly carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite, made by enlarging fractures into underground conduits that can enlarge into caverns, and in some cases collapse to form sinkholes. Bedding planes, joints, and faults are the principal structural guides for underground flow and dissolution in almost all karstified rocks. Despite the important role of fractures in karst development, the geometry of dissolution-enlarged fractures remain poorly unknown. These features are characterized by an strong contrast with the surrounding formations in terms of physical properties, such as electrical resistivity. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was used as the primary geophysical tool to image the subsurface in a karst terrain in Greene County, Missouri. Pattern, orientation and density of the joint sets were interpreted from ERT data in the investigation site. The Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Wave (MASW) method and coring were employed to validate the interpretation results. Two sets of orthogonal visually prominent joints have been identified in the investigation site: north-south trending joint sets and west-east trending joint sets. However, most of the visually prominent joint sets are associated with either cultural features that concentrate runoff, natural surface drainage features or natural surface drainage.

Hearing loss and enlarged internal auditory canal in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Saturnino; Domínguez, M Jesús; Cervera, Javier; Suárez, Alicia; Bueno, Antonio; Bartolomé, Margarita; López, Rafael

2014-01-01

Among the temporal bone abnormalities that can be found in the etiological study of paediatric sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) by imaging techniques, those related to the internal auditory canal (IAC) are the least frequent. The most prevalent of these abnormalities that is associated with SNHL is stenotic IAC due to its association with cochlear nerve deficiencies. Less frequent and less concomitant with SNHL is the finding of an enlarged IAC (>8mm). Retrospective and descriptive review of clinical associations, imaging, audiological patterns and treatment of 9 children with hearing loss and enlarged IAC in the period 1999 to 2012. Two groups of patients are described. The first, without association with vestibulocochlear dysplasias, consisted of: 2 patients with SNHL without other temporal bone or systemic abnormalities, one with bilateral mixed HL from chromosome 18q deletion, one with a genetic X-linked DFN3 hearing loss, one with unilateral hearing loss in neurofibromatosis type 2 with bilateral acoustic neuroma, and one with unilateral hearing loss with cochlear nerve deficiency. The second group, with association with vestibulocochlear dysplasias, was comprised of: one patient with moderate bilateral mixed hearing loss in branchio-oto-renal syndrome, one with profound unilateral SNHL with recurrent meningitis, and another with profound bilateral SNHL with congenital hypothyroidism. The presence of an enlarged IAC in children can be found in different clinical and audiological settings with relevancies that can range from life-threatening situations, such as recurrent meningitis, to isolated hearing loss with no other associations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

THE IMPACT OF EU ENLARGEMENT ON THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfred E. Kellermann

2004-10-01

Full Text Available EU Enlargement is a consequence of the success story of the creation of the European Communities, as many applicant countries were attracted to the new legal order based on the rule of law, rather than to an order or disorder based on the rule of politics. As from May 1st 2004, the EU enlargement, unprecedented in its size, marks a historic milestone for the European Union and its Member States, and also for the whole continent. Given this new context, the EU has to find and define new cooperation partnerships with its neighbours. A major partner, not to be neglected in this new policy is by all means Russia. The first Summit between the enlarged EU and Russia held in Moscow on 21 May 2004 was the first high-level meeting of the 25 EU and Russia following the successful conclusion of negotiations between the European Commission and Russia on the extension of the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA to the ten new EU Member States. The Summit calls for the reinforcement of EU-Russia relations via the creation of Four Common Spaces: a common economic space (with specific reference to environment and energy; a common space of Freedom, Security and Justice; a field of external security; as well as a space of research and education including culture. The next step will be to define shared priorities and concrete measures for each of the Four Common Spaces in a mutually agreed Action Plan.

The Fungal Defensin Family Enlarged

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiajia Wu

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Fungi are an emerging source of peptide antibiotics. With the availability of a large number of model fungal genome sequences, we can expect that more and more fungal defensin-like peptides (fDLPs will be discovered by sequence similarity search. Here, we report a total of 69 new fDLPs encoded by 63 genes, in which a group of fDLPs derived from dermatophytes are defined as a new family (fDEF8 according to sequence and phylogenetic analyses. In the oleaginous fungus Mortierella alpine, fDLPs have undergone extensive gene expansion. Our work further enlarges the fungal defensin family and will help characterize new peptide antibiotics with therapeutic potential.

Isocratic Solid Phase Extraction-Liquid Chromatography (SPE-LC) Interfaced to High-Performance Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Protein Identification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hørning, Ole B; Kjeldsen, Frank; Theodorsen, Søren

2008-01-01

the isocratic solid phase extraction-liquid chromatography (SPE-LC) technology for rapid separation ( approximately 8 min) of simple peptide samples. We now extend these studies to demonstrate the potential of SPE-LC separation in combination with a hybrid linear ion trap-Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometer...

Case report of acute lymphoblastic leukemia with multiple soft tissue mass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Jung Yong; Huh, Kyung Hoe; Yi, Won Jin; Heo, Min Suk; Lee, Sam Sun; Choi, Soon Chul

2005-01-01

A 15-year-old patient, who had been diagnosed and treated as Burkitt cell type acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL-L3) already, visited our department. He complained of gingival enlargement and loosening teeth 1 month ago. The clinical examination revealed anterior open bite, gingival enlargement, and non tender swelling particularly in molar regions of both jaws. Deep periodontal pockets and severe mobility was shown on most of the teeth. The panoramic radiographs showed severe bone destruction and extrusion of the molars. The contrast enhanced CT showed multiple enhanced mass and bone marrow obliteration in both jaws. Chemotherapy was done the swelling was subsided at 1 month later. In conclusion, radiologic findings of leukemia with soft tissue mass, known as chloroma or granulocytic sarcoma, mimic those of lymphoma, so blood test may be needed for the final diagnosis.

Case report of acute lymphoblastic leukemia with multiple soft tissue mass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, Jung Yong; Huh, Kyung Hoe; Yi, Won Jin; Heo, Min Suk; Lee, Sam Sun; Choi, Soon Chul [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2005-06-15

A 15-year-old patient, who had been diagnosed and treated as Burkitt cell type acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL-L3) already, visited our department. He complained of gingival enlargement and loosening teeth 1 month ago. The clinical examination revealed anterior open bite, gingival enlargement, and non tender swelling particularly in molar regions of both jaws. Deep periodontal pockets and severe mobility was shown on most of the teeth. The panoramic radiographs showed severe bone destruction and extrusion of the molars. The contrast enhanced CT showed multiple enhanced mass and bone marrow obliteration in both jaws. Chemotherapy was done the swelling was subsided at 1 month later. In conclusion, radiologic findings of leukemia with soft tissue mass, known as chloroma or granulocytic sarcoma, mimic those of lymphoma, so blood test may be needed for the final diagnosis.

Rapid maxillary anterior teeth retraction en masse by bone compression: a canine model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chufeng Liu

Full Text Available The present study sought to establish an animal model to study the feasibility and safety of rapid retraction of maxillary anterior teeth en masse aided by alveolar surgery in order to reduce orthodontic treatment time.Extraction of the maxillary canine and alveolar surgery were performed on twelve adult beagle dogs. After that, the custom-made tooth-borne distraction devices were placed on beagles' teeth. Nine of the dogs were applied compression at 0.5 mm/d for 12 days continuously. The other three received no force as the control group. The animals were killed in 1, 14, and 28 days after the end of the application of compression.The tissue responses were assessed by craniometric measurement as well as histological examination. Gross alterations were evident in the experimental group, characterized by anterior teeth crossbite. The average total movements of incisors within 12 days were 4.63±0.10 mm and the average anchorage losses were 1.25±0.12 mm. Considerable root resorption extending into the dentine could be observed 1 and 14 days after the compression. But after consolidation of 28 days, there were regenerated cementum on the dentine. There was no apparent change in the control group. No obvious tooth loosening, gingival necrosis, pulp degeneration, or other adverse complications appeared in any of the dogs.This is the first experimental study for testing the technique of rapid anterior teeth retraction en masse aided by modified alveolar surgery. Despite a preliminary animal model study, the current findings pave the way for the potential clinical application that can accelerate orthodontic tooth movement without many adverse complications.It may become a novel method to shorten the clinical orthodontic treatment time in the future.

[Non-neoplastic enlargement of salivary glands: clinico-histologic analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

González Guevara, Martha Beatriz; Torres Tejero, Marco Antonio; Martínez Mata, Guillermo

2005-01-01

We carried out a retrospective study on non-neoplastic enlargement of the salivary glands at the Oral Histopathology Diagnostic Center of the Autonomous Metropolitan University at Xochimilco (UAM-Xochimilco) in Mexico during a period of 24 years (1979-2003). From 5,625 biopsies received and analyzed, a total of 461 (8.2%) were non-neoplastic enlargement of the salivary glands; for each case, we registered demographic data as well as clinic characteristics. These lesions were characterized as a heterogeneous group of pathologic entities among which we included local, obstructive, infectious, and immunopathologic lesions. The most frequent lesion was the extravasation cyst in 341 (74%) cases, followed by chronic sialoadenitis and Sjögren's syndrome with 54 (11.7%) and 41 (8.8%) cases, respectively, and at a lesser percentage mucous retention cyst, sialosis, benign lymphoepithelial lesions and those related with sialolytes. Females were affected more frequently; mean age was second to third life decades. These lesions were most frequently localized on inferior labial mucosa.

Excess seawater nutrients, enlarged algal symbiont densities and bleaching sensitive reef locations: 1. Identifying thresholds of concern for the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Wooldridge, Scott A

2016-05-23

Here, I contribute new insight into why excess seawater nutrients are an increasingly identified feature at reef locations that have low resistance to thermal stress. Specifically, I link this unfavourable synergism to the development of enlarged (suboptimal) zooxanthellae densities that paradoxically limit the capacity of the host coral to build tissue energy reserves needed to combat periods of stress. I explain how both theoretical predictions and field observations support the existence of species-specific 'optimal' zooxanthellae densities ~1.0-3.0×10 6 cellscm- 2 . For the central Great Barrier Reef (GBR), excess seawater nutrients that permit enlarged zooxanthellae densities beyond this optimum range are linked with seawater chlorophyll a>0.45μg·L -1 ; a eutrophication threshold previously shown to correlate with a significant loss in species for hard corals and phototrophic octocorals on the central GBR, and herein shown to correlate with enhanced bleaching sensitivity during the 1998 and 2002 mass bleaching events. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical correlates of enlarged prostate size in subjects with sexual dysfunction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Corona

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Digito-rectal examination (DRE of the prostate provides useful information on the state of prostate growth and on the presence of suspected peripheral nodules. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical and biochemical correlates of finding an enlarged prostate size at DRE in subjects with sexual dysfunction (SD. A consecutive series of 2379 patients was retrospectively studied. The analysis was focused on a subset of subjects (n = 1823; mean age 54.7 ± 11.4 selected for being free from overt prostatic diseases. Several parameters were investigated. After adjusting for confounders, the presence of an enlarged prostate size at DRE was associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome (HR = 1.346 (1.129-1.759; P = 0.030, type 2 diabetes mellitus (HR = 1.489 (1.120-1.980; P = 0.006, increased LDL cholesterol (>100 mg dl−1 ; HR = 1.354 (1.018-1.801; P = 0.037 and increased mean blood pressure (BP values (HR = 1.017 (1.007-1.027 for each mmHg increment; P = 0.001. Accordingly, enlarged prostate size was also associated with a higher risk of arteriogenic erectile dysfunction (ED, as well as with other andrological conditions, such as varicocele and premature ejaculation (PE. PSA levels were significantly higher in subjects with enlarged prostate size when compared to the rest of the sample (HR = 3.318 (2.304; 4.799 for each log unit increment in PSA levels; P < 0.0001. Arteriogenic ED, according to different criteria, was also associated with increased PSA levels. In conclusion, our data support the need to examine prostate size either by clinical (DRE or biochemical (PSA inspection in subjects with SD, in order to have insights into the nature of the SD and the metabolic and cardiovascular (CV background of the patient.

Trade integration and synchronization of shocks : implications for EU enlargement

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Babetskii, Ian

2005-01-01

Roč. 13, č. 1 (2005), s. 105-138 ISSN 0967-0750 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : EU enlargement * business cycle * trade Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 0.774, year: 2005

A SIMPLE AND RAPID MATRIX-ASSISTED LASER DESORPTION/IONIZATION TIME OF FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY METHOD TO SCREEN FISH PLASMA SAMPLES FOR ESTROGEN-RESPONSIVE BIOMARKERS

Science.gov (United States)

In this study, we describe and evaluate the performance of a simple and rapid mass spectral method for screening fish plasma for estrogen-responsive biomarkers using matrix assisted laster desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) couopled with a short...

Parotid enlargement in children with AIDS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soberman, N.; Leonidas, J.C.; Berdon, W.E.; Haller, J.O.; Posner, M.; Bonagura, V.

1990-01-01

PURPOSE: Painless parotid enlargement has been recently reported as a sign of AIDS, but little is known of the imaging characteristics of parotid involvement in affected children. The aim of this paper is to use US, CT and MR imaging to determine the anatomic changes of the parotid; study their possible association with pulmonary lymphoid hyperplasia (PLH); and define the immunologic parameters and clinical course. Eighteen children were evaluated clinically, radiologically, and immunologically. All patients underwent US of the parotids and chest radiography; some children had CT of the chest and MR imaging of the parotids

Diagnosis Of Thyroid Enlargement: Use Of Fine Needle Aspiration ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

One hundred and ten Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsies (FNAC) obtained from 87 patients with thyroid enlargement or nodules were retrospectively reviewed. Aspiration biopsy was accomplished using 21-gauge needle attached with 20-ml plastic syringe. There were 14 males and 73 females involved in the study. Sixty- four ...

Characteristics and significance of D-tagatose-induced liver enlargement in rats: An interpretative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bär, A

1999-04-01

This review addresses the issue of asymptomatic liver enlargement in rats. It was necessitated by the observation of significantly increased liver weights in rats fed diets with 10 to 20% D-tagatose, a potential new bulk sweetener, for between 28 and 90 days. Increases of liver size without accompanying histopathological changes or impairment of organ function have been observed in rats in response to the ingestion of various xenobiotic compounds (including some food additives), changes of dietary composition (e.g. , high doses of fructose and sucrose), metabolic aberrations (e.g., diabetes), as well as normal pregnancy and lactation. The underlying mechanism(s) are not yet understood in detail but peroxisome proliferation, microsomal enzyme induction, increased storage of glycogen or lipids, and hyperfunction due to an excessive workload are well-established causes of hepatomegaly in rats. In D-tagatose- and fructose-fed rats, a treatment-related increase of hepatic glycogen storage was identified as a likely cause of the liver enlargement. Dietary levels of 5% and about 15-20% were determined as no-effect levels (NOEL) for D-tagatose- and fructose-induced liver enlargement, respectively. At doses above the NOEL, D-tagatose is about four times more efficient than fructose in inducing liver enlargement. On the other hand, the estimated intake of D-tagatose from its intended uses in food is about four times lower than the actual fructose intake. Consequently, a similar safety margin would apply for both sugars. Considering the similarity of the liver effects in rats of fructose, a safe food ingredient, and D-tagatose, the absence of histopathological changes in rats fed a diet with 20% D-tagatose for 90 days, and the absence of adverse long-term consequences of glycogen-induced liver enlargement in rats, it is concluded that the observed liver enlargement in D-tagatose-fed rats has no relevance for the assessment of human safety of this substance. Copyright 1999

Clinical and morphological study of calf enlargement following S-1 radiculopathy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osvaldo J. M. Nascimento

1992-09-01

Full Text Available Calf enlargement following sciatica is a rare condition. It is reported the case of a 28-year-old woman who complained of repeated episodes of lower back pain radiating into the left buttock and foot. One year after the beginning of her symptoms, she noticed enlargement of her left calf. X-ray studies disclosed L5-S1 disk degeneration. EMG showed muscle denervation with normal motor conduction velocity. Open biopsies of the gastrocnemius muscles were performed. The left gastrocnemius muscle showed hypertrophic type 2 fibers in comparison with the right gastrocnemius. Electron microscopy showed mildly increased number of mitochondria in these fibers. A satisfactory explanation for denervation hypertrophy has yet to be provided.

Enlargement gingival treatment on teeth 11 and 21

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Umi Ghoni Tjiptoningsih

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Gingival enlargement in the interdental papillae, thickened, rounded gingival contour and discomfort became major issues that must be treated in order to be optimal appearance and function. Gingival enlargement that experienced fibrosis would not disappear with only plaque control, but required surgery that is gingivectomy and gingivoplasty. The 24-year-old woman came to the periodonsia clinic with complaints maxillary anterior gingiva swelled at teeth 11-21 with plaque index 52%. The depth of the tooth pocket 11: labial (mesial: 4, medial: 1, distal: 3. Palatal (mesial: 3, medial: 2, distal 1. The depth of the tooth pocket 21 is labial (mesial: 4, medial: 1, distal: 1, palatal (mesial: 3, medial: 1, distal 1. Gingivectomy treatment and gingivoplasty were performed with the aim of eliminating pockets and restore physiologic gingival contour which can help prevent the recurrence of the disease periodontal. In performing surgical gingivectomy and gingivoplasty, which must be considered is to minimize the disposal of gingival tissue to maintain the aesthetic, adequate access to the bone defect in order to make good corrections, and the minimization of bleeding and discomfort after surgery.

Mechanism-based model of a mass rapid transit system: A perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Legara, Erika Fille; Khoon, Lee Kee; Guang, Hung Gih; Monterola, Christopher

2015-01-01

In this paper, we discuss our findings on the spatiotemporal dynamics within the mass rapid transit (MRT) system of Singapore. We show that the trip distribution of Origin-Destination (OD) station pairs follows a power-law, implying the existence of critical OD pairs. We then present and discuss the empirically validated agent-based model (ABM) we have developed. The model allows recreation of the observed statistics and the setting up of various scenarios and their effects on the system, such as increasing the commuter population and the propagation of travel delays within the transportation network. The proposed model further enables identification of bottlenecks that can cause the MRT to break down, and consequently provide foresight on how such disruptions can possibly be managed. This can potentially provide a versatile approach for transport planners and government regulators to make quantifiable policies that optimally balance cost and convenience as a function of the number of the commuting public.

Preventive effect of aggressive blood pressure lowering on hematoma enlargement in patients with ultra-acute intracerebral hemorrhage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikawa, Tomofumi; Ueba, Tetsuya; Kajiwara, Motohiro; Iwata, Ryoichi; Yamashita, Kohsuke; Miyamatsu, Naomi

2010-01-01

The preventive effect of aggressive blood pressure lowering on hematoma enlargement was investigated in patients with ultra-acute spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Retrospective review of 248 patients (145 males, 103 females) with spontaneous ICH treated in our hospital between 2005 and 2008 identified patients with ultra-acute ICH who were directly taken to our institute by ambulance within 3 hours after onset. Patients who could not be assessed twice by computed tomography (CT) within 24 hours after arrival were excluded. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was aggressively controlled in all patients using intravenous nicardipine to below 140 mmHg as soon as possible after diagnosis of ICH with CT. Hematoma enlargement was defined as increase in volume of more than 33% or more than 12.5 ml in the first 24 hours. Hematoma enlargement was observed in 11 of the 73 patients (15.0%). The time course of SBP change was not significantly different in patients with and without hematoma enlargement. The incidence of hematoma enlargement in patients with ultra-acute ICH in this study was 15.0%, which was lower than that in other series in which blood pressure was not reduced aggressively. This finding suggests that aggressive SBP lowering to below 140 mmHg has a preventive effect on hematoma enlargement in patients with ultra-acute ICH. (author)

Association between gingivitis and anterior gingival enlargement in subjects undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Zanatta, Fabricio Batistin; Ardenghi, Thiago Machado; Antoniazzi, Raquel Pippi; Pinto, Tatiana Militz Perrone; Rösing, Cassiano Kuchenbecker

2014-01-01

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the association among gingival enlargement (GE), periodontal conditions and socio-demographic characteristics in subjects undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment. Methods A sample of 330 patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment for at least 6 months were examined by a single calibrated examiner for plaque and gingival indexes, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment loss and gingival enlargement. Socio-economic background, orthodontic treatment duration and use of dental floss were assessed by oral interviews. Associations were assessed by means of unadjusted and adjusted Poisson's regression models. Results The presence of gingival bleeding (RR 1.01; 95% CI 1.00-1.01) and excess resin around brackets (RR 1.02; 95% CI 1.02-1.03) were associated with an increase in GE. No associations were found between socio-demographic characteristics and GE. Conclusion Proximal anterior gingival bleeding and excess resin around brackets are associated with higher levels of anterior gingival enlargement in subjects under orthodontic treatment. PMID:25162567

Rapid Detection of Ricin in Serum Based on Cu-Chelated Magnetic Beads Using Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yong-Qiang; Song, Jian; Wang, Hong-Li; Xu, Bin; Liu, Feng; He, Kun; Wang, Na

2016-04-01

The protein toxin ricin obtained from castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) seeds is a potent biological warfare agent due to its ease of availability and acute toxicity. In this study, we demonstrated a rapid and simple method to detect ricin in serum in vitro. The ricin was mixed with serum and digested by trypsin, then all the peptides were efficiently extracted using Cu-chelated magnetic beads and were detected with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The specific ricin peptides were identified by Nanoscale Ultra Performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry according to their sequences. The assay required 2.5 hours, and a characteristic peptide could be detected down to 4 ng/μl and used as a biomarker to detect ricin in serum. The high sensitivity and simplicity of the procedure makes it valuable in clinical practice.

Evaluation of Flow-Injection Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Rapid and High-Throughput Quantitative Determination of B-Vitamins in Nutritional Supplements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhandari, Deepak [ORNL; Van Berkel, Gary J [ORNL

2012-01-01

The use of flow-injection electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry for rapid and high-throughput mass spectral analysis of selected B-vitamins, viz. B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6, in nutritional formulations was demonstrated. A simple and rapid (~5 min) in-tube sample preparation was performed by adding extraction solvent to a powdered sample aliquot followed by agitation, centrifugation, and filtration to recover an extract for analysis. Automated flow injection introduced 1 L of the extracts directly into the mass spectrometer ion source without chromatographic separation. Sample-to-sample analysis time was 60 s representing significant improvement over conventional liquid chromatography approaches which typically require 25-45 min, and often require more significant sample preparation procedures. Quantitative capabilities of the flow-injection analysis were tested using the method of standard additions and NIST standard reference material (SRM 3280) multivitamin/multielement tablets. The quantity determined for each B-vitamin in SRM 3280 was within the statistical range provided for the respective certified values. The same sample preparation and analysis approach was also applied to two different commercial vitamin supplement tablets and proved to be successful in the quantification of the selected B-vitamins as evidenced by an agreement with the labels values and the results obtained using isotope dilution liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Rapid quantification of free cholesterol in tears using direct insertion/electron ionization-mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Xiaojia Eric; Korth, John; Brown, Simon H J; Mitchell, Todd W; Truscott, Roger J W; Blanksby, Stephen J; Willcox, Mark D P; Zhao, Zhenjun

2013-12-09

To establish a simple and rapid analytical method, based on direct insertion/electron ionization-mass spectrometry (DI/EI-MS), for measuring free cholesterol in tears from humans and rabbits. A stable-isotope dilution protocol employing DI/EI-MS in selected ion monitoring mode was developed and validated. It was used to quantify the free cholesterol content in human and rabbit tear extracts. Tears were collected from adult humans (n = 15) and rabbits (n = 10) and lipids extracted. Screening, full-scan (m/z 40-600) DI/EI-MS analysis of crude tear extracts showed that diagnostic ions located in the mass range m/z 350 to 400 were those derived from free cholesterol, with no contribution from cholesterol esters. DI/EI-MS data acquired using selected ion monitoring (SIM) were analyzed for the abundance ratios of diagnostic ions with their stable isotope-labeled analogues arising from the D6-cholesterol internal standard. Standard curves of good linearity were produced and an on-probe limit of detection of 3 ng (at 3:1 signal to noise) and limit of quantification of 8 ng (at 10:1 signal to noise). The concentration of free cholesterol in human tears was 15 ± 6 μg/g, which was higher than in rabbit tears (10 ± 5 μg/g). A stable-isotope dilution DI/EI-SIM method for free cholesterol quantification without prior chromatographic separation was established. Using this method demonstrated that humans have higher free cholesterol levels in their tears than rabbits. This is in agreement with previous reports. This paper provides a rapid and reliable method to measure free cholesterol in small-volume clinical samples.

Natural History of Plexiform Neurofibromas in NF1. Addendum

Science.gov (United States)

2008-10-01

findings, or for lesions that are rapidly enlarging . It was not a goal of this study to diagnose plexiform neurofibromas on the basis of MRI but rather...spinae, and gluteus. Genitourinary organs including the kidneys and ureter, the penis and scrotum in males, and the uterus in females were evaluated...intensity soft-tissue lesions causing mass effect on the surrounding abdominal structures, iliac vessels, sacrum, and iliac bones. Enlargement of sacral

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography in combination with rapid scanning quadrupole mass spectrometry in perfume analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mondello, Luigi; Casillia, Alessandro; Tranchida, Peter Quinto; Dugo, Giovanni; Dugo, Paola

2005-03-04

Single column gas chromatography (GC) in combination with a flame ionization detector (FID) and/or a mass spectrometer is routinely employed in the determination of perfume profiles. The latter are to be considered medium to highly complex matrices and, as such, can only be partially separated even on long capillaries. Inevitably, several monodimensional peaks are the result of two or more overlapping components, often hindering reliable identification and quantitation. The present investigation is based on the use of a comprehensive GC (GC x GC) method, in vacuum outlet conditions, for the near to complete resolution of a complex perfume sample. A rapid scanning quadrupole mass spectrometry (qMS) system, employed for the assignment of GC x GC peaks, supplied high quality mass spectra. The validity of the three-dimensional (3D) GC x GC-qMS application was measured and compared to that of GC-qMS analysis on the same matrix. Peak identification, in all applications, was achieved through MS spectra library matching and the interactive use of linear retention indices (LRI).

Enlargement of thalamic nuclei in Tourette syndrome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miller, Ann M; Bansal, Ravi; Hao, Xuejun

2010-01-01

CONTEXT: The basal ganglia and thalamus together connect in parallel closed-loop circuits with the cortex. Previous imaging studies have shown modifications of the basal ganglia and cortical targets in individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS), but less is known regarding the role of the thalamus......-subcortical circuits constitute an anatomical crossroad wherein enlargement of motor nuclei may represent activity-dependent hypertrophy within this component of cortical-subcortical motor circuits, or an adaptive response within a larger putative compensatory system that could thereby directly modulate activity...

Quantification of rifampicin in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid by a highly sensitive and rapid liquid chromatographic–tandem mass spectrometric method

OpenAIRE

Srivastava, Abhishek; Waterhouse, David; Ardrey, Alison; Ward, Stephen A.

2012-01-01

A highly sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method has been developed to measure the levels of the antitubercular drug rifampicin (RIF) in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The analyte and internal standard (IS) were isolated from plasma and CSF by a simple organic solvent based precipitation of proteins followed by centrifugation. Detection was carried out by electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the multiple-reaction monit...

Cross-sectional imaging in pediatric neck masses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koenigsberg, R.A.; Patel, M.; Horowitz, C.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on US, CT, and MR imaging that demonstrates unique roles in the evaluation of pediatric neck masses. The causes of these masses range from infections/abscesses to primary and secondary tumors. The purpose of this paper is to review pediatric neck masses and the current role of cross-sectional imaging. Seventy-one examinations of the neck by means of CT, US, and MR imaging on 62 patients aged 1-21 y were retrospectively reviewed. Diseases were categorized according to benign versus malignant causes. Benign: 9 abscesses/cellulitis, 5 thyroglossal duct cysts, 3 branchial cleft cysts, 2 parotid cysts, 2 benign enlarged lumphadenopathies, 2 cystic hydromas, 1 ranula, and 1 hematoma

Immunoglobulin G4-related dacyroadenitis presenting as bilateral chorioretinal folds from severely enlarged lacrimal glands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toru Kurokawa

2018-03-01

Conclusions and importance: This is the first account of chorioretinal fold formation by severely enlarged lacrimal glands appearing in IgG4-related dacryoadenitis. Chorioretinal fold formation by an enlarged lacrimal gland occurring bilaterally may represent a basis for suspecting IgG4-related dacryoadenitis. Prompt treatment is recommended for patients presenting with very large lacrimal glands to avoid visual impairment.

The coupling of supercritical fluid chromatography and field ionization time-of-flight high-resolution mass spectrometry for rapid and quantitative analysis of petroleum middle distillates.

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Kuangnan; Diehl, John W; Dechert, Gary J; DiSanzo, Frank P

2004-01-01

We report the first coupling of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with field ionization time-of-flight high-resolution mass spectrometry (FI-ToF HRMS), in parallel with ultraviolet (UV) detection and flame ionization detection (FID), for rapid and quantitative analysis of petroleum middle distillates. SFC separates petroleum middle distillates into saturates and 1- to 3-ring aromatics. FI generates molecular ions for hydrocarbon species eluted from the SFC. The high resolution and exact mass measurements by ToF mass spectrometry provide elemental compositions of the molecules in the petroleum product. The amounts of saturates and aromatic ring types were quantified using the parallel SFC-FID assisted by SFC-UV. With a proper carbon-number calibration, the detailed composition of the petroleum middle distillate was rapidly determined.

Evaluation of breast enlargement in young males and factors associated with gynecomastia and pseudogynecomastia.

Science.gov (United States)

Yazici, M; Sahin, M; Bolu, E; Gok, D E; Taslipinar, A; Tapan, S; Torun, D; Uckaya, G; Kutlu, M

2010-12-01

Gynecomastia is defined as a palpable enlargement of the mammary gland in males that is distinguishable from lipomastia. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and characteristics of different causes of breast enlargement in young males referred to our tertiary center, and evaluation of the factors associated with gynaecomastia. One hundred thirty-five male recruits aged 20-30 years were enrolled in the study. A control group comprising 32 age-matched healthy individuals aged 20-25 years was also studied. Idiopathic gynecomastia (IG) was diagnosed in 31 of 135 patients (23%) and Klinefelter' syndrome (KS) was diagnosed in 70 cases (52%). Patients with KS had significantly higher body mass index (BMI) and waist and hip circumference waist/hip ratio than the control group. FSH, LH and SHBG were significantly higher and DHEAS, free testosterone (fT) and total testosterone (tT) were lower in patients with KS than the control group. Anthropometric measurements revealed significant increase in body weight and BMI in patients with IG compared with healthy controls. FSH and LH levels were significantly higher in the patients with IG. Patients with pseudogynecomastia alone were not obese and hypogonadism was observed in 35.1% of patients. We concluded that gynaecomastia in young adult males is mostly because of KS or idiopathic in origin. IG seems to be the result of androgen resistance and in part increased aromatization because of increased adiposity. Symptoms or findings for hypogonadism must be evaluated carefully in patients with pseudogynecomastia. We also suggest that the presence of both gynecomastia and azoospermia necessitate further karyotypic analyses for KS.

Polychlorinated biphenyls exposure-induced insulin resistance is mediated by lipid droplet enlargement through Fsp27.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hye Young; Kwon, Woo Young; Kim, Yeon A; Oh, Yoo Jin; Yoo, Seung Hee; Lee, Mi Hwa; Bae, Ju Yong; Kim, Jong-Min; Yoo, Young Hyun

2017-06-01

Although epidemiological and experimental studies demonstrated that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) lead to insulin resistance, the mechanism underlying PCBs-induced insulin resistance has remained unsolved. In this study, we examined in vitro and in vivo effects of PCB-118 (dioxin-like PCB) and PCB-138 (non-dioxin-like PCB) on adipocyte differentiation, lipid droplet growth, and insulin action. 3T3-L1 adipocytes were incubated with PCB-118 or PCB-138 during adipocyte differentiation. For in vivo studies, C57BL/6 mice were administered PCB-118 or PCB-138 (37.5 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection and we examined adiposity and whole-body insulin action. PCB-118 and PCB-138 significantly promoted adipocyte differentiation and increased the lipid droplet (LD) size in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In mice, both PCBs increased adipose mass and adipocyte size. Furthermore, both PCBs induced insulin resistance in vitro and in vivo. Expression of fat-specific protein 27 (Fsp27), which is localized to LD contact sites, was increased in PCB-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes and mice. Depletion of Fsp27 by siRNA resulted in the inhibition of LD enlargement and attenuation of insulin resistance in PCB-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. An anti-diabetic drug, metformin, attenuated insulin resistance in PCB-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes through the reduced expression of Fsp27 protein and LD size. This study suggests that PCB exposure-induced insulin resistance is mediated by LD enlargement through Fsp27.

Numerology on pion and proton rapidity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gugelot, P.C.

1987-01-01

The pseudo-rapidity of pion jets which were measured for 50 GeV and 150 GeV incident pions and protons on carbon, copper and lead targets is analysed. The shape of the rapidity distribution for a ''fireball'' which emits particles isotropically in its center of mass is a cosh -2 y distribution. It is possible to unfold all measured distributions into three groups which correspond to a low rapidity originating from the target fragmentation, a middle group which is a function of the center of mass of the projectile and target rapidity and a fast group which is due to the projectile. 11 refs., 8 figs. (author)

Increased pulse pressure is associated with left atrial enlargement in resistant hypertensive patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Armario, Pedro; Oliveras, Anna; Hernández-Del-Rey, Raquel; Suárez, Carmen; Martell, Nieves; Ruilope, Luis M; De La Sierra, Alejandro

2013-02-01

Resistant hypertension (RH) is frequently associated with a high prevalence of target organ damage, which impairs the prognosis of these patients. Considering cardiac alterations in RH, most attention has been devoted to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), but data concerning left atrial enlargement (LAE) is less known. This cross-sectional study assessed the factors associated with LAE, with special focus on blood pressure (BP) estimates obtained by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), in 250 patients with RH, aged 64 ± 11 years. LAE and LVH were observed in 10.0% (95% CI 6.3-13.7) and 57.1% (95% CI 50.8-63.5) of patients, respectively. Compared with patients with normal atrium size, those exhibiting LAE were older, more frequently women, had elevated pulse pressure (PP) measured both at the office and by ABPM, and showed higher prevalence of LVH (83% vs 54%; p = 0.016). In a logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, left ventricular mass index and BP pressure estimates, night-time PP was independently associated with LAE (OR for 5 mmHg = 1.28, 95% CI 1.24-1.32; p = 0.001). In conclusion, besides classical determinants of LAE, such as age and LVH, an elevated night-time PP was independently associated with LAE in patients with RH.

Low-cost airlines in Europe: Network structures after the enlargement of the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dudas Gabor

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The liberalization of the European air opened the strictly regulated European market, and contributed to the appearance and quick spread of the Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs. At the beginning of the 21st century the low cost traffic absolutely concentrated on the Western European market but after the enlargement of the European Union (EU LCCs started their operations in Eastern Europe enlarging and enriching the former evolved network structures. The aim of this paper is to trace the evolution of the route network as a result of EU expansion. During the study we came to the conclusion that in the time period after the EU enlargement the European LCC traffic showed dynamic development, route networks widened and the number of accessible destinations doubled. Comparing the LCCs network structures we defined three main characteristics, which represents the North-South flows, the West-East routes and the mixed network structure.

Giant Fibroadenoma of Breast in an Adolescent Girl

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nithya Thuruthiyath

2012-07-01

Full Text Available A 12-year-old girl presented with a 15 × 15 cm, rapidly enlarging mass in left breast. Fine-needle aspiration cytology showed a benign proliferative breast lesion. Total excision of the mass was done preserving nipple and areola. Histopathology features were suggestive of giant fibroadenoma with benign phyllodes.

New predictor of aortic enlargement in uncomplicated type B aortic dissection based on elliptic Fourier analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Hiroshi; Ito, Toshiro; Kuroda, Yosuke; Uchiyama, Hiroki; Watanabe, Toshitaka; Yasuda, Naomi; Nakazawa, Junji; Harada, Ryo; Kawaharada, Nobuyoshi

2017-12-01

This study aimed to re-examine the conventional predictive factors for dissected aortic enlargement, such as the aortic and false lumen diameter and to consider whether the morphological elements of the dissected aorta could be predictors by quantifying the 'shape' of the true lumen based on elliptic Fourier analysis. A total of 80 patients with uncomplicated type B aortic dissection were included. The patients were divided into 'Enlargement group' and 'No Change group.' Between the 2 groups, the mean systolic blood pressure during follow-up, aortic and false lumen maximum diameters, and analysed morphological data were compared using each statistical method. The maximum aortic and false lumen diameters were significantly larger in the Enlargement group than in the No Change group (39.3 vs 35.9 mm; P = 0.0058) (23.5 vs 18.2 mm; P = 0.000095). The principal component 1, which is the data calculated by elliptic Fourier analysis, was significantly lower in the Enlargement group than in the No Change group (0.020 vs - 0.072; P = 0.000049). The mean systolic blood pressure ≥130 mmHg, aortic diameter, false lumen diameter and principal component 1 were included in the Cox proportional hazard model as covariates to determine the significant predictive variable. Principal component 1 demonstrated the only significance with aortic enlargement on multivariate analysis (odds ratio = 0.32; P = 0.048). The analysed and calculated morphological data of the shape of the true lumen can be more effective predictive factors of aortic enlargement of type B dissection than the conventional factors. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Enlargement of Tuning Range in a Ferrite-Tuned Cavity Through Superposed Orthogonal and Parallel Magnetic Bias

CERN Document Server

Vollinger, C

2013-01-01

Conventional ferrite-tuned cavities operate either with bias fields that are orthogonal or parallel to the magnetic RF-field. For a cavity that tunes rapidly over an overall frequency range around 100-400 MHz with high Q, we use ferrite garnets exposed to an innovative new biasing method consisting of a superposition of perpendicular and parallel magnetic fields. This method leads to a significant enlargement of the high-Q cavity tuning range by defining an operation point close to the magnetic saturation and thus improving ferrite material behaviour. A further advantage of this technique is the fast tuning speed resulting from the fact that tuning is carried out either with pure parallel biasing, or together with a very small change of operating point from perpendicular bias. In this paper, several scaled test models of ferrite-filled resonators are shown; measurements on the set-ups are compared and discussed.

CT appearance of hilar and mediastinal enlarged lymph nodes of coal worker's pneumoconiosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Daqing; Guan Yansheng; Tang Hongqu; He Wen; Chen Budong; Zhang Yansong; Li Jun

2000-01-01

Objective: To study the CT appearance of the hilar and mediastinal enlarged lymph nodes in coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP), its pathological basis and diagnostic value for CWR complicated with lung cancer. Methods: (1) Twelve isolated lungs with CWP obtained at autopsy were inflated and fixed. CT scan was performed. The pathologic findings of enlarged lymph nodes were identified. (2) CT findings of hilar and mediastinal enlarged lymph nodes of 71 cases with CWP and 22 cases of CWP complicated with lung cancer were analyzed. Results: (1) Most of the enlarged hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes in simple CWR was in third stage of fibrosis. The fourth stage of fibrosis was only seen in lymph nodes of a case with complicated CWP. In this case the necrotic materials of lymph nodes eroded adjacent bronchi and vessels, and coalesced with progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). (2) The average number of lymph nodes in cases of complicated CWP was more than that of simple CWP (P 2 cm was 7.4%. (3) The prevalence of lymph nodes calcification in CWP was 61.1%, but egg shell calcification was only 14.7%. (4) In the cases of CWP complicated with lung cancer, lymph node > 2 cm was 20.8%, that was more than CWP (P 3 cm was 7.6%. Conclusion: Lymph nodes up to 1 cm may have dust fibrosis and coal silicosis nodules. The lymph nodes >2 cm is more common in CWP complicated with lung cancer than in simple CWP. The lymph nodes > 3 cm indicates higher probability of CWP with lung cancer than PMF

The eastward enlargement of the eurozone: social and policy aspects in Portugal, Spain and Italy

OpenAIRE

Galego, Aurora; Caétano, José; Costa, Sofia; Liiv, Reilika

2003-01-01

This report explores some features of the social dimension of enlargement regarding the Southern EU-Member countries, namely Portugal, Spain and Italy. Economic theory suggests that integration may affect wages, employment and income distribution through changes on trade, FDI and migration flows. By removing all barriers to the free movement of goods and services, capital and labour, Eastward Enlargement will affect the location of economic activities, innovation, and technology. Subsequently...

Three-year hemodynamic performance, left ventricular mass regression, and prosthetic-patient mismatch after rapid deployment aortic valve replacement in 287 patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Haverich, Axel; Wahlers, Thorsten C; Borger, Michael A; Shrestha, Malakh; Kocher, Alfred A; Walther, Thomas; Roth, Matthias; Misfeld, Martin; Mohr, Friedrich W; Kempfert, Joerg; Dohmen, Pascal M; Schmitz, Christoph; Rahmanian, Parwis; Wiedemann, Dominik; Duhay, Francis G; Laufer, Günther

2014-12-01

Superior aortic valve hemodynamic performance can accelerate left ventricular mass regression and enhance survival and functional status after surgical aortic valve replacement. This can be achieved by rapid deployment aortic valve replacement using a subannular balloon-expandable stent frame, which functionally widens and reshapes the left ventricular outflow tract, to ensure a larger effective orifice area compared with conventional surgical valves. We report the intermediate-term follow-up data from a large series of patients enrolled in the Surgical Treatment of Aortic Stenosis With a Next Generation Surgical Aortic Valve (TRITON) trial. In a prospective, multicenter (6 European hospitals), single-arm study, 287 patients with aortic stenosis underwent rapid deployment aortic valve replacement using a stented trileaflet bovine pericardial bioprosthesis. Core laboratory echocardiography was performed at baseline, discharge, and 3 months, 1 year, and 3 years after rapid deployment aortic valve replacement. The mean patient age was 75.7 ± 6.7 years (range, 45-93; 49.1% women). The mean aortic valve gradient significantly decreased from discharge to 3 years of follow-up. The mean effective orifice area remained stable from discharge to 3 years. At 1 year, the left ventricular mass index had decreased by 14% (P replacement using a subannular balloon-expandable stent frame demonstrated excellent hemodynamic performance and significant left ventricular mass regression. With continued follow-up, future studies will establish whether these favorable structural changes correlate with improvement in long-term survival and functional status. Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mass spectrometric-based stable isotopic 2-aminobenzoic acid glycan mapping for rapid glycan screening of biotherapeutics.

Science.gov (United States)

Prien, Justin M; Prater, Bradley D; Qin, Qiang; Cockrill, Steven L

2010-02-15

Fast, sensitive, robust methods for "high-level" glycan screening are necessary during various stages of a biotherapeutic product's lifecycle, including clone selection, process changes, and quality control for lot release testing. Traditional glycan screening involves chromatographic or electrophoretic separation-based methods, and, although reproducible, these methods can be time-consuming. Even ultrahigh-performance chromatographic and microfluidic integrated LC/MS systems, which work on the tens of minute time scale, become lengthy when hundreds of samples are to be analyzed. Comparatively, a direct infusion mass spectrometry (MS)-based glycan screening method acquires data on a millisecond time scale, exhibits exquisite sensitivity and reproducibility, and is amenable to automated peak annotation. In addition, characterization of glycan species via sequential mass spectrometry can be performed simultaneously. Here, we demonstrate a quantitative high-throughput MS-based mapping approach using stable isotope 2-aminobenzoic acid (2-AA) for rapid "high-level" glycan screening.

Using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as a rapid and accurate diagnostic tool in infective endocarditis: a case report of a patient with mitral valve infective endocarditis caused by Abiotrophia defectiva

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holler, Jon Gitz; Pedersen, Line; Calum, Henrik

2011-01-01

A case of infective endocarditis caused by Abiotrophia defectiva is presented. The use of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as a rapid and accurate diagnostic tool in infective endocarditis is discussed.......A case of infective endocarditis caused by Abiotrophia defectiva is presented. The use of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as a rapid and accurate diagnostic tool in infective endocarditis is discussed....

Research on the Mass Digitization of the Print Collection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Yongmei

2017-10-01

Full Text Available [Purpose/significance] The mass digitization of the print collection is an inevitable action for digital libraries. It has enlarged the depth and breadth of library services, and has enormously promoted the development and progress of academic exchange and academic research. [Method/process] This paper analyzed the global mass digitization of the print collection in terms of the origin, environmental factors, development status and current problems. It took HathiTrust as a case study. [Result/conclusion] Building the principles, solving the copyright problems with fair use and establishing a multi-stage and multi-sided framework for cooperation are important measures to promote the full realization of the mass digitization.

Papillary ovarian cystadenocarcinoma in a dog.

Science.gov (United States)

Yotov, S; Simeonov, R; Dimitrov, F; Vassilev, N; Dimitrov, M; Georgiev, P

2005-03-01

An 11-year-old female German Shepherd dog was presented for investigation of progressive enlargement of the abdomen, periodic bloody discharge from the vulva and rapid exhaustion. Transabdominal ultrasonography and lateral abdominal radiography demonstrated an echogenic formation with anechogenic cavities located cranial to the urinary bladder and a homogeneous shadow with an elliptical shape was located caudal to the rib arc. Both showed indistinct borders. Exploratory laparotomy identified bilateral ovarian masses and ovariohysterectomy was performed. Histopathology confirmed ovarian cystadenocarcinoma. The dog remained clinically normal without evidence of metastatic disease 4 months after surgery. Papillary cystadenocarcinoma in the bitch could affect both ovaries and manifests with a rapid growth rate and clinical signs such as rapid exhaustion, abdominal enlargement and vulval discharge. Ovariohysterectomy is the treatment option.

Orbital T-Cell Lymphoma with Discrete Enlargements of All Extraocular Muscles Bilaterally in Patient with Moon Face Countenance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hideaki Kawakami

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To report our findings in a case of orbital T-cell lymphoma in which all of the extraocular muscles (EOMs were bilaterally and discretely enlarged and the patient had a moon face countenance. Case. A 59-year-old woman presented with visual disturbances in her left eye, hyperemia in both eyes, and a moon face countenance. Examinations showed limited upward gaze in the right eye, blepharoptosis, hypertropia, and limited downward and rightward gaze in the left eye. Slit-lamp examination showed only chemosis and hyperemia of both eyes. Magnetic resonance imaging with contrast revealed discrete enlargements of the muscle bellies in all EOMs without abnormalities of the orbital fat in both eyes. Blood examinations excluded thyroid- and IgG4-related ophthalmopathy, and EOM biopsy revealed peripheral T-cell lymphoma. After beginning aggressive chemotherapy, the enlarged EOMs, limited eye motility, and moon face countenance improved. Unfortunately, the patient died of sepsis during the chemotherapy. Conclusions. A lymphoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of eyes with enlarged EOMs. Because lymphomas can lead to death, it is important for clinicians to consider lymphomas in eyes with enlarged EOMs.

Income, Deprivation and Economic Stress in the Enlarged European Union

Science.gov (United States)

Whelan, Christopher T.; Maitre, Bertrand

2007-01-01

At risk of poverty indicators based on relative income measures suggest that within the enlarged EU societies located at quite different points on a continuum of affluence have similar levels of poverty. Substantial differences in levels of income between societies do not in themselves invalidate this approach. However, the relative income…

Rapid identification of acetic acid bacteria using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry fingerprinting.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrés-Barrao, Cristina; Benagli, Cinzia; Chappuis, Malou; Ortega Pérez, Ruben; Tonolla, Mauro; Barja, François

2013-03-01

Acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are widespread microorganisms characterized by their ability to transform alcohols and sugar-alcohols into their corresponding organic acids. The suitability of matrix-assisted laser desorption-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for the identification of cultured AAB involved in the industrial production of vinegar was evaluated on 64 reference strains from the genera Acetobacter, Gluconacetobacter and Gluconobacter. Analysis of MS spectra obtained from single colonies of these strains confirmed their basic classification based on comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. MALDI-TOF analyses of isolates from vinegar cross-checked by comparative sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments allowed AAB to be identified, and it was possible to differentiate them from mixed cultures and non-AAB. The results showed that MALDI-TOF MS analysis was a rapid and reliable method for the clustering and identification of AAB species. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Characterization of reaction conditions providing rapid and specific cysteine alkylation for peptide-based mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Paulech, Jana; Solis, Nestor; Cordwell, Stuart J

2013-01-01

Alkylation converts Cys thiols to thioethers and prevents unwanted side reactions, thus facilitating mass spectrometric identification of Cys-containing peptides. Alkylation occurs preferentially at Cys due to its high nucleophilicity, however reactions at other such sites are possible. N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) shows rapid reaction kinetics with Cys and careful definition of reaction conditions results in little reactivity at other sites. Analysis of a protein standard alkylated under differing reaction conditions (pH, NEM concentrations and reaction times) was performed using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and selected reaction monitoring (SRM) of NEM-modified and unmodified peptide pairs. Mis-alkylation sites at primary and secondary amines were identified and limited to one equivalent of NEM. No evidence for hydroxyl or thioether alkylation was observed. Improved specificity was achieved by restricting the pH below neutral, NEM concentration below 10mM and/or reaction time to below 5min. Maximal removal of Cys activity was observed in tissue homogenates at 40mM NEM within 1min, dependent upon efficient protein denaturation. SRM assays identified peptide-specific levels of mis-alkylation, indicating that NEM-modified to unmodified ratios did not exceed 10%, with the exception of Cys alkylation that proceeded to 100%, and some Lys residues that resulted in tryptic missed cleavages. High reactivity was observed for His residues considering their relatively low abundance. These data indicate that rapid and specific Cys alkylation is possible with NEM under relatively mild conditions, with more abrasive conditions leading to increased non-specific alkylation without appreciable benefit for MS-based proteomics. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The disk wind in the rapidly spinning stellar-mass black hole 4U 1630-472 observed with NuSTAR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

King, Ashley L.; Walton, Dominic J.; Miller, Jon M.

2014-01-01

We present an analysis of a short NuSTAR observation of the stellar-mass black hole and low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1630-472. Reflection from the inner accretion disk is clearly detected for the first time in this source, owing to the sensitivity of NuSTAR. With fits to the reflection spectrum, we...... find evidence for a rapidly spinning black hole, (1σ statistical errors). However, archival data show that the source has relatively low radio luminosity. Recently claimed relationships between jet power and black hole spin would predict either a lower spin or a higher peak radio luminosity. We also...

INDIUM AND ZINC MEDIATED ONE-ATOM CARBOCYCLE ENLARGEMENT IN WATER. (R822668)

Science.gov (United States)

AbstractSix-, seven-, eight-membered rings are enlarged by one carbon-atom into seven-, eight- and nine-membered ring derivatives respectively, via indium or zinc mediated reactions in aqueous medium.

A rapid screening method to monitor expression of various recombinant proteins from prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jebanathirajah, J.A.; Andersen, S.; Blagoev, B.

2002-01-01

Rapid methods using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry to monitor recombinant protein expression from various prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell culture systems were devised. Intracellular as well as secreted proteins from both induced and constitutive...

Compositional Approach to Designing Fcc High-Entropy Alloys that Have an Enlarged Equiaxed Zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minju Kang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A compositional approach to designing alloys that have an enlarged equiaxed zone is suggested in this study. The partitioning of elements during the solidification of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (HEA was confirmed through a directional solidification quenching experiment. Several HEAs were designed to maximize the effects of constitutional and thermal undercooling by considering factors including solute enrichment at the columnar front and the melting temperatures and thermal conductivities of the individual elements. The newly designed HEAs were shown to have successfully enlarged equiaxed zones, and improved anisotropic properties.

Significant Risk Factors for Postoperative Enlargement of Basal Ganglia Hematoma after Frameless Stereotactic Aspiration: Antiplatelet Medication and Concomitant IVH.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Wonsoo; Park, Jaechan

2017-09-01

Frameless stereotactic aspiration of a hematoma can be the one of the treatment options for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in the basal ganglia. Postoperative hematoma enlargement, however, can be a serious complication of intracranial surgery that frequently results in severe neurological deficit and even death. Therefore, it is important to identify the risk factors of postoperative hematoma growth. During a 13-year period, 101 patients underwent minimally invasive frameless stereotactic aspiration for basal ganglia hematoma. Patients were classified into two groups according to whether or not they had postoperative hematoma enlargement in a computed tomography scan. Baseline demographic data and several risk factors, such as hypertension, preoperative hematoma growth, antiplatelet medication, presence of concomitant intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), were analysed via a univariate statistical study. Nine of 101 patients (8.9%) showed hematoma enlargement after frameless stereotactic aspiration. Among the various risk factors, concomitant IVH and antiplatelet medication were found to be significantly associated with postoperative enlargement of hematomas. In conclusion, our study revealed that aspirin use and concomitant IVH are factors associated with hematoma enlargement subsequent to frameless stereotactic aspiration for basal ganglia hematoma.

Effects of Q-switched and long-pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser on enlarged facial pores.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chang Nam; Kim, You Jeong; Lee, Hyun Seung; Kim, Hei Sung

2009-12-01

'Enlarged facial pore' is a subjective term, which is not clearly defined but often complained by many. A diverse range of treatments are used though evidence of efficacy remains largely anecdotal. We report a series of nine patients who underwent a split face trial with Q-switched 1064 nm Nd:YAG and long-pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser to treat enlarged facial pores.

Giant fibroadenoma of the breast in late third trimester

African Journals Online (AJOL)

was 37 weeks of pregnancy and had a rapidly enlarging mass in her left breast ... the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. ... It allows the previously compressed.

Micro-CT analyses of apical enlargement and molar root canal complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markvart, Merete; Darvann, Tron Andre; Larsen, Per

2012-01-01

AIM: To compare the effectiveness of two rotary hybrid instrumentation techniques with focus on apical enlargement in molar teeth and to quantify and visualize spatial details of instrumentation efficacy in root canals of different complexity. METHODOLOGY: Maxillary and mandibular molar teeth wer...

Rapid assessment of health needs in mass emergencies: review of current concepts and methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Guha-Sapir, D

1991-01-01

The increase in the number of natural disasters and their impact on population is of growing concern to countries at risk and agencies involved in health and humanitarian action. The numbers of persons killed or disabled as a result of earthquakes, cyclones, floods and famines have reached record levels in the last decade. Population density, rampant urbanization and climatic changes have brought about risk patterns that are exposing larger and larger sections of populations in developing countries to life-threatening natural disasters. Despite substantial spending on emergency relief, the approaches to relief remain largely ad hoc and amateurish, resulting generally in inappropriate and/or delayed action. In recent years, mass emergencies of the kind experienced in Bangladesh or the Sahelian countries have highlighted the importance of rapid assessment of health needs for better allocation of resources and relief management. As a result, the development of techniques for rapid assessment of health needs has been identified as a priority for effective emergency action. This article sketches the health context of disasters in terms of mortality and morbidity patterns; it describes initial assessment techniques currently used and their methodological biases and constraints; it also discusses assessment needs which vary between different types of disasters and the time frame within which assessments are undertaken. Earthquakes, cyclones, famines, epidemics or refugees all have specific risk profiles and emergency conditions which differ for each situation. Vulnerability to mortality changes according to age and occupation, for earthquakes and famines. These risk factors then have significant implications for the design of rapid assessment protocols and checklists. Experiences from the field in rapid survey techniques and estimation of death rates are discussed, with emphasis on the need for a reliable denominator even for the roughest assessment. Finally, the

Lead discovery for mammalian elongation of long chain fatty acids family 6 using a combination of high-throughput fluorescent-based assay and RapidFire mass spectrometry assay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takamiya, Mari; Sakurai, Masaaki; Teranishi, Fumie; Ikeda, Tomoko; Kamiyama, Tsutomu; Asai, Akira

2016-01-01

A high-throughput RapidFire mass spectrometry assay is described for elongation of very long-chain fatty acids family 6 (Elovl6). Elovl6 is a microsomal enzyme that regulates the elongation of C12-16 saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Elovl6 may be a new therapeutic target for fat metabolism disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. To identify new Elovl6 inhibitors, we developed a high-throughput fluorescence screening assay in 1536-well format. However, a number of false positives caused by fluorescent interference have been identified. To pick up the real active compounds among the primary hits from the fluorescence assay, we developed a RapidFire mass spectrometry assay and a conventional radioisotope assay. These assays have the advantage of detecting the main products directly without using fluorescent-labeled substrates. As a result, 276 compounds (30%) of the primary hits (921 compounds) in a fluorescence ultra-high-throughput screening method were identified as common active compounds in these two assays. It is concluded that both methods are very effective to eliminate false positives. Compared with the radioisotope method using an expensive 14 C-labeled substrate, the RapidFire mass spectrometry method using unlabeled substrates is a high-accuracy, high-throughput method. In addition, some of the hit compounds selected from the screening inhibited cellular fatty acid elongation in HEK293 cells expressing Elovl6 transiently. This result suggests that these compounds may be promising lead candidates for therapeutic drugs. Ultra-high-throughput fluorescence screening followed by a RapidFire mass spectrometry assay was a suitable strategy for lead discovery against Elovl6. - Highlights: • A novel assay for elongation of very-long-chain fatty acids 6 (Elovl6) is proposed. • RapidFire mass spectrometry (RF-MS) assay is useful to select real screening hits. • RF-MS assay is proved to be beneficial because of

UV-POSIT: Web-Based Tools for Rapid and Facile Structural Interpretation of Ultraviolet Photodissociation (UVPD) Mass Spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, Jake; Parker, W. Ryan; Cammarata, Michael B.; Brodbelt, Jennifer S.

2018-04-01

UV-POSIT (Ultraviolet Photodissociation Online Structure Interrogation Tools) is a suite of web-based tools designed to facilitate the rapid interpretation of data from native mass spectrometry experiments making use of 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD). The suite includes four separate utilities which assist in the calculation of fragment ion abundances as a function of backbone cleavage sites and sequence position; the localization of charge sites in intact proteins; the calculation of hydrogen elimination propensity for a-type fragment ions; and mass-offset searching of UVPD spectra to identify unknown modifications and assess false positive fragment identifications. UV-POSIT is implemented as a Python/Flask web application hosted at http://uv-posit.cm.utexas.edu. UV-POSIT is available under the MIT license, and the source code is available at https://github.com/jarosenb/UV_POSIT. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

UV-POSIT: Web-Based Tools for Rapid and Facile Structural Interpretation of Ultraviolet Photodissociation (UVPD) Mass Spectra.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, Jake; Parker, W Ryan; Cammarata, Michael B; Brodbelt, Jennifer S

2018-04-06

UV-POSIT (Ultraviolet Photodissociation Online Structure Interrogation Tools) is a suite of web-based tools designed to facilitate the rapid interpretation of data from native mass spectrometry experiments making use of 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD). The suite includes four separate utilities which assist in the calculation of fragment ion abundances as a function of backbone cleavage sites and sequence position; the localization of charge sites in intact proteins; the calculation of hydrogen elimination propensity for a-type fragment ions; and mass-offset searching of UVPD spectra to identify unknown modifications and assess false positive fragment identifications. UV-POSIT is implemented as a Python/Flask web application hosted at http://uv-posit.cm.utexas.edu . UV-POSIT is available under the MIT license, and the source code is available at https://github.com/jarosenb/UV_POSIT . Graphical Abstract.

Communities, Boundaries and New Neighbours: the Discursive Construction of EU Enlargement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuditta Caliendo

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The institutional discourse of the European Union (EU is undergoing important changes that are also reflected by new initiatives in its communication policy. Against a background of widespread scepticism towards EU enlargement among the public, this change is driven by the need to promote the widening of its borders in a more effective way in order to prompt popular endorsement. Through the use of its textual and visual communicative strategies, the EU is thus finding new ways to buttress its legitimacy and raise consensus around its political actions. The node of interaction between citizens and institutions is represented by the informative publications of the EU (also made available on the europa website, which become a constitutive element in building Union-to-citizen communication. The analysis of textual and visual formulations of the European Commission’s key booklets on EU enlargement in the period from 2004 to 2007 - in terms of their content and pragmatic aims - reveals the emergence of new consensus-building strategies. Results show that a sense of allegiance and belonging attributed to a deepening of European integration is now increasingly linked to the practical advantages of EU enlargement, as expressed through the use of ‘promotional’ and strategic discursive practices. Moving away from a merely informative content, communication modes ‘migrate’ towards a more direct and ‘commodified’ type of message, while an increase in visual elements plays a complementing role in promoting legitimacy and a feeling of mutual belonging between ‘old’ and ‘new’ members of the European family.

Potential of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as a rapid detection technique in plant pathology: identification of plant-associated microorganisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Faheem; Babalola, Olubukola O; Tak, Hamid I

2012-09-01

Plant diseases caused by plant pathogens substantially reduce crop production every year, resulting in massive economic losses throughout the world. Accurate detection and identification of plant pathogens is fundamental to plant pathogen diagnostics and, thus, plant disease management. Diagnostics and disease-management strategies require techniques to enable simultaneous detection and quantification of a wide range of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms. Over the past decade, rapid development of matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) techniques for characterization of microorganisms has enabled substantially improved detection and identification of microorganisms. In the biological sciences, MALDI-TOF MS is used to analyze specific peptides or proteins directly desorbed from intact bacteria, fungal spores, nematodes, and other microorganisms. The ability to record biomarker ions, in a broad m/z range, which are unique to and representative of individual microorganisms, forms the basis of taxonomic identification of microorganisms by MALDI-TOF MS. Recent advances in mass spectrometry have initiated new research, i.e. analysis of more complex microbial communities. Such studies are just beginning but have great potential for elucidation not only of the interactions between microorganisms and their host plants but also those among different microbial taxa living in association with plants. There has been a recent effort by the mass spectrometry community to make data from large scale mass spectrometry experiments publicly available in the form of a centralized repository. Such a resource could enable the use of MALDI-TOF MS as a universal technique for detection of plant pathogens and non-pathogens. The effects of experimental conditions are sufficiently understood, reproducible spectra can be obtained from computational database search, and microorganisms can be rapidly characterized by genus, species

Precision mass measurements for studies of nucleosynthesis via the rapid neutron-capture process. Penning-trap mass measurements of neutron-rich cadmium and caesium isotopes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Atanasov, Dinko

2016-07-06

Although the theory for the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) was developed more than 55 years ago, the astrophysical site is still under a debate. Theoretical studies predict that the r-process path proceeds through very neutron-rich nuclei with very asymmetric proton-to-neutron ratios. Knowledge about the properties of neutron-rich isotopes found in similar regions of the nuclear chart and furthermore suitable for r-process studies is still little or even not existing. The basic nuclear properties such as binding energies, half-lives, neutron-induced or neutron-capture reaction cross-sections, play an important role in theoretical simulations and can vary or even drastically alternate results of these studies. Therefore, a considerable effort was put forward to access neutron-rich isotopes at radioactive ion-beam facilities like ISOLDE at CERN. The goal of this PhD thesis is to describe the experimental work done for the precision mass measurements of neutron-rich cadmium ({sup 129-131}Cd) and caesium ({sup 132,146-148}Cs) isotopes. Measurements were done at the on-line radioactive ion-beam facility ISOLDE by using the four-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. The cadmium isotopes are key nuclides for the synthesis of stable isotopes around the mass peak A = 130 in the Solar System abundance.

[Rapid screening the alkaloids of poppy shell in hot pot condiment, beef noodle soup and seasoning by direct analysis in real time-tandem mass spectrometry].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Baile; Gao, Lihong; Xie, Yingshuang; Zhou, Wei; Chen, Xiaofeng; Lei, Chunni; Zhang, Huan

2017-07-08

A direct analysis in real time tandem mass spectrometry (DART-MS/MS) method was established for quickly screening five illegally added alkaloids of poppy shell from the hot pot condiment, beef noodle soup and seasoning. The samples were extracted and purified by acetonitrile, and then injected under the conditions of ionization temperature of 300℃, grid electrode voltage of 150 V and sampling rate of 0.8 mm/s using DART in the positive ion mode. The determination was conducted by tandem mass spectrometry in positive ESI mode under multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The method is simple and rapid, and can meet the requirement of rapid screening and analysis of large quantities of samples.

Obstructive Hydrocephalus Secondary to Enlarged Virchow-Robin Spaces: A Rare Cause of Pulsatile Tinnitus.

Science.gov (United States)

Donaldson, Christopher; Chatha, Gurkirat; Chandra, Ronil V; Goldschlager, Tony

2017-05-01

Obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to enlarged Virchow-Robin Spaces (VRS) is a rare entity, with only a few cases reported in the literature. Presenting symptoms vary widely from headaches to dizziness. We report a case of a 31-year-old man who presented with pulsatile tinnitus and magnetic resonance imaging showing obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to tumefactive VRS. After a cerebrospinal fluid diversion procedure in the form of an endoscopic third ventriculostomy, he had almost complete resolution of his symptoms. This is the first case of obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to enlarged VRS, presenting with pulsatile tinnitus. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A mass that has no (EBUS) echo.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenblum, Matthew K; Wang, Sue X; Seeley, Eric J

2018-01-01

We report findings for a patient that underwent endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) for diagnostic purposes after an abnormal chest CT. The patient initially presented with cough and shortness of breath. Chest CT revealed a 6 cm soft tissue mass with mildly enlarged right hilar lymph nodes (LNs) and a small right sided pleural effusion. Based on these radiologic findings, the patient underwent an EBUS guided FNA of the mass. To our surprise, the mass was hypoechoic by EBUS and on aspiration, the syringe filled with yellow fluid. This finding in combination with a re-review of the CT scans with a special focus on the Hounsfield Units of the lesion confirmed the diagnosis of a mediastinal bronchogenic cyst. This case demonstrates the role of Hounsfield units in analyzing mediastinal masses and highlights the effectiveness of EBUS guided TBNA in diagnosis and treatment of bronchogenic cysts.

Clinical and Histological Evaluations of Enlarged Facial Skin Pores After Low Energy Level Treatments With Fractional Carbon Dioxide Laser in Korean Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Hyuck Hoon; Choi, Sun Chul; Lee, Won-Yong; Jung, Jae Yoon; Park, Gyeong-Hun

2018-03-01

Enlarged facial pores can be an early manifestation of skin aging and they are a common aesthetic concern for Asians. However, studies of improving the appearance of enlarged pores have been limited. The authors aimed to study the application of CO2 fractional laser treatment in patients with enlarged facial pores. A total of 32 patients with dilated facial pores completed 3 consecutive sessions of low energy level treatments with a fractional CO2 laser at 4-week intervals. Image analysis was performed to calculate the number of enlarged pores before each treatment session and 12 weeks after the final treatment. After application of laser treatments, there was a significant decrease in the number of enlarged pores. The mean number of enlarged pores was decreased by 28.8% after the second session and by 54.5% at post-treatment evaluation. Post-treatment side effects were mild and transitory. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses demonstrated clear increases in the number of collagen fibers and the expression of transforming growth factor-β1. The short-term results showed that treatment with low energy level CO2 fractional laser therapy could be a safe and effective option for patients with Fitzpatrick skin Types III and IV who are concerned with enlarged pores.

Bilateral primary adrenal lymphoma presenting with adrenal insufficiency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Jakob; Breum, Leif; Stenfeldt, Katrine

2012-01-01

surgery was performed. A new computerized tomography scan showed rapid progression of disease with further enlargement of the adrenal masses and both pulmonary and hepatic metastasis. Needle biopsy was performed but the patient refused further treatment and died before a diagnosis was obtained...

Mass spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nyvang Hartmeyer, Gitte; Jensen, Anne Kvistholm; Böcher, Sidsel

2010-01-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is currently being introduced for the rapid and accurate identification of bacteria. We describe 2 MALDI-TOF MS identification cases - 1 directly on spinal fluid and 1 on grown bacteria. Rapidly obtained...

The Impacts of the Mass Rapid Transit System on Household Car Ownership in Taipei

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Hsiu Huang

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the impacts of Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT system on household car ownership and analyses how socioeconomic characteristics affect household car ownership. We employ a difference-in-difference (DID strategy integrated with generalized Poisson regression models to examine the effects of MRT. The results are as follows: first, the establishment of Taipei MRT significantly reduced the level of household car ownership. Expanding the network of MRT system can be a feasible policy to control car ownership. Second, the levels of household car ownership are related to household’s socioeconomic characteristics. Third, households with high dependence on public transport own fewer cars after Taipei MRT began operation. Hence, the traffic authority should adopt more effective methods to encourage public transit use in order to decrease household car ownership.

Rapid Screening and Characterization of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors from Yinhuang Oral Liquid Using Ultrafiltration-liquid Chromatography-electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Haomin; Guo, Yinan; Meng, Lingwen; Sun, Hui; Yang, Yinping; Gao, Ying; Sun, Jiaming

2018-01-01

At present, approximately 17-25 million people in the world suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD). The most efficacious and acceptable therapeutic drug clinically are the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs). Yinhuang oral liquid is a Chinese medicine preparation which contains AChEIs according to the literatures. However, no strategy has been presented for rapid screening and identification of AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid. To develop a method for rapid screening and identification of AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid using ultrafiltration-liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UF-LC-ESI-MS/MS). In this study, UF incubation conditions such as enzyme concentration, incubation time, and incubation temperature were optimized so as to get better screening results. The AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography-ESI-MS and the improved Ellman method was used for the AChE inhibitory activity test in vitro . The results showed that Yinhuang oral liquid can inhibit the activity of AChE. We screened and identified seven compounds with potential AChE inhibitory activity from Yinhuang oral liquid, which provided experimental basis for the treatment and prevention of AD. The current technique was used to directly screen the active ingredients with acetylcholinesterase inhibition from complex traditional Chinese medicine, which was simple, rapid, accurate, and suitable for high-throughput screening of AChEI from complex systems. A UF-LC-ESI-MS/MS method for rapid screening and identification of AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid was developedSeven compounds were screened and identified with potential AChE inhibitory activity from Yinhuang oral liquidIt provided experimental basis of Yinhuang oral liquid for the treating and preventing AD. Abbreviations used: (AD): Alzheimer's disease; (UF-LC-ESI-MS/MS): ultrafiltration-liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry; (ACh

Rapid Screening and Characterization of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors from Yinhuang Oral Liquid Using Ultrafiltration-liquid Chromatography-electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Haomin; Guo, Yinan; Meng, Lingwen; Sun, Hui; Yang, Yinping; Gao, Ying; Sun, Jiaming

2018-01-01

Background: At present, approximately 17–25 million people in the world suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD). The most efficacious and acceptable therapeutic drug clinically are the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs). Yinhuang oral liquid is a Chinese medicine preparation which contains AChEIs according to the literatures. However, no strategy has been presented for rapid screening and identification of AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid. Objective: To develop a method for rapid screening and identification of AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid using ultrafiltration–liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UF-LC-ESI-MS/MS). Materials and Methods: In this study, UF incubation conditions such as enzyme concentration, incubation time, and incubation temperature were optimized so as to get better screening results. The AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography-ESI-MS and the improved Ellman method was used for the AChE inhibitory activity test in vitro. Results: The results showed that Yinhuang oral liquid can inhibit the activity of AChE. We screened and identified seven compounds with potential AChE inhibitory activity from Yinhuang oral liquid, which provided experimental basis for the treatment and prevention of AD. Conclusion: The current technique was used to directly screen the active ingredients with acetylcholinesterase inhibition from complex traditional Chinese medicine, which was simple, rapid, accurate, and suitable for high-throughput screening of AChEI from complex systems. SUMMARY A UF-LC-ESI-MS/MS method for rapid screening and identification of AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid was developedSeven compounds were screened and identified with potential AChE inhibitory activity from Yinhuang oral liquidIt provided experimental basis of Yinhuang oral liquid for the treating and preventing AD. Abbreviations used: (AD): Alzheimer's disease; (UF

Rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry for high-throughput screening in food analysis: The case of boar taint.

Science.gov (United States)

Verplanken, Kaat; Stead, Sara; Jandova, Renata; Poucke, Christof Van; Claereboudt, Jan; Bussche, Julie Vanden; Saeger, Sarah De; Takats, Zoltan; Wauters, Jella; Vanhaecke, Lynn

2017-07-01

Boar taint is a contemporary off-odor present in meat of uncastrated male pigs. As European Member States intend to abandon surgical castration of pigs by 2018, this off-odor has gained a lot of research interest. In this study, rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (REIMS) was explored for the rapid detection of boar taint in neck fat. Untargeted screening of samples (n=150) enabled discrimination between sow, tainted and untainted boars. The obtained OPLS-DA models showed excellent classification accuracy, i.e. 99% and 100% for sow and boar samples or solely boar samples, respectively. Furthermore, the obtained models demonstrated excellent validation characteristics (R 2 (Y)=0.872-0.969; Q 2 (Y)=0.756-0.917), which were confirmed by CV-ANOVA (phighly accurate and high-throughput (<10s) classification of tainted and untainted boar samples was achieved, rendering REIMS a promising technique for predictive modelling in food safety and quality applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Micro‐CT analyses of apical enlargement and molar root canal complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markvart, M.; Darvann, Tron Andre; Larsen, P.

2012-01-01

Markvart M, Darvann TA, Larsen P, Dalstra M, Kreiborg S, Bjørndal L. Micro‐CT analyses of apical enlargement and molar root canal complexity. International Endodontic Journal, 45, 273–281, 2012. Aim To compare the effectiveness of two rotary hybrid instrumentation techniques with focus on apical...

Extremely discrepant mutation spectrum of SLC26A4 between Chinese patients with isolated Mondini deformity and enlarged vestibular aqueduct

OpenAIRE

Huang, Shasha; Han, Dongyi; Yuan, Yongyi; Wang, Guojian; Kang, Dongyang; Zhang, Xin; Yan, Xiaofei; Meng, Xiaoxiao; Dong, Min; Dai, Pu

2011-01-01

Abstract Background Mutations in SLC26A4 cause Pendred syndrome (hearing loss with goiter) or DFNB4 (non-syndromic hearing loss with inner ear malformation, such as enlarged vestibular aqueduct or Mondini deformity). The relationship between mutations in SLC26A4 and Mondini deformity without enlarged vestibular aqueduct has not been studied in any Chinese deaf population. The purpose of this study was to assess whether mutations in the SLC26A4 gene cause Mondini deformity without an enlarged ...

QUANTITATIVE HISTOPATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ENLARGED CELLS DERIVED FROM HUMPBACK GROUPER, Cromileptes altivelis INFECTED WITH GROUPER SLEEPY DISEASE IRIDOVIRUS (GSDIV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Indah Mastuti

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Pathognomonic sign of grouper sleepy disease iridovirus (GSDIV was proposed to be the formation of enlarged cells and necrotic cells, in which under electron microscope, it is revealed to be the inclusion body bearing cells (IBCs and necrotic cells containing GSDIV viral particles. Spleen and kidney tissues are the major sites for formation of enlarged cells. This paper described the result of histopatological analysis of enlarged cells found in the spleen and kidney of moribund fish after GSDIV challenge. A pathogenicity test was conducted on fish stocked in two tanks for infected groups and the other two tanks for uninfected control groups (15 fish per tank. The infected groups were injected intramuscularly with 0.1 ml of the viral inoculum. The uninfected groups were injected with the same amount of EMEM-2. The GSDIV-infected humpback grouper began to die after 6 days post infection and all died after 7 dpi, excluding one fish which had survived until the end of experimental infection periods (93% to 100% mortality. All of the diseased fish showed massive formation of enlarged cells in their spleen, head kidney and trunk kidney. The largest number of enlarged cells was observed on head kidneys and subsequently followed by spleens, trunk kidney (2.0-200.3/field of view. This result suggested that the number of enlarged cells in the affected organs was not the direct factor that led to the mortality of fish.

Radiative seesaw-type mechanism of fermion masses and non-trivial quark mixing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arbelaez, Carolina; Hernandez, A.E.C.; Kovalenko, Sergey; Schmidt, Ivan [Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Centro Cientifico-Tecnologico de Valparaiso-CCTVal, Valparaiso (Chile)

2017-06-15

We propose a predictive inert two-Higgs doublet model, where the standard model (SM) symmetry is extended by S{sub 3} x Z{sub 2} x Z{sub 12} and the field content is enlarged by extra scalar fields, charged exotic fermions and two heavy right-handed Majorana neutrinos. The charged exotic fermions generate a non-trivial quark mixing and provide one-loop-level masses for the first- and second-generation charged fermions. The masses of the light active neutrinos are generated from a one-loop-level radiative seesaw mechanism. Our model successfully explains the observed SM fermion mass and mixing pattern. (orig.)

Stabilizing model predictive control : on the enlargement of the terminal set

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brunner, F.D.; Lazar, M.; Allgöwer, F.

2015-01-01

It is well known that a large terminal set leads to a large region where the model predictive control problem is feasible without the need for a long prediction horizon. This paper proposes a new method for the enlargement of the terminal set. Different from existing approaches, the method uses the

Rapid characterisation of Klebsiella oxytoca isolates from contaminated liquid hand soap using mass spectrometry, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dieckmann, Ralf; Hammerl, Jens Andre; Hahmann, Hartmut; Wicke, Amal; Kleta, Sylvia; Dabrowski, Piotr Wojciech; Nitsche, Andreas; Stämmler, Maren; Al Dahouk, Sascha; Lasch, Peter

2016-06-23

Microbiological monitoring of consumer products and the efficiency of early warning systems and outbreak investigations depend on the rapid identification and strain characterisation of pathogens posing risks to the health and safety of consumers. This study evaluates the potential of three rapid analytical techniques for identification and subtyping of bacterial isolates obtained from a liquid hand soap product, which has been recalled and reported through the EU RAPEX system due to its severe bacterial contamination. Ten isolates recovered from two bottles of the product were identified as Klebsiella oxytoca and subtyped using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS), near-infrared Fourier transform (NIR FT) Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Comparison of the classification results obtained by these phenotype-based techniques with outcomes of the DNA-based methods pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data revealed a high level of concordance. In conclusion, a set of analytical techniques might be useful for rapid, reliable and cost-effective microbial typing to ensure safe consumer products and allow source tracking.

Left Atrial Enlargement in Young High-Level Endurance Athletes – Another Sign of Athlete’s Heart?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Król Wojciech

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Enlargement of the left atrium is perceived as a part of athlete’s heart syndrome, despite the lack of evidence. So far, left atrial size has not been assessed in the context of exercise capacity. The hypothesis of the present study was that LA enlargement in athletes was physiological and fitness-related condition. In addition, we tried to assess the feasibility and normal values of left atrial strain parameters and their relationship with other signs of athlete’s heart. The study group consisted of 114 international-level rowers (17.5 ± 1.5 years old; 46.5% women. All participants underwent a cardio-pulmonary exercise test and resting transthoracic echocardiography. Beside standard echocardiographic measurements, two dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography was used to assess average peak atrial longitudinal strain, peak atrial contraction strain and early left atrial diastolic longitudinal strain. Mild, moderate and severe left atrial enlargement was present in 27.2°%, 11.4% and 4.4% athletes, respectively. There were no significant differences between subgroups with different range of left atrial enlargement in any of echocardiographic parameters of the left ventricle diastolic function, filling pressure or hypertrophy. A significant correlation was found between the left atrial volume index and maximal aerobic capacity (R > 0.3; p < 0.001. Left atrial strain parameters were independent of atrial size, left ventricle hypertrophy and left ventricle filling pressure. Decreased peak atrial longitudinal strain was observed in 4 individuals (3.5%. We concluded that LA enlargement was common in healthy, young athletes participating in endurance sport disciplines with a high level of static exertion and was strictly correlated with exercise capacity, therefore, could be perceived as another sign of athlete’s heart.

Spinal perimedullary vein enlargement sign: an added value for the differentiation between intradural-extramedullary and intramedullary tumors on magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong, Tao; Wang, Guangbin; Gao, Fei; Chen, Xin; Liu, Yubo; Yang, Li; Chen, Weibo

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the added value of the perimedullary spinal vein enlargement sign on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in distinguishing intradural-extramedullary tumors (IDEMTs) from intramedullary spinal tumors (IMTs). Two hundred and eight consecutive spinal intradural tumors with histopathologic confirmation (21 IMTs, 187 IDEMTs) were enrolled. Two readers blinded to the final pathological diagnosis and clinical data independently assessed the venous enlargement sign to determine the agreement between them and jointly distinguished IDEMTs from IMTs according to the common MRI findings. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the diagnosis of IDEMTs were calculated for the common MRI findings, vein enlargement sign, and a combination of both. Intraobserver agreement and interobserver agreement for both readers was excellent. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of common MRI findings for differentiating IDEMTs from IMTs were 83.4, 95.2, and 89.3 %, respectively. Thirty-one IDEMTs were mistakenly diagnosed as IMTs, in which seven were cases with vein enlargement signs. By applying the vein enlargement sign to the common MRI findings, the specificity remained at 95.2 %, while the sensitivity improved to 89.3 % and the accuracy increased to 92.3 %. The spinal perimedullary vein enlargement sign is useful in assessing intradural tumors and to differentiate IDEMTs from IMTs. (orig.)

Spinal perimedullary vein enlargement sign: an added value for the differentiation between intradural-extramedullary and intramedullary tumors on magnetic resonance imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gong, Tao; Wang, Guangbin; Gao, Fei; Chen, Xin [Shandong University, Department of Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Jinan (China); Liu, Yubo [Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Department of Radiology, Jinan (China); Yang, Li [Zhongshan Hospital, Department of Radiology, Shanghai (China); Chen, Weibo [Philips Healthcare, Shanghai (China)

2016-11-15

The purpose of this study was to determine the added value of the perimedullary spinal vein enlargement sign on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in distinguishing intradural-extramedullary tumors (IDEMTs) from intramedullary spinal tumors (IMTs). Two hundred and eight consecutive spinal intradural tumors with histopathologic confirmation (21 IMTs, 187 IDEMTs) were enrolled. Two readers blinded to the final pathological diagnosis and clinical data independently assessed the venous enlargement sign to determine the agreement between them and jointly distinguished IDEMTs from IMTs according to the common MRI findings. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the diagnosis of IDEMTs were calculated for the common MRI findings, vein enlargement sign, and a combination of both. Intraobserver agreement and interobserver agreement for both readers was excellent. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of common MRI findings for differentiating IDEMTs from IMTs were 83.4, 95.2, and 89.3 %, respectively. Thirty-one IDEMTs were mistakenly diagnosed as IMTs, in which seven were cases with vein enlargement signs. By applying the vein enlargement sign to the common MRI findings, the specificity remained at 95.2 %, while the sensitivity improved to 89.3 % and the accuracy increased to 92.3 %. The spinal perimedullary vein enlargement sign is useful in assessing intradural tumors and to differentiate IDEMTs from IMTs. (orig.)

Rapid process development of chromatographic process using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry as a process analytical technology tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Binjun; Chen, Teng; Xu, Zhilin; Qu, Haibin

2014-06-01

The concept of quality by design (QbD) is widely applied in the process development of pharmaceuticals. However, the additional cost and time have caused some resistance about QbD implementation. To show a possible solution, this work proposed a rapid process development method, which used direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) as a process analytical technology (PAT) tool for studying the chromatographic process of Ginkgo biloba L., as an example. The breakthrough curves were fast determined by DART-MS at-line. A high correlation coefficient of 0.9520 was found between the concentrations of ginkgolide A determined by DART-MS and HPLC. Based on the PAT tool, the impacts of process parameters on the adsorption capacity were discovered rapidly, which showed a decreased adsorption capacity with the increase of the flow rate. This work has shown the feasibility and advantages of integrating PAT into QbD implementation for rapid process development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transverse mass and rapidity distributions and space dispersion plots of (net-)protons in Pb-Pb collisions at SPS energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Fu-Hu; Tian, Tian; Wen, Xin-Jian

2014-01-01

The transverse mass and rapidity distributions of (net-)protons produced in Pb-Pb collisions with different centrality intervals at 40A and 158A GeV have been analyzed by using the multisource thermal model in which the whole interacting system and then the sources are described by the Tsallis statistics. The modelling results are in agreement with the experimental data of the NA49 Collaboration. The dispersion plots (or scatter plots) of (net-)protons at the stage of freeze-out in the momentum space, velocity space, and transverse momentum and rapidity space in Pb-Pb collisions at 40A and 158A GeV in different centrality intervals are obtained. We see the differences in density distributions in the dispersion plots for different origins, centrality intervals, and incident energies for the considered collisions. (orig.)

NATO Enlargement and the National Agendas of America, Great Britain, France, and Germany

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Irving, William

1997-01-01

This thesis examines the enlargement of NATO from the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, through the formation of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council and the Partnership for Peace...

A mass that has no (EBUS echo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew K. Rosenblum

Full Text Available We report findings for a patient that underwent endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA for diagnostic purposes after an abnormal chest CT. The patient initially presented with cough and shortness of breath. Chest CT revealed a 6 cm soft tissue mass with mildly enlarged right hilar lymph nodes (LNs and a small right sided pleural effusion. Based on these radiologic findings, the patient underwent an EBUS guided FNA of the mass. To our surprise, the mass was hypoechoic by EBUS and on aspiration, the syringe filled with yellow fluid. This finding in combination with a re-review of the CT scans with a special focus on the Hounsfield Units of the lesion confirmed the diagnosis of a mediastinal bronchogenic cyst. This case demonstrates the role of Hounsfield units in analyzing mediastinal masses and highlights the effectiveness of EBUS guided TBNA in diagnosis and treatment of bronchogenic cysts. Keywords: Bronchogenic cysts, Endobronchial ultrasound, Hounsfield units

Analysis of diet optimization models for enabling conditions for hypertrophic muscle enlargement in athletes

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L. Matijević

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this study mathematical models were created and used in diet optimization for an athlete – recreational bodybuilder for pretournament period. The main aim was to determine weekly menus that can enable conditions for the hypertrophic muscle enlargement and to reduce the fat mass in a body. Each daily offer was planned to contain six to seven meals but with respect to several user’s personal demands. Optimal carbohydrates, fat and protein ratio in diet for enabling hypertrophy, recommended in literature, was found to be 43:30:27 and was chosen as the target in this research. Variables included in models were presented dishes and constraints, observed values of the offers; price, mass of consumed food, energy, water and content of different nutrients. The general idea was to create the models and to compare different programs in solving a problem. LINDO and MS Excel were recognized as widely spread and were chosen for model testing and examination. Both programs were suggested weekly menus that were acceptable to the user and were met all recommendations and demands. Weekly menus were analysed and compared. Sensitivity tests from both programs were used to detect possible critical points in the menu. Used programs produced slightly different results but still with very high correlation between proposed weekly intakes (R2=0.99856, p<0.05 so both can be successfully used in the pretournament period of bodybuilding and recommended for this complex task.

Reversible and non-reversible enlargement of cerebral spinal fluid spaces in anorexia nervosa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Artmann, H.; Grau, H.; Adelmann, M.; Schleiffer, R.

1985-01-01

Brain CT studies of 35 patients with anoxia nervosa confirmed the observations of other authors: cerebral dystrophic changes correlate with weight loss and the reversibility of these changes also correlates with the normalization of body weight. Other corroborated facts are: the most numerous and most pronounced enlargements are of the cortical sulci and the interhemispheric fissure, moderate widening affects the ventricles and the rarest and most insignificant changes are those of the cerebellum. The reversibility of the changes showed a parallel to the extent of the changes themselves and to the duration of improvement of the body weight. The reversibility of the enlargement of the cortical sulci and of the distances between the frontal horns of the lateral ventricles was more often significant than that of the abnormal measurements of the cella media. This difference is based on minimal early acquired brain damage which occurs in 60% of our patients. This high incidence of early acquired minimal brain disease in patients with anorexia nervosa is here discussed as a nonspecific predisposing factor. Although there is no exact explanation of the etiology of the reversible enlargement of cerenral spinal fluid (CSF) spaces in anorexia nervosa, the changes resemble those in alcoholics. The mechanisms of brain changes in alcoholism, as shown experimentally, seem to us to throw light on the probable mechanism of reversible dystrophic brain changes in anorexia nervosa. (orig.)

Reversible and non-reversible enlargement of cerebral spinal fluid spaces in anorexia nervosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Artmann, H.; Grau, H.; Adelmann, M.; Schleiffer, R.

1985-07-01

Brain CT studies of 35 patients with anoxia nervosa confirmed the observations of other authors: cerebral dystrophic changes correlate with weight loss and the reversibility of these changes also correlates with the normalization of body weight. Other corroborated facts are: the most numerous and most pronounced enlargements are of the cortical sulci and the interhemispheric fissure, moderate widening affects the ventricles and the rarest and most insignificant changes are those of the cerebellum. The reversibility of the changes showed a parallel to the extent of the changes themselves and to the duration of improvement of the body weight. The reversibility of the enlargement of the cortical sulci and of the distances between the frontal horns of the lateral ventricles was more often significant than that of the abnormal measurements of the cella media. This difference is based on minimal early acquired brain damage which occurs in 60% of our patients. This high incidence of early acquired minimal brain disease in patients with anorexia nervosa is here discussed as a nonspecific predisposing factor. Although there is no exact explanation of the etiology of the reversible enlargement of cerenral spinal fluid (CSF) spaces in anorexia nervosa, the changes resemble those in alcoholics. The mechanisms of brain changes in alcoholism, as shown experimentally, seem to us to throw light on the probable mechanism of reversible dystrophic brain changes in anorexia nervosa.

Enlarged cavum septum pellucidum as a neurodevelopmental marker in adolescent-onset opiate dependence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaeuk Hwang

Full Text Available Adolescent-onset exposure to highly addictive substances such as opiates may induce far-reaching deleterious effects on later mental and physical health. However, little is known about the neurodevelopmental basis for adolescent-onset opiate dependence. Here we examined whether having an abnormally large cavum septum pellucidum (CSP, a putative marker of limbic structural maldevelopment, is associated with opiate dependence particularly beginning in adolescence.The overall length of the CSP and the prevalence of abnormal enlargement of the CSP were assessed and compared in 65 opiate-dependent subjects (41 adolescent-onset opiate users and 24 adult-onset opiate users and 67 healthy subjects.Opiate-dependent subjects showed a greater prevalence of abnormal CSP enlargement relative to healthy subjects (odds ratio [OR]=3.64, p=0.034. The overall CSP length of adolescent-onset opiate-dependent subjects was greater, as compared not only with healthy subjects (F₁,₁₀₄=11.03, p=0.001 but also with those who began opiate use during adulthood (F₁,₆₁=4.43, p=0.039.The current findings provide the first evidence that abnormal CSP enlargement, which reflects limbic system dysgenesis of neurodevelopmental origin, may be linked to later development of opiate dependence. In addition, a greater CSP length, which indicates more severe limbic abnormalities, appears to confer higher risk for earlier onset of opiate use.

Spontaneous regression of pituitary mass in temporal association with pregnancy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ikeda, H.; Okudaira, Y.

1987-09-01

We have encountered a case of a pituitary mass which emerged and enlarged during pregnancy in a 29-year-old woman. On CT scanning the mass disappeared over the course of four months postpartum and was followed by pituitary hypofunction. The hypofunction was restricted to ACTH, GH, and PRL. The visual field defects, bitemporal hemianopsia, disappeared with disappearance of the pituitary mass on CT scanning, indicating that such deficits during this period were reversible. Based on the clinical course and laboratory data, this case is thought to have been lymphocytic adenohypophysitis. It was concluded that among pituitary tumors developing during pregnancy there are some such cases which do not require surgical therapy.

An anatomic risk model to screen post endovascular aneurysm repair patients for aneurysm sac enlargement.

Science.gov (United States)

Png, Chien Yi M; Tadros, Rami O; Beckerman, William E; Han, Daniel K; Tardiff, Melissa L; Torres, Marielle R; Marin, Michael L; Faries, Peter L

2017-09-01

Follow-up computed tomography angiography (CTA) scans add considerable postimplantation costs to endovascular aneurysm repairs (EVARs) of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). By building a risk model, we hope to identify patients at low risk for aneurysm sac enlargement to minimize unnecessary CTAs. 895 consecutive patients who underwent EVAR for AAA were reviewed, of which 556 met inclusion criteria. A Probit model was created for aneurysm sac enlargement, with preoperative aneurysm morphology, patient demographics, and operative details as variables. Our final model included 287 patients and had a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 68.9%, and an accuracy of 70.4%. Ninety-nine (35%) of patients were assigned to the high-risk group, whereas 188 (65%) of patients were assigned to the low-risk group. Notably, regarding anatomic variables, our model reported that age, pulmonary comorbidities, aortic neck diameter, iliac artery length, and aneurysms were independent predictors of post-EVAR sac enlargement. With the exception of age, all statistically significant variables were qualitatively supported by prior literature. With regards to secondary outcomes, the high-risk group had significantly higher proportions of AAA-related deaths (5.1% versus 1.1%, P = 0.037) and Type 1 endoleaks (9.1% versus 3.2%, P = 0.033). Our model is a decent predictor of patients at low risk for post AAA EVAR aneurysm sac enlargement and associated complications. With additional validation and refinement, it could be applied to practices to cut down on the overall need for postimplantation CTA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Primary tuberculous gingival enlargement - A rare clinical entity: Case report and brief review of the literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suhail Majid Jan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Tuberculosis (TB is a chronic specific granulomatous disease and a major cause of death in developing countries. The clinical presentation of TB lesions of the oral cavity varies widely and can manifest as ulcerations, diffuse inflammatory lesions, granulomas and fissures. Oral lesions generally appear secondary to primary TB infection elsewhere, although primary infection of the oral mucosa by Mycobacterium tuberculosis has also been described. We hereby report a case of primary TB of the gingiva manifesting as gingival enlargement. Diagnosis was based on histopathological examination, complete blood count, X-ray chest and immunological investigations with detection of antibodies against M. tuberculosis. Anti-tuberculous therapy was carried out for over 6 months and was followed by surgical excision of the residual enlargement under local anesthesia. After 1-year follow-up, there was no recurrence of the disease. This case report emphasizes the need for dentists to include TB in the differential diagnosis of various types of gingival enlargements.

Cell enlargement of plant tissue explants oscillates with a temperature-compensated period of ca. 24 min

Science.gov (United States)

Morre, D. James; Ternes, Philipp; Morre, Dorothy M.

2002-01-01

Rate of plant cell enlargement, measured at intervals of 3 min using a sensitive linear transducer, oscillates with a minimum period of about 24 min that parallels the 24-min periodicity observed with the oxidation of NADH by the external plasma membrane NADH oxidase and of single cells measured previously by video-enhanced light microscopy. Also exhibiting 24-min oscillations is the steady-state rate of cell enlargement induced by the addition of the auxin herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) or the natural auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Immediately following 2,4-D addition, a very complex pattern of oscillations is frequently observed. However, after several hours a dominant 24-min period emerges. The length of the 24-min period is temperature compensated and remains constant at 24 min when measured at 15, 25 or 35 degrees C, despite the fact that the rate of cell enlargement approximately doubles for each 10 degree C rise over this same range of temperatures.

Enlarging the nosological spectrum of hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids (HDLS).

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Sarah; Murrell, Jill; Harms, Lutz; Miller, Kelly; Meisel, Andreas; Brosch, Thomas; Scheel, Michael; Ghetti, Bernardino; Goebel, Hans-Hilmar; Stenzel, Werner

2014-09-01

Hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids (HDLS) is an autosomal dominant disease clinically characterized by cognitive decline, personality changes, motor impairment, parkinsonism and seizures. Recently, mutations in the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF1R) gene have been shown to be associated with HDLS. We report clinical, neuropathological and molecular genetic findings of patients from a new family with a mutation in the CSF1R gene. Disease onset was earlier and disease progression was more rapid compared with previously reported patients. Psychiatric symptoms including personality changes, alcohol abuse and severe depression were the first symptoms in male patients. In the index, female patient, the initial symptom was cognitive decline. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed bilateral, confluent white matter lesions in the cerebrum. Stereotactic biopsy revealed loss of myelin and microglial activation as well as macrophage infiltration of the parenchyma. Numerous axonal swellings and spheroids were present. Ultrastructural analysis revealed pigment-containing macrophages. Axonal swellings were detected by electron microscopy not only in the central nervous system (CNS) but also in skin nerves. We identified a heterozygous mutation (c.2330G>A, p.R777Q) in the CSF1R gene. Through this report, we aim to enlarge the nosological spectrum of HDLS, providing new clinical descriptions as well as novel neuropathological findings from the peripheral nervous system. © 2014 International Society of Neuropathology.

Thoracic Paravertebral Mass as an Infrequent Manifestation of IgG4-Related Disease

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Melissa Matzumura Kuan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Case. A 50-year-old African American male presented with abdominal pain and significant weight loss. On physical examination, he had parotid and submandibular gland enlargement associated with right eye proptosis. Computed tomography showed a thoracic paravertebral soft tissue mass, enlarged lymph nodes, and ascending aortic aneurysm. Laboratory results were remarkable for elevated total IgG and IgG4 subclass. The submandibular gland pathology revealed chronic sclerosing sialadenitis, with a large subset of inflammatory cells positively staining for IgG4. The histology of the paravertebral mass demonstrated fibrosclerosis with increased lymphocytic infiltrate, associated with increased IgG4 plasma cells. He was diagnosed with immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD. Steroid therapy initially yielded improvement; however, after steroids were stopped, there was disease recurrence. Prednisone was restarted, and the plan was to start him on rituximab. Interestingly, the patient’s brother also had IgG4-RD. Conclusion. IgG4-RD can present as a paravertebral mass which is usually responsive to steroids; however, recurrent and resistant disease can be seen for which steroid-sparing agents such as rituximab should be considered. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of IgG4-RD in two family members presenting as a paravertebral mass, highlighting an exciting area for more research in the future.

Management of phenytoin-induced gingival enlargement in a patient with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome: A rare case report

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Shilpa Sarvesh Urolagin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Antiphospholipid antibody (APLA syndrome is a noninflammatory autoimmune disease, with innumerable clinical manifestations ranging from recurrent thrombosis and pregnancy morbidity to valvular lesions, transverse myelitis, thrombocytopenia, and hemolytic anemia. APLAs in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS are well-known risk factors for cerebrovascular accidents. Stroke is the most common manifestation of APS in the central nervous system. Gingival enlargement is a known side effect of phenytoin which is an antiepileptic drug. This can have a significant effect on the quality of life as well as increasing the oral bacterial load by generating plaque retention sites. The management of gingival overgrowth seems to be directed at controlling gingival inflammation through a good oral hygiene regimen. Thus, this case report aims to describe the conservative management of phenytoin-induced gingival enlargement combined with inflammatory enlargement in a patient with APLA syndrome.

Rapid and reliable discrimination between Shigella species and Escherichia coli using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Paauw, Armand; Jonker, Debby; Roeselers, Guus; Heng, Jonathan M E; Mars-Groenendijk, Roos H; Trip, Hein; Molhoek, E Margo; Jansen, Hugo-Jan; van der Plas, Jan; de Jong, Ad L; Majchrzykiewicz-Koehorst, Joanna A; Speksnijder, Arjen G C L

2015-01-01

E. coli-Shigella species are a cryptic group of bacteria in which the Shigella species are distributed within the phylogenetic tree of E. coli. The nomenclature is historically based and the discrimination of these genera developed as a result of the epidemiological need to identify the cause of shigellosis, a severe disease caused by Shigella species. For these reasons, this incorrect classification of shigellae persists to date, and the ability to rapidly characterize E. coli and Shigella species remains highly desirable. Until recently, existing matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) assays used to identify bacteria could not discriminate between E. coli and Shigella species. Here we present a rapid classification method for the E. coli-Shigella phylogroup based on MALDI-TOF MS which is supported by genetic analysis. E. coli and Shigella isolates were collected and genetically characterized by MLVA. A custom reference library for MALDI-TOF MS that represents the genetic diversity of E. coli and Shigella strains was developed. Characterization of E. coli and Shigella species is based on an approach with Biotyper software. Using this reference library it was possible to distinguish between Shigella species and E. coli. Of the 180 isolates tested, 94.4% were correctly classified as E. coli or shigellae. The results of four (2.2%) isolates could not be interpreted and six (3.3%) isolates were classified incorrectly. The custom library extends the existing MALDI-TOF MS method for species determination by enabling rapid and accurate discrimination between Shigella species and E. coli. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Isolated Mass-Forming IgG4-Related Cholangitis as an Initial Clinical Presentation of Systemic IgG4-Related Disease

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Seokhwi Kim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD may involve multiple organs. Although it usually presents as diffuse organ involvement, localized mass-forming lesions have been occasionally encountered in pancreas. However, the same pattern has been seldom reported in biliary tract. A 61-year-old male showed a hilar bile duct mass with multiple enlarged lymph nodes in imaging studies and he underwent trisectionectomy under impression of cholangiocarcinoma. Gross examination revealed a mass-like lesion around hilar bile duct. Histopathologically, dense lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and storiform fibrosis were identified without evidence of malignancy. Immunohistochemical stain demonstrated rich IgG4-positive plasma cell infiltration. Follow-up imaging studies disclosed multiple enlarged lymph nodes with involvement of pancreas and perisplenic soft tissue. The lesions have been significantly reduced after steroid treatment, which suggests multi-organ involvement of systemic IgG4-RD. Here, we report an unusual localized mass-forming IgG4-related cholangitis as an initial presentation of IgG4-RD, which was biliary manifestation of systemic IgG4-related autoimmune disease.

Automated Online Solid-Phase Derivatization for Sensitive Quantification of Endogenous S-Nitrosoglutathione and Rapid Capture of Other Low-Molecular-Mass S-Nitrosothiols.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xin; Garcia, Carlos T; Gong, Guanyu; Wishnok, John S; Tannenbaum, Steven R

2018-02-06

S-Nitrosothiols (RSNOs) constitute a circulating endogenous reservoir of nitric oxide and have important biological activities. In this study, an online coupling of solid-phase derivatization (SPD) with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was developed and applied in the analysis of low-molecular-mass RSNOs. A derivatizing-reagent-modified polymer monolithic column was prepared and adapted for online SPD-LC-MS. Analytes from the LC autosampler flowed through the monolithic column for derivatization and then directly into the LC-MS for analysis. This integration of the online derivatization, LC separation, and MS detection facilitated system automation, allowing rapid, laborsaving, and sensitive detection of RSNOs. S-Nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) was quantified using this automated online method with good linearity (R 2 = 0.9994); the limit of detection was 0.015 nM. The online SPD-LC-MS method has been used to determine GSNO levels in mouse samples, 138 ± 13.2 nM of endogenous GSNO was detected in mouse plasma. Besides, the GSNO concentrations in liver (64.8 ± 11.3 pmol/mg protein), kidney (47.2 ± 6.1 pmol/mg protein), heart (8.9 ± 1.8 pmol/mg protein), muscle (1.9 ± 0.3 pmol/mg protein), hippocampus (5.3 ± 0.9 pmol/mg protein), striatum (6.7 ± 0.6 pmol/mg protein), cerebellum (31.4 ± 6.5 pmol/mg protein), and cortex (47.9 ± 4.6 pmol/mg protein) were also successfully quantified. When the derivatization was performed within 8 min, followed by LC-MS detection, samples could be rapidly analyzed compared with the offline manual method. Other low-molecular-mass RSNOs, such as S-nitrosocysteine and S-nitrosocysteinylglycine, were captured by rapid precursor-ion scanning, showing that the proposed method is a potentially powerful tool for capture, identification, and quantification of RSNOs in biological samples.

Rapid determination of ginkgolic acids in Ginkgo biloba kernels and leaves by direct analysis in real time-mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhongping; Xu, Yueting; Huang, Yilei; Liu, Charles; Jiang, Kezhi; Wang, Lili

2017-12-01

A novel method based on direct analysis in real time integrated with mass spectrometry was established and applied into rapid determination of ginkgolic acids in Ginkgo biloba kernels and leaves. Instrument parameter settings were optimized to obtain the sensitive and accurate determination of ginkgolic acids. At the sample introduction speed of 0.2 mm/s, high intensity of [M-H] - ions for ginkgolic acids were observed in the negative ion mode by utilization of high-purity helium gas at 450°C. Two microliters of methanol extract of G. biloba kernels or leaves dropped on the surface of Quick-Strip module was analyzed after solvent evaporated to dryness. A series of standard solutions of ginkgolic acid 13:0 in the range of 2-50 mg/L were analyzed with a correlation coefficient r = 0.9981 and relative standard deviation (n = 5) from 12.5 to 13.7%. The limit of detection was 0.5 mg/L. The results of direct analysis in real time-mass spectrometry were in agreement with those observed by thermochemolysis gas chromatography. The proposed method demonstrated significant potential in the application of the high-throughput screening and rapid analysis for ginkgolic acids in dietary supplements. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Rapid assay of resveratrol in red wine by paper spray tandem mass spectrometry and isotope dilution.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Donna, Leonardo; Taverna, Domenico; Indelicato, Serena; Napoli, Anna; Sindona, Giovanni; Mazzotti, Fabio

2017-08-15

A rapid analytical approach for the assay of resveratrol in red wines, based on Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry (PS-MS) and Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) is described. The assay involves the use of the stable isotope dilution method. The analytical parameters calculated analyzing fortified samples confirm the reliability of the proposed approach, with accuracy values about 100%, and LOD and LOQ values calculated at 0.5 and 0.8μg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, both the recovery, which was quantitative for the analyte, and the reproducibility (RSD%), checked on different days on the same wine, always below 7%, highlighted the consistency of the methodology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid detection of porins by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanyan eHU

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The rapid and cost-efficient determination of carbapenem resistance is an important prerequisite for the choice of an adequate antibiotic therapy. A MALDI-TOF MS-based assay was set up to detect porins in the current study. A loss of the components of porin alone such as OmpK35/OmpK36 or together with the production of carbapenemases will augment the carbapenem resistance. Ten strains of E. coli and eight strains of K. pneumoniae were conducted for both SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF MS analysis. MALDI-TOF/TOF MS analysis was then performed to verify the corrospondence of proteins between SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF MS. The results indicated that the mass spectrum of ca. 35,000-m/z, 37,000-m/z and 38,000-m/z peaks of E. coli ATCC 25922 corresponded to OmpA, OmpC and OmpF with molecular weight of approximately ca. 38 kDa, 40 kDa and 41 kDa in SDS-PAGE gel, respectively. The band of OmpC and OmpF porins were unable to be distinguished by SDS-PAGE, whereas it was easy to be differentiated by MALDI-TOF MS. As for K. pneumoniae isolates, the mass spectrum of ca. 36,000-m/z and 38,600-m/z peaks was observed corresponding to OmpA and OmpK36 with molecular weight of approximately ca. 40 kDa and 42 kDa in SDS-PAGE gel, respectively. Porin OmpK35 was not observed in the current SDS-PAGE, while a 37,000-m/z peak was found in K. pneumoniae ATCC 13883 and carbapenem-susceptible strains by MALDI-TOF MS which was presumed to be the characteristic peak of the OmpK35 porin. Compared with SDS-PAGE, MALDI-TOF MS is able to rapidly identify the porin-deficient strains within half an hour with better sensitivity, less cost, and is easier to operate and has less interference.

Principles of veterinary radiography. 2. rev. and enlarged ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Douglas, S.W.; Herrtage, M.E.; Williamson, H.D.

1991-01-01

This book by Douglas and Williamson about the physical-technical fundamentals of radiology in veterinary medicine was first published in 1977 and the second edition now available has been revised and enlarged. Part 1 gives coverage of the basic physical and technical requirements of the necessary equipment and installations as well as the laws governing radiation protection. In Part 2, exposure techniques and special examinations procedures are described in detail. Contrast-enhanced examinations are dealt with exhaustively. (orig./MG) With 166 figs., 10 tabs [de

Mapping farm animal welfare research in an enlarged Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirchner, Marlene K.; Košťál, Ľubor; Bilčík, Boris

2017-01-01

Against the background of divergent political developments across Europe, farm animal welfare (FAW) science has evolved during the last three decades as an inter-disciplinary research area. Recent achievements include pan-European research projects and the implementation of animal welfare...... on questionnaires sent out to a wide researcher network in regions of an enlarged Europe, we found differences with regard to ‘input factors’ such as human resources, animal and laboratory facilities and national and international research funding and ‘output factors’ such as inter/national collaboration...

A rapid approach for characterization of thiol-conjugated antibody-drug conjugates and calculation of drug-antibody ratio by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Firth, David; Bell, Leonard; Squires, Martin; Estdale, Sian; McKee, Colin

2015-09-15

We present the demonstration of a rapid "middle-up" liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based workflow for use in the characterization of thiol-conjugated maleimidocaproyl-monomethyl auristatin F (mcMMAF) and valine-citrulline-monomethyl auristatin E (vcMMAE) antibody-drug conjugates. Deconvoluted spectra were generated following a combination of deglycosylation, IdeS (immunoglobulin-degrading enzyme from Streptococcus pyogenes) digestion, and reduction steps that provide a visual representation of the product for rapid lot-to-lot comparison-a means to quickly assess the integrity of the antibody structure and the applied conjugation chemistry by mass. The relative abundance of the detected ions also offer information regarding differences in drug conjugation levels between samples, and the average drug-antibody ratio can be calculated. The approach requires little material (<100 μg) and, thus, is amenable to small-scale process development testing or as an early component of a complete characterization project facilitating informed decision making regarding which aspects of a molecule might need to be examined in more detail by orthogonal methodologies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rapid Analysis of Bisphenol A and Its Analogues in Food Packaging Products by Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuo; Chang, Quanying; Yin, Kai; He, Qunying; Deng, Yongxiu; Chen, Bo; Liu, Chengbin; Wang, Ying; Wang, Liping

2017-06-14

In this study, a paper spray ionization mass spectrometric (PS-MS) method was developed for the rapid in situ screening and simultaneous quantitative analysis of bisphenol A and its analogues, i.e., bisphenol S, bisphenol F, and bisphenol AF, in food packaging products. At the optimal PS-MS conditions, the calibration curves of bisphenols in the range of 1-100 μg/mL were linear. The correlation coefficients were higher than 0.998, and the LODs of the target compounds were 0.1-0.3 μg/mL. After a simple treatment by dichloromethane on the surface, the samples were analyzed by PS-MS in situ for rapid screening without a traditional sample pretreatment procedure, such as powdering, extraction, and enrichment steps. The analytical time of the PS-MS method was less than 1 min. In comparison with conventional HPLC-MS/MS, it was demonstrated that PS-MS was a more effective high-throughput screening and quantitative analysis method.

Rapid isolation of biomarkers for compound specific radiocarbon dating using high-performance liquid chromatography and flow injection analysis-atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Smittenberg, R.H.; Hopmans, E.C.; Schouten, S.

2002-01-01

Repeated semi-preparative normal-phase HPLC was performed to isolate selected biomarkers from sediment extracts for radiocarbon analysis. Flow injection analysis mass spectrometry was used for rapid analysis of collected fractions to evaluate the separation procedure, taking only 1 min per fraction.

Nontumorous enlargement of the internal auditory canal. A risk factor for sensorineural hearing loss? A high resolution CT-study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stimmer, H.; Rummeny, E.J. [Technical University Munich, Klinikum rechts der Isar (Germany). Dept. of Radiology; Niedermeyer, H.P. [Technical University Munich, Klinikum rechts der Isar (Germany). ENT-Clinic; Kehl, V. [Technical University Munich, Klinikum rechts der Isar (Germany). Inst. for Medical Statistics and Epidemiology

2015-06-15

First aim of the study was to define normal shape and diameter of the internal auditory canal (IAC). In the second part the clinical relevance of IAC-enlargement was analyzed, considering also lesions of the subtle structures at the fundus of the internal auditory canal. 440 high resolution CT-scans of the temporal bone were used for retrospective analysis of the internal auditory canal and its fundus region. The mean value of the IAC diameter in axial and coronal plane was determined. In 20 of 440 patients IAC enlargement was found. In the group with pronounced enlargement (3fold SD) nearly all patients suffered from hearing impairment. In some of them we found structural abnormalities near the IAC fundus in the CSF/perilymph border zone. A new CT-based definition of normal shape and diameter of the internal auditory canal is presented. There is some evidence that a pathologic transmission of CSF-pressure in case of IAC-enlargement and/or abnormal fistulous communications could play an important role in the pathophysiology of hearing loss.

Mediastinal lymph node enlargement in patients with valvular heart disease: CT evaluation and clinical correlation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Hye Ju; Jung, Jung Im; Ahn, Myeong Im; Han, Dae Hee; Park, Seog Hee

2016-01-01

To evaluate the presence, size and location of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with valvular heart disease (VHD) using computed tomography scans in correlation with ejection fraction (EF). We retrospectively evaluated 30 patients with VHD, without pre-existing diseases that could cause lymphadenopathy (LAP). The presence, size, and location of LNs greater than 1 cm in short axis diameter were evaluated. The location of mediastinal LNs was recorded according to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Furthermore, we evaluated the presence of pulmonary edema, pleural effusion, and other thoracic abnormalities and evaluated EF of the heart on transthoracic echocardiography. Sixteen patients (53%) had at least 1 enlarged mediastinal LN. The most frequent locations were lower paratracheal (4R, n = 8/4L, n = 6), subcarinal (7, n = 5) and right upper paratracheal (2R, n = 4) regions. The frequency of mediastinal LAP was higher in patients with aortic regurgitation (2 of 2, 100%) followed by mitral regurgitation (8 of 11, 73%); it was also high in patients with pulmonary edema (80%), pleural effusion (81%), or both (77%), as compared to patients without pulmonary edema or pleural effusion (17%) (p = 0.001). Ten of 30 patients showed an abnormal EF of < 55%; among them, 8 had mediastinal LAP. However, the relationship between EF and LAP was not statistically significant (p = 0.058). Mediastinal LN enlargement is common in patients with VHD, especially in cases of pulmonary edema and pleural effusion. Enlarged mediastinal LNs were frequently observed with abnormal EF, however, the relationship between EF and mediastinal LAP was not statistically significant.

Mediastinal lymph node enlargement in patients with valvular heart disease: CT evaluation and clinical correlation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Hye Ju; Jung, Jung Im; Ahn, Myeong Im; Han, Dae Hee; Park, Seog Hee [Dept. of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary' s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-04-15

To evaluate the presence, size and location of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with valvular heart disease (VHD) using computed tomography scans in correlation with ejection fraction (EF). We retrospectively evaluated 30 patients with VHD, without pre-existing diseases that could cause lymphadenopathy (LAP). The presence, size, and location of LNs greater than 1 cm in short axis diameter were evaluated. The location of mediastinal LNs was recorded according to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Furthermore, we evaluated the presence of pulmonary edema, pleural effusion, and other thoracic abnormalities and evaluated EF of the heart on transthoracic echocardiography. Sixteen patients (53%) had at least 1 enlarged mediastinal LN. The most frequent locations were lower paratracheal (4R, n = 8/4L, n = 6), subcarinal (7, n = 5) and right upper paratracheal (2R, n = 4) regions. The frequency of mediastinal LAP was higher in patients with aortic regurgitation (2 of 2, 100%) followed by mitral regurgitation (8 of 11, 73%); it was also high in patients with pulmonary edema (80%), pleural effusion (81%), or both (77%), as compared to patients without pulmonary edema or pleural effusion (17%) (p = 0.001). Ten of 30 patients showed an abnormal EF of < 55%; among them, 8 had mediastinal LAP. However, the relationship between EF and LAP was not statistically significant (p = 0.058). Mediastinal LN enlargement is common in patients with VHD, especially in cases of pulmonary edema and pleural effusion. Enlarged mediastinal LNs were frequently observed with abnormal EF, however, the relationship between EF and mediastinal LAP was not statistically significant.

Rapidity gaps in jet events at D0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbott, B.; Abolins, M.; Acharya, B.S.

1997-07-01

Preliminary results from the D0 experiment on jet production with rapidity gaps in p anti p collisions are presented. A class of dijet events with a forward rapidity gap is observed at center-of-mass energies √s = 1800 GeV and 630 GeV. The number of events with rapidity gaps at both center-of-mass energies is significantly greater than the expectation from multiplicity fluctuations and is consistent with a hard diffractive process. A class of events with two forward gaps and central dijets is also observed at 1800 GeV. This topology is consistent with hard double pomeron exchange

Association of prothrombin complex concentrate administration and hematoma enlargement in non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant-related intracerebral hemorrhage.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerner, Stefan T; Kuramatsu, Joji B; Sembill, Jochen A; Sprügel, Maximilian I; Endres, Matthias; Haeusler, Karl Georg; Vajkoczy, Peter; Ringleb, Peter A; Purrucker, Jan; Rizos, Timolaos; Erbguth, Frank; Schellinger, Peter D; Fink, Gereon R; Stetefeld, Henning; Schneider, Hauke; Neugebauer, Hermann; Röther, Joachim; Claßen, Joseph; Michalski, Dominik; Dörfler, Arnd; Schwab, Stefan; Huttner, Hagen B

2018-01-01

To investigate parameters associated with hematoma enlargement in non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC)-related intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). This retrospective cohort study includes individual patient data for 190 patients with NOAC-associated ICH over a 5-year period (2011-2015) at 19 departments of neurology across Germany. Primary outcome was the association of prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) administration with hematoma enlargement. Subanalyses were calculated for blood pressure management and its association with the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include associations with in-hospital mortality and functional outcome at 3 months assessed using the modified Rankin Scale. The study population for analysis of primary and secondary outcomes consisted of 146 NOAC-ICH patients with available follow-up imaging. Hematoma enlargement occurred in 49/146 (33.6%) patients with NOAC-related ICH. Parameters associated with hematoma enlargement were blood pressure ≥ 160mmHg within 4 hours and-in the case of factor Xa inhibitor ICH-anti-Xa levels on admission. PCC administration prior to follow-up imaging was not significantly associated with a reduced rate of hematoma enlargement either in overall NOAC-related ICH or in patients with factor Xa inhibitor intake (NOAC: risk ratio [RR] = 1.150, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.632-2.090; factor Xa inhibitor: RR = 1.057, 95% CI = 0.565-1.977), regardless of PCC dosage given or time interval until imaging or treatment. Systolic blood pressure levels < 160mmHg within 4 hours after admission were significantly associated with a reduction in the proportion of patients with hematoma enlargement (RR = 0.598, 95% CI = 0.365-0.978). PCC administration had no effect on mortality and functional outcome either at discharge or at 3 months. In contrast to blood pressure control, PCC administration was not associated with a reduced rate of hematoma enlargement in NOAC-related ICH

Enlarged clitoris in wild polar bears (Ursus maritimus) can be misdiagnosed as pseudohermaphroditism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonne, C.; Leifsson, Páll Skuli; Dietz, R.

2005-01-01

A 23-year-old female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) killed in an Inuit hunt in East Greenland on July 9, 1999 had a significantly enlarged clitoris resembling, in size, form and colour, those of previously reported 'pseudohermaphroditic' polar bears from Svalbard. It has been suggested that an enzyme...... and internal reproductive organs of the present were similar to a reference group of 23 normal adult female polar bears from East Greenland collected in 1999-2002. The aberrant bear was a female genotype, and macroscopic examination of her internal reproductive organs indicated that she was reproductively....... It is hence possible that the previously reported adult female polar bear pseudohermaphrodites from Svalbard are in fact misdiagnoses. Therefore, future studies examining pseudohermaphroditism in wildlife should consider that certain occurrences are natural events, e.g., enlarged clitoris in the present East...

Can axial-based nodal size criteria be used in other imaging planes to accurately determine "enlarged" head and neck lymph nodes?

Science.gov (United States)

Bartlett, Eric S; Walters, Thomas D; Yu, Eugene

2013-01-01

Objective. We evaluate if axial-based lymph node size criteria can be applied to coronal and sagittal planes. Methods. Fifty pretreatment computed tomographic (CT) neck exams were evaluated in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCCa) and neck lymphadenopathy. Axial-based size criteria were applied to all 3 imaging planes, measured, and classified as "enlarged" if equal to or exceeding size criteria. Results. 222 lymph nodes were "enlarged" in one imaging plane; however, 53.2% (118/222) of these were "enlarged" in all 3 planes. Classification concordance between axial versus coronal/sagittal planes was poor (kappa = -0.09 and -0.07, resp., P planes. Conclusion. Classification of "enlarged" lymph nodes differs between axial versus coronal/sagittal imaging planes when axial-based nodal size criteria are applied independently to all three imaging planes, and exclusively used without other morphologic nodal data.

PROTOPLANETARY DISK MASSES IN IC348: A RAPID DECLINE IN THE POPULATION OF SMALL DUST GRAINS AFTER 1 Myr

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Nicholas; Williams, Jonathan P.; Cieza, Lucas A.

2011-01-01

We present a 1.3 mm continuum survey of protoplanetary disks in the 2-3 Myr old cluster, IC348, with the Submillimeter Array. We observed 85 young stellar objects and detected 10 with 1.3 mm fluxes greater than 2 mJy. The brightest source is a young embedded protostar driving a molecular outflow. The other nine detections are dusty disks around optically visible stars. Our millimeter flux measurements translate into total disk masses ranging from 2 to 6 Jupiter masses. Each detected disk has strong mid-infrared emission in excess of the stellar photosphere and has Hα equivalent widths larger than the average in the cluster and indicative of ongoing gas accretion. The disk mass distribution, however, is shifted by about a factor of 20 to lower masses, compared to that in the ∼1 Myr old Taurus and Ophiuchus regions. These observations reveal the rapid decline in the number of small dust grains in disks with time and probably their concomitant growth beyond millimeter sizes. Moreover, if IC348 is to form planets in the same proportion as detected in the field, these faint millimeter detections may represent the best candidates in the cluster to study the progression from planetesimals to planets.

Rapid identification of moulds and arthroconidial yeasts from positive blood cultures by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

de Almeida, João N; Sztajnbok, Jaques; da Silva, Afonso Rafael; Vieira, Vinicius Adriano; Galastri, Anne Layze; Bissoli, Leandro; Litvinov, Nadia; Del Negro, Gilda Maria Barbaro; Motta, Adriana Lopes; Rossi, Flávia; Benard, Gil

2016-11-01

Moulds and arthroconidial yeasts are potential life-threatening agents of fungemia in immunocompromised patients. Fast and accurate identification (ID) of these pathogens hastens initiation of targeted antifungal therapy, thereby improving the patients' prognosis. We describe a new strategy that enabled the identification of moulds and arthroconidial yeasts directly from positive blood cultures by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS). Positive blood cultures (BCs) with Gram staining showing hyphae and/or arthroconidia were prospectively selected and submitted to an in-house protein extraction protocol. Mass spectra were obtained by Vitek MS™ system, and identifications were carried out with in the research use only (RUO) mode with an extended database (SARAMIS™ [v.4.12] plus in-house database). Fusarium solani, Fusarium verticillioides, Exophiala dermatitidis, Saprochaete clavata, and Trichosporon asahii had correct species ID by MALDI-TOF MS analysis of positive BCs. All cases were related to critically ill patients with high mortality fungemia and direct ID from positive BCs was helpful for rapid administration of targeted antifungal therapy. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Streamlining Education System Through Waqf Enlargement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Imam Bahroni

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper is aimed at discussing the development of education systembased on the Waqf Empowerment. It is an experience of Gontor ModernIntegrated Islamic Institution to maintain its existence through the activitiesof Waqf Enlargement. The spirit of self-reliance which has been implementedby Gontor through various economic enterprise activities inside the campus isthe total processes of educational activities, carried out by students andteachers themselves. They act as the subjects and objects of the education atthe same time. They teach themselves through various activities, creativitiesand social interaction for their character and personality building. Thislearning process is purposely undertaken in Gontor, because the basicprinciple of this system is to actualize the community orientation throughwhich the students in the campus guided and prepared to have a spirit ofself reliance. So when they back to the society to undertake the real life theyconfidently take their role to develop their society for the sake of Allah andunity of muslim ummah.

Development of an automated on-line pepsin digestion-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry configuration for the rapid analysis of protein adducts of chemical warfare agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carol-Visser, J.; van der Schans, M.; Fidder, A.; Huist, A.G.; van Baar, B.L.M.; Irth, H.; Noort, D.

2008-01-01

Rapid monitoring and retrospective verification are key issues in protection against and non-proliferation of chemical warfare agents (CWA). Such monitoring and verification are adequately accomplished by the analysis of persistent protein adducts of these agents. Liquid chromatography-mass

An enlarged superfluid model of atomic nucleus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumitrescu, O.; Horoi, M.

1989-01-01

The well known superfluid model (or quasiparticle phonon nuclear model (QPNM)) of atomic nucleus is enlarged by including an adequate four-nucleon effective interaction in addition to the pairing and long-range effective residual interactions. New experimental data can be explained without affecting those observables already described by the QPNM and in addition new features can be enumerated: 1) superfluidities of the neutron and proton systems may be generated by one another; 2) the phase structure is enriched by a new superfluid phase dominated by alpha-type correlations (ATC) and 3) superfluid isomers and their bands of elementary excitations are predicted. Unusual large two-nucleon and alpha transfer reactions cross sections as well as some unusual large alpha decay widths can be explained. (author). 46 refs, 3 figs, 2 tabs

Customization of the voice prosthesis to prevent leakage from the enlarged tracheoesophageal puncture: results of a prospective trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewin, Jan S; Hutcheson, Katherine A; Barringer, Denise A; Croegaert, Lindsay E; Lisec, Asher; Chambers, Mark S

2012-08-01

Customization of the tracheoesophageal (TE) voice prosthesis (VP) is often preferred over surgical closure to prevent aspiration around the VP in laryngectomized patients with an enlarged tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP), but it has not been thoroughly evaluated. Single-institution prospective trial. A prospective trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a customized VP with the addition of an enlarged tracheal and/or esophageal collar in patients with leakage around an enlarged TEP. Absence of leakage around the VP after placement defined immediate effectiveness. Long-term success was defined by the prevention of adverse events related to leakage during the study period. Events that defined failure included: permanent gastrostomy dependence, aspiration pneumonia, and/or surgical TEP closure. Twenty-one patients with enlarged TEP were enrolled (2003-2006). Insertion of a customized VP was unsuccessful in one patient; 145 customizations were performed in the remaining 20 patients (median, 3.5 customizations) during the trial period. Of the customizations, 77% (112/145) prevented leakage immediately after VP insertion. The most common adverse event was dislodgement of the prosthesis (11%) or the collar alone (7%) in 18% (26/145) of customized VP placements. Six patients who died of disease were not evaluable for long-term outcomes. Long-term success was achieved in 80% (12/15) of evaluable patients who avoided permanent gastrostomy, aspiration pneumonia, and surgical TEP closure. Prosthetic customization offers an effective method to prevent leakage around the VP in many patients with an enlarged TEP, thereby preserving TE voice while avoiding surgical closure in this high-risk population. Copyright © 2012 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

Rapid screening for drugs of abuse in biological fluids by ultra high performance liquid chromatography/Orbitrap mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Jagerdeo, Eshwar; Schaff, Jason E

2016-08-01

We present a UPLC(®)-High Resolution Mass Spectrometric method to simultaneously screen for nineteen benzodiazepines, twelve opiates, cocaine and three metabolites, and three "Z-drug" hypnotic sedatives in both blood and urine specimens. Sample processing consists of a high-speed, high-temperature enzymatic hydrolysis for urine samples followed by a rapid supported liquid extraction (SLE). The combination of ultra-high resolution chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry allows all 38 analytes to be uniquely detected with a ten minute analytical run. Limits of detection for all target analytes are 3ng/mL or better, with only 0.3mL of specimen used for analysis. The combination of low sample volume with fast processing and analysis makes this method a suitable replacement for immunoassay screening of the targeted drug classes, while providing far superior specificity and better limits of detection than can routinely be obtained by immunoassay. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Gingival enlargment treatment on 11 and 21 teeth: A case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Umi Ghoni Tjiptoningsih

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The main problem of gingival enlargement in the interdental papillae is thickening of gingival contour, rounde and uncomfort feeling, that must be needed immediate in order to be optimal appearance and functionale. Fibrosis gingival enlargement  wont be healed  with plaque control only, but must be require a surgery treatment such as gingivectomy and gingivoplasty. A 24-year-old woman  came into periodontia clinic complaining a hard swelling at anterior maxillary gingiva at 11-21. Plaque index 52%. Gingival pocket depth at tooth 11 is labial (mesial: 4, medial:1, distal:3. Palatal (mesial:3, medial:2, distal:1 and Tooth 21 is labial (mesial:4, medial:1, distal:1, palatal (mesial:3, medial:1, distal:1. Treatment planning done by gingivectomy and gingivoplasty. The aim of the treatment is to eliminating the gingival pocket and physiologic gingival recontouring that can be help to prevent the recurrence of the disease. We must be considered in gingivectomy and gingivoplasty surgery is to minimize disposal the gingival to maintain the aesthetic, adequate access to the bone defect in order to good correction, minimized the bleeding and discomfort after surgery.

Rapid Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Method Quantifies Oxygen-Rich Lignin Compound in Complex Mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Boes, Kelsey S.; Roberts, Michael S.; Vinueza, Nelson R.

2018-03-01

Complex mixture analysis is a costly and time-consuming task facing researchers with foci as varied as food science and fuel analysis. When faced with the task of quantifying oxygen-rich bio-oil molecules in a complex diesel mixture, we asked whether complex mixtures could be qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed on a single mass spectrometer with mid-range resolving power without the use of lengthy separations. To answer this question, we developed and evaluated a quantitation method that eliminated chromatography steps and expanded the use of quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry from primarily qualitative to quantitative as well. To account for mixture complexity, the method employed an ionization dopant, targeted tandem mass spectrometry, and an internal standard. This combination of three techniques achieved reliable quantitation of oxygen-rich eugenol in diesel from 300 to 2500 ng/mL with sufficient linearity (R2 = 0.97 ± 0.01) and excellent accuracy (percent error = 0% ± 5). To understand the limitations of the method, it was compared to quantitation attained on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, the gold standard for quantitation. The triple quadrupole quantified eugenol from 50 to 2500 ng/mL with stronger linearity (R2 = 0.996 ± 0.003) than the quadrupole-time-of-flight and comparable accuracy (percent error = 4% ± 5). This demonstrates that a quadrupole-time-of-flight can be used for not only qualitative analysis but also targeted quantitation of oxygen-rich lignin molecules in complex mixtures without extensive sample preparation. The rapid and cost-effective method presented here offers new possibilities for bio-oil research, including: (1) allowing for bio-oil studies that demand repetitive analysis as process parameters are changed and (2) making this research accessible to more laboratories. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

A retrospective review of bone tunnel enlargement after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with hamstring tendons fixed with a metal round cannulated interference screw in the femur.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Masahiko; Nakagawa, Yasuaki; Suzuki, Takashi; Okudaira, Shuzo; Nakamura, Takashi

2006-10-01

To assess bone tunnel enlargement after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with the use of hamstring tendons fixed with a round cannulated interference (RCI) screw in the femur. A consecutive series of 30 ACL reconstructions performed with hamstring tendons fixed with an RCI screw in the femur and with staples via Leeds-Keio ligament in the tibia was retrospectively reviewed. The clinical outcome was evaluated through the Lysholm score. Anterior instability was tested by Telos-SE (Telos Japan, Tokyo, Japan) measurement. The location and angle of each femoral and tibial tunnel were measured with the use of plain radiographs, and bone tunnel enlargement greater than 2 mm detected any time 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively was defined as positive. Each factor (location and angle of the tunnels, sex, affected side, age, Lysholm score, and Telos-SE measurement) was compared between enlarged and nonenlarged groups. Positive enlargement of the bone tunnel (>2.0 mm) was observed in 36.7% (11 of 30) on the femoral side and 33.3% (10 of 30) on the tibial side, and in 6 knees of both sides. Half of patients (15 of 30) had an enlarged tunnel on the femoral or the tibial side until 1 year postoperatively. In most cases, enlargement reached maximum at 6 months postoperatively. Female patients tended to have an enlarged tunnel, especially on the femoral side (P < .05). Tunnel enlargement was not correlated with location and angle of the tunnels. Moreover, no difference was found in Lysholm score and Telos-SE measurement between enlarged and nonenlarged groups, although the nonenlarged group tended to exhibit higher Lysholm score and lesser instability. Bone tunnel enlargement of the femoral or tibial side was observed in half of patients (6 in both sides, 5 only in the femur, and 4 only in the tibia) after ACL reconstruction was performed with a hamstring tendon fixed with an RCI screw. Female patients had a greater chance for enlargement of the femoral tunnel

Rapid Identification of Intact Staphylococcal Bacteriophages Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dana Štveráková

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Staphylococcus aureus is a major causative agent of infections associated with hospital environments, where antibiotic-resistant strains have emerged as a significant threat. Phage therapy could offer a safe and effective alternative to antibiotics. Phage preparations should comply with quality and safety requirements; therefore, it is important to develop efficient production control technologies. This study was conducted to develop and evaluate a rapid and reliable method for identifying staphylococcal bacteriophages, based on detecting their specific proteins using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS profiling that is among the suggested methods for meeting the regulations of pharmaceutical authorities. Five different phage purification techniques were tested in combination with two MALDI-TOF MS matrices. Phages, either purified by CsCl density gradient centrifugation or as resuspended phage pellets, yielded mass spectra with the highest information value if ferulic acid was used as the MALDI matrix. Phage tail and capsid proteins yielded the strongest signals whereas the culture conditions had no effect on mass spectral quality. Thirty-seven phages from Myoviridae, Siphoviridae or Podoviridae families were analysed, including 23 siphophages belonging to the International Typing Set for human strains of S. aureus, as well as phages in preparations produced by Microgen, Bohemia Pharmaceuticals and MB Pharma. The data obtained demonstrate that MALDI-TOF MS can be used to effectively distinguish between Staphylococcus-specific bacteriophages.

Rapid profiling of polymeric phenolic acids in Salvia miltiorrhiza by hybrid data-dependent/targeted multistage mass spectrometry acquisition based on expected compounds prediction and fragment ion searching.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Yao; Feng, Zijin; Yang, Min; Zhou, Zhe; Han, Sumei; Hou, Jinjun; Li, Zhenwei; Wu, Wanying; Guo, De-An

2018-04-01

Phenolic acids are the major water-soluble components in Salvia miltiorrhiza (>5%). According to previous studies, many of them contribute to the cardiovascular effects and antioxidant effects of S. miltiorrhiza. Polymeric phenolic acids can be considered as the tanshinol derived metabolites, e.g., dimmers, trimers, and tetramers. A strategy combined with tanshinol-based expected compounds prediction, total ion chromatogram filtering, fragment ion searching, and parent list-based multistage mass spectrometry acquisition by linear trap quadropole-orbitrap Velos mass spectrometry was proposed to rapid profile polymeric phenolic acids in S. miltiorrhiza. More than 480 potential polymeric phenolic acids could be screened out by this strategy. Based on the fragment information obtained by parent list-activated data dependent multistage mass spectrometry acquisition, 190 polymeric phenolic acids were characterized by comparing their mass information with literature data, and 18 of them were firstly detected from S. miltiorrhiza. Seven potential compounds were tentatively characterized as new polymeric phenolic acids from S. miltiorrhiza. This strategy facilitates identification of polymeric phenolic acids in complex matrix with both selectivity and sensitivity, which could be expanded for rapid discovery and identification of compounds from complex matrix. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Research on high-performance mass storage system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Yaodong; Wang Lu; Huang Qiulan; Zheng Wei

2010-01-01

With the enlargement of scientific experiments, more and more data will be produced, which brings great challenge to storage system. Large storage capacity and high data access performance are both important to Mass storage system. This paper firstly reviews some kinds of popular storage systems including network storage system, SAN-based sharing system, WAN File system, object-based parallel file system, hierarchical storage system and cloud storage systems. Then some key technologies are presented. Finally, this paper takes BES storage system as an example and introduces its requirements, architecture and operation results. (authors)

Critical capacity, travel time delays and travel time distribution of rapid mass transit systems

Science.gov (United States)

Legara, Erika Fille; Monterola, Christopher; Lee, Kee Khoon; Hung, Gih Guang

2014-07-01

We set up a mechanistic agent-based model of a rapid mass transit system. Using empirical data from Singapore's unidentifiable smart fare card, we validate our model by reconstructing actual travel demand and duration of travel statistics. We subsequently use this model to investigate two phenomena that are known to significantly affect the dynamics within the RTS: (1) overloading in trains and (2) overcrowding in the RTS platform. We demonstrate that by varying the loading capacity of trains, a tipping point emerges at which an exponential increase in the duration of travel time delays is observed. We also probe the impact on the rail system dynamics of three types of passenger growth distribution across stations: (i) Dirac delta, (ii) uniform and (iii) geometric, which is reminiscent of the effect of land use on transport. Under the assumption of a fixed loading capacity, we demonstrate the dependence of a given origin-destination (OD) pair on the flow volume of commuters in station platforms.

Investigation of novel bioactive rapidly resorbable bone substitute materials and their influence on osteoblastic cell differentiation in vivo

OpenAIRE

Jonscher, Sebastian

2010-01-01

Among the various techniques to reconstruct or enlarge a deficient alveolar ridge, the concept of guided bone regeneration (GBR) has become a predictable and well-documented surgical approach. At present, autogenous bone grafts are preferably combined with barrier membranes. Using synthetic biodegradable bone substitute materials, however, is advantageous, since it avoids second-site surgery for autograft harvesting. A bone substitute for alveolar ridge augmentation must be rapidly resorbable...

Models of neutrino mass and mixing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Ernest

2000-01-01

There are two basic theoretical approaches to obtaining neutrino mass and mixing. In the minimalist approach, one adds just enough new stuff to the Minimal Standard Model to get m ν ≠0 and U αi ≠1. In the holistic approach, one uses a general framework or principle to enlarge the Minimal Standard Model such that, among other things, m ν ≠0 and U αi ≠1. In both cases, there are important side effects besides neutrino oscillations. I discuss a number of examples, including the possibility of leptogenesis from R parity nonconservation in supersymmetry

Enlarging the underground hydroelectric plant at Villarino, Spain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oriard, L.L.

1997-05-01

Near the village of Villarino de los Aires, in the province of Salamanca, Spain, was an existing underground hydroelectric power plant. A major enlargement was undertaken to increase the electrical generating capacity, under a contract awarded to a joint venture of Dragados y Construcciones, S. A. (Spain), Entrecanales y Tavora, S. A. (Spain), and S.A. Conrad Zschokke (Switzerland). The enlargement required the excavation of a large and complex underground system of tunnels, shafts and chambers adjacent to existing facilities and interconnected with these facilities. The existing machine hall and transformer chamber were both extended, requiring the blasting of the existing end walls. The drilling, blasting and excavating of the underground system had to be done without damage to existing underground chambers and tunnels, or any of the existing structures, equipment or instrumentation facilities, often within just a few feet of the blasting. This required careful control of vibrations, airblast overpressures and dust. Because the only available non-electric detonating systems were found to be unreliable and unsafe, electric systems would be preferred if they could be used in a safe manner at this site. High electrical potentials existed at the site, and the facilities could not be shut down. Electrical fields were studied carefully, both in the underground environment and above the ground surface. Based on these results, it was concluded that electric detonators could be used if special blasting procedures were developed and followed. In accord with contracting practices of this Spanish agency, the contract was not awarded to the lowest bidder, but to the bidder who demonstrated the best understanding of the project and who presented the best technical proposal for conducting the work to a conclusion that would be satisfactory to the owner. The development of the technical proposal was a two-month effort for a technical group and support staff, prepared in Madrid.

Hearing loss in enlarged vestibular aqueduct and incomplete partition type II.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahadizadeh, Emily; Ascha, Mustafa; Manzoor, Nauman; Gupta, Amit; Semaan, Maroun; Megerian, Cliff; Otteson, Todd

The purpose of this work is to identify the role of incomplete partition type II on hearing loss among patients with enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA). EVA is a common congenital inner ear malformation among children with hearing loss, where vestibular aqueduct morphology in this population has been shown to correlate to hearing loss. However, the impact of incomplete partition between cochlear turns on hearing loss has not been, despite meaningful implications for EVA pathophysiology. A retrospective review of radiology reports for patients who had computed tomography (CT) scans with diagnoses of hearing loss at a tertiary medical center between January 2000 and June 2016 were screened for EVA. CT scans of the internal auditory canal (IAC) for those patients with EVA were examined for evidence of incomplete partition type II (IP-II), measurements of midpoint width and operculum width a second time, and patients meeting Cincinnati criteria for EVA selected for analysis. Statistical analysis including chi-square, Wilcoxon rank-sum, and t-tests were used to identify differences in outcomes and clinical predictors, as appropriate for the distribution of the data. Linear mixed models of hearing test results for all available tests were constructed, both univariable and adjusting for vestibular aqueduct morphometric features, with ear-specific intercepts and slopes over time. There were no statistically significant differences in any hearing test results or vestibular aqueduct midpoint and operculum widths. Linear mixed models, both univariable and those adjusting for midpoint and operculum widths, did not indicate a statistically significant effect of incomplete partition type II on hearing test results. Hearing loss due to enlarged vestibular aqueduct does not appear to be affected by the presence of incomplete partition type II. Our results suggest that the pathophysiological processes underlying hearing loss in enlarged vestibular aqueduct may not be a result of

Energy dependence of acceptance-corrected dielectron excess mass spectrum at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at sNN=19.6 and 200 GeV

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L. Adamczyk

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The acceptance-corrected dielectron excess mass spectra, where the known hadronic sources have been subtracted from the inclusive dielectron mass spectra, are reported for the first time at mid-rapidity |yee|<1 in minimum-bias Au+Au collisions at sNN=19.6 and 200 GeV. The excess mass spectra are consistently described by a model calculation with a broadened ρ spectral function for Mee<1.1 GeV/c2. The integrated dielectron excess yield at sNN=19.6 GeV for 0.4rapidity, has a value similar to that in In+In collisions at sNN=17.3 GeV. For sNN=200 GeV, the normalized excess yield in central collisions is higher than that at sNN=17.3 GeV and increases from peripheral to central collisions. These measurements indicate that the lifetime of the hot, dense medium created in central Au+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV is longer than those in peripheral collisions and at lower energies.

An enlarged parietal foramen in the late archaic Xujiayao 11 neurocranium from Northern China, and rare anomalies among Pleistocene Homo.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xiu-Jie; Xing, Song; Trinkaus, Erik

2013-01-01

We report here a neurocranial abnormality previously undescribed in Pleistocene human fossils, an enlarged parietal foramen (EPF) in the early Late Pleistocene Xujiayao 11 parietal bones from the Xujiayao (Houjiayao) site, northern China. Xujiayao 11 is a pair of partial posteromedial parietal bones from an adult. It exhibits thick cranial vault bones, arachnoid granulations, a deviated posterior sagittal suture, and a unilateral (right) parietal lacuna with a posteriorly-directed and enlarged endocranial vascular sulcus. Differential diagnosis indicates that the perforation is a congenital defect, an enlarged parietal foramen, commonly associated with cerebral venous and cranial vault anomalies. It was not lethal given the individual's age-at-death, but it may have been associated with secondary neurological deficiencies. The fossil constitutes the oldest evidence in human evolution of this very rare condition (a single enlarged parietal foramen). In combination with developmental and degenerative abnormalities in other Pleistocene human remains, it suggests demographic and survival patterns among Pleistocene Homo that led to an elevated frequency of conditions unknown or rare among recent humans.

An enlarged parietal foramen in the late archaic Xujiayao 11 neurocranium from Northern China, and rare anomalies among Pleistocene Homo.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiu-Jie Wu

Full Text Available We report here a neurocranial abnormality previously undescribed in Pleistocene human fossils, an enlarged parietal foramen (EPF in the early Late Pleistocene Xujiayao 11 parietal bones from the Xujiayao (Houjiayao site, northern China. Xujiayao 11 is a pair of partial posteromedial parietal bones from an adult. It exhibits thick cranial vault bones, arachnoid granulations, a deviated posterior sagittal suture, and a unilateral (right parietal lacuna with a posteriorly-directed and enlarged endocranial vascular sulcus. Differential diagnosis indicates that the perforation is a congenital defect, an enlarged parietal foramen, commonly associated with cerebral venous and cranial vault anomalies. It was not lethal given the individual's age-at-death, but it may have been associated with secondary neurological deficiencies. The fossil constitutes the oldest evidence in human evolution of this very rare condition (a single enlarged parietal foramen. In combination with developmental and degenerative abnormalities in other Pleistocene human remains, it suggests demographic and survival patterns among Pleistocene Homo that led to an elevated frequency of conditions unknown or rare among recent humans.

Efficacy of the fractional photothermolysis system with dynamic operating mode on acne scars and enlarged facial pores.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Sung Bin; Lee, Ju Hee; Choi, Moon Jung; Lee, Kyu-Yeop; Oh, Sang Ho

2009-01-01

Current treatments for acne scars and enlarged facial pores have shown limited efficacy. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the fractional photothermolysis system (FPS) with dynamic operating mode on acne scars and enlarged pores. Twelve patients with mild to moderate atrophic acne scars and enlarged pores were included in this study. Three sessions of FPS treatment were performed for acne scars and facial pores monthly. Two blinded dermatologists who compared before and after photos based on a quartile grading scale conducted objective clinical assessments of acne scar- and facial pore-treated areas. We took a biopsy immediately after one treatment with the laser from one of the authors to assess the histologic effects of the laser on facial pores. Follow-up results at 4 months after the last treatment revealed that, of the 12 patients, for acne scars, five demonstrated clinical improvements of 51% to 75% and three demonstrated improvements of 76% to 100%, and for facial pores, five demonstrated moderate clinical improvements of 26% to 50% and three demonstrated improvements of 76% to 100%. Side effects, including pain, post-treatment erythema, and edema, were resolved within 1 week. We suggest that the FPS may provide a new treatment algorithm in some cases with acne scars and enlarged pores. Considering the lack of placebo-controlled, split-face design of our study, optimized, prospective studies should be conducted to fully assess the efficacy of FPS with dynamic operating mode.

Magnetic Inflation and Stellar Mass. II. On the Radii of Single, Rapidly Rotating, Fully Convective M-Dwarf Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Kesseli, Aurora Y.; Muirhead, Philip S.; Mann, Andrew W.; Mace, Greg

2018-06-01

Main-sequence, fully convective M dwarfs in eclipsing binaries are observed to be larger than stellar evolutionary models predict by as much as 10%–15%. A proposed explanation for this discrepancy involves effects from strong magnetic fields, induced by rapid rotation via the dynamo process. Although, a handful of single, slowly rotating M dwarfs with radius measurements from interferometry also appear to be larger than models predict, suggesting that rotation or binarity specifically may not be the sole cause of the discrepancy. We test whether single, rapidly rotating, fully convective stars are also larger than expected by measuring their R\\sin i distribution. We combine photometric rotation periods from the literature with rotational broadening (v\\sin i) measurements reported in this work for a sample of 88 rapidly rotating M dwarf stars. Using a Bayesian framework, we find that stellar evolutionary models underestimate the radii by 10 % {--}15{ % }-2.5+3, but that at higher masses (0.18 theory is 13%–18%, and we argue that the discrepancy is unlikely to be due to effects from age. Furthermore, we find no statistically significant radius discrepancy between our sample and the handful of M dwarfs with interferometric radii. We conclude that neither rotation nor binarity are responsible for the inflated radii of fully convective M dwarfs, and that all fully convective M dwarfs are larger than models predict.

Kleptochloroplast Enlargement, Karyoklepty and the Distribution of the Cryptomonad Nucleus in Nusuttodinium (= Gymnodinium) aeruginosum (Dinophyceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Onuma, Ryo; Horiguchi, Takeo

2015-05-01

The unarmoured freshwater dinoflagellate Nusuttodinium (= Gymnodinium) aeruginosum retains a cryptomonad-derived kleptochloroplast and nucleus, the former of which fills the bulk of its cell volume. The paucity of studies following morphological changes to the kleptochloroplast with time make it unclear how the kleptochloroplast enlarges and why the cell ultimately loses the cryptomonad nucleus. We observed, both at the light and electron microscope level, morphological changes to the kleptochloroplast incurred by the enlargement process under culture conditions. The distribution of the cryptomonad nucleus after host cell division was also investigated. The volume of the kleptochloroplast increased more than 20-fold, within 120h of ingestion of the cryptomonad. Host cell division was not preceded by cryptomonad karyokinesis so that only one of the daughter cells inherited a cryptomonad nucleus. The fate of all daughter cells originating from a single cell through five generations was closely monitored, and this observation revealed that the cell that inherited the cryptomonad nucleus consistently possessed the largest kleptochloroplast for that generation. Therefore, this study suggests that some important cryptomonad nucleus division mechanism is lost during ingestion process, and that the cryptomonad nucleus carries important information for the enlargement of the kleptochloroplast. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Spontaneous breast enlargement following liposuction of the abdominal wall : Does a link exist?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Lei, Berend; Halbesma, Gert-Jan; van Nieuwenhoven, Christianne A.; van Wingerden, Jan J.

2007-01-01

Background: A retrospective study was undertaken to determine the specific incidence of breast enlargement following liposuction of the abdomen (alone or in combination with the flanks), and to compare its effect with a control group of patients who had undergone abdominoplasty only and, where

Spontaneous breast enlargement following liposuction of the abdominal wall: does a link exist?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Lei, Berend; Halbesma, Gert-Jan; van Nieuwenhoven, Christianne A.; van Wingerden, Jan J.

2007-01-01

A retrospective study was undertaken to determine the specific incidence of breast enlargement following liposuction of the abdomen (alone or in combination with the flanks), and to compare its effect with a control group of patients who had undergone abdominoplasty only and, where possible,

An introduction to environmental law. 2. enlarged ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, R.; Mueller, H.

1989-01-01

The author outlines the environmental law in the Federal Republic of Germany and surveys the main legal regulations in the field of environmental protection. Inter alia he deals with problems of installations subject to permission and with legal questions of transfrontier environmental pollution. This second edition brings up to date or enlarges the first by information and facts concerning in particular the deficits in enforcement, informal acts of the administration, the protection of animals and endangered species of wild fauna and flora, the environmental impact statement, liability for environmental pollution, the problems involved in the management of waste found at abandoned industrial sites or dumps, radiological protection issues, and environmental protection provided by the EEC Treaty. (orig./HP) [de

Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma Presenting as an Enlarging Vascular Lesion within the Spleen

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Juliet A. Emamaullee

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE is a rare vascular neoplasm with variable malignant potential that most often presents within the liver. Many patients present with bilobar or extrahepatic disease, and the current treatment paradigm involves liver transplantation, with favorable long term results. Up to 25% of patients are diagnosed incidentally following imaging for other indications, and confirmation of diagnosis requires histologic analysis, as there are no classical imaging features to distinguish hepatic EHE (HEHE from other solid hepatic lesions. Here we describe a case of microscopic HEHE that was diagnosed following splenectomy for an enlarging vascular tumor within the spleen. Due to the unexpected diagnosis of EHE within the spleen and coexisting but stable appearing liver hemangiomata, a left hepatic lobectomy was performed. Explant histology revealed benign hemangiomata and diffuse, microscopic HEHE. The patient ultimately underwent liver transplantation. HEHE can be a challenging diagnosis, and this case emphasizes that any enlarging vascular lesion, even within the spleen, should prompt a high index of suspicion for HEHE in the setting of known hemangiomata.

Rapid evaporative ionisation mass spectrometry and chemometrics for high-throughput screening of growth promoters in meat producing animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Guitton, Yann; Dervilly-Pinel, Gaud; Jandova, Renata; Stead, Sara; Takats, Zoltan; Le Bizec, Bruno

2018-01-17

In a proof of concept perspective, Rapid Evaporative Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (REIMS) was explored for the direct analysis of meat samples from β-agonist treated livestock. In this context, the combination of REIMS with untargeted metabolomics was investigated to identify carcasses from treated animals on the basis of a modification of indirect metabolites profile. The REIMS analysis generated specific lipid profiles which enabled the differentiation of meat samples collected from pigs treated with ractopamine via their feeding regime. Furthermore, the strategy was found successful when tested on different muscle types (loin, shoulder and thigh), which further expands its applicability. Classification performances were greater than 95% accurate which fully answers requirements of a screening strategy. This research indicates that REIMS implemented in an untargeted-metabolomics workflow can be considered as a high-throughput and accurate strategy for real-time meat classification in relation to ractopamine (and wider β-agonists) treatment in pig production. This approach may subsequently be implemented as a rapid screening test, at the slaughterhouse or at border inspection points, to detect such practice.

Coil embolization of an enlarging fusiform myxomatous cerebral aneurysm

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Frances Lazarow, MD

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Myxomatous cerebral aneurysms are rare sequelae of cardiac atrial myxoma. These aneurysms are generally fusiform, multiple, and distal. Pathogenesis and evolution of these aneurysms is still debated. There are currently no guidelines on the management of aneurysms secondary to atrial myxoma. We present a case of a 52-year-old man with multiple fusiform aneurysms 3 years after resection of a left atrial myxoma. One of these aneurysms was followed with cerebral angiography and showed substantial interval enlargement. This aneurysm was subsequently embolized. All aneurysms were stable 6 months post-embolization. Keywords: Myxomatous aneurysm, Fusiform, Coil embolization

EU Enlargement between Economic and Political Criteria

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Romeo-Victor Ionescu

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The paper answers at two important questions: Is the EU able to support new adhering processes? and Is the Euro area able to enlarge in 2014? The comparative analysis in the paper covers four economic competitors: EU, USA, China and Japan, and is based on GDP growth rate, unemployment and inflation rates. The second part of the paper deals with an economic forecast during 2015-2016, focused on EU27, Euro area, Croatia and Latvia, in order to discuss the effects of the adhering to EU and Euro area. The results of the two-level analysis are supported by pertinent diagrams and annexes. The analysis uses a neutral statistical database – Eurostat – and dedicated forecast software. The main conclusion of the paper is that the adhering processes from 2013 and 2014 are based on economic and political criteria.

The Palm-Heart Diameter: A Prospective Simple Screening Tool for Identifying Heart Enlargement

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Adegbenro Omotuyi John Fakoya

2017-11-01

CONCLUSION: This study establishes the correlation between the palm and heart diameters. Since the heart tissue and the upper limb share a similar embryonic origin, being the mesoderm, this study prospects the fact that heart enlargement could be preliminarily identified by measuring the size of the hand.

[Enlargement in managment of lumbar spinal stenosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Steib, J P; Averous, C; Brinckert, D; Lang, G

1996-05-01

Lumbar stenosis has been well discussed recently, especially at the 64th French Orthopaedic Society (SOFCOT: July 1989). The results of different surgical treatments were considered as good, but the indications for surgical treatment were not clear cut. Laminectomy is not the only treatment of spinal stenosis. Laminectomy is an approach with its own rate of complications (dural tear, fibrosis, instability... ).Eight years ago, J. Sénégas described what he called the "recalibrage" (enlargement). His feeling was that, in the spinal canal, we can find two different AP diameters. The first one is a fixed constitutional AP diameter (FCAPD) at the cephalic part of the lamina. The second one is a mobile constitutional AP diameter (MCAPD) marked by the disc and the ligamentum flavum. This diameter is maximal in flexion, minimal in extension. The nerve root proceeds through the lateral part of the canal: first above, between the disc and the superior articular process, then below, in the lateral recess bordered by the pedicle, the vertebral body and the posterior articulation. With the degenerative change the disc space becomes shorter, the superior articular process is worn out with osteophytes. These degenerative events are complicated by inter vertebral instability increasing the stenosis. The idea of the "recalibrage" is to remove only the upper part of the lamina with the ligamentum flavum and to cut the hypertrophied anterior part of the articular process from inside. If needed the disc and other osteophytes are removed. The surgery is finished with a ligamentoplasty reducing the flexion and preventing the extension by a posterior wedge.Our experience in spine surgery especially in scoliosis surgery, showed us that it was possible to cure a radicular compression without opening the canal. The compression is then lifted by the 3D reduction and restoration of an anatomy as normal as possible. Lumbar stenosis is the consequence of a degenerative process. Indeed, hip

Emotional stimuli-provoked seizures potentially misdiagnosed as psychogenic non-epileptic attacks: A case of temporal lobe epilepsy with amygdala enlargement

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Hidetaka Tamune

Full Text Available The association between emotional stimuli and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE is largely unknown. Here, we report the case of a depressed, 50-year-old female complaining of episodes of a “spaced out” experience precipitated by emotional stimuli. Psychogenic non-epileptic attacks were suspected. However, video-EEG coupled with emotional stimuli-provoked procedures and MRI findings of amygdala enlargement, led to the diagnosis of left TLE. Accurate diagnosis and explanation improved her subjective depression and seizure frequency. This case demonstrated that emotional stimuli can provoke seizures in TLE and suggested the involvement of the enlarged amygdala and the modulation of emotion-related neural circuits. Keywords: Video-EEG, Psychogenic non-epileptic attacks, Temporal lobe epilepsy, Amygdala enlargement, Reflex seizure, Provoked seizure

Postoperative pain after foraminal enlargement in anterior teeth with necrosis and apical periodontitis: a prospective and randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Emmanuel João Nogueira Leal; Menaged, Karyne; Ajuz, Natasha; Monteiro, Maria Rachel Figueiredo Penalva; Coutinho-Filho, Tauby de Souza

2013-02-01

The aim of this randomized, controlled, prospective clinical study was to determine if foraminal enlargement instrumentation during endodontic treatment is associated with more postoperative pain compared with standard nonenlargement instrumentation. Forty volunteers with a single root canal were diagnosed with asymptomatic necrosis with apical periodontitis and randomized into 2 experimental groups (ie, the control group and the foraminal enlargement group). Endodontic treatment was performed in a single visit, and volunteers were instructed to record pain intensity (ie, none, slight, moderate, and severe). Scores from 1 to 4 were attributed to each kind of pain after 12, 24, and 48 hours. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Student's t tests were used to determine significant differences at P .05, Student's t test). Postoperative pain showed no statistically significant difference between the groups at any observation period (P > .05). Also, no significant difference was observed in the mean number of analgesic tablets used between the groups (P > .05). The foraminal enlargement and nonenlargement techniques resulted in the same postoperative pain and necessity for analgesic medication. This may suggest that the use of foraminal enlargement should be performed for endodontic treatment previsibility without increasing postoperative pain. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Precise mass measurements of astrophysical interest made with the Canadian Penning trap mass spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, J.A.; Barber, R.C.; Blank, B.; Boudreau, C.; Buchinger, F.; Crawford, J.E.; Gulick, S.; Hardy, J.C.; Heinz, A.; Lee, J.K.P.; Levand, A.F.; Moore, R.B.; Savard, G.; Seweryniak, D.; Sharma, K.S.; Sprouse, G.D.; Trimble, W.; Vaz, J.; Wang, J.C.; Zhou, Z.

2004-01-01

The processes responsible for the creation of elements more massive than iron are not well understood. Possible production mechanisms involve the rapid capture of protons (rp-process) or the rapid capture of neutrons (r-process), which are thought to occur in explosive astrophysical events such as novae, x-ray bursts, and supernovae. Mass measurements of the nuclides involved with uncertainties on the order of 100 keV or better are critical to determine the process 'paths', the energy output of the events, and the resulting nuclide abundances. Particularly important are the masses of 'waiting-point' nuclides along the rp-process path where the process stalls until the subsequent β decay of the nuclides. This paper will discuss the precise mass measurements made of isotopes along the rp-process and r-process paths using the Canadian Penning Trap mass spectrometer, including the mass of the critical waiting-point nuclide 68 Se

Diagnostic criteria for enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) on CT of the temporal bones. Borderline cases of EVA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumoto, Mariko; Hoshino, Tomoyuki; Kikura, Mikino; Kikawada, Keiko; Kikawada, Toru

2005-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine measurements of the vestibular aqueduct on axial CT figures and to examine the cases with borderline EVA. The width of the vestibular aqueduct was measured in two places, the midpoint of the duct and the external aperture in the posterior cranial fossa. Criteria was as follow: Enlargement; ≥1.5 mm at the midpoint, ≥2 mm at the aperture, Borderline; 1-1.4 mm at the midpoint, 1.5-1.9 mm at the aperture. Three hundred forty-five cases with CT scans of the temporal bones taken during July 2003 to June 2004 in the secondary ENT referral center. Those patients include sensorinearal, mixed or conductive deafness, vertigo, ear infections and other ear diseases. Enlarged vestibular aqueduct was found in 10 ears with sensorineural deafness (SD) and 2 ears without SD. Borderline measurements were found in 19 ears with SD and 33 ears without SD. The enlarged midpoint measurement was not seen in the cases without SD. More than 1.5 mm of the definition for the enlargement at the midpoint of the vestibular aqueduct seemed to be appropriate in the clinical situation. The measurement at the midpoint of the duct is more reliable than at the external aperture. The conductive component in EVA Syndrome with mixed hearing loss is present only at the lower frequencies (250, 500 Hz), not at the middle and higer frequencies. Long-term follow-up of hearing should be done in the borderline cases with check-up of PDS gene anomaly if necessary. (author)

Energy dependence of acceptance-corrected dielectron excess mass spectrum at mid-rapidity in Au +Au collisions at √{sNN} = 19.6 and 200 GeV

Science.gov (United States)

Adamczyk, L.; Adkins, J. K.; Agakishiev, G.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Ahammed, Z.; Alekseev, I.; Alford, J.; Aparin, A.; Arkhipkin, D.; Aschenauer, E. C.; Averichev, G. S.; Banerjee, A.; Bellwied, R.; Bhasin, A.; Bhati, A. K.; Bhattarai, P.; Bielcik, J.; Bielcikova, J.; Bland, L. C.; Bordyuzhin, I. G.; Bouchet, J.; Brandin, A. V.; Bunzarov, I.; Burton, T. P.; Butterworth, J.; Caines, H.; Calder'on de la Barca S'anchez, M.; Campbell, J. M.; Cebra, D.; Cervantes, M. C.; Chakaberia, I.; Chaloupka, P.; Chang, Z.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chen, J. H.; Chen, X.; Cheng, J.; Cherney, M.; Christie, W.; Codrington, M. J. M.; Contin, G.; Crawford, H. J.; Das, S.; De Silva, L. C.; Debbe, R. R.; Dedovich, T. G.; Deng, J.; Derevschikov, A. A.; di Ruzza, B.; Didenko, L.; Dilks, C.; Dong, X.; Drachenberg, J. L.; Draper, J. E.; Du, C. M.; Dunkelberger, L. E.; Dunlop, J. C.; Efimov, L. G.; Engelage, J.; Eppley, G.; Esha, R.; Evdokimov, O.; Eyser, O.; Fatemi, R.; Fazio, S.; Federic, P.; Fedorisin, J.; Feng; Filip, P.; Fisyak, Y.; Flores, C. E.; Fulek, L.; Gagliardi, C. A.; Garand, D.; Geurts, F.; Gibson, A.; Girard, M.; Greiner, L.; Grosnick, D.; Gunarathne, D. S.; Guo, Y.; Gupta, S.; Gupta, A.; Guryn, W.; Hamad, A.; Hamed, A.; Haque, R.; Harris, J. W.; He, L.; Heppelmann, S.; Hirsch, A.; Hoffmann, G. W.; Hofman, D. J.; Horvat, S.; Huang, H. Z.; Huang, X.; Huang, B.; Huck, P.; Humanic, T. J.; Igo, G.; Jacobs, W. W.; Jang, H.; Jiang, K.; Judd, E. G.; Kabana, S.; Kalinkin, D.; Kang, K.; Kauder, K.; Ke, H. W.; Keane, D.; Kechechyan, A.; Khan, Z. H.; Kikola, D. P.; Kisel, I.; Kisiel, A.; Klein, S. R.; Koetke, D. D.; Kollegger, T.; Kosarzewski, L. K.; Kotchenda, L.; Kraishan, A. F.; Kravtsov, P.; Krueger, K.; Kulakov, I.; Kumar, L.; Kycia, R. A.; Lamont, M. A. C.; Landgraf, J. M.; Landry, K. D.; Lauret, J.; Lebedev, A.; Lednicky, R.; Lee, J. H.; Li, X.; Li, X.; Li, W.; Li, Z. M.; Li, Y.; Li, C.; Lisa, M. A.; Liu, F.; Ljubicic, T.; Llope, W. J.; Lomnitz, M.; Longacre, R. S.; Luo, X.; Ma, L.; Ma, R.; Ma, G. L.; Ma, Y. G.; Magdy, N.; Majka, R.; Manion, A.; Margetis, S.; Markert, C.; Masui, H.; Matis, H. S.; McDonald, D.; Meehan, K.; Minaev, N. G.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mohanty, B.; Mondal, M. M.; Morozov, D. A.; Mustafa, M. K.; Nandi, B. K.; Nasim, Md.; Nayak, T. K.; Nigmatkulov, G.; Nogach, L. V.; Noh, S. Y.; Novak, J.; Nurushev, S. B.; Odyniec, G.; Ogawa, A.; Oh, K.; Okorokov, V.; Olvitt, D. L.; Page, B. S.; Pan, Y. X.; Pandit, Y.; Panebratsev, Y.; Pawlak, T.; Pawlik, B.; Pei, H.; Perkins, C.; Peterson, A.; Pile, P.; Planinic, M.; Pluta, J.; Poljak, N.; Poniatowska, K.; Porter, J.; Posik, M.; Poskanzer, A. M.; Pruthi, N. K.; Putschke, J.; Qiu, H.; Quintero, A.; Ramachandran, S.; Raniwala, R.; Raniwala, S.; Ray, R. L.; Ritter, H. G.; Roberts, J. B.; Rogachevskiy, O. V.; Romero, J. L.; Roy, A.; Ruan, L.; Rusnak, J.; Rusnakova, O.; Sahoo, N. R.; Sahu, P. K.; Sakrejda, I.; Salur, S.; Sandacz, A.; Sandweiss, J.; Sarkar, A.; Schambach, J.; Scharenberg, R. P.; Schmah, A. M.; Schmidke, W. B.; Schmitz, N.; Seger, J.; Seyboth, P.; Shah, N.; Shahaliev, E.; Shanmuganathan, P. V.; Shao, M.; Sharma, M. K.; Sharma, B.; Shen, W. Q.; Shi, S. S.; Shou, Q. Y.; Sichtermann, E. P.; Sikora, R.; Simko, M.; Skoby, M. J.; Smirnov, N.; Smirnov, D.; Solanki, D.; Song, L.; Sorensen, P.; Spinka, H. M.; Srivastava, B.; Stanislaus, T. D. S.; Stock, R.; Strikhanov, M.; Stringfellow, B.; Sumbera, M.; Summa, B. J.; Sun, Y.; Sun, Z.; Sun, X. M.; Sun, X.; Surrow, B.; Svirida, D. N.; Szelezniak, M. A.; Takahashi, J.; Tang, A. H.; Tang, Z.; Tarnowsky, T.; Tawfik, A. N.; Thomas, J. H.; Timmins, A. R.; Tlusty, D.; Tokarev, M.; Trentalange, S.; Tribble, R. E.; Tribedy, P.; Tripathy, S. K.; Trzeciak, B. A.; Tsai, O. D.; Ullrich, T.; Underwood, D. G.; Upsal, I.; Van Buren, G.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G.; Vandenbroucke, M.; Varma, R.; Vasiliev, A. N.; Vertesi, R.; Videbaek, F.; Viyogi, Y. P.; Vokal, S.; Voloshin, S. A.; Vossen, A.; Wang, Y.; Wang, F.; Wang, H.; Wang, J. S.; Wang, G.; Wang, Y.; Webb, J. C.; Webb, G.; Wen, L.; Westfall, G. D.; Wieman, H.; Wissink, S. W.; Witt, R.; Wu, Y. F.; Xiao, Z.; Xie, W.; Xin, K.; Xu, Z.; Xu, Q. H.; Xu, N.; Xu, H.; Xu, Y. F.; Yang, Y.; Yang, C.; Yang, S.; Yang, Q.; Yang, Y.; Ye, Z.; Yepes, P.; Yi, L.; Yip, K.; Yoo, I.-K.; Yu, N.; Zbroszczyk, H.; Zha, W.; Zhang, J. B.; Zhang, X. P.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, Z.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, J. L.; Zhao, F.; Zhao, J.; Zhong, C.; Zhou, L.; Zhu, X.; Zoulkarneeva, Y.; Zyzak, M.

2015-11-01

The acceptance-corrected dielectron excess mass spectra, where the known hadronic sources have been subtracted from the inclusive dielectron mass spectra, are reported for the first time at mid-rapidity |yee | < 1 in minimum-bias Au +Au collisions at √{sNN} = 19.6 and 200 GeV. The excess mass spectra are consistently described by a model calculation with a broadened ρ spectral function for Mee < 1.1 GeV /c2. The integrated dielectron excess yield at √{sNN} = 19.6 GeV for 0.4 rapidity, has a value similar to that in In +In collisions at √{sNN} = 17.3 GeV. For √{sNN} = 200 GeV, the normalized excess yield in central collisions is higher than that at √{sNN} = 17.3 GeV and increases from peripheral to central collisions. These measurements indicate that the lifetime of the hot, dense medium created in central Au +Au collisions at √{sNN} = 200 GeV is longer than those in peripheral collisions and at lower energies.

A rare cause of glans penis masses in childhood: Fibroepithelial polyp

Science.gov (United States)

Şencan, Arzu; Şencan, Aydın; Günşar, Cüneyt; Çayırlı, Hasan; Neşe, Nalan

2015-01-01

Fibroepithelial polyps of glans penis are very rarely seen in childhood. A 6-month-old male admitted to our institution with a slowly enlarging glans penis mass on the ventral side of the glans penis. The mass was totally excised, and hystopathological diagnosis was a fibroepithelial polyp. All of the reported cases published previously, except one, are of adult age and all of them have been associated with the history of long-term condom catheter use. The presence of the case in childhood; however, suggests that the pathology might be congenital. This is the second pediatric case presented in the English literature. PMID:25552832

A drop in the pond: the effect of rapid mass-loss on the dynamics and interaction rate of collisionless particles

Science.gov (United States)

Penoyre, Zephyr; Haiman, Zoltán

2018-01-01

In symmetric gravitating systems experiencing rapid mass-loss, particle orbits change almost instantaneously, which can lead to the development of a sharply contoured density profile, including singular caustics for collisionless systems. This framework can be used to model a variety of dynamical systems, such as accretion discs following a massive black hole merger and dwarf galaxies following violent early star formation feedback. Particle interactions in the high-density peaks seem a promising source of observable signatures of these mass-loss events (i.e. a possible EM counterpart for black hole mergers or strong gamma-ray emission from dark matter annihilation around young galaxies), because the interaction rate depends on the square of the density. We study post-mass-loss density profiles, both analytic and numerical, in idealized cases and present arguments and methods to extend to any general system. An analytic derivation is presented for particles on Keplerian orbits responding to a drop in the central mass. We argue that this case, with initially circular orbits, gives the most sharply contoured profile possible. We find that despite the presence of a set of singular caustics, the total particle interaction rate is reduced compared to the unperturbed system; this is a result of the overall expansion of the system dominating over the steep caustics. Finally, we argue that this result holds more generally, and the loss of central mass decreases the particle interaction rate in any physical system.

Bronchial compression by an enlarged left atrium in infants; a cause of hypovascularity of the left lung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corr, L.; Hallidie-Smith, K.A.; McCarthy, P.A.; Lavender, J.P.

1988-09-01

In three infants seen recently at our institution we noted signs of compression of the left main bronchus associated with enlarged left atria. None of our cases demonstrated the more usual signs of hyperinflation which are a hyperlucent lung field, depressed hemidiaphragm and mediastinal shift away from the affected side. In addition, hypoperfusion of the left lung was noted in each case. We believe that bronchial compression due to an enlarged left atrium, with consequent hypoxic vasoconstriction is a clinically significant entity, which is not well described and may be unappreciated in infants in whom the typical signs of hyperinflation are absent.

Theory of hard diffraction and rapidity gaps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Duca, V.

1995-06-01

In this talk we review the models describing the hard diffractive production of jets or more generally high-mass states in presence of rapidity gaps in hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions. By rapidity gaps we mean regions on the lego plot in (pseudo)-rapidity and azimuthal angle where no hadrons are produced, between the jet(s) and an elastically scattered hadron (single hard diffraction) or between two jets (double hard diffraction). (orig.)

Comparative evaluation of oral hygiene status and gingival enlargement among epileptic and healthy children as related to various antiepileptic drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neelam Hasmukhbhai Joshi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Epilepsy is a gathering of neurological disorders characterized by epileptic seizures. Epileptic children, who are on active treatment with antiepileptic drugs, have a well-recognized side effect of gingival enlargement. Therefore, all efforts should be made, particularly for the population who are diagnosed or affected by the systemic disease. This study was conducted with an aim to determine oral hygiene status and gingival enlargement among epileptic and healthy children as related to various antiepileptic drugs. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the department of pedodontics and attached general hospital. A sample size of 120 participants with 60 healthy and 60 epileptic children between age 2 and 14 years were included. Oral health status of participants was examined using oral hygiene simplified index and plaque index. Gingival enlargement was assessed using Miranda–Brunet index. For statistical analysis, one-way ANOVA test, independent t-test, and Pearson's Chi-square test were used. Results: From the total participants included in the study, 49% of participants had good oral hygiene from healthy group, and 28% participants had poor oral hygiene from the epileptic group. Sodium valproate was the most common drug used and was associated with increased gingival enlargement. Conclusion: Conclusion can be drawn that epileptic children under medication had poor oral hygiene and an increased risk for gingival enlargement as compared to their healthy counterparts. It must be stressed that the epileptic patients should be given dental care without conditions and provided with best possible care to restore esthetics and functions.

Patient with bilateral breast enlargement and hypospadias.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, A A; Ahmed, T; Rashid, M M

2009-01-01

A 20 year old man was admitted in the surgical unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital on August 2007 presented with Hypospadias & underdeveloped penis from childhood, gradual enlargement of both breasts for the last 10 years, absence of axillary and pubic hair from puberty & painful swelling of both testes for the last 3 years. The patient was regarded as a female upto the age of 10 years. He has got no voice change since puberty. On examination he had average body built, there was bilateral gynaecomastia, hypospadias, rudimentary penis & absence of pubic and axillary hair. His testosterone level, serum prolactin level, serum progesterone level, serum estradiol level was done. Cytology on buccal smear done and ultrasonography revealed no ovary and uterus. Ultimately patient was diagnosed as a case of androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS). The case is reported for clinical awareness & to share our experience.

ADVANTAGES OF RAPID METHOD FOR DETERMINING SCALE MASS AND DECARBURIZED LAYER OF ROLLED COIL STEEL

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E. V. Parusov

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To determine the universal empirical relationships that allow for operational calculation of scale mass and decarbonized layer depth based on the parameters of the technological process for rolled coil steel production. Methodology. The research is carried out on the industrial batches of the rolled steel of SAE 1006 and SAE 1065 grades. Scale removability was determined in accordance with the procedure of «Bekaert» company by the specifi-cations: GA-03-16, GA-03-18, GS-03-02, GS-06-01. The depth of decarbonized layer was identified in accordance with GOST 1763-68 (M method. Findings. Analysis of experimental data allowed us to determine the rational temperature of coil formation of the investigated steel grades, which provide the best possible removal of scale from the metal surface, a minimal amount of scale, as well as compliance of the metal surface color with the require-ments of European consumers. Originality. The work allowed establishing correlation of the basic quality indicators of the rolled coil high carbon steel (scale mass, depth of decarbonized layer and inter-laminar distance in pearlite with one of the main parameters (coil formation temperature of the deformation and heat treatment mode. The re-sulting regression equations, without metallographic analysis, can be used to determine, with a minimum error, the quantitative values of the total scale mass, depth of decarbonized layer and the average inter-lamellar distance in pearlite of the rolled coil high carbon steel. Practical value. Based on the specifications of «Bekaert» company (GA-03-16, GA-03-18, GS-03-02 and GS-06-01 the method of testing descaling by mechanical means from the surface of the rolled coil steel of low- and high-carbon steel grades was developed and approved in the environment of PJSC «ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih». The work resulted in development of the rapid method for determination of total and remaining scale mass on the rolled coil steel

ACUTE EFFECTS OF SELF-SELECTED REGIMEN OF RAPID BODY MASS LOSS IN COMBAT SPORTS ATHLETES

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Jaan Ereline

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to assess the acute effects of the self-selected regimen of rapid body mass loss (RBML on muscle performance and metabolic response to exercise in combat sports athletes. Seventeen male athletes (20.8 ± 1.0 years; mean ± SD reduced their body mass by 5.1 ± 1.1% within 3 days. The RBML was achieved by a gradual reduction of energy and fluid intake and mild sauna procedures. A battery of tests was performed before (Test 1 and immediately after (Test 2 RBML. The test battery included the measurement of the peak torque of knee extensors for three different speeds, assessment of total work (Wtot performed during a 3-min intermittent intensity knee extension exercise and measurements of blood metabolites (ammonia, lactate, glucose and urea. Absolute peak torque was lower in Test 2 compared with Test 1 at angular velocities of 1.57 rad·s-1 (218.6 ± 40.9 vs. 234.4 ± 42.2 N·m; p = 0.013 and 3.14 rad·s-1 (100.3 ± 27.8 vs. 111.7 ± 26.2 N·m; p = 0.008. The peak torque in relation to body mass remained unchanged for any speed. Absolute Wtot was lower in Test 2 compared with Test 1 (6359 ± 2326 vs. 7452 ± 3080 J; p = 0.003 as well as Wtot in relation to body mass (89.1 ± 29.9 vs. 98.6 ± 36.4 J·kg-1; p = 0.034, respectively. As a result of RBML, plasma urea concentration increased from 4.9 to 5.9 mmol·l-1 (p = 0.003. The concentration of ammonia in a post-test sample in Test 2 tended to be higher in comparison with Test 1 (80.9 ± 29.1 vs. 67.6 ± 26.5 mmol·l-1; p = 0.082. The plasma lactate and glucose responses to exercise were similar in Test 1 and Test 2. We conclude that the self-selected regimen of RBML impairs muscle performance in 3-min intermittent intensity exercise and induces an increase in blood urea concentration in experienced male combat sports athletes

Ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the rapid phenolic profiling of red maple (Acer rubrum) leaves.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chunting; Seeram, Navindra P

2018-03-07

The red maple (Acer rubrum) species is economically important to North America because of its sap, which is used to produce maple syrup. In addition, various other red maple plant parts, including leaves, were used as a traditional medicine by the Native Americans. Currently, red maple leaves are being used for nutraceutical and cosmetic applications but there are no published analytical methods for comprehensive phytochemical characterization of this material. Herein, a rapid and sensitive method using liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry was developed to characterize the phenolics in a methanol extract of red maple leaves and a proprietary phenolic-enriched red maple leaves extract (Maplifa™). Time-of-flight mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry experiments led to the identification of 106 phenolic compounds in red maples leaves with the vast majority of these compounds also detected in Maplifa™. The compounds included 68 gallotannins, 25 flavonoids, gallic acid, quinic acid, catechin, epicatechin, and nine other gallic acid derivatives among which 11 are potentially new and 75 are being reported from red maple for the first time. The developed method to characterize red maple leaves phenolics is rapid and highly sensitive and could aid in future standardization and quality control of this botanical ingredient. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Outer retinal tubulation as a predictor of the enlargement amount of geographic atrophy in age-related macular degeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Hariri, Amirhossein; Nittala, Muneeswar G; Sadda, SriniVas R

2015-02-01

To determine the prognostic value of outer retinal tubulation (ORT) in the enlargement amount of geographic atrophy (GA) in eyes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Cohort study. One hundred eight fellow untreated eyes of 143 patients with GA resulting from AMD enrolled in the MAHALO study (clinicaltrials.gov identifier, NCT01229215) who completely satisfied the study term and had gradable spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) images obtained at both baseline and month 18 visits. The MAHALO study enrolled 143 subjects into a phase 1b/2 multicenter, randomized, single-masked, sham-injection controlled clinical trial of the safety, tolerability, and evidence of activity of lampalizumab in patients with GA associated with AMD. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography images were obtained at multiple time points in both eyes, although only the baseline and month 18 data of the fellow (nonstudy) eyes were considered in this exploratory analysis. The Cirrus HD-OCT review software was used for automatic segmentation and measurement of GA areas, with manual correction of segmentation errors by certified OCT graders. Baseline OCT images also were assessed for the presence of ORT. The enlargement amount of GA in eyes with ORT was compared with that of eyes without ORT. Comparison of the enlargement amount of GA in eyes with and without ORT. Twenty-four of these 108 eyes demonstrated evidence of ORT. The amount of enlargement of GA in eyes with ORT was significantly slower than that of eyes without ORT (1.85±0.78 vs. 2.67±1.61; P = 0.001). This difference remained significant when considering subgroups with unifocal or multifocal GA lesions, because eyes with ORT in both subgroups had a slower enlargement amount of GA than eyes without ORT (2.91±1.70 vs. 2.08±0.88 [P = 0.01], in eyes with multifocal GA lesions; and 2.24±1.40 vs. 1.63±0.57 [P = 0.02], in eyes with unifocal GA lesions). In eyes with ORT, GA lesions seem to enlarge at a

Quantification of rifampicin in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid by a highly sensitive and rapid liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric method.

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Abhishek; Waterhouse, David; Ardrey, Alison; Ward, Stephen A

2012-11-01

A highly sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed to measure the levels of the antitubercular drug rifampicin (RIF) in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The analyte and internal standard (IS) were isolated from plasma and CSF by a simple organic solvent based precipitation of proteins followed by centrifugation. Detection was carried out by electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The assay was linear in the concentration range 25-6400 ng/mL with intra- and inter-day precision of <7% and <8%, respectively. The validated method was applied to the study of RIF pharmacokinetics in human CSF and plasma over 25 h period after a 10 mg/kg oral dose. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma: indolent, tail-like recurrence of a high-grade tumor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alpert, Justin S. [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Boland, Patrick [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, New York, NY (United States); Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY (United States); Hameed, Meera [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Pathology, New York, NY (United States); Panicek, David M. [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY (United States)

2018-01-15

Recurrence of a soft tissue sarcoma typically manifests as a round or oval mass at imaging, and recurrent high-grade soft tissue sarcomas generally enlarge relatively rapidly. We present a case of high-grade undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma in the calf of a 48-year-old male that recurred as a thin, curvilinear ''tail'' of enhancing tissue at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with extremely indolent growth over a 7-year period. The unusual imaging finding of a slowly enlarging ''tail'' should not be dismissed as postoperative changes, even for a high-grade soft tissue sarcoma. (orig.)

Analysis of a monetary union enlargement in the framework of linear-quadratic differential games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Plasmans, J.E.J.; Engwerda, J.C.; van Aarle, B.; Michalak, T.

2009-01-01

"This paper studies the effects of a monetary union enlargement using the techniques and outcomes from an extensive research project on macroeconomic policy coordination in the EMU. Our approach is characterized by two main pillars: (i) linear-quadratic differential games to capture externalities,

Explosive (chemical) substances. 6. rev. and enlarged ed. Explosivstoffe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyer, R

1985-01-01

The sixth edition of this review manual again has been enlarged and actualized, the proved concept has been maintained. The text describes in large more than 550 items alphabetically, among them about 120 chemical compounds attributed with structure formulas and data. The properties, preparation procedures, and application possibilities of these substances and of about 70 additives, fuels and oxidants are presented for the reader. By nearly 1500 keywords in the index, English and French translations, and explanations of abbreviations, this book becomes a comprehensive and actual dictionary, not only for the specialist, but also for translators, interpreters, newspaper editors, and patent lawyers. (orig./HK).

Painful unilateral temporalis muscle enlargement: reactive masticatory muscle hypertrophy.

Science.gov (United States)

Katsetos, Christos D; Bianchi, Michael A; Jaffery, Fizza; Koutzaki, Sirma; Zarella, Mark; Slater, Robert

2014-06-01

An instance of isolated unilateral temporalis muscle hypertrophy (reactive masticatory muscle hypertrophy with fiber type 1 predominance) confirmed by muscle biopsy with histochemical fiber typing and image analysis in a 62 year-old man is reported. The patient presented with bruxism and a painful swelling of the temple. Absence of asymmetry or other abnormalities of the craniofacial skeleton was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging and cephalometric analyses. The patient achieved symptomatic improvement only after undergoing botulinum toxin injections. Muscle biopsy is key in the diagnosis of reactive masticatory muscle hypertrophy and its distinction from masticatory muscle myopathy (hypertrophic branchial myopathy) and other non-reactive causes of painful asymmetric temporalis muscle enlargement.

Bilateral Pleural Effusion in a Patient with an Extensive Extramedullary Hematopoietic Mass

OpenAIRE

Yun Luo; Ying Zhang; Shi-feng Lou

2013-01-01

We present a 56-year-old woman with bilateral pleural effusions, widespread enlarged lymph nodes, and soft tissue masses located within the renal pelvis. The initially working diagnosis was tuberculosis and lymphoma. Further pathological examination of the lymph node biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of extramedullary hematopoiesis, and a bone marrow biopsy revealed myelofibrosis. Unlike common treatment options such as radiotherapy and/or surgery, intrathoracic cisplatin and dexamethasone for the...

Northern Steps of EU Enlargement: The Impact of “Cohesion” Policies on Iceland’s Accession Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Di Stefano

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the EU accession process of Iceland, reading the latest northern steps of EU enlargement under a “cohesion” perspective, i.e., through the lens of the cohesion “theory”, namely the method resulting from interactions of the general principles of subsidiarity and cooperation or partnership. From the Mediterranean to the Arctic, the territorial dimension of cohesion policies, as grounded in different EU policies, plays different roles and meets a wide range of economic and social needs. By implementing Nordicum-Mediterraneum analogies, a cohesion-minded EU enlargement approach requires the overall reframing of territorial-based policies and a better allocation of shared responsibilities at the more efficient level of governance.

Unusual presentation of hidradenitis suppurativa with massive enlargement of penis.

Science.gov (United States)

Baughman, Steven M; Cespedes, R Duane

2004-08-01

Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory disease affecting the cutaneous apocrine glands and resulting in their obstruction. This enigmatic disease causes recurrent episodes of infection, edema, scarring, and fibrosis of surrounding tissues. We present the case of a 55-year-old man with two decades of inguinal hidradenitis suppurativa that resulted in extensive penile subcutaneous lymphedema and enlargement secondary to scarring and obstructive lymphadenopathy. Reconstructive phalloplasty to restore normal penile function was required. Minimal recurrent induration, normal cutaneous sensation, and normal voiding and erectile function were noted at 3 years of follow-up.

Multicomponent mixed dopant optimization for rapid screening of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to atmospheric pressure photoionization high-resolution mass spectrometry

KAUST Repository

Sioud, Salim

2012-05-04

RATIONALE To enhance the ionization efficiencies in atmospheric pressure photoionization mass spectrometry a dopant with favorable ionization energy such as chlorobenzene is typically used. These dopants are typically toxic and difficult to mix with water-soluble organic solvents. In order to achieve a more efficient and less toxic dopant, a multicomponent mixed dopant was explored. METHODS A multicomponent mixed dopant for non-targeted rapid screening of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was developed and optimized using ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to atmospheric pressure photoionization high-resolution mass spectrometry. Various single and multicomponent mixed dopants consisting of ethanol, chlorobenzene, bromobenzene, anisole and toluene were evaluated. RESULTS Fourteen out of eighteen PAHs were successfully separated and detected at low pg/μL levels within 5 min with high mass accuracy ≤4 ppm. The optimal mixed multicomponent dopant consisted of ethanol/chlorobenzene/bromobenzene/anisole (98.975:0.1:0.9:0.025, v/v %) and it improved the limit of detection (LOD) by 2- to 10-fold for the tested PAHs compared to those obtained with pure chlorobenzene. CONCLUSIONS A novel multicomponent dopant that contains 99% ethanol and 1% mixture of chlorobenzene, bromobenzene and anisole was found to be an effective dopant mixture to ionize PAHs. The developed UPLC multicomponent dopant assisted atmospheric pressure photoionization high-resolution mass spectrometry offered a rapid non targeted screening method for detecting the PAHs at low pg/;μL levels within a 5 min run time with high mass accuracy a;circ4 ppm. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rapid label-free profiling of oral cancer biomarker proteins using nano-UPLC-Q-TOF ion mobility mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Nassar, Ala F; Williams, Brad J; Yaworksy, Dustin C; Patel, Vyomesh; Rusling, James F

2016-03-01

It has become quite clear that single cancer biomarkers cannot in general provide high sensitivity and specificity for reliable clinical cancer diagnostics. This paper explores the feasibility of rapid detection of multiple biomarker proteins in model oral cancer samples using label-free protein relative quantitation. MS-based label-free quantitative proteomics offer a rapid alternative that bypasses the need for stable isotope containing compounds to chemically bind and label proteins. Total protein content in oral cancer cell culture conditioned media was precipitated, subjected to proteolytic digestion, and then analyzed using a nano-UPLC (where UPLC is ultra-performance liquid chromatography) coupled to a hybrid Q-Tof ion-mobility mass spectrometry (MS). Rapid, simultaneous identification and quantification of multiple possible cancer biomarker proteins was achieved. In a comparative study between cancer and noncancer samples, approximately 952 proteins were identified using a high-throughput 1D ion mobility assisted data independent acquisition (IM-DIA) approach. As we previously demonstrated that interleukin-8 (IL-8) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) were readily detected in oral cancer cell conditioned media(1), we targeted these biomarker proteins to validate our approach. Target biomarker protein IL-8 was found between 3.5 and 8.8 fmol, while VEGF-A was found at 1.45 fmol in the cancer cell media. Overall, our data suggest that the nano-UPLC-IM-DIA bioassay is a feasible approach to identify and quantify proteins in complex samples without the need for stable isotope labeling. These results have significant implications for rapid tumor diagnostics and prognostics by monitoring proteins such as IL-8 and VEGF-A implicated in cancer development and progression. The analysis in tissue or plasma is not possible at this time, but the subsequent work would be needed for validation. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Diagnostic accuracy of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging of renal masses with rapid-acquisition spin-echo technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eilenberg, S.S.; Lee, J.K.T.; Brown, J.J.; Heiken, J.P.; Mirowitz, S.A.

1990-01-01

This paper compares the diagnostic accuracy of Gd-DTPA-enhanced rapid-acquisition spin-echo (RASE) imaging with standard spin-echo techniques for detecting renal cysts and solid renal neoplasms. RASE imaging combines a short TR (275 msec)/short TE (10 msec), single excitation pulse sequence with half-Fourier data sampling. Eighteen patients with CT evidence of renal masses were first evaluated with standard T1-and T2-weighted SE sequences. Pre- and serial postcontrast (Cd-DTPA, 0.1 mmol./kg) RASE sequences were then performed during suspended respiration. A final set of postcontrast images was obtained with the standard T1-weighted SE sequence. Each set of MR images was first reviewed separately (ie, T1, T2, pre- and post-contrast RASE, etc)

Rapid Mass Spectrometric Analysis of a Novel Fucoidan, Extracted from the Brown Alga Coccophora langsdorfii

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanislav D. Anastyuk

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The novel highly sulfated (35% fucoidan fraction Cf2 , which contained, along with fucose, galactose and traces of xylose and uronic acids was purified from the brown alga Coccophora langsdorfii. Its structural features were predominantly determined (in comparison with fragments of known structure by a rapid mass spectrometric investigation of the low-molecular-weight fragments, obtained by “mild” (5 mg/mL and “exhaustive” (maximal concentration autohydrolysis. Tandem matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectra (MALDI-TOF/TOFMS of fucooligosaccharides with even degree of polymerization (DP, obtained by “mild” autohydrolysis, were the same as that observed for fucoidan from Fucus evanescens, which have a backbone of alternating (1 → 3- and (1 → 4 linked sulfated at C-2 and sometimes at C-4 of 3-linked α-L-Fucp residues. Fragmentation patterns of oligosaccharides with odd DP indicated sulfation at C-2 and at C-4 of (1 → 3 linked α-L-Fucp residues on the reducing terminus. Minor sulfation at C-3 was also suggested. The “exhaustive” autohydrolysis allowed us to observe the “mixed” oligosaccharides, built up of fucose/xylose and fucose/galactose. Xylose residues were found to occupy both the reducing and nonreducing termini of FucXyl disaccharides. Nonreducing galactose residues as part of GalFuc disaccharides were found to be linked, possibly, by 2-type of linkage to fucose residues and were found to be sulfated, most likely, at position C-2.

CONNECTING THE ENLARGEMENT PROCESS WITH THE EUROPEANIZATION THEORY (THE CASE OF TURKEY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teodor Lucian Moga

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Europeanization is one of the theoretical instruments which had a vital influence on candidate countries for EU membership. Due to its aspirations of becoming member of the European Union (EU and in its attempt to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria, Turkey is trying to comply with the EU acquis communautaire. The aim of this paper is to assess the effects of the Europeanization process on the countries subject to EU enlargement strategy, with a special focus on Turkey, particularly since the country received the EU candidate status in 1999. This paper has been organized in the following way: firstly, it points out how both the traditional Europeanization and the enlargement led Europeanization have been depicted in the work of several important scholars; secondly, by offering a short overview of Turkey’s foreign relations vis-à-vis its neighbourhood, especially in the last decade, it examines how the mechanism of Europeanization largely influenced the country’s diplomatic culture. Traditionally, Turkey has been attuned to hard security issues and architectures. However, the Turkish foreign policy strategy emphasised in thepast years the Venus side of things in many settings in line with EU requirements.

Challenges to NATO’s Fifth Enlargement Round: Turkey’s Attitude towards Romanian’s Admission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

İsmail Köse

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The relations between Romania – the only Latin nation in Balkan Peninsula, in a broader sense – and Turkey has a long history, which is traced back to the Ottoman period. These relations were relatively ceased during the Cold War. After the collapse of Soviet Union, a new era started for Turkish-Romanian relations. During the WWI, Tsarist Russia forced Romania to be its ally, in order to besiege Germany from South, and also to threat Austria. Its aim was intended to direct the Central Powers’ attacks to the Balkans, in order to keep the warfare away from the front lines and from the Russian heartland. Following the Tsarist pan-Slavist policy, the Bolshevist Russia designated Balkans territories as vital for its security and defence. At the first opportunity emerged after the WWII, Stalin had included those lands behind the Iron Curtain area. After a fairly lengthy period under the Iron Curtain, after 1989, Romania like other eastern European countries achieved its freedom, but post-Cold War attitude of Russia towards the Balkans has remained unchanged. This paper seeks to explore the post-Cold War policies of NATO and the Turkey’s attitude towards the enlargements of alliance. It focuses on the fifth round of enlargement, when Romania and other six Balkans and Baltic countries were invited to join the North Atlantic Alliance. In addition, it will insist on the role of Turkey in the enlargement process, and its firm support for Romania's accession to NATO.

Medical image of the week: right neck mass with thoracic extension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siddiqi TA

2013-05-01

Full Text Available A 28-year-old female with a history of chronic pancreatitis s/p total pancreatectomy and auto-islet cell transplantation developed a progressively enlarging right neck mass of 4 weeks duration. Coccidioides IgM antibodies were negative and IgG antibodies were positive by immunoassay (EIA, with titers 1:4 by complement fixation (CF. Fine needle aspiration with subsequent excisional biopsy of the right neck mass was performed and showed reactive lymphoid hyperplasia without fungal elements. Bronchoscopy with right upper lobe endobronchial biopsy and 4R lymph node endobronchial ultrasound-fine needle aspiration revealed granulomatous inflammation and Coccidioides spherules on Gomori's methenamine silver stain. Fungal cultures from the right neck mass fine needle aspiration, endobronchial biopsy, and 4R lymph node grew Coccidioides after three weeks of culture.

Exotic Higgs decays in a neutrino mass model with discrete S3 symmetry

CERN Document Server

Bhattacharyya, G; Päs, H

2010-01-01

Exotic Higgs decays can arise in lepton flavor models with horizontal symme- tries. We investigate the scalar sector of a neutrino mass model using an S3 family symmetry as an example. The model’s symmetry leads to an enlarged scalar sector with features that might be used to test the model experimentally, such as scalar particles with masses below 1 TeV and manifestly non-zero ma- trix elements for lepton flavor violating decays. We compare different decay channels of the scalars as well as leptonic processes that violate lepton flavor, in order to compare model predictions with experimental bounds.

Theory of hard diffraction and rapidity gaps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Duca, V.

1996-01-01

In this talk we review the models describing the hard diffractive production of jets or more generally high-mass states in presence of rapidity gaps in hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions. By rapidity gaps we mean regions on the lego plot in (pseudo)-rapidity and azimuthal angle where no hadrons are produced, between the jet(s) and an elastically scattered hadron (single hard diffraction) or between two jets (double hard diffraction). copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Laboratory determination of normal operating flow rates with enlarged outlet fittings -- BDF reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waters, E.D.

1960-02-02

Experiments have been conducted in the Hydraulics Laboratory, at the request of IPD`s Mechanical Development-A Operation, to determine the energy losses of various enlarged outlet fitting combinations. These experiments were conducted an steady state runs and allow the determination of the normal operating point (flow rate) of a reactor process channel under selected conditions of front header pressure and fuel charge. No attempt is made to make a mechanical or economic evaluation of the particular fitting combinations, although observations were noted which might bear on this evaluation. It is very important for the reader to bear in mind that changing outlet fittings will definitely affect the reactor tube power limits and outlet vater temperature limits. The size of the outlet fittings largely determines the present outlet temperature limits of the old reactors. The flow characteristics of these present fittings cause some degree of pressurization to suppress boiling on the fuel charge and also cause dual Panellit trip protection for certain flow changes and for power surges. Enlargement of the outlet fittings may actually reduce the allowable outlet coolant temperature limits. Since these effects cannot be determined on the apparatus used in these experiments, a complete discussion of this point is not included in this report. However, the seriousness of these effects should be known and carefully analyzed before a final selection of enlarged outlet fittings in made. This report will be one of a series. New reports in the series will be issued as data are obtained for other such outlet fitting combinations or for new concepts of outlet fitting assemblies such as the new nozzle being developed by C. E. Trantz for use on F-reactor stuck gunbarrel tubes.

Subsidy policy and the enlargement of choice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasan, Sunderasan

2009-01-01

Development is the enlargement of people's choices. Optimal subsidy policy is intended to create the right incentives for each of the value chain participants. This paper contends that the interest subsidy offered by the Indian federal Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for solar thermal systems, through mainstream banking channels is superior in intent and outcome compared to the capital subsidy as currently offered for solar PV systems, routed through government controlled delivery channels. The interest subsidy enhances innovation, improves service delivery and expands the range of product available to consumers enjoying a wide range of endowments, thus leading to more inclusive development. The simple monopoly model developed by Atkinson [Atkinson AB. Capabilities, exclusion and the supply of goods. In: Basu K, Pattanaik P, Suzumura K, editor, Choice, Welfare and Development. Oxford University Press; 1995] is applied to the context of solar home systems to demonstrate price reduction and choice expansion in a liberalized market, facilitated by an interest subsidy scheme. (author)

Rapid identification and source-tracking of Listeria monocytogenes using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Jadhav, Snehal; Gulati, Vandana; Fox, Edward M; Karpe, Avinash; Beale, David J; Sevior, Danielle; Bhave, Mrinal; Palombo, Enzo A

2015-06-02

Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen responsible for the sometimes fatal disease listeriosis. Public health concerns and stringent regulations associated with the presence of this pathogen in food and food processing environments underline the need for rapid and reliable detection and subtyping techniques. In the current study, the application of matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) as a single identification and source-tracking tool for a collection of L. monocytogenes isolates, obtained predominantly from dairy sources within Australia, was explored. The isolates were cultured on different growth media and analysed using MALDI-TOF MS at two incubation times (24 and 48 h). Whilst reliable genus-level identification was achieved from most media, identification at the species level was found to be dependent on culture conditions. Successful speciation was highest for isolates cultured on the chromogenic Agar Listeria Ottaviani Agosti agar (ALOA, 91% of isolates) and non-selective horse blood agar (HBA, 89%) for 24h. Chemometric statistical analysis of the MALDI-TOF MS data enabled source-tracking of L. monocytogenes isolates obtained from four different dairy sources. Strain-level discrimination was also observed to be influenced by culture conditions. In addition, t-test/analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify potential biomarker peaks that differentiated the isolates according to their source of isolation. Source-tracking using MALDI-TOF MS was compared and correlated with the gold standard pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) technique. The discriminatory index and the congruence between both techniques were compared using the Simpsons Diversity Index and adjusted Rand and Wallace coefficients. Overall, MALDI-TOF MS based source-tracking (using data obtained by culturing the isolates on HBA) and PFGE demonstrated good congruence with a Wallace coefficient of 0.71 and

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for the rapid identification of aetiological agents of sepsis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Degl’Innocenti

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The MALDI-TOF has recently become part of the methods of microbiological investigation in many laboratories of bacteriology with advantages both practical and economical.The use of this technique for the rapid identification of the causative agents of sepsis is of strategic importance to the ability to provide the clinician with useful information for a prompt and rapid establishment of an empirical antimicrobial “targeted” therapy. Methods: It was tested a total of 343 positive blood culture bottles from 211 patients. The samples after collection were incubated in the BACTEC FX (Becton Dickinson, USA. From these bottles were taken a few milliliters of broth culture and transferred into a vacutainer tube containing gel. This was centrifuged, the supernatant was decanted, and finally recovered the bacterial suspension on the gel. With micro-organisms recovered in this way, after several washes with distilled water, was prepared a slide for microscopic examination with Gram stain, and a plate for mass spectrometry (MS-Vitek, bioMérieux, France.Then, the same samples were inoculated on solid agar media according to the protocol in use in our laboratory.The next day was checked the possible bacterial growth on solid media; we then proceeded to the identification of the colonies by Vitek MS and / or with the system Vitek2 (bioMérieux, France. Results: 258 (75.2% positive vials show concordant results between direct identification and identification after growth on agar. For 83 (24.2% positive bottles there has been full compliance with the microscopic examination but not with culture. In particular, two bottles (0.6% have given complete discordance between the direct identification and that after growth. Conclusions: The protocol we use for the direct identification of organisms responsible for sepsis, directly on positive bottles, seems to be a quick and inexpensive procedure, which in less than 60 minutes can give valuable

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry (uplc-ms/ms) for the rapid, simultaneous analysis of thiamin, riboflavin, flavin adenine dinucleotide, nicotinamide and pyridoxal in human milk

Science.gov (United States)

A novel, rapid and sensitive Ultra Performance Liquid-Chromatography tandem Mass-Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of several B-vitamins in human milk was developed. Resolution by retention time or multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) for thiamin, riboflavin, flavin a...

Acrolein Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Causes Airspace Enlargement

Science.gov (United States)

Hanaoka, Masayuki; Natarajan, Ramesh; Kraskauskas, Donatas; Voelkel, Norbert F.

2012-01-01

Background Given the relative abundance and toxic potential of acrolein in inhaled cigarette smoke, it is surprising how little is known about the pulmonary and systemic effects of acrolein. Here we test the hypothesis whether systemic administration of acrolein could cause endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and lung cell apoptosis, leading to the enlargement of the alveolar air spaces in rats. Methods Acute and chronic effects of intraperitoneally administered acrolein were tested. Mean alveolar airspace area was measured by using light microscopy and imaging system software. TUNEL staining and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for active caspase 3 and Western blot analysis for active caspase 3, and caspase 12 were performed to detect apoptosis. The ER-stress related gene expression in the lungs was determined by Quantitative real-time PCR analysis. Acrolein-protein adducts in the lung tissue were detected by IHC. Results Acute administration of acrolein caused a significant elevation of activated caspase 3, upregulation of VEGF expression and induced ER stress proteins in the lung tissue. The chronic administration of acrolein in rats led to emphysematous lung tissue remodeling. TUNEL staining and IHC for cleaved caspase 3 showed a large number of apoptotic septal cells in the acrolein-treated rat lungs. Chronic acrolein administration cause the endoplasmic reticulum stress response manifested by significant upregulation of ATF4, CHOP and GADd34 expression. In smokers with COPD there was a considerable accumulation of acrolein-protein adducts in the inflammatory, airway and vascular cells. Conclusions Systemic administration of acrolein causes endoplasmic reticulum stress response, lung cell apoptosis, and chronic administration leads to the enlargement of the alveolar air spaces and emphysema in rats. The substantial accumulation of acrolein-protein adducts in the lungs of COPD patients suggest a role of acrolein in the pathogenesis of emphysema. PMID:22675432

MRI of gynaecological solid masses pictorial review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tanaka, Yumiko Oishi; Nishida, Masato; Yamaguchi, Masayuki; Kohno, Keiko; Saida, Yukihisa; Itai, Yuji

2000-12-01

Differential diagnosis of gynaecological masses is sometimes difficult, as there are so many histological types. However, magnetic resonance characteristics of some gynaecological tumours have been reported past several years. On the basis of the recent literature, we have made a decision tree for differential diagnosis of solid gynaecological tumours, in which there are some important divergences. Bilateral disease and invasive growth are malignant signs in most cases. Specific findings for different tumour types include: fibrovascular septa in dysgermonimas; preserving ovarian follicles in round cell tumours; pseudolobular patterns in young patients in sclerosing stromal tumours; and extremely hypointense masses on T2WI in Brenner tumours. Distinguishing between sex-cord stromal tumours, Brenner tumours and metastatic tumours may be hard, however, especially in middle age, because they all tend to show well-demarcated, hypointense masses on T2WI. Disproportionately clear zonal anatomy of the uterus, enlarged uterus and thickened endometrium, which are indirect findings of oestrogen-producing tumours, are useful diagnostic findings in children and postmenopausals. Tanaka, Y.O. (2000)

The New Environment of EU Enlargement: The Impact of Economic Crisis on the Western Balkans and their EU Accession Prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ritsa Panagiotou

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper will explore the impact of the economic crisis on the Western Balkan countries, and how the new, unfavorable international environment is affecting their EU accession prospects. The analysis will be presented in three sections: the first part will examine the effect of the “first wave” of the global economic crisis on the economies of the region, specifically the impact on the region’s macroeconomic indicators, foreign direct investment flows, financial sectors, etc. Part two will analyse the repercussions of the “second wave” of the crisis, namely the Greek sovereign debt crisis, which rapidly spilled over into the entire Eurozone. Part three will build on the issues examined in parts one and two and will discuss the repercussions of both waves of the crisis on the region’s enlargement process and prospects. The paper will also propose that although the EU’s role in Southeast Europe remains crucial (not least as a provider of economic assistance its hitherto undisputable symbolic role as an “anchor” of stability and as a goal to be aspired to may be losing its appeal for some of these countries. This paper will explore the impact of the economic crisis on the Western Balkan countries, and how the new, unfavorable international environment is affecting their EU accession prospects. The analysis will be presented in three sections: the first part will examine the effect of the “first wave” of the global economic crisis on the economies of the region, specifically the impact on the region’s macroeconomic indicators, foreign direct investment flows, financial sectors, etc. Part two will analyse the repercussions of the “second wave” of the crisis, namely the Greek sovereign debt crisis, which rapidly spilled over into the entire Eurozone. Part three will build on the issues examined in parts one and two and will discuss the repercussions of both waves of the crisis on the region’s enlargement process and

Trepanation and enlarged parietal foramen on skulls from the Loyalty Islands (Melanesia).

Science.gov (United States)

Vasilyev, Sergey V; Sviridov, Alexey A

2017-06-01

The goal of this study is a comprehensive examination of openings discovered on two skulls in the collection of skeletal remains from the Loyalty Islands (Melanesia). The skull No. 1524 displayed an evidence of successful trepanation, and the skull No. 7985 revealed openings that were reminiscent of a trepanation, however, we are inclined to believe that in the latter case we are dealing with a rare genetic anomaly - enlarged parietal foramen.

Modernization and enlarging of the Marcoule pilot plant for R and D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calame-Longjean, A.; Revol, G.; Roux, J.P.; Ranger, G.

1987-01-01

The aim of the pilot plant is the testing of process and equipment in actual conditions with spent fuels on a half-industrial scale and for a significant time. From 1963 to 1983 more than 11t of spent fuels (mainly from fast reactors) were reprocessed. Since 1983 is modernized and enlarged and the new plant of the TOR project (treatment of oxides from fast reactors) are described [fr

A Digitally Programmable Differential Integrator with Enlarged Time Constant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. K. Debroy

1994-12-01

Full Text Available A new Operational Amplifier (OA-RC integrator network is described. The novelties of the design are used of single grounded capacitor, ideal integration function realization with dual-input capability and design flexibility for extremely large time constant involving an enlargement factor (K using product of resistor ratios. The aspect of the digital control of K through a programmable resistor array (PRA controlled by a microprocessor has also been implemented. The effect of the OA-poles has been analyzed which indicates degradation of the integrator-Q at higher frequencies. An appropriate Q-compensation design scheme exhibiting 1 : |A|2 order of Q-improvement has been proposed with supporting experimental observations.

Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Analysis for the Rapid and Accurate Characterization of Hexacosanoylceramide.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Charles W; Simonsick, William J; Bogusky, Michael J; Celikay, Recep W; Guare, James P; Newton, Randall C

2016-06-28

Ceramides are a central unit of all sphingolipids which have been identified as sites of biological recognition on cellular membranes mediating cell growth and differentiation. Several glycosphingolipids have been isolated, displaying immunomodulatory and anti-tumor activities. These molecules have generated considerable interest as potential vaccine adjuvants in humans. Accurate analyses of these and related sphingosine analogues are important for the characterization of structure, biological function, and metabolism. We report the complementary use of direct laser desorption ionization (DLDI), sheath flow electrospray ionization (ESI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR MS) and high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis for the rapid, accurate identification of hexacosanoylceramide and starting materials. DLDI does not require stringent sample preparation and yields representative ions. Sheath-flow ESI yields ions of the product and byproducts and was significantly better than monospray ESI due to improved compound solubility. Negative ion sheath flow ESI provided data of starting materials and products all in one acquisition as hexacosanoic acid does not ionize efficiently when ceramides are present. NMR provided characterization of these lipid molecules complementing the results obtained from MS analyses. NMR data was able to differentiate straight chain versus branched chain alkyl groups not easily obtained from mass spectrometry.

Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Analysis for the Rapid and Accurate Characterization of Hexacosanoylceramide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles W. Ross

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Ceramides are a central unit of all sphingolipids which have been identified as sites of biological recognition on cellular membranes mediating cell growth and differentiation. Several glycosphingolipids have been isolated, displaying immunomodulatory and anti-tumor activities. These molecules have generated considerable interest as potential vaccine adjuvants in humans. Accurate analyses of these and related sphingosine analogues are important for the characterization of structure, biological function, and metabolism. We report the complementary use of direct laser desorption ionization (DLDI, sheath flow electrospray ionization (ESI Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR MS and high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR analysis for the rapid, accurate identification of hexacosanoylceramide and starting materials. DLDI does not require stringent sample preparation and yields representative ions. Sheath-flow ESI yields ions of the product and byproducts and was significantly better than monospray ESI due to improved compound solubility. Negative ion sheath flow ESI provided data of starting materials and products all in one acquisition as hexacosanoic acid does not ionize efficiently when ceramides are present. NMR provided characterization of these lipid molecules complementing the results obtained from MS analyses. NMR data was able to differentiate straight chain versus branched chain alkyl groups not easily obtained from mass spectrometry.

Desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry: A rapid screening tool for veterinary drug preparations and forensic samples from hormone crime investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielen, M.W.F.; Hooijerink, H.; Claassen, F.C.; Engelen, M.C. van; Beek, T.A. van

2009-01-01

Hormone and veterinary drug screening and forensics can benefit from the recent developments in desorption electrospray ionisation (DESI) mass spectrometry (MS). In this work the feasibility of DESI application has been studied. Using a linear ion trap or quadrupole time-of-flight (TOF) MS instrument both full-scan and data-dependent collision-induced dissociation MS n spectra were acquired in seconds without sample preparation. Preliminary data are presented for the rapid screening of (pro)hormone supplement samples, an illegal steroid cocktail and forensic samples from veterinary drug investigations. The potential of this DESI approach is clearly demonstrated since compounds observed could be independently confirmed by liquid chromatography/TOFMS with accurate mass measurement, and/or proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Specific concerns related to false-positive and false-negative findings due to limitations in quantification and memory-effects are briefly discussed. It is envisaged that DESI will achieve a prominent role in hormone and veterinary drug analysis in the near future

Desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry: A rapid screening tool for veterinary drug preparations and forensic samples from hormone crime investigations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nielen, M.W.F. [RIKILT Institute of Food Safety, P.O. Box 230, 6700 AE Wageningen (Netherlands); Wageningen University, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Dreijenplein 8, 6703 HB Wageningen (Netherlands)], E-mail: michel.nielen@wur.nl; Hooijerink, H. [RIKILT Institute of Food Safety, P.O. Box 230, 6700 AE Wageningen (Netherlands); Claassen, F.C. [Wageningen University, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Dreijenplein 8, 6703 HB Wageningen (Netherlands); Engelen, M.C. van [RIKILT Institute of Food Safety, P.O. Box 230, 6700 AE Wageningen (Netherlands); Beek, T.A. van [Wageningen University, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Dreijenplein 8, 6703 HB Wageningen (Netherlands)

2009-04-01

Hormone and veterinary drug screening and forensics can benefit from the recent developments in desorption electrospray ionisation (DESI) mass spectrometry (MS). In this work the feasibility of DESI application has been studied. Using a linear ion trap or quadrupole time-of-flight (TOF) MS instrument both full-scan and data-dependent collision-induced dissociation MS{sup n} spectra were acquired in seconds without sample preparation. Preliminary data are presented for the rapid screening of (pro)hormone supplement samples, an illegal steroid cocktail and forensic samples from veterinary drug investigations. The potential of this DESI approach is clearly demonstrated since compounds observed could be independently confirmed by liquid chromatography/TOFMS with accurate mass measurement, and/or proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Specific concerns related to false-positive and false-negative findings due to limitations in quantification and memory-effects are briefly discussed. It is envisaged that DESI will achieve a prominent role in hormone and veterinary drug analysis in the near future.

Validation of the Automated Method VIENA: An Accurate, Precise, and Robust Measure of Ventricular Enlargement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vrenken, H.; Vos, E.K.; van der Flier, W.M.; Sluimer, I.C.; Cover, K.S.; Knol, D.L.; Barkhof, F.

2014-01-01

Background: In many retrospective studies and large clinical trials, high-resolution, good-contrast 3DT1 images are unavailable, hampering detailed analysis of brain atrophy. Ventricular enlargement then provides a sensitive indirect measure of ongoing central brain atrophy. Validated automated

Rapid and automated determination of plutonium and neptunium in environmental samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiao, J.

2011-03-01

This thesis presents improved analytical methods for rapid and automated determination of plutonium and neptunium in environmental samples using sequential injection (SI) based chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The progress of methodology development in this work consists of 5 subjects stated as follows: 1) Development and optimization of an SI-anion exchange chromatographic method for rapid determination of plutonium in environmental samples in combination of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detection (Paper II); (2) Methodology development and optimization for rapid determination of plutonium in environmental samples using SI-extraction chromatography prior to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Paper III); (3) Development of an SI-chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of plutonium and neptunium in environmental samples (Paper IV); (4) Investigation of the suitability and applicability of 242 Pu as a tracer for rapid neptunium determination using anion exchange chromatography in an SI-network coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Paper V); (5) Exploration of macro-porous anion exchange chromatography for rapid and simultaneous determination of plutonium and neptunium within an SI system (Paper VI). The results demonstrate that the developed methods in this study are reliable and efficient for accurate assays of trace levels of plutonium and neptunium as demanded in different situations including environmental risk monitoring and assessment, emergency preparedness and surveillance of contaminated areas. (Author)

Rapid and automated determination of plutonium and neptunium in environmental samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiao, J.

2011-03-15

This thesis presents improved analytical methods for rapid and automated determination of plutonium and neptunium in environmental samples using sequential injection (SI) based chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The progress of methodology development in this work consists of 5 subjects stated as follows: 1) Development and optimization of an SI-anion exchange chromatographic method for rapid determination of plutonium in environmental samples in combination of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detection (Paper II); (2) Methodology development and optimization for rapid determination of plutonium in environmental samples using SI-extraction chromatography prior to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Paper III); (3) Development of an SI-chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of plutonium and neptunium in environmental samples (Paper IV); (4) Investigation of the suitability and applicability of 242Pu as a tracer for rapid neptunium determination using anion exchange chromatography in an SI-network coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Paper V); (5) Exploration of macro-porous anion exchange chromatography for rapid and simultaneous determination of plutonium and neptunium within an SI system (Paper VI). The results demonstrate that the developed methods in this study are reliable and efficient for accurate assays of trace levels of plutonium and neptunium as demanded in different situations including environmental risk monitoring and assessment, emergency preparedness and surveillance of contaminated areas. (Author)

The Eurosafe Forum 2003: Nuclear expertise and challenges of the enlargement of the European Union

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lacronique, Jean-Francois; Repussard, Jacques [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, IRSN, B.P. 17, F - 92262 Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex (France); Hahn, Lothar [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit mbH, GRS, Schwertnergasse 1, D - 50667 Koeln (Germany)

2003-07-01

EUROSAFE is an international forum for discussions among experts from technical safety organisations, research institutes, safety authorities, utilities, the industry, public authorities and non-governmental organisations concerning the status of and recent achievements in nuclear installation safety, waste management, radiation safety and nuclear material security. The Eurosafe Forum 2003 - the fifth of its kind - was held at the Palais Brongniart in Paris on November 25 and 26, 2003. This year's theme was: 'Nuclear expertise and challenges of the enlargement of the European Union: speakers in the various European countries about the environmental scan before enlargement, development and structuring perspectives within the enlarged Europe'. The event brought together 445 experts and researchers from around the world (including 124 from Germany, 184 from France, 88 from Eastern Europe, as well as representatives from Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada, Cuba, and Armenia. The proceedings of the symposium can now be consulted online. The fifth edition of the forum focused on nuclear expertise and the challenge of EU-enlargement and the latest work carried out by GRS, IRSN and their partners from the European Union, Switzerland and Eastern Europe. Nuclear energy contributes approximately one third of European electricity production. A high level of nuclear safety is a priority for the countries of Europe. The technical safety organisations play an important role in contributing to that objective through appropriate approaches to major safety issues as part of their assessments and research activities. The challenges to nuclear safety are increasingly international. Changes in underlying technologies such as instrumentation and control, the impact of electricity market deregulation, demands for improved safety, the ageing of nuclear facilities, waste management, maintaining and improving scientific and technical knowledge and the need for greater transparency

The Eurosafe Forum 2003: Nuclear expertise and challenges of the enlargement of the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacronique, Jean-Francois; Repussard, Jacques

2003-01-01

EUROSAFE is an international forum for discussions among experts from technical safety organisations, research institutes, safety authorities, utilities, the industry, public authorities and non-governmental organisations concerning the status of and recent achievements in nuclear installation safety, waste management, radiation safety and nuclear material security. The Eurosafe Forum 2003 - the fifth of its kind - was held at the Palais Brongniart in Paris on November 25 and 26, 2003. This year's theme was: 'Nuclear expertise and challenges of the enlargement of the European Union: speakers in the various European countries about the environmental scan before enlargement, development and structuring perspectives within the enlarged Europe'. The event brought together 445 experts and researchers from around the world (including 124 from Germany, 184 from France, 88 from Eastern Europe, as well as representatives from Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada, Cuba, and Armenia. The proceedings of the symposium can now be consulted online. The fifth edition of the forum focused on nuclear expertise and the challenge of EU-enlargement and the latest work carried out by GRS, IRSN and their partners from the European Union, Switzerland and Eastern Europe. Nuclear energy contributes approximately one third of European electricity production. A high level of nuclear safety is a priority for the countries of Europe. The technical safety organisations play an important role in contributing to that objective through appropriate approaches to major safety issues as part of their assessments and research activities. The challenges to nuclear safety are increasingly international. Changes in underlying technologies such as instrumentation and control, the impact of electricity market deregulation, demands for improved safety, the ageing of nuclear facilities, waste management, maintaining and improving scientific and technical knowledge and the need for greater transparency

The Eurosafe Forum 2003: Nuclear expertise and challenges of the enlargement of the European Union

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lacronique, Jean-Francois; Repussard, Jacques (eds.) [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, IRSN, B.P. 17, F - 92262 Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex (France); Hahn, Lothar (ed.) [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit mbH, GRS, Schwertnergasse 1, D - 50667 Koeln (Germany)

2003-07-01

EUROSAFE is an international forum for discussions among experts from technical safety organisations, research institutes, safety authorities, utilities, the industry, public authorities and non-governmental organisations concerning the status of and recent achievements in nuclear installation safety, waste management, radiation safety and nuclear material security. The Eurosafe Forum 2003 - the fifth of its kind - was held at the Palais Brongniart in Paris on November 25 and 26, 2003. This year's theme was: 'Nuclear expertise and challenges of the enlargement of the European Union: speakers in the various European countries about the environmental scan before enlargement, development and structuring perspectives within the enlarged Europe'. The event brought together 445 experts and researchers from around the world (including 124 from Germany, 184 from France, 88 from Eastern Europe, as well as representatives from Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada, Cuba, and Armenia. The proceedings of the symposium can now be consulted online. The fifth edition of the forum focused on nuclear expertise and the challenge of EU-enlargement and the latest work carried out by GRS, IRSN and their partners from the European Union, Switzerland and Eastern Europe. Nuclear energy contributes approximately one third of European electricity production. A high level of nuclear safety is a priority for the countries of Europe. The technical safety organisations play an important role in contributing to that objective through appropriate approaches to major safety issues as part of their assessments and research activities. The challenges to nuclear safety are increasingly international. Changes in underlying technologies such as instrumentation and control, the impact of electricity market deregulation, demands for improved safety, the ageing of nuclear facilities, waste management, maintaining and improving scientific and technical knowledge and the need for greater

Enlarged superior cervical sympathetic ganglion mimicking a metastatic lymph node in the retropharyngeal space: A case report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jae Min; Kim, Jin Na; Kim, Se Hoon; Choi, Eun Chang [Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

The superior cervical sympathetic ganglion, the largest and most cranial of the three cervical sympathetic ganglia, transfers sympathetic signals to specific targets on the head and neck. This ganglion is located just lateral to the retropharyngeal space along the medial margin of the carotid sheath. Located thus, an enlarged superior cervical sympathetic ganglion can mimic a metastatic lymph node in the retropharyngeal space of the suprahyoid neck in head and neck cancer patients. However, this is often disregarded by radiologists due to lack of interest in its anatomic location. We present a case of an enlarged superior cervical sympathetic ganglion mimicking a retropharyngeal metastatic lymph node in a 42-year-old man with oral tongue cancer.

GINGIVAL ENLARGEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH NOCTURNAL FRONTAL LOBE EPILEPSY. A CASE REPORT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharma ANAMIKA

2012-12-01

Full Text Available „Epilepsy” refers to a group of neurological disorders characterized by chronic, recurrent, paroxysmal seizure activity. Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by brief, recurring seizures produ‑ ced in the frontal lobes of the brain, often while the patient is sleeping, and also by clusters of brief motor seizures. Seizure disorders may affect the dental status and oral health of patients. Epileptic drugs lead to gingival hyper‑ plasia, namely tissue enlargement, caused by an increased number of cells.

Surgical treatment of progressive ethmoidal hematoma aided by computed tomography in a foal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colbourne, C.M.; Rosenstein, D.S.; Steficek, B.A.; Yovich, J.V.; Stick, J.A.

1997-01-01

A progressive ethmoidal hematoma (PEH) was treated successfully in a 4-week-old Belgian filly by surgical removal, using a frontonasal bone flap. The filly had respiratory stridor, epistaxis, and facial enlargement over the left paranasal sinuses, which had progressively increased in size since birth. Computed tomographic images of the head obtained with the foal under general anesthesia were useful in determining the extent and nature of the soft-tissue mass and planning surgical intervention. On the basis of the histologic appearance of the mass, a diagnosis of PEH was made. Twelve months after surgery, the facial appearance was normal and the abnormal appearance of the ethmoid region on endoscopic evaluation was less obvious, with return of the nasal septum to a normal position. Progressive ethmoidal hematoma is uncommon and, to our knowledge, has not been reported in a neonate. Clinical signs of PEH in this foal were atypical because of the rapid enlargement of the mass, extent of facial deformity, and minimal epistaxis and interoperative hemorrhage

High speed capillary zone electrophoresis-mass spectrometry via an electrokinetically pumped sheath flow interface for rapid analysis of amino acids and a protein digest.

Science.gov (United States)

Schiavone, Nicole M; Sarver, Scott A; Sun, Liangliang; Wojcik, Roza; Dovichi, Norman J

2015-06-01

While capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has been used to produce very rapid and efficient separations, coupling these high-speed separations with mass spectrometry (MS) has been challenging. Now, with much faster and sensitive mass spectrometers, it is possible to take full advantage of the CZE speed and reconstruct the fast migrating peaks. Here are three high-speed CZE-MS analyses via an electrokinetically pumped sheath-flow interface. The first separation demonstrates CZE-ESI-MS of an amino acid mixture with a 2-min separation, >50,000 theoretical plates, low micromolar concentration detection limits, and subfemtomole mass detection limits (LTQ XL mass spectrometer). The second separation with our recently improved third-generation CE-MS interface illustrates a 20 amino acid separation in ∼7min with an average over 200,000 plate counts, and results in almost-baseline resolution of structural isomers, leucine and isoleucine. The third separation is of a BSA digest with a reproducible CZE separation and mass spectrometry detection in 2min. CZE-MS/MS analysis of the BSA digest identified 31 peptides, produced 52% sequence coverage, and generated a peak capacity of ∼40 across the 1-min separation window (Q-Exactive mass spectrometer). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Achondroplasia in children: correlation of ventriculomegaly, size of foramen magnum and jugular foramina, and emissary vein enlargement.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosemani, Thangamadhan; Orman, Gunes; Hergan, Benedikt; Carson, Kathryn A; Huisman, Thierry A G M; Poretti, Andrea

2015-01-01

Achondroplasia is a skeletal dysplasia with diminished growth of the skull base secondary to defective enchondral bone formation. This leads to narrowing of the foramen magnum and jugular foramina, which further leads to ventricular dilatation and prominence of the emissary veins. The primary goal of our study was to determine a correlation between the degree of ventricular dilatation, jugular foramina and foramen magnum narrowing, as well as emissary vein enlargement. Conventional T2-weighted MR images were evaluated for surface area of the foramen magnum and jugular foramina, ventricular dilatation, and emissary veins enlargement in 16 achondroplasia patients and 16 age-matched controls. Ratios were calculated for the individual parameters using median values from age-matched control groups to avoid age as a confounder. Compared to age-matched controls, in children with achondroplasia, the surface area of the foramen magnum (median 0.50 cm(2), range 0.23-1.37 cm(2) vs. 3.14 cm(2), 1.83-6.68 cm(2), p achondroplasia, (1) the variation in ventricular dilatation may be related to an unquantifiable interdependent relationship of emissary vein enlargement, venous channel narrowing, and foramen magnum compression and (2) stable ventricular size facilitated by interdependent factors likely obviates the need for ventricular shunt placement.

Serum total prostate-specific antigen values in men with symptomatic prostate enlargement in Nigeria: role in clinical decision-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nnabugwu II

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Ikenna I Nnabugwu,1,2 Fred O Ugwumba,1 Oghenekaro A Enivwenae,2 Emeka I Udeh,1 Chris O Otene,2 Chinwe A Nnabugwu3 1Urology Unit, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 2Urology Unit, Department of Surgery, 3Department of Medical Laboratory Services, Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Nigeria Background: Prostatic enlargement is a common cause of bladder outlet obstruction in men in Nigeria. Malignant enlargements must be differentiated from benign enlargements for adequate treatment of each patient. High serum total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA levels suggest malignancy, but some of the biopsies done due to a serum tPSA value >4 ng/mL would be negative for malignancy because of the low specificity of tPSA for prostate cancer. This study aims to compare the histologic findings of all prostate specimens obtained from core needle biopsy, open simple prostatectomy, and transurethral resection of the prostate with the respective serum tPSA values in an attempt to decipher the role of serum tPSA in the management of these patients.Methods: The case notes of patients attended to from April 2009 to March 2012 were analyzed. Essentially, the age of the patient, findings on digital rectal examination, abdominopelvic ultrasonography report on the prostate, serum tPSA, and histology reports from biopsy or prostatectomy specimens as indicated were extracted for analysis.Results: The relationship between age, findings on digital rectal examination, serum tPSA, abdominopelvic ultrasonography report, and histology are compared. A statistically significant relationship existed between a malignant histology and age 65 years and older, suspicious findings on digital rectal examination, suspicious ultrasonography findings, and serum tPSA >10 ng/mL, but not tPSA >4 ng/mL.Conclusion: In Nigerian patients with symptomatic prostate enlargement, serum tPSA should be seen as a continuum with increasing risk of prostate malignancy

A rapid diagnostic workflow for cefotaxime-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae detection from blood cultures by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena De Carolis

Full Text Available Nowadays, the global spread of resistance to oxyimino-cephalosporins in Enterobacteriaceae implies the need for novel diagnostics that can rapidly target resistant organisms from these bacterial species.In this study, we developed and evaluated a Direct Mass Spectrometry assay for Beta-Lactamase (D-MSBL that allows direct identification of (oxyiminocephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae from positive blood cultures (BCs, by using the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS technology.The D-MSBL assay was performed on 93 E. coli or K. pneumoniae growing BC samples that were shortly co-incubated with cefotaxime (CTX as the indicator cephalosporin. Susceptibility and resistance defining peaks from the samples' mass spectra were analyzed by a novel algorithm for bacterial organism classification. The D-MSBL assay allowed discrimination between E. coli and K. pneumoniae that were resistant or susceptible to CTX with a sensitivity of 86.8% and a specificity of 98.2%.The proposed algorithm-based D-MSBL assay, if integrated in the routine laboratory diagnostic workflow, may be useful to enhance the establishment of appropriate antibiotic therapy and to control the threat of oxyimino-cephalosporin resistance in hospital.

A rapid diagnostic workflow for cefotaxime-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae detection from blood cultures by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

De Carolis, Elena; Paoletti, Silvia; Nagel, Domenico; Vella, Antonietta; Mello, Enrica; Palucci, Ivana; De Angelis, Giulia; D'Inzeo, Tiziana; Sanguinetti, Maurizio; Posteraro, Brunella; Spanu, Teresa

2017-01-01

Nowadays, the global spread of resistance to oxyimino-cephalosporins in Enterobacteriaceae implies the need for novel diagnostics that can rapidly target resistant organisms from these bacterial species. In this study, we developed and evaluated a Direct Mass Spectrometry assay for Beta-Lactamase (D-MSBL) that allows direct identification of (oxyimino)cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae from positive blood cultures (BCs), by using the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) technology. The D-MSBL assay was performed on 93 E. coli or K. pneumoniae growing BC samples that were shortly co-incubated with cefotaxime (CTX) as the indicator cephalosporin. Susceptibility and resistance defining peaks from the samples' mass spectra were analyzed by a novel algorithm for bacterial organism classification. The D-MSBL assay allowed discrimination between E. coli and K. pneumoniae that were resistant or susceptible to CTX with a sensitivity of 86.8% and a specificity of 98.2%. The proposed algorithm-based D-MSBL assay, if integrated in the routine laboratory diagnostic workflow, may be useful to enhance the establishment of appropriate antibiotic therapy and to control the threat of oxyimino-cephalosporin resistance in hospital.

Anticipating demand for emergency health services due to medication-related adverse events after rapid mass prophylaxis campaigns.

Science.gov (United States)

Hupert, Nathaniel; Wattson, Daniel; Cuomo, Jason; Benson, Samuel

2007-03-01

Mass prophylaxis against infectious disease outbreaks carries the risk of medication-related adverse events (MRAEs). The authors sought to define the relationship between the rapidity of mass prophylaxis dispensing and the subsequent demand for emergency health services due to predictable MRAEs. The authors created a spreadsheet-based computer model that calculates scenario-specific predicted daily MRAE rates from user inputs by applying a probability distribution to the reported timing of MRAEs. A hypothetical two- to ten-day prophylaxis campaign for one million people using recent data from both smallpox vaccination and anthrax chemoprophylaxis campaigns was modeled. The length of a mass prophylaxis campaign plays an important role in determining the subsequent intensity in emergency services utilization due to real or suspected adverse events. A two-day smallpox vaccination scenario would produce an estimated 32,000 medical encounters and 1,960 hospitalizations, peaking at 5,246 health care encounters six days after the start of the campaign; in contrast, a ten-day campaign would lead to 41% lower peak surge, with a maximum of 3,106 encounters on the busiest day, ten days after initiation of the campaign. MRAEs with longer lead times, such as those associated with anthrax chemoprophylaxis, exhibit less variability based on campaign length (e.g., 124 out of an estimated 1,400 hospitalizations on day 20 after a two-day campaign versus 103 on day 24 after a ten-day campaign). The duration of a mass prophylaxis campaign may have a substantial impact on the timing and peak number of clinically significant MRAEs, with very short campaigns overwhelming existing emergency department (ED) capacity to treat real or suspected medication-related injuries. While better reporting of both incidence and timing of MRAEs in future prophylaxis campaigns should improve the application of this model to community-based emergency preparedness planning, these results highlight the need

Cryptococcus neoformans capsular enlargement and cellular gigantism during Galleria mellonella infection.

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Rocío García-Rodas

Full Text Available We have studied infection of Cryptococcus neoformans in the non-vertebrate host Galleria mellonella with particular interest in the morphological response of the yeast. Inoculation of C. neoformans in caterpillars induced a capsule-independent increase in haemocyte density 2 h after infection. C. neoformans manifested a significant increase in capsule size after inoculation into the caterpillar. The magnitude of capsule increase depended on the temperature, being more pronounced at 37°C than at 30°C, which correlated with an increased virulence of the fungus and reduced phagocytosis at 37°C. Capsule enlargement impaired phagocytosis by haemocytes. Incubation of the yeast in G. mellonella extracts also resulted in capsule enlargement, with the polar lipidic fraction having a prominent role in this effect. During infection, the capsule decreased in permeability. A low proportion of the cells (<5% recovered from caterpillars measured more than 30 µm and were considered giant cells. Giant cells recovered from mice were able to kill the caterpillars in a manner similar to regular cells obtained from in vivo or grown in vitro, establishing their capacity to cause disease. Our results indicate that the morphological transitions exhibited by C. neoformans in mammals also occur in a non-vertebrate host system. The similarities in morphological transitions observed in different animal hosts and in their triggers are consistent with the hypothesis that the cell body and capsular responses represent an adaptation of environmental survival strategies to pathogenesis.

Lumbar facet joint fat pads: Their normal anatomy and their appearance when enlarged

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, J.R.; McCormick, C.C.

1991-01-01

The polar recesses, superior and inferior to lumbar facet joints, are filled by fat pads from which fat-filled synovial folds project between the articular surfaces for a distance of two to four millimetres. The intracapsular superior recess lies between the ligamentum flavum and the lamina above. The extracapsular inferior recess lies on the back of the lamina below and communicates with the joint through a hole in the inferior capsule. The intracapsular folds move freely in and out of the joint during movements. These features are demonstrated in anatomic studies using transverse sections and radiologic studies using computed tomography. In about 4% of lumbar spines examined, the intraarticular fat pads are enlarged and extend from the joint recess(es) into the middle third of one or more facet joints. The fat pads can be identified in CT scans by their radiolucency and distinguished from vacuum phenomenon by measuring their attenuation values. The cause of the intra-articular enlargement of the fat pads is unknown, but it is suggested that their extension into the middle third of the joint may be secondary to degenerative change in the motion segment with capsular laxity in the affected joint. (orig.)

Rapid dating of recent sediments in Loch Ness. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric measurements of global fallout plutonium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ketterer, Michael E.; Hafer, Kevin M.; Jones, Vivienne J.; Appleby, Peter G.

2004-01-01

The 239+240 Pu activity profile is determined for a sediment core collected from 170-m depth at Loch Ness, Scotland. These measurements use magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for rapid determination of Pu activities and 240 Pu/ 239 Pu atom ratios. A 239+240 Pu detection limit of 0.1 Bq/kg is obtained for 2 g of acid-leached sediment; 242 Pu is used as a spike isotope. The Pu activity profile exhibits a maximum of 42.7±0.3 Bq/kg 239+240 Pu in the 9-10-cm depth interval. The position of this maximum coincides with peaks in the 241 Am and 137 Cs activity profiles. These peak activities are ascribed to the 1963/1964 peak fallout from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. The 240 Pu/ 239 Pu atom ratios are in the range 0.15-0.20, in agreement with the expected range of 0.166-0.194 for Northern Hemisphere fallout, and do not suggest the presence of other contributing sources. This study demonstrates that ICPMS has considerable potential for rapid determination of the chronology of post-1950 sediments, and also for validating 210 Pb dates where chronologies over longer time-scales are needed

Rapid dating of recent sediments in Loch Ness. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric measurements of global fallout plutonium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ketterer, Michael E.; Hafer, Kevin M. [Department of Chemistry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5698 (United States); Jones, Vivienne J. [Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AP (United Kingdom); Appleby, Peter G. [Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX (United Kingdom)

2004-04-25

The {sup 239+240}Pu activity profile is determined for a sediment core collected from 170-m depth at Loch Ness, Scotland. These measurements use magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for rapid determination of Pu activities and {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu atom ratios. A {sup 239+240}Pu detection limit of 0.1 Bq/kg is obtained for 2 g of acid-leached sediment; {sup 242}Pu is used as a spike isotope. The Pu activity profile exhibits a maximum of 42.7{+-}0.3 Bq/kg {sup 239+240}Pu in the 9-10-cm depth interval. The position of this maximum coincides with peaks in the {sup 241}Am and {sup 137}Cs activity profiles. These peak activities are ascribed to the 1963/1964 peak fallout from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. The {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu atom ratios are in the range 0.15-0.20, in agreement with the expected range of 0.166-0.194 for Northern Hemisphere fallout, and do not suggest the presence of other contributing sources. This study demonstrates that ICPMS has considerable potential for rapid determination of the chronology of post-1950 sediments, and also for validating {sup 210}Pb dates where chronologies over longer time-scales are needed.

Screening of HIV-1 Protease Using a Combination of an Ultra-High-Throughput Fluorescent-Based Assay and RapidFire Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Juncai; Lai, Ming-Tain; Munshi, Vandna; Grobler, Jay; McCauley, John; Zuck, Paul; Johnson, Eric N; Uebele, Victor N; Hermes, Jeffrey D; Adam, Gregory C

2015-06-01

HIV-1 protease (PR) represents one of the primary targets for developing antiviral agents for the treatment of HIV-infected patients. To identify novel PR inhibitors, a label-free, high-throughput mass spectrometry (HTMS) assay was developed using the RapidFire platform and applied as an orthogonal assay to confirm hits identified in a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based primary screen of > 1 million compounds. For substrate selection, a panel of peptide substrates derived from natural processing sites for PR was evaluated on the RapidFire platform. As a result, KVSLNFPIL, a new substrate measured to have a ~ 20- and 60-fold improvement in k cat/K m over the frequently used sequences SQNYPIVQ and SQNYPIV, respectively, was identified for the HTMS screen. About 17% of hits from the FRET-based primary screen were confirmed in the HTMS confirmatory assay including all 304 known PR inhibitors in the set, demonstrating that the HTMS assay is effective at triaging false-positives while capturing true hits. Hence, with a sampling rate of ~7 s per well, the RapidFire HTMS assay enables the high-throughput evaluation of peptide substrates and functions as an efficient tool for hits triage in the discovery of novel PR inhibitors. © 2015 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

Precision mass measurements for studies of nucleosynthesis via the rapid neutron-capture process Penning-trap mass measurements of neutron-rich cadmium and caesium isotopes

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2085660; Litvinov, Yuri A.; Kreim, Susanne

Although the theory for the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) was developed more than 55 years ago, the astrophysical site is still under a debate. Theoretical studies predict that the r-process path proceeds through very neutron-rich nuclei with very asymmetric proton- to-neutron ratios. Knowledge about the properties of neutron-rich isotopes found in similar regions of the nuclear chart and furthermore suitable for r-process studies is still little or even not existing. The basic nuclear properties such as binding energies, half-lives, neutron-induced or neutron-capture reaction cross-sections, play an important role in theoretical simulations and can vary or even drastically alternate results of these studies. Therefore, a considerable effort was put forward to access neutron-rich isotopes at radioactive ion-beam facilities like ISOLDE at CERN. The goal of this PhD thesis is to describe the experimental work done for the precision mass measurements of neutron-rich cadmium (129−131 Cd) and caesium...

Rapid analysis of the skin irritant p-phenylenediamine (PPD) in henna products using atmospheric solids analysis probe mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Weiyang; Nkosi, Thobile A N; Combrinck, Sandra; Viljoen, Alvaro M; Cartwright-Jones, Catherine

2016-09-05

Henna (Lawsonia inermis) is applied to stain keratin, present in hair, skin and fingernails, a red-orange or rust colour. Producers of temporary tattoos mix the aromatic amine compound, para-phenylenediamine (PPD) into natural henna to create 'black henna' that rapidly stains the skin black. However, PPD may cause severe delayed hypersensitivity reactions following skin contact. This study proposes a rapid direct-analysis method to detect and identify PPD using an atmospheric solids analysis probe (ASAP) coupled to a Q-ToF mass spectrometer (MS). Since laborious, multistep methods of analysis to determine PPD are undesirable, due to the instability of the compound in solution, a screening method involving no sample preparation steps was developed. Experiments were carried out to optimise the corona current, sample cone voltage, source temperature, and desolvation gas temperature to determine ideal ASAP-Q-ToF-MS analysing conditions. Eleven of the 109 henna samples, originating from various countries, tested positive for PPD when henna products were screened using ASAP-MS, without any form of sample preparation other than grinding. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-ToF-MS) was subsequently used to confirm the results from ASAP and to determine the concentrations of PPD in henna products. The allergen was detected in the same eleven samples, with concentrations ranging from 0.05-4.21% (w/w). It can be concluded that the sensitivity of the ASAP-MS technique is sufficient (limit of detection=0.025% w/w) to allow screening of henna samples for the presence of PPD. This relatively new technique can be applied to commercial products without extraction, sample treatment or chromatographic separation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessing direct analysis in real-time-mass spectrometry (DART-MS) for the rapid identification of additives in food packaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Ackerman, L K; Noonan, G O; Begley, T H

2009-12-01

The ambient ionization technique direct analysis in real time (DART) was characterized and evaluated for the screening of food packaging for the presence of packaging additives using a benchtop mass spectrometer (MS). Approximate optimum conditions were determined for 13 common food-packaging additives, including plasticizers, anti-oxidants, colorants, grease-proofers, and ultraviolet light stabilizers. Method sensitivity and linearity were evaluated using solutions and characterized polymer samples. Additionally, the response of a model additive (di-ethyl-hexyl-phthalate) was examined across a range of sample positions, DART, and MS conditions (temperature, voltage and helium flow). Under optimal conditions, molecular ion (M+H+) was the major ion for most additives. Additive responses were highly sensitive to sample and DART source orientation, as well as to DART flow rates, temperatures, and MS inlet voltages, respectively. DART-MS response was neither consistently linear nor quantitative in this setting, and sensitivity varied by additive. All additives studied were rapidly identified in multiple food-packaging materials by DART-MS/MS, suggesting this technique can be used to screen food packaging rapidly. However, method sensitivity and quantitation requires further study and improvement.

Fermionic zero-norm states and enlarged supersymmetries of Type II string

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.-C.

2000-01-01

We calculate the NS-R fermionic zero-norm states of the type II string spectrum. The massless and some possible massive zero-norm states are seen to be responsible for the space-time supersymmetry. The existence of other fermionic massive zero-norm states with higher spinor-tensor indices correspond to new enlarged boson-fermion symmetries of the theory at high energy. We also discuss the R-R charges and R-R zero-norm states and justify the idea that the perturbative string does not carry the massless R-R charges. (orig.)

Rapid determination of vitamin D₃ in milk-based infant formulas by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwak, Byung-Man; Jeong, In-Seek; Lee, Moon-Seok; Ahn, Jang-Hyuk; Park, Jong-Su

2014-12-15

A rapid and simple sample preparation method for vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) was developed for emulsified dairy products such as milk-based infant formulas. A sample was mixed in a 50 mL centrifuge tube with the same amount of water and isopropyl alcohol to achieve chemical extraction. Ammonium sulfate was used to induce phase separation. No-heating saponification was performed in the sample tube by adding KOH, NaCl, and NH3. Vitamin D3 was then separated and quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results for added recovery tests were in the range 93.11-110.65%, with relative standard deviations between 2.66% and 2.93%. The results, compared to those obtained using a certified reference material (SRM 1849a), were within the range of the certificated values. This method could be implemented in many laboratories that require time and labour saving. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Serum total prostate-specific antigen values in men with symptomatic prostate enlargement in Nigeria: role in clinical decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Nnabugwu, Ikenna I; Ugwumba, Fred O; Enivwenae, Oghenekaro A; Udeh, Emeka I; Otene, Chris O; Nnabugwu, Chinwe A

2015-01-01

Prostatic enlargement is a common cause of bladder outlet obstruction in men in Nigeria. Malignant enlargements must be differentiated from benign enlargements for adequate treatment of each patient. High serum total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) levels suggest malignancy, but some of the biopsies done due to a serum tPSA value >4 ng/mL would be negative for malignancy because of the low specificity of tPSA for prostate cancer. This study aims to compare the histologic findings of all prostate specimens obtained from core needle biopsy, open simple prostatectomy, and transurethral resection of the prostate with the respective serum tPSA values in an attempt to decipher the role of serum tPSA in the management of these patients. The case notes of patients attended to from April 2009 to March 2012 were analyzed. Essentially, the age of the patient, findings on digital rectal examination, abdominopelvic ultrasonography report on the prostate, serum tPSA, and histology reports from biopsy or prostatectomy specimens as indicated were extracted for analysis. The relationship between age, findings on digital rectal examination, serum tPSA, abdominopelvic ultrasonography report, and histology are compared. A statistically significant relationship existed between a malignant histology and age 65 years and older, suspicious findings on digital rectal examination, suspicious ultrasonography findings, and serum tPSA >10 ng/mL, but not tPSA >4 ng/mL. In Nigerian patients with symptomatic prostate enlargement, serum tPSA should be seen as a continuum with increasing risk of prostate malignancy.

Management of common head and neck masses.

Science.gov (United States)

Tracy, Thomas F; Muratore, Christopher S

2007-02-01

Head and neck masses are a common clinical concern in infants, children, and adolescents. The differential diagnosis for a head or neck mass includes congenital, inflammatory, and neoplastic lesions. An orderly and thorough examination of the head and neck with an appropriate directed workup will facilitate the diagnosis. The most common entities occur repeatedly within the various age groups and can be differentiated with a clear understanding of embryology and anatomy of the region, and an understanding of the natural history of a specific lesion. Congenital lesions most commonly found in the pediatric population include the thyroglossal duct cyst and the branchial cleft and arch anomalies. The inflammatory masses are secondary to local or systemic infections. The most common etiology for cervical adenopathy in children is reactive lymphadenopathy following a viral or bacterial illness. Persistent adenopathy raises more concerns, especially enlarged lymph nodes within the posterior triangle or supraclavicular space, nodes that are painless, firm, and not mobile, or a single dominant node that persists for more than 6 weeks should all heighten concern for malignancy. In this review, we discuss the current principles of surgical management of the most common head and neck masses that present to pediatricians and pediatric surgeons.

A rapid monitoring method for inorganic arsenic in rice flour using reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Narukawa, Tomohiro; Chiba, Koichi; Sinaviwat, Savarin; Feldmann, Jörg

2017-01-06

A new rapid monitoring method by means of high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) following the heat-assisted extraction was developed for measurement of total inorganic arsenic species in rice flour. As(III) and As(V) eluted at the same retention time and completely separated from organoarsenic species by an isocratic elution program on a reversed phase column. Therefore, neither ambiguous oxidation of arsenite to arsenate nor the integration of two peaks were necessary to determine directly the target analyte inorganic arsenic. Rapid injection allowed measuring 3 replicates within 6min and this combined with a quantitative extraction of all arsenic species from rice flour by a 15min HNO 3 -H 2 O 2 extraction makes this the fastest laboratory based method for inorganic arsenic in rice flour. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Andrographis paniculata by Rapid Resolution Liquid Chromatography/Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

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Jian-Fei Qin

2013-09-01

Full Text Available A rapid resolution liquid chromatography/time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (RRLC-TOF/MS method was developed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the major chemical constituents in Andrographis paniculata. Fifteen compounds, including flavonoids and diterpenoid lactones, were unambiguously or tentatively identified in 10 min by comparing their retention times and accurate masses with standards or literature data. The characteristic fragmentation patterns of flavonoids and diterpenoid lactones were summarized, and the structures of the unknown compounds were predicted. Andrographolide, dehydroandrographolide and neoandrographolide were further quantified as marker substances. It was found that the calibration curves for all analytes showed good linearity (R2 > 0.9995 within the test ranges. The overall limits of detection (LODs and limits of quantification (LOQs were 0.02 μg/mL to 0.06 μg/mL and 0.06 μg/mL to 0.2 μg/mL, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs for intra- and inter-day precisions were below 3.3% and 4.2%, respectively. The mean recovery rates ranged from 96.7% to 104.5% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs less than 2.72%. It is concluded that RRLC-TOF/MS is powerful and practical in qualitative and quantitative analysis of complex plant samples due to time savings, sensitivity, precision, accuracy and lowering solvent consumption.

Liberalization and enlargement: effects of the industrial organisation of natural gas markets in Eastern Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pirovska, M.

2005-01-01

After half a century of political division within the European continent, and of State control over national energy industries, a new industrial and political organisation model aiming at creating a single natural gas market tends to emerge currently within the enlarged European Union. Yet new member countries are former centrally planned, socialist economies, with very different industrial structures for natural gas. However, those countries should adjust to the institutional framework applicable in the European Union, including bringing their gas industries into compliance with the liberalization process that old member countries initiated years ago. In that unprecedented context, one basic issue is whether the gas industry liberalization, in the framework of the enlargement, will have expected results in terms of competition, efficiency and profits for Eastern countries, whether new members or candidates for membership. The objective of the research work behind this article was to analyse the effects of that complex trend on the industrial organisation of gas markets in eastern Europe. (author)

Imaging of fetal chest masses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barth, Richard A. [Lucile Packard Children' s Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Stanford, CA (United States)

2012-01-15

Prenatal imaging with high-resolution US and rapid acquisition MRI plays a key role in the accurate diagnosis of congenital chest masses. Imaging has enhanced our understanding of the natural history of fetal lung masses, allowing for accurate prediction of outcome, parental counseling, and planning of pregnancy and newborn management. This paper will focus on congenital bronchopulmonary malformations, which account for the vast majority of primary lung masses in the fetus. In addition, anomalies that mimic masses and less common causes of lung masses will be discussed. (orig.)

Captopril improves tumor nanomedicine delivery by increasing tumor blood perfusion and enlarging endothelial gaps in tumor blood vessels.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bo; Jiang, Ting; Tuo, Yanyan; Jin, Kai; Luo, Zimiao; Shi, Wei; Mei, Heng; Hu, Yu; Pang, Zhiqing; Jiang, Xinguo

2017-12-01

Poor tumor perfusion and unfavorable vessel permeability compromise nanomedicine drug delivery to tumors. Captopril dilates blood vessels, reducing blood pressure clinically and bradykinin, as the downstream signaling moiety of captopril, is capable of dilating blood vessels and effectively increasing vessel permeability. The hypothesis behind this study was that captopril can dilate tumor blood vessels, improving tumor perfusion and simultaneously enlarge the endothelial gaps of tumor vessels, therefore enhancing nanomedicine drug delivery for tumor therapy. Using the U87 tumor xenograft with abundant blood vessels as the tumor model, tumor perfusion experiments were carried out using laser Doppler imaging and lectin-labeling experiments. A single treatment of captopril at a dose of 100 mg/kg significantly increased the percentage of functional vessels in tumor tissues and improved tumor blood perfusion. Scanning electron microscopy of tumor vessels also indicated that the endothelial gaps of tumor vessels were enlarged after captopril treatment. Immunofluorescence-staining of tumor slices demonstrated that captopril significantly increased bradykinin expression, possibly explaining tumor perfusion improvements and endothelial gap enlargement. Additionally, imaging in vivo, imaging ex vivo and nanoparticle distribution in tumor slices indicated that after a single treatment with captopril, the accumulation of 115-nm nanoparticles in tumors had increased 2.81-fold with a more homogeneous distribution pattern in comparison to non-captopril treated controls. Finally, pharmacodynamics experiments demonstrated that captopril combined with paclitaxel-loaded nanoparticles resulted in the greatest tumor shrinkage and the most extensive necrosis in tumor tissues among all treatment groups. Taken together, the data from the present study suggest a novel strategy for improving tumor perfusion and enlarging blood vessel permeability simultaneously in order to improve

Comparison on the Efficacy between Partially Covered Self-Expandable Metal Stent with Funnel-Shaped Enlarged Head versus Uncovered Self-Expandable Metal Stent for Palliation of Gastric Outlet Obstruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jung Wan Choe

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Shape modification has been one of the methods adopted to improve stent patency but has not always translated into positive outcome. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of shape-modified partially covered self-expandable metal stent (SEMS that has enlarged head versus uncovered SEMS for palliation of gastric outlet obstruction (GOO. Methods. A total of 48 patients underwent insertion of either enlarged-head SEMS (n=24 or uncovered SEMS (uSEMS (n=24 for palliation of GOO from July 2009 to July 2016. Patients with inoperable or advanced malignancy were included. Technical feasibility and clinical outcomes were compared. Results. Technical success rate was 100% (24/24 and 95.8% (23/24 for enlarged-head SEMS group and uSEMS group, respectively. Clinical success rate was 87.5% (21/24 and 87.0% (20/23 for enlarged-head SEMS group and uSEMS group, respectively. The gastric outlet obstruction scoring system score significantly improved in both groups (p<0.001 for both. Mean survival was similar between the groups: enlarged-head SEMS group, 99.3 days (range, 19–358 days versus uSEMS group, 82.1 days (range, 11–231 days (p=0.418. The mean stent patency also showed no difference between the groups: enlarged-head SEMS group, 87.1 days (range, 8–358 days versus uSEMS group, 60.4 days (range, 2–231 days (p=0.204. With enlarged-head SEMS, distal migration did not occur, but proximal migration was observed in four cases. Conclusions. Distal migration was prevented by shaping the SEMS to have an enlarged head, but improvement in stent patency could not be observed.

Rapid and High-Throughput Detection and Quantitation of Radiation Biomarkers in Human and Nonhuman Primates by Differential Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhidan; Coy, Stephen L.; Pannkuk, Evan L.; Laiakis, Evagelia C.; Hall, Adam B.; Fornace, Albert J.; Vouros, Paul

2016-10-01

Radiation exposure is an important public health issue due to a range of accidental and intentional threats. Prompt and effective large-scale screening and appropriate use of medical countermeasures (MCM) to mitigate radiation injury requires rapid methods for determining the radiation dose. In a number of studies, metabolomics has identified small-molecule biomarkers responding to the radiation dose. Differential mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (DMS-MS) has been used for similar compounds for high-throughput small-molecule detection and quantitation. In this study, we show that DMS-MS can detect and quantify two radiation biomarkers, trimethyl-L-lysine (TML) and hypoxanthine. Hypoxanthine is a human and nonhuman primate (NHP) radiation biomarker and metabolic intermediate, whereas TML is a radiation biomarker in humans but not in NHP, which is involved in carnitine synthesis. They have been analyzed by DMS-MS from urine samples after a simple strong cation exchange-solid phase extraction (SCX-SPE). The dramatic suppression of background and chemical noise provided by DMS-MS results in an approximately 10-fold reduction in time, including sample pretreatment time, compared with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). DMS-MS quantitation accuracy has been verified by validation testing for each biomarker. Human samples are not yet available, but for hypoxanthine, selected NHP urine samples (pre- and 7-d-post 10 Gy exposure) were analyzed, resulting in a mean change in concentration essentially identical to that obtained by LC-MS (fold-change 2.76 versus 2.59). These results confirm the potential of DMS-MS for field or clinical first-level rapid screening for radiation exposure.

Rapid quality assessment of Radix Aconiti Preparata using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu Hongbin; Wang Chunyan; Qi Yao [Changchun Center of Mass Spectrometry and Chemical Biology Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039 (China); Song Fengrui, E-mail: songfr@ciac.jl.cn [Changchun Center of Mass Spectrometry and Chemical Biology Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022 (China); Liu Zhiqiang; Liu Shuying [Changchun Center of Mass Spectrometry and Chemical Biology Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022 (China)

2012-11-08

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer DART MS combined with PCA and HCA was used to rapidly identify markers of Radix Aconiti. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The DART MS behavior of six aconitine-type alkaloids was investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Chemical markers were recognized between the qualified and unqualified samples. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer DART MS was shown to be an effective tool for quality control of Radix Aconiti Preparata. - Abstract: This study presents a novel and rapid method to identify chemical markers for the quality control of Radix Aconiti Preparata, a world widely used traditional herbal medicine. In the method, the samples with a fast extraction procedure were analyzed using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART MS) combined with multivariate data analysis. At present, the quality assessment approach of Radix Aconiti Preparata was based on the two processing methods recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia for the purpose of reducing the toxicity of Radix Aconiti and ensuring its clinical therapeutic efficacy. In order to ensure the safety and effectivity in clinical use, the processing degree of Radix Aconiti should be well controlled and assessed. In the paper, hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis were performed to evaluate the DART MS data of Radix Aconiti Preparata samples in different processing times. The results showed that the well processed Radix Aconiti Preparata, unqualified processed and the raw Radix Aconiti could be clustered reasonably corresponding to their constituents. The loading plot shows that the main chemical markers having the most influence on the discrimination amongst the qualified and unqualified samples were mainly some monoester diterpenoid aconitines and diester diterpenoid aconitines, i.e. benzoylmesaconine, hypaconitine, mesaconitine, neoline, benzoylhypaconine, benzoylaconine, fuziline, aconitine and 10-OH-mesaconitine. The established DART MS approach in

Rapid quality assessment of Radix Aconiti Preparata using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Hongbin; Wang Chunyan; Qi Yao; Song Fengrui; Liu Zhiqiang; Liu Shuying

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► DART MS combined with PCA and HCA was used to rapidly identify markers of Radix Aconiti. ► The DART MS behavior of six aconitine-type alkaloids was investigated. ► Chemical markers were recognized between the qualified and unqualified samples. ► DART MS was shown to be an effective tool for quality control of Radix Aconiti Preparata. - Abstract: This study presents a novel and rapid method to identify chemical markers for the quality control of Radix Aconiti Preparata, a world widely used traditional herbal medicine. In the method, the samples with a fast extraction procedure were analyzed using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART MS) combined with multivariate data analysis. At present, the quality assessment approach of Radix Aconiti Preparata was based on the two processing methods recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia for the purpose of reducing the toxicity of Radix Aconiti and ensuring its clinical therapeutic efficacy. In order to ensure the safety and effectivity in clinical use, the processing degree of Radix Aconiti should be well controlled and assessed. In the paper, hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis were performed to evaluate the DART MS data of Radix Aconiti Preparata samples in different processing times. The results showed that the well processed Radix Aconiti Preparata, unqualified processed and the raw Radix Aconiti could be clustered reasonably corresponding to their constituents. The loading plot shows that the main chemical markers having the most influence on the discrimination amongst the qualified and unqualified samples were mainly some monoester diterpenoid aconitines and diester diterpenoid aconitines, i.e. benzoylmesaconine, hypaconitine, mesaconitine, neoline, benzoylhypaconine, benzoylaconine, fuziline, aconitine and 10-OH-mesaconitine. The established DART MS approach in combination with multivariate data analysis provides a very flexible and reliable method for quality

Rapid Quantification of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 in Human Serum by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Yulin; Müller, Miriam; Stokes, Caroline S.; Volmer, Dietrich A.

2018-04-01

LC-MS/MS is widely utilized today for quantification of vitamin D in biological fluids. Mass spectrometric assays for vitamin D require very careful method optimization for precise and interference-free, accurate analyses however. Here, we explore chemical derivatization and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) as a rapid alternative for quantitative measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in human serum, and compare it to results from LC-MS/MS. The method implemented an automated imaging step of each MALDI spot, to locate areas of high intensity, avoid sweet spot phenomena, and thus improve precision. There was no statistically significant difference in vitamin D quantification between the MALDI-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS: mean ± standard deviation for MALDI-MS—29.4 ± 10.3 ng/mL—versus LC-MS/MS—30.3 ± 11.2 ng/mL (P = 0.128)—for the sum of the 25-hydroxyvitamin D epimers. The MALDI-based assay avoided time-consuming chromatographic separation steps and was thus much faster than the LC-MS/MS assay. It also consumed less sample, required no organic solvents, and was readily automated. In this proof-of-concept study, MALDI-MS readily demonstrated its potential for mass spectrometric quantification of vitamin D compounds in biological fluids.

Impact of EU Enlargement on Business Environment of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Slovakia

OpenAIRE

Ján Vravec; Marián Gál; Tomás Sabol

2005-01-01

The paper discusses the impact of EU enlargement on business environment in the Slovak Republic. Integration of Slovakia into EU has significantly influenced operating conditions for small and medium enterprises. Prosperity of small and medium enterprises depends mainly on their ability to adapt themselves to these new conditions.

Spatial bandwidth enlargement and field enhancement of shear horizontal waves in finite graded piezoelectric layered media

KAUST Repository

Xu, Yanlong

2015-01-01

structure and transmission in this paper show that the graded layered media possess very large band gaps. Harmonic wave simulation by finite element method (FEM) confirms that the reason of bandwidth enlargement is that waves within the band gap ranges

Rapid Characterization and Identification of Flavonoids in Radix Astragali by Ultra-High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Linear Ion Trap-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jing; Xu, Xiao-Jie; Xu, Wen; Huang, Juan; Zhu, Da-yuan; Qiu, Xiao-Hui

2015-07-01

A simple and effective method was established for separation and characterization of flavonoid constituents in Radix Astragali (RA) by combination of ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography with LTQ-Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry (u-HPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS(n)). For three major structural types of flavonoids, the proposed fragmentation pathways and major diagnostic fragment ions of isoflavones, pterocarpans and isoflavans were investigated to trace isoflavonoid derivatives in crude plant extracts. Based on the systematic identification strategy, 48 constituents were rapidly detected and characterized or tentatively identified, many of which were first reported in RA. The u-PHLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS(n) platform was proved as an effective tool for rapid qualitative analysis of secondary metabolite productions from natural resources. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Evaluation of secondary surgery to enlarge the peeling of the internal limiting membrane following the failed surgery of idiopathic macular holes.

Science.gov (United States)

Che, Xin; He, Fanglin; Lu, Linna; Zhu, Dongqing; Xu, Xiaofang; Song, Xin; Fan, Xianqun; Wang, Zhiliang

2014-03-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical results of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) combined with the surgical enlargement of internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling in patients who had previously undergone failed idiopathic macular hole (IMH) surgery. In the study, 134 eyes from 130 IMH patients who had received PPV combined with ILM peeling surgery (2 disk diameters) were analyzed. Within this cohort, 14 eyes had IMHs that were not closed, of which 13 eyes underwent a second surgery involving enlargement of the ILM peeling. The extent of the ILM peeling was increased to the vascular arcades of the posterior fundus in the secondary surgery. Of the 13 eyes that underwent secondary surgery, five were in stage III and nine were in stage IV. The second surgery successfully achieved IMH closure in 61.5% (8/13) of the eyes. The IMH was completely closed following surgery and the logMAR vision increased from 0.98 to 0.84 (P=0.013) in the 8 successfully treated cases. The surgical enlargement of ILM peeling closed the IMHs and improved vision in the majority of patients. In addition, the procedures were safe. Therefore, the results of the present study indicate that enlargement of ILM peeling may be an effective therapy for patients who have previously undergone the failed surgical correction of an IMH.

CT findings of palpable neck masses in children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Chan Sup; Chung, Won Mo; Seok, Eul Hye; Suh, Chang Hae; Chung, Won Kyun

1994-01-01

We performed this study to assess the value of CT in the differential diagnosis of palpable neck masses in children. We retrospectively reviewed the CT scans of the palpable neck masses in 30 children. The masses were proved histopathologically and classified into cystic, solid, and inflammatory mass and their CT findings were analyzed. Twelve cases were cystic masses, 4 were solid masses, and 14 were inflammatory lesions. Cystic masses included cystic lymphangiomas (n=6), branchial cleft cysts (n=3), thyroglossal duct cysts (n=2), and ranula (n=1). Cystic lymphangiomas showed insinuating appearances into adjacent structures and 4 cases occurred in the posterior cervical space. All branchial cleft cysts were round cystic masses with smooth wall and displaced the submandibular gland anteriorly and the sternocleidomastoid muscle posteriorly. Two thyroglossal duct cysts occurred centrally adjacent to the hyoid bone and 1 ranula in the submental area. Solid masses were juvenile hemangioma, pleomorphic adenoma in submandibular gland, neurilemmoma, and fibromatosis colli. Juvenile hemangioma showed well-enhancing mass with indistinct margin and the other solid masses had well-defined margin with their characteristic location. Inflammatory lesions were abscess (n=4), deep neck infections with lymphadenopathy (n=4), submandibular gland inflammation (n=3), and tuberculous lymphadenitis (n=3) and they showed strand-like enhancement in adjacent subcutaneous tissues. Tuberculous lymphadenitis had multiple lymph node enlargement with internal low attenuation areas and showed less surrounding strand-like enhancement than suppurative lymphadenopathies. Most neck masses in infants and children were of congenital or inflammatory origin. CT is useful for the evaluation of the child presenting with a neck mass, because it can differentiate various forms of neck masses and is able to reveal the relationship of the masses to the adjacent structures with their characteristic location

CT findings of palpable neck masses in children

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Chan Sup; Chung, Won Mo; Seok, Eul Hye; Suh, Chang Hae; Chung, Won Kyun [College of Medicine, Inha University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

1994-12-15

We performed this study to assess the value of CT in the differential diagnosis of palpable neck masses in children. We retrospectively reviewed the CT scans of the palpable neck masses in 30 children. The masses were proved histopathologically and classified into cystic, solid, and inflammatory mass and their CT findings were analyzed. Twelve cases were cystic masses, 4 were solid masses, and 14 were inflammatory lesions. Cystic masses included cystic lymphangiomas (n=6), branchial cleft cysts (n=3), thyroglossal duct cysts (n=2), and ranula (n=1). Cystic lymphangiomas showed insinuating appearances into adjacent structures and 4 cases occurred in the posterior cervical space. All branchial cleft cysts were round cystic masses with smooth wall and displaced the submandibular gland anteriorly and the sternocleidomastoid muscle posteriorly. Two thyroglossal duct cysts occurred centrally adjacent to the hyoid bone and 1 ranula in the submental area. Solid masses were juvenile hemangioma, pleomorphic adenoma in submandibular gland, neurilemmoma, and fibromatosis colli. Juvenile hemangioma showed well-enhancing mass with indistinct margin and the other solid masses had well-defined margin with their characteristic location. Inflammatory lesions were abscess (n=4), deep neck infections with lymphadenopathy (n=4), submandibular gland inflammation (n=3), and tuberculous lymphadenitis (n=3) and they showed strand-like enhancement in adjacent subcutaneous tissues. Tuberculous lymphadenitis had multiple lymph node enlargement with internal low attenuation areas and showed less surrounding strand-like enhancement than suppurative lymphadenopathies. Most neck masses in infants and children were of congenital or inflammatory origin. CT is useful for the evaluation of the child presenting with a neck mass, because it can differentiate various forms of neck masses and is able to reveal the relationship of the masses to the adjacent structures with their characteristic location.

Rapid Identification of Steroidal Saponins in Trillium tschonoskii Maxim by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Electrospray Ionisation Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xin; Sun, Wenjun; Fu, Qiang; Niu, Xiaofeng

2015-01-01

Steroidal saponins in Trillium tschonoskii Maxim have many biological activities, including immunological regulation and anti-tumour. Comprehensive ingredient identification is critical for understanding its pharmacological mechanism and establishing quality control protocols. However, it is a challenging problem because of the complexity of steroidal saponins. To develop a UPLC-MS method for identifying and characterising steroidal saponins in the root and rhizome of T. tschonoskii. Methanolic extracts of T. tschonoskii were analysed by using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI/QTOF/MS). The UPLC experiments were performed by means of a reversed-phase C18 -column and a binary mobile phase system consisting of water and acetonitrile with formic acid under gradient elution conditions. For the UPLC-MS measurements, positive and negative ion modes were used in order to obtain better tandem mass spectra and high-resolution mass spectra. Based on retention times, accurate mass and mass spectrometric fragmentation, a total of 31 saponins distributed over eight steroidal aglycone skeletons were identified or tentatively elucidated from T. tschonoskii. The UPLC-ESI/QTOF/MS method has proven to be a powerful tool for rapid identification of steroidal saponins in T. tschonoskii without tedious and time-consuming isolation of pure constituents. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Enlarging bilateral femoral condylar bone cysts without scintigraphic uptake in a yearling foal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Squire, K.R.E.; Fessler, J.F.; Cantwell, H.D.; Widmer, W.R.

1992-01-01

Bilateral subchondral bone cysts of the femoral condyles were diagnosed by conventional radiography in a 14 month old Appaloosa colt. Surgical debridement was performed, and over the next 18 months the appearance of the cysts was evaluated with radiography and bone scintigraphy. On the preoperative scintigrams, increased radiopharmaceutical uptake was associated with the cysts. Despite continued radiographic enlargement, the cysts did not demonstrate increased radiopharmaceutical uptake post-operatively

Migration strategies of the crisis-stricken youth in an enlarged European Union

OpenAIRE

Kahanec, Martin; Fabo, Brian

2013-01-01

This paper studies the migration response of the youth from new EU member states to disparate conditions in an enlarged European Union at the onset of the Great Recession. We use the Eurobarometer data and probabilistic econometric models to identify the key drivers of the intention to work in another member state of European Economic Area (EEA) and their expected duration. We find that migration intentions are high among those not married and among males with children, but both categories ar...

A differential mobility spectrometry/mass spectrometry platform for the rapid detection and quantitation of DNA adduct dG-ABP.

Science.gov (United States)

Kafle, Amol; Klaene, Joshua; Hall, Adam B; Glick, James; Coy, Stephen L; Vouros, Paul

2013-07-15

There is continued interest in exploring new analytical technologies for the detection and quantitation of DNA adducts, biomarkers which provide direct evidence of exposure and genetic damage in cells. With the goal of reducing clean-up steps and improving sample throughput, a Differential Mobility Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry (DMS/MS) platform has been introduced for adduct analysis. A DMS/MS platform has been utilized for the analysis of dG-ABP, the deoxyguanosine adduct of the bladder carcinogen 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP). After optimization of the DMS parameters, each sample was analyzed in just 30 s following a simple protein precipitation step of the digested DNA. A detection limit of one modification in 10^6 nucleosides has been achieved using only 2 µg of DNA. A brief comparison (quantitative and qualitative) with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry is also presented highlighting the advantages of using the DMS/MS method as a high-throughput platform. The data presented demonstrate the successful application of a DMS/MS/MS platform for the rapid quantitation of DNA adducts using, as a model analyte, the deoxyguanosine adduct of the bladder carcinogen 4-aminobiphenyl. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rapid profiling of antimicrobial compounds characterising B. subtilis TR50 cell-free filtrate by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution Orbitrap™ mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Monaci, Linda; Quintieri, Laura; Caputo, Leonardo; Visconti, Angelo; Baruzzi, Federico

2016-01-15

Several Bacillus strains, typically isolated from different food sources, represent renowned producers of a multitude of low and high molecular weight compounds, including lipopeptides and macrolactones, with an importance for their antimicrobial activity. The high homology shared by many of these compounds also occurring as closely related isoforms poses a challenge in their prompt detection. Identification and structural elucidation is generally achieved by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) or liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) after a pre-fractionation and/or purification step of the extract. In this paper we report the application of a method based on LC separation and high-resolution Orbitrap™-based MS for the rapid screening of raw filtrate of the strain Bacillus subtilis TR50 endowed with antimicrobial activity, without requiring any sample pre-treatment. Upon direct analysis of the cell-free filtrate of Bacillus subtilis TR50 by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), different compounds families, that proved to exert a remarked antimicrobial activity against several foodborne pathogens, can be readily displayed along the chromatographic run. Among them, three different classes were identified and characterized belonging to the iturin, fengycin and surfactin groups. The high resolving power and accurate mass accuracy provided by the HRMS system in use ensured an enhanced selectivity compared to other mass spectrometers. In addition, after activation of the HCD cell, the HR-MS/MS spectra can provide insights in the structural elucidation of several compounds. The acquisition of HRMS spectra of raw filtrates of subtilis strains allows untargeted analysis of the major classes of compounds produced to be performed, thus facilitating identification of other unknown bioactive molecules after retrospective analysis. These features make this approach a fast tool applicable to the rapid screening and further

Rapid determination of trace nitrophenolic organics in water by combining solid-phase extraction with surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Y C; Shiea, J; Sunner, J

2000-01-01

A rapid technique for the screening of trace compounds in water by combining solid-phase extraction (SPE) with activated carbon surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry is demonstrated. Activated carbon is used both as the sorbent in SPE and as the solid in the SALDI matrix system. This eliminates the need for an SPE elution process. After the analytes have been adsorbed on the surfaces of the activated carbon during SPE extraction, the activated carbon is directly mixed with the SALDI liquid and mass spectrometric analysis is performed. Trace phenolic compounds in water were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The detection limit for these compounds is in the ppb to ppt range. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[A patient with muscular torticollis caused by nodular fasciitis in the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM)].

Science.gov (United States)

Hemmi, Shoji; Murakami, Tatufumi; Shirabe, Teruo; Sunada, Yoshihide

2002-09-01

Nodular fasciitis is a benign pseudosarcomatous proliferative lesion which is frequently misdiagnosed as malignant tumor clinically and microscopically. It usually occurs as a rapidly enlarging subcutaneous mass on the upper extremities, especially on the forearm. Here we report a patient showing muscular torticollis caused by nodular fasciitis in the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM). A 17-year-old woman was hospitalized because of rapidly progressive torticollis. The right SCM was markedly enlarged and firm on palpation. Muscle biopsy taken from the right SCM revealed massive proliferation of spindle shaped fibroblasts infiltrating into the endomysium. These findings coincided with the intramuscular nodular fasciitis. However, different from typical nodular fasciitis, no apparent nodule formation was found in this patient. Instead, diffuse proliferative lesion extended widely into the neck soft tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first report of muscular torticollis caused by nodular fasciitis involving the SCM.

Histologically Measured Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy Correlates with Body Height as Strongly as with Body Mass Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard E. Tracy

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Cardiac myocytes are presumed to enlarge with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH. This study correlates histologically measured myocytes with lean and fat body mass. Cases of LVH without coronary heart disease and normal controls came from forensic autopsies. The cross-sectional widths of myocytes in H&E-stained paraffin sections followed log normal distributions almost to perfection in all 104 specimens, with constant coefficient of variation across the full range of ventricular weight, as expected if myocytes of all sizes contribute proportionately to hypertrophy. Myocyte sizes increased with height. By regression analysis, height2.7 as a proxy for lean body mass and body mass index (BMI as a proxy for fat body mass, exerted equal effects in the multiple correlation with myocyte volume, and the equation rejected race and sex. In summary, myocyte sizes, as indexes of LVH, suggest that lean and fat body mass may contribute equally.

Multivariate analysis of morphological pathology in ventricular enlargement by computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwasaki, Satoru

1981-01-01

Several ventricular segments were first measured linearly on the CT image to determine the normal upper limit in adolescent and mature subjects. On the basis of the values obtained, large ventricules were defined, and discriminant analysis with the increase and decrease of the variable was applied. The error ratio of discrimination between pressure hydrocephalus and cerebral atrophy was 8.4%. The temporal horn and trigone are larger in pressure hydrocephalus than in cerebral atrophy, in which the anterior horn is larger. The error ratio of discrimination between obstructive hydrocephalus and communicating hydrocephalus was 11.3%. The hypothalamic segment of the third ventricle and the body of the lateral ventricle are larger in obstructive hydrocephalus than in communicating hydrocephalus, in which the anterior horn and the cellae mediae at the level of the head of caudate nuclei are relatively large. Enlarged ventricles were divided into three groups with characteristic segment: one with large temporal horn and trigone in pressure hydrocephalus; one with larger hypothalamic segment of the third ventricle and larger body of the lateral ventricle in obstructive hydrocephalus than in communicating hydrocephalus; and relatively large anterior horn, cellae mediae at the level of the head of caudate nuclei, and thalamic segment of the third ventricle in cerebral atrophy and communicating hydrocephalus. These findings contribute to the pathological evaluation of ventricular enlargement. The hypothalamic segment of the third ventricle assumes a round or oval shape in pressure hydrocephalus but a rectangular or teardrop shape in cerebral atrophy. (J.P.N.)

Effects of various parameters of the 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser for the treatment of enlarged facial pores.

Science.gov (United States)

Roh, Mi Ryung; Chung, Hye Jin; Chung, Kee Yang

2009-01-01

A variety of treatment modalities have been used to reduce the size of enlarged facial pores without obvious success. To assess and compare the effects of various parameters of a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser in the treatment of enlarged facial pores. This was a prospective intra-individual left-right comparative study. A total of 40 individuals with enlarged facial pores were recruited for this study. Ten individuals were respectively treated on one half of the face with a quasi long-pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser (method 1), a Q-switched 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser (method 2), both quasi long-pulsed and Q-switched 1064 nm Nd:YAG lasers without carbon-suspended lotion (method 3), and both quasi long-pulsed and Q-switched 1064 nm Nd:YAG lasers with carbon-suspended lotion (method 4). The other half of the face was left untreated as a control. Five laser sessions were performed with a 3-week interval. The pore sizes were measured using an image analysis program and the sebum level was measured with a Sebumeter before and after the treatments. The pore size and sebum level decreased in all four methods on the treated side compared to the control (p pore size and sebum level.

The efficacy and safety of intense focused ultrasound in the treatment of enlarged facial pores in Asian skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hee Jung; Lee, Kyung Real; Park, Jae Yang; Yoon, Moon Soo; Lee, Sang Eun

2015-02-01

Intense focused ultrasound (IFUS) has been used successfully for skin tightening. To investigate the efficacy of IFUS in treating enlarged pores and to evaluate changes in skin elasticity and sebum production following IFUS. Twenty-two subjects with enlarged pores were randomized to receive a single treatment with IFUS using 1.5-mm transducer on one side of the face, and 3.0-mm transducer on the other. OBJECTIVE clinical assessments were made by blinded photographic evaluation. Subjective satisfaction and adverse effects were evaluated. Measurements of elasticity and sebum were performed at baseline, 3 and 6 weeks post-treatment. Physicians' evaluation showed clinical pore improvements in 86% and 91% of the IFUS-treated sites using 1.5-mm and 3.0-mm transducer, respectively. The mean improvement scores were 1.7 and 1.9 for 1.5-mm and 3.0-mm transducer, respectively, with no statistical differences. Cutometer measurement demonstrated a significant improvement in skin elasticity. Sebum level showed a reduction without statistical significance. There was a positive correlation between improvement in elasticity and pore improvement grades. All treatments were well tolerated without significant side effects. IFUS using 1.5-mm or 3.0-mm transducer was safe and effective for reducing enlarged pores in Asian skin with an improvement in skin elasticity.

A high-throughput colorimetric assay for glucose detection based on glucose oxidase-catalyzed enlargement of gold nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Yanmei; Zhang, Yuyan; Rong, Pengfei; Yang, Jie; Wang, Wei; Liu, Dingbin

2015-09-01

We developed a simple high-throughput colorimetric assay to detect glucose based on the glucose oxidase (GOx)-catalysed enlargement of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Compared with the currently available glucose kit method, the AuNP-based assay provides higher clinical sensitivity at lower cost, indicating its great potential to be a powerful tool for clinical screening of glucose.We developed a simple high-throughput colorimetric assay to detect glucose based on the glucose oxidase (GOx)-catalysed enlargement of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Compared with the currently available glucose kit method, the AuNP-based assay provides higher clinical sensitivity at lower cost, indicating its great potential to be a powerful tool for clinical screening of glucose. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental section and additional figures. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03758a

Nutritional interventions to preserve skeletal muscle mass

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Backx, Evelien M.P.

2016-01-01

Muscle mass is the main predictor for muscle strength and physical function. The amount of muscle mass can decline rapidly during periods of reduced physical activity or during periods of energy intake restriction. For athletes, it is important to maintain muscle mass, since the loss of muscle is

Right heart enlargement in heartworm-infected dogs: a radiographic, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic correlation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lombard, C.W.; Ackerman, N.

1984-01-01

Radiographically, the size of the right ventricle of 54 heartworm-infected dogs was graded subjectively as normal, 1 +, 2 +, and 3 + and served to classify the dogs into groups A, B, C, and D. With M-mode echocardiograms, right ventricular enlargement ratios (RVE ratios) were determined for each dog by dividing the measured right ventricular internal diastolic dimension (RVIDd) by the expected RVIDd of a normal dog of the same body weight. The normal RVIDd relation to body weight was derived from 25 healthy heartworm-free control dogs. These two variables were linearly related with a correlation coefficient r 2 = 0.59. Means and standard deviations of the RVE ratio were calculated for each group. Despite wide ranges and considerable overlap, the ratio was significantly different (t-test, p < 0.005) between groups with the exception of groups A and B, and C and D. The incidence of electrocardiographic signs of right ventricular hypertrophy was also determined for each group; it was 38% in group C and 62% in group D. From this data, it was concluded that M-mode echocardiography is a very sensitive technique for the documentation of right ventricular dilatation in heartworm-infected dogs, correlating with radiographic impressions of right ventricular enlargement. (author)

Serial MR imaging studies in enlarged endolymphatic duct and sac syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naganawa, Shinji; Koshikawa, Tokiko; Fukatsu, Hiroshi; Ishigaki, Takeo; Nakashima, Tsutomu

2002-01-01

Large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS) is a congenital disorder characterized by progressive or fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss of unknown etiology. Serial MR examinations were performed before and after the development of hearing loss in two patients with LVAS. The signal and volume of the enlarged endolymphatic sac (EES) vary even in ears with stable hearing. In ears with fluctuating hearing, changes in EES signals were observed in only one of two patients. The finding that the EES volume and signal intensity vary dynamically independently of hearing is important for future research into the pathophysiology of hearing loss in this syndrome. (orig.)

On bacteria oxidizing enlargement scale test for uranium in-situ leaching at. 381 mine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Kaiguang; Wang Qingliang; Liu Yingjiu; Shi Wenge; Hu Shihe; Hu Yincai; Fang Qiu

1999-01-01

The results of enlarged scale test of bacteria as oxidizer for uranium in-situ leaching at No 381 mine showed that redox potential of the oxidized absorbed tailing water by bacteria is more than 510 mV, without any effects on after treatments by using bacteria as oxidizer and reduce oxidizer costs 70% compared with H 2 O 2 as oxidizer

Rapid screening of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors in urine samples using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Salgado-Petinal, Carmen; Lamas, J Pablo; Garcia-Jares, Carmen; Llompart, Maria; Cela, Rafael

2005-07-01

In this paper a solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) method is proposed for a rapid analysis of some frequently prescribed selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI)-venlafaxine, fluvoxamine, mirtazapine, fluoxetine, citalopram, and sertraline-in urine samples. The SPME-based method enables simultaneous determination of the target SSRI after simple in-situ derivatization of some of the target compounds. Calibration curves in water and in urine were validated and statistically compared. This revealed the absence of matrix effect and, in consequence, the possibility of quantifying SSRI in urine samples by external water calibration. Intra-day and inter-day precision was satisfactory for all the target compounds (relative standard deviation, RSD, detection limits achieved were detected and tentatively identified.

Multiple Sources of Pressure for Change: The Barroso Commission and Energy Policy for an Enlarged EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Frederik Braun

2009-11-01

Full Text Available This article presents a preliminary analysis of how and why the role, work and status of the European Commission are changing in an enlarged European Union. It does so by focusing on multiple sources of pressure for change. These include: enlargement, new modes of governance, administrative reforms and changed leadership under Barroso. Combined, though not interlinked, these multiple sources of pressure are evidence of the increasing difficulty for the Commission to design and propose Community-wide answers to complex challenges in a more diverse Union. For this reason, the Commission under Barroso relies less on its traditional monopoly power to propose formal legislation and more on non-traditional modes of policy-making. Energy policy, especially its external dimension, constitutes a policy field that has been affected by enlargement, i.e. characterised by an increasing heterogeneity of needs and preferences among the member states. Not only does it resists Community-wide answers, it also allows the Commission, as an agent, to make use of bureaucratic drifts, i.e. exploit its strategic position in the EU’s governance system and use of a range of formal and informal resources of expertise. To deliver sustainable European added value to this complex policy area, however, the Commission must focus more on pragmatic policy results by making smart use of the EU’s increasing asymmetry, diversity and subsidiarity in a bottom-up approach. A non-legislative approach can serve as a modus vivendi to keep the momentum going in the Union’s difficult struggle to establish a workable energy regime.

A Mobile Acoustic Subsurface Sensing (MASS) system for rapid roadway assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yifeng; Zhang, Yi; Cao, Yinghong; McDaniel, J Gregory; Wang, Ming L

2013-05-08

Surface waves are commonly used for vibration-based nondestructive testing for infrastructure. Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW) has been used to detect subsurface properties for geologic inspections. Recently, efforts were made to scale down these subsurface detection approaches to see how they perform on small-scale structures such as concrete slabs and pavements. Additional efforts have been made to replace the traditional surface-mounted transducers with non-contact acoustic transducers. Though some success has been achieved, most of these new approaches are inefficient because they require point-to-point measurements or off-line signal analysis. This article introduces a Mobile Acoustic Subsurface Sensing system as MASS, which is an improved surface wave based implementation for measuring the subsurface profile of roadways. The compact MASS system is a 3-wheeled cart outfitted with an electromagnetic impact source, distance register, non-contact acoustic sensors and data acquisition/ processing equipment. The key advantage of the MASS system is the capability to collect measurements continuously at walking speed in an automatic way. The fast scan and real-time analysis advantages are based upon the non-contact acoustic sensing and fast air-coupled surface wave analysis program. This integration of hardware and software makes the MASS system an efficient mobile prototype for the field test.

A Mobile Acoustic Subsurface Sensing (MASS System for Rapid Roadway Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming L. Wang

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Surface waves are commonly used for vibration-based nondestructive testing for infrastructure. Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW has been used to detect subsurface properties for geologic inspections. Recently, efforts were made to scale down these subsurface detection approaches to see how they perform on small-scale structures such as concrete slabs and pavements. Additional efforts have been made to replace the traditional surface-mounted transducers with non-contact acoustic transducers. Though some success has been achieved, most of these new approaches are inefficient because they require point-to-point measurements or off-line signal analysis. This article introduces a Mobile Acoustic Subsurface Sensing system as MASS, which is an improved surface wave based implementation for measuring the subsurface profile of roadways. The compact MASS system is a 3-wheeled cart outfitted with an electromagnetic impact source, distance register, non-contact acoustic sensors and data acquisition/ processing equipment. The key advantage of the MASS system is the capability to collect measurements continuously at walking speed in an automatic way. The fast scan and real-time analysis advantages are based upon the non-contact acoustic sensing and fast air-coupled surface wave analysis program. This integration of hardware and software makes the MASS system an efficient mobile prototype for the field test.

High mass accuracy and high mass resolving power FT-ICR secondary ion mass spectrometry for biological tissue imaging

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smith, D.F.; Kiss, A.; Leach, F.E.; Robinson, E.W.; Paša-Tolić, L.; Heeren, R.M.A.

2013-01-01

Biological tissue imaging by secondary ion mass spectrometry has seen rapid development with the commercial availability of polyatomic primary ion sources. Endogenous lipids and other small bio-molecules can now be routinely mapped on the sub-micrometer scale. Such experiments are typically

To enlarge the travel markets from Shanghai to Turku (Shanghai CITS, Ltd.)

OpenAIRE

Wang, Chunyang

2010-01-01

This paper is made in order to make thorough analysis in current Chinese travel markets and travel agencies, as well as the analysis on Turku’s travel markets, with which it can know the feasibility in enlarge the travel markets for CITS into Turku. In details, as the background information, the brief overview of history of China’s domestic travel agencies and a brief description of Shanghai CITS in terms of its business and management status are posed with the aim of getting enough suppo...

Introduction to mass spectrometry-based proteomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Matthiesen, R.; Bunkenborg, J.

2013-01-01

Mass spectrometry has been widely applied to study biomolecules and one rapidly developing field is the global analysis of proteins, proteomics. Understanding and handling mass spectrometry data is a multifaceted task that requires many decisions to be made to get the most comprehensive informati...

Formations, anomalies and variants of the mediastinum and the lung roots in children, simulating enlarged intrathoracic lymph nodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabkin, I.Kh.; Borisova, N.K.

1983-01-01

Timely detection of enlarged intrathoracic lymph nodes is of great importance in pediatric practice. Meanwhile there exist various mediastinal and lung root as well as anomalies and variants of their development, which could imitate the mediastinal lymph node hyperplasia. Their diagnosis is individually designed employing a complex of X-ray methods. In recent years the anatomo-physiological development of thoracic organs in children and teenagers has been affected by the acceleration process. Under the latters' impact the phenomenon of an increase in the large pulmonary vessels appeared in children with signs of high physical development, which caused lung root dilatation and produced an impression of the intrathoracic lymph node enlargement. The Valsalva functional tests should be used in combination with X-ray research methods

Opposition to enlargement as a symbolic defence of group position: multilevel analyses of attitudes toward candidates' entries in the EU-25.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, Jeffrey C

2010-03-01

Despite the sociological and geopolitical significance of EU enlargement and opinion toward it, extant literature is lacking a theory of enlargement opinion and an examination of opinion in the wake of the 2004 enlargement. This paper fills these gaps by developing a symbolic defence of group position model to explain opposition to the entries of candidate states (as of 2005: Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Turkey) and to examine how these explanations differ for post-Communist EU members. Results of hierarchical multinomial logistic models of Eurobarometer (European Commission 2005) data from the EU-25 support the notion that the symbolic nature of enlargement shapes the effects of interests, threat, and other factors on opinion depending on candidates' position in a culturally and historically-rooted hierarchy of 'European-ness'. Attitudes toward Turkey's entry are less shaped by material interests than attitudes toward other candidates' entries, which is explained by Turkey's position at the bottom - and post-Communist countries' position in the middle - of this hierarchy in the post-Cold War era. Attitudes toward Turkey's entry are rather a function of the perceived threat that it poses to the group position and identity of Europeans, which is defended by the politically knowledgeable. While the lower levels of threat in post-socialist EU member countries help to account for their lower levels of opposition to candidates' entries, people in these countries to a greater extent use European identity as a way of symbolically distancing themselves from Turkey. Implications are discussed.

Common clinical features of children with enlarged vestibular aqueduct and Mondini dysplasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chen-Chi; Chen, Yuh-Shyang; Chen, Pei-Jer; Hsu, Chuan-Jen

2005-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the etiological factors and the audiological data of different types of inner ear malformations, which the authors thought might be helpful in elucidating the inter-relation among malformations and shedding light on pathogenesis. Retrospective study from 1998 to 2002 at a tertiary care university hospital. One hundred sixty consecutive children with a total of 302 affected ears undergoing high-resolution computed tomography of the temporal bone for sensorineural hearing loss were enrolled. The image results were correlated with causes and origins, hearing loss patterns, hearing levels, and audiogram configurations. Inner ear malformation was present in 114 (38%) ears. The most common malformations were enlarged vestibular aqueduct, incomplete partition of cochlea (Mondini dysplasia), large vestibule, and semicircular canal dysplasia, presenting either as isolated finding or in combination. Eighty-four (74%) ears had abnormalities confined to these four malformations; only 30 (26%) ears showed other malformations. Patients with complex of enlarged vestibular aqueduct, Mondini dysplasia, large vestibule, and semicircular canal dysplasia (EMVS complex) demonstrated a significantly higher incidence of fluctuating hearing loss (93%) and a better hearing level compared with those with other malformations. Homogeneity in audiological features among these four malformations was also disclosed. The authors identified a distinct clinical entity, the EMVS complex, which is characterized by fluctuating hearing loss and a better hearing level. The authors proposed that malformations belonging to this complex result from a common pathogenetic mechanism.

Rapid and reliable MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry identification of Candida non-albicans isolates from bloodstream infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Pulcrano, Giovanna; Iula, Dora Vita; Vollaro, Antonio; Tucci, Alessandra; Cerullo, Monica; Esposito, Matilde; Rossano, Fabio; Catania, Maria Rosaria

2013-09-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) fingerprinting has recently become an effective instrument for rapid microbiological diagnostics and in particular for identification of micro-organisms directly in a positive blood culture. The aim of the study was to evaluate a collection of 82 stored yeast isolates from bloodstream infection, by MALDI-TOF MS; 21 isolates were identified also directly from positive blood cultures and in the presence of other co-infecting micro-organisms. Of the 82 isolates grown on plates, 64 (76%) were correctly identified by the Vitek II system and 82 (100%) by MALDI-TOF MS; when the two methods gave different results, the isolate was identified by PCR. MALDI-TOF MS was unreliable in identifying two isolates (Candida glabrata and Candida parapsilosis) directly from blood culture; however, direct analysis from positive blood culture samples was fast and effective for the identification of yeast, which is of great importance for early and adequate treatment. © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatio-temporal changes in river bank mass failures in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland, Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Chris; Croke, Jacky; Grove, James; Khanal, Giri

2013-06-01

Wet-flow river bank failure processes are poorly understood relative to the more commonly studied processes of fluvial entrainment and gravity-induced mass failures. Using high resolution topographic data (LiDAR) and near coincident aerial photography, this study documents the downstream distribution of river bank mass failures which occurred as a result of a catastrophic flood in the Lockyer Valley in January 2011. In addition, this distribution is compared with wet flow mass failure features from previous large floods. The downstream analysis of these two temporal data sets indicated that they occur across a range of river lengths, catchment areas, bank heights and angles and do not appear to be scale-dependent or spatially restricted to certain downstream zones. The downstream trends of each bank failure distribution show limited spatial overlap with only 17% of wet flows common to both distributions. The modification of these features during the catastrophic flood of January 2011 also indicated that such features tend to form at some 'optimum' shape and show limited evidence of subsequent enlargement even when flow and energy conditions within the banks and channel were high. Elevation changes indicate that such features show evidence for infilling during subsequent floods. The preservation of these features in the landscape for a period of at least 150 years suggests that the seepage processes dominant in their initial formation appear to have limited role in their continuing enlargement over time. No evidence of gully extension or headwall retreat is evident. It is estimated that at least 12 inundation events would be required to fill these failures based on the average net elevation change recorded for the 2011 event. Existing conceptual models of downstream bank erosion process zones may need to consider a wider array of mass failure processes to accommodate for wet flow failures.

Focal pancreatic enlargement: differentiation between pancreatic adenocarcinoma and focal pancreatitis on CT and ERCP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Eun Kyung; Kim, Ki Whang; Lee, Jong Tae; Kim, Hee Soo; Yoo, Hyung Sik; Yu, Jeong Sik; Yoon, Sang Wook

1995-01-01

To differentiate the pancreatic adenocarcinoma from focal pancreatitis on CT and ERCP in cases of focal pancreatic enlargement. We analysed CT findings of 66 patients of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (n = 45) or focal pancreatitis (n = 21) with respect to size, density, calcification, pancreatic or biliary duct dilatation, fat plane obliteration around the vessels, direction of retroperitoneal extension, lymphadenopathy, pseudocyst formation and atrophy of pancreas. ERCP available in 48 patients were analysed in respect to morphologic appearance of CBD and pancreatic duct, and distance between the two ducts. The patients in focal pancreatitis were younger with more common history of alcohol drinking. There was no statistical difference in calcifications of the mass (18% in the adenocarcinoma, 33% in the focal pancreatitis), but a tendency of denser, larger number of calcifications was noted in focal pancreatitis. The finding of fat plane obliteration around the vessels were more common in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and fascial thickenings were more prominent in focal pancreatitis, although not statistically significant. On ERCP, there were no differential points of CBD, pancreatic duct morphology, but distance between the two ducts at the lesion center was more wider in focal pancreatitis. Differentiating focal pancreatitis from pancreatic adenocarcinoma is difficult. However, we should consider the possibility of focal pancreatitis in cases of patients with young age, having alcoholic history in association with CT findings of large numbers of and dense calcifications, and ERCP findings of prominent separation of two duct at the lesion center

Engrosamiento peneano: complicación de lipotransferencia Penis enlargement: complication of lipotransfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C.G. Conde

2012-12-01

Full Text Available La solicitud de engrosamiento del pene por parte de los pacientes tiene un crecimiento sostenido. El empleo de grasa autóloga como relleno puede causar una deformidad que provoca un menoscabo funcional y estético. Presentamos un caso de complicación que requirió de tratamiento quirúrgico.Penis enlargement is a practice widely requested by the patients. The use of autologous fat transplantation can produce deformity and functional and aesthetic deficiency. The authors present a clinical case of complication and its surgical resolution.

Compensatory enlargement of Ossabaw miniature swine coronary arteries in diffuse atherosclerosis

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Jenny S. Choy

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Studies in human and non-human primates have confirmed the compensatory enlargement or positive remodeling (Glagov phenomenon of coronary vessels in the presence of focal stenosis. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document arterial enlargement in a metabolic syndrome animal model with diffuse coronary artery disease (DCAD in the absence of severe focal stenosis. Two different groups of Ossabaw miniature pigs were fed a high fat atherogenic diet for 4 months (Group I and 12 months (Group II, respectively. Group I (6 pigs underwent contrast enhanced computed tomographic angiography (CCTA and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS at baseline and after 4 months of high fat diet, whereas Group II (7 pigs underwent only IVUS at 12 months of high fat diet. IVUS measurements of the left anterior descending (LAD, left circumflex (LCX and right coronary (RCA arteries in Group I showed an average increase in their lumen cross-sectional areas (CSA of 25.8%, 11.4%, and 43.4%, respectively, as compared to baseline. The lumen CSA values of LAD in Group II were found to be between the baseline and 4 month values in Group I. IVUS and CCTA measurements showed a similar trend and positive correlation. Fractional flow reserve (FFR was 0.91 ± 0.07 at baseline and 0.93 ± 0.05 at 4 months with only 2.2%, 1.6% and 1% stenosis in the LAD, LCX and RCA, respectively. The relation between percent stenosis and lumen CSA shows a classical Glagov phenomenon in this animal model of DCAD.

Mass spectrometry: a revolution in clinical microbiology?

Science.gov (United States)

Lavigne, Jean-Philippe; Espinal, Paula; Dunyach-Remy, Catherine; Messad, Nourredine; Pantel, Alix; Sotto, Albert

2013-02-01

Recently, different bacteriological laboratory interventions that decrease reporting time have been developed. These promising new broad-based techniques have merit, based on their ability to identify rapidly many bacteria, organisms difficult to grow or newly emerging strains, as well as their capacity to track disease transmission. The benefit of rapid reporting of identification and/or resistance of bacteria can greatly impact patient outcomes, with an improvement in the use of antibiotics, in the reduction of the emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria and in mortality rates. Different techniques revolve around mass spectrometry (MS) technology: matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), PCR combined with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (PCR/ESIMS), iPLEX MassArray system and other new evolutions combining different techniques. This report emphasizes the (r)evolution of these technologies in clinical microbiology.

Development of a Method for Rapid Determination of Morpholine in Juices and Drugs by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mengsi Cao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A reliable derivatization method has been developed to detect and quantify morpholine in apple juices and ibuprofen with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Morpholine can react with sodium nitrite under acidic condition to produce stable and volatile N-nitrosomorpholine derivative. In this experiment, various factors affecting the derivatization and extraction process were optimized, including volume and concentration of hydrochloric acid, quantity of sodium nitrite, derivatization temperature, derivatization time, extraction reagents, and extraction time. The derivative was extracted with dichloromethane and determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The linearity range of morpholine was 10–500 μg·L−1 with good correlation, and limits of detection (LOD and limits of quantification (LOQ were 7.3 μg·L−1 and 24.4 μg·L−1, respectively. Low, medium, and high concentrations of morpholine were added in apple juices and ibuprofen samples to evaluate standard recovery rate and relative standard deviation. The spiked recovery rate ranged from 94.3% to 109.0%, and the intraday repeatability and interday reproducibility were 2.0%–4.4% and 3.3%–7.0%, respectively. The developed method has good accuracy and precision. This quantitative method for morpholine is simple, sensitive, rapid, and low cost and can successfully be applied to analyze the residual morpholine in apple juices and drug samples.

Rapid screening of mixed edible oils and gutter oils by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ng, Tsz-Tsun; So, Pui-Kin; Zheng, Bo [Food Safety and Technology Research Centre, State Key Laboratory of Chirosciences and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China); Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Food Biological Safety Control and State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen Research Institute of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Shenzhen (China); Yao, Zhong-Ping, E-mail: zhongping.yao@polyu.edu.hk [Food Safety and Technology Research Centre, State Key Laboratory of Chirosciences and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China); Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Food Biological Safety Control and State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen Research Institute of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Shenzhen (China)

2015-07-16

Highlights: • Simplified sample preparation method for direct analysis of edible oils by MALDI-MS. • Establishment of a preliminary MALDI-MS spectral database of edible oils. • Rapid screening of mixed edible oils and gutter oils. - Abstract: Authentication of edible oils is a long-term issue in food safety, and becomes particularly important with the emergence and wide spread of gutter oils in recent years. Due to the very high analytical demand and diversity of gutter oils, a high throughput analytical method and a versatile strategy for authentication of mixed edible oils and gutter oils are highly desirable. In this study, an improved matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) method has been developed for direct analysis of edible oils. This method involved on-target sample loading, automatic data acquisition and simple data processing. MALDI-MS spectra with high quality and high reproducibility have been obtained using this method, and a preliminary spectral database of edible oils has been set up. The authenticity of an edible oil sample can be determined by comparing its MALDI-MS spectrum and principal component analysis (PCA) results with those of its labeled oil in the database. This method is simple and the whole process only takes several minutes for analysis of one oil sample. We demonstrated that the method was sensitive to change in oil compositions and can be used for measuring compositions of mixed oils. The capability of the method for determining mislabeling enables it for rapid screening of gutter oils since fraudulent mislabeling is a common feature of gutter oils.

Rapid screening of mixed edible oils and gutter oils by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ng, Tsz-Tsun; So, Pui-Kin; Zheng, Bo; Yao, Zhong-Ping

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Simplified sample preparation method for direct analysis of edible oils by MALDI-MS. • Establishment of a preliminary MALDI-MS spectral database of edible oils. • Rapid screening of mixed edible oils and gutter oils. - Abstract: Authentication of edible oils is a long-term issue in food safety, and becomes particularly important with the emergence and wide spread of gutter oils in recent years. Due to the very high analytical demand and diversity of gutter oils, a high throughput analytical method and a versatile strategy for authentication of mixed edible oils and gutter oils are highly desirable. In this study, an improved matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) method has been developed for direct analysis of edible oils. This method involved on-target sample loading, automatic data acquisition and simple data processing. MALDI-MS spectra with high quality and high reproducibility have been obtained using this method, and a preliminary spectral database of edible oils has been set up. The authenticity of an edible oil sample can be determined by comparing its MALDI-MS spectrum and principal component analysis (PCA) results with those of its labeled oil in the database. This method is simple and the whole process only takes several minutes for analysis of one oil sample. We demonstrated that the method was sensitive to change in oil compositions and can be used for measuring compositions of mixed oils. The capability of the method for determining mislabeling enables it for rapid screening of gutter oils since fraudulent mislabeling is a common feature of gutter oils

Rapid, simple, and highly sensitive analysis of drugs in biological samples using thin-layer chromatography coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuwayama, Kenji; Tsujikawa, Kenji; Miyaguchi, Hajime; Kanamori, Tatsuyuki; Iwata, Yuko T; Inoue, Hiroyuki

2012-01-01

Rapid and precise identification of toxic substances is necessary for urgent diagnosis and treatment of poisoning cases and for establishing the cause of death in postmortem examinations. However, identification of compounds in biological samples using gas chromatography and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry entails time-consuming and labor-intensive sample preparations. In this study, we examined a simple preparation and highly sensitive analysis of drugs in biological samples such as urine, plasma, and organs using thin-layer chromatography coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (TLC/MALDI/MS). When the urine containing 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) without sample dilution was spotted on a thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plate and was analyzed by TLC/MALDI/MS, the detection limit of the MDMA spot was 0.05 ng/spot. The value was the same as that in aqueous solution spotted on a stainless steel plate. All the 11 psychotropic compounds tested (MDMA, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, methamphetamine, p-hydroxymethamphetamine, amphetamine, ketamine, caffeine, chlorpromazine, triazolam, and morphine) on a TLC plate were detected at levels of 0.05-5 ng, and the type (layer thickness and fluorescence) of TLC plate did not affect detection sensitivity. In addition, when rat liver homogenate obtained after MDMA administration (10 mg/kg) was spotted on a TLC plate, MDMA and its main metabolites were identified using TLC/MALDI/MS, and the spots on a TLC plate were visualized by MALDI/imaging MS. The total analytical time from spotting of intact biological samples to the output of analytical results was within 30 min. TLC/MALDI/MS enabled rapid, simple, and highly sensitive analysis of drugs from intact biological samples and crude extracts. Accordingly, this method could be applied to rapid drug screening and precise identification of toxic substances in poisoning cases and

Necrotic enlargement of cone photoreceptor cells and the release of high-mobility group box-1 in retinitis pigmentosa

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, Y; Ikeda, Y; Nakatake, S; Tachibana, T; Fujiwara, K; Yoshida, N; Notomi, S; Nakao, S; Hisatomi, T; Miller, J W; Vavvas, DG; Sonoda, KH; Ishibashi, T

2015-01-01

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) refers to a group of inherited retinal degenerations resulting form rod and cone photoreceptor cell death. The rod cell death due to deleterious genetic mutations has been shown to occur mainly through apoptosis, whereas the mechanisms and features of the secondary cone cell death have not been fully elucidated. Our previous study showed that the cone cell death in rd10 mice, an animal model of RP, involves necrotic features and is partly mediated by the receptor interacting protein kinase. However, the relevancy of necrotic cone cell death in human RP patients remains unknown. In the present study, we showed that dying cone cells in rd10 mice exhibited cellular enlargement, along with necrotic changes such as cellular swelling and mitochondrial rupture. In human eyes, live imaging of cone cells by adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy revealed significantly increased percentages of enlarged cone cells in the RP patients compared with the control subjects. The vitreous of the RP patients contained significantly higher levels of high-mobility group box-1, which is released extracellularly associated with necrotic cell death. These findings suggest that necrotic enlargement of cone cells is involved in the process of cone degeneration, and that necrosis may be a novel target to prevent or delay the loss of cone-mediated central vision in RP. PMID:27551484

Online extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry for rapid flavonoid profiling of Fructus aurantii immaturus.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Runna; Peng, Mijun; Tong, Chaoying; Guo, Keke; Shi, Shuyun

2018-03-01

Chemical profiling of natural products by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was critical for understanding of their clinical bioactivities, and sample pretreatment steps have been considered as a bottleneck for analysis. Currently, concerted efforts have been made to develop sample pretreatment methods with high efficiency, low solvent and time consumptions. Here, a simple and efficient online extraction (OLE) strategy coupled with HPLC-diode array detector-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS) was developed for rapid chemical profiling. For OLE strategy, guard column inserted with ground sample (2 mg) instead of sample loop was connected with manual injection valve, in which components were directly extracted and transferred to HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS system only by mobile phase without any extra time, solvent, instrument and operation. By comparison with offline heat-reflux extraction for Fructus aurantii immaturus (Zhishi), OLE strategy presented higher extraction efficiency perhaps because of the high pressure and gradient elution mode. A total of eighteen flavonoids were detected according to their retention times, UV spectra, exact mass, and fragmentation ions in MS/MS spectra, and compound 9, natsudaidain-3-O-glucoside, was discovered in Zhishi for the first time. It is concluded that the developed OLE-HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS system offers new perspectives for rapid chemical profiling of natural products. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Masses of noble gases

CERN Document Server

Marx, G H; Herfurth, F; Stora, T; Blaum, K; Beck, D; Audi, G; Rosenbusch, M

The so-called magic numbers, cornerstones of the quantum nuclear ensemble, are now known to lose their supernatural powers far from the protected valley of stability. To complement the well-established (but not yet well-understood) case of N = 20, we propose to examine the erstwhile N = 28 shell closure via a measurement of the important (but unknown) mass of the nuclide $^{48}$Ar. The quenching of a shell closure, a mechanism as mysterious as the reason for magic numbers themselves, also has important consequences in nucleosynthesis. While $^{48}$Ar is not part of the region concerned by the canonical rapid neutro-capture r-process, the question of shell strength is of great importance for heavier nuclides. The location of the r-process path would benefit from extending the succesful ISOTRAP krypton mass measurements beyond the N = 58 sub-shell to $^{96-98}$Kr. Modeling the complementary rapid proton-capture rp- process, putative source of some proton-rich species, requires the mass of $^{70}$Kr, near the e...

Does ultrasound contrast agent improve the diagnostic value of colour and power Doppler sonography in superficial lymph node enlargement?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulte-Altedorneburg, Gernot; Demharter, Johannes; Linne, Renate; Droste, Dirk W.; Bohndorf, Klaus; Buecklein, Wolfgang

2003-01-01

Objective: to analyse whether ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) improves the diagnostic accuracy to differentiate between benign and malignant superficial lymph node enlargement by using colour-coded duplex sonography (CCDS) and power Doppler (PD). Methods: 32 patients with suspected malignant superficial lymph node enlargement prospectively underwent standardised ultrasound examinations using B-mode sonography and native and contrast-enhanced CCDS and PD immediately before biopsy. Solbiati-Index (longitudinal-transverse diameter ratio) and intranodal flow patterns by using different vascularisation types were assessed. Histological and sonographical findings were correlated. Results: 27 malignant and 5 benign lymph nodes were found. Solbiati-Index was lower in malignant lymph nodes than in benign nodes (mean 1.5 vs. 2.4, P<0.045). More intranodal flow patterns could be detected after UCA (53 vs. 43) but the number of correctly identified malignant nodes decreased after UCA (26 vs. 24) and the number of correctly identified benign nodes remained constant compared with native CCDS and PD. In 31% of the colour-mode studies, PD was considered to visualise more clearly intranodal vascular flow patterns than CCDS. Conclusion: despite depicting more intranodal vascular patterns, the use of an ultrasound contrast agent seems not to improve the diagnostic value of CCDS and PD compared with native colour-mode studies in superficial lymph node enlargement

Use of positive ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry for rapid identification of a bile alcohol glucuronide isolated from cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dayal, B.; Salen, G.; Tint, G.S.; Shefer, S.; Benz, S.W.

1990-01-01

The identification of a major biliary and plasma bile alcohol glucuronide, 5 beta-cholestane-3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha, 25-tetrol-3-0-beta-D-glucuronide, present in cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX) patients, was investigated by positive ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS). The spectrum was characterized by abundant ions formed by attachment of a proton, [M + H]+, or of alkali ions, [M + Na]+ and [M + 39K]+, to the glucuronide salt. These ions allowed an unambiguous deduction of the molecular weight of the sample. It is suggested that FAB-MS could be used in the rapid diagnosis of CTX

Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry and multivariate data analysis: a novel approach to rapid identification of analytical markers for quality control of traditional Chinese medicine preparation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Shanshan; Wang, Lu; Chen, Teng; Wang, Yuefei; Mo, Huanbiao; Qu, Haibin

2012-07-06

The paper presents a novel strategy to identify analytical markers of traditional Chinese medicine preparation (TCMP) rapidly via direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS). A commonly used TCMP, Danshen injection, was employed as a model. The optimal analysis conditions were achieved by measuring the contribution of various experimental parameters to the mass spectra. Salvianolic acids and saccharides were simultaneously determined within a single 1-min DART-MS run. Furthermore, spectra of Danshen injections supplied by five manufacturers were processed with principal component analysis (PCA). Obvious clustering was observed in the PCA score plot, and candidate markers were recognized from the contribution plots of PCA. The suitability of potential markers was then confirmed by contrasting with the results of traditional analysis methods. Using this strategy, fructose, glucose, sucrose, protocatechuic aldehyde and salvianolic acid A were rapidly identified as the markers of Danshen injections. The combination of DART-MS with PCA provides a reliable approach to the identification of analytical markers for quality control of TCMP. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rapid and Automated Determination of Plutonium and Neptunium in Environmental Samples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qiao, Jixin

This thesis presents improved analytical methods for rapid and automated determination of plutonium and neptunium in environmental samples using sequential injection (SI) based chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The progress of methodology development...... and optimization for rapid determination of plutonium in environmental samples using SIextraction chromatography prior to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Paper III); (3) Development of an SI-chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of plutonium and neptunium in environmental samples...... for rapid and simultaneous determination of plutonium and neptunium within an SI system (Paper VI). The results demonstrate that the developed methods in this study are reliable and efficient for accurate assays of trace levels of plutonium and neptunium as demanded in different situations including...

Rapid isolation of biomarkers for compound specific radiocarbon dating using high-performance liquid chromatography and flow injection analysis-atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Smittenberg, Rienk H; Hopmans, Ellen C; Schouten, Stefan; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S

2002-11-29

Repeated semi-preparative normal-phase HPLC was performed to isolate selected biomarkers from sediment extracts for radiocarbon analysis. Flow injection analysis-mass spectrometry was used for rapid analysis of collected fractions to evaluate the separation procedure, taking only 1 min per fraction. In this way 100-1000 microg of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers, sterol fractions and chlorophyll-derived phytol were isolated from typically 100 g of marine sediment, i.e., in sufficient quantities for radiocarbon analysis, without significant carbon isotopic fractionation or contamination.

Rapid characterization of the chemical constituents of Sijunzi decoction by UHPLC coupled with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Zhibo; Wang, Miao; Cai, Yi; Yang, Hongmei; Zhao, Min; Zhao, Chunjie

2018-06-01

Sijunzi decoction, a renowned Chinese prescription has long been utilized to treat gastrointestinal problems. In the context of this research work, the use of Ultra high performance liquid chromatography combined with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry was made to separate and characterize the components of Sijunzi decoction. The performance of Liquid chromatography was carried out on a C8 column (150 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm); moreover, the mobile phase were consisted of 0.2% formic acid (A) and acetonitrile (B). In accordance with the findings, characterization of 120 chemical compounds was performed by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. The key constituents among them included ginsenosides (in Radix Ginseng), 16 triterpene carboxylic acids (in Poria), sesquiterpenes (in Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae), triterpenesaponins (in Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata Cum Melle) as well as flavonoids (in Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata Cum Melle) in Sijunzi decoction. This research developed the bases for prospective research associated with Sijunzi decoction, together with being expected to be useful to rapidly extract and characterize the constituents in other Traditional Chinese herbal formulations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mars Sample Return Orbiter Rapid Architecture Study

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, A.; Johnson, M.; Stroud, C.

2018-04-01

An overview of rapid systems analysis (mass, risk, and schedule) on 1000s of MSRO configurations to understand key technologies and feasible options. Can we generate enough power? Can we aerobrake in time? Are some technology elements just too risky?

Rapid screening and quantification of residual pesticides and illegal adulterants in red wine by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Tianyang; Fang, Pingping; Jiang, Juanjuan; Zhang, Feng; Yong, Wei; Liu, Jiahui; Dong, Yiyang

2016-11-04

A rapid method to screen and quantify multi-class analytic targets in red wine has been developed by direct analysis in real time (DART) coupled with triple quadruple tandem mass spectrometry (QqQ-MS). A modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) procedure was used for increasing analytical speed and reducing matrix effect, and the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in DART-MS/MS ensured accurate analysis. One bottle of wine containing 50 pesticides and 12 adulterants, i.e., preservatives, antioxidant, sweeteners, and azo dyes, could be totally determined less than 12min. This method exhibited proper linearity (R 2 ≥0.99) in the range of 1-1000ng/mL for pesticides and 10-5000ng/mL for adulterants. The limits of detection (LODs) were obtained in a 0.5-50ng/mL range for pesticides and 5-50ng/mL range for adulterants, and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were in a 1-100ng/mL range for pesticides and 10-250ng/mL range for adulterants. Three spiked levels for each analyte in wine were evaluated, and the recoveries were in a scope of 75-120%. The results demonstrated DART-MS/MS was a rapid and simple method, and could be applied to rapid analyze residual pesticides and illegal adulterants in a large quantities of red wine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comprehensive personal witness: a model to enlarge missional involvement of the local church

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hancke, Frans

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In the The Split-Level Fellowship, Wesley Baker analysed the role of individual members in the Church. He gave a name to a tragic phenomenon with which Church leaders are familiar. Although true of society in general it is especially true of the church. Baker called the difference between the committed few and the uninvolved many, Factor Beta. This reality triggers the question: Why are the majority of Christians in the world not missionally involved through personal witness and which factors consequently influence personal witness and missional involvement? This article explains how the range of personal witness and missional involvement found in local churches are rooted in certain fundamental factors and conditions which are mutually influencing each other and ultimately contribute towards forming a certain paradigm. This paradigm acts as the basis from which certain behavioural patterns (witness will manifest. The factors influencing witness are either described as accelerators or decelerators and their relativity and mutual relationships are considered. Factors acting as decelerators can severely hamper or even annul witness, while accelerators on the other hand, can have an immensely positive effect to enlarge the transformational influence of witness. In conclusion a transformational model is developed through which paradigms can be influenced and eventually changed. This model fulfils a diagnostic and remedial function and will support local churches to enlarge the individual and corporate missional involvement of believers.

Matrix model of information support of the leadership and functional services of the section of rapid information. Matrichnaya model' informatsionnogo obespecheniya rukovodstva i funktsional'nykh sluzhb razreza operativnoy informatsiey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zevina, V V; Katrichenko, A N

1978-01-01

A mathematical description is made of the matrix model for the rapid presenation of information in the automated control system of the production process of the section using the methods of the theory of relationships. The system of rapid control of the open pit is examined (in an informational aspect) as a set of numerous objects, enlarged indicators and conditions of indicators. The sets are described as frameworks, and the zones of the matrix as a framework for a composite of the aforementioned frameworks. Properties of the matrix, formation of zones and periodicity of presentation are described.

Association between optic nerve blood flow and objective examinations in glaucoma patients with generalized enlargement disc type

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nakazawa T

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Naoki Chiba, Kazuko Omodaka, Yu Yokoyama, Naoko Aizawa, Satoru Tsuda, Masayuki Yasuda, Takaaki Otomo, Shunji Yokokura, Nobuo Fuse, Toru Nakazawa Department of Ophthalmology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations between microcirculation in the optic disc, average peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness cupping parameters, and visual field defects in glaucoma patients with the generalized enlargement disc type. Methods: A total of 38 eyes from 38 glaucoma patients with the generalized enlargement disc type were included. The microcirculation of the optic nerve head was examined with laser speckle flow graphy, and the mean blur rate in all areas, in vessel area, and in tissue area were calculated using the laser speckle flow graphy analyzer software. Average peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was measured using Stratus optical coherence tomography, and cupping parameters were accessed using the Heidelberg retina tomograph. The mean deviation in the Humphrey field analyzer (30-2 SITA standard was analyzed. The correlation between these parameters was evaluated using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Results: The correlation coefficient of mean blur rate in all optic disc area to the average peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, vertical C/D, and mean deviation were r = 0.7546 (P < 0.0001, r = –0.6208 (P < 0.0001, and r = 0.6010 (P = 0.0001, respectively. The mean blur rate in tissue area of the optic disc showed r = 0.7305 (P < 0.0001, r = –0.6438 (P < 0.0001, and r = 0.6338 (P < 0.0001. Conclusion: We found that the mean blur rate in the optic disc was significantly correlated with the average peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, vertical C/D, and mean deviation in patients with the generalized enlargement disc type of glaucoma. In particular, the mean blur rate in tissue area was more

Bilateral Pleural Effusion in a Patient with an Extensive Extramedullary Hematopoietic Mass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Luo

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We present a 56-year-old woman with bilateral pleural effusions, widespread enlarged lymph nodes, and soft tissue masses located within the renal pelvis. The initially working diagnosis was tuberculosis and lymphoma. Further pathological examination of the lymph node biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of extramedullary hematopoiesis, and a bone marrow biopsy revealed myelofibrosis. Unlike common treatment options such as radiotherapy and/or surgery, intrathoracic cisplatin and dexamethasone for the treatment of pleural effusions secondary to extramedullary hematopoiesis demonstrated an improvement in feasibility and efficacy in the present case.

Reconstruction of deformities resulting from penile enlargement surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Alter, G J

1997-12-01

More than 30 patients presented for reconstruction of penile deformities secondary to penile enlargement surgery performed by other physicians. Lengthening was performed by releasing the suspensory ligament of the penis and advancing pubic skin with a V-Y advancement flap. Girth was increased by injecting autologous fat. Specific complaints relating to the lengthening procedure involve hypertrophic and/or wide scars, a proximal penile hump from a thick, hair-bearing V-Y flap, and a low hanging penis. Complications relating to autologous fat injections include disappearance of fat, penile lumps and nodules, and shaft deformities. The repair of these deformities is described. From 1994 through October 1996, 19 men underwent 24 various combinations of reconstructive operations, such as scar revisions, V-Y advancement flap reversal, and removal of fat nodules and asymmetrical fat deposits. Penile appearance and function were improved. Complications include 1 hematoma requiring drainage, minor wound complications and 1 inadequately reversed V-Y flap. The methods of various repairs are discussed, including reconstructive limitations, timing and staging. Significant improvement can be achieved with proper reconstruction of penile deformities.

Interface for the rapid analysis of liquid samples by accelerator mass spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Turteltaub, Kenneth; Ognibene, Ted; Thomas, Avi; Daley, Paul F; Salazar Quintero, Gary A; Bench, Graham

2014-02-04

An interface for the analysis of liquid sample having carbon content by an accelerator mass spectrometer including a wire, defects on the wire, a system for moving the wire, a droplet maker for producing droplets of the liquid sample and placing the droplets of the liquid sample on the wire in the defects, a system that converts the carbon content of the droplets of the liquid sample to carbon dioxide gas in a helium stream, and a gas-accepting ion source connected to the accelerator mass spectrometer that receives the carbon dioxide gas of the sample in a helium stream and introduces the carbon dioxide gas of the sample into the accelerator mass spectrometer.

Rapidly increasing body mass index among children, adolescents and young adults in a transitioning population, South Africa, 2008-15.

Science.gov (United States)

Sartorius, B; Sartorius, K; Taylor, M; Aagaard-Hansen, J; Dukhi, N; Day, C; Ndlovu, N; Slotow, R; Hofman, K

2017-12-14

There is a global epidemic of overweight and obesity; however, this rate of increase is even greater in some low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). South Africa (SA) is undergoing rapid socioeconomic and demographic changes that have triggered a rapid nutrition transition. The paper focuses on the recent rate of change of body mass index (BMI) among children, adolescents and young adults, further stratified by key sociodemographic factors. We analysed mean BMI of 28 247 individuals (including children) from 7301 households by age and year, from anthropometric data from four national cross-sectional (repeated panel) surveys using non-linear fitted curves and associated 95% confidence intervals. From 2008 to 2015, there was rapid rise in mean BMI in the 6-25 age band, with the highest risk (3-4+ BMI unit increase) among children aged 8-10 years. The increase was largely among females in urban areas and of middle-high socioeconomic standing. Prominent gains were also observed in certain rural areas, with extensive geographical heterogeneity across the country. We have demonstrated a major deviation from the current understanding of patterns of BMI increase, with a rate of increase substantially greater in the developing world context compared with the global pattern. This population-wide effect will have major consequences for national development as the epidemic of related non-communicable disease unfolds, and will overtax the national health care budget. Our refined understanding highlights that risks are further compounded for certain groups/places, and emphasizes that urgent geographical and population-targeted interventions are necessary. These interventions could include a sugar tax, clearer food labelling, revised school feeding programmes and mandatory bans on unhealthy food marketing to children.The scenario unfolding in South Africa will likely be followed in other LMICs. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the

Successfulness of bus rapid transit systems in Asia. Ex-post evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kogdenko, Nadja

2010-01-01

SUMMARY Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) can be defined as “a bus-based mass transit system that delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective urban mobility”. It offers the opportunity to create a high-quality mass transit system at affordable costs, which is p

Rapidly Evoluting Congenital Cystic Neuroblastoma in a Neonate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yun, Tae Jun; Kim, Myung Jun; Han, Seok Joo; Lee, Mi Jung [Severance Children' s Hospital, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Seoul(Korea, Republic of)

2012-08-15

Perinatal detection of neonatal suprarenal masses has increased. Here, we report an unusual case of an adrenal cystic neuroblastoma that presented as a purely cystic lesion upon initial postnatal ultrasonography (US) and showed rapid evolution to a mixed cystic and solid mass during follow-up US and MRI. We suggest a short-term (two weeks) follow-up US for neonatal adrenal cystic lesions, even if they appear as purely cystic.

Rapid characterization of agglomerate aerosols by in situ mass-mobility measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheckman, Jacob H; McMurry, Peter H; Pratsinis, Sotiris E

2009-07-21

Transport and physical/chemical properties of nanoparticle agglomerates depend on primary particle size and agglomerate structure (size, fractal dimension, and dynamic shape factor). This research reports on in situ techniques for measuring such properties. Nanoparticle agglomerates of silica were generated by oxidizing hexamethyldisiloxane in a methane/oxygen diffusion flame. Upon leaving the flame, agglomerates of known electrical mobility size were selected with a differential mobility analyzer (DMA), and their mass was measured with an aerosol particle mass analyzer (APM), resulting in their mass fractal dimension, D(f), and dynamic shape factor, chi. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM) images were used to determine primary particle diameter and to qualitatively investigate agglomerate morphology. The DMA-APM measurements were reproducible within 5%, as determined by multiple measurements on different days under the same flame conditions. The effects of flame process variables (oxygen flow rate and mass production rate) on particle characteristics (D(f), and chi) were determined. All generated particles were fractal-like agglomerates with average primary particle diameters of 12-93 nm and D(f) = 1.7-2.4. Increasing the oxygen flow rate decreased primary particle size and D(f), while it increased chi. Increasing the production rate increased the agglomerate and primary particle sizes, and decreased chi without affecting D(f). The effects of oxygen flow rate and particle production rate on primary particle size reported here are in agreement with ex situ measurements in the literature, while the effect of process variables on agglomerate shape (chi) is demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge.

Novel, Improved Sample Preparation for Rapid, Direct Identification from Positive Blood Cultures Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry

OpenAIRE

Schubert, Sören; Weinert, Kirsten; Wagner, Chris; Gunzl, Beatrix; Wieser, Andreas; Maier, Thomas; Kostrzewa, Markus

2011-01-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is widely used for rapid and reliable identification of bacteria and yeast grown on agar plates. Moreover, MALDI-TOF MS also holds promise for bacterial identification from blood culture (BC) broths in hospital laboratories. The most important technical step for the identification of bacteria from positive BCs by MALDI-TOF MS is sample preparation to remove blood cells and host proteins. We present a m...

Potential Measurement Errors Due to Image Enlargement in Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Uji, Akihito; Murakami, Tomoaki; Muraoka, Yuki; Hosoda, Yoshikatsu; Yoshitake, Shin; Dodo, Yoko; Arichika, Shigeta; Yoshimura, Nagahisa

2015-01-01

The effect of interpolation and super-resolution (SR) algorithms on quantitative and qualitative assessments of enlarged optical coherence tomography (OCT) images was investigated in this report. Spectral-domain OCT images from 30 eyes in 30 consecutive patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) and 20 healthy eyes in 20 consecutive volunteers were analyzed. Original image (OR) resolution was reduced by a factor of four. Images were then magnified by a factor of four with and without application of one of the following algorithms: bilinear (BL), bicubic (BC), Lanczos3 (LA), and SR. Differences in peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, photoreceptor layer status, and parallelism (reflects the complexity of photoreceptor layer alterations) were analyzed in each image type. The order of PSNRs from highest to lowest was SR > LA > BC > BL > non-processed enlarged images (NONE). The PSNR was statistically different in all groups. The NONE, BC, and LA images resulted in significantly thicker RNFL measurements than the OR image. In eyes with DME, the photoreceptor layer, which was hardly identifiable in NONE images, became detectable with algorithm application. However, OCT photoreceptor parameters were still assessed as more undetectable than in OR images. Parallelism was not statistically different in OR and NONE images, but other image groups had significantly higher parallelism than OR images. Our results indicated that interpolation and SR algorithms increased OCT image resolution. However, qualitative and quantitative assessments were influenced by algorithm use. Additionally, each algorithm affected the assessments differently. PMID:26024236

The Border-making Policy of the European Union: Eastern Enlargement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lika Mkrtchyan

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Having no internal borders, what is a border for the European Union (EU? Which criteria does this powerful organization pursue in its decision-making on further expansion: geographical, political, cultural, economic or all of these? What is the profi t of the Union in advancing its external borders to the east? And why to the east and not the south or west across the Atlantic? Does it still mean that there is the reason for enlarging eastward based on the geographical belonging to Europe? This paper discusses the expansion of the European Union to the east with the main focus on its political and economic aspects of integration. The fi rst part includes introduction to the concept of Europe, historic background about the formation of the united Europe in terms of geography, culture, politics and economy, juxtaposing opinions and viewpoints of different experts and political scientists on “what is Europe?” and what are the core issues of its enlargement. The second and third parts are dedicated to the advantages and disadvantages of European Integration for both parties concerned – the EU and the candidate/member state, in the case of the former having its own “demarcation policy” towards certain regions of the continent when it comes to unifi cation. And the fourth part is about the communication and miscommunication of the informative bodies of the European Union that are responsible for public awareness on any process that goes on within the European family. The lack of information results in the ignorance of citizens of European and partner countries, which, of course, refl ects on the further processes of expansion on the political level and cultural perception and mentality on the social level. The conclusion sums up the research, and the bibliography lists the books, articles, monographs and Internet sources used in the course of the study.

Rapid extraction combined with LC-tandem mass spectrometry (CREM-LC/MS/MS) for the determination of ciguatoxins in ciguateric fish flesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Richard J; Yang, Aijun; Jones, Alun

2009-07-01

Ciguatera is a significant food borne disease caused by potent polyether toxins known as ciguatoxins, which accumulate in the flesh of ciguateric fish at risk levels above 0.1 ppb. The management of ciguatera has been hindered by the lack of analytical methods to detect and quantify clinically relevant levels of ciguatoxin in easily prepared crude extracts of fish. Here we report a ciguatoxin rapid extraction method (CREM) that allows the rapid preparation of fish flesh extracts for the detection and quantification of ciguatoxin by gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). CREM-LC/MS/MS delivers a linear response to P-CTX-1 spiked into fish prior to extraction. A similar response was obtained for P-CTX-1 spiked after extraction, indicating >95% extraction efficiency was achieved overall and 85% at the limit of quantification (0.1 ppb). Using this approach, levels >or=0.1 ppb P-CTX-1 could be detected and quantified from an extract of 2g fish flesh, making it suitable as a confirmatory assay for suspect ciguateric carnivorous fish in the Pacific Ocean. The approach is designed to simplify the extraction and analysis of multiple samples per day.

Ages of Young Star Clusters, Massive Blue Stragglers, and the Upper Mass Limit of Stars: Analyzing Age-dependent Stellar Mass Functions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schneider, F.R.N.; Izzard, R.G.; de Mink, S.E.; Langer, N.; Stolte, A.; de Koter, A.; Gvaramadze, V.V.; Huβman, B.; Liermann, A.; Sana, H.

2014-01-01

Massive stars rapidly change their masses through strong stellar winds and mass transfer in binary systems. The latter aspect is important for populations of massive stars as more than 70% of all O stars are expected to interact with a binary companion during their lifetime. We show that such mass

Method Development for Rapid Analysis of Natural Radioactive Nuclides Using Sector Field Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, J.M.; Ji, Y.Y.; Lee, H.; Park, J.H.; Jang, M.; Chung, K.H.; Kang, M.J.; Choi, G.S. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (Korea, Republic of)

2014-07-01

As an attempt to reduce the social costs and apprehension arising from radioactivity in the environment, an accurate and rapid assessment of radioactivity is highly desirable. Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) are widely spread throughout the environment. The concern with radioactivity from these materials has therefore been growing for the last decade. In particular, radiation exposure in the industry when handling raw materials (e.g., coal mining and combustion, oil and gas production, metal mining and smelting, mineral sands (REE, Ti, Zr), fertilizer (phosphate), and building materials) has been brought to the public's attention. To decide the proper handling options, a rapid and accurate analytical method that can be used to evaluate the radioactivity of radionuclides (e.g., {sup 238}U, {sup 235}U, {sup 232}Th, {sup 226}Ra, and {sup 40}K) should be developed and validated. Direct measuring methods such as alpha spectrometry, a liquid scintillation counter (LSC), and mass-spectrometry are usually used for the measurement of radioactivity in NORM samples, and they encounter the most significant difficulties during pretreatment (e.g., purification, speciation, and dilution/enrichment). Since the pretreatment process consequently plays an important role in the measurement uncertainty, method development and validation should be performed. Furthermore, a-spectrometry has a major disadvantage of a long counting time, while it has a prominent measurement capability at a very low activity level of {sup 238}U, {sup 235}U, {sup 232}Th, and {sup 226}Ra. Contrary to the α-spectrometry method, a measurement technique using ICP-MS allow radioactivity in many samples to be measured in a short time period with a high degree of accuracy and precision. In this study, a method was developed for a rapid analysis of natural radioactive nuclides using ICP-MS. A sample digestion process was established using LiBO{sub 2} fusion and Fe co-precipitation. A magnetic

Myofibroblastoma: An Unusual Rapidly Growing Benign Tumour in a Male Breast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafique, A.; Arshad, A.

2013-01-01

Myofibroblastoma is an unusual benign tumour of the breast predominantly seen in men in their sixth to seventh decade. The gross appearance is that of a well circumscribed nodule, characteristically small, seldom exceeding 3 cm. We present a case of an unusually large myofibroblastoma, which mimicked a malignant breast tumour. A 40 years old male, known case of tetralogy of Fallot, was operated in infancy in abroad, presented with a rapid enlargement of right breast over 5 - 6 weeks. Examination revealed a firm 10 cm hemispherical lump occupying the whole of the right breast with normal overlying skin. Since core biopsy was inconclusive, a subcutaneous mastectomy was performed to remove the tumour, which weighed 500 gms. Histopathology and immunocytochemistry revealed a mixed classical and collagenised type of myofibroblastoma. The patient is well with no evidence of recurrence. (author)

Uptake of thallium-201 in enlarged thyroid glands. Concise communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuchi, M.; Kido, A.; Hyodo, K.; Tachibana, K.; Onoue, K.; Morita, T.; Nagai, K.

1979-01-01

We have investigated the thyroid uptake of Tl-201 in 37 patients with various types of goiter, and in six with normal thyroids. Significant thallium uptake was found in all cases in which there was thyroid enlargement, including Graves' disease, toxic thyroid nodule, primary hypothyroidism, simple goiter, Hashimoto's disease, thyroid carcinoma, and thyroid adenoma. If goiter was absent, however, there was no demonstrable uptake - e.g., in secondary hypothyroidism, subacute thyroiditis, and the normal controls. Thallium uptake did not correlate with thyroid function tests such as BMR, T 3 -RU, T 3 , T 4 , TSH, antithyroid antibodies, or the 24-hr I-131 uptake. In 23 patients with diffuse goiter, on the other hand, maximum Tl-201 uptake correlated well with thyroid weight: r = 0.836 (p < 0.001); y = 0.02 x + 0.06

A multiple-dimension liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry data strategy for the rapid discovery and identification of unknown compounds from a Chinese herbal formula (Er-xian decoction).

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Caihong; Zhang, Jinlan; Wu, Caisheng; Wang, Zhe

2017-10-06

It is very important to rapidly discover and identify the multiple components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula. High performance liquid chromatography with high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS/MS) has been widely used to analyze TCM formula and contains multiple-dimension data including retention time (RT), high resolution mass (HRMS), multiple-stage mass spectrometric (MS n ), and isotope intensity distribution (IID) data. So it is very necessary to exploit a useful strategy to utilize multiple-dimension data to rapidly probe structural information and identify chemical compounds. In this study, a new strategy to initiatively use the multiple-dimension LC-MS data has been developed to discover and identify unknown compounds of TCM in many styles. The strategy guarantees the fast discovery of candidate structural information and provides efficient structure clues for identification. The strategy contains four steps in sequence: (1) to discover potential compounds and obtain sub-structure information by the mass spectral tree similarity filter (MTSF) technique, based on HRMS and MS n data; (2) to classify potential compounds into known chemical classes by discriminant analysis (DA) on the basis of RT and HRMS data; (3) to hit the candidate structural information of compounds by intersection sub-structure between MTSF and DA (M,D-INSS); (4) to annotate and confirm candidate structures by IID data. This strategy allowed for the high exclusion efficiency (greater than 41%) of irrelevant ions in er-xian decoction (EXD) while providing accurate structural information of 553 potential compounds and identifying 66 candidates, therefore accelerating and simplifying the discovery and identification of unknown compounds in TCM formula. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Serum metabolomics of slow vs. rapid motor progression Parkinson's disease: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Roede, James R; Uppal, Karan; Park, Youngja; Lee, Kichun; Tran, Vilinh; Walker, Douglas; Strobel, Frederick H; Rhodes, Shannon L; Ritz, Beate; Jones, Dean P

2013-01-01

Progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) is highly variable, indicating that differences between slow and rapid progression forms could provide valuable information for improved early detection and management. Unfortunately, this represents a complex problem due to the heterogeneous nature of humans in regards to demographic characteristics, genetics, diet, environmental exposures and health behaviors. In this pilot study, we employed high resolution mass spectrometry-based metabolic profiling to investigate the metabolic signatures of slow versus rapidly progressing PD present in human serum. Archival serum samples from PD patients obtained within 3 years of disease onset were analyzed via dual chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry, with data extraction by xMSanalyzer and used to predict rapid or slow motor progression of these patients during follow-up. Statistical analyses, such as false discovery rate analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis, yielded a list of statistically significant metabolic features and further investigation revealed potential biomarkers. In particular, N8-acetyl spermidine was found to be significantly elevated in the rapid progressors compared to both control subjects and slow progressors. Our exploratory data indicate that a fast motor progression disease phenotype can be distinguished early in disease using high resolution mass spectrometry-based metabolic profiling and that altered polyamine metabolism may be a predictive marker of rapidly progressing PD.

Penis invalidating cicatricial outcomes in an enlargement phalloplasty case with polyacrylamide gel (Formacryl).

Science.gov (United States)

Parodi, P C; Dominici, M; Moro, U

2006-01-01

The present article reports the case of a patient subjected to polyacrylamide polymers-composed gel cutaneous infiltration in the penis for cosmetic purposes, resulting in severe invalidating outcomes. A significant tissue reaction to the subcutaneous injection of polyacrylamide gel for the penis enlargement purpose resulted in permanent and invalidating scars both on the esthetic and functional levels. Such a result must be simply taken into account both singly and in the light of the international literature to exclude this method as standard uro-andrologic activity.

Proximal tubular hypertrophy and enlarged glomerular and proximal tubular urinary space in obese subjects with proteinuria.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Tobar

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with glomerular hyperfiltration, increased proximal tubular sodium reabsorption, glomerular enlargement and renal hypertrophy. A single experimental study reported an increased glomerular urinary space in obese dogs. Whether proximal tubular volume is increased in obese subjects and whether their glomerular and tubular urinary spaces are enlarged is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether proximal tubules and glomerular and tubular urinary space are enlarged in obese subjects with proteinuria and glomerular hyperfiltration. METHODS: Kidney biopsies from 11 non-diabetic obese with proteinuria and 14 non-diabetic lean patients with a creatinine clearance above 50 ml/min and with mild or no interstitial fibrosis were retrospectively analyzed using morphometric methods. The cross-sectional area of the proximal tubular epithelium and lumen, the volume of the glomerular tuft and of Bowman's space and the nuclei number per tubular profile were estimated. RESULTS: Creatinine clearance was higher in the obese than in the lean group (P=0.03. Proteinuria was similarly increased in both groups. Compared to the lean group, the obese group displayed a 104% higher glomerular tuft volume (P=0.001, a 94% higher Bowman's space volume (P=0.003, a 33% higher cross-sectional area of the proximal tubular epithelium (P=0.02 and a 54% higher cross-sectional area of the proximal tubular lumen (P=0.01. The nuclei number per proximal tubular profile was similar in both groups, suggesting that the increase in tubular volume is due to hypertrophy and not to hyperplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity-related glomerular hyperfiltration is associated with proximal tubular epithelial hypertrophy and increased glomerular and tubular urinary space volume in subjects with proteinuria. The expanded glomerular and urinary space is probably a direct consequence of glomerular hyperfiltration. These effects may be involved in the pathogenesis of obesity

Large germinoma in basal ganglia treated by intraarterial chemotherapy with ACNU following osmotic blood-brain barrier disruption and radiation therapy

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Miyagami, Mitsusuke; Tsubokawa, Takashi; Kobayashi, Makio.

1988-10-01

A rare case of large germinoma in the basal ganglia is reported which was effectively treated by intracarotid chemotherapy with ACNU following osmotic blood-brain barrier disruption using 20 % mannitol and radiation therapy. A 19-year-old man displayed slowly progressive right hemiparesis, motor aphasia and predementia on admission. Plain CT demonstrated a tumor which had a slightly high density with intratumoral calcification and a small cyst, and slight to moderate enhancement was observed following intravenous injection of contrast medium, but there was no unilateral ventricular enlargement. Cerebral angiography revealed hypervascular tumor staining with early draining veins. After biopsy, and as a result of intracarotid chemotherapy with ACNU following osmotic blood-brain barrier disruption and radiation therapy, the tumor decreased rapidly to about 20 % of its original mass. After discharge, tumor progression was observed. However, the enlarged tumor mass almost disappeared (except for calcification) on CT with clinical improvement in response to intracarotid chemotherapy with ACNU following 20 % mannitol.

Primary thyroid lymphoma: CT findings

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Kim, Hyo-Cheol; Han, Moon Hee E-mail: hanmh@radcom.snu.ac.kr; Kim, Keon Ha; Jae, Hwan Jun; Lee, Sang Hyun; Kim, Sam Soo; Kim, Kwang Hyun; Chang, Kee-Hyun

2003-06-01

Introduction: To evaluate the computed tomographic (CT) findings of primary thyroid lymphoma. Methods and material: The clinicopathological data and CT images of nine patients with primary thyroid lymphoma were retrospectively reviewed. The CT appearances were classified into three types: type 1, a solitary nodule surrounded by normal thyroid tissue; type 2, multiple nodules in the thyroid, and type 3, a homogeneously enlarged both thyroid glands with a reduced attenuation with or without peripheral thin hyperattenuating thyroid tissue. Results: All patients had a rapidly enlarging thyroid mass and coexistent Hashimoto's thyroiditis. One patient showed type 1 pattern, three type 2, and five type 3. Six patients had homogeneous tumor isoattenuating to surrounding muscles. The tumors had a strong tendency to compress normal remnant thyroid and the surrounding structure without invasion. Conclusion: Primary thyroid lymphoma should be included in the differential diagnosis when old female had a homogeneous thyroidal mass isoattenuating to muscles, which does not invade surrounding structures.

Rapid Identification of the Foodborne Pathogen Trichinella spp. by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

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Anne Mayer-Scholl

Full Text Available Human trichinellosis occurs through consumption of raw or inadequately processed meat or meat products containing larvae of the parasitic nematodes of the genus Trichinella. Currently, nine species and three genotypes are recognized, of which T. spiralis, T. britovi and T. pseudospiralis have the highest public health relevance. To date, the differentiation of the larvae to the species and genotype level is based primarily on molecular methods, which can be relatively time consuming and labor intensive. Due to its rapidness and ease of use a matrix assisted laser desorption / ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS reference spectra database using Trichinella strains of all known species and genotypes was created. A formicacid/acetonitrile protein extraction was carried out after pooling 10 larvae of each Trichinella species and genotype. Each sample was spotted 9 times using α-cyano 4-hydoxy cinnamic acid matrix and a MicroFlex LT mass spectrometer was used to acquire 3 spectra (m/z 2000 to 20000 Da from each spot resulting in 27 spectra/species or genotype. Following the spectra quality assessment, Biotyper software was used to create a main spectra library (MSP representing nine species and three genotypes of Trichinella. The evaluation of the spectra generated by MALDI-TOF MS revealed a classification which was comparable to the results obtained by molecular methods. Also, each Trichinella species utilized in this study was distinct and distinguishable with a high confidence level. Further, different conservation methods such as freezing and conservation in alcohol and the host species origin of the isolated larvae did not have a significant influence on the generated spectra. Therefore, the described MALDI-TOF MS can successfully be implemented for both genus and species level identification and represents a major step forward in the use of this technique in foodborne parasitology.

Enlarge the training set based on inter-class relationship for face recognition from one image per person.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qin; Wang, Hua Jing; You, Jane; Li, Zhao Ming; Li, Jin Xue

2013-01-01

In some large-scale face recognition task, such as driver license identification and law enforcement, the training set only contains one image per person. This situation is referred to as one sample problem. Because many face recognition techniques implicitly assume that several (at least two) images per person are available for training, they cannot deal with the one sample problem. This paper investigates principal component analysis (PCA), Fisher linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and locality preserving projections (LPP) and shows why they cannot perform well in one sample problem. After that, this paper presents four reasons that make one sample problem itself difficult: the small sample size problem; the lack of representative samples; the underestimated intra-class variation; and the overestimated inter-class variation. Based on the analysis, this paper proposes to enlarge the training set based on the inter-class relationship. This paper also extends LDA and LPP to extract features from the enlarged training set. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

EU Enlargement: Migration flows from Central and Eastern Europe into the Nordic countries - exploiting a natural experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pytlikova, Mariola; Pedersen, Peder J.

We look at migration flows from 8 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) to 5 Nordic countries over the years 1985 - 2005 and we can exploit a natural experiment that arose from the fact that while Sweden opened its labour market from the day one of the 2004 EU enlargement, the other Nordic...... countries chose a transition period in relation to the "new" EU members. We employ a differences-in-differences estimator in our analysis. The results show that the estimated effect of the opening of Swedish labour market in 2004 on migration is insignificantly different from zero. Further, we...... are interested in the overall effect of the "EU entry" on migration. Therefore we look at migration flows from CEECs during the first round EU enlargement towards CEECs in 2004 and compare them with migration flows from Bulgaria and Romania. We again used a DD estimator in our analysis. The estimated effect...

Main sequence mass loss

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunish, W.M.; Guzik, J.A.; Willson, L.A.; Bowen, G.

1987-01-01

It has been hypothesized that variable stars may experience mass loss, driven, at least in part, by oscillations. The class of stars we are discussing here are the δ Scuti variables. These are variable stars with masses between about 1.2 and 2.25 M/sub θ/, lying on or very near the main sequence. According to this theory, high rotation rates enhance the rate of mass loss, so main sequence stars born in this mass range would have a range of mass loss rates, depending on their initial rotation velocity and the amplitude of the oscillations. The stars would evolve rapidly down the main sequence until (at about 1.25 M/sub θ/) a surface convection zone began to form. The presence of this convective region would slow the rotation, perhaps allowing magnetic braking to occur, and thus sharply reduce the mass loss rate. 7 refs

Aerodynamic Analysis of Trailing Edge Enlarged Wind Turbine Airfoils

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Haoran; Shen, Wen Zhong; Zhu, Wei Jun

2014-01-01

characteristics of blunt trailing edge airfoils are caused by blunt body vortices at low angles of attack, and by the combined effect of separation and blunt body vortices at large angles of attack. With the increase of thickness of blunt trailing edge, the vibration amplitudes of lift and drag curves increase......The aerodynamic performance of blunt trailing edge airfoils generated from the DU- 91-W2-250, DU-97-W-300 and DU-96-W-350 airfoils by enlarging the thickness of trailing edge symmetrically from the location of maximum thickness to chord to the trailing edge were analyzed by using CFD and RFOIL...... methods at a chord Reynolds number of 3 × 106. The goal of this study is to analyze the aerodynamic performance of blunt trailing edge airfoils with different thicknesses of trailing edge and maximum thicknesses to chord. The steady results calculated by the fully turbulent k-ω SST, transitional k-ω SST...

Multimodality approach in the diagnosis and management of bilateral giant juvenile breast fibroadenoma.

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Rafeek, Noora; Rangasami, Rajeswaran; Dhanraj, Kamakshi; Joseph, Santhosh

2016-10-06

Juvenile giant fibroadenoma is a very rare breast disease affecting young girls of premenarche and adolescent ages. It is a benign fibroepithelial tumour characterised by stromal and epithelial proliferation that causes rapidly growing breast mass. Bilateral symmetrical involvement is extremely rare. In this article, we describe this entity in a girl aged 13 years who presented with bilateral gigantically enlarged breasts. Ultrasonography and MRI showed large, multilobulated masses involving both breasts entirely. Endovascular embolisation of bilateral internal mammary arteries and lateral thoracic arteries supplying the masses was performed prior to surgery to reduce their vascularity. The patient subsequently underwent excision of bilateral breast masses and reduction mammoplasty. Histopathologically, bilateral breast masses were confirmed to be juvenile fibroadenomas. 2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

Conductive solar wind models in rapidly diverging flow geometries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holzer, T.E.; Leer, E.

1980-01-01

A detailed parameter study of conductive models of the solar wind has been carried out, extending the previous similar studies of Durney (1972) and Durney and Hundhausen (1974) by considering collisionless inhibition of thermal conduction, rapidly diverging flow geometries, and the structure of solutions for the entire n 0 -T 0 plane (n 0 and T 0 are the coronal base density and temperature). Primary emphasis is placed on understanding the complex effects of the physical processes operative in conductive solar wind models. There are five points of particular interest that have arisen from the study: (1) neither collisionless inhibition of thermal conduction nor rapidly diverging flow geometries can significantly increase the solar wind speed at 1 AU; (2) there exists a firm upper limit on the coronal base temperature consistent with observed values of the coronal base pressure and solar wind mass flux density; (3) the principal effect of rapidly diverging flow geometries is a decrease in the solar wind mass flux density at 1 AU and an increase in the mass flux density at the coronal base; (4) collisionless inhibition of thermal conduction can lead to a solar wind flow speed that either increases or decreases with increasing coronal base density (n 0 ) and temperature (T 0 , depending on the region of the n 0 -T 0 plane considered; (5) there is a region of the n 0 -T/sub o/ plane at high coronal base densities where low-speed, high-mass-flux, transonic solar wind flows exist: a region not previously considered

A rare case report of bilateral testicular masses as an initial manifestation of systemic sarcoidosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiren Patel

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic, systemic disease that rarely involves the genitourinary tract. Here, we present a case of a 40-year-old male presented with bilateral scrotal swelling. The scrotal ultrasound showed multiple echogenic masses bilaterally ranging between 3 mm and 15 mm involving both testicles. Enlarged retroperitoneal lymph nodes were detected on the abdominal computed tomography (CT. Surgical exploration of the testes with a frozen section analysis of the left testicular mass was carried out, and it revealed noncaseating granulomas. CT scan of the chest revealed the classic bilateral hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy with reticulonodular infiltrates. The final pathological diagnosis was systemic sarcoidosis with bilateral testicular involvement. Treatment with high-dose corticosteroids resulted in complete resolution of the testicular mass and a significant decrease in the size of the hilar, mediastinal, and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy.

Scrotal Masses

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... the most likely cause. Varicocele. This is the enlargement of the veins within the scrotum that carry ... that carries semen from the testicle to the penis. This painful condition cuts off blood to the ...

Core-powered mass-loss and the radius distribution of small exoplanets

Science.gov (United States)

Ginzburg, Sivan; Schlichting, Hilke E.; Sari, Re'em

2018-05-01

Recent observations identify a valley in the radius distribution of small exoplanets, with planets in the range 1.5-2.0 R⊕ significantly less common than somewhat smaller or larger planets. This valley may suggest a bimodal population of rocky planets that are either engulfed by massive gas envelopes that significantly enlarge their radius, or do not have detectable atmospheres at all. One explanation of such a bimodal distribution is atmospheric erosion by high-energy stellar photons. We investigate an alternative mechanism: the luminosity of the cooling rocky core, which can completely erode light envelopes while preserving heavy ones, produces a deficit of intermediate sized planets. We evolve planetary populations that are derived from observations using a simple analytical prescription, accounting self-consistently for envelope accretion, cooling and mass-loss, and demonstrate that core-powered mass-loss naturally reproduces the observed radius distribution, regardless of the high-energy incident flux. Observations of planets around different stellar types may distinguish between photoevaporation, which is powered by the high-energy tail of the stellar radiation, and core-powered mass-loss, which depends on the bolometric flux through the planet's equilibrium temperature that sets both its cooling and mass-loss rates.

Bead Injection Extraction Chromatography using High-capacity Lab-on-Valve as a Front End to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Urine Radiobioassay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qiao, Jixin; Hou, Xiaolin; Roos, Per

2013-01-01

A novel bead injection (BI) extraction chromatographic microflow system exploiting high-capacity lab-on-valve (LOV) platform coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection is developed for rapid and automated determination of plutonium in human urine. A microconduit (1 m......L) incorporated within the LOV processing unit is loaded on-line with a metered amount of disposable extraction chromatographic resin (up to 330 mg of TEVA) through programmable beads transport. Selective capture and purification of plutonium onto the resin beads is then performed by pressure driven flow after...

Ordering of ''ladder'' operators, the Wigner function for number and phase, and the enlarged Hilbert space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luks, A.; Perinova, V.

1993-01-01

A suitable ordering of phase exponential operators has been compared with the antinormal ordering of the annihilation and creation operators of a single mode optical field. The extended Wigner function for number and phase in the enlarged Hilbert space has been used for the derivation of the Wigner function for number and phase in the original Hilbert space. (orig.)

Extremely discrepant mutation spectrum of SLC26A4 between Chinese patients with isolated Mondini deformity and enlarged vestibular aqueduct.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shasha; Han, Dongyi; Yuan, Yongyi; Wang, Guojian; Kang, Dongyang; Zhang, Xin; Yan, Xiaofei; Meng, Xiaoxiao; Dong, Min; Dai, Pu

2011-09-30

Mutations in SLC26A4 cause Pendred syndrome (hearing loss with goiter) or DFNB4 (non-syndromic hearing loss with inner ear malformation, such as enlarged vestibular aqueduct or Mondini deformity). The relationship between mutations in SLC26A4 and Mondini deformity without enlarged vestibular aqueduct has not been studied in any Chinese deaf population. The purpose of this study was to assess whether mutations in the SLC26A4 gene cause Mondini deformity without an enlarged vestibular aqueduct (isolated Mondini deformity) in a Chinese population. In total, 144 patients with sensorineural hearing loss were included and subjected to high-resolution temporal bone CT. Among them, 28 patients with isolated Mondini dysplasia (MD group), 50 patients with enlarged vestibular aqueduct with Mondini dysplasia (EVA with MD group), 50 patients with enlarged vestibular aqueduct without Mondini dysplasia (EVA group), and 16 patients with other types of inner ear malformations (IEM group) were identified. The coding exons of SLC26A4 were analyzed in all subjects. DNA sequence analysis of SLC26A4 was performed in all 144 patients. In the different groups, the detection rate of the SLC26A4 mutation differed. In the isolated MD group, only one single allelic mutation in SLC26A4 was found in one patient (1/28, 3.6%). In the EVA with MD group, biallelic and monoallelic SLC26A4 mutations were identified in 46 patients (46/50, 92.0%) and three patients (3/50, 6.0%), respectively. Also, in the EVA group, biallelic and monoallelic SLC26A4 mutations were identified in 46 patients (46/50, 92.0%) and three patients (3/50, 6.0%), respectively. These percentages were identical to those in the EVA plus MD group. Only two patients carried monoallelic mutations of the SLC26A4 gene in the IEM group (2/16, 12.5%). There were significant differences in the frequency of SLC26A4 mutation among the groups (P0.5). Although mutations in the SLC26A4 gene were frequently found in Chinese EVA patients with and

Rapid screening for cyclo-dopa and diketopiperazine alkaloids in crude extracts of Portulaca oleracea L. using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Jie; Yang, Zijuan; Lv, Beibei; Xiang, Lan

2008-05-01

A simple and rapid qualitative liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for screening cyclo-dopa and diketopiperazine alkaloids in crude extracts of Portulaca oleracea L. at sub-ppm levels. An electrospray ionization orbitrap mass spectrometer, which provides accurate full scan MS and MS/MS data, was used in this study. After simple extraction with ethanol and purification by AB-8 resin, the extracts were subjected to LC/MS/MS analysis. A high mass tolerance (10 ppm) was used in the initial screening to filter the full scan MS data. The cyclo-dopa and diketopiperazine alkaloid standards gave limits of detection (LODs) at or below 5 ng/mL. The results also indicated that the method had an acceptable precision for day-to-day use in the identification of compounds. The alkaloids could be identified based on their MS/MS data, elemental compositions, and retention behavior. This system was used to assay trace amounts of cyclo-dopa and diketopiperazine alkaloids in crude extracts of Portulaca oleracea L., leading to the identification of 5/2 confirmed/unconfirmed cyclo-dopa and 7/6 confirmed/unconfirmed diketopiperazine alkaloids, respectively. The screening method considerably reduces the time and cost involved in the identification of cyclo-dopa and diketopiperazine alkaloids in Portulaca oleracea L., as well as being a simple and convenient approach to the identification of other structural families of natural products. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.