Subclinical mastitis caused by intramammary infections (IMI) with coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) is common in dairy cows and may cause herd problems. Control of CNS mastitis is complicated by ...the fact that CNS contain a large number of different species. The aim of the study was to investigate the epidemiology of different CNS species in dairy herds with problems caused by subclinical CNS mastitis. In 11 herds, udder quarter samples were taken twice 1 mo apart, and CNS isolates were identified to the species level by biochemical methods. The ability of different CNS species to induce a persistent infection, and their associations with milk production, cow milk somatic cell count, lactation number, and month of lactation in cows with subclinical mastitis were studied. Persistent IMI were common in quarters infected with Staphylococcus chromogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Staphylococcus simulans. The results did not indicate differences between these CNS species in their association with daily milk production, cow milk somatic cell count, and month of lactation in cows with subclinical mastitis. In cows with subclinical mastitis, S. epidermidis IMI were mainly found in multiparous cows, whereas S. chromogenes IMI were mainly found in primiparous cows.
Analyzer-free hard x-ray interferometry Bertilson, M; von Hofsten, O; Maltz, J S ...
Physics in medicine & biology,
02/2024, Letnik:
69, Številka:
4
Journal Article
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. To enable practical interferometry-based phase contrast CT using standard incoherent x-ray sources, we propose an imaging system where the analyzer grating is replaced by a high-resolution ...detector. Since there is no need to perform multiple exposures (with the analyzer grating at different positions) at each scan angle, this scheme is compatible with continuous-rotation CT apparatus, and has the potential to reduce patient radiation dose and patient motion artifacts.
. Grating-based x-ray interferometry is a well-studied technique for imaging soft tissues and highly scattering objects embedded in such tissues. In addition to the traditional x-ray absorption-based image, this technique allows reconstruction of the object phase and small-angle scattering information. When using conventional incoherent, polychromatic, hard x-ray tubes as sources, three gratings are usually employed. To sufficiently resolve the pattern generated in these interferometers with contemporary x-ray detectors, an analyzer grating is used, and consequently multiple images need to be acquired for each view angle. This adds complexity to the imaging system, slows image acquisition and thus increases sensitivity to patient motion, and is not dose efficient. By simulating image formation based on wave propagation, and proposing a novel phase retrieval algorithm based on a virtual grating, we assess the potential of a analyzer-grating-free system to overcome these limitations.
. We demonstrate that the removal of the analyzer-grating can produce equal image contrast-to-noise ratio at reduced dose (by a factor of 5), without prolonging scan duration.
By demonstrating that an analyzer-free CT system, in conjuction with an efficient phase retrieval algorithm, can overcome the prohibitive dose and workflow penalties associated grating-stepping, an alternative path towards realizing clinical inteferometric CT appears possible.
Purpose: To validate the use of 4D‐Computed Tomography (4D‐CT) for pre‐treatment evaluation of fractional regional ventilation in patients with lung cancer by benchmarking its performance against ...scintigraphy V/Q imaging, the current gold‐standard. The second aim is to further corroborate the results of 4D‐CT estimation of lung aeration against the results of Pulmonary Function Testing. Methods: Scintigraphy V/Q and 4D‐CT studies were acquired in four lung cancer patients prior to treatment with radiation therapy. PFTs were acquired in 3 out of the 4 patients. 4D‐CT images were used to create 3D fractional regional ventilation maps by applying a ‘mass correction’ and subtracting the spatially matched end‐exhale and end‐inhale images. Ventilation maps were then collapsed in the anterior‐posterior dimension to create a coronal 2D projection image consistent with the scintigraphy V/Q images. The left and right lung fields were isolated on the projection image and divided into 3 sections of equal height. Summation of the signal intensity in each of the sections was carried out on the maps analogous to the analysis performed on V/Q scans and statistically compared using the Kendall's tau rank correlation. Results: The non‐parametric Kendall's tau estimate ranged between 0.87–0.95 for N=4, with corresponding p‐values ranging between 0.005–0.0002. Mean functional residual capacities (FRC) from the PFTs (N=3) versus calculated FRCs was 2.7 +/− 0.6 L and 2.4 +/− 0.7 L, and the null hypothesis could not be rejected (p = 0.61). The mean fractional regional ventilation versus the ratio of tidal‐volume/FRC was 0.24 +/− 0.11 and 0.22 +/− 0.08, and the null hypothesis could not be rejected (p=0.73). Conclusions: There was a strong correlation between 4D‐CT and scintigraphy V/Q. The similarity between the calculated and measured FRCs further validates the utility of 4D‐CT and supports its use in evaluating lung ventilation in patients with pulmonary neoplasms.
A silicon-strip detector is developed for spectral computed tomography. The detector operates in photon-counting mode and allows pulse-height discrimination with 8 adjustable energy bins. In this ...work, we evaluate the count-rate performance of the detector in a clinical CT environment. The output counts of the detector are measured for x-ray tube currents up to 500mA at 120kV tube voltage, which produces a maximum photon flux of 485Mphotons/s/mm2 for the unattenuated beam. The corresponding maximum count-rate loss of the detector is around 30% and there are no saturation effects. A near linear relationship between the input and output count rates can be observed up to 90Mcps/mm2, at which point only 3% of the input counts are lost. This means that the loss in the diagnostically relevant count-rate region is negligible. A semi-nonparalyzable dead-time model is used to describe the count-rate performance of the detector, which shows a good agreement with the measured data. The nonparalyzable dead time τn for 150 evaluated detector elements is estimated to be 20.2±5.2ns.
Approximately 550 to 600 yersiniosis patients are reported annually in Sweden. Although pigs are thought to be the main reservoir of food-borne pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica, the role of pork ...meat as a vehicle for transmission to humans is still unclear. Pork meat collected from refrigerators and local shops frequented by yersiniosis patients (n = 48) were examined for the presence of pathogenic Yersinia spp. A combined culture and PCR method was used for detection, and a multiplex PCR was developed and evaluated as a tool for efficient identification of pathogenic food and patient isolates. The results obtained with the multiplex PCR were compared to phenotypic test results and confirmed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). In all, 118 pork products (91 raw and 27 ready-to-eat) were collected. Pathogenic Yersinia spp. were detected by PCR in 10% (9 of 91) of the raw pork samples (loin of pork, fillet of pork, pork chop, ham, and minced meat) but in none of the ready-to-eat products. Isolates of Y. enterocolitica bioserotype 4/O:3 were recovered from six of the PCR-positive raw pork samples; all harbored the virulence plasmid. All isolates were recovered from food collected in shops and, thus, none were from the patients' home. When subjected to PFGE, the six isolates displayed four different NotI profiles. The same four NotI profiles were also present among isolates recovered from the yersiniosis patients. The application of a multiplex PCR was shown to be an efficient tool for identification of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica isolates in naturally contaminated raw pork.
Isolates of Listeria monocytogenes (n = 932) isolated in Sweden during 1958–2010 from human patients with invasive listeriosis were characterized by serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis ...(PFGE) (AscI). Of the 932 isolates, 183 different PFGE types were identified, of which 83 were each represented by only one isolate. In all, 483 serovar 1/2a isolates were distributed over 114 PFGE types; 90 serovar 1/2b isolates gave 32 PFGE types; 21 serovar 1/2c isolates gave nine PFGE types; three serovar 3b isolates gave one PFGE type; and, 335 serovar 4b isolates gave 31 PFGE types. During the 1980s in Sweden, several serovar 4b cases were associated with the consumption of European raw soft cheese. However, as cheese-production hygiene has improved, the number of 4b cases has decreased. Since 1996, serovar 1/2a has been the dominant L. monocytogenes serovar in human listeriosis in Sweden. Therefore, based on current serovars and PFGE types, an association between human cases of listeriosis and the consumption of vacuum-packed gravad and cold-smoked salmon is suggested.
There is currently a large interest in photon counting CT detector research in both academia and industry. There are several detector systems and strategies to handle major challenges such as the ...very high count‐rate, while the energy information for each photon is retained. Another challenge is cross talk, which may compromise the energy estimation for the photons and can cause double counts, which gets worse with smaller pixel size. If implemented in the clinic, photon counting CT will likely enable a dose reduction when this is important, as for example in pediatric CT. Photon counting CT will also make possible quantitative measurements, energy weighting and/or tissue decomposition techniques that can be of great importance for a number of imaging tasks
Psychosocial stress and health problems Danielsson, Maria; Heimerson, Inger; Lundberg, Ulf ...
Scandinavian journal of public health,
12/2012, Letnik:
40, Številka:
9_suppl
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Stress can be defined as an imbalance between demands placed on us and our ability to manage them. The body's stress system is adapted to confront sudden physical threats. Today, however, we are ...increasingly exposed to prolonged mental and psychosocial stress. Prolonged stress can give rise to a range of problems: poor performance, chronic fatigue, disinterest, dejection, memory disturbances, sleep problems, numbness and diffuse muscle pains. These symptoms may eventually be followed by depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome, and ultimately chronic pain conditions, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Sleep is a vital counterbalance to stress as it enables the body to recover properly. Good sleep is thus essential to our ability to cope with stress and stay healthy. The decline in the mental wellbeing of the population since the 1980s has been accompanied by a rise in the number of pain complaints. A similar development in respect of symptoms such as anxiousness, nervousness and anxiety, constant fatigue and neck and shoulder pain and sleeping problems has been observed in the population. This increase, which continued throughout the 1990s and culminated in 2001, was followed by a slight fall. However, there was no decline among young people in the early 2000s. Rather, the number of complaints continued to increase. Adapted from the source document.
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