To compare the image quality of computed tomography angiography (CTA) reconstructed by sinogram-affirmed iterative reconstruction (SAFIRE) with that of advanced modelled iterative reconstruction ...(ADMIRE) in children with congenital heart disease (CHD).
Thirty-one children (8.23±13.92 months) with CHD who underwent CTA were enrolled. Images were reconstructed using SAFIRE (strength 5) and ADMIRE (strength 5). Objective image qualities (attenuation, noise) were measured in the great vessels and heart chambers. Two radiologists independently calculated the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) by measuring the intensity and noise of the myocardial walls. Subjective noise, diagnostic confidence, and sharpness at the level prior to the first branch of the main pulmonary artery were also graded by the two radiologists independently.
The objective image noise of ADMIRE was significantly lower than that of SAFIRE in the right atrium, right ventricle, and myocardial wall (p<0.05); however, there were no significant differences observed in the attenuations among the four chambers and great vessels, except in the pulmonary arteries (p>0.05). The mean CNR values were 21.56±10.80 for ADMIRE and 18.21±6.98 for SAFIRE, which were significantly different (p<0.05). In addition, the diagnostic confidence of ADMIRE was significantly lower than that of SAFIRE (p<0.05), while the subjective image noise and sharpness of ADMIRE were not significantly different (p>0.05).
CTA using ADMIRE was superior to SAFIRE when comparing the objective and subjective image quality in children with CHD.
•Both SAFIRE and ADMIRE are good reconstruction algorithms in the diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) using computed tomography angiography (CTA).•Increasing the strength of both SAFIRE and ADMIRE significantly improves subjective and objective image quality.•CTA using ADMIRE was superior to SAFIRE when comparing the objective and subjective image quality in children with CHD.
This study sought to characterize the reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidized GSSG ratio during osteoclast differentiation and determine whether changes in the intracellular redox status regulate its ...differentiation through a RANKL-dependent signaling pathway. A progressive decrease of the GSH/GSSG ratio was observed during osteoclast differentiation, and the phenomenon was dependent on a decrease in total glutathione via downregulation of expression of the gamma-glutamylcysteinyl synthetase modifier gene. Glutathione depletion by L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO) was found to inhibit osteoclastogenesis by blocking nuclear import of NF-kappaB and AP-1 in RANKL-propagated signaling and bone pit formation by increasing BSO concentrations in mature osteoclasts. Furthermore, intraperitoneal injection of BSO in mice resulted in an increase in bone density and a decrease of the number of osteoclasts in bone. Conversely, glutathione repletion with either N-acetylcysteine or GSH enhanced osteoclastogenesis. These findings indicate that redox status decreases during osteoclast differentiation and that this modification directly regulates RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis.
A novel scheme for the focusing of high-energy leptons in future linear colliders was proposed in 2001 P. Raimondi and A. Seryi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3779 (2001). This scheme has many advantageous ...properties over previously studied focusing schemes, including being significantly shorter for a given energy and having a significantly better energy bandwidth. Experimental results from the ATF2 accelerator at KEK are presented that validate the operating principle of such a scheme by demonstrating the demagnification of a 1.3 GeV electron beam down to below 65 nm in height using an energy-scaled version of the compact focusing optics designed for the ILC collider.
Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between the transverse displacement of the proximal segment after bilateral sagittal osteotomy for mandibular setback and the amount and design ...of the mandibular setback. Patients who underwent either bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy (BSSRO) alone or two-jaw surgery were selected, and cephalographic postero-anterior (PA) measurements were taken pre-operatively (T1), immediately post-operatively (T2), and at follow-up (T3). The inter-gonal (IG) and inter-ramal (IR) width increased immediately after surgery, but decreased to the initial value during follow-up ( P = 0.002; IR, P = 0.046). Only the immediate IG changes after surgery correlated with the amount of mandibular setback ( P = 0.009). The IG changes were significant in the symmetric group, but not in the asymmetric group. There was no difference in the IG and IR changes between the symmetric group and the asymmetric group. The immediate IG change in two-jaw patients with symmetric setback showed correlation with the setback amount. The gonial width of the deviated group showed more significant changes than that of the non-deviated group. There was no difference in the unilateral gonial width between the deviated and the non-deviated group, but the difference was significant for the unilateral ramal angle between the two groups. These correlations will be helpful in predicting post-surgical results for patients.
From January 2004 to December 2008, 50 consecutive patients with high-risk neuroblastoma were assigned to receive tandem HDCT (high-dose chemotherapy)/auto-SCT after nine cycles of induction ...chemotherapy. CEC (carboplatin + etoposide + cyclophosphamide) regimen and TM (thiotepa + melphalan)-TBI regimen (or TM regimen for stage 3 patients) were the first and second HDCT regimens. Local radiotherapy, differentiation therapy with 13-cis-retinoid acid and immunotherapy with interleukin-2 were given after tandem HDCT/auto-SCT. Of the 50 patients, 49 underwent a first HDCT/auto-SCT and 47 underwent a second HDCT/auto-SCT. The tumor relapsed or progressed in 14 patients, secondary malignancy developed in one patient and one patient died from chronic lung disease. Therefore, 34 patients remained event free with a median follow-up of 54.5 months (range, 14-94 months) from diagnosis. The probabilities of 5-year OS and EFS for all 50 patients were 77.0% (95% confidence interval (CI), 63.7-90.3) and 71.4% (95% CI, 58.7-84.1), respectively. However, all patients who remained event free for >3 years after tandem HDCT/auto-SCT experienced late adverse effects. Chemotherapeutic dose-escalation strategy using tandem HDCT/auto-SCT was very encouraging for survival. However, further studies incorporating newer treatment modalities are needed to reduce late adverse effects without jeopardizing the survival rate.
Acoustic methods have progressed to the point that an acoustic typology of the motor speech disorders can be constructed from a parametric assessment of the speech subsystems (e.g., phonation, nasal ...resonance, vowel articulation, consonant articulation, intonation, and rhythm). The results of this analysis can be interpreted in respect to global functions in speech (e.g., voice quality, intelligibility, and prosody). This paper reviews studies showing that specific acoustic analyses have demonstrated or potential value toward the overall goal of constructing acoustic profiles of dysarthria and apraxia of speech. Several different acoustic measures are relevant to the study of the motor speech disorders, and these are increasingly supported by normative data and by guidelines for clinical application. Examples of these applications are discussed for a variety of specific neurologic diseases or perceptual types of disorder. Acoustic studies are useful in the study of motor speech disorders and recent progress points to a parametric analysis.
Background: Rituximab has dramatic impact on outcome of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), especially nongerminal center (non-GC) type. A low absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) before ...rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, adriamycin, and prednisone (R-CHOP) therapy as a surrogate marker of immune status is associated with poor clinical outcome in DLBCL. Therefore, we hypothesized that low ALC before R-CHOP would have effect on the survival in non-GC type. Patients and methods: One hundred and thirty-six DLBCL patients who were treated with R-CHOP from 2003 to 2007 were analyzed in the present study. Results: ALC ≥1.0 × 109/l predicted a longer 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and 3-year overall survival (OS) versus ALC <1.0 × 109/l (82.6% versus 60.0%, P = 0.005 and 87.2% versus 62.0%, P < 0.001, respectively). Non-GC type had similar PFS and OS to germinal center type (68.2% versus 80.0%, P = 0.074 and 72.7% versus 82.9%, P = 0.111, respectively). However, considering clinical influence of the ALC according to immunophenotype, low ALC in non-GC type DLBCL was associated with lower PFS and OS compared with others (PFS, P = 0.002; OS, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that low ALC in non-GC type had lower PFS hazard ratio (HR) = 3.324, P = 0.001 and OS (HR = 4.318, P < 0.001), independent of international prognostic index. Conclusion: A low ALC in non-GC type DLBCL counteracted the beneficial effect of rituximab on survival.
DNA with tandem repeats of guanines folds into G-quadruplexes made of a stack of G-quartets. In vitro, G-quadruplex formation inhibits telomere extension, and POT1 binding to the singlestranded ...telomeric DNA enhances telomerase activity by disrupting the G-quadruplex structure, highlighting the potential importance of the G-quadruplex structure in regulating telomere length in vivo. We have used single-molecule spectroscopy to probe the dynamics of human telomeric DNA. Three conformations were observed in potassium solution, one unfolded and two folded, and each conformation could be further divided into two species, long-lived and short-lived, based on lifetimes of minutes vs. seconds. Vesicle encapsulation studies suggest that the total of six states detected here is intrinsic to the DNA. Folding was severely hindered by replacing a single guanine, showing only the shortlived species. The long-lived folded states are dominant in physiologically relevant conditions and probably correspond to the parallel and antiparallel G-quadruplexes seen in high-resolution structural studies. Although rare under these conditions, the shortlived species determine the overall dynamics because they bridge the different long-lived species. We propose that these previously unobserved transient states represent the early and late intermediates toward the formation of stable G-quadruplexes. The major compaction occurs between the early and late intermediates, and it is possible that local rearrangements are sufficient in locking the late intermediates into the stably folded forms. The extremely diverse conformations of the human telomeric DNA may have mechanistic implications for the proteins and drugs that recognize G-rich sequences.
PDF
