Background: The purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test is the only widely used method which detects latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and is dependent on a normal T cell function. In ...rheumatoid arthritis (RA) the T cell function is altered, which may result in an inability to develop an adequate PPD reaction. Objectives: To evaluate the response to PPD in patients with RA and to compare it with that of control subjects. Methods: 112 patients with RA and 96 healthy controls were studied. PPD 5 U was applied using the Mantoux method, and skin reaction was measured at 72 hours. The reaction was considered negative for PPD <5 mm. Results: There were no significant differences in age, sex, history of bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccination, or tuberculosis contact between the two groups. The median size of the PPD induration in the patients with RA was significantly less than that in the control group (4.5 v 11.5 mm, p<0.01). 79 (70.6%) patients with RA compared with 25 (26%) of the control group had a negative reaction to PPD (p<0.01), a response not influenced by disease activity or duration of disease in the patients with RA. Conclusion: A PPD skin test is not an appropriate test for recognising LTBI in patients with RA in our population.
Purpose
We propose two software tools for non-rigid registration of MRI and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) images of the prostate. Our ultimate goal is to develop an open-source solution to support ...MRI–TRUS fusion image guidance of prostate interventions, such as targeted biopsy for prostate cancer detection and focal therapy. It is widely hypothesized that image registration is an essential component in such systems.
Methods
The two non-rigid registration methods are: (1) a deformable registration of the prostate segmentation distance maps with B-spline regularization and (2) a finite element-based deformable registration of the segmentation surfaces in the presence of partial data. We evaluate the methods retrospectively using clinical patient image data collected during standard clinical procedures. Computation time and Target Registration Error (TRE) calculated at the expert-identified anatomical landmarks were used as quantitative measures for the evaluation.
Results
The presented image registration tools were capable of completing deformable registration computation within 5 min. Average TRE was approximately 3 mm for both methods, which is comparable with the slice thickness in our MRI data. Both tools are available under nonrestrictive open-source license.
Conclusions
We release open-source tools that may be used for registration during MRI–TRUS-guided prostate interventions. Our tools implement novel registration approaches and produce acceptable registration results. We believe these tools will lower the barriers in development and deployment of interventional research solutions and facilitate comparison with similar tools.
Aim: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the possible association between smoking habits and the occurrence of root-filled teeth (RFT) extraction. Material and ...Methods: The Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) question was in adult patients who had RFT, does the absence or presence of smoking habits affect the prevalence of extracted RFT? Systematic MEDLINE/PubMed, Wiley Online Database, Web of Science, and PRISMA protocol was used to evaluate and present the results. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system was used for certainty in the evidence. The risk of bias was assessed according to Cochrane Collaboration common scheme for bias and ROBINS-I tool. Cumulative meta-analysis was performed with a random effects model. PROSPERO registration code: CRD42020165279. Results: After search strategy, 571 articles were recovered, seven were selected for full-text analysis, and two reported data on inclusion criteria, including 516 RFT, 351 in non-smokers, and 165 in smoker subjects. The meta-analysis provided an odds ratio indicating significant association between smoking and the prevalence of extracted RFT (OR = 3.43, 95% CI = 1.17–10.05, p = 0.02, I² = 64%). The certainty of the literature assessment was low per GRADE. Both studies were considered as moderate risk of bias. Conclusions: Tobacco smoking should be considered a negative prognostic factor for the outcome of root canal treatment, although the quality of the evidence is low. RFT of smoking patients are three times more likely to be extracted. Continuing to smoke after endodontic treatment may increase the risk of treatment failure. However, the overall strength of evidence is low. This must be considered a limitation of the present study and the conclusion should be valued with caution.
•Magnetic properties of GaAs:Mn nanostructures as a function of the Mn at. %.•Clusters role in the GaAs:Mn evolution from 2D to 3D growth mode.•AFM images showing directly the 2D to 3D transition in ...GaAs:Mn at high temperature.•Magnetic response of MnAs clusters related with GaAs:Mn surface structures.•Observation of an anomalous magnetic behavior related to confinement conditions.
We report the influence of the Mn atomic concentration (at.%) on the nanostructures formation and magnetic properties of GaAs:Mn layers grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy at a relatively high substrate temperature of 530 °C varying the nominal Mn at.% content from 0.01 to 0.2. It is shown that by modifying the Mn at.% different kind of nanostructures, ranging from 2D (such as islands and surface corrugation) to 3D microleave- and nanowire-like arrays, form on the surface layer. Samples produced with Mn contents ranging from 0.02 to 0.20 at.% show a significant room temperature ferromagnetic response that is attributed to the formation of MnAs nanocrystals as confirmed from X-ray diffraction analysis and magnetization measurements. The influence of MnAs clusters on the formation of the nanostructures observed is discussed.
Weak gravitational lensing allows one to reconstruct the spatial distribution of the projected mass density across the sky. These “mass maps” provide a powerful tool for studying cosmology as they ...probe both luminous and dark matter. In this paper, we present a weak lensing mass map reconstructed from shear measurements in a 139 deg2 area from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) science verification data. We compare the distribution of mass with that of the foreground distribution of galaxies and clusters. The overdensities in the reconstructed map correlate well with the distribution of optically detected clusters. We demonstrate that candidate superclusters and voids along the line of sight can be identified, exploiting the tight scatter of the cluster photometric redshifts. We cross-correlate the mass map with a foreground magnitude-limited galaxy sample from the same data. Our measurement gives results consistent with mock catalogs from N-body simulations that include the primary sources of statistical uncertainties in the galaxy, lensing, and photo-z catalogs. The statistical significance of the cross-correlation is at the 6.8σ level with 20 arcminute smoothing. We find that the contribution of systematics to the lensing mass maps is generally within measurement uncertainties. In this study, we analyze less than 3% of the final area that will be mapped by the DES; the tools and analysis techniques developed in this paper can be applied to forthcoming larger data sets from the survey.
Staphylococcus aureus biofilm may constitute a major cause of virulence. Our main objective was to analyse whether there was an association between biofilm production and poor outcome in patients ...with S. aureus bacteraemia.
We studied 485 S. aureus strains isolated from the blood of patients with bacteraemia from 2012 to 2015. We assessed in vitro biomass production using crystal violet assay and metabolic activity using tetrazolium salt assay. Strains were classified in tertile ranks as follows: low biomass producers, moderate biomass producers, high biomass producers, low metabolic activity, moderate metabolic activity and high metabolic activity. We excluded from analysis strains with moderate crystal violet and tetrazolium salt values. We defined poor outcome as fulfillment of one or more of the following conditions: 30-day attributable mortality, infective endocarditis, persistent bacteraemia and recurrent bacteraemia.
Outcome was poor in 199 (41.0%) of 485 S. aureus bacteraemia episodes. The distribution of poor outcome with respect to biomass production and metabolic activity was as follows: low biomass producers, 36.6% vs. high biomass producers, 43.2% (p 0.26); and low metabolic activity, 43.5% vs. high metabolic activity, 36.2% (p 0.91). The presence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus was the only characteristic that was more likely to be present in the high metabolic activity group (17.4% vs. 39.3%, p < 0.001).
Biofilm production, as determined by any of the methods used in the present study, is not associated with poor outcome in patients with S. aureus bacteraemia.
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This paper presents a dynamic model and experimental results of a 7.2
kWp photovoltaic (PV) installation located at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain). The modelling of the ...monocrystalline cells has been realised in TRNSYS and has been validated during an extensive experimental campaign from January 2001 to March 2003, using the data of a fully monitored PV field. The simulation results with TRNSYS provide an accurate prediction of the long-term performance. In addition to the dynamic models, algebraic methods such as the constant fill factor have also been applied.
In the design of PV systems, there are several important uncertainties which have to be taken into account, such as the reduction of power with respect to the nominal power under Standard Test Conditions (STC), the choice of the meteorological database, and the models for the calculation of the radiation on tilted surface and of the cell temperature. These aspects are analyzed thoroughly in this paper, as well as the problems inherent to the PV power injection into the grid.
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