Search results for " Computer"
showing 10 items of 6910 documents
Modified electrocardiograph-triggered black-blood turbo spin-echo technique to improve T1-weighting in contrast-enhanced MRI of atherosclerotic carot…
2008
Purpose To assess the efficacy of a modified electrocardiograph (EKG)-triggered black-blood T1W (T1W) spin-echo sequence in improving contrast on post-gadolinium high-resolution carotid plaque imaging by implementing heart-rate–independent contrast preparation. Materials and Methods We used a standard EKG-triggered double inversion-recovery (DIR) turbo spin-echo (TSE) sequence modified with the addition of an extra saturation (90°) radio frequency (RF) pulse placed immediately after the DIR module, shortening the repetition time to a fixed value of 400 msec. A total of 10 patients with atherosclerotic disease were included in the study. Postinjection intraplaque contrast measurements were p…
Integrated non-invasive approach to atherosclerosis with cardiac CT and carotid ultrasound in patients with suspected coronary artery disease
2017
The aim of the study was to compare the atherosclerotic disease in the coronary and carotid arteries in patients who underwent non-invasive imaging for suspected stable coronary artery disease (CAD). 107 patients (64 men, age 59 ± 12) with atypical chest pain underwent cardiac CT (CCT) and carotid ultrasound (US) on the same day. Severity (obstructive or not-obstructive disease), location, shape, and composition of atherosclerotic plaques in the two districts were evaluated. Patients presented normal coronary arteries in 36 % (n = 38), not-obstructive CAD in 36 % (n = 39), and obstructive CAD in 28 % (n = 30), while had normal carotid arteries in 53 % (n = 57), not-obstructive disease in 44…
A Robust and Simple Measure for Quality-Guided 2D Phase Unwrapping Algorithms
2016
Quality-based 2D phase unwrapping algorithms provide one of the best tradeoffs between speed and quality of results. Their robustness depends on a quality map, which is used to build a path that visits the most reliable pixels first. Unwrapping then proceeds along this path, delaying unwrapping of noisy and inconsistent areas until the end, so that the unwrapping errors remain local. We propose a novel quality measure that is consistent, technically sound, effective, fast to compute, and immune to the presence of a carrier signal. The new measure combines the benefits of both the quality-guided and the residue-based phase unwrapping approaches. The quality map is justified from the two diff…
Identification and characterisation of the dopamine receptor II from the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis (CfDopRII)
2006
International audience; G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent a protein family with a wide range of functions. Approximately 30% of human drug targets are GPCRs, illustrating their pharmaceutical relevance. In contrast, the knowledge about invertebrate GPCRs is limited and is mainly restricted to model organisms like Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans. Especially in ectoparasites like ticks and fleas, only few GPCRs are characterised. From the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis, a relevant parasite of cats and dogs, no GPCRs are known so far. Thus, we performed a bioinformatic analysis of available insect GPCR sequences from the honeybee Apis mellifera, the mosquito Anop…
On Approximation of Entropy Solutions for One System of Nonlinear Hyperbolic Conservation Laws with Impulse Source Terms
2010
We study one class of nonlinear fluid dynamic models with impulse source terms. The model consists of a system of two hyperbolic conservation laws: a nonlinear conservation law for the goods density and a linear evolution equation for the processing rate. We consider the case when influx-rates in the second equation take the form of impulse functions. Using the vanishing viscosity method and the so-called principle of fictitious controls, we show that entropy solutions to the original Cauchy problem can be approximated by optimal solutions of special optimization problems.
Linear and nonlinear parametric model identification to assess granger causality in short-term cardiovascular interactions
2008
We assessed directional relationships between short RR interval and systolic arterial pressure (SAP) variability series according to the concept of Granger causality. Causality was quantified as the predictability improvement (PI) of a time series obtained when samples of the other series were used for prediction, i.e. moving from autoregressive (AR) to AR exogenous (ARX) prediction. AR and ARX predictions were performed both by linear and nonlinear parametric models. The PIs of RR given SAP and of SAP given RR, measuring baroreflex and mechanical couplings, were calculated in 15 healthy subjects in the resting supine and upright tilt positions. Using nonlinear models we found a bilateral i…
Need of causal analysis for assessing phase relationships in closed loop interacting cardiovascular variability series
2003
The phase spectra obtained by the classical closed loop autoregressive model (2AR) and by an open loop autoregressive model (ARXAR) were compared to shed light on the need of introducing causality in the assessment of the delay between RR and arterial pressure oscillations. The reliability of the two approaches was tested in simulation and real data setting. In simulation, the coupling strength of a bivariate closed loop process was adjusted to obtain a range of working conditions from open to closed loop. In open loop condition, 2AR and ARXAR phases were comparable and in agreement with the imposed delay. In closed loop condition, ARXAR model returned the imposed delays, while 2AR showed a…
Neocortical Layer 6B as a Remnant of the Subplate - A Morphological Comparison.
2015
The fate of the subplate (SP) is still a matter of debate. The SP and layer 6 (which is ontogenetically the oldest and innermost neocortical lamina) develop coincidentally. Yet, the function of sublamina 6B is largely unknown. It has been suggested that it consists partly of neurons from the transient SP, however, experimental evidence for this hypothesis is still missing. To obtain first insights into the neuronal complement of layer 6B in the somatosensory rat barrel cortex, we used biocytin stainings of SP neurons (aged 0-4 postnatal days, PND) and layer 6B neurons (PND 11-35) obtained during in vitro whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. Neurons were reconstructed for a quantitative charac…
Increased adhesion and activation of polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes to endothelial cells under heavy metal exposure in vitro.
1994
Heavy metals have been implicated in the mechanisms of endothelial damage. Influences of heavy metal ions on diverse cell types have been studied using a variety of in vitro and in vivo methods. Polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes (PMNs) have physiological and pathological functions, including the modulation of adhesion to and destruction of endothelial cells (ECs). PMNs were studied during interaction with human umbilical vein ECs under exposure to zinc, nickel and cobalt using an in vitro model. We studied adhesion processes with the help of a computer-controlled image-analyzing system and examined the activation of PMNs by quantification of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) release. The biphas…
GTVcut for neuro-radiosurgery treatment planning: an MRI brain cancer seeded image segmentation method based on a cellular automata model
2018
Despite of the development of advanced segmentation techniques, achieving accurate and reproducible gross tumor volume (GTV) segmentation results is still an important challenge in neuro-radiosurgery. Nowadays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most prominent modality in radiation therapy for soft-tissue anatomical districts. Gamma Knife stereotactic neuro-radiosurgery is a minimally invasive technology for dealing with inaccessible or insufficiently treated tumors with traditional surgery or radiotherapy. During a treatment planning phase, the GTV is generally contoured by experienced neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists using fully manual segmentation procedures on MR images. Unf…