Search results for " Structures"
showing 10 items of 4162 documents
Low Levels of Acetylcholine Receptor Delta-Subunit Message and Protein in Human Thymus Suggests the Occurrence of ‘Triplet Receptors’ in Thymic Myoid…
2000
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease caused by autoantibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) at the neuromuscular junction [1]. The muscular AChR has been extensively characterized [2], but whether the muscular AChR plays a role during the initiation of MG is unknown [3]. The muscular AChR is a pentameric ion channel composed of 4 different subunits [2, 4]. The fetal AChR expressed during intrauterine life and after denervation of adult muscle exhibits an α2βδγ composition, while the adult AChR expressed after birth in innervated muscle exhibits an α2βδγ composition [4]. The α-subunit contains the main epitopes recognized by MG autoantibodies [2]. The human muscle AChR…
Facial Self-Touching and the Propagation of COVID-19: The Role of Gloves in the Dental Practice
2021
Background: Despite facial self–touching being a possible source of transmission of SARS–Co–V–2 its role in dental practice has not been studied. Factors such as anxiety symptoms or threat perception of COVID–19 may increase the possibility of contagion. The objective was to compare the impact of control measures, such as gloves or signs in the reduction in facial self–touching. Methods: An intra–subject design was undertaken with 150 adults. The patients’ movements in the waiting room were monitored with Microsoft Kinect software on three occasions: without any control measures, using plastic gloves or using advisory signs against self–touching. Additionally, the participants completed the…
Quantitative corneal anatomy: evaluation of the effect of diabetes duration on the endothelial cell density and corneal thickness.
2014
Purpose To evaluate the differences in endothelial cell density (ECD) and central corneal thickness (CCT) between type II diabetic patients and age-matched healthy controls, and determine the impact of time from diagnosis. Methods This is a comparative study of 77 eyes of type II diabetic patients (33 males, 44 females) and 80 eyes of healthy subjects (42 males, and 38 females) whose ages ranged from 38 to 56 years. CCT, ECD, HbA1c levels, and Goldmann tonometry were measured. Results The CCT was significantly higher and the ECD significantly lower in long-term diabetic patients (10 years + since diagnosis) when compared with short-term diabetic patients (<1 year since diagnosis) and contro…
Agreement among 3 optical imaging methods for the assessment of optic disc topography.
2005
Purpose To assess the agreement of disc topography measurements between the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT II), Retinal Thickness Analyzer (RTA), and Optical Coherence Tomograph (StratusOCT). Design Observational cross-sectional study. Participants Forty-two randomly chosen eyes of 42 subjects. Methods Each subject underwent HRT II, RTA, and StratusOCT examination. Two experienced examiners drew the contour lines for the HRT II and RTA. Bland and Altman plots were used to evaluate agreement for each topographic parameter among the instruments. The Spearman coefficient of rank correlation was evaluated for each topographic parameter. Main Outcome Measures Agreement in the measurement of op…
Improving the Seismic Response of Tall Buildings: From Diagrid to Megastructures and Mega-Subcontrol Systems
2022
Background: Diagrid structures, widely used for the tall buildings of the third millennium, are characterized by a very effective behaviour in the elastic field due to the grid triangulation. In particular, under horizontal actions, axial forces and deformations mainly arise in the structural members of the diagrid, thus resulting in the reduction of the shear lag effect and racking deformations. The response to incremental horizontal actions beyond the plastic threshold, however, shows a poor plastic redistribution capacity, with consequent low values of global ductility, in spite of a significant design overstrength. Objective: In this paper, it is proposed to exploit the high elastic ef…
Colours of quality: structural (but not pigment) coloration informs about male quality in a polychromatic lizard
2014
Chromatic signals result from the differential absorption of light by chemical compounds (pigment-based colours) and/or from differential scattering of light by integument nanostructures (structural colours). Both structural and pigment-based colours can be costly to produce, maintain and display, and have been shown to convey information about a variety of individual quality traits. Male wall lizards, Podarcis muralis, display conspicuously coloured ventral and lateral patches during ritualized inter- and intrasexual displays: ventral colours (perceived as orange, yellow or white by humans) are pigment based, while the ultraviolet (UV)-blue of the outer ventral scales (OVS), located along …
Experimental observation of temporal dispersion gratings in fiber optics
2017
We experimentally demonstrate a temporal analog to the diffraction optical grating in the Fraunhofer formalism. Using amplitude and phase temporal periodic modulations, we show that the accumulation of dispersion in fiber optics induces the development of temporally well-separated sidebands similar to the spatial orders of diffraction that are commonly observed in an optical grating operating in the far field.
Hologram development by diffusion in a polymer glass
2003
Thick rigid polymer media with diffusive development of gratings are suitable for archive information storage, and especially for 3D holographic optical elements. Diffusion of unreacted molecules of photosensitive dye ensures postexposure growth of diffracted light, which can be followed either by secondary growth, or by some decay caused by displacement of chromophore groups photochemically attached to polymer chains (photoproduct). In a long run, extremely slow, though still finite, diffusion of macromolecules leads to destruction of a holographic grating. Not only the rate, but also the shape of postexposure kinetics noticeably depends on the choice of particular polymer, its degree of p…
A polymeric two-dimensional mixed-metal network. Crystal structure and magnetic properties of {[P(Ph)4][MnCr(ox)3]}
1994
Abstract The mixed-metal ferromagnet {[P(Ph) 4 ][MnCr(ox) 3 ]} n , where Ph is phenyl and ox is oxalate, has been prepared and a two-dimensional network structure, extended by Mn(II)-ox-Cr(III) bridges, has been determined from single crystal X-ray data. Crystal data: space group R 3 c , a = b =18.783(3), c =57.283(24) A, α=β=90, γ=120°, Z =24 (C 30 H 20 O 12 PCrMn). The magnetic susceptibility data obey the Curie-Weiss law in the temperature range 260–20 K with a positive Weiss constant of 10.5 K. The temperature dependence of the molar magnetization exhibits a magnetic phase transition at T c =5.9 K. The structure is discussed in relation to the strategy for preparing molecular based ferr…
Teprotumumab Efficacy, Safety, and Durability in Longer-Duration Thyroid Eye Disease and Re-treatment
2022
PURPOSE To evaluate teprotumumab safety/efficacy in patients with thyroid eye disease (TED) who were nonresponsive or who experienced a disease flare. DESIGN The Treatment of Graves' Orbitopathy to Reduce Proptosis with Teprotumumab Infusions in an Open-Label Clinical Extension Study (OPTIC-X) is a teprotumumab treatment and re-treatment trial following the placebo-controlled teprotumumab Phase 3 Treatment of Graves' Orbitopathy (Thyroid Eye Disease) to Reduce Proptosis with Teprotumumab Infusions in a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Study (OPTIC) trial. PARTICIPANTS Patients who previously received placebo (n = 37) or teprotumumab (n = 14) in OPTIC. METHODS OPTIC nonresponders or …