Search results for "rfa"
showing 10 items of 11106 documents
Dynamic tuning of the director field in liquid crystal shells using block copolymers
2020
When an orientationally ordered system, like a nematic liquid crystal (LC), is confined on a self-closing spherical shell, topological constraints arise with intriguing consequences that depend critically on how the LC is aligned in the shell. We demonstrate reversible dynamic tuning of the alignment, and thereby the topology, of nematic LC shells stabilized by the nonionic amphiphilic block copolymer Pluronic F127. Deep in the nematic phase, the director (the average molecule orientation) is tangential to the interface, but upon approaching the temperature TNI of the nematic– isotropic transition, the director realigns to normal. We link this to a delicate interplay between an interfacial …
Telemedicine-Based Specialized Care Improves the Outcome of Anticoagulated Individuals with Venous Thromboembolism-Results from the thrombEVAL Study.
2020
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a life-threatening disease with risk of recurrence. Oral anticoagulation (OAC) with vitamin K antagonists (VKA) is effective to prevent thromboembolic recurrence. We aimed to investigate the quality of OAC of VTE patients in regular medical care (RMC) compared to a telemedicine-based coagulation service (CS). The thrombEVAL study (NCT01809015) is a prospective, multi-center study to investigate OAC treatment (recruitment: January 2011&ndash
Clinical Cases on Colorectal Cancer Emergency
2019
You have to manage in the emergency room a 75-year-old man with a medical history of pulmonary embolism 4 months ago and currently treated with warfarin. He has no history of abdominal surgery. He consults for diffuse abdominal pain, cessation of flatus and stools for 4 days, and fever of 38.7 °C and chills for 24 h. He vomited once 24 h ago. He also experienced asthenia and recent weight loss of 7 kg over the past 6 months not attributable to diet or exercise. He complains of progressively aggravating alternation of diarrhea and constipation for 3 months. He finally remembers that he noticed several times in the last months the presence of red blood in the stools, about which he did not wo…
3D reconstruction techniques made easy: know-how and pictures
2005
Three-dimensional reconstructions represent a visual-based tool for illustrating the basis of three-dimensional post-processing such as interpolation, ray-casting, segmentation, percentage classification, gradient calculation, shading and illumination. The knowledge of the optimal scanning and reconstruction parameters facilitates the use of three-dimensional reconstruction techniques in clinical practise. The aim of this article is to explain the principles of multidimensional image processing in a pictorial way and the advantages and limitations of the different possibilities of 3D visualisation.
Role of virtopsy in the post-mortem diagnosis of drowning.
2014
Purpose: Due to admitted limits of autopsy-based studies in the diagnosis of drowning, virtopsy is considered the new imaging horizon in these post-mortem studies. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of virtopsy performed through computed tomography (CT) in the forensic diagnosis of drowning. Materials and methods: We retrospectively examined the CT data of four cadavers recovered from sea water and suspected to have died by drowning. Each patient underwent a full-body post-mortem CT scan, and then a traditional autopsy. Conclusion: To date, there are no autopsy findings pathognomonic of drowning. This study proves that virtopsy is a useful tool in the diagnosis of drowning in tha…
Asymptotic modeling of electrochemical signaling: Testing Zn in urine for non-invasive bladder cancer diagnosis
2021
Abstract A theoretical model on chemical signaling for diagnosis based on the combination of signals for marker and inert and/or interfering metabolites is described. The model yields asymptotic relationships between the intensities of the signals representative of marker and accompanying metabolites compensating concentration fluctuations. The model fits well with voltammetric features associated to the oxidation of different urine metabolites and Zn(II) reduction in the same urine samples after alkaline digestion. As a result, a non-invasive electrochemical detection of urothelial carcinoma (bladder cancer, BC) is reported. Different diagnostic criteria are described all displaying high s…
Effects of ultrasonically activated irrigants with or without surfactant on smear layer removal after post space preparation
2012
The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different NaOCl and EDTA formulations with/without ultrasonic use on smear layer removal and root canal surface characteristics after post space preparation. Study design: After post space preparations, forty-six teeth were subjected to different post space irrigation regimes; G1, 17% EDTA; G2, 17% EDTA+Ultrasonic activation; G3, EDTA-T; G4, EDTA-T+Ultrasonic activation; G5, NaOCl; G6, NaOCl+Ultrasonic activation. Specimens were examined under scanning electron microscope and scored for debris and smear layer removal and dentinal tubule opening and statistically analyzed with Kruskal Wallis and Dunn's test. Significance value was set at p<…
A Multi-Variate Predictability Framework to Assess Invasive Cardiac Activity and Interactions during Atrial Fibrillation
2017
Objective: This study introduces a predictability framework based on the concept of Granger causality (GC), in order to analyze the activity and interactions between different intracardiac sites during atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: GC-based interactions were studied using a three-electrode analysis scheme with multi-variate autoregressive models of the involved preprocessed intracardiac signals. The method was evaluated in different scenarios covering simulations of complex atrial activity as well as endocardial signals acquired from patients. Results: The results illustrate the ability of the method to determine atrial rhythm complexity and to track and map propagation during AF. Conc…
Relaxation by Calcium Antagonists of Potassium-contracted Trachea from Normal and Sensitized Guinea-pigs: Influence of Epithelium and the Surface of …
1993
Abstract A technique by which drug access was restricted to either the mucosal or the adventitial surface of tracheal rings, isolated from normal (unsensitized) or sensitized guinea-pigs, was used to study the role of the epithelium in the relaxation produced by calcium antagonists (verapamil, nifedipine, cinnarizine and flunarizine) of K+-induced contraction. In trachea from normal guinea-pigs, the relaxation to verapamil for unrestricted or mucosal drug entry was reduced in the absence of epithelium, whereas the relaxation produced by nifedipine, cinnarizine or flunarizine was unchanged. In sensitized trachea, the relaxation elicited by the calcium antagonists tested was similar in intact…
Tear Film Surface Quality in Modern Daily Disposable Contact Lens Wear
2021
Objectives As reported previously, tear film surface quality (TFSQ) should be considered in contact lens (CL) fitting. This study followed noninvasive keratograph tear film break-up time (NIKBUT) in CL wearers for 12 months to validate its clinical utility in predicting CL performance. Methods Fifty-five subjects (M/F=17/38) aged 26±4 years were prescribed silicone hydrogel or hydrogel CLs. The study included baseline measurements without CLs; 2 visits for CL fitting and control; follow-up after 3, 6, and 12 months of CL wear; and postwear visit without CLs. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), 8-Item Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire (CLDEQ-8), first and mean NIKBUT (F/M-NIKBUT), fluoresc…