3,513 research outputs found
Model-Based Object Recognition by Maximization of Combined Mutual Information of Intensity and Orientation
No full textDigital subtraction CT angiography based on efficient 3D registration and refinement
No full textA novel method for fast, automatic 3D digital subtraction CT angiography (DS-CTA) is presented to generate artifact-free angiograms. The proposed method consists of two steps: 3D registration to align a CT image to the CT angiography (CTA) image and subtraction-and-refinement to extract blood vessels only. For efficient and accurate 3D registration in the first step, an normalized mutual information (NMI) based algorithm is adopted, and its fast version is developed by introducing a new measure. To further improve the subtracted image quality in the second step, a novel 3D refinement algorithm is suggested to effectively remove unwanted residuals. Experimental results of seven clinical CT/CTA head datasets demonstrate that cerebral vessels are well extracted from CTA images with almost no loss. The typical processing time is 3-9 min depending on the image size in a PC with a 2.4 GHz CPU. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
A non-interventional, post-marketing surveillance study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of biosimilar rituximab (CT-P10) during routine clinical practice in the Republic of Korea
No full textBackground: CT-P10 was the first licensed rituximab biosimilar. This Korean post-marketing surveillance study evaluated CT-P10 safety and effectiveness in approved indications. Research design and methods: This prospective, open-label, observational, phase 4 study collected routine clinical practice data across 27 centers in the Republic of Korea. Patients received their first CT-P10 treatment, per prescribing information, for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), or microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) during the surveillance period (16 November 2016–15 November 2020). Safety (including adverse events [AEs] and adverse drug reactions [ADRs]) and disease-specific clinical response (by best overall response [NHL/CLL], Disease Activity Score in 28-joints [RA], or Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score for Wegener’s Granulomatosis [GPA/MPA]) were assessed for ≤1 year (NHL/CLL) or ≤24 weeks (RA/GPA/MPA). Results: The safety population comprised 677 patients (604 NHL, 16 CLL, 42 RA, 7 GPA, 8 MPA). AEs/ADRs were reported for 68.4%/27.7% (NHL/CLL), 31.0%/14.3% (RA), and 86.7%/13.3% (GPA/MPA) of patients. Serious AEs and unexpected ADRs did not raise new safety signals. Pneumonia was the most frequent serious ADR overall. Positive effectiveness outcomes were observed. Conclusions: Findings were consistent with the known CT-P10/reference rituximab safety profile, with high effectiveness observed in NHL/CLL and RA
Trabecular Bone Score Is a Useful Parameter for the Prediction of Vertebral Fractures in Patients With Polymyalgia Rheumatica
No full textINTRODUCTION: Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), a benign rheumatic disorder, requires long-term glucocorticoid therapy, which could be associated with osteoporosis. In the present study, we compared bone mineral density (BMD), trabecular bone score (TBS) and frequencies of vertebral fracture (VF) among patients with PMR or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and controls.
METHODS: Fifty-three postmenopausal women with PMR aged 50 yr or older were eligible for inclusion in this study. Subjects in RA (n=106) and control (n=106) groups were selected by propensity score matching with controlling age, body mass index and use of anti-osteoporotic agents.
RESULTS: The frequency of VF in patients with PMR (30.2%) was significantly higher than those in patients with RA (13.2 %) and controls (13.2%, p=0.017). The mean TBS of patients with PMR (1.317 +/- 0.092) was significantly lower than those of patients with RA (1.336 +/- 0.089) and the controls (1.373 +/- 0.073, p < 0.001). In receiver operating characteristic analysis for VF in patients with PMR, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.759 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.601-0.918, p < 0.001) for TBS and 0.618 (95% CI=0.442-0.795, p < 0.001) for L-spine BMD. The AUCs were 0.760 (95% CI=0.630-0.891, p CONCLUSION: TBS could be a supplementary tool for discriminating osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal patients with PMR
ELF4 is required for oscillatory properties of the circadian clock
No full textCircadian clocks are required to coordinate metabolism and physiology with daily changes in the environment. Such clocks have several distinctive features, including a free-running rhythm of approximately 24 h and the ability to entrain to both light or temperature cycles (zeitgebers). We have previously characterized the EARLY FLOWERING4 (ELF4) locus of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) as being important for robust rhythms. Here, it is shown that ELF4 is necessary for at least two core clock functions: entrainment to an environmental cycle and rhythm sustainability under constant conditions. We show that elf4 demonstrates clock input defects in light responsiveness and in circadian gating. Rhythmicity in elf4 could be driven by an environmental cycle, but an increased sensitivity to light means the circadian system of elf4 plants does not entrain normally. Expression of putative core clock genes and outputs were characterized in various ELF4 backgrounds to establish the molecular network of action. ELF4 was found to be intimately associated with the CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED1 (CCA1)/LONG ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY)-TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION1 (TOC1) feedback loop because, under free run, ELF4 is required to regulate the expression of CCA1 and TOC1 and, further, elf4 is locked in the evening phase of this feedback loop. ELF4, therefore, can be considered a component of the central CCA1/LHY-TOC1 feedback loop in the plant circadian clock
Multi-scale fatigue failure features of titanium alloys with equiaxed or bimodal microstructures from low-cycle to very-high-cycle loading numbers
No full textFatigue failure types and their characteristics of titanium alloys with equiaxed or bimodal microstructures were systematically studied in low-cycle, high-cycle and very-high-cycle regimes. Based on the fractography, there are multi-scale features closely related to the behavior of crack initiation and early growth in specific microstructure under different loading cycles. At macro-scale, the presence and location of crack initiation with a rough area (RA) are dominated by the external loads and the number of equiaxed alpha grains in local microstructure domain. At micro-scale, facets are the most prominent features as the mean stress and the failure life increase. There is a trade-off between facets and the granular RA surface in very-high-cycle fatigue (VHCF) under stress ratio R from a positive to a negative value. At nano-scale, due to numerous cyclic pressing, the microstructure underneath the fracture surface is refined to form nanograins and shaping the granules within RA region, which keeps a relatively high VHCF strength at R =-1. As mean stress increases, the fatigue resistance dramatically degrades in VHCF under R > 0, because the RA morphology changes from granules to facets
Three-Dimensional Bone Structural Analysis in Postmenopausal Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis With and Without Bone Erosion
No full textINTRODUCTION: This study compared the three-dimensional (3D) bone structure based on bone erosion in postmenopausal patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a novel dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-based 3D analysis tool. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 171 postmenopausal women with RA (aged >/= 50 years) were categorized based on bone erosions on hand and foot X-rays. We conducted 3D bone structure analyses on DXA hip scans using 3D-Shaper software, measuring volumetric BMD of integral (IvBMD), trabecular (TvBMD), and cortical (CvBMD) compartments. RESULTS: The study included 94 patients without erosion and 77 with erosion. The erosion-positive group showed significantly lower femoral neck (FN) parameters: areal BMD (0.722 +/- 0.090 vs. 0.756 +/- 0.102 g/cm(2), p = 0.023), IvBMD (269.784 +/- 49.306 vs. 288.610 +/- 59.220 mg/cm(3), p = 0.027), TvBMD (157.043 +/- 39.154 vs. 170.787 +/- 45.168 mg/cm(3), p = 0.037), and CvBMD (709.563 +/- 68.028 vs. 735.182 +/- 81.470 mg/cm(3), p = 0.026). Multiple regression analysis revealed that disease activity score (DAS28) was independently associated with FN CvBMD (beta = -24.693, p = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that bone erosion in RA is associated with significant alterations in bone structure, particularly in the FN region. Disease activity primarily affects cortical bone, highlighting the need for stringent disease management to maintain bone health in patients with RA
Author's reply to comment on ""Biological removal of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins from incinerator fly ash by sphingomonas wittichii RW1"" by Rolf U. Halden
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Q&P Response of a Medium Carbon Low Alloy Steel
No full textAn Fe-0.44%C-1.8%Si-1.3%Mn-0.82%Cr-0.28%Mo steel was subjected to quenching followed by low-temperature tempering (Q&T) and quenching and partitioning (Q&P) processing after full austenitization. The Q&P treatment led to an increase in the volume fraction of retained austenite (RA) by factors ranging from 30 to 40 depending on the quenching temperature, Tq, and an additional precipitation of transition η-carbides in the martensitic matrix. The Q&P processing provided a decrease in the yield stress (YS) from 1730 to 1350 MPa and an increase in the ductility by a factor of 3; the product of strength and elongation (PSE) increased from 13.7 to 32 GPa·%. The novelty of the work lies in establishing the origin of the good ductility and high YS of Q&P steel. Blocky-type RA plays a vital role in the effect of Q&P processing on mechanical properties. The main feature of RA is a very high dislocation density proving the strength of ~1000 MPa of this structural component. The strength of RA controls the YS of the steel if its volume fraction is ≥25%. Ductility is provided by the almost full transformation of RA into strain-induced martensite under tension. The localization of plastic deformation in the form of deformation bands is associated with the γ→α′ transformation. Medium carbon Q&P steel with a high volume fraction of RA meets the requirements for advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) belonging to the third generation of AHSS due to the combination of the YS > 1050 MPa with the PSE > 30 GPa·%
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