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Multislab three-dimensional T2-weighted fast spin-echo imaging of the hippocampus: sequence optimization.

Three-dimensional (3D) fast spin-echo (FSE) imaging can produce contiguous thin sections for high-quality multiplanar reconstructions. Such reformatted images may be useful in the evaluation of three-dimensionally complex, curvilinear anatomic structures such as the hippocampus. The authors describe a 3D FSE protocol for T2-weighted imaging of the hippocampus. The protocol uses an overlapping-multiple-slab imaging strategy to decrease imaging times and a modified refocusing radio-frequency pulse train to improve the reformatted images. The authors describe their parameter optimization, discuss the benefits and limitations of the new sequence, and present representative images of healthy volunteers.

Artifacts↗

Investigations on neomycin production with immobilized cells of Streptomyces marinensis NUV-5 in calcium alginate matrix.

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effect of Streptomyces marinensis NUV-5 cells immobilized in calcium alginate for the production of neomycin. The effect of various parameters, such as the effect of alginate concentration (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5% wt/vol), the effect of cation (CaCl2, BaCl2, and SrCl2), the concentration of cation (0.01M, 0.125M, 0.25M, 0.375M, and 0.5M), the curing times (1, 6, 11, 16, and 21 hours), and the diameter of the bead (1.48, 2.16, 3.24, 4.46, and 5.44 mm), on neomycin production and bead stability were studied. The effect of maltose (4%, 3%, 2%, and 1% wt/vol) and sodium glutamate (0.6%, 0.3%, 0.15%, and 0.075% wt/vol) concentration on neomycin production was also studied. Better neomycin production was achieved with optimized parameters, such as alginate at 2% wt/vol, 0.25M CaCl2, 1-hour curing time, and 3.24 mm bead diameter. Effective neomycin production was achieved with 3% wt/vol maltose and 0.6% wt/vol sodium glutamate concentration. The repeated batch fermentations were conducted (every 96 hours) using the optimized alginate beads, employing the production medium with 3% wt/vol maltose and 0.6% wt/vol sodium glutamate along with mineral salts solution. The increase in antibiotic production was observed up to the 5th cycle, and later gradual decrease in antibiotic production was observed. Comparison of the total antibiotic production with free cells and immobilized cells was also done. An enhanced antibiotic productivity of 32% was achieved with immobilized cells over the conventional free-cell fermentation, while 108% more productivity was achieved over the washed free-cell fermentation. From these results it is concluded that the immobilized cells of S marinensis NUV-5 in calcium alginate are more efficient for the production of neomycin with repeated batch fermentation.

Alginates↗

Taguchi's technique: an effective method for improving X-ray medical radiographic screen performance.

Taguchi's technique is a helpful tool to achieve experimental optimization of a large number of decision variables with a small number of off-line experiments. The technique appears to be an ideal tool for improving the performance of X-ray medical radiographic screens under a noise source. Currently there are very many guides available for improving the efficiency of X-ray medical radiographic screens. These guides can be refined using a second-stage parameter optimization. based on Taguchi's technique, selecting the optimum levels of controllable X-ray radiographic screen factors. A real example of the proposed technique is presented giving certain performance criteria. The present research proposes the reinforcement of X-ray radiography by Taguchi's technique as a novel hardware mechanism.

Algorithms↗

Hepatic ablation using bipolar radiofrequency electrocautery.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Percutaneous methods have been used to treat primary and secondary hepatic neoplasms. In the current study, we evaluated the potential of bipolar radiofrequency (RF) electrocautery to increase in vitro liver tissue destruction when compared with monopolar RF electrocautery. METHODS: Two needles (electrodes) were placed into fresh bovine liver tissue for use with bipolar electrocautery. Needle tip exposure was kept constant at 3 cm while other parameters, including treatment time, power (wattage), interneedle distance, and needle tip temperature, were changed. Pathologic and histologic correlation was performed, and tissue necrosis was weighed in grams for individual parameters. RESULTS: There was a minimal threshold of approximately 45 degrees C where tissue coagulation occurred. Tissue coagulation increased the longer treatment went on. Increasing temperature, wattage, or both increased tissue coagulation such that necrosis was too rapid and char formation occurred, which prevented further coagulation. For all wattages and temperatures, there was increasing tissue necrosis with increasing needle separation, until a point at which further needle separation produced less tissue necrosis. Optimizing parameters allowed tissue coagulation of greater than 30 g. CONCLUSION: Bipolar RF electrocautery shows promise for increasing the tissue coagulation in fresh bovine liver compared with the previously described monopolar technique.

Animals↗

Derivation of force field parameters for SnO2-H2O surface systems from plane-wave density functional theory calculations.

Plane-wave density functional theory (DFT-PW) calculations were performed on bulk SnO2 (cassiterite) and the (100), (110), (001), and (101) surfaces with and without H2O present. A classical interatomic force field has been developed to describe bulk SnO2 and SnO2-H2O surface interactions. Periodic density functional theory calculations using the program VASP (Kresse et al., 1996) and molecular cluster calculations using Gaussian 03 (Frisch et al., 2003) were used to derive the parametrization of the force field. The program GULP (Gale, 1997) was used to optimize parameters to reproduce experimental and ab initio results. The experimental crystal structure and elastic constants of SnO2 are reproduced reasonably well with the force field. Furthermore, surface atom relaxations and structures of adsorbed H2O molecules agree well between the ab initio and force field predictions. H2O addition above that required to form a monolayer results in consistent structures between the DFT-PW and classical force field results as well.

Elasticity↗

Genetic algorithm in the control optimization.

Genetic algorithm (GA) represents an exploratory search mathematical technique, which uses statistical methods of selection. They are named blind search technique as they usually operate without knowledge of the task domain. GA is inspired from the evolutionary features of biological systems. The natural individual selection of offspring that are better adapted will resist in time (3). The pioneer worker in this field was John Holland and the University of Michigan staff from 1975. The beginning study was in natural adaptive process explanation and continues with computed artificial systems developing that exploit the evolution natural principles. A GA technique was applied for a controller parameter optimization that regulates the mean blood pressure. The intelligent system adjusts the anesthetic agent in order to maintain the pressure constant with small variations from a desired set value. This is usually necessary for anesthesia control (mathematical model from 11, 12). Such a system was developed and tested using computer simulations. This paper describes some aspects about the GA mathematical method and finally the results of the controller implementation are presented.

Algorithms↗

Towards a neural transplantation therapy for Parkinson's disease: experimental principles from animal studies.

Animal experimentation is necessary to identify the optimal parameters and procedures for clinical application of neural tissue transplantation. Experiments in animal models of Parkinson's disease are briefly reviewed. Embryonic nigral tissues survive transplantation well and yield good functional recovery on a variety of motor tests. The age of the donor, the implantation technique, and the site of placement in the host brain all influence graft efficacy. Nevertheless there are theoretical limits to the power of current procedures, and even under optimal circumstances full recovery cannot be expected.

Adrenal Glands↗

Implantable stimulation system dedicated for neural selective stimulation.

A functional electrical stimulation system is presented, which is dedicated for the selective neural stimulation of the bladder. The proposed system is composed of an internal stimulator (implant) and an external controller. The system is used to produce low-pressure voiding of the bladder in spinal cord injured patients. The implant is powered and operated by the external controller via radio-frequency electromagnetic coupling. All stimulation parameters are chosen externally using the controller and are sent to the implant, which produces the desired stimuli. These stimuli are applied directly to the S2 nerve which is linked to the sphincter and bladder muscles. A high-frequency signal is used to inhibit the contraction of the sphincter muscle, and low-frequency pulses stimulate the bladder muscle (the detrusor). Dedicated computer software is used by the physician to select the optimal parameters for each patient and to activate the implant through a parallel port interface with built-in transmitter. The parameters are then transferred to a hand-held controller which is used by the technical staff and by the patients themselves. Acute studies have been performed to validate the selective stimulation strategy, and chronic experimentation is currently underway in dogs.

Electric Stimulation Therapy↗

Ultrarapid, highly efficient viral gene transfer to the heart.

Gene therapy for common myocardial diseases will require effective and homogeneous gene delivery throughout the intact heart. We created two experimental models to identify and optimize parameters important for adenovirus-mediated cardiac gene transfer. In cultured rabbit ventricular myocytes, the percentage of infected cells increased with higher absolute numbers of virus particles, longer durations of virus exposure, physiological temperatures, and specific culture media compositions. Simulating the in vitro conditions, we delivered adenovirus to intact rabbit hearts by intracoronary perfusion. The percentage of infected cells increased with higher coronary flow rates, longer virus exposure times, and higher virus concentrations. Under optimal conditions, nearly 100% of myocytes expressed the reporter gene beta-galactosidase after ex vivo infection. This novel delivery method, the first to demonstrate virtually complete transduction of any intact organ, could be adapted to achieve widespread gene transfer in vivo.

Adenoviridae↗

Heavy-ion-beam-induced hydrodynamic effects in solid targets.

It is expected that after the completion of a new high current injector, the heavy-ion synchrotron (SIS) at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionforschung (GSI) Darmstadt will accelerate U(+28) ions to energies of the order of 200 MeV/u. The use of a powerful rf buncher will reduce the pulse length to about 50 ns, and employment of a multiturn injection scheme will provide 2 x 10(11) particles in the beam that correspond to a total energy of the order of 1 kJ. This upgrade of the SIS, hopefully, will be completed by the end of the year 2001. These beam parameters lead to a specific power deposition of the order of 1-2 TW/g in solid matter that will provide temperatures of about 10 eV. Such low specific power deposition will induce hydrodynamic effects in solid materials, and one may design appropriate beam-target interaction experiments that could be used to investigate the equation of state of matter under extreme conditions. The purpose of this paper is to propose suitable target designs with optimized parameters for the future GSI experiments with the help of one and two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Cylindrical geometry is the natural geometry for highly focused ion beams, and therefore cylindrical targets are the most appropriate for this type of interaction experiments. The numerical simulations presented in this paper show that one can experimentally measure the characteristic sound speed in beam heated targets which is an important physical parameter. Moreover, one can study the propagation of ion-beam-induced shock waves in the solid materials. Different values for the specific power deposition, namely, 10, 25, 50, and 100 kJ/g, have been used. In some cases the pulse length is assumed to be 40 ns while in others it is considered to be 50 ns. Various materials including lead, aluminum, and solid neon have been used.

Journal Article↗

[Visually evoked responses as follow-up parameters in multiple sclerosis].

VEP- and MRI-changes were compared in 93 patients with definite or probable multiple sclerosis. A high correlation between slowing of visual conduction time and volume of peri-ventricular white matter lesions was found. The finding suggests a retrogenicular site of the pathogenic process being frequently responsible for VEP-abnormalities. Long-standing clinical courses show better VEP/MRI-correlations even without clinical symptoms, whereas acute cases more often have related visual disabilities but no convincing correlations. VEP represent one function of those regions in the brain which are frequently impaired by the demyelinating process in multiple sclerosis. They provide an optimal parameter of clinical course.

Adolescent↗

An optimized assay for transcription factor NF-kappaB with dsDNA-coupled microplate.

To develop an EMSA-free assay approach for analyzing the sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins (DBPs), an easy cost-effective dsDNA-coupled plate (dcPlate) was developed in our lab for this purpose. In this paper, the assay conditions of such dcPlate were fully optimized for detecting an important transcription factor, NF-kappaB. The optimized parameters of dcPlate for assay of NF-kappaB were as follows: immobilized DNA probe at the concentration of 25 pmol/100 microL-well, incubation time of 90 min for NF-kappaB binding to dcPlate, primary and secondary antibody concentration of 0.1 microL/100 microL dilution, incubation time of 90 min for primary antibody binding to NF-kappaB, temperature of 25 degrees C for the above process, colorimetric developing time for 30 min. After optimization, the signal was improved three times higher than that from not optimized conditions. The linear colorimetric detection ranges of the purified recombinant NF-kappaB p50 and the cell nuclear extract were from 0.59 to 75 ng/well and 0.313 to 10 microg/well, respectively.

Colorimetry↗

Investigation and optimization of composting processes-test systems and practical examples.

To determine the optimal course of composting it is useful to carry out experiments. The selection of the right experimental set-up depends on the question of concern. Each set-up is useful for a particular application and has its limits. Two test systems of different scales (up to 1500 ml; up to 100 l) are introduced. The purpose and importance of each system design shall be highlighted by application examples: (1). Suitability of a liquid industrial residue as composting accelerator; (2). Determination of the compost maturity; (3). Behaviour of odor-reducing additives during waste collection and composting; (4). Production of tailor-made compost with respect to Nitrogen (5). Suitability of O(2)-enriched air for acceleration of composting. Small-scale respiration experiments are useful to optimize parameters which have to be adjusted during substrate pre-treatment and composting, with the exception of particle size and temperature, and to reduce the number of variants which have to be investigated in greater detail in larger scale experiments. As all regulation possibilities such as aeration, moistening, turning can be simulated with the technical scale set-up, their complex cooperation can be taken into consideration. Encouraging composting variants can be tested, compared and optimized.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

Comparison of different patient positioning strategies to minimize shoulder girdle artifacts in head and neck CT.

The purpose of this study was to analyze different patient positioning strategies for minimizing artifacts of the shoulder girdle in head and neck CT. Standardized CT examinations of three positioning groups were compared (P: patients pushed their shoulders downwards; D: similar optimization by a pulling device; N: no particular positioning optimization). Parameters analyzed were the length of the cervical spine not being superimposed by the shoulder girdle as well as noise in the supraclavicular space. In groups P and D, the portion of the cervical spine not superimposed was significantly larger than in group N (P: 10.4 cm; D: 10.6 cm; N: 8.5 cm). At the supraclavicular space, noise decreased significantly (P: 12.5 HU; D: 12.1 HU; N: 17.7 HU). No significant differences between the two position-optimized groups (P and D) were detected. Optimized shoulder positioning by the patient increases image quality in CT head and neck imaging. The use of a pulling device offers no additional advantages.

Artifacts↗

Myocardial material parameter estimation-a comparative study for simple shear.

The study of ventricular mechanics-analyzing the distribution of strain and stress in myocardium throughout the cardiac cycle-is crucially dependent on the accuracy of the constitutive law chosen to represent the highly nonlinear and anisotropic properties of passive cardiac muscle. A number of such laws have been proposed and fitted to experimental measurements of stress-strain behavior. Here we examine five of these laws and compare them on the basis of (i) "goodness of fit:" How well they fit a set of six shear deformation tests, (ii) "determinability:" How well determined the objective function is at the optimal parameter fit, and (iii) "variability:" How well determined the material parameters are over the range of experiments. These criteria are utilized to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the constitutive laws.

Animals↗

Iron metabolism and iron substitution during erythropoietin therapy.

Anemia is rapidly corrected by r-HuEPO in the majority of patients with end-stage renal disease provided that iron stores are carefully assessed. Serum ferritin, transferrin saturation and hypochromic red cells are parameters in evaluating the patients' iron status. Replenishment of diminished iron stores may be achieved using oral or intravenous iron. Vigorous iron substitution in r-HuEPO treated patients seems to be mandatory concerning public economy. The intravenous route is the way of choice in delivering sufficient iron supplementation not only in patients felt to be insensitive to standard r-HuEPO dose in therapy. The strategy for the most effective preservation of the iron storage pool and the optimal parameters for monitoring iron demand remains to be elucidated.

Anemia↗

Globally optimised parameters for a model of mitotic control in frog egg extracts.

DNA synthesis and nuclear division in the developing frog egg are controlled by fluctuations in the activity of M-phase promoting factor (MPF). The biochemical mechanism of MPF regulation is most easily studied in cytoplasmic extracts of frog eggs, for which careful experimental studies of the kinetics of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of MPF and its regulators have been made. In 1998 Marlovits et al. used these data sets to estimate the kinetic rate constants in a mathematical model of the control system originally proposed by Novak & Tyson. In a recent publication, we showed that a gradient-based optimisation algorithm finds a locally optimal parameter set quite close to the 'Marlovits' estimates. In this paper, we combine global and local optimisation strategies to show that the 'refined Marlovits' parameter set, with one minor but significant modification to the Novak & Tyson equations, is the unique, best-fitting solution to the parameter estimation problem.

Animals↗

Hybrid radiofrequency and cryoablation device: preliminary results in an animal model.

PURPOSE: To determine whether the simultaneous application of combined bipolar radiofrequency (RF) ablation and cryoablation in a hybrid system produces larger ablation zones than RF or cryoablation alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Multiple 15-minute ablations were performed in ex vivo bovine liver (n = 167) with a hybrid applicator system with RF ablation alone (0.3-0.7 A), cryoablation alone (3,500 psi, two freeze/thaw cycles), and combined RF/cryoablation (0.4-0.7 A, 1,000-3,500 psi) with use of a novel applicator consisting of two 2.5-cm active bipolar RF poles located on the same 18-gauge needle separated by two embedded cryoablation nozzles. Resultant coagulation diameters were compared with use of analysis of variance for more than three groups or Student t tests for two groups. Confirmation of the optimal parameters of combination RF/cryoablation was performed by reassessing a range of argon pressure (1,000-3,500 psi) and RF current (0.4-0.7 A) in in vivo porcine liver (n = 36). Arrays of two to four RF/cryoablation applicators were also assessed in ex vivo (n = 54) and in vivo (n = 12) liver. RESULTS: In ex vivo liver, simultaneous RF/cryoablation (0.6 A, 3,000 psi) produced 3.6 cm +/- 0.4 of short-axis coagulation. This was significantly larger than that achieved with optimal RF alone or cryoablation alone (1.5 cm +/- 0.3 and 1.6 cm +/- 0.3, respectively; F = 95; P < .01). The coagulation diameter with simultaneous combination RF/cryoablation was related in parabolic fashion to argon pressure and current with a multivariate r(2) of 0.68. For in vivo liver, optimal combination RF/cryoablation achieved 3.3 cm +/- 0.2 of coagulation, which was significantly larger than that achieved with RF alone (1.1 cm +/- 0.1; P < .01) or cryoablation alone (1.1 cm +/- 0.1 and 1.3 cm +/- 0.1; F = 203; P < .01). The greatest contiguous coagulation was achieved with multiple-applicator arrays. For ex vivo liver, short-axis coagulation measured 5.3 cm +/- 0.1, 6.4 cm +/- 0.1, and 7.6 cm +/- 0.1 for two-, three-, and four-applicator arrays, respectively. For in vivo liver, two-, three-, and four-applicator arrays produced 5.1 cm +/- 0.2, 5.8 cm +/- 0.5, and 7.0 cm +/- 0.5 of confluent coagulation, respectively. CONCLUSION: Simultaneous combination RF and cryoablation with use of a novel applicator design yielded significantly larger zones of coagulation than either modality alone. The large ablation diameters achieved warrant further investigation of the device.

Analysis of Variance↗