Soft tissue response to mandibular advancement using 3D CBCT scanning

This prospective longitudinal study assessed the 3D soft tissue changes following mandibular advancement surgery. Cranial base registration was performed for superimposition of virtual models built from cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) volumes. Displacements at the soft and hard tissue chin (n=20), lower incisors and lower lip (n=21) were computed for presurgery to splint removal (4–6 week surgical outcome), presurgery to 1 year postsurgery (1-year surgical outcome), and splint removal to 1 year postsurgery (postsurgical adaptation). Qualitative evaluations of color maps illustrated the surgical changes and postsurgical adaptations, but only the lower lip showed statistically significant postsurgical adaptations. Soft and hard tissue chin changes were significantly correlated for each of the intervals evaluated: presurgery to splint removal (r=0.92), presurgery to 1 year postsurgery (r=0.86), and splint removal to 1 year postsurgery (r=0.77). A statistically significant correlation between lower incisor and lower lip was found only between presurgery and 1 year postsurgery (r=0.55). At 1 year after surgery, 31% of the lower lip changes were explained by changes in the lower incisor position while 73% of the soft tissue chin changes were explained by the hard chin. This study suggests that 3D soft tissue response to mandibular advancement surgery is markedly variable

Efficacy of N-acetylcysteine and all-trans retinoic acid in restoring in vitro effective hemopoiesis in myelodysplastic syndromes

We evaluated the in vitro effect on clonogenic potential (CFU-GM) and apoptosis in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) progenitors of an anti-oxidant (N-acetylcysteine, NAC) and/or a differentiating (all-trans retinoic acid, ATRA) agent. NAC significantly reduced apoptosis, both NAC and ATRA induced an increase in CFU-GM, but NAC seemed to be particularly effective in the high risk (HR) MDS. NAC + ATRA conferred a significant advantage in terms of CFU-GM with respect to NAC and ATRA alone. Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) levels decreased after incubation with NAC in the MDS samples. This study shows that ineffective hemopoiesis in MDS could benefit from both NAC and ATRA, suggesting that anti-oxidant treatment may play a role in guaranteeing MDS cell survival, predisposing them towards differentiatio

Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU

The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype

Corrosion of Zirconium Alloys

When zirconium alloys are used in water-cooled reactors they are subjected to water-side corrision. Two effects play a major role, oxidation and hydriding, and they are described comprehensively and the underlying mechanisms are explained.JRC.E-Institute for Transuranium Elements (Karlsruhe

In situ HVEM studies of phase transformation in Zr alloys and compounds under irradiation

The High Voltage Electron Microscope (HVEM)/Tandem facility at Argonne National Laboratory has been used to conduct detailed studies of the phase stability and microstructural evolution in zirconium alloys and compounds under ion and electron irradiation. Detailed kinetic studies of the crystalline-to-amorphous transformation of the intermetallic compounds Zr{sub 3}(Fe{sub 1-x}Ni{sub x}), Zr(Fe{sub 1-x},Cr{sub x}){sub 2}, Zr{sub 3}Fe, and Zr{sub 1.5} Nb{sub 1.5} Fe, both as second phase precipitates and in bulk form, have been performed using the in-situ capabilities of the Argonne facility, under a variety of irradiation conditions (temperature, dose rate). Results include a verification of a dose rate effect on amorphization and the influence of material variables (stoichiometry x, presence of stacking faults, crystal structure) on the critical temperature and on the critical dose for amorphization. Studies were also conducted of the microstructural evolution under irradiation of specially tailored binary and ternary model alloys. The stability of the {omega}-phase in Zr-20%Nb under electron and Ar ion irradiation was investigated as well as the {beta}-phase precipitation in Zr-2.5%Nb under Ar ion irradiation. The ensemble of these results is discussed in terms of theoretical models of amorphization and of irradiation-altered solubility

Redefining thalassemia as a hypercoagulable state

As the life expectancy of \u3b2-thalassemia patients has markedly improved over the last decade, several new complications are being recognized. The presence of a high incidence of thromboembolic events, mainly in thalassemia intermedia patients, has led to the identification of a hypercoagulable state in thalassemia. In this review, the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to hypercoagulability in thalassemia are highlighted, and the current clinical experience is summarized. Recommendations for thrombosis prophylaxis are also discussed

Clinical Complications and Their Management

The hallmarks of thalassemias are ineffective erythropoiesis and peripheral hemolysis leading to a cascade of events responsible for several clinical complications. This pathophysiologic mechanism can be partially controlled by blood transfusions or by correction of the severity of ineffective erythropoiesis. Thalassemias include a spectrum of phenotypes. Two main groups can be clinically distinguished: transfusion-dependent (TDT) and non\ue2\u80\u93transfusion-dependent (NTDT) thalassemia. Both conditions are characterized by several clinical complications along life; some are shared, whereas some have higher prevalence in one group over the other. The authors present the most common clinical complications in TDT and NTDT and their management