Long-term treatment with the dopamine agonist quinagolide of patients with clinically non-functioning pituitary adenoma

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to evaluate the effect of prolonged treatment with the dopamine agonist quinagolide on serum gonadotropin and alpha-subunit concentrations and tumor volume in patients with clinically non-functioning pituitary adenomas (CNPA). DESIGN: Ten patients with CNPA were treated with quinagolide (0.3 mg daily). The median duration of treatment was 57 months (range 36-93 months). Blood samples for measurement of serum gonadotropin and alpha-subunit concentrations were drawn before treatment, after 5 days, and at each outpatient visit. Computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the pituitary region and Goldmann perimetry were done before and at regular intervals during treatment. RESULTS: A significant decrease of serum FSH, LH or alpha-subunit concentrations was found in nine patients. The levels remained low during the entire treatment period. In two out of three patients with pre-existing visual field defects a slight improvement was shown during the first months of treatment, but eventually deterioration occurred in all three patients. A fourth patient developed unilateral ophthalmoplegia dur

Marktwerking in infrastructuren: Betekenis van versplintering voor publieke waarden

Zonder dijken, (spoor)wegen, riolering, energie- en drinkwatervoorziening zou Nederland niet kunnen bestaan. Deze infrastructuren zijn niet alleen belangrijk voor het leveren van diensten, ze vormen de voorwaarde voor economische, culturele en sociale bloei van een land of regio. De laatste vijftien jaar is in alle vitale infrastructuren een zekere mate van marktwerking ingevoerd, variërend van een lichte benchmark tot volledige privatisering. Dit artikel betoogt dat – naast andere bedoelde en onbedoelde consequenties – de introductie van de marktwerking heeft geleid tot versplintering, zowel in het aantal en soort van actoren als in het aantal beleidsniveaus.Multi Actor SystemsTechnology, Policy and Managemen

Generic Linking of Finite Element Models for non-linear static and global dynamic analyses of aircraft structures

Depending on the type of analysis, Finite Element(FE) models of different fidelity are necessary. Creating these models manually is a labor intensive task. This paper discusses a generic approach for generating FE models of different fidelity from a single reference FE model. These different fidelity models are created by sub-structuring and a multi-scale superposition technique. Efficiency of the developed approach is demonstrated via non-linear static and modal analysis of a carbon-fiber stiffened panel

Electrical Properties Tomography: A Methodological Review

Electrical properties tomography (EPT) is an imaging method that uses a magnetic resonance (MR) system to non-invasively determine the spatial distribution of the conductivity and permittivity of the imaged object. This manuscript starts by providing clear definitions about the data required for, and acquired in, EPT, followed by comprehensively formulating the physical equations underlying a large number of analytical EPT techniques. This thorough mathematical overview of EPT harmonizes several EPT techniques in a single type of formulation and gives insight into how they act on the data and what their data requirements are. Furthermore, the review describes machine learning-based algorithms. Matlab code of several differential and iterative integral methods is available upon request

First-Order Induced Current Density Imaging and Electrical Properties Tomography in MRI

Radiolog

Generic linking of finite element models for non-linear static and global dynamic analyses for aircraft structures

Depending on the type of analysis, Finite Element(FE) models of different fidelity are necessary. Creating these models manually is a labor intensive task. This paper discusses a generic approach for generating FE models of different fidelity from a single reference FE model. These different fidelity models are created by sub-structuring and a multi-scale superposition technique. Efficiency of the developed approach is demonstrated via non-linear static and modal analysis of a carbon-fiber stiffened panel

Electrical Properties Tomography: A Methodological Review

Electrical properties tomography (EPT) is an imaging method that uses a magnetic resonance (MR) system to non-invasively determine the spatial distribution of the conductivity and permittivity of the imaged object. This manuscript starts by providing clear definitions about the data required for, and acquired in, EPT, followed by comprehensively formulating the physical equations underlying a large number of analytical EPT techniques. This thorough mathematical overview of EPT harmonizes several EPT techniques in a single type of formulation and gives insight into how they act on the data and what their data requirements are. Furthermore, the review describes machine learning-based algorithms. Matlab code of several differential and iterative integral methods is available upon request.Circuits and System