Coronary CT Angiography and the Napkin-ring Sign Indicates High-Risk Atherosclerotic Lesions

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is used extensively nowadays as a non-invasive imaging method for the evaluation of patients suspected of coronary artery disease, providing data on calcium burden, the presence of coronary artery stenoses, but also, more recently, on coronary atherosclerotic plaque morphology and composition. Plaque morphology analysis by CCTA aims to accurately identify vulnerable plaques, in an attempt to reduce the number of ischemic events triggered by high-risk atherosclerotic lesions. Recent research provides CCTA descriptions of vulnerable plaques and a particular radiological sign shows promising perspectives. The napkin-ring sign refers to a rupture-prone plaque in a coronary artery, comprising a necrotic core covered by a thin cap fibro-atheroma. The napkin-ring sign is described on CCTA in cross-sectional images of coronary arteries as a central low-attenuation area surrounded by an open ring area of high attenuation, having a high specificity and positive predictive value for the presence of advanced lesions. These lesions have been designated as vulnerable plaques, indicating an increased probability of rupture, and were shown to correlate with a higher incidence of cardiovascular events. In acute coronary syndromes, the location of the napkin-ring sign was shown to correspond to the culprit lesions. The aim of the current paper is to provide an overview of the current literature on available methods for quantitative measurement of atherosclerotic plaque features from CCTA and to discuss the clinical implications of the napkin-ring sign as detected by CCTA

Treatment of residual pockets with photodynamic therapy, diode laser, or deep scaling. A randomized, split-mouth controlled clinical trial

The objective of this work was to compare the effects of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT), diode soft laser therapy (DSL), and thorough deep scaling and root planing (SRP) for treatment of residual pockets. Thirty-two subjects with a history of non-surgical treatment for chronic periodontitis were included. Residual pockets >4mm and bleeding upon probing were debrided with an ultrasonic device and then subjected to either PDT, DSL, or SRP. Pocket probing depth (PPD), bleeding on probing (BOP), and gingival recession were monitored over 6months. Counts of four microorganisms were determined by direct hybridization with RNA probes. PPD decreased from 5.6 ± 1.0 to 3.8 ± 1.1 in 6months (p 4mm with BOP depended on initial PPD (p = 0.036) and was higher if treated with DSL (p = 0.034). Frequencies of three microorganisms were significantly lower in PDT- and SRP-treated than in DSL-treated quadrants (p = 0.02) after 14days, but not at months 2 and 6. All three treatments resulted in a significant clinical improvement. PDT and SRP suppressed Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola stronger, and resulted in fewer persisting pockets after 6months, than DSL applicatio

Recurrent intraoral HSV-1 infection : a retrospective study of 58 immunocompetent patients from Eastern Europe

Objectives. To revise the clinical features of the recurrent intraoral herpetic infection (RIOH) with respect to precipitating factors, demographic, clinical features and outcome. Study design. Fifty-eight, unrelated Caucasian, immunocompetent patients with positive laboratory test for intraoral Herpes simplex virus infection were studied. Results. The mean age in the women?s group (n=42) was 41.23 years (± 21.73) and in the men?s group was 32.25 years (± 15.68). Possible trigger factors were identified in 9 cases (15.5%). General symptoms were noted in 20 cases (34.48%). Most of patients in this study presented multiple lesions. 14 patients had vermillion lesions associated with intraoral lesions. In most of the cases both fixed and mobile mucosa was concomitantly involved. Treatment was prescribed in order to control the symptoms and to shorten the evolution with minimal side effects. Conclusions. Intraoral secondary herpetic infection could be polymorphous and sometimes associated with general symptoms. The recognition of its atypical features may prevent unnecessary and costly investigations and treatments for unrelated though clinically similar-appearing disorders

Comparison of the Mechanical Properties of Branch and Stem Wood for Three Species

Branch wood could be used in new added-value products as an alternative to stem wood provided that its characteristics are known and understood. This article compares the modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR), and compression strength of maple (Acer spp.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and the compression strength of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) branch wood with stem wood. The mechanical tests showed that the MOE and compression strength of maple branch wood were slightly lower than those of stem wood, maple MOR was slightly higher for branch wood, and beech compression strength was similar for branch and stem wood. However, the MOR and compression strength of Scots pine branch wood were approximately one-half of those of stem wood, whereas the MOE was approximately one-third. Branch wood had a higher density than corresponding stem wood, except for Scots pine. No correlation was observed between branch density and mechanical strength except for MOR

MEMS Gate Structures for Electric Propulsion Applications

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76598/1/AIAA-2006-5011-327.pd

Cost savings in the Swiss healthcare system resulting from professional periodontal care

More than 740 million people worldwide are affected by periodontal disease and are at higher risk of secondary damage such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, which place a considerable financial burden on healthcare systems. The aim of this study was to use a computer simulation to estimate the direct and indirect costs of prevention and treatment of gingivitis, periodontitis and related secondary damage in the Swiss population, paid both out of pocket (OOP) and from social welfare (SW). For three different scenarios, iterations with 200,000 simulated individuals over their assumed life span of 35 to 100 years corresponded to a period of four months in which an individual could move from one periodontal condition to the next, each associated with presumed direct and indirect treatment costs. Appropriate diagnosis and adherence to professional periodontal care had a strong benefit saving up to CHF 5.94 billion OOP and CHF 1.03 billion SW costs for the current Swiss population. Considering direct and indirect health care costs, the total expected costs for a 35-year-old individual until death were CHF 17'310 with minimal care and CHF 15'606 with optimal care, resulting in savings of CHF 1'704. In conclusion, early detection and appropriate treatment of periodontitis can help to reduce both overall costs of treating periodontitis and associated secondary damage, especially in the second half of life. These cost savings may further pay off on an individual level through regular supportive periodontal care, both for treatments paid out-of-pocket and those covered by social welfare

Virtual network embedding for wireless sensor networks time efficient QoS/QoI aware approach

A recent trend in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is Network Virtualization to support on-demand sharing of sensing functionality. The efficient allocation of WSN resources to sensing requests is obtained using Virtual Network Embedding (VNE). This must take into account Quality of Service -QoS (e.g. reliability), Quality of Information -QoI (e.g sensing accuracy), and deal with wireless interference. With increased computational complexity due to the added constraints, finding an optimal solution can be prohibitive at scale. We developed an offline embedding algorithm that searches through all possible embeddings, which allowed us to explore the trade-off between solution quality and search time. We identify a defined set of initial processing steps that lead to high quality solutions (within 10% of best solution) in bounded time. We evaluated the algorithm under high stress (large networks with long paths, high data rates, beyond typical WSN configuration) to understand its limitations and the limitations imposed by the underlying WSN substrate