313 research outputs found
Preoperative digital three-dimensional planning for rhinoplasty
BACKGROUND: This report describes preoperative digital planning for rhinoplasty using a new three-dimensional (3D) radiologic viewer that allows both patients and surgeons to visualize on a common monitor the 3D real aspect of the nose in its inner and outer sides.
METHODS: In the period 2002 to 2008, 210 patients underwent rhinoplasty procedures in the authors' clinic. The patients were randomly divided into three groups according to the type of preoperative planning used: photos only, a simulated result by Adobe Photoshop, or the 3D radiologic viewer. The parameters evaluated included the number of patients that underwent surgery after the first consultation, the number of patients who asked for a reintervention, patient satisfaction (according to a test given to the patients 12 months postoperatively), the surgical time required for a functional intervention, and the improvement in nasal function by postoperative rhinomanometry and subjective evaluation.
RESULTS: Computer-aided technologies led to a higher number of patients deciding to undergo a rhinoplasty. Simulation of the postoperative results was not as useful in the postoperative period due to the higher number of reintervention requests.
CONCLUSION: The patients undergoing rhinoplasties preferred new technologies in the preoperative period. The advantages of using the 3D radiologic viewer included improved preoperative planning, reduction in intraoperative stress, a higher number of patients undergoing surgery, reduction in postoperative surgical corrections, reduction in surgical time for the functional intervention, a higher rate of improvement in nasal function, a higher percentage of postoperative satisfaction, and reduced costs
An Evolutionary Sequence of Expanding Hydrogen Shells in Galaxy Discs
Large HI shells, with diameters of hundreds of pc and expansion velocities of
10-20kms-1 are well observed features of local gas rich galaxies. These shells
could well be predicted as a result of the impact of OB associations on the
ISM, but doubt has been cast on this scenario by the apparent absence of OB
stars close to the centres of a large fraction of these shells in recent
observations of the SMC. Using Fabry-Perot scanned Halpha emission line mapping
of nearby galaxy discs we have detected, in all the HII regions where the
observations yield sufficient angular resolution and S:N ratio, dominant Halpha
shells with radii a few tens of pc, expanding at velocities of 50-100kms-1. We
have applied a simple dynamically consistent framework in which we can
extrapolate the properties of the observed Halpha shells to a few 10^7yr after
the formation of the OB stars. The framework includes the dynamical inputs of
both winds and SNe on the surrounding ISM. The results give quantitative
statistical support to the hypothesis that the Halpha emitting shells are
generic progenitors of the HI shells. During the time taken for an expanding
shell to reach the size of a typical HI shell, the OB association may well lose
its most luminous stars so the absence of such stars near the centres of many
of the HI shells is well explained in this scenario.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Psychosocial burden in adult patients with atopic dermatitis
P16
Objective: Atopic dermatitis affects patients’ quality of life (QoL) in many ways. It is important to analyze the impact that the disease produces in order to better define the healthcare needs of adult patients with atopic dermatitis.
Patients and Methods: 14 adult patients with atopic dermatitis were interviewed. The qualitative interviews were semi-structured and supported by a simple script, which allowed a complete and flexible interview.
Results: Six affected areas of the patient’s life with atopic dermatitis were identified: economic, work-related, personal, psychosocial, clinical and relational. It is emphasized that atopic dermatitis has a great psychosocial impact on the adult patient, since it alters interpersonal relationships, generates rejection, stigmatization and social isolation, limits the patient in various areas and activities of their daily life or alters sleep, among others. The visible aspect, the itching-scratching cycle, the lack of awareness and ignorance of the disease, the lack of a definitive solution among the treatments and the side effects of some of them are of great concern.
Conclusions: The QoL of the patients with atopic dermatitis is negatively affected and a holistic multidisciplinary intervention is necessary in order to mitigate the negative impact of the disease
LHC sensitivity to the resonance spectrum of a minimal strongly interacting electroweak symmetry breaking sector
We present a unified analysis of the two main production processes of vector
boson pairs at the LHC, VV-fusion and qqbar annihilation, in a minimal strongly
interacting electroweak symmetry breaking sector. Using a unitarized
electroweak chiral Lagrangian formalism and modeling the final V_L V_L strong
rescattering effects by a form factor, we describe qqbar annihilation processes
in terms of the two chiral parameters that govern elastic V_L V_L scattering.
Depending on the values of these two chiral parameters, the unitarized
amplitudes may present resonant enhancements in different angular
momentum-isospin channels. Scanning this two parameter space, we generate the
general resonance spectrum of a minimal strongly interacting electroweak
symmetry breaking sector and determine the regions that can be probed at the
LHC.Comment: Final version to appear in Phys. Rev. D, including a more detailed
exposition and a few more references. Conclusions and results unchanged. 14
pages, 5 figure
Target Selection for the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE)
The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) is a
high-resolution infrared spectroscopic survey spanning all Galactic
environments (i.e., bulge, disk, and halo), with the principal goal of
constraining dynamical and chemical evolution models of the Milky Way. APOGEE
takes advantage of the reduced effects of extinction at infrared wavelengths to
observe the inner Galaxy and bulge at an unprecedented level of detail. The
survey's broad spatial and wavelength coverage enables users of APOGEE data to
address numerous Galactic structure and stellar populations issues. In this
paper we describe the APOGEE targeting scheme and document its various target
classes to provide the necessary background and reference information to
analyze samples of APOGEE data with awareness of the imposed selection criteria
and resulting sample properties. APOGEE's primary sample consists of ~100,000
red giant stars, selected to minimize observational biases in age and
metallicity. We present the methodology and considerations that drive the
selection of this sample and evaluate the accuracy, efficiency, and caveats of
the selection and sampling algorithms. We also describe additional target
classes that contribute to the APOGEE sample, including numerous ancillary
science programs, and we outline the targeting data that will be included in
the public data releases.Comment: Accepted to AJ. 31 pages, 11 figure
Îł-Glutamylcysteine detoxifies reactive oxygen species by acting as glutathione peroxidase-1 cofactor
Reactive oxygen species regulate redox-signaling processes, but in excess they can cause cell damage, hence underlying the aetiology of several neurological diseases. Through its ability to down modulate reactive oxygen species, glutathione is considered an essential thiol-antioxidant derivative, yet under certain circumstances it is dispensable for cell growth and redox control. Here we show, by directing the biosynthesis of γ-glutamylcysteine—the immediate glutathione precursor—to mitochondria, that it efficiently detoxifies hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion, regardless of cellular glutathione concentrations. Knocking down glutathione peroxidase-1 drastically increases superoxide anion in cells synthesizing mitochondrial γ-glutamylcysteine. In vitro, γ-glutamylcysteine is as efficient as glutathione in disposing of hydrogen peroxide by glutathione peroxidase-1. In primary neurons, endogenously synthesized γ-glutamylcysteine fully prevents apoptotic death in several neurotoxic paradigms and, in an in vivo mouse model of neurodegeneration, γ-glutamylcysteine protects against neuronal loss and motor impairment. Thus, γ-glutamylcysteine takes over the antioxidant and neuroprotective functions of glutathione by acting as glutathione peroxidase-1 cofactor
Search for muon-neutrino emission from GeV and TeV gamma-ray flaring blazars using five years of data of the ANTARES telescope
The ANTARES telescope is well-suited for detecting astrophysical transient
neutrino sources as it can observe a full hemisphere of the sky at all times
with a high duty cycle. The background due to atmospheric particles can be
drastically reduced, and the point-source sensitivity improved, by selecting a
narrow time window around possible neutrino production periods. Blazars, being
radio-loud active galactic nuclei with their jets pointing almost directly
towards the observer, are particularly attractive potential neutrino point
sources, since they are among the most likely sources of the very high-energy
cosmic rays. Neutrinos and gamma rays may be produced in hadronic interactions
with the surrounding medium. Moreover, blazars generally show high time
variability in their light curves at different wavelengths and on various time
scales. This paper presents a time-dependent analysis applied to a selection of
flaring gamma-ray blazars observed by the FERMI/LAT experiment and by TeV
Cherenkov telescopes using five years of ANTARES data taken from 2008 to 2012.
The results are compatible with fluctuations of the background. Upper limits on
the neutrino fluence have been produced and compared to the measured gamma-ray
spectral energy distribution.Comment: 27 pages, 16 figure
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