FibroTest, transient elastography method, and combined FibroTest and transient elastography method for diagnosis of severe hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis in adults with chronic hepatitis C

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of FibroTest, transient elastography method, combined FibroTest and transient elastography method, no matter the sequence, using liver biopsy as reference standard, for assessment of severe hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis in adults with chronic hepatitis C without any co-infections such as hepatitis B, HIV, and alcoholic liver disease. To compare the accuracy of FibroTest, transient elastography method, combined FibroTest and transient elastography method, for assessment of hepatic fibrosis in adults with chronic hepatitis C. To explore heterogeneity analysing the following study factors: different grade of inflammation according to the liver biopsy; different lengths of liver biopsy sample; different number of portal tracts included in a liver biopsy sample; different serum levels of ALT activity. different grade of inflammation according to the liver biopsy; different lengths of liver biopsy sample; different number of portal tracts included in a liver biopsy sample; different serum levels of ALT activity

Mechanisms underlying dual effects of serotonin during development of Helisoma trivolvis (Mollusca).

BACKGROUND: Serotonin (5-HT) is well known as widely distributed modulator of developmental processes in both vertebrates and invertebrates. It is also the earliest neurotransmitter to appear during neuronal development. In aquatic invertebrates, which have larvae in their life cycle, 5-HT is involved in regulation of stages transition including larval metamorphosis and settlement. However, molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying developmental transition in aquatic invertebrate species are yet poorly understood. Earlier we demonstrated that in larvae of freshwater molluscs and marine polychaetes, endogenous 5-HT released from the neurons of the apical sensory organ (ASO) in response to external stimuli retarded larval development at premetamorphic stages, and accelerated it at metamorphic stages. Here we used a freshwater snail Helisoma trivolvis to study molecular mechanisms underlying these dual developmental effects of 5-HT. RESULTS: Larval development of H. trivolvis includes transition from premetamorphic to metamorphic stages and shares the main features of metamorphosis with free-swimming aquatic larvae. Three types of 5-HT receptors (5-HT1-, 5-HT4- and 5-HT7-like) are functionally active at premetamorphic (trochophore, veliger) and metamorphic (veliconcha) stages, and expression patterns of these receptors and respective G proteins undergo coordinated changes during development. Stimulation of these receptors modulated cAMP-dependent regulation of cell divisions. Expression of 5-HT4- and 5-HT7-like receptors and their downstream Gs protein was down-regulated during the transition of pre- to metamorphic stage, while expression of 5-HT1 -like receptor and its downstream Gi protein was upregulated. In accordance with relative amount of these receptors, stimulation of 5-HTRs at premetamorphic stages induces developmental retardation, while their stimulation at metamorphic stages induces developmental acceleration. CONCLUSIONS: We present a novel molecular mechanism that underlies stage-specific changes in developmental tempo of H. trivolvis larvae in response to endogenous 5-HT produced by the neurons of the ASO. We suggest that consecutive changes in expression patterns of different receptors and their downstream partners in the course of larval development represent the molecular base of larval transition from premetamorphic (non-competent) to metamorphic (competent) state

Performance Studies of Prototype II for the CASTOR forward Calorimeter at the CMS Experiment

We present results of the performance of the second prototype of the CASTOR quartz-tungsten sampling calorimeter, to be installed in the very forward region of the CMS experiment at the LHC. The energy linearity and resolution, as well as the spatial resolution of the prototype to electromagnetic and hadronic showers are studied with E=20-200 GeV electrons, E=20-350 GeV pions, and E=50,150 GeV muons from beam tests carried out at CERN/SPS in 2004. The responses of the calorimeter using two different types of photodetectors (avalanche photodiodes APDs, and photomultiplier tubes PMTs) are compared.Comment: 16 pages, 22 figs., submitted to EPJ-

Ultrasonography for diagnosis of alcoholic cirrhosis in people with alcoholic liver disease

BACKGROUND: Heavy alcohol consumption causes alcoholic liver disease and is a causal factor of many types of liver injuries and concomitant diseases. It is a true systemic disease that may damage the digestive tract, the nervous system, the heart and vascular system, the bone and skeletal muscle system, and the endocrine and immune system, and can lead to cancer. Liver damage in turn, can present as multiple alcoholic liver diseases, including fatty liver, steatohepatitis, fibrosis, alcoholic cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, with presence or absence of hepatitis B or C virus infection. There are three scarring types (fibrosis) that are most commonly found in alcoholic liver disease: centrilobular scarring, pericellular fibrosis, and periportal fibrosis. When liver fibrosis progresses, alcoholic cirrhosis occurs. Hepatocellular carcinoma occurs in 5% to 15% of people with alcoholic cirrhosis, but people in whom hepatocellular carcinoma has developed are often co-infected with hepatitis B or C virus.Abstinence from alcohol may help people with alcoholic disease in improving their prognosis of survival at any stage of their disease; however, the more advanced the stage, the higher the risk of complications, co-morbidities, and mortality, and lesser the effect of abstinence. Being abstinent one month after diagnosis of early cirrhosis will improve the chance of a seven-year life expectancy by 1.6 times. Liver transplantation is the only radical method that may change the prognosis of a person with alcoholic liver disease; however, besides the difficulties of finding a suitable liver transplant organ, there are many other factors that may influence a person's survival.Ultrasound is an inexpensive method that has been used for years in clinical practice to diagnose alcoholic cirrhosis. Ultrasound parameters for assessing cirrhosis in people with alcoholic liver disease encompass among others liver size, bluntness of the liver edge, coarseness of the liver parenchyma, nodularity of the liver surface, size of the lymph nodes around the hepatic artery, irregularity and narrowness of the inferior vena cava, portal vein velocity, and spleen size.Diagnosis of cirrhosis by ultrasound, especially in people who are asymptomatic, may have its advantages for the prognosis, motivation, and treatment of these people to decrease their alcohol consumption or become abstinent.Timely diagnosis of alcoholic cirrhosis in people with alcoholic liver disease is the cornerstone for evaluation of prognosis or choosing treatment strategies. OBJECTIVES: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for detecting the presence or absence of cirrhosis in people with alcoholic liver disease compared with liver biopsy as reference standard.To determine the diagnostic accuracy of any of the ultrasonography tests, B-mode or echo-colour Doppler ultrasonography, used singly or combined, or plus ultrasonography signs, or a combination of these, for detecting hepatic cirrhosis in people with alcoholic liver disease compared with liver biopsy as a reference standard, irrespective of sequence. SEARCH METHODS: We performed searches in The Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group Controlled Trials Register, The Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies Register, The Cochrane Library (Wiley), MEDLINE (OvidSP), EMBASE (OvidSP), and the Science Citation Index Expanded to 8 January 2015. We applied no language limitations.We screened study references of the retrieved studies to identify other potentially relevant studies for inclusion in the review and read abstract and poster publications. SELECTION CRITERIA: Three review authors independently identified studies for possible inclusion in the review. We excluded references not fulfilling the inclusion criteria of the review protocol. We sent e-mails to study authors.The included studies had to evaluate ultrasound in the diagnosis of hepatic cirrhosis using only liver biopsy as the reference standard.The maximum time interval of investigation with liver biopsy and ultrasonography should not have exceeded six months. In addition, ultrasonography could have been performed before or after liver biopsy. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We followed the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Diagnostic Test Accuracy. MAIN RESULTS: The review included two studies that provided numerical data regarding alcoholic cirrhosis in 205 men and women with alcoholic liver disease. Although there were no applicability concerns in terms of participant selection, index text, and reference standard, we judged the two studies at high risk of bias. Participants in both studies had undergone both liver biopsy and ultrasonography investigations. The studies shared only a few comparable clinical signs and symptoms (index tests).We decided to not perform a meta-analysis due to the high risk of bias and the high degree of heterogeneity of the included studies. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: As the accuracy of ultrasonography in the two included studies was not informative enough, we could not recommend the use of ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool for liver cirrhosis in people with alcoholic liver disease. In order to be able to answer the review questions, we need diagnostic ultrasonography prospective studies of adequate sample size, enrolling only participants with alcoholic liver disease.The design and report of the studies should follow the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy. The sonographic features, with validated cut-offs, which may help identify clinical signs used for diagnosis of fibrosis in alcoholic liver disease, should be carefully selected to achieve maximum diagnostic accuracy on ultrasonography

Laser Based ¹³C-urea Breath Test in Quantitative Assessment of Bacterial Colonization, Severity of Inflammation and Atrophy in Gastric Mucosa

Aim: to compare the results of 13C-UBT with the data of morphological analysis of the gastric and duodenal mucosa obtained during gastroduodenoscopy in gastritis and peptic ulcer. To analyze the dependence of the results of diode laser spectroscopy (DLS) based 13C-UBT on age, nosology, activity and severity of the inflammatory process, the degree of atrophy and metaplasia.Materials and methods. The 13C-UBT DLS was performed in 525 patients before the start of eradication therapy and in 196 patients 10–12 weeks after its completion. The breath test was carried out according to a standard protocol using the BSIA patent kit (Great Britain). During endoscopy, 134 patients underwent a biopsy from the upper third of the body of the stomach, the antrum (within 5 cm from the pylorus along the greater curvature) and the duodenal bulb with histological examination with hematoxylin-eosin staining, PAS-reaction and Giemsa. Histological assessment of the state of the gastric mucosa was carried out according to a modified Sydney system with an assessment of morphological changes according to a 4-point visual analog scale (0 to 3+).Results. A total of 525 patients (301 men and 224 women) aged 15–80 years (median 39.8 ± 15.1 years) were examined. 239 (45.5 %) patients were diagnosed with chronic gastritis, chronic duodenitis (including erosive forms). In 286 (54.5 %) patients, peptic ulcer was diagnosed with localization in the stomach — in 42 (8 %), in the duodenum – in 238 (45.3 %), combined lesions — in 9 (1.7 %) cases. Based on the results of 13C-UDT DLS, H. рylori infection was detected in 447 patients. H. рylori was not found in erosive gastritis in 15 %, erosive duodenitis in 21 % and chronic non-erosive gastritis in 23 %. In peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, H. pylori was detected in 93 % and 97 %.A direct linear relationship between the results of the breath test and the quantitative content of H. рylori on the surface of the gastric mucosa was obtained. The parameters of laser 13C-UBT clearly correlate with the degree of severity of mononuclear infiltration of the mucosa (the strength of the connection is 0.78). When comparing the average values of laser 13C-UBT with the total assessment of the degree of mucosal neutrophilic infiltration, no significant relationship was found. With a slight severity of mucosal atrophy, the result of laser based 13C-UBT practically does not change; there is a tendency of a decrease in the breath test with an increase in atrophic changes.Conclusion. Indicators of 13C-UBT correlate with the quantitative content of H. pylori bacteria in the gastric mucosa, the severity of mononuclear infiltration of the gastroduodenal mucous, the severity of atrophic changes

Search for T-violation in K^+ --> pi^0 mu^+ nu and K^+ --> mu^+ nu gamma Decays

The recent progress in search for T-violating transverse muon polarization in the decays K^+ --> pi^0 mu^+ nu and K^+ --> mu^+ nu gamma in the on-going experiment E246 at KEK is reported. Future prospects in polarization measurements are also discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, talk at the Conference of Nuclear Physics Department RAS, 27 November - 1 December 2000, ITEP, Mosco

Новые образовательные технологии в информационно-образовательном пространстве НГТУ им. Р. Е. Алексеева

Report on new developments and information technology used in the classroom. Interactive browser e-Learning Course. Webinars OpenMeetings. Software for creating electronic books FlippingBook Publisher.Доклад о новых разработках и информационных технологиях используемых в учебном процессе. Интерактивный броузер e-Learning Course. Вебинары OpenMeetings. ПО для создания электронных книг FlippingBook Publisher

Electromagnetic Calorimeter for HADES

We propose to build the Electromagnetic calorimeter for the HADES di-lepton spectrometer. It will enable to measure the data on neutral meson production from nucleus-nucleus collisions, which are essential for interpretation of dilepton data, but are unknown in the energy range of planned experiments (2-10 GeV per nucleon). The calorimeter will improve the electron-hadron separation, and will be used for detection of photons from strange resonances in elementary and HI reactions. Detailed description of the detector layout, the support structure, the electronic readout and its performance studied via Monte Carlo simulations and series of dedicated test experiments is presented. The device will cover the total area of about 8 m^2 at polar angles between 12 and 45 degrees with almost full azimuthal coverage. The photon and electron energy resolution achieved in test experiments amounts to 5-6%/sqrt(E[GeV]) which is sufficient for the eta meson reconstruction with S/B ratio of 0.4% in Ni+Ni collisions at 8 AGeV. A purity of the identified leptons after the hadron rejection, resulting from simulations based on the test measurements, is better than 80% at momenta above 500 MeV/c, where time-of-flight cannot be used.Comment: 40 pages, 38 figures version2 - the time schedule added, information about PMTs in Sec.III update