Status of PEM-based polarimetric MSE development at KSTAR

A multi-chord PEM (photo elastic modulator)-based polarimetric motional Stark effect (MSE) system is under development for the KSTAR tokamak. The conceptual design for the front optics was optimized to preserve not only the polarization state of the input light for the MSE measurements but also the signal intensity of the existing charge exchange spectroscopy (CES) system that will share the front optics with the MSE. The optics design incorporates how to determine the number of channels and the number of fibers for each channel. A dielectric coating will be applied on the mirror to minimize the relative reflectivity and the phase shift between the two orthogonal polarization components of the incident light. Lenses with low stress-birefringence constants will be adopted to minimize non-linear and random changes in the polarization through the lenses, which is a trade-off with the rather high Faraday rotation in the lenses because the latter effect is linear and can be relatively easily calibrated out. Intensive spectrum measurements and their comparisons with the simulated spectra are done to assist the design of the bandpass filter system that will also use tilting stages to remotely control the passband. Following the system installation in 2014, the MSE measurements are expected to be performed during the 2015 KSTAR campaign

An Autopsy Case of Postpartum Acute Myocardial Infarction Associated with Postpartum Ergot Alkaloids Administration in Old-Aged Pregnant Women

Cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) that occur during pregnancy or postpartum are rarely reported. Ergot derivatives are known to induce the spasmodic contraction of coronary arteries. Administration of ergot derivatives can cause AMI, even in normal healthy people. In several reported cases, ergot derivatives triggered severe AMI during the postpartum period. Here, we report the case of a forty-year-old woman who was successfully impregnated by artificial fertilization and died after treatment with ergot derivatives. The autopsy revealed AMI with severe coronary atherosclerosis. This is the first case that reports aggravation of pre-existent severe coronary atherosclerosis after postpartum infusion of ergot derivtives

Fluoroscopically Guided Balloon Dilation for Benign Anastomotic Stricture in the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract

A benign anastomotic stricture is a common complication of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) surgery and is difficult to manage conservatively. Fluoroscopically guided balloon dilation has a number of advantages and is a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of various benign anastomotic strictures in the UGI tract

OPENMENDEL: A Cooperative Programming Project for Statistical Genetics

Statistical methods for genomewide association studies (GWAS) continue to improve. However, the increasing volume and variety of genetic and genomic data make computational speed and ease of data manipulation mandatory in future software. In our view, a collaborative effort of statistical geneticists is required to develop open source software targeted to genetic epidemiology. Our attempt to meet this need is called the OPENMENDELproject (https://openmendel.github.io). It aims to (1) enable interactive and reproducible analyses with informative intermediate results, (2) scale to big data analytics, (3) embrace parallel and distributed computing, (4) adapt to rapid hardware evolution, (5) allow cloud computing, (6) allow integration of varied genetic data types, and (7) foster easy communication between clinicians, geneticists, statisticians, and computer scientists. This article reviews and makes recommendations to the genetic epidemiology community in the context of the OPENMENDEL project.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, 2 table

Imaging-guided chest biopsies: techniques and clinical results

Background This article aims to comprehensively describe indications, contraindications, technical aspects, diagnostic accuracy and complications of percutaneous lung biopsy. Methods Imaging-guided biopsy currently represents one of the predominant methods for obtaining tissue specimens in patients with lung nodules; in many cases treatment protocols are based on histological information; thus, biopsy is frequently performed, when technically feasible, or in case other techniques (such as bronchoscopy with lavage) are inconclusive. Results Although a coaxial system is suitable in any case, two categories of needles can be used: fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and core-needle biopsy (CNB), with the latter demonstrated to have a slightly higher overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Conclusion Percutaneous lung biopsy is a safe procedure even though a few complications are possible: pneumothorax, pulmonary haemorrhage and haemoptysis are common complications, while air embolism and seeding are rare, but potentially fatal complications

Autopiquer - a robust and reliable peak detection algorithm for mass spectrometry

We present a simple algorithm for robust and unsupervised peak detection by determining a noise threshold in isotopically resolved mass spectrometry data. Solving this problem will greatly reduce the subjective and time consuming manual picking of mass spectral peaks and so will prove beneficial in many research applications. The Autopiquer approach uses autocorrelation to test for the presence of (isotopic) structure in overlapping windows across the spectrum. Within each window, a noise threshold is optimized to remove the most unstructured data whilst keeping as much of the (isotopic) structure as possible. This algorithm has been successfully demonstrated for both peak detection and spectral compression on data from many different classes of mass spectrometer and for different sample types and this approach should also be extendible to other types of data that contain regularly spaced discrete peaks

Comparison of five commercial serological tests for the detection of anti-Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies.

Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis-specific antibodies is valuable in investigating recurrent miscarriage, tubal infertility and extrauterine pregnancy. We compared here the performance of immunofluorescence (IF) to four other commercial tests in detecting IgG antibodies directed against C. trachomatis: two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) using the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) as the antigen, commercialised respectively by Medac and R-Biopharm (RB), one ELISA using the chlamydial heat shock protein 60 (cHSP60) as the antigen (Medac), as well as a new automated epifluorescence immunoassay (InoDiag). A total of 405 patients with (n = 251) and without (n = 154) miscarriages were tested by all five tests. The prevalence of C. trachomatis-specific IgG antibodies as determined by the IF, cHSP60-Medac, MOMP-Medac, MOMP-RB and InoDiag was 14.3, 23.2, 14.3, 11.9 and 26.2%, respectively. InoDiag exhibited the highest sensitivity, whereas MOMP-RB showed the best specificity. Cross-reactivity was observed with C. pneumoniae using IF, MOMP-RB and InoDiag, and Parachlamydia acanthamoebae using the cHSP60 ELISA test. No cross-reactivity was observed between C. trachomatis and the other Chlamydiales (Neochlamydia hartmannellae, Waddlia chondrophila and Simkania negevensis). Given its high sensitivity, the new automated epifluorescence immunoassay from InoDiag represents an interesting alternative. The MOMP-based ELISA of R-Biopharm should be preferred for large serological studies, given the high throughput of ELISA and its excellent specificity

Balloon Dilatation for Corrosive Esophageal Strictures in Children: Radiologic and Clinical Outcomes

Objective: We retrospectively evaluated the effectiveness of the esophageal balloon dilatation (EBD) in children with a corrosive esophageal stricture. Materials and Methods: The study subjects included 14 patients (M:F = 8:6, age range: 17-85 months) who underwent an EBD due to a corrosive esophageal stricture. The causative agents for the condition were glacial acetic acid (n = 9) and lye (n = 5). Results: A total of 52 EBD sessions were performed in 14 patients (range 1-8 sessions). During the mean 15-month follow-up period (range 1-79 months), 12 patients (86%) underwent additional EBD due to recurrent esophageal stricture. Dysphagia improved after each EBD session and oral feeding was possible between EBD sessions. Long-term success (defined as dysphagia relief for at least 12 months after the last EBD) was achieved in two patients (14%). Temporary success of EBD (defined as dysphagia relief for at least one month after the EBD session) was achieved in 17 out of 52 sessions (33%). A submucosal tear of the esophagus was observed in two (4%) sessions of EBD. Conclusion: Only a limited number of children with corrosive esophageal strictures were considered cured by EBD. However, the outcome of repeated EBD was sufficient to allow the children to eat per os prior to surgical management.Doo EY, 2009, CLIN RADIOL, V64, P265, DOI 10.1016/j.crad.2008.10.001PARK JY, 2009, KOREAN J PEDIAT, V52, P446Hyoung J, 2008, J VASC INTERV RADIOL, V19, P736, DOI 10.1016/j.jvir.2008.01.015Ko HK, 2006, J VASC INTERV RADIOL, V17, P1327, DOI 10.1097/01.RVI.0000232686.29864.0AWeintraub JL, 2006, J VASC INTERV RADIOL, V17, P831, DOI 10.1097/01.RVI.0000217964.55623.19Wilkinson AG, 2004, PEDIATR RADIOL, V34, P414, DOI 10.1007/s00247-004-1164-1Huang YC, 2004, PEDIATR SURG INT, V20, P207, DOI 10.1007/s00383-004-1153-3Lan LCL, 2003, J PEDIATR SURG, V38, P1712, DOI 10.1016/S0022-3468(03)00638-9Fasulakis S, 2003, PEDIATR RADIOL, V33, P682, DOI 10.1007/s00247-003-1011-9Hamza AF, 2003, J PEDIATR SURG, V38, P828Kukkady A, 2002, PEDIATR SURG INT, V18, P486, DOI 10.1007/s00383-002-0798-zYEMING W, 2002, J PEDIATR SURG, V37, P398Jayakrishnan VK, 2001, PEDIATR RADIOL, V31, P98Lisy J, 1998, ACAD RADIOL, V5, P832Yararbai O, 1998, HEPATO-GASTROENTEROL, V45, P59KIM IO, 1993, RADIOLOGY, V189, P741HAN HY, 1993, J KOREAN RADIOL SOC, V29, P1181SONG HY, 1992, RADIOLOGY, V184, P373GUNDOGDU HZ, 1992, J PEDIATR SURG, V27, P767LOVEJOY FH, 1990, NEW ENGL J MED, V323, P668MAYNAR M, 1988, RADIOLOGY, V167, P703DELANGE EE, 1988, RADIOLOGY, V167, P45SATO Y, 1988, AM J ROENTGENOL, V150, P639MCLEAN GK, 1987, RADIOLOGY, V165, P35GOLDTHORN JF, 1984, RADIOLOGY, V153, P655LONDON RL, 1981, GASTROENTEROLOGY, V80, P173MUHLETALER CA, 1980, AM J ROENTGENOL, V134, P1137RAGHEB MI, 1976, SURGERY, V79, P494

Search for the X(1812) in B±→K±ωϕB^{\pm} \to K^{\pm} \omega \phi

We report on a search for the X(1812) state in the decay $B^{\pm} \to K^{\pm} \omega \phi$ with a data sample of $657\times10^6$ $B\bar{B}$ pairs collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^+e^-$ collider. No significant signal is observed. An upper limit ${\cal B}(B^{\pm} \to K^{\pm} X(1812),X(1812) \to \omega \phi)<3.2\times 10^{-7}$ (90% C.L.) is determined. We also constrain the three-body decay branching fraction to be ${\cal B}(B^{\pm} \to K^{\pm} \omega \phi)$ $<$ 1.9 $\times 10^{-6}$ (90% C.L.).Comment: 5pages,2 figures(3 figure files). submitted to PRD(RC

Measurements of time-dependent CP asymmetries in B→D∗∓π±B \to D^{*\mp} \pi^{\pm} decays using a partial reconstruction technique

We report results on time-dependent CP asymmetries in $B \to D^{*\mp}\pi^{\pm}$ decays based on a data sample containing 657 {\times} $10^6$ $B\bar{B}$ pairs collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance. We use a partial reconstruction technique, wherein signal $B \to D^{*\mp}\pi^{\pm}$ events are identified using information only from the fast pion from the B decay and the slow pion from the subsequent decay of the $D^{*\mp}$, where the former (latter) corresponds to $D^{*+} (D^{*-})$ final states. We obtain CP violation parameters $S^+ = +0.061 \pm 0.018(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.012(\mathrm{syst})$ and $S^- = +0.031 \pm 0.019(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.015(\mathrm{syst})$.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physical Review D (RC