2,102 research outputs found
Dynamic Hyperspectral and Polarized Endoscopic Imaging
The health of rich, developed nations has seen drastic improvement
in the last two centuries. For it to continue improving at a similar
rate new or improved diagnostic and treatment technologies are required,
especially for those diseases such as cancer which are forecast
to constitute the majority of disease burden in the future. Optical
techniques such as microscopy have long played their part in the diagnostic
process. However there are several new biophotonic modalities
that aim to exploit various interactions between light and tissue to provide
enhanced diagnostic information. Many of these show promise in
a laboratory setting but few have progressed to a clinical setting. We
have designed and constructed a
flexible, multi-modal, multi-spectral
laparoscopic imaging system that could be used to demonstrate several
different techniques in a clinical setting.
The core of this system is a dynamic hyperspectral illumination system
based around a supercontinuum laser and Digital Micromirror
Device that can provide specified excitation light in the visible and
near infra-red ranges. This is a powerful tool for spectroscopic techniques
as it is not limited to interrogating a fixed range of wavelengths
and can switch between excitation bands instantaneously. The excitation
spectra can be customised to match particular
fluorophores or
absorption features, introducing new possibilities for spectral imaging.
A standard 10 mm diameter rigid endoscope was incorporated into
the system to reduce cost and demonstrate compatibility with existing
equipment. The polarization properties of two commercial endoscopes
were characterised and found to be unsuited to current polarization
imaging techniques as birefringent materials used in their construction introduce complex, spatially dependent transformations of the polarization
state. Preliminary exemplar data from phantoms and ex vivo
tissue was collected and the feasibility and accuracy of different analysis
techniques demonstrated including multiple class classification algorithms.
Finally, a novel visualisation method was implemented in
order to display the complex hyperspectral data sets in a meaningful
and intuitive way to the user
Algorithms for Least-Squares Noncartesian MR Image Reconstruction
Iterative least-squares MR reconstructions typically use the Conjugate
Gradient algorithm, despite known numerical issues. This paper demonstrates
that the more recent LSMR algorithm has favourable numerical properties, and is
to be preferred in situations where Toeplitz embedding cannot be used to
accelerate the Conjugate Gradient method.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
The Dynamical History of Chariklo and its Rings
Chariklo is the only small Solar system body confirmed to have rings. Given
the instability of its orbit, the presence of rings is surprising, and their
origin remains poorly understood. In this work, we study the dynamical history
of the Chariklo system by integrating almost 36,000 Chariklo clones backwards
in time for one Gyr under the influence of the Sun and the four giant planets.
By recording all close encounters between the clones and planets, we
investigate the likelihood that Chariklo's rings could have survived since its
capture to the Centaur population. Our results reveal that Chariklo's orbit
occupies a region of stable chaos, resulting in its orbit being marginally more
stable than those of the other Centaurs. Despite this, we find that it was most
likely captured to the Centaur population within the last 20 Myr, and that its
orbital evolution has been continually punctuated by regular close encounters
with the giant planets. The great majority (> 99%) of those encounters within
one Hill radius of the planet have only a small effect on the rings. We
conclude that close encounters with giant planets have not had a significant
effect on the ring structure. Encounters within the Roche limit of the giant
planets are rare, making ring creation through tidal disruption unlikely
Measuring the severity of close encounters between ringed small bodies and planets
Rings have recently been discovered around the trans-Neptunian object (TNO) 136108 Haumea and the Centaur 10199 Chariklo. Rings are also suspected around the Centaur 2060 Chiron. As planetary close encounters with ringed small bodies can affect ring longevity, we previously
measured the severity of such encounters of Chariklo and Chiron using the minimum encounter distance, dmin. The value of dmin that separates noticeable encounters from non-noticeable encounters we called the âring limitâ, R. R was then approximated as 10 tidal disruption distances, 10Rtd. In this work, we seek to find analytical expressions for R that fully account for the effects of the planet mass, small body mass, ms, ring orbital radius, r, and velocity at
infinity, vâ, for fictitious ringed Centaurs using ranges 2 Ă 1020 kg â€ms†1 Pluto mass and 25 000 â€r †100 000 km. To accomplish this, we use numerical integration to simulate close encounters between each giant planet and ringed Centaurs in the three-body planar problem. The results show that R has a lower bound of approximately 1.8Rtd. We compare analytical and experimental R values for a fictitious Haumea, Chariklo, and Chiron with r= 50 000 km.
The agreement is excellent for Haumea, but weaker for Chariklo and Chiron. The agreement is best for Jupiter and Saturn. The ring limits of the real Haumea, Chariklo, and Chiron are <4Rtd. Experimental R values for the fictitious bodies make better approximations for the R values of the real bodies than does 10Rtd. Analytical values make good first approximations
Stroke recovery in rats after 24h-delayed intramuscular neurotrophin-3 infusion
Objective
Neurotrophinâ3 (NT3) plays a key role in the development and function of locomotor circuits including descending serotonergic and corticospinal tract axons and afferents from muscle and skin. We have previously shown that gene therapy delivery of human NT3 into affected forelimb muscles improves sensorimotor recovery after stroke in adult and elderly rats. Here, to move toward the clinic, we tested the hypothesis that intramuscular infusion of NT3 protein could improve sensorimotor recovery after stroke.
Methods
Rats received unilateral ischemic stroke in sensorimotor cortex. To simulate a clinically feasible time to treatment, 24 hours later rats were randomized to receive NT3 or vehicle by infusion into affected triceps brachii for 4 weeks using implanted catheters and minipumps.
Results
Radiolabeled NT3 crossed from the bloodstream into the brain and spinal cord in rodents with or without strokes. NT3 increased the accuracy of forelimb placement during walking on a horizontal ladder and increased use of the affected arm for lateral support during rearing. NT3 also reversed sensory impairment of the affected wrist. Functional magnetic resonance imaging during stimulation of the affected wrist showed spontaneous recovery of periâinfarct blood oxygenation levelâdependent signal that NT3 did not further enhance. Rather, NT3 induced neuroplasticity of the spared corticospinal and serotonergic pathways.
Interpretation
Our results show that delayed, peripheral infusion of NT3 can improve sensorimotor function after ischemic stroke. Phase I and II clinical trials of NT3 (for constipation and neuropathy) have shown that peripheral high doses are safe and well tolerated, which paves the way for NT3 as a therapy for stroke
The Evaluation of Optic Nerves Using 7 Tesla 'Silent' Zero Echo Time Imaging in Patients with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy with or without Idebenone Treatment
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the Optic Nerve is difficult due to the fine extended nature of the structure, strong local magnetic field distortions induced by anatomy, and large motion artefacts associated with eye movement. To address these problems we used a Zero Echo Time (ZTE) MRI sequence with an Adiabatic SPectral Inversion Recovery (ASPIR) fat suppression pulse which also imbues the images with Magnetisation Transfer contrast. We investigated an application of the sequence for imaging the optic nerve in subjects with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Of particular note is the sequence's near-silent operation, which can enhance image quality of the optic nerve by reducing the occurrence of involuntary saccades induced during Magnetic Resonance (MR) scanning
Mode of birth and risk of infection-related hospitalisation in childhood: A population cohort study of 7.17 million births from 4 high-income countries
BACKGROUND: The proportion of births via cesarean section (CS) varies worldwide and in many countries exceeds WHO-recommended rates. Long-term health outcomes for children born by CS are poorly understood, but limited data suggest that CS is associated with increased infection-related hospitalisation. We investigated the relationship between mode of birth and childhood infection-related hospitalisation in high-income countries with varying CS rates. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a multicountry population-based cohort study of all recorded singleton live births from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2015 using record-linked birth and hospitalisation data from Denmark, Scotland, England, and Australia (New South Wales and Western Australia). Birth years within the date range varied by site, but data were available from at least 2001 to 2010 for each site. Mode of birth was categorised as vaginal or CS (emergency/elective). Infection-related hospitalisations (overall and by clinical type) occurring after the birth-related discharge date were identified in children until 5 years of age by primary/secondary International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis codes. Analysis used Cox regression models, adjusting for maternal factors, birth parameters, and socioeconomic status, with results pooled using meta-analysis. In total, 7,174,787 live recorded births were included. Of these, 1,681,966 (23%, range by jurisdiction 17%-29%) were by CS, of which 727,755 (43%, range 38%-57%) were elective. A total of 1,502,537 offspring (21%) had at least 1 infection-related hospitalisation. Compared to vaginally born children, risk of infection was greater among CS-born children (hazard ratio (HR) from random effects model, HR 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-1.12, p < 0.001). The risk was higher following both elective (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.12-1.13, p < 0.001) and emergency CS (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.06-1.12, p < 0.001). Increased risks persisted to 5 years and were highest for respiratory, gastrointestinal, and viral infections. Findings were comparable in prespecified subanalyses of children born to mothers at low obstetric risk and unchanged in sensitivity analyses. Limitations include site-specific and longitudinal variations in clinical practice and in the definition and availability of some data. Data on postnatal factors were not available. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we observed a consistent association between birth by CS and infection-related hospitalisation in early childhood. Notwithstanding the limitations of observational data, the associations may reflect differences in early microbial exposure by mode of birth, which should be investigated by mechanistic studies. If our findings are confirmed, they could inform efforts to reduce elective CS rates that are not clinically indicated
A Measurement of the Electric Form Factor of the Neutron through at (GeV/c)
We report the first measurement of the neutron electric form factor
via using a solid polarized target. was
determined from the beam-target asymmetry in the scattering of longitudinally
polarized electrons from polarized deuterated ammonia, ND. The
measurement was performed in Hall C at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator
Facility (TJNAF) in quasi free kinematics with the target polarization
perpendicular to the momentum transfer. The electrons were detected in a
magnetic spectrometer in coincidence with neutrons in a large solid angle
segmented detector. We find at (GeV/c).Comment: Latex2e 5 pages, 3 figure
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