Molecular Imaging of Inflammation in Aortic Aneurysmal Disease

The high mortality rate of diseases of the aorta has its foundation in imaging methods that define anatomy and disease burden but less so upon the diagnosis of asymptomatic conditions, rate of aneurysm expansion, or prediction of rupture. However, anatomical features can now be co-localized with molecular and physiological activity. The advancement of nanoparticles based upon iron oxide will also serve to bring a trio of magnetic, radionuclide, and optical imaging modalities together. The combinations of these technologies are still at the preclinical refinement stage but already enzyme-activatable probes have b

Donor Centers and Absorption Spectra in Quantum Dots

We have studied the electronic properties and optical absorption spectra of three different cases of donor centers, D^{0}, D^{-} and D^{2-}, which are subjected to a perpendicular magnetic field, using the exact diagonalization method. The energies of the lowest lying states are obtained as function of the applied magnetic field strength B and the distance zeta between the positive ion and the confinement xy-plane. Our calculations indicate that the positive ion induces transitions in the ground-state, which can be observed clearly in the absorption spectra, but as zeta goes to 0 the strength of the applied magnetic field needed for a transition to occur tends to infinity.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX 4, gzipped tar fil

Fire detection in color images using Markov random fields

Automatic video-based fire detection can greatly reduce fire alert delay in large industrial and commercial sites, at a minimal cost, by using the existing CCTV camera network. Most traditional computer vision methods for fire detection model the temporal dynamics of the flames, in conjunction with simple color filtering. An important drawback of these methods is that their performance degrades at lower framerates, and they cannot be applied to still images, limiting their applicability. Also, real-time operation often requires significant computational resources, which may be unfeasible for large camera networks. This paper presents a novel method for fire detection in static images, based on a Markov Random Field but with a novel potential function. The method detects 99.6% of fires in a large collection of test images, while generating less false positives then a state-of-the-art reference method. Additionally, parameters are easily trained on a 12-image training set with minimal user input

Meson-like Baryons and the Spin-Orbit Puzzle

I describe a special class of meson-like \Lambda_Q excited states and present evidence supporting the similarity of their spin-independent spectra to those of mesons. I then examine spin-dependent forces in these baryons, showing that predicted effects of spin-orbit forces are small for them for the same reason they are small for the analogous mesons: a fortuitous cancellation between large spin-orbit forces due to one-gluon-exchange and equally large inverted spin-orbit forces due to Thomas precession in the confining potential. In addition to eliminating the baryon spin-orbit puzzle in these states, this solution provides a new perspective on spin-orbit forces in all baryons.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figure

Analysis of the cardiovascular risk factors in military above 35 years old

Introduction The increasing prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors is mainly due to habits acquired during one’s life. However, military training has physical aptitude as one of its main objectives. The objective of the data analysis was to analyze the practiced physical activity, which is the most active age group and if the intensity of the physical activity influences the various parameters being analyzed. Methodology This evaluation focuses on some cardiovascular parameters like the incidence of family history, medication, smoking habits and blood pressure/heart frequency measurements; data from blood tests to examine the biochemistry; body composition through weight, height, abdominal perimeter and, through DXA, body fat; and with accelerometry the physical activity level has been determined. Results Sedentary physical activity is significantly greater during weekends instead of moderate and intense levels, which occur mainly during work-days. People who are between 45 and 54 years old are the ones who takes more anticholesterolemic medicine and also the one who show the best HDL values. The sedentary level of physical activity is positively and directly related with weight, which presents an inverse correlation with moderate physical activity, and also body fat parameters and abdominal perimeter. The highest prothrombin time levels and sedimentation speed are associated with sedentary physical activity. However, even though HDL levels are significantly greater when intense physical activity is practiced, this also creates higher values of INR. Intense physical activity is also responsible for some ischemic heart disease, reflecting an increase in CK-MB values. Discussion The abdominal perimeter proved to be a better predictor of intra-abdominal fat than the BMI. The youngest age group showed really high values of PCR, protein being a contributing factor for heart disease risk (Albert, Glynn & Ridker, 2003). The relation between physical activity and fat was inverse (Cederberg et al, 2011), while HDL results were better as physical activity increased (Gordon-Larsen et al, 2009). Physical activity intensity above average show little to no benefits (AAdahl, KJæer & Jørgensen, 2007), just like the increase of circulation CK-MB however, sedentary ones showed more changes when it came to coagulation. Balanced physical activity was moderate when it came to benefits/disadvantages

Flat histogram simulation of lattice polymer systems

We demonstrate the use of a new algorithm called the Flat Histogram sampling algorithm for the simulation of lattice polymer systems. Thermodynamics properties, such as average energy or entropy and other physical quantities such as end-to-end distance or radius of gyration can be easily calculated using this method. Ground-state energy can also be determined. We also explore the accuracy and limitations of this method. Key words: Monte Carlo algorithms, flat histogram sampling, HP model, lattice polymer systemsComment: 7 RevTeX two-column page

Recent advance in high manufacturing readiness level and high temperature CMOS mixed-signal integrated circuits on silicon carbide

A high manufacturing readiness level silicon carbide (SiC) CMOS technology is presented. The unique process flow enables the monolithic integration of pMOS and nMOS transistors with passive circuit elements capable of operation at temperatures of 300 °C and beyond. Critical to this functionality is the behaviour of the gate dielectric and data for high temperature capacitance–voltage measurements are reported for SiO2/4H-SiC (n and p type) MOS structures. In addition, a summary of the long term reliability for a range of structures including contact chains to both n-type and p-type SiC, as well as simple logic circuits is presented, showing function after 2000 h at 300 °C. Circuit data is also presented for the performance of digital logic devices, a 4 to 1 analogue multiplexer and a configurable timer operating over a wide temperature range. A high temperature micro-oven system has been utilised to enable the high temperature testing and stressing of units assembled in ceramic dual in line packages, including a high temperature small form-factor SiC based bridge leg power module prototype, operated for over 1000 h at 300 °C. The data presented show that SiC CMOS is a key enabling technology in high temperature integrated circuit design. In particular it provides the ability to realise sensor interface circuits capable of operating above 300 °C, accommodate shifts in key parameters enabling deployment in applications including automotive, aerospace and deep well drilling

Cutaneous manifestations of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 patients: a report of six cases with clinicopathologic features and viral RNA in situ hybridization

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163863/1/jdv16741.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163863/2/jdv16741_am.pd

Zinc-phthalocyanine-loaded extracellular vesicles increase efficacy and selectivity of photodynamic therapy in co-culture and preclinical models of colon cancer

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising and clinically approved method for the treatment of cancer. However, the efficacy of PDT is often limited by the poor selectivity and distribution of the photosensitizers (PS) toward the malignant tumors, resulting in prolonged periods of skin photosensitivity. In this work, we present a simple and straightforward strategy to increase the tumor distribution, selectivity, and efficacy of lipophilic PS zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) in colon cancer by their stabilization in purified, naturally secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs). The PS ZnPc was incorporated in EVs (EV-ZnPc) by a direct incubation strategy that did not affect size distribution or surface charge. By using co-culture models simulating a tumor microenvironment, we determined the preferential uptake of EV-ZnPc toward colon cancer cells when compared with macrophages and dendritic cells. We observed that PDT promoted total tumor cell death in normal and immune cells, but showed selectivity against cancer cells in co-culture models. In vivo assays showed that after a single intravenous or intratumoral injection, EV-ZnPc were able to target the tumor cells and strongly reduce tumor growth over 15 days. These data expose opportunities to enhance the potential and efficacy of PDT using simple non-synthetic strategies that might facilitate translation into clinical practice.Imaging- and therapeutic targets in neoplastic and musculoskeletal inflammatory diseas