SUMMARY: Perfusion imaging of brain tumors has been performed by using various tracer and nontracer modalities and can provide additional physiologic and hemodynamic information, which is not available with routine morphologic imaging. Tumor vascular perfusion parameters obtained by using CT or MR perfusion have been used for tumor grading, prognosis, and treatment response in addition to differentiating treatment/radiation effects and non-neoplastic lesions from neoplasms. This article is an overview of the utility of PCT for assessment of brain tumors and describes the technique, its advantages, and limitations. BBB : blood-brain barrier CBF : cerebral blood flow CBV : cerebral blood volume DSC : dynamic susceptibility contrast FDG-PET : fluorodeoxyglucose–positron-emission tomography K trans : volume transfer coefficient MRI : MR imaging MTT : mean transit time MVCP : microvascular cellular proliferation MVD : microvascular density PCT : perfusion CT PS : permeability surface-area product rCBV : regional cerebral blood flow ROI : region of interest rPSR : relative percentage signal recovery SDF-1 : stromal derived factor-1 TDL : tumefactive demyelinating lesion TVA : total vascular area VEGF : vascular endothelial growth factor WHO : World Health Organization

Unite For Sight® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness.

This patent search tool allows you not only to search the PCT database of about 2 million International Applications but also the worldwide patent collections. This search facility features: flexible search syntax; automatic word stemming and relevance ranking; as well as graphical results.

Public health surveillance is the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, closely integrated with the timely dissemination of these data to those responsible for preventing and controlling disease and injury (Thacker and Berkelman 1988). Public health surveillance is a tool to estimate the health status and behavior of the populations served by ministries of health, ministries of finance, and donors. Because surveillance can directly measure what is going on in the population, it is useful both for measuring the need for interventions and for directly measuring the effects of interventions. The purpose of surveillance is to empower decision makers to lead and manage more effectively by providing timely, useful evidence.

Aims: To study the clinical significance and prognostic value of monitoring procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients with multiple organ dysfunction (MODS). Methods: We enrolled 24 ARDS ...

Abstract. This report describes the design and implementation of the Real-time Outbreak and Disease Surveillance (RODS) system, a computer-based public health s

The palatal mucosal thickness after FGG harvesting might affect the filling of the defect. Within the study period, the periphery of the palatal wounds filled earlier and to a greater extent compared with the centre of the wounds.

Objective: To determine diagnostic performance of serum PCT-Q (BRAHMS procalcitonin commercial kit) for bacterial lower respiratory tract infection among COPD patient with exacerbation. Material and methods: Prospective study was conducted in 40 hospitalized COPD patients with exacerbation between June 2008 and January 2009. Patient clinical profiles including the presence of infiltrate on chest roentgenogram, leukocytosis, positive sputum culture for bacteria and clinical outcome (mortality, length of stay and mechanical ventilation requirement) were determined. Serum procalcitonin concentration was measured by both PCT-Q commercial kits and standard quantitative assay on the first day of admission. Result: The diagnostic yield of PCT-Q for pneumonic exacerbation (the presence of pulmonary infiltrate) exhibits sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 71.9% whereas the test exhibits 50.0% sensitivity and 73.3% specificity for the presence of leukocytosis. However, positive PCT-Q provides 40.9 % sensitivity and 50.0%specificity for determining bacterial causes of exacerbation (defined by bacterial culture positivity in sputum). There is no significant correlation between positive PCT-Q and the mechanical ventilator requirement (p=0.864) as well as an average length of stay (p=0.139). The correlation between the positive PCT-Q and positive standard serum assay is noted. Conclusion: PCT-Q can be used as biomarker for pneumonic exacerbation in COPD patients whereas the PCT-Q level is poorly correlated with the clinical outcome. In addition, correlation of kits and standard assay is noted. However, the benefit of PCT-Q is shorter turnaround time.

Spectacle-mounted telescopic systems are prescribed for individuals with visual impairments. Bioptic telescopes are typically mounted toward the top of the spectacle lens (or above the frame) with the telescope eyepiece positioned above the wearer's pupil. This allows the wearer to use up and down h …

Twelve of the former NDEWS sites and six of the former Community Epidemiology Workgroup (CEWG) sites have joined our NDEWS Early Warning Network as sentinel sites. These 18 sites collect and submit indicator data on an ongoing basis, as well as submit annual site reports.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Patlak model has been applied to first-pass perfusion CT (PCT) data to extract information on blood-brain barrier permeability (BBBP) to predict hemorrhagic transformation in patients with acute stroke. However, the Patlak model was originally described for the delayed steady-state phase of contrast circulation. The goal of this study was to assess whether the first pass or the delayed phase of a contrast bolus injection better respects the assumptions of the Patlak model for the assessment of BBBP in patients with acute stroke by using PCT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively identified 125 consecutive patients (29 with acute hemispheric stroke and 96 without) who underwent a PCT study by using a prolonged acquisition time up to 3 minutes. The Patlak model was applied to calculate BBBP in ischemic and nonischemic brain tissue. Linear regression of the Patlak plot was performed separately for the first pass and for the delayed phase of the contrast bolus injection. Patlak linear regression models for the first pass and the delayed phase were compared in terms of their respective square root mean squared errors (√MSE) and correlation coefficients ( R ) by using generalized estimating equations with robust variance estimation. RESULTS: BBBP values calculated from the first pass were significantly higher than those from the delayed phase, both in nonischemic brain tissue (2.81 mL × 100 g−1 × min−1 for the first pass versus 1.05 mL × 100 g−1 × min−1 for the delayed phase, P < .001) and in ischemic tissue (7.63 mL × 100 g−1 × min−1 for the first pass versus 1.31 mL × 100 g−1 × min−1 for the delayed phase, P < .001). Compared with regression models from the first pass, Patlak regression models obtained from the delayed data were of better quality, showing significantly lower √MSE and higher R . CONCLUSION: Only the delayed phase of PCT acquisition respects the assumptions of linearity of the Patlak model in patients with and without stroke.

The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) is an ongoing drug abuse data collection system sponsored by SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies. DAWN collects data from: (1) hospital emergency departments (EDs) and (2) medical examiners (MEs). The DAWN ED component relies on a nationally representative sample of hospital EDs to produce information on the number and characteristics of drug abuse related visits to such EDs in the coterminous United States and in 21 metropolitan areas. The DAWN mortality component produces information on drug abuse related deaths, based on reports from participating medical examiners. DAWN cases (drug-related ED visits or deaths) include detailed information about the abuse of illegal drugs or legal drugs used for non medical purposes.

The aims of this pilot study were to: i) conduct a thorough behavioral and medical evaluation of cats presenting for chronic fabric ingestion; and ii) implement specific treatments for conditions identified and evaluate the outcome of treatment on fabric ingestion. Eight cats which ingested fabric a …

A framework of Human Error Probability (HEP) parameters, which is needed for Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) within a practice of Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) of Nuclear Power Plant is first proposed. Then a laboratory experiment was conducted in order to construct a computer simulation mo …

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Intellectual property in India is a subordinate office of the Govt of India & administers the Indian law for Patents, Designs, Trade Marks & Geographical Indica