To examine which factors affect the reproducibility of ejection fraction (EF), pulmonary transit time (PTT) and segmental wall motion assessed from first-pass radionuclide angiograms (FPRA), 32 patients who had FPRA were randomized for site of injection of isotope (right or left arm) and projection (right or left anterior oblique [RAO or LAO]). The quality of injected bolus was measured from th...

Uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 16) were evaluated longitudinally and compared to early- (n = 12) and late-onset (n = 14) preeclampsia patients, assessed once at diagnosis. Pulse transit time (PTT), equivalent to pulse wave velocity, was measured as the time interval between corresponding characteristics of electrocardiography and Doppler waves, corrected for heart rate, at the level of renal in...

The authors sought to compare power output at blood lactate threshold, maximal lactate steady state, and pH threshold with the average power output during a simulated 20-km time trial assessed during cycle ergometry. Participants (N = 13) were trained male and female cyclists and triathletes, all permanent residents at moderate altitude (1,525-2,225 m). Testing was performed at 1,525 or 1,860 m...

Imaging-based techniques have enabled the direct integration of noninvasive imaging with minimally invasive interventions such as photothermal therapy (PTT) to improve the precision of treatment. METHODS We investigated the feasibility of PTT for ovarian cancer under the guidance of PET and MR temperature imaging using copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS NPs). The tumor distribution of the CuS ...

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) belong to the category of phototherapy and are based on the photophysical generation of either noxious reactive oxygen species, thereby inducing oxidative stress, or rather cell-hostile environmental conditions (local hyperthermia) with the general aim to destroy abnormal tissues. A great advantage of both strategies is the fact that the...

In comparison to conventional tumor treatment methods, photothermal therapy (PTT) is one of the innovative therapeutic strategies that employs light to produce localized heat for targeted ablation of cancer cells. Among the various kinds of heat generation nanomaterials, transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets, especially molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), have recently been investigated as one of...

Data on growth and sexual maturation among boys from the rural Western Cape in South Africa is limited. A cross-sectional study of 269 school boys was conducted testing for serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and estradiol (E2); height, weight and body mass index (BMI); sexual maturity (using Tanner Stages) and a ...

This thesis deals with two approaches to the problem of suboptimal decoding of finitelength error correcting codes under a probabilistic channel model. One approach, initiated by Gallager in 1963, is based on iterative message-passing decoding algorithms. The second approach, introduced by Feldman, Wainwright and Karger in 2003, is based on linear-programming (LP). We consider families of error...

AIM The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro the utility of biologically compatible, nontoxic and cell-specific targetable hydrogel nanoparticles (NPs), which have Coomassie® Brilliant Blue G dye (Sigma-Aldrich, MO, USA) covalently linked into their polyacrylamide matrix, as candidates for photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancer cells. MATERIALS & METHODS Hydrogel NPs with Coomassie Bri...

In this Phase I SBIR research, we proved the feasibility of a semi-automated part-task trainer (PTT) prototype development environment. In this effort, we set out to address the shortfalls of traditional PTTs and to introduce new concepts into the PTT prototyping process. The research developed innovative rapid prototyping techniques for the development of PTT prototypes. These techniques are l...