BACKGROUND Utilising fluorescence optical imaging (FOI), the distribution of an intravenously applied colouring agent indocyanine green (ICG) can be analysed with the potential to identify malperfusion by little to no tissue enhancement. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterised by the presence of digital ulcers reflecting progressive vasculopathy. The objective was to investigate the potential...

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune connective tissue disease characterized by vasculopathy and progressive fibrosis of the skin and visceral organs (gastrointestinal tract, heart, kidneys and lungs). Although the prevalence is low, SSc is a disease with high morbidity and mortality. Since pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with SSc (SSc-PAH) and clinically evident cardiac i...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the parenchymal and extracellular matrix remodeling process in two histologic patterns-nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP)-in cases of idiopathic and sclerosis/systemic sclerosis (SSc)-associated interstitial pneumonia. METHODS We examined 15 cases of idiopathic NSIP, 10 cases of idiopathic UIP, 5 case...

sesame oil cake (ssc) was bio-processed through solid state fermentation (ssf) under optimized conditions by a phytase-producing fish gut bacterium, bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis (jx292128). ssf significantly reduced anti-nutritional factors (e.g., phytic acid, tannins and trypsin inhibitor) and crude fibre, while enhanced free amino acids, fatty acids and different minerals. phytase product...

This paper empirically examines commercialization of university faculty inventions through startup firms from 1994 through 2008. Using data from the Association of University Technology Managers and the 2010 NRC doctoral rankings, our research reveals several findings. We find that university entrepreneurship is more common in bad economic times and that engineering department quality and biolo...

Software startups are more popular than ever and growing in numbers. They operate under conditions of extreme uncertainty and face plenty of challenges, underlined by their high failure rate. Using Design Science Research, these challenges were investigated. A literature study showed that in recent years, several authors have suggested ways to increase the odds of succeeding as a startup, such ...

Systemic sclerosis (SSc)-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) has become the leading SSc-related cause of death. Although various types of immunosuppressive therapy have been attempted for patients with SSc-ILD, no curative or effective treatment strategies for SSc-ILD have been developed. Therefore, management of patients with SSc-ILD remains a challenge. Here, we report a Chinese, f...

BACKGROUND The clinical and histologic appearance of fibrosis in cutaneous lesions in chronic graft-versus -host disease (c-GVHD) resembles the appearance of fibrosis in scleroderma (SSc). Recent studies identified distinctive structural changes in the superficial dermal microvasculature and matrix of SSc skin. We compared the dermal microvasculature in human c-GVHD to SSc to determine if c-GVH...

Secondary sclerosing cholangitis in critically ill patients (SSC-CIP) is an important differential diagnosis in patients presenting with cholestasis and PSC-like cholangiographic changes in endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC). As a relatively newly described entity, SSC-CIP is still underdiagnosed, and the diagnosis is often delayed. The present study aims to improve the early detection...

This paper is focused on the tactical design of steel supply chain (SSC). A general mathematical model is proposed to integrate production and transportation planning in multi-commodity SSC. The main purpose is to prepare a countrywide production and distribution plan in an SSC with three layers consisting of iron ore mines as suppliers, steel companies as producers, and subsidiary steel compan...