Novel Findings of Retinal and Choroidal Features Utilizing Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Analysis in Patients With Autoimmune Posterior Uveitis

Purpose: To analyze the quantitative parameters acquired by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with autoimmune posterior uveitis.Methods: OCTA images of 65 eyes affected with uveitis and 65 normal control (NC) eyes were obtained. The central macular thickness (CMT), retinal thicknesses, foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, foveal density 300 μm (FD300), and vascular density (VD) were compared among acute uveitic eyes, chronic uveitic eyes, and NC eyes. VDs were evaluated in the choriocapillaris, outer retina, optic disk, whole and parafovea superficial capillary plexus (SCP), and whole and parafovea deep capillary plexus (DCP). Correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between LogMAR best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and quantitative parameters from OCTA.Results: Compared with NC eyes, the CMT and retinal thicknesses were increased significantly in eyes with uveitis (p < 0.05, respectively). No significant difference was observed in the FAZ area. FD300, VDs in the optic disk, SCP, and DCP both in whole image and parafovea, choriocapillaris were significantly decreased in uveitis eyes (p < 0.05, respectively) compared with NC eyes, only the acute group had decreased VD of the outer retina and choriocapillaris compared with the NC group (p < 0.05). Moreover, quantitative parameters of OCTA showed a significant correlation with LogMAR BCVA in the patients with uveitis. Whole VD DCP was the best predictive factor for BCVA in the patients with uveitis.Conclusion: Quantitative measurement by OCTA is a promising strategy for objective assessment of autoimmune posterior uveitis.

Identification of pathological subtypes of early lung adenocarcinoma based on artificial intelligence parameters and CT signs

Objective: To explore the value of quantitative parameters of artificial intelligence and computed tomography (CT) signs in identifying pathological subtypes of lung adenocarcinoma appearing as ground-glass nodules (GGNs). Methods: CT images of 224 GGNs from 210 individuals were collected retrospectively and pathologically classified into atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH)/adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA), and invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) groups. Artificial intelligence was used to identify GGNs and to obtain quantitative parameters, and CT signs were recognized manually. The mixed predictive model based on logistic multivariate regression was evaluated. Results: Of the 224 GGNs, 55, 93, and 76 were AAH/AIS, MIA, IAC, respectively. In terms of artificial intelligence parameters, from AAH/AIS to MIA, and IAC, there was a gradual increase in two-dimensional mean diameter, three-dimensional mean diameter, mean CT value, maximum CT value, and volume of GGNs (all P < 0.0001). Except for the CT signs of the location, and the tumor-lung interface, there were significant differences among the three groups in the density type, shape, vacuole signs, air bronchogram, lobulation, spiculation, pleural indentation, and vascular convergence signs (all P < 0.05). The areas under the curve (AUC) of predictive model 1 for identifying the AAH/AIS and MIA and model 2 for identifying MIA and IAC were 0.779 and 0.918, respectively, which were greater than the quantitative parameters independently (all P < 0.05). Conclusion: Artificial intelligence parameters are valuable for identifying subtypes of early lung adenocarcinoma, and when combined with CT signs to improve its diagnostic efficacy.

Prognostic significance of clinical characteristics and 18Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography quantitative parameters in patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma

Objective Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) lacks standard treatment regimens. This study aimed to identify the disease’s clinical features and prognostic factors. Methods This retrospective study included 56 patients with PMBCL. Patient demographic details and clinicopathological characteristics were summarized, and their effects on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Results The median patient age was 29 years (range, 14–56). Twenty-two patients received DA-EPOCH-R (dose-adjusted etoposide, vincristine, and doxorubicin for 96 hours with bolus doses of cyclophosphamide and oral prednisone, as well as rituximab), and 34 patients received R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone). Clinical/laboratory parameters, overall response rates, and 5-year PFS and OS rates did not differ between the treatment groups. Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that late-stage disease and a higher International Prognostic Index (IPI) were associated with shorter PFS and OS. Furthermore, patients with B symptoms and first-line treatment non-responders exhibited worse OS. 18Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography quantitative parameters, such as higher metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG), were corrected with shorter PFS. Conclusions This study revealed that stage IV disease, higher IPI, and B symptoms were poor prognostic factors in patients with PMBCL. Significantly, higher MTV and TLG portended worse PFS.

Comparative Analysis of OSPFv3/IS-IS and RIPng/IS-IS Mixed Protocols for Real-Time Applications in IPv6 Communication Networks

In network designs, the decision made when implementing dynamic routing protocols is very paramount to the speed of the network. To make the best choice of protocol to deploy, several decisions has to be considered. Usually, these decisions are made based on the performance of the routing protocol with respect to some quantitative parameters. The protocol that performs better than other protocols involved in a research is selected for routing purposes. In this research paper, performance comparison of two mixed protocols namely OSPFv3/IS-IS and RIPng/IS-IS in IPv6 network has been made. Their performances have been measured and comparison made by simulation using Riverbed Modeller Academic Edition. The objective of this paper is mainly to determine which of the mixed protocols will be more suitable to route traffic in IPv6 network. The main motivation for this paper is to find out if the difference in the routing algorithms of RIPng and IS-IS will offset and produce a better performance than a combination of two routing protocols of the same routing algorithm (thus OSPFv3 and IS-IS). To achieve this paper’s objective, the simulation was divided into two scenarios. The first scenario was an OSPFv3/IS-IS configured IPv6 network topology. The second scenario is a copy of the first scenario but configured with RIPng/IS-IS. The two scenarios were simulated and the effect of using each of the scenarios to separately route the selected applications was measured and recorded. The performance comparison of the mixed protocols was based on the following quantitative parameters: database query response time, database query traffics received, email upload/download response time, ftp upload/download response time, ftp traffic received, http page response time, remote login response timeandIPv6 traffics dropped. The results obtained from the simulation indicated that RIPng/IS-IS scenario performed better in email download/upload response time, remote login response time, IPv6 traffics dropped and remote login response time while the mixture of OSPFv3/IS-IS performed better in database query response time, database query traffics received, ftp download/upload response time, ftp traffic received and http page response time. Hence OSPFv3/IS-IS is the better option when the choice is between RIPng/IS-IS and OSPFv3/IS-IS for most of the quantitative parameters involved in this paper. This is because the combination of RIPng and IS-IS took a longer time to converge, affecting the speed on the network scenario. The time the RIPng/IS-IS combination took to access most of the application servers is slower than that of OSPFv3/IS-IS network scenario. On the basis of database query and ftp traffics received, the simulation results showed that network configured with OSPFv3/IS-IS performs better than RIPng/IS-IS. This is because the OSPFv3/IS-IS received the highest database and ftp traffics. The mixture of OSPFv3/IS-IS sent and received more application packets because it had very high throughput values which had an effect on the total quantity of application traffics received. Although the OSPFv3/IS-IS network scenario recorded the highest database and ftp traffics, this could not affect its speed to become lower than the RIPng/IS-IS scenario.

Qualitative Heterogeneous Signal Drop on Chemical Shift (CS) MR Imaging: Correlative Quantitative Analysis between CS Signal Intensity Index and Contrast Washout Parameters Using T1-Weighted Sequences

The aim of this study was to calculate MRI quantitative parameters extracted from chemical-shift (CS) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) T1-weighted (T1-WS) images of adrenal lesions (AL) with qualitative heterogeneous signal drop on CS T1-WS and compare them to those of AL with homogeneous or no signal drop on CS T1-WS. On 3 T MRI, 65 patients with a total of 72 AL were studied. CS images were qualitatively assessed for grouping AL as showing homogeneous (Group 1, n = 19), heterogeneous (Group 2, n = 23), and no (Group 3, n = 30) signal drop. Histopathology or follow-up data served as reference standard to classify AL. ROIs were drawn both on CS and DCE images to obtain adrenal CS signal intensity index (ASII), absolute (AWO), and relative washout (RWO) values. Quantitative parameters (QP) were compared with ANOVA analysis and post hoc Dunn’s test. The performance of QP to classify AL was assessed with receiver operating characteristic analysis. CS ASII values were significantly different among the three groups (p < 0.001) with median values of 71%, 53%, and 3%, respectively. AWO/RWO values were similar in Groups 1 (adenomas) and 2 (benign AL) but significantly (p < 0.001) lower in Group 3 (20 benign AL and 10 malignant AL). With cut-offs, respectively, of 60% (Group 1 vs. 2), 20% (Group 2 vs. 3), and 37% (Group 1 vs. 3), CS ASII showed areas under the curve of 0.85, 0.96, and 0.93 for the classification of AL, overall higher than AWO/RWO. In conclusion, AL with qualitative heterogeneous signal drop at CS represent benign AL with QP by DCE sequence similar to those of AL with homogeneous signal drop at CS, but different to those of AL with no signal drop at CS; ASII seems to be the only quantitative parameter able to differentiate AL among the three different groups.

Update in Development and Deployment of Advanced Pulsed Plasma Drilling Technology

Current drilling methods may only achieve relatively low penetration rates in hard formations found in deep wellbores. The relatively high wear rates of drill bits used in such applications can cause the overall economy of deep drilling to be non-feasible. Therefore, a step change is necessary for such formations. This paper presents update in development of the pulsed plasma drilling technology which allows controlled thermo-mechanical rock breakage efficient mainly for hard rock formations. Pulsed plasma drilling technology does not melt rock but uses very short high energy pulses with high frequency which suddenly increase rock surface temperature and, thus, disintegrate its surface. Since the process is very swift, there is not enough time for creation of melt, which is viscous, difficult to remove and may act as a prevention for further penetration. Based on extensive experimental work done on 23 rock types we identified working windows for all of them. Based on this work, there is an "overlap window" where keeping the same parameters should enable drilling through any rock type. The development team performed 1500+ various tests of pulsed plasma technology. During these tests we focused on qualitative parameters like efficiency of the process, sustainability of the process, etc. Quantitative parameters were not decisive when trying to make the process work in various operational cases. In total, we've run hundreds of testing hours of the technology. Now the team focus on quantitative parameters with the milestone of deepening the existing geothermal wellbores of other entities in 2023 to demonstrate the PLASMABIT technology at great depths. The system of this technology is composed of three main parts: PLASMABIT tool (Bottom Hole Assembly - BHA)Transfer line delivering fluid and power into PLASMABIT BHASurface equipment including rig, fluid and waste management, etc. PLASMABIT BHA which is the major innovation is composed of the following modules which are under development within dedicated development programme: Pulse plasma drilling head disintegrating rockFluid and power distribution moduleControl and electronics moduleLogging moduleTwo tractoring modules securing movement and anchoringActive and passive cooling modules maintaining temperature of BHATransfer line connector For the commercial application we intend to combine conventional drilling technology with plasma in the following way: Conventional technology would be used for initial hundreds/thousands of feet to overcome sedimentary/soft rock formations where it achieves competitive Rate of Penetration (ROP). Then, in deeper/hotter/harder formations we intend to apply plasma technology where it is much more efficient than conventional technology. Based on this, we intend to use hybrid rig combining rotary drilling and coiled tubing operations.

Relationship between Quantitative Parameters of Echocardiography and Vascular Endothelial Function in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure and Its Predictive Value for Short-Term MACE Risk

Objective. To investigate the relationship between quantitative parameters of echocardiography and vascular endothelial function in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and the predictive value of short-term major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Methods. From February 2018 to February 2020, 86 CHF patients in our hospital were selected as the observation group, and 46 healthy subjects were selected as the control group during the same period. Quantitative parameters of echocardiography (left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular short-axis shortening rate (FS), and ratio of peak flow velocity between early and late mitral valve diastole (E/A)) and endothelial function indexes (endothelin-1 (ET-1)/nitric oxide (NO)) were compared between the two groups. The correlation between quantitative parameters of echocardiography and vascular endothelial function in patients with CHF was analyzed. A logistic regression equation was used to analyze the risk factors of MACE in patients with CHF. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to analyze the predictive value of quantitative parameters of echocardiography and NO/ET-1 for the risk of MACE in patients with CHF. Result. LVEF, FS, and NO/ET-1 in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, while E/A was higher than that in the control group ( P < 0.05 ). In CHF patients, LVEF and FS were positively correlated with NO/ET-1, while E/A was negatively correlated with NO/ET-1 ( P < 0.05 ). Logistic regression analysis showed that the decrease of LVEF, FS, NO/ET-1, and E/A were risk factors for MACE ( P < 0.05 ) after adjusting for age, body mass index, and cardiac function grading. The AUC value of short-term MACE predicted by quantitative parameters of echocardiography and NO/ET-1 combined was 0.883, with a corresponding sensitivity of 86.21% and specificity of 73.13%. Conclusion. Quantitative parameters of echocardiography in CHF patients are related to vascular endothelial function, and their combination can effectively predict the risk of MACE in the near future, providing reference for clinical treatment.

RAILWAY WATER TOWERS OF WESTERN POLAND – HISTORIC NETWORKED ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCE AND ITS TYPOLOGICAL STRUCTURE

The article reports on the identification of the inventory of the water towers in Western Poland, the territory consisting of nine main administrative units called voivodeships. It presents the inventory of water towers both in statistical and locational terms, diagnosing architectural typologies and examining the quantitative parameters of the resource as well as its distribution in particular voivodeships. An attempt has been made here to show the resource by postulating the introduction of the concept of historic networked architectural resource (HiNAR). In this particular case, the element of historic heritage must be considered in the context of the network of buildings, as its component, so that it should be possible to read its meaning and the historical values accumulated in particular structures. This approach enables us to look more precisely at the changes in the formation of architectural form in subsequent decades.

Detecting of Proximal Caries in Primary Molars using Pen-type QLF Device

The purpose of this in vivo study was to assess the clinical screening performance of a quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) device in detecting proximal caries in primary molars. Fluorescence loss, red autofluorescence and a simplified QLF score for proximal caries (QS-proximal) were evaluated for their validity in detecting proximal caries in primary molars compared to bitewing radiography. Three hundred and forty-four primary molar surfaces were included in the study. Carious lesions were scored according to lesion severity assessed by visual-tactile and radiographic examinations. The QLF images were analyzed for two quantitative parameters, fluorescence loss and red autofluorescence, as well as for QS-proximal. For both quantitative parameters and QS-proximal, the sensitivity, specificity and area under receiver operating curve (AUROC) were calculated as a function of the radiographic scoring index at enamel and dentin caries levels. Both quantitative parameters showed fair AUROC values for detecting dentine level caries (△F = 0.794, △R = 0.750). QS-proximal showed higher AUROC values (0.757 - 0.769) than that of visual-tactile scores (0.653) in detecting dentine level caries. The QLF device showed fair screening performance in detecting proximal caries in primary molars compared to bitewing radiography.