Semantics-driven annotation of patient-specific 3D data: a step to assist diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

In the digital era, patient-specific 3D models (3D-PSMs) are becoming increasingly relevant in computer-assisted diagnosis, surgery training on digital models, or implant design. While advanced imaging and reconstruction techniques can create accurate and detailed 3D models of patients’ anatomy, software tools that are able to fully exploit the potential of 3D-PSMs are still far from being satisfactory. In particular, there is still a lack of integrated approaches for extracting, coding, sharing and retrieving medically relevant information from 3D-PSMs and use it concretely as a support to diagnosis and treatment. In this article, we propose the SemAnatomy3D framework, which demonstrates how the ontology-driven annotation of 3D-PSMs and of their anatomically relevant features (parts of relevance) can assist clinicians to document more effectively pathologies and their evolution. We exemplify the idea in the context of the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis of the hand district, and show how feature extraction tools and semantic 3D annotation can provide a rich characterization of anatomical landmarks (e.g., articular facets, prominent features, ligament attachments) and pathological markers (erosions, bone loss). The core contributions are an ontology-driven part-based annotation method for the 3D-PSMs and a novel automatic localization of erosion and quantification of the OMERACT RAMRIS erosion score. Finally, our results have been compared against a medical ground truth.     

School experience course with multimedia in teacher education

Abstract This paper describes an interactive and self-paced multimedia tutorial programme that provides pre-service teachers with a complete range of school system and teaching strategies. Situated learning has been used as the theoretical framework to produce the multimedia tutorial for a pre-service teachers' School Experience course. The programme allows pre-service teachers to implement approaches appropriate for teaching a K-12 curriculum. Two methods of information delivery were investigated: traditional lecturing and multimedia. The results show that using the multimedia tutorial leads to a positive difference in the School Experience course over participants in traditional lecturing. Pre-service teachers who participated in the multimedia group responded positively to a multimedia approach. This study concludes that using multimedia in teacher education enriches pre-service teachers' learning and provides them with an opportunity to view and critique various teaching methods and classroom activities collectively.     

内过滤式喷射环流反应器混合特性研究

传统的喷射环流反应器应用于工业上的多相反应时一般采用外部分离,导致流程繁琐、能耗加大、甚至存在安全问题,本文在喷射环流反应器内设计了过滤式导流筒,以实现在反应器内进行多相反应和液固分离操作的连续化。用阶跃示踪法测定液相停留时间分布,考察了表观气速、过滤压力对该反应器混合特性的影响。结果显示:返混程度随表观气速的增大而增大;过滤压力增大,平均停留时间减小,返混程度增大,但过滤压力对返混的影响较弱。     

Qualitative and quantitative detection of alkaline phosphatase coupled to an oligonucleotide probe for somatostatin mRNA after in situ hybridization using unfixed rat brain tissue

In situ hybridization (ISH) of somatostatin (SOM) mRNA was carried out on sections of rat brain using an alkaline phosphatase (AP) coupled oligonucleotide probe. Different hybridization and AP development conditions were tested for qualitative and quantitative detection of target mRNA on sections of unfixed tissue. Hybridization signal intensities after 24 h of hybridization were high. Comparison with adjacent formaldehyde-fixed tissue sections and hybridization for various lengths of time (2-42 h) indicated that in unfixed tissue retention of SOM mRNA was at least as high as after fixation, and that the mRNA was not degraded during hybridization. The use of tetranitroblue instead of nitroblue tetrazolium chloride in the AP detection medium provided a superior signal-to-noise ratio, and medium stability was improved for quantitative studies on unfixed sections by adding 10% polyvinyl alcohol at pH 8.5. Microphotometric measurements of mean optical densities (MOD) of the formazan reaction product in a defined area within individual neurons of the lateral central amygdaloid nucleus showed a linear increase over the first 23 h of AP reaction time. The mean MOD values per neuron were comparably high in various equally thick sections of the nucleus and increased with section thickness in a linear manner. The findings indicate that the ISH and detection reagents penetrate the entire section and that there is a linear relationship between the amount of AP reaction product measured and the amount of mRNA present in the measured area. Thus, ISH using an AP-coupled oligonucleotide on sections of unfixed tissue appears suitable for quantitative mRNA detection.     

Numerical computation of time lags and decrement factors for different building materials

In this study, time lags and decrement factors for different building materials have been investigated numerically. For this purpose, one dimensional transient heat conduction equation was solved using the Crank–Nicolson scheme under convection boundary conditions. To the outer surface of the wall, periodic boundary conditions were applied. Twenty-six different building materials were selected for analysis. The computations were repeated for eight different thickness of each material and the effects of thickness and the type of material on time lag and decrement factor were investigated. It was found that thickness of material and the type of the material have a very profound effect on the time lag and decrement factor. The results of present study are useful for designing more effective passive solar buildings and other related areas.     

对中空纤维膜接触器空间结构的分析与探讨

介绍了中空纤维膜接触器在气体分离、净化以及精馏结构填料替代等方面研究的最新进展,并结合笔者所进行的实验工作,从膜接触器中体系的流动方式、壳程挡板、纤维膜组器的填充密度等方面详细探讨了中空纤维膜接触器的空间结构对于过程传质和分离效果的影响.分析结果表明,在气液接触分离过程中,为有效提高膜接触分离过程的传质系数,大多数研究采用了平流中的逆流方式;壳程挡板的增设可以促进过程的分离效果,但其作用并非始终随挡板数量的增加而增强;膜组器填充密度对壳程传质的影响明显,且大多数实验结果表明,过程分离的总传质系数随填充密度的增加而减小.     

缬沙坦在乙酸乙酯中的溶解度及介稳区

采用静态平衡法测定缬沙坦在乙酸乙酯中278.15~323.15K的溶解度数据,利用Modified Apelblat、NRTL和λh方程分别对溶解度数据进行了关联,并通过van't Hoff分析计算了缬沙坦在溶解过程中的热力学参数（焓变、熵变和吉布斯自由能）。结果表明,缬沙坦在乙酸乙酯中的溶解度随着温度升高而显著增大,3个模型均具有较好的关联性,平均相对偏差分别为1.03%、3.87%、1.72%,Modified Apelblat方程对溶解度数据关联的效果最好;缬沙坦在乙酸乙酯中的溶解过程为自发吸热熵驱动过程,焓变在溶解过程中对吉布斯自由能贡献较大。利用激光法测定了缬沙坦在乙酸乙酯中的超溶解度,研究了不同搅拌速率、降温速率对结晶介稳区的影响。结果表明,随饱和温度的升高,介稳区显著变宽;搅拌速率越小、降温速率越快,介稳区越宽,降温速率的影响相对较小。     

MVR空心桨叶干燥污泥的特性及动力学

基于空心桨叶干燥机建立了一套机械蒸汽再压缩式热泵干燥系统,将相同质量的污泥(100±0.1)kg,在真空压力约为95kPa、压缩机出口蒸汽温度为95~115℃进行恒温干燥实验,从而得到污泥干燥过程中含水率以及干燥速率等变化曲线,压缩机出口蒸汽温度为95~115℃,污泥临界湿含量从0.22增加到0.34。引入5种常用的污泥干燥模型,利用Origin软件对实验数据进行分段拟合分析,得到污泥加速阶段和降速阶段的干燥动力学模型MR=exp(-ktⁿ)。以分段函数形式表示的干燥方程分别为:MR=exp[-(2.78×10^-4T-0.01896)t^1.596],(加速阶段);MR=0.894-0.564(1.737×10^-4T-8.05×10^-3)t(恒速阶段);MR=exp[-(2.26×10^-4T-0.01365)t^1.984](降速阶段)。对实验得到的干燥模型进行验证,计算得到各干燥阶段污泥湿含量平均相对误差,并将实验所得干燥曲线和干燥速率曲线与模型计算值进行比较,可以看出分段处理能较好的描述污泥干燥规律。     

超临界C02干燥法工艺条件对氧化锆气凝胶结构性质的影响

以无机盐ZrOCl2·8H2O为原料,采用溶胶-凝胶过程结合超临界CO2干燥法制备了ZrO2气凝胶.采用BET、TG/DTA、XRD、TEM以及SEM等手段对样品进行了表征分析.考察了超临界CO2干燥过程中,操作压力、操作温度、CO2流率及干燥时间等工艺条件对样品比表面积、孔性质等的影响.结果表明利用本方法制备的ZrO...     

Ultrastructural features of tyrosine-hydroxylase-immunoreactive afferents and their targets in the rat amygdala

Interrelations of tyrosine-hydroxylase-immunoreactive afferent fibres with neuronal elements were studied in central, basal and intercalated nuclei of the rat amygdaloid complex. Comparison with dopamine-beta-hydroxylase-immunoreacted and phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase-immunoreacted parallel sections indicated that the tyrosine-hydroxylase immunoreaction labelled preferentially dopaminergic axons. At the electron-microscopic level, the majority of tyrosine-hydroxylase-immunoreactive axons possessed small boutons containing small clear vesicles and contacting dendrites, spines or somata of amygdala neurons, forming mostly symmetric synapses. They were often directly apposed to or in the vicinity of unlabelled terminals synapsing on the same structure. Synaptic density was highest in the central lateral part of the central nucleus. In the central and basal nuclei labelled axons synapsed preferentially on small dendrites and dendritic spines, and on somata of a few neurons. A detailed study of the neuronal ultrastructure showed that innervated somata possessed the differential characteristics displayed by the predominant neuron types in the medial and central lateral central nucleus and resembled the typical projection neurons in the basal nuclei. In the paracapsular intercalated cell groups the majority of neurons possessed intense perisomatic innervation by immunoreactive terminals. The results suggest that tyrosine-hydroxylase-immunoreactive, predominantly dopaminergic amygdaloid afferent fibres preferentially modulate the effect of extrinsic inputs into neurons of the central and basal nuclei, while a nonselective regulation is exerted upon the output of paracapsular intercalated neurons. It is suggested that this innervation pattern may be important for the coordinated integration of extrinsic and intraamygdaloid connections and thus for balanced output of the structure.