Multiple-view fluorescence optical tomography reconstruction using compression of experimental data.

We report on the experimental demonstration of a fast reconstruction method for multiview fluorescence diffuse optical tomography by using a wavelet-based data compression. We experimentally demonstrate that the use of data compression combined with the multiview approach makes it possible to perform a fast reconstruction of high quality. A structured illumination approach, guided by the compression scheme, has been adopted to further reduce the acquisition time.

[Outbreak of influenza pandemic virus A(H1N1) 2009 infections in the Emergency Department, Saint-Pierre, Réunion Island, July-September 2009].

A new H1N1 virus originating from swine recently emerged as the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century. On July 3, 2009, this new influenza A(H1N1) virus (S-OIV) of swine origins was identified in Réunion Island, a French overseas department located in the southern hemisphere. The present study describes the characteristics of the epidemic from July 3 to September 30, 2009.

Large and round tumor nuclei in osteosarcoma: good clinical outcome.

Osteosarcoma is the most frequent primary malignant bone tumor. Distinct histological features are distinguishable based on the morphology of the tumor. Differences in nuclei size and shape are often observed in osteosarcoma reflecting its broad histopathological heterogeneity.

Fullerol in human lens and retinal pigment epithelial cells: time domain fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging.

Fullerol is a fullerene derivative that is extensively hydroxylated [nano-C(60)(OH)(24)] and this makes it water-soluble. These fullerene derivatives have shown promise as drug carriers that bypass ocular barriers but fullerols are also potentially phototoxic to human lens and retinal tissues. Fluorescence imaging is a powerful and non-invasive means of probing nanoparticles in biological systems.

Cartilage ultrastructure in proteoglycan-deficient zebrafish mutants brings to light new candidate genes for human skeletal disorders.

Proteoglycans are molecules consisting of protein cores onto which sugar chains, i.e., glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) such as heparan or chondroitin sulphates, are attached.

Fluorescence lifetime optical tomography with Discontinuous Galerkin discretisation scheme.

We develop discontinuous Galerkin framework for solving direct and inverse problems in fluorescence diffusion optical tomography in turbid media. We show the advantages and the disadvantages of this method by comparing it with previously developed framework based on the finite volume discretization. The reconstruction algorithm was used with time-gated experimental dataset acquired by imaging a highly scattering cylindrical phantom concealing small fluorescent tubes.

Fast 3D optical reconstruction in turbid media using spatially modulated light.

A method to perform fast 3-D optical reconstruction, based on structured light, in thick samples is demonstrated and experimentally validated. The experimental and reconstruction procedure, based on Finite Elements Method, used to reconstruct absorbing heterogeneities, with arbitrary arrangement in space, is discussed. In particular we demonstrated that a 2D sampling of the source Fourier plane is required to improve the imaging capability.

[Body composition and energy metabolism in women with excess body weight].

Background: The objective of this paper is to evaluate body composition and energy expenditure in women with excess body weight.

Methods: There was a non-randomized, cross-sectional study with 40 women, [26 with excess weight (G1) and 14 eutrophic (G2)]. The following evaluations were made: dietetic, anthropometric and body composition (electrical bioimpedance), physical activity (three-dimensional accelerometer) and energy expenditure, basal and resting (indirect calorimetry).

Small deletions but not methylation underlie CDKN2A/p16 loss of expression in conventional osteosarcoma.

Conventional osteosarcoma is characterized by rapid growth, high local aggressiveness, and metastasizing potential. Patients developing lung metastases experience poor prognosis despite extensive chemotherapy regimens and surgical interventions. Previously we identified a subgroup of osteosarcoma patients with loss of CDKN2A/p16 protein expression in the primary tumor biopsies which was significantly predictive of a very poor prognosis.

Time-gated optical projection tomography.

We present an imaging technique that combines optical projection tomography with ballistic imaging using ultrafast time gating. The method provides high-resolution reconstruction of scattering samples and is suitable for three-dimensional (3D) imaging of biological models.

Genome-scale metabolic reconstruction and in silico analysis of methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris for strain improvement.

Background: Pichia pastoris has been recognized as an effective host for recombinant protein production. A number of studies have been reported for improving this expression system. However, its physiology and cellular metabolism still remained largely uncharacterized.

[Outbreak of influenza pandemic virus A(H1N1) 2009 infections in Emergency Department, Saint-Pierre, Reunion Island. July-August 2009].

Introduction: The 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus has emerged to cause the first pandemic of the 21st century. On July 3, 2009, novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV) was identified in Reunion Island, French overseas department located in the southern hemisphere. The present study describes the characteristics and the impact of the epidemic on the activity of an emergency department (ED) from July 3 to August 31, 2009.

Primary cilia organization reflects polarity in the growth plate and implies loss of polarity and mosaicism in osteochondroma.

Primary cilia are specialized cell surface projections found on most cell types. Involved in several signaling pathways, primary cilia have been reported to modulate cell and tissue organization. Although they have been implicated in regulating cartilage and bone growth, little is known about the organization of primary cilia in the growth plate cartilage and osteochondroma.

Is direct stenting superior to stenting with predilation in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention? Results from a meta-analysis of 24 randomised controlled trials.

Background: In the last decade, direct stenting has been proposed as an alternative strategy to conventional stenting with balloon predilation. The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of randomised trials comparing a direct stenting strategy versus a conventional one.

Methods: A literature search was performed using Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, scientific session abstracts and relevant websites, from inception of each database to June 2009.

Coronary stenting early before non-cardiac surgery: is the endothelial progenitor cell capturing coronary stent a solution?

The authors report, for the first time, immediate and mid-term outcome of early antiplatelet therapy discontinuation followed by uneventful non-cardiac surgery and endovascular aortic repair, few days after successful deployment of an endothelial progenitor cell capturing coronary stent, in three consecutive patients.

Effect of drug-eluting stents in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a meta-analysis of randomised trials and an adjusted indirect comparison.

Aims: The role of drug-eluting stent (DES) remains an unsettled issue in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of randomised trials to evaluate the clinical outcome of DES as compared with bare-metal stent (BMS) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods And Results: We undertook a literature search until July 2009.

Bioavailability of oral carisoprodol 250 and 350 mg and metabolism to meprobamate: A single-dose crossover study.

Background: Carisoprodol is a skeletal muscle relaxant indicated for use in the treatment of acute, painful musculoskeletal conditions. Two randomized, controlled clinical trials have reported that carisoprodol 250 mg QID was equally effective as and better tolerated than carisoprodol 350 mg QID.

Objectives: The primary objective of the current study was to determine the relative bioavailability of carisoprodol and its metabolite, meprobamate, with singledose administration of 250- and 350-mg tablets.

Multiple MGuard stent implantation to treat massive right coronary artery dissection during primary coronary angioplasty.

Here we report a case of a 79-year-old woman with inferior myocardial infarction, transferred to our cath lab to perform a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). During the procedure, a massive dissection complicated the thrombotic lesion of the right coronary artery (RCA). In this case, we decided to use the MGuard stent to treat both the large dissection and the thrombotic lesion.

Clinical utility of Rome criteria managing functional gastrointestinal disorders in pediatric primary care.

Objective: Our goals were to demonstrate that functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) can be diagnosed in a positive fashion and managed by family pediatricians (FPs); to assess the compliance of FPs with a predefined diagnostic/therapeutic protocol for managing FGIDs to evaluate efficacy of continuing medical education; and to evaluate the success of reassurance by using a biopsychosocial model in comparison to drug treatment in an open-label, nonrandomized study.

Patients And Methods: A total of 9291 patients, aged birth to 14 years, were prospectively enrolled during a 3-month period by 21 FPs. Follow-up was performed at 1-, 3-, and 12-month intervals.

Coronary flow reserve evaluation: basics, techniques and clinical applications.

Coronary flow reserve is a useful physiologic parameter providing information on coronary stenoses severity. To date, the gold standard to evaluate coronary flow reserve consists of fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement, assessed with a pressure-wire. The FFR has a high lesion specificity, due to insensitivity to patient hemodynamic status and to coronary microvascular resistance; it shows low inter- and intraindividual variability and a well-defined, bound cut-off range values (0.

Detection of inhomogeneities in diffusive media using spatially modulated light.

The use of structured light for object localization in diffusive media is discussed. The improvement of spatial resolution is shown. Phase detection of the spatially modulated light is proposed as a method for the localization of inclusions in the medium.

Tirofiban administration and percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting of saphenous vein graft thrombosis.

Distal embolization during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of saphenous vein graft (SVG) lesions is associated with a high risk of myonecrosis and myocardial infarction. PCI guidelines advocate the use of distal embolic protection devices, when technically feasible, in patients undergoing PCI for SVG disease. To date, alternative management strategies are not fully investigated.

[Swallowing disorders, pneumonia and respiratory tract infectious disease in the elderly].

Swallowing disorders (or dysphagia) are common in the elderly and their prevalence is often underestimated. They may result in serious complications including dehydration, malnutrition, airway obstruction, aspiration pneumonia (infectious process) or pneumonitis (chemical injury caused by the inhalation of sterile gastric contents). Moreover the repercussions of dysphagia are not only physical but also emotional and social, leading to depression, altered quality of life, and social isolation.