Physical limits to human brain B0 shimming with spherical harmonics, engineering implications thereof.

Objective: As the MRI main magnetic field rises for improved signal-to-noise ratio, susceptibility-induced B0-inhomogeneity increases proportionally, aggravating related artifacts. Considering only susceptibility disparities between air and biological tissue, we explore the topological conditions for which perfect shimming could be performed in a Region of Interest (ROI) such as the human brain or part thereof.

Materials And Methods: After theoretical considerations for perfect shimming, spherical harmonic (SH) shimming simulations of very high degree are performed, based on a 100-subject database of 1.

NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES: A dataset of occurrence and abundance of freshwater fishes in the Neotropics.

The Neotropical region hosts 4225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world's most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to the southern limits in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. We compiled 185,787 distribution records, with unique georeferenced coordinates, for the 4225 species, represented by occurrence and abundance data.

An integrated approach for the assessment of the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus global spatial distribution, and determination of the zones susceptible to the development of Zika virus.

The Zika virus, one of the new epidemic diseases, is reported to have affected millions of people in the past year. The suitable climate conditions of the areas where Zika virus has been reported, especially in areas with a high population density, are the main cause of the current outbreak and spread of the disease. Indeed, the suitable climatic conditions of certain territories constitute perfect breading nest for the propagation and outbreak of worldwide diseases.

Land use and land cover changes in Zêzere watershed (Portugal)--Water quality implications.

To understand the relations between land use allocation and water quality preservation within a watershed is essential to assure sustainable development. The land use and land cover (LUC) within Zêzere River watershed registered relevant changes in the last decades. These land use and land cover changes (LUCCs) have impacts in water quality, mainly in surface water degradation caused by surface runoff from artificial and agricultural areas, forest fires and burnt areas, and caused by sewage discharges from agroindustry and urban sprawl.

Pentoxifylline for renoprotection in diabetic nephropathy: the PREDIAN study. Rationale and basal results.

Statements Of The Problem: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the main cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade is the standard of care; however, a significant proportion of patients progress to ESRD. Pentoxifylline (PTF) possesses properties suggesting potential renoprotective efficacy.

Plasma thrombin-activatable fibrinolytic inhibitor (TAFI) among healthy subjects and patients with vascular diseases: a validation study.

Thrombin activable fibrinolysis inhibitor antigen levels (TAFI Ag ) exhibit a great inter-individual variability in healthy populations. Our aim is to determine whether variability is due to physiologic variations depending on genetic control or due to validation of the method,in order to allow a better interpretation of the results inpatients with vascular diseases. With this purpose, we performed a strategy validation of specific ELISA method, Zymutest TAFI Ag Hyphen Biomed, base don a commercial monoclonal antibody.

Femoral and skull metastasis with hypercalcemia: occurrence with esophageal carcinoma without dysphagia.

The most common initial symptom of esophageal neoplasm is dysphagia. When metastasis occurs, it is most frequent to neighboring lymph nodes, mediastinum, or viscera, eg, the lungs and liver, and only infrequently to bones. Even less frequently do these metastases occur with hypercalcemia.