Conventional Head Research Articles

Chemotherapy with irradiation in salivary gland carcinomas (SGC): A Rare Cancer Network study (RCN).

e17019 Background: To report the role of combined chemotherapy in SGT. Methods: 251 patients with SGC treated in 2001-2011 were included in a collaborative IRB-approved retrospective RCN study. Chemotherapy is empirically administered based on extrapolation from conventional head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (Ca) (SCC) and data on systemic treatment in localized SGC are lacking. Results: Median age was 60 yo with 2/5 females/males. Tumor sites were the parotid 74.9%, submandibular 16%, sublingual 2.8% or minor gland 4%. Histologic findings were adenoid cystic (ACC) 17.3%, mucoepidermoid (MEC) 19.8%, adenoCa 15.6%, salivary duct (SDC) 10.3%, acinic cell (Aci) 6.2%, ex-pleomorphic 7.8%, undifferentiated 4.9%, myoepithelial 3.3%, epithelial myoepithelial 1.6%, basal cell 1.2%, lymphoepithelial 1.2%, others 4.0%. Surgery was performed in 95.1% (complete resection 38.1%). T stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 17.2%, 41.2%, 18.1% and 23.5% respectively. N stages were N0 61%, N1 13%, N2 24%, N3 2%. Perineural, vascular or lymphatic emboli were present in 47%, 24%, 27% respectively. Irradiation was performed postoperatively 96% or exclusively 4% (unilateral 84%, performed w/ photons only 78%, IMRT 41%). Chemotherapy was administered in 18%, dependent on grade, N stage, and emboli (p ≤ .05). None of 17 ex-pleomorphic, 25% of undifferentiated, 36% of SDC, and 66.7% of lymphoepithelial Ca received chemotherapy (p NS). With a median follow-up of 42 months for living patients, crude local, regional, metastatic relapse rates were 112% (in field 85%), 10%, 25%, respectively. Crude death rate was 28% including 77% from SGC. 5-year survival (5y OS) was 63%. The only prognostic factor was nodal involvement (p .002). However, 5y OS differed by histology: ACC 79%, MEC 84%, Aci 67%, SCC 43%, adenoCa NOS 40%, SDC 37%. Chemotherapy did not improve survival whatever histology. Conclusions: Further prospective studies are warranted to define the role of chemotherapy by histology in the setting of localized SGT. Also molecular profile-driven systemic treatments should be investigated.

Capturing spatial audio information by using a miniature head simulator

A conventional dummy head or a microphone array with a number of microphones has been used to record spatial audio information. We propose an audio capture system called “Miniature head simulator” that consists of a microphone system and a signal processor. Instead of using a conventional dummy head, a small microphone system that consists of three omni-directional microphones is used to capture acoustic signals. The signals are then encoded to a custom data format and transmitted online. The transmitted data can be decoded and reproduced as binaural signals. Because of its size and weight, the conventional dummy head has been used exclusively for the research purpose. A miniature head simulator can provide much more convenient tools to record spatial audio information. Since it deals with only three channels of audio stream, data can be processed with relatively low computational cost. By using a miniature head simulator, spatial audio information can be streamed to the browser or even to the smartphones of the end-users. It can be used in a remote acoustic sensor and remote control system, sound detection system, video conference, and various other fields of industry.

Early results of serum metal ions change and its impact on host immunity after metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty

Objective To compare the serum metal ion levels and host immunologic response of patients received non-modular,large-head metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (THA,Durom) with those received modular titanium acetabular component (Trilogy) using conventional head sizes and metal-on-highly cross-linked polyethylene articulations at mean 2-year follow-up interval.Methods A continuous series of 32 consecutive patients (32 hips) accepted THA with a Durom large head metal-on-metal articulation between January 2008 and December 2010 was as study group (Durom Group).From all the patients who received THA with Trilogy prosthesis at the same period,32 patients matched the Durom group in age,gender and body mass index (BMI) were chosen to form the Trilogy group.Another 32 healthy volunteers also matched the Durom group were chosen to form the control group.At the final follow-up,the serum metal ion levels,host immunologic response were evaluated.Results The mean follow-up time for Durom group was 24.9 months (range,15-34 months) compared to 25.53 months (range,15-48 months) for Trilogy group.Co and Cr levels in Durom group were 4.33 and 1.95 times as high as those in Trilogy group.There was no statistically significant difference in serum C3,C4,IgA,IgG,IgM value in three groups.CD3+,CD4+ and CD8+cells in Durom group decreased significantly compared with Trilogy and control groups.The interferon-γ(IFN-γ) level in Durom group was significantly higher than that in Trilogy and control groups.Conclusion The serum cobalt and chromium levels in patients received Durom metal-on-metal THA elevated significantly in early period.Meanwhile,some amount of impact on host cell mediated immunity occurred. Key words: Arthroplasty, replacement, hip; Serum; Metals; Ions; Immunity, celluler; Antibody formation

Humeral Component Replacement vs. Retention in Revision From Anatomic to Inverse Shoulder Arthroplasty

Revision of a well fixed humeral component in the setting of revision shoulder arthroplasty can be a challenging undertaking with a high reported rate of complication. It has been proposed that arthroplasty systems that employ a stem that can be converted from a conventional humeral head to a reverse configuration without stem removal offer some advantages in this regard.

HRTF Adjustments with Audio Quality Assessments

Abstract There are an increasing number of binaural systems embedded with head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), so listeners can experience virtual environments via conventional stereo loudspeakers or head- phones. As HRTFs vary from person to person, it is difficult to select appropriated HRTFs from already existing databases for users. Once the HRTFs in a binaural audio device hardly match the real ones of the users, poor localization happens especially on the cone of confusion. The most accurate way to obtain personalized HRTFs might be doing practical measurements. It is, however, expensive and time consuming. Modifying non-individualized HRTFs may be an effort-saving way, though the modifications are always accompanied by undesired audio distortion. This paper proposes a flexible HRTF adjustment system for users to define their own HRTFs. Also, the system can keep sounds from suffering intolerable distortion based on an objective measurement tool for evaluating the quality of processed audio.

Cerebral Perfusion Imaging

Recent advances are allowing computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to add diagnostic information derived from microscopic-scale brain structure, pathology, and physiology to the gross pathologic information that has been the core of brain imaging diagnosis since the 1980s. Physiologic imaging with MR perfusion weighted imaging has joined MR diffusion imaging as an essential components of stroke and brain tumor MRI. At the same time, the volume scanning revolution in CT technology has dramatically decreased the radiation doses required for CT perfusion imaging by allowing routine simultaneous CT perfusion and noninvasive dynamic bone subtracted CT angiography (CTA) without a significant increase in radiation dose over conventional head CT-CTA alone. Although ongoing research and clinical trials is needed to define more precisely how these techniques can best be exploited to improve clinical care and patient outcomes, in the acute stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage populations the radiation risk associated with CT perfusion imaging is negligible and the physiologic information promises significant patient safety benefits.

CFD Simulation on Flow Distribution in Plate-Fin Heat Exchangers

The influences of the conventional header configuration used in industry at present on the fluid flow distribution in plate-fin heat exchanger were numerically investigated. The numerical results showed that the fluid flow maldistribution is very serious in the heat exchanger. The header configuration with perforated plate was brought forward for the first time. The computational results indicated that the improved header configuration can effectively improve the performance of fluid flow distribution in the heat exchanger. The fluid flow distribution for the header configuration with curving perforated plate is more uniform than for the header configuration with plane perforated plate. The absolute degree of fluid flow nonuniformity in plate-fin heat exchanger has reduced from 3.47 to 0.32 by changing the header configuration. The numerical results are compared with the experimental results. They are basically consistent which indicates that the mathematical model and the calculating method are reliable.

To Explore the Clinical Value of Dual-Energy Virtual Non-Contrast CT Scan for Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Objectives: To study the clinical value of Dual-Energy Virtual Non-Contrast CT scan for subarachnoid hemorrhage. Methods: 30 patients of subarachnoid hemorrhage were selected, they received Dual-Source Conventional Non-Contrast CT scans and head angiography with Dual-Energy CT. Then Liver Virtual Non-Contrast program was used to reconstruct the images. After that the Conventional Non-Contrast images were taken as gold standard to evaluate the clinical value of Virtual Non-Contrast technology in the following aspects: Signal-Noise Ratio, Radiation Dose and lesion diagnosis. Results: The Signal-Noise Ratio of Virtual Non-Contrast CT scan was (4.21 ± 0.5), the Signal-Noise Ratio of Conventional Non-Contrast CT scan was (10.39 ± 0.71), the latter was significantly higher than the former. The Dose Length Product of Virtual Non-contrast CT scan was （121.30±3.8）, it was close to 1/6 of the Dose Length Product (697.6±4.2）of the Conventional Non-Contrast CT scan. As for the lesion area, the difference of the CT values between the Virtual Non-Contrast and the Conventional Non-Contrast CT scan was only 4~10Hu. In addition, the Virtual Non-Contrast images’ quality was graded by diagnostic teachers: there were 4 cases of 3 points, 23 cases of 2 points, 3 case of 1 point. Conclusions: Compared with the Conventional Non-Contrast images, there is greater noise in the Virtual Non-Contrast images, but the latter can meet the clinical diagnostic requirements and greatly reduce the radiation dose. Advances in knowledge: Virtual Non-Contrast technology was used for the diagnoses of subarachnoid hemorrhage, and the radiation dose was greatly reduced.

Ideas for Detection in Two-Dimensional Magnetic Recording Systems

In two-dimensional magnetic recording, detection for a perfect writer and perfect reader based on an iterative threshold technique are compared to detection employing single threshold and adaptive threshold techniques. The simulation indicates that the algorithm can reach a BER of 9.3% compared to 11.2% and 10.5% for the latter cases when the bit size is 8 by 8 nm with a grain of 8.7 nm diameter. This increases data capacity by 11% to 6.6 TBits/inch2. Additionally, detection with an array of three conventional heads has been studied: the simulation shows that for bits with dimension of 12 × 12 nm, grains of 8.7 nm diameter and reader width of 18 nm, the BER drops from 11.3% for a single conventional head to 5.4% for the head array with a two-dimensional generalized partial response equalizer at the optimum offset of 10 nm. The density is increased by 42%, reaching 4.0 Tbits/Inch2 .

Planar Thin-Film Servo Write Head for Magnetic Tape Recording

We present a planar thin-film servo write head for writing timing-based servo patterns. The planar head operates at low current ( ~ 100 mA) with nanosecond switching times. The planar head can handle dc current, enabling trailing-edge writing. Magnetic force microscopy measurements of the transitions written by the planar head and a conventional commercial servo write head on longitudinal metal particle and nonoriented barium ferrite media were made to assess the quality of the written transitions. The transition response width PW50 is found to be independent of the tape velocity during write for the planar head. For the conventional head, PW50 is larger and increases with the tape write velocity. The reduced PW50 results in larger readback signal amplitude and hence an improved track-follow performance. The faster switching capability of the planar head enables formatting at higher tape velocity.

Various types of intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy after laparoscopic total gastrectomy for gastric cancer

Even for expert surgeons, esophagojejunostomy after laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) is not always easy to perform. Herein, we compare various types of esophagojejunostomy in terms of the technical aspects and postoperative outcomes. A total of 48 patients underwent LTG for gastric cancer by the same surgeon. Four types of intracorporeal esophagojejunostomies have been applied after LTG: type A, a conventional anvil head method; type B, an OrVil™ system method; type C, a hemi-double stapling technique with anvil head; and type D, side-to-side esophagojejunostomy with linear stapler. We describe and review these types of esophagojejunostomy using a step-by-step approach. The mean reconstruction times were longer for types A and B than for types C and D (p < 0.05). In terms of complications, there were five cases (10.4%) of anastomosis leakage, which was more common in types A and B: two cases in each of type A and B and one case in type C. Moreover, anastomosis stricture requiring intervention was more common in types A and B (p < 0.05). To date, there are no reliable reconstruction methods after LTG. Therefore, special care is needed to prevent postoperative complication regardless of methods; also, technical innovations to support development of the safest methods of esophagojejunostomy are warranted.

An analysis on the energy efficiency of air-cooled chillers with water mist system

This paper presents the effect of operating water mist system to enhance the energy efficiency of air-cooled chillers under various operating conditions. A thermodynamic model for an air-cooled chiller with twin refrigeration circuits coupled with a water mist system was developed and validated by measured operating data. The validated model was used to investigate how the thermal properties of the entering condenser air and the performance of the air-cooled chiller varied under different operating schemes with water mist pre-cooling. Under the conventional head pressure control (HPC) with a designed water mist generation rate, the coefficient of performance (COP) increased by up to 21.3%. The chiller performance could be improved further under variable condensing temperature control (CTC). Under CTC, chiller COP was increased up to 51.5% with optimal water mist generation rate. The potential energy savings of these chillers serving a representative office building in subtropical climate was evaluated, and CTC coupling with optimal water mist generation rate would reduce the annual total electricity consumption for cooling by 14.1%. The water consumption of the water mist system was comparatively small, comparing with the total water losses for an open-loop cooling tower system with equivalent heat rejection capacity.

Design and thermoregulation of a new microextrusion dispense head for 3D-plotting of thermally sensitive thermoplastics

Three-dimensional plotting of micro-extruded filaments is a promising method for the manufacture of porous structures in thermoplastic polymers. However, it has been noted that conventional dispense head systems for this microextrusion are unsuitable for the reliable processing of thermally sensitive polymers like poly(lactic acid) (PLA): the batch polymer remains in the molten state prior to processing and it will degrade under this thermal load, leading to polymer chain reduction. Therefore, a new dispense head system was developed which thermally separates a cold material supply zone from the hot extrusion zone and allows for the processing of PLA-based polymers without severe degradation. This manuscript discusses the design of the new dispense head and compares its thermoregulation with that of a conventional system by means of finite element modeling and infrared imaging. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers

Abstract 5691: Novel site-specific antibody drug conjugates based on novel amino acid incorporation technology have improved pharmaceutical properties over conventional antibody drug conjugates

Abstract We demonstrate here for the first time generation of ADCs by using EuCODETM technology that site-specifically incorporates novel amino acids into proteins in mammalian cells. Conventional conjugation strategies for making ADCs rely on conjugating the payload to the antibody via the side chains of lysines or cysteines: this procedure produces a heterogeneous mixture of ADCs exhibiting a range of biological activities. We believe that making ADCs using the novel amino acid incorporation technology (NDCs) will enable production of homogenous site specific conjugates that may have improved pharmaceutical properties, and simplified analytics compared to ADCs made using conventional conjugation strategies. 5T4 is an oncofetal antigen, that is selectively overexpressed on various cancers and is rapidly internalized upon antibody binding. Using anti-5T4 antibody (A1) as a model system, NDCs were made that contain the novel amino acid, para-acetylphenylalanine (pAF) at designated sites of the antibody molecule. Toxin payload, monomethyl auristatin D (MMAD), a potent tubulin inhibitor, was then conjugated via oxime linkages to the two engineered pAF residues in the anti-5T4 antibody to give homogenous NDCs with antibody:drug ratio of 1:2. Compared to the native form of the A1 antibody, pAF site-specific mutants and NDC conjugates made thereof do not alter the antibody binding and internalization kinetics on 5T4 positive tumor cells. Further, NDCs preserve the cytotoxicity observed with conventional ADCs. In vivo, NDCs demonstrated substantially improved pharmacokinetics in mice relative to conventional ADCs. For example, the mean systemic exposure for the NDC with a non-cleavable linker (nc) (A1-HS115pAF-ncMMAD) was significantly greater (2-4 fold) than that of A1-mcMMAD ADC (made using conventional cysteine-conjugation strategy). Most importantly, the NDCs had similar or better PK compared to the unconjugated Ab, suggesting that by using NDC technology, the payload is not lost from the Ab in circulation. In efficacy experiments, we compared NDCs and conventional ADCs head to head, using the same payload-linker. In two xenograft models, NDCs demonstrated equivalent or slightly better efficacy compared to conventional ADCs. Further, in a single dose rat toxicology studies, NDCs were well tolerated up to 90 mg/kg, the highest dose tested. To demonstrate the scalability of NDC production, a stable CHO clone for the corresponding mutated Ab of NDC HA114pAF was created and shown to support antibody production at &amp;gt; 1 g/L using a fed-batch process. In summary, NDCs demonstrated improved in vivo efficacy and pharmacokinetic stability relative to ADCs prepared using conventional conjugation approaches. Based on these preclinical data, NDC technology could serve as another avenue for making site specific homogenous ADCs. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5691. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5691

Spectral Estimates of Crop Residue Cover and Density for Standing and Flat Wheat Stubble

Crop residue is important for erosion control, soil water storage, filling gaps in various agroecosystem‐based modeling, and sink for atmospheric carbon. The use of remote sensing technology provides a fast, objective, and efficient tool for measuring and managing this resource. The challenge is to distinguish the crop residue from the soil and effectively estimate the residue cover across a variety of landscapes. The objective of this study is to assess a select Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and hyperspectral‐based indices in estimating crop residue cover and amount for both standing and laid flat, and between two winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) harvest managements (i.e., stripper‐header and conventional header) and fallow following proso‐millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) plots. The primary plots were located in Colorado with additional plots in eastern Montana, Oregon, and Washington states. Data collected include hyperspectral scans, crop residue amount (by weight) and residue cover (by photo‐grid). Mean analyses, correlation tests, and spectral signature comparison show that the relative position of the crop residues affected the values of some remote sensing indices more than harvest management. Geographical location did not seem to influence the results. There was not enough evidence to support the use of these indices to accurately estimate the amount of residue. Hyperspectral data may deliver better estimates, but in its absence, the use of two or more of these datasets might improve the estimation of residue cover. This information will be useful in guiding analysis of remotely sensed data and in planning data acquisition programs for crop residue, which are essentially nonexistent at present.

Signal Enhancement at Small Gap Length in Giant Magnetoresistance Differential Response

Micromagnetic modeling has been performed to study responses of giant magnetoresistance (GMR)-type differential readers (GDRs). Our results show that the pulse shape in GDRs is Gaussian-like, which is consistent with the counterpart in conventional heads. The key finding is that GDR signals increase with decreasing gap length. Magnetostatic interactions among the free layers, hard biases and transition bits are responsible for the signal enhancement at small gap length. Signal enhancement at small gap length is very useful in linear scaling for differential readers since media vertical fields approach zero towards a transition.

The study and diagnostic value of MRI sequences in patients with trigeminal neuralgia

Objective To investigate the capacity and diagnostic value of various MRI seguences in patients with trigeminal neuralgia.Methods MR images of 60 patients with trigeminal neuralgia were analyzed retrospectively.The sensitivity,specificity and diagnostic value of various MRI sequences were evaluated comparing with clinical data and operation results.All patients were scanned with conventional sequences including SE-T1WI,T2WI,FLAIR of head.Among them,9 cases were injected with contrast agent,49 cases were scanned with 3D-TOF and 3D-TSE sequences on cerebellopontine angle additinally.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of the 3D-TOF and 3D-TSE sequences were analyzed by using the x2 test.Results Six cases with tumor,3 cases with radiculitis and meningitis,1 case with multiple sclerosis and 1 case with pons infarction were diagnosed by conventional MR sequences.MRI of 49 cases with 3D-TOF and 3D-TSE showed neurovascular compress proved by operation.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of 3D-TOF and 3D-TSE were 95.3％ (41/43)vs.95.6％ (43/45),66.7％ (4/6)vs.50.0％(2/4) and 91.8％ (45/49)vs.91.8％ (45/49),and no significantly difference was found between the two sequences (x2 =0.13,0.19 and 0.17,P ＞0.5).Conclusions MRI plays an important role in displaying the causes and diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia.The conventional head MR sequences should be recommended for diagnosis of secondary TN caused by tumor and inflammation et al,and further 3D-TOF and 3D-TSE with high sensitivity and accuracy should be applied in patients with primary TN to display the neurovascular relationship. Key words: Trigeminal nerve diseases; Magnetic resonance imaging

French Muticenter Study on Vibroplasty

These last years, different papers have demonstrated good surgical and audiological results in patients with conductive and mixed hearing losses, when the FMT is placed on the round window, on the stapes or on the incus. We present the preliminary results of a prospective multicenter French study comparing the results of the VSB in mixed hearing loss with BAHA and conventional hearing aids. Materials and methods: 30 patients whose pathologies were mainly chronic otitis (22 cases) and otosclerosis (8 cases) were implanted with a VSB middle ear implant. The surgical approaches used consisted in the classical approach (FMT on long process of the incus) in 8 cases, in placement of the FMT on the stapes in 12 cases, and in placement of the FMT on the round window in 10 cases. Thresholds in air conduction, bone conduction, speech understanding and speech understanding in noise were measured at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, and compared with preoperative measurements with numeric conventional hearing aid and head set BAHA Results: No surgical complications were reported. 4 patients expressed a lack of hearing improvement and the FMTs were replaced under local anesthesia. In these four cases, the FMT had been placed on the round window. There were no change in bone conduction hearing thresholds and all patients are showing significant gain with VSB and improvement 17 dB below the air conduction thresholds in average. In average, speech understanding was better for VSB than BAHA and hearing aids. Results in speech understanding were identical between VSB and BAHA for pure conductive heanring loss, and were better for VSB than BAHA when the bone conduction thresholds were higher than 40 dB. Conclusion: Preliminaty results have shown that the VSB middle ear implant can be a good alternative for the rehabilitation of mixed hearing losses.

Anti-drift and auto-alignment mechanism for an astigmatic atomic force microscope system based on a digital versatile disk optical head

In this work, an anti-drift and auto-alignment mechanism is applied to an astigmatic detection system (ADS)-based atomic force microscope (AFM) for drift compensation and cantilever alignment. The optical path of the ADS adopts a commercial digital versatile disc (DVD) optical head using the astigmatic focus error signal. The ADS-based astigmatic AFM is lightweight, compact size, low priced, and easy to use. Furthermore, the optical head is capable of measuring sub-atomic displacements of high-frequency AFM probes with a sub-micron laser spot (~570 nm, FWHM) and a high-working bandwidth (80 MHz). Nevertheless, conventional DVD optical heads suffer from signal drift problems. In a previous setup, signal drifts of even thousands of nanometers had been measured. With the anti-drift and auto-alignment mechanism, the signal drift is compensated by actuating a voice coil motor of the DVD optical head. A nearly zero signal drift was achieved. Additional benefits of this mechanism are automatic cantilever alignment and simplified design.

CADICA: Continuous Automated Dissolved Inorganic Carbon Analyzer with application to aquatic carbon cycle science

Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) represents a significant component of both the terrestrial and oceanic carbon cycles. An instrument for the continuous and automated analysis of dissolved inorganic carbon in the field is described. The analyzer is designed to allow collection of high‐resolution (sub hourly) DIC data over prolonged field deployments without the need for labor‐intensive maintenance and monitoring. The instrument sequentially acidifies an aliquot of water in gas permeable tubing through which CO2 diffuses into a gas tight chamber and is quantified by an infrared gas analyzer. The instrument is accurate to ± 0.04 mM with a detection limit of 0.01 mM. Comparisons with conventional head space equilibration techniques using mass spectrometry yielded a good correlation differing by 0.016 ± 0.014 mM. Deployment in a tropical estuary and freshwater rainforest catchment revealed the dynamic nature of inorganic carbon cycling in these aquatic systems. DIC concentration was found to track the mixing of fresh and salt water well in the tropical estuary (as indicated by conductivity measurements), and comprised a significant component of dissolved carbon export from the estuary catchment. DIC totalled 24 ± 6% of the total carbon export from the rainforest catchment and varied between 0.04 and 0.13 mM over a 4‐d period. The dynamic nature of DIC in the two environments illustrates the pressing need for the continuous and high‐resolution data our instrument provides.