Abstract Radiographic oral and maxillofacial findings were recorded in a cohort of 293 home living elderly, in Helsinki, Finland, derived from a random sample of 8035 subjects, , born in 1904, 1909, and 1912, who participated in the Helsinki Ageing Study. They were 76, 81, and 86 years old at the commencement of the radiographic study. The relationships of potentially infectious findings with increased all-cause mortality over four years were studied. During the four-year follow-up, 18.5% of the subjects died. Of the 124 edentulous subjects, 17% had condylar findings, 13% radiopaque intraosseous findings, 9% retained roots, 6% maxillary sinus findings, 4% impacted teeth and 3% radiolucent findings. Edentulous women had more arthrotic condylar findings than men. The mean number of teeth in the 169 dentate subjects was 13.9, 15.5 in men and 13.2 in women. Carious teeth were found in 75%, radiolucent findings in 41%, teeth with vertical infrabony pockets in 51%, furcation lesions in 28%, calculus in 40%, and condylar findings in 25%. Periodontal attachment loss was slight in 18%, moderate in 31%, and advanced in 46%. 21% of the teeth had been endodontically treated. Periapical lesions were found in 17% of these teeth, and in 4% of the other teeth. 75% of the rootfillings were inadequate, exhibiting periapical lesions twice as often as the adequate ones. Men had more carious teeth, periapical lesions and furcation lesions than women, indicating better oral hygiene and/or utilisation of dental services in women. Compared with the previous studies carried out in Finland, slightly more teeth and less tooth-associated pathology were found in the present subjects. In contemporary Scandinavian studies, only a slightly better oral health status in the elderly has been reported. During the four-year follow-up, mortality was higher in the subjects with moderate to advanced infrabony pockets, OR 2.2, 1.0-4.7. In the previous studies, similar associations have been found in larger study cohorts including younger subjects. Our results indicate that oral foci may be more dangerous for the elderly than it has been previously thought, as the subjects who died had poorer dental health than those who survived.

This study explores the day-to-day application of digital radiography (DR) within the X-ray environment. This study presents the voices of the radiographers' untold views, attitudes and experiences of DR through the process of observing, listening, retelling and interpreting junior and senior radiographers' responses. There were three stages to this ethnographic study. Firstly, exploring 'what radiographers did' environment by observing clinical practices. This provided 'first-hand' experience of action-in-process. Secondly, 22 semi-structured interviews were undertaken, directed by emerging themes and informal discussions from the clinical observations. Semi-structured interviews provided an understanding of the experiences, behaviours and attitudes of radiographers providing a deeper understanding of the relationship between practice and context. Thirdly, X-ray experiments were undertaken contributing to 'what had been seen and said by participants'. This data was later triangulated to support the research objectives outlined in this PhD research. Observation and interview data were analysed using thematic analysis and grouped into four overarching categories; learning, radiographer challenges, ionising radiation and patient care delivery. X-ray experimental data was inputted into SPSS and later coded. The qualitative data had numerous codes, which generated themes and could be linked in order to generate theoretical descriptions. Multiple-linear regression analysis and Pearson's Correlation provide statistically significant values (p < 0.001) for the experimental models contributing to 'what had been seen and said' by radiographers in the clinical environment. This thesis provides new insights into general radiographic practices using advancing technology. The conclusions that can be drawn from the empirical data is that advancing technology has impacted the day-to-day practices of diagnostic radiographers. Complex phenomena include; current knowledge and understanding, the practice of keeping doses 'as low as reasonably practicable' and impact on patient care delivery. These insights suggest that healthcare and academic environments may require additional support in the aim of delivering optimum patient care.

M.Tech. (Radiography (Diagnostic)) / In order to meet the needs of the country South African radiographers need to become multi skilled radiographers. Empowering diagnostic radiographers with pattern recognition skills to enable them to comment on images could address the problem in many South African departments where a shortage of radiologists’ results in delayed reports or no reports to referring doctors. The research assessed the ability of qualified diagnostic radiographers in two Gauteng Government Hospital’s to apply pattern recognition and provide a comment on a radiograph after training in musculoskeletal pattern recognition. The study employed a pre- and post-test model with an intervention which comprised training of radiographers in musculoskeletal pattern recognition. The post- test results showed a significant improvement in the accuracy of identifying abnormal images and the comments provided were more complete than before training. Thus the intervention was successful in improving the ability of the radiographers to recognize normal and abnormal images, however, the training would need to be more extensive for an accurate comment to be provided on musculoskeletal images.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / In this study, the capabilities of Neutron Radiography (NRad) and -Tomography (NTomo), as well as X-ray Radiography (XRad) to investigate chlorides and chlorides corrosion effects within steel reinforced laboratory concrete samples are practically explored. Capabilities of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA), Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE), Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), Neutron Diffraction (NDIFF) and X-ray Diffraction (XDIFF) analytical techniques are also explored through review of literature.

The shoulder is a complex anatomical structure and imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of shoulder conditions. The complexity of the shoulder’s anatomy has led to the development of multiple radiographic projections and techniques within plain film imaging with each projection intended to demonstrate specific aspects of the anatomy of the shoulder. However, reproducing the required projections can be difficult especially if radiographers are not familiar with the projections and their evaluation criteria. Literature has revealed the importance of a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of anatomy, patient positioning, beam direction and centring point, and evaluation criteria to ensure a quality projection for accurate diagnoses. The aim of the study was to determine the knowledge and understanding of radiographers with regard to the supraspinatus outlet projection (SOP) for shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) and its evaluation criteria. The inferences derived from the research findings were used to develop guidelines for a structured in-service training programme for practising radiographers to optimise their knowledge and understanding of the supraspinatus outlet projection in shoulder impingement syndrome. The proposed study followed a quantitative approach. Furthermore, a descriptive, exploratory, contextual design was employed. The research population consisted of practising radiographers working in the public and private hospitals of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The data were collected by means of a structured self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised of three sections. The first section requested demographic information from the participants. The second section assessed their knowledge and understanding regarding the scapular ‘Y’ and the supraspinatus outlet projections and shoulder impingement syndrome. The third section assessed their knowledge and understanding of anatomy and image evaluation/critiquing. The reliability and validity of the data collection instrument was ensured by conducting a pilot study and comparing the results with those of the main study. In addition, the expertise and guidance of a radiographer experienced in the clinical training of radiographers, the supervisor (who has twenty years’ experience in the teaching of radiographers) and a statistician was obtained. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed by means of a statistical programme and with the guidance of a statistician. The researcher ensured that the study was conducted in an ethical manner by adhering to the ethical principles of beneficence, justice and respect for persons.

Orientadores: Eduardo Daruge, Eduardo Daruge Júnior / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T13:57:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Martins_EmersonClaudino_M.pdf: 705232 bytes, checksum: cd0617008d8a27566e3ef958bb603094 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: No presente trabalho estudou-se 139 imagens tomográficas, obtidas dos arquivos do Hospital das Clínicas de Rubião Júnior da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu - UNESP, sendo 76 do gênero masculino e 63 do gênero feminino. Foram realizadas medidas quantitativas das imagens, nos cortes transversais entre dois pontos determinados nas extremidades limites radiopacas do Manúbrio e do Processo Xifóide, por meio de tomografias computadorizadas em adultos com idades variando de 30 a 95 anos. Verificou-se que para o Processo Xifóide houve diferenças entre a faixa etária e o gênero, com um aumento quantitativo nas medidas, mas para o manúbrio houve diferença apenas entre o gênero na faixa etária de 50 a 95 anos e não deu diferença entre as faixas etárias. Conclui-se que o método de estimativa da idade em indivíduos adultos mensurando-se a imagem de osso esterno nas sinostoses por meio da tomografia computadorizada é uma alternativa viável para se indicar a idade cronológica de um indivíduo com 50 anos ou mais / Abstract: In the present work it was studied 139 images tomográficas, obtained of the files of the Hospital of the Clinics of Rubião Júnior of University of Medicine of Botucatu - UNESP, being 76 of the masculine gender and 63 of the feminine gender. Quantitative measures of the images were accomplished, in the traverse cuts among two certain points in the extremities limits radiopacas of Manúbrio and of the Processo Xifóide, through computerized tomographies in adults with ages varying from 30 to 95 years. It was verified that there were differences between the age group and the gender for the Processo Xifóide, with a quantitative increase in the measures, but to stop the manúbrio there was differentiates just among the gender in the age group from 50 to 95 years and he/she didn't give difference among the age groups. It is ended that the method of estimate of the age in adult individuals being measured the image of bone breastbone in the sinostoses through the computerized tomography is a viable alternative to indicate an individual's chronological age with 50 years or more / Mestrado / Odontologia Legal e Deontologia / Mestre em Biologia Buco-Dental

Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers in both men and women in the United States. The algorithmic detection, characterization, and diagnosis of abnormalities found in chest CT scan images can aid radiologists by providing additional medically-relevant information to consider in their assessment of medical images. Such algorithms, if robustly validated in clinical settings, carry the potential to improve the health of the general population. In this thesis, we first give an analysis of publicly available chest CT scan annotation data, in which we determine upper bounds on expected classification accuracy when certain radiological features are used as inputs to statistical learning algorithms for the purpose of inferring the likelihood of a lung nodule as being either malignant or benign. Second, a statistical extension of the level set method for image segmentation is introduced and applied to both synthetically-generated and real three-dimensional image volumes of lung nodules in chest CT scans, obtaining results comparable to the current state-of-the-art on the latter. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Mathematics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 16, 2018. / computer-aided diagnosis, image segmentation, level set method, lung nodule, machine learning / Includes bibliographical references. / Jerry Magnan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Dennis Duke, University Representative; Monica Hurdal, Committee Member; Washington Mio, Committee Member.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides a map of diffusional anisotropy based on the Brownian motion of water within the restricted boundaries of tissues. In this work, a high angular resolution DTI acquired with 18 diffusion directions and four unweighted images was acquired using a 11.75-T, 500-MHz MRI scanner located at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in order to perform tractography in amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 1 (APP/PS1) mouse models of familial Alzheimer’s Disease. Evaluating phenotype (APP/PS1 versus wild type) and age (1, 2, 4 and 6 months), a structural network analysis was employed to assess DTI datasets acquired at an in-plane resolution was 100 x 100 microns with a matrix size of 256 x 256, repetition time of 2 s, echo time of 30 ms, diffusion gradient separation of 21 ms and diffusion gradient time of 3 ms. With 15 averages, high signal-to-noise ratios were achieved over an approximate acquisition time of 47 h per sample. This study used all female brains fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde. The five main neural areas of focus were the piriform area of the cortex, temporal cortex, parietal cortex, and left and right hippocampus. A significant decrease in FA of the temporal cortex was identified. Changes in the network metrics of weighted degree, eccentricity, clustering, betweenness centrality, and closeness centrality were observed as a function of age and phenotype. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 20, 2018. / Alzheimer's Disease, DTI, Graph Theory, MRI / Includes bibliographical references. / Samuel C. Grant, Professor Directing Thesis; Jingjiao Guan, Committee Member; Yan Li, Committee Member.

With the increasing popularity of information technology, especially electronic imaging techniques, large amount of high dimensional data such as 3D shapes become pervasive in science, engineering and even people's daily life, in the recent years. Though the data quantity is huge, the extraction of relevant knowledge on those data is still limited. How to understand data in a meaningful way is generally an open problem. The specific challenges include finding adequate mathematical representations of data and designing proper algorithms to process them. The existing tools for analyzing high-dimensional data, including 3D shape data, are found to be insufficient as they usually suffer from many factors, such as misalignments, noise, and clutter. This thesis attempts to develop a framework for processing, analyzing and understanding high-dimensional data, especially 3D shapes, by proposing a set of statistical tools including theory, algorithms and optimization applied to practical problems. In particular, the following aspects of shape analysis are considered: 1. A framework adopting the SRNF representation, based on parallel transport of deformations across surfaces in the shape space, leads to statistical analysis on shape data. Three main analyses are conducted under this framework: (1) computing geodesics when either two end surfaces or the starting surface and an initial deformation are given; (2) parallel transporting deformation across surfaces; and (3) sampling random surfaces. 2. Computational efficiency plays an important role in performing statistical shape analysis on large datasets of 3D objects. To speed up the previous method, a framework with numerical solution is introduced by approximating the inverse mapping, and it reduces the computational cost by an order of magnitude. 3. The geometrical and morphological information, or their shapes, of 3D objects can be analyzed explicitly using boundaries extracted from original image scans. An alternative idea is to consider variability in shapes directly from their embedding images. A novel framework is proposed to unify three important tasks, registering, comparing and modeling images. 4. Finally, the spatial deformations learned from registering images are modeled using the GRID based decomposition. This specific model provides a way to decompose a large deformation into local and fundamental ones so that shape differences between images are easily interpretable. We conclude this thesis with conclusions drawn in this research and discuss potential future directions of statistical shape analysis in the last chapter, both from methodological and application aspects. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Statistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2015. / March 20, 2015. / Parallel transport, Pattern Recognition, Registration, Riemannian geometry, shape analysis, Statistics / Includes bibliographical references. / Anuj Srivastava, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric P. Klassen, University Representative; Fred W. Huffer, Committee Member; Wei Wu, Committee Member; Jinfeng Zhang, Committee Member.

No description available.