Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006. / Prepared for: School of Medicine. Bibliography: leaves 142-154. Also available online.

Σκοπός της διδακτορικής διατριβής ήταν η αξιολόγηση ενός αυτόματου συστήματος ποσοτικοποίησης της έκτασης της διάμεσης νόσου με απεικονιστικά κριτήρια, όπως την σύγκριση με την ημιποσοτική αξιολόγηση των ακτινολόγων και με την συνεχή αξιολόγηση από ακτινολόγους βασιζόμενη στον χειρωνακτικό σχεδιασμό των παθολογικών περιοχών. Τα αποτελέσματα του αυτοματοποιημένου συστήματος συγκρίθηκαν και με την υποβοηθηση από το σύστημα. Για την οπτικοποίηση της διασύγκρισης των συστημάτων μεταξύ τους χρησιμοποιήθηκαν οι καμπύλες συμφωνίας. Τέλος, μελετήθηκε η συσχέτιση του συστήματος και των ημιποσοτικών εκτιμήσεων των ακτινολόγων με εργαστηριακούς απεικονιστικούς δείκτες, τις πνευμονικές δοκιμασίες. Υλικά και Μέθοδοι Για την εκπόνηση της διατριβής χρησιμοποιήθηκε μια δεξαμενή 47 περιστατικών με νόσο του κολλαγόνου και 4 φυσιολογικών ασθενών. Από αυτήν 14 περιστατικά χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για την ανάπτυξη και εκπαίδευση του συστήματος και 37 περιστατικά επελέγησαν για την αξιολόγηση του συστήματος, με απεικονιστικά πρότυπα θαμβής υάλου (ggo) και δικτυωτού προτύπου (reticular). Το πρωτόκολλο σάρωσης ήταν χαμηλής δόσης απεικόνιση με MDCT 16 ανιχνευτών, που επέτρεπε την λήψη τρισδιάστατων δεδομένων. Αρχικά αναπτύχθηκε το αυτόματο σύστημα σε γλώσσα προγραμματισμού MATLAB (ΜΑΤLAB 7.5 R 2007b) και εκπαιδεύτηκε από τους ακτινολόγους ως προς τα διάφορα στάδια ολοκλήρωσης: (1) Προεπεξεργασία (preprocessing): Τμηματοποίηση πνευμονικών πεδίων και αφαίρεση αγγειακού δέντρου, (2) Ταξινόμηση-Αναγνώριση και χαρακτηρισμός προτύπων διάμεσου ιστού. Το σύστημα αξιολογήθηκε σε δείγμα διαφορετικό από της εκπαίδευσης από την πρώτη δεξαμενή περιστατικών με δείκτες απόδοσης Volume Overlap, ΤPF, FPF. Κατόπιν, το τρισδιάστατο (3D) σύστημα αξιολογήθηκε στο κλινικό δείγμα 37 ασθενών με τις 3D ημιποσοτικές αξιολογήσεις δύο ακτινολόγων (Α΄ Κύκλος Πειραματικού σχεδιασμού). Στην αξιολόγηση αυτή συσχετίστηκαν τα τρισδιάστατα αποτελέσματα ποσοτικοποίησης του CAD ως προς την συνολική έκταση νόσου, την έκταση του ground glass και του reticular προτύπου με τις εκτιμήσεις από δύο ξεχωριστούς έμπειρους ακτινολόγους και του μέσου όρου αυτών ημιποσοτικά στους όγκους των σαρώσεων (περίπου 250 τομές ανά σάρωση ασθενούς) με στατιστική μέθοδο Spearman rank order. Επίσης μελετήθηκαν οι διαφορές μεταξύ των εκτιμήσεων, αναλύθηκαν με Blant –Altman διαγράμματα και boxplots (R1vs. CAD, R2vs.CAD, Rmvs.CAD, R1 vs.R2, R1 vs.R1s). Μετρήθηκε επίσης η συμφωνία ενδο κα μεταξύ των ακτινολόγων. Για τον B΄ κύκλο πειραματικού σχεδιασμού αξιολογήθηκε το 2D σύστημα σε 185 εγκάρσιες τομές (37 σαρώσεις ασθενών) για το ποσοστό της συνολικής έκτασης και της έκτασης του ground glass και του reticular προτύπου. Σαν βάση αναφοράς χρησιμοποιήθηκε η consensus αξιολόγηση δύο έμπειρων ακτινολόγων με σχεδιασμό των παθολογικών περιοχών σε μια τράπεζα σχεδιασμού (Wacom Intuos 3 Tokyo, Japan) με τη βοήθεια μιας γραφικής επιφάνειας διεπαφής (GUI). Επίσης αναλύθηκαν οι ίδιες τομές και αξιολογήθηκαν ημιποσοτικά in consensus από τους ακτινολόγους. Τέλος αξιολογήθηκε στο ίδιο δείγμα το υποβοηθούμενο CAD ως προς την βάση αναφοράς. Συσχετίστηκαν οι 2D εκτιμήσεις του συστήματος και των ακτινολόγων in consensus (1) ημιποσοτικά (CADvsSQRcons) και (2) ποσοτικά με σχεδιασμό των παθολογικών περιοχών pixel-wise (CADvsRref). Οι συσχετίσεις πραγματοποιήθηκαν με Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) και τα αντίστοιχα 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). Μετρήθηκε επίσης η συμφωνία ενδο κα μεταξύ των ακτινολόγων. Οι διαφορές στην έκταση της νόσου για τις διαφορετικές αξιολογήσεις (CAD - Rref, CAD+Rcons-Rref και SQRcons - Rref) απεικονίστηκαν με Bland-Altman ανάλυση για την συνολική έκταση της νόσου και για τα επιμέρους πρότυπα: το ggo και το reticular. Επίσης υπολογίστηκε η μέση διαφορά (mean difference MD) και το 95% των διαφορών (μέση τιμή±1.96SD), που ονομάζεται όρια συμφωνίας (limits of agreement (LoA95). Για να οπτικοποιηθούν τα αποτελέσματα των αξιολογήσεων της έκτασης νόσου και να διευκολυνθεί η διασύγκριση μεταξύ τους , δημιουργήθηκε μια απεικόνιση με καμπύλες συμφωνίας για κάθε σύστημα αξιολόγησης σε συνάρτηση με την βάση αναφοράς Τέλος συσχετίστηκαν οι τρισδιάστατοι όγκοι των 37 ασθενών σε ότι αφορά (1) την συνολική έκταση της νόσου (2) την έκταση του ggo και (3) την έκταση του reticular όπως εκτιμώνται από το 3DCAD και με την ημιποσοτική αξιολόγηση των ακτινολόγων 3DSQRconsRcons με τις φυσιολογικές παραμέτρους σπειρομέτρησης. ατόπιν συσχετίστηκαν τα 2D δεδομένα στις 185 εγκάρσιες τομές (μέσες τιμές των 5 τομών ανά σάρωση από τους 37 ασθενείς ) για το 2D CAD και την αντίστοιχη ημιποσοτική αξιολόγηση σε 2D SQ . Συγκρίθηκαν οι συσχετίσεις 2DCADvs2DCAD και 3DSQvs2DSQ. με δείκτες συσχέτισης Pearson correlation coefficient (R). Αποτελέσματα Η στατιστική ανάλυση της απόδοσης του συστήματος για την τμηματοποίηση των πνευμονικών πεδίων εκτιμάται ως εξής: (1) Volume overlap: 0.954±0.023, (2)d mean: 1.080±0.364 (3) drms: 1.407±0.735 (4) d max : 4.944±3.492. Η στατιστική ανάλυση της απόδοσης του συστήματος για την τμηματοποίηση του αγγειακού δέντρου και στα δύο πνευμονικά πεδία εκτιμάται ως εξής: (1) Volume overlap: 0.931±0.027, (2 ) ΤPF:0.935±0.036 (3) FPF:0.074±0.03. Η απόδοση του συστήματος στην αναγνώριση και χαρακτηρισμό των παθολογικών προτύπων της διάμεσης νόσου στα περιστατικά που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για την εκπαίδευση είναι: Για το πρότυπο ground glass: (1) Volume overlap : 0.794±0.038, (2) ΤPF:0.812±0.045, (3) FPF: 0.163±0.017. Για το reticular πρότυπο οι δείκτες απόδοσης είναι: 1) Volume overlap: 0.883±0.037, (2) ΤPF:0.972±0.013 (3) FPF :0.0971±0.012. Οι ανάλογοι δείκτες για την συμφωνία των ακτινολόγων ενδο και μεταξύ- έχουν ως εξής: Για την συμφωνία των ακτινολόγων (ενδο-): Για το πρότυπο ground glass: (1) Volume overlap: 0.47±0.20, (2) ΤPF :0.972±0.01, (3) FPF : 0.0971±0.012. Για το reticular πρότυπο οι δείκτες απόδοσης είναι: (1) Volume overlap : 0.53±0.19, (2)ΤPF: 0.715±0.20, (3)FPF: 1.72±1.05. Για την συνολική έκταση της νόσου, οι αντίστοιχες τιμές είναι: (1) Volume overlap: 0.54 ± 0.18, (2) ΤPF : 0.74 ± 0.18,(3) FPF :1.19±1.85. Για την συμφωνία των ακτινολόγων (μεταξύ-): Για το πρότυπο ground glass: (1) Volume overlap: 0.33±0.22, (2) ΤPF: 0.58±0.27, (3)FPF: 2.48±2,74. Για το reticular πρότυπο οι δείκτες απόδοσης είναι: (1)Volume overlap: 0.51±0.11, (2)ΤPF: 0.72±0.19, (3) FPF:1.36±1.33. Για την συνολική έκταση της νόσου, οι αντίστοιχες τιμές είναι: (1)Volume overlap: 0.51±0.21, (2)ΤPF: 0.69±0.22, (3) FPF: 1.21±0.89. Για τον Α΄ κύκλο πειραματικού σχεδιασμού σε 3D, τα αποτελέσματα δείχνουν στατιστικά σημαντική συσχέτιση της ποσοτικοποίησης του CAD και των ημιποσοτικών εκτιμήσεων των ακτινολόγων (ως βάση αναφοράς), σε ότι αφορά στην συνολική έκταση της νόσου και την έκταση του reticular προτύπου (R=0.949, p=<0.0001, R= 0.915, p=<0.0001, αντίστοιχα), ενώ μέτρια ήταν η συσχέτιση για το ggo πρότυπο (0.806, p=0.0009). Οι ανάλογοι δείκτες για την συμφωνία των ακτινολόγων ενδο και μεταξύ- έχουν ως εξής: Για την συμφωνία των ακτινολόγων (ενδο-): Συνολική έκταση της νόσου: R=0.903, p=<0.0001, έκταση του reticular προτύπου: R= 0.966, p=<0.0001 και έκταση του ggo προτύπου: 0.766, p=<0.0001. Για την συμφωνία των ακτινολόγων (μεταξύ-): Συνολική έκταση της νόσου: 0.838, p=0.0018, έκταση του reticular προτύπου: R= 0.895, p=0.0006 και έκταση του ggo προτύπου: R= 0. 655, p=0.0017. Από την μελέτη των διαφορών όπως απεικονίζονται από τις αναλύσεις Blant Altman και boxplots, οι διαφορές στην έκταση της νόσου μεταξύ ακτινολόγων και CAD (R1 vs.CAD, R2vsCAD, RmvsCAD) και ακτινολόγων μεταξύ τους (R1 vs. R2, R1 vs. R1s) δεν ήταν στατιστικά σημαντικές (two-tailed Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p>0.05). Το εύρος της συσχέτισης κυμαίνεται εντός της μεταβλητής ένδο- και μεταξύ- παρατηρητών, καταδεικνύοντας ένα αξιόπιστο αυτόματο σύστημα ποσοτικοποίησης της διάμεσης νόσου με παρόμοια απόδοση με τους ακτινολόγους. Ωστόσο, η συμπεριφορά των διαφορών CAD vs. R1, CAD vs. R2, CAD vs Rm σε σύγκριση τις διαφορές R1 vs. R2 και R1 vs. R1’ μελετώντας τις median and IQR τιμές δεν είναι όμοια, καταδεικνύοντας ένα αυτόματο σύστημα συμπεριφέρεται με διαφορετικό τρόπο συγκριτικά με την ημιποσοτική εκτίμηση. Οι μέγιστες median and IQR τιμές (3.6% και 32.6%, αντιστοίχως), εμφανίζονται μεταξύ CAD and R2, και αποδίδονται πρωτίστως στην διαφορετική εμπειρία των ακτινολόγων. Τέλος, από τα διαγράμματα Blant Altman παρατηρείται ότι σε όλα τα ζεύγη διαφορών CADvs. R1, CADvsR2, CADvsRm, R1vsR2, R1 vsR1’ οι μεγαλύτερες διαφορές προκύπτουν καθώς αυξάνεται η έκταση της νόσου, ιδίως για έκταση νόσου >20%. Από τα δύο πρότυπα, το reticular πρότυπο παρουσιάζει την μεγαλύτερη μεταβλητότητα της μέσης τιμής. Λαμβάνοντας υπόψιν την διαφρορετική συμπεριφορα στην ποσοτικοποίηση της έκτασης της νόσου μεταξύ του συστήματος CAD και της ημιποσοτικής μεθόδου, αναζητήθηκε μια ακριβέστερη βάση αναφοράς , που στηρίχτηκε στον χειρωνακτικό σχεδιασμό των παθολογικών περιοχών οδηγώντας στον Β’ κύκλο του πειραματικού σχεδιασμού. Για τον B΄ κύκλο πειραματικού σχεδιασμού της διατριβής, το σύστημα παρουσιάζει τόσο με τις ημιποσοτικές όσο και με τις ποσοτικές μετρήσεις, με καλύτερη την συσχέτιση με τις ποσοτικές μετρήσεις που χρησιμοποιήθηκε στην φάση αυτή της διατριβής σαν βάση αναφοράς (ICC =0.809 [0.599-0.894] , 0.851 [0.795-0.891]). Για τα επιμέρους πρότυπα η ποσοτικοποίηση του ground glass από το σύστημα συσχετίζεται λιγότερο με τις εκτιμήσεις των ακτινολόγων ( και με τις δύο μεθόδους, ημιποσοτικά και ποσοτικά) από το reticular. Σε κάθε περίπτωση η ποσοτική αξιολόγηση των ακτινολόγων που θεωρητικά αποτελεί καλύτερη βάση αναφοράς συσχετίζεται σταθερά καλύτερα με το CAD για όλα τα πρότυπα. Η συμφωνία μεταξύ ακτινολόγων είναι παρόμοια και για τις δύο μεθόδους (ICC =0.856 [0.811-0.891], 0.856 [0.806-0.893]). Η ίδια τάση παρατηρείται και για τα δυο πρότυπα (reticular και ground glass). Από την μελέτη των διαφορών όπως απεικονίζονται από τις αναλύσεις Blant Altman, το σύστημα παρουσιάζει ένα μικρό βαθμό υπερεκτίμησης της έκτασης νόσου συγκριτικά με την βάση αναφοράς: Συνολική έκταση νόσου (MD: 2.5%; LoA95: -14.3%, 19.3%), έκταση ground glass: (MD: 1.3%; LoA95: -10.9%, 13.5%) έκταση reticular: (MD: 1.2%; LoA95: -12.7%, 15.1%) και σημαντική συμφωνία με την νέα βάση αναφοράς: 86.5%, 75.1% και 81.6% αντίστοιχα. Οι ημιποσοτικές μετρήσεις παρουσιάζει μεγαλύτερη υπερεκτίμηση με τη βάση αναφοράς: Συνολική έκταση νόσου MD: 9.2%; LoA95: -12.8%, 31.2%, έκταση ground glass: MD: 4.6%; LoA95: -9.8%, 19.0% και έκταση reticular: MD: 4.6%; LoA95: -10.0%, 19.3% και σαφώς μικρότερη συμφωνία με την βάση αναφοράς (69.2%, 70.8%, 70.3%, αντίστοιχα). Τέλος η συμφωνία με την βάση αναφοράς βελτιώνεται ελάχιστα με την χρήση υποβοηθούμενου CAD σε σύγκριση με το CAD σύστημα μόνο του, ιδίως για το ground glass πρότυπο (88.1%, 78.4% and 81.6%, αντίστοιχα). Προτείνεται επίσης στην παρούσα διατριβή η χρήση των καμπυλών συμφωνίας, όπου οπτικοποιείται η διασύγκριση μεταξύ τους, αποδεικνύοντας το υποβοηθούμενο CAD ως το βέλτιστο σύστημα, ακολουθούμενο με μικρή διαφορά από το CAD , ενώ η ημιποσοτικές μετρήσεις διαφέρουν σημαντικά από τα άλλα δύο και από την χειρωνακτική βάση αναφοράς. Oι καμπύλες τονίζουν επίσης την διάσταση των δυο διαφορετικών μεθόδων αξιολόγησης από τους ακτινολόγους ημιποσοτικής-χειρωνακτικού σχεδιασμού, επιβεβαιώνοντας τα αποτελέσματα της πρώτης φάσης της διατριβής. Η εφαρμογή διαφορετικών διαστημάτων διαφορών ±5% ή ±25 % σε συνάφεια με το βήμα ±5% της ημιποσοτικής κλίμακας κατά Desai ή 25% της κλίμακας Likert στην εκτίμηση της έκτασης της νόσου, δείχνουν τα εξής: ‘Οσο πιο λεπτομερές(±5%) είναι το βήμα της ποσοτικοποίησης τόσο μεγαλύτερα τα σφάλματα ποσοτικοποίησης και ιδίως με την ημιποσοτική μέθοδο. Αντίθετα, ενώ για αδρό βήμα 25% οι διαφορετικές μέθοδοι ποσοτικοποίησης συμφωνούν μεταξύ τους και οι μεταξύ τους διαφορές δεν είναι αντιληπτές. Τέλος, το 3D σύστημα συσχετίζεται αρνητικά με όλους τους πνευμονικούς δείκτες για την συνολική έκταση νόσου με με καλύτερη την συσχέτιση με τους δείκτες FEV1. και DLCO ( R=-0.545 p=<0.0001, R=-0.567 p=<0.0001, αντίστοιχα). Για το reticular η συσχέτιση ήταν μέτρια για όλους τους δείκτες με καλύτερη την συσχέτιση FEV1, TLC και DLCO (R=-0.602p=<0.0001, R=-0.615 p=<0.0001 αντίστοιχα), ενώ για το ggo το σύστημα παρουσιάζει μη στατιστικά σημαντική συσχέτιση για όλους τους δείκτες. Tο 2D σύστημα παρουσιάζει μέτρια αρνητική συσχέτιση με τις πνευμονικές δοκιμασίες για την συνολική έκταση νόσου και το reticular πρότυπο, με καλύτερη την μέτρια αρνητική συσχέτιση με τον DLCΟ (R=-0.485, p= 0.002, R=-0.601 p=<0.001 αντίστοιχα). Για το ggo πρότυπο, το 2D σύστημα παρουσιάζει επίσης μη στατιστικά σημαντική συσχέτιση για όλους τους δείκτες, όπως και το 3D σύστημα. Οι ημιποσοτικές μετρήσεις των ακτινολόγων για την συνολική έκταση νόσου 3DSQRconsRcons και 2DSQ παρουσιάζουν στατιστικά σημαντική συσχέτιση, ωστόσο ασθενή μόνο με τον δείκτη DLCO (R=-0.382, p= 0.020, R=-0.398,p=<0.02 αντίστοιχα). Για την 3DSQRcons εκτίμηση στο reticular πρότυπο παρατηρείται στατιστικά σημαντική ασθενής συσχέτιση για όλους τους δείκτες εκτός από τον TLC (FVC: R=-0.331, p= 0.045, FEV1: R=-0.393, p=0.016, DLCO : R=-0.392, p= 0.016). Για την 2DSQ εκτίμηση στο reticular πρότυπο παρατηρείται στατιστικά σημαντική ασθενής έως μέτρια συσχέτιση για όλους τους δείκτες (FVC: R=-0.360, p= 0.029, FEV1: R=-0.411, p=0.012, TLC : R=-0.326, p= 0.049, DLCO : R=-0.485, p= 0.002). Για το ground glass η συσχέτιση είναι μη στατιστικά σημαντική για όλους τους πνευμονικούς δείκτες τόσο για την 3DSQRcons όσο και για την 2DSQ εκτίμηση. Συμπεράσματα Αξιολογήθηκε ένα σύστημα ποσοτικοποίησης της διάμεσης νόσου από CT θώρακος, που βασίζεται σε μεθόδους ανάλυσης υφής, το οποίο ποσοτικοποιεί τα βασικά απεικονιστικά πρότυπα της νόσου, το ggo και το reticular πρότυπο. Αρχικά αξιολογήθηκε σε κάθε βήμα από δύο έμπειρους ακτινολόγους με ικανοποιητική απόδοση. Στη συνέχεια, εφαρμόστηκε ο 3D αλγόριθμος ποσοτικοποίησης σε διαφορετικό κλινικό δείγμα 37 ασθενών, προκειμένου να γίνει και κλινική αξιολόγηση της απόδοσης του με βάση ημιποσοτικές κλίμακες ποσοτικοποίησης, που χρησιμοποιούνται στην βιβλιογραφία, με πολύ καλή συσχέτιση. Με αναλυτικότερη μελέτη προέκυψε μια μεγαλύτερη απόκλιση των τιμών CAD και ημιποσοτικών αξιολογήσεων από τις ημιποσοτικές αξιολογήσεις μεταξύ τους. Το γεγονός αυτό οδήγηση στην περαιτέρω αξιολόγηση του CAD συστήματος με μια χειρωνακτική βάση αναφοράς σε 2D επίπεδο και σύγκριση με τις ημιποσοτικές μετρήσεις. Το σύστημα παρουσίαζε σημαντική συσχέτιση με την βάση αναφοράς και με τις ημιποσοτικές μετρήσεις. Ωστόσο επιβεβαιώθηκε ότι οι ημιποσοτικές μετρήσεις υπολείπονται συγκριτικά με την χειρωνακτική βάση αναφοράς από τους ακτινολόγους στην αξιολόγηση του CAD, όπως είναι φανερό και από τις καμπύλες διασύγκρισης των συστημάτων. Από τη διατριβή αυτή προκύπτει επίσης ένας αριθμός δευτερογενών συμπερασμάτων: Πρώτον, η ποσοτικοποίηση της διάμεσης νόσου παρουσιάζει αυξημένη μεταβλητότητα για όλα τα συστήματα αξιολόγησης , όσο αυξάνεται η έκταση της νόσου. Δεύτερον, από τα δύο πρότυπα, η ποσοτικοποίηση του ggo προτύπου παρουσίαζε τις μεγαλύτερες δυσκολίες. Τρίτον, η αξιολόγηση με υποβοηθηση CAD βελτιώνει ελάχιστα το αποτέλεσμα του συστήματος, και κυρίως διορθώνει το ggo πρότυπο. Τέταρτον, το σύστημα συσχετίζεται με τις πνευμονικές δοκιμασίες, περισσότερο από τις ημιποσοτικές εκτιμήσεις των ακτινολόγων. Ιδίως το reticular πρότυπο μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί από μόνο του ως δείκτης πνευμονικής δυσλειτουργίας. Συνοψίζοντας, το σύστημα CAD που αναπτύχθηκε είναι ένα αξιόπιστο εργαλείο ποσοτικοποίησης, το οποίο μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί ως βιολογικός δείκτης σταδιοποίησης της διάμεσης νόσου. / The aim of this thesis was the evaluation of an automated system in 3D quantification of interstitial lung disease extent in CT compared to semiquantitative scoring method and with continuous extent assessments by radiologists based on manual segmentations of abnormal areas. The CAD system output was also compared to extent assessments by radiologists assisted by CAD. To facilitate intercomparison among different evaluation assessments curve representations of extent assessments is proposed. Finally the system output semiquantitative assessment by radiologists were correlated with laboratory markers of ILD, meaning pulmonary function tests (PFTs) indexes. Materials and Methods A dataset of 47 patients with interstitial lung disease secondary to collagen vascular disease were recruited for this thesis as well as 4 normal patients. Out of the dataset, 14 cases were used to train the system and 37 cases were selected to evaluate the system. The above cases presented with ground glass and reticular patterns. A low-dose MDCT scanner (16 detectors) protocol was utilized to obtain volumetric system output. Initially, the automated quantification system was developed using MATLAB (ΜΑΤLAB 7.5 R 2007b) and was trained by radiologists in different development stages: (1) Preprocessing: Segmentation of lung fields and vessel tree segmentation, (2) Identification and Classification of interstitial lung disease. The evaluation performance of the system was evaluated in terms of volume overlap, ΤPF, FPF. Following, the system was evaluated in a case sample of 37 patient scans with semiquantitative scoring by two experienced radiologists (A’ cycle of experimental design). In this evaluation, correlation between 3D system output and 3D semiquantitative evaluations of volumetric scans (approximately 200 slices per patient scan) was performed by two expert radiologists and average of the two evaluations, regarding total disease, ground glass and reticular pattern extent, using Spearman rank order. The differences in extent assessment (R1vsCAD, R2vsCAD, RmvsCAD, R1vsR2, R1vsR1s) were also analyzed using Blant–Altman plots and box plots. Statistic evaluation was performed using two-tailed Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired data. Intra and interobserver agreement was also measured. At the B’ cycle of experimental design the 2D system output was evaluated, out of 185 axial slices (37 patient scans) regarding total disease, ground glass and reticular pattern extent, As reference standard in consensus evaluation by two expert radiologists was used by drawing disease area segments on a drawing tablet (Wacom Intuos 3 Tokyo, Japan), utilizing a home-developed graphical-user interface (GUI). The same slices were also assessed semiquantitatively by radiologists in consensus. Finally, the same slices were assessed with assisted CAD and compared to reference standard. The 2D CAD output was correlated with semiquantitative evaluation by radiologists (CADvsSQRcons) and quantitatively by drawing disease area segments pixel-wise (CADvsRref). Correlations were performed with Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). Intra and interobserver agreement was also measured. Differences in extent assessment for different evaluations (CAD- Rref, CAD+Rcons -Rref and SQRcons -Rref) were plotted using Bland-Altman analysis were assessed for total disease, ground glass and reticular pattern extent. The mean difference (MD) and 95% of the differences (mean±1.96 standard deviation), called limits of agreement (LoA95), were calculated. A curve representation is proposed to visualize agreement and facilitate agreement inter-comparison for various evaluations, as a function of reference. Finally, volumetric system output of 37 patient scans were correlated regarding total disease, ground glass and reticular pattern extent (3DCAD) and volumetric semiquantitative evaluation by radiologists (3DSQRcons) were correlated with physiologic parameters, pulmonary function tests, in terms of Pearson correlation (R). The same correlations were performed for 185 axial slices (average of 5 slices per patient scan) for 2DCAD and 2DSQ. Comparison of 3DCAD vs2D CAD and 3DSQvs2DSQ was also performed. Results Performance evaluation of segmentation of lung fields was measured: (1) Volume overlap: 0.931±0.027, (2) ΤPF: 0.935±0.036 (3) FPF: 0.074±0.03. Performance evaluation of segmentation of vessel tree was measured: (1) Volume overlap: 0.931 ±0.027, (2) ΤPF: 0.935±0.036 (3)FPF: 0.074±0.03. Performance evaluation in identification and characterization of ILD patterns was measured: For ground glass pattern: (1) Volume overlap: 0.794±0.038, (2) ΤPF: 0.812±0.045 (3) FPF: 0.163±0.017. For reticular patterns: (1) Volume overlap: 0.883 ± 0.037, (2) ΤPF: 0.972±0.013(3) FPF: 0.0971±0.012. Performance evaluation of intraobserver agreement was: For ground glass pattern: (1) Volume overlap : 0.47±0.20, (2) ΤPF: 0.972±0.013 (3) FPF: 0.0971±0.012. For reticular patterns: (1) Volume overlap: 0.53±0.19, (2) ΤPF: 0.715±0.20 (3) FPF: 1.72±1.05. For total disease extent: (1) Volume overlap: 0.54±0.18, (2) ΤPF: 0.74±0.18(3) FPF: 1.19±1.85. Performance evaluation of interobserver agreement was: For ground glass pattern: (1) Volume overlap: 0.33±0.22, (2) ΤPF: 0.58±0.27, (3) FPF: 2.48±2,74. For reticular patterns: (1) Volume overlap: 0.51±0.11, (2) ΤPF: 0.72± .19,(3) FPF: 1.36±1.33. For total disease extent: (1)Volume overlap: 0.51±0.21, (2)ΤPF: 0.69±0.220, (3)FPF: 1.21±0.89. The A’ cycle of experimental design in 3D quantification, results show statistically significant correlation of CAD quantification output and semiquantitative evaluation by radiologists (reference standard), regarding total and reticular disease extent (R=0.949, p=<0.0001, R= 0.915, p=<0.0001, respectively), while moderate correlation regarding ground glass pattern (R=0.806, p=0.0009). Intra and interobserver agreement were as follows: For Intra observer agreement: For total disease extent: R=0.903, p=<0.0001, reticular pattern: R=0.966, p=<0.0001 and ground glass pattern and R : 0.766, p=<0.0001. For Interobserver agreement: For total disease extent: R=: 0.838, p=0.0018, reticular pattern: R= 0.895, p=0.0006 and ground glass pattern: R= 0. 655, p=0.0017. Observed differences in extent assessment as plotted at Blant Altman και boxplot representation, between radiologists and CAD (R1 vs. CAD, R2 vs. CAD, Rm vs. CAD), radiologists themselves (R1 vs. R2, R1 vs. R1s) were not statistically significant (two-tailed Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired data, p>0.05). Results indicate that the CAD tool analyzed demonstrates similar performance to radiologists semiquantitative assessment, ranging within inter- και intra- observer variation and can be considered as a reliable independent reader of lung abnormalities in ILD. However, differences of extent assessment between radiologists and CAD are (CADvsR1, CADvsR2, CADvsRm ) differ significantly to those obtained between radiologists (R1vsR2 ) and radiologist second opinion (R1vsR1s) in terms of median and IQR values. This implies that the automated system compared to the semiquantitative radiologist assessment, does not behave in an identical manner, as indicated by decreased variability of inter- and intraobserver data. The maximum median and IQR values (3.6% and 32.6%, respectively), were obtained between CAD and R2, probably attributed to experience differences between experts. Finally. Blant Altman plots indicate that in all differences in extent CADvsR1, CADvsR2, CADvsRm, R1vsR2, R1vsR1’ increasing differences occur in increasing extent assessments, especially> 20%. Out of the two patterns, reticular presents greater variability of mean values. Considering the different behavior in extent assessment between CAD system and semiquantitative scoring, we considered a more accurate reference standard based on manual drawing of abnormal areas, leading to the B’ cycle of experimental design. In B’ cycle of experimental design, the system shows significant correlation to semiquantitative and quantitative extent assessments (ICC =0.809 [0.599-0.894], 0.851 [0.795-0.891]). Correlation to quantitative extent assessments was slightly better and was used as a reference standard for this phase of thesis. For the constituent patterns quantification of ground glass by CAD system correlates less with radiologists assessments (both semi quantitatively and quantitatively) than reticular pattern. In every case quantitative evaluation by radiologists correlates better in all patterns with CAD system. Interobserver agreement is similar for both evaluation methods (ICC =0.856 [0.811-0.891], 0.856 [0.806-0.893]). The same trend is observed for both patterns (reticular and ground glass). Analyzing the differences as plotted by Blant Altman, the system depicts a small degree of overestimation of extent assessment as compared to reference standard. Total disease extent: (MD: 2.5%; LoA95: -14.3%, 19.3%), ground glass extent (MD: 1.3%; LoA95: -10.9%, 13.5%), reticular pattern extent (MD: 1.2%; LoA95: -12.7%, 15.1%). The system shows substantial agreement to pixel-wise (reference): 86.5%, 75.1% και 81.6%, for total lung disease, ground glass and reticular pattern, respectively. Semiquantitative scoring demonstrates higher degree of disease extent overestimation to reference: Total disease extent: MD: 9.2%; LoA95: -12.8%, 31.2%, ground glass extent: MD: 4.6%; LoA95: -9.8%, 19.0% and reticular extent: MD: 4.6%; LoA95: -10.0%, 19.3%) and achieves significantly lower agreement to reference (69.2%, 70.8%, 70.3%, respectively). Finally, agreement to reference achieved by assisted CAD, is slightly improved compared to CAD alone, especially for ground glass pattern (88.1%, 78.4% and 81.6%, respectively). The utilization of curve representation of the degree of agreement is proposed in this thesis, in an effort to visualize agreement of extent assessments and to facilitate agreement inter-comparison. These curves indicate assisted CAD as the best system, presenting with the higher agreement to reference, with CAD alone nearby, while semiquantitative scoring differs significantly from the manually drawn reference. CAD system and assisted CAD. These curves depict distinctively the differences in agreement between the two evaluation approaches by radiologists: semiquantitative and pixel-wise, confirming the observations of the first part of the thesis. On these curves difference interval ±5% ή ±25 % in extent assessment can be applied, according to 5% step used in semiquantitative scoring by Desai et al. or 25% in Likert scaling. Τhe more detailed (±5%) the quantification step is the greater the quantification errors are. Οn the contrary for wider step 25% the different the differences among them are not perceivable Finally, comparison of volumetric system output (3D) with PFTs yields strong negative correlations for total disease with all indexes, with better correlation with FEV1 and DLCO (R=-0.545 p=<0.0001, R=-0.567 p=<0.0001, respectively). For reticular pattern, correlation was moderate to all PFT indexes with better correlation with FEV1 and DLCO (R=-0.602, p=<0.0001, R=-0.615 p=<0.0001, respectively). For ground glass pattern there is no statistical correlation to neither of PFT indexes. For 2D system output, negative correlation was shown to PFTs for total disease and reticular pattern. Best moderate negative correlation was shown with DLCΟ (R=-0.485, p= 0.002, R=-0.601 p=<0.001 respectively). For ggo pattern, 2D system output showed no statistically significant correlation to all indexes, as in 3D system output. Semiquantitative scoring 3DSQRconsRcons and 2DSQ showed for total disease statistically significant negative correlations to PFTs, albeit weak, only with index DLCO (R=-0.382, p= 0.020, R=-0.398p=<0.02, respectively).. For 3DSQRcons semiquantitative scoring, reticular pattern showed statistically significant weak negative correlation to PFTs (not included to TLC) (FVC: R=-0.331, p= 0.045, FEV1: R=-0.393, p=0.016, DLCO : R=-0.392, p= 0.016). For 2DSQ semiquantitative scoring, reticular pattern showed statistically significant weak to moderate negative correlation to all PFTs (FVC: R=-0.360, p= 0.029, FEV1: R=-0.411, p=0.012, TLC : R=-0.326, p= 0.049, DLCO: R=-0.485, p= 0.002). For ground glass there was no statistically significant correlation for all indexes regarding 3DSQRcons and 2DSQ valuation. Conclusions In conclusion, an automated quantification system for ILD extent in CT was assessed, based on texture features, quantifying the two major imaging patterns of the disease, ggo and reticular pattern. Initially the system was evaluated by two experiences radiologists with performance within interobserver variability. Accordingly, the 3D system output was evaluated in a different dataset of 37 patients in order to evaluate the results with semiquantitative scoring published in literature. The correlation was very good. Further analysis of differences showed greater deviation of CAD and semiquantitative quantification, compared to semiquantitative quantification by radiologists (interobserver agreement). This remark led to further evaluation of CAD with a reference standard in 2D, based on manual drawings by radiologists and comparison with semiquantitative quantification. The 2D system output showed significant correlation to the reference standard and semiquantitative scoring. However semiquantitative quantification are less accurate in assessment of CAD quantification systems than quantitative quantification by manual drawing by radiologists. This is depicted in curve representation of different scoring systems compared to reference. From this thesis a number of secondary conclusion are drawn: First, in all systems, quantification variability augments with augmentation of extent. Second, between the two patterns analyzed quantification of ground glass is more difficult. Moreover, assisted CAD slightly improves the system output and mostly the ground glass pattern is corrected. Finally, the system correlates better to PFTs than semiquantitative quantification by radiologists. Especially reticular pattern by itself can be used as a reliable marker of pulmonary dysfunction. Overall, the system analysed is a useful disease extent quantification tool, than could act as a biomarker for staging and follow up of interstitial lung disease.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-01-25Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:50:40Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 nogueira_ra_me_bauru_prot.pdf: 2628699 bytes, checksum: 548bffb406de71f06f0ab9ae6a52d7c8 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / A utilização de biomateriais do reparo do tecido ósseo tem revolucionado a Ortopedia e a Odontologia atuais. Um metal estudado para estas aplicações é o titânio e suas ligas, pois possuem um excelente grau de biocompatibilidade com o organismo humano, uma excelente resistência à corrosão em meio biológico e uma ótima relação resistência mecânica/densidade. Estas propriedades são fortemente influenciadas pela presença de lementos intersticiais e as medidas de atrito interno têm sido muito utilizadas para verificar o comportamento destes elementos em materiais. O objetivo neste trabalho foi estudar o efeito de elementos intersticiais nas propriedades da liga Ti-10Mo (% em peso), por meio de medidas de difração de raios X, microscopia eletrônica e varredura, testes de citotoxidade, corrosão e espectroscopia mecânica. As amostras foram submetidas a tratamentos térmicos de recozimento e dopagem com oxigênio. Os testes de biocompatibilidade mostraram que não houve nenhuma resposta indireta. Os extratos dos materiais não interferiram no desenvolvimento, crescimento e proliferação das células. Foi detectada uma melhora na taxa de corrosão, juntamente com um aumento do potencial de corrosão, com a dopagem do material, características estas interessantes para um biomaterial. Os resultados de espectroscopia mecânica mostraram a presença de uma estrutura de relaxação após a dopagem com oxigênio em torno de átomos dos elementos que compõem a liga. Observou-se que a adição de oxigênio intersticial causou um aumento no módulo de elasticidade, o que é ruim quando se trata de um biomaterial para implantes ortopédicos. / The use of the biomaterials in the repair of the bone tissue has been revolutionizing the Orthopedics and the Odontology. A metal very studied for these applications is the titanium and its alloys, because they possess an excellent corrosion resistance in a biological media and a good relationship mechanical strength/density. These properties are strongly influenced by the presence of interstitial elements and the internal friction measurements have been a lot used to verify the behavior of these interstitial elements in materials. The objective of this work was to study the effect of interstitial elements in the properties of the Ti-10Mo (%in weight) alloy, through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, cytotoxicity tests, corrosion and mechanical spectroscopy. The samples were submitted to heat treatments of annealing and oxygen doping. The biocompatibility tests showed that there was not any indirect cytotoxic answer. The extracts of the materials didn't interfere in the development, growth and proliferation of the cells. An increase in the corrosion rate was detected, with an increase of the corrosion potential, with the oxygen doping, interesting for applications as biomaterial. The mechanical spectroscopy results showed the presence of a relaxation structure after the oxygen doping that was attributed mainly to the stress-induced ordering of the oxygen atoms around the atoms that compose the alloy. It was observed an increase in the elasticity with the oxygen doping, what is bad when it is a biomaterial.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-06-30Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:50:18Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 nascimento_rm_me_bauru.pdf: 3217433 bytes, checksum: 4db978f65eff59d8b027881dac872d0f (MD5) / Secretaria de Educação do Estado de São Paulo / Desde a descoberta dos supercondutores com alta Tc, vários trabalhos têm sido efetuados sobre as diferentes propriedades destes materiais. As cerâmicas Y'BA IND.2' C IND.U 'IND.3' 'O IND. 7-'delta' mostraram que tem suas propriedades supercondutoras fortemente afetadas pela quantidade de oxigênio. Mais recentemente, medidas de relaxações anelásticas em 'LA IND.2'CU 'O IND. 4+'delta' mostraram que a remoção deste elemento pode ser relacionada com dois eventos. Um deles é o decréscimo na mobilidade entre dois planos adjacentes CuO e o outro, é o aumento no número de padrões de mobilidade para os octaedros CU 'O IND. 6'. Para SM'BA IND.2' C IND.U 'IND.3' 'O IND. 7-'delta' (SBCO), a possibilidade de uma estequiometria de oxigênio variável e sua alta mobilidade nos planos... / Since the discovery of the high Tc superconductors, several works have been made about the different propoerties of these materials. Y'BA IND.2' C IND.U 'IND.3' 'O IND. 7-'delta' ceramic showed to have its superconducting properties strongly affected by the oxygen content. More recently, anelastic relaxation measurements in 'LA IND.2'CU 'O IND. 4+'delta', showed that the remotion of this element can be related to two events. One is the decrease in mobility between two adjacent CuO planes, and the other is the increase in the number of tilting patterns of the Cu 'O IND. 6' octahedra. For SM'BA IND.2' C IND.U 'IND.3' 'O IND. 7-'delta' (SBCO), the possibility of variable stoichiometry and the high mobility of oxygen in the... (Complete abstract, click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-07-26Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:55:48Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ruiz_slm_me_bauru.pdf: 2192479 bytes, checksum: 69f94a0515d295047a14f126eaa6fb64 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O crescente aumenta na expectativa de vida da população tem resultado numa igual demanda e procura por biomateriais metálicos. Biomateriais metálicos são utilizados na substituição ou recuperação de ombros, joelhos, quadril e cotovelos. As ligas a base de Ti são materiais promissores para tais fins, pois apresentam uma excelente biocompatibilidade, ótima resistência à corrosão em meio biológico. Essas características são grandemente influenciadas pela presença de elementos substitucionais e oxigênio intersticial e a técnica do atrito interno constitui um aliado bastante importante na análise dos resultados deste trabalho. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a influência do exigênio intersticial nas propriedades das ligas Ti-8Ta e Ti-16Ta (% em peso). As medidas de atrito interno foram utilizadas para obtenção do módulo de elasticidade dinâmico das ligas estudadas, pois esta grandeza está experimentalmente associada ao amortecimento das vibrações livres do sistema, a dissipação de energia elástica e a frequencia de oscilação do sistema. Para tais medidas empregou-se um Pêndulo de Torção com frequencia de oscilação de aproximadamente 30Hz e temperatura na faixa de 230 a 350K. As ligas estudadas passaram por processos de tratamento térmico e dopagens com oxigênio e foram caracterizadas por medidas de densidade, difração de raios X e posterior refinamento de Rietveld, microdureza, módulo de elasticidade e testes de citotoxicidade in vitro. Os testes iniciais de biocompatibilidade mostram que não houve nenhuma resposta citotóxica, originando resposta celular satisfatória. As medidas de microdureza apresentam valores menores que os encontrados na literatura e as medidas de raios X mostram picos característicos da fase 'alfa' do titânio. Na análise de Rietveld verificou-se a presença de estrutura martensítica 'alfa' e fase 'beta' para... / The accelerating increase in life expectancy of the population has resulted in greater demand and more searches for metallic biomaterials. Metallic are extensively used in the replacement or restoration fo shoulders, knees, hips and elbows. Ti-based alloys are promising materials for such purposes, because they present excellent biocompatibility, a great mechanical strengh/density relation and a high corrosion resistance in a biological medium. These characteristics are greatly influenced by the presence of substitutional elements and interstitial oxygen. The internal friction technique is a very important ally in the analysis of the results of this work. Thus, the purpose of this work is to analyze the influence of insterstitial oxygen on the properties of Ti-8Ta and Ti-16Ta alloys (wt%). Internal friction measurements were used to obtain the dynamic elasticity modulus of the alloys studied, because this quantity is experimentally associated with the damping of free vibration of the sytem, which is related to the elastic energy dissipation and the oscillation frequency of the system. For such measurements, a torsion pendulum was employed, with an oscillation frequency of approximately 30 Hz and temperature in the range of 230-350 K. The alloys underwent heat treatment and oxygen doping processes, and were characterized by density, x-ray diffraction and subsequent refinement of Rietveld, microhardness and elasticity modulus measurements, and in vitro cytotoxicity tests. The initial biocompatibility tests showed that there was no cytotoxic answer, giving origin to a satisfactory cellular response. Microhardness measurements had values less than found in the literature, and x-rays showed characteristic peak of the titanium 'alfa' phase. In the Rietveld analysis, observed were the presence of martensitic 'alfa' structure and a 'beta' phase for all sample and conditions studied. The ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-06T23:47:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Objetivo: Analisar as diferenças histopatológicas entre os lobos pulmonares submetidos a biópsia cirúrgica de pacientes com fibrose pulmonar idiopática. Métodos: Foram incluídos 16 pacientes com resultados de biópsias concordantes de dois sítios pulmonares, o lobo médio ou o segmento lingular. Técnicas semiquantitativas foram utilizadas na avaliação histológica pulmonar, aplicando-se um escore com base nas alterações encontradas no padrão histológico de pneumonia intersticial usual (PIU). Resultados: Encontrou-se maior incidência de foco fibroblástico em lobo inferior esquerdo e maior volume médio dos fragmentos pulmonares originários do lobo médio. Nenhuma diferença significante, que viesse a mudar o estadiamento da doença, e independentemente do local de origem da biópsia, foi encontrada. Conclusão: Não há dados que fundamentem a rejeição ao uso dos lobos médios e segmentos lingulares na investigação histológica de doenças intersticiais, em especial a fibrose pulmonar idiopática.. / Objective: To analyze the histopathology differences between the pulmonary lobes submitted to surgical biopsy in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Methods: Sixteen patients with usual interstitial pneumonia and concordant biopsies of two distinct lobes (the middle lobe or the lingula) were included in this study. Semiquantitative techniques were used in the histological evaluation of fragments of different lobes of the lung. A score was applied for the evaluation of usual interstitial pneumonia. Results: A greater incidence of fibroblastic foci was found in the left inferior lobe, and a greater mean volume of pulmonary fragments was obtained from the middle lobe. No significant difference was found in variables related to disease staging, no matter what was the pulmonary lobe. Conclusion: There is no reason to despise the middle lobe and the lingula in the histopathological investigation of interstitial diseases of the lung, especially the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações

Submitted by Rosana Amâncio (rosana.amancio@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-07-12T21:32:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 EDCLEBESON BERTO DE SOUSA - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGCNBio 2016..pdf: 1801961 bytes, checksum: fe198d82ea402e4567249d7728cf5868 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-12T21:32:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EDCLEBESON BERTO DE SOUSA - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGCNBio 2016..pdf: 1801961 bytes, checksum: fe198d82ea402e4567249d7728cf5868 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-14 / CNPq / O Filo Nematoda compreende as maiores abundâncias e densidades em vários ecossistemas, por englobar animais cujas características morfológicas são adaptáveis aos diversos tipos de habitats bentônicos, incluindo praias arenosas. Estes ambientes são bastante explorados, mas não existe nenhum dado registrado para o litoral da Paraíba sobre a comunidade estudada em nível específico. O presente trabalho objetivou caracterizar taxonomicamente e ecologicamente a comunidade nematofaunística de quatro praias urbanas do litoral da Paraibana. Uma única coleta foi realizada em outubro de 2013, em cada praia foram estabelecido 3 pontos distintos, seguindo a linha da água, no médio litoral, com 10cm de profundidade no sedimento, as amostras coletadas foram fixadas com formol salino 4%. As amostras foram lavadas em água corrente utilizando uma peneira com malha de 0,044 mm e material retido foi transferido a um béquer. Os Nematoda foram triados em placa de Dolffus, diafanizados, identificados e medidos em nível de gênero e espécie com auxilio de um microscópio binocular, munido de câmera clara. Nematoda representou mais de 90% da meiofauna estudada. Foram encontradas 6 ordens, 13 famílias e 26 gêneros, dentre eles Phanodermelha, Nemmanema e Rhabdodemania foram aqui registrados pela primeira vez para praias do Brasil. Foram identificadas 22 espécies, 4 novas para ciência. A maior densidade esteve relacionada à Calomicrolaimus que foi representado unicamente pela espécie Calomicrolaimus rugatus. Os valores de diversidade e dominância como também a riqueza total, variaram entre as praias. A estrutura trófica apresentou uma maior abundância na tipologia 1B seguido de 2B. O estágio de desenvolvimento foi dominado por juvenis. O ANOSIM mostrou que há diferenças significativas entre as praias. Na análise de ordenação do MDS foi formado um grupo separando a praia do Bessa das demais. As espécies que mais contribuíram para as dissimilaridades foram Mesacanthion rigens, Bathylaimus parafilicaudatus, Pseudosteineria sagittispiculata, Pseudosteineria horrida, Calomicrolaimus rugatus e Theristus complexus, analisado pelo SIMPER. Dentre as variáveis ambientais, areia muito grossa foi a que mais se correlacionou com a estrutura da comunidade. Os gêneros e as espécies mantiveram o mesmo padrão de densidade, estrutura trófica, dominância entre as praias prospectadas. Dessa forma, a estrutura da comunidade foi distribuída de acordo com os fatores abióticos estudados. / The phylum Nematoda comprehends the largest abundances and densities in several ecosystems, by gathering animals whose morphological features are adaptable to the many types of benthic habitats, including sandy beaches. These environments are quite explored, but there is no data recorded to the coast of Paraiba on the studied community in specific level. This study aimed to characterize taxonomically and ecologically the nematofauna community of four urban beaches of Paraiba coast. A single sample was realized in October 2013, in each beach three distinct points were established, following the line of the water, in the middle coast, with 10 centimeters deep in the sediment, the samples were fixed with 4% saline formaldehyde. The samples were washed in running water using a sieve with a mesh of 0.044 mm and retained material was transferred to a beaker. The Nematoda were screened in a Dolffus plate and diaphanized, identified and measured at genus and species with the aid of a binocular microscope equipped with clear camera. Nematoda represented more than 90% of the meiofauna which was studied. We found 6 orders, 13 families and 26 genera, including Phanodermelha, Nemmanema and Rhabdodemania that were reported here for the first time to the beaches in Brazil. We identified 22 species, 4 of them which are new to science. The highest density was related to Calomicrolaimus which was represented only by the species Calomicrolaimus rugatus. The values of diversity and dominance as well as the total wealth, ranged among the beaches. The trophic structure presented a higher abundance in the type 1B followed by 2B. The development stage was dominated by juveniles. The ANOSIM showed that there are significant differences among the beaches. In MDS ordination analysis a group was formed, separating Bessa beach from the others. The species that mostly contributed to the dissimilarities were Mesacanthion rigens, Bathylaimus parafilicaudatus, Pseudosteineria sagittispiculata, Pseudosteineria horrida, Calomicrolaimus rugatus and Theristus complexus, analyzed by SIMPER. Among the environmental variables, very coarse sand was the most correlated with the community structure. The genera and species maintained the same pattern density, trophic structure and dominance among the prospected beaches. Thus, the community structure was distributed according to the abiotic factors studied.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-08-04Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:40:12Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 kamimura_eh_me_bauru_prot.pdf: 2323834 bytes, checksum: 34df0d41e4beaba32b6498d695da157f (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Os elementos intersticiais exercem uma influência significativa nas propriedades mecânicas dos materiais e seu comportamento pode ser investigado por meio de técnicas de Espectroscopia Mecânica em baixa frequência (Pêndulo de Torção). Nestas medidas, são obtidos espectros de atrito interno, que estão associados à reorientação de elementos intersticiais presentes no material ao se aplicar uma tensão mecânica (fenômeno induzido). As amostras utilizadas neste trabalho são de aço inoxidável 316L obtido comercialmente. O material foi preparado em quatro condições: como recebido, tratado termicamente e duas dopagens com pressões diferentes de nitrogênio. Para caracterizar o material foram realizadas medidas de densidade, difração de raios X, microscopia eletrônica de varredura, espectroscopia de energia dispersiva e espectroscopia mecânica. As medidas de difração de raios X e microscopia eletrônica de varredura revelam que as amostras possuem uma estrutura CFC, típica de aços austeníticos. Os espectros de atrito interno das amostras revelam algumas estruturas de relaxação em todas as condições de tratamento, medidas em três diferentes frequências. Essas estruturas foram decompostas em seus processos de relaxação constituintes, associados à reorientação induzida por tensão de elementos intersticiais, como o carbono e nitrogênio, em torno de átomos que compõem o material. A comparação dos espectros de relaxação obtidos em cada condição mostra uma perda na intensidade das estruturas após realizar sucessivas medidas. Os resultados levam a concluir que este fenômeno está relacionado com a perda de elementos intersticiais pelas amostras após o aquecimento em vácuo. / The intersticial elements exercise a significant influence in the mechanical properties of the materials and its behavior can be investigated by techniques of mechanical spectroscopy in low frequency (Torsion Pendulum). In these measurements, are obtained internal friction spectra, which are associated to the reorientation of interstitial elements present in the material if applied a mechanical stress (induced phenomenon). The samples used in this study are commercially 316L stainless steel. The material was prepared in four conditions: as received, heat treated and doped with two different pressures of nitrogen. To characterize the material, it was made measurements of density, x-ray diffraction, scanning electronic micrsocopy, electron dispersion spectroscopy and mechanical spectroscopy. The measurements of x-ray diffraction and scanning electronic microscopy reveal that the samples have a CFC structure, typical of austenitic steels. The internal friction spectra, measured in three different frequencies, reveal several relaxation structures in all of the conditions. Those structures were decomposed in their constituent relaxation processes, associates to the stress-induced ordering of interstitial elements, as carbon and nitrogen, around atoms that compose the material. The comparason of the relaxation spectra obtained in each condition shows a loss in the intensity of the relaxation structures after successive measurements. The results take to conclude that this phenomenon is related with the loss of interstitial elements of the samples after the heating in vacuum.

Desde a descoberta dos supercondutores com alta temperatura crítica, muitos estudos têm sido realizados em tomo de suas propriedades fisicas, tentando associá-Ias à supercondutividade. Átomos de oxigênio dissolvidos intersticialmente têm um papel importante na supercondutividade destes materiais, pois são capazes de mover-se com facilidade dentro da rede além de contribuírem na criação de buracos nos planos de CUO2. As medidas de atrito interno são ferramentas sensíveis ao estudo de defeitos em sólidos, em particular a mobilidade de oxigênio intersticial. Neste trabalho, foram analisadas amostras de Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+&#948; da maneira como foram recebidas, recozidas e dopadas com diferentes concentrações de oxigênio não estequiométrico. Foram efetuadas medidas de espectroscopia anelástica utilizando um pêndulo de torção invertido tipo Kê, operando com freqüência de oscilação de 11 a 30 Hz, num intervalo de temperatura compreendido entre 88 e 700 K, com taxa de aquecimento de 1 K/min e vácuo em tomo de 10-5 Torr. Foram observadas estruturas de relaxação complexas para as amostras recozidas, que são reversíveis apenas com novos tratamentos de recozimento, atribuídas a possíveis transições de fase estruturais. Para as amostras dopadas com oxigênio, foram observadas estruturas de relaxação que foram atribuídas ao movimento de átomos intersticiais de oxigênio nos planos de BiO. Foi observada também uma relação entre a intensidade dos processos de relaxação e a concentração dos intersticiais presentes nestas amostras. / Since the discovery of the high critical temperature superconductors many studies have been carried out intending to associate their physical properties to the superconductivity mechanisms. The oxygen atoms interstitially dissolved in its structure have an important role in the superconductivity of these materiaIs since they have high mobility capable to move through the net contributing to the generation of holes along the CUO2 plans. The internal friction measurements are a sensitive tool to the study of defects in solids, in particular the mobility of interstitial oxygen. In this work, it had been analyzed samples of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+&#948; in the as received condition, annealed and doped with different concentrations of not stoichiometric oxygen. The anelastic spectroscopy measurements were made using a torsional inverted pendulum of the Kê type, operating with oscillation frequency between 11 and 30 Hz, the applied temperatures are in the range between 88 and 700 K, with heating rate about 1 K/min and vacuum better than 10-5 Torr. Complex structures of relaxation had been observed for the annealed samples, they are reversible only with new annealing treatments. These structures were attributed to possible structural phase transitions. For the oxygen doped samples, the relaxation structures had been attributed to the mobility of interstitial oxygen atoms in the plans of BiO. On these measurements was also observed a relation between the intensity of the relaxation processes and the concentration ofthe interstitial oxygen in these samples.

Submitted by Irene Nascimento (irene.kessia@ufpe.br) on 2016-10-13T19:41:46Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DISSERTACAO GIOVANNA GUSMÃO.pdf: 640329 bytes, checksum: eb48b6d00fc9a30b18bc1c3414978fc5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T19:41:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DISSERTACAO GIOVANNA GUSMÃO.pdf: 640329 bytes, checksum: eb48b6d00fc9a30b18bc1c3414978fc5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 1998-11-13 / Os hormônios tireoidianos são essenciais para um crescimento e desenvolvimento normal pós natal. Várias investigações têm tentado estabilizar o papel específico dos hormônios tireoidianos nas funções e desenvolvimento do trato reprodutor masculino. Os hormônios tireoidianos possivelmente exercem uma ação recíproca entre o esteróide testicular e as células de Sertoli durante o período prematuro. O presente estudo tentou avaliar o efeito da tiroxina sobre os níveis de testosterona no soro e no fluido intersticial testicular (FIT) em ratos machos. O hipertireoidismo foi induzido com a tiroxina (20 g\kg) em ratos Wistar machos com 22 dias de idade, pesando 80g por um período de 5,10, 15 e 20 dias de tratamento. Os grupos controles receberam solução salina 0,1 ml/100g do peso corporal, como veículo. Após cada período de tratamento, os animais foram pesados e sacrificados, para obtenção do sangue, e os testículos foram pesados, para coleta do fluido intersticial testicular (FIT). Os nossos resultados mostram que a tiroxina em ratos sexualmente prematuros, promove um aumento de testosterona, tempdependente. Observa-se também, que a nível testicular, no FIT, os níveis de testosterona encontram-se elevados. A tiroxina promoveu um aumento do peso corporal e testicular, modificando a função metabólica. Estudos evidenciaram que os receptores de LH e hCG é regulado em homogeneizado celular de testículo em ratos tratados com tiroxina por 20 dias. A capacidade de ligação específica foi obtida pela motodologia envolvendo a saturação de receptores do LH e hCG, aumentando a concentração de LH marcado e hCG não marcado. Outros resultados mostram que a tiroxina é capaz de alterar os níveis de receptores de LH de alta afinidade presentes em homogeneizado testicular, promovendo uma redução da capacidade de ligação específica (Bmax), obtido através da Análise de Scatchard. Conclui-se que a tiroxina pode acelerar a formação de testosterona no lumen intersticial no processo de maturação sexual, modificando possivelmente o mecanismo intracelular das células testiculares, e que a capacidade de ligação do LH e hCG é alterada após o tratamento com tiroxina. / Thyroid hormones are essential for normal pos-natal growth and development. Several investigators have attempted to establish a specific role of thyroid hormones in reproductive tract growth and function. The thyroid hormones possibly exert a reciprocal action between the testicular steroid and the Sertoli cells during the early period. The present study tried to evaluate the effect of the thyroxine over the serum levels of the testosterone and in the interstitial fluid of the testis in male rats. The hyperthyroidism was induced with the thyroxine (20 g\kg), In Wistar male rats 22 days of age, weighing 80kg for a period of 5, 10, 15 and 20 days. The control group received 0,9% saline solution as vehicle. After each treatment period, the animals were weighty and killed to obtainment of blood, and the testis was weighty to collect of testicular interstitial fluid (TIF). These results show that the thyroxin in premature rats, promote an increase of testosterone, dependent time. It is observed either an increase on testosterone level in the TIF. The thyroxin promoted an increase the corporeal and testicular weighty, capable in modify a metabolic function. In the previos study the regulation of LH and hCG receptors by homogenized testicular cells of the 20 days treatment. The specific binding capacity was also obtained by LH and hCG receptors with increasing concentration LH labelled and hCG no labelled. The Scatchard analysis of the saturad curve has show that a affinity constant (ka) is around 108 M-1. This result demonstred that the control present more binding specific that thyroxine wich is a maximum induction of hCG receptor. These results indicate that the thyroxine is able to accelerate the formation the interstitial lumen in the process of sexual maturation, altering possibly the intra-cell mechanism of testicular cells, and the LH and hCG binding capacity is changed after the thyroxine treatment.