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Biomedical subjects

D Feng

Publications and source records attributed to D Feng.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

An algorithm for identifiable parameters and parameter bounds for a class of cascaded mammillary models.

A complex structural identifiability problem for a class of unidirectionally interconnected n-compartment linear mammillary models with multiple inputs is discussed. This class is particularly useful in the study of drug/metabolite kinetics and other interconversion kinetic processes. An explicit algorithm is developed for this model class that provides identifiable parameter combinations, parameter bounds, steady-state pool sizes, and production rates, with input forcing and output measurements in central compartments. A six-compartment model of the combined dynamics of the prohormone thyroxine (T4) and hormone triiodothyronine (T3) illustrates how physiological parameter values or their smallest ranges, such as tissue T4 to T3 conversion rates and separate T4 and T3 production rates, can be determined from stimulus-response measurements in plasma alone.

Algorithms↗

[Detection of HBV DNA and HBsAg in HCC and pericarcinomatous tissues using double labelling technique].

40 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and their surrounding tissues were studied on paraffin-embedded sections by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical double labelling techniques. The positive rates of HBV DNA and HBsAg were 65% and 82.5% respectively, suggesting that HBV infection is a significant cause of HCC. HBV DNA and HBsAg signals in the pericarcinomatous tissues were stronger than that in cancer cells. Reduced replication caused by integration of HBV DNA in HCC may explain this phenomenon. We found that the small "piece-meal like" inclusions which existed only in HCC may be a special cancer related pattern of HBsAg. There were stronger signals of HBsAg in the small cell LCD than in other pericarcinomatous lesions, supporting the theory that the small cell LCD is more likely to be a precarcinomatous lesion.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗

An animal study on transmission of hepatitis B virus through mosquitoes.

Three gena of mosquitoes were fed with human blood infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) artificially. When blood in the stomach was completely digested, mosquitoes were used to bite monkeys Tupaia Belangeri. A month after biting, venous blood samples were taken from the monkeys to detect serum HBsAg, HBeAg, Anti-HBs and Anti-HBc. Among 29 test monkeys, 9 were HBV infective serum markers positive. In 4 of 16 test monkey liver biopsies, acute inflammatory changes were found with Hematoxylin-Eosine staining. In the hepatic cells, HBsAg and HBcAg were detected by immunohistochemical double-labeling assays, and HBV-DNA was also positive by in situ hybridization in monkey liver sections. These results provided an evidence for the possibility of transmission of HBV through mosquitoes and suggest its epidemiological significance in mosquito infested areas.

Animals↗

Spouse similarity in attitudes, personality, and psychological well-being.

The study of the origin of spouse similarity is interesting because the extent to which spouse similarity reflects genetic resemblance between husbands and wives affects the genetic structure of a population. The sources of observed spouse similarity in attitudes, personality, and psychological well-being are discussed. Analyses based on data collected from an American adult sample assessed longitudinally showed that spouse correlations were high for attitudes and low to moderate for personality and psychological well-being. Four competing explanations to spouse similarity were compared: initial similarity, attrition, convergence, and age covariation. The results did not support the latter three explanations, indicating that initial similarity may be an appropriate interpretation of observed spouse similarity. The findings are consistent with those of other comparable studies.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

A computer simulation study on the input function sampling schedules in tracer kinetic modeling with positron emission tomography (PET).

Tracer kinetic modeling with positron emission tomography (PET) requires measurements of the time-activity curves in both plasma (PTAC) and tissue (TTAC) to estimate physiological parameters, i.e. to fit the parameters of certain compartmental models using PTAC and TTAC as the model input and output functions, respectively. In this paper, we first explored the optimal blood sampling schedule (OBSS) for the input function, based on the tracer [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) blood sample experimental data. Then using a 5-parameter FDG model we investigated the effects of the plasma sampling schedule, as well as PTAC measurement noise, on the estimation accuracy and reliability of FDG model macro- and micro-parameters and the physiological parameter local cerebral metabolic rates of glucose (LCMRGlc), using computer simulation. Three different methods were used: (a) estimation of the FDG model parameters ignoring PTAC noise using the traditional PTAC schedule (non-OBSS); (b) estimation of the PTAC model parameters and FDG model parameters simultaneously using both non-OBSS and OBSS; (c) estimation of the PTAC model parameters first, then the FDG model parameters using both non-OBSS and OBSS. The results show that OBSS can provide more reliable estimates and largely simplifies the experiment operations.

Blood Specimen Collection↗

New estimation methods that directly use the time accumulated counts in the input function in quantitative dynamic PET studies.

In cardiac dynamic PET studies, the input function can be obtained directly from the reconstructed images. Therefore, there is a need to convert the time accumulated count to the time-activity curve (TAC). Conventionally, this is done by dividing the total counts in a localized region on the reconstructed image obtained during each scan frame period by its frame duration. This conversion, however, can significantly bias the estimates of rate constants of a compartmental model describing the dynamics of a PET tracer. Three new methods are formulated in this study. These new methods either use the accumulated counts in the input function directly or convert the accumulated counts to the input function more accurately. Computer simulation results show, for C-11 acetate and F-18 fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG), that the three new methods proposed can improve significantly the parameter estimates over the ones obtained by the conventional method.

Acetates↗

A computer simulation study on the effects of input function measurement noise in tracer kinetic modeling with positron emission tomography (PET).

Tracer kinetic modeling with positron emission tomography (PET) requires measurements of the time-activity curves in both plasma (PTAC) and tissue (TTAC) to estimate physiological parameters, i.e. to fit the parameters of certain compartmental models using PTAC and TTAC as the model input and output functions, respectively. However, the estimation usually ignores the measurement noise in plasma tracer activity curves. The accuracy and reliability of the physiological parameters estimated by ignoring such noise are not well understood. In this paper, effects of noise in [18F] 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) tracer plasma concentration measurements on estimation of local cerebral metabolic rates of glucose (LCMRGlc) with PET is investigated systematically. The PTAC modeling approach used in this paper also provides a realistic means to filter out the noise and to improve the physiological parameter accuracy, which can be potentially used in model-based non-invasive measurements of PTAC.

Artifacts↗

Models for computer simulation studies of input functions for tracer kinetic modeling with positron emission tomography.

In tracer kinetic modeling with Positron Emission Tomography (PET), the direct measurement (piecewise linear approximation) of plasma time-activity curve of tracer (PTAC) is often used as the input function to estimate regional physiological parameters. However, no explicit general model is available for PTAC itself, which limits the further study of the effects of PTAC, such as PTAC measurement noise or PTAC sampling schedules, on the physiological parameters estimation. A PTAC model is proposed in this paper and compared with other four possible candidates. Eight sets of [18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) experimental data were used to test the models and several statistical criteria were used to validate their adequacy. An application of the model to improve the estimation of local cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (LCMRGlc) is presented. This model is also expected to be useful for generating realistic PTAC curves in computer simulation studies of other tracers and their kinetic modeling characteristics.

Animals↗

Decomposition-based qualitative experiment design algorithms for a class of compartmental models.

Qualitative experiment design, to determine experimental input/output configurations that provide identifiability for specific parameters of interest, can be extremely difficult if the number of unknown parameters and the number of compartments are relatively large. However, the problem can be considerably simplified if the parameters can be divided into several groups for separate identification and the model can be decomposed into smaller submodels for separate experiment design. Model decomposition-based experiment design algorithms are proposed for a practical class of large-scale compartmental models representative of biosystems characterized by multiple input sources and unidirectional interconnectivity among subsystems. The model parameters are divided into three types, each of which is identified consecutively, in three stages, using simpler submodel experiment designs. Several practical examples are presented. Necessary and sufficient conditions for identifiability using the algorithm are also discussed.

Algorithms↗

Cut set analysis of compartmental models with applications to experiment design.

Conventional compartmental analysis typically involves equations derived from mass-rate balance considerations for each compartment (pool), with each equation associated with a single pool. However, alternative mathematical descriptions, which effectively group pools into various other configurations, facilitate model analysis in certain applications, e.g., for kinetic experiment design or analysis. Such equivalent models are usually obtained using (often) complex matrix operations. An alternative approach, cut set analysis, can be applied directly to the graph of the compartmental model to readily generate alternative mathematical descriptions in which the needed equivalence transformations are easily performed graphically. This graphical transformation is developed here for linear, time-invariant multicompartmental models in which particular parameter values are the experimental objective. The method potentially provides greater flexibility in analyzing complex compartmental models in theory and practice, and it is exemplified here by application to the design of steady-state kinetic endocrine system studies in experimental animals.

Animals↗

[An analysis of findings EEG and brain CT scans in patients with primary hypoparathyroidism].

10 cases of primary hypoparathyroidism showed abnormal findings on EEG. Among them 9 cases were also verified by CT scans. It was considered that the severity of abnormalities in primary hypoparathyroidism was not only influenced by the serum concentration of calcium, but also related with the severity and extent of calcification in the brain. These findings would be of significance with regard to the diagnosis, treatment and prognostic evaluation of primary hypoparathyroidism.

Adolescent↗