A failure-informed enrichment algorithm is devised to improve the performance of existing adaptive Kriging-probability density evolution method (AK-PDEM) for reliability analysis. This improved named AK-PDEMi. Contrary empirically prescribing sample size representative points in AK-PDEM, point set AK-PDEMi sequentially enriched by new sets generated a scheme, which aims making fine partitions k...

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of corneal irregularity on astigmatism assessment using automated keratometry (AK) (IOLMaster) versus ray tracing keratometry (Pentacam). This is an observational case series approved by the institutional review board of Dongguk University Hospital, Goyang, South Korea. A total of 207 eyes of 207 cataract patients were included. Preoperative corne...

Adenosine kinase (AK) is a purine salvage enzyme that catalyzes the phosphorylation of adenosine to AMP. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis, AK can also catalyze the phosphorylation of the adenosine analog 2-methyladenosine (methyl-Ado), the first step in the metabolism of this compound to an active form. Purification of AK from M. tuberculosis yielded a 35-kDa protein that existed as a dimer in its...

Aspartate kinase (AK, EC 2.7.2.4) and homoserine dehydrogenase (HSDH, EC 1.1.1.3) have been partially purified and characterised from immature sorghum seeds. Two peaks of AK activity were eluted by anion-exchange chromatography [diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Sephacel] with 183 and 262 mM KCl, and both activities were inhibited by lysine. Similarly, two peaks of HSDH activity were eluted with 145 and...

BACKGROUND Photodynamic therapy with daylight (DL-PDT) is efficacious in treating actinic keratosis (AK), but the efficacy of field-directed, repetitive DL-PDT for the treatment and prophylaxis of AK in photodamaged facial skin has not yet been investigated. METHODS/DESIGN In this multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled, two-armed, observer-blinded trial, patients with a minimum of 5...

Extracellular adenosine has been implicated in vascular adaptation to hypoxia. Based on the observation that increases in intracellular adenosine can effectively elevate extracellular adenosine, we studied the contribution of adenosine kinase (AK, intracellular conversion of adenosine to adenosine monophosphate [AMP]) to vascular adenosine responses. Initial in vitro studies of ambient hypoxia ...

Changes in the appearance of actinic keratosis (AK) suggest progression to invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), though some dermatologists and dermatopathologists consider AK to be SCC in situ. Actinic keratosis is an indicator of cumulative UV exposure and the initial lesion in the majority of invasive cutaneous SCCs. The development of SCC on sun-damaged skin is a gradual process; however,...

OBJECTIVE Little is known about long-term outcomes among patients who receive percutaneous angioplasty (PTA) for peripheral artery disease (PAD) then undergo below-knee or above-knee amputations. We sought to determine clinical outcomes associated with below-knee or above-knee amputation, along with possible explanatory factors and treatment strategies. METHODS Using data from Taiwan's Nation...

Australia has the highest prevalence of actinic keratoses (AK) worldwide. Because of the risk of transformation of AK to invasive squamous cell carcinomas, consensus guidelines recommend that AK are removed using appropriate therapies to prevent progression to invasive disease. Daylight photodynamic therapy (PDT) is emerging as an efficacious treatment for AK, particularly for patients who requ...

Let (X,≤) be a non-empty strictly inductive poset, that is, a non-empty partially ordered set such that every non-empty chain Y has a least upper bound lub(Y ) ∈ X , a chain being a subset of X totally ordered by ≤. We are interested in sufficient conditions such that, given an element a0 ∈ X and a function f : X → X , there is some ordinal k such that ak+1 = ak, where ak is the transfinite seq...