Partial Evaluation for Class-Based Object-Oriented Languages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

2001-01-01

Object-oriented programming facilitates the development of generic software, but at a significant cost in terms of performance. We apply partial evaluation to object-oriented programs, to automatically map generic software into specific implementations. In this paper we give a concise, formal...... description of a simple partial evaluator for a minimal object-oriented language, and give directions for extending this partial evaluator to handle realistic programs....

Object-based warping: an illusory distortion of space within objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Vickery, Timothy J; Chun, Marvin M

2010-12-01

Visual objects are high-level primitives that are fundamental to numerous perceptual functions, such as guidance of attention. We report that objects warp visual perception of space in such a way that spatial distances within objects appear to be larger than spatial distances in ground regions. When two dots were placed inside a rectangular object, they appeared farther apart from one another than two dots with identical spacing outside of the object. To investigate whether this effect was object based, we measured the distortion while manipulating the structure surrounding the dots. Object displays were constructed with a single object, multiple objects, a partially occluded object, and an illusory object. Nonobject displays were constructed to be comparable to object displays in low-level visual attributes. In all cases, the object displays resulted in a more powerful distortion of spatial perception than comparable non-object-based displays. These results suggest that perception of space within objects is warped.

Robust Object Tracking Using Valid Fragments Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Jin; Li, Bo; Tian, Peng; Luo, Gang

Local features are widely used in visual tracking to improve robustness in cases of partial occlusion, deformation and rotation. This paper proposes a local fragment-based object tracking algorithm. Unlike many existing fragment-based algorithms that allocate the weights to each fragment, this method firstly defines discrimination and uniqueness for local fragment, and builds an automatic pre-selection of useful fragments for tracking. Then, a Harris-SIFT filter is used to choose the current valid fragments, excluding occluded or highly deformed fragments. Based on those valid fragments, fragment-based color histogram provides a structured and effective description for the object. Finally, the object is tracked using a valid fragment template combining the displacement constraint and similarity of each valid fragment. The object template is updated by fusing feature similarity and valid fragments, which is scale-adaptive and robust to partial occlusion. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is accurate and robust in challenging scenarios.

Probabilistic Characterization of Partial Volume Effects in Imaging of Rectangular Objects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bulaevskaya, V. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2015-05-06

In imaging, a partial volume effect refers to the problem that arises when the system resolution is low relative to the size of the object being imaged [1, 2]. In this setting, it is likely that most voxels occupied by the object are only partially covered, and that the fraction covered in each voxel is low. This makes the problem of object detection and image segmentation very difficult because the algorithms designed for these purposes rely on pixel summary statistics. If the area covered by the object is very low in relatively many of the total number of the voxels the object occupies, these summary statistics may not reach the thresholds required to detect this object. It is thus important to understand the extent of partial volume effect for a given object size and resolution. This technical report focuses on rectangular objects and derives the probability distributions for three quantities for such objects: 1) the number of fully covered voxels, 2) the number of partially covered voxels, and 3) the fractions of the total volume covered in the partially covered voxels. The derivations are first shown for 2-D settings and are then extended to 3-D settings.

Recurrent Convolutional Neural Networks: A Better Model of Biological Object Recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Spoerer, Courtney J; McClure, Patrick; Kriegeskorte, Nikolaus

2017-01-01

Feedforward neural networks provide the dominant model of how the brain performs visual object recognition. However, these networks lack the lateral and feedback connections, and the resulting recurrent neuronal dynamics, of the ventral visual pathway in the human and non-human primate brain. Here we investigate recurrent convolutional neural networks with bottom-up (B), lateral (L), and top-down (T) connections. Combining these types of connections yields four architectures (B, BT, BL, and BLT), which we systematically test and compare. We hypothesized that recurrent dynamics might improve recognition performance in the challenging scenario of partial occlusion. We introduce two novel occluded object recognition tasks to test the efficacy of the models, digit clutter (where multiple target digits occlude one another) and digit debris (where target digits are occluded by digit fragments). We find that recurrent neural networks outperform feedforward control models (approximately matched in parametric complexity) at recognizing objects, both in the absence of occlusion and in all occlusion conditions. Recurrent networks were also found to be more robust to the inclusion of additive Gaussian noise. Recurrent neural networks are better in two respects: (1) they are more neurobiologically realistic than their feedforward counterparts; (2) they are better in terms of their ability to recognize objects, especially under challenging conditions. This work shows that computer vision can benefit from using recurrent convolutional architectures and suggests that the ubiquitous recurrent connections in biological brains are essential for task performance.

Effects of heating on salt-occluded zeolite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, M.A.; Hash, M.C.; Pereira, C.; Ackerman, J.P.

1996-01-01

The electrometallurgical treatment of spent nuclear fuel generates a waste stream of fission products in the electrolyte, LiCl-KCl eutectic salt. Argonne National Laboratory is developing a mineral waste form for this waste stream. The waste form consists of a composite formed by hot pressing salt-occluded zeolite and a glass binder. Pressing conditions must be judiciously chosen. For a given pressure, increasing temperatures and hold times give denser products but the zeolite is frequently converted to sodalite. Reducing the temperature or hold time leads to a porous zeolite composite. Therefore, conditions that affect the thermal stability of salt-occluded zeolite both with and without glass are being investigated in an ongoing study. The parameters varied in this stage of the work were heating time, temperature, salt loading, and glass content. The heat-treated samples were examined primarily by X-ray diffraction. Large variations were found in the rate at which salt-occluded zeolite converted to other phases such as nepheline, salt, and sodalite. The products depended on the initial salt loading. Heating times required for these transitions depended on the procedure and temperature used to prepare the salt-occluded zeolite. Mixtures of glass and zeolite reacted much faster than the pure salt-occluded zeolite and were almost always converted to sodalite

Distribution and Determinants of Myocardial Perfusion Grade Following Late Mechanical Recanalization of Occluded Infarct-Related Arteries Postmyocardial Infarction: A Report From the Occluded Artery Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Jorapur, Vinod; Steigen, Terje K.; Buller, Christopher E.; Dẑavík, Vladimír; Webb, John G.; Strauss, Bradley H.; Yeoh, Eunice E.S.; Kurray, Peter; Sokalski, Leszek; Machado, Mauricio C.; Kronsberg, Shari S.; Lamas, Gervasio A.; Hochman, Judith S.; John Mancini, G.B.

2010-01-01

Objective To evaluate the distribution and determinants of myocardial perfusion grade (MPG) following late recanalization of persistently occluded infarct-related arteries (IRA). Background MPG reflects microvascular integrity. It is an independent prognostic factor following myocardial infarction, but has been studied mainly in the setting of early reperfusion. The occluded artery trial (OAT) enrolled stable patients with persistently occluded IRAs beyond 24 hr and up to 28 days post-MI. Methods Myocardial blush was assessed using TIMI MPG grading in 261 patients with TIMI 3 epicardial flow following IRA PCI. Patients demonstrating impaired (0–1) versus preserved (2–3) MPG were compared with regard to baseline clinical and pre-PCI angiographic characteristics. Results Impaired MPG was observed in 60 of 261 patients (23%). By univariate analysis, impaired MPG was associated with failed fibrinolytic therapy, higher heart rate, lower systolic blood pressure, lower ejection fraction, LAD occlusion, absence of collaterals (P < 0.01) and ST elevation MI, lower diastolic blood pressure, and higher systolic sphericity index (P < 0.05). By multivariable analysis, higher heart rate, LAD occlusion, absence of collaterals and higher systolic sphericity index (P < 0.01), and lower systolic blood pressure (P < 0.05) were independently associated with impaired MPG. Conclusion Preserved microvascular integrity was present in a high proportion of patients following late recanalization of occluded IRAs post-MI. Presence of collaterals was independently associated with preserved MPG and likely accounted for the high frequency of preserved myocardial perfusion in this clinical setting. Impaired MPG was associated with baseline clinical and angiographic features consistent with larger infarct size. PMID:18798327

Percutaneous closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Er-Ping Xi

2012-11-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Ventricular septal defects resulting from post-traumatic cardiac injury are very rare. Percutaneous closure has emerged as a method for treating this disorder. We wish to report our experience in three patients who underwent percutaneous closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder. METHODS: We treated three patients with post-traumatic ventricular septal defects caused by stab wounds with knives. After the heart wound was repaired, patient examinations revealed ventricular septal defects with pulmonary/systemic flow ratios (Qp/Qs of over 1.7. The post-traumatic ventricular septal defects were closed percutaneously with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder (Lifetech Scientific (Shenzhen Co., LTD, Guangdong, China utilizing standard techniques. RESULTS: Post-operative transthoracic echocardiography revealed no residual left-to-right shunt and indicated normal ventricular function. In addition, 320-slice computerized tomography showed that the occluder was well placed and exhibited normal morphology. CONCLUSION: Our experiences indicate that closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect using a patent ductus arteriosus occluder is feasible, safe, and effective.

Object Representations in Human Visual Cortex Formed Through Temporal Integration of Dynamic Partial Shape Views.

Science.gov (United States)

Orlov, Tanya; Zohary, Ehud

2018-01-17

the retina. The lateral occipital complex (LOC) represents shape faithfully in such conditions even if the object is partially occluded. However, shape must sometimes be reconstructed over both space and time. Such is the case in anorthoscopic perception, when an object is moving behind a narrow slit. In this scenario, spatial information is limited at any moment so the whole-shape percept can only be inferred by integration of successive shape views over time. We find that LOC carries shape-specific information recovered using such temporal integration processes. The shape representation is invariant to slit orientation and is similar to that evoked by a fully viewed image. Existing models of object recognition lack such capabilities. Copyright © 2018 the authors 0270-6474/18/380659-20$15.00/0.

Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus using the angled duct occluder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yongwen, Qin; Xianxian, Zhao; Hong, Wu; Xing, Zheng; Jijun, Ding; Jianqiang, Hu [Second Military Medical Univ., Shanghai (China). Changhai Hospital, Dept. of Cardiology

2004-04-01

Objective: To assess the immediate efficacy of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus(PDA) using the angled duct occluder (ADO). Methods: 9 patients (1 male, 8 female) underwent transcatheter closure of PDA using the ADO. The mean PDA diameter at its narrowest segment was (5.8 {+-} 1.9) mm, ranging 3 to 10 mm. A 6 - 9F long sheath was used for the delivery of ADO. Results: The devices were deployed successfully in all patients. Angiographies showed no shunt across the device 15 min after the implantation of ADO. Within 1 week, echocardiography revealed complete closure in all patients. There were no complications. Conclusions: The transcatheter closure of PDA using ADO is an effective and safe procedure. The device matches with the shape of aortic cavity much more precisely than Amplatzer duct occluder. (authors)

Animal experimental research of the endothelialization of home-made atrial septal defect occluder device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Mingwu; Zhou Aiqing; Li Feng; Gao Wei; Yu Zhiqing; Tang Ning; Zhang Lan

2003-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the endothelialization of Chinese nitinol atrial septal defect occluder device. Methods: Atrial septal defect with controllable size was created by the Brockenborough needle and Rashkind balloon atrial septostomy, the occluder devices were implanted in six piglets (mean weight 7.5 kg). Two pigs were killed each time after 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after the device implantation and then the explanted devices were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results: The devices were found covering with collagen fibrosis together with diffuse endothelial cells spreading over the primer 1 month after implantation. The implants were covered mostly by neointima 3 months after implantation and completely covered by confluent endothelial cells 6 months after the implantation. Endothelial cells were not found on the smooth marker band at 3 months, however, did exist by 6 months. Conclusions: Home-made atrial septal defect occluder devices were mostly endothelialised 3 months after the implantation and did completely at 6 months

Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus using the angled duct occluder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Yongwen; Zhao Xianxian; Wu Hong; Zheng Xing; Ding Jijun; Hu Jianqiang

2004-01-01

Objective: To assess the immediate efficacy of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus(PDA) using the angled duct occluder (ADO). Methods: 9 patients (1 male, 8 female) underwent transcatheter closure of PDA using the ADO. The mean PDA diameter at its narrowest segment was (5.8 ± 1.9) mm, ranging 3 to 10 mm. A 6 - 9F long sheath was used for the delivery of ADO. Results: The devices were deployed successfully in all patients. Angiographies showed no shunt across the device 15 min after the implantation of ADO. Within 1 week, echocardiography revealed complete closure in all patients. There were no complications. Conclusions: The transcatheter closure of PDA using ADO is an effective and safe procedure. The device matches with the shape of aortic cavity much more precisely than Amplatzer duct occluder. (authors)

Transcatheter closure of ventricular septal defect with Occlutech Duct Occluder.

Science.gov (United States)

Atik-Ugan, Sezen; Saltik, Irfan Levent

2018-04-01

Patent ductus arteriosus occluders are used for transcatheter closure of ventricular septal defects, as well as for closure of patent ductus arteriosus. The Occlutech Duct Occluder is a newly introduced device for transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus. Here, we present a case in which the Occlutech Duct Occluder was successfully used on a patient for the closure of a perimembraneous ventricular septal defect.

Hemolysis induced by PMIVSD occluder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Sheshagiri Rao

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Hemolysis related to occluder, prosthetic valve, and prosthetic ring used for mitral valve annuloplasty are not very unusual. However, hemolysis related to transcathetor closure of post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal defect (PMIVSD is infrequent. A close follow-up for spontaneous resolution with or without blood transfusion has been reported in a few cases. Occasionally, surgical retrieval is unavoidable or lifelong blood transfusion is required if surgery cannot be done because of higher risk. In this illustration, we have showed a close follow-up of a case of hemolysis induced by atrial septal occluder used for VSD closure after myocardial infarction. Despite successful device closure of PMIVSD which is difficult, a close watch is needed for complications like residual leak, device embolization, and hemolysis.

Experimental nickel elicitation thresholds--a review focusing on occluded nickel exposure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fischer, Louise Arup; Menné, Torkil; Johansen, Jeanne Duus

2005-01-01

Nickel (Ni) is the most frequent cause of contact allergy among the female population. This makes it interesting to examine thresholds for elicitation under different conditions. Even though Ni exposure may be open, occluded, penetrating or oral, most dose-response studies in the literature concern...... single occluded application. The aims of this study were to assess thresholds of response by making a statistical analysis of available dose-response studies with single occluded exposure and comparing the results to thresholds from other modes of exposure. 8 occluded Ni dose-response studies were...... 10% reacted in occluded exposure. When combining the exposure to Ni with an irritant, divagating results were found, although the literature shows evidence of an augmented response when combining exposure to an allergen and an irritant. The thresholds of penetrating exposure were found to be lower...

Rhythmic neural activity indicates the contribution of attention and memory to the processing of occluded movements in 10-month-old infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Bache, Cathleen; Kopp, Franziska; Springer, Anne; Stadler, Waltraud; Lindenberger, Ulman; Werkle-Bergner, Markus

2015-11-01

Infants possess the remarkable capacity to perceive occluded movements as ongoing and coherent. Little is known about the neural mechanisms that enable internal representation of conspecifics' and inanimate objects' movements during visual occlusion. In this study, 10-month-old infants watched briefly occluded human and object movements. Prior to occlusion, continuous and distorted versions of the movement were shown. EEG recordings were used to assess neural activity assumed to relate to processes of attention (occipital alpha), memory (frontal theta), and sensorimotor simulation (central alpha) before, during, and after occlusion. Oscillatory activity was analyzed using an individualized data approach taking idiosyncrasies into account. Results for occipital alpha were consistent with infants' preference for attending to social stimuli. Furthermore, frontal theta activity was more pronounced when tracking distorted as opposed to continuous movement, and when maintaining object as opposed to human movement. Central alpha did not discriminate between experimental conditions. In sum, we conclude that observing occluded movements recruits processes of attention and memory which are modulated by stimulus and movement properties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hemolysis induced by PMIVSD occluder.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, D Sheshagiri; Barik, Ramachandra; Siva Prasad, Akula

2016-09-01

Hemolysis related to occluder, prosthetic valve, and prosthetic ring used for mitral valve annuloplasty are not very unusual. However, hemolysis related to transcathetor closure of post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal defect (PMIVSD) is infrequent. A close follow-up for spontaneous resolution with or without blood transfusion has been reported in a few cases. Occasionally, surgical retrieval is unavoidable or lifelong blood transfusion is required if surgery cannot be done because of higher risk. In this illustration, we have showed a close follow-up of a case of hemolysis induced by atrial septal occluder used for VSD closure after myocardial infarction. Despite successful device closure of PMIVSD which is difficult, a close watch is needed for complications like residual leak, device embolization, and hemolysis. Copyright © 2016 Cardiological Society of India. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The exploration of the closure of patent ductus arteriosus with Amplatzer occluder through single venous approach under ultrasound monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Guoxin; He Jianxin; Li Guoying; Gong Zhihua; Wen Yanfei

2011-01-01

Objective: To explore the feasibility and effectiveness of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with Amplatzer occluder by using single venous approach method under ultrasound monitoring. Methods: During the period from May 2003 to April 2010, transcatheter closure of PDA were performed in 123 cases. Of the 123 patients, the procedure was accomplished by using arteriovenous dual approach method in 46 and by using single venous approach method in 77. All the procedures were monitored by ultrasound. The shape, size of PDA and immediate therapeutic results were checked with angiography in arteriovenous dual approach method or with ultrasonography in single venous approach method. The size of Amplatzer occluder was individually selected according to the smallest diameter of PDA. Echocardiography was performed at 3 days, one, 6 and 12 months after the procedure to evaluate the results. Results: Successful device placement with the initially selected occluder was obtained in 118 cases. In 4 cases the procedure was eventually completed after a bigger occluder was employed to replace the initial one, while in one case a smaller occluder had to use to replace the first one. The technical success rate was 100%. Conclusion: The transcatheter closure of PDA with Amplatzer occluder under ultrasound monitoring by single venous approach method is clinically effective and feasible. Being technically simple and time-saving, this single venous approach method is of great value in clinical practice. (authors)

A neural substrate for object permanence in monkey inferotemporal cortex

OpenAIRE

Puneeth, NC; Arun, SP

2016-01-01

We take it for granted that objects continue to exist after being occluded. This knowledge ? known as object permanence ? is present even in childhood, but its neural basis is not fully understood. Here, we show that monkey inferior temporal (IT) neurons carry potential signals of object permanence even in animals that received no explicit behavioral training. We compared two conditions with identical visual stimulation: the same object emerged from behind an occluder as expected following it...

Imaging of Phase Objects using Partially Coherent Illumination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ravizza, F. L. [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)

2013-01-01

Screening high-power laser optics for light intensifying phase objects that cause laserinduced damage on downstream optics is critical to sustaining laser operation. Identifying such flaws on large-apertures is quite challenging since they are relatively small and invisible to conventional inspection methods. A Linescan Phase Differential Imaging (LPDI) system was developed to rapidly identify these flaws on large-aperture optics within a single full-aperture dark-field image. We describe a two-step production phase object screening process consisting of LPDI mapping and image analysis, followed by high-resolution interferometry and propagation based evaluation of the downstream damage potential of identified flaws. An image simulation code capable of modeling the LPDI partially coherent illumination was used to optimize its phase object sensitivity.

Closure of large patent ductus arteriosus using the Amplatzer Septal Occluder.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Montes, José A; Camacho-Castro, Anahí; Sandoval-Jones, Juan P; Buendía-Hernández, Alfonso; Calderón-Colmenero, Juan; Patiño-Bahena, Emilia; Zabal, Carlos

2015-03-01

Percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus has become the treatment of choice in many centres. In patients with large ducts and pulmonary hypertension, transcatheter closure has been achieved with success using the Amplatzer Duct Occluder or even the Amplatzer Muscular Ventricular Septal Defect Occluder. We present a series of 17 patients with large and hypertensive ductus arteriosus who were treated with an Amplatzer Septal Occluder. The group had 11 female patients (64.7%) and a mean age of 18.6±12.1 years. The haemodynamic and anatomical data are as follows: pulmonary artery systolic pressure 71.3±31.8 mmHg, pulmonary to systemic flow ratio 3.14±1.36, ductal diameter at the pulmonary end 12.5±3.8 mm, and at the aortic end 20.2±7.7 mm; 14 cases (82.3%) had type A ducts. In 11 patients, we began the procedure using a different device - six with duct occluder and five with ventricular septal occluder - and it was changed because of device embolisation in six (35.3%). All septal occluders were delivered successfully. Residual shunt was moderate in six patients (35.3%), mild in eight (47%), trivial in two (11.8%), and no shunt in one (5.9%). Pulmonary systolic pressure decreased to 48.9±10.8 mmHg after occlusion (p=0.0015). Follow-up in 15 patients (88.2%) for 28.4±14.4 months showed complete closure in all cases but one, and continuous decrease of the pulmonary systolic pressure to 31.4±10.5 mmHg. No complications at follow-up have been reported. The Amplatzer Septal Occluder is a good alternative to percutaneously treat large and hypertensive ductus arteriosus.

Occlusion Handling in Videos Object Tracking: A Survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, B Y; Liew, L H; Cheah, W S; Wang, Y C

2014-01-01

Object tracking in video has been an active research since for decades. This interest is motivated by numerous applications, such as surveillance, human-computer interaction, and sports event monitoring. Many challenges related to tracking objects still remain, this can arise due to abrupt object motion, changing appearance patterns of objects and the scene, non-rigid object structures and most significant are occlusion of tracked object be it object-to-object or object-to-scene occlusions. Generally, occlusion in object tracking occur under three situations: self-occlusion, inter-object occlusion by background scene structure. Self-occlusion occurs most frequently while tracking articulated objects when one part of the object occludes another. Inter-object occlusion occurs when two objects being tracked occlude each other whereas occlusion by the background occurs when a structure in the background occludes the tracked objects. Typically, tracking methods handle occlusion by modelling the object motion using linear and non-linear dynamic models. The derived models will be used to continuously predicting the object location when a tracked object is occluded until the object reappears. Example of these method are Kalman filtering and Particle filtering trackers. Researchers have also utilised other features to resolved occlusion, for example, silhouette projections, colour histogram and optical flow. We will present some result from a previously conducted experiment when tracking single object using Kalman filter, Particle filter and Mean Shift trackers under various occlusion situation in this paper. We will also review various other occlusion handling methods that involved using multiple cameras. In a nutshell, the goal of this paper is to discuss in detail the problem of occlusion in object tracking and review the state of the art occlusion handling methods, classify them into different categories, and identify new trends. Moreover, we discuss the important

Occlusion Handling in Videos Object Tracking: A Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, B. Y.; Liew, L. H.; Cheah, W. S.; Wang, Y. C.

2014-02-01

Object tracking in video has been an active research since for decades. This interest is motivated by numerous applications, such as surveillance, human-computer interaction, and sports event monitoring. Many challenges related to tracking objects still remain, this can arise due to abrupt object motion, changing appearance patterns of objects and the scene, non-rigid object structures and most significant are occlusion of tracked object be it object-to-object or object-to-scene occlusions. Generally, occlusion in object tracking occur under three situations: self-occlusion, inter-object occlusion by background scene structure. Self-occlusion occurs most frequently while tracking articulated objects when one part of the object occludes another. Inter-object occlusion occurs when two objects being tracked occlude each other whereas occlusion by the background occurs when a structure in the background occludes the tracked objects. Typically, tracking methods handle occlusion by modelling the object motion using linear and non-linear dynamic models. The derived models will be used to continuously predicting the object location when a tracked object is occluded until the object reappears. Example of these method are Kalman filtering and Particle filtering trackers. Researchers have also utilised other features to resolved occlusion, for example, silhouette projections, colour histogram and optical flow. We will present some result from a previously conducted experiment when tracking single object using Kalman filter, Particle filter and Mean Shift trackers under various occlusion situation in this paper. We will also review various other occlusion handling methods that involved using multiple cameras. In a nutshell, the goal of this paper is to discuss in detail the problem of occlusion in object tracking and review the state of the art occlusion handling methods, classify them into different categories, and identify new trends. Moreover, we discuss the important

Learning of perceptual grouping for object segmentation on RGB-D data.

Science.gov (United States)

Richtsfeld, Andreas; Mörwald, Thomas; Prankl, Johann; Zillich, Michael; Vincze, Markus

2014-01-01

Object segmentation of unknown objects with arbitrary shape in cluttered scenes is an ambitious goal in computer vision and became a great impulse with the introduction of cheap and powerful RGB-D sensors. We introduce a framework for segmenting RGB-D images where data is processed in a hierarchical fashion. After pre-clustering on pixel level parametric surface patches are estimated. Different relations between patch-pairs are calculated, which we derive from perceptual grouping principles, and support vector machine classification is employed to learn Perceptual Grouping. Finally, we show that object hypotheses generation with Graph-Cut finds a globally optimal solution and prevents wrong grouping. Our framework is able to segment objects, even if they are stacked or jumbled in cluttered scenes. We also tackle the problem of segmenting objects when they are partially occluded. The work is evaluated on publicly available object segmentation databases and also compared with state-of-the-art work of object segmentation.

A Temporal Same-Object Advantage in the Tunnel Effect: Facilitated Change Detection for Persisting Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Flombaum, Jonathan I.; Scholl, Brian J.

2006-01-01

Meaningful visual experience requires computations that identify objects as the same persisting individuals over time, motion, occlusion, and featural change. This article explores these computations in the tunnel effect: When an object moves behind an occluder, and then an object later emerges following a consistent trajectory, observers…

Comparison of factors associated with occludable angle between american Caucasians and ethnic Chinese.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ye Elaine; Li, Yingjie; Wang, Dandan; He, Mingguang; Lin, Shan

2013-11-21

To determine if factors associated with gonioscopy-determined occludable angle among American Caucasians are similar to those found in ethnic Chinese. This is a prospective cross-sectional study with 120 American Caucasian, 116 American Chinese, and 116 mainland Chinese subjects. All three groups were matched for sex and age (40-80 years). Gonioscopy was performed for each subject (occludable angles = posterior trabecular meshwork not visible for ≥2 quadrants). Anterior segment optical coherence tomography and customized software was used to measure anterior segment biometry and iris parameters, including anterior chamber depth/width (ACD, ACW), lens vault (LV), and iris thickness/area/curvature. In both Chinese and Caucasians, eyes with occludable angles had smaller ACD and ACW, and larger LV and iris curvature than eyes with open angles (all P gonioscopy-determined occludable angle was significantly associated with LV, iris area, and sex (all P < 0.03) in Chinese; and with LV, ACD, iris thickness, age, and sex (all P < 0.04) in Caucasians. Several factors associated with occludable angle differed between Caucasians and Chinese, suggesting potentially different mechanisms in occludable angle development in the two racial groups. This is the first study to demonstrate that lens vault is an important anterior segment optical coherence tomography parameter in the screening for angle closure in Caucasians. In addition, iris thickness was a significant predictor for occludable angles in Caucasians but was not in ethnic Chinese.

Transcatheter closure of secundum atrial septal defect with cardio SEAL septal occluder. A preliminary result of clinical application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Gejun; Dai Ruping; Liu Yanling; Jiang Shiliang; Zeng Zheng; Huang Lianjun; Xie Ruolan

2001-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency and preliminary results of transcatheter closure of secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) with CardioSEAL septal occluder. Methods: There were 12 patients in this study. Trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) before the interventions confirmed the ASDs with a mean diameter of *13.14 +- 3.48) mm (ranging from 8 to 20 mm). There were 11 isolated ASDs and 1 multi-defects ASD in the group. Each ASD was occluded with CardioSEAL septal occluder through the percutaneous procedure. The closure procedure was guided by fluoroscopy and trans-esophageal echocardiography. The TEE was done immediately after the procedure to find whether there was residual shunt. Trans-thoracic-echocardiography (TTE), ECG, and X-ray examination were done 24 hours, 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year after the procedures as follow-up to evaluate the efficiency. Results: The placements of the occluders were successful in 11 cases. There were no mortality and no emergent surgery during the procedures. TEE confirmed that there were trivial and small residual shunts in 3 cases immediately after the procedures. TTE confirmed small residual shunts in 2 cases 24 hour after the procedures, and in 1 case 1 month, 3 month, and 1 year after the procedures. Conclusion: Transcatheter closure of secundum ASD with CardioSEAL septal occluder was an efficient nonsurgical method. It could be the method of choice in treating the ASDs with special anatomic variations. It had a high successful rate of device placement and satisfied preliminary results, but the long-term follow-up was needed

Whole object surface area and volume of partial-view 3D models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulukutla, Gopal K; Proussevitch, Alexander A; Genareau, Kimberly D; Durant, Adam J

2017-01-01

Micro-scale 3D models, important components of many studies in science and engineering, are often used to determine morphological characteristics such as shape, surface area and volume. The application of techniques such as stereoscopic scanning electron microscopy on whole objects often results in ‘partial-view’ models with a portion of object not within the field of view thus not captured in the 3D model. The nature and extent of the surface not captured is dependent on the complex interaction of imaging system attributes (e.g. working distance, viewing angle) with object size, shape and morphology. As a result, any simplistic assumptions in estimating whole object surface area or volume can lead to significant errors. In this study, we report on a novel technique to estimate the physical fraction of an object captured in a partial-view 3D model of an otherwise whole object. This allows a more accurate estimate of surface area and volume. Using 3D models, we demonstrate the robustness of this method and the accuracy of surface area and volume estimates relative to true values. (paper)

The clinical application and effect evaluation of home-made duct occluder in patent ductus arteriosus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jijun, Shi; Guohong, Zeng; Zhiwei, Zhang; Huishen, Wang; Mingyang, Qian; Yufen, Li [Guangdong Provincial People' s Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Cardiovascular Inst., Guangzhou (China)

2003-08-01

Objective: To evaluate the clinical application and effect of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) by using the home-made Xinjian duct occluder. Methods: From June, 2000 to July, 2002, 182 patients (63 male, 119 female) underwent attempted transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus by using the Xinjian duct occluder at a median age of 5.23 years (range 0.3 to 16) and a median weight of 17.09 kg (range 5 to 50). The mean PDA diameter in the narrowest segment was 4.30 mm (range 1.32 to 9.00). The delivery sheath was 6 to 10 F. The median operation time was 73.31 min (range 45 to 135), and the median fluoroscopy time was 7.09 min (range 2.60 to 26.90). Follow-up evaluation was performed with color flow mapping immediately, at 24 h, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after closure, respectively. Results: The Xinjian device was successfully placed in all 182 cases. Angiography showed immediate closure in 109 patients (59.89%), small residual shunt in 30, and trace shunt in 43. At 24 h, color Doppler revealed complete closure in 163 patients. Only 8 patients still had a residual shunt after 1 month. A residual shunt was observed in 4 at 3 months and 6 months, 2 at 1 year, 1 at 2 years. There were no severe complications. Conclusions: Transcatheter closure of PDA using the home-made Xinjian occluder is a safe and effective method. The Xinjian occluder could replace the imported product in the closure of PDA.

The clinical application and effect evaluation of home-made duct occluder in patent ductus arteriosus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Jijun; Zeng Guohong; Zhang Zhiwei; Wang Huishen; Qian Mingyang; Li Yufen

2003-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the clinical application and effect of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) by using the home-made Xinjian duct occluder. Methods: From June, 2000 to July, 2002, 182 patients (63 male, 119 female) underwent attempted transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus by using the Xinjian duct occluder at a median age of 5.23 years (range 0.3 to 16) and a median weight of 17.09 kg (range 5 to 50). The mean PDA diameter in the narrowest segment was 4.30 mm (range 1.32 to 9.00). The delivery sheath was 6 to 10 F. The median operation time was 73.31 min (range 45 to 135), and the median fluoroscopy time was 7.09 min (range 2.60 to 26.90). Follow-up evaluation was performed with color flow mapping immediately, at 24 h, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after closure, respectively. Results: The Xinjian device was successfully placed in all 182 cases. Angiography showed immediate closure in 109 patients (59.89%), small residual shunt in 30, and trace shunt in 43. At 24 h, color Doppler revealed complete closure in 163 patients. Only 8 patients still had a residual shunt after 1 month. A residual shunt was observed in 4 at 3 months and 6 months, 2 at 1 year, 1 at 2 years. There were no severe complications. Conclusions: Transcatheter closure of PDA using the home-made Xinjian occluder is a safe and effective method. The Xinjian occluder could replace the imported product in the closure of PDA

Recurrent processing during object recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Randall C. O'Reilly

2013-04-01

Full Text Available How does the brain learn to recognize objects visually, and perform this difficult feat robustly in the face of many sources of ambiguity and variability? We present a computational model based on the biology of the relevant visual pathways that learns to reliably recognize 100 different object categories in the face of of naturally-occurring variability in location, rotation, size, and lighting. The model exhibits robustness to highly ambiguous, partially occluded inputs. Both the unified, biologically plausible learning mechanism and the robustness to occlusion derive from the role that recurrent connectivity and recurrent processing mechanisms play in the model. Furthermore, this interaction of recurrent connectivity and learning predicts that high-level visual representations should be shaped by error signals from nearby, associated brain areas over the course of visual learning. Consistent with this prediction, we show how semantic knowledge about object categories changes the nature of their learned visual representations, as well as how this representational shift supports the mapping between perceptual and conceptual knowledge. Altogether, these findings support the potential importance of ongoing recurrent processing throughout the brain's visual system and suggest ways in which object recognition can be understood in terms of interactions within and between processes over time.

Identification and characterization of steady and occluded water in drinking water distribution systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Huiyan; Zhao, Peng; Zhang, Hongwei; Tian, Yimei; Chen, Xi; Zhao, Weigao; Li, Mei

2015-01-01

Deterioration and leakage of drinking water in distribution systems have been a major issue in the water industry for years, which are associated with corrosion. This paper discovers that occluded water in the scales of the pipes has an acidic environment and high concentration of iron, manganese, chloride, sulfate and nitrate, which aggravates many pipeline leakage accidents. Six types of water samples have been analyzed under the flowing and stagnant periods. Both the water in the exterior of the tubercles and stagnant water carry suspended iron particles, which explains the occurrence of "red water" when the system hydraulic conditions change. Nitrate is more concentrated in occluded water under flowing condition in comparison with that in flowing water. However, the concentration of nitrate in occluded water under stagnant condition is found to be less than that in stagnant water. A high concentration of manganese is found to exist in steady water, occluded water and stagnant water. These findings impact secondary pollution and the corrosion of pipes and containers used in drinking water distribution systems. The unique method that taking occluded water from tiny holes which were drilled from the pipes' exteriors carefully according to the positions of corrosion scales has an important contribution to research on corrosion in distribution systems. And this paper furthers our understanding and contributes to the growing body of knowledge regarding occluded environments in corrosion scales. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transcatheter closure of membranous ventricular septal defects with home-made nitinol occluder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yongwen, Qin; Xianxian, Zhao; Xing, Zheng; Jijun, Ding; Jiang, Cao [Second Military Medical Univ., Shanghai (China). Changhai Hospital, Dept. of Cardiology

2004-04-01

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of transcatheter perimembranous ventricular septal defects (VSD) occlusion with home-made nitinol occluder. Methods: Transcatheter closure was attempted in 196 patients with perimembranous VSD. The diameter of VSD measured by echocardiography was 3 to 15 mm, mean (4.94 {+-} 2.23) mm. The angiographic diameter of the VSD was 3 to 6 mm, mean (3.92 {+-} 1.44) mm. A 7-10 F delivery sheath was advanced across the perimembranous VSD over a wire from femoral vein to deploy the occluder with the guidance of echocardiography and fluoroscopy. The device diameter selected was from 4 to 20 mm, mean (6.68 {+-} 2.76) mm. Left ventriculography and transthoracic echocardiography were repeated to assess the closure of the defects 15 min after the procedure. Continuous electrocardiogram monitoring lasted for 5 days. The echocardiography and electrocardiogram examination were scheduled for 1, 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Results: The occluders were successfully deployed in 191 patients. There were five procedural failures, two with device-related aortic insufficiency, and three of inability to pass through VSD. After deployment of the devices, there were no residual shunt in 180 of 191 patients, 11 patients with a trivial residual shunt that disappeared in 8 patients after one month of follow up. 3 patients developed mild tricuspid insufficiency. 12 developed transient complete right bundle branch block, and 5 transient complete left bundle branch block, and 2 transient complete atrioventricular block. There were repetitive nonparoxysmal ventricular tachycardia in 4 patients 1 week after the procedure. One patient had a detached device embolized into the left pulmonary artery but with a successful catheter retrieval by snare and transcatheter closure. The devices were similarly applied to patients with VSD associated with patent ductus arteriosus, and 4 patients with VSD complicated by atrial septal defects. The fluoroscopy time

Intraoperative closure of infant multiple muscular ventricular septal defects with Amplatzer occluder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jinfen; Gao Wei; Zhu Zhongqun; Chen Huiwen; Zhang Yuqi

2005-01-01

Objective: To report the preliminary experience of intraoperative hybrid therapy for closure of multiple muscular ventricular septal defects (VSD) in a small infant. Methods: After median sternotomy, a AGA Amplatzer occluder was introduced through right ventricular surface to close 2 muscular ventricular septal defects under transesophageal echocardiographic guidance. Results: The infant survived after the treatment without residual shunting, and rehabilitated rapidly. Conclusions: Intraoperative hybrid therapy with combined surgical technique and interventional procedure for closure of multiple muscular VSD in small infant is a safe and effective method. (authors)

Mass transport and chloride ion complexes in occluded cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuru, T.; Hashimoto, K.; Nishikata, A.; Haruyama, S.

1989-01-01

Changes in the transport and the concentration of ions in a model occluded cell are traced during galvanostatic anodic polarization of a mild steel and a stainless steel. Apparent transport numbers of anions and cations, which were estimated from chemical analysis of solution, were different from those calculated from known mobility data. At the initial stage of the polarization, the transport number of chloride ion was almost unity, and then decreased gradually. For the mild steel, the concentration of total chloride ion accumulated in the occluded compartment increased with the anodic charge passed, and the amount of chloride ion complexed with cations also increased. The chloride complex was estimated as FeCl + . For SUS304 stainless steel, the total chloride ion increased, however, the free chloride ion, which responded to an Ag/AgCl electrode remained approximately 2 mol/dm 3 . Therefore, most of the chloride ions transferred into the occluded cell formed complex ions, such as CrCl n 3-n . The number of chloride ion coordinated to ferrous and chromic ions was estimated from the data fo mass transport for the case of the mild steel and the stainless steel. (author) 9 refs., 14 figs

Transcaval TIPS in patients with failed revision of occluded previous TIPS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seong, Chang Kyu; Kim, Yong Joo; Shin, Tae Beom; Park, Hyo Yong; Kim, Tae Hun; Kang, Duk Sik [Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

2001-12-01

To determine the feasibility of transcaval transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in patients with occluded previous TIPS. Between February 1996 and December 2000 we performed five transcaval TIPS procedures in four patients with recurrent gastric cardiac variceal bleeding. All four had occluded TIPS, which was between the hepatic and portal vein. The interval between initial TIPS placement and revisional procedures with transcaval TIPS varied between three and 31 months; one patient underwent transcaval TIPS twice, with a 31-month interval. After revision of the occluded shunt failed, direct cavoportal puncture at the retrohepatic segment of the IVC was attempted. Transcaval TIPS placement was technically successful in all cases. In three, tractography revealed slight leakage of contrast materials into hepatic subcapsular or subdiaphragmatic pericaval space. There was no evidence of propagation of extravasated contrast materials through the retroperitoneal space or spillage into the peritoneal space. After the tract was dilated by a bare stent, no patient experienced trans-stent bleeding and no serious procedure-related complications occurred. After successful shunt creation, variceal bleeding ceased in all patients. Transcaval TIPS placement is an effective and safe alternative treatment in patients with occluded previous TIPS and no hepatic veins suitable for new TIPS.

Subintimal Recanalization of Occluded Stents: The Substent Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamantopoulos, Athanasios; Katsanos, Konstantinos; Spiliopoulos, Stavros; Karnabatidis, Dimitris; Siablis, Dimitris

2013-01-01

PurposeApplication of metal stents is complicated by neointimal hyperplasia leading to vessel restenosis and reocclusion. Treatment options in cases presenting with complete occlusion of the stented segment and recurrent critical limb ischemia (CLI) are limited. We present the option of the subintimal/substent technique in dealing with occluded stents.MethodsThe study included patients presenting with recurrent CLI due to impaired blood flow as a result of complete occlusion of previously inserted metal stents and unsuccessful intraluminal crossing of the lesion via either the antegrade or retrograde approach. In these cases, crossing the occlusion through the subintimal/substent plane was attempted. Primary end points included technical success, safety of the procedure, clinical improvement, and limb salvage, while secondary end points were patient survival, primary patency, and vessel restenosis rates at 1-year follow-up. Study end points were calculated by Kaplan–Meier survival analysis.ResultsBetween July 2006 and October 2011, a total of 14 patients (mean age 69.14 ± 12.59 years, 12 men) were treated with the substent technique and included in the analysis. Technical success rate was 85.71 % (12 of 14), with a total lesion length of 193.57 ± 90.78 mm. The mean occluded stented segment length was 90.21 ± 44.34 mm. In 10 (83.33 %) of 12 cases, a new stent had to be placed by the side of the old occluded one, while the remaining two cases (16.67 %) were treated only with balloon angioplasty. No serious adverse events were noted during the immediate postprocedural period. All successfully treated patients improved clinically. Estimated limb salvage was 90.9 %, and patient survival rate was 90.0 % at 1 year’s follow-up. Primary patency was 45.50 % and vessel restenosis 77.30 %.ConclusionSubintimal recanalization of occluded metal stents through the substent plane is a valuable alternative treatment option, especially in patients with recurrent CLI with few

Tagging partially reconstructed objects with jet substructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freytsis, Marat, E-mail: freytsis@uoregon.edu [Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138 (United States); Volansky, Tomer [Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978 (Israel); Walsh, Jonathan R. [Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2017-06-10

We present a new tagger which aims at identifying partially reconstructed objects, in which only some of the constituents are collected in a single jet. As an example, we focus on top decays in which either part of the hadronically decaying W or the b jet is soft or falls outside of the top jet cone. We construct an observable to identify remnant substructure from the decay and employ aggressive jet grooming to reject QCD backgrounds. The tagger is complementary to existing ones and works well in the intermediate boost regime where jet substructure techniques usually fail. It is anticipated that a similar tagger can be used to identify non-QCD hadronic jets, such as those expected from hidden valleys.

Tagging partially reconstructed objects with jet substructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freytsis, Marat; Volansky, Tomer; Walsh, Jonathan R.

2017-01-01

We present a new tagger which aims at identifying partially reconstructed objects, in which only some of the constituents are collected in a single jet. As an example, we focus on top decays in which either part of the hadronically decaying W or the b jet is soft or falls outside of the top jet cone. We construct an observable to identify remnant substructure from the decay and employ aggressive jet grooming to reject QCD backgrounds. The tagger is complementary to existing ones and works well in the intermediate boost regime where jet substructure techniques usually fail. It is anticipated that a similar tagger can be used to identify non-QCD hadronic jets, such as those expected from hidden valleys.

Tagging partially reconstructed objects with jet substructure

Science.gov (United States)

Freytsis, Marat; Volansky, Tomer; Walsh, Jonathan R.

2017-06-01

We present a new tagger which aims at identifying partially reconstructed objects, in which only some of the constituents are collected in a single jet. As an example, we focus on top decays in which either part of the hadronically decaying W or the b jet is soft or falls outside of the top jet cone. We construct an observable to identify remnant substructure from the decay and employ aggressive jet grooming to reject QCD backgrounds. The tagger is complementary to existing ones and works well in the intermediate boost regime where jet substructure techniques usually fail. It is anticipated that a similar tagger can be used to identify non-QCD hadronic jets, such as those expected from hidden valleys.

Percutaneous closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder

OpenAIRE

Xi, Er-Ping; Zhu, Jian; Zhu, Shui-Bo; Yin, Gui-Lin; Liu, Yong; Dong, Yong-Qiang; Zhang, Yu; Xia, Feng

2012-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Ventricular septal defects resulting from post-traumatic cardiac injury are very rare. Percutaneous closure has emerged as a method for treating this disorder. We wish to report our experience in three patients who underwent percutaneous closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder. METHODS: We treated three patients with post-traumatic ventricular septal defects caused by stab wounds with knives. After the heart wound was repaired,...

Study on transcatheter ASD occlusion using modified atrial septal defect occluder with no stainless steel screw in canine model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xuan Bin; Qin Yongwen; Hu Jianqiang; Wu Hong

2006-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the safety, biocompatibility and efficacy of transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) with no stainless-steel-screw occluder in canine model. Methods: The device was constructed from superelastic Nitinol wires tightly woven into two flat disks and sewed with polyester fibers inside, with a pliable loop on the right-atrial-disk of the device, connecting to the delivery cable. ASD was created by transcatheter puncture and balloon dilatation and then closed by occluder under fluoroscopy in the catheterization laboratory. the location and the influence of the implanted device on function of tricuspid valve and mitral valve were evaluated by echocardiography. At 1, 2, 3 and 6 months after the operation, the animals were killed and autopsy was conducted. Results: Eight dogs with puncture-produced ASD underwent ASD closing procedure successfully. the occluder showed no influence on the function of MV and AV demonstrated by echocardiogram. The two disks of the implanted device were covered with a smooth intact neogenesis layer in all dogs. Endocardial cells fully covered the surface of the two disk without inflammating reaction 3 months later. There was no evidence of corrosion on the surface of the nitinol wire removed from the dog after 6 months. Light microscopic examination of the liver, kidney, lung and spleen showed no evidence of embolization and inflammation. Conclusion: Transcatheter ASD occlusion with new-type occluder is safe, feasible, effective and good biocompatibility with a good prospective clinical application. (authors)

Face Attention Network: An Effective Face Detector for the Occluded Faces

OpenAIRE

Wang, Jianfeng; Yuan, Ye; Yu, Gang

2017-01-01

The performance of face detection has been largely improved with the development of convolutional neural network. However, the occlusion issue due to mask and sunglasses, is still a challenging problem. The improvement on the recall of these occluded cases usually brings the risk of high false positives. In this paper, we present a novel face detector called Face Attention Network (FAN), which can significantly improve the recall of the face detection problem in the occluded case without comp...

Safety and efficacy of nano lamellar TiN coatings on nitinol atrial septal defect occluders in vivo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Zhi xiong; Fu, Bu fang; Zhang, De yuan; Zhang, Zhi wei; Cheng, Yan; Sheng, Li yuan; Lai, Chen; Xi, Ting fei

2013-01-01

Atrial septal defect (ASD) occlusion devices made of nickel–titanium (NiTi) have a major shortcoming in that they release nickel into the body. We modified NiTi occluders using Arc Ion Plating technology. Nano lamellar titanium–nitrogen (TiN) coatings were formed on the surfaces of the occluders. The safety and efficacy of the modified NiTi occluders were evaluated in animal model. The results showed that 38 out of 39 rams (97%) survived at the end of the experiment. Fibrous capsules formed on the surfaces of the devices. Gradual endothelialization took place through the attachment of endothelial progenitor cells from the blood and the migration of endothelial cells from adjacent endocardium. The neo-endocardium formed more quickly in the coated group than in the uncoated group, as indicated by the evaluation of the six month study group. After TiN coating, there was no significant difference in endothelial cell cycle. TiN coating significantly reduced the release of nickel in both in vivo and in vitro indicating an improved biocompatibility of the nitinol ASD occluders. Superior and modified ASD occluders may provide a good choice for people with nickel allergies after sFDA registration, which is expected in one to two years. - Highlights: ► The nano lamella TiN coating did not change the shape-memory behavior and flexibility of the nitinol occluder. ► Nano lamella TiN coating modifications significantly reduced nickel release from nitinol ASD occluder. ► The new ASD occluder was found to be superior to nitinol ASD occluder with respect to both safety and efficacy

Safety and efficacy of nano lamellar TiN coatings on nitinol atrial septal defect occluders in vivo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Zhi xiong, E-mail: Top5460@163.com [Research Institute of Peking University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518057 (China); Fu, Bu fang, E-mail: fubnicpbp@163.com [National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing (China); Zhang, De yuan, E-mail: Deyuanzhangcn@yahoo.com.cn [Lifetech Scientific (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., Shenzhen (China); Zhang, Zhi wei, E-mail: Zhzhx65@163.com [Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangzhou (China); Cheng, Yan, E-mail: chengyan@pku.edu.cn [Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing (China); Sheng, Li yuan, E-mail: lysheng@yeah.net [Research Institute of Peking University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518057 (China); Lai, Chen, E-mail: laichen1110@163.com [Research Institute of Peking University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518057 (China); Xi, Ting fei, E-mail: Xitingfie@pku.edu.cn [Research Institute of Peking University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518057 (China); Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing (China)

2013-04-01

Atrial septal defect (ASD) occlusion devices made of nickel–titanium (NiTi) have a major shortcoming in that they release nickel into the body. We modified NiTi occluders using Arc Ion Plating technology. Nano lamellar titanium–nitrogen (TiN) coatings were formed on the surfaces of the occluders. The safety and efficacy of the modified NiTi occluders were evaluated in animal model. The results showed that 38 out of 39 rams (97%) survived at the end of the experiment. Fibrous capsules formed on the surfaces of the devices. Gradual endothelialization took place through the attachment of endothelial progenitor cells from the blood and the migration of endothelial cells from adjacent endocardium. The neo-endocardium formed more quickly in the coated group than in the uncoated group, as indicated by the evaluation of the six month study group. After TiN coating, there was no significant difference in endothelial cell cycle. TiN coating significantly reduced the release of nickel in both in vivo and in vitro indicating an improved biocompatibility of the nitinol ASD occluders. Superior and modified ASD occluders may provide a good choice for people with nickel allergies after sFDA registration, which is expected in one to two years. - Highlights: ► The nano lamella TiN coating did not change the shape-memory behavior and flexibility of the nitinol occluder. ► Nano lamella TiN coating modifications significantly reduced nickel release from nitinol ASD occluder. ► The new ASD occluder was found to be superior to nitinol ASD occluder with respect to both safety and efficacy.

Transcatheter closure of membranous ventricular septal defects with home-made nitinol occluder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Yongwen; Zhao Xianxian; Zheng Xing; Ding Jijun; Cao Jiang

2004-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of transcatheter perimembranous ventricular septal defects (VSD) occlusion with home-made nitinol occluder. Methods: Transcatheter closure was attempted in 196 patients with perimembranous VSD. The diameter of VSD measured by echocardiography was 3 to 15 mm, mean (4.94 ± 2.23) mm. The angiographic diameter of the VSD was 3 to 6 mm, mean (3.92 ± 1.44) mm. A 7-10 F delivery sheath was advanced across the perimembranous VSD over a wire from femoral vein to deploy the occluder with the guidance of echocardiography and fluoroscopy. The device diameter selected was from 4 to 20 mm, mean (6.68 ± 2.76) mm. Left ventriculography and transthoracic echocardiography were repeated to assess the closure of the defects 15 min after the procedure. Continuous electrocardiogram monitoring lasted for 5 days. The echocardiography and electrocardiogram examination were scheduled for 1, 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Results: The occluders were successfully deployed in 191 patients. There were five procedural failures, two with device-related aortic insufficiency, and three of inability to pass through VSD. After deployment of the devices, there were no residual shunt in 180 of 191 patients, 11 patients with a trivial residual shunt that disappeared in 8 patients after one month of follow up. 3 patients developed mild tricuspid insufficiency. 12 developed transient complete right bundle branch block, and 5 transient complete left bundle branch block, and 2 transient complete atrioventricular block. There were repetitive nonparoxysmal ventricular tachycardia in 4 patients 1 week after the procedure. One patient had a detached device embolized into the left pulmonary artery but with a successful catheter retrieval by snare and transcatheter closure. The devices were similarly applied to patients with VSD associated with patent ductus arteriosus, and 4 patients with VSD complicated by atrial septal defects. The fluoroscopy time for the

A neural substrate for object permanence in monkey inferotemporal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Puneeth, N C; Arun, S P

2016-08-03

We take it for granted that objects continue to exist after being occluded. This knowledge - known as object permanence - is present even in childhood, but its neural basis is not fully understood. Here, we show that monkey inferior temporal (IT) neurons carry potential signals of object permanence even in animals that received no explicit behavioral training. We compared two conditions with identical visual stimulation: the same object emerged from behind an occluder as expected following its occlusion, or unexpectedly after occlusion of a different object. Some neurons produced a larger (surprise) signal when the object emerged unexpectedly, whereas other neurons produced a larger (match) signal when the object reappeared as expected. Neurons carrying match signals also reinstated selective delay period activity just before the object emerged. Thus, signals related to object permanence are present in IT neurons and may arise through an interplay of memory and match computations.

[Percutaneous closure of the patent ductus arteriosus in children with the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II].

Science.gov (United States)

Parra-Bravo, José Rafael; Osuna-Izaguirre, Manuel Alfredo; Beirana-Palencia, Luisa; Gálvez-Cancino, Franco; Martínez-Monterrosas, Christian; Lazo-Cárdenas, César; Reyes-Vargas, César

2014-01-01

In the last decades, several devices have been used for the percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus, with its own limitations and risks. The Amplatzer Duct Occluder II has been designed to overcome those limitations and reduce risks. We described our initial series of patients who underwent percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus with the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II, emphasis on the technical aspects of the procedure. We reviewed the clinical records of 9 patients with patent ductus arteriosus who underwent percutaneous closure with the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II. Median age was 24 months (range 8-51 months) and the median weight was 10.7kg (range 6-16.3kg). The minimal ductus arteriosus diameter was 2.7mm (1-5mm). Implantation was successful in all cases. The devices most commonly used (33.3%) were the dimensions 4-4mm (3 patients), in 2 patients were used 3-4mm and in the rest of the patients were employed occluder other sizes. Four cases showed slight residual flow immediately after implantation. Total closure was achieved in 24h in 8 of 9 patients (89%). There was no embolization of the occluder or deaths during the procedure and we only observed one minor complication. The Amplatzer Duct Occluder II in this series was effective in 89% of the patients at 24hs after the procedure and 100% follow-up. The implantation was safe and no major complications were observed. The occlusion rate is comparable to those reported for the Amplatzer Duct Occluder I. Copyright © 2013 Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

What do dogs know about hidden objects?

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Holly C; Rayburn-Reeves, Rebecca; Zentall, Thomas R

2009-07-01

Previous research has found that dogs will search accurately for an invisibly displaced object when the task is simplified and contextual ambiguity is eliminated [Doré, F.Y., Fiset, S., Goulet, S., Dumas, M.-C., Gagnon, S., 1996. Search behavior in cats and dogs: interspecific differences in working memory and spatial cognition. Animal Learning & Behavior 24, 142-149; Miller, H., Gipson, C., Vaughan, A., Rayburn-Reeves, R., Zentall, T.R., 2009. Object permanence in dogs: invisible displacement in a rotation task. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 16 (1), 150-155]. For example, when an object is placed inside an occluder, one of which was attached to each end of a beam that could be rotated 90 degrees , dogs search inside of the appropriate occluder. The current research confirmed this finding and tested the possibility that the dogs were using a perceptual/conditioning mechanism (i.e., their gaze was drawn to the occluder as the object was placed inside and they continued looking at it as it rotated). The test was done by introducing a delay between the displacement of the object and the initiation of the dogs' search. In Experiment 1, during the delay, a barrier was placed between the dog and the apparatus. In Experiment 2, the lights were turned off during the delay. The search accuracy for some dogs was strongly affected by the delay, however, search accuracy for other dogs was not affected. These results suggest that although a perceptual/conditioning mechanism may be involved for some dogs, it cannot account for the performance of others. It is likely that these other dogs showed true object permanence.

Combining soft decision algorithms and scale-sequential hypotheses pruning for object recognition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, V.P.; Manolakos, E.S. [Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States)

1996-12-31

This paper describes a system that exploits the synergy of Hierarchical Mixture Density (HMD) estimation with multiresolution decomposition based hypothesis pruning to perform efficiently joint segmentation and labeling of partially occluded objects in images. First we present the overall structure of the HMD estimation algorithm in the form of a recurrent neural network which generates the posterior probabilities of the various hypotheses associated with the image. Then in order to reduce the large memory and computation requirement we propose a hypothesis pruning scheme making use of the orthonormal discrete wavelet transform for dimensionality reduction. We provide an intuitive justification for the validity of this scheme and present experimental results and performance analysis on real and synthetic images to verify our claims.

Evaluation on occluded hydrocarbon in deep–ultra deep ancient source rocks and its cracked gas resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Li

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Oil-cracked gas, as the main type of high-over mature marine natural gas in China, is mainly derived from occluded hydrocarbon. So it is significant to carry out quantitative study on occluded hydrocarbon. In this paper, the occluded hydrocarbon volume of the main basins in China was calculated depending on their types, abundances and evolution stages by means of the forward method (experimental simulation and the inversion method (geologic profile dissection. And then, occluded hydrocarbon evolution models were established for five types of source rocks (sapropelic, sapropelic prone hybrid, humic prone hybrid, humic and coal. It is shown that the hydrocarbon expulsion efficiency of sapropelic and sapropelic prone hybrid excellent source rocks is lower than 30% at the low-maturity stage, 30%–60% at the principal oil generation stage, and 50%–80% at the high-maturity stage, which are all about 10% higher than that of humic prone hybrid and humic source rocks at the corresponding stages. The resource distribution and cracked gas expulsion of occluded hydrocarbon since the high-maturity stage of marine source rocks in the Sichuan Basin were preliminarily calculated on the basis of the evolution models. The cracked gas expulsion is 230.4 × 1012 m3 at the high evolution stage of occluded hydrocarbon of the Lower Cambrian Qiongzhusi Fm in this basin, and 12.3 × 1012 m3 from the source rocks of Sinian Doushantuo Fm, indicating good potential for natural gas resources. It is indicated that the favorable areas of occluded hydrocarbon cracked gas in the Qiongzhusi Fm source rocks in the Sichuan Basin include Gaoshiti–Moxi, Ziyang and Weiyuan, covering a favorable area of 4.3 × 104 km2.

Safety, dose, and timing of reteplase in treating occluded central venous catheters in children with cancer.

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Terrill, Kelly R; Lemons, Richard S; Goldsby, Robert E

2003-11-01

Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, alteplase, began to be commonly used to restore the patency of occluded central venous catheters (CVCs) as urokinase production was halted in the late 1990s. However, alteplase often requires an extended dwell time to restore patency to occluded CVCs. In adults, reteplase, a newer thrombolytic agent, has been reported to restore patency to CVCs in 30 minutes. The authors prospectively evaluated the safety and efficacy of reteplase in restoring patency to occluded CVCs in children with cancer. This was a dose escalation trial. The dose of reteplase was initiated at 0.1 units and increased by increments of 0.1 units to a maximum dose of 0.4 units. Each dose was tested on at least three participants. Time to patency after reteplase administration was recorded by nurses caring for the patients. Attempts to access the line occurred every 15 minutes for 1 hour. CVCs that remained occluded after 1 hour were treated with alteplase. Reteplase was administered to 15 clotted CVCs. Twelve of the 15 were cleared with an average dwell time of 38 minutes. The time to patency did not appear to correlate with the dose. No adverse events were reported. Reteplase can restore patency to occluded CVCs in a pediatric population. Reteplase appears to have comparable efficacy with alteplase, but reteplase may require shorter dwell times. A prospective, randomized, clinical trial is warranted to determine whether reteplase is as effective as alteplase in restoring patency to occluded CVCs.

Transcatheter closure of ventricular septal defects with nitinol wire occluders of type patent ductus arteriosus.

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Wierzyk, Arkadiusz; Szkutnik, Małgorzata; Fiszer, Roland; Banaszak, Paweł; Pawlak, Szymon; Białkowski, Jacek

2014-01-01

Ventricular septal defects closure (VSD) depending on the anatomy and clinical setting can be performed surgically or by a hybrid and transcatheter approach. Two cases of children with VSD will be presented. Patients' defects were closed with various types of occluders made of nitinol wire mesh occluder, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) type. The first case was a 2.5-year-old boy after cardiosurgical correction of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). After the procedure, a significant haemodynamic residual VSD was observed, which was not successfully closed during the subsequent reoperation. Despite pharmacological treatment, symptoms of heart failure were observed in this patient. In echocardiographic images the residual VSD was presented as a tunnel-like dissection of the ventricular septum (length 6 mm and diameter 3.4 mm). The defect was closed via arterial access with an Amplatzer Duct Occluder II (ADO II). The procedure was successfully performed without any medical complications. In this child, a significant shunt reduction and a noticeable improvement in the patient's clinical status and diminished symptoms of heart failure were noticed. The second patient was a 4-year-old girl suffering from a multi-perforated perimembranous VSD accompanied by a ventricular septal defect with aneurysm. The defect was closed by a venous approach with a PDA Cardio-O-Fix occluder (very similar to ADO I). No short-term or long-term complications were visible during or after the procedure. Only a mild residual shunt through the VSD was observed 6 months afterwards. Transcatheter VSD closure with a proper morphology, with occluders of type Amplatzer Duct Occluder ADO I or ADO II, constitutes a safe and effective therapeutic alternative.

Carotid endarterectomy in cervical block anesthesia in patients with occluded contralateral internal carotid artery

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Ilijevski Nenad

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The goal of modern carotid surgery is relief of symptoms, stroke prevention, improvement in quality of life, prevention of vascular dementia, and prolongation of lifetime. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper was to compare the outcome of carotid endarterectomy in cervical block vs. general anesthesia in patients with occluded contralateral internal carotid artery (ICA. METHOD: One hundred patients (76 male, 24 female, mean age 60.81 years with occluded contralateral ICA were operated from 1997-2000. Neurological symptomatology, deficiency and stroke incidence were preoperatively analyzed in two groups. Duplex-scanning, angiograms and CT-scan confirmed the diagnosis. Risk factors analysis included hypertension, diabetes, lipid metabolism disorders, smoking and history of CAD, CABG and PAOD. Morbidity and mortality were used to compare the outcome of surgery in two groups. RESULTS There was no difference of age, gender and symptomatology between the groups. Paresis, TIA and dysphasia were most frequent. 70%-90% of ICA stenosis was seen in the majority of patients. Hypertension and smoking were dominant risk factors in these two groups. Eversion carotid end arterectomy was the most frequent technique used. In three cases out of nine that were operated under cervical block, the neurological symptoms developed just after clamping, so the intra-luminal shunt was placed. Postoperative morbidity was 12% and mortality was 8%. Conclusion: There was no difference of preoperative parameters, surgical technique and outcome in these two groups. Without other intraoperative monitoring, cervical block anesthesia might be an option in patients with the occlusion of the contralateral ICA. However, prospective studies involving more patients are needed.

Leach resistance properties and release processes for salt-occluded zeolite A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, M.A.; Fischer, D.F.; Laidler, J.J.

1992-01-01

The pyrometallurgical processing of spent fuel from the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) results in a waste of LiCl-KCl-NaCl salt containing approximately 10 wt% fission products, primarily CsCl and SrCl 2 . For disposal, this waste must be immobilized in a form that it is leach resistant. A salt-occluded zeolite has been identified as a potential waste form for the salt. Its leach resistance properties were investigated using powdered samples. The results were that strontium was not released and cesium had a low release, 0.056 g/m 2 for the 56 day leach test. The initial release (within 7 days) of alkali metal cations was rapid and subsequent releases were much smaller. The releases of aluminum and silicon were 0.036 and 0.028 g/m 2 , respectively, and were constant. Neither alkali metal cation hydrolysis nor exchange between cations in the leachate and those in the zeolite was significant. Only sodium release followed t 0.5 kinetics. Selected dissolution of the occluded salt was the primary release process. These results confirm that salt-occluded zeolite has promise as the waste form for IFR pyroprocess salt

Results of the combined U.S. Multicenter Pivotal Study and the Continuing Access Study of the Nit-Occlud PDA device for percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus.

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Moore, John W; Greene, Jessica; Palomares, Salvadore; Javois, Alexander; Owada, Carl Y; Cheatham, John P; Hoyer, Mark H; Jones, Thomas K; Levi, Daniel S

2014-12-01

This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of the Nit-Occlud PDA device (PFM Medical, Cologne, Germany) to benchmarks designed as objective performance criteria (OPC). The Nit-Occlud PDA is a nitinol coil-type patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) occluder with a reverse cone configuration, which is implanted using a controlled delivery system. Patients with closure (clinical and echocardiographic), and safety criteria incidence of adverse events (serious and of total). The Pivotal Study enrolled patients between November 1, 2002 and October 31, 2005, and the Continuing Access Study enrolled additional patients between September 1, 2006 and October 31, 2007. A total of 357 patients were enrolled, and 347 had successful device implantations. After 12 months, 96.8% had complete echocardiographic closure (OPC = 85%) and 98.1% had clinical closure (OPC = 95%). There were no deaths or serious adverse events (OPC = 1%). The total adverse event rate was 4.7% (OPC = 6%). Composite success was 95.1% in the study patients (OPC = 80%). Closure of small- and medium-sized PDA with the Nit-Occlud PDA is effective and safe when compared with OPC. Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Percutaneous closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder.

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Xi, Er-Ping; Zhu, Jian; Zhu, Shui-Bo; Yin, Gui-Lin; Liu, Yong; Dong, Yong-Qiang; Zhang, Yu; Xia, Feng

2012-11-01

Ventricular septal defects resulting from post-traumatic cardiac injury are very rare. Percutaneous closure has emerged as a method for treating this disorder. We wish to report our experience in three patients who underwent percutaneous closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder. We treated three patients with post-traumatic ventricular septal defects caused by stab wounds with knives. After the heart wound was repaired, patient examinations revealed ventricular septal defects with pulmonary/systemic flow ratios (Qp/Qs) of over 1.7. The post-traumatic ventricular septal defects were closed percutaneously with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder (Lifetech Scientific (Shenzhen) Co., LTD, Guangdong, China) utilizing standard techniques. Post-operative transthoracic echocardiography revealed no residual left-to-right shunt and indicated normal ventricular function. In addition, 320-slice computerized tomography showed that the occluder was well placed and exhibited normal morphology. Our experiences indicate that closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect using a patent ductus arteriosus occluder is feasible, safe, and effective.

Long-Term Results of Transcatheter Closure of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Infants Using Amplatzer Duct Occluder

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Behjati-Ardakani, Mostafa; Behjati-Ardakani, Mohammad-Amin; Hosseini, Seyed-Habibolla; Noori, Noormohammad

2013-01-01

Objective Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is one of the most frequently seen congenital heart diseases. Its closure is recommended because of the risk of infective endocardis, as well as morbidity and mortality in the long. The aim of this study was to assess the long term results of the transcatheter closure of PDA in infants using amplatzer duct occlude (ADO). Methods From May 2004 to September 2011, forty eight infants underwent transcatheter closure of PDA. A lateral or right anterior oblique view aortogram was done to locate PDA and to measure its size. Before discharge, repeat aortogram was performed to evaluate eventual residual shunt and to confirm the appropriate deployment of the ADO. Follow up evaluations were done with transthoracic echocardiography at discharge, 1 month, 6 months, 12 months and yearly thereafter. Findings The mean age of patients at procedure was 9.18±2.32 (range 3 to 12) months, mean weight 6.73±1.16 (range 4.5 to 10.1) kg. The PDA occluded completely in 20 out of the 48 patients. Twenty four patients had trivial or mild shunt and two patients had moderate residual shunt which disappeared in one patient within 24 hours and other patient with moderate shunt in 1 month. One patient (age 8 months) had mild LPA stenosis. The device emobolization occurred in two patients, immediately after the procedure in one and during night in the other patient Conclusion The long term results suggested that transcatheter closure of PDA using Amplatzer duct occluder is a safe and effective treatment in infants less than 1 year of age with minimal complications. PMID:24427494

A comparative study assessing a new tool for occluding ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

0.630, p=0.068 and p=0.047, respectively) (Table 2). A comparative study assessing a new tool for occluding parenchymal blood flow during liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. S Zhou, X-J Xue, R-R Li, D-F Chen, W-Y Chen, G-X Liu, ...

Aorto-right atrial fistula secondary to rupture of an occluded old saphenous venous graft to right coronary artery.

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Balestrini, Carlos Sebastian; Saaibi, José Federico; Ortiz, Santiago Navas

2014-09-01

We report a case of an acquired aorta-right atrial fistula, secondary to a ruptured proximal anastomosis of an old saphenous vein graft 12 years after a coronary artery bypass surgery, in a 57 year old patient with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. On admission, he presented with congestive heart failure and on examination a continuous murmur was detected on the right parasternal border. Catheterization showed a fistula from the proximal anastomosis of an occluded right coronary artery saphenous vein graft draining to the right atrium with a large left to right shunt. The fistula was successfully occluded by a percutaneous approach with a Life Tech duct occluder with complete resolution of heart failure. The patient was discharged one week afterwards. After a two-year follow-up, the fistula remained occluded. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Closure of the patent ductus arteriosus with the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II: a clinical experience.

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Karagöz, Tevfik; Akin, Alper; Ertuğrul, Ilker; Aykan, Hayrettin Hakan; Alehan, Dursun; Ozer, Sema; Ozkutlu, Süheyla

2012-12-01

The aim of our study was to share our clinical experience on cases with patent ductus arteriosus treated with the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II. Between 2008 and 2012, 26 of 31 patients with patent ductus arteriosus underwent successful transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus using the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II. Mean age was 3.3 years and mean weight was 15.7 kilograms. The presence of a residual shunt, left pulmonary artery or aortic obstruction was explored by administering contrast material during the procedure. The patients were discharged 24 hours after the procedure. The procedure was successful in 26 of 31 patients and failed in five patients. According to the Krichenko classification, 26 patients had type A, one patient had type B and 4 patients had type C ductus. The mean narrowest ductus diameter was 3.2 mm and the mean ductus length was 6.7 mm. Complete angiographic occlusion occurred immediately after the procedure in 22 out of 26 patients in whom the ductus was closed successfully with the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II. Complete occlusion was achieved in the remaining patients with residual shunt one month after the procedure. The procedure was preceded by closure with an Amplatzer Duct Occluder I in two patients and an Amplatzer Vascular Plug I in one patient. Amplatzer Duct Occluder II is highly effective in transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus. We think that an alternative closure device and alternative techniques can be attempted in patients with type C ductus. The success rate could increase with accumulating experience.

Successful Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration for Gastric Varix Mainly Draining into the Pericardiophrenic Vein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kageyama, Ken; Nishida, N.; Matsui, H.; Yamamoto, A.; Nakamura, K.; Miki, Y.

2012-01-01

Two cases of gastric varices were treated by balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration via the pericardiophrenic vein at our hospital, and both were successful. One case developed left hydrothorax. Gastric varices did not bled and esophageal varices were not aggravated in both cases for 24–30 months thereafter. These outcomes indicate the feasibility of balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration via the pericardiophrenic vein.

Transcatheter Closure of Bilateral Multiple Huge Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations with Homemade Double-Umbrella Occluders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong Hongshan; Xu Ke; Shao Haibo

2008-01-01

A 28-year-old man underwent successful transcatheter occlusion of three huge pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) using homemade double-umbrella occluders and stainless steel coils. Thoracic CT with three-dimensional reconstruction and pulmonary angiography were used for treatment planning and follow-up. The diameters of the feeding vessels were 11 mm, 13 mm, and 14 mm, respectively. This report demonstrates the novel design and utility of the double-umbrella occluder, an alternative tool for treatment of large PAVMs.

Recanalisation of Chronically Occluded Remote Superficial Femoral Artery Endarterectomy Through Angioplasty for Limb Salvage

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Husainy, Mohammad Ali, E-mail: m.husainy@nhs.net [King’s College Hospital, Department of Radiology (United Kingdom); Slim, Hani; Rashid, Hisham [King’s College Hospital, Department of Vascular Surgery (United Kingdom); Huang, Dean Y. [King’s College Hospital, Department of Radiology (United Kingdom)

2017-02-15

We report a novel application of balloon angioplasty to recanalise a chronically occluded remote endarterectomy superficial femoral artery. This patient previously had two occluded surgical bypass grafts in an attempt to revascularise the limb and presented with critical limb ischaemia and necrotic foot ulcerations. Following the angioplasty, the patient showed significant improvement in rest pain and healing of the ulcerations. This technique may be useful for limb salvage in patients where surgical options have been exhausted.

Early experience with the Occlutech PLD occluder for mitral paravalvar leak closure through a hybrid transapical approach.

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Bedair, Radwa; Morgan, Gareth J; Bapat, Vinayak; Kapetanakis, Stamatis; Goreczny, Sebastian; Simpson, John; Qureshi, Shakeel A

2016-12-10

We sought to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of hybrid transapical closure of paravalvar mitral leaks using a new Occlutech PLD occluder in patients with heart failure and/or haemolytic anaemia. Retrospective analysis of clinical and procedural data was undertaken for patients who had attempted closure of paravalvar mitral leaks via a hybrid transapical approach with the Occlutech PLD occluder. Eight patients (four males, median age 69 years) underwent closure of 10 mitral paravalvar leaks using eight Occlutech PLD occluders and two AMPLATZER Vascular Plugs (AVP II). Successful deployment, with significant reduction of the paravalvar leak was achieved in seven patients with short procedure (median 131 min) and fluoroscopy times (median 22 min). One patient had mechanical interference with prosthetic valve function, requiring surgery. Another patient with a high EuroSCORE (48.8%) died of multi-organ failure two days after the procedure. Clinical improvement in either heart failure or haemolysis was seen in all discharged patients. In our series of patients with challenging anatomy, the Occlutech PLD occluders performed well when implanted via a hybrid transapical approach. Further work is needed to assess this methodology fully for a wider population and to assess other deployment approaches for this promising new occluder.

Cardi-O-Fix duct occluder versus Amplatzer duct occluder for closure of patent ductus arteriosus.

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Celebi, Ahmet; Demir, Ibrahim Halil; Saritaş, Türkay; Dedeoğlu, Reyhan; Yucel, Ilker Kemal; Demir, Fadli; Erdem, Abdullah

2013-11-15

We sought to investigate the safety, efficacy, and follow-up results of percutaneous patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure using the novel Cardi-O-Fix duct occluder (CDO), a device similar to but less expensive than the Amplatzer duct occluder (ADO). We also aimed to compare these two devices in terms of results. Between March 2005 and May 2012, 167 patients diagnosed with moderate-to-large PDA underwent transcatheter closure. ADO was used in 56 (33.5%) patients with a mean age of 8.1 ± 11.9 years (3.6 months-56 years), whereas CDO was used in 111 (66.5%) patients with a mean age of 12.6 ± 14.6 years (4.8 months-63 years). The narrowest PDA diameter, the used device diameter, procedure time, fluoroscopy time, and residual shunt rates were similar between the two groups. Procedural success rate was 100% in both groups. Although the residual shunt rate was higher in the CDO group immediately after the procedure, the difference was not statistically significant (12.6 vs. 8.9%; P = 0.3). There was no statistically significant difference between groups at discharge and during follow-up. No deaths occurred in any of the groups, and there were no differences in complication rates during the short- and mid-term follow-up periods (CDO 7/111 vs. ADO 5/56; P = 0.5 π). The CDO can be used for PDA closure because of its safety, effectiveness, and simplicity in use. It is available in bigger sizes and can be used in patients with large defects. According to our short- and mid-term findings, the results it yields are similar to those of the ADO; thus, it may be the preferred choice owing to its low cost and large size variability. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Transcatheter coil occluder for closure of ventricular septal defect (a report of 4 cases)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Wei; Zhou Aiqing; Yu Zhiqing; Li Fen; Zhong Yumin; Zhang Yuqi; Huang Meirong; Sun Kun

2005-01-01

Objective: To explore the indication, methodology and complication of transcatheter coil closure of ventricular septal defect (VSD) in children. Methods: Transcatheter closure of perimembranous VSD with coils was performed in 4 cases from 2003 to 2005. The Duct-Occlude (pfm) and detachable coil (Cook) were chosen for embolization depending on the results of the left ventricular angiogram. The coil size was generally about 1-4 mm larger than the diameter of VSD. Follow up was carried out with echocardiography, ultrasound and clinical examination. Results: The defect diameters of the four cases were 2.0 mm, 2.7 mm, 2.5 mm and 1.5 mm respectively. The Duct-Occlude were successfully implanted in 3 cases of perimembranous VSD with the same type coil (OD[mm]7-3-6, windings 5-3-4) for each. One detachable coil (Cook) (5 x 5) was implanted in the remaining case. All cases had trivial residual shunt immediately after implantation which disappeared 24 hours later. Follow-up for 2 months to one year showed no coil displacement and secondary bacterial arteritis. No tricuspid and aortic regurgitation, no emboli, no endocarditis, and no arrhythmia were found. Conclusions: Coil closure of some small VSD with membranate part pseudo-ventricular aneurysm has good efficacy with the advantages of simple operation, less metal content and mini-invasion also applicable for infants. (authors)

Clinical assessment of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus with severe pulmonary hypertention using Amplatzer occluder

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Xiumin, Han; Xianyang, Zhu; Yuwei, Zhang; Yan, Jin; Dong' an, Deng; Chanju, Hou; Wei, Quan [Shenyang General Hospital, PLA, Shenyang (China)

2004-04-01

Objective: To evaluate the application of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with severe pulmonary hypertention using the Amplatzer occluder device. Methods: Fifty-one cases of PDA with severe pulmonary hypertention were treated by transcatheter closure with Amplatzer occluder. Patients mean age was 9.4 years (ranging 3 months to 60 years) and the mean weight was (18.7 {+-} 13.8) kg (ranging 5.0 to 65.0 kg). The mean PDA diameter at its narrowest segment was (7.0 {+-} 2.4) (ranging 3.0 to 15.0) mm. The achievement of permanent transcatheter closure was decided according to the change of the pulmonary arterial pressure, aortic pressure and oxygen saturation. Results: The devices were successfully placed in all patients except one failure owing to the resistance of pulmonary hypertention. The systolic pulmonary pressure decreased from (84.7 {+-} 13.5) (range 70 to 137) to mmHg to (46.1 {+-} 14.9) (24 to 109) mmHg, and the mean pulmonary pressure decreased from (65.0 {+-} 11.5) (42 to 97) mmHg to (31.3 {+-} 11.6) (14 to 69) mmHg. Complete angiographic closure was seen 10 minutes after the device deployment in 30 out of 50 patients (60%), while trivial to small leak was present in 20 (40%). Complete echocardiographic closure was demonstrated in 49 out of 50 patients (98%) at 10 min, and 100% at 6-month follow-up in all patients. There were no PDA recanalization and migration of devices after the complete occlusion during following up. Conclusion: Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus with severe pulmonary hypertention by using the Amplatzer occluder is a safe and effective interventional method with excellent short-term and middle-term results. (authors)

Clinical assessment of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus with severe pulmonary hypertention using Amplatzer occluder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han Xiumin; Zhu Xianyang; Zhang Yuwei; Jin Yan; Deng Dong'an; Hou Chanju; Quan Wei

2004-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the application of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with severe pulmonary hypertention using the Amplatzer occluder device. Methods: Fifty-one cases of PDA with severe pulmonary hypertention were treated by transcatheter closure with Amplatzer occluder. Patients mean age was 9.4 years (ranging 3 months to 60 years) and the mean weight was (18.7 ± 13.8) kg (ranging 5.0 to 65.0 kg). The mean PDA diameter at its narrowest segment was (7.0 ± 2.4) (ranging 3.0 to 15.0) mm. The achievement of permanent transcatheter closure was decided according to the change of the pulmonary arterial pressure, aortic pressure and oxygen saturation. Results: The devices were successfully placed in all patients except one failure owing to the resistance of pulmonary hypertention. The systolic pulmonary pressure decreased from (84.7 ± 13.5) (range 70 to 137) to mmHg to (46.1 ± 14.9) (24 to 109) mmHg, and the mean pulmonary pressure decreased from (65.0 ± 11.5) (42 to 97) mmHg to (31.3 ± 11.6) (14 to 69) mmHg. Complete angiographic closure was seen 10 minutes after the device deployment in 30 out of 50 patients (60%), while trivial to small leak was present in 20 (40%). Complete echocardiographic closure was demonstrated in 49 out of 50 patients (98%) at 10 min, and 100% at 6-month follow-up in all patients. There were no PDA recanalization and migration of devices after the complete occlusion during following up. Conclusion: Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus with severe pulmonary hypertention by using the Amplatzer occluder is a safe and effective interventional method with excellent short-term and middle-term results. (authors)

A novel method of creation of a fenestration in nitinol occluder devices used in closure of hypertensive patent arterial ducts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anil Kumar Singhi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Test occlusion with a balloon is done to predict operability of large hypertensive patent ductus arteriosus (PDA. If the fall in the pulmonary artery pressures is inadequate, a complete closure is not desired. To create a predictable premeasured fenestration in a nitinol occluder device used for closing hypertensive PDA. A large nitinol occluder device was punctured with an 18G needle to advance a 0.035½ stiff guide wire through the occluder before loading it into the delivery system. The occluder with the guidewire was then deployed across the PDA. A coronary guide catheter was later threaded through the guidewire into the fabric of the device, which was still held by the delivery cable. A coronary stent was deployed across the fenestration in the occluder to keep it patent. An 8-year-old boy with Down syndrome and hypertensive PDA was hemodynamically assessed. Even though there was a fall in the pulmonary vascular resistance index and pressures on test occlusion, the pulmonary artery pressures were labile with fluctuations. A customized fenestration was made in a 16 mm muscular ventricular septal defect occluder (MVSO with a 4.5 mm bare-metal coronary stent. The pulmonary artery pressures remained at half of the aortic pressures after the procedure. This fenestration model precisely and predictably fenestrated a large occluder device used to close a hypertensive large PDA. Long-term patency of these fenestrations has to be assessed on the follow-up, and may be improved through larger fenestrations, systemic anticoagulation and use of covered stents.

Object Permanence and Method of Disappearance: Looking Measures Further Contradict Reaching Measures

Science.gov (United States)

Charles, Eric P.; Rivera, Susan M.

2009-01-01

Piaget proposed that understanding permanency, understanding occlusion events, and forming mental representations were synonymous; however, accumulating evidence indicates that those concepts are "not" unified in development. Infants reach for endarkened objects at younger ages than for occluded objects, and infants' looking patterns suggest that…

Patent ductus arteriosus closure using Occlutech® Duct Occluder, experience in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Pepeta, Lungile; Greyling, Adele; Nxele, Mahlubandile Fintan; Makrexeni, Zongezile Masonwabe

2017-01-01

Percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) has become standard therapy. Experience with the Occlutech® Duct Occluder is limited. Data regarding ductal closure using Occlutech® Duct Occluder were reviewed and prospectively collected. Demographics, hemodynamic and angiographic characteristics, complications, and outcomes were documented. From March 2013 to June 2016, 65 patients (43 females and 22 males) underwent percutaneous closure of the PDA using Occlutech® Duct Occluder. The median age of the patients was 11 months (range, 1-454 months) and the median weight was 8.5 kg (range 2.5-78 kg). The mean pulmonary artery median pressure was 27 mmHg (range, 12-100 mmHg) and the QP: Qs ratio median was 1.8 (range, 1-7.5), with a pulmonary vascular resistance mean of 2.7 WU (standard deviation [SD] ±2.1). Thirty-two patients had Krichenko Type A duct (49%); 7, Type C (11%); 4, Type D (6%); and 22, Type E (34%). The ductal size (narrowest diameter at the pulmonic end) mean was 3.5 mm (SD ± 1.9 mm). The screening time mean was 17.3 min (SD ± 11.6). Out of 63 patients with successful closure of the PDA using Occlutech® Duct Occluder, there were 15 patients with small PDAs; 25 with moderate PDAs, and 23 with large PDAs. In one patient, the device dislodged to the descending aorta, and in two patients, to the right pulmonary artery immediately following deployment, with successful percutaneous (two) and surgical (one) retrieval. Complete ductal occlusion was achieved in all 63 patients on day one. The Occlutech® Duct Occluder is a safe and effective device for closure of ducts in appropriately selected patients.

Total and occluded residual gas content inside the nuclear fuel pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moura, Sergio C.; Fernandes, Carlos E.; Oliveira, Justine R.; Machado, Joyce F.; Guglielmo, Luisa M.; Bustillos, Oscar V.

2009-01-01

This work describes three techniques available to measure total and occluded residual gases inside the UO 2 nuclear fuel pellets. Hydrogen is the major gas compound inside these pellets, due to sintering fabrication process but Nitrogen is present as well, due to storage atmosphere fuel. The total and occluded residual gas content inside these pellets is a mandatory requirement in a quality control to assure the well function of the pellets inside the nuclear reactor. This work describes the Gas Extractor System coupled with mass spectrometry GES/MS, the Gas Extractor System coupled with gas chromatography GES/GC and the total Hydrogen / Nitrogen H/N analyzer as well. In the GES, occlude gases in the UO 2 pellets is determinate using a high temperature vacuum extraction system, in which the minimum limit of detection is in the range 0.002 cc/g. The qualitative and quantitative determination of the amount of gaseous components employs a mass spectrometry or a gas chromatography technique. The total Hydrogen / Nitrogen analyzer employ a thermal conductivity gas detector linked to a gaseous extractor furnace which has a detection limit is in the range 0.005 cc/g. The specification for the residual gas analyses in the nuclear fuel pellets is 0.03 cc/g, all techniques satisfy the requirement but not the nature of the gases due to reaction with the reactor cladding. The present work details the chemical reaction among Hydrogen / Nitrogen and nuclear reactor cladding. (author)

Pan-nitinol occluder and special delivery device for closure of patent ductus arteriosus: a canine-model feasibility study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Hai-bin; Bai, Yuan; Zong, Gang-jun; Han, Lin; Li, Wei-ping; Lu, Yang; Qin, Yong-wen; Zhao, Xian-xian

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate a new type of occluder for patent ductus arteriosus. Patent ductus arteriosus was established in a canine model by anastomosing a length of autologous jugular vein to the descending aorta and the left pulmonary artery in an end-to-side fashion. Transcatheter closure of each patent ductus arteriosus was performed on 10 dogs, which were then monitored for as long as 6 months with aortography, echocardiography, and histologic evaluation. Transcatheter closure with use of the novel pan-nitinol device was successful in all canine models. Postoperative echocardiography showed that the location and shape of the occluders were normal, without any residual shunting. Further histologic evaluation confirmed that the occluder surface was completely endothelialized 3 months after implantation. Transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus closure with the pan-nitinol occluder can be performed safely and successfully in a canine model and shows good biological compatibility and low mortality rates.

Template occluded SBA-15: An effective dissolution enhancer for poorly water-soluble drug

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Tingming; Guo Liwei; Le Kang; Wang Tianyao; Lu Jin

2010-01-01

The aim of the present work was to improve the dissolution rate of piroxicam by inclusion into template occluded SBA-15. Our strategy involves directly introducing piroxicam into as-prepared SBA-15 occluded with P123 (EO 20 PO 70 EO 20 ) by self assembling method in acetonitrile/methylene chloride mixture solution. Ultraviolet spectrometry experiment and thermogravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) profiles show that the piroxicam and P123 contents in the inclusion compound are 12 wt% and 28 wt%, respectively. X-ray powder diffraction and DSC analysis reveal that the included piroxicam is arranged in amorphous form. N 2 adsorption-desorption experiment indicates that the piroxicam has been introduced to the mesopores instead of precipitating at the outside of the silica material. The inclusion compound was submitted to in vitro dissolution tests, the results show that the piroxicam dissolve from template occluded inclusion compound more rapidly, than these from the piroxicam crystalline and template removed samples in all tested conditions. Thus a facile method to improve the dissolution rate of poorly water-soluble drug was established, and this discovery opens a new avenue for the utilization of templates used for the synthesis of mesoporous materials.

Lack of benefit from percutaneous intervention of persistently occluded infarct arteries after the acute phase of myocardial infarction is time independent: insights from Occluded Artery Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Menon, Venu; Pearte, Camille A.; Buller, Christopher E.; Steg, Ph.Gabriel; Forman, Sandra A.; White, Harvey D.; Marino, Paolo N.; Katritsis, Demosthenes G.; Caramori, Paulo; Lasevitch, Ricardo; Loboz-Grudzien, Krystyna; Zurakowski, Aleksander; Lamas, Gervasio A.; Hochman, Judith S.

2009-01-01

Aims The Occluded Artery Trial (OAT) (n = 2201) showed no benefit for routine percutaneous intervention (PCI) (n = 1101) over medical therapy (MED) (n = 1100) on the combined endpoint of death, myocardial infarction (MI), and class IV heart failure (congestive heart failure) in stable post-MI patients with late occluded infarct-related arteries (IRAs). We evaluated the potential for selective benefit with PCI over MED for patients enrolled early in OAT. Methods and results We explored outcomes with PCI over MED in patients randomized to the ≤3 calendar days and ≤7 calendar days post-MI time windows. Earlier, times to randomization in OAT were associated with higher rates of the combined endpoint (adjusted HR 1.04/day: 99% CI 1.01–1.06; P < 0.001). The 48-month event rates for ≤3 days, ≤7 days post-MI enrolled patients were similar for PCI vs. MED for the combined and individual endpoints. There was no interaction between time to randomization defined as a continuous (P = 0.55) or categorical variable with a cut-point of 3 days (P = 0.98) or 7 days (P = 0.64) post-MI and treatment effect. Conclusion Consistent with overall OAT findings, patients enrolled in the ≤3 day and ≤7 day post-MI time windows derived no benefit with PCI over MED with no interaction between time to randomization and treatment effect. Our findings do not support routine PCI of the occluded IRA in trial-eligible patients even in the earliest 24–72 h time window. PMID:19028780

Electronic eye occluder with time-counting and reflection control

Science.gov (United States)

Karitans, V.; Ozolinsh, M.; Kuprisha, G.

2008-09-01

In pediatric ophthalmology 2 - 3 % of all the children are impacted by a visual pathology - amblyopia. It develops if a clear image isn't presented to the retina during an early stage of the development of the visual system. A common way of treating this pathology is to cover the better-seeing eye to force the "lazy" eye to learn seeing. However, children are often reluctant to wear such an occluder because they are ashamed or simply because they find it inconvenient. This fact requires to find a way how to track the regime of occlusion because results of occlusion is a hint that the actual regime of occlusion isn't that what the optometrist has recommended. We design an electronic eye occluder that allows to track the regime of eye occlusion. We employ real-time clock DS1302 providing time information from seconds to years. Data is stored in the internal memory of the CPU (EEPROM). The MCU (PIC16F676) switches on only if a mechanical switch is closed and temperature has reached a satisfactory level. The occlusion is registered between time moments when the infrared signal appeared and disappeared.

Urgent surgical management for embolized occluder devices in childhood: single center experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gokaslan Gokhan

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In this study, we sought to analyze our experience in urgent surgical management for embolized cardiac septal and ductal occluder devices resulting from trans-catheter closure of atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus in childhood patient group. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 9 patients (aged 2–15 years who underwent urgent surgery due to cardiac septal and ductal occluder embolization between January 2007 and December 2010. Congenital defects were atrial septal defect (n = 6, ventricular septal defect (n = 1, and patent ductus arteriosus (n = 2. Risk factors for device embolization and urgent surgical management techniques for embolized device removal were discussed. Results Removal of embolized devices in all cases and repair of damaged tricuspid valve in 2 patients were performed. Inevitably, all congenital defects were closed or ligated up to the primary defect. Total circulator arrest necessitated in 1 patient with ascending aortic device embolization. All operations were completed successfully and no hospital mortality or morbidity was encountered. Conclusions Although closure of left to right shunting defects by percutaneous occluder devices has a lot of advantages, device embolization is still a major complication. If embolized device retrieval fails with percutaneous intervention attempts, surgical management is the only method to remove embolized devices. In this circumstance, to provide an uneventful perioperative course, urgent management strategies should be well planned.

Occluded Brescia-Cimino Hemodialysis Fistulas: Endovascular Treatment with Both Brachial Arterial and Venous Access Using the Pull-Through Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyayama, Shiro; Matsui, Osamu; Taki, Keiichi; Minami, Tetsuya; Shinmura, Rieko; Ito, Chiharu; Takamatsu, Shigeyuki; Kobayashi, Miki; Ushiogi, Yashuyuki

2005-01-01

We retrospectively evaluated the usefulness of both arterial and venous access with the pull-through technique in endovascular treatment of totally occluded Brescia-Cimino fistulas. We treated 26 patients (17 men, 9 women; age range 43-82 years, mean age 66 years) with occluded Brescia-Cimino fistulas. First, the occluded segment was traversed from the antegrade brachial arterial access using a microcatheter-guidewire system. Second, the vein was retrogradely punctured after confirmation of all diseased segments, and a 0.014- or 0.016-inch guidewire was pulled through the venous access when the occluded segment was long. All interventions including thrombolysis, thromboaspiration, angioplasty, and stent placement were performed via the venous access. The occlusion was successfully crossed via the brachial arterial access in 23 patients (88%). In 2 patients it was done from the venous approach. In the remaining patient it was not possible to traverse the occluded segment. The pull-through technique was successful in all 19 attempts. Clinical success was achieved in 96%, the primary patency rates at 6, 12, and 18 months were 83%, 78%, and 69%, the primary assisted patency rates were 92%, 92%, and 72%, and the secondary patency rates were 92%, 92%, and 92%, respectively. Minor complications in 5 patients included venous perforation in 2 (8%), venous rupture in 1 (4%), and regional hematoma in 2 (8%). Our study suggests that endovascular treatments with both arterial and venous access using the pull-through technique are highly effective in restoring function in totally occluded Brescia-Cimino fistulas

Smaller calcite lattice deformation caused by occluded organic material in coccoliths than in mollusk shell

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frølich, Simon; Sørensen, Henning Osholm; Hakim, Sepideh Sadat

2015-01-01

The growth and nucleation of biominerals are directed and affected by associated biological molecules. In this paper, we investigate the influence of occluded biomolecules on biogenic calcite from the coccolithophorid Pleurochrysis carterae and from chalk, a rock composed predominantly of fossil....... Two heating cycles allow us to differentiate the effects of thermal agitation and organic molecules. Single peak analysis and Rietveld refinement were combined to show significant differences resulting from the occluded biomolecules on the mineral phase in biogenic calcite in the mollusk shell...

Template occluded SBA-15: An effective dissolution enhancer for poorly water-soluble drug

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fu Tingming, E-mail: futingming@gmail.com [College of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029 (China); Guo Liwei; Le Kang; Wang Tianyao; Lu Jin [College of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029 (China)

2010-09-15

The aim of the present work was to improve the dissolution rate of piroxicam by inclusion into template occluded SBA-15. Our strategy involves directly introducing piroxicam into as-prepared SBA-15 occluded with P123 (EO{sub 20}PO{sub 70}EO{sub 20}) by self assembling method in acetonitrile/methylene chloride mixture solution. Ultraviolet spectrometry experiment and thermogravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) profiles show that the piroxicam and P123 contents in the inclusion compound are 12 wt% and 28 wt%, respectively. X-ray powder diffraction and DSC analysis reveal that the included piroxicam is arranged in amorphous form. N{sub 2} adsorption-desorption experiment indicates that the piroxicam has been introduced to the mesopores instead of precipitating at the outside of the silica material. The inclusion compound was submitted to in vitro dissolution tests, the results show that the piroxicam dissolve from template occluded inclusion compound more rapidly, than these from the piroxicam crystalline and template removed samples in all tested conditions. Thus a facile method to improve the dissolution rate of poorly water-soluble drug was established, and this discovery opens a new avenue for the utilization of templates used for the synthesis of mesoporous materials.

An in vivo assessment of the effects of using different implant abutment occluding materials on implant microleakage and the peri-implant microbiome

Science.gov (United States)

Rubino, Caroline

Microleakage may be a factor in the progression of peri-implant pathology. Microleakage in implant dentistry refers to the passage of bacteria, fluids, molecules or ions between the abutment-implant interface to and from the surrounding periodontal tissues. This creates a zone of inflammation and reservoir of bacteria at the implant-abutment interface. Bone loss typically occurs within the first year of abutment connection and then stabilizes. It has not yet been definitively proven that the occurrence of microleakage cannot contribute to future bone loss or impede the treatment of peri-implant disease. Therefore, strategies to reduce or eliminate microleakage are sought out. Recent evidence demonstrates that the type of implant abutment channel occluding material can affect the amount of microleakage in an in vitro study environment. Thus, we hypothesize that different abutment screw channel occluding materials will affect the amount of observed microleakage, vis-a-vis the correlation between the microflora found on the abutment screw channel occluding material those found in the peri-implant sulcus. Additional objectives include confirming the presence of microleakage in vivo and assessing any impact that different abutment screw channel occluding materials may have on the peri-implant microbiome. Finally, the present study provides an opportunity to further characterize the peri-implant microbiome. Eight fully edentulous patients restored with at dental implants supporting screw-retained fixed hybrid prostheses were included in the study. At the initial appointment (T1), the prostheses were removed and the implants and prostheses were cleaned. The prostheses were then inserted with polytetrafluoroethylene tape (PTFE, TeflonRTM), cotton, polyvinyl siloxane (PVS), or synthetic foam as the implant abutment channel occluding material and sealed over with composite resin. About six months later (T2), the prostheses were removed and the materials collected. Paper

Survey report on energy transportation systems which use hydrogen-occluding alloys; Suiso kyuzo gokin wo riyoshita energy yuso system chosa hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1992-03-18

Surveyed are systems which use hydrogen-occluding alloys for, e.g., storing and transporting hydrogen. This project is aimed at development of, and extraction of technical problems involved in, the concept of hydrogen energy transportation cycles for producing hydrogen in overseas countries by electrolysis using clean energy of hydraulic energy which are relatively cheap there; transporting hydrogen stored in a hydrogen-occluding alloy by sea to Japan; and converting it into electrical power to be delivered and used there. The surveyed items include current state of development/utilization of hydraulic power resources in overseas countries; pigeonholing the technical issues involved in the hydrogen transportation cycles, detailed studies thereon, and selection of the transportation cycles; current state of research, development and application of hydrogen-occluding alloys for various purposes; extraction of the elementary techniques for the techniques and systems for the hydrogen transportation systems which use hydrogen-occluding alloys; research themes of the future hydrogen-occluding alloys and the application techniques therefor, and research and development thereof; and legislative measures and safety. (NEDO)

Construction of occluded recombinant baculoviruses containing the full-length cry1Ab and cry1Ac genes from Bacillus thuringiensis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B.M. Ribeiro

1998-06-01

Full Text Available The administration of baculoviruses to insects for bioassay purposes is carried out, in most cases, by contamination of food surfaces with a known amount of occlusion bodies (OBs. Since per os infection is the natural route of infection, occluded recombinant viruses containing crystal protein genes (cry1Ab and cry1Ac from Bacillus thuringiensis were constructed for comparison with the baculovirus prototype Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcNPV. The transfer vector pAcUW2B was used for construction of occluded recombinant viruses. The transfer vector containing the crystal protein genes was cotransfected with linearized DNA from a non-occluded recombinant virus. The isolation of recombinant viruses was greatly facilitated by the reduction of background "wild type" virus and the increased proportion of recombinant viruses. Since the recombinant viruses containing full-length and truncated forms of the crystal protein genes did not seem to improve the pathogenicity of the recombinant viruses when compared with the wild type AcNPV, and in order to compare expression levels of the full-length crystal proteins produced by non-occluded and occluded recombinant viruses the full-length cry1Ab and cry1Ac genes were chosen for construction of occluded recombinant viruses. The recombinant viruses containing full-length and truncated forms of the crystal protein genes did not seem to improve its pathogenicity but the size of the larvae infected with the recombinant viruses was significantly smaller than that of larvae infected with the wild type virus.

Intra-arterial high signals on arterial spin labeling perfusion images predict the occluded internal carotid artery segment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sogabe, Shu; Satomi, Junichiro; Tada, Yoshiteru; Kanematsu, Yasuhisa; Kuwayama, Kazuyuki; Yagi, Kenji; Yoshioka, Shotaro; Mizobuchi, Yoshifumi; Mure, Hideo; Yamaguchi, Izumi; Kitazato, Keiko T.; Nagahiro, Shinji; Abe, Takashi; Harada, Masafumi; Yamamoto, Nobuaki; Kaji, Ryuji

2017-01-01

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) involves perfusion imaging using the inverted magnetization of arterial water. If the arterial arrival times are longer than the post-labeling delay, labeled spins are visible on ASL images as bright, high intra-arterial signals (IASs); such signals were found within occluded vessels of patients with acute ischemic stroke. The identification of the occluded segment in the internal carotid artery (ICA) is crucial for endovascular treatment. We tested our hypothesis that high IASs on ASL images can predict the occluded segment. Our study included 13 patients with acute ICA occlusion who had undergone angiographic and ASL studies within 48 h of onset. We retrospectively identified the high IAS on ASL images and angiograms and recorded the occluded segment and the number of high IAS-positive slices on ASL images. The ICA segments were classified as cervical (C1), petrous (C2), cavernous (C3), and supraclinoid (C4). Of seven patients with intracranial ICA occlusion, five demonstrated high IASs at C1-C2, suggesting that high IASs could identify stagnant flow proximal to the occluded segment. Among six patients with extracranial ICA occlusion, five presented with high IASs at C3-C4, suggesting that signals could identify the collateral flow via the ophthalmic artery. None had high IASs at C1-C2. The mean number of high IAS-positive slices was significantly higher in patients with intra- than extracranial ICA occlusion. High IASs on ASL images can identify slow stagnant and collateral flow through the ophthalmic artery in patients with acute ICA occlusion and help to predict the occlusion site. (orig.)

Intra-arterial high signals on arterial spin labeling perfusion images predict the occluded internal carotid artery segment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sogabe, Shu; Satomi, Junichiro; Tada, Yoshiteru; Kanematsu, Yasuhisa; Kuwayama, Kazuyuki; Yagi, Kenji; Yoshioka, Shotaro; Mizobuchi, Yoshifumi; Mure, Hideo; Yamaguchi, Izumi; Kitazato, Keiko T.; Nagahiro, Shinji [Tokushima University Graduate School, Department of Neurosurgery, Tokushima (Japan); Abe, Takashi; Harada, Masafumi [Tokushima University Graduate School, Department of Radiology, Tokushima (Japan); Yamamoto, Nobuaki; Kaji, Ryuji [Tokushima University Graduate School, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Biomedical Biosciences, Tokushima (Japan)

2017-06-15

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) involves perfusion imaging using the inverted magnetization of arterial water. If the arterial arrival times are longer than the post-labeling delay, labeled spins are visible on ASL images as bright, high intra-arterial signals (IASs); such signals were found within occluded vessels of patients with acute ischemic stroke. The identification of the occluded segment in the internal carotid artery (ICA) is crucial for endovascular treatment. We tested our hypothesis that high IASs on ASL images can predict the occluded segment. Our study included 13 patients with acute ICA occlusion who had undergone angiographic and ASL studies within 48 h of onset. We retrospectively identified the high IAS on ASL images and angiograms and recorded the occluded segment and the number of high IAS-positive slices on ASL images. The ICA segments were classified as cervical (C1), petrous (C2), cavernous (C3), and supraclinoid (C4). Of seven patients with intracranial ICA occlusion, five demonstrated high IASs at C1-C2, suggesting that high IASs could identify stagnant flow proximal to the occluded segment. Among six patients with extracranial ICA occlusion, five presented with high IASs at C3-C4, suggesting that signals could identify the collateral flow via the ophthalmic artery. None had high IASs at C1-C2. The mean number of high IAS-positive slices was significantly higher in patients with intra- than extracranial ICA occlusion. High IASs on ASL images can identify slow stagnant and collateral flow through the ophthalmic artery in patients with acute ICA occlusion and help to predict the occlusion site. (orig.)

18 CFR 270.302 - Occluded natural gas produced from coal seams.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... produced from coal seams. 270.302 Section 270.302 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY... produced from coal seams. A person seeking a determination that natural gas is occluded natural gas produced from coal seams must file an application with the jurisdictional agency which contains the...

Unconventional uses of septal occluder devices: Our experience reviewed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neeraj Awasthy

2015-03-01

Conclusion: It is feasible in selected nonseptal defects, which traditionally have been subjected to surgical interventions, to treat successfully, non surgically with the use of non prototype occluder devices without significant complications. Conventionally these devices have not been recommended for closure of nonseptal defects but show good early outcome. Adequate sample size with good follow up data is necessary before concluding that it can be safe alternative to surgery on long term.

DNA unwinding by ring-shaped T4 helicase gp41 is hindered by tension on the occluded strand.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribeck, Noah; Saleh, Omar A

2013-01-01

The replicative helicase for bacteriophage T4 is gp41, which is a ring-shaped hexameric motor protein that achieves unwinding of dsDNA by translocating along one strand of ssDNA while forcing the opposite strand to the outside of the ring. While much study has been dedicated to the mechanism of binding and translocation along the ssDNA strand encircled by ring-shaped helicases, relatively little is known about the nature of the interaction with the opposite, 'occluded' strand. Here, we investigate the interplay between the bacteriophage T4 helicase gp41 and the ss/dsDNA fork by measuring, at the single-molecule level, DNA unwinding events on stretched DNA tethers in multiple geometries. We find that gp41 activity is significantly dependent on the geometry and tension of the occluded strand, suggesting an interaction between gp41 and the occluded strand that stimulates the helicase. However, the geometry dependence of gp41 activity is the opposite of that found previously for the E. coli hexameric helicase DnaB. Namely, tension applied between the occluded strand and dsDNA stem inhibits unwinding activity by gp41, while tension pulling apart the two ssDNA tails does not hinder its activity. This implies a distinct variation in helicase-occluded strand interactions among superfamily IV helicases, and we propose a speculative model for this interaction that is consistent with both the data presented here on gp41 and the data that had been previously reported for DnaB.

[Treatment of removable partial dentures. 2. Causes and consequences of a reduced occlusal system].

Science.gov (United States)

Witter, D J; Barèl, J C; de Baat, C; Keltjens, H M A M; Creugers, N H J

2011-01-01

The occlusal system is part of the orofacial system and consists of the maxillary and mandibular alveolar ridge and teeth which are occluding or not or the removable denture teeth. The most prevalent causes of loss of teeth are insufficient oral self care or inadequate professional oral healthcare service. A reduced dentition can be described in terms of diastemas in the anterior region and number of occluding pairs of (pre)molars, differentiated as interrupted or shortened dental arches. Characteristic of a healthy functional occlusal system are the absence of pathology and the possibility to practice all oral functions without inconvenience. The consequences of a reduced occlusal system may be overload and/or migration of teeth, mandibular instability, and impaired esthetics and chewing function. Morphological and functional alterations can be considered to be adaptations to changed situations or to be pathological. The distinction between adaptation and pathology cannot be sharply defined. If prosthetic replacement of teeth is needed, the trend is to avoid removable partial dentures.

Rethinking infant knowledge: toward an adaptive process account of successes and failures in object permanence tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Munakata, Y; McClelland, J L; Johnson, M H; Siegler, R S

1997-10-01

Infants seem sensitive to hidden objects in habituation tasks at 3.5 months but fail to retrieve hidden objects until 8 months. The authors first consider principle-based accounts of these successes and failures, in which early successes imply knowledge of principles and failures are attributed to ancillary deficits. One account is that infants younger than 8 months have the object permanence principle but lack means-ends abilities. To test this, 7-month-olds were trained on means-ends behaviors and were tested on retrieval of visible and occluded toys. Means-ends demands were the same, yet infants made more toy-guided retrievals in the visible case. The authors offer an adaptive process account in which knowledge is graded and embedded in specific behavioral processes. Simulation models that learn gradually to represent occluded objects show how this approach can account for success and failure in object permanence tasks without assuming principles and ancillary deficits.

Magnetic targeting to enhance microbubble delivery in an occluded microarterial bifurcation.

Science.gov (United States)

de Saint Victor, M; Carugo, D; Barnsley, L C; Owen, J; Coussios, C-C; Stride, E

2017-09-05

Ultrasound and microbubbles have been shown to accelerate the breakdown of blood clots both in vitro and in vivo. Clinical translation of this technology is still limited, however, in part by inefficient microbubble delivery to the thrombus. This study examines the obstacles to delivery posed by fluid dynamic conditions in occluded vasculature and investigates whether magnetic targeting can improve microbubble delivery. A 2D computational fluid dynamic model of a fully occluded Y-shaped microarterial bifurcation was developed to determine: (i) the fluid dynamic field in the vessel with inlet velocities from 1-100 mm s -1 (corresponding to Reynolds numbers 0.25-25); (ii) the transport dynamics of fibrinolytic drugs; and (iii) the flow behavior of microbubbles with diameters in the clinically-relevant range (0.6-5 µm). In vitro experiments were carried out in a custom-built microfluidic device. The flow field was characterized using tracer particles, and fibrinolytic drug transport was assessed using fluorescence microscopy. Lipid-shelled magnetic microbubbles were fluorescently labelled to determine their spatial distribution within the microvascular model. In both the simulations and experiments, the formation of laminar vortices and an abrupt reduction of fluid velocity were observed in the occluded branch of the bifurcation, severely limiting drug transport towards the occlusion. In the absence of a magnetic field, no microbubbles reached the occlusion, remaining trapped in the first vortex, within 350 µm from the bifurcation center. The number of microbubbles trapped within the vortex decreased as the inlet velocity increased, but was independent of microbubble size. Application of a magnetic field (magnetic flux density of 76 mT, magnetic flux density gradient of 10.90 T m -1 at the centre of the bifurcation) enabled delivery of microbubbles to the occlusion and the number of microbubbles delivered increased with bubble size and with decreasing inlet

Salt-occluded zeolite waste forms: Crystal structures and transformability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richardson, J.W. Jr.

1996-01-01

Neutron diffraction studies of salt-occluded zeolite and zeolite/glass composite samples, simulating nuclear waste forms loaded with fission products, have revealed complex structures, with cations assuming the dual roles of charge compensation and occlusion (cluster formation). These clusters roughly fill the 6--8 angstrom diameter pores of the zeolites. Samples are prepared by equilibrating zeolite-A with complex molten Li, K, Cs, Sr, Ba, Y chloride salts, with compositions representative of anticipated waste systems. Samples prepared using zeolite 4A (which contains exclusively sodium cations) as starting material are observed to transform to sodalite, a denser aluminosilicate framework structure, while those prepared using zeolite 5A (sodium and calcium ions) more readily retain the zeolite-A structure. Because the sodalite framework pores are much smaller than those of zeolite-A, clusters are smaller and more rigorously confined, with a correspondingly lower capacity for waste containment. Details of the sodalite structures resulting from transformation of zeolite-A depend upon the precise composition of the original mixture. The enhanced resistance of salt-occluded zeolites prepared from zeolite 5A to sodalite transformation is thought to be related to differences in the complex chloride clusters present in these zeolite mixtures. Data relating processing conditions to resulting zeolite composition and structure can be used in the selection of processing parameters which lead to optimal waste forms

Survey research report by the hydrogen occluding alloy utilization development committee; Suiso kyuzo gokin riyo kaihatsu iinkai chosa kenkyu hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1985-03-01

This report summarizes the FY 1984 survey research results, issued by the hydrogen occluding alloy utilization development committee. The basic property subcommittee is responsible for collecting published data related to the basic properties of metal halides as much as possible, and pigeonholing them to have the data which can contribute to development of the new alloys for basic researches and engineering applications of hydrogen occluding alloys. The subcommittee members have collected these data. The common theme subcommittee has planned to collect the P-C-T diagrams of the hydrogen occluding alloys and new alloys as much as possible, for the designs, development, production and system designs of the hydrogen occluding alloys. The P-C-T diagrams have been collected for a total of 340 types of alloys, which fall into the broad categories of Mg-based, TiFe-based, TiMn-based, other Ti-based, rare-earth-based, Zr-based, Ca-based and others. The analytical methods have been also investigated while collecting P-C-T diagrams. (NEDO)

Densification of salt-occluded zeolite a powders to a leach-resistant monolith

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, M.A.; Fischer, D.F.; Murhpy, C.D.

1993-01-01

Pyrochemical processing of spent fuel from the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) yields a salt waste of LiCl-KCl that contains approximately 6 wt% fission products, primarily as CsCl and SrCl 2 . Past work has shown that zeolite A will preferentially sorb cesium and strontium and will encapsulate the salt waste in a leach-resistant, radiation-resistant aluminosilicate matrix. However, a method is sill needed to convert the salt-occluded zeolite powders into a form suitable for geologic disposal. We are thus investigating a method that forms bonded zeolite by hot pressing a mixture of glass frit and salt-occluded zeolite powders at 990 K (717 degree C) and 28 MPa. The leach resistance of the bonded zeolite was measured in static leach tests run for 28 days in 363 K (90 degree C) deionized water. Normalized release rates of all elements in the bonded zeolite were low, 2 d. Thus, the bonded zeolite may be a suitable waste form for IFR salt waste

Multiple-object permanence tracking: limitation in maintenance and transformation of perceptual objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Saiki, Jun

2002-01-01

Research on change blindness and transsaccadic memory revealed that a limited amount of information is retained across visual disruptions in visual working memory. It has been proposed that visual working memory can hold four to five coherent object representations. To investigate their maintenance and transformation in dynamic situations, I devised an experimental paradigm called multiple-object permanence tracking (MOPT) that measures memory for multiple feature-location bindings in dynamic situations. Observers were asked to detect any color switch in the middle of a regular rotation of a pattern with multiple colored disks behind an occluder. The color-switch detection performance dramatically declined as the pattern rotation velocity increased, and this effect of object motion was independent of the number of targets. The MOPT task with various shapes and colors showed that color-shape conjunctions are not available in the MOPT task. These results suggest that even completely predictable motion severely reduces our capacity of object representations, from four to only one or two.

How to manage a case of aymptomatic thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysm with occluded mesenteric arteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abhisekh Mohanty

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We report a unique case of a 57-year-old male having a suprarenal thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysm which is extending till the origin of superior mesenteric artery (SMA. The origins of celiac artery and SMA were totally occluded and filled retrogradely through dense collateral vessels arising from the inferior mesenteric artery. Surprisingly, the patient was not having any symptoms related to mesenteric ischemia. We decided to use a conventional aortic aneurysm stent graft to repair it without revascularizing the occluded mesenteric arteries. After 1 month, CT aortogram was repeated which revealed a well-apposed stent graft with no endoleaks. He did not have any clinical signs and symptoms attributable to mesenteric ischemia.

An Infectious Pseudoaneurysm Caused by Ventricular Septal Defect Occluder in Patent Ductus Arteriosus Closure in a Two-Year-Old Child.

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Li, Dingyang; Qiu, Qiu; Jin, Jing; Zhang, Changdong; Wang, Lijun; Zhang, Gangcheng

2017-12-12

We present a case of an infectious pseudoaneurysm after patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure with a ventricular septal defect (VSD) occluder in a two-year-old child. The aneurysm grew rapidly but was successfully removed in time and the patient survived. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an infectious pseudoaneurysm caused by VSD occluder in PDA closure.

Indocyanine green videoangiography (ICGV)-guided surgery of parasagittal meningiomas occluding the superior sagittal sinus (SSS).

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d'Avella, Elena; Volpin, Francesco; Manara, Renzo; Scienza, Renato; Della Puppa, Alessandro

2013-03-01

Maximal safe resection is the goal of correct surgical treatment of parasagittal meningiomas, and it is intimately related to the venous anatomy both near and directly involved by the tumor. Indocyanine green videoangiography (ICGV) has already been advocated as an intra-operative resourceful technique in brain tumor surgery for the identification of vessels. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of ICGV in surgery of parasagittal meningiomas occluding the superior sagittal sinus (SSS). In this study, we prospectively analyzed clinical, radiological and intra-operative findings of patients affected by parasagittal meningioma occluding the SSS, who underwent ICGV assisted-surgery. Radiological diagnosis of complete SSS occlusion was pre-operatively established in all cases. ICGV was performed before dural opening, before and during tumor resection, at the end of the procedure. Five patients were included in our study. In all cases, ICGV guided dural opening, tumor resection, and venous management. The venous collateral pathway was easily identified and preserved in all cases. Radical resection was achieved in four cases. Surgery was uneventful in all cases. Despite the small number of patients, our study shows that ICG videoangiography could play a crucial role in guiding surgery of parasagittal meningioma occluding the SSS. Further studies are needed to define the role of this technique on functional and oncological outcome of these patients.

[Effects of removable partial dentures on the quality of life in people with shortened dental arches].

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Armellini, D B; Heydecke, G; Witter, D J; Creugers, N H J

2009-12-01

In order to assess the enhanced value of removable partial dentures on the quality of life, patients at 2 university clinics were screened for the presence of complete or shortened dental arches. Those selected were assigned to 1 of 5 subgroups: 1) a shortened dental arch with all frontal teeth, 2) a shortened dental arch with one or more frontal diastemas, 3) a shortened dental arch with all frontal teeth, restored by a removable partial denture, 4) a shortened dental arch and several diastemas, restored by a removable partial denture, 5) a complete dental arch. The participants completed the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-49) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Clinical data recorded were: whether any teeth were missing and if so which, whether or not these had been replaced by a removable partial denture, and the number of occluding pairs of (pre)molars. The results revealed that a shortenend dental arch has a certain impact on the quality of life. However, the participants only experienced benefits from a removable partial denture if the denture also replaced frontal teeth.

Septic Complication After Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration of Duodenal Variceal Bleeding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akasaka, Thai; Shibata, Toshiya; Isoda, Hiroyoshi; Taura, Kojiro; Arizono, Shigeki; Shimada, Kotaro; Togashi, Kaori

2010-01-01

We report a 64-year-old woman with duodenal varices who underwent balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO) complicated by intraprocedural variceal rupture. The patient developed shivering and a fever higher than 40 o C 3 days after the B-RTO procedure. A blood culture grew Entereobacter cloacoe. This case represents a rare septic complication of B-RTO for duodenal varices.

Sex differences in visual realism in drawings of animate and inanimate objects.

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Lange-Küttner, Chris

2011-10-01

Sex differences in a visually realistic drawing style were examined using the model of a curvy cup as an inanimate object, and the Draw-A-Person test (DAP) as a task involving animate objects, with 7- to 12-year-old children (N = 60; 30 boys). Accurately drawing the internal detail of the cup--indicating interest in a depth feature--was not dependent on age in boys, but only in girls, as 7-year-old boys were already engaging with this cup feature. However, the age effect of the correct omission of an occluded handle--indicating a transition from realism in terms of function (intellectual realism) to one of appearance (visual realism)--was the same for both sexes. The correct omission of the occluded handle was correlated with bilingualism and drawing the internal cup detail in girls, but with drawing the silhouette contour of the cup in boys. Because a figure's silhouette enables object identification from a distance, while perception of detail and language occurs in nearer space, it was concluded that boys and girls may differ in the way they conceptualize depth in pictorial space, rather than in visual realism as such.

3D noise-resistant segmentation and tracking of unknown and occluded objects using integral imaging

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Aloni, Doron; Jung, Jae-Hyun; Yitzhaky, Yitzhak

2017-10-01

Three dimensional (3D) object segmentation and tracking can be useful in various computer vision applications, such as: object surveillance for security uses, robot navigation, etc. We present a method for 3D multiple-object tracking using computational integral imaging, based on accurate 3D object segmentation. The method does not employ object detection by motion analysis in a video as conventionally performed (such as background subtraction or block matching). This means that the movement properties do not significantly affect the detection quality. The object detection is performed by analyzing static 3D image data obtained through computational integral imaging With regard to previous works that used integral imaging data in such a scenario, the proposed method performs the 3D tracking of objects without prior information about the objects in the scene, and it is found efficient under severe noise conditions.

Effect of non-Newtonian characteristics of blood on magnetic particle capture in occluded blood vessel

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Bose, Sayan; Banerjee, Moloy

2015-01-01

Magnetic nanoparticles drug carriers continue to attract considerable interest for drug targeting in the treatment of cancer and other pathological conditions. Magnetic carrier particles with surface-bound drug molecules are injected into the vascular system upstream from the desired target site, and are captured at the target site via a local applied magnetic field. Herein, a numerical investigation of steady magnetic drug targeting (MDT) using functionalized magnetic micro-spheres in partly occluded blood vessel having a 90° bent is presented considering the effects of non-Newtonian characteristics of blood. An Eulerian-Lagrangian technique is adopted to resolve the hemodynamic flow and the motion of the magnetic particles in the flow using ANSYS FLUENT. An implantable infinitely long cylindrical current carrying conductor is used to create the requisite magnetic field. Targeted transport of the magnetic particles in a partly occluded vessel differs distinctly from the same in a regular unblocked vessel. Parametric investigation is conducted and the influence of the insert configuration and its position from the central plane of the artery (zoffset), particle size (dp) and its magnetic property (χ) and the magnitude of current (I) on the "capture efficiency" (CE) is reported. Analysis shows that there exists an optimum regime of operating parameters for which deposition of the drug carrying magnetic particles in a target zone on the partly occluded vessel wall can be maximized. The results provide useful design bases for in vitro set up for the investigation of MDT in stenosed blood vessels.

[Percutaneous closure of ductus arteriosus and muscular ventricular defect with amplatzer occluder in a patient with severe pulmonary hypertension].

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García-Montes, José Antonio; Zabal Cerdeira, Carlos; Calderón-Colmenero, Juan; Espínola, Nilda; Fernández de la Reguera, Guillermo; Buendía Hernández, Alfonso

2005-01-01

Surgical treatment of multiple muscular ventricular septal defects with associated lesions and severe pulmonary hypertension has a high morbility and mortality. Closure of these defects by the Amplatzer muscular VSD occluder is an alternative to surgery, avoiding the need of cardiopulmonary bypass. We present the case of a 38 year-old woman with signs of heart failure in NYHA functional class IV, with two muscular ventricular septal defects, patent ductus arteriosus and severe pulmonary hypertension, that were treated with three Amplatzer muscular VSD occluders, with significant reduction of pulmonary pressure and functional class improvement.

Mathematical programming model for heat exchanger design through optimization of partial objectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onishi, Viviani C.; Ravagnani, Mauro A.S.S.; Caballero, José A.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Rigorous design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers according to TEMA standards. • Division of the problem into sets of equations that are easier to solve. • Selected heuristic objective functions based on the physical behavior of the problem. • Sequential optimization approach to avoid solutions stuck in local minimum. • The results obtained with this model improved the values reported in the literature. - Abstract: Mathematical programming can be used for the optimal design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers (STHEs). This paper proposes a mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) model for the design of STHEs, following rigorously the standards of the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association (TEMA). Bell–Delaware Method is used for the shell-side calculations. This approach produces a large and non-convex model that cannot be solved to global optimality with the current state of the art solvers. Notwithstanding, it is proposed to perform a sequential optimization approach of partial objective targets through the division of the problem into sets of related equations that are easier to solve. For each one of these problems a heuristic objective function is selected based on the physical behavior of the problem. The global optimal solution of the original problem cannot be ensured even in the case in which each of the sub-problems is solved to global optimality, but at least a very good solution is always guaranteed. Three cases extracted from the literature were studied. The results showed that in all cases the values obtained using the proposed MINLP model containing multiple objective functions improved the values presented in the literature

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Two Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Voice Therapy Protocols

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Kapsner-Smith, Mara R.; Hunter, Eric J.; Kirkham, Kimberly; Cox, Karin; Titze, Ingo R.

2015-01-01

Purpose: Although there is a long history of use of semi-occluded vocal tract gestures in voice therapy, including phonation through thin tubes or straws, the efficacy of phonation through tubes has not been established. This study compares results from a therapy program on the basis of phonation through a flow-resistant tube (FRT) with Vocal…

[Lung perfusion studies after percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus using the Amplatzer Duct Occluder in children].

Science.gov (United States)

Parra-Bravo, José Rafael; Apolonio-Martínez, Adriana; Estrada-Loza, María de Jesús; Beirana-Palencia, Luisa Gracia; Ramírez-Portillo, César Iván

2015-01-01

The closure of patent ductus arteriosus with multiple devices has been associated with a reduction in lung perfusion. We evaluated the pulmonary perfusion after percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus with the Amplatzer Duct Occluder device using perfusion lung scan. Thirty patients underwent successful percutaneous patent ductus arteriosus occlusions using the Amplatzer Duct Occluder device were included in this study. Lung perfusion scans were preformed 6 months after the procedure. Peak flow velocities and protrusion of the device were analyzed by Doppler echocardiography. A left lung perfusionductus arteriosus and the minimum and maximum diameter/length of the ductus arteriosus ratio were statistically significant in patients with abnormalities of lung perfusion. It was observed protrusion the device in 6 patients with a higher maximum flow rate in the left pulmonary artery. The left lung perfusion may be compromised after percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus with the Amplatzer Duct Occluder. The increased flow velocity in the origin of the left pulmonary artery can be a poor indicator of reduction in pulmonary perfusion and can occur in the absence of protrusion of the device. Copyright © 2014 Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Facial expression recognition under partial occlusion based on fusion of global and local features

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Wang, Xiaohua; Xia, Chen; Hu, Min; Ren, Fuji

2018-04-01

Facial expression recognition under partial occlusion is a challenging research. This paper proposes a novel framework for facial expression recognition under occlusion by fusing the global and local features. In global aspect, first, information entropy are employed to locate the occluded region. Second, principal Component Analysis (PCA) method is adopted to reconstruct the occlusion region of image. After that, a replace strategy is applied to reconstruct image by replacing the occluded region with the corresponding region of the best matched image in training set, Pyramid Weber Local Descriptor (PWLD) feature is then extracted. At last, the outputs of SVM are fitted to the probabilities of the target class by using sigmoid function. For the local aspect, an overlapping block-based method is adopted to extract WLD features, and each block is weighted adaptively by information entropy, Chi-square distance and similar block summation methods are then applied to obtain the probabilities which emotion belongs to. Finally, fusion at the decision level is employed for the data fusion of the global and local features based on Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence. Experimental results on the Cohn-Kanade and JAFFE databases demonstrate the effectiveness and fault tolerance of this method.

Comparison of axial lengths in occludable angle and angle-closure glaucoma-The Bhaktapur Glaucoma Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thapa, S.S.; Paudyal, I.; Khanal, S.; Paudel, N.; van Rens, G.H.M.B.

2011-01-01

Purpose. To compare the anterior chamber depth (ACD) and axial length of eyes in a population-based sample among normal, occludable angle, and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) groups. Methods. Totally, 3979 subjects from a population-based glaucoma prevalence study underwent complete ocular

Determination of occluded helium and oxygen in irradiated borosilicate glass samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramanjaneyulu, P.S.; Kulkarni, A.S.; Shrivastava, K.C.; Yadav, C.S.; Saxena, M.K.; Tomar, B.S.; Ramakumar, K.L.; Shah, J.G.

2015-01-01

Occluded gases in irradiated borosilicate glass were determined at 573, 873 and 1273 K for understanding the radiation damage in glass matrix. Hot vacuum extraction coupled with a quadrupole mass spectrometer technique was employed for the measurements. Relative sensitivity factors of various gases in QMS system were also determined and used for gas composition calculations. At 573 K only helium was found to get released whereas at 873 and 1273 K both helium and oxygen were released with major fraction of oxygen. (author)

Sympathetic responses during saline infusion into the veins of an occluded limb.

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Cui, Jian; McQuillan, Patrick; Moradkhan, Raman; Pagana, Charles; Sinoway, Lawrence I

2009-07-15

Animal studies have shown that the increased intravenous pressure stimulates the group III and IV muscle afferent fibres, and in turn induce cardiovascular responses. However, this pathway of autonomic regulation has not been examined in humans. The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that infusion of saline into the venous circulation of an arterially occluded vascular bed evokes sympathetic activation in healthy individuals. Blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) responses were assessed in 19 young healthy subjects during local infusion of 40 ml saline into a forearm vein in the circulatory arrested condition. From baseline (11.8 +/- 1.2 bursts min(-1)), MSNA increased significantly during the saline infusion (22.5 +/- 2.6 bursts min(-1), P Blood pressure also increased significantly during the saline infusion. Three control trials were performed during separate visits. The results from the control trial show that the observed MSNA and blood pressure responses were not due to muscle ischaemia. The present data show that saline infusion into the venous circulation of an arterially occluded vascular bed induces sympathetic activation and an increase in blood pressure. We speculate that the infusion under such conditions stimulates the afferent endings near the vessels, and evokes the sympathetic activation.

Amplatzer angled duct occluder for closure of patent ductus arteriosus larger than the aorta in an infant.

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Vijayalakshmi, I B; Chitra, N; Rajasri, R; Prabhudeva, A N

2005-01-01

Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) by Amplatzer duct occluder is the treatment of choice. However, closure of very large ducts in infants with low weight is a challenge for the interventionalist because a large device may obstruct the aorta or left pulmonary artery. Difficulty is also encountered in advancing the device around the curve of the right ventricular outflow tract toward the pulmonary artery; this curve is tight, more or less at a right angle in infants, leading to kinking of the sheath, which increases fluoroscopic time. This is the first reported case of a very large PDA (8.7 mm), larger than the aorta (8.2 mm), successfully closed by an Amplatzer angled duct occluder in an infant weighing 5 kg.

Quantitative analysis of occluded gases in uranium dioxide pellets by the mass spectrometry technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vega Bustillos, J.O.W.; Rodrigues, C.; Iyer, S.S.

1981-05-01

A quantitative analysis of different components of occluded gases except water in uranium dioxide pellets is attempted here. A high temperature vacuum extration system is employed for the liberation and the determination of total volume of the occluded gases. A mass spectrometric technique is employed for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of these gases. The UO 2 pellets are placed in a graphite crucible and are subjected to varing temperatures (1000 0 C - 1700 0 C). The liberated gases are dehydrated and transferred to a measuring unit consisting essentially of a Toepler pump and a McLeod gauge. In this system the total volume of the gases liberated at N. T. P. is determined with a sensitivity of 0.002 cm 3 /g of UO 2 . An aliquot of the liberated gas is introduced into a quadrupole mass spectrometer (VGA-100 Varian Corp.) for the determination of the different components of the gas. On the basis of the analysis suggestions are made for the possible sources of these gas components. (Author) [pt

Object Occlusion Detection Using Automatic Camera Calibration for a Wide-Area Video Surveillance System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaehoon Jung

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an object occlusion detection algorithm using object depth information that is estimated by automatic camera calibration. The object occlusion problem is a major factor to degrade the performance of object tracking and recognition. To detect an object occlusion, the proposed algorithm consists of three steps: (i automatic camera calibration using both moving objects and a background structure; (ii object depth estimation; and (iii detection of occluded regions. The proposed algorithm estimates the depth of the object without extra sensors but with a generic red, green and blue (RGB camera. As a result, the proposed algorithm can be applied to improve the performance of object tracking and object recognition algorithms for video surveillance systems.

Budget impact analysis of the percutaneous septal occluder for treatment of ostium secundum atrial septal defects in the Brazilian Unified National Health System.

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Senna, Kátia Marie Simões e; Sarti, Flavia Mori; Costa, Márcia Gisele Santos da; Nita, Marcelo Eidi; Santos, Marisa da Silva; Tura, Bernardo Rangel; Correia, Marcelo Goulart

2015-08-01

The aim of this study was to perform a budget impact analysis on the adoption of percutaneous occlusion of ostium secundum atrial septal defects in the Brazilian Unified National Health System. Costs were collected using micro-costing technique from medical records for each treatment technique (conventional surgery versus percutaneous septal occluder) at a public federal hospital specialized in high-complexity cardiology. The analysis showed that expenditures associated with percutaneous occlusion were lower than with conventional surgery, and sensitivity analysis confirmed the cost reduction in several scenarios, showing a significant budget impact with a 30% adoption rate for the percutaneous occluder (savings of approximately 1.5 million dollars per year). The study indicates that the adoption of the percutaneous septal occluder would mean cost savings of approximately 3.5 million dollars for the Brazilian public health system.

Treatment of Occluded Distal Splenorenal Shunts with Endovascular Stents: A Report of Two Cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez-Medina, Antonio; Peiro, Javier; Gonzalez de Garay, Miguel; Antonana, Miguel A.; Sustacha, Jon; Grande, Domingo

2001-01-01

Surgical treatment of an occluded or stenotic portosystemic shunt is difficult and carries a high risk of mortality. We report two cases of early thrombosis of distal splenorenal shunt (DSRS) successfully treated by transcatheter recanalization and stent placement. At 18-month follow-up, the patients remained asymptomatic and control venograms showed continued patency of the shunt with no evidence of stenosis or collaterals

Cryopreserved recombinant tissue plasminogen activator for the restoration of occluded central venous access devices in pediatric oncology patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iqbal, Y.; Al-Katheri, A.; Al-Sedairy, R.; Al-Omari, A.; Abdullah, Mohammed F.; Crankson, S.

2002-01-01

Thrombolytic therapy with urokinase 5000 units has been the standard therapy for restoration of thrombosed central catheters. However, with the decreased availability of urokinase, alternatives needed to be sought. The aim of the study was to determine the efficacy, bioactivity, dwell time and cost of cryopreserved recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rTPA) in the restoration of occluded central venous access devices. For children 10kg, a dose of 1 mg was used. The dwell time was 1-2 hours. Of the 40 courses of rTPA, 39 fully restored central venous line patency (97%). Successful courses were instilled for an average of 1 hour. Cryopreserved rTPA appears to be safe and effective in the dose used to restore the patency of occluded central venous access devices in pediatric oncology patients. (author)

Balloon-occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (BRTO): Technique and Intraprocedural Imaging

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Sabri, Saher S.; Saad, Wael E. A.

2011-01-01

Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) is an endovascular technique used as a therapeutic adjunct or alternative to transjugular intrahepatic shunts (TIPS) in the management of gastric varices. Occlusion balloons are strategically placed to modulate flow within the gastrorenal or gastrocaval shunt to allow stagnation of the sclerosant material within the gastric varix. The approach and complexity of the procedure depends on the anatomic classification of inflow and outflow veins of the varix. Ethanolamine oleate has been described as the main sclerosant used in this procedure. Recently, foam sclerosants have gained popularity as alternative embolization agents, which provide the advantage of better variceal wall contact and potentially less dose of sclerosant. PMID:22942548

Transcatheter Closure of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Children with the Occlutech Duct Occluder.

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Bilici, Meki; Demir, Fikri; Akın, Alper; Türe, Mehmet; Balık, Hasan; Kuyumcu, Mahir

2017-12-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, efficacy and safety of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with the Occlutech duct occluder (ODO) in children. We reviewed the clinical records of 71 patients who underwent percutaneous closure of PDA with an ODO between September 2014 and August 2016. The Occlutech duct occluder was applied to 71 patients during the study period (September 2014-August 2016), and the results were analyzed in this study. Forty-two of the patients were female and 29 male. The median age was 20.5 months (range, 6-194 months) and median weight was 16 kg (range, 6-68 kg). The PDA was classified as type A in 54 patients (76.1%), type E in 14 (19.7%), type C in 2 (2.8%) and type B in 1 (1.4%) based on the Krichenko classification. A standard ODO device was used for the transcatheter closure procedure in 66 patients and the long-shank ODO device in 5. In the echocardiographic measurement of PDA, the median smallest diameter was 2.7 mm (range, 1.5-7.0 mm), and in the angiographic measurement, the median smallest diameter was 2.5 mm (range, 1.5-6.5 mm). All 71 patients underwent successful PDA closure with the ODO. Angiography following the procedure showed complete closure in 47 patients (66.2%), mild residual shunt in 13 patients (18.3%) and a trivial shunt in 11 patients (15.5%). Color flow Doppler echocardiogpaphy at 24 h post-implantation showed that complete closure was achieved in 65 patients (91.5%), and 6 patients (8.5%) had mild residual shunt. All patients (100%) had complete closure at 30 days of follow-up. The results of this study showed that the Occlutech PDA occluder device is safe and effective in the closure of PDA. As the pulmonary artery side of the device is wider than the aortic side, protrusion toward the aortic side and embolization are prevented, but there is residual shunt in the early period, although this residual shunt disappeared after a few months.

Metaphysical conspiracism: UFOs as discursive object between popular millennial and conspiracist fields

OpenAIRE

Robertson, David George

2014-01-01

This thesis argues that narratives about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) act as the central point of contact between conspiracist and popular millennial fields. Their confluence has come to form a field here termed ‘metaphysical conspiracism’, combining teleological narratives, the promise of soteriological knowledge and the threat of occluded malevolent agencies. I argue that metaphysical conspiracism offers a unique perspective on the interplay of knowledge, power and the ...

Different chemical composition of free light, occluded light and extractable SOM fractions in soils of Cerrado and tilled and untilled fielfds, Minas Gerais, Brazil: a pyrolysis-GC/MS study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buurman, P.; Roscob, R.

2011-01-01

To investigate both the effect of land-use systems on SOM characteristics and the effect of occlusion in aggregates on chemical composition of the occluded fraction, SOM fractions of soils under Cerrado, no-tillage and conventional tillage, were investigated. Free light, occluded light and

Transcatheter Retrieval of Embolized Atrial Septal Defect Occluder Device by Waist Capture Technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Her, Ae-Young; Lim, Kyung-Hun; Shin, Eun-Seok

2018-01-27

This case study describes the successful percutaneous transcatheter retrieval of an embolized Amplatzer occluder device using the "waist capture technique" in a patient with an atrial septal defect. This technique allowed for stability of the Amplatzer device, compression of the atrial discs for easier removal, prevention of further embolization, and minimal injury to vasculature during device retrieval. This novel and effective technique can be used safely for the retrieval of Amplatzer devices in the venous system.

Hepatic Encephalopathy Secondary to Intrahepatic Portosystemic Venous Shunt: Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Embolization with n-Butyl Cyanoacrylate and Microcoils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamagami, Takuji; Nakamura, Toshiyuki; Iida, Shigeharu; Kato, Takeharu; Tanaka, Osamu; Matsushima, Shigenori; Ito, Hirotoshi; Okuyama, Chio; Ushijima, Yo; Shiga, Kensuke; Nishimura, Tsunehiko

2002-01-01

We report a 70-year-old woman with hepatic encephalopathy due to an intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunt that was successfully occluded by percutaneous transcatheter embolization with n-butyl cyanoacrylate and microcoils

Balloon occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration of bleeding stomal varices using sodium tetradecyl sulfate foam: A case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ji Chang; Yang, Po Sang; Lee, Yeon Soo; Kim, Hyun Jeong; Park, Gun

2015-01-01

A small varix is an uncommon complication with a high mortality rate occurring secondary to portal hypertension in patients with a stoma. We describe a case of recurrent stomal varix bleeding successfully managed by balloon occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration using sodium tetradecyl sulfate foam.

Balloon occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration of bleeding stomal varices using sodium tetradecyl sulfate foam: A case report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Ji Chang; Yang, Po Sang; Lee, Yeon Soo; Kim, Hyun Jeong; Park, Gun [Dept. of Radiology, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Daejeon St. Mary' s Hospital, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

A small varix is an uncommon complication with a high mortality rate occurring secondary to portal hypertension in patients with a stoma. We describe a case of recurrent stomal varix bleeding successfully managed by balloon occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration using sodium tetradecyl sulfate foam.

Impact of National Clinical Guideline Recommendations for Revascularization of Persistently Occluded Infarct-Related Arteries on Clinical Practice in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Deyell, Marc W.; Buller, Christopher E.; Miller, Louis H.; Wang, Tracy Y.; Dai, David; Lamas, Gervasio A.; Srinivas, Vankeepuram S.; Hochman, Judith S.

2013-01-01

Background The Occluded Artery Trial (OAT) was a large, randomized controlled trial published in 2006 that demonstrated no benefit to routine percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of persistently totally occluded infarct-related arteries (IRA) identified a minimum of 24 hours (on calendar days 3–28) after myocardial infarction (MI). The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of OAT results and consequent change in guideline recommendations for PCI for treatment of persistently occluded IRAs. Methods We identified all patients enrolled in the CathPCI Registry, from 2005 to 2008, undergoing catheterization more than 24 hours after MI with a totally occluded native coronary artery and no major OAT exclusion criteria. We examined trends in monthly rates of PCI for occlusions after OAT publication and after guideline revisions. Because reporting of diagnostic catheterizations was not mandatory, we examined trends among hospitals in the highest quartile for reporting of diagnostic procedures. Results A total of 28 780 patient visits from 896 hospitals were included. Overall, we found no significant decline in the adjusted monthly rate of PCI of occlusions after publication of OAT (odds ratio [OR], 0.997; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.989–1.006) or after guideline revisions (OR, 1.007; 95% CI, 0.992–1.022). Among hospitals consistently reporting diagnostic catheterizations, there was no significant decline after OAT publication (OR, 1.018; 95% CI, 0.995–1.042), and there was a trend toward decline after guideline revisions (OR, 0.963; 95% CI, 0.920–1.000). Conclusion These findings suggest that the results of OAT and consequent guideline revisions have not, to date, been fully incorporated into clinical practice in a large cross-section of hospitals in the United States. PMID:21747002

Object-based attention in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

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Ushitani, Tomokazu; Imura, Tomoko; Tomonaga, Masaki

2010-03-17

We conducted three experiments to investigate how object-based components contribute to the attentional processes of chimpanzees and to examine how such processes operate with regard to perceptually structured objects. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees responded to a spatial cueing task that required them to touch a target appearing at either end of two parallel rectangles. We compared the time involved in shifting attention (cost of attentional shift) when the locations of targets were cued and non cued. Results showed that the cost of the attentional shift within one rectangle was smaller than that beyond the object's boundary, demonstrating object-based attention in chimpanzees. The results of Experiment 2, conducted with different stimulus configurations, replicated the results of Experiment 1, supporting that object-based attention operates in chimpanzees. In Experiment 3, the cost of attentional shift within a cued but partly occluded rectangle was shorter than that within a rectangle that was cued but divided in the middle. The results suggest that the attention of chimpanzees is activated not only by an explicit object but also by fragmented patches represented as an object at a higher-order perceptual level. Chimpanzees' object-based attention may be similar to that of humans. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Partial thyroid arterial embolization for the treatment of hyperthyroidism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brzozowski, Krzysztof; Piasecki, Piotr; Zięcina, Piotr; Frankowska, Emilia; Jaroszuk, Andrzej; Kamiński, Grzegorz; Bogusławska-Walecka, Romana

2012-01-01

Background: Hyperactive thyroid gland in patients that are unable to tolerate or accept standard therapy is a common clinical problem. Aim of the study was to evaluate effectiveness of partial thyroid arterial embolization in patients with hyperthyroidism. Material/methods: From May 2004 to November 2005 partial thyroid gland embolization was performed in 15 patients. Mean thyroid gland volume was 162 ml. Embolization of one to three thyriod arteries was performed with the mixture of Histoacryl and Lipiodol. Selective angiography was performed after embolization to ensure that the targeted arteries were completely occluded. Follow-up study covered 12 patients. Results: The embolization procedure was well tolerated by all patients. Three days after embolization fT3 and fT4 levels were higher than before the procedure. Further laboratory tests showed quick reversal to near-normal or normal levels of thyroid hormones. 12 weeks follow-up showed: normal serum levels of fT3, fT4 and TSH in 9 of 12 patients (75%), hyperthyroidism in 3 of 12 patients (25%), goiter volume reduction of approximately 32% of its original volume (from 13 to 76.3%), mean thyroid gland volume of 94 ml. One year after embolization 7 of 12 patients required thyreostatic drugs. At two and four years follow-up thyreostatics doses were significantly lower and thyroid tissue was fibrotic. Conclusions: Based on our results the treatment of the thyroid gland goiters using arterial thyroid gland partial embolization may be offered as an effective alternative for patients who will not or cannot accept standard therapy.

In vivo production of recombinant proteins using occluded recombinant AcMNPV-derived baculovirus vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Guijarro-Pardo, Eva; Gómez-Sebastián, Silvia; Escribano, José M

2017-12-01

Trichoplusia ni insect larvae infected with vectors derived from the Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), are an excellent alternative to insect cells cultured in conventional bioreactors to produce recombinant proteins because productivity and cost-efficiency reasons. However, there is still a lot of work to do to reduce the manual procedures commonly required in this production platform that limit its scalability. To increase the scalability of this platform technology, a current bottleneck to be circumvented in the future is the need of injection for the inoculation of larvae with polyhedrin negative baculovirus vectors (Polh-) because of the lack of oral infectivity of these viruses, which are commonly used for production in insect cell cultures. In this work we have developed a straightforward alternative to obtain orally infective vectors derived from AcMNPV and expressing recombinant proteins that can be administered to the insect larvae (Trichoplusia ni) by feeding, formulated in the insect diet. The approach developed was based on the use of a recombinant polyhedrin protein expressed by a recombinant vector (Polh+), able to co-occlude any recombinant Polh- baculovirus vector expressing a recombinant protein. A second alternative was developed by the generation of a dual vector co-expressing the recombinant polyhedrin protein and the foreign gene of interest to obtain the occluded viruses. Additionally, by the incorporation of a reporter gene into the helper Polh+ vector, it was possible the follow-up visualization of the co-occluded viruses infection in insect larvae and will help to homogenize infection conditions. By using these methodologies, the production of recombinant proteins in per os infected larvae, without manual infection procedures, was very similar in yield to that obtained by manual injection of recombinant Polh- AcMNPV-based vectors expressing the same proteins. However, further analyses will be required for a

Ileal Varices Treated with Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration.

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Takahiro; Yamazaki, Katsu; Toyota, Jouji; Karino, Yoshiyasu; Ohmura, Takumi; Akaike, Jun

2009-04-01

A 55-year-old man with hepatitis B virus antigen-positive liver cirrhosis was admitted to our hospital with anal bleeding. Colonoscopy revealed blood retention in the entire colon, but no bleeding lesion was found. Computed tomography images showed that vessels in the ileum were connected to the right testicular vein, and we suspected ileal varices to be the most probable cause of bleeding. We immediately performed double balloon enteroscopy, but failed to find any site of bleeding owing to the difficulty of fiberscope insertion with sever adhesion. Using a balloon catheter during retrograde transvenous venography, we found ileal varices communicating with the right testicular vein (efferent vein) with the superior mesenteric vein branch as the afferent vein of these varices. We performed balloon occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration by way of the efferent vein of the varices and have detected no further bleeding in this patient one year after treatment.

Inhibitory Control Interacts with Core Knowledge in Toddlers' Manual Search for an Occluded Object

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Sara T.; Gjersoe, Nathalia L.; Sibielska-Woch, Kasia; Leslie, Alan M.; Hood, Bruce M.

2011-01-01

Core knowledge theories advocate the primacy of fundamental principles that constrain cognitive development from early infancy. However, there is concern that core knowledge of object properties does not constrain older preschoolers' reasoning during manual search. Here we address in detail both failure and success on two well-established search…

Application of Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration to Gastric Varices Complicating Refractory Ascites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuda, Tetsuya; Hirota, Shozo; Matsumoto, Shinichi; Sugimoto, Koji; Fujii, Masahiko; Tsurusaki, Masakatsu; Izaki, Kenta; Sugimura, Kazuro

2004-01-01

We report two cases of gastric varices complicated by massive ascites that disappeared after balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO). The first patient had progressive gastric varices that continued to enlarge even after three episodes of esophagogastric variceal bleeding, and the second patient was admitted to our hospital because of the bleeding from gastric varices. After B-RTO procedures in both patients, significant improvement of the ascites, hepatic function reserve, and hypoalbuminemia was observed. Although further experience is needed, our experience points to the likelihood of the amelioration of ascites after B-RTO

Energy regulation in China: Objective selection, potential assessment and responsibility sharing by partial frontier analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia, X.H.; Chen, Y.B.; Li, J.S.; Tasawar, H.; Alsaedi, A.; Chen, G.Q.

2014-01-01

To cope with the excessive growth of energy consumption, the Chinese government has been trying to strengthen the energy regulation system by introducing new initiatives that aim at controlling the total amount of energy consumption. A partial frontier analysis is performed in this paper to make a comparative assessment of the combinations of possible energy conservation objectives, new constraints and regulation strategies. According to the characteristics of the coordination of existing regulation structure and the optimality of regulation strategy, four scenarios are constructed and regional responsibilities are reasonably divided by fully considering the production technology in the economy. The relative importance of output objectives and the total amount controlling is compared and the impacts on the regional economy caused by the changes of regulation strategy are also evaluated for updating regulation policy. - Highlights: • New initiatives to control the total amount of energy consumption are evaluated. • Twenty-four regulation strategies and four scenarios are designed and compared. • Crucial regions for each sector and regional potential are identified. • The national goals of energy abatement are decomposed into regional responsibilities. • The changes of regulation strategy are evaluated for updating regulation policy

Comparison of Coil Embolization and Sclerotherapy of Collateral Veins during Balloon Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration: Its Long Term Effect for Gastric Varix Treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An, Eun Jung; Kim, Young Hwan; Kim, Seee Hyung

2011-01-01

We compared the long term effect gastric varix treatment between coil embolization and sclerotherapy of collateral veins during balloon occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO). Between February 2004 and November 2008 48 patients with gastric varix bleeding successfully treated with BRTO 23 underwent embolization of collateral veins during BRTO were enrolled in this study. In patients, collateral veins were embolized with the use of microcoil (group 1). Agent (5% ethanolamine oleate + lipiodol) was used in the remaining 7 patients (Group 2). Recurrence and rebleeding of gastric varix were evaluated by endoscopy or CT. Gastric varix recurred in 4 patients (17.4%) and rebleeding occurred in 2 (8.7%). Recurrence (57.1%, p 0.001) and rebleeding (28.6%, p = 0.029) of gastric occurred in group 2. CT finding within 6 months in partial or complete thrombosis without lipiodol uptake in gastric varix, gastric varix recurred on follow up CT. Coil embolization of collateral veins during BRTO may promote complete obliteration of gastric varix, provide lower recurrence and rebleeding rates of gastric sclerosing agent on long term follow-up.

ST-depression in right precordial leads with inferior STEMI and occluded right coronary artery: intertwined anatomy and ischemic areas.

Science.gov (United States)

De Gennaro, Luisa; Brunetti, Natale Daniele; Ruggiero, Massimo; Rutigliano, David; Locuratolo, Nicola; Di Biase, Matteo; Caldarola, Pasquale

2017-10-01

Right coronary artery (RCA) occlusion in inferior acute myocardial infarction is usually heralded by ST-elevation both in inferior and in right precordial leads. We report the case of a 68-year-old male, who presented marked ST-elevation in inferior leads, mirrored by ST-depression in anterior-septal and lateral leads. Right precordial lead electrocardiogram unexpectedly showed ST-depression V1R-V5R leads. Coronary angiography showed mid-left anterior descending (LAD) coronary near-complete occlusion with distal wrapping LAD. Left circumflex artery was not occluded, while RCA was occluded mid tract. The patient was treated with coronary angioplasty on RCA and LAD. Absence of ST-elevation in right precordial leads may be presumably explained by the presence of a large ischemic area distal to mid-LAD near-occlusive stenosis and of a long-wrapping LAD. Complex coronary anatomy and intertwined ischemic areas may underlie apparently discording electrocardiograms.

Adherent Raindrop Modeling, Detectionand Removal in Video.

Science.gov (United States)

You, Shaodi; Tan, Robby T; Kawakami, Rei; Mukaigawa, Yasuhiro; Ikeuchi, Katsushi

2016-09-01

Raindrops adhered to a windscreen or window glass can significantly degrade the visibility of a scene. Modeling, detecting and removing raindrops will, therefore, benefit many computer vision applications, particularly outdoor surveillance systems and intelligent vehicle systems. In this paper, a method that automatically detects and removes adherent raindrops is introduced. The core idea is to exploit the local spatio-temporal derivatives of raindrops. To accomplish the idea, we first model adherent raindrops using law of physics, and detect raindrops based on these models in combination with motion and intensity temporal derivatives of the input video. Having detected the raindrops, we remove them and restore the images based on an analysis that some areas of raindrops completely occludes the scene, and some other areas occlude only partially. For partially occluding areas, we restore them by retrieving as much as possible information of the scene, namely, by solving a blending function on the detected partially occluding areas using the temporal intensity derivative. For completely occluding areas, we recover them by using a video completion technique. Experimental results using various real videos show the effectiveness of our method.

Unsupervised markerless 3-DOF motion tracking in real time using a single low-budget camera.

Science.gov (United States)

Quesada, Luis; León, Alejandro J

2012-10-01

Motion tracking is a critical task in many computer vision applications. Existing motion tracking techniques require either a great amount of knowledge on the target object or specific hardware. These requirements discourage the wide spread of commercial applications based on motion tracking. In this paper, we present a novel three degrees of freedom motion tracking system that needs no knowledge on the target object and that only requires a single low-budget camera that can be found installed in most computers and smartphones. Our system estimates, in real time, the three-dimensional position of a nonmodeled unmarked object that may be nonrigid, nonconvex, partially occluded, self-occluded, or motion blurred, given that it is opaque, evenly colored, enough contrasting with the background in each frame, and that it does not rotate. Our system is also able to determine the most relevant object to track in the screen. Our proposal does not impose additional constraints, therefore it allows a market-wide implementation of applications that require the estimation of the three position degrees of freedom of an object.

The strategic value of partial vertical integration

OpenAIRE

Fiocco, Raffaele

2014-01-01

We investigate the strategic incentives for partial vertical integration, namely, partial ownership agreements between manufacturers and retailers, when retailers privately know their costs and engage in differentiated good price competition. The partial misalignment between the profit objectives within a partially integrated manufacturer-retailer hierarchy entails a higher retail price than under full integration. This `information vertical effect' translates into an opposite ...

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of an occluded surgical splenorenal shunt in a 4-year-old child after liver transplantation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yussim, Ethan; Belenky, Alexander; Atar, Eli [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Rabin Medical Center, Vascular and Interventional Radiology Unit, Petah Tikva (Israel); Shapiro, Rivka [Schneider Children' s Medical Center, Institute of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Petah Tikva (Israel); Mor, Eytan [Rabin Medical Center, Department of Organ Transplantation, Petah Tikva (Israel)

2005-07-01

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty is increasingly used in children. We present a case of successful balloon angioplasty of an occluded surgical splenorenal shunt in a 4-year-old child who underwent liver transplantation because of biliary atresia. Percutaneous reopening of the shunt is a relatively safe procedure that may spare patients of surgical intervention. (orig.)

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of an occluded surgical splenorenal shunt in a 4-year-old child after liver transplantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yussim, Ethan; Belenky, Alexander; Atar, Eli; Shapiro, Rivka; Mor, Eytan

2005-01-01

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty is increasingly used in children. We present a case of successful balloon angioplasty of an occluded surgical splenorenal shunt in a 4-year-old child who underwent liver transplantation because of biliary atresia. Percutaneous reopening of the shunt is a relatively safe procedure that may spare patients of surgical intervention. (orig.)

Efficacy and safety of balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration with sodium tetradecyl sulfate liquid sclerotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Il Soo; Park, Sang Woo; Kwon, So Young; Cheo, Won Hyeok; Cheon, Young Koog; Shim, Chan Sup; Lee, Tae Yoon; Kim, Jeong Han [Digestive Disease Center, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-04-15

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) with sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) liquid sclerotherapy of gastric varices. Between February 2012 and August 2014, STS liquid sclerotherapy was performed in 17 consecutive patients (male:female = 8:9; mean age 58.6 years, range 44-86 years) with gastric varices. Retrograde venography was performed after occlusion of the gastrorenal shunt using a balloon catheter and embolization of collateral draining veins using coils or gelfoam pledgets, to evaluate the anatomy of the gastric varices. We prepared 2% liquid STS by mixing 3% STS and contrast media in a ratio of 2:1. A 2% STS solution was injected into the gastric varices until minimal filling of the afferent portal vein branch was observed (mean 19.9 mL, range 6-33 mL). Patients were followed up using computed tomography (CT) or endoscopy. Technical success was achieved in 16 of 17 patients (94.1%). The procedure failed in one patient because the shunt could not be occluded due to the large diameter of gastrorenal shunt. Complete obliteration of gastric varices was observed in 15 of 16 patients (93.8%) with follow-up CT or endoscopy. There was no rebleeding after the procedure. There was no procedure-related mortality. BRTO using STS liquid can be a safe and useful treatment option in patients with gastric varices.

Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus and interruption of inferior vena cava with azygous continuation using an Amplatzer duct occluder II

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koh Ghee

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We report a case of transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus using the new Amplatzer duct occluder II in an adult patient with interrupted inferior vena cava with azygous continuation via the femoral artery approach.

Multiple Object Permanence Tracking: Maintenance, Retrieval and Transformation of Dynamic Object Representations

OpenAIRE

Saiki, Jun

2008-01-01

Multiple object permanence tracking (MOPT) task revealed that our ability of maintaining and transforming multiple representations of complex feature-bound objects is limited to handle only 1-2 objects. Often reported capacity of 3-5 objects likely reflects memory for partial representations of objects and simple cases such as just color and their locations. Also, performance in multiple object tracking (MOT) task is likely mediated by spatiotemporal indices, not by feature-bound object repre...

Prospective evaluation of the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of Cocoon Duct Occluder for transcatheter closure of large patent ductus arteriosus: A single-center study with short- and medium-term follow-up results

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, Santosh Kumar; Razi, Mahmadula; Pandey, Rama Niwas; Kumar, Prakash; Krishna, Vinay; Jha, Mukesh Jitendra; Mishra, Vikas; Asif, Mohammad; Abdali, Nasar; Tewari, Pradyot; Thakur, Ramesh; Pandey, Umeshwar; Varma, Chandra Mohan

2017-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of a novel Cocoon Duct Occluder device for the transcatheter closure (TCC) of large patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Methods: In this prospective, non-randomized study, consecutive patients with large PDA (narrowest diameter: ≥3.5/4.0 mm in symptomatic/asymptomatic patients, respectively), who underwent TCC with Cocoon Duct Occluder at our institute between November, 2012 and June, 2016 were examined. TCC was performed using the standard technique, and devices were antegradely delivered via 6–10F delivery sheaths. Device embolization, residual shunt, hemolysis, left pulmonary artery (LPA) stenosis, procedural and fluoroscopy time, and mortality were assessed. Patients were followed-up by transthoracic echocardiography with color Doppler imaging at 24 h (D1), 1 month (D30), and 6 months (D180) after implantation. Results: A total of 57 patients (age: 11.7±2.8 years; weight: 22.3±3.5 kg) were enrolled. The mean narrowest diameter was 7.4±0.7 mm. The PDA closure was successfully performed in each patient. Fluoroscopy and procedural time was 6.7±3.2 min and 23.9±2.7 min, respectively. Postprocedural angiography revealed that 49 (85.9%) patients had immediate and complete closure, whereas 8 (14.1%) had residual shunt. Color Doppler imaging at D1 revealed complete closure in 52 (91.3%) patients. At D30, complete closure was reported in all patients and was maintained at D180. Hemolysis, embolization, obstruction of LPA or descending aorta, and death were not reported till D180. Conclusion: TCC using Cocoon Duct Occluder is feasible, safe, and effective in the management of patients with large PDA, with excellent results on short- and medium-term follow-up. PMID:29145233

The two C-terminal tyrosines stabilize occluded Na/K pump conformations containing Na or K ions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vedovato, Natascia; Gadsby, David C

2010-07-01

Interactions of the three transported Na ions with the Na/K pump remain incompletely understood. Na/K pump crystal structures show that the extended C terminus of the Na,K-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) alpha subunit directly contacts transmembrane helices. Deletion of the last five residues (KETYY in almost all Na/K pumps) markedly lowered the apparent affinity for Na activation of pump phosphorylation from ATP, a reflection of cytoplasmic Na affinity for forming the occluded E1P(Na3) conformation. ATPase assays further suggested that C-terminal truncations also interfere with low affinity Na interactions, which are attributable to extracellular effects. Because extracellular Na ions traverse part of the membrane's electric field to reach their binding sites in the Na/K pump, their movements generate currents that can be monitored with high resolution. We report here electrical measurements to examine how Na/K pump interactions with extracellular Na ions are influenced by C-terminal truncations. We deleted the last two (YY) or five (KESYY) residues in Xenopus laevis alpha1 Na/K pumps made ouabain resistant by either of two kinds of point mutations and measured their currents as 10-mM ouabain-sensitive currents in Xenopus oocytes after silencing endogenous Xenopus Na/K pumps with 1 microM ouabain. We found the low affinity inhibitory influence of extracellular Na on outward Na/K pump current at negative voltages to be impaired in all of the C-terminally truncated pumps. Correspondingly, voltage jump-induced transient charge movements that reflect pump interactions with extracellular Na ions were strongly shifted to more negative potentials; this signals a several-fold reduction of the apparent affinity for extracellular Na in the truncated pumps. Parallel lowering of Na affinity on both sides of the membrane argues that the C-terminal contacts provide important stabilization of the occluded E1P(Na3) conformation, regardless of the route of Na ion entry into the

RTSAH Traversal Order for Occlusion Rays

KAUST Repository

Ize, Thiago

2011-04-01

We accelerate the finding of occluders in tree based acceleration structures, such as a packetized BVH and a single ray kd-tree, by deriving the ray termination surface area heuristic (RTSAH) cost model for traversing an occlusion ray through a tree and then using the RTSAH to determine which child node a ray should traverse first instead of the traditional choice of traversing the near node before the far node. We further extend RTSAH to handle materials that attenuate light instead of fully occluding it, so that we can avoid superfluous intersections with partially transparent objects. For scenes with high occlusion, we substantially lower the number of traversal steps and intersection tests and achieve up to 2× speedups. © 2010 The Author(s).

RTSAH Traversal Order for Occlusion Rays

KAUST Repository

Ize, Thiago; Hansen, Charles

2011-01-01

We accelerate the finding of occluders in tree based acceleration structures, such as a packetized BVH and a single ray kd-tree, by deriving the ray termination surface area heuristic (RTSAH) cost model for traversing an occlusion ray through a tree and then using the RTSAH to determine which child node a ray should traverse first instead of the traditional choice of traversing the near node before the far node. We further extend RTSAH to handle materials that attenuate light instead of fully occluding it, so that we can avoid superfluous intersections with partially transparent objects. For scenes with high occlusion, we substantially lower the number of traversal steps and intersection tests and achieve up to 2× speedups. © 2010 The Author(s).

Area at risk and collateral circulation in a first acute myocardial infarction with occluded culprit artery. STEMI vs non-STEMI patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Figueras, Jaume; Otaegui, Imanol; Marti, Gerard; Domingo, Enric; Bañeras, Jordi; Barrabés, José A; Del Blanco, Bruno Garcia; Garcia-Dorado, David

2018-05-15

It is unclear why among patients with first acute myocardial infarction and an occluded culprit artery only some present ST segment elevation. In fact, there is no study that compares the angiographic area at risk and the collateral circulation in first NSTEMI vs STEMI patients. 205 patients admitted for myocardial infarction with occluded culprit artery were included, 132 STEMI and 73 NSTEMI. Demographic data, the area at risk determined by the BARI score and collateral supply by the Rentrop score from the 2 groups were compared. NSTEMI patients showed lower peak Tn I than STEMI in the overall group but also in the 3 subsets with different culprit arteries (p collaterals (Rentrop score ≥ 2, 1.82 vs 0.41, p collateral blood supply than STEMI patients in each of the 3 main culprit arteries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transcatheter occlusion of perimembranous ventricular septal defects with Amplatzer duct occluder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Sengen; Kang Kang; Wu Danning; Shi Hong; Wu Jingzhang; Yang Mei; Han Feizhou; Zhou Fei; Zhu Zhijun

2003-01-01

Objective: To study the feasibility of congenital perimembranous ventricular septal defect (VSD) occlusion by Amplatzer duct occluder (ADO) and to establish guidelines for its safe and effective application. Methods: From May 2001 to December 2002, percutaneous transcatheter occlusion of congenital perimembranous VSD was performed in 41 patients, in which 18 patients had an associated aneurysm of the membranous septum. There were 20 male and 21 female subjects, with age ranging from 6 to 38 years (median 14.9) and weights of 18 to 62 kg (median 41.5). The diameter of VSD ranged from 4 to 12.8 mm (median 6.0), and the distance of VSD to the aortic valve were 4.5 to 12 mm (median 6.6). The ratio of pulmonary to systemic blood flow (Qp/Qs) was 1.4 to 2.6 (median 1.7) and the pulmonary systolic pressure was 19 to 34 mmHg (median 25). Results: All the patients underwent successfully complete occlusion of VSD with ADO, and the size of ADO ranged from 6/4 to 16/14 mm. After the procedure, left ventricular angiography and transthoracic echocardiography showing the ADOs were precisely placed inside the VSDs with no residual shunt and also no abnormalities revealed by auscultation. Chest X-ray showed the relief of congestion of the lungs. Electrocardiogram demonstrated complete left bundle branch block in one case and incomplete right bundle branch block in other 12 cases, all disappeared within 1 to 2 weeks. Over a period of 2 to 21 months follow-up, all the devices maintained in good position and the patients' condition turned much better. No patient developed aortic or tricuspid regurgitation and other complications. Conclusions: ADO is a safe, effective and convenient occlusion device which could be practically applied for the congenital perimembranous VSDs

Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy With Potassium-titanyl-phosphate Laser Versus Conventional Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy: An Animal Randomized Controlled Trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rioja, Jorge; Morcillo, Esther; Novalbos, José P.; Sánchez-Hurtado, Miguel A.; Soria, Federico; Pérez-Duarte, Francisco; Díaz-Güemes Martín-Portugüés, Idoia; Laguna, Maria Pilar; Sánchez-Margallo, Francisco Miguel; Rodríguez-Rubio Cortadellas, Federico

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE To explore the feasibility, safety, and short-term results of potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (KTP-LPN) vs conventional laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (C-LPN). MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty large white female pigs were randomized to KTP-LPN or

Perceiving Conspecifics is Not Purely Visual: “Body Gestalt” Completion is Influenced by the Body Posture of the Observer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Kessler

2011-04-01

Full Text Available When we perceive other people in our everyday encounters their bodies are often partially occluded. High-level visual areas are known to automatically complete partially occluded objects, as revealed by the classic “gestalt” phenomena. However, here we set out to investigate if “body gestalt” completion is “embodied” and not purely visual. Human observers might intuitively map their own body knowledge onto partially occluded others and thereby complete their “body gestalt” by means of posture and/or motor resonance. To this end we developed new stimuli showing a face and two hands that could either form a “body gestalt” or not. Our most important finding across five behavioural experiments was that body gestalt completion was not solely based on visual features like the classic gestalt phenomena. Responses were significantly faster when the observer's posture matched the configuration of face and hands shown on screen then. In this sense body gestalt completion is an embodied process, where humans intuitively use their own body knowledge to ‘fill in the gaps’ in a body stimulus. We further conclude that in our particular paradigm posture resonance was apparently more important for body gestalt completion than motor resonance—with the former being most likely mediated by proprioceptive body schema representations, while the latter by the mirror neuron system. Finally, we will also present preliminary analysis of MEG data. Our findings elucidate the mechanisms of how humans perceive others holistically and how they might implicitly align themselves in everyday social interactions to facilitate an optimal co-representation of each other.

Use of the Amplatzer ASD Occluder for Closing a Persistent Left Vertical Vein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zanchetta, Mario; Zennaro, Marco; Zecchel, Roberto; Mancuso, Daniela; Pedon, Luigi

2009-01-01

We report the case of a very large anomalous connection of the veins draining the upper lobe of the left lung to both the left-sided vertical vein and the left atrium, associated with mild rheumatic mitral valve stenosis, in which the atrial septum was intact and the remaining venous system, including the coronary sinus, was otherwise normal (a variant of Lutembacher's syndrome). In order to abolish the left-to-right shunting, a transcatheter approach to close this venous structure was successfully attempted using an Amplatzer ASD Occluder device. The technical aspects and the alternative options of performing a procedure with a device for a purpose outside the scope of its approved label are discussed.

T-junctions and perceived slant of partially occluded surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Grove, Philip M; Ono, Hiroshi; Kaneko, Hirohiko

2003-01-01

Häkkinen and Nyman (1997 Perception 26 29-38) reported that perceived slant is reduced when occlusion is a possible interpretation for the visual system. We present data from three experiments that confirm and expand on their finding. Our stimuli consisted of four types of stereograms depicting white central rectangles flanked on either side by two grey rectangles. The central white rectangles varied in height, thus manipulating the polarity of the T-junction information between the central and flanking rectangles. Perceived slant was smallest or not apparent when T-junction information indicated the central rectangles were nearer than the flanking rectangles and greatest when T-junction information indicated a farther central rectangle. Slant estimates for a stimulus containing a subjective pacmen-induced central rectangle were biased towards a depth step when an occlusion interpretation was possible.

Multi-Objective Nonlinear Model Predictive Control: Lexicographic Method

OpenAIRE

Zheng, Tao; Wu, Gang; Liu, Guang-Hong; Ling, Qing

2010-01-01

In this chapter, to avoid the disadvantages of weight coefficients in multi-objective dynamic optimization, lexicographic (completely stratified) and partially stratified frameworks of multi-objective controller are proposed. The lexicographic framework is absolutely prioritydriven and the partially stratified framework is a modification of it, they both can solve the multi-objective control problem with the concept of priority for objective’s relative importance, while the latter one is mo...

Efficacy of electrocoagulation in sealing the cystic artery and cystic duct occluded with only one absorbable clip during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chang-Ping; Cao, Jin-Lin; Yang, Ren-Rong; Guo, Hong-Rong; Li, Zhao-Hui; Guo, Hai-Ying; Shao, Yin-Can; Liu, Gui-Bao

2014-02-01

Even though laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) emerged over 20 years ago, controversies persist with regard to the best method to ligate the cystic duct and artery. We proposed to assess the effectiveness and safety of electrocoagulation to seal the cystic artery and cystic duct after their occlusion with only one absorbable clip. We retrospectively compared the clinical data for 635 patients undergoing LC using electrocoagulation to seal the cystic artery and cystic duct that were occluded with only one absorbable clip (Group 1) and 728 patients undergoing LC using titanium clips (Group 2). In parallel, 30 rabbits randomized into six groups underwent cholecystectomy. After cystic duct ligation with absorbable or titanium clips, the animals were sacrificed 1, 3, or 6 months later, and intraabdominal adhesions were assessed after celiotomy. The mean operative time was significantly shorter (41.6 versus 58.9 minutes, PElectrocoagulation of the cystic artery and cystic duct that were occluded with only one absorbable clip is safe and effective during LC. This approach is associated with shortened operative times and reduced leakage, compared with the standard method using metal clips.

Transcatheter Closure of a Chronic Iatrogenic Arteriovenous Fistula Between the Carotid Artery and the Brachiocephalic Vein with an Amplatzer Duct Occluder in Combination with a Carotid Stent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stasek, Josef; Lojik, Miroslav; Bis, Josef; Horak, David; Dusek, Jaroslav; Brtko, Miroslav; Polansky, Pavel; Babu, Anush; Vojacek, Jan

2009-01-01

We report an original method of transcatheter closure of an arteriovenous fistula using the combination of an Amplatzer PDA occluder and a carotid stent. The fistula was between the left carotid artery and the brachiocephalic vein. The patient had significant left-to-right shunt and was highly symptomatic. Due to the large orifice and pseudoaneurysmatic enlargement of the fistula, we had to use a large Amplatzer PDA occluder and the protruding part of the PDA device disk had to be covered with a carotid stent. The fistula was completely closed. The patient stopped having symptoms and, 2 years after the procedure, the effect persists.

Amodal causal capture in the tunnel effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Gi Yeul; Flombaum, Jonathan I

2011-01-01

In addition to identifying individual objects in the world, the visual system must also characterize the relationships between objects, for instance when objects occlude one another or cause one another to move. Here we explored the relationship between perceived causality and occlusion. Can one perceive causality in an occluded location? In several experiments, observers judged whether a centrally presented event involved a single object passing behind an occluder, or one object causally launching another (out of view and behind the occluder). With no additional context, the centrally presented event was typically judged as a non-causal pass, even when the occluding and disoccluding objects were different colors--an illusion known as the 'tunnel effect' that results from spatiotemporal continuity. However, when a synchronized context event involved an unambiguous causal launch, participants perceived a causal launch behind the occluder. This percept of an occluded causal interaction could also be driven by grouping and synchrony cues in the absence of any explicitly causal interaction. These results reinforce the hypothesis that causality is an aspect of perception. It is among the interpretations of the world that are independently available to vision when resolving ambiguity, and that the visual system can 'fill in' amodally.

Suture fixation of migrated septal occluder device to prevent further migration: a simple surgical technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohite Prashant N

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract As the use of percutaneous intervention is increasing for the closure of the atrial septal defect, the procedure related complications are also on rise, migration of the device being most common. The migrated devices with failed percutaneous retrieval must be removed surgically under cardiopulmonary bypass. During establishment of cardiopulmonary bypass, the handling of heart may cause further migration of the device into other chambers of heart which leads to difficulty in finding and retrieval of the device. The authors propose a simple and unique technique to prevent further migration of the septal occluder device.

Immediate effects of the semi-occluded vocal tract exercise with LaxVox® tube in singers.

Science.gov (United States)

Fadel, Congeta Bruniere Xavier; Dassie-Leite, Ana Paula; Santos, Rosane Sampaio; Santos, Celso Gonçalves Dos; Dias, Cláudio Antônio Sorondo; Sartori, Denise Jussara

The purpose of this study was to analyze the immediate effects of the semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) using the LaxVox® tube in singers. Participants were 23 singers, classical singing students, aged 18 to 47 years (mean age = 27.2 years). First, data was collected through the application of a demographic questionnaire and the recording of sustained emission - vowel /ε/, counting 1-10, and a music section from the participants' current repertoire. After that, the participants were instructed and performed the SOVTE using the LaxVox® tube for three minutes. Finally, the same vocal samples were collected immediately after SOVTE performance and the singers responded to a questionnaire on their perception regarding vocal changes after the exercise. The vocal samples were analyzed by referees (speech-language pathologists and singing teachers) and by means of acoustic analysis. Most of the singers reported improved voice post-exercise in both tasks - speech and singing. Regarding the perceptual assessment (sustained vowel, speech, and singing), the referees found no difference between pre- and post-exercise emissions. The acoustic analysis of the sustained vowel showed increased Fundamental Frequency (F0) and reduction of the Glottal to Noise Excitation (GNE) ratio post-exercise. The semi-occluded vocal tract exercise with LaxVox® tube promotes immediate positive effects on the self-assessment and acoustic analysis of voice in professional singers without vocal complains. No immediate significant changes were observed with respect to auditory-perceptual evaluation of speech and singing.

Partial Remission Definition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Marie Louise Max; Hougaard, Philip; Pörksen, Sven

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To validate the partial remission (PR) definition based on insulin dose-adjusted HbA1c (IDAA1c). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The IDAA1c was developed using data in 251 children from the European Hvidoere cohort. For validation, 129 children from a Danish cohort were followed from the onset...

Asymptomatic Partial Splenic Infarction In Laparoscopic Floppy Nissen Fundoplication And Brief Literature Review

Science.gov (United States)

Odabasi, Mehmet; Abuoglu, Haci Hasan; Arslan, Cem; Gunay, Emre; Yildiz, Mehmet Kamil; Eris, Cengiz; Ozkan, Erkan; Aktekin, Ali; Muftuoglu, Tolga

2014-01-01

Short gastric vessels are divided during the laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication resulting in splenic infarct in some cases. We report a case of laparoscopic floppy Nissen fundoplication with splenic infarct that was recognized during the procedure and provide a brief literature review. The patient underwent a laparoscopic floppy Nissen fundoplication. We observed a partial infarction of the spleen. She reported no pain. A follow-up computed tomography scan showed an infarct, and a 3-month abdominal ultrasound showed complete resolution. Peripheral splenic arterial branches have very little collateral circulation. When these vessels are occluded or injured, an area of infarction will occur immediately. Management strategies included a trial of conservative management and splenectomy for persistent symptoms or complications resulting from splenic infarct. In conclusion, we believe that the real incidence is probably much higher because many cases of SI may have gone undiagnosed during or following an operation, because some patients are asymptomatic. We propose to check spleen carefully for the possibility of splenic infarct. PMID:24833155

Voice Quality After a Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercise With a Ventilation Mask in Contemporary Commercial Singers: Acoustic Analysis and Self-Assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Fantini, Marco; Succo, Giovanni; Crosetti, Erika; Borragán Torre, Alfonso; Demo, Roberto; Fussi, Franco

2017-05-01

The current study aimed at investigating the immediate effects of a semi-occluded vocal tract exercise with a ventilation mask in a group of contemporary commercial singers. A randomized controlled study was carried out. Thirty professional or semi-professional singers with no voice complaints were randomly divided into two groups on recruitment: an experimental group and a control group. The same warm-up exercise was performed by the experimental group with an occluded ventilation mask placed over the nose and the mouth and by the control group without the ventilation mask. Voice was recorded before and after the exercise. Acoustic and self-assessment analysis were accomplished. The acoustic parameters of the voice samples recorded before and after training were compared, as well as the parameters' variations between the experimental and the control group. Self-assessment results of the experimental and the control group were compared too. Significant changes after the warm-up exercise included jitter, shimmer, and singing power ratio (SPR) in the experimental group. No significant changes were recorded in the control group. Significant differences between the experimental and the control group were found for ΔShimmer and ΔSPR. Self-assessment analysis confirmed a significantly higher phonatory comfort and voice quality perception for the experimental group. The results of the present study support the immediate advantageous effects on singing voice of a semi-occluded vocal tract exercise with a ventilation mask in terms of acoustic quality, phonatory comfort, and voice quality perception in contemporary commercial singers. Long-term effects still remain to be studied. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Single and Multiple Object Tracking Using a Multi-Feature Joint Sparse Representation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Weiming; Li, Wei; Zhang, Xiaoqin; Maybank, Stephen

2015-04-01

In this paper, we propose a tracking algorithm based on a multi-feature joint sparse representation. The templates for the sparse representation can include pixel values, textures, and edges. In the multi-feature joint optimization, noise or occlusion is dealt with using a set of trivial templates. A sparse weight constraint is introduced to dynamically select the relevant templates from the full set of templates. A variance ratio measure is adopted to adaptively adjust the weights of different features. The multi-feature template set is updated adaptively. We further propose an algorithm for tracking multi-objects with occlusion handling based on the multi-feature joint sparse reconstruction. The observation model based on sparse reconstruction automatically focuses on the visible parts of an occluded object by using the information in the trivial templates. The multi-object tracking is simplified into a joint Bayesian inference. The experimental results show the superiority of our algorithm over several state-of-the-art tracking algorithms.

Solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem using efficient epsilon-constraint, multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm, and DEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalili-Damghani, Kaveh; Amiri, Maghsoud

2012-01-01

In this paper, a procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and data envelopment analysis (DEA) is proposed for solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem (MORAP). In first module, a set of qualified non-dominated solutions on Pareto front of binary-state MORAP is generated using an efficient epsilon-constraint method. In order to test the quality of generated non-dominated solutions in this module, a multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm is also proposed for MORAP. The performance of both procedures is compared using different metrics on well-known benchmark instance. The statistical analysis represents that not only the proposed efficient epsilon-constraint method outperform the multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm but also it improves the founded upper bound of benchmark instance. Then, in second module, a DEA model is supplied to prune the generated non-dominated solutions of efficient epsilon-constraint method. This helps reduction of non-dominated solutions in a systematic manner and eases the decision making process for practical implementations. - Highlights: ► A procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and DEA was proposed for solving MORAP. ► The performance of proposed procedure was compared with a multi-start PBEA. ► Methods were statistically compared using multi-objective metrics.

Dendrimer and an active substance occluded in the dendrimer : a process for the preparation thereof and a process for releasing the active substance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

1998-01-01

The invention relates to a dendrimer composition in which an effective number of the terminal functionalities are provided with blocking agents, and at least one active substance species is occluded in the dendrimer. A blocking agent is a sufficiently sterically sized compound which readily enters

Cortical dynamics of three-dimensional figure-ground perception of two-dimensional pictures.

Science.gov (United States)

Grossberg, S

1997-07-01

This article develops the FACADE theory of 3-dimensional (3-D) vision and figure-ground separation to explain data concerning how 2-dimensional pictures give rise to 3-D percepts of occluding and occluded objects. The model describes how geometrical and contrastive properties of a picture can either cooperate or compete when forming the boundaries and surface representation that subserve conscious percepts. Spatially long-range cooperation and spatially short-range competition work together to separate the boundaries of occluding figures from their occluded neighbors. This boundary ownership process is sensitive to image T junctions at which occluded figures contact occluding figures. These boundaries control the filling-in of color within multiple depth-sensitive surface representations. Feedback between surface and boundary representations strengthens consistent boundaries while inhibiting inconsistent ones. Both the boundary and the surface representations of occluded objects may be amodally completed, while the surface representations of unoccluded objects become visible through modal completion. Functional roles for conscious modal and amodal representations in object recognition, spatial attention, and reaching behaviors are discussed. Model interactions are interpreted in terms of visual, temporal, and parietal cortices.

High dose urokinase for restoration of patency of occluded permanent central venous catheters in hemodialysis patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Shavit, L; Lifschitz, M; Plaksin, J; Grenader, T; Slotki, I

2010-10-01

Catheter thrombosis is common and results in inadequate dialysis treatment and, frequently, in catheter loss. Since dialysis treatment runs on a strict schedule, occluded catheters need to be restored in a timely and cost effective manner. We present a new shortened protocol of urokinase infusion that allows hemodialysis to be performed within 90 minutes. To chronic hemodialysis patients, who developed complete catheter occlusion, urokinase was infused simultaneously through both lumens of the catheter (125,000 units to each lumen) over 90 minutes. Technical success was defined as restoring blood pump speed to at least 250 ml/min. We determined the average time from catheter placement to first clot event (primary patency PP), recurrent clot event after urokinase treatment (secondary patency SP), catheter salvage rate and cause for removal. 37 catheters developed total thrombosis and urokinase was used to restore patency one or more times (total 47 treatments). Catheter salvage rate was 97 %. The average time of PP was 152 ± 56 days (7 - 784 days). Nine patients (30%) developed recurrent occlusion and the average time of SP was 64 ± 34 days (2 - 364 days). One catheter was removed because of dysfunction due to thrombosis. Other catheters were removed due to infection, fistula maturation or fell out spontaneously. Hemodialysis was performed immediately after treatment with blood speed of 250 ml/min in all patients. Our protocol is highly effective, short, and allows to restore patency of totally occluded central venous catheters with minimal disruption of the dialysis session.

Resolution of clinical symptoms after reopening of an occluded inferior petrosal sinus in a patient with a cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistula. A case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Kojima, A; Onozuka, S; Kinoshita, Y

2013-03-01

We describe a rare case with a cavernous sinus (CS) dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) in which the clinical symptoms disappeared after the patient underwent reopening of an occluded inferior petrosal sinus (IPS). A 66-year-old woman presented with increased intraocular pressure, chemosis, and proptosis on the left side. Angiography demonstrated a left CS DAVF supplied by the dural branches of bilateral internal carotid arteries. The shunt flow was directed to the superior and inferior ophthalmic veins, while the bilateral IPSs were not opacified. Accordingly, a transvenous embolization of the fistula was attempted. Although the microcatheter was navigated to the cavernous sinus through the occluded left IPS, obliteration of the fistula was unsuccessful because of the failure of superselective catheterization at the fistulous point. However, the final image demonstrated the development of an antegrade shunt flow through the left IPS to the internal jugular vein and disappearance of the retrograde reflux to the superior and inferior ophthalmic veins. The patient's clinical symptoms immediately resolved after the operation, and the symptoms have not recurred during a one-year follow-up period. Inappropriate transvenous embolization of CS DAVFs can result in vascular complications arising from the unintentional redistribution of shunt flow. The present case illustrates that the disappearance of retrograde shunt flow to the ophthalmic veins after reopening of the occluded IPS may be sufficient if a superselective approach fails or is anticipated to result only in an incomplete embolization of the fistulous point.

Complications Following Balloon-Occluded Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy for Pelvic Malignancies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimoto, Koji; Hirota, Shozo; Imanaka, Kazufumi; Kawabe, Tetsuya; Nakayama, Yoshiharu; Takeuchi, Yasuhito

1999-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence and causes of complications associated with balloon-occluded arterial infusion chemotherapy (BOAI) for pelvic malignancies. Methods: In 34 courses of BOAI in 22 patients with pelvic malignancies, we analyzed the incidence of complications as well as the effect of the dose of the anticancer drugs, the infusion site, and the number of BOAI administrations on these complications. Complications were divided into two categories: cystitis-like symptoms and neurological complications such as pain, numbness, and paresthesia of the lower extremities and the hip. Results: Eleven patients (50%) suffered from complications, seven (31.8%) from neurological complications and four (18.2%) from cystitis-like symptoms. The complications appeared in 14 courses (42.4%) of BOAI, neurological complications in 10 (30.3%) and cystitis-like symptoms in four (12.1%). A high dose of anti-cancer drugs and infusion from the anterior division tended to induce neurological complications more frequently; however, the cystitis-like symptoms were not related to any factors. Conclusion: Our results indicate that a smaller dose of anti-cancer drugs should be infused from the bilateral internal iliac arteries for safer pelvic BOAI

Bleeding Duodenal Varices Successfully Treated with Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (B-RTO) Assisted by CT During Arterial Portography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsurusaki, Masakatsu; Sugimoto, Koji; Matsumoto, Shinichi; Izaki, Kenta; Fukuda, Tetsuya; Akasaka, Yoshinobu; Fujii, Masahiko; Hirota, Shozo; Sugimura, Kazuro

2006-01-01

A 60-year-old woman with massive hemorrhage from duodenal varices was transferred to our hospital for the purpose of transcatheter intervention. Although digital subtraction arterial portography could not depict the entire pathway of collateral circulation, the efferent route of the duodenal varices was clearly demonstrated on subsequent CT during arterial portography. Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO) of the varices was performed via the efferent vein and achieved complete thrombosis of the varices

Visual Equivalence and Amodal Completion in Cuttlefish.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, I-Rong; Chiao, Chuan-Chin

2017-01-01

Modern cephalopods are notably the most intelligent invertebrates and this is accompanied by keen vision. Despite extensive studies investigating the visual systems of cephalopods, little is known about their visual perception and object recognition. In the present study, we investigated the visual processing of the cuttlefish Sepia pharaonis , including visual equivalence and amodal completion. Cuttlefish were trained to discriminate images of shrimp and fish using the operant conditioning paradigm. After cuttlefish reached the learning criteria, a series of discrimination tasks were conducted. In the visual equivalence experiment, several transformed versions of the training images, such as images reduced in size, images reduced in contrast, sketches of the images, the contours of the images, and silhouettes of the images, were used. In the amodal completion experiment, partially occluded views of the original images were used. The results showed that cuttlefish were able to treat the training images of reduced size and sketches as the visual equivalence. Cuttlefish were also capable of recognizing partially occluded versions of the training image. Furthermore, individual differences in performance suggest that some cuttlefish may be able to recognize objects when visual information was partly removed. These findings support the hypothesis that the visual perception of cuttlefish involves both visual equivalence and amodal completion. The results from this research also provide insights into the visual processing mechanisms used by cephalopods.

Visual marking and change blindness : moving occluders and transient masks neutralize shape changes to ignored objects

OpenAIRE

Watson, Derrick G.; Kunar, Melina A.

2010-01-01

Visual search efficiency improves by presenting (previewing) one set of distractors before the target and remaining distractor items (D. G. Watson & G. W. Humphreys, 1997). Previous work has shown that this preview benefit is abolished if the old items change their shape when the new items are added (e.g., D. G. Watson & G. W. Humphreys, 2002). Here we present 5 experiments that examined whether such object changes are still effective in recapturing attention if the changes occur while the pr...

Hand interception of occluded motion in humans: a test of model-based vs. on-line control.

Science.gov (United States)

La Scaleia, Barbara; Zago, Myrka; Lacquaniti, Francesco

2015-09-01

Two control schemes have been hypothesized for the manual interception of fast visual targets. In the model-free on-line control, extrapolation of target motion is based on continuous visual information, without resorting to physical models. In the model-based control, instead, a prior model of target motion predicts the future spatiotemporal trajectory. To distinguish between the two hypotheses in the case of projectile motion, we asked participants to hit a ball that rolled down an incline at 0.2 g and then fell in air at 1 g along a parabola. By varying starting position, ball velocity and trajectory differed between trials. Motion on the incline was always visible, whereas parabolic motion was either visible or occluded. We found that participants were equally successful at hitting the falling ball in both visible and occluded conditions. Moreover, in different trials the intersection points were distributed along the parabolic trajectories of the ball, indicating that subjects were able to extrapolate an extended segment of the target trajectory. Remarkably, this trend was observed even at the very first repetition of movements. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of model-based control, but not with on-line control. Indeed, ball path and speed during the occlusion could not be extrapolated solely from the kinematic information obtained during the preceding visible phase. The only way to extrapolate ball motion correctly during the occlusion was to assume that the ball would fall under gravity and air drag when hidden from view. Such an assumption had to be derived from prior experience. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Long Term Effects of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of the Totally Occluded Infarct-Related Artery in the Subacute Phase after Myocardial Infarction

Science.gov (United States)

Hochman, Judith S; Reynolds, Harmony R; Džavík, Vladimír; Buller, Christopher E; Ruzyllo, Witold; Sadowski, Zygmunt P; Maggioni, Aldo P; Carvalho, Antonio C; Rankin, James M.; White, Harvey D.; Goldberg, Suzanne; Forman, Sandra A; Mark, Daniel B; Lamas, Gervasio A

2011-01-01

Background Despite observations suggesting a benefit for late opening of occluded infarct-related arteries (IRA) post-myocardial infarction (MI), the Occluded Artery Trial (OAT) demonstrated no reduction in the composite of death, reinfarction and class IV heart failure (HF) over 2.9-yearmean follow-up. Follow-up was extended to determine whether late trends would favor either treatment group. Methods and Results OAT randomized 2201 stable patients with IRA occlusion >24hours (calendar days3-28) after MI. Severe inducible ischemia, rest angina, class III-IV HF and 3-vessel/left main disease were excluded. We conducted extended followed up of enrolled patients for an additional 3 years for the primary endpoint and angina (6-year median survivor follow up, longest 9 years, 12,234 patient-years).Rates of the primary endpoint (HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.88-1.28), fatal and nonfatal MI (HR 1.25, 95% CI 0.89-1.75), death and class IV HF were similar for PCI vs. MED groups. No interaction between baseline characteristics and treatment group on outcomes were observed. The vast majority of patients at each follow-up visit did not report angina. There was less angina in the PCI group through early in follow-up; by 3 years the between group difference was consistently <4 patients per 100 treated and not significantly different though there was a trend toward less angina in the PCI group at 3 and 5 years. The 7-year rate of PCI of the IRA during follow up was 11.1% for the PCI group compared to 14.7% for the MED group (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.61-1.01. p=0.06). Conclusions Extended follow up of the OAT cohort provides robust evidence for no reduction of long-term rates of clinical events after routine PCI in stable patients with an occluded IRA and without severe inducible ischemia in the subacute phase post-MI. PMID:22025606

Iris Recognition for Partially Occluded Images: Methodology and Sensitivity Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Poursaberi A

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Accurate iris detection is a crucial part of an iris recognition system. One of the main issues in iris segmentation is coping with occlusion that happens due to eyelids and eyelashes. In the literature, some various methods have been suggested to solve the occlusion problem. In this paper, two different segmentations of iris are presented. In the first algorithm, a circle is located around the pupil with an appropriate diameter. The iris area encircled by the circular boundary is used for recognition purposes then. In the second method, again a circle is located around the pupil with a larger diameter. This time, however, only the lower part of the encircled iris area is utilized for individual recognition. Wavelet-based texture features are used in the process. Hamming and harmonic mean distance classifiers are exploited as a mixed classifier in suggested algorithm. It is observed that relying on a smaller but more reliable part of the iris, though reducing the net amount of information, improves the overall performance. Experimental results on CASIA database show that our method has a promising performance with an accuracy of 99.31%. The sensitivity of the proposed method is analyzed versus contrast, illumination, and noise as well, where lower sensitivity to all factors is observed when the lower half of the iris is used for recognition.

Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus using the AMPLATZER™ duct occluder II (ADO II).

Science.gov (United States)

Gruenstein, Daniel H; Ebeid, Makram; Radtke, Wolfgang; Moore, Phillip; Holzer, Ralf; Justino, Henri

2017-05-01

The study purpose is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the ADO II device for closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in children. Transcatheter treatment of PDA has been evolving for 40+ years and is the treatment of choice. The AMPLATZER™ Duct Occluder (ADO) device was developed for larger diameter ducts and is not ideal in all PDAs. ADO II was developed for small to moderate-sized ducts. This is a single-arm, multicenter study evaluating safety and efficacy of the ADO II device. Patients closure in 98% of successful implantations. In this prospective study, the ADO II was safe and effective for closure of small to moderate PDAs. Implantation is simple and the ability for retrograde aortic delivery reduces procedure-related radiation exposure. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Percutaneous closure of a large aortic paravalvular leak using two duct occluder devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Navaneetha Sasikumar

2013-05-01

Full Text Available A 21-year-old male presented with severe aortic paravalvular leak. He had undergone three cardiac surgeries and also had chronic kidney disease. It was decided for a trans-catheter closure owing to the risks of a fourth surgery and co-morbidity. The device was sized based on angiogram, balloon sizing and two dimensional transesophageal echo. There was significant residual leak after deployment of first device. Hence the defect was re-crossed and two duct occluder devices were positioned across the leak from two arterial access. After confirming position and satisfactory reduction in paravalvular leak, the devices were released in tandem. There was near abolition of leak. The patient is asymptomatic at three months follow up. Larger paravalvular leaks are better addressed with two devices of smaller size rather than a single large device. Technical considerations while deploying multiple devices are discussed.

Optimization of object tracking based on enhanced imperialist ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

. Tracking moving object(s) in video/image frame sequences in cluttered scenes usually results in complications and hence performance degradation. This is attributable to complexity in partial and full object occlusions and scene illumination ...

3-D vision and figure-ground separation by visual cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Grossberg, S

1994-01-01

A neural network theory of three-dimensional (3-D) vision, called FACADE theory, is described. The theory proposes a solution of the classical figure-ground problem for biological vision. It does so by suggesting how boundary representations and surface representations are formed within a boundary contour system (BCS) and a feature contour system (FCS). The BCS and FCS interact reciprocally to form 3-D boundary and surface representations that are mutually consistent. Their interactions generate 3-D percepts wherein occluding and occluded object parts are separated, completed, and grouped. The theory clarifies how preattentive processes of 3-D perception and figure-ground separation interact reciprocally with attentive processes of spatial localization, object recognition, and visual search. A new theory of stereopsis is proposed that predicts how cells sensitive to multiple spatial frequencies, disparities, and orientations are combined by context-sensitive filtering, competition, and cooperation to form coherent BCS boundary segmentations. Several factors contribute to figure-ground pop-out, including: boundary contrast between spatially contiguous boundaries, whether due to scenic differences in luminance, color, spatial frequency, or disparity; partially ordered interactions from larger spatial scales and disparities to smaller scales and disparities; and surface filling-in restricted to regions surrounded by a connected boundary. Phenomena such as 3-D pop-out from a 2-D picture, Da Vinci stereopsis, 3-D neon color spreading, completion of partially occluded objects, and figure-ground reversals are analyzed. The BCS and FCS subsystems model aspects of how the two parvocellular cortical processing streams that join the lateral geniculate nucleus to prestriate cortical area V4 interact to generate a multiplexed representation of Form-And-Color-And-DEpth, or FACADE, within area V4. Area V4 is suggested to support figure-ground separation and to interact with

New findings on object permanence: A developmental difference between two types of occlusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, M Keith; Meltzoff, Andrew N

1999-11-01

Manual search for totally occluded objects was investigated in 10-, 12- and 14-month-old infants. Infants responded to two types of total hiding in different ways, supporting the inference that object permanence is not a once-and-for-all attainment. Occlusion of an object by movement of a screen over it was solved at an earlier age than occlusion in which an object was carried under the screen. This dissociation was not explained by motivation, motor skill or means-ends coordination, because for both tasks the same object was hidden in the same place under the same screen and required the same uncovering response. This dissociation generalized across an experimentally manipulated change in recovery means-infants removed cloths while seated at a table in Expt 1 and were required to crawl through 3-D space to displace semi-rigid pillows in Expt 2. Further analysis revealed that emotional response varied as a function of hiding, suggesting an affective correlate of infant cognition. There are four empirical findings to account for: developmental change, task dissociation, generalization of the effects across recovery means, and emotional reactions. An identity-development theory is proposed explaining these findings in terms of infants' understanding of object identity and the developmental relationship between object identity and object permanence. Object identity is seen as a necessary precursor to the development of object permanence.

Determination of mango fruit from binary image using randomized Hough transform

Science.gov (United States)

Rizon, Mohamed; Najihah Yusri, Nurul Ain; Abdul Kadir, Mohd Fadzil; bin Mamat, Abd. Rasid; Abd Aziz, Azim Zaliha; Nanaa, Kutiba

2015-12-01

A method of detecting mango fruit from RGB input image is proposed in this research. From the input image, the image is processed to obtain the binary image using the texture analysis and morphological operations (dilation and erosion). Later, the Randomized Hough Transform (RHT) method is used to find the best ellipse fits to each binary region. By using the texture analysis, the system can detect the mango fruit that is partially overlapped with each other and mango fruit that is partially occluded by the leaves. The combination of texture analysis and morphological operator can isolate the partially overlapped fruit and fruit that are partially occluded by leaves. The parameters derived from RHT method was used to calculate the center of the ellipse. The center of the ellipse acts as the gripping point for the fruit picking robot. As the results, the rate of detection was up to 95% for fruit that is partially overlapped and partially covered by leaves.

Transcatheter closure of a small atrial septal defect with an Amplatzer™ patent foramen ovale occluder in a working dog with cyanosis and exercise intolerance at high altitude.

Science.gov (United States)

Shelden, A; Wesselowski, S; Gordon, S G; Saunders, A B

2017-12-01

A 6.5-year-old male Border Collie presented for transcatheter closure of an atrial septal defect due to exercise intolerance and cyanosis while working and training at altitude. A small, left-to-right shunting secundum atrial septal defect was confirmed with no evidence of significant right-sided volume overload. Pulmonary hypertension with subsequent right-to-left interatrial shunting occurring during exercise at high altitude was suspected and prompted the closure of the defect due to the dog's continued athletic requirements. The anatomy of the defect prompted use of a patent foramen ovale occluder rather than an atrial septal defect occluder, which was deployed using a combination of fluoroscopic and transesophageal echocardiographic guidance. The owner did not report continued exercise intolerance or cyanosis and the dog's lifestyle and residence at altitude was unchanged. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Creation of 'Ukrytie' objects computer model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazur, A.B.; Kotlyarov, V.T.; Ermolenko, A.I.; Podbereznyj, S.S.; Postil, S.D.; Shaptala, D.V.

1999-01-01

A partial computer model of the 'Ukrytie' object was created with the use of geoinformation technologies. The computer model makes it possible to carry out information support of the works related to the 'Ukrytie' object stabilization and its conversion into ecologically safe system for analyzing, forecasting and controlling the processes occurring in the 'Ukrytie' object. Elements and structures of the 'Ukryttia' object were designed and input into the model

Dual Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration of Gastric Varix Draining into the Left Adrenal Vein and Left Inferior Phrenic Vein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishida, Norifumi; Ninoi, Teruhisa; Kitayama, Toshiaki; Yamamoto, Akira; Sakai, Yukimasa; Sato, Kimihiko; Hamuro, Masao; Nakamura, Kenji; Inoue, Yuichi; Yamada, Ryusaku

2004-01-01

A 66-year-old woman with a gastric varix, draining into a dilated left adrenal vein and a left inferior phrenic vein, was treated with dual balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO). Under balloon occlusion of the left adrenal vein and the left inferior phrenic vein, retrograde injection of a sclerosant (5% ethanolamine oleate) into the gastric varix was performed. Two weeks later, disappearance of flow in the gastric varix was confirmed on endoscopic ultrasound examination

Object similarity affects the perceptual strategy underlying invariant visual object recognition in rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federica Bianca Rosselli

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, a number of studies have explored the possible use of rats as models of high-level visual functions. One central question at the root of such an investigation is to understand whether rat object vision relies on the processing of visual shape features or, rather, on lower-order image properties (e.g., overall brightness. In a recent study, we have shown that rats are capable of extracting multiple features of an object that are diagnostic of its identity, at least when those features are, structure-wise, distinct enough to be parsed by the rat visual system. In the present study, we have assessed the impact of object structure on rat perceptual strategy. We trained rats to discriminate between two structurally similar objects, and compared their recognition strategies with those reported in our previous study. We found that, under conditions of lower stimulus discriminability, rat visual discrimination strategy becomes more view-dependent and subject-dependent. Rats were still able to recognize the target objects, in a way that was largely tolerant (i.e., invariant to object transformation; however, the larger structural and pixel-wise similarity affected the way objects were processed. Compared to the findings of our previous study, the patterns of diagnostic features were: i smaller and more scattered; ii only partially preserved across object views; and iii only partially reproducible across rats. On the other hand, rats were still found to adopt a multi-featural processing strategy and to make use of part of the optimal discriminatory information afforded by the two objects. Our findings suggest that, as in humans, rat invariant recognition can flexibly rely on either view-invariant representations of distinctive object features or view-specific object representations, acquired through learning.

Aspirex Thrombectomy in Occluded Dialysis Access: A Retrospective Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dyer, Jules, E-mail: Jules.Dyer@nhs.net [New Cross Hospital, Department of Radiology (United Kingdom); Rosa, Joao [University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, ST1 Radiology (United Kingdom); Chachlani, Menka [University of Birmingham (United Kingdom); Nicholas, Johann [New Cross Hospital, Department of Radiology (United Kingdom)

2016-10-15

PurposeThis study is the first to present the outcomes of the Straub Aspirex device for the salvage of occluded renal dialysis access fistulae.Materials and MethodsThis is a retrospective study, using data from the Renal Unit and Radiology Department database. It included all the patients between 2010 and 2014 who underwent percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) treated by JD. Aspirex is an over-the-wire, 6–10 French catheter within which is a rapidly rotating helix which draws thrombus into a window near the tip which it then macerates and removes. Access survival was assessed using the Kaplan–Meier method, and multi-variant analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Significance was considered if p < 0.05.ResultsA total of 27 procedures were performed for 19 patients. 13 had autologous arterio-venous fistulae, and 14 had synthetic (PTFE) arterio-venous grafts. 15 were males, 4 females. 100 % of the patients successfully had a channel of thrombus removed. This resulted in an 81.5 % initial clinical success, with primary patency rates of 53.6, 44.3 and 33 % by days 30, 90 and 480, respectively, without significant difference of any analysed covariates. No major complication (pulmonary embolus, paradoxical cerebral infarction, limb ischaemia or significant haemorrhage) occurred.ConclusionAspirex has rates of patency and complication similar to other PMT devices. No covariant studied affected outcome.

Transcatheter closure of hemodynamic significant patent ductus arteriosus in 32 premature infants by amplatzer ductal occluder additional size-ADOIIAS.

Science.gov (United States)

Morville, Patrice; Akhavi, Ahmad

2017-10-01

The advent of Amplatzer Duct Occluder II additional Size (ADOIIAS) provided the potential to close hemodynamic significant patent ductus arteriosus (HSPDA) and to analyze the feasibility, safety and efficacy of the device. Treatment of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in very premature neonates is still a dilemma for the neonatalogist who has to consider its significance and has to choose among different treatment options. Because surgical ligation and medical therapy both have their drawbacks, interventional catheterization might provide an alternative means of closing HSPDA. Between September 2013 and June 2015, 32 premature infants with complications related to HSPDA defined by ultrasound (US) underwent transcatheter closure. The procedure was performed in the catheterization laboratory by venous cannulation without angiography. The position of the occluder was directed by X-ray and US. In particular we looked at procedural details, device size selection, complications, and short and mid-term outcomes. Thirty two premature infants, all of whom had clinical complications related to HSPDA, born at gestational ages ranging between 23.6 and 36 weeks (mean ± standard deviation 28 ± 3 weeks) underwent attempted transcatheter PDA closure using the ADOIIAS. Their mean age and weight at the time of procedure was 25 days (range 8-70 days) and 1373 g (range 680-2480 g), respectively. Ten infants weighed ≤1,000g. All ducts were tubular. The mean PDA and device waist diameters were 3.2 ± 0.6mm (range 2.2-4) and 4.4 ± 0.6 mm, respectively, and the mean PDA and device lengths 5.2 ± 2.0 mm (range 2-10) and 3.4 ± 1.3 mm. Median fluoroscopy and procedural times were 11 min (range 3-24) and 28 min (range 10-90), respectively. Complete closure was achieved in all but one patient. There was no device migration. A left pulmonary artery (LPA) obstruction developed in one patient. Five infants died. Four deaths were related to complications of

The case of the missing visual details: Occlusion and long-term visual memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Carrick C; Burkle, Kyle A

2017-10-01

To investigate the critical information in long-term visual memory representations of objects, we used occlusion to emphasize 1 type of information or another. By occluding 1 solid side of the object (e.g., top 50%) or by occluding 50% of the object with stripes (like a picket fence), we emphasized visible information about the object, processing the visible details in the former and the object's overall form in the latter. On a token discrimination test, surprisingly, memory for solid or stripe occluded objects at either encoding (Experiment 1) or test (Experiment 2) was the same. In contrast, when occluded objects matched at encoding and test (Experiment 3) or when the occlusion shifted, revealing the entire object piecemeal (Experiment 4), memory was better for solid compared with stripe occluded objects, indicating that objects are represented differently in long-term visual memory. Critically, we also found that when the task emphasized remembering exactly what was shown, memory performance in the more detailed solid occlusion condition exceeded that in the stripe condition (Experiment 5). However, when the task emphasized the whole object form, memory was better in the stripe condition (Experiment 6) than in the solid condition. We argue that long-term visual memory can represent objects flexibly, and task demands can interact with visual information, allowing the viewer to cope with changing real-world visual environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration of gastric varix draining via the left inferior phrenic vein into the left hepatic vein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibukuro, Kenji; Mori, Koichi; Tsukiyama, Toshitaka; Inoue, Yoshihiro; Iwamoto, Yukako; Tagawa, Kazumi

1999-01-01

We encountered a patient with gastric varix draining not via the usual left suprarenal vein but via the left inferior phrenic vein joining the left hepatic vein. Transfemoral balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) of the varix was performed under balloon occlusion of the left inferior phrenic vein via the left hepatic vein and retrograde injection of the sclerosing agent (5% of ethanolamine oleate) into the gastric varix. Disappearance of the gastric varix was confirmed on endoscopic examination 2 months later.

The Case of the Missing Visual Details: Occlusion and Long-Term Visual Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Carrick C.; Burkle, Kyle A.

2017-01-01

To investigate the critical information in long-term visual memory representations of objects, we used occlusion to emphasize 1 type of information or another. By occluding 1 solid side of the object (e.g., top 50%) or by occluding 50% of the object with stripes (like a picket fence), we emphasized visible information about the object, processing…

Spectral Stokes singularities of partially coherent radially polarized beams focused by a high numerical aperture objective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Yamei; Lü, Baida

2010-01-01

The dynamic behavior of spectral Stokes singularities of partially coherent radially polarized beams focused by a high numerical aperture (NA) objective is studied by using the vectorial Debye diffraction theory and complex spectral Stokes fields. It is shown that there exist s 12 , s 23 , and s 31 singularities, as well as P (completely polarized) and U (unpolarized) singularities. The motion, pair creation and annihilation, and changes in the degree of polarization of s 12 , s 23 , and s 31 singularities, and the handedness reversal of s 12 singularities (C-points) may appear by varying a controlling parameter, such as the truncation parameter, NA, or spatial correlation length. The creation and annihilation occur for a pair of s 12 singularities with opposite topological charge but the same handedness, and for a pair of oppositely charged s 23 or s 31 singularities. The critical value of the truncation parameter, at which the pair annihilation takes place, increases as the semi-angle of the aperture lens (or, equivalently, NA) or spatial correlation length increases. The collision of an s 12 singularity with an L-line (s 3 = 0 contour) leads to a V-point, which is located at the intersection of contours of s 12 = 0 and s 23 = 0 (or s 31 = 0) and is unstable

Multicenter Off-Label Use of Nit-Occlud Coil in Retrograde Closure of Small Patent Ductus Arteriosus.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanjani, Keyhan Sayadpour; Sobhy, Rodina; El-Kaffas, Rania; El-Sisi, Amal

2017-04-01

We studied the safety and efficacy of closing patent ductus arteriosus by Nit-Occlud coils via retrograde approach. This is a retrospective study of 46 attempts to close ducts by this method in two hospitals in Egypt and Iran. Ductus arteriosus was crossed by left or right Judkins or endhole catheters. The coil was delivered via the same catheter or the provided endhole catheter after exchange. The procedure was successful in 42 out of 46 attempts. Fluoroscopy and procedural times were significantly shorter when the catheter was not exchanged. This method is effective and safe for the closure of small ducts. Crossing the duct and delivering the coil by a left Judkins catheter is the easiest and fastest way to perform this method.

Application of Cardio-O-Fix occluders for transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus and interatrial communications: Preliminary experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Białkowski, Jacek; Szkutnik, Małgorzata; Fiszer, Roland; Głowacki, Jan; Banaszak, Paweł; Zembala, Marian

2010-01-01

Transcatheter treatment has become the method of choice for treating many heart defects. Recently, Cardio-O-Fix occluder (COF) - a new, self-expandable nitinol wire-mesh device very similar to the Amplatzer device - has been introduced into clinical practice. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first publication related to its application. Five patients aged from six months to 69 years were included in the study: two with atrial septal defect (ASD), one with patent foramen ovale (PFO) after cryptogenic stroke, and two with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). These latter two comprised one six month old infant with co-existent hypertrophied cardiomyopathy, and a 53 year-old woman with recanalized PDA after previous ligation. All were treated percutaneously with COF. There was no preliminary patient selection. The only limitation was the size of the devices in our possession (16 and 22 mm ASD COF, 25 PFO COF, 4/6 and 6/8 PDA COF). The implantation technique was the same as previously described for Amplatzer occluders. All procedures were finished successfully with complete closure of the shunt. No complications were observed during a six month follow-up. In the child with PDA, we observed decrease of gradient from 80 to 60 mm Hg in hypertrophied left ventricular outflow tract, although a small protrusion of PDA-COF device was noted in the descending aorta (8 mm Hg gradient in ECHO). In the patient with recanalized PDA, the procedure was performed after arterio-venous loop creation. Mean fluoroscopy time was 4.4 (range from 1.6 to 11) minutes. Our preliminary experience indicates that the application of Cardio-O-Fix devices is safe and effective.

Interventional Closure of a Patent Ductus Arteriosus Using an Amplatz Canine Duct Occluder in an Alpaca Cria.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapel, E C; Lozier, J; Lakritz, J; Schober, K E

2017-07-01

A 6-month old female alpaca cria presented to The Ohio State University for evaluation of a cardiac murmur. Echocardiography revealed a left-to-right shunting patent ductus arteriosus, a restrictive left-to-right shunting perimembranous ventricular septal defect, and secondary moderate left atrial and ventricular dilation. Aortic root angiography demonstrated a type IIA patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Interventional closure of the PDA was successfully performed, without complication, using an Amplatz canine duct occluder. This case report describes the materials and methods used for interventional closure of a PDA in an alpaca cria. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Transcatheter closure of tubular type patent ductus arteriosus using Amplatzer® ductal occluder II: a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mulyadi M Djer

2013-10-01

In recent years, interventional cardiology has become a gold standard therapy for the majority of PDA cases beyond neonatal age. Since its introduction in 1967, many devices and methods have been developed to allow transcatheter closure of virtually all PDAs, regardless of size or configuration. Nevertheless, the tubular shape (type C PDA, which has the highest residual shunt rate, still poses a great challenge for the interventionist.8-10 The second generation of Amplatzer® device occluders (ADO II, released in 2007, has been suggested to be effective in closing tubular PDAs.10 The purpose of this study was to report the initial clinical experience using ADO II to close a tubular type PDA in Indonesia.

Rapid release of 42K and 86Rb from an occluded state of the Na,K-pump in the presence of ATP or ADP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forbush, B. III

1987-01-01

We have measured the time course of release of 42 K and 86 Rb from an occluded state of the Na,K-pump using a rapid filtration apparatus. We have found that at 20 degrees C and in the presence of ATP, 42 K is released with a rate constant of approximately 45 s-1 and 86 Rb with a rate constant of approximately 20 s-1; both ATP and ADP are effective at a low affinity site (Kd approximately 0.3 and 1 mM, respectively) with the rate of deocclusion being only half as great in ADP as in ATP. Mg2+ stimulates 2-fold at low concentrations probably by forming MgATP, and free Mg2+ is strongly inhibitory at high concentrations (Kd approximately 10 mM). Mg2+ also decreases the affinity for ATP, and the data are consistent with mixed type inhibition; from the analysis the dissociation constant is approximately 1 mM for the inhibitory Mg2+ and the Rb+-occluded form without ATP. The rate of 42 K or 86 Rb release increases monotonically with pH while ATPase activity decreases above pH 8, so that deocclusion is not rate-limiting in the overall cycle at high pH. This is reflected by a convergence of the rate of Na,K-ATPase and Na,Rb-ATPase activities at high pH and by a decrease in the observed steady-state level of the occluded 86 Rb intermediate at high pH. K+, Rb+, Na+, and Cs+, but not Li+, increase the rate of 42 K and 86 Rb release at constant ionic strength, presumably at sites other than the transport sites. The spontaneous rate of deocclusion is only approximately 0.1 s-1 at low ionic strength in the absence of nucleotides, and it is increased markedly by all cations tested except Li+. Overall the data are consistent with deocclusion as a rate-limiting step in the Na,K-pump cycle

No prognostic significance of chronic infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae in acute coronary syndromes: insights from the Global Utilization of Strategies to Open Occluded Arteries IV Acute Coronary Syndromes trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Westerhout, Cynthia M; Gnarpe, Judy; Chang, Wei-Ching

2007-01-01

case-control substudy of the Global Utilization of Strategies to Open Occluded Arteries IV Acute Coronary Syndromes trial, 295 cases (30-day death/myocardial infarction [MI]) were matched by age, sex, baseline creatine kinase-myocardial kinase, and smoking status with 295 control subjects. To test...

Long-Term Primary Patency Rate After Nitinol Self-Expandable Stents Implantation in Long, Totally Occluded Femoropopliteal (TASC II C & D) Lesions.

Science.gov (United States)

Elmahdy, Mahmoud Farouk; Buonamici, Piergiovanni; Trapani, Maurizio; Valenti, Renato; Migliorini, Angela; Parodi, Guido; Antoniucci, David

2017-06-01

Endovascular therapy for long femoropopliteal lesions using percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty or first-generation of peripheral stents has been associated with unacceptable one-year restenosis rates. However, with recent advances in equipment and techniques, a better primary patency rate is expected. This study was conducted to detect the long-term primary patency rate of nitinol self-expandable stents implanted in long, totally occluded femoropopliteal lesions TransAtlantic Inter-Society Census (TASC II type C & D), and determine the predictors of reocclusion or restenosis in the stented segments. The demographics, clinical, anatomical, and procedural data of 213 patients with 240 de novo totally occluded femoropopliteal (TASC II type C & D) lesions treated with nitinol self-expandable stents were retrospectively analysed. Of these limbs, 159 (66.2%) presented with intermittent claudication, while 81 (33.8%) presented with critical limb ischaemia. The mean-time of follow-up was 36±22.6 months, (range: 6.3-106.2 months). Outcomes evaluated were, primary patency rate and predictors of reocclusion or restenosis in the stented segments. The mean age of the patients was 70.9±9.3 years, with male gender 66.2%. Mean pre-procedural ABI was 0.45±0.53. One-hundred-and-seventy-five (73%) lesions were TASC II type C, while 65 (27%) were type D lesions. The mean length of the lesions was 17.9±11.3mm. Procedure related complications occurred in 10 (4.1%) limbs. There was no periprocedural mortality. Reocclusion and restenosis were detected during follow-up in 45 and 30 limbs respectively, and all were re-treated by endovascular approach. None of the patients required major amputation. Primary patency rates were 81.4±1.1%, 77.7±1.9% and 74.4±2.8% at 12, 24, and 36 months respectively. Male gender, severe calcification, and TASC II D lesion were independent predictors for reocclusion, while predictors of restenosis were DM, smoking and TASC II D lesions

Visual cognition influences early vision: the role of visual short-term memory in amodal completion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyunkyu; Vecera, Shaun P

2005-10-01

A partly occluded visual object is perceptually filled in behind the occluding surface, a process known as amodal completion or visual interpolation. Previous research focused on the image-based properties that lead to amodal completion. In the present experiments, we examined the role of a higher-level visual process-visual short-term memory (VSTM)-in amodal completion. We measured the degree of amodal completion by asking participants to perform an object-based attention task on occluded objects while maintaining either zero or four items in visual working memory. When no items were stored in VSTM, participants completed the occluded objects; when four items were stored in VSTM, amodal completion was halted (Experiment 1). These results were not caused by the influence of VSTM on object-based attention per se (Experiment 2) or by the specific location of to-be-remembered items (Experiment 3). Items held in VSTM interfere with amodal completion, which suggests that amodal completion may not be an informationally encapsulated process, but rather can be affected by high-level visual processes.

The off-label use of the Amplatzer muscular VSD occluder for large patent ductus arteriosus: a case report and review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cubeddu, Roberto J; Babin, Ivan; Inglessis, Ignacio

2014-07-01

A percutaneous approach to the closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is the preferred procedure in the majority of cases. However, there is little experience with percutaneous closure of unusually large PDA. We report the case of a 28-year-old female with moderate left ventricular dilation and pulmonary hypertension resulting from a large 16 mm PDA. Percutaneous closure was successfully performed using an off-label Amplatzer muscular ventricular septal defect occluder after intravascular ultrasound assessment. Technical challenges, including accurate assessment of defect size and device selection are exemplified along with a comprehensive overview of the available literature.

Nash Equilibria in Symmetric Games with Partial Observation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bouyer, Patricia; Markey, Nicolas; Vester, Steen

2014-01-01

We investigate a model for representing large multiplayer games, which satisfy strong symmetry properties. This model is made of multiple copies of an arena; each player plays in his own arena, and can partially observe what the other players do. Therefore, this game has partial information...... and symmetry constraints, which make the computation of Nash equilibria difficult. We show several undecidability results, and for bounded-memory strategies, we precisely characterize the complexity of computing pure Nash equilibria (for qualitative objectives) in this game model....

Occlusion and Temporomandibular Function among Subjects with Mandibular Distal Extension Removable Partial Dentures.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Creugers, N.H.J.; Witter, D.J.; Spijker, A. van 't; Gerritsen, A.E.; Kreulen, C.M.

2010-01-01

Objective. To quantify effects on occlusion and temporomandibular function of mandibular distal extension removable partial dentures in shortened dental arches. Methods. Subjects wearing mandibular extension removable partial dentures (n = 25) were compared with subjects with shortened dental arches

A Partial Order on Bipartite Graphs with n Vertices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emil Daniel Schwab

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The paper examines a partial order on bipartite graphs (X1, X2, E with n vertices, X1∪X2={1,2,…,n}. The basis of such bipartite graph is X1 = {1,2,…,k}, 0≤k≤n. If U = (X1, X2, E(U and V = (Y1,Y2, E(V then U≤V iff |X1| ≤ |Y1| and {(i,jE(U: j>|Y1|} = ={(i,jE(V:i≤|X1|}. This partial order is a natural partial order of subobjects of an object in a triangular category with bipartite graphs as morphisms.

Tracking 3D Moving Objects Based on GPS/IMU Navigation Solution, Laser Scanner Point Cloud and GIS Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siavash Hosseinyalamdary

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Monitoring vehicular road traffic is a key component of any autonomous driving platform. Detecting moving objects, and tracking them, is crucial to navigating around objects and predicting their locations and trajectories. Laser sensors provide an excellent observation of the area around vehicles, but the point cloud of objects may be noisy, occluded, and prone to different errors. Consequently, object tracking is an open problem, especially for low-quality point clouds. This paper describes a pipeline to integrate various sensor data and prior information, such as a Geospatial Information System (GIS map, to segment and track moving objects in a scene. We show that even a low-quality GIS map, such as OpenStreetMap (OSM, can improve the tracking accuracy, as well as decrease processing time. A bank of Kalman filters is used to track moving objects in a scene. In addition, we apply non-holonomic constraint to provide a better orientation estimation of moving objects. The results show that moving objects can be correctly detected, and accurately tracked, over time, based on modest quality Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR data, a coarse GIS map, and a fairly accurate Global Positioning System (GPS and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU navigation solution.

Object oriented approach to B reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katayama, N.

1992-01-01

The complexity of full and partial reconstruction of B mesons has led CLEO to use object oriented techniques to do physics data analyses. An object oriented language for HEP data analysis was designed, a compiler which translates the user code into C++ source code, has been written using the UNIX tools, lex and yacc. The resulting C++ code can be linked and run in the normal CLEO data analysis system

Oxcarbazepine versus carbamazepine monotherapy for partial onset seizures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koch, Marcus W.; Polman, Susanne K. L.

2009-01-01

Background Partial onset seizures are often treated with the standard antiepileptic drug carbamazepine. Oxcarbazepine is a newer antiepileptic drug related to carbamazepine that is claimed to be better tolerated. Objectives To compare efficacy and tolerability of carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine

Long-term intensive management increased carbon occluded in phytolith (PhytOC) in bamboo forest soils

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhang-Ting; Li, Yong-Fu; Jiang, Pei-Kun; Chang, Scott X.; Song, Zhao-Liang; Liu, Juan; Zhou, Guo-Mo

2014-01-01

Carbon (C) occluded in phytolith (PhytOC) is highly stable at millennium scale and its accumulation in soils can help increase long-term C sequestration. Here, we report that soil PhytOC storage significantly increased with increasing duration under intensive management (mulching and fertilization) in Lei bamboo (Phyllostachys praecox) plantations. The PhytOC storage in 0-40 cm soil layer in bamboo plantations increased by 217 Mg C ha-1, 20 years after being converted from paddy fields. The PhytOC accumulated at 79 kg C ha-1 yr-1, a rate far exceeding the global mean long-term soil C accumulation rate of 24 kg C ha-1 yr-1 reported in the literature. Approximately 86% of the increased PhytOC came from the large amount of mulch applied. Our data clearly demonstrate the decadal scale management effect on PhytOC accumulation, suggesting that heavy mulching is a potential method for increasing long-term organic C storage in soils for mitigating global climate change.

Evidence for object permanence in the smooth-pursuit eye movements of monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Churchland, Mark M; Chou, I-Han; Lisberger, Stephen G

2003-10-01

We recorded the smooth-pursuit eye movements of monkeys in response to targets that were extinguished (blinked) for 200 ms in mid-trajectory. Eye velocity declined considerably during the target blinks, even when the blinks were completely predictable in time and space. Eye velocity declined whether blinks were presented during steady-state pursuit of a constant-velocity target, during initiation of pursuit before target velocity was reached, or during eye accelerations induced by a change in target velocity. When a physical occluder covered the trajectory of the target during blinks, creating the impression that the target moved behind it, the decline in eye velocity was reduced or abolished. If the target was occluded once the eye had reached target velocity, pursuit was only slightly poorer than normal, uninterrupted pursuit. In contrast, if the target was occluded during the initiation of pursuit, while the eye was accelerating toward target velocity, pursuit during occlusion was very different from normal pursuit. Eye velocity remained relatively stable during target occlusion, showing much less acceleration than normal pursuit and much less of a decline than was produced by a target blink. Anticipatory or predictive eye acceleration was typically observed just prior to the reappearance of the target. Computer simulations show that these results are best understood by assuming that a mechanism of eye-velocity memory remains engaged during target occlusion but is disengaged during target blinks.

Shear Wave Generation by Decoupled and Partially Coupled Explosions

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Stevens, Jeffry L; Xu, Heming; Baker, G. E

2008-01-01

The objective of this project is to investigate the sources of shear wave generation by decoupled and partially coupled explosions, and the differences in shear wave generation between tamped and decoupled explosions...

A Calculus with Partially Dynamic Records for Typeful Manipulation of JSON Objects

OpenAIRE

Ohori, Atsushi; Ueno, Katsuhiro; Sasaki, Tomohiro; Kikuchi, Daisuke

2016-01-01

This paper investigates language constructs for high-level and type-safe manipulation of JSON objects in a typed functional language. A major obstacle in representing JSON in a static type system is their heterogeneous nature: in most practical JSON APIs, a JSON array is a heterogeneous list consisting of, for example, objects having common fields and possibly some optional fields. This paper presents a typed calculus that reconciles static typing constraints and heterogeneous JSON arrays...

Implications of natural occlusion of ventilated racks on ammonia and sanitation practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Creamer, Michelle A; Petty, Joann; Martin, Tara; Bergdall, Valerie; Hickman-Davis, Judy M

2014-03-01

Examination of ventilated rat racks prior to semiannual sanitation revealed silicone nozzles and ventilation ports that were partially or completely occluded with granular debris. We subsequently sought to document performance standards for rack sanitation and investigate the effect of ventilation port occlusion on rack function and animal husbandry practices. We hypothesized that individually ventilated cages with occluded airflow would require more frequent cage changes, comparable to those for static cages (that is, every 3 to 4 d). Sprague-Dawley rats were housed under one of 4 conditions: no airflow occlusion, occluded air-supply inlet, occluded air-exhaust outlet, and occlusion of both inlet and outlet. Cages were changed when daily ammonia concentration exceeded 20 ppm or after 14 d had elapsed. Most cages with unoccluded or partial airflow occlusion remained below the 20 ppm limit until day 12 or 13. Cages with occlusion of both inlet and outlet exceeded 20 ppm ammonia by as early as day 5. Airflow was significantly lower in cages with occlusion of both inlet and outlet airflow. Weekly inspection revealed that occlusion of ventilation ports was detectable by 3 mo after semiannual sanitation. This study demonstrates that silicone nozzles should be removed prior to rack sanitation to improve the effectiveness of cleaning ventilation ports and nozzles. While the rack is in use, silicone nozzles and ventilation ports should be inspected regularly to identify occlusion that is likely to diminish environmental quality in the cage. Intracage ammonia levels are significantly higher when both inlet and outlet airflow are occluded.

Contributions of retinal input and phenomenal representation of a fixation object to the saccadic gap effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Ueda, Hiroshi; Takahashi, Kohske; Watanabe, Katsumi

2013-04-19

The saccadic "gap effect" refers to a phenomenon whereby saccadic reaction times (SRTs) are shortened by the removal of a visual fixation stimulus prior to target presentation. In the current study, we investigated whether the gap effect was influenced by retinal input of a fixation stimulus, as well as phenomenal permanence and/or expectation of the re-emergence of a fixation stimulus. In Experiment 1, we used an occluded fixation stimulus that was gradually hidden by a moving plate prior to the target presentation, which produced the impression that the fixation stimulus still remained and would reappear from behind the plate. We found that the gap effect was significantly weakened with the occluded fixation stimulus. However, the SRT with the occluded fixation stimulus was still shorter in comparison to when the fixation stimulus physically remained on the screen. In Experiment 2, we investigated whether this effect was due to phenomenal maintenance or expectation of the reappearance of the fixation stimulus; this was achieved by using occluding plates that were an identical color to the background screen, giving the impression of reappearance of the fixation stimulus but not of its maintenance. The result showed that the gap effect was still weakened by the same degree even without phenomenal maintenance of the fixation stimulus. These results suggest that the saccadic gap effect is modulated by both retinal input and subjective expectation of re-emergence of the fixation stimulus. In addition to oculomotor mechanisms, other components, such as attentional mechanisms, likely contribute to facilitation of the subsequent action. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nash Equilibria in Symmetric Graph Games with Partial Observation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bouyer, Patricia; Markey, Nicolas; Vester, Steen

2017-01-01

We investigate a model for representing large multiplayer games, which satisfy strong symmetry properties. This model is made of multiple copies of an arena; each player plays in his own arena, and can partially observe what the other players do. Therefore, this game has partial information...... and symmetry constraints, which make the computation of Nash equilibria difficult. We show several undecidability results, and for bounded-memory strategies, we precisely characterize the complexity of computing pure Nash equilibria for qualitative objectives in this game model....

Modelling object typicality in description logics

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Britz, K

2009-12-01

Full Text Available in the context under consideration, than those lower down. For any given class C, we assume that all objects in the appli- cation domain that are in (the interpretation of) C are more typical of C than those not in C. This is a technical construction which... to be modular partial orders, i.e. reflexive, transitive, anti- symmetric relations such that, for all a, b, c in ∆I , if a and b are incomparable and a is strictly below c, then b is also strictly below c. Modular partial orders have the effect...

Fast grasping of unknown objects using principal component analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Qujiang; Chen, Guangming; Wisse, Martijn

2017-09-01

Fast grasping of unknown objects has crucial impact on the efficiency of robot manipulation especially subjected to unfamiliar environments. In order to accelerate grasping speed of unknown objects, principal component analysis is utilized to direct the grasping process. In particular, a single-view partial point cloud is constructed and grasp candidates are allocated along the principal axis. Force balance optimization is employed to analyze possible graspable areas. The obtained graspable area with the minimal resultant force is the best zone for the final grasping execution. It is shown that an unknown object can be more quickly grasped provided that the component analysis principle axis is determined using single-view partial point cloud. To cope with the grasp uncertainty, robot motion is assisted to obtain a new viewpoint. Virtual exploration and experimental tests are carried out to verify this fast gasping algorithm. Both simulation and experimental tests demonstrated excellent performances based on the results of grasping a series of unknown objects. To minimize the grasping uncertainty, the merits of the robot hardware with two 3D cameras can be utilized to suffice the partial point cloud. As a result of utilizing the robot hardware, the grasping reliance is highly enhanced. Therefore, this research demonstrates practical significance for increasing grasping speed and thus increasing robot efficiency under unpredictable environments.

Balloon-Occluded Carbon Dioxide Gas Angiography for Internal Iliac Arteriography and Intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Kishino, Mitsuhiro; Nakaminato, Shuichiro; Kitazume, Yoshio; Miyasaka, Naoyuki; Kudo, Toshifumi; Saida, Yukihisa; Tateishi, Ukihide

2018-07-01

The usefulness of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) gas digital subtraction angiography (DSA) has been reported for patients with renal insufficiency and allergy to iodinated contrast agents. However, CO 2 gas cannot replace the iodinated contrast agent in all cases owing to some disadvantages. We describe balloon-occluded CO 2 DSA (B-CO 2 DSA) as an improved CO 2 DSA procedure for interventions in the internal iliac artery (IIA) region and compare the quality of images obtained using conventional CO 2 DSA and B-CO 2 DSA. B-CO 2 DSA-guided embolization was performed for one case of genital bleeding with an acute anaphylactic reaction to the iodinated contrast agent and for three cases of type II endoleaks after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair with renal dysfunction. A 9-mm occlusion balloon catheter was placed just after the orifice of the IIA. Then, 10-15 ml of CO 2 gas was injected manually via the catheter with and without balloon occlusion. The quality of sequential digital subtraction angiograms was analyzed based on a scoring criterion. In all four cases, image quality was improved with B-CO 2 DSA; the poor quality of images without balloon occlusion was because of reflux of the CO 2 gas. B-CO 2 DSA improves the image quality of CO 2 DSA in the IIA region and is useful for vascular intervention. Level IV.

Effect of partial replacement of wheat with peanut flour on the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Consumption of bread is continually growing despite the high cost of wheat importation. There is a dire need to reduce the dependence on wheat through partial replacement of wheat with indigenous crops as well as improving the nutritional value of carbohydrate based foods. Objectives: The objectives of this ...

Impact of removable partial denture prosthesis on chewing efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

BESSADET, Marion; NICOLAS, Emmanuel; SOCHAT, Marine; HENNEQUIN, Martine; VEYRUNE, Jean-Luc

2013-01-01

Removable partial denture prostheses are still being used for anatomic, medical and economic reasons. However, the impact on chewing parameters is poorly described. Objectives The objective of this study was to estimate the impact of removable partial denture prosthesis on masticatory parameters. Material and Methods Nineteen removable partial denture prosthesis (RPDP) wearers participated in the study. Among them, 10 subjects were Kennedy Class III partially edentulous and 9 with posterior edentulism (Class I). All presented a complete and full dentate opposing arch. The subjects chewed samples of carrots and peanuts with and without their prosthesis. The granulometry of the expectorated boluses from carrot and peanuts was characterized by median particle size (D50), determined at the natural point of swallowing. Number of chewing cycles (CC), chewing time (CT) and chewing frequency (CF=CC/CT) were video recorded. Results With RPDP, the mean D50 values for carrot and peanuts were lower [Repeated Model Procedures (RMP), F=15, p<0.001] regardless of the type of Kennedy Class. For each food, mean CC, CT and CF values recorded decreased (RMP, F=18, F=9, and F=20 respectively, p<0.01). With or without RPD, the boluses' granulometry values were above the masticatory normative index (MNI) determined as 4,000 µm. Conclusion RPDP rehabilitation improves the ability to reduce the bolus particle size, but does not reestablish fully the masticatory function. Clinical relevance This study encourages the clinical improvement of oral rehabilitation procedure. PMID:24212983

Cast Partial Denture versus Acrylic Partial Denture for Replacement of Missing Teeth in Partially Edentulous Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pramita Suwal

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Aim: To compare the effects of cast partial denture with conventional all acrylic denture in respect to retention, stability, masticatory efficiency, comfort and periodontal health of abutments. Methods: 50 adult partially edentulous patient seeking for replacement of missing teeth having Kennedy class I and II arches with or without modification areas were selected for the study. Group-A was treated with cast partial denture and Group-B with acrylic partial denture. Data collected during follow-up visit of 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year by evaluating retention, stability, masticatory efficiency, comfort, periodontal health of abutment. Results: Chi-square test was applied to find out differences between the groups at 95% confidence interval where p = 0.05. One year comparison shows that cast partial denture maintained retention and stability better than acrylic partial denture (p< 0.05. The masticatory efficiency was significantly compromising from 3rd month to 1 year in all acrylic partial denture groups (p< 0.05. The comfort of patient with cast partial denture was maintained better during the observation period (p< 0.05. Periodontal health of abutment was gradually deteriorated in all acrylic denture group (p

Controlling the hydration of the skin though the application of occluding barrier creams.

Science.gov (United States)

Sparr, Emma; Millecamps, Danielle; Isoir, Muriel; Burnier, Véronique; Larsson, Åsa; Cabane, Bernard

2013-03-06

The skin is a barrier membrane that separates environments with profoundly different water contents. The barrier properties are assured by the outer layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), which controls the transepidermal water loss. The SC acts as a responding membrane, since its hydration and permeability vary with the boundary condition, which is the activity of water at the outer surface of the skin. We show how this boundary condition can be changed by the application of a barrier cream that makes a film with a high resistance to the transport of water. We present a quantitative model that predicts hydration and water transport in SC that is covered by such a film. We also develop an experimental method for measuring the specific resistance to water transport of films made of occluding barrier creams. Finally, we combine the theoretical model with the measured properties of the barrier creams to predict how a film of cream changes the activity of water at the outer surface of the SC. Using the known variations of SC permeability and hydration with the water activity in its environment (i.e. the relative humidity), we can thus predict how a film of barrier cream changes SC hydration.

Static Typing for Object-Oriented Programming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schwartzbach, Michael Ignatieff; Palsberg, Jens

1994-01-01

We develop a theory of statically typed object-oriented languages. It represents classes as labeled, regular trees, types as finit sets of classes , and sub-classing as a partial order on trees. We show that our sub-classing order strictly generalizes inheritance, and that a novel genericity mech...

Acoustic position finding of partial discharges in transformers. Combination of partial discharge measurement technology with 3D visualization; Akustische Ortung von Teilentladungen in Transformatoren. TE-Messtechnik und 3-D-Visualisierung kombiniert

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kraetge, Alexander; Hoek, Stefan [Omicron Electronics GmbH, Klaus (Austria)

2013-11-01

A new measuring system facilitates the detection of partial discharges in transformers by means of the fully synchronous combination of measurement technology for electrical partial discharges with intuitive 3D visualization of the test object. The contribution under consideration describes the application of this system with examples from the measurement practice.

Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration of a Gastric Vascular Malformation: An Innovative Approach to Treatment of a Rare Condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansing, Catherine E.; Marquardt, Joseph P.; Sutton, Daniel M.; York, John D.

2017-01-01

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are a high-flow form of a vascular malformation, which can be found anywhere in the body. While historically treated surgically, a multidisciplinary approach utilizing multiple specialties and treatment modalities is now commonly employed. In order to effectively treat an AVM, the nidus must be targeted and eradicated, which can be done via multiple approaches. We present the case of a 43-year-old male with a gastric wall AVM, which was initially incompletely treated using a percutaneous transarterial approach. The gastric AVM was noted to have dominant drainage through a gastrorenal shunt; therefore, Balloon-occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (BRTO) was utilized to eradicate the AVM nidus. This case illustrates the utility of Interventional Radiology, specifically BRTO, as another treatment option for challenging AVMs.

Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration of a Gastric Vascular Malformation: An Innovative Approach to Treatment of a Rare Condition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hansing, Catherine E., E-mail: catherine.e.hansing.mil@mail.mil [Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Transitional Year/Graduate Medical Education Department, Medical Corps, United States Navy (United States); Marquardt, Joseph P.; Sutton, Daniel M.; York, John D. [Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Radiology Department, Medical Corps, United States Navy (United States)

2017-02-15

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are a high-flow form of a vascular malformation, which can be found anywhere in the body. While historically treated surgically, a multidisciplinary approach utilizing multiple specialties and treatment modalities is now commonly employed. In order to effectively treat an AVM, the nidus must be targeted and eradicated, which can be done via multiple approaches. We present the case of a 43-year-old male with a gastric wall AVM, which was initially incompletely treated using a percutaneous transarterial approach. The gastric AVM was noted to have dominant drainage through a gastrorenal shunt; therefore, Balloon-occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (BRTO) was utilized to eradicate the AVM nidus. This case illustrates the utility of Interventional Radiology, specifically BRTO, as another treatment option for challenging AVMs.

Comparative analysis of unilateral removable partial denture and classical removable partial denture by using finite element method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radović Katarina

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Various mobile devices are used in the therapy of unilateral free-end saddle. Unilateral dentures with precise connectivity elements are not used frequently. In this paper the problem of applying and functionality of unilateral freeend saddle denture without major connector was taken into consideration. Objective. The aim was to analyze and compare a unilateral RPD (removable partial denture and a classical RPD by calculating and analyzing stresses under different loads. Methods. 3D models of unilateral removable partial denture and classical removable partial denture with casted clasps were made by using computer program CATIA V5 (abutment teeth, canine and first premolar, with crowns and abutment tissues were also made. The models were built in full-scale. Stress analyses for both models were performed by applying a force of 300 N on the second premolar, a force of 500 N on the first molar and a force of 700 N on the second molar. Results. The Fault Model Extractor (FME analysis and calculation showed the complete behavior of unilateral removable partial denture and abutments (canine and first premolar, as well as the behavior of RPD under identical loading conditions. Applied forces with extreme values caused high stress levels on both models and their abutments within physiological limits. Conclusion. Having analyzed stresses under same conditions, we concluded that the unilateral RPD and classical RPD have similar physiological values.

Consciousness isn't all-or-none: Evidence for partial awareness during the attentional blink.

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, James C; Baird, Benjamin; Giesbrecht, Barry

2016-02-01

Alternative views of the nature of consciousness posit that awareness of an object is either an all-or-none phenomenon or that awareness can be partial, occurring independently for different levels of representation. The all-or-none hypothesis predicts that when one feature of an object is identified, all other features should be consciously accessible. The partial awareness hypothesis predicts that one feature may reach consciousness while others do not. These competing predictions were tested in two experiments that presented two targets within a central stream of letters. We used the attentional blink evoked by the first target to assess consciousness for two different features of the second target. The results provide evidence that there can be a severe impairment in conscious access to one feature even when another feature is accurately reported. This behavioral evidence supports the partial awareness hypothesis, showing that consciousness of different features of the same object can be dissociated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gonioscopy findings and prevalence of occludable angles in a Burmese population: the Meiktila Eye Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Casson, R J; Newland, H S; Muecke, J; McGovern, S; Abraham, L M; Shein, W K; Selva, D; Aung, T

2007-07-01

To determine the prevalence of preglaucomatous angle-closure disease in central Myanmar. A population-based survey of inhabitants >or=40 years in the Meiktila District was carried out; 2481 subjects were identified, 2076 participated and 2060 underwent gonioscopy of at least one eye. Eyes with angles traditionally described as "occludable" were recorded as primary angle-closure suspects (PACS); eyes with PACS and peripheral anterior synechiae (PAS), or an increased intraocular pressure but without primary angle-closure glaucoma, were recorded as primary angle closure (PAC). The prevalence of PACS in at least one eye was 5.7% (95% CI 4.72 to 6.62); prevalence increased with age and was more common in women (p<0.001). The prevalence of PAC in at least one eye was 1.50% (95% CI 1.47 to 1.53). All participants with PAS had at least 90 degrees of closure (range 90-360 degrees). The prevalence of preglaucomatous angle-closure disease (PACS and PAC) in this population was 5.7% and 1.5%, respectively. PACS was more common in women, and its prevalence increased with age.

Multiparty Compatibility for Concurrent Objects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roly Perera

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Objects and actors are communicating state machines, offering and consuming different services at different points in their lifecycle. Two complementary challenges arise when programming such systems. When objects interact, their state machines must be "compatible", so that services are requested only when they are available. Dually, when objects refine other objects, their state machines must be "compliant", so that services are honoured whenever they are promised. In this paper we show how the idea of multiparty compatibility from the session types literature can be applied to both of these problems. We present an untyped language in which concurrent objects are checked automatically for compatibility and compliance. For simple objects, checking can be exhaustive and has the feel of a type system. More complex objects can be partially validated via test cases, leading to a methodology closer to continuous testing. Our proof-of-concept implementation is limited in some important respects, but demonstrates the potential value of the approach and the relationship to existing software development practices.

Idiopathic renal hematuria in a dog; the usefulness of a method of partial occlusion of the renal artery.

Science.gov (United States)

Mishina, M; Watanabe, T; Yugeta, N; Maeda, H; Fujii, K; Wakao, Y; Takahashi, M; Yamamura, H

1997-04-01

Exploratory laparotomy was performed on a dog suspected of having idiopathic renal hematuria. Two catheters were inserted into the bilateral ureters, and hematuria from the left kidney was confirmed. The blood flow was occluded in the ventral and dorsal rami of the left renal artery in order to localize the site of hemorrhage. As hematuria disappeared when the dorsal ramus was occluded, the site of renal hematuria was localized to the area dominated by the dorsal ramus of the renal artery. As a result of ligating the dorsal ramus of the left renal artery in this dog, renal hematuria subsided, and the dog has shown a favorable course, to date, one year after surgery.

Neural-network-based system for recognition of partially occluded shapes and patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Mital, Dinesh P.; Teoh, Eam-Khwang; Amarasinghe, S. K.; Suganthan, P. N.

1996-10-01

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how a structural matching approach can be used to perfonn effective rotational invariant fingerprint identification. In this approach, each of the exiracted features is correlated with Live of its nearest neighbouring features to form a local feature gmup for a first-stage matching. After that, the feature with the highest match is used as a central feature whereby all the other features are correlated to form a global feature group for a second.stage matching. The correlation between the features is in terms of distance and relative angle. This approach actually make the matching method rotational invariant A substantial amount of testing was carried out and it shows that this matching technique is capable of matching the four basic fingerprint patterns with an average matching time of4 seconds on a 66Mhz, 486 DX personal computer.

Nursing care of catheter-directed thrombolysis therapy for acute arterial embolism of lower extremities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Yan; Ge Jingping; Gu Jianping

2011-01-01

Objective: To discuss the clinical effect of nursing intervention for interventional catheter-directed thrombolysis therapy in patients with acute arterial embolism of lower extremities. Methods: The experience of nursing care for 48 cases with acute arterial embolism of lower extremities which was treated with interventional catheter-directed thrombolysis was retrospectively analyzed. Results: With the help of active nursing care and rational treatment the occluded arteries were completely reopened in 40 cases and partially reopened in 8 cases. Complete relief from the clinical symptoms was obtained in 42 cases and partial remission was seen in 6 cases. Conclusion: For getting a complete recovery and improving living quality after catheter-directed thrombolysis in patients with acute arterial embolism of lower extremities, the key points are sufficient preoperative preparation, perioperative painstaking nursing care as well as postoperative correct guidance of exercise program. (authors)

Implant support for removable partial overdentures: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Halterman, S M; Rivers, J A; Keith, J D; Nelson, D R

1999-01-01

Functional stability and the preservation of remaining alveolar bone are primary, and often elusive, goals when restoring the partially edentulous arch. The incorporation of dental implants for the partial support of removable prostheses offers a practical adjunct in the fulfillment of these objectives. Planning for complex courses of treatment that include dental implants requires close coordination between the surgeon and the restorative dentist. Decisions that deal with type, location, size, number of implant fixtures, and design of the prosthesis are critical. All of these areas must be discussed and established as acceptable to the patient and each clinician before the initiation of treatment. In this report, we present a course of patient treatment in which a removable partial denture is supported by natural remaining teeth in conjunction with osseointegrated implants.

The role of transparency in da Vinci stereopsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zannoli, Marina; Mamassian, Pascal

2011-10-15

The majority of natural scenes contains zones that are visible to one eye only. Past studies have shown that these monocular regions can be seen at a precise depth even though there are no binocular disparities that uniquely constrain their locations in depth. In the so-called da Vinci stereopsis configuration, the monocular region is a vertical line placed next to a binocular rectangular occluder. The opacity of the occluder has been mentioned to be a necessary condition to obtain da Vinci stereopsis. However, this opacity constraint has never been empirically tested. In the present study, we tested whether da Vinci stereopsis and perceptual transparency can interact using a classical da Vinci configuration in which the opacity of the occluder varied. We used two different monocular objects: a line and a disk. We found no effect of the opacity of the occluder on the perceived depth of the monocular object. A careful analysis of the distribution of perceived depth revealed that the monocular object was perceived at a depth that increased with the distance between the object and the occluder. The analysis of the skewness of the distributions was not consistent with a double fusion explanation, favoring an implication of occlusion geometry in da Vinci stereopsis. A simple model that includes the geometry of the scene could account for the results. In summary, the mechanism responsible to locate monocular regions in depth is not sensitive to the material properties of objects, suggesting that da Vinci stereopsis is solved at relatively early stages of disparity processing. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cost-effectiveness of implant-supported mandibular removable partial dentures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jensen, Charlotte; Ross, Jamila; Feenstra, Talitha L; Raghoebar, Gerry M; Speksnijder, Caroline; Meijer, Henny J A; Cune, Marco S

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing conventional removable partial dentures (RPDs) and implant-supported RPDs (ISRPDs) treatment in patients with an edentulous maxilla and a bilateral free-ending situation in the mandible. Material and methodsThirty

PET imaging of thin objects: measuring the effects of positron range and partial-volume averaging in the leaf of Nicotiana tabacum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alexoff, David L., E-mail: alexoff@bnl.gov; Dewey, Stephen L.; Vaska, Paul; Krishnamoorthy, Srilalan; Ferrieri, Richard; Schueller, Michael; Schlyer, David J.; Fowler, Joanna S.

2011-02-15

Introduction: PET imaging in plants is receiving increased interest as a new strategy to measure plant responses to environmental stimuli and as a tool for phenotyping genetically engineered plants. PET imaging in plants, however, poses new challenges. In particular, the leaves of most plants are so thin that a large fraction of positrons emitted from PET isotopes ({sup 18}F, {sup 11}C, {sup 13}N) escape while even state-of-the-art PET cameras have significant partial-volume errors for such thin objects. Although these limitations are acknowledged by researchers, little data have been published on them. Methods: Here we measured the magnitude and distribution of escaping positrons from the leaf of Nicotiana tabacum for the radionuclides {sup 18}F, {sup 11}C and {sup 13}N using a commercial small-animal PET scanner. Imaging results were compared to radionuclide concentrations measured from dissection and counting and to a Monte Carlo simulation using GATE (Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission). Results: Simulated and experimentally determined escape fractions were consistent. The fractions of positrons (mean{+-}S.D.) escaping the leaf parenchyma were measured to be 59{+-}1.1%, 64{+-}4.4% and 67{+-}1.9% for {sup 18}F, {sup 11}C and {sup 13}N, respectively. Escape fractions were lower in thicker leaf areas like the midrib. Partial-volume averaging underestimated activity concentrations in the leaf blade by a factor of 10 to 15. Conclusions: The foregoing effects combine to yield PET images whose contrast does not reflect the actual activity concentrations. These errors can be largely corrected by integrating activity along the PET axis perpendicular to the leaf surface, including detection of escaped positrons, and calculating concentration using a measured leaf thickness.

Evaluation of analytical performance based on partial order methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlsen, Lars; Bruggemann, Rainer; Kenessova, Olga; Erzhigitov, Erkin

2015-01-01

Classical measurements of performances are typically based on linear scales. However, in analytical chemistry a simple scale may be not sufficient to analyze the analytical performance appropriately. Here partial order methodology can be helpful. Within the context described here, partial order analysis can be seen as an ordinal analysis of data matrices, especially to simplify the relative comparisons of objects due to their data profile (the ordered set of values an object have). Hence, partial order methodology offers a unique possibility to evaluate analytical performance. In the present data as, e.g., provided by the laboratories through interlaboratory comparisons or proficiency testings is used as an illustrative example. However, the presented scheme is likewise applicable for comparison of analytical methods or simply as a tool for optimization of an analytical method. The methodology can be applied without presumptions or pretreatment of the analytical data provided in order to evaluate the analytical performance taking into account all indicators simultaneously and thus elucidating a "distance" from the true value. In the present illustrative example it is assumed that the laboratories analyze a given sample several times and subsequently report the mean value, the standard deviation and the skewness, which simultaneously are used for the evaluation of the analytical performance. The analyses lead to information concerning (1) a partial ordering of the laboratories, subsequently, (2) a "distance" to the Reference laboratory and (3) a classification due to the concept of "peculiar points". Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Restoration of Patency to Central Airways Occluded by Malignant Endobronchial Tumors Using Intratumoral Injection of Cisplatin.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Hiren J; Begnaud, Abbie; Penley, Andrea M; Wynne, John; Malhotra, Paras; Fernandez-Bussy, Sebastian; Cope, Jessica; Shuster, Jonathan J; Jantz, Michael A

2015-09-01

Malignant airway obstruction is commonly found in patients with lung cancer and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Relieving malignant obstruction may improve symptoms, quality of life, and life expectancy. The objective of this study was to analyze our experience with bronchoscopic endobronchial intratumoral injection of cisplatin for malignant airway obstruction. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with malignant airway obstruction treated with bronchoscopic intratumoral injection of cisplatin. Patient characteristics, histology, degree of airway obstruction, procedural methods, treatment cycles, performance status, and therapeutic outcomes were evaluated. Tumor response was analyzed based on bronchoscopic measurements performed on completion the of final treatment session. Adverse events and overall survival were abstracted. Between January 2009 and September 2014, 22 patients (10 men, 12 women; mean age ± SD, 64.4 ± 9.5 yr) were treated with one to four injections of 40 mg of cisplatin mixed in 40 ml of 0.9% NaCl. Treatments were completed 1 week apart. The primary etiologies of airway obstruction included squamous cell carcinoma (n = 11), adenocarcinoma (n = 6), small cell carcinoma (n = 2), large cell undifferentiated carcinoma (n = 1), and metastatic endobronchial cancer (n = 2). Twenty-one of 22 patients were evaluable for response. The majority of patients (15/21, 71.4%) responded to therapy, defined as greater than 50% relative reduction in obstruction from baseline. Treatment response was obtained regardless of tumor histology, concurrent systemic therapy, number of treatment cycles administered, performance status, or use of additional ablative interventions. Responders had significantly improved overall survival as compared with nonresponders, although the difference was small. Severe treatment-related side effects or complications were not observed. Subject to the limitations of a single

Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy in middle-aged patients with mild or no knee osteoarthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hare, Kristoffer B; Lohmander, Stefan; Christensen, Robin

2013-01-01

Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy has been shown to be of no benefit to patients with concomitant knee osteoarthritis, but the optimal treatment of a degenerative meniscus tear in patients with mild or no knee osteoarthritis is unknown. This article describes the rationale and methodology...... of a randomized sham-controlled trial to assess the benefit of arthroscopic partial meniscectomy of a medial meniscus tear in patients with mild or no knee osteoarthritis. The objective of the study is to test whether the benefit from arthroscopic partial meniscectomy in patients with knee pain, medial meniscus...... lesion and mild/no knee osteoarthritis, is greater after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy than following sham surgery....

Interrogation of an object for dimensional and topographical information

Science.gov (United States)

McMakin, Doug L [Richland, WA; Severtsen, Ronald H [Richland, WA; Hall, Thomas E [Richland, WA; Sheen, David M [Richland, WA

2003-01-14

Disclosed are systems, methods, devices, and apparatus to interrogate a clothed individual with electromagnetic radiation to determine one or more body measurements at least partially covered by the individual's clothing. The invention further includes techniques to interrogate an object with electromagnetic radiation in the millimeter and/or microwave range to provide a volumetric representation of the object. This representation can be used to display images and/or determine dimensional information concerning the object.

Surgical repair of tricuspid valve leaflet tear following percutaneous closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defect using Amplatzer duct occluder I: Report of two cases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saatchi Mahesh Kuwelker

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Tricuspid valve (TV injury following transcatheter closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defect (PMVSD with Amplatzer ductal occluder I (ADO I, requiring surgical repair, is rare. We report two cases of TV tear involving the anterior and septal leaflets following PMVSD closure using ADO I. In both the patients, the subvalvular apparatus remained unaffected. The patients presented with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR 6 weeks and 3 months following the device closure. They underwent surgical repair with patch augmentation of the TV leaflets. Postoperatively, both are asymptomatic with a mild residual TR.

Demonstration of partial pitch 2-bladed wind turbine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, Taeseong; Zahle, Frederik; Troldborg, Niels

-sections on the blade as well as fully resolved rotor simulations, and finally simulations coupling HAWC2 with EllipSys3D, investigating the behaviors of the rotor at standstill, has been performed. For the WP3, the state-of-the art aeroelastic analysis tool, HAWC2, has been updated in order to consider the partial......This is the final report for the EUDP project performed from January 2012 to December 2015. The main objective for the project was to demonstrate the potential of the partial pitch two-bladed (PP-2B) technology. DTU Wind Energy took a responsibility for three workpackages (WPs) among 6 WPs which...... were aerodynamic evaluation of partial pitch technology (WP2), aeroelastic analysis of two-bladed turbine (WP3) and On-site testing (WP4). For the WP2, a comprehensive set of 3D CFD simulations including the gap between inner and outer part of the blade and vortex generators (VGs) of both cross...

Progressive Occlusion of Small Saccular Aneurysms Incompletely Occluded After Stent-Assisted Coil Embolization : Analysis of Related Factors and Long-Term Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Jeong Wook; Lee, Jeongjun; Cho, Young Dae

2017-08-08

Incompletely occluded aneurysms after coil embolization are subject to recanalization but occasionally progress to a totally occluded state. Deployed stents may actually promote thrombosis of coiled aneurysms. We evaluated outcomes of small aneurysms (medium was evident after stent-assisted coiling, assessing factors implicated in subsequent progressive occlusion. Between September 2012 and June 2016, a total of 463 intracranial aneurysms were treated by stent-assisted coil embolization. Of these, 132 small saccular aneurysms displayed saccular filling with contrast medium in the immediate aftermath of coiling. Progressive thrombosis was defined as complete aneurysmal occlusion at the 6‑month follow-up point. Rates of progressive occlusion and factors predisposing to this were analyzed via binary logistic regression. In 101 (76.5%) of the 132 intracranial aneurysms, complete occlusion was observed in follow-up imaging studies at 6 months. Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that progressive occlusion was linked to smaller neck diameter (odds ratio [OR] = 1.533; p = 0.003), hyperlipidemia (OR = 3.329; p = 0.036) and stent type (p = 0.031). The LVIS stent is especially susceptible to progressive thrombosis, more so than Neuroform (OR = 0.098; p = 0.008) or Enterprise (OR = 0.317; p = 0.098) stents. In 57 instances of progressive thrombosis, followed for ≥12 months (mean 25.0 ± 10.7 months), 56 (98.2%) were stable, with minor recanalization noted once (1.8%) and no major recanalization. Aneurysms associated with smaller diameter necks, hyperlipidemic states and LVIS stent deployment may be inclined to possible thrombosis, if occlusion immediately after stent-assisted coil embolization is incomplete. In such instances, excellent long-term durability is anticipated.

[Treatment of removable partial dentures. 2. Causes and consequences of a reduced occlusal system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Witter, D.J.; Barel, J.C.; Baat, C. de; Keltjens, H.M.A.M.; Creugers, N.H.J.

2011-01-01

The occlusal system is part of the orofacial system and consists of the maxillary and mandibular alveolar ridge and teeth which are occluding or not or the removable denture teeth. The most prevalent causes of loss of teeth are insufficient oral self care or inadequate professional oral healthcare

Object recognition using deep convolutional neural networks with complete transfer and partial frozen layers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kruithof, M.C.; Bouma, H.; Fischer, N.M.; Schutte, K.

2016-01-01

Object recognition is important to understand the content of video and allow flexible querying in a large number of cameras, especially for security applications. Recent benchmarks show that deep convolutional neural networks are excellent approaches for object recognition. This paper describes an

Endovascular Mechanical Thrombectomy of an Occluded Superior Division Branch of the Left MCA for Acute Cardioembolic Stroke

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schumacher, H. C.; Meyers, P. M.; Yavagal, D. R.; Harel, N. Y.; Elkind, M. S. V.; Mohr, J. P.; Pile-Spellman, J.

2003-01-01

Cardiac embolism accounts for a large proportion of ischemic stroke. Revascularization using systemic or intra-arterial thrombolysis is associated with increasing risks of cerebral hemorrhageas time passes from stroke onset. We report successful mechanicalthrombectomy from a distal branch of the middle cerebral artery (MCA)using a novel technique. A 72-year old man suffered an acute ischemic stroke from an echocardiographically proven ventricular thrombus due toa recent myocardial infarction. Intra-arterial administration of 4 mgrt-PA initiated at 5.7 hours post-ictus failed to recanalize an occluded superior division branch of the left MCA. At 6 hours,symptomatic embolic occlusion persisted. Mechanical extraction of the clot using an Attracter-18 device (Target Therapeutics, Freemont, CA) resulted in immediate recanalization of the MCA branch. Attracter-18 for acute occlusion of MCA branches may be considered in selected patients who fail conventional thrombolysis or are nearing closure of the therapeutic window for use of thrombolytic agents

Cholecystokinin (CCK) functional cholescintigraphic findings in patients with a partial cystic duct obstruction - the cystic duct syndrome (CDS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fink-Bennett, D.; DeRidder, P.; Kolozsi, W.; Gordon, R.

1984-01-01

Fourteen patients (pts.) with a CDS underwent CCK functional cholescintigraphy (FC). All pts. presented with persistent post-prandial right upper quadrant pain and biliary colic. None had an abnormal OCG, gallbladder (GB) ultrasound exam or upper G.I. series. All had macro- or microscopically abnormal cystic ducts (5 fibrotic, 7 elongated and narrow, 2 kinked) with (12) or without (2) concomitant chronic cholecystitis. Each pt. (NPO after 12 A.M.) received 5 mCi of technetium (TC)-99m Hepatolite. When the GB max. filled, .02 ug/kg CCK was administered (3 min.) I.V. Background corrected GBEFs were determined q.5 min. x 4 by ratioing the pre-CCK GB cts. minus post-CCK GB cts. to pre-CCK GB cts. GB EFRs were: 3 (12%), 2 (17%), and 1 each 0%, 1.3%, 3%, 4%, 6%, 11%, 14%, 18.5% and 22%. No pt. with a partially occluded cystic duct with or without concomitant chronic cholecystitis had an ejection fraction that exceeded 22%. In an appropriate clinical setting, a low ejection fraction response to CCK should alert the physician to the presence of either chronic acalculous cholecystitis, CDS, or the combination of both

The impact of rehabilitation using removable partial dentures and functionally orientated treatment on oral health-related quality of life: a randomised controlled clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

McKenna, Gerald; Allen, P Finbarr; O'Mahony, Denis; Cronin, Michael; DaMata, Cristiane; Woods, Noel

2015-01-01

This study aimed to compare two different tooth replacement strategies for partially dentate older patients; namely functionally orientated treatment according to the principles of the shortened dental arch (SDA) and conventional treatment using removable partial dentures (RPDs) using a randomised controlled clinical trial. The primary outcome measure for this study was impact on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) measured using the short form of the oral health impact profile (OHIP-14). Patients aged 65 years and older were randomly allocated to two different treatment groups: the RPD group and the SDA group. For the RPD group each patient was restored to complete arches with cobalt-chromium RPDs used to replace missing teeth. For the SDA group, patients were restored to a premolar occlusion of 10 occluding pairs of natural and replacement teeth using resin bonded bridgework (RBB). OHRQoL was measured using the OHIP-14 questionnaire administered at baseline, 1 month, 6 months and 12 months after treatment intervention. In total, 89 patients completed the RCT: 44 from the RPD group and 45 from the SDA group. Analysis using a mixed model of covariance (ANCOVA) illustrated that treatment according to the SDA concept resulted in significantly better mean OHIP-14 scores compared with RPD treatment (premovable dentures in terms of impact on OHRQoL. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Infants use temporal regularities to chunk objects in memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Kibbe, Melissa M; Feigenson, Lisa

2016-01-01

Infants, like adults, can maintain only a few items in working memory, but can overcome this limit by creating more efficient representations, or "chunks." Previous research shows that infants can form chunks using shared features or spatial proximity between objects. Here we asked whether infants also can create chunked representations using regularities that unfold over time. Thirteen-month old infants first were familiarized with four objects of different shapes and colors, presented in successive pairs. For some infants, the identities of objects in each pair varied randomly across familiarization (Experiment 1). For others, the objects within a pair always co-occurred, either in consistent relative spatial positions (Experiment 2a) or varying spatial positions (Experiment 2b). Following familiarization, infants saw all four objects hidden behind a screen and then saw the screen lifted to reveal either four objects or only three. Infants in Experiment 1, who had been familiarized with random object pairings, failed to look longer at the unexpected 3-object outcome; they showed the same inability to concurrently represent four objects as in other studies of infant working memory. In contrast, infants in Experiments 2a and 2b, who had been familiarized with regularly co-occurring pairs, looked longer at the unexpected outcome. These infants apparently used the co-occurrence between individual objects during familiarization to form chunked representations that were later deployed to track the objects as they were hidden at test. In Experiment 3, we confirmed that the familiarization affected infants' ability to remember the occluded objects rather than merely establishing longer-term memory for object pairs. Following familiarization to consistent pairs, infants who were not shown a hiding event (but merely saw the same test outcomes as in Experiments 2a and b) showed no preference for arrays of three versus four objects. Finally, in Experiments 4 and 5, we asked

Recurrent Partial Words

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francine Blanchet-Sadri

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Partial words are sequences over a finite alphabet that may contain wildcard symbols, called holes, which match or are compatible with all letters; partial words without holes are said to be full words (or simply words. Given an infinite partial word w, the number of distinct full words over the alphabet that are compatible with factors of w of length n, called subwords of w, refers to a measure of complexity of infinite partial words so-called subword complexity. This measure is of particular interest because we can construct partial words with subword complexities not achievable by full words. In this paper, we consider the notion of recurrence over infinite partial words, that is, we study whether all of the finite subwords of a given infinite partial word appear infinitely often, and we establish connections between subword complexity and recurrence in this more general framework.

Real-Time Video Stylization Using Object Flows.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Cewu; Xiao, Yao; Tang, Chi-Keung

2017-05-05

We present a real-time video stylization system and demonstrate a variety of painterly styles rendered on real video inputs. The key technical contribution lies on the object flow, which is robust to inaccurate optical flow, unknown object transformation and partial occlusion as well. Since object flows relate regions of the same object across frames, shower-door effect can be effectively reduced where painterly strokes and textures are rendered on video objects. The construction of object flows is performed in real time and automatically after applying metric learning. To reduce temporal flickering, we extend the bilateral filtering into motion bilateral filtering. We propose quantitative metrics to measure the temporal coherence on structures and textures of our stylized videos, and perform extensive experiments to compare our stylized results with baseline systems and prior works specializing in watercolor and abstraction.

Transcatheter closure of moderate-to-large patent ductus arteriosus in infants using Amplatzer duct occluder.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jou-Kou; Wu, Mei-Hwan; Lin, Ming-Tai; Chiu, Shuenn-Nan; Chen, Chun-An; Chiu, Hsin-Hui

2010-02-01

There are difficulties in transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in infants. The 46 infants (mean age 6.2+/-2.7 months; mean body weight 6.3+/-1.6 kg) who underwent PDA closure using the Amplatzer duct occluder (ADO). The indication for using an ADO was a ductus diameter > or =2.5 or 3 mm. Device diameter selected was 1-3 mm larger than ductal diameter. The mean systolic pulmonary artery pressure was 40.9+/-18.2 mmHg. The mean Qp/Qs ratio was 3.1+/-1.2. The mean ductus diameter was 3.3+/-0.8 mm. ADO was successfully deployed in 45 patients. Failure occurred in 1 case. The mean diameter of device used was 5.4+/-1.1 mm. No severe complications occurred. At the 1-month echocardiographic follow-up, a small residual shunt was present in 4 of 45 patients and had disappeared in all 4 patients at the 3-month follow-up. One patient developed a moderate degree of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction 2.3 years after the procedure. Transcatheter closure of PDA in infants using the ADO is a safe and effective method.

New development in robot vision

CERN Document Server

Behal, Aman; Chung, Chi-Kit

2015-01-01

The field of robotic vision has advanced dramatically recently with the development of new range sensors.  Tremendous progress has been made resulting in significant impact on areas such as robotic navigation, scene/environment understanding, and visual learning. This edited book provides a solid and diversified reference source for some of the most recent important advancements in the field of robotic vision. The book starts with articles that describe new techniques to understand scenes from 2D/3D data such as estimation of planar structures, recognition of multiple objects in the scene using different kinds of features as well as their spatial and semantic relationships, generation of 3D object models, approach to recognize partially occluded objects, etc. Novel techniques are introduced to improve 3D perception accuracy with other sensors such as a gyroscope, positioning accuracy with a visual servoing based alignment strategy for microassembly, and increasing object recognition reliability using related...

Indication, procedure, and choice of the embolisation material in transcatheteral vascular occlusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vogel, H.; Niemeier, J.; Hamburg Univ.

1985-01-01

If it is planned to effect transcatheteral occlusion of vessels, it must be examined whether the relevant vessel should be occluded permanently or temporarily and whether the occlusion should be located centrally in the vascular trunk or in a major twig, or peripherally in the region of the capillaries, arterioles and small vessels. Temporary occlusion with fibrospum is usually sufficient for treating a haemorrhage. Ethibloc or Bucrylate can be employed to shut off an organ and to achieve partial organ necrosis. Arteriovenous connections with a large vascular lumen can be occluded by means of metal particles. Peripherally occluding substances should not be used for embolisations in the gastrointestinal range because of the risk of local necrosis and possible dangerous infection resulting therefrom. To the present day hardly any indications have been found for the use of absolute alcohol. Bucrylate has the drawback, compared against Ethibloc, that the catheter may adhere to the vascular wall. Vessels with a low flow rate should be occluded either by means of balloon catheter or a coaxial catheter system because of the risk of reflux. (orig.) [de

Implementation of the technique of partial irradiation accelerated the breast with high doses (HDR) brachytherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molina Lopez, M. Y.; Pardo Perez, E.; Castro Novais, J.; Martinez Ortega, J.; Ruiz Maqueda, S.; Cerro Penalver, E. del

2013-01-01

The objective of this work is presents procedure carried out in our Centre for the implementation of the accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI, accelerated partial-breast irradiation) with high-rate brachytherapy (HDR), using plastic tubes as applicators. Carried out measures, the evaluation of the dosimetric parameters analyzing and presenting the results. (Author)

Neural substrates of view-invariant object recognition developed without experiencing rotations of the objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Okamura, Jun-Ya; Yamaguchi, Reona; Honda, Kazunari; Wang, Gang; Tanaka, Keiji

2014-11-05

One fails to recognize an unfamiliar object across changes in viewing angle when it must be discriminated from similar distractor objects. View-invariant recognition gradually develops as the viewer repeatedly sees the objects in rotation. It is assumed that different views of each object are associated with one another while their successive appearance is experienced in rotation. However, natural experience of objects also contains ample opportunities to discriminate among objects at each of the multiple viewing angles. Our previous behavioral experiments showed that after experiencing a new set of object stimuli during a task that required only discrimination at each of four viewing angles at 30° intervals, monkeys could recognize the objects across changes in viewing angle up to 60°. By recording activities of neurons from the inferotemporal cortex after various types of preparatory experience, we here found a possible neural substrate for the monkeys' performance. For object sets that the monkeys had experienced during the task that required only discrimination at each of four viewing angles, many inferotemporal neurons showed object selectivity covering multiple views. The degree of view generalization found for these object sets was similar to that found for stimulus sets with which the monkeys had been trained to conduct view-invariant recognition. These results suggest that the experience of discriminating new objects in each of several viewing angles develops the partially view-generalized object selectivity distributed over many neurons in the inferotemporal cortex, which in turn bases the monkeys' emergent capability to discriminate the objects across changes in viewing angle. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3415047-13$15.00/0.

The utility of computed tomography for recent-onset partial seizures ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objectives. To determine the diagnostic yield of computed tomography (CT) of the head in children presenting for the first time with partial seizures in a region with a high prevalence of tuberculosis and neurocysticercosis. Design. Prospective cohort study. Setting. The secondary-level ambulatory service of Red Cross ...

Partial tooth gear bearings

Science.gov (United States)

Vranish, John M. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A partial gear bearing including an upper half, comprising peak partial teeth, and a lower, or bottom, half, comprising valley partial teeth. The upper half also has an integrated roller section between each of the peak partial teeth with a radius equal to the gear pitch radius of the radially outwardly extending peak partial teeth. Conversely, the lower half has an integrated roller section between each of the valley half teeth with a radius also equal to the gear pitch radius of the peak partial teeth. The valley partial teeth extend radially inwardly from its roller section. The peak and valley partial teeth are exactly out of phase with each other, as are the roller sections of the upper and lower halves. Essentially, the end roller bearing of the typical gear bearing has been integrated into the normal gear tooth pattern.

Initial Experience with Balloon-Occluded Trans-catheter Arterial Chemoembolization (B-TACE) for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maruyama, Mitsunari, E-mail: mitunari@med-shimane.u.ac.jp; Yoshizako, Takeshi, E-mail: yosizako@med.shimane-u.ac.jp; Nakamura, Tomonori, E-mail: t-naka@med.shimane-u.ac.jp; Nakamura, Megumi, E-mail: megumi@med.shimane-u.ac.jp; Yoshida, Rika, E-mail: yoshidar@med.shimane-u.ac.jp; Kitagaki, Hajime, E-mail: kitagaki@med.shimane-u.ac.jp [Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology (Japan)

2016-03-15

PurposeThis study was performed to evaluate the accumulation of lipiodol emulsion (LE) and adverse events during our initial experience of balloon-occluded trans-catheter arterial chemoembolization (B-TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with conventional TACE (C-TACE).MethodsB-TACE group (50 cases) was compared with C-TACE group (50 cases). The ratio of the LE concentration in the tumor to that in the surrounding embolized liver parenchyma (LE ratio) was calculated after each treatment. Adverse events were evaluated according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Effects (CTCAE) version 4.0.ResultsThe LE ratio at the level of subsegmental showed a statistically significant difference between the groups (t test: P < 0.05). Only elevation of alanine aminotransferase was more frequent in the B-TACE group, showing a statistically significant difference (Mann–Whitney test: P < 0.05). While B-TACE caused severe adverse events (liver abscess and infarction) in patients with bile duct dilatation, there was no statistically significant difference in incidence between the groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that the significant risk factor for liver abscess/infarction was bile duct dilatation (P < 0.05).ConclusionThe LE ratio at the level of subsegmental showed a statistically significant difference between the groups (t test: P < 0.05). B-TACE caused severe adverse events (liver abscess and infarction) in patients with bile duct dilatation.

The production of phytolith-occluded carbon in China's forests: implications to biogeochemical carbon sequestration.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Zhaoliang; Liu, Hongyan; Li, Beilei; Yang, Xiaomin

2013-09-01

The persistent terrestrial carbon sink regulates long-term climate change, but its size, location, and mechanisms remain uncertain. One of the most promising terrestrial biogeochemical carbon sequestration mechanisms is the occlusion of carbon within phytoliths, the silicified features that deposit within plant tissues. Using phytolith content-biogenic silica content transfer function obtained from our investigation, in combination with published silica content and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) data of leaf litter and herb layer in China's forests, we estimated the production of phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) in China's forests. The present annual phytolith carbon sink in China's forests is 1.7 ± 0.4 Tg CO2  yr(-1) , 30% of which is contributed by bamboo because the production flux of PhytOC through tree leaf litter for bamboo is 3-80 times higher than that of other forest types. As a result of national and international bamboo afforestation and reforestation, the potential of phytolith carbon sink for China's forests and world's bamboo can reach 6.8 ± 1.5 and 27.0 ± 6.1 Tg CO2  yr(-1) , respectively. Forest management practices such as bamboo afforestation and reforestation may significantly enhance the long-term terrestrial carbon sink and contribute to mitigation of global climate warming. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sleep deprivation effects on object discrimination task in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Science.gov (United States)

Pinheiro-da-Silva, Jaquelinne; Silva, Priscila Fernandes; Nogueira, Marcelo Borges; Luchiari, Ana Carolina

2017-03-01

The zebrafish is an ideal vertebrate model for neurobehavioral studies with translational relevance to humans. Many aspects of sleep have been studied, but we still do not understand how and why sleep deprivation alters behavioral and physiological processes. A number of hypotheses suggest its role in memory consolidation. In this respect, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of sleep deprivation on memory in zebrafish (Danio rerio), using an object discrimination paradigm. Four treatments were tested: control, partial sleep deprivation, total sleep deprivation by light pulses, and total sleep deprivation by extended light. The control group explored the new object more than the known object, indicating clear discrimination. The partially sleep-deprived group explored the new object more than the other object in the discrimination phase, suggesting a certain degree of discriminative performance. By contrast, both total sleep deprivation groups equally explored all objects, regardless of their novelty. It seems that only one night of sleep deprivation is enough to affect discriminative response in zebrafish, indicating its negative impact on cognitive processes. We suggest that this study could be a useful screening tool for cognitive dysfunction and a better understanding of the effect of sleep-wake cycles on cognition.

An Object-Oriented Approach of Keyword Querying over Fuzzy XML

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ting Li

2016-09-01

Full Text Available As the fuzzy data management has become one of the main research topics and directions, the question of how to obtain the useful information by means of keyword query from fuzzy XML documents is becoming a subject of an increasing needed investigation. Considering the keyword query methods on crisp XML documents, smallest lowest common ancestor (SLCA semantics is one of the most widely accepted semantics. When users propose the keyword query on fuzzy XML documents with the SLCA semantics, the query results are always incomplate, with low precision, and with no possibilities values returned. Most of keyword query semantics on XML documents only consider query results matching all keywords, yet users may also be interested in the query results matching partial keywords. To overcome these limitations, in this paper, we investigate how to obtain more comprehensive and meaningful results of keyword querying on fuzzy XML documents. We propose a semantics of object-oriented keyword querying on fuzzy XML documents. First, we introduce the concept of "object tree", analyze different types of matching result object trees and find the "minimum result object trees" which contain all keywords and "result object trees" which contain partial keywords. Then an object-oriented keyword query algorithm ROstack is proposed to obtain the root nodes of these matching result object trees, together with their possibilities. At last, experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed algorithm.

Semi-algebraic function rings and reflectors of partially ordered rings

CERN Document Server

Schwartz, Niels

1999-01-01

The book lays algebraic foundations for real geometry through a systematic investigation of partially ordered rings of semi-algebraic functions. Real spectra serve as primary geometric objects, the maps between them are determined by rings of functions associated with the spectra. The many different possible choices for these rings of functions are studied via reflections of partially ordered rings. Readers should feel comfortable using basic algebraic and categorical concepts. As motivational background some familiarity with real geometry will be helpful. The book aims at researchers and graduate students with an interest in real algebra and geometry, ordered algebraic structures, topology and rings of continuous functions.

Visible and invisible displacement with dynamic visual occlusion in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp).

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Christine M; Sullivan, Jess; Buck, Cara L; Trexel, Julie; Scarpuzzi, Mike

2015-01-01

Anticipating the location of a temporarily obscured target-what Piaget (the construction of reality in the child. Basic Books, New York, 1954) called "object permanence"-is a critical skill, especially in hunters of mobile prey. Previous research with bottlenose dolphins found they could predict the location of a target that had been visibly displaced into an opaque container, but not one that was first placed in an opaque container and then invisibly displaced to another container. We tested whether, by altering the task to involve occlusion rather than containment, these animals could show more advanced object permanence skills. We projected dynamic visual displays at an underwater-viewing window and videotaped the animals' head moves while observing these displays. In Experiment 1, the animals observed a small black disk moving behind occluders that shifted in size, ultimately forming one large occluder. Nine out of ten subjects "tracked" the presumed movement of the disk behind this occluder on their first trial-and in a statistically significant number of subsequent trials-confirming their visible displacement abilities. In Experiment 2, we tested their invisible displacement abilities. The disk first disappeared behind a pair of moving occluders, which then moved behind a stationary occluder. The moving occluders then reappeared and separated, revealing that the disk was no longer behind them. The subjects subsequently looked to the correct stationary occluder on eight of their ten first trials, and in a statistically significant number of subsequent trials. Thus, by altering the stimuli to be more ecologically valid, we were able to show that the dolphins could indeed succeed at an invisible displacement task.

Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus using Flipper coil and Amplatzer Duct Occluder: Ten-year experience from a single center

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đukić Milan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction/Objective. Transcatheter closure is a well-established procedure for treatment of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA. We aimed to make a comparison between transcatheter PDA occlusion with Flipper coil and Amplatzer Duct Occluder (ADO and to determine the incidence and significance of procedural complications. Methods. Between November 2004 and October 2014, 148 patients were eligible for transcatheter PDA closure at the University Children’s Hospital in Belgrade, Serbia. The median age was 5.9 years (the range of 0.9 years to 17.3 years and the median weight was 21 kg (the range of 8.8 kg to 94 kg. Follow-up evaluations with Doppler echocardiogram were performed at one day, three months, and one and two years after the PDA occlusion. Results. Median narrowest PDA diameter was 1.5 mm (the range of 0.5 mm to 5.6 mm. Flipper coil was used for PDA closure in 84 (59.2% and ADO in 58 patients (40.8%. There was no significant difference in the rate of immediate complete closure between the coil and the ADO group (86.9% vs. 75.9%, p = 0.089, but a significantly higher rate of complete closure was achieved with ADO at one day (83.3% vs. 98.3%, p = 0.004, three months (85.7% vs. 100%, p = 0.002, and both one and two years after the implantation (91.7% vs. 100%, p = 0.041. In total, 12 complications occurred during the procedure, seven of which with coil and five with ADO occlusion of PDA. Conclusion. Transcatheter closure of PDA using both coils and ADOs is a very safe and effective procedure. ADO proved superior to coil in terms of complete closure rate as early as one day after the procedure.

Three interventional methods in closure of patent ductus arteriosus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yangde, Hua; Jinqing, Qian; Shu, Wang; Siyuan, Yang [Shanghai Children' s Hospital (China)

2000-02-01

Objective: To review the clinical results of three different methods in embolization of PDA. Methods: (1) Porstmann's Ivalon plugging method (2) Spring coil (3) Amplatzer ductus occluder. Results: The authors used Porstmann's method in 450 cases, Spring coil 30 cases and Amplatzer occluder 6 cases. All of them were successfully closed. Conclusions: Porstmann's method are relatively complicated, but all the equipment can be made domestically. Spring coil method is only used limitedly in small ductus, Amplatzer occluder is simple with no limitation for age and size of ductus but is expensive.

Three interventional methods in closure of patent ductus arteriosus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hua Yangde; Qian Jinqing; Wang Shu; Yang Siyuan

2000-01-01

Objective: To review the clinical results of three different methods in embolization of PDA. Methods: (1) Porstmann's Ivalon plugging method (2) Spring coil (3) Amplatzer ductus occluder. Results: The authors used Porstmann's method in 450 cases, Spring coil 30 cases and Amplatzer occluder 6 cases. All of them were successfully closed. Conclusions: Porstmann's method are relatively complicated, but all the equipment can be made domestically. Spring coil method is only used limitedly in small ductus, Amplatzer occluder is simple with no limitation for age and size of ductus but is expensive

Out of sight, out of mind: Occlusion and eye closure destabilize moving bistable structure-from-motion displays.

Science.gov (United States)

Pastukhov, Alexander; Prasch, Johanna; Carbon, Claus-Christian

2018-03-20

Our brain constantly tries to anticipate the future by using a variety of memory mechanisms. Interestingly, studies using the intermittent presentation of multistable displays have shown little perceptual persistence for interruptions longer than a few hundred milliseconds. Here we examined whether we can facilitate the perceptual stability of bistable displays following a period of invisibility by employing a physically plausible and ecologically valid occlusion event sequence, as opposed to the typical intermittent presentation, with sudden onsets and offsets. To this end, we presented a bistable rotating structure-from-motion display that was moving along a linear horizontal trajectory on the screen and either was temporarily occluded by another object (a cardboard strip in Exp. 1, a computer-generated image in Exp. 2) or became invisible due to eye closure (Exp. 3). We report that a bistable rotation direction reliably persisted following occlusion or interruption only (1) if the pre- and postinterruption locations overlapped spatially (an occluder with apertures in Exp. 2 or brief, spontaneous blinks in Exp. 3) or (2) if an object's size allowed for the efficient grouping of dots on both sides of the occluding object (large objects in Exp. 1). In contrast, we observed no persistence whenever the pre- and postinterruption locations were nonoverlapping (large solid occluding objects in Exps. 1 and 2 and long, prompted blinks in Exp. 3). We report that the bistable rotation direction of a moving object persisted only for spatially overlapping neural representations, and that persistence was not facilitated by a physically plausible and ecologically valid occlusion event.

Translation and validation of Hindi version of Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathur, Vijay Prakash; Jain, Veena; Pillai, Rajath

2013-01-01

(ranging from 0.748 to 0.946). Lower GOHAI scores were associated with patient's self-perception of nutritional status, perceptive need for prosthesis, number of posterior occluding pair of teeth. Higher GOHAI scores were seen with patients with removable prosthesis than with edentulous or partially...

Partial Coefficient System for the Design of Monolithic Vertical Breakwaters Considering Sliding and Rupture Failure of the Foundation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burcharth, Hans F.; Christiani, Erik; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

1995-01-01

The main object is to present a set of calibrated partial coefficients for monolithic vertical breakwater failure modes. A preliminary design of the monolithic breakwater will be considered, which will be designed from existing partial coefficients, documented in Eurocode 7 (1994). From this desi...

Experts' understanding of partial derivatives using the Partial Derivative Machine

OpenAIRE

Roundy, David; Dorko, Allison; Dray, Tevian; Manogue, Corinne A.; Weber, Eric

2014-01-01

Partial derivatives are used in a variety of different ways within physics. Most notably, thermodynamics uses partial derivatives in ways that students often find confusing. As part of a collaboration with mathematics faculty, we are at the beginning of a study of the teaching of partial derivatives, a goal of better aligning the teaching of multivariable calculus with the needs of students in STEM disciplines. As a part of this project, we have performed a pilot study of expert understanding...

Mastication improvement after partial implant-supported prosthesis use.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonçalves, T M S V; Campos, C H; Gonçalves, G M; de Moraes, M; Rodrigues Garcia, R C M

2013-12-01

Partially edentulous patients may be rehabilitated by the placement of removable dental prostheses, implant-supported removable dental prostheses, or partial implant fixed dental prostheses. However, it is unclear the impact of each prosthesis type over the masticatory aspects, which represents the objective of this paired clinical trial. Twelve patients sequentially received and used each of these 3 prosthesis types for 2 months, after which maximum bite force was assessed by a strain sensor and food comminution index was determined with the sieving method. Masseter and temporal muscle thicknesses during rest and maximal clenching were also evaluated by ultrasonography. Each maxillary arch received a new complete denture that was used throughout the study. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance for repeated measures, followed by the Tukey test (p mastication, and the magnitude of this effect was related to prosthesis type.

Giant Calculus In The Mouth Of Partially Edentulous Woman, (Case ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: This case report is to create awareness of the presence of giant calculus in the mouth, the possible causes and its prevention. Report: This describes the oral condition of a partially edentulous woman with a giant calculus in the mouth. It highlights the effect of such an enormous calculus in the oral cavity.

A partial hearing animal model for chronic electro-acoustic stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Irving, S.; Wise, A. K.; Millard, R. E.; Shepherd, R. K.; Fallon, J. B.

2014-08-01

Objective. Cochlear implants (CIs) have provided some auditory function to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Although traditionally carried out only in profoundly deaf patients, the eligibility criteria for implantation have recently been relaxed to include many partially-deaf patients with useful levels of hearing. These patients receive both electrical stimulation from their implant and acoustic stimulation via their residual hearing (electro-acoustic stimulation; EAS) and perform very well. It is unclear how EAS improves speech perception over electrical stimulation alone, and little evidence exists about the nature of the interactions between electric and acoustic stimuli. Furthermore, clinical results suggest that some patients that undergo cochlear implantation lose some, if not all, of their residual hearing, reducing the advantages of EAS over electrical stimulation alone. A reliable animal model with clinically-relevant partial deafness combined with clinical CIs is important to enable these issues to be studied. This paper outlines such a model that has been successfully used in our laboratory. Approach. This paper outlines a battery of techniques used in our laboratory to generate, validate and examine an animal model of partial deafness and chronic CI use. Main results. Ototoxic deafening produced bilaterally symmetrical hearing thresholds in neonatal and adult animals. Electrical activation of the auditory system was confirmed, and all animals were chronically stimulated via adapted clinical CIs. Acoustic compound action potentials (CAPs) were obtained from partially-hearing cochleae, using the CI amplifier. Immunohistochemical analysis allows the effects of deafness and electrical stimulation on cell survival to be studied. Significance. This animal model has applications in EAS research, including investigating the functional interactions between electric and acoustic stimulation, and the development of techniques to maintain residual

Oscillatory Activity in the Infant Brain and the Representation of Small Numbers.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Sumie; Mareschal, Denis; Rowsell, Renee; Simpson, David; Iaria, Leon; Grbic, Amanda; Kaufman, Jordy

2016-01-01

Gamma-band oscillatory activity (GBA) is an established neural signature of sustained occluded object representation in infants and adults. However, it is not yet known whether the magnitude of GBA in the infant brain reflects the quantity of occluded items held in memory. To examine this, we compared GBA of 6-8 month-old infants during occlusion periods after the representation of two objects vs. that of one object. We found that maintaining a representation of two objects during occlusion resulted in significantly greater GBA relative to maintaining a single object. Further, this enhancement was located in the right occipital region, which is consistent with previous object representation research in adults and infants. We conclude that enhanced GBA reflects neural processes underlying infants' representation of small numbers.

Mastication and jaw motion of partially edentulous patients are affected by different implant-based prostheses.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonçalves, T M S V; Campos, C H; Rodrigues Garcia, R C M

2014-07-01

The main goal of prosthetic treatment is to restore masticatory function. However, insufficient evidence supports the recommendation of one specific prosthetic intervention for partially edentulous patients. Function after the use of three different prostheses by the same partially edentulous subject. Mastication was assessed in 12 subjects (mean age 62.6 ± 7.8 years) after they had used removable partial dentures (RPDs), implant-supported partial dentures (IRPDs) and implant-fixed partial dentures (IFPDs). Masticatory ability (MA) was estimated by visual analogue scale questionnaire, while the mandibular chewing motion was evaluated by kinesiographic device, representing an objective measurement of masticatory function. Data were analysed by repeated-measures anova followed by Tukey-Kramer (P < 0.05). MA improved after IRPD and IFPD use (P < 0.05). Opening, closing and total cycle time duration were reduced after both IRPD and IFPD use (P < 0.05), irrespectively the implant prosthesis type. IFPDs and IRPDs restore the masticatory function of partially edentulous patients better than RPDs. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The design value method and adjusted partial factor approach for existing structures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Caspeele, R.; Sykora, M.; Allaix, D.L.; Steenbergen, R.D.J.M.

2013-01-01

In contrast to the design of new structures, the assessment of existing structures often relies on the subjective judgement of the investigating engineer. An objective verification format for existing structures based on alternative partial factors is however feasible, enabling a rather simple and

Multi objective multi refinery optimization with environmental and catastrophic failure effects objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Khogeer, Ahmed Sirag

2005-11-01

Petroleum refining is a capital-intensive business. With stringent environmental regulations on the processing industry and declining refining margins, political instability, increased risk of war and terrorist attacks in which refineries and fuel transportation grids may be targeted, higher pressures are exerted on refiners to optimize performance and find the best combination of feed and processes to produce salable products that meet stricter product specifications, while at the same time meeting refinery supply commitments and of course making profit. This is done through multi objective optimization. For corporate refining companies and at the national level, Intea-Refinery and Inter-Refinery optimization is the second step in optimizing the operation of the whole refining chain as a single system. Most refinery-wide optimization methods do not cover multiple objectives such as minimizing environmental impact, avoiding catastrophic failures, or enhancing product spec upgrade effects. This work starts by carrying out a refinery-wide, single objective optimization, and then moves to multi objective-single refinery optimization. The last step is multi objective-multi refinery optimization, the objectives of which are analysis of the effects of economic, environmental, product spec, strategic, and catastrophic failure. Simulation runs were carried out using both MATLAB and ASPEN PIMS utilizing nonlinear techniques to solve the optimization problem. The results addressed the need to debottleneck some refineries or transportation media in order to meet the demand for essential products under partial or total failure scenarios. They also addressed how importing some high spec products can help recover some of the losses and what is needed in order to accomplish this. In addition, the results showed nonlinear relations among local and global objectives for some refineries. The results demonstrate that refineries can have a local multi objective optimum that does not

Quantitative whole-body MRI in familial partial lipodystrophy type 2: changes in adipose tissue distribution coincide with biochemical improvement.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McLaughlin, Patrick D

2012-11-01

OBJECTIVE: Familial partial lipodystrophy type 2 (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man no. 151660) is a systemic disorder characterized by regional lipoatrophy and lipohypertrophy, severe insulin resistance, and early cardiovascular death. At initial presentation, whole-body MRI allows the radiologist to accurately characterize patients with familial partial lipodystrophy and helps differentiate familial partial lipodystrophy from many other subtypes of lipodystophy. We present the findings of serial quantitative MRI analysis in two patients with familial partial lipodystrophy type 2 and outline the objective imaging changes that occur during medical therapy with oral rosiglitazone. CONCLUSION: Cervical adipose volume and visceral adipose area increased by 105% and 60% in the two patients and hepatic fat fraction decreased by 55% during a 21-month period of medical therapy. These changes coincided with a decrease in biochemical indexes of insulin resistance. Whole body quantitative MRI may therefore help to demonstrate the subclinical changes in fat deposition that occur as a result of novel treatment of familial partial lipodystrophy and with continued research may play a role in guiding the choice, duration, and intensity of novel medical therapy.

Respiratory arrest caused by a large uterine myoma

African Journals Online (AJOL)

However, in cases of large uterine myoma, intra- abdominal pressure (IAP) can increase, which interferes with the pulmonary, renal, splanchnic and cardiovascular systems by elevating and splinting the diaphragm and partially occluding the inferior vena cava (IVC).[1] If untreated, IAP rises and multiple organ failure begins,.

Patient reported outcomes in patients undergoing arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for traumatic or degenerative meniscal tears

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorlund, Jonas Bloch; Englund, Martin; Christensen, Robin

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To compare patient reported outcomes from before surgery to 52 weeks after surgery between individuals undergoing arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for traumatic meniscal tears and those for degenerative meniscal tears. DESIGN: Comparative prospective cohort study. SETTING: Four public......-55, and undergoing arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for a traumatic or degenerative meniscal tear (defined by a combination of age and symptom onset). INTERVENTIONS: Both participant groups underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for a meniscal tear, with operating surgeons recording relevant information......% women) with a traumatic or degenerative meniscal tear (n=141, mean age 38.7 years (standard deviation 10.9); n=256, 46.6 years (6.4); respectively) were included in the main analysis. At 52 weeks after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, 55 (14%) patients were lost to follow-up. Statistically...

Avaliação geoquímica de biomarcadores ocluídos em estruturas asfaltênicas Geochemical evaluation of occluded biomarkers in asphaltenic structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Débora de Almeida Azevedo

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Asphaltenes from two Brazilian crude oils were submitted to mild oxidation to disrupt their structure, releasing the occluded oil. The released hydrocarbons were compared with those from the original crude oil, and used to evaluate the alteration of the oils, especially as a result of biodegradation, but also thermal maturity. The crude oils used are depleted in n-alkanes, which are usually related to biodegradation. However, the released products from the corresponding asphaltenes have n-alkane distributions from nC10 to nC40, suggesting a protection effect from biodegradation. The m/z 191 mass chromatograms showed higher relative intensities for tricyclic terpanes than the hopanes in the crude in comparison with the released ones.

Type-Directed Partial Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier

1998-01-01

Type-directed partial evaluation uses a normalization function to achieve partial evaluation. These lecture notes review its background, foundations, practice, and applications. Of specific interest is the modular technique of offline and online type-directed partial evaluation in Standard ML...

Type-Directed Partial Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier

1998-01-01

Type-directed partial evaluation uses a normalization function to achieve partial evaluation. These lecture notes review its background, foundations, practice, and applications. Of specific interest is the modular technique of offline and online type-directed partial evaluation in Standard ML of ...

Gravel Image Segmentation in Noisy Background Based on Partial Entropy Method

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2000-01-01

Because of wide variation in gray levels and particle dimensions and the presence of many small gravel objects in the background, as well as corrupting the image by noise, it is difficult o segment gravel objects. In this paper, we develop a partial entropy method and succeed to realize gravel objects segmentation. We give entropy principles and fur calculation methods. Moreover, we use minimum entropy error automaticly to select a threshold to segment image. We introduce the filter method using mathematical morphology. The segment experiments are performed by using different window dimensions for a group of gravel image and demonstrates that this method has high segmentation rate and low noise sensitivity.

Modulation of the Object/Background Interaction by Spatial Frequency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanju Ren

2011-05-01

Full Text Available With regard to the relationship between object and background perception in the natural scene images, functional isolation hypothesis and interactive hypothesis were proposed. Based on previous studies, the present study investigated the role of spatial frequency in the relationship between object and background perception in the natural scene images. In three experiments, participants reported the object, background, or both after seeing each picture for 500 ms followed by a mask. The authors found that (a backgrounds were identified more accurately when they contained a consistent rather than an inconsistent object, independently of spatial frequency; (b objects were identified more accurately in a consistent than an inconsistent background under the condition of low spatial frequencies but not high spatial frequencies; (c spatial frequency modulation remained when both objects and backgrounds were reported simultaneously. The authors conclude that object/background interaction is partially dependent on spatial frequency.

Exploring the return-to-work process for workers partially returned to work and partially on long-term sick leave due to common mental disorders : a qualitative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Noordik, Erik; Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; Varekamp, Inge; van der Klink, Jac J.; van Dijk, Frank J.

2011-01-01

Purpose. We conducted a qualitative study into the return-to-work process of workers partially on sick leave due to common mental disorders. Our objectives were to describe the barriers to a full return to work, solutions, communicating to the working environment and the aim of a full return to

Relation between infants'/toddlers' developmental status and their levels of object play

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Urška Fekonja

2001-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of introduced study was to establish the connection between the highest achieved levels of infant' and toddler's object play and their developmental status. 23 Slovenian infants and toddlers were included in the sample. They were engaged in solitary play with standard toys. Global and partial quotients were established using the early childhood development scale RT-R. The levels of child's solitary play were estimated using assesment scale designed by Belsky and Most. The results showed some statisticaly significant correlations between children's developmental qoutients (global and partial and their highest achieved levels of object play. As the basis for the interpretation of results I used the theories which explain the development of child's language, cognition and play.

Out with the old? The role of selective attention in retaining targets in partial report.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindsey, Dakota R B; Bundesen, Claus; Kyllingsbæk, Søren; Petersen, Anders; Logan, Gordon D

2017-01-01

In the partial-report task, subjects are asked to report only a portion of the items presented. Selective attention chooses which objects to represent in short-term memory (STM) on the basis of their relevance. Because STM is limited in capacity, one must sometimes choose which objects are removed from memory in light of new relevant information. We tested the hypothesis that the choices among newly presented information and old information in STM involve the same process-that both are acts of selective attention. We tested this hypothesis using a two-display partial-report procedure. In this procedure, subjects had to select and retain relevant letters (targets) from two sequentially presented displays. If selection in perception and retention in STM are the same process, then irrelevant letters (distractors) in the second display, which demanded attention because of their similarity to the targets, should have decreased target report from the first display. This effect was not obtained in any of four experiments. Thus, choosing objects to keep in STM is not the same process as choosing new objects to bring into STM.

Compatriot partiality and cosmopolitan justice: Can we justify compatriot partiality within the cosmopolitan framework?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachelle Bascara

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This paper shows an alternative way in which compatriot partiality could be justified within the framework of global distributive justice. Philosophers who argue that compatriot partiality is similar to racial partiality capture something correct about compatriot partiality. However, the analogy should not lead us to comprehensively reject compatriot partiality. We can justify compatriot partiality on the same grounds that liberation movements and affirmative action have been justified. Hence, given cosmopolitan demands of justice, special consideration for the economic well-being of your nation as a whole is justified if and only if the country it identifies is an oppressed developing nation in an unjust global order.This justification is incomplete. We also need to say why Person A, qua national of Country A, is justified in helping her compatriots in Country A over similarly or slightly more oppressed non-compatriots in Country B. I argue that Person A’s partiality towards her compatriots admits further vindication because it is part of an oppressed group’s project of self-emancipation, which is preferable to paternalistic emancipation.Finally, I identify three benefits in my justification for compatriot partiality. First, I do not offer a blanket justification for all forms of compatriot partiality. Partiality between members of oppressed groups is only a temporary effective measure designed to level an unlevel playing field. Second, because history attests that sovereign republics could arise as a collective response to colonial oppression, justifying compatriot partiality on the grounds that I have identified is conducive to the development of sovereignty and even democracy in poor countries, thereby avoiding problems of infringement that many humanitarian poverty alleviation efforts encounter. Finally, my justification for compatriot partiality complies with the implicit cosmopolitan commitment to the realizability of global justice

Application of muscular ventricular septal defect occluders in the therapy of uderweight infants and young children with patent dutus arterriosus%应用肌部室间隔缺损封闭器封堵低体质量婴幼儿动脉导管未闭

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

戴辰程; 郭保静; 金梅

2011-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the safety and advantage of application of muscular ventricular septal defect in the therapy of uderweight infants and young children with patent dutus arterriosus. Methods: Nine uderweight infants and young children (1 male and 8 fomale) with patent dutus arterriosus, aged from 6 to 21 months and weighted from 5. 5 to 10kg,underwent transcathter intervention with muscular VSD occluders from October2010 to June 2011. All patients accept transthoracic echocardiography,cardiac catheterization and angiocardiography. Results: 8 patients were associated with pulmonary hypertension. There are 2,5,and 1 patients were diganosed as mild,middle and severe pulmonary hypertension respectively. QP/QS ranged from 1.94 to 2. 87 and total pulmonary resistance index ranged from 1. 82 to 4. 7 Wood. M2. Angiocardiography indicated there were 4 large PDAs, 1 PDA with large infundibulum,and 4 PDAs with short and small infundibulum,one of which was right aortic arch and left PDA. Nine PDAs were successfully closed with muscular ventricular septal defect occluders. Pulmonary tension decreased to normal or nearly normal. No residual shunt, occluders falling off,vascular injury,or iatrogenic stenosis of pulmonary artery and descending aorta were found. 3 of 4 patients with mitral regurgitation relieved. Conclusion: Muscular VSD occluder is available and effective to close large PDA,PDA with short and small infundibulum or PDA which can not be successfully closed with Amplatzer PDA occluders in uderweight infants and young children.%目的:探讨肌部室间隔缺损(VSD)封闭器在低体质量婴幼儿动脉导管未闭(PDA)介入治疗中临床应用的安全性及优点.方法:2010年10月至2011年6月,应用肌部VSD封闭器对9例低体质量婴幼儿PDA进行介入治疗,男性1例,女性8例,年龄6-21个月,体质量5.5 ～10 kg.本组病例均行经胸超声心动图、心导管检查及造影检查.结果:合并肺动脉高压者8�

Exploring the return-to-work process for workers partially returned to work and partially on long-term sick leave due to common mental disorders: a qualitative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Noordik, Erik; Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; Varekamp, Inge; van der Klink, Jac J.; Van Dijk, Frank J.

2011-01-01

We conducted a qualitative study into the return-to-work process of workers partially on sick leave due to common mental disorders. Our objectives were to describe the barriers to a full return to work, solutions, communicating to the working environment and the aim of a full return to work, all as

Essays on partial retirement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kantarci, T.

2012-01-01

The five essays in this dissertation address a range of topics in the micro-economic literature on partial retirement. The focus is on the labor market behavior of older age groups. The essays examine the economic and non-economic determinants of partial retirement behavior, the effect of partial

is fibrinogen a reliable haemostatic marker for monitoring possible

African Journals Online (AJOL)

cistvr

One of the most common adverse effects of smoking is atherosclerosis. This refers to the focal thickening of the arterial wall so that the artery becomes partially or completely occluded. This phenomenon has been reported to be the mechanism mainly responsible for cardiovascular diseases in smokers (Cawley, 1983).

Oscillatory activity in the infant brain and the representation of small numbers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sumie eLeung

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Gamma-band oscillatory activity (GBA is an established neural signature of sustained occluded object representation in infants and adults. However, it is not yet known whether the magnitude of GBA in the infant brain reflects the quantity of occluded items held in memory. To examine this, we compared GBA of 6- to 8-month-old infants during occlusion periods after the representation of two objects versus that of one object. We found that maintaining a representation of two objects during occlusion resulted in significantly greater GBA relative to maintaining a single object. Further, this enhancement was located in the right occipital region, which is consistent with previous object representation research in adults and infants. We conclude that enhanced GBA reflects neural processes underlying infants’ representation of small numbers.

Utilizing Provenance in Reusable Research Objects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhihao Yuan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Science is conducted collaboratively, often requiring the sharing of knowledge about computational experiments. When experiments include only datasets, they can be shared using Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs or Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs. An experiment, however, seldom includes only datasets, but more often includes software, its past execution, provenance, and associated documentation. The Research Object has recently emerged as a comprehensive and systematic method for aggregation and identification of diverse elements of computational experiments. While a necessary method, mere aggregation is not sufficient for the sharing of computational experiments. Other users must be able to easily recompute on these shared research objects. Computational provenance is often the key to enable such reuse. In this paper, we show how reusable research objects can utilize provenance to correctly repeat a previous reference execution, to construct a subset of a research object for partial reuse, and to reuse existing contents of a research object for modified reuse. We describe two methods to summarize provenance that aid in understanding the contents and past executions of a research object. The first method obtains a process-view by collapsing low-level system information, and the second method obtains a summary graph by grouping related nodes and edges with the goal to obtain a graph view similar to application workflow. Through detailed experiments, we show the efficacy and efficiency of our algorithms.

Support system, excavation arrangement, and process of supporting an object

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Bill W.

2017-08-01

A support system, an excavation arrangement, and a process of supporting an object are disclosed. The support system includes a weight-bearing device and a camming mechanism positioned below the weight-bearing device. A downward force on the weight-bearing device at least partially secures the camming mechanism to opposing surfaces. The excavation arrangement includes a borehole, a support system positioned within and secured to the borehole, and an object positioned on and supported by the support system. The process includes positioning and securing the support system and positioning the object on the weight-bearing device.

Modelling object typicality in description logics - [Workshop on Description Logics

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Britz, K

2009-07-01

Full Text Available than those not in C. This is a technical construction which allows us to order the entire domain, instead of only the members of C. This leads us to take as starting point a finite set of preference orders f j : j 2 J g on objects in the application... domain, with index set J . If j prefers any object in C to any object outside of C, we call j a C-order. To ensure that the subsumption relations eventually generated are rational [4, 14], we assume the preference orders to be a modular partial...

The establishment of animal model of acute massive pulmonary embolism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Junliang; Yang Ning; Yang Jianping; Ma Junshan; Zhao Shijun

2008-01-01

Objective: To find a way of establishing the model of acute massive pulmonary embolism in dog. Methods: Seven dogs were selected with self-clots made outside the body transferring through a 10 F guiding catheter into the central branch of pulmonary artery via the femoral vein approach on one side and then under pressure monitor of pulmonary artery until the very branch of pulmonary artery was occluded. Blood gas and pulmonary arterial pressure were tested before and after the embolization, Pulmonary artery pressure was continuously monitored together with the examinations of angiography. The bilateral lung specimens were resected for histological examination 12 hours in average after the embolization for comparative study. Results: One animal died of cardiogenic shock after clots injection; the other one presented with tachycardia and premature ventricular beat causing partial recanalization 12 h later. The others were occluded successfully in central branch of pulmonary artery and the pulmonary arterial pressure reached above 50 mmHg after occlusion. Pathologic examination showed the formation of red and mix thrombi within the vascular lumens. Conclusions: This method for making acute massive pulmonary embolism animal model was reliable, feasible and reproducible, and could provide an animal model of acute massive pulmonary embolism for other correlative experiments. (authors)

[Closure of wide patent ductus arteriosus using a fenestrated muscular VSD occluder device in a pediatric patient with Down syndrome and pulmonary hypertension].

Science.gov (United States)

Güvenç, Osman; Saygı, Murat; Demir, İbrahim Halil; Ödemiş, Ender

2017-06-01

Patients with wide patent ductus arteriosus and significant pulmonary hypertension not treated in time constitute a significant problem for cardiologists. For these patients, tests that could aid in decision-making for further planning include reversibility and balloon occlusion tests performed in the catheterization laboratory. Devices developed for the closure of ductus as well as different devices with off-label use may be employed in patients scheduled for transcatheter occlusion. When result of reversibility test is borderline positive, the use of fenestrated device may be applicable for selected patients. Presently described is case of a 10-year-old patient with Down syndrome who had a wide ductus and systemic pulmonary hypertension. Transcatheter closure procedure was performed with off-label use of a fenestrated muscular ventricular septal defect occluder device.

Correlation of psychomotor findings and the ability to partially weight bear

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Partial weight bearing is thought to avoid excessive loading that may interfere with the healing process after surgery of the pelvis or the lower extremity. The object of this study was to investigate the relationship between the ability to partially weight bear and the patient's psychomotor skills and an additional evaluation of the possibility to predict this ability with a standardized psychomotor test. Methods 50 patients with a prescribed partial weight bearing at a target load of 15 kg following surgery were verbally instructed by a physical therapist. After the instruction and sufficient training with the physical therapist vertical ground reaction forces using matrix insoles were measured while walking with forearm crutches. Additionally, psychomotor skills were tested with the Motorische Leistungsserie (MLS). To test for correlations Spearman's Rank correlation was used. For further comparison of the two groups a Mann-Withney test was performed using Bonferroni correction. Results The patient's age and body weight significantly correlated with the ability to partially weight bear at a 15 kg target load. There were significant correlations between several subtests of the MLS and ground reaction forces measured while walking with crutches. Patients that were able to correctly perform partial weight bearing showed significant better psychomotor skills especially for those subtests where both hands had to be coordinated simultaneously. Conclusions The ability to partially weight bear is associated with psychomotor skills. The MLS seems to be a tool that helps predicting the ability to keep within the prescribed load limits. PMID:22330655

Correlation of psychomotor findings and the ability to partially weight bear

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruckstuhl Thomas

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Partial weight bearing is thought to avoid excessive loading that may interfere with the healing process after surgery of the pelvis or the lower extremity. The object of this study was to investigate the relationship between the ability to partially weight bear and the patient's psychomotor skills and an additional evaluation of the possibility to predict this ability with a standardized psychomotor test. Methods 50 patients with a prescribed partial weight bearing at a target load of 15 kg following surgery were verbally instructed by a physical therapist. After the instruction and sufficient training with the physical therapist vertical ground reaction forces using matrix insoles were measured while walking with forearm crutches. Additionally, psychomotor skills were tested with the Motorische Leistungsserie (MLS. To test for correlations Spearman's Rank correlation was used. For further comparison of the two groups a Mann-Withney test was performed using Bonferroni correction. Results The patient's age and body weight significantly correlated with the ability to partially weight bear at a 15 kg target load. There were significant correlations between several subtests of the MLS and ground reaction forces measured while walking with crutches. Patients that were able to correctly perform partial weight bearing showed significant better psychomotor skills especially for those subtests where both hands had to be coordinated simultaneously. Conclusions The ability to partially weight bear is associated with psychomotor skills. The MLS seems to be a tool that helps predicting the ability to keep within the prescribed load limits.

An Automatic Building Extraction and Regularisation Technique Using LiDAR Point Cloud Data and Orthoimage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syed Ali Naqi Gilani

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The development of robust and accurate methods for automatic building detection and regularisation using multisource data continues to be a challenge due to point cloud sparsity, high spectral variability, urban objects differences, surrounding complexity, and data misalignment. To address these challenges, constraints on object’s size, height, area, and orientation are generally benefited which adversely affect the detection performance. Often the buildings either small in size, under shadows or partly occluded are ousted during elimination of superfluous objects. To overcome the limitations, a methodology is developed to extract and regularise the buildings using features from point cloud and orthoimagery. The building delineation process is carried out by identifying the candidate building regions and segmenting them into grids. Vegetation elimination, building detection and extraction of their partially occluded parts are achieved by synthesising the point cloud and image data. Finally, the detected buildings are regularised by exploiting the image lines in the building regularisation process. Detection and regularisation processes have been evaluated using the ISPRS benchmark and four Australian data sets which differ in point density (1 to 29 points/m2, building sizes, shadows, terrain, and vegetation. Results indicate that there is 83% to 93% per-area completeness with the correctness of above 95%, demonstrating the robustness of the approach. The absence of over- and many-to-many segmentation errors in the ISPRS data set indicate that the technique has higher per-object accuracy. While compared with six existing similar methods, the proposed detection and regularisation approach performs significantly better on more complex data sets (Australian in contrast to the ISPRS benchmark, where it does better or equal to the counterparts.

Ranking Specific Sets of Objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Maly, Jan; Woltran, Stefan

2017-01-01

Ranking sets of objects based on an order between the single elements has been thoroughly studied in the literature. In particular, it has been shown that it is in general impossible to find a total ranking - jointly satisfying properties as dominance and independence - on the whole power set of objects. However, in many applications certain elements from the entire power set might not be required and can be neglected in the ranking process. For instance, certain sets might be ruled out due to hard constraints or are not satisfying some background theory. In this paper, we treat the computational problem whether an order on a given subset of the power set of elements satisfying different variants of dominance and independence can be found, given a ranking on the elements. We show that this problem is tractable for partial rankings and NP-complete for total rankings.

Association Between Masticatory Function and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Partial Maxillectomy Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Said, Mohamed Moustafa; Otomaru, Takafumi; Aimaijiang, Yiliyaer; Li, Na; Taniguchi, Hisashi

The aim of this study was to investigate associations between objectively and subjectively measured masticatory function and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in partial maxillectomy patients wearing dentomaxillary prostheses. A sample of 32 consecutively treated patients who had undergone a partial maxillectomy were enrolled. Masticatory function was assessed using two objective measures and one subjective measure. The objective measures were masticatory performance (MP), which was estimated by measuring the glucose extracted from gummy jelly, and food mixing ability (a*), which was assessed using color-changeable chewing gum. The subjective measure was perceived chewing ability, rated as masticatory score (MS) based on the patient's responses to a food intake questionnaire. OHRQoL was assessed using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Relationships between the masticatory function measures and OHRQoL were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The correlation coefficients (r) obtained were 0.57 (P = .001) for MS and GOHAI, 0.247 (P = .173) for MP and GOHAI, -0.173 (P = .343) for a* and GOHAI, 0.517 (P = .002) for MP and a*, 0.199 (P = .257) for MP and MS, and 0.019 (P = .919) for a* and MS. Subjective MS showed a significant positive correlation with GOHAI score, suggesting that perceived chewing ability could be an important factor in the estimation of OHRQoL in partial maxillectomy patients.

Automated gravity gradient tensor inversion for underwater object detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Lin; Tian, Jinwen

2010-01-01

Underwater abnormal object detection is a current need for the navigation security of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). In this paper, an automated gravity gradient tensor inversion algorithm is proposed for the purpose of passive underwater object detection. Full-tensor gravity gradient anomalies induced by an object in the partial area can be measured with the technique of gravity gradiometry on an AUV. Then the automated algorithm utilizes the anomalies, using the inverse method to estimate the mass and barycentre location of the arbitrary-shaped object. A few tests on simple synthetic models will be illustrated, in order to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of the new algorithm. Moreover, the method is applied to a complicated model of an abnormal object with gradiometer and AUV noise, and interference from a neighbouring illusive smaller object. In all cases tested, the estimated mass and barycentre location parameters are found to be in good agreement with the actual values

Occlusion of blood flow attenuates exercise-induced hypoalgesia in the occluded limb of healthy adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Matthew D; Taylor, Janet L; Barry, Benjamin K

2017-05-01

Animal studies have demonstrated an important role of peripheral mechanisms as contributors to exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH). Whether these same mechanisms contribute to EIH in humans is not known. In the current study, pain thresholds were assessed in healthy volunteers ( n = 36) before and after 5 min of high-intensity leg cycling exercise and an equivalent period of quiet rest. Pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were assessed over the rectus femoris muscle of one leg and first dorsal interosseous muscles (FDIs) of both arms. Blood flow to one arm was occluded by a cuff throughout the 5-min period of exercise (or rest) and postexercise (or rest) assessments. Ratings of pain intensity and pain unpleasantness during occlusion were also measured. Pain ratings during occlusion increased over time (range, 1.5 to 3.5/10, all d > 0.63, P exercise conditions ( d 0.4). PPTs at all sites were unchanged following rest (range, -1.3% to +0.9%, all d 0.51). Consistent with EIH, exercise significantly increased PPT at the leg (+29%, d = 0.69, P exercise attenuates EIH, suggesting that peripheral factors contribute to EIH in healthy adults. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first demonstration in humans that a factor carried by the circulation and acting at the periphery is important for exercise-induced hypoalgesia. Further understanding of this mechanism may provide new insight to pain relief with exercise as well as potential interactions between analgesic medications and exercise. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Treatment of Partial Thickness Burns with a Novel Extracellular Matrix in Rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-20

partial thickness burn was produced using a brass scale weight. Groups of 10 rats were randomly assigned to the various treatments . Jackets made from...Objectives: The objective this study was to examine the cellular and immune responses to various extracellular matrices (ECM) in a rat burn model...significant difference between treatments in terms of mean wound area (p = 0.77). Histologic examination revealed that all of the grafts were infected, with

Anatomic partial nephrectomy: technique evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Azhar, Raed A; Metcalfe, Charles; Gill, Inderbir S

2015-03-01

Partial nephrectomy provides equivalent long-term oncologic and superior functional outcomes as radical nephrectomy for T1a renal masses. Herein, we review the various vascular clamping techniques employed during minimally invasive partial nephrectomy, describe the evolution of our partial nephrectomy technique and provide an update on contemporary thinking about the impact of ischemia on renal function. Recently, partial nephrectomy surgical technique has shifted away from main artery clamping and towards minimizing/eliminating global renal ischemia during partial nephrectomy. Supported by high-fidelity three-dimensional imaging, novel anatomic-based partial nephrectomy techniques have recently been developed, wherein partial nephrectomy can now be performed with segmental, minimal or zero global ischemia to the renal remnant. Sequential innovations have included early unclamping, segmental clamping, super-selective clamping and now culminating in anatomic zero-ischemia surgery. By eliminating 'under-the-gun' time pressure of ischemia for the surgeon, these techniques allow an unhurried, tightly contoured tumour excision with point-specific sutured haemostasis. Recent data indicate that zero-ischemia partial nephrectomy may provide better functional outcomes by minimizing/eliminating global ischemia and preserving greater vascularized kidney volume. Contemporary partial nephrectomy includes a spectrum of surgical techniques ranging from conventional-clamped to novel zero-ischemia approaches. Technique selection should be tailored to each individual case on the basis of tumour characteristics, surgical feasibility, surgeon experience, patient demographics and baseline renal function.

Meta-analysis of adjunctive levetiracetam in refractory partial sei

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Ying

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Objective To evaluate the effects and tolerability of adjunctive levetiracetam (LEV in refractory partial seizures. Methods Relevant research articles about randomized controlled trials of adjunctive LEV in refractory partial seizures from January 1998 to December 2010 were retrieved from Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMbase, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI, VIP, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI database, China Biology Medicine (CBM. Two reviewers independently evaluated the quality of the included articles and abstracted the data. A Meta-analysis was conducted by using RevMan 5.0 software. Results According to the enrollment criteria, eleven prospective, randomized controlled clinical trials with a total of 1192 in LEV group and 789 in placebo group were finally selected. The reduction in three endpoints (a 50% or greater reduction of partial seizure frequency per week, a 75% or greater reduction of partial seizure frequency per week and seizure free was significant in LEV group than placebo group. There was no significance between LEV group and placebo group in the withdrawl rate (1000 mg/d: OR = 1.180, 95%CI: 0.690-2.010, P = 0.540; 2000 mg/d: OR = 1.530, 95%CI: 0.770-3.030, P = 0.230; 3000 mg/d: OR = 1.000, 95% CI: 0.620-1.600, P = 1.000. The following adverse events were associated with LEV: somnolence (OR = 1.720, 95%CI: 1.280-2.310, P = 0.000, dizziness (OR = 1.490, 95%CI: 1.000-2.220, P = 0.050, asthenia (OR = 1.670, 95%CI: 1.140-2.240, P = 0.008, nasopharyngitis (OR = 1.120, 95% CI: 0.710-1.760, P = 0.630, psychiatric and behavioral abnormalities (OR = 2.120, 95% CI: 1.370-3.280, P = 0.000. Conclusion LEV is effective and well tolerated when added to existing therapy in patients with refractory partial seizures compared with control drugs. Further studies are needed to identify the effects of monotherapy of LEV in partial seizures.

Factors Contributing to Pelvis Instability in Female Adolescent Athletes During Unilateral Repeated Partial Squat Activity

OpenAIRE

Scarborough, Donna Moxley; Linderman, Shannon; Berkson, Eric M.; Oh, Luke S.

2017-01-01

Objectives: Unilateral partial squat tasks are often used to assess athletes? lower extremity (LE) neuromuscular control. Single squat biomechanics such as lateral drop of the non-stance limb?s pelvis have been linked to knee injury risk. Yet, there are limited studies on the factors contributing to pelvic instability during the unilateral partial squat such as anatomical alignment of the knee and hip strength. The purpose of this study was 1) to assess the influence of leg dominance on pelvi...

Breast milk and energy intake in exclusively, predominantly, and partially breast-fed infants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haisma, H; Coward, WA; Albernaz, E; Visser, GH; Wells, JCK; Wright, A; Victoria, CG; Victora, C.G.

2003-01-01

Objective: To investigate the extent to which breast milk is replaced by intake of other liquids or foods, and to estimate energy intake of infants defined as exclusively (EBF), predominantly (PBF) and partially breast-fed (PartBF). Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Community-based study in urban

Tutorial on Online Partial Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William R. Cook

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This paper is a short tutorial introduction to online partial evaluation. We show how to write a simple online partial evaluator for a simple, pure, first-order, functional programming language. In particular, we show that the partial evaluator can be derived as a variation on a compositionally defined interpreter. We demonstrate the use of the resulting partial evaluator for program optimization in the context of model-driven development.

Long term results of balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration for portosystemic shunt encephalopathy in patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Hiroto; Emori, Keigo; Toyonaga, Atsushi; Oho, Kazuhiko; Kumamoto, Masafumi; Haruta, Tsuyoshi; Mitsuyama, Keiichi; Tsuruta, Osamu; Sata, Michio

2014-01-01

This study examined 19 patients with portosystemic shunt encephalopathy caused by a splenorenal shunt (SRS), which was treated with balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO). Long-term treatment outcomes were evaluated based on hepatic functional reserve and vital prognosis. Encephalopathy improved in all patients after shunt embolization and closure. Albumin, serum ammonia, and the Child-Pugh score, a measure of liver function, were significantly improved 3 years after B-RTO, and exacerbation of damage to liver function was avoided (pliver failure and two patients from hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients had a poor prognosis if their albumin levels were less than 2.8 mg / dL before B-RTO (pEncephalopathy patients had complete response to B-RTO, but long-term prognosis was affected by hepatic functional reserve before B-RTO and by concurrent hepatocellular carcinoma. The results of this study suggest that in patients with SRS, it is important to perform B-RTO at an early stage when the hepatic functional reserve is still satisfactory.

Partial-wave analysis of π-π0π0 events at 18 GeV/c

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, D.S.

1998-01-01

A partial-wave analysis has been performed on 170 K π - π 0 π 0 events produced in the reaction π - p→pπ - π 0 π 0 , and the results of the mass-independent fits are presented. The objective was to confirm the existence of the π(1800) and the exotic J PC =1 -+ object, reported by VES. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

[Correlation between the inspired fraction of oxygen, maternal partial oxygen pressure, and fetal partial oxygen pressure during cesarean section of normal pregnancies].

Science.gov (United States)

Castro, Carlos Henrique Viana de; Cruvinel, Marcos Guilherme Cunha; Carneiro, Fabiano Soares; Silva, Yerkes Pereira; Cabral, Antônio Carlos Vieira; Bessa, Roberto Cardoso

2009-01-01

Despite changes in pulmonary function, maternal oxygenation is maintained during obstetric regional blocks. But in those situations, the administration of supplementary oxygen to parturients is a common practice. Good fetal oxygenation is the main justification; however, this has not been proven. The objective of this randomized, prospective study was to test the hypothesis of whether maternal hyperoxia is correlated with an increase in fetal gasometric parameters in elective cesarean sections. Arterial blood gases of 20 parturients undergoing spinal block with different inspired fractions of oxygen were evaluated and correlated with fetal arterial blood gases. An increase in maternal inspired fraction of oxygen did not show any correlation with an increase of fetal partial oxygen pressure. Induction of maternal hyperoxia by the administration of supplementary oxygen did not increase fetal partial oxygen pressure. Fetal gasometric parameters did not change even when maternal parameters changed, induced by hyperoxia, during cesarean section under spinal block.

A cyclic distributed garbage collector for network objects

OpenAIRE

Rodrigues, Helena; Jones, Richard

1996-01-01

This paper presents an algorithm for distributed garbage collection and outlines its implementation within the Network Objects system. The algorithm is based on a reference listing scheme, which is augmented by partial tracing in order to collect distributed garbage cycles. Processes may be dynamically organised into groups, according to appropriate heuristics, to reclaim distributed garbage cycles. The algorithm places no overhead on local collectors and suspends local mutators only briefly....

Robotic-assisted partial Nephrectomy: initial experience in South America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo C. Lemos

2011-08-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE:To report the initial outcomes of robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy in a tertiary center in South America. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From 11/2008 to 12/2009, a total of 16 transperitoneal robotic-assisted partial nephrectomies were performed in 15 patients to treat 18 kidney tumors. One patient with bilateral tumor had two procedures, while two patients with two synchronous unilateral tumors had a single operation to remove them. Eleven (73% patients were male and the right kidney was affected in 7 (46% patients. The median patient age and tumor size were 57 years old and 30 mm, respectively. Five (28% tumors were hilar and/or centrally located. RESULTS: The median operative time, warm ischemia time and estimated blood loss was 140 min, 27 min and 120 mL, respectively. Blood transfusion was required in one patient with bilateral tumor, and one additional pyelolithotomy was performed due to a 15mm stone located in the renal pelvis. The histopathology analysis showed 15 (83% malignant tumors, which 10 (67% were clear cell carcinoma. The median hospital stay was 72 hrs and no major complication was observed. CONCLUSION: Robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy is safe and represents a valuable option to perform minimally invasive nephron-sparing surgery.

The effect of percutaneous transcatheter occlusion of left atrial appendage on left atrium and adjacent anatomic structure in canine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Zhihong; Wu Hong; Qin Yongwen; Hu Jianqiang; Ding Zhongru; Liu Zongjun; Liu Biao; Zheng Xing

2009-01-01

Objective: To observe the effect of percutaneous transcatheter occlusion of left atrial appendage (LAA) with a new self-manufactured LAA occluder on left atrium and adjacent anatomic structure in canine. Methods: A new self-manufactured LAA occluder was implanted into the LAA through a transseptal catheter in 20 dogs. Before and after the procedure, the experimental dogs were anaesthetized and examined by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) to measure the diameter and the volume of the left atrium, the left superior pulmonary vein flow velocity and the left atrioventricular valve flow velocity separately. The contrast radiography of the LAA and the left coronary arteriography were performed. Results: The new LAA occluder was implanted successfully in 14 dogs. No obvious changes in the diameter and the volume of the left atrium, in left superior pulmonary vein flow velocity and in left atrioventricular valve flow velocity were found. On arteriography, left circumflex artery was normally displayed after the procedure. No migration of the occluder was seen on TTE and angiography after procedure. Conclusion: Percutaneous transcatheter occlusion of left atrial appendage with a new self-manufactured LAA occluder has no obvious effect on left atrium and adjacent anatomic structure in experimental canine, which indicates that the new-type device is a safe and feasible occluder for LAA. (authors)

Adaptive Motion Planning in Bin-Picking with Object Uncertainties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iversen, Thomas Fridolin; Ellekilde, Lars-Peter; Miró, Jaime Valls

2017-01-01

Doing motion planning for bin-picking with object uncertainties requires either a re-grasp of picked objects or an online sensor system. Using the latter is advantageous in terms of computational time, as no time is wasted doing an extra pick and place action. It does, however, put extra...... requirements on the motion planner, as the target position may change on-the-fly. This paper solves that problem by using a state adjusting Partial Observable Markov Decision Process, where the state space is modified between runs, to better fit earlier solved problems. The approach relies on a set...

Evidence from a partial report task for forgetting in dynamic spatial memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Gugerty, L

1998-09-01

G. Sperling (1960) and others have investigated memory for briefly presented stimuli by using a partial versus whole report technique in which participants sometimes reported part of a stimulus array and sometimes reported all of it. For simple, static stimulus displays, the partial report technique showed that participants could recall most of the information in the stimulus array but that this information faded quickly when participants engaged in whole report recall. An experiment was conducted that applied the partial report method to a task involving complex displays of moving objects. In the experiment, 26 participants viewed cars in a low-fidelity driving simulator and then reported the locations of some or all of the cars in each scene. A statistically significant advantage was found for the partial report trials. This finding suggests that detailed spatial location information was forgotten from dynamic spatial memory over the 14 s that it took participants to recall whole report trials. The experiment results suggest better ways of measuring situation awareness. Partial report recall techniques may give a more accurate measure of people's momentary situation awareness than whole report techniques. Potential applications of this research include simulator-based measures of situation awareness ability that can be part of inexpensive test batteries to select people for real-time tasks (e.g., in a driver licensing battery) and to identify people who need additional training.

A Partially Observed Markov Decision Process for Dynamic Pricing

OpenAIRE

Yossi Aviv; Amit Pazgal

2005-01-01

In this paper, we develop a stylized partially observed Markov decision process (POMDP) framework to study a dynamic pricing problem faced by sellers of fashion-like goods. We consider a retailer that plans to sell a given stock of items during a finite sales season. The objective of the retailer is to dynamically price the product in a way that maximizes expected revenues. Our model brings together various types of uncertainties about the demand, some of which are resolvable through sales ob...

Object tracking using multiple camera video streams

Science.gov (United States)

Mehrubeoglu, Mehrube; Rojas, Diego; McLauchlan, Lifford

2010-05-01

Two synchronized cameras are utilized to obtain independent video streams to detect moving objects from two different viewing angles. The video frames are directly correlated in time. Moving objects in image frames from the two cameras are identified and tagged for tracking. One advantage of such a system involves overcoming effects of occlusions that could result in an object in partial or full view in one camera, when the same object is fully visible in another camera. Object registration is achieved by determining the location of common features in the moving object across simultaneous frames. Perspective differences are adjusted. Combining information from images from multiple cameras increases robustness of the tracking process. Motion tracking is achieved by determining anomalies caused by the objects' movement across frames in time in each and the combined video information. The path of each object is determined heuristically. Accuracy of detection is dependent on the speed of the object as well as variations in direction of motion. Fast cameras increase accuracy but limit the speed and complexity of the algorithm. Such an imaging system has applications in traffic analysis, surveillance and security, as well as object modeling from multi-view images. The system can easily be expanded by increasing the number of cameras such that there is an overlap between the scenes from at least two cameras in proximity. An object can then be tracked long distances or across multiple cameras continuously, applicable, for example, in wireless sensor networks for surveillance or navigation.

Partially Observed Mixtures of IRT Models: An Extension of the Generalized Partial-Credit Model

Science.gov (United States)

Von Davier, Matthias; Yamamoto, Kentaro

2004-01-01

The generalized partial-credit model (GPCM) is used frequently in educational testing and in large-scale assessments for analyzing polytomous data. Special cases of the generalized partial-credit model are the partial-credit model--or Rasch model for ordinal data--and the two parameter logistic (2PL) model. This article extends the GPCM to the…

Partial lesions of the intratemporal segment of the facial nerve: graft versus partial reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Bento, Ricardo F; Salomone, Raquel; Brito, Rubens; Tsuji, Robinson K; Hausen, Mariana

2008-09-01

In cases of partial lesions of the intratemporal segment of the facial nerve, should the surgeon perform an intraoperative partial reconstruction, or partially remove the injured segment and place a graft? We present results from partial lesion reconstruction on the intratemporal segment of the facial nerve. A retrospective study on 42 patients who presented partial lesions on the intratemporal segment of the facial nerve was performed between 1988 and 2005. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on the procedure used: interposition of the partial graft on the injured area of the nerve (group 1; 12 patients); keeping the preserved part and performing tubulization (group 2; 8 patients); and dividing the parts of the injured nerve (proximal and distal) and placing a total graft of the sural nerve (group 3; 22 patients). Fracture of the temporal bone was the most frequent cause of the lesion in all groups, followed by iatrogenic causes (p lesion of the facial nerve is still questionable. Among these 42 patients, the best results were those from the total graft of the facial nerve.

Partial twisting for scalar mesons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agadjanov, Dimitri; Meißner, Ulf-G.; Rusetsky, Akaki

2014-01-01

The possibility of imposing partially twisted boundary conditions is investigated for the scalar sector of lattice QCD. According to the commonly shared belief, the presence of quark-antiquark annihilation diagrams in the intermediate state generally hinders the use of the partial twisting. Using effective field theory techniques in a finite volume, and studying the scalar sector of QCD with total isospin I=1, we however demonstrate that partial twisting can still be performed, despite the fact that annihilation diagrams are present. The reason for this are delicate cancellations, which emerge due to the graded symmetry in partially quenched QCD with valence, sea and ghost quarks. The modified Lüscher equation in case of partial twisting is given

Multicentre prospective evaluation of implant-assisted mandibular bilateral distal extension removable partial dentures: patient satisfaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wismeijer, D.; Tawse-Smith, A.; Payne, A.G.T.

2013-01-01

Objective To compare the levels of patient satisfaction with either conventional mandibular bilateral distal extension partial dentures or those assisted by bilateral distal implants. Materials and methods Forty-eight participants who were dissatisfied with their existing conventional mandibular

Multi-plane photomicrography of 3-D objects in nuclear emulsions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baranov, V.I.

1994-01-01

A new method of photomicrographing charged particle tracks in nuclear emulsions is proposed. It is based on summarizing the inverse (dark field) object partial images, obtained at different emulsion layer depths on one negative. This method permits to get, for example, nuclear event stereo pictures with large image field depth. 5 refs., 5 figs

Partial order infinitary term rewriting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bahr, Patrick

2014-01-01

We study an alternative model of infinitary term rewriting. Instead of a metric on terms, a partial order on partial terms is employed to formalise convergence of reductions. We consider both a weak and a strong notion of convergence and show that the metric model of convergence coincides with th...... to the metric setting -- orthogonal systems are both infinitarily confluent and infinitarily normalising in the partial order setting. The unique infinitary normal forms that the partial order model admits are Böhm trees....

Three-year follow-up of children with postmeningitic deafness and partial cochlear implant insertion.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rotteveel, L.J.C.; Snik, A.F.M.; Vermeulen, A.M.J.; Mylanus, E.A.M.

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the long-term outcome of children with postmeningitic deafness and partial insertion of the Nucleus electrode array, and to compare their speech perception performance with that of children with full insertion of the electrode array. DESIGN: A battery of seven speech

Beginning partial differential equations

CERN Document Server

O'Neil, Peter V

2011-01-01

A rigorous, yet accessible, introduction to partial differential equations-updated in a valuable new edition Beginning Partial Differential Equations, Second Edition provides a comprehensive introduction to partial differential equations (PDEs) with a special focus on the significance of characteristics, solutions by Fourier series, integrals and transforms, properties and physical interpretations of solutions, and a transition to the modern function space approach to PDEs. With its breadth of coverage, this new edition continues to present a broad introduction to the field, while also addres

Patent foramen ovale closure with GORE HELEX or CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder vs. antiplatelet therapy for reduction of recurrent stroke or new brain infarct in patients with prior cryptogenic stroke: Design of the randomized Gore REDUCE Clinical Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kasner, Scott E; Thomassen, Lars; Søndergaard, Lars; Rhodes, John F; Larsen, Coby C; Jacobson, Joth

2017-12-01

Rationale The utility of patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure for secondary prevention in patients with prior cryptogenic stroke is uncertain despite multiple randomized trials completed to date. Aims The Gore REDUCE Clinical Study (REDUCE) aims to establish superiority of patent foramen ovale closure in conjunction with antiplatelet therapy over antiplatelet therapy alone in reducing the risk of recurrent clinical ischemic stroke or new silent brain infarct in patients who have had a cryptogenic stroke. Methods and design This controlled, open-label trial randomized 664 subjects with cryptogenic stroke at 63 multinational sites in a 2:1 ratio to either antiplatelet therapy plus patent foramen ovale closure (with GORE® HELEX® Septal Occluder or GORE® CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder) or antiplatelet therapy alone. Subjects will be prospectively followed for up to five years. Neuroimaging is required for all subjects at baseline and at two years or study exit. Study outcomes The two co-primary endpoints for the study are freedom from recurrent clinical ischemic stroke through at least 24 months post-randomization and incidence of new brain infarct (defined as clinical ischemic stroke or silent brain infarct) through 24 months. The primary analyses are an unadjusted log-rank test and a binomial test of subject-based proportions, respectively, both on the intent-to-treat population, with adjustment for testing multiplicity. Discussion The REDUCE trial aims to target a patient population with truly cryptogenic strokes. Medical therapy is limited to antiplatelet agents in both arms thereby reducing confounding. The trial should determine whether patent foramen ovale closure with the Gore septal occluders is safe and more effective than medical therapy alone for the prevention of recurrent clinical ischemic stroke or new silent brain infarct; the neuroimaging data will provide an opportunity to further support the proof of concept. The main results are anticipated in 2017

Partial Edentulism and its Correlation to Age, Gender, Socio-economic Status and Incidence of Various Kennedy's Classes- A Literature Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeyapalan, Vidhya; Krishnan, Chitra Shankar

2015-06-01

Partial edentulism, one or more teeth missing is an indication of healthy behaviour of dental practices in the society and attitude towards dental and oral care. The pattern of partial edentulism has been evaluated in many selected populations in different countries by different methods. Most of the studies have evaluated partial edentulism by surveying of Removable Partial Dentures (RPDs), patients visiting clinics, clinical records and population in particular locality. The objective of the study is to review the prevalence of partial edentulousness and its correlation to age,gender, arch predominance, socio economic factors and incidence of various Kennedy's Classes. Key observations drawn from the review are as below. There is no gender correlation for partial edentulism.Prevalence of partial edentulism is more common in mandibular arch than maxillary arch.Younger adults have more Class III and IV RPDs. Elders have more distal extension RPDs Class I and II.

Hyperbolic partial differential equations

CERN Document Server

Witten, Matthew

1986-01-01

Hyperbolic Partial Differential Equations III is a refereed journal issue that explores the applications, theory, and/or applied methods related to hyperbolic partial differential equations, or problems arising out of hyperbolic partial differential equations, in any area of research. This journal issue is interested in all types of articles in terms of review, mini-monograph, standard study, or short communication. Some studies presented in this journal include discretization of ideal fluid dynamics in the Eulerian representation; a Riemann problem in gas dynamics with bifurcation; periodic M

A Case Report of Intra-articular Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture for Partial Tear of Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee, Kwangho

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: This case was to report a case of Partial Tear of Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex treated by Intra-articular bee venom Pharmacopuncture. Methods: The patient was treated by Intra-articular bee venom Pharmacopuncture. The Effect of Treatment was evaluated by Visual Analog Scale(VAS and Modified Mayo Wrist Score(Wrist Score. Results & Conclusions: After Treatment, Patient's VAS decreased and Wrist Score increased. For this results, Intra-articular Bee Venom Pharmacopuncture may be effective for Partial Tear of Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex.

Partial differential equations

CERN Document Server

Evans, Lawrence C

2010-01-01

This text gives a comprehensive survey of modern techniques in the theoretical study of partial differential equations (PDEs) with particular emphasis on nonlinear equations. The exposition is divided into three parts: representation formulas for solutions; theory for linear partial differential equations; and theory for nonlinear partial differential equations. Included are complete treatments of the method of characteristics; energy methods within Sobolev spaces; regularity for second-order elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic equations; maximum principles; the multidimensional calculus of variations; viscosity solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi equations; shock waves and entropy criteria for conservation laws; and, much more.The author summarizes the relevant mathematics required to understand current research in PDEs, especially nonlinear PDEs. While he has reworked and simplified much of the classical theory (particularly the method of characteristics), he primarily emphasizes the modern interplay between funct...

Suzaku Observation of the Dwarf Nova V893 Scorpii: The Discovery of a Partial X-Ray Eclipse

Science.gov (United States)

Mukai, Koji; Zietsman, E.; Still, M.

2008-01-01

V893 Sco is an eclipsing dwarf nova that had attracted little attention from X-ray astronomers until it was proposed as the identification of an RXTE all-sky slew survey (XSS) source. Here we report on the po inted X-ray observations of this object using Suzaku. We confirm V893 Sco to be X-ray bright, whose spectrum is highly absorbed for a dwar f nova. We have also discovered a partial X-ray eclipse in V893 Sco. This is the first time that a partial eclipse is seen in Xray light c urves of a dwarf nova. We have successfully modeled the gross features of the optical and X-ray eclipse light curves using a boundary layer geometry of the X-ray emission region. Future observations may lead to confirmation of this basic picture, and allow us to place tight co nstraints on the size of the X-ray emission region. The partial X-ray eclipse therefore should make V893 Sco a key object in understanding the physics of accretion in quiescent dwarf nova.

Partial Cooperative Equilibria: Existence and Characterization

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Amandine Ghintran

2010-09-01

Full Text Available We study the solution concepts of partial cooperative Cournot-Nash equilibria and partial cooperative Stackelberg equilibria. The partial cooperative Cournot-Nash equilibrium is axiomatically characterized by using notions of rationality, consistency and converse consistency with regard to reduced games. We also establish sufficient conditions for which partial cooperative Cournot-Nash equilibria and partial cooperative Stackelberg equilibria exist in supermodular games. Finally, we provide an application to strategic network formation where such solution concepts may be useful.

Successful removable partial dentures.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Christopher D

2012-03-01

Removable partial dentures (RPDs) remain a mainstay of prosthodontic care for partially dentate patients. Appropriately designed, they can restore masticatory efficiency, improve aesthetics and speech, and help secure overall oral health. However, challenges remain in providing such treatments, including maintaining adequate plaque control, achieving adequate retention, and facilitating patient tolerance. The aim of this paper is to review the successful provision of RPDs. Removable partial dentures are a successful form of treatment for replacing missing teeth, and can be successfully provided with appropriate design and fabrication concepts in mind.

32 CFR 751.13 - Partial payments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... voucher and all other information related to the partial payment shall be placed in the claim file. Action... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Partial payments. 751.13 Section 751.13 National... Claims Against the United States § 751.13 Partial payments. (a) Partial payments when hardship exists...

[Acrylic resin removable partial dentures].

Science.gov (United States)

de Baat, C; Witter, D J; Creugers, N H J

2011-01-01

An acrylic resin removable partial denture is distinguished from other types of removable partial dentures by an all-acrylic resin base which is, in principle, solely supported by the edentulous regions of the tooth arch and in the maxilla also by the hard palate. When compared to the other types of removable partial dentures, the acrylic resin removable partial denture has 3 favourable aspects: the economic aspect, its aesthetic quality and the ease with which it can be extended and adjusted. Disadvantages are an increased risk of caries developing, gingivitis, periodontal disease, denture stomatitis, alveolar bone reduction, tooth migration, triggering of the gag reflex and damage to the acrylic resin base. Present-day indications are ofa temporary or palliative nature or are motivated by economic factors. Special varieties of the acrylic resin removable partial denture are the spoon denture, the flexible denture fabricated of non-rigid acrylic resin, and the two-piece sectional denture. Furthermore, acrylic resin removable partial dentures can be supplied with clasps or reinforced by fibers or metal wires.

Do already grasped objects activate motor affordances?

Science.gov (United States)

Iani, Cristina; Ferraro, Luca; Maiorana, Natale Vincenzo; Gallese, Vittorio; Rubichi, Sandro

2018-04-07

This study investigated whether in a stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) task affordance effects in response to picture of graspable objects emerge when these objects appear as already grasped. It also assessed whether the observed effects could be explained as due to spatial compatibility between the most salient part in the object/display and the hand of response rather than to action potentiation. To this aim, we conducted three behavioural experiments in which participants were required to discriminate the vertical orientation (upright vs. inverted) of an object presented in the centre of the screen, while ignoring the right-left orientation of its handle. The object could be presented alone, as already grasped, as partially masked (Experiment 1) or with a human hand close to its graspable side (Experiment 2). In addition, to assess the role of perceptual salience, the object could be presented with a human hand or a non-biological (a geometrical shape) distractor located opposite to the object's graspable side. Results showed faster responses when the object's handle was located on the same side of the responding hand with a larger effect when upright objects were shown as already grasped (Experiment 1) or when a hand was displayed close to its handle (Experiment 2), and a smaller reversed effect when the hand or the geometrical shape was located opposite to the handled side (Experiment 3). We interpreted these findings as indicating that handle orientation effects emerging in SRC tasks may result from the interplay between motor affordance and spatial compatibility mechanisms.

Flower specialisation: the occluded corolla of snapdragons (Antirrhinum) exhibits two pollinator niches of large long-tongued bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Vargas, P; Liberal, I; Ornosa, C; Gómez, J M

2017-09-01

Flower specialisation of angiosperms includes the occluded corollas of snapdragons (Antirrhinum and some relatives), which have been postulated to be one of the most efficient structures to physical limit access to pollinators. The Iberian Peninsula harbours the highest number of species (18 Iberian of the 20 species of Antirrhinum) that potentially share similar pollinator fauna. Crossing experiments with 18 Iberian species from this study and literature revealed a general pattern of self-incompatibility (SI) - failure in this SI system has been also observed in a few plants - which indicates the need for pollinator agents in Antirrhinum pollination. Field surveys in natural conditions (304 h) found flower visitation (>85%) almost exclusively by 11 species of bee (Anthophora fulvitarsis, Anthophora plumipes, Anthidium sticticum, Apis mellifera, Bombus hortorum, Bombus pascuorum, Bombus ruderatus, Bombus terrestris, Chalicodoma lefebvrei, Chalicodoma pyrenaica and Xylocopa violacea). This result covering the majority of Antirrhinum species suggests that large bees of the two long-tongued bee families (Megachilidae, Apidae) are the major pollinators of Antirrhinum. A bipartite modularity analysis revealed two pollinator systems of long-tongued bees: (i) the long-studied system of bumblebees (Bombus spp.) associated with nine primarily northern species of Antirrhinum; and (ii) a newly proposed pollinator system involving other large bees associated with seven species primarily distributed in southern Mediterranean areas. © 2017 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Occlusion and Temporomandibular Function among Subjects with Mandibular Distal Extension Removable Partial Dentures

Science.gov (United States)

Creugers, N. H. J.; Witter, D. J.; Van 't Spijker, A.; Gerritsen, A. E.; Kreulen, C. M.

2010-01-01

Objective. To quantify effects on occlusion and temporomandibular function of mandibular distal extension removable partial dentures in shortened dental arches. Methods. Subjects wearing mandibular extension removable partial dentures (n = 25) were compared with subjects with shortened dental arches without extension (n = 74) and with subjects who had worn a mandibular extension removable partial denture in the past (n = 19). Subjects with complete dentitions (n = 72) were controls. Data were collected at baseline and at 3-, 6-, and 9-year observations. Results. Occlusal activity in terms of reported awareness of bruxism and occlusal tooth wear of lower anterior teeth did not differ significantly between the groups. In contrast, occlusal tooth wear of premolars in shortened dental arches with or without extension dentures was significantly higher than in the controls. Differences amongst groups with respect to signs and symptoms related to temporomandibular disorders were not found. Occlusal support of the dentures did not influence anterior spatial relationship. Occlusal contacts of the denture teeth decreased from 70% for second premolars via 50% for first molars, to 30% for second molars. Conclusions. Mandibular distal extension removable partial dentures in moderate shortened dental arches had no effects on occlusion and temporomandibular function. PMID:20671961

An improved partial bundle method for linearly constrained minimax problems

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Chunming Tang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose an improved partial bundle method for solving linearly constrained minimax problems. In order to reduce the number of component function evaluations, we utilize a partial cutting-planes model to substitute for the traditional one. At each iteration, only one quadratic programming subproblem needs to be solved to obtain a new trial point. An improved descent test criterion is introduced to simplify the algorithm. The method produces a sequence of feasible trial points, and ensures that the objective function is monotonically decreasing on the sequence of stability centers. Global convergence of the algorithm is established. Moreover, we utilize the subgradient aggregation strategy to control the size of the bundle and therefore overcome the difficulty of computation and storage. Finally, some preliminary numerical results show that the proposed method is effective.

Distal splenorenal shunt with partial spleen resection

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Gajin Predrag

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Hypersplenism is a common complication of portal hypertension. Cytopenia in hypersplenism is predominantly caused by splenomegaly. Distal splenorenal shunt (Warren with partial spleen resection is an original surgical technique that regulates cytopenia by reduction of the enlarged spleen. Objective. The aim of our study was to present the advantages of distal splenorenal shunt (Warren with partial spleen resection comparing morbidity and mortality in a group of patients treated by distal splenorenal shunt with partial spleen resection with a group of patients treated only by a distal splenorenal shunt. Method. From 1995 to 2003, 41 patients with portal hypertension were surgically treated due to hypersplenism and oesophageal varices. The first group consisted of 20 patients (11 male, mean age 42.3 years who were treated by distal splenorenal shunt with partial spleen resection. The second group consisted of 21 patients (13 male, mean age 49.4 years that were treated by distal splenorenal shunt only. All patients underwent endoscopy and assessment of oesophageal varices. The size of the spleen was evaluated by ultrasound, CT or by scintigraphy. Angiography was performed in all patients. The platelet and white blood cell count and haemoglobin level were registered. Postoperatively, we noted blood transfusion, complications and total hospital stay. Follow-up period was 12 months, with first checkup after one month. Results In the first group, only one patient had splenomegaly postoperatively (5%, while in the second group there were 13 patients with splenomegaly (68%. Before surgery, the mean platelet count in the first group was 51.6±18.3x109/l, to 118.6±25.4x109/l postoperatively. The mean platelet count in the second group was 67.6±22.8x109/l, to 87.8±32.1x109/l postoperatively. Concerning postoperative splenomegaly, statistically significant difference was noted between the first and the second group (p<0.05. Comparing the

Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus: Evaluating the effect of the learning curve on the outcome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azhar Ahmad

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives : Initial experience with transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA using detachable coils and Amplatzer duct occluder devices is reported. We evaluated the outcome, complications, and influence of the learning curve, and also assessed the need of surgical backup for such interventional procedures. Methods: From January 2000 to December 2004, 121 patients underwent transcatheter closure of PDA. Aortic angiogram was performed to evaluate the size, position, and shape of the duct for appropriately choosing the occluder device type and size. A second aortic angiogram was performed 10 minutes after device deployment. Echocardiography was repeated at intervals of 24 hours, then at 1, 3, and 6 months after the procedure to assess complications. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to assess the role of experience in improving the outcome of the procedure. Results: Of 121 cases, four patients had pulmonary artery embolization of the occluder device which was successfully retrieved in the catheterization laboratory, while two others had embolization that required surgical intervention. Four patients had temporary residual leak, nine had protrusion of the device into the aorta without significant Doppler pressure gradient or hemolysis on follow-up, and five had partial hemodynamically insignificant obstruction to the left pulmonary artery. Statistical analysis showed that the effect of the learning curve and experience was responsible for 93% improvement in the procedural outcome over the five-year study period. Conclusion: Transcatheter occlusion of PDA is safe and effective alternative to surgery. Complications occurred in those with unfavorable duct anatomy and with the use of multiple coils. Surgical backup was important for such interventional procedures. Experience played a major role in the proper choice of device type and size which greatly influenced the outcome of the procedure.

Embodied memory allows accurate and stable perception of hidden objects despite orientation change.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Jing Samantha; Bingham, Ned; Bingham, Geoffrey P

2017-07-01

Rotating a scene in a frontoparallel plane (rolling) yields a change in orientation of constituent images. When using only information provided by static images to perceive a scene after orientation change, identification performance typically decreases (Rock & Heimer, 1957). However, rolling generates optic flow information that relates the discrete, static images (before and after the change) and forms an embodied memory that aids recognition. The embodied memory hypothesis predicts that upon detecting a continuous spatial transformation of image structure, or in other words, seeing the continuous rolling process and objects undergoing rolling observers should accurately perceive objects during and after motion. Thus, in this case, orientation change should not affect performance. We tested this hypothesis in three experiments and found that (a) using combined optic flow and image structure, participants identified locations of previously perceived but currently occluded targets with great accuracy and stability (Experiment 1); (b) using combined optic flow and image structure information, participants identified hidden targets equally well with or without 30° orientation changes (Experiment 2); and (c) when the rolling was unseen, identification of hidden targets after orientation change became worse (Experiment 3). Furthermore, when rolling was unseen, although target identification was better when participants were told about the orientation change than when they were not told, performance was still worse than when there was no orientation change. Therefore, combined optic flow and image structure information, not mere knowledge about the rolling, enables accurate and stable perception despite orientation change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Partial Actions and Power Sets

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Jesús Ávila

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We consider a partial action (X,α with enveloping action (T,β. In this work we extend α to a partial action on the ring (P(X,Δ,∩ and find its enveloping action (E,β. Finally, we introduce the concept of partial action of finite type to investigate the relationship between (E,β and (P(T,β.

PARTIAL PURIFICATION AND IMMUNO-BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISATION OF FERTILITY ASSOCIATED PROTEIN OF KARAN FRIES BULL SEMINAL PLASMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brajesh Raman

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of the present study was detection, isolation, partial purification and immunobiochemical characterization of fertility associated protein in the seminal plasma of high prolific Karan fries bull. Seminal plasma of Karan Fries bull was partially purified by gel filtration chromatography and analyzed by 10% SDS-PAGE for their polypeptide profile. PAGE analysis revealed major band of 55 kDa, and 26 kDa. Hyperimmune serum was raised in rabbit against crude seminal plasma protein. Single precipitin line was observed in DID test when each of the partially purified 26 kDa and 55 kDa proteins were reacted with hyperimmune serum. These proteins were also found to be immunoreactive against hyperimmune serum in Western blot technique.

Seasonal changes in partial, reverse diel vertical migrations of cisco Coregonus artedi.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahrenstorff, T D; Hrabik, T R

2016-09-01

The objectives of this study were to (1) document changes in partial, reverse diel vertical migrations (DVM) patterns of cisco Coregonus artedi in Ten Mile Lake, MN, U.S.A., throughout the year and (2) evaluate the mechanisms that may cause shifts in migration behaviour. Results indicated that C. artedi vertical distributions remained deep in the water column during the day and night of the spring and autumn, which was related to a low risk, low reward strategy. During summer, a partial migration occurred where a portion of the population remained deeper according to the low risk, low reward strategy, while the other portion performed a more extensive high risk, high reward reverse DVM. In winter, C. artedi did not migrate because there were only low risk, low reward conditions present at all depths. The extensive partial, reverse DVM during summer probably increased the growth potential of C. artedi, helping individuals survive in a lake with low zooplankton prey resources. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Surpassing digital holography limits by lensless object scanning holography.

Science.gov (United States)

Micó, Vicente; Ferreira, Carlos; García, Javier

2012-04-23

We present lensless object scanning holography (LOSH) as a fully lensless method, capable of improving image quality in reflective digital Fourier holography, by means of an extremely simplified experimental setup. LOSH is based on the recording and digital post-processing of a set of digital lensless holograms and results in a synthetic image with improved resolution, field of view (FOV), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and depth of field (DOF). The superresolution (SR) effect arises from the generation of a synthetic aperture (SA) based on the linear movement of the inspected object. The same scanning principle enlarges the object FOV. SNR enhancement is achieved by speckle suppression and coherent artifacts averaging due to the coherent addition of the multiple partially overlapping bandpass images. And DOF extension is performed by digital refocusing to different object's sections. Experimental results showing an impressive image quality improvement are reported for a one-dimensional reflective resolution test target. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Sub-OBB based object recognition and localization algorithm using range images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoang, Dinh-Cuong; Chen, Liang-Chia; Nguyen, Thanh-Hung

2017-01-01

This paper presents a novel approach to recognize and estimate pose of the 3D objects in cluttered range images. The key technical breakthrough of the developed approach can enable robust object recognition and localization under undesirable condition such as environmental illumination variation as well as optical occlusion to viewing the object partially. First, the acquired point clouds are segmented into individual object point clouds based on the developed 3D object segmentation for randomly stacked objects. Second, an efficient shape-matching algorithm called Sub-OBB based object recognition by using the proposed oriented bounding box (OBB) regional area-based descriptor is performed to reliably recognize the object. Then, the 3D position and orientation of the object can be roughly estimated by aligning the OBB of segmented object point cloud with OBB of matched point cloud in a database generated from CAD model and 3D virtual camera. To detect accurate pose of the object, the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm is used to match the object model with the segmented point clouds. From the feasibility test of several scenarios, the developed approach is verified to be feasible for object pose recognition and localization. (paper)

Child versus family cognitive-behavioral therapy in clinically anxious youth : An efficacy and partial effectiveness study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bodden, Denise H. M.; Bogels, Susan M.; Nauta, Maaike H.; De Haan, Else; Ringrose, Jaap; Appelboom, Carla; Brinkman, Andries G.; Appelboom-Geerts, Karen C. M. M. J.

2008-01-01

Objective: The efficacy and partial effectiveness of child-focused versus family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for clinically anxious youths was evaluated, in particular in relation to parental anxiety disorders and child's age. Method: Clinically referred children with anxiety

Child Versus Family Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Clinically Anxious Youth: An Efficacy and Partial Effectiveness Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bodden, D.H.M.; Bögels, S.M.; Nauta, M.H.; Haan, E. de; Ringrose, J.; Appelboom, C.; Brinkman, A.G.; Appelboom-Geerts, K.C.M.M.J.

2008-01-01

Objective: The efficacy and partial effectiveness of child-focused versus family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for clinically anxious youths was evaluated, in particular in relation to parental anxiety disorders and child's age. Method: Clinically referred children with anxiety

Objective measures of renal mass anatomic complexity predict rates of major complications following partial nephrectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Simhan, Jay; Smaldone, Marc C; Tsai, Kevin J; Canter, Daniel J; Li, Tianyu; Kutikov, Alexander; Viterbo, Rosalia; Chen, David Y T; Greenberg, Richard E; Uzzo, Robert G

2011-10-01

The association between tumor complexity and postoperative complications after partial nephrectomy (PN) has not been well characterized. We evaluated whether increasing renal tumor complexity, quantitated by nephrometry score (NS), is associated with increased complication rates following PN using the Clavien-Dindo classification system (CCS). We queried our prospectively maintained kidney cancer database for patients undergoing PN from 2007 to 2010 for whom NS was available. All patients underwent PN. Tumors were categorized into low- (NS: 4-6), moderate- (NS: 7-9), and high-complexity (NS: 10-12) lesions. Complication rates within 30 d were graded (CCS: I-5), stratified as minor (CCS: I or 2) or major (CCS: 3-5), and compared between groups. A total of 390 patients (mean age: 58.0 ± 11.9 yr; 66.9% male) undergoing PN (44.6% open, 55.4% robotic) for low- (28%), moderate- (55.6%), and high-complexity (16.4%) tumors (mean tumor size: 3.74 ± 2.4 cm; median: 3.2 cm) from 2007 to 2010 were identified. Tumor size, estimated blood loss, and ischemia time all significantly differed (prenal tumors. Copyright © 2011 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of partial denture in management of hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tania Saskianti

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Ectodermal dysplasia is a rare hereditary disorder with a characteristic physiognomy. The ectodermal dysplasia constitutes a group of hereditary disorders whose clinical manifestation can be defects in ectodermal structures. The case of a 11-year-old child with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia and partial anodontia is presented. Affected children require extensive dental treatment to restore appearance and help the development of a positive self image. Partial denture was provided to encourage a normal psychological development and to improve the function of the stomatognatic system. It is important for the patient and the dentist to understand that continued monitoring for dental problems is necessary. This paper had an objective to relate and discuss a case of hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, with the approach of the influence of an esthetic rehabilitation and functional alternative in the improvement of the quality of life.

[A retrospective study on the assessment of dysphagia after partial laryngectomy].

Science.gov (United States)

Su, T T; Sun, Z F

2017-11-07

Objective: To retrospectively investigate the long-term swallowing function of patients with laryngeal carcinoma, who underwent partial laryngectomy, discuss the effectiveness and reliability of Kubota drinking test in the assessment of patients with dysphagia, who underwent partial laryngectomy, and analyze the influence of different ways of operation on swallowing function. Methods: Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed on 83 patients with laryngeal carcinoma, who underwent partial laryngectomy between September 2012 and August 2015. Questionnaire survey, Kubota drinking test and video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) were conducted for patients during a scheduled interview. Patients were grouped by two ways: the one was whether epiglottis was retained, and the other was whether either arytenoids or both were reserved. The influence of different surgical techniques on swallowing function was analyzed according to the results of Kubota drinking test. The agreement and reliability of Kubota drinking test were statistically analyzed with respect to VFSS treated as the gold standard. SPSS23.0 software was used to analyze the data. Results: Questionnaire results revealed that among 83 patients underwent partial laryngectomy 32.53% suffered from eating disorder, and 43.37% experienced painful swallowing. The incidence of dysphagia was 40.96% according to the results of Kubota drinking test. There was statistical difference between the group with epiglottis remained and that having epiglottis removed in terms of the absence of dysphagia and severity. The statistical values of normal, moderate and severe dysphagia were in the order of 18.160, 7.229, 12.344( P dysphagia as well as that of intermediate severity, and their statistical values were 4.790 and 9.110( P dysphagia post partial laryngectomy.

Cortical Dynamics of Figure-Ground Separation in Response to 2D Pictures and 3D Scenes: How V2 Combines Border Ownership, Stereoscopic Cues, and Gestalt Grouping Rules

OpenAIRE

Grossberg, Stephen

2016-01-01

The FACADE model, and its laminar cortical realization and extension in the 3D LAMINART model, have explained, simulated, and predicted many perceptual and neurobiological data about how the visual cortex carries out 3D vision and figure-ground perception, and how these cortical mechanisms enable 2D pictures to generate 3D percepts of occluding and occluded objects. In particular, these models have proposed how border ownership occurs, but have not yet explicitly explained the correlation bet...

Multi Camera Multi Object Tracking using Block Search over Epipolar Geometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saman Sargolzaei

2000-01-01

Full Text Available We present strategy for multi-objects tracking in multi camera environment for the surveillance and security application where tracking multitude subjects are of utmost importance in a crowded scene. Our technique assumes partially overlapped multi-camera setup where cameras share common view from different angle to assess positions and activities of subjects under suspicion. To establish spatial correspondence between camera views we employ an epipolar geometry technique. We propose an overlapped block search method to find the interested pattern (target in new frames. Color pattern update scheme has been considered to further optimize the efficiency of the object tracking when object pattern changes due to object motion in the field of views of the cameras. Evaluation of our approach is presented with the results on PETS2007 dataset..

Implant-supported mandibular removable partial dentures; patient-based outcome measures in relation to implant position

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jensen, Charlotte; Raghoebar, Gerry M.; Kerdijk, Wouter; Meijer, Henny J. A.; Cune, Marco S.

2016-01-01

Objectives: To assess the benefits of implant support to Removable Partial Dentures (RPD) in patients with a bilateral free-ending situation in the mandible and to determine the most favorable implant position: the premolar (PM) or the molar (M) region. Methods: Thirty subjects with a bilateral

Using a model of human visual perception to improve deep learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Stettler, Michael; Francis, Gregory

2018-04-17

Deep learning algorithms achieve human-level (or better) performance on many tasks, but there still remain situations where humans learn better or faster. With regard to classification of images, we argue that some of those situations are because the human visual system represents information in a format that promotes good training and classification. To demonstrate this idea, we show how occluding objects can impair performance of a deep learning system that is trained to classify digits in the MNIST database. We describe a human inspired segmentation and interpolation algorithm that attempts to reconstruct occluded parts of an image, and we show that using this reconstruction algorithm to pre-process occluded images promotes training and classification performance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Algorithms over partially ordered sets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baer, Robert M.; Østerby, Ole

1969-01-01

in partially ordered sets, answer the combinatorial question of how many maximal chains might exist in a partially ordered set withn elements, and we give an algorithm for enumerating all maximal chains. We give (in § 3) algorithms which decide whether a partially ordered set is a (lower or upper) semi......-lattice, and whether a lattice has distributive, modular, and Boolean properties. Finally (in § 4) we give Algol realizations of the various algorithms....

Partial Deconvolution with Inaccurate Blur Kernel.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Dongwei; Zuo, Wangmeng; Zhang, David; Xu, Jun; Zhang, Lei

2017-10-17

Most non-blind deconvolution methods are developed under the error-free kernel assumption, and are not robust to inaccurate blur kernel. Unfortunately, despite the great progress in blind deconvolution, estimation error remains inevitable during blur kernel estimation. Consequently, severe artifacts such as ringing effects and distortions are likely to be introduced in the non-blind deconvolution stage. In this paper, we tackle this issue by suggesting: (i) a partial map in the Fourier domain for modeling kernel estimation error, and (ii) a partial deconvolution model for robust deblurring with inaccurate blur kernel. The partial map is constructed by detecting the reliable Fourier entries of estimated blur kernel. And partial deconvolution is applied to wavelet-based and learning-based models to suppress the adverse effect of kernel estimation error. Furthermore, an E-M algorithm is developed for estimating the partial map and recovering the latent sharp image alternatively. Experimental results show that our partial deconvolution model is effective in relieving artifacts caused by inaccurate blur kernel, and can achieve favorable deblurring quality on synthetic and real blurry images.Most non-blind deconvolution methods are developed under the error-free kernel assumption, and are not robust to inaccurate blur kernel. Unfortunately, despite the great progress in blind deconvolution, estimation error remains inevitable during blur kernel estimation. Consequently, severe artifacts such as ringing effects and distortions are likely to be introduced in the non-blind deconvolution stage. In this paper, we tackle this issue by suggesting: (i) a partial map in the Fourier domain for modeling kernel estimation error, and (ii) a partial deconvolution model for robust deblurring with inaccurate blur kernel. The partial map is constructed by detecting the reliable Fourier entries of estimated blur kernel. And partial deconvolution is applied to wavelet-based and learning

Development of Thrombus in a Systemic Vein after Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration of Gastric Varices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshimatsu, Rika; Yamagami, Takuji; Tanaka, Osamu; Miura, Hiroshi; Nishimura, Tsunehiko; Okuda, Kotaro; Hashiba, Mitsuoki

2012-01-01

To retrospectively evaluate the frequency and risk factors for developing thrombus in a systemic vein such as the infrarenal inferior vena cava or the iliac vein, in which a balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO) catheter was indwelled. Forty-nine patients who underwent B-RTO for gastric varices were included in this study. The B-RTO procedure was performed from the right femoral vein, and the B-RTO catheter was retained overnight in all patients. Pre- and post-procedural CT scans were retrospectively compared in order to evaluate the development of thrombus in the systemic vein in which the catheter was indwelled. Additionally, several variables were analyzed to assess risk factors for thrombus in a systemic vein. In all 49 patients (100%), B-RTO was technically successful, and in 46 patients (94%), complete thrombosis of the gastric varices was achieved. In 6 patients (12%), thrombus developed in the infrarenal inferior vena cava or the right common-external iliac vein. All thrombi lay longitudinally on the right side of the inferior vena cava or the right iliac vein. One of the aforementioned 6 patients required anticoagulation therapy. No symptoms suggestive of pulmonary embolism were observed. Prothrombin time-international normalized ratio and the addition of 5% ethanolamine oleate iopamidol, on the second day, were related to the development of thrombus. Development of a thrombus in a systemic vein such as the inferior vena cava or iliac vein, caused by indwelling of the B-RTO catheter, is relatively frequent. Physicians should be aware of the possibility of pulmonary embolism due to iliocaval thrombosis.

Occlusion and Temporomandibular Function among Subjects with Mandibular Distal Extension Removable Partial Dentures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. H. J. Creugers

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To quantify effects on occlusion and temporomandibular function of mandibular distal extension removable partial dentures in shortened dental arches. Methods. Subjects wearing mandibular extension removable partial dentures (n=25 were compared with subjects with shortened dental arches without extension (n=74 and with subjects who had worn a mandibular extension removable partial denture in the past (n=19. Subjects with complete dentitions (n=72 were controls. Data were collected at baseline and at 3-, 6-, and 9-year observations. Results. Occlusal activity in terms of reported awareness of bruxism and occlusal tooth wear of lower anterior teeth did not differ significantly between the groups. In contrast, occlusal tooth wear of premolars in shortened dental arches with or without extension dentures was significantly higher than in the controls. Differences amongst groups with respect to signs and symptoms related to temporomandibular disorders were not found. Occlusal support of the dentures did not influence anterior spatial relationship. Occlusal contacts of the denture teeth decreased from 70% for second premolars via 50% for first molars, to 30% for second molars. Conclusions. Mandibular distal extension removable partial dentures in moderate shortened dental arches had no effects on occlusion and temporomandibular function.

Partial ventilatory support modalities in acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome-a systematic review.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah M McMullen

Full Text Available The efficacy of partial ventilatory support modes that allow spontaneous breathing in patients with acute lung injury (ALI and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS is unclear. The objective of this scoping review was to assess the effects of partial ventilatory support on mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, and both hospital and intensive care unit (ICU lengths of stay (LOS for patients with ALI and ARDS; the secondary objective was to describe physiologic effects on hemodynamics, respiratory system and other organ function.MEDLINE (1966-2009, Cochrane, and EmBase (1980-2009 databases were searched using common ventilator modes as keywords and reference lists from retrieved manuscripts hand searched for additional studies. Two researchers independently reviewed and graded the studies using a modified Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine grading system. Studies in adult ALI/ARDS patients were included for primary objectives and pre-clinical studies for supporting evidence.Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs were identified, in addition to six prospective cohort studies, one retrospective cohort study, one case control study, 41 clinical physiologic studies and 28 pre-clinical studies. No study was powered to assess mortality, one RCT showed shorter ICU length of stay, and the other demonstrated more ventilator free days. Beneficial effects of preserved spontaneous breathing were mainly physiological effects demonstrated as improvement of gas exchange, hemodynamics and non-pulmonary organ perfusion and function.The use of partial ventilatory support modalities is often feasible in patients with ALI/ARDS, and may be associated with short-term physiological benefits without appreciable impact on clinically important outcomes.

Quasi-stability of a vector trajectorial problem with non-linear partial criteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir A. Emelichev

2003-10-01

Full Text Available Multi-objective (vector combinatorial problem of finding the Pareto set with four kinds of non-linear partial criteria is considered. Necessary and sufficient conditions of that kind of stability of the problem (quasi-stability are obtained. The problem is a discrete analogue of the lower semicontinuity by Hausdorff of the optimal mapping. Mathematics Subject Classification 2000: 90C10, 90C05, 90C29, 90C31.

Algebraic partial Boolean algebras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Derek

2003-01-01

Partial Boolean algebras, first studied by Kochen and Specker in the 1960s, provide the structure for Bell-Kochen-Specker theorems which deny the existence of non-contextual hidden variable theories. In this paper, we study partial Boolean algebras which are 'algebraic' in the sense that their elements have coordinates in an algebraic number field. Several of these algebras have been discussed recently in a debate on the validity of Bell-Kochen-Specker theorems in the context of finite precision measurements. The main result of this paper is that every algebraic finitely-generated partial Boolean algebra B(T) is finite when the underlying space H is three-dimensional, answering a question of Kochen and showing that Conway and Kochen's infinite algebraic partial Boolean algebra has minimum dimension. This result contrasts the existence of an infinite (non-algebraic) B(T) generated by eight elements in an abstract orthomodular lattice of height 3. We then initiate a study of higher-dimensional algebraic partial Boolean algebras. First, we describe a restriction on the determinants of the elements of B(T) that are generated by a given set T. We then show that when the generating set T consists of the rays spanning the minimal vectors in a real irreducible root lattice, B(T) is infinite just if that root lattice has an A 5 sublattice. Finally, we characterize the rays of B(T) when T consists of the rays spanning the minimal vectors of the root lattice E 8

[Removable partial dentures. Oral functions and types].

Science.gov (United States)

Creugers, N H J; de Baat, C

2009-11-01

A removable partial denture enables the restoration or improvement of 4 oral functions: aesthetics, mandibular stability, mastication, and speech. However, wearing a removable partial denture should not cause oral comfort to deteriorate. There are 3 types of removable partial dentures: acrylic tissue-supported dentures, dentures with cast metal frameworks en dentures with cast metal frameworks and (semi)precision attachments. Interrupted tooth arches,free-ending tooth arches, and a combination of interrupted as well as free-ending tooth arches can be restored using these dentures. Well-known disadvantages of removable partial dentures are problematic oral hygiene, negative influence on the remaining dentition and limited oral comfort. Due to the advanced possibilities of fixed tooth- or implant-supported partial dentures, whether or not free-ending, or tooth- as well as implant-supported partial dentures, the indication of removable partial dentures is restricted. Nevertheless, for the time being the demand for removable partial dentures is expected to continue.

[Conventional retaining of removable partial dentures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keltjens, H.M.A.M.; Witter, D.J.; Creugers, N.H.J.

2009-01-01

Mechanical and biological criteria have to be met in retaining the metal frame of a removable partial denture. Additionally, a removable partial denture is part of the occlusal interface by the clasps and the denture teeth. With respect to mechanical aspects, all rigid parts of the removable partial

Exercise therapy versus arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for degenerative meniscal tear in middle aged patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kise, Nina Jullum; Risberg, May Arna; Stensrud, Silje

2016-01-01

Objective To determine if exercise therapy is superior to arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for knee function in middle aged patients with degenerative meniscal tears. Design Randomised controlled superiority trial. Setting Orthopaedic departments at two public hospitals and two physiotherapy...... clinics in Norway. Participants 140 adults, mean age 49.5 years (range 35.7-59.9), with degenerative medial meniscal tear verified by magnetic resonance imaging. 96% had no definitive radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis. Interventions 12 week supervised exercise therapy alone or arthroscopic partial....... Our results should encourage clinicians and middle aged patients with degenerative meniscal tear and no definitive radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis to consider supervised exercise therapy as a treatment option. Trial registration www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01002794)....

Exercise therapy versus arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for degenerative meniscal tear in middle aged patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kise, Nina Jullum; Risberg, May Arna; Stensrud, Silje

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To determine if exercise therapy is superior to arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for knee function in middle aged patients with degenerative meniscal tears. DESIGN: Randomised controlled superiority trial. SETTING: Orthopaedic departments at two public hospitals and two physiotherapy...... clinics in Norway. PARTICIPANTS: 140 adults, mean age 49.5 years (range 35.7-59.9), with degenerative medial meniscal tear verified by magnetic resonance imaging. 96% had no definitive radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis. INTERVENTIONS: 12 week supervised exercise therapy alone or arthroscopic partial....... Our results should encourage clinicians and middle aged patients with degenerative meniscal tear and no definitive radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis to consider supervised exercise therapy as a treatment option.Trial registration www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01002794)....

Objective assessment of mastication predominance in healthy dentate subjects and patients with unilateral posterior missing teeth.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamasaki, Y; Kuwatsuru, R; Tsukiyama, Y; Oki, K; Koyano, K

2016-08-01

We aimed to investigate mastication predominance in healthy dentate individuals and patients with unilateral posterior missing teeth using objective and subjective methods. The sample comprised 50 healthy dentate individuals (healthy dentate group) and 30 patients with unilateral posterior missing teeth (partially edentulous group). Subjects were asked to freely chew three kinds of test foods (peanuts, beef jerky and chewing gum). Electromyographic activity of the bilateral masseter muscles was recorded. The chewing side (right side or left side) was judged by the level of root mean square electromyographic amplitude. Mastication predominance was then objectively assessed using the mastication predominant score and the mastication predominant index. Self-awareness of mastication predominance was evaluated using a modified visual analogue scale. Mastication predominance scores of the healthy dentate and partially edentulous groups for each test food were analysed. There was a significant difference in the distribution of the mastication predominant index between the two groups (P mastication predominant score was weakly correlated with self-awareness of mastication predominance in the healthy dentate group, whereas strong correlation was observed in the partially edentulous group (P mastication predominance and were more aware of mastication predominance than healthy dentate individuals. Our findings suggest that an objective evaluation of mastication predominance is more precise than a subjective method. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Modular Adaptive System Based on a Multi-Stage Neural Structure for Recognition of 2D Objects of Discontinuous Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Topalova

2005-03-01

Full Text Available This is a presentation of a new system for invariant recognition of 2D objects with overlapping classes, that can not be effectively recognized with the traditional methods. The translation, scale and partial rotation invariant contour object description is transformed in a DCT spectrum space. The obtained frequency spectrums are decomposed into frequency bands in order to feed different BPG neural nets (NNs. The NNs are structured in three stages - filtering and full rotation invariance; partial recognition; general classification. The designed multi-stage BPG Neural Structure shows very good accuracy and flexibility when tested with 2D objects used in the discontinuous production. The reached speed and the opportunuty for an easy restructuring and reprogramming of the system makes it suitable for application in different applied systems for real time work.

Modular Adaptive System Based on a Multi-Stage Neural Structure for Recognition of 2D Objects of Discontinuous Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Topalova

2008-11-01

Full Text Available This is a presentation of a new system for invariant recognition of 2D objects with overlapping classes, that can not be effectively recognized with the traditional methods. The translation, scale and partial rotation invariant contour object description is transformed in a DCT spectrum space. The obtained frequency spectrums are decomposed into frequency bands in order to feed different BPG neural nets (NNs. The NNs are structured in three stages - filtering and full rotation invariance; partial recognition; general classification. The designed multi-stage BPG Neural Structure shows very good accuracy and flexibility when tested with 2D objects used in the discontinuous production. The reached speed and the opportunuty for an easy restructuring and reprogramming of the system makes it suitable for application in different applied systems for real time work.

Perceived Average Orientation Reflects Effective Gist of the Surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Oakyoon; Chong, Sang Chul

2018-03-01

The human ability to represent ensemble visual information, such as average orientation and size, has been suggested as the foundation of gist perception. To effectively summarize different groups of objects into the gist of a scene, observers should form ensembles separately for different groups, even when objects have similar visual features across groups. We hypothesized that the visual system utilizes perceptual groups characterized by spatial configuration and represents separate ensembles for different groups. Therefore, participants could not integrate ensembles of different perceptual groups on a task basis. We asked participants to determine the average orientation of visual elements comprising a surface with a contour situated inside. Although participants were asked to estimate the average orientation of all the elements, they ignored orientation signals embedded in the contour. This constraint may help the visual system to keep the visual features of occluding objects separate from those of the occluded objects.

Anterior chamber angle assessment using gonioscopy and ultrasound biomicroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Narayanaswamy, Arun; Vijaya, Lingam; Shantha, B; Baskaran, Mani; Sathidevi, A V; Baluswamy, Sukumar

2004-01-01

Comparison of anterior chamber angle measurements using ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) and gonioscopy. Five hundred subjects were evaluated for grading of angle width by the Shaffer method. UBM was done in the same group to document angle width, angle opening distance (AOD 500), and anterior chamber depth. Biometric parameters were documented in all subjects. UBM and gonioscopic findings were compared. A study was conducted in 282 men and 218 women with a mean age of 57.32 +/- 12.48 years. Gonioscopic grading was used to segregate occludable (slit-like, grades 1 and 2) from nonoccludable (grades 3 and 4) angles. Subjective assessment by gonioscopy resulted in an overestimation of angle width within the occludable group when compared with values obtained by UBM. This did not affect the segregation of occludable versus nonoccludable angles by gonioscopy. Biometric parameters in eyes with occludable angles were significantly lower in comparison with eyes with nonoccludable angles, except for lens thickness. AOD 500 correlated well with angle width. We concluded that clinical segregation into occludable and nonoccludable angles by an experienced observer using gonioscopy is fairly accurate. However, UBM is required for objective quantification of angles, and AOD 500 can be a reliable and standard parameter to grade angle width.

Network topology of olivine-basalt partial melts

Science.gov (United States)

Skemer, Philip; Chaney, Molly M.; Emmerich, Adrienne L.; Miller, Kevin J.; Zhu, Wen-lu

2017-07-01

The microstructural relationship between melt and solid grains in partially molten rocks influences many physical properties, including permeability, rheology, electrical conductivity and seismic wave speeds. In this study, the connectivity of melt networks in the olivine-basalt system is explored using a systematic survey of 3-D X-ray microtomographic data. Experimentally synthesized samples with 2 and 5 vol.% melt are analysed as a series of melt tubules intersecting at nodes. Each node is characterized by a coordination number (CN), which is the number of melt tubules that intersect at that location. Statistically representative volumes are described by coordination number distributions (CND). Polyhedral grains can be packed in many configurations yielding different CNDs, however widely accepted theory predicts that systems with small dihedral angles, such as olivine-basalt, should exhibit a predominant CN of four. In this study, melt objects are identified with CN = 2-8, however more than 50 per cent are CN = 4, providing experimental verification of this theoretical prediction. A conceptual model that considers the role of heterogeneity in local grain size and melt fraction is proposed to explain the formation of nodes with CN ≠ 4. Correctly identifying the melt network topology is essential to understanding the relationship between permeability and porosity, and hence the transport properties of partial molten mantle rocks.

Photogenic partial seizures.

Science.gov (United States)

Hennessy, M J; Binnie, C D

2000-01-01

To establish the incidence and symptoms of partial seizures in a cohort of patients investigated on account of known sensitivity to intermittent photic stimulation and/or precipitation of seizures by environmental visual stimuli such as television (TV) screens or computer monitors. We report 43 consecutive patients with epilepsy, who had exhibited a significant EEG photoparoxysmal response or who had seizures precipitated by environmental visual stimuli and underwent detailed assessment of their photosensitivity in the EEG laboratory, during which all were questioned concerning their ictal symptoms. All patients were considered on clinical grounds to have an idiopathic epilepsy syndrome. Twenty-eight (65%) patients reported visually precipitated attacks occurring initially with maintained consciousness, in some instances evolving to a period of confusion or to a secondarily generalized seizure. Visual symptoms were most commonly reported and included positive symptoms such as coloured circles or spots, but also blindness and subjective symptoms such as "eyes going funny." Other symptoms described included nonspecific cephalic sensations, deja-vu, auditory hallucinations, nausea, and vomiting. No patient reported any clear spontaneous partial seizures, and there were no grounds for supposing that any had partial epilepsy excepting the ictal phenomenology of some or all of the visually induced attacks. These findings provide clinical support for the physiological studies that indicate that the trigger mechanism for human photosensitivity involves binocularly innervated cells located in the visual cortex. Thus the visual cortex is the seat of the primary epileptogenic process, and the photically triggered discharges and seizures may be regarded as partial with secondary generalization.

Accreting Compact Object at the Center of the Supernova Remnant RCW 103.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanwal, D.; Garmire, G. P.; Garmire, A.; Pavlov, G. G.; Mignani, R.

2002-05-01

We observed the radio-quiet central compact object of the supernova remnant RCW 103 with the Chandra ACIS during 13.8 hours on 2002 March 3, when the source was in high state, with a time-averaged flux of 8*E-12 erg cm-2 s-1 in the 0.5--8.0 keV band. The complex light curve of the source shows a period of about 6.4 hours and two partial eclipses or dips per period, separated by 180o in phase. The variability of the source proves that it is powered by accretion, likely from a low-mass companion in a binary system. Deep near-IR observations of the source with VLT suggest a potential counterpart of the compact object about 2'' from the nominal Chandra position. The magnitudes of the potential counterpart are J ≈ 22.3, H ≈ 19.6, and Ks ≈ 18.5, with an uncertainty of about 0.5 mag. We will discuss possible interpretations of the observational results. This work was partially supported by NASA grants NAS8-01128 and NAG5-10865.

The partial-birth stratagem.

Science.gov (United States)

1998-06-01

In Wisconsin, physicians stopped performing abortions when a Federal District Court Judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order against the state's newly enacted "partial birth" abortion ban that was couched in such vague language it actually covered all abortions. While ostensibly attempting to ban late-term "intact dilation and extraction," the language of the law did not refer to that procedure or to late terms. Instead, it prohibited all abortions in which a physician "partially vaginally delivers a living child, causes the death of the partially delivered child with the intent to kill the child and then completes the delivery of the child." The law also defined "child" as "a human being from the time of fertilization" until birth. It is clear that this abortion ban is unconstitutional under Row v. Wade, and this unconstitutionality is compounded by the fact that the law allowed no exception to protect a woman's health, which is required by Roe for abortion bans after fetal viability. Wisconsin is only one of about 28 states that have enacted similar laws, and only two have restricted the ban to postviability abortions. Many of these laws have been struck down in court, and President Clinton has continued to veto the Federal partial-birth bill. The Wisconsin Judge acknowledged that opponents of the ban will likely prevail when the case is heard, but his action in denying the temporary injunction means that many women in Wisconsin will not receive timely medical care. The partial birth strategy is really only another anti-abortion strategy.

Partially massless fields during inflation

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann, Daniel; Goon, Garrett; Lee, Hayden; Pimentel, Guilherme L.

2018-04-01

The representation theory of de Sitter space allows for a category of partially massless particles which have no flat space analog, but could have existed during inflation. We study the couplings of these exotic particles to inflationary perturbations and determine the resulting signatures in cosmological correlators. When inflationary perturbations interact through the exchange of these fields, their correlation functions inherit scalings that cannot be mimicked by extra massive fields. We discuss in detail the squeezed limit of the tensor-scalar-scalar bispectrum, and show that certain partially massless fields can violate the tensor consistency relation of single-field inflation. We also consider the collapsed limit of the scalar trispectrum, and find that the exchange of partially massless fields enhances its magnitude, while giving no contribution to the scalar bispectrum. These characteristic signatures provide clean detection channels for partially massless fields during inflation.

Migratory and resident blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus differ in their reaction to a novel object

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, Anna L. K.; Nilsson, Jan-Åke; Alerstam, Thomas; Bäckman, Johan

2010-11-01

Individuals differ consistently in their behavioural reactions towards novel objects and new situations. Reaction to novelty is one part of a suit of individually consistent behaviours called coping strategies or personalities and is often summarised as bold or shy behaviour. Coping strategies could be particularly important for migrating birds exposed to novel environments on their journeys. We compared the average approach latencies to a novel object among migrants and residents in partially migratory blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus. In this test, we found migrating blue tits to have shorter approach latencies than had resident ones. Behavioural reactions to novelty can affect the readiness to migrate and short approach latency may have an adaptive value during migration. Individual behaviour towards novelty might be incorporated among the factors associated with migratory or resident behaviour in a partially migratory population.

Invariant Hough Random Ferns for Object Detection and Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yimin Lin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces an invariant Hough random ferns (IHRF incorporating rotation and scale invariance into the local feature description, random ferns classifier training, and Hough voting stages. It is especially suited for object detection under changes in object appearance and scale, partial occlusions, and pose variations. The efficacy of this approach is validated through experiments on a large set of challenging benchmark datasets, and the results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art conventional methods such as bounding-box-based and part-based methods. Additionally, we also propose an efficient clustering scheme based on the local patches’ appearance and their geometric relations that can provide pixel-accurate, top-down segmentations from IHRF back-projections. This refined segmentation can be used to improve the quality of online object tracking because it avoids the drifting problem. Thus, an online tracking framework based on IHRF, which is trained and updated in each frame to distinguish and segment the object from the background, is established. Finally, the experimental results on both object segmentation and long-term object tracking show that this method yields accurate and robust tracking performance in a variety of complex scenarios, especially in cases of severe occlusions and nonrigid deformations.

Balloon-Occluded Antegrade Transvenous Sclerotherapy to Treat Rectal Varices: A Direct Puncture Approach to the Superior Rectal Vein Through the Greater Sciatic Foramen Under CT Fluoroscopy Guidance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ono, Yasuyuki, E-mail: onoyasy@hirakata.kmu.ac.jp; Kariya, Shuji, E-mail: kariyas@hirakata.kmu.ac.jp; Nakatani, Miyuki, E-mail: nakatanm@hirakata.kmu.ac.jp; Yoshida, Rie, E-mail: yagir@hirakata.kmu.ac.jp; Kono, Yumiko, E-mail: kohnoy@hirakata.kmu.ac.jp; Kan, Naoki, E-mail: kanna@takii.kmu.ac.jp; Ueno, Yutaka, E-mail: uenoyut@hirakata.kmu.ac.jp; Komemushi, Atsushi, E-mail: komemush@takii.kmu.ac.jp; Tanigawa, Noboru, E-mail: tanigano@hirakata.kmu.ac.jp [Kansai Medical University, Department of Radiology (Japan)

2015-10-15

Rectal varices occur in 44.5 % of patients with ectopic varices caused by portal hypertension, and 48.6 % of these patients are untreated and followed by observation. However, bleeding occurs in 38 % and shock leading to death in 5 % of such patients. Two patients, an 80-year-old woman undergoing treatment for primary biliary cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class A) and a 63-year-old man with class C hepatic cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class A), in whom balloon-occluded antegrade transvenous sclerotherapy was performed to treat rectal varices are reported. A catheter was inserted by directly puncturing the rectal vein percutaneously through the greater sciatic foramen under computed tomographic fluoroscopy guidance. In both cases, the rectal varices were successfully treated without any significant complications, with no bleeding from rectal varices after embolization.

Quasi-objects, Cult Objects and Fashion Objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Bjørn Schiermer

2011-01-01

This article attempts to rehabilitate the concept of fetishism and to contribute to the debate on the social role of objects as well as to fashion theory. Extrapolating from Michel Serres’ theory of the quasi-objects, I distinguish two phenomenologies possessing almost opposite characteristics. T...... as a unique opportunity for studying the interchange between these two forms of fetishism and their respective phenomenologies. Finally, returning to Serres, I briefly consider the theoretical consequences of introducing the fashion object as a quasi-object.......This article attempts to rehabilitate the concept of fetishism and to contribute to the debate on the social role of objects as well as to fashion theory. Extrapolating from Michel Serres’ theory of the quasi-objects, I distinguish two phenomenologies possessing almost opposite characteristics....... These two phenomenologies are, so I argue, essential to quasi-object theory, yet largely ignored by Serres’ sociological interpreters. They correspond with the two different theories of fetishism found in Marx and Durkheim, respectively. In the second half of the article, I introduce the fashion object...

Partial dynamical systems, fell bundles and applications

CERN Document Server

Exel, Ruy

2017-01-01

Partial dynamical systems, originally developed as a tool to study algebras of operators in Hilbert spaces, has recently become an important branch of algebra. Its most powerful results allow for understanding structural properties of algebras, both in the purely algebraic and in the C*-contexts, in terms of the dynamical properties of certain systems which are often hiding behind algebraic structures. The first indication that the study of an algebra using partial dynamical systems may be helpful is the presence of a grading. While the usual theory of graded algebras often requires gradings to be saturated, the theory of partial dynamical systems is especially well suited to treat nonsaturated graded algebras which are in fact the source of the notion of "partiality". One of the main results of the book states that every graded algebra satisfying suitable conditions may be reconstructed from a partial dynamical system via a process called the partial crossed product. Running in parallel with partial dynamica...

Anticipatory reaching of seven- to eleven-month-old infants in occlusion situations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Wermeskerken, M; van der Kamp, J.; te Velde, A.F.; Valero-Garcia, A.V.; Hoozemans, M.J.M.; Savelsbergh, G.J.P.

2011-01-01

The present study examined 7- to 11-month-old infants' anticipatory and reactive reaching for temporarily occluded objects. Infants were presented with laterally approaching objects that moved at different velocities (10, 20, and 40. cm/s) in different occlusion situations (no-, 20. cm-, and 40.

Physics of partially ionized plasmas

CERN Document Server

Krishan, Vinod

2016-01-01

Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter; the other three being solid, liquid and gas. Several components, such as molecular clouds, diffuse interstellar gas, the solar atmosphere, the Earth's ionosphere and laboratory plasmas, including fusion plasmas, constitute the partially ionized plasmas. This book discusses different aspects of partially ionized plasmas including multi-fluid description, equilibrium and types of waves. The discussion goes on to cover the reionization phase of the universe, along with a brief description of high discharge plasmas, tokomak plasmas and laser plasmas. Various elastic and inelastic collisions amongst the three particle species are also presented. In addition, the author demonstrates the novelty of partially ionized plasmas using many examples; for instance, in partially ionized plasma the magnetic induction is subjected to the ambipolar diffusion and the Hall effect, as well as the usual resistive dissipation. Also included is an observation of kinematic dynam...

Percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus in children using amplatzer duct occluder II: relationship between PDA type and risk of device protrusion into the descending aorta.

Science.gov (United States)

Masri, Samer; El Rassi, Issam; Arabi, Mariam; Tabbakh, Anas; Bitar, Fadi

2015-08-01

To compare the efficacy and safety of Amplatzer Duct Occluder II (ADOII) among the various patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) types, and to assess the association between development of aortic obstruction and the PDA type in terms of measurable parameters as the device angulation and distance of upper end protrusion into the aortic lumen. Retrospective cohort study involving 50 consecutive subjects who underwent ADO II device closure of PDA. The median age and weight at intervention were 13 months (5.5 months to 18 years) and 11 (6-67) kg respectively. The median smallest ductal diameter by angiography was 3.2 (1.9-5.4) mm. Thirty two patients had type A PDA, 5 had type C, 5 had type D, and 8 had type E. Residual shunt was seen in only 1 patient who had a tubular PDA and resolved within 2 months of the procedure. No device embolization or pulmonary side protrusion were noted. There was a 16% aortic protrusion rate. The median distance of protrusion of the upper end of the device into the aortic lumen was 3.1 (0-9) mm and the median angle formed between the aortic end of the device and the PDA take-off was 10.4 (0-80.6) degrees. These latter parameters of aortic obstruction were significantly higher in the non-conical PDA group as compared to the conical PDA. Nevertheless, there was no significant coarctation due to aortic retention disc protrusion. Device closure of PDA using the ADO II is a safe procedure for chosen types of PDA. We demonstrated a novel technique for objective assessment of device protrusion into the descending aorta based on measurable parameters. ADOII device closure of non-conical PDAs warrants closer follow ups. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Development of a New Coaxial Balloon Catheter System for Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (B-RTO)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanoue, Shuichi; Kiyosue, Hiro; Matsumoto, Shunro; Hori, Yuzo; Okahara, Mika; Kashiwagi, Junji; Mori, Hiromu

2006-01-01

Purpose. To develop a new coaxial balloon catheter system and evaluate its clinical feasibility for balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO). Methods. A coaxial balloon catheter system was constructed with 9 Fr guiding balloon catheter and 5 Fr balloon catheter. A 5 Fr catheter has a high flexibility and can be coaxially inserted into the guiding catheter in advance. The catheter balloons are made of natural rubber and can be inflated to 2 cm (guiding) and 1 cm (5 Fr) maximum diameter. Between July 2003 and April 2005, 8 consecutive patients (6 men, 2 women; age range 33-72 years, mean age 55.5 years) underwent B-RTO using the balloon catheter system. Five percent ethanolamine oleate iopamidol (EOI) was used as sclerosing agent. The procedures, including maneuverability of the catheter, amount of injected sclerosing agent, necessity for coil embolization of collateral draining veins, and initial clinical results, were evaluated retrospectively. The occlusion rate was assessed by postcontrast CT within 2 weeks after B-RTO. Results. The balloon catheter could be advanced into the proximal potion of the gastrorenal shunt beyond the collateral draining vein in all cases. The amount of injected EOI ranged from 3 to 34 ml. Coil embolization of the collateral draining vein was required in 2 cases. Complete obliteration of gastric varices on initial follow-up CT was obtained in 7 cases. The remaining case required re-treatment that resulted in complete obstruction of the varices after the second B-RTO. No procedure-related complications were observed. Conclusion. B-RTO using the new coaxial balloon catheter is feasible. Gastric varices can be treated more simply by using this catheter system

Preoperative balloon occluded arterial infusion chemotherapy for locally invasive bladder cancer. Accurate staging for bladder preservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Norio; Arima, Kiminobu; Kawamura, Juichi; Tochigi, Hiromi

1999-01-01

The possibility of bladder preservation by preoperative balloon occluded arterial infusion (BOAI) chemotherapy was studied in 111 patients with locally invasive bladder cancer. BOAI was performed by blocking the blood flow of the internal iliac artery and by performing intra-arterial infusion of adriamycin (50 mg/body) and cisplatin (100 mg/body). Before BOAI the clinical diagnosis was T2 in 36, T3a in 29, T3b in 27, T4 in 11 and after BOAI it was T0 in 1, T1 in 27, T2 in 25, T3a in 20, T3b in 20, and T4 in 10. Down staging was observed on diagnostic images in 46.6%. Thirty patients (27.0%) received transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TUR-Bt) and their bladder could be preserved. The 5-year cancer-specific survival rate was 100% in pT0 (n=9), 97.5% in pT1 (n=47), 79.9% in pT2 (n=21), 80.0% in pT3a (n=6), 39.9% in pT3b (n=18) and 51.9% in pT4 cases (n=9). For the bladder preservation, accurate staging diagnosis is required. Since 1992, endorectal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used in addition to imaging diagnosis for improving the accuracy of staging diagnosis. The accuracies of staging diagnosis with and without endorectal MRI were 62.5% and 44.0%, respectively. BOAI as a neoadjuvant chemotherapy has the possibility of bladder-preserving therapy in locally invasive bladder cancer. Also, the endorectal MRI can improve the accuracy of staging diagnosis, which is important for the bladder preservation. (author)

Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration versus endoscopic injection sclerotherapy for isolated gastric varices: a comparative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Emori, Keigo; Toyonaga, Atsushi; Oho, Kazuhiko; Kumamoto, Masafumi; Haruta, Tsuyoshi; Inoue, Hiroto; Morita, Yukihiko; Mitsuyama, Keiichi; Tsuruta, Osamu; Sata, Michio

2014-01-01

Isolated gastric varices (IGV) have a lower risk of bleeding than esophageal varices, however IGV bleeding is associated with a higher mortality than bleeding of esophageal varices. In recent years, two widely used treatments for IGV have been balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO) and endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS) using cyanoacrylate or ethanolamine oleate (EO). This study compared these two treatment methods for IGV. The subjects were 112 patients who were treated at our hospital for IGV bleeding between October 1990 and December 2003. Forty-nine (49) patients were treated with B-RTO and 63 patients with EIS. These two patient groups were compared as regards content of treatment, post-treatment incidence of variceal bleeding, incidence of IGV rebleeding, survival rate, cause of death, and complications. Multivariate analysis was performed on post-treatment variceal bleeding and survival. Although EO was used in higher amounts in the B-RTO group than in the EIS group, the B-RTO group had a significantly lower number of treatment sessions and a significantly shorter treatment period (pIGV rebleeding after treatment than the B-RTO group. Treatment method was the only independent prognostic factor of IGV bleeding after treatment (p=0.024). The two groups did not differ significantly in the percentage of patients with aggravated esophageal varices after treatment. Bleeding from ectopic varices was not observed in any patient. There was no significant difference in survival by treatment method. The presence of hepatocellular carcinoma was the only independent prognostic factor for survival (p=0.003). It is concluded that B-RTO was more effective than EIS in the eradication of IGV and prevention of IGV recurrence and rebleeding.

Is the new Occlutech duct occluder an appropriate device for transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus?

Science.gov (United States)

Godart, François; Houeijeh, Ali; Domanski, Olivia; Guillaume, Marie-Paule; Brard, Mélanie; Lucron, Hugues

2018-06-15

To describe our initial experience with the Occlutech Duct Occluder (ODO) for percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Retrospective review of patients undergoing transcatheter PDA closure with the ODO in 2 academic centers. From April 2013 to September 2017, 42 patients underwent PDA closure. Median age at implantation was 34 months (range 4 months-68 years) and median weight was 12 kg (range 4.1-57 kg). Ducts were Krichenko type A duct (n = 34), type E (n = 6), and type C (n = 2). The mean duct diameter was 3.76 mm (range 1.69 to 9.95 mm, median 3.1 mm). Implantation succeeded in all. There was neither device embolization nor hemolysis. At device release, immediate angiogram showed a small residual shunt in 54.7%. During follow-up, Doppler echocardiography demonstrated 71% of full occlusion at day one, rising to 95% at one month and 100% at one year and half after implantation. The mean maximal systolic pressure gradient in left pulmonary artery was 4.2 ± 4.3 mm and across the distal aortic arch 5.4 ± 4.7 mm Hg. No patient had any significant stenosis with clinical relevance. ODO is safe and effective in transcatheter closure of PDA including relatively large sized ducts. The results are satisfactory with a high level of full occlusion and a low rate of complications. Further evaluation with larger studies and longer follow-up will be required to confirm these preliminary good results. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Caring, objectivity and justice: an integrative view.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hooft, Stan

2011-03-01

The argument of this article is framed by a debate between the principle of humanity and the principle of justice. Whereas the principle of humanity requires us to care about others and to want to help them meet their vital needs, and so to be partial towards those others, the principle of justice requires us to consider their needs without the intrusion of our subjective interests or emotions so that we can act with impartiality. I argue that a deep form of caring lies behind both approaches and so unites them. In the course of the argument, I reject Michael Slote's sentimentalist form of an ethics of care, and expound Thomas Nagel's moral theory, which seems to lie at the opposite end of a spectrum ranging from moral sentiments to impersonal objectivity. Nevertheless, Nagel's theory of normative realism provides unexpected support for the thesis that a deep and subjective form of caring lies at the base of even our most objective moral reasons.

Avaliação da liberação de NH4NO3 ocluido em zeólita 4A a partir de soluções salinas Assessment of release of NH4NO3 occluded zeolite 4A in solutions from salinas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jardel Cavalcante Rolim de Almeida Andrade

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The zeolite 4A was used to evaluate the thermo kinetics parameters of NH4+ and NO3- ions occluded in its structure. The Osawa method for activation energy calculation was used to evaluate its thermal stability, and the results shown that the ion species interact differently depending on the zeolite pores, which determines the controlled release by its structure.

Implementation of an algorithm for cylindrical object identification using range data

Science.gov (United States)

Bozeman, Sylvia T.; Martin, Benjamin J.

1989-01-01

One of the problems in 3-D object identification and localization is addressed. In robotic and navigation applications the vision system must be able to distinguish cylindrical or spherical objects as well as those of other geometric shapes. An algorithm was developed to identify cylindrical objects in an image when range data is used. The algorithm incorporates the Hough transform for line detection using edge points which emerge from a Sobel mask. Slices of the data are examined to locate arcs of circles using the normal equations of an over-determined linear system. Current efforts are devoted to testing the computer implementation of the algorithm. Refinements are expected to continue in order to accommodate cylinders in various positions. A technique is sought which is robust in the presence of noise and partial occlusions.

Partial Epilepsy with Auditory Features

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Gordon Millichap

2004-07-01

Full Text Available The clinical characteristics of 53 sporadic (S cases of idiopathic partial epilepsy with auditory features (IPEAF were analyzed and compared to previously reported familial (F cases of autosomal dominant partial epilepsy with auditory features (ADPEAF in a study at the University of Bologna, Italy.

Influence of the thermal treatment on the stability of partially constrained recovery of NiTi actuator wire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mertmann, M.; Bracke, A.; Hornbogen, E.

1995-01-01

NiTi shape memory wire may be used for actuation purposes in flexible robotic grippers, which have to be able to handle objects of different size, shape or weight. Therefore it is advantageous to develop an electrically driven shape memory actuator, which may perform any combination of shape change and exerted force within the following limiting boundaries: - free recovery: gripping of a very small and lightweight object, - constrained recovery: gripping of an object with maximum size and weight. Several NiTi actuator wires are fabricated and annealed between 400 and 600 C after cold working in the martensitic state. After prestraining each wire is embedded in a silicone matrix material. The polymer works as a bias spring and is able to store elastic deformation energy. This paper investigates the influence of thermal treatment on the stability of the exerted force between the two boundaries of completely free and constrained recovery, the ''partially constrained recovery''. The stability of recovery strain and stress is measured in a test assembly, in which different modes of partially constrained recovery are simulated. The work is supplemented by dilatometric measurements carried out with each actuator wire before and after the test procedure. (orig.)

Parent Ratings of ADHD Symptoms: Generalized Partial Credit Model Analysis of Differential Item Functioning across Gender

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez, Rapson

2012-01-01

Objective: Generalized partial credit model, which is based on item response theory (IRT), was used to test differential item functioning (DIF) for the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (4th ed.), inattention (IA), and hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI) symptoms across boys and girls. Method: To accomplish this, parents completed…

Patent ductus arteriosus occlusion in small dogs utilizing a low profile Amplatz® canine duct occluder prototype.

Science.gov (United States)

Stauthammer, Christopher D; Olson, Janet; Leeder, Damon; Hohnadel, Kristin; Hanson, Melissa; Tobias, Anthony H

2015-09-01

To develop procedural methodology and assess the safety, utility and effectiveness of a low profile Amplatz(®) canine duct occluder (ACDO) prototype in dogs deemed too small to undergo ductal occlusion with the commercially-available ACDO device. Twenty-one dogs with left-to-right shunting patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Dogs were ≥1.5 kg but considered too small to accommodate a 6 Fr catheter or 4 Fr sheath within the femoral artery. Prospective canine study using a low profile ACDO prototype delivered through a 4 Fr catheter via a femoral arterial approach. Procedural methods, fluoroscopy time, perioperative complications, and residual ductal flow were evaluated, and angiographic ductal morphology and dimensions were tabulated. All 21 dogs underwent successful ductal occlusion using the prototype device, 4 Fr catheter, and right femoral artery approach. No perioperative complications or device embolization occurred. The median minimal ductal diameter was 1.9 mm (range, 0.4-3.4), and the median device size deployed was 4 mm (range, 3-6). Complete ductal occlusion was noted in 17 dogs (81%) on post-deployment angiography. Twenty dogs (95%) had no residual flow on echocardiography performed the following day. In the 17 dogs (81%) that returned for a long-term (≥3months) follow-up evaluation, all had complete ductal occlusion based on echocardiography. The low profile ACDO prototype is a safe and effective method of PDA occlusion in the small dog. The deployment procedure appears of similar technical difficulty to the commercially available ACDO. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use of a percutaneously controlled hydraulic occluder for treatment of refractory urinary incontinence in three female cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Kendall E; Berent, Allyson C; Weisse, Chick W

2016-03-01

CASE DESCRIPTION 3 cats were referred for evaluation of chronic urinary incontinence. CLINICAL FINDINGS A presumptive diagnosis of urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI) was made in all 3 cats. Preoperatively, incontinence was mild in 1 cat (incontinence during sleep) and moderate to severe (incontinence while awake and at rest) in 2. Structural abnormalities noted during cystoscopy included urethrovestibular junction stenosis (n = 1), vaginal stenosis (1), short urethra (1), and intrapelvic bladder (1). TREATMENT AND OUTCOME All 3 cats were treated by means of implantation of an inflatable silicone hydraulic occluder (HO) via a ventral midline celiotomy. Immediately prior to HO implantation, patients underwent cystoscopy to detect any anatomic abnormalities and confirm the absence of ureteral ectopia. Following surgery, all 3 patients attained complete continence, needing 0 or 1 inflation of the device. Complications included cystoscopy-associated urethral tear (n = 1), constipation (1), stranguria (1), hematuria (2), and urinary tract infection (2). Device explantation was performed 14 weeks after surgery in 1 cat because of postoperative constipation. Constipation persisted and urinary incontinence recurred but was markedly improved following device removal in this cat (leakage of urine only when sleeping at follow-up 29 months after surgery [26 months after device explantation]). At the time of last follow-up, 2 of the 3 cats remained fully continent approximately 3 and 6 years after device implantation. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Findings suggested that implantation of an HO may be a safe and effective long-term treatment for some cats with USMI. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the potential for treatment-related complications and the long-term outcome.

New definition for the partial remission period in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Henrik B; Hougaard, Philip; Swift, Peter

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE To find a simple definition of partial remission in type 1 diabetes that reflects both residual beta-cell function and efficacy of insulin treatment. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 275 patients aged ..., stimulated C-peptide during a challenge was used as a measure of residual beta-cell function. RESULTS By multiple regression analysis, a negative association between stimulated C-peptide and A1C (regression coefficient -0.21, P ... the definition of an insulin dose-adjusted A1C (IDAA1C) as A1C (percent) + [4 x insulin dose (units per kilogram per 24 h)]. A calculated IDAA1C 300 pmol/l was used to define partial remission. The IDAA1C

MSCT diagnosis of pulmonary embolism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Jie; Yang Li; Zhang Ailian; Li Gongjie; Ren Shuanqun

2004-01-01

Objective: To analyze the distribution and size of intraluminal filling defects and corresponding parenchymal findings in pulmonary embolism (PE) on MSCT. Methods: Twelve PE cases diagnosed by spiral CTA were retrospected. The involved pulmonary arteries according to presence of filling defects were classified as central, peripheral and mixed type. Lobular pulmonary artery with filling defects classified as complete defect and partial defects. The presence or absence of parenchymal abnormalities and pleural effusion was noted. Results: Peripheral PE was identified in 2 of the 12 patients with PE, and others were with mixed type. Anatomic evaluation of filling defects at lobular level revealed a total of 25 arteries in 12 patients including 9 with complete filling defect and 16 with partial filling defect. Only 3 cases were found to have parenchyma consolidation from all the 12 cases, and 1 case was diagnosed as pneumonia. Pleural effusion was seen in 4 cases. Conclusion: Parenchymal changes in PE do not often take place and lack specified signs. Diagnosis of PE is based on conformation of parenchymal changes with occluded segment of pulmonary arteries. Clinical history and follow up are of very importance in defining parenchyma change arose from PE. (authors)

Poisson-Spot Intensity Reduction with a Partially-Transparent Petal-Shaped Optical Mask

Science.gov (United States)

Shiri, Shahram; Wasylkiwskyj, Wasyl

2013-01-01

The presence of Poisson's spot, also known as the spot of Arago, formed along the optical axis in the geometrical shadow behind an obstruction, has been known since the 18th century. The presence of this spot can best be described as the consequence of constructive interference of light waves diffracted on the edge of the obstruction where its central position can··be determined by the symmetry of the object More recently, the elimination of this spot has received attention in the fields of particle physics, high-energy lasers, astronomy and lithography. In this paper, we introduce a novel, partially transparent petaled mask shape that suppresses the bright spot by up to 10 orders of magnitude in intensity, with powerful applications to many of the above fields. The optimization technique formulated in this design can identify mask shapes having partial transparency only near the petal tips.

[Removable partial dentures. Oral functions and types

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Creugers, N.H.J.; Baat, C. de

2009-01-01

A removable partial denture enables the restoration or improvement of 4 oral functions: aesthetics, mandibular stability, mastication, and speech. However, wearing a removable partial denture should not cause oral comfort to deteriorate. There are 3 types of removable partial dentures: acrylic

Beginning partial differential equations

CERN Document Server

O'Neil, Peter V

2014-01-01

A broad introduction to PDEs with an emphasis on specialized topics and applications occurring in a variety of fields Featuring a thoroughly revised presentation of topics, Beginning Partial Differential Equations, Third Edition provides a challenging, yet accessible,combination of techniques, applications, and introductory theory on the subjectof partial differential equations. The new edition offers nonstandard coverageon material including Burger's equation, the telegraph equation, damped wavemotion, and the use of characteristics to solve nonhomogeneous problems. The Third Edition is or

Improved curvature-based inpainting applied to fine art: recovering van Gogh's partially hidden brush strokes

Science.gov (United States)

Kuang, Yubin; Stork, David G.; Kahl, Fredrik

2011-03-01

Underdrawings and pentimenti-typically revealed through x-ray imaging and infrared reflectography-comprise important evidence about the intermediate states of an artwork and thus the working methods of its creator.1 To this end, Shahram, Stork and Donoho introduced the De-pict algorithm, which recovers layers of brush strokes in paintings with open brush work where several layers are partially visible, such as in van Gogh's Self portrait with a grey felt hat.2 While that preliminary work served as a proof of concept that computer image analytic methods could recover some occluded brush strokes, the work needed further refinement before it could be a tool for art scholars. Our current work makes several steps to improve that algorithm. Specifically, we refine the inpainting step through the inclusion of curvature-based constraints, in which a mathematical curvature penalty biases the reconstruction toward matching the artist's smooth hand motion. We refine and test our methods using "ground truth" image data: passages of four layers of brush strokes in which the intermediate layers were recorded photographically. At each successive top layer (currently identified by the user), we used k-means clustering combined with graph cuts to obtain chromatically and spatially coherent segmentation of brush strokes. We then reconstructed strokes at the deeper layer with our new curvature-based inpainting algorithm based on chromatic level lines. Our methods are clearly superior to previous versions of the De-pict algorithm on van Gogh's works giving smoother, natural strokes that more closely match the shapes of unoccluded strokes. Our improved method might be applied to the classic drip paintings of Jackson Pollock, where the drip work is more open and the physics of splashing paint ensures that the curvature more uniform than in the brush strokes of van Gogh.

[Acrylic resin removable partial dentures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baat, C. de; Witter, D.J.; Creugers, N.H.J.

2011-01-01

An acrylic resin removable partial denture is distinguished from other types of removable partial dentures by an all-acrylic resin base which is, in principle, solely supported by the edentulous regions of the tooth arch and in the maxilla also by the hard palate. When compared to the other types of

PARALLEL SOLUTION METHODS OF PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korhan KARABULUT

1998-03-01

Full Text Available Partial differential equations arise in almost all fields of science and engineering. Computer time spent in solving partial differential equations is much more than that of in any other problem class. For this reason, partial differential equations are suitable to be solved on parallel computers that offer great computation power. In this study, parallel solution to partial differential equations with Jacobi, Gauss-Siedel, SOR (Succesive OverRelaxation and SSOR (Symmetric SOR algorithms is studied.

Partial processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-11-01

This discussion paper considers the possibility of applying to the recycle of plutonium in thermal reactors a particular method of partial processing based on the PUREX process but named CIVEX to emphasise the differences. The CIVEX process is based primarily on the retention of short-lived fission products. The paper suggests: (1) the recycle of fission products with uranium and plutonium in thermal reactor fuel would be technically feasible; (2) it would, however, take ten years or more to develop the CIVEX process to the point where it could be launched on a commercial scale; (3) since the majority of spent fuel to be reprocessed this century will have been in storage for ten years or more, the recycling of short-lived fission products with the U-Pu would not provide an effective means of making refabrication fuel ''inaccessible'' because the radioactivity associated with the fission products would have decayed. There would therefore be no advantage in partial processing

Simultaneously Discovering and Localizing Common Objects in Wild Images.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhenzhen; Yuan, Junsong

2018-09-01

Motivated by the recent success of supervised and weakly supervised common object discovery, in this paper, we move forward one step further to tackle common object discovery in a fully unsupervised way. Generally, object co-localization aims at simultaneously localizing objects of the same class across a group of images. Traditional object localization/detection usually trains specific object detectors which require bounding box annotations of object instances, or at least image-level labels to indicate the presence/absence of objects in an image. Given a collection of images without any annotations, our proposed fully unsupervised method is to simultaneously discover images that contain common objects and also localize common objects in corresponding images. Without requiring to know the total number of common objects, we formulate this unsupervised object discovery as a sub-graph mining problem from a weighted graph of object proposals, where nodes correspond to object proposals, and edges represent the similarities between neighbouring proposals. The positive images and common objects are jointly discovered by finding sub-graphs of strongly connected nodes, with each sub-graph capturing one object pattern. The optimization problem can be efficiently solved by our proposed maximal-flow-based algorithm. Instead of assuming that each image contains only one common object, our proposed solution can better address wild images where each image may contain multiple common objects or even no common object. Moreover, our proposed method can be easily tailored to the task of image retrieval in which the nodes correspond to the similarity between query and reference images. Extensive experiments on PASCAL VOC 2007 and Object Discovery data sets demonstrate that even without any supervision, our approach can discover/localize common objects of various classes in the presence of scale, view point, appearance variation, and partial occlusions. We also conduct broad

Development of Partial Discharging Simulation Test Equipment

Science.gov (United States)

Kai, Xue; Genghua, Liu; Yan, Jia; Ziqi, Chai; Jian, Lu

2017-12-01

In the case of partial discharge training for recruits who lack of on-site work experience, the risk of physical shock and damage of the test equipment may be due to the limited skill level and improper operation by new recruits. Partial discharge simulation tester is the use of simulation technology to achieve partial discharge test process simulation, relatively true reproduction of the local discharge process and results, so that the operator in the classroom will be able to get familiar with and understand the use of the test process and equipment.The teacher sets up the instrument to display different partial discharge waveforms so that the trainees can analyze the test results of different partial discharge types.

Partial autolysis of μ/m-calpain during post mortem aging of chicken muscle.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Liang; Jiang, Nanqi; Li, Miaozhen; Huang, Ming; Zhou, Guanghong

2016-12-01

The objective of this study was to investigate changes occurring in μ/m-calpain in post mortem chicken muscles and to determine the origin of the unknown bands found in calpain casein zymography. The unknown bands were reported with slightly greater mobility compared to conventional μ/m-calpain bands in casein zymography. Identification of these bands was accomplished using native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and with protein phosphatase treatment. Results showed that the unknown bands were corresponding to μ/m-calpain, and dephosphorylation by protein phosphatase did not change their appearance. The calpain samples were then incubated with various concentrations of Ca 2+ to determine the relationship between changes in μ/m-calpain and the appearance of the unknown bands. The products of μ/m-calpain partial autolysis were found to be consistent with the appearance of the unknown bands. Therefore, the appearance of these bands did not result from phosphorylation of μ/m-calpain as previously hypothesized, but from partial autolysis of μ/m-calpain. Also their presence suggests that μ/m-calpain undergoes partial autolysis during aging which may play certain roles in meat quality improvement. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

PARTIAL TRISOMY 4p AND PARTIAL MONOSOMY 13q: CASE REPORT AND A LITERATURE REVIEW.

Science.gov (United States)

Puvabanditsin, S; Herrera-Garcia, G; Gengel, N; Hussein, K; February, M; Mayne, J; Mehta, R

2016-01-01

We report on a term first born dichorionic-diamniotic twin with deletion of the distal long arm of chromosome 13, partial trisomy of the short arm of chromosome 4, intrauterine growth retardation, and multiple anomalies including microcephaly, colpocephaly, absent corpus callosum, bulbous tip of the nose, large and low set ears, macroglossia, thin upper lip, double outlet right ventricle, atria/ventricular septal defect, cleft mitral valve, pulmonary stenosis, single umbilical artery, multicystic dysplastic left kidney, sacral dimple, anterior displacement of anus, simian creases, abnormal thumb (congenital clasped thumb), overlapping toes, and congenital hypothyroidism. This is the first report of a patient with partial trisomy 4p and partial monosomy 13q.

Robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy: initial experience in Brazil and a review of the literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Camargo Passerotti

2012-02-01

Full Text Available CONTEXT AND PURPOSE: Partial nephrectomy has become the standard of care for renal tumors less than 4 cm in diameter. Controversy still exists, however, regarding the best surgical approach, especially when minimally invasive techniques are taken into account. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (RALPN has emerged as a promising technique that helps surgeons achieve the standards of open partial nephrectomy care while offering a minimally invasive approach. The objective of the present study was to describe our initial experience with robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy and extensively review the pertinent literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 2009 and February 2010, eight consecutive selected patients with contrast enhancing renal masses observed by CT were submitted to RALPN in a private institution. In addition, we collected information on the patients' demographics, preoperative tumor characteristics and detailed operative, postoperative and pathological data. In addition, a PubMed search was performed to provide an extensive review of the robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy literature. RESULTS: Seven patients had RALPN on the left or right sides with no intraoperative complications. One patient was electively converted to a robotic-assisted radical nephrectomy. The operative time ranged from 120 to 300 min, estimated blood loss (EBL ranged from 75 to 400 mL and, in five cases, the warm ischemia time (WIT ranged from 18 to 32 min. Two patients did not require any clamping. Overall, no transfusions were necessary, and there were no intraoperative complications or adverse postoperative clinical events. All margins were negative, and all patients were disease-free at the 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy is a feasible and safe approach to small renal cortical masses.Further prospective studies are needed to compare open partial nephrectomy with

Partial Cancellation

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Partial Cancellation. Full Cancellation is desirable. But complexity requirements are enormous. 4000 tones, 100 Users billions of flops !!! Main Idea: Challenge: To determine which cross-talker to cancel on what “tone” for a given victim. Constraint: Total complexity is ...

Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy in contemporary practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youssef S. Tanagho

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Laparoscopic renal surgery is associated with reduced blood loss, shorter hospital stay, enhanced cosmesis, and more rapid convalescence relative to open renal surgery. Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy is a minimally invasive, nephron-sparing alternative to laparoscopic radical nephrectomy for the management of small renal masses. While offering similar oncological outcomes to laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, the technical challenges and prolonged learning curve associated with laparoscopic partial nephrectomy limit its wider dissemination. Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy, although still an evolving procedure with no long-term data, has emerged as a viable alternative to laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, with favorable preliminary outcomes. This article provides an overview of the role of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy in the management of renal cell carcinoma. The clinical indications and principles of surgical technique for this procedure are discussed. The oncological, renal functional, and perioperative outcomes of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy are also evaluated, as are complication rates.

Partial molar volumes and partial molar adiabatic compressibilities of a short chain perfluorosurfactant: Sodium heptafluorobutyrate in aqueous solutions at different temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blanco, Elena [Group of Biophysics and Interfaces, Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Santiago de Compostela, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Ruso, Juan M. [Group of Biophysics and Interfaces, Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Santiago de Compostela, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain)]. E-mail: faruso@usc.es; Prieto, Gerardo [Group of Biophysics and Interfaces, Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Santiago de Compostela, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Sarmiento, Felix [Group of Biophysics and Interfaces, Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Santiago de Compostela, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

2005-12-15

Density and ultrasound measurements of sodium heptafluorobutyrate in aqueous solutions at T = (283.15, 288.15, 293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, 313.15, 318.15, and 323.15) K have been obtained. From these results partial molar volumes and isentropic partial molar adiabatic compressibilities were calculated. Deviations from the Debye-Hueckel limiting law provide evidence for limited association at lower concentrations. The change of the partial molar volume and isentropic partial molar adiabatic compressibility upon aggregation was calculated. Variations of the change of partial molar volumes and isentropic partial molar adiabatic compressibility upon aggregation are discussed in terms of temperature.

Partial molar volumes and partial molar adiabatic compressibilities of a short chain perfluorosurfactant: Sodium heptafluorobutyrate in aqueous solutions at different temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanco, Elena; Ruso, Juan M.; Prieto, Gerardo; Sarmiento, Felix

2005-01-01

Density and ultrasound measurements of sodium heptafluorobutyrate in aqueous solutions at T = (283.15, 288.15, 293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, 313.15, 318.15, and 323.15) K have been obtained. From these results partial molar volumes and isentropic partial molar adiabatic compressibilities were calculated. Deviations from the Debye-Hueckel limiting law provide evidence for limited association at lower concentrations. The change of the partial molar volume and isentropic partial molar adiabatic compressibility upon aggregation was calculated. Variations of the change of partial molar volumes and isentropic partial molar adiabatic compressibility upon aggregation are discussed in terms of temperature

Partial vaginismus : definition, symptoms and treatment

OpenAIRE

Engman, Maria

2007-01-01

Vaginismus is a sexual pain disorder, where spasm of musculature of the outer third of the vagina interferes with intercourse. Vaginismus exists in two forms: total vaginismus, where intercourse is impossible, and the more seldom described partial vaginismus, in which intercourse is possible but painful. The aim of the thesis was to develop a useful definition of partial vaginismus for both clinical and scientific purposes; to describe the prevalence of partial vaginismus among women with sup...

Abstract methods in partial differential equations

CERN Document Server

Carroll, Robert W

2012-01-01

Detailed, self-contained treatment examines modern abstract methods in partial differential equations, especially abstract evolution equations. Suitable for graduate students with some previous exposure to classical partial differential equations. 1969 edition.

Partially molten magma ocean model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shirley, D.N.

1983-01-01

The properties of the lunar crust and upper mantle can be explained if the outer 300-400 km of the moon was initially only partially molten rather than fully molten. The top of the partially molten region contained about 20% melt and decreased to 0% at 300-400 km depth. Nuclei of anorthositic crust formed over localized bodies of magma segregated from the partial melt, then grew peripherally until they coverd the moon. Throughout most of its growth period the anorthosite crust floated on a layer of magma a few km thick. The thickness of this layer is regulated by the opposing forces of loss of material by fractional crystallization and addition of magma from the partial melt below. Concentrations of Sr, Eu, and Sm in pristine ferroan anorthosites are found to be consistent with this model, as are trends for the ferroan anorthosites and Mg-rich suites on a diagram of An in plagioclase vs. mg in mafics. Clustering of Eu, Sr, and mg values found among pristine ferroan anorthosites are predicted by this model

Real world efficiency of retrofit partial-flow diesel particulate filters for trucks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Asch, R.; Verbeek, R.; Ligterink, N.; Kadijk, G.

2009-11-01

In 2006 the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) introduced an incentive scheme for retrofitting diesel particulate filters on Euro II and Euro III trucks. This scheme involves both partial flow and full flow diesel particulate filters (also called semi-open or open respectively wall-flow or closed filters). In the period 2007 till January 2009 about 15,000 partial flow filters and 8,000 full flow diesel particulate filters were installed. The minimum filtration efficiency requirement for the partial flow diesel particulate filters is 50% during the type approval test. In 2008 an engine dynamometer test programme was conducted to measure the filtration efficiency of retrofit open particulates filters of heavy trucks. This led to somewhat disappointing results with average filtration efficiencies in the range of 5-20% during city and national motorway driving conditions up to 20-40% during long distance motorway driving. This result leads to two main questions: (1) Is this result also representative for medium heavy trucks used for delivery, and (2) do similar efficiencies show up also in tests on entire vehicles, tested under conditions as close as possible to their real world usage profile. To this end, an additional measurement programme was defined, which is reported here. The objective of the study reported here is to determine the real world filtration efficiency of retrofit partial flow particulate filters for a number of trucks under different driving conditions such as city and motorway driving. The emphasis should be on medium heavy trucks typically used for national delivery.

Object-oriented program specialization: Aspects into Aspects - or maybe not?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

2001-01-01

and control-flow simplifications based on the usage context. Automatic program specialization has recently been defined in the context of object-oriented languages, and is here referred to as object-oriented program specialization. As part of this work, we have developed an automatic program specializer......Automatic program specialization is a software engineering technique that configures a program fragment by generating an implementation dedicated to a specific usage context. Given a generic component that solves a whole family of problems and that is implemented in a standard programming language......, program specialization can automatically configure this component by generating a specialized implementation. We consider automatic program specialization implemented using partial evaluation, which performs aggressive interprocedural constant propagation of all data types, and performs constant folding...

Optimal partial-arcs in VMAT treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wala, Jeremiah; Salari, Ehsan; Chen Wei; Craft, David

2012-01-01

We present a method for improving the delivery efficiency of VMAT by extending the recently published VMAT treatment planning algorithm vmerge to automatically generate optimal partial-arc plans. A high-quality initial plan is created by solving a convex multicriteria optimization problem using 180 equi-spaced beams. This initial plan is used to form a set of dose constraints, and a set of partial-arc plans is created by searching the space of all possible partial-arc plans that satisfy these constraints. For each partial-arc, an iterative fluence map merging and sequencing algorithm (vmerge) is used to improve the delivery efficiency. Merging continues as long as the dose quality is maintained above a user-defined threshold. The final plan is selected as the partial-arc with the lowest treatment time. The complete algorithm is called pmerge. Partial-arc plans are created using pmerge for a lung, liver and prostate case, with final treatment times of 127, 245 and 147 s. Treatment times using full arcs with vmerge are 211, 357 and 178 s. The mean doses to the critical structures for the vmerge and pmerge plans are kept within 5% of those in the initial plan, and the target volume covered by the prescription isodose is maintained above 98% for the pmerge and vmerge plans. Additionally, we find that the angular distribution of fluence in the initial plans is predictive of the start and end angles of the optimal partial-arc. We conclude that VMAT delivery efficiency can be improved by employing partial-arcs without compromising dose quality, and that partial-arcs are most applicable to cases with non-centralized targets. (paper)

Dynamic Non-Rigid Objects Reconstruction with a Single RGB-D Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sen Wang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the 3D reconstruction problem for dynamic non-rigid objects with a single RGB-D sensor. It is a challenging task as we consider the almost inevitable accumulation error issue in some previous sequential fusion methods and also the possible failure of surface tracking in a long sequence. Therefore, we propose a global non-rigid registration framework and tackle the drifting problem via an explicit loop closure. Our novel scheme starts with a fusion step to get multiple partial scans from the input sequence, followed by a pairwise non-rigid registration and loop detection step to obtain correspondences between neighboring partial pieces and those pieces that form a loop. Then, we perform a global registration procedure to align all those pieces together into a consistent canonical space as guided by those matches that we have established. Finally, our proposed model-update step helps fixing potential misalignments that still exist after the global registration. Both geometric and appearance constraints are enforced during our alignment; therefore, we are able to get the recovered model with accurate geometry as well as high fidelity color maps for the mesh. Experiments on both synthetic and various real datasets have demonstrated the capability of our approach to reconstruct complete and watertight deformable objects.

The long-term outcome of boys with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome and a mutation in the androgen receptor gene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lucas-Herald, A.; S. Bertelloni (Silvano); A. Juul (Anders); J. Bryce (Jillian); Jiang, J.; M. Rodie (Martina); R. Sinnott (Richard); Boroujerdi, M.; Lindhardt Johansen, M.; O. Hiort (Olaf); P-M. Holterhus (Paul-Martin); M.L. Cools (Martine); Guaragna-Filho, G.; Guerra-Junior, G.; N. Weintrob (Naomi); S.E. Hannema (Sabine); S.L.S. Drop (Stenvert); T. Guran (Tulay); F. Darendeliler (Feyza); A. Nordenström (Anna); I.A. Hughes (Ieuan A.); Acerini, C.; Tadokoro-Cuccaro, R.; S.F. Ahmed (Faisal)

2016-01-01

textabstractBackground: In boys with suspected partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS), systematic evidence that supports the long-term prognostic value of identifying a mutation in the androgen receptor gene (AR) is lacking. Objective: To assess the clinical characteristics and long-term

Partial differential equations of mathematical physics

CERN Document Server

Sobolev, S L

1964-01-01

Partial Differential Equations of Mathematical Physics emphasizes the study of second-order partial differential equations of mathematical physics, which is deemed as the foundation of investigations into waves, heat conduction, hydrodynamics, and other physical problems. The book discusses in detail a wide spectrum of topics related to partial differential equations, such as the theories of sets and of Lebesgue integration, integral equations, Green's function, and the proof of the Fourier method. Theoretical physicists, experimental physicists, mathematicians engaged in pure and applied math

Partial Evaluation of the Euclidian Algorithm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier; Goldberg, Mayer

1997-01-01

-like behavior. Each of them presents a challenge for partial evaluation. The Euclidian algorithm is one of them, and in this article, we make it amenable to partial evaluation. We observe that the number of iterations in the Euclidian algorithm is bounded by a number that can be computed given either of the two...... arguments. We thus rephrase this algorithm using bounded recursion. The resulting program is better suited for automatic unfolding and thus for partial evaluation. Its specialization is efficient....

Surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease: total or partial fundoplication? Systematic review and meta-analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo F Ramos

2011-12-01

Full Text Available CONTEXT: Although the high incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD in the population, there is much controversy in this topic, especially in the surgical treatment. The decision to use of a total or partial fundoplication in the treatment of GERD is still a challenge to many surgeons because the few evidence found in the literature. OBJECTIVE: To bring more clear evidence in the comparison between total and partial fundoplication. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review of the literature and metaanalysis with randomized controlled trials accessed from MEDLINE, LILACS, Cochrane Controlled Trials Database was done. The outcomes remarked were: dysphagia, inability to belch, bloating, recurrence of acid reflux, heartburn and esophagitis. For data analysis the odds ratio was used with corresponding 95% confidence interval. Statistical heterogeneity in the results of the metaanalysis was assessed by calculating a test of heterogeneity. The software Review Manager 5 (Cochrane Collaboration was utilized for the data gathered and the statistical analysis. Sensitive analysis was applied using only trials that included follow-up over 2 years. RESULTS: Ten trials were included with 1003 patients: 502 to total fundoplication group and 501 to partial fundoplication group. The outcomes dysphagia and inability to belch had statistical significant difference (P = 0.00001 in favor of partial fundoplication. There was not statistical difference in outcomes related with treatment failure. There were no heterogeneity in the outcomes dysphagia and recurrence of the acid reflux. CONCLUSION: The partial fundoplication has lower incidence of obstructive side effects.

Parachute technique for partial penectomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Korkes

2010-04-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: Penile carcinoma is a rare but mutilating malignancy. In this context, partial penectomy is the most commonly applied approach for best oncological results. We herein propose a simple modification of the classic technique of partial penectomy, for better cosmetic and functional results. TECHNIQUE: If partial penectomy is indicated, the present technique can bring additional benefits. Different from classical technique, the urethra is spatulated only ventrally. An inverted "V" skin flap with 0.5 cm of extension is sectioned ventrally. The suture is performed with vicryl 4-0 in a "parachute" fashion, beginning from the ventral portion of the urethra and the "V" flap, followed by the "V" flap angles and than by the dorsal portion of the penis. After completion of the suture, a Foley catheter and light dressing are placed for 24 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Several complex reconstructive techniques have been previously proposed, but normally require specific surgical abilities, adequate patient selection and staged procedures. We believe that these reconstructive techniques are very useful in some specific subsets of patients. However, the technique herein proposed is a simple alternative that can be applied to all men after a partial penectomy, and takes the same amount of time as that in the classic technique. In conclusion, the "parachute" technique for penile reconstruction after partial amputation not only improves the appearance of the penis, but also maintains an adequate function.

One-step partial or complete caries removal and bonding with antibacterial or traditional self-etch adhesives: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Villat, Cyril; Attal, Jean-Pierre; Brulat, Nathalie; Decup, Franck; Doméjean, Sophie; Dursun, Elisabeth; Fron-Chabouis, Hélène; Jacquot, Bruno; Muller Bolla, Michèle; Plasse-Pradelle, Nelly; Roche, Laurent; Maucort-Boulch, Delphine; Nony, Patrice; Gritsch, Kerstin; Millet, Pierre; Gueyffier, François; Grosgogeat, Brigitte

2016-08-15

Current concepts in conservative dentistry advocate minimally invasive dentistry and pulp vitality preservation. Moreover, complete removal of carious dentin in deep carious lesions often leads to pulp exposure and root canal treatment, despite the absence of irreversible pulp inflammation. For years, partial caries removal has been performed on primary teeth, but little evidence supports its effectiveness for permanent teeth. Furthermore, the recent development of new antibacterial adhesive systems could be interesting in the treatment of such lesions. The objectives of this study are to compare the effectiveness of partial versus complete carious dentin removal in deep lesions (primary objective) and the use of an antibacterial versus a traditional two-step self-etch adhesive system (main secondary objective). The DEep CAries Treatment (DECAT) study protocol is a multicenter, randomized, controlled superiority trial comparing partial versus complete caries removal followed by adhesive restoration. The minimum sample size required is 464 patients. Two successive randomizations will be performed (allocation ratio 1:1): the first for the type of excavation (partial versus complete) and the second (if no root canal treatment is required) for the type of adhesive (antibacterial versus traditional). For the two objectives, the outcome is the success of the treatment after 1 year, measured according to a composite outcome of five FDI criteria: material fracture and retention, marginal adaptation, radiographic examination (including apical pathologies), postoperative sensitivity and tooth vitality, and carious lesion recurrence. The study will investigate the interest of a conservative approach for the management of deep carious lesions in terms of dentin excavation and bioactive adhesive systems. The results may help practitioners achieve the most efficient restorative procedure to maintain pulp vitality and increase the restoration longevity. Clinical

Techniques for trans-catheter retrieval of embolized Nit-Occlud® PDA-R and ASD-R devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, Sanjay; Levi, Daniel; Peirone, Alejandro; Pedra, Carlos

2018-02-15

Nit-Occlud ® (atrial septal defect) ASD-R and (patent ductus arteriosus) PDA-R devices are used outside the United States for percutaneous closure of the patent ductus arteriosus and atrial septal defects. When embolization occurs, these devices have been difficult to retrieve. Bench simulations of retrieval of PDA-R and ASD-R devices were performed in a vascular model. Retrieval of each device was attempted using snare techniques or with bioptome forceps with a range of devices. The same devices were then intentionally embolized in an animal model. Retrieval methods were systematically tested in a range of sheath sizes, and graded in terms of difficulty and retrieval time. Devices that were grasped by the bioptome in the center of the proximal part of the devices were easily retrieved in both models. Bench studies determined the minimum sheath sizes needed for retrieval of each device with this method. In general sheathes two french sizes greater than the delivery sheath were successful with this technique. Three out of the four PDA-R devices were successfully retrieved in vivo. Two were retrieved by grasping the middle of the PA end of the PDA-R device with a Maslanka bioptome and one small PDA-R device was retrieved using a 10 mm Snare. Four of the five ASD-R devices were retrieved successfully grasping the right atrial ASD-R disc or by passing a wire through the device and snaring this loop. For ASD-R 28 and 30 mm devices, a double bioptome technique was needed to retrieve the device. ASD-R and PDA-R devices can be successfully retrieved in the catheterization lab. It is critical to grab the center portion of the right atrial disc of the ASD-R device or pulmonary portion of the PDA-R device and to use adequately sized sheathes. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Partial rectangular metric spaces and fixed point theorems.

Science.gov (United States)

Shukla, Satish

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of partial rectangular metric spaces as a generalization of rectangular metric and partial metric spaces. Some properties of partial rectangular metric spaces and some fixed point results for quasitype contraction in partial rectangular metric spaces are proved. Some examples are given to illustrate the observed results.

Interference electron microscopy of one-dimensional electron-optical phase objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fazzini, P.F.; Ortolani, L.; Pozzi, G.; Ubaldi, F.

2006-01-01

The application of interference electron microscopy to the investigation of electron optical one-dimensional phase objects like reverse biased p-n junctions and ferromagnetic domain walls is considered. In particular the influence of diffraction from the biprism edges on the interference images is analyzed and the range of applicability of the geometric optical equation for the interpretation of the interference fringe shifts assessed by comparing geometric optical images with full wave-optical simulations. Finally, the inclusion of partial spatial coherence effects are discussed

Numerical Analysis of Partial Differential Equations

CERN Document Server

Lui, S H

2011-01-01

A balanced guide to the essential techniques for solving elliptic partial differential equations Numerical Analysis of Partial Differential Equations provides a comprehensive, self-contained treatment of the quantitative methods used to solve elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs), with a focus on the efficiency as well as the error of the presented methods. The author utilizes coverage of theoretical PDEs, along with the nu merical solution of linear systems and various examples and exercises, to supply readers with an introduction to the essential concepts in the numerical analysis

PARTIAL TRAINING METHOD FOR HEURISTIC ALGORITHM OF POSSIBLE CLUSTERIZATION UNDER UNKNOWN NUMBER OF CLASSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. A. Viattchenin

2009-01-01

Full Text Available A method for constructing a subset of labeled objects which is used in a heuristic algorithm of possible  clusterization with partial  training is proposed in the  paper.  The  method  is  based  on  data preprocessing by the heuristic algorithm of possible clusterization using a transitive closure of a fuzzy tolerance. Method efficiency is demonstrated by way of an illustrative example.

Partial Transposition on Bipartite System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi-Jun, Ren; Yong-Jian, Han; Yu-Chun, Wu; Guang-Can, Guo

2008-01-01

Many properties of partial transposition are unclear as yet. Here we carefully consider the number of the negative eigenvalues of ρ T (ρ's partial transposition) when ρ is a two-partite state. There is strong evidence to show that the number of negative eigenvalues of ρ T is N(N − 1)/2 at most when ρ is a state in Hilbert space C N C N . For the special case, the 2 × 2 system, we use this result to give a partial proof of the conjecture |ρ T | T ≥ 0. We find that this conjecture is strongly connected with the entanglement of the state corresponding to the negative eigenvalue of ρ T or the negative entropy of ρ

Patent foramen ovale closure with GORE HELEX or CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder vs. antiplatelet therapy for reduction of recurrent stroke or new brain infarct in patients with prior cryptogenic stroke

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kasner, Scott E; Thomassen, Lars; Søndergaard, Lars

2017-01-01

Rationale The utility of patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure for secondary prevention in patients with prior cryptogenic stroke is uncertain despite multiple randomized trials completed to date. Aims The Gore REDUCE Clinical Study (REDUCE) aims to establish superiority of patent foramen ovale...... with truly cryptogenic strokes. Medical therapy is limited to antiplatelet agents in both arms thereby reducing confounding. The trial should determine whether patent foramen ovale closure with the Gore septal occluders is safe and more effective than medical therapy alone for the prevention of recurrent...... closure in conjunction with antiplatelet therapy over antiplatelet therapy alone in reducing the risk of recurrent clinical ischemic stroke or new silent brain infarct in patients who have had a cryptogenic stroke. Methods and design This controlled, open-label trial randomized 664 subjects...

Combustion stratification study of partially premixed combustion using Fourier transform analysis of OH* chemiluminescence images

KAUST Repository

Izadi Najafabadi, Mohammad

2017-11-06

A relatively high level of stratification (qualitatively: lack of homogeneity) is one of the main advantages of partially premixed combustion over the homogeneous charge compression ignition concept. Stratification can smooth the heat release rate and improve the controllability of combustion. In order to compare stratification levels of different partially premixed combustion strategies or other combustion concepts, an objective and meaningful definition of “stratification level” is required. Such a definition is currently lacking; qualitative/quantitative definitions in the literature cannot properly distinguish various levels of stratification. The main purpose of this study is to objectively define combustion stratification (not to be confused with fuel stratification) based on high-speed OH* chemiluminescence imaging, which is assumed to provide spatial information regarding heat release. Stratification essentially being equivalent to spatial structure, we base our definition on two-dimensional Fourier transforms of photographs of OH* chemiluminescence. A light-duty optical diesel engine has been used to perform the OH* bandpass imaging on. Four experimental points are evaluated, with injection timings in the homogeneous regime as well as in the stratified partially premixed combustion regime. Two-dimensional Fourier transforms translate these chemiluminescence images into a range of spatial frequencies. The frequency information is used to define combustion stratification, using a novel normalization procedure. The results indicate that this new definition, based on Fourier analysis of OH* bandpass images, overcomes the drawbacks of previous definitions used in the literature and is a promising method to compare the level of combustion stratification between different experiments.

A review on seashells ash as partial cement replacement

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammad, Wan Ahmad Soffian Bin Wan; Hazurina Othman, Nor; Ibrahim, Mohd Haziman Wan; Rahim, Masazurah A.; Shahidan, Shahiron; Rahman, Raha Abd

2017-11-01

This review paper emphasis on various sea shells ash such as cockle, clam, oyster, mollusc, periwinkle, snail, and green mussel shell ash as partial cement replacement and its objective is to create sustainable environment and reduce problems of global warming. Cement production give huge impact to environment in every stage of its production. These include air pollution in form of dust and, gases, sound and vibration during quarry crushing and milling. One of the solutions to solve this problem is by using modified cement. The modified cement is a cementitious material that meets or exceeds the Portland cement performance by combining and optimizes the recycle and wasted materials. This will indirectly reduce the use of raw materials and then, become a sustain construction materials. Therefore, the replacement of cement in concrete by various sea shell ash may create tremendous saving of energy and also leads to important environmental benefits. This study includes previous investigation done on the properties of chemical and mechanical such as specific gravity, chemical composition, compressive strength, tensile strength and flexural strength of concrete produced using partial replacement of cement by seashells ash. Results show that the optimum percentage of seashells as cement replacement is between 4 - 5%.

Melt migration modeling in partially molten upper mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Ghods, Abdolreza

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the importance of melt migration in shaping major characteristics of geological features associated with the partial melting of the upper mantle, such as sea-floor spreading, continental flood basalts and rifting. The partial melting produces permeable partially molten rocks and a buoyant low viscosity melt. Melt migrates through the partially molten rocks, and transfers mass and heat. Due to its much faster velocity and appreciable buoyancy, melt migration has the potential to modify dynamics of the upwelling partially molten plumes. I develop a 2-D, two-phase flow model and apply it to investigate effects of melt migration on the dynamics and melt generation of upwelling mantle plumes and focusing of melt migration beneath mid-ocean ridges. Melt migration changes distribution of the melt-retention buoyancy force and therefore affects the dynamics of the upwelling plume. This is investigated by modeling a plume with a constant initial melt of 10% where no further melting is considered. Melt migration polarizes melt-retention buoyancy force into high and low melt fraction regions at the top and bottom portions of the plume and therefore results in formation of a more slender and faster upwelling plume. Allowing the plume to melt as it ascends through the upper mantle also produces a slender and faster plume. It is shown that melt produced by decompressional melting of the plume migrates to the upper horizons of the plume, increases the upwelling velocity and thus, the volume of melt generated by the plume. Melt migration produces a plume which lacks the mushroom shape observed for the plume models without melt migration. Melt migration forms a high melt fraction layer beneath the sloping base of the impermeable oceanic lithosphere. Using realistic conditions of melting, freezing and melt extraction, I examine whether the high melt fraction layer is able to focus melt from a wide partial melting zone to a narrow region

Risks and Audit Objectives for IT Outsourcing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudiu BRANDAS

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In the recent years, as a result of globalization, internet and IT progress, the outsourcing of IT services has seen an exponential growth. As a result more and more companies decide to outsource, partially or totally, their IT services. Nevertheless, the outsourcing process exposes both clients and service providers to a series of risks that can seriously affect their activities. Managing these risks by improving the quality and efficiency of internal control has made the ITO audit a necessary component for all the companies involved in this process. The goal of this paper is to identify analyze and map the influence areas of ITO risks in order to suggest a series of objectives for ITO audit.

Learning about Occlusion: Initial Assumptions and Rapid Adjustments

Science.gov (United States)

Kochukhova, Olga; Gredeback, Gustaf

2007-01-01

We examined 6-month-olds' abilities to represent occluded objects, using a corneal-reflection eye-tracking technique. Experiment 1 compared infants' ability to extrapolate the current pre-occlusion trajectory with their ability to base predictions on recent experiences of novel object motions. In the first condition infants performed at asymptote…

Change in Imaging Findings on Angiography-Assisted CT During Balloon-Occluded Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshimatsu, Rika [Hiroshima University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Institute and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (Japan); Yamagami, Takuji, E-mail: yamagami@kochi-u.ac.jp [Kochi University, Department of Radiology (Japan); Ishikawa, Masaki; Kajiwara, Kenji [Hiroshima University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Institute and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (Japan); Aikata, Hiroshi; Chayama, Kazuaki [Hiroshima University, Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (Japan); Awai, Kazuo [Hiroshima University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Institute and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (Japan)

2016-06-15

PurposeTo evaluate changes in imaging findings on CT during hepatic arteriography (CTHA) and CT during arterial portography (CTAP) by balloon occlusion of the treated artery and their relationship with iodized oil accumulation in the tumor during balloon-occluded transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (B-TACE).MethodsBoth B-TACE and angiography-assisted CT were performed for 27 hepatocellular carcinomas. Tumor enhancement on selective CTHA with/without balloon occlusion and iodized oil accumulation after B-TACE were evaluated. Tumorous portal perfusion defect size on CTAP was compared with/without balloon occlusion. Factors influencing discrepancies between selective CTHA with/without balloon occlusion and the degree of iodized oil accumulation were investigated.ResultsAmong 27 tumors, tumor enhancement on selective CTHA changed after balloon occlusion in 14 (decreased, 11; increased, 3). In 18 tumors, there was a discrepancy between tumor enhancement on selective CTHA with balloon occlusion and the degree of accumulated iodized oil, which was higher than the tumor enhancement grade in all 18. The tumorous portal perfusion defect on CTAP significantly decreased after balloon occlusion in 18 of 20 tumors (mean decrease from 21.9 to 19.1 mm in diameter; p = 0.0001). No significant factors influenced discrepancies between selective CTHA with/without balloon occlusion. Central area tumor location, poor tumor enhancement on selective CTHA with balloon occlusion, and no decrease in the tumorous portal perfusion defect area on CTAP after balloon occlusion significantly influenced poor iodized oil accumulation in the tumor.ConclusionsTumor enhancement on selective CTHA frequently changed after balloon occlusion, which did not correspond to accumulated iodized oil in most cases.

Clinical outcomes and prognostic factors associated with survival after balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration of gastric varices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uozumi, Shojiro; Baba, Toshiyuki; Sai, Syouei; Seino, Noritaka; Hashimoto, Toshi; Honda, Minoru; Gokan, Takehiko; Imawari, Michio

2011-01-01

We evaluated clinical outcomes and prognostic factors associated with survival after balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO) of gastric varices in patients with portal hypertension. Of 50 patients with gastric varices who underwent B-RTO, 46 (94.0%) patients in whom B-RTO was technically successful were reviewed retrospectively. Gastric and esophageal varices after B-RTO were evaluated by contrast-enhanced computer tomography and endoscopy, respectively. Liver function parameters and Child-Pugh scores were estimated before and at 1 year after B-RTO. The cumulative survival rate was calculated, and univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the prognostic factors. No major complications occurred in any of the patients following B-RTO and no recurrence or bleeding of gastric varices was noted. Of the 42 patients who were followed up for the progression of esophageal varices, 13 (31.0%) had worsened varices and of these, 6 (14.3%) showed bleeding. Prothrombin activity had significantly improved at 1 year after B-RTO, although there were no changes in other liver function parameters. The overall cumulative survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years after B-RTO were 91.6%, 70.9%, and 53.6%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified the occurrence of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during the observation period as a prognostic factor for survival (hazard ratio=4.1497, 95% CI=1.32314-13.0319, P=0.0148). B-RTO of gastric varices is an effective treatment ensuring lower recurrence and bleeding rates; however, these patients require careful observation for progression of esophageal varices. The management of HCC is crucial for achieving long-term survival after B-RTO. (author)

Fabrication and characterization of chitosan nanoparticles and collagen-loaded polyurethane nanocomposite membrane coated with heparin for atrial septal defect (ASD) closure.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiser, Eva; Jaganathan, Saravana Kumar; Supriyanto, Eko; Ayyar, Manikandan

2017-07-01

Atrial septal defect (ASD) constitutes 30-40% of all congenital heart diseases in adults. The most common complications in the treatment of ASD are embolization of the device and thrombosis formation. In this research, an occluding patch was developed for ASD treatment using a well-known textile technology called electrospinning. For the first time, a cardiovascular occluding patch was fabricated using medical grade polyurethane (PU) loaded with bioactive agents namely chitosan nanoparticles (Cn) and collagen (Co) which is then coated with heparin (Hp). Fourier transform infrared spectrum showed characteristic vibrations of several active constituents and changes in the absorbance due to the inclusion of active ingredients in the patch. The contact angle analysis demonstrated no significant decrease in contact angle compared to the control and the composite patches. The structure of the electrospun nanocomposite (PUCnCoHp) was examined through scanning electron microscopy. A decrease in nanofiber diameter between control PU and PUCnCoHp nanocomposite was observed. Water uptake was found to be decreased for the PUCnCoHp nanocomposite against the control. The hemocompatibility properties of the PUCnCoHp ASD occluding patch was inferred through in vitro hemocompatibility tests like activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT) and hemolysis assay. It was found that the PT and APTT time was significantly prolonged for the fabricated PUCnCoHp ASD occluding patch compared to the control. Likewise, the hemolysis percentage was also decreased for the PUCnCoHp ASD patch against the control. In conclusion, the developed PUCnCoHp patch demonstrates potential properties to be used for ASD occlusion.

Ordering policies of a deteriorating item in an EOQ model with backorder under two-level partial trade credit

Science.gov (United States)

Molamohamadi, Zohreh; Arshizadeh, Rahman; Ismail, Napsiah

2015-05-01

In the classical inventory model, it was assumed that the retailer must settle the accounts of the purchased items as soon as they are received. In practice, however, the supplier usually offers a full or partial delay period to the retailer to pay for the amount of the purchasing costs. In the partial trade credit contract, which is mostly applied to avoid non-payment risks, the retailer must pay for a portion of the purchased goods at the time of ordering and may delay settling the rest until the end of the predefined agreed upon period, so-called credit period. This paper assumes a two-level partial trade credit where both supplier and retailer offer a partial trade credit to their downstream members. The objective here is to determine the retailer's ordering policy of a deteriorating item by formulating his economic order quantity (EOQ) inventory system with backorder as a cost minimization problem. The sensitivity of the variables on different parameters has been also analyzed by applying numerical examples.

Linear algebraic theory of partial coherence: discrete fields and measures of partial coherence.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozaktas, Haldun M; Yüksel, Serdar; Kutay, M Alper

2002-08-01

A linear algebraic theory of partial coherence is presented that allows precise mathematical definitions of concepts such as coherence and incoherence. This not only provides new perspectives and insights but also allows us to employ the conceptual and algebraic tools of linear algebra in applications. We define several scalar measures of the degree of partial coherence of an optical field that are zero for full incoherence and unity for full coherence. The mathematical definitions are related to our physical understanding of the corresponding concepts by considering them in the context of Young's experiment.

Hierarchical partial order ranking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlsen, Lars

2008-01-01

Assessing the potential impact on environmental and human health from the production and use of chemicals or from polluted sites involves a multi-criteria evaluation scheme. A priori several parameters are to address, e.g., production tonnage, specific release scenarios, geographical and site-specific factors in addition to various substance dependent parameters. Further socio-economic factors may be taken into consideration. The number of parameters to be included may well appear to be prohibitive for developing a sensible model. The study introduces hierarchical partial order ranking (HPOR) that remedies this problem. By HPOR the original parameters are initially grouped based on their mutual connection and a set of meta-descriptors is derived representing the ranking corresponding to the single groups of descriptors, respectively. A second partial order ranking is carried out based on the meta-descriptors, the final ranking being disclosed though average ranks. An illustrative example on the prioritisation of polluted sites is given. - Hierarchical partial order ranking of polluted sites has been developed for prioritization based on a large number of parameters

On Degenerate Partial Differential Equations

OpenAIRE

Chen, Gui-Qiang G.

2010-01-01

Some of recent developments, including recent results, ideas, techniques, and approaches, in the study of degenerate partial differential equations are surveyed and analyzed. Several examples of nonlinear degenerate, even mixed, partial differential equations, are presented, which arise naturally in some longstanding, fundamental problems in fluid mechanics and differential geometry. The solution to these fundamental problems greatly requires a deep understanding of nonlinear degenerate parti...

Introduction to partial differential equations

CERN Document Server

Greenspan, Donald

2000-01-01

Designed for use in a one-semester course by seniors and beginning graduate students, this rigorous presentation explores practical methods of solving differential equations, plus the unifying theory underlying the mathematical superstructure. Topics include basic concepts, Fourier series, second-order partial differential equations, wave equation, potential equation, heat equation, approximate solution of partial differential equations, and more. Exercises appear at the ends of most chapters. 1961 edition.

Robust reflective ghost imaging against different partially polarized thermal light

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hong-Guo; Wang, Yan; Zhang, Rui-Xue; Zhang, De-Jian; Liu, Hong-Chao; Li, Zong-Guo; Xiong, Jun

2018-03-01

We theoretically study the influence of degree of polarization (DOP) of thermal light on the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the reflective ghost imaging (RGI), which is a novel and indirect imaging modality. An expression for the CNR of RGI with partially polarized thermal light is carefully derived, which suggests a weak dependence of CNR on the DOP, especially when the ratio of the object size to the speckle size of thermal light has a large value. Different from conventional imaging approaches, our work reveals that RGI is much more robust against the DOP of the light source, which thereby has advantages in practical applications, such as remote sensing.

Arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dašić Žarko

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. Meniscal injuries are common in professional or recreational sports as well as in daily activities. If meniscal lesions lead to physical impairment they usually require surgical treatment. Arthroscopic treatment of meniscal injuries is one of the most often performed orthopedic operative procedures. Methods. The study analyzed the results of arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy in 213 patients in a 24-month period, from 2006, to 2008. Results. In our series of arthroscopically treated medial meniscus tears we noted 78 (36.62% vertical complete bucket handle lesions, 19 (8.92% vertical incomplete lesions, 18 (8.45% longitudinal tears, 35 (16.43% oblique tears, 18 (8.45% complex degenerative lesions, 17 (7.98% radial lesions and 28 (13.14% horisontal lesions. Mean preoperative International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC score was 49.81%, 1 month after the arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy the mean IKDC score was 84.08%, and 6 months after mean IKDC score was 90.36%. Six months after the procedure 197 (92.49% of patients had good or excellent subjective postoperative clinical outcomes, while 14 (6.57% patients subjectively did not notice a significant improvement after the intervention, and 2 (0.93% patients had no subjective improvement after the partial medial meniscectomy at all. Conclusion. Arthroscopic partial medial meniscetomy is minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedure and in well selected cases is a method of choice for treatment of medial meniscus injuries when repair techniques are not a viable option. It has small rate of complications, low morbidity and fast rehabilitation.

Economical analysis of the second partial reload for Angra 1 with partial low-leakage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mascarenhas, H.A.; Teixeira, M.C.C.; Dias, A.M.

1990-01-01

Preliminary results for the Angra 1 second reload design with partial low-leakage were assessed with NUCOST 1.0, code for nuclear power costs calculation. In the proposed scheme, some partially burned fuel assemblies (FAs) are located at the core boundary, while new FAs occupy more internal positions. The nuclear design - utilizing the code system SAV (from Siemens/KWU Group, F.R. Germany) - has been performed with detail for the 3rd cycle while simpler approach has been utilized for subsequent reloads. Results of NUCOST 1.0 show that the partial low-leakage reload in the 3rd cycle of Angra 1 offers fuel costs 1% lower when compared to the Plant's actual reload scheme, what corresponds to an savings of about US$190.000. When operation and maintenance and capital costs are also considered, economies in the order of US$2.6 million are obrained. (author) [pt

Multi-camera volumetric PIV for the study of jumping fish

Science.gov (United States)

Mendelson, Leah; Techet, Alexandra H.

2018-01-01

Archer fish accurately jump multiple body lengths for aerial prey from directly below the free surface. Multiple fins provide combinations of propulsion and stabilization, enabling prey capture success. Volumetric flow field measurements are crucial to characterizing multi-propulsor interactions during this highly three-dimensional maneuver; however, the fish's behavior also drives unique experimental constraints. Measurements must be obtained in close proximity to the water's surface and in regions of the flow field which are partially-occluded by the fish body. Aerial jump trajectories must also be known to assess performance. This article describes experiment setup and processing modifications to the three-dimensional synthetic aperture particle image velocimetry (SAPIV) technique to address these challenges and facilitate experimental measurements on live jumping fish. The performance of traditional SAPIV algorithms in partially-occluded regions is characterized, and an improved non-iterative reconstruction routine for SAPIV around bodies is introduced. This reconstruction procedure is combined with three-dimensional imaging on both sides of the free surface to reveal the fish's three-dimensional wake, including a series of propulsive vortex rings generated by the tail. In addition, wake measurements from the anal and dorsal fins indicate their stabilizing and thrust-producing contributions as the archer fish jumps.

A Parallel Algorithm for the Counting of Ellipses Present in Conglomerates Using GPU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reyes Yam-Uicab

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Detecting and counting elliptical objects are an interesting problem in digital image processing. There are real-world applications of this problem in various disciplines. Solving this problem is harder when there is occlusion among the elliptical objects, since in general these objects are considered as part of the bigger object (conglomerate. The solution to this problem focusses on the detection and segmentation of the precise number of occluded elliptical objects, while omitting all noninteresting objects. There are a variety of computational approximations that focus on this problem; however, such approximations are not accurate when there is occlusion. This paper presents an algorithm designed to solve this problem, specifically, to detect, segment, and count elliptical objects of a specific size when these are in occlusion with other objects within the conglomerate. Our algorithm deals with a time-consuming combinatorial process. To optimize the execution time of our algorithm, we implemented a parallel GPU version with CUDA-C, which experimentally improved the detection of occluded objects, as well as lowering processing times compared to the sequential version of the method. Comparative test results with another method featured in literature showed improved detection of objects in occlusion when using the proposed parallel method.

Partial Safety Factors for Rubble Mound Breakwaters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Burcharth, H. F.; Christiani, E.

1995-01-01

On the basis of the failure modes formulated in the various subtasks calibration of partial safety factors are described in this paper. The partial safety factors can be used to design breakwaters under quite different design conditions, namely probabilities of failure from 0.01 to 0.4, design...... lifetimes from 20 to 100 years and different qualities of wave data. A code of practice where safety is taken into account using partial safety factors is called a level I code. The partial safety factors are calibrated using First Order Reliability Methods (FORM, see Madsen et al. [1]) where...... in section 3. First Order Reliability Methods are described in section 4, and in section 5 it is shown how partial safety factors can be introduced and calibrated. The format of a code for design and analysis of rubble mound breakwaters is discussed in section 6. The mathematical formulation of the limit...

Relative contributions of intracortical and thalamo-cortical processes in the generation of alpha rhythms, revealed by partial coherence analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lopes da Silva, F.H.; Vos, J.E.; Mooibroek, J.; Rotterdam, A. van

1980-01-01

The thalamo-cortical relationships of alpha rhythms have been analysed in dogs using partial coherence function analysis. The objective was to clarify how far the large intracortical coherence commonly recorded between different cortical sites could depend on a common thalamic site. It was found

Partially coherent imaging and spatial coherence wavelets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castaneda, Roman

2003-03-01

A description of spatially partially coherent imaging based on the propagation of second order spatial coherence wavelets and marginal power spectra (Wigner distribution functions) is presented. In this dynamics, the spatial coherence wavelets will be affected by the system through its elementary transfer function. The consistency of the model with the both extreme cases of full coherent and incoherent imaging was proved. In the last case we obtained the classical concept of optical transfer function as a simple integral of the elementary transfer function. Furthermore, the elementary incoherent response function was introduced as the Fourier transform of the elementary transfer function. It describes the propagation of spatial coherence wavelets form each object point to each image point through a specific point on the pupil planes. The point spread function of the system was obtained by a simple integral of the elementary incoherent response function. (author)

Computer tomographic assessment of partial liquid ventilation in dogs with inhalation injury

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Liya; Gong Honghan; Xiao Xiangzuo; Guo Guanghua; Li Guohui; Zhou Li; Fu Lihui; Fan Kunwu

2004-01-01

Objective: To analyze CT and pathologic findings of lung in dogs with inhalation injury, and to provide reliable basis to explore the mechanism of partial liquid ventilation (PLV) treatment on inhalation injury. Methods: Respiratory tract injury models in 14 dogs were made by steam inhalation and they were divided into 2 groups. The control group was treated by high frequency ventilation (HFV) and the treatment group was treated by partial liquid with perfluorocarbon plus HFV. CT scan of the lung in dogs with inhalation injury was performed before and after perfluorocarbon (PFC) PLV, and then the histopathologic pieces with isolation lung were obtained. Analysis and comparison of the results among them was conducted. Results: After steam inhalation injury, CT appeared as exudation with patchy and mass in 6 dogs, cotton-wool spots in 2 dogs, ground-glass opacity in 2 dogs, and consolidation in 4 dogs. CT appeared as mass in 5 dogs with inhalation injury of perfluorocarbon-filled lungs during partial liquid ventilation, patchy in 2 dogs, and homogeneous in 1 dog. The distribution of perfluorocarbon was in the posterior region of lung. The CT findings were in accordance with those in histopathology. Conclusion: Perfluorocarbon is distributed predominantly in the dependent regions of the lung and the distribution of perfluorocarbon is gravity dependent. It is benefit for the inhalation injury

Partial distance correlation with methods for dissimilarities

OpenAIRE

Székely, Gábor J.; Rizzo, Maria L.

2014-01-01

Distance covariance and distance correlation are scalar coefficients that characterize independence of random vectors in arbitrary dimension. Properties, extensions, and applications of distance correlation have been discussed in the recent literature, but the problem of defining the partial distance correlation has remained an open question of considerable interest. The problem of partial distance correlation is more complex than partial correlation partly because the squared distance covari...

The Science Case for Multi-Object Spectroscopy on the European ELT

OpenAIRE

Evans, Chris; Puech, Mathieu; Afonso, Jose; Almaini, Omar; Amram, Philippe; Aussel, Hervé; Barbuy, Beatriz; Basden, Alistair; Bastian, Nate; Battaglia, Giuseppina; Biller, Beth; Bonifacio, Piercarlo; Bouché, Nicholas; Bunker, Andy; Caffau, Elisabetta

2015-01-01

This White Paper presents the scientific motivations for a multi-object spectrograph (MOS) on the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The MOS case draws on all fields of contemporary astronomy, from extra-solar planets, to the study of the halo of the Milky Way and its satellites, and from resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies out to observations of the earliest 'first-light' structures in the partially-reionised Universe. The material presented here results from thorough di...

Heat deposition on the partial limiter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoh, Kimitaka; Itoh, Sanae-I; Nagasaki, Kazunobu.

1990-01-01

The effect of the partial limiter in the outermost magnetic surface of toroidal plasmas is studied. The power deposition on the partial limiter and its effect on the temperature profile are analysed. Interpretation in terms of the perpendicular heat conductivity is also discussed. (author)

Partial transposition on bi-partite system

OpenAIRE

Han, Y. -J.; Ren, X. J.; Wu, Y. C.; Guo, G. -C.

2006-01-01

Many of the properties of the partial transposition are not clear so far. Here the number of the negative eigenvalues of K(T)(the partial transposition of K) is considered carefully when K is a two-partite state. There are strong evidences to show that the number of negative eigenvalues of K(T) is N(N-1)/2 at most when K is a state in Hilbert space N*N. For the special case, 2*2 system(two qubits), we use this result to give a partial proof of the conjecture sqrt(K(T))(T)>=0. We find that thi...

Effects of ancient porosity and permeability on formation of sedimentary dolomites: Devonian Jefferson Formation (Frasnian), south-central Montana

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, T.M.; Dorobek, S.L.

1987-08-01

Petrographic and geochemical evidence indicates that multiple dolomitization and dolomite stabilization events affected the Devonian Jefferson Formation (Frasnian) in south-central Montana. Several types of dolomite occur, defined by cathodoluminescence: nonzoned, dully luminescent subhedral-anhedral mosaics (most common), euhedral nonzoned and zoned dolomites, zoned dolomite cements, and irregularly luminescent dolomites (dully luminescent with irregularly luminescent regions). The irregularly luminescent fabrics probably represent partial replacement of early dolomite phases with later dolomite phases. Nonzoned, Ca-enriched, euhedral dolomites occur in calcite-cemented, coarse-grained limestone layers. These permeable layers probably were conduits for early meteoric waters, that occluded porosity in the limestones and prevented later dolomite stabilization. Irregularly luminescent dolomites are interpreted as intermediate fabrics in the dolomite stabilization process. Later calcite cements which occlude intercrystalline porosity prevented further dolomite replacement. Total recrystallization of remaining dolomites and formation of final dully luminescent mosaics occurred prior to brecciation and stylolitization.

Relationship between regional myocardial blood flow and thallium-201 distribution in the presence of coronary artery stenosis and dipyridamole-induced vasodilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mays, A.E. Jr.; Cobb, F.R.

1984-01-01

This study assesses the relationship between the distribution of thallium-201 and myocardial blood flow during coronary vasodilation induced by intravenous dipyridamole in canine models of partial and complete coronary artery stenosis. 10 dogs were chronically instrumented with catheters in the left atrium and aorta and with a balloon occluder and electromagnetic flow probe on the proximal left circumflex coronary artery. Regional myocardial blood flow was measured during control conditions with radioisotope-labeled microspheres, and the phasic reactive hyperemic response to a 20-s transient occlusion was then recorded. Dipyridamole was then infused intravenously until phasic coronary blood flow increased to match peak hyperemic values. The left circumflex coronary artery was either partially occluded to reduce phasic blood flow to control values (group 1) or it was completely occluded (group 2), and thallium-201 and a second microsphere label were injected. 5 min later, the animals were sacrificed, the left ventricle was sectioned into 1-2-g samples, and thallium-201 activity and regional myocardial blood flow were measured. Curvilinear regression analyses between thallium-201 localization and myocardial blood flow during dipyridamole infusion demonstrated a slightly better fit to a second- as compared with a first-order model, indicating a slight roll-off of thallium activity as myocardial blood flow increases. During the dipyridamole infusion, the increases in phasic blood flow, the distributions of regional myocardial blood flow, and the relationships between thallium-201 localization and regional blood flow were comparable to values previously observed in exercising dogs with similar occlusions. These data provide basic validation that supports the use of intravenous dipyridamole and thallium-201 as an alternative to exercise stress and thallium-201 for evaluating the effects of coronary occlusive lesions on the distribution of regional myocardial blood flow

Two cases of partial trisomy 4p and partial trisomy 14q.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yeo-Hyang; Kim, Heung-Sik; Ryoo, Nam-Hee; Ha, Jung-Sook

2013-01-01

We present clinical and cytogenetic data on 2 cases of partial trisomy 4p and partial trisomy 14q. Both patients had an extra der(14)t(4;14)(p15.31;q12) chromosome due to a 3:1 segregation from a balanced translocation carrier mother. Array analyses indicated that their chromosomal breakpoints were similar, but there was no relationship between the 2 families. Both patients showed prominent growth retardation and psychomotor developmental delay. Other phenotypic manifestations were generally mild and variable; for example, patient 1 had a short palpebral fissure and low-set ears whereas patient 2 had a round face, asymmetric eyes, small ears, a short neck, finger/toe abnormalities, and behavioral problems.

Prospective study of robotic partial nephrectomy for renal cancer in Japan: Comparison with a historical control undergoing laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Kazushi; Teishima, Jun; Takenaka, Atsushi; Shiroki, Ryoichi; Kobayashi, Yasuyuki; Hattori, Kazunori; Kanayama, Hiro-Omi; Horie, Shigeo; Yoshino, Yasushi; Fujisawa, Masato

2018-05-01

To evaluate the outcomes of robotic partial nephrectomy compared with those of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for T1 renal tumors in Japanese centers. Patients with a T1 renal tumor who underwent robotic partial nephrectomy were eligible for inclusion in the present study. The primary end-point consisted of three components: a negative surgical margin, no conversion to open or laparoscopic surgery and a warm ischemia time ≤25 min. We compared data from these patients with the data from a retrospective study of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy carried out in Japan. A total of 108 patients were registered in the present study; 105 underwent robotic partial nephrectomy. The proportion of patients who met the primary end-point was 91.3% (95% confidence interval 84.1-95.9%), which was significantly higher than 23.3% in the historical data. Major complications were seen in 19 patients (18.1%). The mean change in the estimated glomerular filtration rate in the operated kidney, 180 days postoperatively, was -10.8 mL/min/1.73 m 2 (95% confidence interval -12.3-9.4%). Robotic partial nephrectomy for patients with a T1 renal tumor is a safe, feasible and more effective operative method compared with laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. It can be anticipated that robotic partial nephrectomy will become more widely used in Japan in the future. © 2018 The Japanese Urological Association.

Memoization in Type-Directed Partial Evaluation