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Sample records for surgical timing depends

  1. Real-time inextensible surgical thread simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Lang; Liu, Qian

    2018-03-27

    This paper discusses a real-time simulation method of inextensible surgical thread based on the Cosserat rod theory using position-based dynamics (PBD). The method realizes stable twining and knotting of surgical thread while including inextensibility, bending, twisting and coupling effects. The Cosserat rod theory is used to model the nonlinear elastic behavior of surgical thread. The surgical thread model is solved with PBD to achieve a real-time, extremely stable simulation. Due to the one-dimensional linear structure of surgical thread, the direct solution of the distance constraint based on tridiagonal matrix algorithm is used to enhance stretching resistance in every constraint projection iteration. In addition, continuous collision detection and collision response guarantee a large time step and high performance. Furthermore, friction is integrated into the constraint projection process to stabilize the twining of multiple threads and complex contact situations. Through comparisons with existing methods, the surgical thread maintains constant length under large deformation after applying the direct distance constraint in our method. The twining and knotting of multiple threads correspond to stable solutions to contact and friction forces. A surgical suture scene is also modeled to demonstrate the practicality and simplicity of our method. Our method achieves stable and fast simulation of inextensible surgical thread. Benefiting from the unified particle framework, the rigid body, elastic rod, and soft body can be simultaneously simulated. The method is appropriate for applications in virtual surgery that require multiple dynamic bodies.

  2. Peripheral surgical wounding and age-dependent neuroinflammation in mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhipeng Xu

    Full Text Available Post-operative cognitive dysfunction is associated with morbidity and mortality. However, its neuropathogenesis remains largely to be determined. Neuroinflammation and accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ have been reported to contribute to cognitive dysfunction in humans and cognitive impairment in animals. Our recent studies have established a pre-clinical model in mice, and have found that the peripheral surgical wounding without the influence of general anesthesia induces an age-dependent Aβ accumulation and cognitive impairment in mice. We therefore set out to assess the effects of peripheral surgical wounding, in the absence of general anesthesia, on neuroinflammation in mice with different ages. Abdominal surgery under local anesthesia was established in 9 and 18 month-old mice. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, interleukin-6 (IL-6, Iba1 positive cells (the marker of microglia activation, CD33, and cognitive function in mice were determined. The peripheral surgical wounding increased the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and Iba1 positive cells in the hippocampus of both 9 and 18 month-old mice, and age potentiated these effects. The peripheral surgical wounding increased the levels of CD33 in the hippocampus of 18, but not 9, month-old mice. Finally, anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen ameliorated the peripheral surgical wounding-induced cognitive impairment in 18 month-old mice. These data suggested that the peripheral surgical wounding could induce an age-dependent neuroinflammation and elevation of CD33 levels in the hippocampus of mice, which could lead to cognitive impairment in aged mice. Pending further studies, anti-inflammatory therapies may reduce the risk of postoperative cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients.

  3. Surgeon and type of anesthesia predict variability in surgical procedure times.

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    Strum, D P; Sampson, A R; May, J H; Vargas, L G

    2000-05-01

    Variability in surgical procedure times increases the cost of healthcare delivery by increasing both the underutilization and overutilization of expensive surgical resources. To reduce variability in surgical procedure times, we must identify and study its sources. Our data set consisted of all surgeries performed over a 7-yr period at a large teaching hospital, resulting in 46,322 surgical cases. To study factors associated with variability in surgical procedure times, data mining techniques were used to segment and focus the data so that the analyses would be both technically and intellectually feasible. The data were subdivided into 40 representative segments of manageable size and variability based on headers adopted from the common procedural terminology classification. Each data segment was then analyzed using a main-effects linear model to identify and quantify specific sources of variability in surgical procedure times. The single most important source of variability in surgical procedure times was surgeon effect. Type of anesthesia, age, gender, and American Society of Anesthesiologists risk class were additional sources of variability. Intrinsic case-specific variability, unexplained by any of the preceding factors, was found to be highest for shorter surgeries relative to longer procedures. Variability in procedure times among surgeons was a multiplicative function (proportionate to time) of surgical time and total procedure time, such that as procedure times increased, variability in surgeons' surgical time increased proportionately. Surgeon-specific variability should be considered when building scheduling heuristics for longer surgeries. Results concerning variability in surgical procedure times due to factors such as type of anesthesia, age, gender, and American Society of Anesthesiologists risk class may be extrapolated to scheduling in other institutions, although specifics on individual surgeons may not. This research identifies factors associated

  4. Instituting a Surgical Skills Competition Increases Technical Performance of Surgical Clerkship Students Over Time.

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    Leraas, Harold J; Cox, Morgan L; Bendersky, Victoria A; Sprinkle, Shanna S; Gilmore, Brian F; Gunasingha, Rathnayaka M; Tracy, Elisabeth T; Sudan, Ranjan

    2017-10-04

    Surgical skills training varies greatly between institutions and is often left to students to approach independently. Although many studies have examined single interventions of skills training, no data currently exists about the implementation of surgical skills assessment as a component of the medical student surgical curriculum. We created a technical skills competition and evaluated its effect on student surgical skill development. Second-year medical students enrolled in the surgery clerkship voluntarily participated in a surgical skills competition consisting of knot tying, laparoscopic peg transfer, and laparoscopic pattern cut. Winning students were awarded dinner with the chair of surgery and a resident of their choice. Individual event times and combined times were recorded and compared for students who completed without disqualification. Disqualification included compromising cutting pattern, dropping a peg out of the field of vision, and incorrect knot tying technique. Timed performance was compared for 2 subsequent academic years using Mann-Whitney U test. Overall, 175 students competed and 71 students met qualification criteria. When compared by academic year, 2015 to 2016 students (n = 34) performed better than 2014 to 2015 students (n = 37) in pattern cut (133s vs 167s, p = 0.040), peg transfer (66s vs 101s, p skills competition improves student technical performance. Further research is needed regarding long-term benefits of surgical competitions for medical students. Copyright © 2017 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Skull reconstruction after resection of bone tumors in a single surgical time by the association of the techniques of rapid prototyping and surgical navigation.

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    Anchieta, M V M; Salles, F A; Cassaro, B D; Quaresma, M M; Santos, B F O

    2016-10-01

    Presentation of a new cranioplasty technique employing a combination of two technologies: rapid prototyping and surgical navigation. This technique allows the reconstruction of the skull cap after the resection of a bone tumor in a single surgical time. The neurosurgeon plans the craniotomy previously on the EximiusMed software, compatible with the Eximius Surgical Navigator, both from the company Artis Tecnologia (Brazil). The navigator imports the planning and guides the surgeon during the craniotomy. The simulation of the bone fault allows the virtual reconstruction of the skull cap and the production of a personalized modelling mold using the Magics-Materialise (Belgium)-software. The mold and a replica of the bone fault are made by rapid prototyping by the company Artis Tecnologia (Brazil) and shipped under sterile conditions to the surgical center. The PMMA prosthesis is produced during the surgical act with the help of a hand press. The total time necessary for the planning and production of the modelling mold is four days. The precision of the mold is submillimetric and accurately reproduces the virtual reconstruction of the prosthesis. The production of the prosthesis during surgery takes until twenty minutes depending on the type of PMMA used. The modelling mold avoids contraction and dissipates the heat generated by the material's exothermic reaction in the polymerization phase. The craniectomy is performed with precision over the drawing made with the help of the Eximius Surgical Navigator, according to the planned measurements. The replica of the bone fault serves to evaluate the adaptation of the prosthesis as a support for the perforations and the placement of screws and fixation plates, as per the surgeon's discretion. This technique allows the adequate oncologic treatment associated with a satisfactory aesthetic result, with precision, in a single surgical time, reducing time and costs.

  6. An application-dependent framework for the recognition of high-level surgical tasks in the OR.

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    Lalys, Florent; Riffaud, Laurent; Bouget, David; Jannin, Pierre

    2011-01-01

    Surgical process analysis and modeling is a recent and important topic aiming at introducing a new generation of computer-assisted surgical systems. Among all of the techniques already in use for extracting data from the Operating Room, the use of image videos allows automating the surgeons' assistance without altering the surgical routine. We proposed in this paper an application-dependent framework able to automatically extract the phases of the surgery only by using microscope videos as input data and that can be adaptable to different surgical specialties. First, four distinct types of classifiers based on image processing were implemented to extract visual cues from video frames. Each of these classifiers was related to one kind of visual cue: visual cues recognizable through color were detected with a color histogram approach, for shape-oriented visual cues we trained a Haar classifier, for texture-oriented visual cues we used a bag-of-word approach with SIFT descriptors, and for all other visual cues we used a classical image classification approach including a feature extraction, selection, and a supervised classification. The extraction of this semantic vector for each video frame then permitted to classify time series using either Hidden Markov Model or Dynamic Time Warping algorithms. The framework was validated on cataract surgeries, obtaining accuracies of 95%.

  7. Surgical site infection and timing of prophylactic antibiotics for appendectomy.

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    Wu, Wan-Ting; Tai, Feng-Chuan; Wang, Pa-Chun; Tsai, Ming-Lin

    2014-12-01

    Pre-operative prophylactic antibiotics may decrease the frequency of surgical site infection after appendectomy. However, the optimal timing for administration of pre-operative prophylactic antibiotics is unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of timing of prophylactic antibiotics on the frequency of surgical site infection after appendectomy. Medical records were reviewed retrospectively for 577 consecutive patients who had appendectomy for acute appendicitis from 2006 to 2009. Quality assurance guidelines for timing of prophylactic antibiotics before the skin incision were changed from 0 to 30 min before the skin incision (before June 2008) to 30 to 60 min before the skin incision (after June 2008). Surgical site infection occurred in 28 patients (4.9%). There was no difference in frequency of surgical site infection with different timing of pre-operative prophylactic antibiotic (pre-operative time 0 to 30 min: 9 infections [3.6%]; 31 to 60 min: 13 infections [5.4%]; 61 to 120 min: 5 infections [7.0%]; >120 min: 1 infection [6.6%]). Multivariable analysis showed that surgical site infection was associated significantly with medical comorbidity but not perforated appendicitis. The frequency of surgical site infection was independent of timing of preoperative prophylactic antibiotics but was associated with the presence of medical comorbidity.

  8. Timing of Surgical Reduction and Stabilization of Talus Fracture-Dislocations.

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    Buckwalter V, Joseph A; Westermann, Robert; Mooers, Brian; Karam, Matthew; Wolf, Brian

    Talus fractures with associated dislocations are rare but have high rates of complications, including avascular necrosis (AVN). Management of these injuries involves urgent surgical reduction and fixation, although there are no definitive data defining an operative time frame for preserving the blood supply and preventing complications. To determine the effect of time to surgical reduction of talus fractures and talus fracture-dislocations on rates of AVN and posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA), we retrospectively reviewed talus fractures surgically managed at a level I trauma center during the 10-year period 2003 to 2013. Operative reports were obtained and reviewed, and 3 independent reviewers, using the Hawkins and AO/OTA (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen/Orthopaedic Trauma Association) systems, classified the injuries on plain radiographs. Analysis of AO/OTA 81 fractures with associated tibiotalar, subtalar, or talonavicular dislocations was performed. Primary outcomes were presence of AVN/PTOA and subsequent arthrodesis of tibiotalar or subtalar joints. We identified 106 surgically managed talus fractures. Rates of AVN/PTOA were 41% for all talus fractures and 50% for talus fracture-dislocations. Mean time to surgical reduction was not significant for development of AVN/PTOA for all talus fractures (P = .45) or talus fracture-dislocations (P = .29). There was no difference in age (P = .20), body mass index (P = .45), or polytrauma (P = .79) between patients who developed AVN and those who did not. Open fractures were significantly correlated with the development of AVN/PTOA (P = .009). Talar fracture-dislocations are devastating injuries with high rates of complications. Our data suggest there is no effect of time from injury to surgical reduction of talus fractures or talus fracture-dislocations on rates of AVN and PTOA.

  9. Menopausal status dependence of the timing of breast cancer recurrence after surgical removal of the primary tumour

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demicheli, Romano; Bonadonna, Gianni; Hrushesky, William JM; Retsky, Michael W; Valagussa, Pinuccia

    2004-01-01

    Information on the metastasis process in breast cancer patients undergoing primary tumour removal may be extracted from an analysis of the timing of clinical recurrence. The hazard rate for local-regional and/or distant recurrence as the first event during the first 4 years after surgery was studied in 1173 patients undergoing mastectomy alone as primary treatment for operable breast cancer. Subset analyses were performed according to tumour size, axillary nodal status and menopausal status. A sharp two-peaked hazard function was observed for node-positive pre-menopausal patients, whereas results from node-positive post-menopausal women always displayed a single broad peak. The first narrow peak among pre-menopausal women showed a very steep rise to a maximum about 8–10 months after mastectomy. The second peak was considerably broader, reaching its maximum at 28–30 months. Post-menopausal patients displayed a wide, nearly symmetrical peak with maximum risk at about 18–20 months. Peaks displayed increasing height with increasing axillary lymph node involvement. No multi-peaked pattern was evident for either pre-menopausal or post-menopausal node-negative patients; however, this finding should be considered cautiously because of the limited number of events. Tumour size influenced recurrence risk but not its timing. Findings resulting from the different subsets of patients were remarkably coherent and each observed peak maintained the same position on the time axis in all analysed subsets. The risk of early recurrence for node positive patients is dependent on menopausal status. The amount of axillary nodal involvement and the tumour size modulate the risk value at any given time. For pre-menopausal node-positive patients, the abrupt increase of the first narrow peak of the recurrence risk suggests a triggering event that synchronises early risk. We suggest that this event is the surgical removal of the primary tumour. The later, broader, more symmetrical risk

  10. Time-dependent Hartree approximation and time-dependent harmonic oscillator model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blaizot, J.P.

    1982-01-01

    We present an analytically soluble model for studying nuclear collective motion within the framework of the time-dependent Hartree (TDH) approximation. The model reduces the TDH equations to the Schroedinger equation of a time-dependent harmonic oscillator. Using canonical transformations and coherent states we derive a few properties of the time-dependent harmonic oscillator which are relevant for applications. We analyse the role of the normal modes in the time evolution of a system governed by TDH equations. We show how these modes couple together due to the anharmonic terms generated by the non-linearity of the theory. (orig.)

  11. The effects of the European Working Time Directive on surgical training: the basic surgical trainee's perspective.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Kelly, B D

    2012-01-31

    BACKGROUND: On the 1 August 2009, the implementation of European Working Time Directive became European law and was implemented in Galway University Hospital (GUH). AIMS: The aim of the study is to ascertain the opinion of the 25 surgical SHOs in GUH on the effect of the implementation of an EWTD compliant roster had on the quality of their training. METHODS: A questionnaire was circulated to all 25 surgical SHOs. RESULTS: Twenty-two (88%) SHOs report a reduction in the quality of their training. 18 (72%) report a reduction in the development of their operative skills. The SHOs believed the EWTD Rotas would encourage Irish graduates to train abroad. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical training faces a challenge with the implementation of EWTD Rotas. Major changes need to be made to the surgical training structure to train surgeons to the highest standard and to retain Irish-trained surgeons in the Irish healthcare system.

  12. Estimating anesthesia and surgical procedure times from medicare anesthesia claims.

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    Silber, Jeffrey H; Rosenbaum, Paul R; Zhang, Xuemei; Even-Shoshan, Orit

    2007-02-01

    Procedure times are important variables that often are included in studies of quality and efficiency. However, due to the need for costly chart review, most studies are limited to single-institution analyses. In this article, the authors describe how well the anesthesia claim from Medicare can estimate chart times. The authors abstracted information on time of induction and entrance to the recovery room ("anesthesia chart time") from the charts of 1,931 patients who underwent general and orthopedic surgical procedures in Pennsylvania. The authors then merged the associated bills from claims data supplied from Medicare (Part B data) that included a variable denoting the time in minutes for the anesthesia service. The authors also investigated the time from incision to closure ("surgical chart time") on a subset of 1,888 patients. Anesthesia claim time from Medicare was highly predictive of anesthesia chart time (Kendall's rank correlation tau = 0.85, P < 0.0001, median absolute error = 5.1 min) but somewhat less predictive of surgical chart time (Kendall's tau = 0.73, P < 0.0001, median absolute error = 13.8 min). When predicting chart time from Medicare bills, variables reflecting procedure type, comorbidities, and hospital type did not significantly improve the prediction, suggesting that errors in predicting the chart time from the anesthesia bill time are not related to these factors; however, the individual hospital did have some influence on these estimates. Anesthesia chart time can be well estimated using Medicare claims, thereby facilitating studies with vastly larger sample sizes and much lower costs of data collection.

  13. Lymph node retrieval in abdominoperineal surgical specimen is radiation time-dependent

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    Allal Abdelkarim S

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A low yield of lymph nodes (LN in abdominoperineal resection (APR specimen has been associated with preoperative radiation therapy (XRT in population-based studies, which may preclude adequate staging of anorectal carcinomas. We hypothesized that the number of LN retrieved in APR specimen was correlated with the dose and the timing of pelvic irradiation. Patients and methods We performed a retrospective study of 102 patients who underwent APR in a single institution between 1980 and 2004. Pathological reports were reviewed and the number of lymph nodes retrieved in APR specimens was correlated with: 1 Preoperative radiation; 2 Dose of pelvic irradiation; and 3 Time interval between the end of XRT and surgery. Results There were 61 men and 41 women, with a median age of 66 (range 25–89 years. There were 12 patients operated for squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA and 90 for rectal cancer. 83% and 46% of patients with anal and rectal cancer respectively underwent radical/neoadjuvant radiotherapy. The mean ± SD number of LN in APR specimen was 9.2 ± 5.9. The mean number of LN in APR specimen was significantly lower in patients who underwent preoperative XRT (8 ± 5.5 vs. 10.5 ± 6.1, Mann-Whitney U test, p = 0.02. The mean number of LN was not significantly different after XRT in patients with SCCA than in patients with rectal cancer (6.2 ± 5.3 vs. 7.8 ± 5.3, p = 0.33. Finally, there was an inverse correlation between the yield of LN and the time elapsed between XRT and surgery (linear regression coefficient r = -0.32, p = 0.03. Conclusion Our data indicate that: 1 radiation therapy affects the yield of LN retrieval in APR specimen; 2 this impact is time-dependent. These findings have important implications with regard to anatomic-pathological staging of anal and rectal cancers and subsequent decision-making regarding adjuvant chemotherapy.

  14. Time-dependent embedding

    OpenAIRE

    Inglesfield, J. E.

    2007-01-01

    A method of solving the time-dependent Schr\\"odinger equation is presented, in which a finite region of space is treated explicitly, with the boundary conditions for matching the wave-functions on to the rest of the system replaced by an embedding term added on to the Hamiltonian. This time-dependent embedding term is derived from the Fourier transform of the energy-dependent embedding potential, which embeds the time-independent Schr\\"odinger equation. Results are presented for a one-dimensi...

  15. Surgical team turnover and operative time: An evaluation of operating room efficiency during pulmonary resection.

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    Azzi, Alain Joe; Shah, Karan; Seely, Andrew; Villeneuve, James Patrick; Sundaresan, Sudhir R; Shamji, Farid M; Maziak, Donna E; Gilbert, Sebastien

    2016-05-01

    Health care resources are costly and should be used judiciously and efficiently. Predicting the duration of surgical procedures is key to optimizing operating room resources. Our objective was to identify factors influencing operative time, particularly surgical team turnover. We performed a single-institution, retrospective review of lobectomy operations. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of different factors on surgical time (skin-to-skin) and total procedure time. Staff turnover within the nursing component of the surgical team was defined as the number of instances any nurse had to leave the operating room over the total number of nurses involved in the operation. A total of 235 lobectomies were performed by 5 surgeons, most commonly for lung cancer (95%). On multivariate analysis, percent forced expiratory volume in 1 second, surgical approach, and lesion size had a significant effect on surgical time. Nursing turnover was associated with a significant increase in surgical time (53.7 minutes; 95% confidence interval, 6.4-101; P = .026) and total procedure time (83.2 minutes; 95% confidence interval, 30.1-136.2; P = .002). Active management of surgical team turnover may be an opportunity to improve operating room efficiency when the surgical team is engaged in a major pulmonary resection. Copyright © 2016 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Unsupervised laparoscopic appendicectomy by surgical trainees is safe and time-effective.

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    Wong, Kenneth; Duncan, Tristram; Pearson, Andrew

    2007-07-01

    Open appendicectomy is the traditional standard treatment for appendicitis. Laparoscopic appendicectomy is perceived as a procedure with greater potential for complications and longer operative times. This paper examines the hypothesis that unsupervised laparoscopic appendicectomy by surgical trainees is a safe and time-effective valid alternative. Medical records, operating theatre records and histopathology reports of all patients undergoing laparoscopic and open appendicectomy over a 15-month period in two hospitals within an area health service were retrospectively reviewed. Data were analysed to compare patient features, pathology findings, operative times, complications, readmissions and mortality between laparoscopic and open groups and between unsupervised surgical trainee operators versus consultant surgeon operators. A total of 143 laparoscopic and 222 open appendicectomies were reviewed. Unsupervised trainees performed 64% of the laparoscopic appendicectomies and 55% of the open appendicectomies. There were no significant differences in complication rates, readmissions, mortality and length of stay between laparoscopic and open appendicectomy groups or between trainee and consultant surgeon operators. Conversion rates (laparoscopic to open approach) were similar for trainees and consultants. Unsupervised senior surgical trainees did not take significantly longer to perform laparoscopic appendicectomy when compared to unsupervised trainee-performed open appendicectomy. Unsupervised laparoscopic appendicectomy by surgical trainees is safe and time-effective.

  17. Supply and demand mismatch for flexible (part-time) surgical training in Australasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Rachel E; Jeeves, Amy E; Vasey, Carolyn E; Wright, Deborah M; O'Grady, Gregory

    2013-05-06

    To define current patterns of flexible (part-time) surgical training in Australasia, determine supply and demand for part-time positions, and identify work-related factors motivating interest in flexible training. All Royal Australasian College of Surgeons trainees (n = 1191) were surveyed in 2010. Questions assessed demographic characteristics and working patterns, interest in flexible training, work-related fatigue and work-life balance preferences. Interest in part-time training, and work-related factors motivating this interest. Of the 1191 trainees, 659 responded (response rate, 55.3%). Respondents were representative of all trainees in terms of specialty and sex. The median age of respondents was 32 2013s, and 187 (28.4%) were female. Most of the 659 respondents (627, 95.1%) were in full-time clinical training; only two (0.3%) were in part-time clinical training, and 30 (4.6%) were not in active clinical training. An interest in part-time training was reported by 208 respondents (31.6%; 54.3% of women v 25.9% of men; P work and limited their social or family life, and that they had insufficient time in life for things outside surgical training, including study or research (P flexible surgical training and the number of trainees currently in part-time training positions in Australia and New Zealand. Efforts are needed to facilitate part-time surgical training.

  18. Approaching time is important for assessment of endoscopic surgical skills.

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    Tokunaga, Masakazu; Egi, Hiroyuki; Hattori, Minoru; Yoshimitsu, Masanori; Sumitani, Daisuke; Kawahara, Tomohiro; Okajima, Masazumi; Ohdan, Hideki

    2012-05-01

    This study aimed to verify whether the approaching time (the time taken to reach the target point from another point, a short distance apart, during point-to-point movement in endoscopic surgery), assessed using the Hiroshima University Endoscopic Surgical Assessment Device (HUESAD), could distinguish the skill level of surgeons. Expert surgeons (who had performed more than 50 endoscopic surgeries) and novice surgeons (who had no experience in performing endoscopic surgery) were tested using the HUESAD. The approaching time, total time, and intermediate time (total time--approaching time) were measured and analyzed using the trajectory of the tip of the instrument. The approaching time and total time were significantly shorter in the expert group than in the novice group (p time did not significantly differ between the groups (p > 0.05). The approaching time, which is a component of the total time, is very mportant in the measurement of the total time to assess endoscopic surgical skills. Further, the approaching time was useful for skill assessment by the HUESAD for evaluating the skill of surgeons performing endoscopic surgery.

  19. Surgical management of secondary hyperparathyroidism: how to effectively reduce recurrence at the time of primary surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, D; Yin, Y; Hou, L; Dai, W

    2016-05-01

    Successful parathyroidectomy (PTX) often results in a dramatic drop in the parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, relieves the patient from clinical symptoms, and reduces mortality. Although PTX is generally a successful treatment for progressive secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) patients subjected to surgery, a significant proportion develops recurrent SHPT following PTX. SHPT requiring PTX occurs more commonly in progressive chronic kidney disease and in long-term lithium therapy. Operative approaches include subtotal PTX, total PTX with or without autotransplantation, and possible thymectomy. Each approach has its proponents, advantages, and disadvantages. Although PTX offers the highest percentage cure for SHPT, compared to all other medical and surgical treatment, recurrent hyperparathyroidism can be observed in some patients dependent on follow-up time. A literature review and analysis of recent data regarding how to reduce recurrence of SHPT at the time of primary surgery was performed. The current literature and our own experience in the field have confirmed that pre-operative imaging, thymectomy, stereo magnifier, and surgical procedure may effectively reduce recurrence of SHPT at the time of primary surgery.

  20. The time of diagnosis impacts surgical management but not the outcome of patients with gallbladder Carcinoma

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    Löhe F

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Only 50% of gallbladder cancers (GBC are recognized before operation and the remaining tumors are diagnosed during surgery or afterwards by the pathologist. These situations may demand substantial modifications of the proceeding during surgery as well as the need for reoperation in some cases. Therefore, the time of diagnosis may strongly influence the surgical management of GBC and the prognosis of the patients. Methods Records and follow-up of 152 patients with gallbladder carcinoma who underwent surgery between 1980 and 2004 were examined according to the time of diagnosis, TNM staging system, surgical procedures, morbidity and predictors of survival. There were 76 patients with preoperative diagnosis of GBC (50%; group1, 44 patients with intraoperative diagnosis (29%; group 2 and 32 patients (21%; group 3 with postoperatively incidental finding of GBC. In all cases radical resection of the GBC was intended, except in 5 patients from group 1. Surgical procedures comprised from simple cholecystectomy to multivisceral resections. Results Overall 5-year survival rate was 7% with a significantly better median survival in group 3 (53.2 month, when compared to only 6.1 month (group 2 and 5.4 month (group 1, respectively. Findings at operation forced significant modifications of the surgical strategy in 85%. Complete resection of GBC was achieved in 38% of the patients. Stage- dependent survival was comparable between the groups following R0 resection. Tumor stage, in particular the nodal status and radicality of the procedure, but not the time of diagnosis were the most powerful predictors of outcome. Conclusions Complete tumor resection may provide long-term survival even in locally advanced GBC. Although the time of diagnosis of GBC causes significant changes of the intended procedures during and after surgery, it has no influence on the prognosis provided that radical (R0 resection was accomplished.

  1. Teaching surgery takes time: the impact of surgical education on time in the operating room

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinden, Christopher; Malthaner, Richard; McGee, Jacob; McClure, J. Andrew; Winick-Ng, Jennifer; Liu, Kuan; Nash, Danielle M.; Welk, Blayne; Dubois, Luc

    2016-01-01

    Background It is generally accepted that surgical training is associated with increased surgical duration. The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of this increase for common surgical procedures by comparing surgery duration in teaching and nonteaching hospitals. Methods This retrospective population-based cohort study included all adult residents of Ontario, Canada, who underwent 1 of 14 surgical procedures between 2002 and 2012. We used several linked administrative databases to identify the study cohort in addition to patient-, surgeon- and procedure-related variables. We determined surgery duration using anesthesiology billing records. Negative binomial regression was used to model the association between teaching versus nonteaching hospital status and surgery duration. Results Of the 713 573 surgical cases included in this study, 20.8% were performed in a teaching hospital. For each procedure, the mean surgery duration was significantly longer for teaching hospitals, with differences ranging from 5 to 62 minutes across individual procedures in unadjusted analyses (all p surgery duration, adjusting for patient-, surgeon- and procedure-related variables as well as the clustering of patients within surgeons and hospitals. Conclusion Our results show that a wide range of surgical procedures require significantly more time to perform in teaching than nonteaching hospitals. Given the magnitude of this difference, the impact of surgical training on health care costs and clinical outcomes should be a priority for future studies. PMID:27007088

  2. Should surgical novices trade their retractors for joysticks? Videogame experience decreases the time needed to acquire surgical skills.

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    Shane, Matthew D; Pettitt, Barbara J; Morgenthal, Craig B; Smith, C Daniel

    2008-05-01

    Video game experience (VGE) has been identified as a possible predictive factor for surgical skill. We hypothesized that surgical novices with previous VGE would acquire new surgical skills faster than those without. Fourth-year medical students (M4) and first-year surgical residents (PG-1) completed a survey asking about standard demographic data and previous VGE. Gamers had high VGE, defined as more than 3 h per week of videogame playing. Nongamers had little or no VGE. Both groups trained to proficiency on two tasks (AcquirePlace and Traversal) of the MIST-VR simulator, with proficiency defined as meeting previously validated criteria on two consecutive trials. The number of trials required to achieve proficiency for each task was recorded. The 26 participants included 11 M4s and 15 PG-1s: 17 males (8 gamers/9 nongamers) and 9 females (3 gamers/6 nongamers), mean age 27.8 years. There were no differences in time to proficiency between the M4 and PG-1 residents, and there were no significant differences in the relative number of gamers per gender. All participants eventually met proficiency criteria. The 11 gamers reached proficiency more quickly than the 15 nongamers (median 0 trials versus 6 trials, p = 0.01). Gamers scored lower than nongamers on their initial attempts. Women overall took longer to reach proficiency than did men (median 10 trials versus 0 trials, p = 0.002). When stratified according to VGE, female nongamers took longer to reach proficiency than male nongamers (median 11 trials versus 1 trial, p = 0.006) but among gamers, there was no difference between females and males (median 0 trials versus 0.5 trials, NS). Previous VGE shortens time to achieve proficiency on two tasks on a validated surgical simulator. The possibility that VGE may ameliorate gender differences in length of time required to acquire surgical skills should be explored further.

  3. What are the important manoeuvres for beginners to minimize surgical time in primary total knee arthroplasty?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harato, Kengo; Maeno, Shinichi; Tanikawa, Hidenori; Kaneda, Kazuya; Morishige, Yutaro; Nomoto, So; Niki, Yasuo

    2016-08-01

    It was hypothesized that surgical time of beginners would be much longer than that of experts. Our purpose was to investigate and clarify the important manoeuvres for beginners to minimize surgical time in primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) as a multicentre study. A total of 300 knees in 248 patients (averaged 74.6 years) were enrolled. All TKAs were done using the same instruments and the same measured resection technique at 14 facilities by 25 orthopaedic surgeons. Surgeons were divided into three surgeon groups (four experts, nine medium-volume surgeons and 12 beginners). The surgical technique was divided into five phases. Detailed surgical time and ratio of the time in each phase to overall surgical time were recorded and compared among the groups in each phase. A total of 62, 119, and 119 TKAs were done by beginners, medium-volume surgeons, and experts, respectively. Significant differences in surgical time among the groups were seen in each phase. Concerning the ratio of the time, experts and medium-volume surgeons seemed cautious in fixation of the permanent component compared to other phases. Interestingly, even in ratio, beginners and medium-volume surgeons took more time in exposure of soft tissue compared to experts. (0.14 in beginners, 0.13 in medium-volume surgeons, 0.11 in experts, P time in exposure and closure of soft tissue compared to experts. Improvement in basic technique is essential to minimize surgical time among beginners. First of all, surgical instructors should teach basic techniques in primary TKA for beginners. Therapeutic studies, Level IV.

  4. Wave function for time-dependent harmonically confined electrons in a time-dependent electric field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yu-Qi; Pan, Xiao-Yin; Sahni, Viraht

    2013-09-21

    The many-body wave function of a system of interacting particles confined by a time-dependent harmonic potential and perturbed by a time-dependent spatially homogeneous electric field is derived via the Feynman path-integral method. The wave function is comprised of a phase factor times the solution to the unperturbed time-dependent Schrödinger equation with the latter being translated by a time-dependent value that satisfies the classical driven equation of motion. The wave function reduces to that of the Harmonic Potential Theorem wave function for the case of the time-independent harmonic confining potential.

  5. Real-time Near-infrared Virtual Intraoperative Surgical Photoacoustic Microscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Changho Lee

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available We developed a near infrared (NIR virtual intraoperative surgical photoacoustic microscopy (NIR-VISPAM system that combines a conventional surgical microscope and an NIR light photoacoustic microscopy (PAM system. NIR-VISPAM can simultaneously visualize PA B-scan images at a maximum display rate of 45 Hz and display enlarged microscopic images on a surgeon's view plane through the ocular lenses of the surgical microscope as augmented reality. The use of the invisible NIR light eliminated the disturbance to the surgeon's vision caused by the visible PAM excitation laser in a previous report. Further, the maximum permissible laser pulse energy at this wavelength is approximately 5 times more than that at the visible spectral range. The use of a needle-type ultrasound transducer without any water bath for acoustic coupling can enhance convenience in an intraoperative environment. We successfully guided needle and injected carbon particles in biological tissues ex vivo and in melanoma-bearing mice in vivo.

  6. Automatic data-driven real-time segmentation and recognition of surgical workflow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dergachyova, Olga; Bouget, David; Huaulmé, Arnaud; Morandi, Xavier; Jannin, Pierre

    2016-06-01

    With the intention of extending the perception and action of surgical staff inside the operating room, the medical community has expressed a growing interest towards context-aware systems. Requiring an accurate identification of the surgical workflow, such systems make use of data from a diverse set of available sensors. In this paper, we propose a fully data-driven and real-time method for segmentation and recognition of surgical phases using a combination of video data and instrument usage signals, exploiting no prior knowledge. We also introduce new validation metrics for assessment of workflow detection. The segmentation and recognition are based on a four-stage process. Firstly, during the learning time, a Surgical Process Model is automatically constructed from data annotations to guide the following process. Secondly, data samples are described using a combination of low-level visual cues and instrument information. Then, in the third stage, these descriptions are employed to train a set of AdaBoost classifiers capable of distinguishing one surgical phase from others. Finally, AdaBoost responses are used as input to a Hidden semi-Markov Model in order to obtain a final decision. On the MICCAI EndoVis challenge laparoscopic dataset we achieved a precision and a recall of 91 % in classification of 7 phases. Compared to the analysis based on one data type only, a combination of visual features and instrument signals allows better segmentation, reduction of the detection delay and discovery of the correct phase order.

  7. Timing of surgical site infection and pulmonary complications after laparotomy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gundel, Ossian; Gundersen, Sofie Kirchhoff; Dahl, Rikke Maria

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection (SSI) and other postoperative complications are associated with high costs, morbidity, secondary surgery, and mortality. Many studies have identified factors that may prevent SSI and pulmonary complications, but it is important to know when they in fact occur....... The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic timing of surgical site infections and pulmonary complications after laparotomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of the PROXI trial which was a randomized clinical trial conducted in 1400 patients undergoing elective or emergent...... laparotomy. Patients were randomly allocated to either 80% or 30% perioperative inspiratory oxygen fraction. RESULTS: SSI or pulmonary complications were diagnosed in 24.2% (95% CI: 22.0%-26.5%) of the patients at a median of 9 days [IQR: 5-15] after surgery. Most common was surgical site infection (19...

  8. Evaluating the optimal timing of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mujagic, Edin; Zwimpfer, Tibor; Marti, Walter R; Zwahlen, Marcel; Hoffmann, Henry; Kindler, Christoph; Fux, Christoph; Misteli, Heidi; Iselin, Lukas; Lugli, Andrea Kopp; Nebiker, Christian A; von Holzen, Urs; Vinzens, Fabrizio; von Strauss, Marco; Reck, Stefan; Kraljević, Marko; Widmer, Andreas F; Oertli, Daniel; Rosenthal, Rachel; Weber, Walter P

    2014-05-24

    Surgical site infections are the most common hospital-acquired infections among surgical patients. The administration of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis reduces the risk of surgical site infections . The optimal timing of this procedure is still a matter of debate. While most studies suggest that it should be given as close to the incision time as possible, others conclude that this may be too late for optimal prevention of surgical site infections. A large observational study suggests that surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis should be administered 74 to 30 minutes before surgery. The aim of this article is to report the design and protocol of a randomized controlled trial investigating the optimal timing of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis. In this bi-center randomized controlled trial conducted at two tertiary referral centers in Switzerland, we plan to include 5,000 patients undergoing general, oncologic, vascular and orthopedic trauma procedures. Patients are randomized in a 1:1 ratio into two groups: one receiving surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis in the anesthesia room (75 to 30 minutes before incision) and the other receiving surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis in the operating room (less than 30 minutes before incision). We expect a significantly lower rate of surgical site infections with surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis administered more than 30 minutes before the scheduled incision. The primary outcome is the occurrence of surgical site infections during a 30-day follow-up period (one year with an implant in place). When assuming a 5% surgical site infection risk with administration of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis in the operating room, the planned sample size has an 80% power to detect a relative risk reduction for surgical site infections of 33% when administering surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis in the anesthesia room (with a two-sided type I error of 5%). We expect the study to be completed within three years. The results of this

  9. Time-dependent Autler-Townes spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qamar, Sajid; Zhu, S.-Y.; Zubairy, M Suhail

    2003-01-01

    Autler-Townes spontaneous emission spectroscopy is revisited for a time-dependent case. We report the results of spontaneous emission spectra for nonstationary scattered light signals using the definition of the time-dependent physical spectrum. This is a rare example of problems where time-dependent spectra can be calculated exactly

  10. Time-dependent Autler-Townes spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qamar, Sajid [Institute for Quantum Studies, Department of Physics, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843-4242 (United States); Zhu, S.-Y. [Institute for Quantum Studies, Department of Physics, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843-4242 (United States); Zubairy, M Suhail [Institute for Quantum Studies, Department of Physics, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843-4242 (United States)

    2003-04-01

    Autler-Townes spontaneous emission spectroscopy is revisited for a time-dependent case. We report the results of spontaneous emission spectra for nonstationary scattered light signals using the definition of the time-dependent physical spectrum. This is a rare example of problems where time-dependent spectra can be calculated exactly.

  11. Time-dependent behavior of concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfeiffer, P.A.; Tanabe, Tada-aki

    1992-01-01

    This paper is a condensed version of the material presented at the International Workshop on Finite Element Analysis of Reinforced Concrete, Session 4 -- Time Dependent Behavior, held at Columbia University, New York on June 3--6, 1991. Dr. P.A. Pfeiffer presented recent developments in time-dependent behavior of concrete and Professor T. Tanabe presented a review of research in Japan on time-dependent behavior of concrete. The paper discusses the recent research of time-dependent behavior of concrete in the past few years. 6 refs

  12. [Surgical site infections: antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asensio, Angel

    2014-01-01

    Surgical site infections (SSI) are very common, and represent more than 20% of all hospital-acquired infections. SSIs are associated with a higher mortality, as well as to an extended hospital stay and costs, depending on the surgical procedure and type of SSI. Advances in control practices for these infections include improvement in operating room ventilation, sterilization methods, barriers, and surgical techniques, as well as in surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis. For the latter, the antimicrobial agent should: be active against the most common pathogens, be administered in an appropriate dosage and in a time frame to ensure serum and tissue concentrations over the period of potential contamination, be safe, and be administered over the shortest effective time period to minimize adverse events, development of resistances, and cost. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  13. Real time process algebra with time-dependent conditions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baeten, J.C.M.; Middelburg, C.A.

    We extend the main real time version of ACP presented in [6] with conditionals in which the condition depends on time. This extension facilitates flexible dependence of proccess behaviour on initialization time. We show that the conditions concerned generalize the conditions introduced earlier

  14. Dependable Real-Time Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-09-30

    0196 or 413 545-0720 PI E-mail Address: krithi@nirvan.cs.umass.edu, stankovic(ocs.umass.edu Grant or Contract Title: Dependable Real - Time Systems Grant...Dependable Real - Time Systems " Grant or Contract Number: N00014-85-k-0398 L " Reporting Period: 1 Oct 87 - 30 Sep 91 , 2. Summary of Accomplishments ’ 2.1 Our...in developing a sound approach to scheduling tasks in complex real - time systems , (2) developed a real-time operating system kernel, a preliminary

  15. Holographic complexity for time-dependent backgrounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Momeni, Davood, E-mail: davoodmomeni78@gmail.com [Eurasian International Center for Theoretical Physics and Department of General Theoretical Physics, Eurasian National University, Astana 010008 (Kazakhstan); Faizal, Mir, E-mail: mirfaizalmir@googlemail.com [Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, British Columbia V1V 1V7 (Canada); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4 (Canada); Bahamonde, Sebastian, E-mail: sebastian.beltran.14@ucl.ac.uk [Department of Mathematics, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Myrzakulov, Ratbay [Eurasian International Center for Theoretical Physics and Department of General Theoretical Physics, Eurasian National University, Astana 010008 (Kazakhstan)

    2016-11-10

    In this paper, we will analyze the holographic complexity for time-dependent asymptotically AdS geometries. We will first use a covariant zero mean curvature slicing of the time-dependent bulk geometries, and then use this co-dimension one spacelike slice of the bulk spacetime to define a co-dimension two minimal surface. The time-dependent holographic complexity will be defined using the volume enclosed by this minimal surface. This time-dependent holographic complexity will reduce to the usual holographic complexity for static geometries. We will analyze the time-dependence as a perturbation of the asymptotically AdS geometries. Thus, we will obtain time-dependent asymptotically AdS geometries, and we will calculate the holographic complexity for such time-dependent geometries.

  16. The sigmoid volvulus: surgical timing and mortality for different clinical types

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spizzirri Alessandro

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In western countries intestinal obstruction caused by sigmoid volvulus is rare and its mortality remains significant in patients with late diagnosis. The aim of this work is to assess what is the correct surgical timing and how the prognosis changes for the different clinical types. Methods We realized a retrospective clinical study including all the patients treated for sigmoid volvulus in the Department of General Surgery, St Maria Hospital, Terni, from January 1996 till January 2009. We selected 23 patients and divided them in 2 groups on the basis of the clinical onset: patients with clear clinical signs of obstruction and patients with subocclusive symptoms. We focused on 30-day postoperative mortality in relation to the surgical timing and procedure performed for each group. Results In the obstruction group mortality rate was 44% and it concerned only the patients who had clinical signs and symptoms of peritonitis and that were treated with a sigmoid resection (57%. Conversely none of the patients treated with intestinal derotation and colopexy died. In the subocclusive group mortality was 35% and it increased up to 50% in those patients with a late diagnosis who underwent a sigmoid resection. Conclusions The mortality of patients affected by sigmoid volvulus is related to the disease stage, prompt surgical timing, functional status of the patient and his collaboration with the clinicians in the pre-operative decision making process. Mortality is higher in both obstructed patients with generalized peritonitis and patients affected by subocclusion with late diagnosis and surgical treatment; in both scenarios a Hartmann's procedure is the proper operation to be considered.

  17. Topic 5: Time-Dependent Behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfeiffer, P.A.; Tanabe, Tada-aki

    1991-01-01

    This chapter is a report of the material presented at the International Workshop on Finite Element Analysis of Reinforced Concrete, Session 4 -- Time Dependent Behavior, held at Columbia University, New York on June 3--6, 1991. Dr. P.A. Pfeiffer presented recent developments in time-dependent behavior of concrete and Professor T. Tanabe presented a review of research in Japan on time-dependent behavior of concrete. The chapter discusses the recent research of time-dependent behavior of concrete in the past few years in both the USA-European and Japanese communities. The author appreciates the valuable information provided by Zdenek P. Bazant in preparing the USA-European Research section

  18. Time-dependent friction and solvation time correlation function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samanta, Alok; Ali, Sk Musharaf; Ghosh, Swapan K

    2005-01-01

    We have derived a new relation between the time-dependent friction and solvation time correlation function (STCF) for non-polar fluids. The friction values calculated using this relation and simulation results on STCF for a Lennard-Jones fluid are shown to have excellent agreement with the same obtained through mode-coupling theory. Also derived is a relation between the time-dependent dielectric friction and STCF for polar fluids. Routes are thus provided to obtain the time-dependent friction (non-polar as well as dielectric) from an experimentally measured quantity like STCF, even if the interparticle interaction potential is not known

  19. Right attitude, right decision and timely planning in surgical pedodontics -scoop out or expose it.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kethineni, Balaji; Peddi, Ravigna; Puppala, Ravindar; Banavath, Sunitha; Chowdary, Uday Kumar; Raj, Deepak

    2013-04-01

    Radicular cysts are the most common odontogenic cystic lesions of inflammatory origin and are usually asymptomatic and are left unnoticed, until detected by routine radiography. It is managed either by surgical enucleation or marsupialization. Conventional nonsurgical endodontic treatment has a high degree of clinical success, but in certain cases surgical intervention becomes necessary. This is the case report of a patient presenting with unilateral radicular cyst. The lesion is managed by marsupialization using a novel and safe method of separating the soft tissue mass of the periapical lesion which was in proximity to vital and vulnerable anatomical tissue, emphasizing the need of application of treatment in the best interest of patients. The treatment of choice is dependent on the size and localization of the lesion, the bone integrity of the lesions wall and its proximity to vital structure. This case report of radicular cysts emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of the leading criteria that should be taken into consideration when assessing the treatment modalities for radicular cyst. Odontogenic cysts, Radicular cyst, Marsupialization, Enucleation. How to cite this article: Kethineni B, Peddi R, Puppala R, Sunitha B, Chowdary U K, Raj D. Right Attitude, Right Decision and Timely Planning in Surgical Pedodontics -Scoop Out or Expose It. J Int Oral Health 2013; 5(2):50-54.

  20. Time Dependent Quantum Mechanics

    OpenAIRE

    Morrison, Peter G.

    2012-01-01

    We present a systematic method for dealing with time dependent quantum dynamics, based on the quantum brachistochrone and matrix mechanics. We derive the explicit time dependence of the Hamiltonian operator for a number of constrained finite systems from this formalism. Once this has been achieved we go on to calculate the wavevector as a function of time, in order to demonstrate the use of matrix methods with respect to several concrete examples. Interesting results are derived for elliptic ...

  1. Noisy time-dependent spectra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shore, B.W.; Eberly, J.H.

    1983-01-01

    The definition of a time-dependent spectrum registered by an idealized spectrometer responding to a time-varying electromagnetic field as proposed by Eberly and Wodkiewicz and subsequently applied to the spectrum of laser-induced fluorescence by Eberly, Kunasz, and Wodkiewicz is here extended to allow a stochastically fluctuating (interruption model) environment: we provide an algorithm for numerical determination of the time-dependent fluorescence spectrum of an atom subject to excitation by an intense noisy laser and interruptive relaxation

  2. Micro-surgical endodontics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eliyas, S; Vere, J; Ali, Z; Harris, I

    2014-02-01

    Non-surgical endodontic retreatment is the treatment of choice for endodontically treated teeth with recurrent or residual disease in the majority of cases. In some cases, surgical endodontic treatment is indicated. Successful micro-surgical endodontic treatment depends on the accuracy of diagnosis, appropriate case selection, the quality of the surgical skills, and the application of the most appropriate haemostatic agents and biomaterials. This article describes the armamentarium and technical procedures involved in performing micro-surgical endodontics to a high standard.

  3. The impact of surgical timing and intervention on outcome in traumatized dogs and cats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Nathan W; Buote, Nicole J; Barr, James W

    2015-01-01

    To review the relevant human and veterinary literature regarding the timing of surgical intervention for trauma patients and the impact on outcome. Original research, clinical studies, and review articles with no date restrictions from both human and veterinary literature. Despite extensive research into the ideal timing of surgical intervention for human trauma victims, debate is ongoing and views are still evolving. Prior to the 1970s, the standard of care consisted of delayed surgical treatment, as these patients were considered too ill to undergo surgery. Beginning in the 1970s, and continuing for nearly 2 decades, early definitive surgical treatment was recommended. The most recent evolution of human trauma management incorporates the concept of damage control surgery, which acknowledges the importance of early skeletal stabilization or laparotomy for reducing morbidity while attempting to avoid complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome or multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Despite a relatively large amount of literature available regarding veterinary trauma, no evidence exists to provide the clinician guidance as to the ideal timing of surgery for trauma patients. With the exception of diaphragmatic hernia, no studies were identified that attempted to evaluate this variable. Veterinary-specific studies are needed to evaluate the impact of surgical timing on outcome following trauma. The information that can be obtained from studies in this area can improve veterinary trauma care and may be used as models for human trauma care through translational applications. © Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society 2015.

  4. Surgical complications after peritoneal dialysis catheter implantation depend on children's weight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radtke, Josephine; Lemke, Anja; Kemper, Markus J; Nashan, Bjoern; Koch, Martina

    2016-08-01

    Surgical complications are estimated to be as high as 30%-40% during the first 8 weeks after implantation of peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheters. 70 PD catheters which were implanted by transplant surgeons in 61 children (median age 3.3years, range 0.01-15.5years, 31 boys and 30 girls) in 2009-2014 were retrospectively reviewed. The incidence of complications and revisions during the first 6months after implantation was analyzed depending on children's weight and diagnosis. 17 out of 70 catheters needed a surgical revision within 6months after implantation (24.3%). Peritonitis was the most common complication affecting 18.6% of peritoneal dialysis catheters followed by obstruction and dislocation, which it occurred in 9 (12.9%) and 7 (10%) catheters, respectively. Leakage (n=5) only occurred in children with a weight of less than 10kg. The total proportion of complications was higher in children with less than 10kg of weight (P<0.001). PD is safe in children with acute renal failure and older children with chronic renal failure; however children with a weight of less than 10kg are more likely to develop complications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. In the time of significant generational diversity - surgical leadership must step up!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Money, Samuel R; O'Donnell, Mark E; Gray, Richard J

    2014-02-01

    The diverse attitudes and motivations of surgeons and surgical trainees within different age groups present an important challenge for surgical leaders and educators. These challenges to surgical leadership are not unique, and other industries have likewise needed to grapple with how best to manage these various age groups. The authors will herein explore management and leadership for surgeons in a time of age diversity, define generational variations within "Baby-Boomer", "Generation X" and "Generation Y" populations, and identify work ethos concepts amongst these three groups. The surgical community must understand and embrace these concepts in order to continue to attract a stellar pool of applicants from medical school. By not accepting the changing attitudes and motivations of young trainees and medical students, we may disenfranchise a high percentage of potential future surgeons. Surgical training programs will fill, but will they contain the highest quality trainees? Copyright © 2013 Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Scottish charity number SC005317) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Scheduling with time-dependent execution times

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woeginger, G.J.

    1995-01-01

    We consider systems of tasks where the task execution times are time-dependent and where all tasks have some common deadline. We describe how to compute in polynomial time a schedule that minimizes the number of late tasks. This answers a question raised in a recent paper by Ho, Leung and Wei.

  7. Increased Total Anesthetic Time Leads to Higher Rates of Surgical Site Infections in Spinal Fusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puffer, Ross C; Murphy, Meghan; Maloney, Patrick; Kor, Daryl; Nassr, Ahmad; Freedman, Brett; Fogelson, Jeremy; Bydon, Mohamad

    2017-06-01

    A retrospective review of a consecutive series of spinal fusions comparing patient and procedural characteristics of patients who developed surgical site infections (SSIs) after spinal fusion. It is known that increased surgical time (incision to closure) is associated with a higher rate of postoperative SSIs. We sought to determine whether increased total anesthetic time (intubation to extubation) is a factor in the development of SSIs as well. In spine surgery for deformity and degenerative disease, SSI has been associated with operative time, revealing a nearly 10-fold increase in SSI rates in prolonged surgery. Surgical time is associated with infections in other surgical disciplines as well. No studies have reported whether total anesthetic time (intubation to extubation) has an association with SSIs. Surgical records were searched in a retrospective fashion to identify all spine fusion procedures performed between January 2010 and July 2012. All SSIs during that timeframe were recorded and compared with the list of cases performed between 2010 and 2012 in a case-control design. There were 20 (1.7%) SSIs in this fusion cohort. On univariate analyses of operative factors, there was a significant association between total anesthetic time (Infection 7.6 ± 0.5 hrs vs. no infection -6.0 ± 0.1 hrs, P operative time (infection 5.5 ± 0.4 hrs vs. no infection - 4.4 ± 0.06 hrs, P infections, whereas level of pathology and emergent surgery were not significant. On multivariate logistic analysis, BMI and total anesthetic time remained independent predictors of SSI whereas ASA status and operative time did not. Increasing BMI and total anesthetic time were independent predictors of SSIs in this cohort of over 1000 consecutive spinal fusions. 3.

  8. Costs of disposable material in the operating room do not show high correlation with surgical time: Implications for hospital payment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delo, Caroline; Leclercq, Pol; Martins, Dimitri; Pirson, Magali

    2015-08-01

    The objectives of this study are to analyze the variation of the surgical time and of disposable costs per surgical procedure and to analyze the association between disposable costs and the surgical time. The registration of data was done in an operating room of a 419 bed general hospital, over a period of three months (n = 1556 surgical procedures). Disposable material per procedure used was recorded through a barcode scanning method. The average cost (standard deviation) of disposable material is €183.66 (€183.44). The mean surgical time (standard deviation) is 96 min (63). Results have shown that the homogeneity of operating time and DM costs was quite good per surgical procedure. The correlation between the surgical time and DM costs is not high (r = 0.65). In a context of Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) based hospital payment, it is important that costs information systems are able to precisely calculate costs per case. Our results show that the correlation between surgical time and costs of disposable materials is not good. Therefore, empirical data or itemized lists should be used instead of surgical time as a cost driver for the allocation of costs of disposable materials to patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Pooled Open Blocks Shorten Wait Times for Nonelective Surgical Cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zenteno, Ana C; Carnes, Tim; Levi, Retsef; Daily, Bethany J; Price, Devon; Moss, Susan C; Dunn, Peter F

    2015-07-01

    Assess the impact of the implementation of a data-driven scheduling strategy that aimed to improve the access to care of nonelective surgical patients at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Between July 2009 and June 2010, MGH experienced increasing throughput challenges in its perioperative environment: approximately 30% of the nonelective patients were waiting more than the prescribed amount of time to get to surgery, hampering access to care and aggravating the lack of inpatient beds. This work describes the design and implementation of an "open block" strategy: operating room (OR) blocks were reserved for nonelective patients during regular working hours (prime time) and their management centralized. Discrete event simulation showed that 5 rooms would decrease the percentage of delayed patients from 30% to 2%, assuming that OR availability was the only reason for preoperative delay. Implementation began in January 2012. We compare metrics for June through December of 2012 against the same months of 2011. The average preoperative wait time of all nonelective surgical patients decreased by 25.5% (P reason for delay. Rigorous metrics were developed to evaluate its performance. Strong managerial leadership was crucial to enact the new practices and turn them into organizational change.

  10. Comparing of the Reaction Time in Substance-Dependent and Non-Dependent Individuals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Narimani

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the simple, selective, and discrimination reaction time in substance-dependent and non-dependent individuals. Method: In this causal-comparative study, the population included of 425 males (opium and crystal dependents who were referred to addiction rehabilitation centers in Tabriz. By random sampling, 16 opium dependents, 16 crystal dependents, and 16 non-dependent individuals with no history of dependency as the compare group were selected. All groups peered in age, and marital status. For gathering data, “Addicts Admit Questionnaire” and laboratory device known as the "Reaction Time Assay" have been used. Results: The results of this study showed that there are significant differences among all groups in simple reaction time, choice reaction time and reaction time to auditory stimuli, but no significant difference in discrimination reaction time and reaction time to visual stimulus observed. Conclusion: The reaction time of substance-dependent groups is slower than non-dependent groups.

  11. Factors that impact turnaround time of surgical pathology specimens in an academic institution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Samip; Smith, Jennifer B; Kurbatova, Ekaterina; Guarner, Jeannette

    2012-09-01

    Turnaround time of laboratory results is important for customer satisfaction. The College of American Pathologists' checklist requires an analytic turnaround time of 2 days or less for most routine cases and lets every hospital define what a routine specimen is. The objective of this study was to analyze which factors impact turnaround time of nonbiopsy surgical pathology specimens. We calculated the turnaround time from receipt to verification of results (adjusted for weekends and holidays) for all nonbiopsy surgical specimens during a 2-week period. Factors studied included tissue type, number of slides per case, decalcification, immunohistochemistry, consultations with other pathologists, and diagnosis. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. A total of 713 specimens were analyzed, 551 (77%) were verified within 2 days and 162 (23%) in 3 days or more. Lung, gastrointestinal, breast, and genitourinary specimens showed the highest percentage of cases being signed out in over 3 days. Diagnosis of malignancy (including staging of the neoplasia), consultation with other pathologists, having had a frozen section, and use of immunohistochemical stains were significantly associated with increased turnaround time in univariate analysis. Decalcification was not associated with increased turnaround time. In multivariate analysis, consultation with other pathologists, use of immunohistochemistry, diagnosis of malignancy, and the number of slides studied continued to be significantly associated with prolonged turnaround time. Our findings suggest that diagnosis of malignancy is central to significantly prolonging the turnaround time for surgical pathology specimens, thus institutions that serve cancer centers will have longer turnaround time than those that do not. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Exact Time-Dependent Wave Functions of a Confined Time-Dependent Harmonic Oscillator with Two Moving Boundaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lo, C.F.

    2009-01-01

    By applying the standard analytical techniques of solving partial differential equations, we have obtained the exact solution in terms of the Fourier sine series to the time-dependent Schroedinger equation describing a quantum one-dimensional harmonic oscillator of time-dependent frequency confined in an infinite square well with the two walls moving along some parametric trajectories. Based upon the orthonormal basis of quasi-stationary wave functions, the exact propagator of the system has also been analytically derived. Special cases like (i) a confined free particle, (ii) a confined time-independent harmonic oscillator, and (iii) an aging oscillator are examined, and the corresponding time-dependent wave functions are explicitly determined. Besides, the approach has been extended to solve the case of a confined generalized time-dependent harmonic oscillator for some parametric moving boundaries as well. (general)

  13. Surgical lighting

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Knulst, A.J.

    2017-01-01

    The surgical light is an important tool for surgeons to create and maintain good visibility on the surgical task. Chapter 1 gives background to the field of (surgical) lighting and related terminology. Although the surgical light has been developed strongly since its introduction a long time ago,

  14. Posterior Segment Intraocular Foreign Body: Extraction Surgical Techniques, Timing, and Indications for Vitrectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dante A. Guevara-Villarreal

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Ocular penetrating injury with Intraocular Foreign Body (IOFB is a common form of ocular injury. Several techniques to remove IOFB have been reported by different authors. The aim of this publication is to review different timing and surgical techniques related to the extraction of IOFB. Material and Methods. A PubMed search on “Extraction of Intraocular Foreign Body,” “Timing for Surgery Intraocular Foreign Body,” and “Surgical Technique Intraocular Foreign Body” was made. Results. Potential advantages of immediate and delayed IOFB removal have been reported with different results. Several techniques to remove IOFB have been reported by different authors with good results. Conclusion. The most important factor at the time to perform IOFB extraction is the experience of the surgeon.

  15. The European Working Time Directive: a practical review for surgical trainees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzgerald, J E F; Caesar, B C

    2012-01-01

    The European Working Time Directive (EWTD) 2003/88/EC is a Union Directive laying down minimum health and safety requirements for the organisation of working time. Originally primarily intended as labour law, its progressive introduction up to full implementation for doctors-in-training in August 2009 has substantially reduced duty-hours and caused widespread concern in surgery. Detrimental effects on the continuity of patient care, reduced availability of medical staff with associated rota difficulties, and the reduction in time for training junior doctors have been widely cited. Craft-specialities such as surgery and those providing an acute service have faced particular challenges. This review offers a practical guide for surgical trainees, explaining the European regulations in the context of current terms and conditions of doctor's employment in the UK. Information is provided on protecting training, opting-out, seeking remuneration for this, and ensuring doctors and patients are protected with appropriate medical indemnity cover in place. Copyright © 2012 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Time-Dependent Behaviors of Granite: Loading-Rate Dependence, Creep, and Relaxation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashiba, K.; Fukui, K.

    2016-07-01

    To assess the long-term stability of underground structures, it is important to understand the time-dependent behaviors of rocks, such as their loading-rate dependence, creep, and relaxation. However, there have been fewer studies on crystalline rocks than on tuff, mudstone, and rock salt, because the high strength of crystalline rocks makes the detection of their time-dependent behaviors much more difficult. Moreover, studies on the relaxation, temporal change of stress and strain (TCSS) conditions, and relations between various time-dependent behaviors are scarce for not only granites, but also other rocks. In this study, previous reports on the time-dependent behaviors of granites were reviewed and various laboratory tests were conducted using Toki granite. These tests included an alternating-loading-rate test, creep test, relaxation test, and TCSS test. The results showed that the degree of time dependence of Toki granite is similar to other granites, and that the TCSS resembles the stress-relaxation curve and creep-strain curve. A viscoelastic constitutive model, proposed in a previous study, was modified to investigate the relations between the time-dependent behaviors in the pre- and post-peak regions. The modified model reproduced the stress-strain curve, creep, relaxation, and the results of the TCSS test. Based on a comparison of the results of the laboratory tests and numerical simulations, close relations between the time-dependent behaviors were revealed quantitatively.

  17. Time-dependent potential-functional embedding theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Chen; Libisch, Florian; Peng, Qing; Carter, Emily A.

    2014-01-01

    We introduce a time-dependent potential-functional embedding theory (TD-PFET), in which atoms are grouped into subsystems. In TD-PFET, subsystems can be propagated by different suitable time-dependent quantum mechanical methods and their interactions can be treated in a seamless, first-principles manner. TD-PFET is formulated based on the time-dependent quantum mechanics variational principle. The action of the total quantum system is written as a functional of the time-dependent embedding potential, i.e., a potential-functional formulation. By exploiting the Runge-Gross theorem, we prove the uniqueness of the time-dependent embedding potential under the constraint that all subsystems share a common embedding potential. We derive the integral equation that such an embedding potential needs to satisfy. As proof-of-principle, we demonstrate TD-PFET for a Na 4 cluster, in which each Na atom is treated as one subsystem and propagated by time-dependent Kohn-Sham density functional theory (TDDFT) using the adiabatic local density approximation (ALDA). Our results agree well with a direct TDDFT calculation on the whole Na 4 cluster using ALDA. We envision that TD-PFET will ultimately be useful for studying ultrafast quantum dynamics in condensed matter, where key regions are solved by highly accurate time-dependent quantum mechanics methods, and unimportant regions are solved by faster, less accurate methods

  18. Benchmarking, benchmarks, or best practices? Applying quality improvement principles to decrease surgical turnaround time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, L

    1996-01-01

    The processes of benchmarking, benchmark data comparative analysis, and study of best practices are distinctly different. The study of best practices is explained with an example based on the Arthur Andersen & Co. 1992 "Study of Best Practices in Ambulatory Surgery". The results of a national best practices study in ambulatory surgery were used to provide our quality improvement team with the goal of improving the turnaround time between surgical cases. The team used a seven-step quality improvement problem-solving process to improve the surgical turnaround time. The national benchmark for turnaround times between surgical cases in 1992 was 13.5 minutes. The initial turnaround time at St. Joseph's Medical Center was 19.9 minutes. After the team implemented solutions, the time was reduced to an average of 16.3 minutes, an 18% improvement. Cost-benefit analysis showed a potential enhanced revenue of approximately $300,000, or a potential savings of $10,119. Applying quality improvement principles to benchmarking, benchmarks, or best practices can improve process performance. Understanding which form of benchmarking the institution wishes to embark on will help focus a team and use appropriate resources. Communicating with professional organizations that have experience in benchmarking will save time and money and help achieve the desired results.

  19. Competing risks and time-dependent covariates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cortese, Giuliana; Andersen, Per K

    2010-01-01

    Time-dependent covariates are frequently encountered in regression analysis for event history data and competing risks. They are often essential predictors, which cannot be substituted by time-fixed covariates. This study briefly recalls the different types of time-dependent covariates......, as classified by Kalbfleisch and Prentice [The Statistical Analysis of Failure Time Data, Wiley, New York, 2002] with the intent of clarifying their role and emphasizing the limitations in standard survival models and in the competing risks setting. If random (internal) time-dependent covariates...

  20. Real-time stereo generation for surgical vision during minimal invasive robotic surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laddi, Amit; Bhardwaj, Vijay; Mahapatra, Prasant; Pankaj, Dinesh; Kumar, Amod

    2016-03-01

    This paper proposes a framework for 3D surgical vision for minimal invasive robotic surgery. It presents an approach for generating the three dimensional view of the in-vivo live surgical procedures from two images captured by very small sized, full resolution camera sensor rig. A pre-processing scheme is employed to enhance the image quality and equalizing the color profile of two images. Polarized Projection using interlacing two images give a smooth and strain free three dimensional view. The algorithm runs in real time with good speed at full HD resolution.

  1. Surgical strategies in childhood craniopharyngioma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jörg eFlitsch

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Craniopharyngiomas are biologically benign lesions (WHO Grade 1 of the sellar and suprasellar region, associated with a serious morbidity. About 50% of these tumors become clinically apparent during childhood. Clinical symptoms include headaches, chiasm syndrome, hydrocephalus, pituitary insufficiencies, and obesity. Growth arrest is a typical symptom in children. The treatment of craniopharyngiomas includes surgery as well as radiotherapy. The goal of surgery varies according to the tumor location and extension and may range from complete resection to biopsy. Surgical complications are well known and cause constant evaluation of surgical strategies. Diencephalic obesity is related to surgical manipulation of hypothalamic tissue. Therefore, a classification system for craniopharyngiomas based on preoperative MRI is suggested by the authors, which may help assess the surgical risk. Recurrences are frequent in craniopharyngiomas, even after complete or gross-total resection. Radiotherapy is therefore recommended to patients with incomplete resections. However, the ideal time for radiotherapy after surgery is under discussion.The treatment of craniopharyngiomas requires an interdisciplinary and multimodal approach. Each patient should receive an individually tailored treatment. Surgically, different approaches as well as different degrees of resection can be considered, depending on tumor location and tumor extension.

  2. Time-dependent gravitating solitons in five dimensional warped space-times

    CERN Document Server

    Giovannini, Massimo

    2007-01-01

    Time-dependent soliton solutions are explicitly derived in a five-dimensional theory endowed with one (warped) extra-dimension. Some of the obtained geometries, everywhere well defined and technically regular, smoothly interpolate between two five-dimensional anti-de Sitter space-times for fixed value of the conformal time coordinate. Time dependent solutions containing both topological and non-topological sectors are also obtained. Supplementary degrees of freedom can be also included and, in this case, the resulting multi-soliton solutions may describe time-dependent kink-antikink systems.

  3. [Experimental determination of the time-dependent extent of after-burning with reference to possibilities of the plastic surgery reconstruction of 3d degree burns].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bäumer, F; Henrich, H A; Ussmüller, J

    1986-02-01

    The present experiments try to answer the question as to the time-dependent extent of the after-burning process after full-thickness burn (third degree). For an early plastic surgical treatment it was of interest to determine the most early time of escharotomy. The time-dependent spreading of the after-burning area reached its maximum five days after the burn injury. The after-burning area was marked by intravenous injections of Patentblau which caused distinct intravital colouring. Subsequently no further progress could be observed. In the present experiments we suggest this time as the earliest time for plastic covering in case it would be dependent upon the end of the after-burning process.

  4. Peripheral surgical wounding may induce cognitive impairment through interlukin-6-dependent mechanisms in aged mice

    OpenAIRE

    Dong, Yuanlin; Xu, Zhipeng; Huang, Lining; Zhang, Yiying; Xie, Zhongcong

    2016-01-01

    Post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is associated with morbidity, mortality and increased cost of medical care. However, the neuropathogenesis and targeted interventions of POCD remain largely to be determined. We have found that the peripheral surgical wounding induces an age-dependent A? accumulation, neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment in aged mice. Pro-inflammatory cytokine interlukin-6 (IL-6) has been reported to be associated with cognitive impairment in rodents and human...

  5. Simulation-based surgical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evgeniou, Evgenios; Loizou, Peter

    2013-09-01

    The reduction in time for training at the workplace has created a challenge for the traditional apprenticeship model of training. Simulation offers the opportunity for repeated practice in a safe and controlled environment, focusing on trainees and tailored to their needs. Recent technological advances have led to the development of various simulators, which have already been introduced in surgical training. The complexity and fidelity of the available simulators vary, therefore depending on our recourses we should select the appropriate simulator for the task or skill we want to teach. Educational theory informs us about the importance of context in professional learning. Simulation should therefore recreate the clinical environment and its complexity. Contemporary approaches to simulation have introduced novel ideas for teaching teamwork, communication skills and professionalism. In order for simulation-based training to be successful, simulators have to be validated appropriately and integrated in a training curriculum. Within a surgical curriculum, trainees should have protected time for simulation-based training, under appropriate supervision. Simulation-based surgical education should allow the appropriate practice of technical skills without ignoring the clinical context and must strike an adequate balance between the simulation environment and simulators. © 2012 The Authors. ANZ Journal of Surgery © 2012 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

  6. Gynaecomastia and scrotal rhacosis: two aesthetic surgical operations for men in Byzantine times.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadakis, Marios; Manios, Andreas; de Bree, Eelco; Trompoukis, Constantinos; Tsiftsis, Dimitris D

    2010-08-01

    Nowadays, as in the past, much attention is paid to aesthetic operations in women, while only infrequently have such operations been referred to in males. Generally, male aesthetic surgery was introduced to surgical practise during the 19th century. In this study, we analysed the practise of such operations in Byzantine times and in other ancient cultures with surgical knowledge, i.e. ancient India and China The sixth book of Paul of Aegina's "Epitome of Medicine" was studied for description of aesthetic operations in males in the Byzantine period, since this book is completely devoted to surgery and is generally considered to be the most important reference for surgery in Byzantine times. The original text and its excellent translation by Francis Adams were used. References concerning aesthetic operations for males were identified. Accordingly, historical work and reviews on plastic surgery in ancient India and China were studied. Mainly, two aesthetic surgical procedures for males in the Byzantine period were identified. These two procedures comprise gynaecomastia and rhacosis (scrotal relaxation). Two different techniques were reported for the surgical management of gynaecomastia, through sub-mammary or supra-mammary access. Two procedures were noted for rhacosis, for which Paul of Aegina reproduced the respective chapters from Leonides' and Antyllus' works. Evidence supporting male aesthetic surgery in ancient India and China or elsewhere was not found. Despite the dubious aesthetic result, the existence of different aesthetic surgical techniques in males substantiate the advanced level of surgery achieved by physicians in the Byzantine period. Copyright 2010 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Unit-time scheduling problems with time dependent resources

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tautenhahn, T.; Woeginger, G.

    1997-01-01

    We investigate the computational complexity of scheduling problems, where the operations consume certain amounts of renewable resources which are available in time-dependent quantities. In particular, we consider unit-time open shop problems and unit-time scheduling problems with identical parallel

  8. Models for dependent time series

    CERN Document Server

    Tunnicliffe Wilson, Granville; Haywood, John

    2015-01-01

    Models for Dependent Time Series addresses the issues that arise and the methodology that can be applied when the dependence between time series is described and modeled. Whether you work in the economic, physical, or life sciences, the book shows you how to draw meaningful, applicable, and statistically valid conclusions from multivariate (or vector) time series data.The first four chapters discuss the two main pillars of the subject that have been developed over the last 60 years: vector autoregressive modeling and multivariate spectral analysis. These chapters provide the foundational mater

  9. Existence of time-dependent density-functional theory for open electronic systems: time-dependent holographic electron density theorem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Xiao; Yam, ChiYung; Wang, Fan; Chen, GuanHua

    2011-08-28

    We present the time-dependent holographic electron density theorem (TD-HEDT), which lays the foundation of time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) for open electronic systems. For any finite electronic system, the TD-HEDT formally establishes a one-to-one correspondence between the electron density inside any finite subsystem and the time-dependent external potential. As a result, any electronic property of an open system in principle can be determined uniquely by the electron density function inside the open region. Implications of the TD-HEDT on the practicality of TDDFT are also discussed.

  10. Surgical orthodontics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strohl, Alexis M; Vitkus, Lauren

    2017-08-01

    The article reviews some commonly used orthodontic treatments as well as new strategies to assist in the correction of malocclusion. Many techniques are used in conjunction with surgical intervention and are a necessary compliment to orthognathic surgery. Basic knowledge of these practices will aid in the surgeon's ability to adequately treat the patient. Many orthodontists and surgeons are eliminating presurgical orthodontics to adopt a strategy of 'surgery first' orthodontics in orthognathic surgery. This has the benefit of immediate improvement in facial aesthetics and shorter treatment times. The advent of virtual surgical planning has helped facilitate the development of this new paradigm by making surgical planning faster and easier. Furthermore, using intraoperative surgical navigation is improving overall precision and outcomes. A variety of surgical and nonsurgical treatments may be employed in the treatment of malocclusion. It is important to be familiar with all options available and tailor the patient's treatment plan accordingly. Surgery-first orthodontics, intraoperative surgical navigation, virtual surgical planning, and 3D printing are evolving new techniques that are producing shorter treatment times and subsequently improving patient satisfaction without sacrificing long-term stability.

  11. Operative time and cost of resident surgical experience: effect of instituting an otolaryngology residency program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollei, Taylor R; Barrs, David M; Hinni, Michael L; Bansberg, Stephen F; Walter, Logan C

    2013-06-01

    Describe the procedure length difference between surgeries performed by an attending surgeon alone compared with the resident surgeon supervised by the same attending surgeon. Case series with chart review. Tertiary care center and residency program. Six common otolaryngologic procedures performed between August 1994 and May 2012 were divided into 2 cohorts: attending surgeon alone or resident surgeon. This division coincided with our July 2006 initiation of an otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency program. Operative duration was compared between cohorts with confounding factors controlled. In addition, the direct result of increased surgical length on operating room cost was calculated and applied to departmental and published resident case log report data. Five of the 6 procedures evaluated showed a statistically significant increase in surgery length with resident involvement. Operative time increased 6.8 minutes for a cricopharyngeal myotomy (P = .0097), 11.3 minutes for a tonsillectomy (P operative time difference. Cost of increased surgical time was calculated per surgery and ranged from $286 (cricopharyngeal myotomy) to $2142 (mastoidectomy). When applied to reported national case log averages for graduating residents, this resulted in a significant increase of direct training-related costs. Resident participation in the operating room results in increased surgical length and additional system cost. Although residency is a necessary part of surgical training, associated costs need to be acknowledged.

  12. Propagators for the time-dependent Kohn-Sham equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castro, Alberto; Marques, Miguel A. L.; Rubio, Angel

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we address the problem of the numerical integration of the time-dependent Schroedinger equation i∂ t φ=Hφ. In particular, we are concerned with the important case where H is the self-consistent Kohn-Sham Hamiltonian that stems from time-dependent functional theory. As the Kohn-Sham potential depends parametrically on the time-dependent density, H is in general time dependent, even in the absence of an external time-dependent field. The present analysis also holds for the description of the excited state dynamics of a many-electron system under the influence of arbitrary external time-dependent electromagnetic fields. Our discussion is separated in two parts: (i) First, we look at several algorithms to approximate exp(A), where A is a time-independent operator [e.g., A=-iΔtH(τ) for some given time τ]. In particular, polynomial expansions, projection in Krylov subspaces, and split-operator methods are investigated. (ii) We then discuss different approximations for the time-evolution operator, such as the midpoint and implicit rules, and Magnus expansions. Split-operator techniques can also be modified to approximate the full time-dependent propagator. As the Hamiltonian is time dependent, problem (ii) is not equivalent to (i). All these techniques have been implemented and tested in our computer code OCTOPUS, but can be of general use in other frameworks and implementations

  13. On the time-dependent Aharonov–Bohm effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Jing

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The Aharonov–Bohm effect in the background of a time-dependent vector potential is re-examined for both non-relativistic and relativistic cases. Based on the solutions to the Schrodinger and Dirac equations which contain the time-dependent magnetic vector potential, we find that contrary to the conclusions in a recent paper (Singleton and Vagenas 2013 [4], the interference pattern will be altered with respect to time because of the time-dependent vector potential.

  14. Time-dependent reliability analysis of flood defences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buijs, F.A.; Hall, J.W.; Sayers, P.B.; Gelder, P.H.A.J.M. van

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes the underlying theory and a practical process for establishing time-dependent reliability models for components in a realistic and complex flood defence system. Though time-dependent reliability models have been applied frequently in, for example, the offshore, structural safety and nuclear industry, application in the safety-critical field of flood defence has to date been limited. The modelling methodology involves identifying relevant variables and processes, characterisation of those processes in appropriate mathematical terms, numerical implementation, parameter estimation and prediction. A combination of stochastic, hierarchical and parametric processes is employed. The approach is demonstrated for selected deterioration mechanisms in the context of a flood defence system. The paper demonstrates that this structured methodology enables the definition of credible statistical models for time-dependence of flood defences in data scarce situations. In the application of those models one of the main findings is that the time variability in the deterioration process tends to be governed the time-dependence of one or a small number of critical attributes. It is demonstrated how the need for further data collection depends upon the relevance of the time-dependence in the performance of the flood defence system.

  15. Integrable Time-Dependent Quantum Hamiltonians

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinitsyn, Nikolai A.; Yuzbashyan, Emil A.; Chernyak, Vladimir Y.; Patra, Aniket; Sun, Chen

    2018-05-01

    We formulate a set of conditions under which the nonstationary Schrödinger equation with a time-dependent Hamiltonian is exactly solvable analytically. The main requirement is the existence of a non-Abelian gauge field with zero curvature in the space of system parameters. Known solvable multistate Landau-Zener models satisfy these conditions. Our method provides a strategy to incorporate time dependence into various quantum integrable models while maintaining their integrability. We also validate some prior conjectures, including the solution of the driven generalized Tavis-Cummings model.

  16. Significance and management of positive surgical margins at the time of radical prostatectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silberstein, Jonathan L; Eastham, James A

    2014-10-01

    Positive surgical margins (PSM) at the time of radical prostatectomy (RP) result in an increased risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) and secondary treatment. We review current literature with a focus on stratifying the characteristics of the PSM that may define its significance, the impact of modern imaging and surgical approaches in avoidance of PSM, and management strategies when PSM do occur. We performed a review of the available literature to identify factors associated with PSM and their management. PSM have been repeatedly demonstrated to be associated with an increased risk of BCR following RP. The specific characteristics (size, number, location, Gleason score at the margin) of the PSM may influence the risk of recurrence. Novel imaging and surgical approaches are being investigated and may allow for reductions of PSM in the future. The use of adjuvant treatment for a PSM remains controversial and should be decided on an individual basis after a discussion about the risks and benefits. The goal of RP is complete resection of the tumor. PSM are associated with increased risk of BCR and secondary treatments. Of the risk factors associated with BCR after RP, a PSM is directly influenced by surgical technique.

  17. Significance and management of positive surgical margins at the time of radical prostatectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan L. Silberstein

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Positive surgical margins (PSM at the time of radical prostatectomy (RP result in an increased risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR and secondary treatment. We review current literature with a focus on stratifying the characteristics of the PSM that may define its significance, the impact of modern imaging and surgical approaches in avoidance of PSM, and management strategies when PSM do occur. We performed a review of the available literature to identify factors associated with PSM and their management. PSM have been repeatedly demonstrated to be associated with an increased risk of BCR following RP. The specific characteristics (size, number, location, Gleason score at the margin of the PSM may influence the risk of recurrence. Novel imaging and surgical approaches are being investigated and may allow for reductions of PSM in the future. The use of adjuvant treatment for a PSM remains controversial and should be decided on an individual basis after a discussion about the risks and benefits. The goal of RP is complete resection of the tumor. PSM are associated with increased risk of BCR and secondary treatments. Of the risk factors associated with BCR after RP, a PSM is directly influenced by surgical technique.

  18. Exact solution of the time-dependent harmonic plus an inverse harmonic potential with a time-dependent electromagnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuece, Cem

    2003-01-01

    In this paper, the problem of the charged harmonic plus an inverse harmonic oscillator with time-dependent mass and frequency in a time-dependent electromagnetic field is investigated. It is reduced to the problem of the inverse harmonic oscillator with time-independent parameters and the exact wave function is obtained

  19. Time dependent policy-based access control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vasilikos, Panagiotis; Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis

    2017-01-01

    also on other attributes of the environment such as the time. In this paper, we use systems of Timed Automata to model distributed systems and we present a logic in which one can express time-dependent policies for access control. We show how a fragment of our logic can be reduced to a logic......Access control policies are essential to determine who is allowed to access data in a system without compromising the data's security. However, applications inside a distributed environment may require those policies to be dependent on the actual content of the data, the flow of information, while...... that current model checkers for Timed Automata such as UPPAAL can handle and we present a translator that performs this reduction. We then use our translator and UPPAAL to enforce time-dependent policy-based access control on an example application from the aerospace industry....

  20. Time dependent resonating Hartree-Bogoliubov theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishiyama, Seiya; Fukutome, Hideo.

    1989-01-01

    Very recently, we have developed a theory of excitations in superconducting Fermion systems with large quantum fluctuations that can be described by resonance of time dependent non-orthogonal Hartree-Bogoliubov (HB) wave functions with different correlation structures. We have derived a new kind of variation equation called the time dependent Resonating HB equation, in order to determine both the time dependent Resonating HB wave functions and coefficients of a superposition of the HB wave functions. Further we have got a new approximation for excitations from time dependent small fluctuations of the Resonating HB ground state, i.e., the Resonating HB RPA. The Res HB RPA equation is represented in a given single particle basis. It, however, has drawbacks that the constraints for the Res HB RPA amplitudes are not taken into account and the equation contains equations which are not independent. We shall derive another form of the Res HB RPA equation eliminating these drawbacks. The Res HB RPA gives a unified description of the vibrons and resonons and their interactions. (author)

  1. Evaluation of Time-Dependent Behavior of Soils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Augustesen, Anders; Liingaard, Morten; Lade, Poul V.

    2004-01-01

    The time-dependent behavior of soils has been investigated extensively through one-dimensional and triaxial test conditions. Most of the observations in literature have focused on the determination of the time-dependent behavior of clayey soils, whereas the reported experimental studies of granular...... situation for soils. That is whether the time-dependent behavior can be characterized as isotach or nonisotach. It seems that the isotach behavior is adequate for describing the time effects in clays in most situations. But for sand, the isotach description is inadequate. Further, the phenomenon...

  2. Real-time surgical simulation for deformable soft-tissue objects with a tumour using Boundary Element techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, P.; Becker, A. A.; Jones, I. A.; Glover, A. T.; Benford, S. D.; Vloeberghs, M.

    2009-08-01

    A virtual-reality real-time simulation of surgical operations that incorporates the inclusion of a hard tumour is presented. The software is based on Boundary Element (BE) technique. A review of the BE formulation for real-time analysis of two-domain deformable objects, using the pre-solution technique, is presented. The two-domain BE software is incorporated into a surgical simulation system called VIRS to simulate the initiation of a cut on the surface of the soft tissue and extending the cut deeper until the tumour is reached.

  3. Real-time surgical simulation for deformable soft-tissue objects with a tumour using Boundary Element techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, P; Becker, A A; Jones, I A; Glover, A T; Benford, S D; Vloeberghs, M

    2009-01-01

    A virtual-reality real-time simulation of surgical operations that incorporates the inclusion of a hard tumour is presented. The software is based on Boundary Element (BE) technique. A review of the BE formulation for real-time analysis of two-domain deformable objects, using the pre-solution technique, is presented. The two-domain BE software is incorporated into a surgical simulation system called VIRS to simulate the initiation of a cut on the surface of the soft tissue and extending the cut deeper until the tumour is reached.

  4. Reconstructing time-dependent dynamics

    OpenAIRE

    Clemson, Philip; Lancaster, Gemma; Stefanovska, Aneta

    2016-01-01

    The usefulness of the information extracted from biomedical data relies heavily on the underlying theory of the methods used in its extraction. The assumptions of stationarity and autonomicity traditionally applied to dynamical systems break down when considering living systems, due to their inherent time-variability. Living systems are thermodynamically open, and thus constantly interacting with their environment. This results in highly nonlinear, time-dependent dynamics. The aim of signal a...

  5. Prospects for time-dependent asymmetries at LHCb

    CERN Document Server

    INSPIRE-00260500

    2012-01-01

    LHCb is already providing leading measurements of time-dependent CP asymmetries with 1 fb$^{-1}$ of data. With the LHCb detector, and further one with the LHCb upgrade, very high-precision time-dependent CP measurements are expected to stringently test the CKM paradigm and to the search for possible small NP effects. A review of the current precision and the prospects for these time-dependent quantities with the LHCb and LHCb upgraded detectors are summarised in this paper.

  6. Time-dependent switched discrete-time linear systems control and filtering

    CERN Document Server

    Zhang, Lixian; Shi, Peng; Lu, Qiugang

    2016-01-01

    This book focuses on the basic control and filtering synthesis problems for discrete-time switched linear systems under time-dependent switching signals. Chapter 1, as an introduction of the book, gives the backgrounds and motivations of switched systems, the definitions of the typical time-dependent switching signals, the differences and links to other types of systems with hybrid characteristics and a literature review mainly on the control and filtering for the underlying systems. By summarizing the multiple Lyapunov-like functions (MLFs) approach in which different requirements on comparisons of Lyapunov function values at switching instants, a series of methodologies are developed for the issues on stability and stabilization, and l2-gain performance or tube-based robustness for l∞ disturbance, respectively, in Chapters 2 and 3. Chapters 4 and 5 are devoted to the control and filtering problems for the time-dependent switched linear systems with either polytopic uncertainties or measurable time-varying...

  7. Time dependent accessibility

    OpenAIRE

    Kaza, Nikhil

    2015-01-01

    Many place based accessibility studies ignore the time component. Relying on theoretical frameworks that treat distance between two fixed points as constant, these methods ignore the diurnal and seasonal changes in accessibility. Network distances between two nodes are dependent on the network structure and weight distribution on the edges. These weights can change quite frequently and the network structure itself is subject to modification because of availability and unavailability of links ...

  8. K shortest paths in stochastic time-dependent networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Lars Relund; Pretolani, Daniele; Andersen, Kim Allan

    2004-01-01

    A substantial amount of research has been devoted to the shortest path problem in networks where travel times are stochastic or (deterministic and) time-dependent. More recently, a growing interest has been attracted by networks that are both stochastic and time-dependent. In these networks, the ...... present a computational comparison of time-adaptive and a priori route choices, pointing out the effect of travel time and cost distributions. The reported results show that, under realistic distributions, our solution methods are effective.......A substantial amount of research has been devoted to the shortest path problem in networks where travel times are stochastic or (deterministic and) time-dependent. More recently, a growing interest has been attracted by networks that are both stochastic and time-dependent. In these networks...

  9. Single Machine Scheduling and Due Date Assignment with Past-Sequence-Dependent Setup Time and Position-Dependent Processing Time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chuan-Li Zhao

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers single machine scheduling and due date assignment with setup time. The setup time is proportional to the length of the already processed jobs; that is, the setup time is past-sequence-dependent (p-s-d. It is assumed that a job's processing time depends on its position in a sequence. The objective functions include total earliness, the weighted number of tardy jobs, and the cost of due date assignment. We analyze these problems with two different due date assignment methods. We first consider the model with job-dependent position effects. For each case, by converting the problem to a series of assignment problems, we proved that the problems can be solved in On4 time. For the model with job-independent position effects, we proved that the problems can be solved in On3 time by providing a dynamic programming algorithm.

  10. Evaluation of Augmented Reality Feedback in Surgical Training Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahiri, Mohsen; Nelson, Carl A; Oleynikov, Dmitry; Siu, Ka-Chun

    2018-02-01

    Providing computer-based laparoscopic surgical training has several advantages that enhance the training process. Self-evaluation and real-time performance feedback are 2 of these advantages, which avoid dependency of trainees on expert feedback. The goal of this study was to investigate the use of a visual time indicator as real-time feedback correlated with the laparoscopic surgical training. Twenty novices participated in this study working with (and without) different presentations of time indicators. They performed a standard peg transfer task, and their completion times and muscle activity were recorded and compared. Also of interest was whether the use of this type of feedback induced any side effect in terms of motivation or muscle fatigue. Of the 20 participants, 15 (75%) preferred using a time indicator in the training process rather than having no feedback. However, time to task completion showed no significant difference in performance with the time indicator; furthermore, no significant differences in muscle activity or muscle fatigue were detected with/without time feedback. The absence of significant difference between task performance with/without time feedback shows that using visual real-time feedback can be included in surgical training based on user preference. Trainees may benefit from this type of feedback in the form of increased motivation. The extent to which this can influence training frequency leading to performance improvement is a question for further study.

  11. Time-dependent reliability sensitivity analysis of motion mechanisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei, Pengfei; Song, Jingwen; Lu, Zhenzhou; Yue, Zhufeng

    2016-01-01

    Reliability sensitivity analysis aims at identifying the source of structure/mechanism failure, and quantifying the effects of each random source or their distribution parameters on failure probability or reliability. In this paper, the time-dependent parametric reliability sensitivity (PRS) analysis as well as the global reliability sensitivity (GRS) analysis is introduced for the motion mechanisms. The PRS indices are defined as the partial derivatives of the time-dependent reliability w.r.t. the distribution parameters of each random input variable, and they quantify the effect of the small change of each distribution parameter on the time-dependent reliability. The GRS indices are defined for quantifying the individual, interaction and total contributions of the uncertainty in each random input variable to the time-dependent reliability. The envelope function method combined with the first order approximation of the motion error function is introduced for efficiently estimating the time-dependent PRS and GRS indices. Both the time-dependent PRS and GRS analysis techniques can be especially useful for reliability-based design. This significance of the proposed methods as well as the effectiveness of the envelope function method for estimating the time-dependent PRS and GRS indices are demonstrated with a four-bar mechanism and a car rack-and-pinion steering linkage. - Highlights: • Time-dependent parametric reliability sensitivity analysis is presented. • Time-dependent global reliability sensitivity analysis is presented for mechanisms. • The proposed method is especially useful for enhancing the kinematic reliability. • An envelope method is introduced for efficiently implementing the proposed methods. • The proposed method is demonstrated by two real planar mechanisms.

  12. Time-dependent problems in quantum-mechanical state reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leonhardt, U.; Bardroff, P. J.

    1997-01-01

    We study the state reconstruction of wave packets that travel in time-dependent potentials. We solve the problem for explicitly time-dependent potentials. We solve the problem for explicitly time-dependent harmonic oscillators and sketch a general adaptive technique for finding the wave function that matches and observed evolution. (authors)

  13. Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgical Simulation Training Curriculum: Transfer Reliability and Maintenance of Skill Over Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, John C; Belmont, Philip J; Lanzi, Joseph; Martin, Kevin; Bader, Julia; Owens, Brett; Waterman, Brian R

    2015-01-01

    Surgical education is evolving as work hour constraints limit the exposure of residents to the operating room. Potential consequences may include erosion of resident education and decreased quality of patient care. Surgical simulation training has become a focus of study in an effort to counter these challenges. Previous studies have validated the use of arthroscopic surgical simulation programs both in vitro and in vivo. However, no study has examined if the gains made by residents after a simulation program are retained after a period away from training. In all, 17 orthopedic surgery residents were randomized into simulation or standard practice groups. All subjects were oriented to the arthroscopic simulator, a 14-point anatomic checklist, and Arthroscopic Surgery Skill Evaluation Tool (ASSET). The experimental group received 1 hour of simulation training whereas the control group had no additional training. All subjects performed a recorded, diagnostic arthroscopy intraoperatively. These videos were scored by 2 blinded, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons and outcome measures were compared within and between the groups. After 1 year in which neither group had exposure to surgical simulation training, all residents were retested intraoperatively and scored in the exact same fashion. Individual surgical case logs were reviewed and surgical case volume was documented. There was no difference between the 2 groups after initial simulation testing and there was no correlation between case volume and initial scores. After training, the simulation group improved as compared with baseline in mean ASSET (p = 0.023) and mean time to completion (p = 0.01). After 1 year, there was no difference between the groups in any outcome measurements. Although individual technical skills can be cultivated with surgical simulation training, these advancements can be lost without continued education. It is imperative that residency programs implement a simulation curriculum and

  14. Time-dependent Dyson orbital theory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gritsenko, O.V.; Baerends, E.J.

    2016-01-01

    Although time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) has become the tool of choice for real-time propagation of the electron density ρN(t) of N-electron systems, it also encounters problems in this application. The first problem is the neglect of memory effects stemming from the, in TDDFT

  15. Time-dependent scattering in resonance lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kunasz, P.B.

    1983-01-01

    A numerical finite-difference method is presented for the problem of time-dependent line transfer in a finite slab in which material density is sufficiently low that the time of flight between scatterings greatly exceeds the relaxation time of the upper state of the scattering transition. The medium is assumed to scatter photons isotropically, with complete frequency redistribution. Numerical solutions are presented for a homogeneous, time-independent slab illuminated by an externally imposed radiation field which enters the slab at t = 0. Graphical results illustrate relaxation to steady state of trapped internal radiation, emergent energy, and emergent profiles. A review of the literature is also given in which the time-dependent line transfer problem is discussed in the context of recent analytical work

  16. Variational derivation of a time-dependent Hartree-Fock Hamiltonian

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lichtner, P.C.; Griffin, J.J.; Schultheis, H.; Schultheis, R.; Volkov, A.B.

    1979-01-01

    The variational derivation of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock equation is reviewed. When norm-violating variations are included, a unique time-dependent Hartree-Fock Hamiltonian, which differs from that customarily used in time-dependent Hartree-Fock analyses, is implied. This variationally ''true'' Hartree-Fock Hamiltonian has the same expectation value as the exact Hamiltonian, equal to the average energy of the system. Since this quantity remains constant under time-dependent Hartree-Fock time evolution, we suggest the label ''constant '' for this form of time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory

  17. Simulating transient dynamics of the time-dependent time fractional Fokker-Planck systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Yan-Mei

    2016-09-01

    For a physically realistic type of time-dependent time fractional Fokker-Planck (FP) equation, derived as the continuous limit of the continuous time random walk with time-modulated Boltzmann jumping weight, a semi-analytic iteration scheme based on the truncated (generalized) Fourier series is presented to simulate the resultant transient dynamics when the external time modulation is a piece-wise constant signal. At first, the iteration scheme is demonstrated with a simple time-dependent time fractional FP equation on finite interval with two absorbing boundaries, and then it is generalized to the more general time-dependent Smoluchowski-type time fractional Fokker-Planck equation. The numerical examples verify the efficiency and accuracy of the iteration method, and some novel dynamical phenomena including polarized motion orientations and periodic response death are discussed.

  18. Coherent states for certain time-dependent systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pedrosa, I.A.

    1989-01-01

    Hartley and Ray have constructed and studied coherent states for the time-dependent oscillator. Here we show how to construct states for more general time-dependent systems. We also show that these states are equivalent to the well-known squeezed states. (author) [pt

  19. Time-dependent massless Dirac fermions in graphene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khantoul, Boubakeur, E-mail: bobphys@gmail.com [Department of Mathematics, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB (United Kingdom); Department of Physics, University of Jijel, BP 98, Ouled Aissa, 18000 Jijel (Algeria); Fring, Andreas, E-mail: a.fring@city.ac.uk [Department of Mathematics, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB (United Kingdom)

    2015-10-30

    Using the Lewis–Riesenfeld method of invariants we construct explicit analytical solutions for the massless Dirac equation in 2+1 dimensions describing quasi-particles in graphene. The Hamiltonian of the system considered contains some explicit time-dependence in addition to one resulting from being minimally coupled to a time-dependent vector potential. The eigenvalue equations for the two spinor components of the Lewis–Riesenfeld invariant are found to decouple into a pair of supersymmetric invariants in a similar fashion as the known decoupling for the time-independent Dirac Hamiltonians. - Highlights: • An explicit analytical solution for a massless 2+1 dimensional time-dependent Dirac equation is found. • All steps of the Lewis–Riesenfeld method have been carried out.

  20. Simulating transient dynamics of the time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Yan-Mei, E-mail: ymkang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

    2016-09-16

    For a physically realistic type of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck (FP) equation, derived as the continuous limit of the continuous time random walk with time-modulated Boltzmann jumping weight, a semi-analytic iteration scheme based on the truncated (generalized) Fourier series is presented to simulate the resultant transient dynamics when the external time modulation is a piece-wise constant signal. At first, the iteration scheme is demonstrated with a simple time-dependent time fractional FP equation on finite interval with two absorbing boundaries, and then it is generalized to the more general time-dependent Smoluchowski-type time fractional Fokker–Planck equation. The numerical examples verify the efficiency and accuracy of the iteration method, and some novel dynamical phenomena including polarized motion orientations and periodic response death are discussed. - Highlights: • An iteration method is proposed for the transient dynamics of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck equations. • The method is based on Fourier Series solution and the multi-step transition probability formula. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion on finite interval as example, the polarized motion orientation is disclosed. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion within a confined potential as example, the death of dynamic response is observed.

  1. Simulating transient dynamics of the time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Yan-Mei

    2016-01-01

    For a physically realistic type of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck (FP) equation, derived as the continuous limit of the continuous time random walk with time-modulated Boltzmann jumping weight, a semi-analytic iteration scheme based on the truncated (generalized) Fourier series is presented to simulate the resultant transient dynamics when the external time modulation is a piece-wise constant signal. At first, the iteration scheme is demonstrated with a simple time-dependent time fractional FP equation on finite interval with two absorbing boundaries, and then it is generalized to the more general time-dependent Smoluchowski-type time fractional Fokker–Planck equation. The numerical examples verify the efficiency and accuracy of the iteration method, and some novel dynamical phenomena including polarized motion orientations and periodic response death are discussed. - Highlights: • An iteration method is proposed for the transient dynamics of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck equations. • The method is based on Fourier Series solution and the multi-step transition probability formula. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion on finite interval as example, the polarized motion orientation is disclosed. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion within a confined potential as example, the death of dynamic response is observed.

  2. Local time and cutoff rigidity dependences of storm time increase associated with geomagnetic storms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kudo, S.; Wada, M.; Tanskanen, P.; Kodama, M.

    1987-01-01

    The cosmic ray increases due to considerable depressions of cosmic ray cutoff rigidity during large geomagnetic storms are investigated. Data from a worldwide network of cosmic ray neutron monitors are analyzed for 17 geomagnetic storms which occurred in the quiet phase of the solar activity cycle during 1966-1978. As expected from the longitudinal asymmetry of the low-altitude geomagnetic field during large geomagnetic storms, a significant local time dependence of the increment in the cosmic ray during large geomagnetic storms, a significant local time dependence of the increment in the cosmic ray intensity is obtained. It is shown that the maximum phases of the local time dependence occur at around 1800 LT and that the amplitudes of the local time dependence are consistent with presently available theoretical estimates. The dependence of the increment on the cutoff rigidity is obtained for both the local time dependent part and the local time independent part of the storm time increase. The local time independent part, excluding the randomizing local time dependent part, shows a clear-cut dependence on cutoff rigidity which is consistent with theoretical estimates

  3. Solitary wave dynamics in time-dependent potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abou Salem, Walid K.

    2008-01-01

    The long time dynamics of solitary wave solutions of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation in time-dependent external potentials is rigorously studied. To set the stage, the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem for a generalized nonautonomous nonlinear Schroedinger equation with time-dependent nonlinearities and potential is established. Afterward, the dynamics of NLS solitary waves in time-dependent potentials is studied. It is shown that in the space-adiabatic regime where the external potential varies slowly in space compared to the size of the soliton, the dynamics of the center of the soliton is described by Hamilton's equations, plus terms due to radiation damping. Finally, two physical applications are discussed: the first is adiabatic transportation of solitons and the second is the Mathieu instability of trapped solitons due to time-periodic perturbations

  4. LHCb time-dependent results

    OpenAIRE

    Calvi, Marta

    2011-01-01

    This review reports preliminary results of time-dependent measurements of decays of $B^0$ mesons and $B^0_s$ mesons coming from the analysis of about 36 pb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the LHCb experiment during the 2010 run of the Large Hadron Collider at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV.

  5. LHCb time-dependent results

    OpenAIRE

    Calvi, Marta; Collaboration, for the LHCb

    2011-01-01

    This review reports preliminary results of time-dependent measurements of decays of B^0 mesons and B^0_s mesons coming from the analysis of about 36 pb^-1 of data collected by the LHCb experiment during the 2010 run of the Large Hadron Collider at sqrt(s)=7 TeV.

  6. Time-dependent Networks as Models to Achieve Fast Exact Time-table Queries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brodal, Gerth Stølting; Jacob, Rico

    2001-01-01

    We consider efficient algorithms for exact time-table queries, i.e. algorithms that find optimal itineraries. We propose to use time-dependent networks as a model and show advantages of this approach over space-time networks as models.......We consider efficient algorithms for exact time-table queries, i.e. algorithms that find optimal itineraries. We propose to use time-dependent networks as a model and show advantages of this approach over space-time networks as models....

  7. Surgical correction of postoperative astigmatism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lindstrom Richard

    1990-01-01

    Full Text Available The photokeratoscope has increased the understanding of the aspheric nature of the cornea as well as a better understanding of normal corneal topography. This has significantly affected the development of newer and more predictable models of surgical astigmatic correction. Relaxing incisions effectively flatten the steeper meridian an equivalent amount as they steepen the flatter meridian. The net change in spherical equivalent is, therefore, negligible. Poor predictability is the major limitation of relaxing incisions. Wedge resection can correct large degrees of postkeratoplasty astigmatism, Resection of 0.10 mm of tissue results in approximately 2 diopters of astigmatic correction. Prolonged postoperative rehabilitation and induced irregular astigmatism are limitations of the procedure. Transverse incisions flatten the steeper meridian an equivalent amount as they steepen the flatter meridian. Semiradial incisions result in two times the amount of flattening in the meridian of the incision compared to the meridian 90 degrees away. Combination of transverse incisions with semiradial incisions describes the trapezoidal astigmatic keratotomy. This procedure may correct from 5.5 to 11.0 diopters dependent upon the age of the patient. The use of the surgical keratometer is helpful in assessing a proper endpoint during surgical correction of astigmatism.

  8. [Surgical tactics in duodenal trauma].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, P A; Grishin, A V

    2004-01-01

    Results of surgical treatment of 61 patients with injuries of the duodenum are analyzed. The causes of injuries were stab-incised wounds in 24 patients, missile wound -- in 7, closed abdominal trauma -- in 26, trauma of the duodenum during endoscopic papillosphincterotomy -- in 4. All the patients underwent surgery. Complications were seen in 32 (52.5%) patients, 21 patients died, lethality was 34.4%. Within the first 24 hours since the trauma 7 patients died due to severe combined trauma, blood loss, 54 patients survived acute period of trauma, including 28 patients after open trauma, 26 -- after closed and 4 -- after trauma of the duodenum during endoscopic papillosphincterotomy. Diagnostic and surgical policies are discussed. Results of treatment depending on kind and time of surgery are regarded. It is demonstrated that purulent complications due to retroperitoneal phlegmona, traumatic pancreatitis, pneumonia are the causes of significant number of unfavorable outcomes. Therefore, it is important to adequately incise and drainage infected parts of retroperitoneal fat tissue with two-lumen drainages. Decompression through duodenal tube is the effective procedure for prophylaxis of suture insufficiency and traumatic pancreatitis. Suppression of pancreatic and duodenal secretion with octreotid improves significantly surgical treatment results.

  9. A Generalized Time-Dependent Harmonic Oscillator at Finite Temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Majima, H.; Suzuki, A.

    2006-01-01

    We show how a generalized time-dependent harmonic oscillator (GTHO) is extended to a finite temperature case by using thermo field dynamics (TFD). We derive the general time-dependent annihilation and creation operators for the system, and obtain the time-dependent quasiparticle annihilation and creation operators for the GTHO by using the temperature-dependent Bogoliubov transformation of TFD. We also obtain the thermal state as a two-mode squeezed vacuum state in the time-dependent case as well as in the time-independent case. The general formula is derived to calculate the thermal expectation value of operators

  10. The Electromagnetic Field of Elementary Time-Dependent Toroidal Sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Afanas'ev, G.N.; Stepanovskij, Yu.P.

    1994-01-01

    The radiation field of toroidal-like time-dependent current configurations is investigated. Time-dependent charge-current sources are found outside which the electromagnetic strengths disappear but the potentials survive. This can be used to carry out time-dependent Aharonov-Bohm-like experiments and the information transfer. Using the Neumann-Helmholtz parametrization of the current density we present the time-dependent electromagnetic field in a form convenient for applications. 17 refs

  11. When Is the Optimal Timing of the Surgical Treatment for Secondary Spontaneous Pneumothorax?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Hyun Woo; Kim, Young-Du; Choi, Si Young; Park, Jae Kil

    2017-01-01

    Objectives  The definition of spontaneous pneumothorax is accumulation of air in the pleural space, resulting in dyspnea or chest pain. Unlike primary spontaneous pneumothorax, secondary pneumothorax can be a life-threatening condition and spontaneous healing rate is uncommon. Although surgery is the most effective treatment modality for pneumothorax, surgical management and timing is difficult where there is underlying lung disease and/or medical comorbidities. Prolonged air leakage increases the morbidity and mortality in thoracic surgery. We hypothesized that duration of air leakage before operation may lead to increase in complications. Methods  This study is a retrospective review of 155 consecutive patients with air leakage who underwent bullectomy for secondary spontaneous pneumothorax from January 2005 to July 2013. The patients were divided according to the duration of preoperative air leakage. The patients were followed-up until the time of last visit or death. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were assessed and the risk factors for complications were analyzed. Results  The median age was 65 years (range, 52-88) with male predominance (96.13%). The median duration of preoperative air leakage was 6 days (range, 1-30). The median surgery time was 90 minutes (range, 25-300) and median hospital stay after operation was 7 days (range, 3-75). Postoperative complications occurred in 38 patients (24.52%) and postoperative recurrence was shown to have occurred in 8 patients (5.16%). With multivariate analysis, risk factors for postoperative complications were: underlying interstitial lung disease and air leakage > 5 days before operation. Conclusion  Persistent air leakage was a major surgical indication for pneumothorax. Early surgical treatment reduced postoperative complications for secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  12. Novel approaches for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation: Time for a guideline revision?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlo Nicola De Cecco

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Carlo Nicola De Cecco1,2, Vitaliano Buffa1, Vincenzo David2, Stefano Fedeli11Department of Cardiovascular Radiology, San Camillo-Forlanini Hospital, 2Department of Radiological Sciences, University of Rome, St Andrea Hospital, Rome, ItalyAbstract: Atrial fibrillation is a major health problem in Western countries, and is associated with considerable morbidity and resource consumption. Safe and reliable surgical techniques for the termination of this arrhythmia have been developed since the time of the original Cox “maze I” procedure. Novel equipment based on radiofrequency and microwave technologies can be employed to create transmural atrial lesions, even in the context of minimally invasive surgery to the atrioventricular valves via right minithoracotomy. The aim of this paper is to review the recent literature on this approach, and the clinical results in terms of arrhythmia termination and postoperative morbidity. With the aim to substantiate the practice of a simple, yet reliable, surgical ablation during minimally invasive heart valve surgery, we discuss the results of different patterns of atrial lesions having different degrees of surgical complexity. Finally, minimally invasive epicardial ablation for lone atrial fibrillation represents an emerging surgical indication. The results of state-of-the-art transcatheter ablation represent now its benchmark of comparison.Keywords: atrial fibrillation, surgery, minimally invasive, outcomes

  13. Time-dependent behavior of positrons in noble gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wadehra, J.M.

    1990-01-01

    Both equilibrium and nonequilibrium behaviors of positrons in several noble gases are reviewed. Our novel procedure for obtaining the time-dependent behavior of various swarm parameters -- such as the positron drift velocity, average positron energy, positron annihilation rate (or equivalently Z eff ) etc. -- for positrons in pure ambient gases subjected to external electrostatic fields is described. Summaries of time-dependent as well as electric field-dependent results for positron swarms in various noble gases are presented. New time-dependent results for positron swarms in neon are also described in detail. 36 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs

  14. Natural excitation orbitals from linear response theories : Time-dependent density functional theory, time-dependent Hartree-Fock, and time-dependent natural orbital functional theory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Meer, R.; Gritsenko, O. V.; Baerends, E. J.

    2017-01-01

    Straightforward interpretation of excitations is possible if they can be described as simple single orbital-to-orbital (or double, etc.) transitions. In linear response time-dependent density functional theory (LR-TDDFT), the (ground state) Kohn-Sham orbitals prove to be such an orbital basis. In

  15. Real-time monitoring for detection of retained surgical sponges and team motion in the surgical operation room using radio-frequency-identification (RFID) technology: a preclinical evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kranzfelder, Michael; Zywitza, Dorit; Jell, Thomas; Schneider, Armin; Gillen, Sonja; Friess, Helmut; Feussner, Hubertus

    2012-06-15

    Technical progress in the surgical operating room (OR) increases constantly, facilitating the development of intelligent OR systems functioning as "safety backup" in the background of surgery. Precondition is comprehensive data retrieval to identify imminent risky situations and inaugurate adequate security mechanisms. Radio-frequency-identification (RFID) technology may have the potential to meet these demands. We set up a pilot study investigating feasibility and appliance reliability of a stationary RFID system for real-time surgical sponge monitoring (passive tagged sponges, position monitoring: mayo-stand/abdominal situs/waste bucket) and OR team tracking (active transponders, position monitoring: right/left side of OR table). In vitro: 20/20 sponges (100%) were detected on the mayo-stand and within the OR-phantom, however, real-time detection accuracy declined to 7/20 (33%) when the tags were moved simultaneously. All retained sponges were detected correctly. In vivo (animal): 7-10/10 sterilized sponges (70%-100%) were detected correctly within the abdominal cavity. OR-team: detection accuracy within the OR (surveillance antenna) and on both sides of the OR table (sector antenna) was 100%. Mean detection time for position change (left to right side and contrariwise) was 30-60 s. No transponder failure was noted. This is the first combined RFID system that has been developed for stationary use in the surgical OR. Preclinical evaluation revealed a reliable sponge tracking and correct detection of retained textiles (passive RFID) but also demonstrated feasibility of comprehensive data acquisition of team motion (active RFID). However, detection accuracy needs to be further improved before implementation into the surgical OR. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Impact of an electronic health record operating room management system in ophthalmology on documentation time, surgical volume, and staffing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, David S; Read-Brown, Sarah; Tu, Daniel C; Lambert, William E; Choi, Dongseok; Almario, Bella M; Yackel, Thomas R; Brown, Anna S; Chiang, Michael F

    2014-05-01

    Although electronic health record (EHR) systems have potential benefits, such as improved safety and quality of care, most ophthalmology practices in the United States have not adopted these systems. Concerns persist regarding potential negative impacts on clinical workflow. In particular, the impact of EHR operating room (OR) management systems on clinical efficiency in the ophthalmic surgery setting is unknown. To determine the impact of an EHR OR management system on intraoperative nursing documentation time, surgical volume, and staffing requirements. For documentation time and circulating nurses per procedure, a prospective cohort design was used between January 10, 2012, and January 10, 2013. For surgical volume and overall staffing requirements, a case series design was used between January 29, 2011, and January 28, 2013. This study involved ophthalmic OR nurses (n = 13) and surgeons (n = 25) at an academic medical center. Electronic health record OR management system implementation. (1) Documentation time (percentage of operating time documenting [POTD], absolute documentation time in minutes), (2) surgical volume (procedures/time), and (3) staffing requirements (full-time equivalents, circulating nurses/procedure). Outcomes were measured during a baseline period when paper documentation was used and during the early (first 3 months) and late (4-12 months) periods after EHR implementation. There was a worsening in total POTD in the early EHR period (83%) vs paper baseline (41%) (P system implementation was associated with worsening of intraoperative nursing documentation time especially in shorter procedures. However, it is possible to implement an EHR OR management system without serious negative impacts on surgical volume and staffing requirements.

  17. Bacterial migration through punctured surgical gloves under real surgical conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidecke Claus-Dieter

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of this study was to confirm recent results from a previous study focussing on the development of a method to measure the bacterial translocation through puncture holes in surgical gloves under real surgical conditions. Methods An established method was applied to detect bacterial migration from the operating site through the punctured glove. Biogel™ double-gloving surgical gloves were used during visceral surgeries over a 6-month period. A modified Gaschen-bag method was used to retrieve organisms from the inner glove, and thus-obtained bacteria were compared with micro-organisms detected by an intra-operative swab. Results In 20 consecutive procedures, 194 gloves (98 outer gloves, 96 inner gloves were examined. The rate of micro-perforations of the outer surgical glove was 10% with a median wearing time of 100 minutes (range: 20-175 minutes. Perforations occurred in 81% on the non-dominant hand, with the index finger most frequently (25% punctured. In six cases, bacterial migration could be demonstrated microbiologically. In 5% (5/98 of outer gloves and in 1% (1/96 of the inner gloves, bacterial migration through micro-perforations was observed. For gloves with detected micro-perforations (n = 10 outer layers, the calculated migration was 50% (n = 5. The minimum wearing time was 62 minutes, with a calculated median wearing time of 71 minutes. Conclusions This study confirms previous results that bacterial migration through unnoticed micro-perforations in surgical gloves does occur under real practical surgical conditions. Undetected perforation of surgical gloves occurs frequently. Bacterial migration from the patient through micro-perforations on the hand of surgeons was confirmed, limiting the protective barrier function of gloves if worn over longer periods.

  18. British Military surgical key performance indicators: time for an update?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsden, Max Er; Sharrock, A E; Hansen, C L; Newton, N J; Bowley, D M; Midwinter, M

    2016-10-01

    Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics that compare actual care against an ideal structure, process or outcome standard. KPIs designed to assess performance in deployed military surgical facilities have previously been published. This study aimed to review the overall performance of surgical trauma care for casualties treated at Role 3 Camp Bastion, Medical Treatment Facility, Afghanistan, in light of the existing Defence Medical Services (DMS) KPIs. The secondary aims were to assess the utility of the surgical KPIs and make recommendations for future surgical trauma care review. Data on 22 surgical parameters were prospectively collected for 150 injured patients who had primary surgery at Camp Bastion between 1 May 2013 and 20 August 2013. Additional information for these patients was obtained using the Joint Theatre Trauma Register. The authors assessed data recording, applicability and compliance with the KPIs. Median data recording was 100% (IQR 98%-100%), median applicability was 56% (IQR 10%-99%) and median compliance was 78% (IQR 58%-93%). One KPI was not applicable to any patient in our population. Eleven KPIs achieved >80% compliance, five KPIs had 80%-60% compliance and five KPIs had performance of the surgical aspect of military trauma care in 2013. The KPIs highlight areas for improvement in service delivery. Individual KPI development should be driven by evidence and reflect advances in practice and knowledge. A method of stakeholder consultation, and sequential refinement following evidence review, may be the right process to develop the future set of DMS KPIs. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  19. Time-dependent delayed signatures from energetic photon interrogations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norman, Daren R.; Jones, James L.; Blackburn, Brandon W.; Haskell, Kevin J.; Johnson, James T.; Watson, Scott M.; Hunt, Alan W.; Spaulding, Randy; Harmon, Frank

    2007-01-01

    Pulsed photonuclear interrogation environments generated by 8-24 MeV electron linac are rich with time-dependent, material-specific, radiation signatures. Nitrogen-based explosives and nuclear materials can be detected by exploiting these signatures in different delayed-time regions. Numerical and experimental results presented in this paper show the unique time and energy dependence of these signatures. It is shown that appropriate delayed-time windows are essential to acquire material-specific signatures in pulsed photonuclear assessment environments. These developments demonstrate that pulsed, high-energy, photon-inspection environments can be exploited for time-dependent, material-specific signatures through the proper operation of specialized detectors and detection methods

  20. Time-Dependent Networks as Models to Achieve Fast Exact Time-Table Queries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brodal, Gert Stølting; Jacob, Rico

    2003-01-01

    We consider efficient algorithms for exact time-table queries, i.e. algorithms that find optimal itineraries for travelers using a train system. We propose to use time-dependent networks as a model and show advantages of this approach over space-time networks as models.......We consider efficient algorithms for exact time-table queries, i.e. algorithms that find optimal itineraries for travelers using a train system. We propose to use time-dependent networks as a model and show advantages of this approach over space-time networks as models....

  1. Two-Agent Single-Machine Scheduling of Jobs with Time-Dependent Processing Times and Ready Times

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan-Yee Kung

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Scheduling involving jobs with time-dependent processing times has recently attracted much research attention. However, multiagent scheduling with simultaneous considerations of jobs with time-dependent processing times and ready times is relatively unexplored. Inspired by this observation, we study a two-agent single-machine scheduling problem in which the jobs have both time-dependent processing times and ready times. We consider the model in which the actual processing time of a job of the first agent is a decreasing function of its scheduled position while the actual processing time of a job of the second agent is an increasing function of its scheduled position. In addition, each job has a different ready time. The objective is to minimize the total completion time of the jobs of the first agent with the restriction that no tardy job is allowed for the second agent. We propose a branch-and-bound and several genetic algorithms to obtain optimal and near-optimal solutions for the problem, respectively. We also conduct extensive computational results to test the proposed algorithms and examine the impacts of different problem parameters on their performance.

  2. Constant resolution of time-dependent Hartree--Fock phase ambiguity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lichtner, P.C.; Griffin, J.J.; Schultheis, H.; Schultheis, R.; Volkov, A.B.

    1978-01-01

    The customary time-dependent Hartree--Fock problem is shown to be ambiguous up to an arbitrary function of time additive to H/sub HF/, and, consequently, up to an arbitrary time-dependent phase for the solution, PHI(t). The ''constant'' (H)'' phase is proposed as the best resolution of this ambiguity. It leads to the following attractive features: (a) the time-dependent Hartree--Fock (TDHF) Hamiltonian, H/sub HF/, becomes a quantity whose expectation value is equal to the average energy and, hence, constant in time; (b) eigenstates described exactly by determinants, have time-dependent Hartree--Fock solutions identical with the exact time-dependent solutions; (c) among all possible TDHF solutions this choice minimizes the norm of the quantity (H--i dirac constant delta/delta t) operating on the ket PHI, and guarantees optimal time evolution over an infinitesimal period; (d) this choice corresponds both to the stationary value of the absolute difference between (H) and (i dirac constant delta/delta t) and simultaneously to its absolute minimal value with respect to choice of the time-dependent phase. The source of the ambiguity is discussed. It lies in the time-dependent generalization of the freedom to transform unitarily among the single-particle states of a determinant at the (physically irrelevant for stationary states) cost of altering only a factor of unit magnitude

  3. Vehicle routing with stochastic time-dependent travel times

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lecluyse, C.; Woensel, van T.; Peremans, H.

    2009-01-01

    Assigning and scheduling vehicle routes in a stochastic time-dependent environment is a crucial management problem. The assumption that in a real-life environment everything goes according to an a priori determined static schedule is unrealistic. Our methodology builds on earlier work in which the

  4. Vehicle routing with stochastic time-dependent travel times

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lecluyse, C.; Woensel, van T.; Peremans, H.

    2007-01-01

    Assigning and scheduling vehicle routes in a stochastic time-dependent environment is a crucial management problem. The assumption that in a real-life environment everything goes according to an a priori determined static schedule is unrealistic. Our methodology builds on earlier work in which the

  5. Dissipative time-dependent quantum transport theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yu; Yam, Chi Yung; Chen, GuanHua

    2013-04-28

    A dissipative time-dependent quantum transport theory is developed to treat the transient current through molecular or nanoscopic devices in presence of electron-phonon interaction. The dissipation via phonon is taken into account by introducing a self-energy for the electron-phonon coupling in addition to the self-energy caused by the electrodes. Based on this, a numerical method is proposed. For practical implementation, the lowest order expansion is employed for the weak electron-phonon coupling case and the wide-band limit approximation is adopted for device and electrodes coupling. The corresponding hierarchical equation of motion is derived, which leads to an efficient and accurate time-dependent treatment of inelastic effect on transport for the weak electron-phonon interaction. The resulting method is applied to a one-level model system and a gold wire described by tight-binding model to demonstrate its validity and the importance of electron-phonon interaction for the quantum transport. As it is based on the effective single-electron model, the method can be readily extended to time-dependent density functional theory.

  6. Time-dependent Bragg diffraction by multilayer gratings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    André, Jean-Michel; Jonnard, Philippe

    2016-01-01

    Time-dependent Bragg diffraction by multilayer gratings working by reflection or by transmission is investigated. The study is performed by generalizing the time-dependent coupled-wave theory previously developed for one-dimensional photonic crystals (André J-M and Jonnard P 2015 J. Opt. 17 085609) and also by extending the Takagi–Taupin approach of the dynamical theory of diffraction. The indicial response is calculated. It presents a time delay with a transient time that is a function of the extinction length for reflection geometry and of the extinction length combined with the thickness of the grating for transmission geometry. (paper)

  7. The European Working Time Directive and the effects on training of surgical specialists (doctors in training): a position paper of the surgical disciplines of the countries of the EU.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benes, V

    2006-11-01

    Legislation launched with the EWTD was born as a "Protection of the clinical personnel against overwork for the benefit of Patients" (consumer protection and safety). It appeared that this legislation is in direct and severe conflict with former EU legislation to train competent surgical specialists. First experiences with the EWTD show far reaching and serious consequences on the training of surgical specialists as well as on medical care. There will be a reduction of about 30-35% of clinical and operative experience acquired during the usual 6 yrs of training, with many other negative aspects (see p. 7). All measures proposed so far to overcome the ensuing problems are unworkable. The training of competent surgical specialists as required by the Directive 93/16 EEC is no longer possible and serious problems with safe patient care will occur in the short term, if no political actions are taken. The surgical specialties, represented in the UEMS, provide a proposal for a working hour model consisting of 48 hrs working time (incl. service duties) plus additional 12 hrs reserved and protected for teaching and training. This model would adhere to the EWTD on the one hand, yet maintain the desired standard of training. This proposed exemption from the EWTD would be limited to the time of specialist training. We ask the responsible politicians to find a solution rapidly to prevent serious negative consequences. This motion is supported by the surgical specialties (neurosurgery, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, paediatric surgery, cardio-thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, oto-rhino-laryngology, list not complete) of the member states of the EU, representing more than 80,000 surgical specialists.

  8. Fermions in interaction with time dependent fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Falkensteiner, P.; Grosse, H.

    1988-01-01

    We solve a two dimensional model describing the interaction of fermions with time dependent external fields. We work out the second quantized formulation and obtain conditions for equivalence of representations at different times. This implies the existence of sectors which describe charged states. We obtain the time dependence of charges and observe that charge differences become integer for unitary equivalent states. For scattering we require the equivalence of in- and out-representations; nevertheless charged sectors may be reached by suitable interactions and ionization is possible. 20 refs. (Author)

  9. Fundamental Constants in Physics and their Time Dependence

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2008-01-01

    In the Standard Model of Particle Physics we are dealing with 28 fundamental constants. In the experiments these constants can be measured, but theoretically they are not understood. I will discuss these constants, which are mostly mass parameters. Astrophysical measurements indicate that the finestructure constant is not a real constant, but depends on time. Grand unification then implies also a time variation of the QCD scale. Thus the masses of the atomic nuclei and the magnetic moments of the nuclei will depend on time. I proposed an experiment, which is currently done by Prof. Haensch in Munich and his group. The first results indicate a time dependence of the QCD scale. I will discuss the theoretical implications.

  10. Surgical training and the European Working Time Directive: The role of informal workplace learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giles, James A

    2010-01-01

    The introduction of European Working Time Directive, limiting doctors' working hours to 48 per week, has caused recent controversy within the profession. The Royal College of Surgeons of England in particular has been one of the loudest critics of the legislation. One of the main concerns is regarding the negative impact on training hours for those embarking on surgical careers. Simulation technology has been suggested as a method to overcome this reduction in hospital training hours, and research suggests that this is a good substitute for operative training in a theatre. However, modern educational theory emphasises the power of informal workplace learning in postgraduate education, and the essential role of experience in training future surgeons. Copyright 2010 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Watching excitons move: the time-dependent transition density matrix

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ullrich, Carsten

    2012-02-01

    Time-dependent density-functional theory allows one to calculate excitation energies and the associated transition densities in principle exactly. The transition density matrix (TDM) provides additional information on electron-hole localization and coherence of specific excitations of the many-body system. We have extended the TDM concept into the real-time domain in order to visualize the excited-state dynamics in conjugated molecules. The time-dependent TDM is defined as an implicit density functional, and can be approximately obtained from the time-dependent Kohn-Sham orbitals. The quality of this approximation is assessed in simple model systems. A computational scheme for real molecular systems is presented: the time-dependent Kohn-Sham equations are solved with the OCTOPUS code and the time-dependent Kohn-Sham TDM is calculated using a spatial partitioning scheme. The method is applied to show in real time how locally created electron-hole pairs spread out over neighboring conjugated molecular chains. The coupling mechanism, electron-hole coherence, and the possibility of charge separation are discussed.

  12. Improving on-time surgical starts: the impact of implementing pre-OR timeouts and performance pay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Luke; Langell, John

    2017-11-01

    Operating room (OR) time is expensive. Underutilized OR time negatively impacts efficiency and is an unnecessary cost for hospitals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a pre-OR timeout and performance pay incentive on the frequency of on-time, first surgical starts. At a single Veterans Affairs Medical Center, we implemented a pre-OR timeout in the form of a safety-briefing checklist and a modest performance pay incentive for on-time starts (>90% compliance) for attending surgeons. Data were collected on all first-start cases beginning before implementation in 2008 and continued through 2015. Each year, an average of 960 first starts occurred across nine surgical divisions. Before implementation of either the timeout or pay incentive, only 15% of cases started on time, and by 2015, greater than 72% were on time (P 60 min were not significant (P = 0.31; P = 0.81). Assuming a loss of 7 min per case for delays pay for on-time starts significantly improves OR utilization and reduces unnecessary costs. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  13. Nonequilibrium quantum solvation with a time-dependent Onsager cavity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirchberg, H.; Nalbach, P.; Thorwart, M.

    2018-04-01

    We formulate a theory of nonequilibrium quantum solvation in which parameters of the solvent are explicitly depending on time. We assume in a simplest approach a spherical molecular Onsager cavity with a time-dependent radius. We analyze the relaxation properties of a test molecular point dipole in a dielectric solvent and consider two cases: (i) a shrinking Onsager sphere and (ii) a breathing Onsager sphere. Due to the time-dependent solvent, the frequency-dependent response function of the dipole becomes time-dependent. For a shrinking Onsager sphere, the dipole relaxation is in general enhanced. This is reflected in a temporally increasing linewidth of the absorptive part of the response. Furthermore, the effective frequency-dependent response function shows two peaks in the absorptive part which are symmetrically shifted around the eigenfrequency. By contrast, a breathing sphere reduces damping as compared to the static sphere. Interestingly, we find a non-monotonous dependence of the relaxation rate on the breathing rate and a resonant suppression of damping when both rates are comparable. Moreover, the linewidth of the absorptive part of the response function is strongly reduced for times when the breathing sphere reaches its maximal extension.

  14. You pray to your God: A qualitative analysis of challenges in the provision of safe, timely, and affordable surgical care in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albutt, Katherine; Yorlets, Rachel R; Punchak, Maria; Kayima, Peter; Namanya, Didacus B; Anderson, Geoffrey A; Shrime, Mark G

    2018-01-01

    Five billion people lack access to safe, affordable, and timely surgical and anesthesia care. Significant challenges remain in the provision of surgical care in low-resource settings. Uganda is no exception. From September to November 2016, we conducted a mixed-methods countrywide surgical capacity assessment at 17 randomly selected public hospitals in Uganda. Researchers conducted 35 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders to understand factors related to the provision of surgical care. The framework approach was used for thematic and explanatory data analysis. The Ugandan public health care sector continues to face significant challenges in the provision of safe, timely, and affordable surgical care. These challenges can be broadly grouped into preparedness and policy, service delivery, and the financial burden of surgical care. Hospital staff reported challenges including: (1) significant delays in accessing surgical care, compounded by a malfunctioning referral system; (2) critical workforce shortages; (3) operative capacity that is limited by inadequate infrastructure and overwhelmed by emergency and obstetric volume; (4) supply chain difficulties pertaining to provision of essential medications, equipment, supplies, and blood; (5) significant, variable, and sometimes catastrophic expenditures for surgical patients and their families; and (6) a lack of surgery-specific policies and priorities. Despite these challenges, innovative strategies are being used in the public to provide surgical care to those most in need. Barriers to the provision of surgical care are cross-cutting and involve constraints in infrastructure, service delivery, workforce, and financing. Understanding current strengths and shortfalls of Uganda's surgical system is a critical first step in developing effective, targeted policy and programming that will build and strengthen its surgical capacity.

  15. Maitra-Burke example of initial-state dependence in time-dependent density-functional theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holas, A.; Balawender, R.

    2002-01-01

    In a recent paper, Maitra and Burke [Phys. Rev. A 63, 042501 (2001); 64, 039901(E) (2001)] have given an interesting and instructive example that illustrates a specific feature of the time-dependent density-functional theory--the dependence of the reconstructed time-dependent potential not only on the electron density, but also on the initial state of the system. However, a concise form of its presentation by these authors is insufficient to reveal all its peculiarities. Our paper represents a very detailed study of this valuable example, intended to facilitate a better understanding and appreciation

  16. Examining the time dependence of DAMA's modulation amplitude

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelso, Chris; Savage, Christopher; Sandick, Pearl; Freese, Katherine; Gondolo, Paolo

    2018-03-01

    If dark matter is composed of weakly interacting particles, Earth's orbital motion may induce a small annual variation in the rate at which these particles interact in a terrestrial detector. The DAMA collaboration has identified at a 9.3σ confidence level such an annual modulation in their event rate over two detector iterations, DAMA/NaI and DAMA/LIBRA, each with ˜ 7 years of observations. This data is well fit by a constant modulation amplitude for the two iterations of the experiment. We statistically examine the time dependence of the modulation amplitudes, which "by eye" appear to be decreasing with time in certain energy ranges. We perform a chi-squared goodness of fit test of the average modulation amplitudes measured by the two detector iterations which rejects the hypothesis of a consistent modulation amplitude at greater than 80, 96, and 99.6% for the 2-4, 2-5 and 2-6 keVee energy ranges, respectively. We also find that among the 14 annual cycles there are three ≳ 3σ departures from the average in our estimated data in the 5-6 keVee energy range. In addition, we examined several phenomenological models for the time dependence of the modulation amplitude. Using a maximum likelihood test, we find that descriptions of the modulation amplitude as decreasing with time are preferred over a constant modulation amplitude at anywhere between 1σ and 3σ , depending on the phenomenological model for the time dependence and the signal energy range considered. A time dependent modulation amplitude is not expected for a dark matter signal, at least for dark matter halo morphologies consistent with the DAMA signal. New data from DAMA/LIBRA-phase2 will certainly aid in determining whether any apparent time dependence is a real effect or a statistical fluctuation.

  17. Efficient exact-exchange time-dependent density-functional theory methods and their relation to time-dependent Hartree-Fock.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesselmann, Andreas; Görling, Andreas

    2011-01-21

    A recently introduced time-dependent exact-exchange (TDEXX) method, i.e., a response method based on time-dependent density-functional theory that treats the frequency-dependent exchange kernel exactly, is reformulated. In the reformulated version of the TDEXX method electronic excitation energies can be calculated by solving a linear generalized eigenvalue problem while in the original version of the TDEXX method a laborious frequency iteration is required in the calculation of each excitation energy. The lowest eigenvalues of the new TDEXX eigenvalue equation corresponding to the lowest excitation energies can be efficiently obtained by, e.g., a version of the Davidson algorithm appropriate for generalized eigenvalue problems. Alternatively, with the help of a series expansion of the new TDEXX eigenvalue equation, standard eigensolvers for large regular eigenvalue problems, e.g., the standard Davidson algorithm, can be used to efficiently calculate the lowest excitation energies. With the help of the series expansion as well, the relation between the TDEXX method and time-dependent Hartree-Fock is analyzed. Several ways to take into account correlation in addition to the exact treatment of exchange in the TDEXX method are discussed, e.g., a scaling of the Kohn-Sham eigenvalues, the inclusion of (semi)local approximate correlation potentials, or hybrids of the exact-exchange kernel with kernels within the adiabatic local density approximation. The lowest lying excitations of the molecules ethylene, acetaldehyde, and pyridine are considered as examples.

  18. Geometry and dynamics with time-dependent constraints

    CERN Document Server

    Evans, Jonathan M.; Jonathan M Evans; Philip A Tuckey

    1995-01-01

    We describe how geometrical methods can be applied to a system with explicitly time-dependent second-class constraints so as to cast it in Hamiltonian form on its physical phase space. Examples of particular interest are systems which require time-dependent gauge fixing conditions in order to reduce them to their physical degrees of freedom. To illustrate our results we discuss the gauge-fixing of relativistic particles and strings moving in arbitrary background electromagnetic and antisymmetric tensor fields.

  19. Numerical studies of time-independent and time-dependent scattering by several elliptical cylinders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nigsch, Martin

    2007-07-01

    A numerical solution to the problem of time-dependent scattering by an array of elliptical cylinders with parallel axes is presented. The solution is an exact one, based on the separation-of-variables technique in the elliptical coordinate system, the addition theorem for Mathieu functions, and numerical integration. Time-independent solutions are described by a system of linear equations of infinite order which are truncated for numerical computations. Time-dependent solutions are obtained by numerical integration involving a large number of these solutions. First results of a software package generating these solutions are presented: wave propagation around three impenetrable elliptical scatterers. As far as we know, this method described has never been used for time-dependent multiple scattering.

  20. Ranking paths in stochastic time-dependent networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Lars Relund; Andersen, Kim Allan; Pretolani, Daniele D.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we address optimal routing problems in networks where travel times are both stochastic and time-dependent. In these networks, the best route choice is not necessarily a path, but rather a time-adaptive strategy that assigns successors to nodes as a function of time. Nevertheless, in...

  1. Hartree--Fock time-dependent problem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bove, A; Fano, G [Bologna Univ. (Italy). Istituto di Fisica; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Bologna (Italy)); Da Prato, G [Rome Univ. (Italy). Istituto di Matematica

    1976-06-01

    A previous result is generalized. An existence and uniqueness theorem is proved for the Hartree--Fock time-dependent problem in the case of a finite Fermi system interacting via a two body potential which is supposed to be dominated by the kinetic energy part of the one-particle Hamiltonian.

  2. Measuring time-dependent deformations in metallic MEMS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergers, L.I.J.C.; Hoefnagels, J.P.M.; Delhey, N.K.R.; Geers, M.G.D.

    2011-01-01

    The reliability of metallic microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) depends on time-dependent deformation such as creep. Key to this process is the interaction between microstructural length scales and dimensional length scales, so-called size-effects. As a first critical step towards studying these

  3. Exact norm-conserving stochastic time-dependent Hartree-Fock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tessieri, Luca; Wilkie, Joshua; Cetinbas, Murat

    2005-01-01

    We derive an exact single-body decomposition of the time-dependent Schroedinger equation for N pairwise interacting fermions. Each fermion obeys a stochastic time-dependent norm-preserving wave equation. As a first test of the method, we calculate the low energy spectrum of helium. An extension of the method to bosons is outlined

  4. Wave Functions for Time-Dependent Dirac Equation under GUP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Meng-Yao; Long, Chao-Yun; Long, Zheng-Wen

    2018-04-01

    In this work, the time-dependent Dirac equation is investigated under generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) framework. It is possible to construct the exact solutions of Dirac equation when the time-dependent potentials satisfied the proper conditions. In (1+1) dimensions, the analytical wave functions of the Dirac equation under GUP have been obtained for the two kinds time-dependent potentials. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 11565009

  5. Stochastic Landau equation with time-dependent drift

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swift, J.B.; Hohenberg, P.C.; Ahlers, G.

    1991-01-01

    The stochastic differential equation τ 0 ∂ tA =ε(t)A-g 3 A 3 +bar f(t), where bar f(t) is Gaussian white noise, is studied for arbitrary time dependence of ε(t). In particular, cases are considered where ε(t) goes through the bifurcation of the deterministic system, which occurs at ε=0. In the limit of weak noise an approximate analytic expression generalizing earlier work of Suzuki [Phys. Lett. A 67, 339 (1978); Prog. Theor. Phys. (Kyoto) Suppl. 64, 402 (1978)] is obtained for the time-dependent distribution function P(A,t). The results compare favorably with a numerical simulation of the stochastic equation for the case of a linear ramp (both increasing and decreasing) and for a periodic time dependence of ε(t). The procedure can be generalized to an arbitrary deterministic part ∂ tA =D(A,t)+bar f(t), but the deterministic equation may then have to be solved numerically

  6. Numerical modelling of softwood time-dependent behaviour based on microstructure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engelund, Emil Tang

    2010-01-01

    The time-dependent mechanical behaviour of softwood such as creep or relaxation can be predicted, from knowledge of the microstructural arrangement of the cell wall, by applying deformation kinetics. This has been done several times before; however, often without considering the constraints defined...... by the basic physical mechanism behind the time-dependent behaviour. The mechanism causing time-dependency is thought to be sliding of the microfibrils past each other as a result breaking and re-bonding of hydrogen bonds. This can be incorporated in a numerical model by only allowing time-dependency in shear...

  7. Time-series analysis of multiple foreign exchange rates using time-dependent pattern entropy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishizaki, Ryuji; Inoue, Masayoshi

    2018-01-01

    Time-dependent pattern entropy is a method that reduces variations to binary symbolic dynamics and considers the pattern of symbols in a sliding temporal window. We use this method to analyze the instability of daily variations in multiple foreign exchange rates. The time-dependent pattern entropy of 7 foreign exchange rates (AUD/USD, CAD/USD, CHF/USD, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, JPY/USD, and NZD/USD) was found to be high in the long period after the Lehman shock, and be low in the long period after Mar 2012. We compared the correlation matrix between exchange rates in periods of high and low of the time-dependent pattern entropy.

  8. Time-dependent density functional theory for multi-component systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiecheng Li; Peiqing Tong

    1985-10-01

    The Runge-Gross version of Hohenberg-Kohn-Sham's density functional theory is generalized to multi-component systems, both for arbitrary time-dependent pure states and for arbitrary time-dependent ensembles. (author)

  9. When Is the Optimal Timing of Surgical Intervention for Severe Functional Tricuspid Regurgitation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nobuhiro Nakanishi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR is a serious pathology to be noted for severe right heart failure (HF and poor prognosis; however, the conventional assessment of TR has some limitations and the optimal timing of surgical intervention remains unclear. A 79-year-old Japanese female was admitted to our hospital to undergo cardiac surgery, because edema gradually got worse despite the increase in diuretics. She had a history of atrial fibrillation (AF and chronic HF due to severe TR and had been treated with a furosemide for leg edema 4 years ago. A transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE, transesophageal echocardiogram, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and cardiac pool scintigraphy demonstrated severe functional TR with tricuspid annular dilation, insufficient tricuspid valve coaptation, and reduced right ventricular ejection fraction (EF but preserved left ventricular EF. In addition, Swan-Ganz catheter study showed normal pulmonary arterial wedge pressure and mean pulmonary arterial pressure. Tricuspid ring annuloplasty was performed with MC3 ring. Postoperative TTE showed trivial TR, and she had no edema with normal sinus rhythm two months later. Annuloplasty to severe functional TR caused by tricuspid annular dilation due to AF dramatically improved right HF. Cardiologist should pay strict attention to the optimal timing of surgical intervention for TR.

  10. Comparison of post-surgical MRI presentation of the pituitary gland and its hormonal function

    OpenAIRE

    Bladowska, Joanna; Sokolska, Violetta; Sozański, Tomasz; Bednarek-Tupikowska, Grażyna; Sąsiadek, Marek

    2010-01-01

    Summary Background: Post-surgical evaluation of the pituitary gland in MRI is difficult because of a change of anatomical conditions. It depends also on numerous other factors, including: size and expansion of a tumour before surgery, type of surgical access, quality and volume of filling material used and time of its resorption.The aim of the study was to compare MR image of the pituitary gland after surgery with clinical findings and to establish a correlation between MRI presentation of sp...

  11. Surgical treatment for residual or recurrent strabismus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tao Wang

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Although the surgical treatment is a relatively effective and predictable method for correcting residual or recurrent strabismus, such as posterior fixation sutures, medial rectus marginal myotomy, unilateral or bilateral rectus re-recession and resection, unilateral lateral rectus recession and adjustable suture, no standard protocol is established for the surgical style. Different surgical approaches have been recommended for correcting residual or recurrent strabismus. The choice of the surgical procedure depends on the former operation pattern and the surgical dosages applied on the patients, residual or recurrent angle of deviation and the operator''s preference and experience. This review attempts to outline recent publications and current opinion in the management of residual or recurrent esotropia and exotropia.

  12. Computational complexity of time-dependent density functional theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whitfield, J D; Yung, M-H; Tempel, D G; Aspuru-Guzik, A; Boixo, S

    2014-01-01

    Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is rapidly emerging as a premier method for solving dynamical many-body problems in physics and chemistry. The mathematical foundations of TDDFT are established through the formal existence of a fictitious non-interacting system (known as the Kohn–Sham system), which can reproduce the one-electron reduced probability density of the actual system. We build upon these works and show that on the interior of the domain of existence, the Kohn–Sham system can be efficiently obtained given the time-dependent density. We introduce a V-representability parameter which diverges at the boundary of the existence domain and serves to quantify the numerical difficulty of constructing the Kohn-Sham potential. For bounded values of V-representability, we present a polynomial time quantum algorithm to generate the time-dependent Kohn–Sham potential with controllable error bounds. (paper)

  13. Time dependent view factor methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirkpatrick, R.C.

    1998-03-01

    View factors have been used for treating radiation transport between opaque surfaces bounding a transparent medium for several decades. However, in recent years they have been applied to problems involving intense bursts of radiation in enclosed volumes such as in the laser fusion hohlraums. In these problems, several aspects require treatment of time dependence

  14. Time dependent theory of two-step absorption of two pulses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rebane, Inna, E-mail: inna.rebane@ut.ee

    2015-09-25

    The time dependent theory of two step-absorption of two different light pulses with arbitrary duration in the electronic three-level model is proposed. The probability that the third level is excited at the moment t is found in depending on the time delay between pulses, the spectral widths of the pulses and the energy relaxation constants of the excited electronic levels. The time dependent perturbation theory is applied without using “doorway–window” approach. The time and spectral behavior of the spectrum using in calculations as simple as possible model is analyzed. - Highlights: • Time dependent theory of two-step absorption in the three-level model is proposed. • Two different light pulses with arbitrary duration is observed. • The time dependent perturbation theory is applied without “door–window” approach. • The time and spectral behavior of the spectra is analyzed for several cases.

  15. Introduction to numerical methods for time dependent differential equations

    CERN Document Server

    Kreiss, Heinz-Otto

    2014-01-01

    Introduces both the fundamentals of time dependent differential equations and their numerical solutions Introduction to Numerical Methods for Time Dependent Differential Equations delves into the underlying mathematical theory needed to solve time dependent differential equations numerically. Written as a self-contained introduction, the book is divided into two parts to emphasize both ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and partial differential equations (PDEs). Beginning with ODEs and their approximations, the authors provide a crucial presentation of fundamental notions, such as the t

  16. Davydov–Chaban Hamiltonian in presence of time-dependent potential

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sobhani, Hadi; Hassanabadi, Hassan, E-mail: h.hassanabadi@shahroodut.ac.ir

    2016-09-10

    In this article, we have investigated collective effects of atomic nuclei in presence of a time-dependent potential in Davydov–Chaban Hamiltonian. Since such potential has an explicit time-dependency, in order to obtain the wave function of considered system, we should face with time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Obtaining the wave function could be possible using Lewis–Riesenfeld dynamical invariant method. Appropriate dynamical invariant has been constructed after determining the wave functions and values, the wave function will obtain.

  17. Surgical Treatment of Recurrent Endometrial Cancer: Time for a Paradigm Shift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadia, Andrea; Bellati, Filippo; Ditto, Antonino; Bogani, Giorgio; Gasparri, Maria Luisa; Di Donato, Violante; Martinelli, Fabio; Lorusso, Domenica; Benedetti-Panici, Pierluigi; Raspagliesi, Francesco

    2015-12-01

    Although surgery represents the cornerstone treatment of endometrial cancer at initial diagnosis, scarce data are available in recurrent setting. The purpose of this study was to review the outcome of surgery in these patients. Medical records of all patients undergoing surgery for recurrent endometrial cancer at NCI Milano between January 2003 and January 2014 were reviewed. Survival was determined from the time of surgery for recurrence to last follow-up. Survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods. Differences in survival were analyzed using the log-rank test. The Fisher's exact test was used to compare optimal versus suboptimal cytoreduction against possible predictive factors. Sixty-four patients were identified. Median age was 66 years. Recurrences were multiple in 38 % of the cases. Optimal cytoreduction was achieved in 65.6 %. Median OR time was 165 min, median postoperative hemoglobin drop was 2.4 g/dl, and median length hospital stay was 5.5 days. Eleven patients developed postoperative complications, but only four required surgical management. Estimated 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 42 and 19 % in optimally and suboptimally cytoreduced patients, respectively. At multivariate analysis, only residual disease was associated with PFS. Estimated 5-year overall survival (OS) was 60 and 30 % in optimally and suboptimally cytoreduced patients, respectively. At multivariate analysis, residual disease and histotype were associated with OS. At multivariate analysis, only performance status was associated with optimal cytoreduction. Secondary cytoreduction in endometrial cancer is associated with long PFS and OS. The only factors associated with improved long-term outcome are the absence of residual disease at the end of surgical resection and histotype.

  18. A time-dependent neutron transport method of characteristics formulation with time derivative propagation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoffman, Adam J., E-mail: adamhoff@umich.edu; Lee, John C., E-mail: jcl@umich.edu

    2016-02-15

    A new time-dependent Method of Characteristics (MOC) formulation for nuclear reactor kinetics was developed utilizing angular flux time-derivative propagation. This method avoids the requirement of storing the angular flux at previous points in time to represent a discretized time derivative; instead, an equation for the angular flux time derivative along 1D spatial characteristics is derived and solved concurrently with the 1D transport characteristic equation. This approach allows the angular flux time derivative to be recast principally in terms of the neutron source time derivatives, which are approximated to high-order accuracy using the backward differentiation formula (BDF). This approach, called Source Derivative Propagation (SDP), drastically reduces the memory requirements of time-dependent MOC relative to methods that require storing the angular flux. An SDP method was developed for 2D and 3D applications and implemented in the computer code DeCART in 2D. DeCART was used to model two reactor transient benchmarks: a modified TWIGL problem and a C5G7 transient. The SDP method accurately and efficiently replicated the solution of the conventional time-dependent MOC method using two orders of magnitude less memory.

  19. A time-dependent neutron transport method of characteristics formulation with time derivative propagation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, Adam J.; Lee, John C.

    2016-01-01

    A new time-dependent Method of Characteristics (MOC) formulation for nuclear reactor kinetics was developed utilizing angular flux time-derivative propagation. This method avoids the requirement of storing the angular flux at previous points in time to represent a discretized time derivative; instead, an equation for the angular flux time derivative along 1D spatial characteristics is derived and solved concurrently with the 1D transport characteristic equation. This approach allows the angular flux time derivative to be recast principally in terms of the neutron source time derivatives, which are approximated to high-order accuracy using the backward differentiation formula (BDF). This approach, called Source Derivative Propagation (SDP), drastically reduces the memory requirements of time-dependent MOC relative to methods that require storing the angular flux. An SDP method was developed for 2D and 3D applications and implemented in the computer code DeCART in 2D. DeCART was used to model two reactor transient benchmarks: a modified TWIGL problem and a C5G7 transient. The SDP method accurately and efficiently replicated the solution of the conventional time-dependent MOC method using two orders of magnitude less memory.

  20. Experimental Quantum-Walk Revival with a Time-Dependent Coin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, P.; Zhang, R.; Qin, H.; Zhan, X.; Bian, Z. H.; Li, J.; Sanders, Barry C.

    2015-04-01

    We demonstrate a quantum walk with time-dependent coin bias. With this technique we realize an experimental single-photon one-dimensional quantum walk with a linearly ramped time-dependent coin flip operation and thereby demonstrate two periodic revivals of the walker distribution. In our beam-displacer interferometer, the walk corresponds to movement between discretely separated transverse modes of the field serving as lattice sites, and the time-dependent coin flip is effected by implementing a different angle between the optical axis of half-wave plate and the light propagation at each step. Each of the quantum-walk steps required to realize a revival comprises two sequential orthogonal coin-flip operators, with one coin having constant bias and the other coin having a time-dependent ramped coin bias, followed by a conditional translation of the walker.

  1. Determine the Influence of Time Held in “Knockdown” Anesthesia on Survival and Stress of Surgically Implanted Juvenile Salmonids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woodley, Christa M.; Wagner, Katie A.; Knox, Kasey M.

    2012-01-31

    The Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) was developed for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Portland District (USACE) to address questions related to survival and performance measures of juvenile salmonids as they pass through the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). Researchers using JSATS acoustic transmitters (ATs) were tasked with standardizing the surgical implantation procedure to ensure that the stressors of handling and surgery on salmonids were consistent and less likely to cause effects of tagging in survival studies. Researchers questioned whether the exposure time in 'knockdown' anesthesia (or induction) to prepare fish for surgery could influence the survival of study fish (CBSPSC 2011). Currently, fish are held in knockdown anesthesia after they reach Stage 4 anesthesia until the completion of the surgical implantation of a transmitter, varies from 5 to 15 minutes for studies conducted in the Columbia Basin. The Columbia Basin Surgical Protocol Steering Committee (CBSPSC ) expressed concern that its currently recommended 10-minute maximum time limit during which fish are held in anesthetic - tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222, 80 mg L-1 water) - could increase behavioral and physiological costs, and/or decrease survival of outmigrating juvenile salmonids. In addition, the variability in the time fish are held at Stage 4 could affect the data intended for direct comparison of fish within or among survival studies. Under the current recommended protocol, if fish exceed the 10-minute time limit, they are to be released without surgical implantation, thereby increasing the number of fish handled and endangered species 'take' at the bypass systems for FCRPS survival studies.

  2. Transcriptional dynamics with time-dependent reaction rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nandi, Shubhendu; Ghosh, Anandamohan

    2015-02-01

    Transcription is the first step in the process of gene regulation that controls cell response to varying environmental conditions. Transcription is a stochastic process, involving synthesis and degradation of mRNAs, that can be modeled as a birth-death process. We consider a generic stochastic model, where the fluctuating environment is encoded in the time-dependent reaction rates. We obtain an exact analytical expression for the mRNA probability distribution and are able to analyze the response for arbitrary time-dependent protocols. Our analytical results and stochastic simulations confirm that the transcriptional machinery primarily act as a low-pass filter. We also show that depending on the system parameters, the mRNA levels in a cell population can show synchronous/asynchronous fluctuations and can deviate from Poisson statistics.

  3. Transcriptional dynamics with time-dependent reaction rates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nandi, Shubhendu; Ghosh, Anandamohan

    2015-01-01

    Transcription is the first step in the process of gene regulation that controls cell response to varying environmental conditions. Transcription is a stochastic process, involving synthesis and degradation of mRNAs, that can be modeled as a birth–death process. We consider a generic stochastic model, where the fluctuating environment is encoded in the time-dependent reaction rates. We obtain an exact analytical expression for the mRNA probability distribution and are able to analyze the response for arbitrary time-dependent protocols. Our analytical results and stochastic simulations confirm that the transcriptional machinery primarily act as a low-pass filter. We also show that depending on the system parameters, the mRNA levels in a cell population can show synchronous/asynchronous fluctuations and can deviate from Poisson statistics. (paper)

  4. Semiclassical approximation to time-dependent Hartree--Fock theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dworzecka, M.; Poggioli, R.

    1976-01-01

    Working within a time-dependent Hartree-Fock framework, one develops a semiclassical approximation appropriate for large systems. It is demonstrated that the standard semiclassical approach, the Thomas-Fermi approximation, is inconsistent with Hartree-Fock theory when the basic two-body interaction is short-ranged (as in nuclear systems, for example). However, by introducing a simple extension of the Thomas-Fermi approximation, one overcomes this problem. One also discusses the infinite nuclear matter problem and point out that time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory yields collective modes of the zero sound variety instead of ordinary hydrodynamic (first) sound. One thus emphasizes that one should be extremely circumspect when attempting to cast the equations of motion of time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory into a hydrodynamic-like form

  5. MEG time-frequency analyses for pre- and post-surgical evaluation of patients with epileptic rhythmic fast activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sueda, Keitaro; Takeuchi, Fumiya; Shiraishi, Hideaki; Nakane, Shingo; Asahina, Naoko; Kohsaka, Shinobu; Nakama, Hideyuki; Otsuki, Taisuke; Sawamura, Yutaka; Saitoh, Shinji

    2010-02-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of surgery for epilepsy, we analyzed rhythmic fast activity by magnetoencephalography (MEG) before and after surgery using time-frequency analysis. To assess reliability, the results obtained by pre-surgical MEG and intraoperative electrocorticography were compared. Four children with symptomatic localization-related epilepsy caused by circumscribed cortical lesion were examined in the present study using 204-channel helmet-shaped MEG with a sampling rate of 600Hz. One patient had dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNT) and three patients had focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). Aberrant areas were superimposed, to reconstruct 3D MRI images, and illustrated as moving images. In three patients, short-time Fourier transform (STFT) analyses of MEG showed rhythmic activities just above the lesion with FCD and in the vicinity of DNT. In one patient with FCD in the medial temporal lobe, rhythmic activity appeared in the ipsilateral frontal lobe and temporal lateral aspect. These findings correlate well with the results obtained by intraoperative electrocorticography. After the surgery, three patients were relieved of their seizures, and the area of rhythmic MEG activity disappeared or become smaller. One patient had residual rhythmic MEG activity, and she suffered from seizure relapse. Time-frequency analyses using STFT successfully depicted MEG rhythmic fast activity, and would provide valuable information for pre- and post-surgical evaluations to define surgical strategies for patients with epilepsy.

  6. The time-dependent simplified P2 equations: Asymptotic analyses and numerical experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, U.; Miller, W.F. Jr.

    1998-01-01

    Using an asymptotic expansion, the authors found that the modified time-dependent simplified P 2 (SP 2 ) equations are robust, high-order, asymptotic approximations to the time-dependent transport equation in a physical regime in which the conventional time-dependent diffusion equation is the leading-order approximation. Using diffusion limit analysis, they also asymptotically compared three competitive time-dependent equations (the telegrapher's equation, the time-dependent SP 2 equations, and the time-dependent simplified even-parity equation). As a result, they found that the time-dependent SP 2 equations contain higher-order asymptotic approximations to the time-dependent transport equation than the other competitive equations. The numerical results confirm that, in the vast majority of cases, the time-dependent SP 2 solutions are significantly more accurate than the time-dependent diffusion and the telegrapher's solutions. They have also shown that the time-dependent SP 2 equations have excellent characteristics such as rotational invariance (which means no ray effect), good diffusion limit behavior, guaranteed positivity in diffusive regimes, and significant accuracy, even in deep-penetration problems. Through computer-running-time tests, they have shown that the time-dependent SP 2 equations can be solved with significantly less computational effort than the conventionally used, time-dependent S N equations (for N > 2) and almost as fast as the time-dependent diffusion equation. From all these results, they conclude that the time-dependent SP 2 equations should be considered as an important competitor for an improved approximately transport equations solver. Such computationally efficient time-dependent transport models are important for problems requiring enhanced computational efficiency, such as neutronics/fluid-dynamics coupled problems that arise in the analyses of hypothetical nuclear reactor accidents

  7. Exact solution of a quantum forced time-dependent harmonic oscillator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeon, Kyu Hwang; George, Thomas F.; Um, Chung IN

    1992-01-01

    The Schrodinger equation is used to exactly evaluate the propagator, wave function, energy expectation values, uncertainty values, and coherent state for a harmonic oscillator with a time dependent frequency and an external driving time dependent force. These quantities represent the solution of the classical equation of motion for the time dependent harmonic oscillator.

  8. Simulation of time-dependent Heisenberg models in one dimension

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Volosniev, A. G.; Hammer, H. -W.; Zinner, N. T.

    2016-01-01

    In this Letter, we provide a theoretical analysis of strongly interacting quantum systems confined by a time-dependent external potential in one spatial dimension. We show that such systems can be used to simulate spin chains described by Heisenberg Hamiltonians in which the exchange coupling...... constants can be manipulated by time-dependent driving of the shape of the external confinement. As illustrative examples, we consider a harmonic trapping potential with a variable frequency and an infinite square well potential with a time-dependent barrier in the middle....

  9. Time-dependent 2-stream particle transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corngold, Noel

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We consider time-dependent transport in the 2-stream or “rod” model via an attractive matrix formalism. • After reviewing some classical problems in homogeneous media we discuss transport in materials with whose density may vary. • There we achieve a significant contraction of the underlying Telegrapher’s equation. • We conclude with a discussion of stochastics, treated by the “first-order smoothing approximation.” - Abstract: We consider time-dependent transport in the 2-stream or “rod” model via an attractive matrix formalism. After reviewing some classical problems in homogeneous media we discuss transport in materials whose density may vary. There we achieve a significant contraction of the underlying Telegrapher’s equation. We conclude with a discussion of stochastics, treated by the “first-order smoothing approximation.”

  10. On the time evolution operator for time-dependent quadratic Hamiltonians

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, F.M.

    1989-01-01

    The Schroedinger equation with a time-dependent quadratic Hamiltonian is investigated. The time-evolution operator is written as a product of exponential operators determined by the Heisenberg equations of motion. This product operator is shown to be global in the occupation number representation when the Hamiltonian is Hermitian. The success of some physical applications of the product-form representation is explained

  11. Rayleigh-Taylor mixing with time-dependent acceleration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abarzhi, Snezhana

    2016-10-01

    We extend the momentum model to describe Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) mixing driven by a time-dependent acceleration. The acceleration is a power-law function of time, similarly to astrophysical and plasma fusion applications. In RT flow the dynamics of a fluid parcel is driven by a balance per unit mass of the rates of momentum gain and loss. We find analytical solutions in the cases of balanced and imbalanced gains and losses, and identify their dependence on the acceleration exponent. The existence is shown of two typical regimes of self-similar RT mixing-acceleration-driven Rayleigh-Taylor-type and dissipation-driven Richtymer-Meshkov-type with the latter being in general non-universal. Possible scenarios are proposed for transitions from the balanced dynamics to the imbalanced self-similar dynamics. Scaling and correlations properties of RT mixing are studied on the basis of dimensional analysis. Departures are outlined of RT dynamics with time-dependent acceleration from canonical cases of homogeneous turbulence as well as blast waves with first and second kind self-similarity. The work is supported by the US National Science Foundation.

  12. Subgeometric Ergodicity Analysis of Continuous-Time Markov Chains under Random-Time State-Dependent Lyapunov Drift Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mokaedi V. Lekgari

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We investigate random-time state-dependent Foster-Lyapunov analysis on subgeometric rate ergodicity of continuous-time Markov chains (CTMCs. We are mainly concerned with making use of the available results on deterministic state-dependent drift conditions for CTMCs and on random-time state-dependent drift conditions for discrete-time Markov chains and transferring them to CTMCs.

  13. Selfsimilar time dependent shock structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beck, R.; Drury, L.O.

    1985-01-01

    Diffusive shock acceleration as an astrophysical mechanism for accelerating charged particles has the advantage of being highly efficient. This means however that the theory is of necessity nonlinear; the reaction of the accelerated particles on the shock structure and the acceleration process must be self-consistently included in any attempt to develop a complete theory of diffusive shock acceleration. Considerable effort has been invested in attempting, at least partially, to do this and it has become clear that in general either the maximum particle energy must be restricted by introducing additional loss processes into the problem or the acceleration must be treated as a time dependent problem (Drury, 1984). It is concluded that stationary modified shock structures can only exist for strong shocks if additional loss processes limit the maximum energy a particle can attain. This is certainly possible and if it occurs the energy loss from the shock will lead to much greater shock compressions. It is however equally possible that no such processes exist and we must then ask what sort of nonstationary shock structure develops. The same argument which excludes stationary structures also rules out periodic solutions and indeed any solution where the width of the shock remains bounded. It follows that the width of the shock must increase secularly with time and it is natural to examine the possibility of selfsimilar time dependent solutions

  14. Selfsimilar time dependent shock structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, R.; Drury, L. O.

    1985-01-01

    Diffusive shock acceleration as an astrophysical mechanism for accelerating charged particles has the advantage of being highly efficient. This means however that the theory is of necessity nonlinear; the reaction of the accelerated particles on the shock structure and the acceleration process must be self-consistently included in any attempt to develop a complete theory of diffusive shock acceleration. Considerable effort has been invested in attempting, at least partially, to do this and it has become clear that in general either the maximum particle energy must be restricted by introducing additional loss processes into the problem or the acceleration must be treated as a time dependent problem (Drury, 1984). It is concluded that stationary modified shock structures can only exist for strong shocks if additional loss processes limit the maximum energy a particle can attain. This is certainly possible and if it occurs the energy loss from the shock will lead to much greater shock compressions. It is however equally possible that no such processes exist and we must then ask what sort of nonstationary shock structure develops. The ame argument which excludes stationary structures also rules out periodic solutions and indeed any solution where the width of the shock remains bounded. It follows that the width of the shock must increase secularly with time and it is natural to examine the possibility of selfsimilar time dependent solutions.

  15. Time-dependent deterministic transport on parallel architectures using PARTISN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alcouffe, R.E.; Baker, R.S.

    1998-01-01

    In addition to the ability to solve the static transport equation, the authors have also incorporated time dependence into the parallel S N code PARTISN. Using a semi-implicit scheme, PARTISN is capable of performing time-dependent calculations for both fissioning and pure source driven problems. They have applied this to various types of problems such as shielding and prompt fission experiments. This paper describes the form of the time-dependent equations implemented, their solution strategies in PARTISN including iteration acceleration, and the strategies used for time-step control. Results are presented for a iron-water shielding calculation and a criticality excursion in a uranium solution configuration

  16. Attainable conditions and exact invariant for the time-dependent harmonic oscillator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guasti, Manuel Fernandez [Lab. de Optica Cuantica, Dep. de Fisica, Universidad A. Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, Mexico DF, Ap. Post. 55-534 (Mexico)

    2006-09-22

    The time-dependent oscillator equation is solved numerically for various trajectories in amplitude and phase variables. The solutions exhibit a finite time-dependent parameter whenever the squared amplitude times the derivative of the phase is invariant. If the invariant relationship does not hold, the time-dependent parameter has divergent singularities. These observations lead to the proposition that the harmonic oscillator equation with finite time-dependent parameter must have amplitude and phase solutions fulfilling the invariant relationship. Since the time-dependent parameter or the potential must be finite for any real oscillator implementation, the invariant must hold for any such physically realizable system.

  17. Attainable conditions and exact invariant for the time-dependent harmonic oscillator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guasti, Manuel Fernandez

    2006-01-01

    The time-dependent oscillator equation is solved numerically for various trajectories in amplitude and phase variables. The solutions exhibit a finite time-dependent parameter whenever the squared amplitude times the derivative of the phase is invariant. If the invariant relationship does not hold, the time-dependent parameter has divergent singularities. These observations lead to the proposition that the harmonic oscillator equation with finite time-dependent parameter must have amplitude and phase solutions fulfilling the invariant relationship. Since the time-dependent parameter or the potential must be finite for any real oscillator implementation, the invariant must hold for any such physically realizable system

  18. Time-Dependent Mean-Field Games in the Subquadratic Case

    KAUST Repository

    Gomes, Diogo A.; Pimentel, Edgard A.; Sá nchez-Morgado, Hé ector

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we consider time-dependent mean-field games with subquadratic Hamiltonians and power-like local dependence on the measure. We establish existence of classical solutions under a certain set of conditions depending on both the growth of the Hamiltonian and the dimension. This is done by combining regularity estimates for the Hamilton-Jacobi equation based on the Gagliardo-Nirenberg interpolation inequality with polynomial estimates for the Fokker-Planck equation. This technique improves substantially the previous results on the regularity of time-dependent mean-field games.

  19. Time-Dependent Mean-Field Games in the Subquadratic Case

    KAUST Repository

    Gomes, Diogo A.

    2014-10-14

    In this paper we consider time-dependent mean-field games with subquadratic Hamiltonians and power-like local dependence on the measure. We establish existence of classical solutions under a certain set of conditions depending on both the growth of the Hamiltonian and the dimension. This is done by combining regularity estimates for the Hamilton-Jacobi equation based on the Gagliardo-Nirenberg interpolation inequality with polynomial estimates for the Fokker-Planck equation. This technique improves substantially the previous results on the regularity of time-dependent mean-field games.

  20. Time-dependent--S-matrix Hartree-Fock theory of complex reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffin, J.J.; Lichtner, P.C.; Dworzecka, M.

    1980-01-01

    Some limitations of the conventional time-dependent Hartree-Fock method for describing complex reactions are noted, and one particular ubiquitous defect is discussed in detail: the post-breakup spurious cross channel correlations which arise whenever several asymptotic reaction channels must be simultaneously described by a single determinant. A reformulated time-dependent--S-matrix Hartree-Fock theory is proposed, which obviates this difficulty. Axiomatic requirements minimal to assure that the time-dependent--S-matrix Hartree-Fock theory represents an unambiguous and physically interpretable asymptotic reaction theory are utilized to prescribe conditions upon the definition of acceptable asymptotic channels. That definition, in turn, defines the physical range of the time-dependent--S-matrix Hartree-Fock theory to encompass the collisions of mathematically well-defined ''time-dependent Hartree-Fock droplets.'' The physical properties of these objects then circumscribe the content of the Hartree-Fock single determinantal description. If their periodic vibrations occur for continuous ranges of energy then the resulting ''classical'' time-dependent Hartree-Fock droplets are seen to be intrinsically dissipative, and the single determinantal description of their collisions reduces to a ''trajectory'' theory which can describe the masses and relative motions of the fragments but can provide no information about specific asymptotic excited states beyond their constants of motion, or the average properties of the limit, if it exists, of their equilibrization process. If, on the other hand, the periodic vibrations of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock droplets are discrete in energy, then the time-dependent--S-matrix Hartree-Fock theory can describe asymptotically the time-average properties of the whole spectrum of such periodic vibrations

  1. Constitutive model with time-dependent deformations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krogsbøll, Anette

    1998-01-01

    are common in time as well as size. This problem is adressed by means of a new constitutive model for soils. It is able to describe the behavior of soils at different deformation rates. The model defines time-dependent and stress-related deformations separately. They are related to each other and they occur...... was the difference in time scale between the geological process of deposition (millions of years) and the laboratory measurements of mechanical properties (minutes or hours). In addition, the time scale relevant to the production history of the oil field was interesting (days or years)....

  2. Optimized effective potential in real time: Problems and prospects in time-dependent density-functional theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mundt, Michael; Kuemmel, Stephan

    2006-01-01

    The integral equation for the time-dependent optimized effective potential (TDOEP) in time-dependent density-functional theory is transformed into a set of partial-differential equations. These equations only involve occupied Kohn-Sham orbitals and orbital shifts resulting from the difference between the exchange-correlation potential and the orbital-dependent potential. Due to the success of an analog scheme in the static case, a scheme that propagates orbitals and orbital shifts in real time is a natural candidate for an exact solution of the TDOEP equation. We investigate the numerical stability of such a scheme. An approximation beyond the Krieger-Li-Iafrate approximation for the time-dependent exchange-correlation potential is analyzed

  3. Time-dependent, Bianchi II, rotating universe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reboucas, M.J.

    1981-01-01

    An exact cosmological solution of Einstein's equations which has time-dependent rotation is presented. The t-constant sections are of Bianchi type II. The source of this geometry is a fluid which has not been thermalized. (Author) [pt

  4. First passage time problems in time-dependent fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fletcher, J.E.; Havlin, S.; Weiss, G.H.

    1988-01-01

    This paper discusses the simplest first passage time problems for random walks and diffusion processes on a line segment. When a diffusing particle moves in a time-varying field, use of the adjoint equation does not lead to any simplification in the calculation of moments of the first passage time as is the case for diffusion in a time-invariant field. We show that for a discrete random walk in the presence of a sinusoidally varying field there is a resonant frequency omega* for which the mean residence time on the line segment in a minimum. It is shown that for a random walk on a line segment of length L the mean residence time goes like L 2 for large L when omega omega*, but when omega = omega* the dependence is proportional to L. The results of our simulation are numerical, but can be regarded as exact. Qualitatively similar results are shown to hold for diffusion processes by a perturbation expansion in powers of a dimensionless velocity. These results are extended to higher values of this parameter by a numerical solution of the forward equation

  5. Exponential integrators in time-dependent density-functional calculations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidd, Daniel; Covington, Cody; Varga, Kálmán

    2017-12-01

    The integrating factor and exponential time differencing methods are implemented and tested for solving the time-dependent Kohn-Sham equations. Popular time propagation methods used in physics, as well as other robust numerical approaches, are compared to these exponential integrator methods in order to judge the relative merit of the computational schemes. We determine an improvement in accuracy of multiple orders of magnitude when describing dynamics driven primarily by a nonlinear potential. For cases of dynamics driven by a time-dependent external potential, the accuracy of the exponential integrator methods are less enhanced but still match or outperform the best of the conventional methods tested.

  6. TNF-α- Mediated-p38-Dependent Signaling Pathway Contributes to Myocyte Apoptosis in Rats Subjected to Surgical Trauma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huaxing Wu

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: The accumulation of cytokines in the plasma after trauma can induce myocyte apoptosis. We aimed to identify which cytokine(s present in the plasma responsible for myocyte apoptosis, and delineated the signal transduction mechanism in rats subjected to surgical trauma. Methods: Rats were randomized into two groups: control and trauma groups, which was divided into five subgroups: posttraumatic 0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h subgroups. Cardiomyocytes isolated from traumatized rats were incubated with one of the factors for 12 h (normal plasma; Cytomix; TNF-α; IL-1β; IFN-γ; trauma plasma; anti-TNF-α antibody; SB203580. Myocyte apoptosis, cytokine levels, and MAPKs activation, as the primary experimental outcomes, were measured by TUNEL, flow cytometry, ELISA and Western blot, respectively. Results: Myocyte apoptosis was induced by surgical trauma during the early stage after trauma. Accompanying this change, plasma TNF-α, IL-1β, and IFN-γ levels were elevated in traumatized rats. Incubation of traumatized cardiomyocytes with cytomix or TNF-α alone induced myocyte apoptosis, and increased the activation of p38 and ERK1/2. Myocyte apoptosis and p38 activation were elevated in traumatized cardiomyocytes with trauma plasma, and these increases were partly abolished by anti-TNF-α antibody or SB203580. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that there exists the TNF-α-mediated-p38-dependent signaling pathway that contributed to posttraumatic myocyte apoptosis of rats undergoing surgical trauma.

  7. Time-dependent AdS backgrounds from S-branes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deger, Nihat Sadik, E-mail: sadik.deger@boun.edu.tr [Department of Mathematics, Bogazici University, Bebek, 34342, Istanbul (Turkey); Feza Gursey Center for Physics and Mathematics, Bogazici University, Kandilli, 34684, Istanbul (Turkey)

    2016-11-10

    We construct time and radial dependent solutions that describe p-branes in chargeless S-brane backgrounds. In particular, there are some new M5- and D3-branes among our solutions which have AdS limits and contain a cosmological singularity as well. We also find a time-dependent version of the dyonic membrane configuration in 11-dimensions by applying a Lunin–Maldacena deformation to our new M5-brane solution.

  8. Location-Dependent Query Processing Under Soft Real-Time Constraints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoubir Mammeri

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, mobile devices and applications achieved an increasing development. In database field, this development required methods to consider new query types like location-dependent queries (i.e. the query results depend on the query issuer location. Although several researches addressed problems related to location-dependent query processing, a few works considered timing requirements that may be associated with queries (i.e., the query results must be delivered to mobile clients on time. The main objective of this paper is to propose a solution for location-dependent query processing under soft real-time constraints. Hence, we propose methods to take into account client location-dependency and to maximize the percentage of queries respecting their deadlines. We validate our proposal by implementing a prototype based on Oracle DBMS. Performance evaluation results show that the proposed solution optimizes the percentage of queries meeting their deadlines and the communication cost.

  9. Induced voltage due to time-dependent magnetisation textures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kudtarkar, Santosh Kumar; Dhadwal, Renu

    2010-01-01

    We determine the induced voltage generated by spatial and temporal magnetisation textures (inhomogeneities) in metallic ferromagnets due to the spin diffusion of non-equilibrium electrons. Using time dependent semi-classical theory as formulated in Zhang and Li and the drift-diffusion model of transport it is shown that the voltage generated depends critically on the difference in the diffusion constants of up and down spins. Including spin relaxation results in a crucial contribution to the induced voltage. We also show that the presence of magnetisation textures results in the modification of the conductivity of the system. As an illustration, we calculate the voltage generated due to a time dependent field driven helimagnet by solving the Landau-Lifshitz equation with Gilbert damping and explicitly calculate the dependence on the relaxation and damping parameters.

  10. Dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in a time-dependent trap

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, V. Ramesh; Radha, R.; Panigrahi, Prasanta K.

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, we generate the Lax pair for the one-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation with time-dependent scattering length in the presence of a confining or expulsive harmonic time-dependent trap. We then exploit the Lax pair profitably to construct multisoliton solutions using gauge transformation from a trivial input solution. In particular, we have investigated the effect of both expulsive and confining traps on soliton interaction. Even though we find that the amplitude of the bright soliton relies upon the time-dependent scattering length and the external time-dependent trap with the velocity being dictated by the external trap alone, the observation of interdependence of the scattering length on the trap shows that the bright solitons not only can be compressed into a desirable width and amplitude but also can be remote controlled and driven anywhere in the plane by suitably maneuvering the external time-dependent trap alone

  11. Modelling time-dependent mechanical behaviour of softwood using deformation kinetics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engelund, Emil Tang; Svensson, Staffan

    2010-01-01

    The time-dependent mechanical behaviour (TDMB) of softwood is relevant, e.g., when wood is used as building material where the mechanical properties must be predicted for decades ahead. The established mathematical models should be able to predict the time-dependent behaviour. However, these models...... are not always based on the actual physical processes causing time-dependent behaviour and the physical interpretation of their input parameters is difficult. The present study describes the TDMB of a softwood tissue and its individual tracheids. A model is constructed with a local coordinate system that follows...... macroscopic viscoelasticity, i.e., the time-dependent processes are to a significant degree reversible....

  12. Quadratic time dependent Hamiltonians and separation of variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anzaldo-Meneses, A.

    2017-01-01

    Time dependent quantum problems defined by quadratic Hamiltonians are solved using canonical transformations. The Green’s function is obtained and a comparison with the classical Hamilton–Jacobi method leads to important geometrical insights like exterior differential systems, Monge cones and time dependent Gaussian metrics. The Wei–Norman approach is applied using unitary transformations defined in terms of generators of the associated Lie groups, here the semi-direct product of the Heisenberg group and the symplectic group. A new explicit relation for the unitary transformations is given in terms of a finite product of elementary transformations. The sequential application of adequate sets of unitary transformations leads naturally to a new separation of variables method for time dependent Hamiltonians, which is shown to be related to the Inönü–Wigner contraction of Lie groups. The new method allows also a better understanding of interacting particles or coupled modes and opens an alternative way to analyze topological phases in driven systems. - Highlights: • Exact unitary transformation reducing time dependent quadratic quantum Hamiltonian to zero. • New separation of variables method and simultaneous uncoupling of modes. • Explicit examples of transformations for one to four dimensional problems. • New general evolution equation for quadratic form in the action, respectively Green’s function.

  13. Time-dependent fatigue--phenomenology and life prediction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coffin, L.F.

    1979-01-01

    The time-dependent fatigue behavior of materials used or considered for use in present and advanced systems for power generation is outlined. A picture is first presented to show how basic mechanisms and phenomenological information relate to the performance of the component under consideration through the so-called local strain approach. By this means life prediction criteria and design rules can be formulated utilizing laboratory test information which is directly translated to predicting the performance of a component. The body of phenomenological information relative to time-dependent fatigue is reviewed. Included are effects of strain range, strain rate and frequency, environment and wave shape, all of which are shown to be important in developing both an understanding and design base for time dependent fatigue. Using this information, some of the current methods being considered for the life prediction of components are reviewed. These include the current ASME code case, frequency-modified fatigue equations, strain range partitioning, the damage function method, frequency separation and damage rate equations. From this review, it is hoped that a better perspective on future directions for basic material science at high temperature can be achieved

  14. Investigations of Low Temperature Time Dependent Cracking

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van der Sluys, W A; Robitz, E S; Young, B A; Bloom, J

    2002-09-30

    The objective of this project was to investigate metallurgical and mechanical phenomena associated with time dependent cracking of cold bent carbon steel piping at temperatures between 327 C and 360 C. Boiler piping failures have demonstrated that understanding the fundamental metallurgical and mechanical parameters controlling these failures is insufficient to eliminate it from the field. The results of the project consisted of the development of a testing methodology to reproduce low temperature time dependent cracking in laboratory specimens. This methodology was used to evaluate the cracking resistance of candidate heats in order to identify the factors that enhance cracking sensitivity. The resultant data was integrated into current available life prediction tools.

  15. Time-series analysis of foreign exchange rates using time-dependent pattern entropy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishizaki, Ryuji; Inoue, Masayoshi

    2013-08-01

    Time-dependent pattern entropy is a method that reduces variations to binary symbolic dynamics and considers the pattern of symbols in a sliding temporal window. We use this method to analyze the instability of daily variations in foreign exchange rates, in particular, the dollar-yen rate. The time-dependent pattern entropy of the dollar-yen rate was found to be high in the following periods: before and after the turning points of the yen from strong to weak or from weak to strong, and the period after the Lehman shock.

  16. Multi-scale simulations of droplets in generic time-dependent flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milan, Felix; Biferale, Luca; Sbragaglia, Mauro; Toschi, Federico

    2017-11-01

    We study the deformation and dynamics of droplets in time-dependent flows using a diffuse interface model for two immiscible fluids. The numerical simulations are at first benchmarked against analytical results of steady droplet deformation, and further extended to the more interesting case of time-dependent flows. The results of these time-dependent numerical simulations are compared against analytical models available in the literature, which assume the droplet shape to be an ellipsoid at all times, with time-dependent major and minor axis. In particular we investigate the time-dependent deformation of a confined droplet in an oscillating Couette flow for the entire capillary range until droplet break-up. In this way these multi component simulations prove to be a useful tool to establish from ``first principles'' the dynamics of droplets in complex flows involving multiple scales. European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 642069. & European Research Council under the European Community's Seventh Framework Program, ERC Grant Agreement No 339032.

  17. An overview of pre-surgical evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kurupath Radhakrishnan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The success of an epilepsy surgery program depends upon the early identification of potential surgical candidates and selecting from them, ideal candidates for surgery, who are destined to have a post-operative seizure-free outcome without any unacceptable neurological deficits. Since epilepsy surgery centers in resource-poor countries will lack the full range of state-of-the-art technologies usually available in resource-rich countries to perform pre-surgical evaluation, cost-effectively utilization of the locally available investigative facilities to select the surgical candidates becomes challenging. In the present era of rapid electronic communications and telemedicine, it has become possible for epilepsy surgery centers to pool their technological and human resources and to partner with centers nationally and internationally in implementing pre-surgical evaluation strategies.

  18. Algebraic time-dependent variational approach to dynamical calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi, S.; Rabitz, H.

    1988-01-01

    A set of time-dependent basis states is obtained with a group of unitary transformations generated by a Lie algebra. Applying the time-dependent variational principle to the trial function subspace constructed from the linear combination of the time-dependent basis states gives rise to a set of ''classical'' equations of motion for the group parameters and the expansion coefficients from which the time evolution of the system state can be determined. The formulation is developed for a general Lie algebra as well as for the commonly encountered algebra containing homogeneous polynominal products of the coordinate Q and momentum P operators (or equivalently the boson creation a/sup dagger/ and annihilation a operators) of order 0, 1, and 2. Explicit expressions for the transition amplitudes are derived by virtue of the cannonical transformation properties of the unitary transformation. The applicability of the present formalism in a variety of problems is implied by two illustrative examples: (a) a parametric amplifier; (b) the collinear collision of an atom with a Morse oscillator

  19. Quiet eye training improves surgical knot tying more than traditional technical training: a randomized controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Causer, Joe; Harvey, Adrian; Snelgrove, Ryan; Arsenault, Gina; Vickers, Joan N

    2014-08-01

    We examined the effectiveness of technical training (TT) and quiet eye training (QE) on the performance of one-handed square knot tying in surgical residents. Twenty surgical residents were randomly assigned to the 2 groups and completed pretest, training, retention, and transfer tests. Participants wore a mobile eye tracker that simultaneously recorded their gaze and hand movements. Dependent variables were knot tying performance (%), QE duration (%), number of fixations, total movement time (s), and hand movement phase time (s). The QE training group had significantly higher performance scores, a longer QE duration, fewer fixations, faster total knot tying times, and faster movement phase times compared with the TT group. The QE group maintained performance in the transfer test, whereas the TT group significantly decreased performance from retention to transfer. QE training significantly improved learning, retention, and transfer of surgical knot tying compared with a traditional technical approach. Both performance effectiveness (performance outcome) and movement efficiency (hand movement times) were improved using QE modeling, instruction, and feedback. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Space-Time Dependent Transport, Activation, and Dose Rates for Radioactivated Fluids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gavazza, Sergio

    Two methods are developed to calculate the space - and time-dependent mass transport of radionuclides, their production and decay, and the associated dose rates generated from the radioactivated fluids flowing through pipes. The work couples space- and time-dependent phenomena, treated as only space- or time-dependent in the open literature. The transport and activation methodology (TAM) is used to numerically calculate space- and time-dependent transport and activation of radionuclides in fluids flowing through pipes exposed to radiation fields, and volumetric radioactive sources created by radionuclide motions. The computer program Radionuclide Activation and Transport in Pipe (RNATPA1) performs the numerical calculations required in TAM. The gamma ray dose methodology (GAM) is used to numerically calculate space- and time-dependent gamma ray dose equivalent rates from the volumetric radioactive sources determined by TAM. The computer program Gamma Ray Dose Equivalent Rate (GRDOSER) performs the numerical calculations required in GAM. The scope of conditions considered by TAM and GAM herein include (a) laminar flow in straight pipe, (b)recirculating flow schemes, (c) time-independent fluid velocity distributions, (d) space-dependent monoenergetic neutron flux distribution, (e) space- and time-dependent activation process of a single parent nuclide and transport and decay of a single daughter radionuclide, and (f) assessment of space- and time-dependent gamma ray dose rates, outside the pipe, generated by the space- and time-dependent source term distributions inside of it. The methodologies, however, can be easily extended to include all the situations of interest for solving the phenomena addressed in this dissertation. A comparison is made from results obtained by the described calculational procedures with analytical expressions. The physics of the problems addressed by the new technique and the increased accuracy versus non -space and time-dependent methods

  1. Characterizing time-dependent mechanics in metallic MEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geers M.G.D.

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Experiments for characterization of time-dependent material properties in free-standing metallic microelectromechanical system (MEMS pose challenges: e.g. fabrication and handling (sub-μm sized specimens, control and measurement of sub-μN loads and sub-μm displacements over long periods and various temperatures [1]. A variety of experimental setups have been reported each having their pros and cons. One example is a micro-tensile tester with an ingenious electro-static specimen gripping system [2] aiding simple specimen design giving good results at μN and sub-μm levels, but without in-situ full-field observations. Other progressive examples assimilate the specimen, MEMS actuators and load cells on a single chip [3,4] yielding significant results at nN and nm levels with in-situ TEM/SEM observability, though not without complications: complex load actuator/sensor calibration per chip, measures to reduce fabrication failure and unfeasible cofabrication on wafers with commercial metallic MEMS. This work aims to overcome these drawbacks by developing experimental methods with high sensitivity, precision and in-situ full-field observation capabilities. Moreover, these should be applicable to simple free-standing metallic MEMS that can be co-fabricated with commercial devices. These methods will then serve in systematic studies into size-effects in time-dependent material properties. First a numeric-experimental method is developed. It characterizes bending deformation of onwafer μm-sized aluminum cantilevers. A specially designed micro-clamp is used to mechanically apply a constant precise deflection of the beam (zres <50 nm for a prolonged period, see fig. 1. After this period, the deflection by the micro-clamp is removed. Full-field height maps with the ensuing deformation are measured over time with confocal optical profilometry (COP. This yields the tip deflection as function of time with ~3 nm precision, see fig.2. To extract material

  2. Cosmologies with a time dependent vacuum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sola, Joan

    2011-01-01

    The idea that the cosmological term Λ should be a time dependent quantity in cosmology is a most natural one. It is difficult to conceive an expanding universe with a strictly constant vacuum energy density, ρ Λ = Λ/(8π G), namely one that has remained immutable since the origin of time. A smoothly evolving vacuum energy density ρ Λ = ρ Λ (ξ(t)) that inherits its time-dependence from cosmological functions ξ = ξ(t), such as the Hubble rate H(t) or the scale factor a(t), is not only a qualitatively more plausible and intuitive idea, but is also suggested by fundamental physics, in particular by quantum field theory (QFT) in curved space-time. To implement this notion, is not strictly necessary to resort to ad hoc scalar fields, as usually done in the literature (e.g. in quintessence formulations and the like). A 'running' Λ term can be expected on very similar grounds as one expects (and observes) the running of couplings and masses with a physical energy scale in QFT. Furthermore, the experimental evidence that the equation of state (EOS) of the dark energy (DE) could be evolving with time/redshift (including the possibility that it might currently behave phantom-like) suggests that a time-variable Λ = Λ(t) term (possibly accompanied by a variable Newton's gravitational coupling too, G = G(t)) could account in a natural way for all these features. Remarkably enough, a class of these models (the 'new cosmon') could even be the clue for solving the old cosmological constant problem, including the coincidence problem.

  3. Exact time-dependent exchange-correlation potentials for strong-field electron dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lein, Manfred; Kuemmel, Stephan

    2005-01-01

    By solving the time-dependent Schroedinger equation and inverting the time-dependent Kohn-Sham scheme we obtain the exact time-dependent exchange-correlation potential of density-functional theory for the strong-field dynamics of a correlated system. We demonstrate that essential features of the exact exchange-correlation potential can be related to derivative discontinuities in stationary density-functional theory. Incorporating the discontinuity in a time-dependent density-functional calculation greatly improves the description of the ionization process

  4. Queues with waiting time dependent service

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bekker, R.; Koole, G. M.; Nielsen, Bo Friis

    2011-01-01

    Motivated by service levels in terms of the waiting-time distribution seen, for instance, in call centers, we consider two models for systems with a service discipline that depends on the waiting time. The first model deals with a single server that continuously adapts its service rate based...... derive steady-state waiting-time distributions for both models. The results are illustrated with numerical examples....... on the waiting time of the first customer in line. In the second model, one queue is served by a primary server which is supplemented by a secondary server when the waiting of the first customer in line exceeds a threshold. Using level crossings for the waiting-time process of the first customer in line, we...

  5. Remote video auditing with real-time feedback in an academic surgical suite improves safety and efficiency metrics: a cluster randomised study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overdyk, Frank J; Dowling, Oonagh; Newman, Sheldon; Glatt, David; Chester, Michelle; Armellino, Donna; Cole, Brandon; Landis, Gregg S; Schoenfeld, David; DiCapua, John F

    2016-12-01

    Compliance with the surgical safety checklist during operative procedures has been shown to reduce inhospital mortality and complications but proper execution by the surgical team remains elusive. We evaluated the impact of remote video auditing with real-time provider feedback on checklist compliance during sign-in, time-out and sign-out and case turnover times. Prospective, cluster randomised study in a 23-operating room (OR) suite. Surgeons, anaesthesia providers, nurses and support staff. ORs were randomised to receive, or not receive, real-time feedback on safety checklist compliance and efficiency metrics via display boards and text messages, followed by a period during which all ORs received feedback. Checklist compliance (Pass/Fail) during sign-in, time-out and sign-out demonstrated by (1) use of checklist, (2) team attentiveness, (3) required duration, (4) proper sequence and duration of case turnover times. Sign-in, time-out and sign-out PASS rates increased from 25%, 16% and 32% during baseline phase (n=1886) to 64%, 84% and 68% for feedback ORs versus 40%, 77% and 51% for no-feedback ORs (pauditing with feedback improves surgical safety checklist compliance for all cases, and turnover time for scheduled cases, but not for unscheduled cases. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  6. Time dependence of magnetization of high temperature superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larkin, A.I.; Geshkenbein, V.B.

    1988-10-01

    Magnetization of high T c superconductors logarithmically decreases with time. There is a maximum in the temperature dependence of the coefficient at this logarithm. If one assumes that there do exist two kinds of pinning centers, then this dependence can be described in the Anderson theory of thermal creeps of Abrikosov's vortices. The temperature dependence of the critical current is also discussed. (author). 23 refs

  7. Physics in space-time with scale-dependent metrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balankin, Alexander S.

    2013-10-01

    We construct three-dimensional space Rγ3 with the scale-dependent metric and the corresponding Minkowski space-time Mγ,β4 with the scale-dependent fractal (DH) and spectral (DS) dimensions. The local derivatives based on scale-dependent metrics are defined and differential vector calculus in Rγ3 is developed. We state that Mγ,β4 provides a unified phenomenological framework for dimensional flow observed in quite different models of quantum gravity. Nevertheless, the main attention is focused on the special case of flat space-time M1/3,14 with the scale-dependent Cantor-dust-like distribution of admissible states, such that DH increases from DH=2 on the scale ≪ℓ0 to DH=4 in the infrared limit ≫ℓ0, where ℓ0 is the characteristic length (e.g. the Planck length, or characteristic size of multi-fractal features in heterogeneous medium), whereas DS≡4 in all scales. Possible applications of approach based on the scale-dependent metric to systems of different nature are briefly discussed.

  8. Time-dependent transport in interacting and noninteracting resonant-tunneling systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jauho, Antti-Pekka; Wingreen, Ned S.; Meir, Yigal

    1994-01-01

    noninteracting resonant-tunneling system are presented. Due to the coherence between the leads and the resonant site, the current does not follow the driving signal adiabatically: a ''ringing'' current is found as a response to a voltage pulse, and a complex time dependence results in the case of harmonic......We consider a mesoscopic region coupled to two leads under the influence of external time-dependent voltages. The time dependence is coupled to source and drain contacts, the gates controlling the tunnel-barrier heights, or to the gates that define the mesoscopic region. We derive, with the Keldysh...... nonequilibrium-Green-function technique, a formal expression for the fully nonlinear, time-dependent current through the system. The analysis admits arbitrary interactions in the mesoscopic region, but the leads are treated as noninteracting. For proportionate coupling to the leads, the time-averaged current...

  9. Analytical Solution of Heat Conduction for Hollow Cylinders with Time-Dependent Boundary Condition and Time-Dependent Heat Transfer Coefficient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Te-Wen Tu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available An analytical solution for the heat transfer in hollow cylinders with time-dependent boundary condition and time-dependent heat transfer coefficient at different surfaces is developed for the first time. The methodology is an extension of the shifting function method. By dividing the Biot function into a constant plus a function and introducing two specially chosen shifting functions, the system is transformed into a partial differential equation with homogenous boundary conditions only. The transformed system is thus solved by series expansion theorem. Limiting cases of the solution are studied and numerical results are compared with those in the literature. The convergence rate of the present solution is fast and the analytical solution is simple and accurate. Also, the influence of physical parameters on the temperature distribution of a hollow cylinder along the radial direction is investigated.

  10. Time dependent mean-field games

    KAUST Repository

    Gomes, Diogo A.

    2014-01-06

    We consider time dependent mean-field games (MFG) with a local power-like dependence on the measure and Hamiltonians satisfying both sub and superquadratic growth conditions. We establish existence of smooth solutions under a certain set of conditions depending both on the growth of the Hamiltonian as well as on the dimension. In the subquadratic case this is done by combining a Gagliardo-Nirenberg type of argument with a new class of polynomial estimates for solutions of the Fokker-Planck equation in terms of LrLp- norms of DpH. These techniques do not apply to the superquadratic case. In this setting we recur to a delicate argument that combines the non-linear adjoint method with polynomial estimates for solutions of the Fokker-Planck equation in terms of L1L1-norms of DpH. Concerning the subquadratic case, we substantially improve and extend the results previously obtained. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, the superquadratic case has not been addressed in the literature yet. In fact, it is likely that our estimates may also add to the current understanding of Hamilton-Jacobi equations with superquadratic Hamiltonians.

  11. Optimal adaptive control for quantum metrology with time-dependent Hamiltonians

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, Shengshi; Jordan, Andrew N.

    2017-01-01

    Quantum metrology has been studied for a wide range of systems with time-independent Hamiltonians. For systems with time-dependent Hamiltonians, however, due to the complexity of dynamics, little has been known about quantum metrology. Here we investigate quantum metrology with time-dependent Hamiltonians to bridge this gap. We obtain the optimal quantum Fisher information for parameters in time-dependent Hamiltonians, and show proper Hamiltonian control is generally necessary to optimize the Fisher information. We derive the optimal Hamiltonian control, which is generally adaptive, and the measurement scheme to attain the optimal Fisher information. In a minimal example of a qubit in a rotating magnetic field, we find a surprising result that the fundamental limit of T2 time scaling of quantum Fisher information can be broken with time-dependent Hamiltonians, which reaches T4 in estimating the rotation frequency of the field. We conclude by considering level crossings in the derivatives of the Hamiltonians, and point out additional control is necessary for that case. PMID:28276428

  12. Optimal adaptive control for quantum metrology with time-dependent Hamiltonians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, Shengshi; Jordan, Andrew N

    2017-03-09

    Quantum metrology has been studied for a wide range of systems with time-independent Hamiltonians. For systems with time-dependent Hamiltonians, however, due to the complexity of dynamics, little has been known about quantum metrology. Here we investigate quantum metrology with time-dependent Hamiltonians to bridge this gap. We obtain the optimal quantum Fisher information for parameters in time-dependent Hamiltonians, and show proper Hamiltonian control is generally necessary to optimize the Fisher information. We derive the optimal Hamiltonian control, which is generally adaptive, and the measurement scheme to attain the optimal Fisher information. In a minimal example of a qubit in a rotating magnetic field, we find a surprising result that the fundamental limit of T 2 time scaling of quantum Fisher information can be broken with time-dependent Hamiltonians, which reaches T 4 in estimating the rotation frequency of the field. We conclude by considering level crossings in the derivatives of the Hamiltonians, and point out additional control is necessary for that case.

  13. Review of time-dependent fatigue behaviour of structural alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greenstreet, W.L.

    1978-01-01

    A review and assessment of time-dependent fatigue was needed to provide an understanding of time-dependent fatigue processes, to define the limits of our present knowledge, and to establish bases for the development of verified design methods for structural components and systems for operation at elevated temperatures. This report reviews the present state of understanding of that phenomena, commonly called 'creep fatigue', and separates it into crack-initiation and crack propagation processes. Criteria for describing material behavior for each of these processes are discussed and described within the extent of present knowledge, which is limited largely to experience with one-dimensional loading. Behaviors of types 304 and 316 stainless steel are emphasized. Much of the treatment of time-dependent failure present here is new and of a developing nature; areas of agreement and areas requiring further resolution are enumerated'. These words are from the abstract of the report on a comprehensive study of time-dependent fatigue. This paper briefly reviews some of the contents and discusses important conclusions reached, especially in terms of current status and needs for additional work. (Auth.)

  14. Betweenness in time dependent networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alsayed, Ahmad; Higham, Desmond J.

    2015-01-01

    The concept of betweenness has given rise to a very useful class of network centrality measures. Loosely, betweenness quantifies the level of importance of a node in terms of its propensity to act as an intermediary when messages are passed around the network. In this work we generalize a walk-based betweenness measure to the case of time-dependent networks, such as those arising in telecommunications and on-line social media. We also introduce a new kind of betweenness measure, temporal betweenness, which quantifies the importance of a time-point. We illustrate the effectiveness of these new measures on synthetic examples, and also give results on real data sets involving voice call, email and Twitter

  15. Theoretical analysis of time-dependent neutron spectra in bulk assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akimoto, Tadashi; Ogawa, Yuichi; Togawa, Orihiko.

    1988-01-01

    Time-dependent neutron spectra in an iron assembly and in a graphite assembly are obtained with the one-dimensional S N calculation, in order an attempt to investigate the availability of these spectra to the benchmark test by the LINAC-TOF method for evaluation of nuclear data and numerical methods. The group constants are taken from the JAERI FAST SET Version 1, 2 and the ABBN SET. It was demonstrated by a sensitivity test that the time-dependent neutron spectra are sensitive to changes in the inelastic scattering cross section data in the iron assembly and to changes in the elastic scattering cross section data in the graphite assembly. Moreover, it is shown that the time-dependent spectra in the graphite assembly are sensitive to the group structure. Because some information about the neutron transport phenomena which has not been obtained in the stationary spectra is observed in the time-dependent spectra, the availability of the benchmark test based on the time-dependent spectra is indicated from the theoretical analysis. (author)

  16. Quadratic time dependent Hamiltonians and separation of variables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzaldo-Meneses, A.

    2017-06-01

    Time dependent quantum problems defined by quadratic Hamiltonians are solved using canonical transformations. The Green's function is obtained and a comparison with the classical Hamilton-Jacobi method leads to important geometrical insights like exterior differential systems, Monge cones and time dependent Gaussian metrics. The Wei-Norman approach is applied using unitary transformations defined in terms of generators of the associated Lie groups, here the semi-direct product of the Heisenberg group and the symplectic group. A new explicit relation for the unitary transformations is given in terms of a finite product of elementary transformations. The sequential application of adequate sets of unitary transformations leads naturally to a new separation of variables method for time dependent Hamiltonians, which is shown to be related to the Inönü-Wigner contraction of Lie groups. The new method allows also a better understanding of interacting particles or coupled modes and opens an alternative way to analyze topological phases in driven systems.

  17. Time dependent convection electric fields and plasma injection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaye, S.M.; Kivelson, M.G.

    1979-01-01

    Large-scale electric fields associated with storms or substorms are responsible for inward convection and energization of plasma sheet plasma. Calculations based on steady state convection theory show that the response to such electric fields qualitatively accounts for many features of the injected particle distribution, but quantitative agreement with the theory has not yet been obtained. It is known that the predictions can be improved by introducing the concept of convection in response to a time dependent electric field. On the other hand, time dependent calculations are sensitive to the choice of initial conditions, and most models have failed to incorporate these conditions in a realistic and self-consistent manner. In this paper we present a more complete model consisting of realisic initial conditions and time dependent convection to explain a typical substorm-associated electron injection event. We find very good agreement between the observed electron flux changes and those predicted by our model

  18. Progress Report on Alloy 617 Time Dependent Allowables

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wright, Julie Knibloe [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-06-01

    Time dependent allowable stresses are required in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for design of components in the temperature range where time dependent deformation (i.e., creep) is expected to become significant. There are time dependent allowable stresses in Section IID of the Code for use in the non-nuclear construction codes, however, there are additional criteria that must be considered in developing time dependent allowables for nuclear components. These criteria are specified in Section III NH. St is defined as the lesser of three quantities: 100% of the average stress required to obtain a total (elastic, plastic, primary and secondary creep) strain of 1%; 67% of the minimum stress to cause rupture; and 80% of the minimum stress to cause the initiation of tertiary creep. The values are reported for a range of temperatures and for time increments up to 100,000 hours. These values are determined from uniaxial creep tests, which involve the elevated temperature application of a constant load which is relatively small, resulting in deformation over a long time period prior to rupture. The stress which is the minimum resulting from these criteria is the time dependent allowable stress St. In this report data from a large number of creep and creep-rupture tests on Alloy 617 are analyzed using the ASME Section III NH criteria. Data which are used in the analysis are from the ongoing DOE sponsored high temperature materials program, form Korea Atomic Energy Institute through the Generation IV VHTR Materials Program and historical data from previous HTR research and vendor data generated in developing the alloy. It is found that the tertiary creep criterion determines St at highest temperatures, while the stress to cause 1% total strain controls at low temperatures. The ASME Section III Working Group on Allowable Stress Criteria has recommended that the uncertainties associated with determining the onset of tertiary creep and the lack of significant

  19. Time-dependent problems and difference methods

    CERN Document Server

    Gustafsson, Bertil; Oliger, Joseph

    2013-01-01

    Praise for the First Edition "". . . fills a considerable gap in the numerical analysis literature by providing a self-contained treatment . . . this is an important work written in a clear style . . . warmly recommended to any graduate student or researcher in the field of the numerical solution of partial differential equations."" -SIAM Review Time-Dependent Problems and Difference Methods, Second Edition continues to provide guidance for the analysis of difference methods for computing approximate solutions to partial differential equations for time-de

  20. Effect of phenylephrine/ketorolac on iris fixation ring use and surgical times in patients at risk of intraoperative miosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Visco D

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Denise Visco Eyes of York Cataract & Laser Center, York, PA, USA Purpose: To evaluate the effect of intracameral phenylephrine/ketorolac (1%/0.3% during cataract surgery on the use of iris fixation ring and surgical time in patients with poor pupil dilation (≤5.0 mm or intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS. Setting: Private practice outpatient surgical center. Design: This retrospective analysis was conducted from January 1, 2014 to October 7, 2015. Materials and methods: The use of iris fixation rings was evaluated in a retrospective analysis of 46 patients who underwent cataract surgery from January 1, 2014, to October 7, 2015, and who were identified before surgery to be at risk for intraoperative miosis. The qualifying factors were presurgical examination of pupil dilation ≤5.0 mm after being administered topical tropicamide 1% and phenylephrine 2.5% or history of IFIS during surgery in the fellow eye. All patients received a 2-day preoperative course of topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs and day-of-surgery preoperative dilation using topical cyclopentolate 1%, tropicamide 1%, and phenylephrine 10%. Phenylephrine/ketorolac 1%/0.3% (Omidria® or epinephrine 1:1,000 with sulfites was added to the ophthalmic irrigation solution and delivered intracamerally at the start of the procedure and throughout surgery. The use of iris fixation rings and surgical time for each patient were captured for each group. Results: Eighteen (50% of the patients in the epinephrine group and no patients in the phenylephrine/ketorolac group required iris fixation ring insertion to maintain pupil dilation or to control IFIS (p=0.0034. Mean surgical time was significantly shorter in the group of patients who received phenylephrine/ketorolac (p=0.0068. Conclusion: In this retrospective cohort analysis of patients with poorly dilated pupils and/or IFIS, the use of intracameral phenylephrine/ketorolac in patients at risk for intraoperative

  1. Timing analysis of safety properties using fault trees with time dependencies and timed state-charts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magott, Jan; Skrobanek, Pawel

    2012-01-01

    Behavior in time domain is often crucial for safety critical systems. Standard fault trees cannot express time-dependent behavior. In the paper, timing analysis of safety properties using fault trees with time dependencies (FTTDs) and timed state-charts is presented. A new version of timed state-charts (TSCs) is also proposed. These state-charts can model the dynamics of technical systems, e.g. controllers, controlled objects, and people. In TSCs, activity and communication times are represented by time intervals. In the proposed approach the structure of FTTD is fixed by a human. Time properties of events and gates of FTTD are expressed by time intervals, and are calculated using TSCs. The minimal and maximal values of these time intervals of FTTD can be calculated by finding paths with minimal and maximal time lengths in TSCs, which is an NP-hard problem. In order to reduce the practical complexity of computing the FTTD time parameters, some reductions of TSCs are defined in the paper, such as sequential, alternative, loop (iteration), and parallel. Some of the reductions are intuitive, in case of others—theorems are required. Computational complexity of each reduction is not greater than linear in the size of reduced TSC. Therefore, the obtained results enable decreasing of the costs of FTTD time parameters calculation when system dynamics is expressed by TSCs. Case study of a railroad crossing with a controller that controls semaphores, gate, light-audio signal close to the gate will be analyzed.

  2. Time dependent density matrix theory and effective interaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tohyama, Mitsuru [Kyorin Univ., Mitaka, Tokyo (Japan). School of Medicine

    1998-07-01

    A correlated ground state of {sup 16}O and an E2 giant resonance built on it are calculated using an extended version of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory called the time-dependent density-matrix theory (TDDM). The Skyrme force is used in the calculation of both a mean field and two-body correlations. It is found that TDDM gives reasonable ground-state correlations and a large spreading width of the E2 giant resonance when single-particle states in the continuum are treated appropriately. (author)

  3. Angle-dependent strong-field molecular ionization rates with tuned range-separated time-dependent density functional theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sissay, Adonay [Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 (United States); Abanador, Paul; Mauger, François; Gaarde, Mette; Schafer, Kenneth J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 (United States); Lopata, Kenneth, E-mail: klopata@lsu.edu [Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 (United States); Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 (United States)

    2016-09-07

    Strong-field ionization and the resulting electronic dynamics are important for a range of processes such as high harmonic generation, photodamage, charge resonance enhanced ionization, and ionization-triggered charge migration. Modeling ionization dynamics in molecular systems from first-principles can be challenging due to the large spatial extent of the wavefunction which stresses the accuracy of basis sets, and the intense fields which require non-perturbative time-dependent electronic structure methods. In this paper, we develop a time-dependent density functional theory approach which uses a Gaussian-type orbital (GTO) basis set to capture strong-field ionization rates and dynamics in atoms and small molecules. This involves propagating the electronic density matrix in time with a time-dependent laser potential and a spatial non-Hermitian complex absorbing potential which is projected onto an atom-centered basis set to remove ionized charge from the simulation. For the density functional theory (DFT) functional we use a tuned range-separated functional LC-PBE*, which has the correct asymptotic 1/r form of the potential and a reduced delocalization error compared to traditional DFT functionals. Ionization rates are computed for hydrogen, molecular nitrogen, and iodoacetylene under various field frequencies, intensities, and polarizations (angle-dependent ionization), and the results are shown to quantitatively agree with time-dependent Schrödinger equation and strong-field approximation calculations. This tuned DFT with GTO method opens the door to predictive all-electron time-dependent density functional theory simulations of ionization and ionization-triggered dynamics in molecular systems using tuned range-separated hybrid functionals.

  4. Angle-dependent strong-field molecular ionization rates with tuned range-separated time-dependent density functional theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sissay, Adonay; Abanador, Paul; Mauger, François; Gaarde, Mette; Schafer, Kenneth J.; Lopata, Kenneth

    2016-01-01

    Strong-field ionization and the resulting electronic dynamics are important for a range of processes such as high harmonic generation, photodamage, charge resonance enhanced ionization, and ionization-triggered charge migration. Modeling ionization dynamics in molecular systems from first-principles can be challenging due to the large spatial extent of the wavefunction which stresses the accuracy of basis sets, and the intense fields which require non-perturbative time-dependent electronic structure methods. In this paper, we develop a time-dependent density functional theory approach which uses a Gaussian-type orbital (GTO) basis set to capture strong-field ionization rates and dynamics in atoms and small molecules. This involves propagating the electronic density matrix in time with a time-dependent laser potential and a spatial non-Hermitian complex absorbing potential which is projected onto an atom-centered basis set to remove ionized charge from the simulation. For the density functional theory (DFT) functional we use a tuned range-separated functional LC-PBE*, which has the correct asymptotic 1/r form of the potential and a reduced delocalization error compared to traditional DFT functionals. Ionization rates are computed for hydrogen, molecular nitrogen, and iodoacetylene under various field frequencies, intensities, and polarizations (angle-dependent ionization), and the results are shown to quantitatively agree with time-dependent Schrödinger equation and strong-field approximation calculations. This tuned DFT with GTO method opens the door to predictive all-electron time-dependent density functional theory simulations of ionization and ionization-triggered dynamics in molecular systems using tuned range-separated hybrid functionals.

  5. Time-dependent EQPET analysis of TSC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Akito

    2006-01-01

    Time-dependent fusion rates for 2D and 4D reactions are calculated for squeezing of tetrahedral symmetric condensate (TSC) from about 100 pm size to its minimum size (about 10 fm), within about 75 fs squeezing motion. Life time of the minimum TSC state is yet to be studied. Time-averaged fusion rates are given by assuming the life time of minimum TSC state is negligible. Time-averaged 2D fusion rate was given as 2.9x10 -25 f/s/pair, and time-averaged 4D fusion rate was 5.5x10 -8 f/s/cl. These values are compared with 1.0x10 -20 f/s/pair for 2D and 1.0x10 -9 f/s/cl for 4D, respectively, of previously estimated values by electronic quasi-particle expansion theory/TSC models. Effective fusion time by the TSC squeezing motion was estimated as 0.014 fs: namely fusions may happen in very short time interval. (author)

  6. Riccati and Ermakov Equations in Time-Dependent and Time-Independent Quantum Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dieter Schuch

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available The time-evolution of the maximum and the width of exact analytic wave packet (WP solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (SE represents the particle and wave aspects, respectively, of the quantum system. The dynamics of the maximum, located at the mean value of position, is governed by the Newtonian equation of the corresponding classical problem. The width, which is directly proportional to the position uncertainty, obeys a complex nonlinear Riccati equation which can be transformed into a real nonlinear Ermakov equation. The coupled pair of these equations yields a dynamical invariant which plays a key role in our investigation. It can be expressed in terms of a complex variable that linearizes the Riccati equation. This variable also provides the time-dependent parameters that characterize the Green's function, or Feynman kernel, of the corresponding problem. From there, also the relation between the classical and quantum dynamics of the systems can be obtained. Furthermore, the close connection between the Ermakov invariant and the Wigner function will be shown. Factorization of the dynamical invariant allows for comparison with creation/annihilation operators and supersymmetry where the partner potentials fulfil (real Riccati equations. This provides the link to a nonlinear formulation of time-independent quantum mechanics in terms of an Ermakov equation for the amplitude of the stationary state wave functions combined with a conservation law. Comparison with SUSY and the time-dependent problems concludes our analysis.

  7. Isolated cleft palate requires different surgical protocols depending on cleft type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elander, Anna; Persson, Christina; Lilja, Jan; Mark, Hans

    2017-08-01

    A staged protocol for isolated cleft palate (CPO), comprising the early repair of the soft palate at 6 months and delayed repair of the eventual cleft in the hard palate until 4 years, designed to improve maxillary growth, was introduced. CPO is frequently associated with additional congenital conditions. The study evaluates this surgical protocol for clefts in the soft palate (CPS) and for clefts in the hard and soft palate (CPH), with or without additional malformation, regarding primary and secondary surgical interventions needed for cleft closure and for correction of velopharyngeal insufficiency until 10 years of age. Of 94 consecutive children with CPO, divided into four groups with (+) or without (-) additional malformations (CPS + or CPS - and CPH + or CPH-), hard palate repair was required in 53%, performed with small local flaps in 21% and with bilateral mucoperiosteal flaps in 32%. The total incidence of soft palate re-repair was 2% and the fistula repair of the hard palate was 5%. The total incidence of secondary velopharyngeal surgery was 17% until 10 years, varying from 0% for CPS - and 15% for CPH-, to 28% for CPS + and 30% for CPH+. The described staged protocol for repair of CPO is found to be safe in terms of perioperative surgical results, with comparatively low need for secondary interventions. Furthermore, the study indicates that the presence of a cleft in the hard palate and/or additional conditions have a negative impact on the development of the velopharyngeal function.

  8. Surgical simulation in orthopaedic skills training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atesok, Kivanc; Mabrey, Jay D; Jazrawi, Laith M; Egol, Kenneth A

    2012-07-01

    Mastering rapidly evolving orthopaedic surgical techniques requires a lengthy period of training. Current work-hour restrictions and cost pressures force trainees to face the challenge of acquiring more complex surgical skills in a shorter amount of time. As a result, alternative methods to improve the surgical skills of orthopaedic trainees outside the operating room have been developed. These methods include hands-on training in a laboratory setting using synthetic bones or cadaver models as well as software tools and computerized simulators that enable trainees to plan and simulate orthopaedic operations in a three-dimensional virtual environment. Laboratory-based training offers potential benefits in the development of basic surgical skills, such as using surgical tools and implants appropriately, achieving competency in procedures that have a steep learning curve, and assessing already acquired skills while minimizing concerns for patient safety, operating room time, and financial constraints. Current evidence supporting the educational advantages of surgical simulation in orthopaedic skills training is limited. Despite this, positive effects on the overall education of orthopaedic residents, and on maintaining the proficiency of practicing orthopaedic surgeons, are anticipated.

  9. Time-dependent nonlinear cosmic ray shocks confirming abstract

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dorfi, E.A.

    1985-01-01

    Numerical studies of time dependent cosmic ray shock structures in planar geometry are interesting because analytical time-independent solutions are available which include the non-linear reactions on the plasma flow. A feature of these time asymptotic solutions is that for higher Mach numbers (M approximately 5) and for a low cosmic ray upstream pressure the solution is not uniquely determined by the usual conservation laws of mass, momentum and energy. These numerical solutions clearly indicate that much work needs to be done before we understand shock acceleration as a time dependent process. The slowness of the process is possibly due to the fact that there is a diffusive flux into the downstream region in addition to the usual advective losses. Analytic investigations of this phenomenon are required

  10. Maintainability analysis considering time-dependent and time-independent covariates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barabadi, Abbas; Barabady, Javad; Markeset, Tore

    2011-01-01

    Traditional parametric methods for assessing maintainability most often only consider time to repair (TTR) as a single explanatory variable. However, to predict availability more precisely for high availability systems, a better model is needed to quantify the effect of operational environment on maintainability. The proportional repair model (PRM), which is developed based on proportional hazard model (PHM), may be used to analyze maintainability in the present of covariates. In the PRM, the effect of covariates is considered to be time independent. However this assumption may not be valid for some situations. The aim of this paper is to develop the Cox regression model and its extension in the presence of time-dependent covariates for determining maintainability. A simple case study is used to demonstrate how the model can be applied in a real case.

  11. Relativistic Photoionization Computations with the Time Dependent Dirac Equation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-10-12

    Naval Research Laboratory Washington, DC 20375-5320 NRL/MR/6795--16-9698 Relativistic Photoionization Computations with the Time Dependent Dirac... Photoionization Computations with the Time Dependent Dirac Equation Daniel F. Gordon and Bahman Hafizi Naval Research Laboratory 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW...Unclassified Unlimited Unclassified Unlimited 22 Daniel Gordon (202) 767-5036 Tunneling Photoionization Ionization of inner shell electrons by laser

  12. Usefulness of surgical complexity classification index in cataract surgery process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salazar Méndez, R; Cuesta García, M; Llaneza Velasco, M E; Rodríguez Villa, S; Cubillas Martín, M; Alonso Álvarez, C M

    2016-06-01

    To evaluate the usefulness of surgical complexity classification index (SCCI) to predict the degree of surgical difficulty in cataract surgery. This retrospective study includes data collected between January 2013 and December 2014 from patients who underwent cataract extraction by phacoemulsification at our hospital. A sample size of 159 patients was obtained by simple random sampling (P=.5, 10% accuracy, 95% confidence). The main variables were: recording and value of SCCI in electronic medical record (EMR), presence of exfoliation syndrome (XFS), criteria for inclusion in surgical waiting list (SWL), and functional results. SCCI was classified into 7 categories (range: 1-4) according to predictors of technical difficulty, which was indirectly estimated in terms of surgical time (ST). All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS v15.0 statistical software. Prevalence of XFS was 18.2% (95%CI: 11.9-24.5). In terms of quality indicators in the cataract surgery process, 96.8% of patients met at least one of the criteria to be included in SWL, and 98.1% gained ≥2 Snellen lines. The SCCI was recorded in EMR of 98.1% patients, and it was grouped for study into 2 categories: High and low surgical complexity. Statistically significant differences in the distribution of ST were found depending on the assigned SCCI (Pde Oftalmología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  13. Relativistic time-dependent Fermion-mass renormalization using statistical regularization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutnink, Timothy; McMurray, Christian; Santrach, Amelia; Hockett, Sarah; Barcus, Scott; Petridis, Athanasios

    2017-09-01

    The time-dependent electromagnetically self-coupled Dirac equation is solved numerically by means of the staggered-leap-frog algorithm with reflecting boundary conditions. The stability region of the method versus the interaction strength and the spatial-grid size over time-step ratio is established. The expectation values of several dynamic operators are then evaluated as functions of time. These include the fermion and electromagnetic energies and the fermion dynamic mass. There is a characteristic, non-exponential, oscillatory dependence leading to asymptotic constants of these expectation values. In the case of the fermion mass this amounts to renormalization. The dependence of the expectation values on the spatial-grid size is evaluated in detail. Furthermore, the contribution of positive and negative energy states to the asymptotic values and the gauge fields is analyzed. Statistical regularization, employing a canonical ensemble whose temperature is the inverse of the grid size, is used to remove the grid-size and momentum-dependence and produce a finite result in the continuum limit.

  14. Timing intervals using population synchrony and spike timing dependent plasticity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Xu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available We present a computational model by which ensembles of regularly spiking neurons can encode different time intervals through synchronous firing. We show that a neuron responding to a large population of convergent inputs has the potential to learn to produce an appropriately-timed output via spike-time dependent plasticity. We explain why temporal variability of this population synchrony increases with increasing time intervals. We also show that the scalar property of timing and its violation at short intervals can be explained by the spike-wise accumulation of jitter in the inter-spike intervals of timing neurons. We explore how the challenge of encoding longer time intervals can be overcome and conclude that this may involve a switch to a different population of neurons with lower firing rate, with the added effect of producing an earlier bias in response. Experimental data on human timing performance show features in agreement with the model’s output.

  15. Time-dependent perturbations in two-dimensional string black holes

    CERN Document Server

    Diamandis, G A; Maintas, X N; Mavromatos, Nikolaos E

    1992-01-01

    We discuss time-dependent perturbations (induced by matter fields) of a black-hole background in tree-level two-dimensional string theory. We analyse the linearized case and show the possibility of having black-hole solutions with time-dependent horizons. The latter exist only in the presence of time-dependent `tachyon' matter fields, which constitute the only propagating degrees of freedom in two-dimensional string theory. For real tachyon field configurations it is not possible to obtain solutions with horizons shrinking to a point. On the other hand, such a possibility seems to be realized in the case of string black-hole models formulated on higher world-sheet genera. We connect this latter result with black hole evaporation/decay at a quantum level.}

  16. Time-adaptive and history-adaptive multicriterion routing in stochastic, time-dependent networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pretolani, Daniele; Nielsen, Lars Relund; Andersen, Kim Allan

    2009-01-01

    We compare two different models for multicriterion routing in stochastic time-dependent networks: the classic "time-adaptive'' model and the more flexible "history-adaptive'' one. We point out several properties of the sets of efficient solutions found under the two models. We also devise a method...

  17. Teaching surgical exposures to undergraduate medical students: an integration concept for anatomical and surgical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammer, Niels; Hepp, Pierre; Löffler, Sabine; Schleifenbaum, Stefan; Steinke, Hanno; Klima, Stefan

    2015-06-01

    Decreasing numbers of students are interested in starting a surgical career, posing substantial challenges to patient care in the next years. The anatomy course is one of the key subjects in medical training, especially in surgical disciplines. Innovative teaching concepts that integrate surgically relevant anatomy and manual dexterity might help boost student interest in surgery. A preclinical workshop entitled "Surgical exposures" was developed. A team of anatomists and surgeons introduced the surgical exposures, demonstrating the procedures on Thiel-fixed body donors. Following this introduction, students practiced the exposures in an operating room-like manner. A six-point Likert scale was used to evaluate the workshop and to compare it to the first-year dissection course. The overall evaluation result for the surgical exposures was excellent, proving to be a significantly better result when compared to the first-year dissection course. The students were more satisfied with the teaching time invested by the peers and regarded the workshop as clinically highly relevant. Furthermore, they felt that questions were addressed better and that the overall atmosphere was better than in the gross anatomy course. Subject to criticism was the course size and practicing time in both cases. The surgical exposures workshop provides preclinical students with clinically relevant anatomy and manual dexterity. It may positively influence the decision to follow a surgical career. This course, however, requires extensive teaching resources. The given concept may help implement practical medical skills in the preclinical curriculum, strengthening the professional identity of surgeons and anatomists.

  18. Surgical wound dehiscence in an Australian community nursing service: time and cost to healing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandy-Hodgetts, K; Leslie, G D; Lewin, G; Hendrie, D; Carville, K

    2016-07-02

    Surgical wound dehiscence (SWD) increases the length of hospital stay and impacts on patient wellbeing and health-care costs. Globally, the health-care costs associated with SWD are poorly reported and those reported are frequently associated with surgical site infection (SSI), rather than dehiscence of non-microbial cause. This retrospective study describes and reports on the costs and time to healing associated with a number of surgical patients who were referred to a community nursing service for treatment of an SWD following discharge from a metropolitan hospital, in Perth, Western Australia. Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out to describe the patient, wound and treatment characteristics. A costing analysis was conducted to investigate the cost of healing these wounds. Among the 70 patients referred with a SWD, 55% were treated for an infected wound dehiscence which was a significant factor (p=0.001). Overall, the cost of treating the 70 patients with a SWD in a community nursing service was in excess of $56,000 Australian dollars (AUD) (£28,705) and did not include organisational overheads or travel costs for nurse visits. The management of infection contributed to 67% of the overall cost. SWD remains an unquantified aspect of wound care from a prevalence and fiscal point of view. Further work needs to be done in the identification of SWD and which patients may be 'at risk'. The authors declare they have no competing interests.

  19. Enabling time-dependent uncertain eco-weights for road networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, Jilin; Yang, Bin; Jensen, Christian S.

    2017-01-01

    travel costs. Based on the techniques above, different histogram aggregation methods are proposed to accurately estimate time-dependent GHG emissions for routes. Based on a 200-million GPS record data set collected from 150 vehicles in Denmark over two years, a comprehensive empirical study is conducted...... transportation. The foundation of eco-routing is a weighted-graph representation of a road network in which road segments, or edges, are associated with eco-weights that capture the GHG emissions caused by traversing the edges. Due to the dynamics of traffic, the eco-weights are best modeled as being time...... dependent and uncertain. We formalize the problem of assigning a time-dependent, uncertain eco-weight to each edge in a road network based on historical GPS records. In particular, a sequence of histograms is employed to describe the uncertain eco-weight of an edge at different time intervals. Compression...

  20. Open core control software for surgical robots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arata, Jumpei; Kozuka, Hiroaki; Kim, Hyung Wook; Takesue, Naoyuki; Vladimirov, B; Sakaguchi, Masamichi; Tokuda, Junichi; Hata, Nobuhiko; Chinzei, Kiyoyuki; Fujimoto, Hideo

    2010-05-01

    In these days, patients and doctors in operation room are surrounded by many medical devices as resulting from recent advancement of medical technology. However, these cutting-edge medical devices are working independently and not collaborating with each other, even though the collaborations between these devices such as navigation systems and medical imaging devices are becoming very important for accomplishing complex surgical tasks (such as a tumor removal procedure while checking the tumor location in neurosurgery). On the other hand, several surgical robots have been commercialized, and are becoming common. However, these surgical robots are not open for collaborations with external medical devices in these days. A cutting-edge "intelligent surgical robot" will be possible in collaborating with surgical robots, various kinds of sensors, navigation system and so on. On the other hand, most of the academic software developments for surgical robots are "home-made" in their research institutions and not open to the public. Therefore, open source control software for surgical robots can be beneficial in this field. From these perspectives, we developed Open Core Control software for surgical robots to overcome these challenges. In general, control softwares have hardware dependencies based on actuators, sensors and various kinds of internal devices. Therefore, these control softwares cannot be used on different types of robots without modifications. However, the structure of the Open Core Control software can be reused for various types of robots by abstracting hardware dependent parts. In addition, network connectivity is crucial for collaboration between advanced medical devices. The OpenIGTLink is adopted in Interface class which plays a role to communicate with external medical devices. At the same time, it is essential to maintain the stable operation within the asynchronous data transactions through network. In the Open Core Control software, several

  1. Time dependent drift Hamiltonian

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boozer, A.H.

    1982-04-01

    The motion of individual charged particles in a given magnetic and an electric fields is discussed. An idea of a guiding center distribution function f is introduced. The guiding center distribution function is connected to the asymptotic Hamiltonian through the drift kinetic equation. The general non-stochastic magnetic field can be written in a contravariant and a covariant forms. The drift Hamiltonian is proposed, and the canonical gyroradius is presented. The proposed drift Hamiltonian agrees with Alfven's drift velocity to lowest non-vanishing order in the gyroradius. The relation between the exact, time dependent equations of motion and the guiding center equation is clarified by a Lagrangian analysis. The deduced Lagrangian represents the drift motion. (Kato, T.)

  2. Characterization of Models for Time-Dependent Behavior of Soils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liingaard, Morten; Augustesen, Anders; Lade, Poul V.

    2004-01-01

      Different classes of constitutive models have been developed to capture the time-dependent viscous phenomena ~ creep, stress relaxation, and rate effects ! observed in soils. Models based on empirical, rheological, and general stress-strain-time concepts have been studied. The first part....... Special attention is paid to elastoviscoplastic models that combine inviscid elastic and time-dependent plastic behavior. Various general elastoviscoplastic models can roughly be divided into two categories: Models based on the concept of overstress and models based on nonstationary flow surface theory...

  3. Comparison of laparoscopic and open appendectomy in terms of operative time, hospital stay and frequency of surgical site infection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibrahim, T.; Saleem, M.R.; Aziz, O.B.; Arshad, A.

    2014-01-01

    To compare laparoscopic and conventional open appendectomy in terms of operative time, hospital stay and frequency of surgical site infection (SSI). Patient and Methods: A total of 417 patients underwent appendectomy during this period. 137 patients underwent laparoscopic appendectomy (group A) while 280 patient had open appendectomy (group B). The samples include all patients who were operated open between the time span of june 2010 to september 2011. A chi square-test was performed to compare the data for statistical significance. Result: Mean operative time for group A was 79.21+-23.42 minitues where as in group B, the mean operative time was 41.49+-20.86 minitues. Group A patients had a shorter hospital 1 stay (3.6+-1 day) but in group B it was (5.2+-3 days). Seven patients (5.1 %) developed surgical site infection (SSI) in group A and 34 patients (12.14 %)developed postoperative SSI in group B. Conclusion: Laparoscopic appendectomy is superior to open appendectomy because of shorter hospital stay and laser-operative SSI, but requires longer operative time. (author)

  4. Stationary solution of a time dependent density matrix formalism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tohyama, Mitsuru

    1994-01-01

    A stationary solution of a time-dependent density-matrix formalism, which is an extension of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory to include the effects of two-body correlations, is obtained for the Lipkin model hamiltonian, using an adiabatic treatment of the two-body interaction. It is found that the obtained result is a reasonable approximation for the exact solution of the model. (author)

  5. Time-Dependent-Asymmetric-Linear-Parsimonious Ancestral State Reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Didier, Gilles

    2017-10-01

    The time-dependent-asymmetric-linear parsimony is an ancestral state reconstruction method which extends the standard linear parsimony (a.k.a. Wagner parsimony) approach by taking into account both branch lengths and asymmetric evolutionary costs for reconstructing quantitative characters (asymmetric costs amount to assuming an evolutionary trend toward the direction with the lowest cost). A formal study of the influence of the asymmetry parameter shows that the time-dependent-asymmetric-linear parsimony infers states which are all taken among the known states, except for some degenerate cases corresponding to special values of the asymmetry parameter. This remarkable property holds in particular for the Wagner parsimony. This study leads to a polynomial algorithm which determines, and provides a compact representation of, the parametric reconstruction of a phylogenetic tree, that is for all the unknown nodes, the set of all the possible reconstructed states associated with the asymmetry parameters leading to them. The time-dependent-asymmetric-linear parsimony is finally illustrated with the parametric reconstruction of the body size of cetaceans.

  6. Constitutive modeling for uniaxial time-dependent ratcheting of SS304 stainless steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kan Qianhua; Kang Guozheng; Zhang Juan

    2007-01-01

    Based on the experimental results of uniaxial time-dependent ratcheting behavior of SS304 stainless steel at room temperature and 973K, a new time-dependent constitutive model was proposed. The model describes the time-dependent ratcheting by adding a static/thermal recovery into the Abdel-Karim-Ohno non-linear kinematic hardening rule. The capability of the model to describe the time-dependent ratcheting was discussed by comparing the simulations with the corresponding experimental results. It is shown that the revised unified viscoplastic model can simulate the time-dependent ratcheting reasonably both at room and high temperatures. (authors)

  7. Surgical Site Infection Following Fixation of Acetabular Fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iqbal, Faizan; Younus, Sajid; Asmatullah; Zia, Osama Bin; Khan, Naveed

    2017-09-01

    Acetabular fractures are mainly caused by high energy trauma. Surgical fixation of these fractures requires extensive surgical exposure which increases the length of operation and blood loss as well. This may increase the risk of surgical site infection. Our aim is to evaluate the prevalence of surgical site infections and the risk factors associated with it so as to minimize its chances. A total of 261 patients who underwent acetabular fracture surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into 2 groups, with or without surgical site infection. Factors examined include patients' gender, age, body mass index (BMI), time between injury and surgery, operative time, estimated blood loss, number of packed red blood cell transfused, length of total intensive care unit (ICU) stay, fracture type, surgical approach, smoking status, patients' comorbids and associated injuries. Fourteen patients (5.4%) developed surgical site infection. Out of 14 infections, 4 were superficial and 10 were deep. The factors that were found to be associated with surgical site infection following acetabular fracture fixation were prolonged operation time, increased BMI, prolonged ICU stay, larger amount of packed red blood cell transfused and associated genitourinary and abdominal trauma. In our study, we conclude that measures should be undertaken to attenuate the chances of surgical site infection in this major surgery by considering the risk factors significantly associated with it.

  8. Sensitivity analysis of time-dependent laminar flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hristova, H.; Etienne, S.; Pelletier, D.; Borggaard, J.

    2004-01-01

    This paper presents a general sensitivity equation method (SEM) for time dependent incompressible laminar flows. The SEM accounts for complex parameter dependence and is suitable for a wide range of problems. The formulation is verified on a problem with a closed form solution obtained by the method of manufactured solution. Systematic grid convergence studies confirm the theoretical rates of convergence in both space and time. The methodology is then applied to pulsatile flow around a square cylinder. Computations show that the flow starts with symmetrical vortex shedding followed by a transition to the traditional Von Karman street (alternate vortex shedding). Simulations show that the transition phase manifests itself earlier in the sensitivity fields than in the flow field itself. Sensitivities are then demonstrated for fast evaluation of nearby flows and uncertainty analysis. (author)

  9. Non-Perturbative Formulation of Time-Dependent String Solutions

    CERN Document Server

    Alexandre, J; Mavromatos, Nikolaos E; Alexandre, Jean; Ellis, John; Mavromatos, Nikolaos E.

    2006-01-01

    We formulate here a new world-sheet renormalization-group technique for the bosonic string, which is non-perturbative in the Regge slope alpha' and based on a functional method for controlling the quantum fluctuations, whose magnitudes are scaled by the value of alpha'. Using this technique we exhibit, in addition to the well-known linear-dilaton cosmology, a new, non-perturbative time-dependent background solution. Using the reparametrization invariance of the string S-matrix, we demonstrate that this solution is conformally invariant to alpha', and we give a heuristic inductive argument that conformal invariance can be maintained to all orders in alpha'. This new time-dependent string solution may be applicable to primordial cosmology or to the exit from linear-dilaton cosmology at large times.

  10. Part-time general surgical training in South Australia: its success and future implications (or: pinnacles, pitfalls and lessons for the future).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuhaus, Susan; Igras, Emma; Fosh, Beverley; Benson, Sarah

    2012-12-01

    Flexible training options are sought by an increasing number of Australasian surgical trainees. Reasons include increased participation of women in the surgical workforce, postgraduate training and changing attitudes to family responsibilities. Despite endorsement of flexible training by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and Board in General Surgery, part-time (PT) training in General Surgery in Australia and New Zealand is not well established. A permanent 'stand-alone' PT training position was established at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 2007 under the Surgical Education and Training Program. This position offered 12 months of General Surgical training on a 0.5 full-time (FT) equivalent basis with pro rata emergency and on-call commitments and was accredited for 6 months of General Surgical training. This paper reviews the PT training experience in South Australia. De-identified logbook data were obtained from the South Australian Regional Subcommittee of the Board in General Surgery with consent of each of the trainees. Totals of operative cases were compared against matched FT trainees working on the same unit. Overall, PT trainees achieved comparable operative caseloads compared with their FT colleagues. All trainees included in this review have subsequently passed the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Fellowship Examination in General Surgery and returned to FT workforce positions. This paper presents two validated models of PT training. Training, resource and regulatory requirements and individual and institutional barriers to flexible training are substantial. Successful PT models offer positive and beneficial training alternatives for General Surgical trainees and contribute to workforce flexibility. © 2012 The Authors. ANZ Journal of Surgery © 2012 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

  11. Neutrino flavor instabilities in a time-dependent supernova model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abbar, Sajad; Duan, Huaiyu, E-mail: duan@unm.edu

    2015-12-17

    A dense neutrino medium such as that inside a core-collapse supernova can experience collective flavor conversion or oscillations because of the neutral-current weak interaction among the neutrinos. This phenomenon has been studied in a restricted, stationary supernova model which possesses the (spatial) spherical symmetry about the center of the supernova and the (directional) axial symmetry around the radial direction. Recently it has been shown that these spatial and directional symmetries can be broken spontaneously by collective neutrino oscillations. In this letter we analyze the neutrino flavor instabilities in a time-dependent supernova model. Our results show that collective neutrino oscillations start at approximately the same radius in both the stationary and time-dependent supernova models unless there exist very rapid variations in local physical conditions on timescales of a few microseconds or shorter. Our results also suggest that collective neutrino oscillations can vary rapidly with time in the regimes where they do occur which need to be studied in time-dependent supernova models.

  12. Time dependent fracture and cohesive zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knauss, W. G.

    1993-01-01

    This presentation is concerned with the fracture response of materials which develop cohesive or bridging zones at crack tips. Of special interest are concerns regarding crack stability as a function of the law which governs the interrelation between the displacement(s) or strain across these zones and the corresponding holding tractions. It is found that for some materials unstable crack growth can occur, even before the crack tip has experienced a critical COD or strain across the crack, while for others a critical COD will guarantee the onset of fracture. Also shown are results for a rate dependent nonlinear material model for the region inside of a craze for exploring time dependent crack propagation of rate sensitive materials.

  13. Communication: Time-dependent optimized coupled-cluster method for multielectron dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Takeshi; Pathak, Himadri; Orimo, Yuki; Ishikawa, Kenichi L.

    2018-02-01

    Time-dependent coupled-cluster method with time-varying orbital functions, called time-dependent optimized coupled-cluster (TD-OCC) method, is formulated for multielectron dynamics in an intense laser field. We have successfully derived the equations of motion for CC amplitudes and orthonormal orbital functions based on the real action functional, and implemented the method including double excitations (TD-OCCD) and double and triple excitations (TD-OCCDT) within the optimized active orbitals. The present method is size extensive and gauge invariant, a polynomial cost-scaling alternative to the time-dependent multiconfiguration self-consistent-field method. The first application of the TD-OCC method of intense-laser driven correlated electron dynamics in Ar atom is reported.

  14. Optimal Timing of Surgical Antimicrobial Prophylaxis with Cefuroxim: Challenging the WHO Guidelines with 121,000 Prospectively Followed Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widmer, Andreas F; Troillet, Nicolas; Thurneysen, Maurus; Atkinson, Andrew; Dangel, Marc; Kuster, Stefan P; Marschall, Jonas

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background Surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP) is standard of care in clean surgery involving implants and in clean-contaminated surgical procedures. Timing of application of the antibiotic remains a debate: WHO recently extended the time prior to incision from 60 to 120 minutes, while CDC considers the availabdata insufficient to provide evidence-based guideline for timing. In addition, studies to date included different types of antibiotics with different T ½. Therefore, we prospectively followed 250’000 patients to further define the optimal timing for SAP Methods The Swiss national center for infection prevention (www.swissnoso.ch) started surveillance for surgical site infection (SSI) in 2009. Currently, 172 institutions participate throughout Switzerland, with routine postdicharge surveillance (adherence >90%) and on-site quality audits by a physician or infection control practitioner. The data collection includes age, sex, type of surgery, timing of SAP in minutes prior to incision, BMI, ASA score, antimicrobial agent. Inclusion criteria for this study were: adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery, orthopedic or abdominal surgery, antimicrobial prophylaxis with cefuroxime only (+metronidazole for abdominal surgery) and pathogen identified in cases of SSI was cefuroxime-susceptible. Data were analyzed using a generalized additive model (GAM) to allow non-parametric fits with relaxed assumptions on the actual relationship between response and predictor Results Of the 258’481 patients in the national SSI surveillance database 121’645 fulfilled the inclusion criteria (38% of patients did not require SAP, 18% had surgery with contaminated or dirty wounds, 2.7% were <18 years and data on timing and class of antibiotic were missing in 5.7%). The lowest risk of SSI was observed with application of SAP 0–30min prior incision, even after adjustment for age, sex, ASA score, type of surgery, BMI, and T1/2. (Figure, CI95 in blue

  15. Minimizing surgical skin incision scars with a latex surgical glove.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, So-Eun; Ryoo, Suk-Tae; Lim, So Young; Pyon, Jai-Kyung; Bang, Sa-Ik; Oh, Kap-Sung; Mun, Goo-Hyun

    2013-04-01

    The current trend in minimally invasive surgery is to make a small surgical incision. However, the excessive tensile stress applied by the retractors to the skin surrounding the incision often results in a long wound healing time and extensive scarring. To minimize these types of wound problems, the authors evaluated a simple and cost-effective method to minimize surgical incision scars based on the use of a latex surgical glove. The tunnel-shaped part of a powder-free latex surgical glove was applied to the incision and the dissection plane. It was fixed to the full layer of the dissection plane with sutures. The glove on the skin surface then was sealed with Ioban (3 M Health Care, St. Paul, MN, USA) to prevent movement. The operation proceeded as usual, with the retractor running through the tunnel of the latex glove. It was possible to complete the operation without any disturbance of the visual field by the surgical glove, and the glove was neither torn nor separated by the retractors. The retractors caused traction and friction during the operation, but the extent of damage to the postoperative skin incision margin was remarkably less than when the operation was performed without a glove. This simple and cost-effective method is based on the use of a latex surgical glove to protect the surgical skin incision site and improve the appearance of the postoperative scar. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

  16. Vacuum radiation induced by time dependent electric field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bo Zhang

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Many predictions of new phenomena given by strong field quantum electrodynamics (SFQED will be tested on next generation multi-petawatt laser facilities in the near future. These new phenomena are basis to understand physics in extremely strong electromagnetic fields therefore have attracted wide research interest. Here we discuss a new SFQED phenomenon that is named as vacuum radiation. In vacuum radiation, a virtual electron loop obtain energy from time dependent external electric field and radiate an entangled photon pair. Features of vacuum radiation in a locally time dependent electric field including spectrum, characteristic temperature, production rate and power are given.

  17. Vacuum radiation induced by time dependent electric field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Bo, E-mail: zhangbolfrc@caep.cn [Department of High Energy Density Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Laboratory of Science and Technology on Plasma Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Zhang, Zhi-meng; Hong, Wei; He, Shu-Kai; Teng, Jian [Department of High Energy Density Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Laboratory of Science and Technology on Plasma Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Gu, Yu-qiu, E-mail: yqgu@caep.cn [Department of High Energy Density Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Laboratory of Science and Technology on Plasma Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China)

    2017-04-10

    Many predictions of new phenomena given by strong field quantum electrodynamics (SFQED) will be tested on next generation multi-petawatt laser facilities in the near future. These new phenomena are basis to understand physics in extremely strong electromagnetic fields therefore have attracted wide research interest. Here we discuss a new SFQED phenomenon that is named as vacuum radiation. In vacuum radiation, a virtual electron loop obtain energy from time dependent external electric field and radiate an entangled photon pair. Features of vacuum radiation in a locally time dependent electric field including spectrum, characteristic temperature, production rate and power are given.

  18. Time-dependent crack growth and fracture in concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Fan Ping.

    1992-02-01

    The objectives of this thesis are to study time-dependent fracture behaviour in concrete. The thesis consists of an experimental study, costitutive modelling and numerical analysis. The experimental study was undertaken to investigate the influences of time on material properties for the fracture process zone and on crack growth and fracture in plain concrete structures. The experiments include tensile relaxation tests, bending tests on notched beams to determine fracture energy at varying deflection rates, and sustained bending and compact tensile tests. From the tensile relaxation tests, the envelope of the σ-w relation does not seem to be influenced by holding periods, though some local detrimental effect does occur. Fracture energy seems to decrease as rates become slower. In the sustained loading tests, deformation (deflection or CMOD) growth curves display three stages, as usually observed in a creep rupture test. The secondary stage dominates the whole failure lifetime, and the secondary deformation rate appears to have good correlation with the failure lifetime. A crack model for time-dependent fracture is proposed, by applying the idea of the Fictitious Crack Model. In this model, a modified Maxwell model is introduced for the fracture process zone incorporated with the static σ-w curve as a failure criterion, based on the observation of the tensile relaxation tests. The time-dependent σ-w curve is expressed in an incremental law. The proposed model has been implemented in a finite element program and applied to simulating sustained flexural and compact tensile tests. Numerical analysis includes simulations of crack growth, load-CMOD curves, stress-failure lifetime curves, size effects on failure life etc. The numerical results indicate that the model seems to be able to properly predict the main features of time-dependent fracture behaviour in concrete, as compared with the experimental results. 97 refs

  19. Integrating information technologies as tools for surgical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schell, Scott R

    2005-10-01

    Surgical research is dependent upon information technologies. Selection of the computer, operating system, and software tool that best support the surgical investigator's needs requires careful planning before research commences. This manuscript presents a brief tutorial on how surgical investigators can best select these information technologies, with comparisons and recommendations between existing systems, software, and solutions. Privacy concerns, based upon HIPAA and other regulations, now require careful proactive attention to avoid legal penalties, civil litigation, and financial loss. Security issues are included as part of the discussions related to selection and application of information technology. This material was derived from a segment of the Association for Academic Surgery's Fundamentals of Surgical Research course.

  20. Study on real-time force feedback for a master-slave interventional surgical robotic system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Shuxiang; Wang, Yuan; Xiao, Nan; Li, Youxiang; Jiang, Yuhua

    2018-04-13

    In robot-assisted catheterization, haptic feedback is important, but is currently lacking. In addition, conventional interventional surgical robotic systems typically employ a master-slave architecture with an open-loop force feedback, which results in inaccurate control. We develop herein a novel real-time master-slave (RTMS) interventional surgical robotic system with a closed-loop force feedback that allows a surgeon to sense the true force during remote operation, provide adequate haptic feedback, and improve control accuracy in robot-assisted catheterization. As part of this system, we also design a unique master control handle that measures the true force felt by a surgeon, providing the basis for the closed-loop control of the entire system. We use theoretical and empirical methods to demonstrate that the proposed RTMS system provides a surgeon (using the master control handle) with a more accurate and realistic force sensation, which subsequently improves the precision of the master-slave manipulation. The experimental results show a substantial increase in the control accuracy of the force feedback and an increase in operational efficiency during surgery.

  1. The provision of surgical tracheostomies by maxillofacial surgeons in the UK: time for a dedicated tracheostomy team?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chohan, P; Elledge, R; Virdi, M K; Walton, G M

    2018-02-01

    Surgical tracheostomy is a commonly provided service by surgical teams for patients in intensive care where percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy is contraindicated. A number of factors may interfere with its provision on shared emergency operating lists, potentially prolonging the stay in intensive care. We undertook a two-part project to examine the factors that might delay provision of surgical tracheostomy in the intensive care unit. The first part was a prospective audit of practice within the University Hospital Coventry. This was followed by a telephone survey of oral and maxillofacial surgery units throughout the UK. In the intensive care unit at University Hospital Coventry, of 39 referrals, 21 (53.8%) were delayed beyond 24 hours. There was a mean (standard deviation) time to delay of 2.2 days (0.9 days) and the most common cause of delay was surgeon decision, accounting for 13 (61.9%) delays. From a telephone survey of 140 units nationwide, 40 (28.4%) were regularly involved in the provision of surgical tracheostomies for intensive care and 17 (42.5%) experienced delays beyond 24 hours, owing to a combination of theatre availability (76.5%) and surgeon availability (47.1%). There is case for having a dedicated tracheostomy team and provisional theatre slot to optimise patient outcomes and reduce delays. We aim to implement such a move within our unit and audit the outcomes prospectively following this change.

  2. Time-dependent pseudo-reciprocity relations in neutronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Modak, R.S.; Sahni, D.C.

    2002-01-01

    Earlier, certain reciprocity-like relations have been shown to hold in some restricted steady state cases in neutron diffusion and transport theories. Here, the possibility of existence of similar relations in time-dependent situations is investigated

  3. Critical care admission of South African (SA surgical patients: Results of the SA Surgical Outcomes Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Lee Skinner

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Background. Appropriate critical care admissions are an important component of surgical care. However, there are few data describing postoperative critical care admission in resource-limited low- and middle-income countries. Objective. To describe the demographics, organ failures, organ support and outcomes of non-cardiac surgical patients admitted to critical care units in South Africa (SA. Methods. The SA Surgical Outcomes Study (SASOS was a 7-day national, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study of all patients ≥16 years of age undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery between 19 and 26 May 2014 at 50 government-funded hospitals. All patients admitted to critical care units during this study were included for analysis. Results. Of the 3 927 SASOS patients, 255 (6.5% were admitted to critical care units; of these admissions, 144 (56.5% were planned, and 111 (43.5% unplanned. The incidence of confirmed or strongly suspected infection at the time of admission was 35.4%, with a significantly higher incidence in unplanned admissions (49.1 v. 24.8%, p<0.001. Unplanned admission cases were more frequently hypovolaemic, had septic shock, and required significantly more inotropic, ventilatory and renal support in the first 48 hours after admission. Overall mortality was 22.4%, with unplanned admissions having a significantly longer critical care length of stay and overall mortality (33.3 v. 13.9%, p<0.001. Conclusion. The outcome of patients admitted to public sector critical care units in SA is strongly associated with unplanned admissions. Adequate ‘high care-dependency units’ for postoperative care of elective surgical patients could potentially decrease the burden on critical care resources in SA by 23%. This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02141867.

  4. Pneumatic-type surgical robot end-effector for laparoscopic surgical-operation-by-wire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chiwon; Park, Woo Jung; Kim, Myungjoon; Noh, Seungwoo; Yoon, Chiyul; Lee, Choonghee; Kim, Youdan; Kim, Hyeon Hoe; Kim, Hee Chan; Kim, Sungwan

    2014-09-05

    Although minimally invasive surgery (MIS) affords several advantages compared to conventional open surgery, robotic MIS systems still have many limitations. One of the limitations is the non-uniform gripping force due to mechanical strings of the existing systems. To overcome this limitation, a surgical instrument with a pneumatic gripping system consisting of a compressor, catheter balloon, micro motor, and other parts is developed. This study aims to implement a surgical instrument with a pneumatic gripping system and pitching/yawing joints using micro motors and without mechanical strings based on the surgical-operation-by-wire (SOBW) concept. A 6-axis external arm for increasing degrees of freedom (DOFs) is integrated with the surgical instrument using LabVIEW® for laparoscopic procedures. The gripping force is measured over a wide range of pressures and compared with the simulated ideal step function. Furthermore, a kinematic analysis is conducted. To validate and evaluate the system's clinical applicability, a simple peg task experiment and workspace identification experiment are performed with five novice volunteers using the fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) board kit. The master interface of the proposed system employs the hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controller used in aerospace engineering. To develop an improved HOTAS (iHOTAS) controller, 6-axis force/torque sensor was integrated in the special housing. The mean gripping force (after 1,000 repetitions) at a pressure of 0.3 MPa was measured to be 5.8 N. The reaction time was found to be 0.4 s, which is almost real-time. All novice volunteers could complete the simple peg task within a mean time of 176 s, and none of them exceeded the 300 s cut-off time. The system's workspace was calculated to be 11,157.0 cm3. The proposed pneumatic gripping system provides a force consistent with that of other robotic MIS systems. It provides near real-time control. It is more durable than the

  5. [Surgical treatment of gynecomastia: an algorithm].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolter, A; Scholz, T; Diedrichson, J; Liebau, J

    2013-04-01

    Gynecomastia is a persistent benign uni- or bilateral enlargement of the male breast ranging from small to excessive findings with marked skin redundancy. In this paper we introduce an algorithm to facilitate the selection of the appropriate surgical technique according to the presented morphological aspects. The records of 118 patients (217 breasts) with gynecomastia from 01/2009 to 08/2012 were retrospectively reviewed. The authors conducted three different surgical techniques depending on four severity grades. The outcome parameters complication rate, patient satisfaction with the aesthetic result, nipple sensitivity and the need to re-operate were observed and related to the employed technique. In 167 (77%) breasts with moderate breast enlargement without skin redundancy (Grade I-IIa by Simon's classification) a subcutaneous semicircular periareolar mastectomy was performed in combination with water-jet assisted liposuction. In 40 (18%) breasts with skin redundancy (Grade IIb) a circumferential mastopexy was performed additionally. An inferior pedicled mammaplasty was used in 10 (5%) severe cases (Grade III). Complication rate was 4.1%. Surgical corrections were necessary in 17 breasts (7.8%). The patient survey revealed a high satisfaction level: 88% of the patients rated the aesthetic results as "very good" or "good", nipple sensitivity was rated as "very good" or "good" by 83%. Surgical treatment of gynecomastia should ensure minimal scarring while respecting the aesthetic unit. The selection of the appropriate surgical method depends on the severity grade, the presence of skin redundancy and the volume of the male breast glandular tissue. The presented algorithm rarely leads to complications, is simple to perform and shows a high satisfaction rate and a preservation of the nipple sensitivity. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  6. Delay-Dependent Exponential Stability for Discrete-Time BAM Neural Networks with Time-Varying Delays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonggang Chen

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers the delay-dependent exponential stability for discrete-time BAM neural networks with time-varying delays. By constructing the new Lyapunov functional, the improved delay-dependent exponential stability criterion is derived in terms of linear matrix inequality (LMI. Moreover, in order to reduce the conservativeness, some slack matrices are introduced in this paper. Two numerical examples are presented to show the effectiveness and less conservativeness of the proposed method.

  7. A hybrid metaheuristic for the time-dependent vehicle routing problem with hard time windows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Rincon-Garcia

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This article paper presents a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm to solve the time-dependent vehicle routing problem with hard time windows. Time-dependent travel times are influenced by different congestion levels experienced throughout the day. Vehicle scheduling without consideration of congestion might lead to underestimation of travel times and consequently missed deliveries. The algorithm presented in this paper makes use of Large Neighbourhood Search approaches and Variable Neighbourhood Search techniques to guide the search. A first stage is specifically designed to reduce the number of vehicles required in a search space by the reduction of penalties generated by time-window violations with Large Neighbourhood Search procedures. A second stage minimises the travel distance and travel time in an ‘always feasible’ search space. Comparison of results with available test instances shows that the proposed algorithm is capable of obtaining a reduction in the number of vehicles (4.15%, travel distance (10.88% and travel time (12.00% compared to previous implementations in reasonable time.

  8. Results of surgical excision and evaluation of factors associated with survival time in dogs with lingual neoplasia: 97 cases (1995-2008).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culp, William T N; Ehrhart, Nicole; Withrow, Stephen J; Rebhun, Robert B; Boston, Sarah; Buracco, Paolo; Reiter, Alexander M; Schallberger, Sandra P; Aldridge, Charles F; Kent, Michael S; Mayhew, Philipp D; Brown, Dorothy C

    2013-05-15

    To describe the clinical characteristics, treatments, outcomes, and factors associated with survival time in a cohort of dogs with lingual neoplasia that underwent surgical excision. Retrospective case series. Animals-97 client-owned dogs. Medical records of dogs with a lingual tumor examined between 1995 and 2008 were reviewed. Records were included if a lingual tumor was confirmed by histologic examination and surgical excision of the mass was attempted. Data were recorded and analyzed to identify prognostic factors. Clinical signs were mostly related to the oral cavity. For 93 dogs, marginal excision, subtotal glossectomy, and near-total glossectomy were performed in 35 (38%), 55 (59%), and 3 (3%), respectively. Surgery-related complications were rare, but 27 (28%) dogs had tumor recurrence. The most common histopathologic diagnoses for the 97 dogs were squamous cell carcinoma (31 [32%]) and malignant melanoma (29 [30%]). Eighteen (19%) dogs developed metastatic disease, and the overall median survival time was 483 days. Median survival time was 216 days for dogs with squamous cell carcinoma and 241 days for dogs with malignant melanoma. Dogs with lingual tumors ≥ 2 cm in diameter at diagnosis had a significantly shorter survival time than did dogs with tumors melanoma predominate. A thorough physical examination to identify lingual tumors at an early stage and surgical treatment after tumor identification are recommended because tumor size significantly affected survival time.

  9. Continuous-time random walks on networks with vertex- and time-dependent forcing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angstmann, C N; Donnelly, I C; Henry, B I; Langlands, T A M

    2013-08-01

    We have investigated the transport of particles moving as random walks on the vertices of a network, subject to vertex- and time-dependent forcing. We have derived the generalized master equations for this transport using continuous time random walks, characterized by jump and waiting time densities, as the underlying stochastic process. The forcing is incorporated through a vertex- and time-dependent bias in the jump densities governing the random walking particles. As a particular case, we consider particle forcing proportional to the concentration of particles on adjacent vertices, analogous to self-chemotactic attraction in a spatial continuum. Our algebraic and numerical studies of this system reveal an interesting pair-aggregation pattern formation in which the steady state is composed of a high concentration of particles on a small number of isolated pairs of adjacent vertices. The steady states do not exhibit this pair aggregation if the transport is random on the vertices, i.e., without forcing. The manifestation of pair aggregation on a transport network may thus be a signature of self-chemotactic-like forcing.

  10. [Thyroid status peculiarities of elderly patients 5 years after operation depending on the volume of surgical intervention].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aristarhov, V G; Danilov, N V; Aristarkhov, R V; Puzin, D A; Birykov, C V

    2016-01-01

    Long-term results of treatment of 180 patients operated 5 years ago for benign thyroid nodular pathology have been analyzed in the present paper, the results being analyzed depending on the volume of surgical intervention. The rate of postoperative hypothyrodism is lower in patients who had undergone limited thyroid resection, recurrent cases are more frequent, but they are not clinically significant and seldom require reoperation. It should also be noted that those patients have fewer cardiac complaints as the dose of hormone replacement therapy preparations is small. Elder patients who had undergone functionally significant thyroidectomy and need to take great doses of Thyroxin (107-150 mcg/day) have cardiac complaints more often (43 %) comparing to those who had undergone limited resections (35 %).

  11. Skinner-Rusk approach to time-dependent mechanics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cortés, Jorge; Martínez, Sonia; Cantrijn, Frans

    2002-01-01

    The geometric approach to autonomous classical mechanical systems in terms of a canonical first-order system on the Whitney sum of the tangent and cotangent bundle, developed by Skinner and Rusk, is extended to the time-dependent framework.

  12. Time-dependent importance sampling in semiclassical initial value representation calculations for time correlation functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Guohua; Miller, William H

    2011-07-14

    An efficient time-dependent importance sampling method is developed for the Monte Carlo calculation of time correlation functions via the initial value representation (IVR) of semiclassical (SC) theory. A prefactor-free time-dependent sampling function weights the importance of a trajectory based on the magnitude of its contribution to the time correlation function, and global trial moves are used to facilitate the efficient sampling the phase space of initial conditions. The method can be generally applied to sampling rare events efficiently while avoiding being trapped in a local region of the phase space. Results presented in the paper for two system-bath models demonstrate the efficiency of this new importance sampling method for full SC-IVR calculations.

  13. Testing the multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree-Fock method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zanghellini, Juergen; Kitzler, Markus; Brabec, Thomas; Scrinzi, Armin

    2004-01-01

    We test the multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree-Fock method as a new approach towards the numerical calculation of dynamical processes in multi-electron systems using the harmonic quantum dot and one-dimensional helium in strong laser pulses as models. We find rapid convergence for quantities such as ground-state population, correlation coefficient and single ionization towards the exact results. The method converges, where the time-dependent Hartree-Fock method fails qualitatively

  14. Time-dependent diffusive acceleration of test particles at shocks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Drury, L.O' C. (Dublin Inst. for Advanced Studies (Ireland))

    1991-07-15

    The acceleration of test particles at a steady plane non-relativistic shock is considered. Analytic expressions are found for the mean and the variance of the acceleration time distribution in the case where the diffusion coefficient has an arbitrary dependence on position and momentum. These expressions are used as the basis for an approximation scheme which is shown, by comparison with numerical solutions, to give an excellent representation of the time-dependent spectrum. (author).

  15. Time-dependent diffusive acceleration of test particles at shocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drury, L.O'C.

    1991-01-01

    The acceleration of test particles at a steady plane non-relativistic shock is considered. Analytic expressions are found for the mean and the variance of the acceleration time distribution in the case where the diffusion coefficient has an arbitrary dependence on position and momentum. These expressions are used as the basis for an approximation scheme which is shown, by comparison with numerical solutions, to give an excellent representation of the time-dependent spectrum. (author)

  16. Biological repair with time-dependent irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broyles, A.A.; Shapiro, C.S.

    1985-01-01

    Recent experiments have provided new data that explore the effectiveness of biological repair in assessing damage due to exposures from ionizing radiation. These data are mainly from experiments conducted at constant dose rates, to study the effectiveness per unit dose of different dose rates. Here, we develop new formulae to estimate the effectiveness of an arbitrary time-dependent dose rate exposure

  17. Surgical Treatment of a Large Complex Odontoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burak Cezairli

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The treatment modalities for odontomas are generally depend on the tumors size. Small and medium lesions can usually be removed easily allowing preservation of surrounding anatomical structures. In our study, we reported a conservative surgical treatment of a large complex odontoma. A 19-year-old woman was referred to our clinic after an incidentally observed lesion on her right mandibular angle. The patient was symptom-free at the time of visit. Computed tomography (CT images showed a mass with a size of 3.5 cm x 3 cm x 2 cm. CT sections and tridimensional images showed partially eroded buccal and lingual cortex. Surgical treatment was indicated with an initial diagnosis of compound odontoma. The lesion removed after sectioning with bur and maxillo-mandibular fixation (MMF were not thought to be necessary while the buccal and lingual cortexes were mostly reliable for preventing a fracture. In our case, the size of the odontoma was suitable for a conservative treatment method and with this modality we managed to prevent a possible fracture and eliminate the disadvantages of MMF.

  18. Photodetachment of the H− ion in a linear time-dependent electric field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, De-Hua; Chen, Zhaohang; Cheng, Shaohao

    2016-01-01

    Using the time-dependent closed orbit theory, we study the photodetachment of the H − ion in a linear time-dependent electric field for the first time. An analytical formula for calculating the time-dependent photodetachment cross section of this system has been put forward. It is found when the external electric field changes very slowly with time, there is only one closed orbit of the detached electron and the photodetachment cross section is quite stable. However, when the electric field changes quickly with time, three different types of closed orbits are found and the photodetachment cross section oscillates in a much more complex way. The connection of each type of closed orbit with the oscillatory structure in the photodetachment cross section is analyzed quantitatively. In addition, the photon energy and the laser field parameters can also have great influence on the time-dependent photodetachment cross section of this system. This study provides a clear and intuitive picture for the photodetachment dynamics of a negative ion in the presence of a time-dependent electric field and may guide future experimental studies exploring the quantum effect in the photodetachment dynamics of negative ions from a time-dependent viewpoint. (paper)

  19. A pragmatic multi-centre randomised controlled trial of fluid loading and level of dependency in high-risk surgical patients undergoing major elective surgery: trial protocol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norrie John

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Patients undergoing major elective or urgent surgery are at high risk of death or significant morbidity. Measures to reduce this morbidity and mortality include pre-operative optimisation and use of higher levels of dependency care after surgery. We propose a pragmatic multi-centre randomised controlled trial of level of dependency and pre-operative fluid therapy in high-risk surgical patients undergoing major elective surgery. Methods/Design A multi-centre randomised controlled trial with a 2 * 2 factorial design. The first randomisation is to pre-operative fluid therapy or standard regimen and the second randomisation is to routine intensive care versus high dependency care during the early post-operative period. We intend to recruit 204 patients undergoing major elective and urgent abdominal and thoraco-abdominal surgery who fulfil high-risk surgical criteria. The primary outcome for the comparison of level of care is cost-effectiveness at six months and for the comparison of fluid optimisation is the number of hospital days after surgery. Discussion We believe that the results of this study will be invaluable in determining the future care and clinical resource utilisation for this group of patients and thus will have a major impact on clinical practice. Trial Registration Trial registration number - ISRCTN32188676

  20. A variable-order time-dependent neutron transport method for nuclear reactor kinetics using analytically-integrated space-time characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, A. J.; Lee, J. C.

    2013-01-01

    A new time-dependent neutron transport method based on the method of characteristics (MOC) has been developed. Whereas most spatial kinetics methods treat time dependence through temporal discretization, this new method treats time dependence by defining the characteristics to span space and time. In this implementation regions are defined in space-time where the thickness of the region in time fulfills an analogous role to the time step in discretized methods. The time dependence of the local source is approximated using a truncated Taylor series expansion with high order derivatives approximated using backward differences, permitting the solution of the resulting space-time characteristic equation. To avoid a drastic increase in computational expense and memory requirements due to solving many discrete characteristics in the space-time planes, the temporal variation of the boundary source is similarly approximated. This allows the characteristics in the space-time plane to be represented analytically rather than discretely, resulting in an algorithm comparable in implementation and expense to one that arises from conventional time integration techniques. Furthermore, by defining the boundary flux time derivative in terms of the preceding local source time derivative and boundary flux time derivative, the need to store angularly-dependent data is avoided without approximating the angular dependence of the angular flux time derivative. The accuracy of this method is assessed through implementation in the neutron transport code DeCART. The method is employed with variable-order local source representation to model a TWIGL transient. The results demonstrate that this method is accurate and more efficient than the discretized method. (authors)

  1. General time-dependent formulation of quantum scattering theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Althorpe, Stuart C.

    2004-01-01

    We derive and explain the key ideas behind a time-dependent formulation of quantum scattering theory, applicable generally to systems with a finite-range scattering potential. The scattering is initiated and probed by plane wave packets, which are localized just outside the range of the potential. The asymptotic limits of conventional scattering theory (initiation in the remote past; detection in the remote future) are not taken. Instead, the differential cross section (DCS) is obtained by projecting the scattered wave packet onto the probe plane wave packets. The projection also yields a time-dependent version of the DCS. Cuts through the wave packet, just as it exits the scattering potential, yield time-dependent and time-independent angular distributions that give a close-up picture of the scattering which complements the DCS. We have previously applied the theory to interpret experimental cross sections of chemical reactions [e.g., S. C. Althorpe, F. Fernandez-Alonso, B. D. Bean, J. D. Ayers, A. E. Pomerantz, R. N. Zare, and E. Wrede, Nature (London) 416, 67 (2002)]. This paper gives the derivation of the theory, and explains its relation to conventional scattering theory. For clarity, the derivation is restricted to spherical-particle scattering, though it may readily be extended to general multichannel systems. We illustrate the theory using a simple application to hard-sphere scattering

  2. Interacting particle systems in time-dependent geometries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, A.; Ball, R. C.; Grosskinsky, S.; Somfai, E.

    2013-09-01

    Many complex structures and stochastic patterns emerge from simple kinetic rules and local interactions, and are governed by scale invariance properties in combination with effects of the global geometry. We consider systems that can be described effectively by space-time trajectories of interacting particles, such as domain boundaries in two-dimensional growth or river networks. We study trajectories embedded in time-dependent geometries, and the main focus is on uniformly expanding or decreasing domains for which we obtain an exact mapping to simple fixed domain systems while preserving the local scale invariance properties. This approach was recently introduced in Ali et al (2013 Phys. Rev. E 87 020102(R)) and here we provide a detailed discussion on its applicability for self-affine Markovian models, and how it can be adapted to self-affine models with memory or explicit time dependence. The mapping corresponds to a nonlinear time transformation which converges to a finite value for a large class of trajectories, enabling an exact analysis of asymptotic properties in expanding domains. We further provide a detailed discussion of different particle interactions and generalized geometries. All our findings are based on exact computations and are illustrated numerically for various examples, including Lévy processes and fractional Brownian motion.

  3. Entanglement entropy with a time-dependent Hamiltonian

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivaramakrishnan, Allic

    2018-03-01

    The time evolution of entanglement tracks how information propagates in interacting quantum systems. We study entanglement entropy in CFT2 with a time-dependent Hamiltonian. We perturb by operators with time-dependent source functions and use the replica trick to calculate higher-order corrections to entanglement entropy. At first order, we compute the correction due to a metric perturbation in AdS3/CFT2 and find agreement on both sides of the duality. Past first order, we find evidence of a universal structure of entanglement propagation to all orders. The central feature is that interactions entangle unentangled excitations. Entanglement propagates according to "entanglement diagrams," proposed structures that are motivated by accessory spacetime diagrams for real-time perturbation theory. To illustrate the mechanisms involved, we compute higher-order corrections to free fermion entanglement entropy. We identify an unentangled operator, one which does not change the entanglement entropy to any order. Then, we introduce an interaction and find it changes entanglement entropy by entangling the unentangled excitations. The entanglement propagates in line with our conjecture. We compute several entanglement diagrams. We provide tools to simplify the computation of loop entanglement diagrams, which probe UV effects in entanglement propagation in CFT and holography.

  4. Neutrino flavor instabilities in a time-dependent supernova model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sajad Abbar

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available A dense neutrino medium such as that inside a core-collapse supernova can experience collective flavor conversion or oscillations because of the neutral-current weak interaction among the neutrinos. This phenomenon has been studied in a restricted, stationary supernova model which possesses the (spatial spherical symmetry about the center of the supernova and the (directional axial symmetry around the radial direction. Recently it has been shown that these spatial and directional symmetries can be broken spontaneously by collective neutrino oscillations. In this letter we analyze the neutrino flavor instabilities in a time-dependent supernova model. Our results show that collective neutrino oscillations start at approximately the same radius in both the stationary and time-dependent supernova models unless there exist very rapid variations in local physical conditions on timescales of a few microseconds or shorter. Our results also suggest that collective neutrino oscillations can vary rapidly with time in the regimes where they do occur which need to be studied in time-dependent supernova models.

  5. Intussusception in children: not only surgical treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Maria Caruso

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Intussusception is the commonest cause of acute in­testinal obstruction in children. Failure of timely diagnosis and treatment results in a surgical emergency leading to fatal outcome. The classic triad of symptoms is seen in less than one-third of the children affected. Aim of this study was to evaluate the comprehensive management of intussusception in children, evaluating the outcome of conservative treatment with hydrostatic ultrasound reduction and surgery.Material and methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted including pediatric patients (up to 14 years old with diagnosis of bowel intussusception. The management and treatment depended on the patients’ situation: for children in good general conditions initial hydrostatic reduction under continuous ultrasonographic monitoring was attempted; if severe dehydration and/or septic shock was observed, the conservative treatment was contraindicated and direct surgical treatment was performed.Result: A total of 44 pediatric patients were included in the study. The most frequent symptoms observed were paroxysmal abdominal pain (100% of cases and vomiting (72%; only 29% of patients presented with the classic triad of symptoms (abdominal pain, palpable mass and blood stained stools. 28 patients (64% were managed conservatively with ultrasound hydrostatic reduction. 10 patients (23% required primary surgical intervention because of clinical conditions; 6 patients (14% were operated after failure of conservative approach. The total percentage of operated patients was 36%, with lead points identified in 12 cases.Conclusion: Our data confirm that hydrostatic reduction is a simple, real time procedure, free of radiations, non invasive and safe. Age had no impact on the reducibility whereas bloody stool, a prolonged duration of symptoms and the presence of lead point were risk factors of failure.

  6. On time-dependent Hamiltonian realizations of planar and nonplanar systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esen, Oğul; Guha, Partha

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, we elucidate the key role played by the cosymplectic geometry in the theory of time dependent Hamiltonian systems in 2 D. We generalize the cosymplectic structures to time-dependent Nambu-Poisson Hamiltonian systems and corresponding Jacobi's last multiplier for 3 D systems. We illustrate our constructions with various examples.

  7. Adiabatic theorem for the time-dependent wave operator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viennot, David; Jolicard, Georges; Killingbeck, John P.; Perrin, Marie-Yvonne

    2005-01-01

    The application of time-dependent wave operator theory to the development of a quantum adiabatic perturbation theory is treated both theoretically and numerically, with emphasis on the description of field-matter interactions which involve short laser pulses. It is first shown that the adiabatic limit of the time-dependent wave operator corresponds to a succession of instantaneous static Bloch wave operators. Wave operator theory is then shown to be compatible with the two-time Floquet theory of light-matter interaction, thus allowing the application of Floquet theory to cases which require the use of a degenerate active space. A numerical study of some problems shows that the perturbation strength associated with nonadiabatic processes can be reduced by using multidimensional active spaces and illustrates the capacity of the wave operator approach to produce a quasiadiabatic treatment of a nominally nonadiabatic Floquet dynamical system

  8. On the measurement of time-dependent quantum phases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barut, A.O.; Bozic, M.; Klarsfeld, S.; Maric, Z.

    1991-11-01

    We have evaluated the exact (Pancharatnam) phase differences between the final state l ψ(t) > and various initial states for a spin 1/2-particle in a rotating magnetic field B(t). For the initial states l n; B ef (0) >, which are eigenstates of the spin component along the direction of the initial effective field B ef (0), the exact phase has an energy dependent part, and an energy independent part. It is shown that these states l n; B ef (0) > are cyclic and their corresponding Aharonov-Anandan phases are evaluated. In the adiabatic limit we discuss different choices of time-dependent bases and the relationship between the exact phase, the Born-Fock-Schiff phase and Berry's phase. We propose experiments (neutron) to verify separately the exact and the adiabatic evolution laws, as well as to measure the adiabatic phases associated with different choices of time-dependent basis vectors. (author). 37 refs, 5 figs, 1 tab

  9. Comparison of surgical time and IOP spikes with two ophthalmic viscosurgical devices following Visian STAAR (ICL, V4c model insertion in the immediate postoperative period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ganesh S

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Sri Ganesh, Sheetal BrarDepartment of Phaco and Refractive Surgeries, Nethradhama Superspeciality Eye Hospital, Bangalore, IndiaPurpose: To compare the effect of two ocular viscosurgical devices (OVDs on intraocular pressure (IOP and surgical time in immediate postoperative period after bilateral implantable collamer lens (using the V4c model implantation.Methods: A total of 20 eligible patients were randomized to receive 2% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC in one eye and 1% hyaluronic acid in fellow eye. Time taken for complete removal of OVD and total surgical time were recorded. At the end of surgery, IOP was adjusted between 15 and 20 mmHg in both the eyes.Results: Mean time for complete OVD evacuation and total surgical time were significantly higher in the HPMC group (P=0.00. Four eyes in the HPMC group had IOP spike, requiring treatment. IOP values with noncontact tonometry at 1, 2, 4, 24, and 48 hours were not statistically significant (P>0.05 for both the groups.Conclusion: The study concluded that 1% hyaluronic acid significantly reduces total surgical time, and incidence of acute spikes may be lower compared to 2% HPMC when used for implantable collamer lens (V4c model.Keywords: OVD, hyaluronic acid, ICL, V4c, IOP spikes

  10. Time dependence of the pH of rain

    Science.gov (United States)

    John A. Kadlecek; Volkar A. Mohnen

    1976-01-01

    Standard procedures for determining the pH of rain samples usually involve substantial delays from the time of rainfall to the time of analysis. This assumes that no change in pH occurs during the storage period. We have found that this is not always true. We have determined that individual rain water samples possess a time dependent pH which can be correlated with the...

  11. A time-dependent dusty gas dynamic model of axisymmetric cometary jets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korosmezey, A.; Gombosi, T.I.

    1990-01-01

    The present time-dependent, axisymmetric dusty gas dynamical model of inner cometary atmospheres solves the coupled and time-dependent equations of continuity, momentum, and energy for a gas-dust mixture between the surface of the nucleus and 100 km, using an axisymmetric 40 x 40 grid structure. A novel numerical method employing a second-order accurate Godunov-type scheme with dimensional splitting is used to solve the time-dependent pde system. It is established that a subsolar dust spike not predicted by previous calculations is generated by narrow axisymmetric jets, together with a jet cone whose opening angle depends on the jet length. 28 refs

  12. Impact of timing and surgical approach on outcomes after mitral valve regurgitation operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Louis-Mathieu; Rodriguez, Evelio; Lehr, Eric J; Kindell, Linda C; Nifong, L Wiley; Ferguson, T Bruce; Chitwood, W Randolph

    2012-05-01

    This study investigated whether the timing of mitral valve (MV) repair or surgical approach affects outcomes in patients with MV regurgitation. Between 1992 and 2009, 2,255 patients underwent MV operations, including 1,305 with isolated MV regurgitation operations (1,054 repairs, 251 replacements). Surgical approaches were sternotomy in 377, video-assisted right minithoracotomy in 481, or robot-assisted in 447. Mean follow-up was 6.4±4.5 years (maximum, 19 years). Sternotomy MV repairs decreased during the study while minimally invasive MV repairs increased. Robotic MV repair patients were younger, with fewer women, had better left ventricular ejection fractions, and were more likely to have myxomatous degeneration (all p<0.001). The robotic approach led to a higher MV repair rate and increased use of leaflet/chordal procedures but had longer cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp times (all p<0.001). The 30-day mortality for isolated MV repair was similar for all approaches (p=0.409). Fewer neurological events were observed in the videoscopic and robotic groups (p=0.013). Adjusted survival was similar for all approaches (p=0.357). Survival in patients in New York Heart Association class I to II with myxomatous degeneration or annular dilatation was similar to a matched population but was worse for patients in class III to IV or undergoing MV replacement. MV repair in patients with severe MV regurgitation should be performed before New York Heart Association class III to IV symptoms develop. Minimally invasive MV repair techniques render similar outcomes as the sternotomy approach. Copyright © 2012 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Time-Dependent Close-Coupling Methods for Electron-Atom/Molecule Scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colgan, James

    2014-01-01

    The time-dependent close-coupling (TDCC) method centers on an accurate representation of the interaction between two outgoing electrons moving in the presence of a Coulomb field. It has been extensively applied to many problems of electrons, photons, and ions scattering from light atomic targets. Theoretical Description: The TDCC method centers on a solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for two interacting electrons. The advantages of a time-dependent approach are two-fold; one treats the electron-electron interaction essentially in an exact manner (within numerical accuracy) and a time-dependent approach avoids the difficult boundary condition encountered when two free electrons move in a Coulomb field (the classic three-body Coulomb problem). The TDCC method has been applied to many fundamental atomic collision processes, including photon-, electron- and ion-impact ionization of light atoms. For application to electron-impact ionization of atomic systems, one decomposes the two-electron wavefunction in a partial wave expansion and represents the subsequent two-electron radial wavefunctions on a numerical lattice. The number of partial waves required to converge the ionization process depends on the energy of the incoming electron wavepacket and on the ionization threshold of the target atom or ion.

  14. Time-dependent shock acceleration of energetic electrons including synchrotron losses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fritz, K.; Webb, G.M.

    1990-01-01

    The present investigation of the time-dependent particle acceleration problem in strong shocks, including synchrotron radiation losses, solves the transport equation analytically by means of Laplace transforms. The particle distribution thus obtained is then transformed numerically into real space for the cases of continuous and impulsive injections of particles at the shock. While in the continuous case the steady-state spectrum undergoes evolution, impulsive injection is noted to yield such unpredicted features as a pile-up of high-energy particles or a steep power-law with time-dependent spectral index. The time-dependent calculations reveal varying spectral shapes and more complex features for the higher energies which may be useful in the interpretation of outburst spectra. 33 refs

  15. On the algebraic approach to the time-dependent quadratic Hamiltonian

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Urdaneta, Ines; Palma, Alejandro [Instituto de Fisica, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Puebla (Mexico); Sandoval, Lourdes, E-mail: urdaneta@sirio.ifuap.buap.m [Facultad de Ciencias de la Computacion, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Puebla (Mexico)

    2010-09-24

    The unitary operator V(t) that diagonalizes the time-dependent quadratic Hamiltonian (TDQH) into a time-dependent harmonic oscillator (TDHO) is obtained using a Lie algebra. The method involves a factorization of the TDQH into a TDHO through a unitary Bogoliubov transformation in terms of creation and annihilation operators with time-dependent coefficients. It is shown that this operator can be easily achieved by means of the factorization, together with the commonly known Wei-Norman theorem. We discuss the conditions under which this unitary operator converges to the evolution operator U(t) of the Schroedinger equation for the TDQH, giving then a straightforward calculation of the evolution operator with respect to the procedures published in the literature.

  16. Time-dependent angularly averaged inverse transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bal, Guillaume; Jollivet, Alexandre

    2009-01-01

    This paper concerns the reconstruction of the absorption and scattering parameters in a time-dependent linear transport equation from knowledge of angularly averaged measurements performed at the boundary of a domain of interest. Such measurement settings find applications in medical and geophysical imaging. We show that the absorption coefficient and the spatial component of the scattering coefficient are uniquely determined by such measurements. We obtain stability results on the reconstruction of the absorption and scattering parameters with respect to the measured albedo operator. The stability results are obtained by a precise decomposition of the measurements into components with different singular behavior in the time domain

  17. Maritime Load Dependent Lead Times - An Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pahl, Julia; Voss, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    in production. Inspired by supply chain planning systems, we analyze the current state of (collaborative) planning in the maritime transport chain with focus on containers. Regarding the problem of congestion, we particularly emphasize on load dependent lead times (LDLT) which are well studied in production....

  18. Time-domain representation of frequency-dependent foundation impedance functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safak, E.

    2006-01-01

    Foundation impedance functions provide a simple means to account for soil-structure interaction (SSI) when studying seismic response of structures. Impedance functions represent the dynamic stiffness of the soil media surrounding the foundation. The fact that impedance functions are frequency dependent makes it difficult to incorporate SSI in standard time-history analysis software. This paper introduces a simple method to convert frequency-dependent impedance functions into time-domain filters. The method is based on the least-squares approximation of impedance functions by ratios of two complex polynomials. Such ratios are equivalent, in the time-domain, to discrete-time recursive filters, which are simple finite-difference equations giving the relationship between foundation forces and displacements. These filters can easily be incorporated into standard time-history analysis programs. Three examples are presented to show the applications of the method.

  19. Cleft Lip and Palate Repair Using a Surgical Microscope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato, Motoi; Watanabe, Azusa; Watanabe, Shoji; Utsunomiya, Hiroki; Yokoyama, Takayuki; Ogishima, Shinya

    2017-11-01

    Cleft lip and palate repair requires a deep and small surgical field and is usually performed by surgeons wearing surgical loupes. Surgeons with loupes can obtain a wider surgical view, although headlights are required for the deepest procedures. Surgical microscopes offer comfort and a clear and magnification-adjustable surgical site that can be shared with the whole team, including observers, and easily recorded to further the education of junior surgeons. Magnification adjustments are convenient for precise procedures such as muscle dissection of the soft palate. We performed a comparative investigation of 18 cleft operations that utilized either surgical loupes or microscopy. Paper-based questionnaires were completed by staff nurses to evaluate what went well and what could be improved in each procedure. The operating time, complication rate, and scores of the questionnaire responses were statistically analyzed. The operating time when microscopy was used was not significantly longer than when surgical loupes were utilized. The surgical field was clearly shared with surgical assistants, nurses, anesthesiologists, and students via microscope-linked monitors. Passing surgical equipment was easier when sharing the surgical view, and preoperative microscope preparation did not interfere with the duties of the staff nurses. Surgical microscopy was demonstrated to be useful during cleft operations.

  20. Student Understanding of Time Dependence in Quantum Mechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emigh, Paul J.; Passante, Gina; Shaffer, Peter S.

    2015-01-01

    The time evolution of quantum states is arguably one of the more difficult ideas in quantum mechanics. In this article, we report on results from an investigation of student understanding of this topic after lecture instruction. We demonstrate specific problems that students have in applying time dependence to quantum systems and in recognizing…

  1. Studies of time dependence of fields in TEVATRON superconducting dipole magnets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanft, R.W.; Brown, B.C.; Herrup, D.A.; Lamm, M.J.; McInturff, A.D.; Syphers, M.J.

    1988-01-01

    The time variation in the magnetic field of a model Tevatron dipole magnet at constant excitation current has been studied. Variations in symmetry allowed harmonic components over long time ranges show a log t behavior indicative of ''flux creep.'' Both short time range and long time range behavior depend in a detailed way on the excitation history. Similar effects are seen in the remnant fields present in full-scale Tevatron dipoles following current ramping. Both magnitudes and time dependences are observed to depend on details for the ramps, such as ramp rate, flattop duration, and number of ramps. In a few magnets, variations are also seen in symmetry unallowed harmonics. 9 refs., 10 figs

  2. Analysis of multimedian problems on time dependent networks

    OpenAIRE

    Salman, F Sibel

    1994-01-01

    Ankara : The Department of Industrial Engineering and the Institute of Enginering and Science of Bilkent Univ., 1994. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1994. Includes bibliographical references leaves 81-85. Time dependency arises in transportation and computer-communication networks due to factors such as time varying demand, traffic intensity, and road conditions. This necessitates a locational decision to be based on an analysis involving a time horizon. In this st...

  3. The accuracy of time dependent transport equation ergodic approximation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stancic, V.

    1995-01-01

    In order to predict the accuracy of the ergodic approximation for solving the time dependent transport equation, a comparison with respect to multiple collision and time finite difference methods, has been considered. (author)

  4. Time- & Load-Dependence of Triboelectric Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Shuaihang; Yin, Nian; Zhang, Zhinan

    2018-02-06

    Time- and load-dependent friction behavior is considered as important for a long time, due to its time-evolution and force-driving characteristics. However, its electronic behavior, mainly considered in triboelectric effect, has almost never been given the full attention and analyses from the above point of view. In this paper, by experimenting with fcc-latticed aluminum and copper friction pairs, the mechanical and electronic behaviors of friction contacts are correlated by time and load analyses, and the behind physical understanding is provided. Most importantly, the difference of "response lag" in force and electricity is discussed, the extreme points of coefficient of friction with the increasing normal loads are observed and explained with the surface properties and dynamical behaviors (i.e. wear), and the micro and macro theories linking tribo-electricity to normal load and wear (i.e. the physical explanation between coupled electrical and mechanical phenomena) are successfully developed and tested.

  5. Stochastic time-dependent vehicle routing problem: Mathematical models and ant colony algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhengyu Duan

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This article addresses the stochastic time-dependent vehicle routing problem. Two mathematical models named robust optimal schedule time model and minimum expected schedule time model are proposed for stochastic time-dependent vehicle routing problem, which can guarantee delivery within the time windows of customers. The robust optimal schedule time model only requires the variation range of link travel time, which can be conveniently derived from historical traffic data. In addition, the robust optimal schedule time model based on robust optimization method can be converted into a time-dependent vehicle routing problem. Moreover, an ant colony optimization algorithm is designed to solve stochastic time-dependent vehicle routing problem. As the improvements in initial solution and transition probability, ant colony optimization algorithm has a good performance in convergence. Through computational instances and Monte Carlo simulation tests, robust optimal schedule time model is proved to be better than minimum expected schedule time model in computational efficiency and coping with the travel time fluctuations. Therefore, robust optimal schedule time model is applicable in real road network.

  6. Time-dependent non-equilibrium dielectric response in QM/continuum approaches

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ding, Feizhi; Lingerfelt, David B.; Li, Xiaosong, E-mail: benedetta.mennucci@unipi.it, E-mail: li@chem.washington.edu [Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States); Mennucci, Benedetta, E-mail: benedetta.mennucci@unipi.it, E-mail: li@chem.washington.edu [Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Risorgimento 35, 56126 Pisa (Italy)

    2015-01-21

    The Polarizable Continuum Models (PCMs) are some of the most inexpensive yet successful methods for including the effects of solvation in quantum-mechanical calculations of molecular systems. However, when applied to the electronic excitation process, these methods are restricted to dichotomously assuming either that the solvent has completely equilibrated with the excited solute charge density (infinite-time limit), or that it retains the configuration that was in equilibrium with the solute prior to excitation (zero-time limit). This renders the traditional PCMs inappropriate for resolving time-dependent solvent effects on non-equilibrium solute electron dynamics like those implicated in the instants following photoexcitation of a solvated molecular species. To extend the existing methods to this non-equilibrium regime, we herein derive and apply a new formalism for a general time-dependent continuum embedding method designed to be propagated alongside the solute’s electronic degrees of freedom in the time domain. Given the frequency-dependent dielectric constant of the solvent, an equation of motion for the dielectric polarization is derived within the PCM framework and numerically integrated simultaneously with the time-dependent Hartree fock/density functional theory equations. Results for small molecular systems show the anticipated dipole quenching and electronic state dephasing/relaxation resulting from out-of-phase charge fluctuations in the dielectric and embedded quantum system.

  7. The Harmonic Potential Theorem for a Quantum System with Time-Dependent Effective Mass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai Meng-Yun; Xiao Duan-Liang; Pan Xiao-Yin

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the many-body wave function of a quantum system with time-dependent effective mass, confined by a harmonic potential with time-dependent frequency, and perturbed by a time-dependent spatially homogeneous electric field. It is found that the wave function is comprised of a phase factor times the solution to the unperturbed time-dependent Schrödinger equation with the latter being translated by a time-dependent value that satisfies the classical driven equation of motion. The wave function reduces to that of the harmonic potential theorem wave function when both the effective mass and frequency are static. An example of application is also given. (paper)

  8. Opportunities for system level improvement in antibiotic use across the surgical pathway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Charani

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Optimizing antibiotic prescribing across the surgical pathway (before, during, and after surgery is a key aspect of tackling important drivers of antimicrobial resistance and simultaneously decreasing the burden of infection at the global level. In the UK alone, 10 million patients undergo surgery every year, which is equivalent to 60% of the annual hospital admissions having a surgical intervention. The overwhelming majority of surgical procedures require effectively limited delivery of antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent infections. Evidence from around the world indicates that antibiotics for surgical prophylaxis are administered ineffectively, or are extended for an inappropriate duration of time postoperatively. Ineffective antibiotic prophylaxis can contribute to the development of surgical site infections (SSIs, which represent a significant global burden of disease. The World Health Organization estimates SSI rates of up to 50% in postoperative surgical patients (depending on the type of surgery, with a particular problem in low- and middle-income countries, where SSIs are the most frequently reported healthcare-associated infections. Across European hospitals, SSIs alone comprise 19.6% of all healthcare-acquired infections. Much of the scientific research in infection management in surgery is related to infection prevention and control in the operating room, surgical prophylaxis, and the management of SSIs, with many studies focusing on infection within the 30-day postoperative period. However it is important to note that SSIs represent only one of the many types of infection that can occur postoperatively. This article provides an overview of the surgical pathway and considers infection management and antibiotic prescribing at each step of the pathway. The aim was to identify the implications for research and opportunities for system improvement.

  9. Time-dependent motor properties of multipedal molecular spiders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samii, Laleh; Blab, Gerhard A; Bromley, Elizabeth H C; Linke, Heiner; Curmi, Paul M G; Zuckermann, Martin J; Forde, Nancy R

    2011-09-01

    Molecular spiders are synthetic biomolecular walkers that use the asymmetry resulting from cleavage of their tracks to bias the direction of their stepping motion. Using Monte Carlo simulations that implement the Gillespie algorithm, we investigate the dependence of the biased motion of molecular spiders, along with binding time and processivity, on tunable experimental parameters, such as number of legs, span between the legs, and unbinding rate of a leg from a substrate site. We find that an increase in the number of legs increases the spiders' processivity and binding time but not their mean velocity. However, we can increase the mean velocity of spiders with simultaneous tuning of the span and the unbinding rate of a spider leg from a substrate site. To study the efficiency of molecular spiders, we introduce a time-dependent expression for the thermodynamic efficiency of a molecular motor, allowing us to account for the behavior of spider populations as a function of time. Based on this definition, we find that spiders exhibit transient motor function over time scales of many hours and have a maximum efficiency on the order of 1%, weak compared to other types of molecular motors.

  10. On quantization of systems with couplings depending on time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gadzhiev, S.A.; Dzhafarov, R.K.

    1990-01-01

    Two main moments, on which the Gitman T yutin quantization is based: formal introduction of pulse, conjugated time and postulate of special nonunitary time dependence of the Schroeinger operators, have been interpreted. 4 refs

  11. Context-dependent incremental timing cells in the primate hippocampus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakon, John J; Naya, Yuji; Wirth, Sylvia; Suzuki, Wendy A

    2014-12-23

    We examined timing-related signals in primate hippocampal cells as animals performed an object-place (OP) associative learning task. We found hippocampal cells with firing rates that incrementally increased or decreased across the memory delay interval of the task, which we refer to as incremental timing cells (ITCs). Three distinct categories of ITCs were identified. Agnostic ITCs did not distinguish between different trial types. The remaining two categories of cells signaled time and trial context together: One category of cells tracked time depending on the behavioral action required for a correct response (i.e., early vs. late release), whereas the other category of cells tracked time only for those trials cued with a specific OP combination. The context-sensitive ITCs were observed more often during sessions where behavioral learning was observed and exhibited reduced incremental firing on incorrect trials. Thus, single primate hippocampal cells signal information about trial timing, which can be linked with trial type/context in a learning-dependent manner.

  12. Elucidation of time-dependent systems biology cell response patterns with time course network enrichment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wiwie, Christian; Rauch, Alexander; Haakonsson, Anders

    2018-01-01

    , no methods exist to integrate time series data with networks, thus preventing the identification of time-dependent systems biology responses. We close this gap with Time Course Network Enrichment (TiCoNE). It combines a new kind of human-augmented clustering with a novel approach to network enrichment...

  13. Time dependent non-extinction probability for prompt critical systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregson, M. W.; Prinja, A. K.

    2009-01-01

    The time dependent non-extinction probability equation is presented for slab geometry. Numerical solutions are provided for a nested inner/outer iteration routine where the fission terms (both linear and non-linear) are updated and then held fixed over the inner scattering iteration. Time dependent results are presented highlighting the importance of the injection position and angle. The iteration behavior is also described as the steady state probability of initiation is approached for both small and large time steps. Theoretical analysis of the nested iteration scheme is shown and highlights poor numerical convergence for marginally prompt critical systems. An acceleration scheme for the outer iterations is presented to improve convergence of such systems. Theoretical analysis of the acceleration scheme is also provided and the associated decrease in computational run time addressed. (authors)

  14. Electromagnetic wave propagation in time-dependent media with antisymmetric magnetoelectric coupling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Shi-Rong; Zhang, Ruo-Yang; Ma, Yi-Rong; Jia, Wei; Zhao, Qing

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Time-dependent permittivity combined with antisymmetric magnetoelectric coupling will yield a novel linear birefringence. • Distinct dynamical behaviors of these two birefringent modes are analyzed. • As a new nonlinear optical effect, a scheme utilizing optical Kerr effect in moving media is proposed. - Abstract: This paper deals with electromagnetic wave propagation in time-dependent media with an antisymmetric magnetoelectric coupling and an isotropic time-dependent permittivity. We identify a new mechanism of linear birefringence, originated from the combined action of the time-dependent permittivity and the antisymmetric magnetoelectric coupling. Permittivity with linear and exponential temporal variations exemplifies the creation and control of these two distinct types of linear birefringent modes. As a novel nonlinear optical effect, a scheme utilizing optical Kerr effect in moving media is proposed for the realization of the predicted birefringence.

  15. Electromagnetic wave propagation in time-dependent media with antisymmetric magnetoelectric coupling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Shi-Rong [School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Zhang, Ruo-Yang [Theoretical Physics Division, Chern Institute of Mathematics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (China); Ma, Yi-Rong; Jia, Wei [School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Zhao, Qing, E-mail: qzhaoyuping@bit.edu.cn [School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China)

    2016-07-29

    Highlights: • Time-dependent permittivity combined with antisymmetric magnetoelectric coupling will yield a novel linear birefringence. • Distinct dynamical behaviors of these two birefringent modes are analyzed. • As a new nonlinear optical effect, a scheme utilizing optical Kerr effect in moving media is proposed. - Abstract: This paper deals with electromagnetic wave propagation in time-dependent media with an antisymmetric magnetoelectric coupling and an isotropic time-dependent permittivity. We identify a new mechanism of linear birefringence, originated from the combined action of the time-dependent permittivity and the antisymmetric magnetoelectric coupling. Permittivity with linear and exponential temporal variations exemplifies the creation and control of these two distinct types of linear birefringent modes. As a novel nonlinear optical effect, a scheme utilizing optical Kerr effect in moving media is proposed for the realization of the predicted birefringence.

  16. ENERGY-DEPENDENT TIME LAGS IN THE SEYFERT 1 GALAXY NGC 4593

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sriram, K.; Agrawal, V. K.; Rao, A. R.

    2009-01-01

    We investigate the energy-time lag dependence of the source NGC 4593 using XMM-Newton/EPIC pn data. We found that the time lag dependency is linear in nature with respect to the logarithm of different energy bands. We also investigate the frequency-dependent time lags and identify that at some frequency range (5 x 10 -5 Hz to 2 x 10 -4 Hz) the X-ray emission is highly coherent, mildly frequency dependent, and very strongly energy dependent. These observations can be explained in the framework of the thermal Comptonization process, and they indicate a truncated accretion disk very close to the black hole. We discuss the plausible spectral state to explain the phenomenon and conclude that the observed properties bear a close resemblance to the intermediate state or the steep power-law state, found in galactic black hole sources.

  17. Incorporating simulation into gynecologic surgical training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wohlrab, Kyle; Jelovsek, J Eric; Myers, Deborah

    2017-11-01

    Today's educational environment has made it more difficult to rely on the Halstedian model of "see one, do one, teach one" in gynecologic surgical training. There is decreased surgical volume, but an increased number of surgical modalities. Fortunately, surgical simulation has evolved to fill the educational void. Whether it is through skill generalization or skill transfer, surgical simulation has shifted learning from the operating room back to the classroom. This article explores the principles of surgical education and ways to introduce simulation as an adjunct to residency training. We review high- and low-fidelity surgical simulators, discuss the progression of surgical skills, and provide options for skills competency assessment. Time and money are major hurdles when designing a simulation curriculum, but low-fidelity models, intradepartmental cost sharing, and utilizing local experts for simulation proctoring can aid in developing a simulation program. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. System reliability time-dependent models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Debernardo, H.D.

    1991-06-01

    A probabilistic methodology for safety system technical specification evaluation was developed. The method for Surveillance Test Interval (S.T.I.) evaluation basically means an optimization of S.T.I. of most important system's periodically tested components. For Allowed Outage Time (A.O.T.) calculations, the method uses system reliability time-dependent models (A computer code called FRANTIC III). A new approximation, which was called Independent Minimal Cut Sets (A.C.I.), to compute system unavailability was also developed. This approximation is better than Rare Event Approximation (A.E.R.) and the extra computing cost is neglectible. A.C.I. was joined to FRANTIC III to replace A.E.R. on future applications. The case study evaluations verified that this methodology provides a useful probabilistic assessment of surveillance test intervals and allowed outage times for many plant components. The studied system is a typical configuration of nuclear power plant safety systems (two of three logic). Because of the good results, these procedures will be used by the Argentine nuclear regulatory authorities in evaluation of technical specification of Atucha I and Embalse nuclear power plant safety systems. (Author) [es

  19. Surgical site infection rates following laparoscopic urological procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Arvin K; Srinivasan, Arun K; Cho, Jane; Sadek, Mostafa A; Kavoussi, Louis R

    2011-04-01

    Surgical site infections have been categorized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as "never events". The incidence of surgical site infection following laparoscopic urological surgery and its risk factors are poorly defined. We evaluated surgical site infection following urological laparoscopic surgery and identified possible factors that may influence occurrence. Patients who underwent transperitoneal laparoscopic procedures during a 4-year period by a single laparoscopic surgeon were retrospectively reviewed. Surgical site infections were identified postoperatively and defined using the Centers for Disease Control criteria. Clinical parameters, comorbidities, smoking history, preoperative urinalysis and culture results as well as operative data were analyzed. Nonparametric testing using the Mann-Whitney U test, multivariable logistic regression and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used for data analysis. In 556 patients undergoing urological laparoscopic procedures 14 surgical site infections (2.5%) were identified at mean postoperative day 21.5. Of the 14 surgical site infections 10 (71.4%) were located at a specimen extraction site. Operative time, procedure type and increasing body mass index were significantly associated with the occurrence of surgical site infections (p = 0.007, p = 0.019, p = 0.038, respectively), whereas history of diabetes mellitus (p = 0.071) and intraoperative transfusion (p = 0.053) were found to trend toward significance. Age, gender, positive urine culture, steroid use, procedure type and smoking history were not significantly associated with surgical site infection. Body mass index and operative time remained significant predictors of surgical site infection on multivariate logistic regression analysis. Surgical site infection is an infrequent complication following laparoscopic surgery with the majority occurring at the specimen extraction site. Infection is associated with prolonged operative time and

  20. Time-Dependent Neutral Particle Transport Benchmarks in Two and Three Dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barry D. Ganapol

    2007-01-01

    The main objective of NEER grant was to generate highly accurate 2D and 3D time-dependent neutral particle intensity maps from 3D pulsed wire sources through integration of the analytical representation of a time-dependent point source

  1. Branch and price for the time-dependent vehicle routing problem with time windows

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dabia, Said; Dabia, Said; Van Woensel, Tom

    2013-01-01

    of column generation, and a tailored labeling algorithm is used to solve the pricing problem. We introduce new dominance criteria that allow more label dominance. For our numerical results, we modified Solomon's data sets by adding time dependency. Our algorithm is able to solve about 63% of the instances...... solution methods to the DM-TDVRPTW are based on (meta-)heuristics. The decomposition of an arc-based formulation leads to a setpartitioning problem as the master problem, and a time-dependent shortest path problem with resource constraints as the pricing problem. The master problem is solved by means...... with 25 customers, 38% of the instances with 50 customers, and 15% of the instances with 100 customers. © 2013 INFORMS....

  2. [Simulation in surgical training].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabavi, A; Schipper, J

    2017-01-01

    Patient safety during operations hinges on the surgeon's skills and abilities. However, surgical training has come under a variety of restrictions. To acquire dexterity with decreasingly "simple" cases, within the legislative time constraints and increasing expectations for surgical results is the future challenge. Are there alternatives to traditional master-apprentice learning? A literature review and analysis of the development, implementation, and evaluation of surgical simulation are presented. Simulation, using a variety of methods, most important physical and virtual (computer-generated) models, provides a safe environment to practice basic and advanced skills without endangering patients. These environments have specific strengths and weaknesses. Simulations can only serve to decrease the slope of learning curves, but cannot be a substitute for the real situation. Thus, they have to be an integral part of a comprehensive training curriculum. Our surgical societies have to take up that challenge to ensure the training of future generations.

  3. Real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in valve disease: comparison with surgical findings and evaluation of prosthetic valves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugeng, Lissa; Shernan, Stanton K; Weinert, Lynn; Shook, Doug; Raman, Jai; Jeevanandam, Valluvan; DuPont, Frank; Fox, John; Mor-Avi, Victor; Lang, Roberto M

    2008-12-01

    Recently, a novel real-time 3-dimensional (3D) matrix-array transesophageal echocardiographic (3D-MTEE) probe was found to be highly effective in the evaluation of native mitral valves (MVs) and other intracardiac structures, including the interatrial septum and left atrial appendage. However, the ability to visualize prosthetic valves using this transducer has not been evaluated. Moreover, the diagnostic accuracy of this new technology has never been validated against surgical findings. This study was designed to (1) assess the quality of 3D-MTEE images of prosthetic valves and (2) determine the potential value of 3D-MTEE imaging in the preoperative assessment of valvular pathology by comparing images with surgical findings. Eighty-seven patients undergoing clinically indicated transesophageal echocardiography were studied. In 40 patients, 3D-MTEE images of prosthetic MVs, aortic valves (AVs), and tricuspid valves (TVs) were scored for the quality of visualization. For both MVs and AVs, mechanical and bioprosthetic valves, the rings and leaflets were scored individually. In 47 additional patients, intraoperative 3D-MTEE diagnoses of MV pathology obtained before initiating cardiopulmonary bypass were compared with surgical findings. For the visualization of prosthetic MVs and annuloplasty rings, quality was superior compared with AV and TV prostheses. In addition, 3D-MTEE imaging had 96% agreement with surgical findings. Three-dimensional matrix-array transesophageal echocardiographic imaging provides superb imaging and accurate presurgical evaluation of native MV pathology and prostheses. However, the current technology is less accurate for the clinical assessment of AVs and TVs. Fast acquisition and immediate online display will make this the modality of choice for MV surgical planning and postsurgical follow-up.

  4. Student understanding of time dependence in quantum mechanics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul J. Emigh

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available [This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Upper Division Physics Courses.] The time evolution of quantum states is arguably one of the more difficult ideas in quantum mechanics. In this article, we report on results from an investigation of student understanding of this topic after lecture instruction. We demonstrate specific problems that students have in applying time dependence to quantum systems and in recognizing the key role of the energy eigenbasis in determining the time dependence of wave functions. Through analysis of student responses to a set of four interrelated tasks, we categorize some of the difficulties that underlie common errors. The conceptual and reasoning difficulties that have been identified are illustrated through student responses to four sets of questions administered at different points in a junior-level course on quantum mechanics. Evidence is also given that the problems persist throughout undergraduate instruction and into the graduate level.

  5. Evolving Educational Techniques in Surgical Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Charity H; Schenarts, Kimberly D

    2016-02-01

    Training competent and professional surgeons efficiently and effectively requires innovation and modernization of educational methods. Today's medical learner is quite adept at using multiple platforms to gain information, providing surgical educators with numerous innovative avenues to promote learning. With the growth of technology, and the restriction of work hours in surgical education, there has been an increase in use of simulation, including virtual reality, robotics, telemedicine, and gaming. The use of simulation has shifted the learning of basic surgical skills to the laboratory, reserving limited time in the operating room for the acquisition of complex surgical skills". Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Surgical versus Non-surgical Management of Rotator Cuff Tears: Predictors of Treatment Allocation

    OpenAIRE

    Kweon, Christopher Y.; Gagnier, Joel Joseph; Robbins, Christopher; Bedi, Asheesh; Carpenter, James E.; Miller, Bruce S.

    2014-01-01

    Objectives: Rotator cuff tears are a common shoulder disorder resulting in significant disability to patients and strain on the health care system. While both surgical and non-surgical management are accepted treatment options, little data exist to guide the surgeon in treatment allocation. Defining variables to guide treatment allocation may be important for patient education and counseling, as well as to deliver the most efficient care plan at the time of presentation. The objective of this...

  7. Improving surgical weekend handover.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culwick, Caroline; Devine, Chris; Coombs, Catherine

    2014-01-01

    Effective handovers are vital to patient safety and continuity of care, and this is recognised by several national bodies including the GMC. The existing model at Great Western Hospital (GWH) involved three general surgical teams and a urology team placing their printed patient lists, complete with weekend jobs, in a folder for the on-call team to collect at the weekend. We recognised a need to reduce time searching for patients, jobs and reviews, and to streamline weekend ward rounds. A unified weekend list ordering all surgical patients by ward and bed number was introduced. Discrepancies in the layout of each team's weekday list necessitated the design of a new weekday list to match the weekend list to facilitate the easy transfer of information between the two lists. A colour coding system was also used to highlight specific jobs. Prior to this improvement project only 7.1% of those polled were satisfied with the existing system, after a series of interventions satisfaction increased to 85.7%. The significant increase in overall satisfaction with surgical handover following the introduction of the unified weekend list is promising. Locating patients and identifying jobs is easier and weekend ward rounds can conducted in a more logical and timely fashion. It has also helped facilitate the transition to consultant ward rounds of all surgical inpatients at the weekends with promising feedback from a recent consultants meeting.

  8. Time-Dependent Neutron and Photon Dose-Field Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wooten, Hasani Omar [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

    2005-08-01

    A unique tool is developed that allows the user to model physical representations of complicated glovebox facilities in two dimensions and determine neutral-particle flux and ambient dose-equivalent fields throughout that geometry. The Pandemonium code, originally designed to determine flux and dose-rates only, is improved to include realistic glovebox geometries, time-dependent source and detector positions, time-dependent shielding thickness calculations, time-integrated doses, a representative criticality accident scenario based on time-dependent reactor kinetics, and more rigorous photon treatment. A primary benefit of this work has been an extensive analysis and improvement of the photon model that is not limited to the application described in this thesis. The photon model has been extended in energy range to 10 MeV to include photons from fission and new photon buildup factors have been included that account for the effects of photon buildup at slant-path thicknesses as a function of angle, where the mean free path thickness has been preserved. The overall system of codes is user-friendly and it is directly applicable to facilities such as the plutonium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where high-intensity neutron and photon emitters are regularly used. The codes may be used to determine a priori doses for given work scenarios in an effort to supply dose information to process models which will in turn assist decision makers on ensuring as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) compliance. In addition, coupling the computational results of these tools with the process model visualization tools will help to increase worker safety and radiological safety awareness.

  9. Asymptotic time dependent neutron transport in multidimensional systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagy, M.E.; Sawan, M.E.; Wassef, W.A.; El-Gueraly, L.A.

    1983-01-01

    A model which predicts the asymptotic time behavior of the neutron distribution in multi-dimensional systems is presented. The model is based on the kernel factorization method used for stationary neutron transport in a rectangular parallelepiped. The accuracy of diffusion theory in predicting the asymptotic time dependence is assessed. The use of neutron pulse experiments for predicting the diffusion parameters is also investigated

  10. Goedel, Penrose, anti-Mach: extra supersymmetries of time-dependent plane waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blau, Matthias; O'Loughlin, Martin; Meessen, Patrick

    2003-01-01

    We prove that M-theory plane waves with extra supersymmetries are necessarily homogeneous (but possibly time-dependent), and we show by explicit construction that such time-dependent plane waves can admit extra supersymmetries. To that end we study the Penrose limits of Goedel-like metrics, show that the Penrose limit of the M-theory Goedel metric (with 20 supercharges) is generically a time-dependent homogeneous plane wave of the anti-Mach type, and display the four extra Killings spinors in that case. We conclude with some general remarks on the Killing spinor equations for homogeneous plane waves. (author)

  11. Goedel, Penrose, anti-Mach: extra supersymmetries of time-dependent plane waves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blau, Matthias; O' Loughlin, Martin; Meessen, Patrick [SISSA/ISAS, Via Beirut 2-4, 34014 Trieste (Italy)]. E-mail: meessen@sissa.it

    2003-09-01

    We prove that M-theory plane waves with extra supersymmetries are necessarily homogeneous (but possibly time-dependent), and we show by explicit construction that such time-dependent plane waves can admit extra supersymmetries. To that end we study the Penrose limits of Goedel-like metrics, show that the Penrose limit of the M-theory Goedel metric (with 20 supercharges) is generically a time-dependent homogeneous plane wave of the anti-Mach type, and display the four extra Killings spinors in that case. We conclude with some general remarks on the Killing spinor equations for homogeneous plane waves. (author)

  12. Comparison of statistical approaches dealing with time-dependent confounding in drug effectiveness studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karim, Mohammad Ehsanul; Petkau, John; Gustafson, Paul; Platt, Robert W; Tremlett, Helen

    2018-06-01

    In longitudinal studies, if the time-dependent covariates are affected by the past treatment, time-dependent confounding may be present. For a time-to-event response, marginal structural Cox models are frequently used to deal with such confounding. To avoid some of the problems of fitting marginal structural Cox model, the sequential Cox approach has been suggested as an alternative. Although the estimation mechanisms are different, both approaches claim to estimate the causal effect of treatment by appropriately adjusting for time-dependent confounding. We carry out simulation studies to assess the suitability of the sequential Cox approach for analyzing time-to-event data in the presence of a time-dependent covariate that may or may not be a time-dependent confounder. Results from these simulations revealed that the sequential Cox approach is not as effective as marginal structural Cox model in addressing the time-dependent confounding. The sequential Cox approach was also found to be inadequate in the presence of a time-dependent covariate. We propose a modified version of the sequential Cox approach that correctly estimates the treatment effect in both of the above scenarios. All approaches are applied to investigate the impact of beta-interferon treatment in delaying disability progression in the British Columbia Multiple Sclerosis cohort (1995-2008).

  13. Pediatric abdominal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: diagnosis through surgical and non-surgical procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguiar, Arthur Almeida; Lima, Luciana Cavalvanti; Araújo, Cláudia Corrêa de; Gallindo, Rodrigo Melo

    2017-12-29

    To describe the success rate and the complications after procedures to diagnose abdominal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in children and adolescents. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted with a population consisting of children and adolescents with abdominal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed between September 1994 and December 2012. The sample comprised of 100 patients who underwent 113 diagnostic procedures, including urgent surgery (n=21), elective surgery (n=36), and non-surgical diagnosis (n=56). The most frequent procedures were laparotomy (46.9%) and ultrasound-guided core biopsy (25.6%). The rate of diagnostic success was 95.2% for urgent surgeries; 100% for elective surgeries and 82.1% for non-surgical procedures (p<0.05). The rates of complication during the three diagnosis procedures considered were significant (p<0.001; 95.2% of the urgent surgeries, 83.8% of the elective surgeries, and 10.7% of the non-surgical procedures). The length of time before resuming a full diet and starting chemotherapy was significantly reduced for patients who underwent non-surgical procedures when compared with the other procedures (p<0.001). Non-surgical procedures for the diagnosis of pediatric abdominal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are an effective option with low morbidity rate, allowing an earlier resumption of a full diet and chemotherapy initiation. Furthermore, non-surgical procedures should also be considered for obtaining tumor samples from patients with extensive disease. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

  14. Time-dependent phase error correction using digital waveform synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doerry, Armin W.; Buskirk, Stephen

    2017-10-10

    The various technologies presented herein relate to correcting a time-dependent phase error generated as part of the formation of a radar waveform. A waveform can be pre-distorted to facilitate correction of an error induced into the waveform by a downstream operation/component in a radar system. For example, amplifier power droop effect can engender a time-dependent phase error in a waveform as part of a radar signal generating operation. The error can be quantified and an according complimentary distortion can be applied to the waveform to facilitate negation of the error during the subsequent processing of the waveform. A time domain correction can be applied by a phase error correction look up table incorporated into a waveform phase generator.

  15. Functional approach to a time-dependent self-consistent field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reinhardt, H.

    1979-01-01

    The time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation is formulated within the path integral approach. It is shown that by a suitable choice of the collective field the classical equation of motion of the collective field coincides with the time-dependent Hartree (TDH) equation. The consideration is restricted to the TDH equation, since the exchange terms do not appear in the functional approach on the same footing as the direct terms

  16. Flail Chest in Polytraumatized Patients: Surgical Fixation Using Stracos Reduces Ventilator Time and Hospital Stay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christophe P. M. Jayle

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. Conservative management of patients with flail chest is the treatment of choice. Rib fracture repair is technically challenging; however, with the advent of specially designed molding titanium clips, surgical management has been simplified. Surgical stabilization has been used with good outcomes. We are reporting on our institutional matched-case-control study. Methods. Between April 2010 and April 2011, ten polytraumatized patients undergoing rib stabilization for flail chest were matched 1 : 1 to 10 control patients by age ±10 years, sex, neurological or vertebral trauma, abdominal injury, and arm and leg fractures. Surgery was realized in the first 48 hours. Results. There were no significant differences between groups for matched data and prognostic scores: injury severity score, revised trauma score, and trauma injury severity score. Ventilator time (142 ± 224 versus 74 ± 125 hours, P=0.026 and overall hospital stay (142 ± 224 versus 74 ± 125 hours, P=0.026 were significantly lower for the surgical group after adjustment on prognostic scores. There was a trend towards shorter ICU stay for operative patients (12.3 ± 8.5 versus 9.0 ± 4.3 days, P=0.076. Conclusions. Rib fixation with Stracos is feasible and decreases the length of ventilation and hospital stay. A multicenter randomized study is warranted so as to confirm these results and to evaluate impact on pulmonary function status, pain, and quality of life.

  17. A study of factors influencing surgical cesarean delivery times in an academic tertiary center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez Fiol, A; Meng, M-L; Danhakl, V; Kim, M; Miller, R; Smiley, R

    2018-05-01

    Knowledge of hospital-specific average cesarean delivery operative times, and factors influencing length of surgery, can serve as a guide for anesthesiologists when choosing the optimal anesthetic technique. The aim of this study was to determine operative times and the factors influencing those times for cesarean delivery. We conducted a retrospective review of all 1348 cesarean deliveries performed at an academic hospital in 2011. The primary outcome was mean operative time for first, second, third and fourth or more cesarean deliveries. The secondary goal was to identify factors influencing operative time. Variables included age, body mass index, previous surgery, gestational age, urgency of cesarean delivery, anesthesia type, surgeon's seniority, layers closed, and performance of tubal ligation. Mean (standard deviation) operative times for first (n=857), second (n=353), third (n=108) and fourth or more (n=30) cesarean deliveries were 56 (19), 60 (19), 69 (28) and 82 (31) minutes, respectively (P cesarean delivery or the presence of other factors that could increase operative time may warrant catheter-based anesthetic techniques or the addition of adjunctive medications to prolong spinal anesthetic block. Institutional and individual surgeon factors may play an even more important role in determining surgical time. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. History-dependent friction and slow slip from time-dependent microscopic junction laws studied in a statistical framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thøgersen, Kjetil; Trømborg, Jørgen Kjoshagen; Sveinsson, Henrik Andersen; Malthe-Sørenssen, Anders; Scheibert, Julien

    2014-05-01

    To study how macroscopic friction phenomena originate from microscopic junction laws, we introduce a general statistical framework describing the collective behavior of a large number of individual microjunctions forming a macroscopic frictional interface. Each microjunction can switch in time between two states: a pinned state characterized by a displacement-dependent force and a slipping state characterized by a time-dependent force. Instead of tracking each microjunction individually, the state of the interface is described by two coupled distributions for (i) the stretching of pinned junctions and (ii) the time spent in the slipping state. This framework allows for a whole family of microjunction behavior laws, and we show how it represents an overarching structure for many existing models found in the friction literature. We then use this framework to pinpoint the effects of the time scale that controls the duration of the slipping state. First, we show that the model reproduces a series of friction phenomena already observed experimentally. The macroscopic steady-state friction force is velocity dependent, either monotonic (strengthening or weakening) or nonmonotonic (weakening-strengthening), depending on the microscopic behavior of individual junctions. In addition, slow slip, which has been reported in a wide variety of systems, spontaneously occurs in the model if the friction contribution from junctions in the slipping state is time weakening. Next, we show that the model predicts a nontrivial history dependence of the macroscopic static friction force. In particular, the static friction coefficient at the onset of sliding is shown to increase with increasing deceleration during the final phases of the preceding sliding event. We suggest that this form of history dependence of static friction should be investigated in experiments, and we provide the acceleration range in which this effect is expected to be experimentally observable.

  19. Theoretical information measurement in nonrelativistic time-dependent approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najafizade, S. A.; Hassanabadi, H.; Zarrinkamar, S.

    2018-02-01

    The information-theoretic measures of time-dependent Schrödinger equation are investigated via the Shannon information entropy, variance and local Fisher quantities. In our calculations, we consider the two first states n = 0,1 and obtain the position Sx (t) and momentum Sp (t) Shannon entropies as well as Fisher information Ix (t) in position and momentum Ip (t) spaces. Using the Fourier transformed wave function, we obtain the results in momentum space. Some interesting features of the information entropy densities ρs (x,t) and γs (p,t), as well as the probability densities ρ (x,t) and γ (p,t) for time-dependent states are demonstrated. We establish a general relation between variance and Fisher's information. The Bialynicki-Birula-Mycielski inequality is tested and verified for the states n = 0,1.

  20. Modeling the time-changing dependence in stock markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frezza, Massimiliano

    2012-01-01

    The time-changing dependence in stock markets is investigated by assuming the multifractional process with random exponent (MPRE) as model for actual log price dynamics. By modeling its functional parameter S(t, ω) via the square root process (S.R.) a twofold aim is obtained. From one hand both the main financial and statistical properties shown by the estimated S(t) are captured by surrogates, on the other hand this capability reveals able to model the time-changing dependence shown by stocks or indexes. In particular, a new dynamical approach to interpreter market mechanisms is given. Empirical evidences are offered by analysing the behaviour of the daily closing prices of a very known index, the Industrial Average Dow Jones (DJIA), beginning on March,1990 and ending on February, 2005.

  1. Duration of orthognathic-surgical treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paunonen, Jaakko; Helminen, Mika; Peltomäki, Timo

    2017-07-01

    The objective of this study was to determine the duration of orthognathic-surgical treatment conducted with conventional pre- and post-surgical orthodontic treatment phases. The study material was comprised of the files of 185 consecutive patients treated in Oral and Maxillofacial Unit, Tampere University Hospital, Finland, in 2007-2014. The files were reviewed and the following data was obtained: gender and age of patients, ICD-10 diagnosis, type of malocclusion, duration of pre- and post-surgical orthodontic treatment and type of operation. Total treatment duration (median) from placement of separating rings for banding until fixed orthodontic appliances were removed and retention period started was 31.1 months, of which pre-surgical orthodontics took 24.4 months and postsurgical 6.4 months. Treatment duration (median) was in BSSO was 32.1, LeFort 1 30.1 and bimaxillary osteotomy 29.7 months. Orthodontic extractions were performed in 35 patients (19%). If the orthodontic treatment included tooth extraction, the duration of pre-surgical treatment was on average 10 months longer, which is a statistically highly significant difference (p pre-surgical orthodontic treatment prolong treatment time by an average of 8-9 months.

  2. Surgical therapy in chronic pancreatitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neal, C P; Dennison, A R; Garcea, G

    2012-12-01

    Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas which causes chronic pain, as well as exocrine and endocrine failure in the majority of patients, together producing social and domestic upheaval and a very poor quality of life. At least half of patients will require surgical intervention at some stage in their disease, primarily for the treatment of persistent pain. Available data have now confirmed that surgical intervention may produce superior results to conservative and endoscopic treatment. Comprehensive individual patient assessment is crucial to optimal surgical management, however, in order to determine which morphological disease variant (large duct disease, distal stricture with focal disease, expanded head or small duct/minimal change disease) is present in the individual patient, as a wide and differing range of surgical approaches are possible depending upon the specific abnormality within the gland. This review comprehensively assesses the evidence for these differing approaches to surgical intervention in chronic pancreatitis. Surgical drainage procedures should be limited to a small number of patients with a dilated duct and no pancreatic head mass. Similarly, a small population presenting with a focal stricture and tail only disease may be successfully treated by distal pancreatectomy. Long-term results of both of these procedure types are poor, however. More impressive results have been yielded for the surgical treatment of the expanded head, for which a range of surgical options now exist. Evidence from level I studies and a recent meta-analysis suggests that duodenum-preserving resections offer benefits compared to pancreaticoduodenectomy, though the results of the ongoing, multicentre ChroPac trial are awaited to confirm this. Further data are also needed to determine which of the duodenum-preserving procedures provides optimal results. In relation to small duct/minimal change disease total pancreatectomy represents the only

  3. Analysis of time-dependent changes in Bitemarks on Styrofoam sheets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Djeapragassam Parimala

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: The scope of Bitemarks in forensic dentistry is widening as they help the forensic expert in identifying the perpetuator in medicolegal cases. The greatest challenge in Bitemarks analysis is the time-dependent changes produced in Bitemark patterns on various substrates at the scene of the crime. Aims: To analyze the time-dependent changes in Bitemarks on Styrofoam sheets. Settings and Design: Single centered prospective study. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five subjects were randomly chosen, and dental casts prepared. Then test bites were registered on Styrofoam sheets, overlays prepared from these test bites on subsequent days (day 1, 2, 3, 4 and checked for matching accuracy. Statistical Analysis Used: The data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA to compare the overlays from dental stone cast with test bites on Styrofoam sheets on subsequent days. Results: The P value was found to be 1 which is statistically not significant implying that there were no significant time-dependent changes in the pattern of Bitemarks. Conclusions: There were no time-dependent changes in the pattern of Bitemarks on Styrofoam sheets hence they serve as better materials than Bitemarks on human skin or food substrates obtained from the scene of the crime.

  4. Spin-zero DKP equation with two time-dependent interactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saeedi, K.; Hassanabadi, H. [Shahrood University of Technology, Physics Department, Shahrood (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Zarrinkamar, S. [Islamic Azad University, Department of Basic Sciences, Garmsar Branch, Garmsar (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-11-15

    The Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau equation for spin-zero bosons is considered in (1 + 1) - and (2 + 1) -dimensional space-time. Some time-dependent interactions are considered within the framework and quasi-exact solutions are provided. The results are discussed via various figures. (orig.)

  5. Time-varying extreme value dependence with application to leading European stock markets

    KAUST Repository

    Castro-Camilo, Daniela; de Carvalho, Miguel; Wadsworth, Jennifer

    2018-01-01

    Extremal dependence between international stock markets is of particular interest in today’s global financial landscape. However, previous studies have shown this dependence is not necessarily stationary over time. We concern ourselves with modeling extreme value dependence when that dependence is changing over time, or other suitable covariate. Working within a framework of asymptotic dependence, we introduce a regression model for the angular density of a bivariate extreme value distribution that allows us to assess how extremal dependence evolves over a covariate. We apply the proposed model to assess the dynamics governing extremal dependence of some leading European stock markets over the last three decades, and find evidence of an increase in extremal dependence over recent years.

  6. Time-varying extreme value dependence with application to leading European stock markets

    KAUST Repository

    Castro-Camilo, Daniela

    2018-03-09

    Extremal dependence between international stock markets is of particular interest in today’s global financial landscape. However, previous studies have shown this dependence is not necessarily stationary over time. We concern ourselves with modeling extreme value dependence when that dependence is changing over time, or other suitable covariate. Working within a framework of asymptotic dependence, we introduce a regression model for the angular density of a bivariate extreme value distribution that allows us to assess how extremal dependence evolves over a covariate. We apply the proposed model to assess the dynamics governing extremal dependence of some leading European stock markets over the last three decades, and find evidence of an increase in extremal dependence over recent years.

  7. Time-Dependent Damage Investigation of Rock Mass in an In Situ Experimental Tunnel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Quan; Cui, Jie; Chen, Jing

    2012-01-01

    In underground tunnels or caverns, time-dependent deformation or failure of rock mass, such as extending cracks, gradual rock falls, etc., are a costly irritant and a major safety concern if the time-dependent damage of surrounding rock is serious. To understand the damage evolution of rock mass in underground engineering, an in situ experimental testing was carried out in a large belowground tunnel with a scale of 28.5 m in width, 21 m in height and 352 m in length. The time-dependent damage of rock mass was detected in succession by an ultrasonic wave test after excavation. The testing results showed that the time-dependent damage of rock mass could last a long time, i.e., nearly 30 days. Regression analysis of damage factors defined by wave velocity, resulted in the time-dependent evolutional damage equation of rock mass, which corresponded with logarithmic format. A damage viscoelastic-plastic model was developed to describe the exposed time-dependent deterioration of rock mass by field test, such as convergence of time-dependent damage, deterioration of elastic modules and logarithmic format of damage factor. Furthermore, the remedial measures for damaged surrounding rock were discussed based on the measured results and the conception of damage compensation, which provides new clues for underground engineering design.

  8. Abortion - surgical

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suction curettage; Surgical abortion; Elective abortion - surgical; Therapeutic abortion - surgical ... Surgical abortion involves dilating the opening to the uterus (cervix) and placing a small suction tube into the uterus. ...

  9. Opportunities for system level improvement in antibiotic use across the surgical pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charani, E; Ahmad, R; Tarrant, C; Birgand, G; Leather, A; Mendelson, M; Moonesinghe, S R; Sevdalis, N; Singh, S; Holmes, A

    2017-07-01

    Optimizing antibiotic prescribing across the surgical pathway (before, during, and after surgery) is a key aspect of tackling important drivers of antimicrobial resistance and simultaneously decreasing the burden of infection at the global level. In the UK alone, 10 million patients undergo surgery every year, which is equivalent to 60% of the annual hospital admissions having a surgical intervention. The overwhelming majority of surgical procedures require effectively limited delivery of antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent infections. Evidence from around the world indicates that antibiotics for surgical prophylaxis are administered ineffectively, or are extended for an inappropriate duration of time postoperatively. Ineffective antibiotic prophylaxis can contribute to the development of surgical site infections (SSIs), which represent a significant global burden of disease. The World Health Organization estimates SSI rates of up to 50% in postoperative surgical patients (depending on the type of surgery), with a particular problem in low- and middle-income countries, where SSIs are the most frequently reported healthcare-associated infections. Across European hospitals, SSIs alone comprise 19.6% of all healthcare-acquired infections. Much of the scientific research in infection management in surgery is related to infection prevention and control in the operating room, surgical prophylaxis, and the management of SSIs, with many studies focusing on infection within the 30-day postoperative period. However it is important to note that SSIs represent only one of the many types of infection that can occur postoperatively. This article provides an overview of the surgical pathway and considers infection management and antibiotic prescribing at each step of the pathway. The aim was to identify the implications for research and opportunities for system improvement. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  10. Effects of Frequent Glove Change on Outcomes of Orthopaedic Surgical Procedures - A Multicenter Study on Surgical Gloves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nishit Palo

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Intact surgical gloves are a barrier to microorganisms migration between surgical team members and the patient. The surgical gloves are changed at various junctures but the effects of changing gloves during surgical procedures on various surgical parameters or clinical outcomes are not established. Aim: To determine rationale of glove change during orthopaedic procedures, differences amongst surgical parameters with and without changing the surgical gloves and whether frequent glove change affected surgical parameters or clinical outcomes. Materials and Methods: A prospective multicenter study conducted at three centers from January 2014 to January 2016. A 250 patients were divided into 2 groups (n=125 each in Group 1, surgical team operated with regular changing of gloves. In Group 2, only 1 set of double gloves were worn throughout the procedure. Surgical parameters or clinical outcomes were assessed for both the groups. Statistical analyses included the median, mode, range, Interquartile Range (IQR and sample standard deviation (s and independent-samples t-test. Bacterial counts were expressed as median with (IQR. Results: Surgical Timing Difference was 10 (S.D.- 4.2 minutes more in Group-1 (<0.05, Surgical Cost was higher in Group-1 by Rs.150-450 (<0.05. Outer glove micro-perforation rate was 5.85% and 8.15% in group-1 and 2 respectively with no inner glove perforation or Surgical Site Infections. Outer glove micro perforations were proportional to duration of surgery; operations lasting 120-210 and 61-120 minutes had 66.6% and 37.2% micro perforation rates respectively (p<0.05. Conclusion: Under standard operating conditions, procedures performed without glove change are shorter and cost effective than procedures performed with regular glove change with similar surgical and functional results. Judicious use of surgical gloves is a patient and environment friendly option, thereby reducing the hospital’s biomedical waste load.

  11. Surgical data processing for smart intraoperative assistance systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stauder Ralf

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Different components of the newly defined field of surgical data science have been under research at our groups for more than a decade now. In this paper, we describe our sensor-driven approaches to workflow recognition without the need for explicit models, and our current aim is to apply this knowledge to enable context-aware surgical assistance systems, such as a unified surgical display and robotic assistance systems. The methods we evaluated over time include dynamic time warping, hidden Markov models, random forests, and recently deep neural networks, specifically convolutional neural networks.

  12. The precise time-dependent solution of the Fokker–Planck equation with anomalous diffusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Ran; Du, Jiulin

    2015-01-01

    We study the time behavior of the Fokker–Planck equation in Zwanzig’s rule (the backward-Ito’s rule) based on the Langevin equation of Brownian motion with an anomalous diffusion in a complex medium. The diffusion coefficient is a function in momentum space and follows a generalized fluctuation–dissipation relation. We obtain the precise time-dependent analytical solution of the Fokker–Planck equation and at long time the solution approaches to a stationary power-law distribution in nonextensive statistics. As a test, numerically we have demonstrated the accuracy and validity of the time-dependent solution. - Highlights: • The precise time-dependent solution of the Fokker–Planck equation with anomalous diffusion is found. • The anomalous diffusion satisfies a generalized fluctuation–dissipation relation. • At long time the time-dependent solution approaches to a power-law distribution in nonextensive statistics. • Numerically we have demonstrated the accuracy and validity of the time-dependent solution

  13. The precise time-dependent solution of the Fokker–Planck equation with anomalous diffusion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo, Ran; Du, Jiulin, E-mail: jiulindu@aliyun.com

    2015-08-15

    We study the time behavior of the Fokker–Planck equation in Zwanzig’s rule (the backward-Ito’s rule) based on the Langevin equation of Brownian motion with an anomalous diffusion in a complex medium. The diffusion coefficient is a function in momentum space and follows a generalized fluctuation–dissipation relation. We obtain the precise time-dependent analytical solution of the Fokker–Planck equation and at long time the solution approaches to a stationary power-law distribution in nonextensive statistics. As a test, numerically we have demonstrated the accuracy and validity of the time-dependent solution. - Highlights: • The precise time-dependent solution of the Fokker–Planck equation with anomalous diffusion is found. • The anomalous diffusion satisfies a generalized fluctuation–dissipation relation. • At long time the time-dependent solution approaches to a power-law distribution in nonextensive statistics. • Numerically we have demonstrated the accuracy and validity of the time-dependent solution.

  14. Real time analysis of brain tissue by direct combination of ultrasonic surgical aspiration and sonic spray mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schäfer, Karl-Christian; Balog, Júlia; Szaniszló, Tamás; Szalay, Dániel; Mezey, Géza; Dénes, Júlia; Bognár, László; Oertel, Matthias; Takáts, Zoltán

    2011-10-15

    Direct combination of cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator (CUSA) and sonic spray ionization mass spectrometry is presented. A commercially available ultrasonic surgical device was coupled to a Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization (V-EASI) source by directly introducing liquified tissue debris into the Venturi air jet pump. The Venturi air jet pump was found to efficiently nebulize the suspended tissue material for gas phase ion production. The ionization mechanism involving solely pneumatic spraying was associated with that of sonic spray ionization. Positive and negative ionization spectra were obtained from brain and liver samples reflecting the primary application areas of the surgical device. Mass spectra were found to feature predominantly complex lipid-type constituents of tissues in both ion polarity modes. Multiply charged peptide anions were also detected. The influence of instrumental settings was characterized in detail. Venturi pump geometry and flow parameters were found to be critically important in ionization efficiency. Standard solutions of phospholipids and peptides were analyzed in order to test the dynamic range, sensitivity, and suppression effects. The spectra of the intact tissue specimens were found to be highly specific to the histological tissue type. The principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) based data analysis method was developed for real-time tissue identification in a surgical environment. The method has been successfully tested on post-mortem and ex vivo human samples including astrocytomas, meningeomas, metastatic brain tumors, and healthy brain tissue. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  15. Time dependent response of equatorial ionospheric electric fieldsto magnetospheric disturbances

    OpenAIRE

    Fejer, Bela G.; Scherliess, L.

    1995-01-01

    We use extensive radar measurements of F region vertical plasma drifts and auroral electrojet indices to determine the storm time dependence of equatorial zonal electric fields. These disturbance drifts result from the prompt penetration of high latitude electric fields and from the dynamo action of storm time winds which produce largest perturbations a few hours after the onset of magnetic activity. The signatures of the equatorial disturbance electric fields change significantly depending o...

  16. Post surgical complications from students' large animal surgical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A retrospective study of post surgical complications was conducted on records of students' Large Animal Surgical Laboratories in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (F.V.M.), Ahmadu Bello University (A.B.U), Zaria from 1989 to 1993. Three hundred and eleven surgical complications were recorded from five surgical ...

  17. Evaluation of the radiation levels in different surgical procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva Santos, M.C.P. da; Almeida, A. de; Belluci, A.D.; Ghilardi Neto, T.

    1989-01-01

    The exposure of a medical team to radiation during surgical procedures evidently depends on the duration and difficulties of the particular procedure. We have made a dosimetric study of the average equivalent doses received by the surgical teams during 10 different surgical procedures over a period of one month. Our results demonstrate that the levels of ionizing radiation that the members of the teams receive typically do not surpass the limits stipulated for the following surgical procedures: nefrolithotomy, percutaneous ureterolithomy, ureteroscoy connected with removal of stones in the inferior third of the ureter, osteosynthesis of the tibial plateau together with a articular toalet and minireconstruction of the knee. For compound surgical procedures, for example, osteosynthesis of a femur fracture together with biopsy of an exposed femur or percutaneous nefrolithotomy (complex cases), the dose limits have been surpassed owing to the additional fluoroscopy needed in those p rocedures. (author) [pt

  18. Cumulative Beam Breakup with Time-Dependent Parameters

    CERN Document Server

    Delayen, J R

    2004-01-01

    A general analytical formalism developed recently for cumulative beam breakup (BBU) in linear accelerators with arbitrary beam current profile and misalignments [1] is extended to include time-dependent parameters such as energy chirp or rf focusing in order to reduce BBU-induced instabilities and emittance growth. Analytical results are presented and applied to practical accelerator configurations.

  19. Distributional curvature of time-dependent cosmic strings

    OpenAIRE

    Wilson, J P

    1997-01-01

    Colombeau's theory of generalised functions is used to calculate the contributions, at the rotation axis, to the distributional curvature for a time-dependent radiating cosmic string, and hence the mass per unit length of the string source. This mass per unit length is compared with the mass at null infinity, giving evidence for a global energy conservation law.

  20. Surgical Masculinization of the Breast: Clinical Classification and Surgical Procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardenas-Camarena, Lazaro; Dorado, Carlos; Guerrero, Maria Teresa; Nava, Rosa

    2017-06-01

    Aesthetic breast area improvements for gynecomastia and gender dysphoria patients who seek a more masculine appearance have increased recently. We present our clinical experience in breast masculinization and a classification for these patients. From July 2003 to May 2014, 68 patients seeking a more masculine thorax underwent surgery. They were divided into five groups depending on three factors: excess fatty tissue, breast tissue, and skin. A specific surgical treatment was assigned according to each group. The surgical treatments included thoracic liposuction, subcutaneous mastectomy, periareolar skin resection in one or two stages, and mastectomy with a nipple areola complex graft. The evaluation was performed 6 months after surgery to determine the degree of satisfaction and presence of complications. Surgery was performed on a total of 68 patients, 45 male and 22 female, with ages ranging from 18 to 49 years, and an average age of 33 years. Liposuction alone was performed on five patients; subcutaneous mastectomy was performed on eight patients; subcutaneous mastectomy combined with liposuction was performed on 27 patients; periareolar skin resection was performed on 11 patients; and mastectomy with NAC free grafts was performed on 16 patients. The surgical procedure satisfied 94% of the patients, with very few complications. All patients who wish to obtain a masculine breast shape should be treated with only one objective regardless patient's gender: to obtain a masculine thorax. We recommend a simple mammary gland classification for determining the best surgical treatment for these patients LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

  1. System Identification for Nonlinear FOPDT Model with Input-Dependent Dead-Time

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Zhen; Yang, Zhenyu

    2011-01-01

    An on-line iterative method of system identification for a kind of nonlinear FOPDT system is proposed in the paper. The considered nonlinear FOPDT model is an extension of the standard FOPDT model by means that its dead time depends on the input signal and the other parameters are time dependent....

  2. Impact of video game genre on surgical skills development: a feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Araujo, Thiago Bozzi; Silveira, Filipe Rodrigues; Souza, Dante Lucas Santos; Strey, Yuri Thomé Machado; Flores, Cecilia Dias; Webster, Ronaldo Scholze

    2016-03-01

    The playing of video games (VGs) was previously shown to improve surgical skills. This is the first randomized, controlled study to assess the impact of VG genre on the development of basic surgical skills. Twenty first-year, surgically inexperienced medical students attended a practical course on surgical knots, suturing, and skin-flap technique. Later, they were randomized into four groups: control and/or nongaming (ContG), first-person-shooter game (ShotG), racing game (RaceG), and surgery game (SurgG). All participants had 3 wk of Nintendo Wii training. Surgical and VG performances were assessed by two independent, blinded surgeons who evaluated basal performance (time 0) and performance after 1 wk (time 1) and 3 wk (time 2) of training. The training time of RaceG was longer than that of ShotG and SurgG (P = 0.045). Compared to SurgG and RaceG, VG scores for ShotG improved less between times 0 and 1 (P = 0.010) but more between times 1 and 2 (P = 0.004). Improvement in mean surgical performance scores versus time differed in each VG group (P = 0.011). At time 2, surgical performance scores were significantly higher in ShotG (P = 0.002) and SurgG (P = 0.022) than in ContG. The surgical performance scores of RaceG were not significantly different from the score achieved by ContG (P = 0.279). Different VG genres may differentially impact the development of surgical skills by medical students. More complex games seem to improve performance even if played less. Although further studies are needed, surgery-related VGs with sufficient complexity and playability could be a feasible adjuvant to improving surgical skills. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Some notes on time dependent Thomas Fermi approximation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holzwarth, G.

    1979-01-01

    The successful use of effective density-dependent potentials in static Hartree-Fock calculations for nuclear ground-state properties has led to the question whether it is possible to obtain significant further simplification by approximating also the kinetic energy part of the ground state energy by a functional of the local density alone. The great advantage of such an approach is that its complexity is independent of particle number; the size of the system enters only through parameters, Z and N. The simple 'extended Thomas Fermi' functionals are based on the assumption of a spherically symmetric local Fermi surface throughout the nucleus and they represent the 'liquid drop' part of the static total energy. Given this static formalism which is solved directly for the local density without considering individual particles one might ask for a possible dynamical extension in the same sense as TDHF is a dynamical extension of the static HF approach. The aim of such a Time Dependent Thomas Fermi (TDTF) approximation would be to determine directly the time-dependent local single-particle density from given initial conditions and the single-particle current density without following each particle on its individual orbit

  4. The time-dependent prize-collecting arc routing problem

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Black, Dan; Eglese, Richard; Wøhlk, Sanne

    2013-01-01

    with the time of day. Two metaheuristic algorithms, one based on Variable Neighborhood Search and one based on Tabu Search, are proposed and tested for a set of benchmark problems, generated from real road networks and travel time information. Both algorithms are capable of finding good solutions, though......A new problem is introduced named the Time-Dependent Prize-Collecting Arc Routing Problem (TD-PARP). It is particularly relevant to situations where a transport manager has to choose between a number of full truck load pick-ups and deliveries on a road network where travel times change...

  5. [Surgical assessment of complications after thyroid gland operations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dralle, H

    2015-01-01

    The extent, magnitude and technical equipment used for thyroid surgery has changed considerably in Germany during the last decade. The number of thyroidectomies due to benign goiter have decreased while the extent of thyroidectomy, nowadays preferentially total thyroidectomy, has increased. Due to an increased awareness of surgical complications the number of malpractice claims is increasing. In contrast to surgical databases the frequency of complications in malpractice claims reflects the individual impact of complications on the quality of life. In contrast to surgical databases unilateral and bilateral vocal fold palsy are therefore at the forefront of malpractice claims. As guidelines are often not applicable for the individual surgical expert review, the question arises which are the relevant criteria for the professional expert witness assessing the severity of the individual complication. While in surgical databases major complications after thyroidectomy, such as vocal fold palsy, hypoparathyroidism, hemorrhage and infections are equally frequent (1-3 %), in malpractice claims vocal fold palsy is significantly more frequent (50 %) compared to hypoparathyroidism (15 %), hemorrhage and infections (about 5 % each). To avoid bilateral nerve palsy intraoperative nerve monitoring has become of utmost importance for surgical strategy and malpractice suits alike. For surgical expert review documentation of individual risk-oriented indications, the surgical approach and postoperative management are highly important. Guidelines only define the treatment corridors of good clinical practice. Surgical expert reviews in malpractice suits concerning quality of care and causality between surgical management, complications and sequelae of complications are therefore highly dependent on the grounds and documentation of risk-oriented indications for thyroidectomy, intraoperative and postoperative surgical management.

  6. Surgical management of breast cancer in China: A 15-year single-center retrospective study of 18,502 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Nai-Si; Liu, Meng-Ying; Chen, Jia-Jian; Yang, Ben-Long; Xue, Jing-Yan; Quan, Chen-Lian; Mo, Miao; Liu, Guang-Yu; Shen, Zhen-Zhou; Shao, Zhi-Min; Wu, Jiong

    2016-11-01

    The aim of the study was to review the surgical trends in breast cancer treatment in China over the past 15 years and to explore the possible factors related to the choice of surgical modality.The medical records of 18,502 patients with unilateral early stage breast cancer who underwent surgery from January 1999 to December 2013 at our institute were retrospectively reviewed. The utilization of different surgical modalities and the associated clinicopathological factors were analyzed. Furthermore, the prognostic role of surgical modality was also evaluated.The median patient age was 50.0 years. According to the pTNM staging system, 12.5% of the patients were classified as stage 0; 30.2% as stage I; 40.0% as stage II; and 17.3% as stage III. In total, 9.3% of the patients could not be staged. Overall, 67.1% of the breast cancer cases were estrogen receptor (ER) positive. The pattern of breast cancer surgery has changed tremendously over the past 15 years (P Age, TNM staging, and pathological characteristics greatly affected the choice of surgical modality. The 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates for the mastectomy, BCS, and reconstruction groups were 87.6%, 93.2%, and 91.7%, respectively (P time, stratified by surgical modality and tumor stage. Multivariate Cox-regression analysis revealed that time of treatment, tumor stage, tumor grade, LVI status, and ER status were independent prognostic factors for RFS in our cohort, whereas surgical modality was not.Mastectomy remains the most prevalent surgical modality used to manage early stage breast cancer in China, although the utilization of BCS has increased in the past decade. However, surgical management was not a prognostic factor for RFS. The selection of appropriate patients depended on the assessment of multiple clinicopathological factors, which is essential for making surgical decisions.

  7. Effect of surgical shoes on brake response time after first metatarsal osteotomy?a prospective cohort study

    OpenAIRE

    Dammerer, Dietmar; Braito, Matthias; Biedermann, Rainer; Ban, Michael; Giesinger, Johannes; Haid, Christian; Liebensteiner, Michael C.; Kaufmann, Gerhard

    2016-01-01

    Background The aim of this study is to assess patients? driving ability when wearing surgical shoes following right-sided first metatarsal osteotomy. Methods From August 2013 to August 2015, 42 consecutive patients (mean age 54.5?years) with right-sided hallux valgus deformity underwent first metatarsal osteotomy. Patients were tested for brake response time (BRT) 1?day preoperatively (control run) and at 2 and 6?weeks postoperatively. Two different types of foot orthosis were investigated. B...

  8. Smooth time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve estimators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Camblor, Pablo; Pardo-Fernández, Juan Carlos

    2018-03-01

    The receiver operating characteristic curve is a popular graphical method often used to study the diagnostic capacity of continuous (bio)markers. When the considered outcome is a time-dependent variable, two main extensions have been proposed: the cumulative/dynamic receiver operating characteristic curve and the incident/dynamic receiver operating characteristic curve. In both cases, the main problem for developing appropriate estimators is the estimation of the joint distribution of the variables time-to-event and marker. As usual, different approximations lead to different estimators. In this article, the authors explore the use of a bivariate kernel density estimator which accounts for censored observations in the sample and produces smooth estimators of the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves. The performance of the resulting cumulative/dynamic and incident/dynamic receiver operating characteristic curves is studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Additionally, the influence of the choice of the required smoothing parameters is explored. Finally, two real-applications are considered. An R package is also provided as a complement to this article.

  9. Marriage is a dependent risk factor for mortality of colon adenocarcinoma without a time-varying effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Minling; Li, Lixian; Yu, Wei; Chen, Jie; Xiong, Weibin; Chen, Shuang; Yu, Li

    2017-03-21

    It has been well recognized that the effects of many prognostic factors could change during long-term follow-up. Although marriage has been proven to be a significant prognostic factor for the survival of colon cancer, whether the effect of marriage is constant with time remain unknown. This study analyzed the impact of marital status on the mortality of colon cancer patients with an extended Cox model that allowed for time-varying effects. We identified 71,955 patients who underwent colectomy between 2004 and 2009 to treat colon adenocarcinoma from the Surveilance, Epidemiology and End Results Database. The multivariate extended Cox model was used to evaluate the effect of marital status on all-cause mortality, while the Fine-Gray competing risks model was used for colon cancer-specific mortality, with death from other causes as the competing risk. The unmarried patients carried a 1.37-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality compared with the married patients (95%CI: 1.33-1.40; pMarriage is a dependent prognosis factor for survival of surgically treated colon adenocarcinoma patients. Psychological interventions are suggested to improve receipt of treatment among unmarried patients, as their poor survival may be due to the inefficient treatment.

  10. Exact wavefunctions for a time-dependent Coulomb potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Menouar, S; Maamache, M; Saadi, Y; Choi, J R

    2008-01-01

    The one-dimensional Schroedinger equation associated with a time-dependent Coulomb potential is studied. The invariant operator method (Lewis and Riesenfeld) and unitary transformation approach are employed to derive quantum solutions of the system. We obtain an ordinary second-order differential equation whose analytical exact solution has been unknown. It is confirmed that the form of this equation is similar to the radial Schroedinger equation for the hydrogen atom in a (arbitrary) strong magnetic field. The qualitative properties for the eigenstates spectrum are described separately for the different values of the parameter ω 0 appearing in the x 2 term, x being the position, i.e., ω 0 > 0, ω 0 0 = 0. For the ω 0 = 0 case, the eigenvalue equation of invariant operator reduces to a solvable form and, consequently, we have provided exact eigenstates of the time-dependent Hamiltonian system

  11. Fundamentals of time-dependent density functional theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marques, Miguel A.L.; Rubio, Angel

    2012-01-01

    There have been many significant advances in time-dependent density functional theory over recent years, both in enlightening the fundamental theoretical basis of the theory, as well as in computational algorithms and applications. This book, as successor to the highly successful volume Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (Lect. Notes Phys. 706, 2006) brings together for the first time all recent developments in a systematic and coherent way. First, a thorough pedagogical presentation of the fundamental theory is given, clarifying aspects of the original proofs and theorems, as well as presenting fresh developments that extend the theory into new realms such as alternative proofs of the original Runge-Gross theorem, open quantum systems, and dispersion forces to name but a few. Next, all of the basic concepts are introduced sequentially and building in complexity, eventually reaching the level of open problems of interest. Contemporary applications of the theory are discussed, from real-time coupled-electron-ion dynamics, to excited-state dynamics and molecular transport. Last but not least, the authors introduce and review recent advances in computational implementation, including massively parallel architectures and graphical processing units. Special care has been taken in editing this volume as a multi-author textbook, following a coherent line of thought, and making all the relevant connections between chapters and concepts consistent throughout. As such it will prove to be the text of reference in this field, both for beginners as well as expert researchers and lecturers teaching advanced quantum mechanical methods to model complex physical systems, from molecules to nanostructures, from biocomplexes to surfaces, solids and liquids. (orig.)

  12. Cluster formation in precompound nuclei in the time-dependent framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuetrumpf, B.; Nazarewicz, W.

    2017-12-01

    Background: Modern applications of nuclear time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) are often capable of providing quantitative description of heavy ion reactions. However, the structures of precompound (preequilibrium, prefission) states produced in heavy ion reactions are difficult to assess theoretically in TDDFT as the single-particle density alone is a weak indicator of shell structure and cluster states. Purpose: We employ the time-dependent nucleon localization function (NLF) to reveal the structure of precompound states in nuclear reactions involving light and medium-mass ions. We primarily focus on spin saturated systems with N =Z . Furthermore, we study reactions with oxygen and carbon ions, for which some experimental evidence for α clustering in precompound states exists. Method: We utilize the symmetry-free TDDFT approach with the Skyrme energy density functional UNEDF1 and compute the time-dependent NLFs to describe 16O + 16O,40Ca + 16O, 40Ca + 40Ca, and O,1816 + 12C collisions at energies above the Coulomb barrier. Results: We show that NLFs reveal a variety of time-dependent modes involving cluster structures. For instance, the 16O + 16O collision results in a vibrational mode of a quasimolecular α - 12C - 12C-α state. For heavier ions, a variety of cluster configurations are predicted. For the collision of O,1816 + 12C, we showed that the precompound system has a tendency to form α clusters. This result supports the experimental findings that the presence of cluster structures in the projectile and target nuclei gives rise to strong entrance channel effects and enhanced α emission. Conclusion: The time-dependent nucleon localization measure is a very good indicator of cluster structures in complex precompound states formed in heavy-ion fusion reactions. The localization reveals the presence of collective vibrations involving cluster structures, which dominate the initial dynamics of the fusing system.

  13. Cluster Analysis of Time-Dependent Crystallographic Data: Direct Identification of Time-Independent Structural Intermediates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostov, Konstantin S.; Moffat, Keith

    2011-01-01

    The initial output of a time-resolved macromolecular crystallography experiment is a time-dependent series of difference electron density maps that displays the time-dependent changes in underlying structure as a reaction progresses. The goal is to interpret such data in terms of a small number of crystallographically refinable, time-independent structures, each associated with a reaction intermediate; to establish the pathways and rate coefficients by which these intermediates interconvert; and thereby to elucidate a chemical kinetic mechanism. One strategy toward achieving this goal is to use cluster analysis, a statistical method that groups objects based on their similarity. If the difference electron density at a particular voxel in the time-dependent difference electron density (TDED) maps is sensitive to the presence of one and only one intermediate, then its temporal evolution will exactly parallel the concentration profile of that intermediate with time. The rationale is therefore to cluster voxels with respect to the shapes of their TDEDs, so that each group or cluster of voxels corresponds to one structural intermediate. Clusters of voxels whose TDEDs reflect the presence of two or more specific intermediates can also be identified. From such groupings one can then infer the number of intermediates, obtain their time-independent difference density characteristics, and refine the structure of each intermediate. We review the principles of cluster analysis and clustering algorithms in a crystallographic context, and describe the application of the method to simulated and experimental time-resolved crystallographic data for the photocycle of photoactive yellow protein. PMID:21244840

  14. Time-dependent generalized Gibbs ensembles in open quantum systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, Florian; Lenarčič, Zala; Rosch, Achim

    2018-04-01

    Generalized Gibbs ensembles have been used as powerful tools to describe the steady state of integrable many-particle quantum systems after a sudden change of the Hamiltonian. Here, we demonstrate numerically that they can be used for a much broader class of problems. We consider integrable systems in the presence of weak perturbations which break both integrability and drive the system to a state far from equilibrium. Under these conditions, we show that the steady state and the time evolution on long timescales can be accurately described by a (truncated) generalized Gibbs ensemble with time-dependent Lagrange parameters, determined from simple rate equations. We compare the numerically exact time evolutions of density matrices for small systems with a theory based on block-diagonal density matrices (diagonal ensemble) and a time-dependent generalized Gibbs ensemble containing only a small number of approximately conserved quantities, using the one-dimensional Heisenberg model with perturbations described by Lindblad operators as an example.

  15. Urban Freight Management with Stochastic Time-Dependent Travel Times and Application to Large-Scale Transportation Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shichao Sun

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper addressed the vehicle routing problem (VRP in large-scale urban transportation networks with stochastic time-dependent (STD travel times. The subproblem which is how to find the optimal path connecting any pair of customer nodes in a STD network was solved through a robust approach without requiring the probability distributions of link travel times. Based on that, the proposed STD-VRP model can be converted into solving a normal time-dependent VRP (TD-VRP, and algorithms for such TD-VRPs can also be introduced to obtain the solution. Numerical experiments were conducted to address STD-VRPTW of practical sizes on a real world urban network, demonstrated here on the road network of Shenzhen, China. The stochastic time-dependent link travel times of the network were calibrated by historical floating car data. A route construction algorithm was applied to solve the STD problem in 4 delivery scenarios efficiently. The computational results showed that the proposed STD-VRPTW model can improve the level of customer service by satisfying the time-window constraint under any circumstances. The improvement can be very significant especially for large-scale network delivery tasks with no more increase in cost and environmental impacts.

  16. A modular method to handle multiple time-dependent quantities in Monte Carlo simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, J; Faddegon, B A; Perl, J; Schümann, J; Paganetti, H

    2012-01-01

    A general method for handling time-dependent quantities in Monte Carlo simulations was developed to make such simulations more accessible to the medical community for a wide range of applications in radiotherapy, including fluence and dose calculation. To describe time-dependent changes in the most general way, we developed a grammar of functions that we call ‘Time Features’. When a simulation quantity, such as the position of a geometrical object, an angle, a magnetic field, a current, etc, takes its value from a Time Feature, that quantity varies over time. The operation of time-dependent simulation was separated into distinct parts: the Sequence samples time values either sequentially at equal increments or randomly from a uniform distribution (allowing quantities to vary continuously in time), and then each time-dependent quantity is calculated according to its Time Feature. Due to this modular structure, time-dependent simulations, even in the presence of multiple time-dependent quantities, can be efficiently performed in a single simulation with any given time resolution. This approach has been implemented in TOPAS (TOol for PArticle Simulation), designed to make Monte Carlo simulations with Geant4 more accessible to both clinical and research physicists. To demonstrate the method, three clinical situations were simulated: a variable water column used to verify constancy of the Bragg peak of the Crocker Lab eye treatment facility of the University of California, the double-scattering treatment mode of the passive beam scattering system at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where a spinning range modulator wheel accompanied by beam current modulation produces a spread-out Bragg peak, and the scanning mode at MGH, where time-dependent pulse shape, energy distribution and magnetic fields control Bragg peak positions. Results confirm the clinical applicability of the method. (paper)

  17. QUIPS: Time-dependent properties of quasi-invariant self-gravitating polytropes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munier, A.; Feix, M.R.

    1983-01-01

    Quasi-invariance, a method based on group tranformations, is used to obtain time-dependent solutions for the expansion and/or contraction of a self-gravitating sphere of perfect gas with polytopic index n. Quasi-invariance transforms the equations of hydrodynamics into ''dual equations'' exhibiting extra terms such as a friction, a mass source or sink term, and a centripetal/centrifugal force. The search for stationary solutions in this ''dual space'' leads to a new class of time-dependent solutions, the QUIP (for Quasi-invariant polytrope), which generalizes Emden's static model and introduces a characteristic frequency a related to Jean's frequency. The second order differential equation describing the solution is integrated numerically. A critical point is seen always to exist for nnot =3. Solutions corresponding in the ''dual space'' to a time-dependent generalization of Eddington's standard model (n = 3) are discussed. These solutions conserve both the total mass and the energy. A transition between closed and open structures is seen to take place at a particular frequency a/sub c/. For n = 3, no critical point arises in the ''dual space'' due to the self-similar motion of the fluid. A new time-dependent mass-radius relation and a generalized Betti-Ritter relation are obtained. Conclusions about the existence of a minimum Q-factor are presented

  18. The Use of Smart Glasses for Surgical Video Streaming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiranaka, Takafumi; Nakanishi, Yuta; Fujishiro, Takaaki; Hida, Yuichi; Tsubosaka, Masanori; Shibata, Yosaku; Okimura, Kenjiro; Uemoto, Harunobu

    2017-04-01

    Observation of surgical procedures performed by experts is extremely important for acquisition and improvement of surgical skills. Smart glasses are small computers, which comprise a head-mounted monitor and video camera, and can be connected to the internet. They can be used for remote observation of surgeries by video streaming. Although Google Glass is the most commonly used smart glasses for medical purposes, it is still unavailable commercially and has some limitations. This article reports the use of a different type of smart glasses, InfoLinker, for surgical video streaming. InfoLinker has been commercially available in Japan for industrial purposes for more than 2 years. It is connected to a video server via wireless internet directly, and streaming video can be seen anywhere an internet connection is available. We have attempted live video streaming of knee arthroplasty operations that were viewed at several different locations, including foreign countries, on a common web browser. Although the quality of video images depended on the resolution and dynamic range of the video camera, speed of internet connection, and the wearer's attention to minimize image shaking, video streaming could be easily performed throughout the procedure. The wearer could confirm the quality of the video as the video was being shot by the head-mounted display. The time and cost for observation of surgical procedures can be reduced by InfoLinker, and further improvement of hardware as well as the wearer's video shooting technique is expected. We believe that this can be used in other medical settings.

  19. Single machine total completion time minimization scheduling with a time-dependent learning effect and deteriorating jobs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ji-Bo; Wang, Ming-Zheng; Ji, Ping

    2012-05-01

    In this article, we consider a single machine scheduling problem with a time-dependent learning effect and deteriorating jobs. By the effects of time-dependent learning and deterioration, we mean that the job processing time is defined by a function of its starting time and total normal processing time of jobs in front of it in the sequence. The objective is to determine an optimal schedule so as to minimize the total completion time. This problem remains open for the case of -1 < a < 0, where a denotes the learning index; we show that an optimal schedule of the problem is V-shaped with respect to job normal processing times. Three heuristic algorithms utilising the V-shaped property are proposed, and computational experiments show that the last heuristic algorithm performs effectively and efficiently in obtaining near-optimal solutions.

  20. Quantifying Time Dependent Moisture Storage and Transport Properties

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peuhkuri, Ruut H

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes an experimental and numerical approach to quantify the time dependence of sorption mechanisms for some hygroscopic building - mostly insulation - materials. Some investigations of retarded sorption and non-Fickian phenomena, mostly on wood, have given inspiration to the present...

  1. Effect of the time spent by the photon in the absorbed state on the time-dependent transfer of radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rao, D.M.; Rangarajan, K.E.; Peraiah, A.

    1990-01-01

    The time-dependent transfer equation is derived for a two-level atomic model which takes both bound-bound and bound-free transitions into account. A numerical scheme is proposed for solving the monochromatic time-dependent transfer equation when the time spent by the photon in the absorbed state is significant. The method can be easily extended to solve the problem of time-dependent line formation of the bound-free continuum. It is used here to study three types of boundary conditions of the incident radiation incident on a scattering atmosphere. The quantitative results show that the relaxation of the radiation field depends on the optical depth of the medium and on the ray's angle of emergence. 21 refs

  2. Simulation of compressible viscous flow in time-dependent domains

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Česenek, J.; Feistauer, M.; Horáček, Jaromír; Kučera, V.; Prokopova, J.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 219, č. 13 (2013), s. 7139-7150 ISSN 0096-3003 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP101/11/0207 Institutional support: RVO:61388998 Keywords : time dependent domain * ALE method * semi-implicit time discretization * shock indicator Subject RIV: BI - Acoustics Impact factor: 1.600, year: 2013

  3. [Surgical issues and outcomes in ischial pressure sores treatment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voulliaume, D; Grecea, M; Viard, R; Brun, A; Comparin, J-P; Foyatier, J-L

    2011-12-01

    Ischiatic pressure sores are frequent in spinal cord injury patients, associated with bad prognosis and high recurrence rate. Many surgical techniques were described, including surgical debridement followed by pedicled flap coverage. We aim to propose a practical decision tree for primary or secondary ischial pressure sore treatment. Our series of 48 operated ischial sores with an average follow up of 4 years (range 2 to 8years) is analyzed and compared to previously published reports. Surgical techniques are discussed according to their specific indications. The optimal recurrence rate in published reports about pressure sore treatment is 20%; a rate inferior to 19% is found in our series, showing the equal importance of flap selection and postoperative care and education. Depending on each situation, various available flaps are described and compared: gluteus maximus flap, biceps femoris flap, gracilis flap, tensor fascia lata flap, fasciocutaneous thigh flaps, rectus femoris and vastus lateralis flap, rectus abdominis flap. Specific surgical indications for more extensive wounds are studied: resection arthroplasty of the hip, hip disarticulation, fillet flaps from the leg, microsurgery. Based upon our experience, a decision tree summarizes our proposition of flap selection, depending on the wound size and the patient background. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  4. The impact of a surgical boot camp on early acquisition of technical and nontechnical skills by novice surgical trainees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heskin, Leonie; Mansour, Ehab; Lane, Brian; Kavanagh, Dara; Dicker, Pat; Ryan, Donncha; Gildea-Byrne, Kate; Pawlikowska, Teresa; Tierney, Sean; Traynor, Oscar

    2015-09-01

    Acquisition of skills early in surgical training represents a significant challenge at present because of training time constraints. The aim of this study was to investigate if an intensive surgical boot camp was effective in transferring skills at the beginning of a surgical training program. New core surgical trainees (n = 58) took part in a 5-day boot camp. There were pretest and posttest assessments of knowledge, technical skills, and confidence levels. The boot camp used simulation and senior surgical faculty to teach a defined range of technical and nontechnical skills. The scores for knowledge (53.8% vs 68.4%, P technical skills (35.9% to 60.6% vs 50.6% to 78.2%, P Skills improvements were still present a year later. The 5-day surgical boot camp proved to be an effective way to rapidly acquire surgical knowledge and skills while increasing the confidence levels of trainees. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Time-dependent image potential at a metal surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alducin, M.; Diez Muino, R.; Juaristi, J.I.

    2003-01-01

    Transient effects in the image potential induced by a point charge suddenly created in front of a metal surface are studied. The time evolution of the image potential is calculated using linear response theory. Two different time scales are defined: (i) the time required for the creation of the image potential and (ii) the time it takes to converge to its stationary value. Their dependence on the distance of the charge to the surface is discussed. The effect of the electron gas damping is also analyzed. For a typical metallic density, the order of magnitude of the creation time is 0.1 fs, whereas for a charge created close to the surface the convergence time is around 1-2 fs

  6. Reactive scattering theory for molecular transitions in time-dependent fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peskin, U.; Miller, W.H.

    1995-01-01

    A new approach is introduced for computing probabilities of molecular transitions in time-dependent fields. The method is based on the stationary (t,t') representation of the Schroedinger equation and is shown to be equivalent to infinite order time-dependent perturbation theory. Bound-to-bound (i.e., photoexcitation) and bound-to-continuum (i.e., photoreaction) transitions are regarded as reactive collisions with the ''time coordinate'' as the reaction coordinate in an extended Hilbert space. A numerical method based on imposing absorbing boundary conditions for the time coordinate in a discrete variable representation framework is introduced. A single operation of the Green's operator provides all the state-specific transition probabilities as well as partial state-resolved (inclusive) reaction probabilities. Illustrative numerical applications are given for model systems

  7. A two-station queue with dependent preparation and service times

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vlasiou, M.; Adan, I.J.B.F.; Boxma, O.J.

    2009-01-01

    We discuss a single-server multi-station alternating queue where the preparation times and the service times are auto- and cross-correlated. We examine two cases. In the first case, preparation and service times depend on a common discrete time Markov chain. In the second case, we assume that the

  8. Time dependence of resonance γ-radiation modulated by acoustic excitations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mkrtchyan, A.R.; Arakelyan, A.R.; Gabrielyan, R.G.; Kocharyan, L.A.; Grigoryan, G.R.; Slavinskii, M.M.

    1984-01-01

    Experimental investigations of the time dependence of the γ-resonance absorption line intensity in case of modulation by acoustic waves are presented. 57 Co was used as source and a stainless steel foil was chosen as an absorber. The time dependences of the counting rate of the resonant γ-quanta corresponding to excitations with 3400 Hz and with 1.5 or 7 V at the vibrosystem transducer are plotted. The measurements show that the method has principal advantages over the conventional Moessbauer spectroscopy

  9. Analysis of time-dependent reliability of degenerated reinforced concrete structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Hongping

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Durability deterioration of structure is a highly random process. The maintenance of degenerated structure involves the calculation of the reliability of time-dependent structure. This study introduced reinforced concrete structure resistance decrease model and related statistical parameters of uncertainty, analyzed resistance decrease rules of corroded bending element of reinforced concrete structure, and finally calculated timedependent reliability of the corroded bending element of reinforced concrete structure, aiming to provide a specific theoretical basis for the application of time-dependent reliability theory.

  10. Time-dependent behavior of D-dimensional ideal quantum gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Suhk Kun

    1985-01-01

    The time-dependent behavior of D-dimensional ideal quantum gases is studied within the Mori formalism and its extension by Lee. In the classical limit, the time-dependent behavior is found to be independent of the dimensionality D of the system and is characterized by an extremely damped Gaussian relaxation function. However, at T=0K, it depends on the particular statistics adopted for the system and also on the dimensionality of the system. For the ideal Bose gas at T=0 K, complete Bose condensation is manifested by collapse of the dimensionality of a Hilbert space, spanned by basis vectors fsub(ν), from infinity to two. On the other hand, the dimensional effect for the ideal Fermi gas is exhibited by a change in Hilbert space structure, which is determined by the recurrants Δsub(ν) and the basis vectors fsub(ν) More specifically, the structural form of the recurrants is modified such that the relaxation function becomes more damped as D is increased. (Author)

  11. A time-dependent event tree technique for modelling recovery operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kohut, P.; Fitzpatrick, R.

    1991-01-01

    The development of a simplified time dependent event tree methodology is presented. The technique is especially applicable to describe recovery operations in nuclear reactor accident scenarios initiated by support system failures. The event tree logic is constructed using time dependent top events combined with a damage function that contains information about the final state time behavior of the reactor core. Both the failure and the success states may be utilized for the analysis. The method is illustrated by modeling the loss of service water function with special emphasis on the RCP [reactor coolant pump] seal LOCA [loss of coolant accident] scenario. 5 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

  12. Time-dependent Hartree-Fock dynamics and phase transition in Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kan, K.; Lichtner, P.C.; Dworzecka, M.; Griffin, J.J.

    1980-01-01

    The time-dependent Hartree-Fock solutions of the two-level Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model are studied by transforming the time-dependent Hartree-Fock equations into Hamilton's canonical form and analyzing the qualitative structure of the Hartree-Fock energy surface in the phase space. It is shown that as the interaction strength increases these time-dependent Hartree-Fock solutions undergo a qualitative change associated with the ground state phase transition previously studied in terms of coherent states. For two-body interactions stronger than the critical value, two types of time-dependent Hartree-Fock solutions (the ''librations'' and ''rotations'' in Hamilton's mechanics) exist simultaneously, while for weaker interactions only the rotations persist. It is also shown that the coherent states with the maximum total pseudospin value are determinants, so that time-dependent Hartree-Fock analysis is equivalent to the coherent state method

  13. The large discretization step method for time-dependent partial differential equations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haras, Zigo; Taasan, Shlomo

    1995-01-01

    A new method for the acceleration of linear and nonlinear time dependent calculations is presented. It is based on the Large Discretization Step (LDS) approximation, defined in this work, which employs an extended system of low accuracy schemes to approximate a high accuracy discrete approximation to a time dependent differential operator. Error bounds on such approximations are derived. These approximations are efficiently implemented in the LDS methods for linear and nonlinear hyperbolic equations, presented here. In these algorithms the high and low accuracy schemes are interpreted as the same discretization of a time dependent operator on fine and coarse grids, respectively. Thus, a system of correction terms and corresponding equations are derived and solved on the coarse grid to yield the fine grid accuracy. These terms are initialized by visiting the fine grid once in many coarse grid time steps. The resulting methods are very general, simple to implement and may be used to accelerate many existing time marching schemes.

  14. The surgical treatment of acromegaly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchfelder, Michael; Schlaffer, Sven-Martin

    2017-02-01

    Surgical extraction of as much tumour mass as possible is considered the first step of treatment in acromegaly in many centers. In this article the potential benefits, disadvantages and limitations of operative acromegaly treatment are reviewed. Pertinent literature was selected to provide a review covering current indications, techniques and results of operations for acromegaly. The rapid reduction of tumour volume is an asset of surgery. To date, in almost all patients, minimally invasive, transsphenoidal microscopic or endoscopic approaches are employed. Whether a curative approach is feasible or a debulking procedure is planned, can be anticipated on the basis of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging. The radicality of adenoma resection essentially depends on localization, size and invasive character of the tumour. The normalization rates of growth hormone and IGF-1 secretion, respectively, depend on tumour-related factors such as size, extension, the presence or absence of invasion and the magnitude of IGF-1 and growth hormone oversecretion. However, also surgeon-related factors such as experience and patient load of the centers have been shown to strongly affect surgical results and the rate of complications. As compared to most medical treatments, surgery is relatively cheap since the costs occur only once and not repeatedly. There are several new technical gadgets which aid in the surgical procedure: navigation and variants of intraoperative imaging. For the mentioned reasons, current algorithms of acromegaly management suggest an initial operation, unless the patients are unfit for surgery, refuse an operation or only an unsatisfactory resection is anticipated. A few suggestions are made when a re-operation could be considered.

  15. Time-dependent effects of cardiovascular exercise on memory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roig, Marc; Thomas, Richard; Mang, Cameron S

    2016-01-01

    We present new evidence supporting the hypothesis that the effects of cardiovascular exercise on memory can be regulated in a time-dependent manner. When the exercise stimulus is temporally coupled with specific phases of the memory formation process, a single bout of cardiovascular exercise may...... be sufficient to improve memory. SUMMARY: The timing of exercise in relation to the information to be remembered is critical to maximize the effects of acute cardiovascular exercise on memory....

  16. The evolution of streams in a time-dependent potential

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buist, Hans J. T.; Helmi, Amina

    2015-01-01

    We study the evolution of streams in a time-dependent spherical gravitational potential. Our goal is to establish what are the imprints of this time evolution on the properties of streams as well as their observability. To this end, we have performed a suite of test-particle experiments for a host

  17. The time dependence of rate constants of esub(aq)sup(-) reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burcl, R.; Byakov, V.M.; Grafutin, V.I.

    1982-01-01

    Published data about the time dependence of rate constants k(esub(aq)sup(-)+Ac) of esub(aq)sup(-) reactions with the acceptor Ac are analyzed, using the results of rate constant k(Ps+Ac) measurements for positronium reactions. It is shown that neither esub(aq)sup(-) nor Ps reaction rate constants depend on time in the observable range. Experimentally found concentration dependence of k(esub(aq)sup(-)+Ac) is due to other factors, connected with the existence of electric charge of esub(aq)sup(-), e.g. ionic strength, tunnelling effect etc. (author)

  18. Spike-timing dependent plasticity in the striatum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elodie Fino

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The striatum is the major input nucleus of basal ganglia, an ensemble of interconnected sub-cortical nuclei associated with fundamental processes of action-selection and procedural learning and memory. The striatum receives afferents from the cerebral cortex and the thalamus. In turn, it relays the integrated information towards the basal ganglia output nuclei through which it operates a selected activation of behavioral effectors. The striatal output neurons, the GABAergic medium-sized spiny neurons (MSNs, are in charge of the detection and integration of behaviorally relevant information. This property confers to the striatum the ability to extract relevant information from the background noise and select cognitive-motor sequences adapted to environmental stimuli. As long-term synaptic efficacy changes are believed to underlie learning and memory, the corticostriatal long-term plasticity provides a fundamental mechanism for the function of the basal ganglia in procedural learning. Here, we reviewed the different forms of spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP occurring at corticostriatal synapses. Most of the studies have focused on MSNs and their ability to develop long-term plasticity. Nevertheless, the striatal interneurons (the fast-spiking GABAergic, the NO synthase and cholinergic interneurons also receive monosynaptic afferents from the cortex and tightly regulated corticostriatal information processing. Therefore, it is important to take into account the variety of striatal neurons to fully understand the ability of striatum to develop long-term plasticity. Corticostriatal STDP with various spike-timing dependence have been observed depending on the neuronal sub-populations and experimental conditions. This complexity highlights the extraordinary potentiality in term of plasticity of the corticostriatal pathway.

  19. Path integral solution for some time-dependent potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Storchak, S.N.

    1989-12-01

    The quantum-mechanical problem with a time-dependent potential is solved by the path integral method. The solution is obtained by the application of the previously derived general formula for rheonomic homogeneous point transformation and reparametrization in the path integral. (author). 4 refs

  20. Time-dependent crack growth in Alloy 718: An interim assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    James, L.A.

    1982-08-01

    Previous results on the time-dependent nature of fatigue-crack propagation (FCP) in Alloy 718 at elevated temperatures were reviewed. Additional experiments were conducted to further define certain aspects of the time-dependent crack growth behavior. it was found that loading waveform influenced FCP behavior, with tensile hold-times producing higher growth rates than continuous cycling at the same frequency. Crack growth rates under hold-time conditions tended to increase with decreasing grain size. Finally, experiments were conducted which tended to cast some doubt upon the ability of linear-elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) techniques to characterize cracking behavior in this alloy under hold-time conditions. However, since a superior correlating parameter has not yet been proven, it is suggested that LEFM methods be used in the interim with appropriate safety factors to account for the potential errors. 34 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs

  1. Time-dependent methodology for fault tree evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vesely, W.B.

    1976-01-01

    Any fault tree may be evaluated applying the method called the kinetic theory of fault trees. The basic feature of this method as presented here is in that any information on primary failure, type failure or peak failure is derived from three characteristics: probability of existence, failure intensity and failure density. The determination of the said three characteristics for a given phenomenon yields the remaining probabilistic information on the individual aspects of the failure and on their totality for the whole observed period. The probabilistic characteristics are determined by applying the analysis of phenomenon probability. The total time dependent information on the peak failure is obtained by using the type failures (critical paths) of the fault tree. By applying the said process the total time dependent information is obtained for every primary failure and type failure of the fault tree. In the application of the method of the kinetic theory of fault trees represented by the PREP and KITT programmes, the type failures are first obtained using the deterministic testing method or using the Monte Carlo simulation (PREP programme). The respective characteristics are then determined using the kinetic theory of fault trees (KITT programmes). (Oy)

  2. Time-dependent Fracture Behaviour of Polyampholyte Hydrogels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Tao Lin; Luo, Feng; Nakajima, Tasuku; Kurokawa, Takayuki; Gong, Jian Ping

    Recently, we report that polyampholytes, polymers bearing randomly dispersed cationic and anionic repeat groups, form tough and self-healing hydrogels with excellent multiple mechanical functions. The randomness makes ionic bonds with a wide distribution of strength, via inter and intra chain complexation. As the breaking and reforming of ionic bonds are time dependent, the hydrogels exhibit rate dependent mechanical behaviour. We systematically studied the tearing energy by tearing test with various tearing velocity under different temperature, and the linear viscoelastic behaviour over a wide range of frequency and temperature. Results have shown that the tearing energy markedly increase with the crack velocity and decrease with the measured temperature. In accordance with the prediction of Williams, Landel, and Ferry (WLF) rate-temperature equivalence, a master curve of tearing energy dependence of crack velocity can be well constructed using the same shift factor from the linear viscoelastic data. The scaling relation of tearing energy as a function of crack velocity can be predicted well by the rheological data according to the developed linear fracture mechanics.

  3. Surgical smoke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Joe King-Man; Chan, Fion Siu-Yin; Chu, Kent-Man

    2009-10-01

    Surgical smoke is the gaseous by-product formed during surgical procedures. Most surgeons, operating theatre staff and administrators are unaware of its potential health risks. Surgical smoke is produced by various surgical instruments including those used in electrocautery, lasers, ultrasonic scalpels, high speed drills, burrs and saws. The potential risks include carbon monoxide toxicity to the patient undergoing a laparoscopic operation, pulmonary fibrosis induced by non-viable particles, and transmission of infectious diseases like human papilloma virus. Cytotoxicity and mutagenicity are other concerns. Minimisation of the production of surgical smoke and modification of any evacuation systems are possible solutions. In general, a surgical mask can provide more than 90% protection to exposure to surgical smoke; however, in most circumstances it cannot provide air-tight protection to the user. An at least N95 grade or equivalent respirator offers the best protection against surgical smoke, but whether such protection is necessary is currently unknown.

  4. Towards achieving small-incision cataract surgery 99.8% of the time.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas R

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available A surgical approach designed to reliably attain the modern goal of small incision cataract surgery 99.8% of the time is described. Phacoemulsification as well as a manual small incision technique is utilised to achieve the desired outcome as often as possible and for all types of cataracts. The logic, and required surgical steps are described and illustrated. This surgical technique allows the advantages of small incision surgery to be reliably achieved. The method is flexible and allows decisions and steps to be modified depending on the skill and comfort zone of the individual surgeon.

  5. A Bimodal Hybrid Model for Time-Dependent Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaghmaei-Sabegh, Saman; Shoaeifar, Nasser; Shoaeifar, Parva

    2018-03-01

    The evaluation of evidence provided by geological studies and historical catalogs indicates that in some seismic regions and faults, multiple large earthquakes occur in cluster. Then, the occurrences of large earthquakes confront with quiescence and only the small-to-moderate earthquakes take place. Clustering of large earthquakes is the most distinguishable departure from the assumption of constant hazard of random occurrence of earthquakes in conventional seismic hazard analysis. In the present study, a time-dependent recurrence model is proposed to consider a series of large earthquakes that occurs in clusters. The model is flexible enough to better reflect the quasi-periodic behavior of large earthquakes with long-term clustering, which can be used in time-dependent probabilistic seismic hazard analysis with engineering purposes. In this model, the time-dependent hazard results are estimated by a hazard function which comprises three parts. A decreasing hazard of last large earthquake cluster and an increasing hazard of the next large earthquake cluster, along with a constant hazard of random occurrence of small-to-moderate earthquakes. In the final part of the paper, the time-dependent seismic hazard of the New Madrid Seismic Zone at different time intervals has been calculated for illustrative purpose.

  6. Radiation induced time dependent attenuation in a fiber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelly, R.E.; Lyons, P.B.; Looney, L.D.

    1985-01-01

    Characteristics describing the time dependent attenuation coefficient of an optical fiber during and following a very short and intense radiation pulse are analyzed. This problem is important for transmission applications when the fiber is subjected to gamma, electron, or neutron beams. Besides time, the attenuation coefficient is a function of temperature, dose rate, dose, nature of the radiation (n, e, γ), fiber composition and purity, pre-existing solid state defects, and wavelength of the transmitted signal. The peak attenuation for a given fiber is mainly determined by the dose rate and pulse length, but temperature and strain (or athermal) annealing also contribute to a partial recovery during the pulse duration. The peak attenuation per unit dose appears to be smaller at high doses, perhaps caused by particle track overlap, which produces a saturation effect. After pulse termination, the attenuation coefficient tends to recover towards its pre-radiation value at different rates, depending upon the factors mentioned above. In particular, ionized electrons relax back to the positive lattice ions at a rate which depends upon initial separation distance and temperature. The initial separation distance is a function of beam energy. Some electrons will encounter a trap in the lattice and may recombine by quantum mechanical tunneling or be removed by photons (hence, absorption). Besides ionization, radiation may induce lattice displacements which in turn produce additional absorption centers. The displacement contribution has a different time constant than that associated with ionization. These topics, as they influence fiber characteristics, are discussed, along with supporting experimental data

  7. [Modern didactics in surgical education--between demand and reality].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pape-Köhler, C; Chmelik, C; Rose, M; Heiss, M M

    2010-12-01

    Surgical residency contains an inadequate amount of hands-on training in the operating room and time constraints further make this type of education on the floor unlikely. Due to these deficits in residency training, private surgical courses outside of the established residency programmes are in high demand. Therefore, surgical residents must spend their own resources and time in addition to their residency training in order to receive adequate clinical exposure. Didactic approaches like problem-based learning have begun to influence our modern education. These novel education approaches along with visualisation training, video-based presentations, and multimedia-based training can be useful adjuncts to traditional surgical training. © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart ˙ New York.

  8. The helium neon laser radiation use in the profilaxy of post surgical complication on the surgical gynecologic neoplasms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baranov, I.; Sofroni, M.; Potapova, L.; Sohotchi, V.

    1997-01-01

    The subject of the report consists of complex application of the helium-neon laser irradiation on all surgery stage treatment of the gynecologic patients. For laser therapy of the surgical field pre- and during surgery intervention was used 10 mW laser; for intra blood vessels laser therapy was used 0,5 mW laser. Utilisation of complex laser irradiation of surgery treatment of the neoplasms gynecologic patients permit to decrease the post surgical complication and increase the time of post surgical heal up

  9. Time-Dependent Global Sensitivity Analysis for Long-Term Degeneracy Model Using Polynomial Chaos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianbin Guo

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Global sensitivity is used to quantify the influence of uncertain model inputs on the output variability of static models in general. However, very few approaches can be applied for the sensitivity analysis of long-term degeneracy models, as far as time-dependent reliability is concerned. The reason is that the static sensitivity may not reflect the completed sensitivity during the entire life circle. This paper presents time-dependent global sensitivity analysis for long-term degeneracy models based on polynomial chaos expansion (PCE. Sobol’ indices are employed as the time-dependent global sensitivity since they provide accurate information on the selected uncertain inputs. In order to compute Sobol’ indices more efficiently, this paper proposes a moving least squares (MLS method to obtain the time-dependent PCE coefficients with acceptable simulation effort. Then Sobol’ indices can be calculated analytically as a postprocessing of the time-dependent PCE coefficients with almost no additional cost. A test case is used to show how to conduct the proposed method, then this approach is applied to an engineering case, and the time-dependent global sensitivity is obtained for the long-term degeneracy mechanism model.

  10. Surgical referral coordination from a first-level hospital: a prospective case study from rural Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleming, Matthew; King, Caroline; Rajeev, Sindhya; Baruwal, Ashma; Schwarz, Dan; Schwarz, Ryan; Khadka, Nirajan; Pande, Sami; Khanal, Sumesh; Acharya, Bibhav; Benton, Adia; Rogers, Selwyn O; Panizales, Maria; Gyorki, David; McGee, Heather; Shaye, David; Maru, Duncan

    2017-09-25

    Patients in isolated rural communities typically lack access to surgical care. It is not feasible for most rural first-level hospitals to provide a full suite of surgical specialty services. Comprehensive surgical care thus depends on referral systems. There is minimal literature, however, on the functioning of such systems. We undertook a prospective case study of the referral and care coordination process for cardiac, orthopedic, plastic, gynecologic, and general surgical conditions at a district hospital in rural Nepal from 2012 to 2014. We assessed the referral process using the World Health Organization's Health Systems Framework. We followed the initial 292 patients referred for surgical services in the program. 152 patients (52%) received surgery and four (1%) suffered a complication (three deaths and one patient reported complication). The three most common types of surgery performed were: orthopedics (43%), general (32%), and plastics (10%). The average direct and indirect cost per patient referred, including food, transportation, lodging, medications, diagnostic examinations, treatments, and human resources was US$840, which was over 1.5 times the local district's per capita income. We identified and mapped challenges according to the World Health Organization's Health Systems Framework. Given the requirement of intensive human capital, poor quality control of surgical services, and the overall costs of the program, hospital leadership decided to terminate the referral coordination program and continue to build local surgical capacity. The results of our case study provide some context into the challenges of rural surgical referral systems. The high relative costs to the system and challenges in accountability rendered the program untenable for the implementing organization.

  11. Assessment of Surgical Skills and Competency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatti, Nasir I

    2017-10-01

    Evaluation of surgical skills and competency are important aspects of the medical education process. Measurable and reproducible methods of assessment with objective feedback are essential components of surgical training. Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) is widely used across the medical specialties and otolaryngology-specific tools have been developed and validated for sinus and mastoid surgery. Although assessment of surgical skills can be time-consuming and requires human and financial resources, new evaluation methods and emerging technology may alleviate these barriers while also improving data collection practices. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Time-dependent nonlinear Jaynes-Cummings dynamics of a trapped ion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krumm, F.; Vogel, W.

    2018-04-01

    In quantum interaction problems with explicitly time-dependent interaction Hamiltonians, the time ordering plays a crucial role for describing the quantum evolution of the system under consideration. In such complex scenarios, exact solutions of the dynamics are rarely available. Here we study the nonlinear vibronic dynamics of a trapped ion, driven in the resolved sideband regime with some small frequency mismatch. By describing the pump field in a quantized manner, we are able to derive exact solutions for the dynamics of the system. This eventually allows us to provide analytical solutions for various types of time-dependent quantities. In particular, we study in some detail the electronic and the motional quantum dynamics of the ion, as well as the time evolution of the nonclassicality of the motional quantum state.

  13. Time-dependent theoretical model of the polar wind: Preliminary results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gombosi, T.I.; Cravens, T.E.; Nagy, A.F.

    1985-01-01

    The coupled time dependent continuity, momentum and energy equations of a two ion (O + and H + ) quasineutral plasma were solved in order to extend our understanding of polar wind behavior. This numerical code allows studies of the time dependent behavior of polar wind-type flows into and out of the ionosphere. Initial studies indicate that the typical time constants for electron and ion temperature changes are of the order of minutes and tens of minutes, respectively. The response time of the minor high altitude ion O + is less than an hour, whereas that of the major ion, H + , is many hours. The initial test runs also demonstrate the fact that temporary supersonic flows of both O + and H + are possible, especially in the presence of significant ion heating

  14. Tokamak power reactor ignition and time dependent fractional power operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vold, E.L.; Mau, T.K.; Conn, R.W.

    1986-06-01

    A flexible time-dependent and zero-dimensional plasma burn code with radial profiles was developed and employed to study the fractional power operation and the thermal burn control options for an INTOR-sized tokamak reactor. The code includes alpha thermalization and a time-dependent transport loss which can be represented by any one of several currently popular scaling laws for energy confinement time. Ignition parameters were found to vary widely in density-temperature (n-T) space for the range of scaling laws examined. Critical ignition issues were found to include the extent of confinement time degradation by alpha heating, the ratio of ion to electron transport power loss, and effect of auxiliary heating on confinement. Feedback control of the auxiliary power and ion fuel sources are shown to provide thermal stability near the ignition curve

  15. Time-dependent simulation of organic light-emitting diodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharifi, M J

    2009-01-01

    Several methods to simulate the behavior of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been proposed in the past. In this paper, we develop a previous method, based on the master equation, in order to allow the simulation of time-dependent behavior and transient states. The calculation algorithm of the program that we have written is described. The time-dependent behaviors of two simple monolayer devices and of a more complicated three-layer device were simulated by means of this program, and the results are discussed. The results show that the turn-off speed of an OLED might be very slow, especially in the case of a multilayer device. This behavior is related to the low mobility of the organic material in weak electric fields. An interesting feature of the time behavior is pointed out, whereby the recombination rate may become considerably larger after the falling edge of an applied voltage pulse. Moreover, the validity of the transient electro-luminescent method for measuring carrier mobility in organic material has been examined by means of simulation. The results show that there is some inconsistency especially in high electric fields

  16. Time-dependent coupled harmonic oscillators: classical and quantum solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macedo, D.X.; Guedes, I.

    2014-01-01

    In this work we present the classical and quantum solutions for an arbitrary system of time-dependent coupled harmonic oscillators, where the masses (m), frequencies (ω) and coupling parameter (k) are functions of time. To obtain the classical solutions, we use a coordinate and momentum transformations along with a canonical transformation to write the original Hamiltonian as the sum of two Hamiltonians of uncoupled harmonic oscillators with modified time-dependent frequencies and unitary masses. To obtain the exact quantum solutions we use a unitary transformation and the Lewis and Riesenfeld (LR) invariant method. The exact wave functions are obtained by solving the respective Milne–Pinney (MP) equation for each system. We obtain the solutions for the system with m 1 = m 2 = m 0 e γt , ω 1 = ω 01 e -γt/2 , ω 2 = ω 02 e -γt/2 and k = k 0 . (author)

  17. Lie algebraic approach to the time-dependent quantum general harmonic oscillator and the bi-dimensional charged particle in time-dependent electromagnetic fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibarra-Sierra, V.G.; Sandoval-Santana, J.C.; Cardoso, J.L.; Kunold, A.

    2015-01-01

    We discuss the one-dimensional, time-dependent general quadratic Hamiltonian and the bi-dimensional charged particle in time-dependent electromagnetic fields through the Lie algebraic approach. Such method consists in finding a set of generators that form a closed Lie algebra in terms of which it is possible to express a quantum Hamiltonian and therefore the evolution operator. The evolution operator is then the starting point to obtain the propagator as well as the explicit form of the Heisenberg picture position and momentum operators. First, the set of generators forming a closed Lie algebra is identified for the general quadratic Hamiltonian. This algebra is later extended to study the Hamiltonian of a charged particle in electromagnetic fields exploiting the similarities between the terms of these two Hamiltonians. These results are applied to the solution of five different examples: the linear potential which is used to introduce the Lie algebraic method, a radio frequency ion trap, a Kanai–Caldirola-like forced harmonic oscillator, a charged particle in a time dependent magnetic field, and a charged particle in constant magnetic field and oscillating electric field. In particular we present exact analytical expressions that are fitting for the study of a rotating quadrupole field ion trap and magneto-transport in two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures illuminated by microwave radiation. In these examples we show that this powerful method is suitable to treat quadratic Hamiltonians with time dependent coefficients quite efficiently yielding closed analytical expressions for the propagator and the Heisenberg picture position and momentum operators. -- Highlights: •We deal with the general quadratic Hamiltonian and a particle in electromagnetic fields. •The evolution operator is worked out through the Lie algebraic approach. •We also obtain the propagator and Heisenberg picture position and momentum operators. •Analytical expressions for a

  18. Lie algebraic approach to the time-dependent quantum general harmonic oscillator and the bi-dimensional charged particle in time-dependent electromagnetic fields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ibarra-Sierra, V.G.; Sandoval-Santana, J.C. [Departamento de Física, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina, 09340 México D.F. (Mexico); Cardoso, J.L. [Área de Física Teórica y Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Azcapotzalco, Av. San Pablo 180, Col. Reynosa-Tamaulipas, Azcapotzalco, 02200 México D.F. (Mexico); Kunold, A., E-mail: akb@correo.azc.uam.mx [Área de Física Teórica y Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Azcapotzalco, Av. San Pablo 180, Col. Reynosa-Tamaulipas, Azcapotzalco, 02200 México D.F. (Mexico)

    2015-11-15

    We discuss the one-dimensional, time-dependent general quadratic Hamiltonian and the bi-dimensional charged particle in time-dependent electromagnetic fields through the Lie algebraic approach. Such method consists in finding a set of generators that form a closed Lie algebra in terms of which it is possible to express a quantum Hamiltonian and therefore the evolution operator. The evolution operator is then the starting point to obtain the propagator as well as the explicit form of the Heisenberg picture position and momentum operators. First, the set of generators forming a closed Lie algebra is identified for the general quadratic Hamiltonian. This algebra is later extended to study the Hamiltonian of a charged particle in electromagnetic fields exploiting the similarities between the terms of these two Hamiltonians. These results are applied to the solution of five different examples: the linear potential which is used to introduce the Lie algebraic method, a radio frequency ion trap, a Kanai–Caldirola-like forced harmonic oscillator, a charged particle in a time dependent magnetic field, and a charged particle in constant magnetic field and oscillating electric field. In particular we present exact analytical expressions that are fitting for the study of a rotating quadrupole field ion trap and magneto-transport in two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures illuminated by microwave radiation. In these examples we show that this powerful method is suitable to treat quadratic Hamiltonians with time dependent coefficients quite efficiently yielding closed analytical expressions for the propagator and the Heisenberg picture position and momentum operators. -- Highlights: •We deal with the general quadratic Hamiltonian and a particle in electromagnetic fields. •The evolution operator is worked out through the Lie algebraic approach. •We also obtain the propagator and Heisenberg picture position and momentum operators. •Analytical expressions for a

  19. An Evaluation of Preparedness, Delivery and Impact of Surgical and Anesthesia Care in Madagascar: A Framework for a National Surgical Plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruno, Emily; White, Michelle C; Baxter, Linden S; Ravelojaona, Vaonandianina Agnès; Rakotoarison, Hasiniaina Narindria; Andriamanjato, Hery Harimanitra; Close, Kristin L; Herbert, Alison; Raykar, Nakul; Saluja, Saurabh; Shrime, Mark G

    2017-05-01

    The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery (LCoGS) described the lack of access to safe, affordable, timely surgical, and anesthesia care. It proposed a series of 6 indicators to measure surgery, accompanied by time-bound targets and a template for national surgical planning. To date, no sub-Saharan African country has completed and published a nationwide evaluation of its surgical system within this framework. Mercy Ships, in partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Madagascar Ministry of Health, collected data on the 6 indicators from 22 referral hospitals in 16 out of 22 regions of Madagascar. Data collection was by semi-structured interviews with ministerial, medical, laboratory, pharmacy, and administrative representatives in each region. Microsimulation modeling was used to calculate values for financial indicators. In Madagascar, 29% of the population can access a surgical facility within 2 h. Surgical workforce density is 0.78 providers per 100,000 and annual surgical volume is 135-191 procedures per 100,000 with a perioperative mortality rate of 2.5-3.3%. Patients requiring surgery have a 77.4-86.3 and 78.8-95.1% risk of incurring impoverishing and catastrophic expenditure, respectively. Of the six LCoGS indicator targets, Madagascar meets one, the reporting of perioperative mortality rate. Compared to the LCoGS targets, Madagascar has deficits in surgical access, workforce, volume, and the ability to offer financial risk protection to surgical patients. Its perioperative mortality rate, however, appears better than in comparable countries. The government is committed to improvement, and key stakeholder meetings to create a national surgical plan have begun.

  20. [Surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus in premature neonates: Does the surgical technique affect the outcome?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avila-Alvarez, Alejandro; Serantes Lourido, Marta; Barriga Bujan, Rebeca; Blanco Rodriguez, Carolina; Portela-Torron, Francisco; Bautista-Hernandez, Victor

    2017-05-01

    Surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus in premature neonates is an aggressive technique and is not free of complications. A study was designed with the aim of describing our experience with a less invasive technique, the extra-pleural approach via a posterior minithoracotomy, and to compare the results with the classic transpleural approach. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on premature neonates on whom surgical closure of the ductus was performed during a ten-year period (March 2005 to March 2015). A comparison was made of the acute complications, the outcomes on discharge, and follow-up, between the extra-pleural approach and the classic transpleural approach. The study included 48 patients, 30 in the classical approach and 18 in the extra-pleural group. The demographic and pre-operative characteristics were similar in both groups. No differences were found between the 2 groups in the incidence of acute post-operative complications (56.6 vs. 44.4%), on the dependence on oxygen at 36 weeks (33.3 vs. 55.5%), or in hospital mortality (10 vs. 16.6%). As regards the short-term progress, the extra-pleural group required fewer days until the withdrawal of supplementary oxygen (36.3 vs. 28.9) and until hospital discharge (67.5 vs. 53.2), although only the time until extubation achieved a statistically significant difference (11.5 vs. 2.7, P=.03). The extra-plural approach by posterior minithoracotomy for the surgical closure of ductus in the premature infant is viable and could bring some clinical benefits in the short-term. Copyright © 2015 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  1. Propagator of a time-dependent unbound quadratic Hamiltonian system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeon, K.H.; Kim, H.J.; Um, C.I.; George, T.F.; Pandey, L.N.

    1996-01-01

    The propagator for a time-dependent unbound quadratic Hamiltonian system is explicitly evaluated using the path integral method. Two time-invariant quantities of the system are found where these invariants determine whether or not the system is bound. Several examples are considered to illustrate that the propagator obtained for the unbound systems is correct

  2. 3D Surgical Simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cevidanes, Lucia; Tucker, Scott; Styner, Martin; Kim, Hyungmin; Chapuis, Jonas; Reyes, Mauricio; Proffit, William; Turvey, Timothy; Jaskolka, Michael

    2009-01-01

    This paper discusses the development of methods for computer-aided jaw surgery. Computer-aided jaw surgery allows us to incorporate the high level of precision necessary for transferring virtual plans into the operating room. We also present a complete computer-aided surgery (CAS) system developed in close collaboration with surgeons. Surgery planning and simulation include construction of 3D surface models from Cone-beam CT (CBCT), dynamic cephalometry, semi-automatic mirroring, interactive cutting of bone and bony segment repositioning. A virtual setup can be used to manufacture positioning splints for intra-operative guidance. The system provides further intra-operative assistance with the help of a computer display showing jaw positions and 3D positioning guides updated in real-time during the surgical procedure. The CAS system aids in dealing with complex cases with benefits for the patient, with surgical practice, and for orthodontic finishing. Advanced software tools for diagnosis and treatment planning allow preparation of detailed operative plans, osteotomy repositioning, bone reconstructions, surgical resident training and assessing the difficulties of the surgical procedures prior to the surgery. CAS has the potential to make the elaboration of the surgical plan a more flexible process, increase the level of detail and accuracy of the plan, yield higher operative precision and control, and enhance documentation of cases. Supported by NIDCR DE017727, and DE018962 PMID:20816308

  3. Three-dimensional surgical simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cevidanes, Lucia H C; Tucker, Scott; Styner, Martin; Kim, Hyungmin; Chapuis, Jonas; Reyes, Mauricio; Proffit, William; Turvey, Timothy; Jaskolka, Michael

    2010-09-01

    In this article, we discuss the development of methods for computer-aided jaw surgery, which allows us to incorporate the high level of precision necessary for transferring virtual plans into the operating room. We also present a complete computer-aided surgery system developed in close collaboration with surgeons. Surgery planning and simulation include construction of 3-dimensional surface models from cone-beam computed tomography, dynamic cephalometry, semiautomatic mirroring, interactive cutting of bone, and bony segment repositioning. A virtual setup can be used to manufacture positioning splints for intraoperative guidance. The system provides further intraoperative assistance with a computer display showing jaw positions and 3-dimensional positioning guides updated in real time during the surgical procedure. The computer-aided surgery system aids in dealing with complex cases with benefits for the patient, with surgical practice, and for orthodontic finishing. Advanced software tools for diagnosis and treatment planning allow preparation of detailed operative plans, osteotomy repositioning, bone reconstructions, surgical resident training, and assessing the difficulties of the surgical procedures before the surgery. Computer-aided surgery can make the elaboration of the surgical plan a more flexible process, increase the level of detail and accuracy of the plan, yield higher operative precision and control, and enhance documentation of cases. 2010 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Halo Intrinsic Alignment: Dependence on Mass, Formation Time, and Environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xia, Qianli; Kang, Xi; Wang, Peng; Luo, Yu [Purple Mountain Observatory, the Partner Group of MPI für Astronomie, 2 West Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008 (China); Yang, Xiaohu; Jing, Yipeng [Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Wang, Huiyuan [Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology, Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Mo, Houjun, E-mail: kangxi@pmo.ac.cn [Astronomy Department and Center for Astrophysics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084 (China)

    2017-10-10

    In this paper we use high-resolution cosmological simulations to study halo intrinsic alignment and its dependence on mass, formation time, and large-scale environment. In agreement with previous studies using N -body simulations, it is found that massive halos have stronger alignment. For the first time, we find that for a given halo mass older halos have stronger alignment and halos in cluster regions also have stronger alignment than those in filaments. To model these dependencies, we extend the linear alignment model with inclusion of halo bias and find that the halo alignment with its mass and formation time dependence can be explained by halo bias. However, the model cannot account for the environment dependence, as it is found that halo bias is lower in clusters and higher in filaments. Our results suggest that halo bias and environment are independent factors in determining halo alignment. We also study the halo alignment correlation function and find that halos are strongly clustered along their major axes and less clustered along the minor axes. The correlated halo alignment can extend to scales as large as 100 h {sup −1} Mpc, where its feature is mainly driven by the baryon acoustic oscillation effect.

  5. Hydrodynamic perspective on memory in time-dependent density-functional theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thiele, M.; Kuemmel, S.

    2009-01-01

    The adiabatic approximation of time-dependent density-functional theory is studied in the context of nonlinear excitations of two-electron singlet systems. We compare the exact time evolution of these systems to the adiabatically exact one obtained from time-dependent Kohn-Sham calculations relying on the exact ground-state exchange-correlation potential. Thus, we can show under which conditions the adiabatic approximation breaks down and memory effects become important. The hydrodynamic formulation of quantum mechanics allows us to interpret these results and relate them to dissipative effects in the Kohn-Sham system. We show how the breakdown of the adiabatic approximation can be inferred from the rate of change of the ground-state noninteracting kinetic energy.

  6. The time dependent Hartree-Fock-theory for collective nuclear motions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goeke, K.

    1976-11-01

    The time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory (TDHF) approximately solves the Schroedinger equation by a variational method in the space of the time-dependent Slater determinants. As the TDHF wave function, similar to the exact solution has the property of being determined completely for all times by the nucleon-nucleon interaction and by assuming initial conditions. TDHF is expected to describe collective motion of nuclei with large amplitudes, too. The subject of this paper is to formulate the TDHF theory and its adiabatic limiting case (ATDHF) suited for setting up a collective Schroedinger equation, to investigate the relations with other theories, and to show the applicability for solving practical problems. (orig./WL) [de

  7. An analytical nodal method for time-dependent one-dimensional discrete ordinates problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barros, R.C. de

    1992-01-01

    In recent years, relatively little work has been done in developing time-dependent discrete ordinates (S N ) computer codes. Therefore, the topic of time integration methods certainly deserves further attention. In this paper, we describe a new coarse-mesh method for time-dependent monoenergetic S N transport problesm in slab geometry. This numerical method preserves the analytic solution of the transverse-integrated S N nodal equations by constants, so we call our method the analytical constant nodal (ACN) method. For time-independent S N problems in finite slab geometry and for time-dependent infinite-medium S N problems, the ACN method generates numerical solutions that are completely free of truncation errors. Bsed on this positive feature, we expect the ACN method to be more accurate than conventional numerical methods for S N transport calculations on coarse space-time grids

  8. Time-dependent approach to collisional ionization using exterior complex scaling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCurdy, C. William; Horner, Daniel A.; Rescigno, Thomas N.

    2002-01-01

    We present a time-dependent formulation of the exterior complex scaling method that has previously been used to treat electron-impact ionization of the hydrogen atom accurately at low energies. The time-dependent approach solves a driven Schroedinger equation, and scales more favorably with the number of electrons than the original formulation. The method is demonstrated in calculations for breakup processes in two dimensions (2D) and three dimensions for systems involving short-range potentials and in 2D for electron-impact ionization in the Temkin-Poet model for electron-hydrogen atom collisions

  9. Introduction to quantum mechanics a time-dependent perspective

    CERN Document Server

    Tannor, David J

    2007-01-01

    "Introduction to Quantum Mechanics" covers quantum mechanics from a time-dependent perspective in a unified way from beginning to end. Intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses this text will change the way people think about and teach quantum mechanics in chemistry and physics departments.

  10. Multicomponent density-functional theory for time-dependent systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Butriy, O.; Ebadi, H.; de Boeij, P. L.; van Leeuwen, R.; Gross, E. K. U.

    2007-01-01

    We derive the basic formalism of density functional theory for time-dependent electron-nuclear systems. The basic variables of this theory are the electron density in body-fixed frame coordinates and the diagonal of the nuclear N-body density matrix. The body-fixed frame transformation is carried

  11. Intense field stabilization in circular polarization: Three-dimensional time-dependent dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Dae-Il; Chism, Will

    2002-01-01

    We investigate the stabilization of hydrogen atoms in a circularly polarized laser field. We use a three-dimensional, time-dependent approach to study the quantum dynamics of hydrogen atoms subject to high-intensity, short-wavelength, laser pulses. We find an enhanced survival probability as the field is increased under fixed envelope conditions. We also confirm wave packet behaviors previously seen in two-dimensional time-dependent computations

  12. Changing use of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in Thika Hospital, Kenya: a quality improvement intervention with an interrupted time series design.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander M Aiken

    Full Text Available In low-income countries, Surgical Site Infection (SSI is a common form of hospital-acquired infection. Antibiotic prophylaxis is an effective method of preventing these infections, if given immediately before the start of surgery. Although several studies in Africa have compared pre-operative versus post-operative prophylaxis, there are no studies describing the implementation of policies to improve prescribing of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in African hospitals.We conducted SSI surveillance at a typical Government hospital in Kenya over a 16 month period between August 2010 and December 2011, using standard definitions of SSI and the extent of contamination of surgical wounds. As an intervention, we developed a hospital policy that advised pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis and discouraged extended post-operative antibiotics use. We measured process, outcome and balancing effects of this intervention in using an interrupted time series design.From a starting point of near-exclusive post-operative antibiotic use, after policy introduction in February 2011 there was rapid adoption of the use of pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis (60% of operations at 1 week; 98% at 6 weeks and a substantial decrease in the use of post-operative antibiotics (40% of operations at 1 week; 10% at 6 weeks in Clean and Clean-Contaminated surgery. There was no immediate step-change in risk of SSI, but overall, there appeared to be a moderate reduction in the risk of superficial SSI across all levels of wound contamination. There were marked reductions in the costs associated with antibiotic use, the number of intravenous injections performed and nursing time spent administering these.Implementation of a locally developed policy regarding surgical antibiotic prophylaxis is an achievable quality improvement target for hospitals in low-income countries, and can lead to substantial benefits for individual patients and the institution.

  13. Changing use of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in Thika Hospital, Kenya: a quality improvement intervention with an interrupted time series design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aiken, Alexander M; Wanyoro, Anthony K; Mwangi, Jonah; Juma, Francis; Mugoya, Isaac K; Scott, J Anthony G

    2013-01-01

    In low-income countries, Surgical Site Infection (SSI) is a common form of hospital-acquired infection. Antibiotic prophylaxis is an effective method of preventing these infections, if given immediately before the start of surgery. Although several studies in Africa have compared pre-operative versus post-operative prophylaxis, there are no studies describing the implementation of policies to improve prescribing of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in African hospitals. We conducted SSI surveillance at a typical Government hospital in Kenya over a 16 month period between August 2010 and December 2011, using standard definitions of SSI and the extent of contamination of surgical wounds. As an intervention, we developed a hospital policy that advised pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis and discouraged extended post-operative antibiotics use. We measured process, outcome and balancing effects of this intervention in using an interrupted time series design. From a starting point of near-exclusive post-operative antibiotic use, after policy introduction in February 2011 there was rapid adoption of the use of pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis (60% of operations at 1 week; 98% at 6 weeks) and a substantial decrease in the use of post-operative antibiotics (40% of operations at 1 week; 10% at 6 weeks) in Clean and Clean-Contaminated surgery. There was no immediate step-change in risk of SSI, but overall, there appeared to be a moderate reduction in the risk of superficial SSI across all levels of wound contamination. There were marked reductions in the costs associated with antibiotic use, the number of intravenous injections performed and nursing time spent administering these. Implementation of a locally developed policy regarding surgical antibiotic prophylaxis is an achievable quality improvement target for hospitals in low-income countries, and can lead to substantial benefits for individual patients and the institution.

  14. Kinetic study of time-dependent fixation of U{sup VI} on biochar

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ashry, A. [Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire LE12 5RD (United Kingdom); Radiation Protection Department, Nuclear Research Centre, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt); Bailey, E.H., E-mail: liz.bailey@nottingham.ac.uk [Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire LE12 5RD (United Kingdom); Chenery, S.R.N. [British Geological Survey, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG (United Kingdom); Young, S.D. [Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire LE12 5RD (United Kingdom)

    2016-12-15

    Biochar, a by-product from the production of biofuel and syngas by gasification, was tested as a material for adsorption and fixation of U{sup VI} from aqueous solutions. A batch experiment was conducted to study the factors that influence the adsorption and time-dependent fixation on biochar at 20 °C, including pH, initial concentration of U{sup VI} and contact time. Uranium (U{sup VI}) adsorption was highly dependent on pH but adsorption on biochar was high over a wide range of pH values, from 4.5 to 9.0, and adsorption strength was time-dependent over several days. The experimental data for pH > 7 were most effectively modelled using a Freundlich adsorption isotherm coupled to a reversible first order kinetic equation to describe the time-dependent fixation of U{sup VI} within the biochar structure. Desorption experiments showed that U{sup VI} was only sparingly desorbable from the biochar with time and isotopic dilution with {sup 233}U{sup VI} confirmed the low, or time-dependent, lability of adsorbed {sup 238}U{sup VI}. Below pH 7 the adsorption isotherm trend suggested precipitation, rather than true adsorption, may occur. However, across all pH values (4.5-9) measured saturation indices suggested precipitation was possible: autunite below pH 6.5 and either swartzite, liebigite or bayleyite above pH 6.5.

  15. CORRELATION BETWEEN TIME UNTIL SURGICAL TREATMENT AND MORTALITY AMONG ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH FRACTURES AT THE PROXIMAL END OF THE FEMUR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arliani, Gustavo Gonçalves; da Costa Astur, Diego; Linhares, Glauber Kazuo; Balbachevsky, Daniel; Fernandes, Hélio Jorge Alvachian; Dos Reis, Fernando Baldy

    2011-01-01

    The primary aim of this study was to analyze the possible association between delay in receiving surgical treatment and mortality among elderly patients with fractures at the proximal end of the femur. 269 patients with fractures at the proximal end of the femur (femur neck and intertrochanteric fractures) who were treated surgically at Hospital São Paulo, UNIFESP, São Paulo, between January 2003 and December 2007, were studied. The following attributes were analyzed and compared with the literature relating to this subject: sex, age, type of fracture, classification of the fracture, affected side, synthesis used, trauma mechanism, length of hospitalization, waiting time for surgery, associated comorbidities, hemogram on admission, type of anesthesia, need for blood transfusion, day of the week and season of the year of the fracture. The study showed that higher mortality correlated with higher numbers of clinical comorbidities, longer hospitalization and use of general anesthesia during the surgery. There was no association between the time spent waiting for surgery and mortality.

  16. Surgical Assisting

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... instruction, including: Microbiology Pathophysiology Pharmacology Anatomy and physiology Medical terminology Curriculum . Course content includes: Advanced surgical anatomy Surgical microbiology Surgical pharmacology Anesthesia methods and agents Bioscience Ethical ...

  17. Time-Dependent Risk Estimation and Cost-Benefit Analysis for Mitigation Actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Stiphout, T.; Wiemer, S.; Marzocchi, W.

    2009-04-01

    Earthquakes strongly cluster in space and time. Consequently, the most dangerous time is right after a moderate earthquake has happened, because their is a ‘high' (i.e., 2-5 percent) probability that this event will be followed by a subsequent aftershock which happens to be as large or larger than the initiating event. The seismic hazard during this time-period exceeds the background probability significantly and by several orders of magnitude. Scientists have developed increasingly accurate forecast models that model this time-dependent hazard, and such models are currently being validated in prospective testing. However, this probabilistic information in the hazard space is difficult to digest for decision makers, the media and general public. Here, we introduce a possible bridge between seismology and decision makers (authorities, civil defense) by proposing a more objective way to estimate time-dependent risk assessment. Short Term Earthquake Risk assessment (STEER) combines aftershock hazard and loss assessments. We use site-specific information on site effects and building class distribution and combine this with existing loss models to compute site specific time-dependent risk curves (probability of exceedance for fatalities, injuries, damages etc). We show the effect of uncertainties in the different components using Monte Carlo Simulations of the input parameters. This time-dependent risk curves can act as a decision support. We extend the STEER approach by introducing a Cost-Benefit approach for certain mitigation actions after a medium-sized earthquake. Such Cost-Benefit approaches have been recently developed for volcanic risk assessment to rationalize precautionary evacuations in densely inhabitated areas threatened by volcanoes. Here we extend the concept to time-dependent probabilistic seismic risk assessment. For the Cost-Benefit analysis of mitigation actions we calculate the ratio between the cost for the mitigation actions and the cost of the

  18. Paediatric Abdominal Surgical Emergencies in a General Surgical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... organized for general surgeons undertaking paediatric surgical emergencies. More paediatric surgeons should be trained and more paediatric surgical units should established in the country. Key Words: Paediatric Abdominal Surgical Emergencies; Paediatric Surgeons, General Surgeons. Journal of College of Medicine ...

  19. Investment horizons : A time-dependent measure of asset performance

    OpenAIRE

    Ingve Simonsen; Anders Johansen; Mogens H. Jensen

    2005-01-01

    We review a resent {\\em time-dependent} performance measure for economical time series -- the (optimal) investment horizon approach. For stock indices, the approach shows a pronounced gain-loss asymmetry that is {\\em not} observed for the individual stocks that comprise the index. This difference may hint towards an synchronize of the draw downs of the stocks.

  20. Time-dependent radioactivity distribution in MAFF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nebel, F.; Zech, E.; Faestermann, T.; Kruecken, R.; Maier-Komor, P.; Assmann, W.; Szerypo, J.; Gross, M.; Kester, O.; Thirolf, P.G.; Groetzschel, R.

    2006-01-01

    The Munich Accelerator for Fission Fragments is planned to be installed at the FRM II in Garching. It will operate a uranium-carbide-loaded graphite matrix as a target for neutron-induced fission. The radioactive reaction fragments leave the ion source as both, atoms and ions. For radiation safety it is imperative to have a basic understanding of the fragment distribution within the beam line. Atoms leaving the graphite matrix will spread like a gas and stick to surfaces depending on their species. A probabilistic Monte-Carlo approach is used to predict the surface coating of internal surfaces of the beam line for all fission nuclides. To decrease calculation time, the problem is reduced to two dimensions with the surface areas being a measure for the probability, that they are hit by a particle. The program is completely time dependent to implement radioactive decay. Ions leaving the fission ion source are transported by electrostatic means towards the mass pre-separator, a low-resolution dipole magnet with a complex slit system in the focal plane. All unwanted ions are stopped at the slits, resulting in a high level of radioactive contamination. While it is advantageous for shielding purposes to have the majority of the contamination in one point, precautions must be taken to ensure that it stays that way. Material corrosion caused by sputtering will release previously implanted radionuclides. To reduce this effect, different methods are under investigation, one of which is changing the slit geometry. The considered designs will be described and experimental results will be shown

  1. On a definition of the appropriate timing for surgical intervention in orthognathic surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Alfaro, F; Guijarro-Martínez, R

    2014-07-01

    Together with the introduction of new orthodontic techniques and minimally invasive surgery protocols, the emergence of modern patient prototypes has given way to novel timing schemes for the handling of dento-maxillofacial deformities. The aim of this study was to define, justify, and systematize the appropriate timing for orthognathic surgery. A retrospective analysis of orthognathic surgery procedures carried out over a 3-year period was performed. Six timing schemes were defined: 'surgery first', 'surgery early', 'surgery late', 'surgery last', 'surgery only', and 'surgery never'. Gender, age at surgery, main motivation for treatment, orthodontic treatment length, and number of orthodontic appointments were evaluated. A total of 362 orthognathic procedures were evaluated. The most common approach was 'surgery late'. While aesthetic improvement was the leading treatment motivation in 'surgery first', 'surgery early', and 'surgery last' cases, occlusal optimization was the chief aim of 'surgery late'. Sleep-disordered breathing was the main indication for treatment in 'surgery only'. Compared to 'surgery late', orthodontic treatment was substantially shorter in 'surgery early' and 'surgery first' cases, but the number of orthodontic appointments was similar. In conclusion, the skilful management of dento-maxillofacial deformities requires a comprehensive analysis of patient-, orthodontist-, and surgeon-specific variables. Each timing approach has well-defined indications, treatment planning considerations, and orthodontic and surgical peculiarities. Copyright © 2014 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. MINARET: Towards a time-dependent neutron transport parallel solver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baudron, A.M.; Lautard, J.J.; Maday, Y.; Mula, O.

    2013-01-01

    We present the newly developed time-dependent 3D multigroup discrete ordinates neutron transport solver that has recently been implemented in the MINARET code. The solver is the support for a study about computing acceleration techniques that involve parallel architectures. In this work, we will focus on the parallelization of two of the variables involved in our equation: the angular directions and the time. This last variable has been parallelized by a (time) domain decomposition method called the para-real in time algorithm. (authors)

  3. Time-dependent weak values and their intrinsic phases of evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parks, A D

    2008-01-01

    The equation of motion for a time-dependent weak value of a quantum-mechanical observable is known to contain a complex valued energy factor (the weak energy of evolution) that is defined by the dynamics of the pre-selected and post-selected states which specify the observable's weak value. In this paper, the mechanism responsible for the creation of this energy is identified and it is shown that the cumulative effect over time of this energy is manifested as dynamical phases and pure geometric phases (the intrinsic phases of evolution) which govern the evolution of the weak value during its measurement process. These phases are simply related to a Pancharatnam phase and Fubini-Study metric distance defined by the Hilbert space evolution of the associated pre-selected and post-selected states. A characterization of time-dependent weak value evolution as Pancharatnam phase angle rotations and Fubini-Study distance scalings of a vector in the Argand plane is discussed as an application of this relationship. The theory of weak values is also reviewed and simple 'gedanken experiments' are used to illustrate both the time-independent and the time-dependent versions of the theory. It is noted that the direct experimental observation of the weak energy of evolution would strongly support the time-symmetric paradigm of quantum mechanics and it is suggested that weak value equations of motion represent a new category of nonlocal equations of motion

  4. Time-dependent Cooling in Photoionized Plasma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gnat, Orly, E-mail: orlyg@phys.huji.ac.il [Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel)

    2017-02-01

    I explore the thermal evolution and ionization states in gas cooling from an initially hot state in the presence of external photoionizing radiation. I compute the equilibrium and nonequilibrium cooling efficiencies, heating rates, and ion fractions for low-density gas cooling while exposed to the ionizing metagalactic background radiation at various redshifts ( z = 0 − 3), for a range of temperatures (10{sup 8}–10{sup 4} K), densities (10{sup −7}–10{sup 3} cm{sup −3}), and metallicities (10{sup −3}–2 times solar). The results indicate the existence of a threshold ionization parameter, above which the cooling efficiencies are very close to those in photoionization equilibrium (so that departures from equilibrium may be neglected), and below which the cooling efficiencies resemble those in collisional time-dependent gas cooling with no external radiation (and are thus independent of density).

  5. Time-Dependent Natural Convection Couette Flow of Heat ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Time-Dependent Natural Convection Couette Flow of Heat Generating/Absorbing Fluid between Vertical Parallel Plates Filled With Porous Material. ... The numerical simulation conducted for some saturated liquids reveled that at t ≥ Pr the steady and unsteady state velocities (as well as the temperature of the fluid) ...

  6. Time dependent pre-treatment EPID dosimetry for standard and FFF VMAT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podesta, Mark; Nijsten, Sebastiaan M J J G; Persoon, Lucas C G G; Scheib, Stefan G; Baltes, Christof; Verhaegen, Frank

    2014-08-21

    Methods to calibrate Megavoltage electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) for dosimetry have been previously documented for dynamic treatments such as intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) using flattened beams and typically using integrated fields. While these methods verify the accumulated field shape and dose, the dose rate and differential fields remain unverified. The aim of this work is to provide an accurate calibration model for time dependent pre-treatment dose verification using amorphous silicon (a-Si) EPIDs in volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for both flattened and flattening filter free (FFF) beams. A general calibration model was created using a Varian TrueBeam accelerator, equipped with an aS1000 EPID, for each photon spectrum 6 MV, 10 MV, 6 MV-FFF, 10 MV-FFF. As planned VMAT treatments use control points (CPs) for optimization, measured images are separated into corresponding time intervals for direct comparison with predictions. The accuracy of the calibration model was determined for a range of treatment conditions. Measured and predicted CP dose images were compared using a time dependent gamma evaluation using criteria (3%, 3 mm, 0.5 sec). Time dependent pre-treatment dose verification is possible without an additional measurement device or phantom, using the on-board EPID. Sufficient data is present in trajectory log files and EPID frame headers to reliably synchronize and resample portal images. For the VMAT plans tested, significantly more deviation is observed when analysed in a time dependent manner for FFF and non-FFF plans than when analysed using only the integrated field. We show EPID-based pre-treatment dose verification can be performed on a CP basis for VMAT plans. This model can measure pre-treatment doses for both flattened and unflattened beams in a time dependent manner which highlights deviations that are missed in integrated field verifications.

  7. The role of diabetes mellitus and BMI in the surgical treatment of ankle fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanzetti, Riccardo Maria; Lupariello, Domenico; Venditto, Teresa; Guzzini, Matteo; Ponzo, Antonio; De Carli, Angelo; Ferretti, Andrea

    2018-02-01

    Open reduction and internal fixation is the standard treatment for displaced ankle fractures. However, the presence of comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus and body mass index (BMI) are associated with poor bone quality, and these factors may predict the development of postoperative complications. The study aim was to assess the role of diabetes mellitus and BMI in wound healing in patients younger than 65 years who were surgically treated for malleoli fractures. Ninety patients, aged from 18 to 65 years old, with surgically treated ankle fracture, were retrospectively enrolled. Patients were classified in two groups: patient with diabetes and patients without diabetes (insulin-dependent and noninsulin dependent). All patients were assessed for wound complications, Visual Analogue Scale and Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI) were assessed for all patients. Logistic regression was used to identify the risk of wound complications after surgery using the following factors as explanatory variables: age, gender, duration of surgery, BMI, hypercholesterolemia, smoking history, diabetes mellitus, and high blood pressure. In total, 38.9% of patients showed wound complications. Of them, 17.1% were nondiabetics and 82.9% were diabetics. We observed a significant association between DM and wound complications after surgery (P = .005). Logistic regression analysis revealed that DM (P BMI (P = .03) were associated with wound complications. The odds of having a postoperative wound complication were increased 0.16 times in the presence of diabetes and 1.14 times for increasing BMI. This study showed that diabetes mellitus and higher BMI delay the wound healing and increase the complication rate in young adult patients with surgically treated bimalleolar fractures. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. A Literature Review of Renal Surgical Anatomy and Surgical Strategies for Partial Nephrectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klatte, Tobias; Ficarra, Vincenzo; Gratzke, Christian; Kaouk, Jihad; Kutikov, Alexander; Macchi, Veronica; Mottrie, Alexandre; Porpiglia, Francesco; Porter, James; Rogers, Craig G; Russo, Paul; Thompson, R Houston; Uzzo, Robert G; Wood, Christopher G; Gill, Inderbir S

    2015-12-01

    A detailed understanding of renal surgical anatomy is necessary to optimize preoperative planning and operative technique and provide a basis for improved outcomes. To evaluate the literature regarding pertinent surgical anatomy of the kidney and related structures, nephrometry scoring systems, and current surgical strategies for partial nephrectomy (PN). A literature review was conducted. Surgical renal anatomy fundamentally impacts PN surgery. The renal artery divides into anterior and posterior divisions, from which approximately five segmental terminal arteries originate. The renal veins are not terminal. Variations in the vascular and lymphatic channels are common; thus, concurrent lymphadenectomy is not routinely indicated during PN for cT1 renal masses in the setting of clinically negative lymph nodes. Renal-protocol contrast-enhanced computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging is used for standard imaging. Anatomy-based nephrometry scoring systems allow standardized academic reporting of tumor characteristics and predict PN outcomes (complications, remnant function, possibly histology). Anatomy-based novel surgical approaches may reduce ischemic time during PN; these include early unclamping, segmental clamping, tumor-specific clamping (zero ischemia), and unclamped PN. Cancer cure after PN relies on complete resection, which can be achieved by thin margins. Post-PN renal function is impacted by kidney quality, remnant quantity, and ischemia type and duration. Surgical renal anatomy underpins imaging, nephrometry scoring systems, and vascular control techniques that reduce global renal ischemia and may impact post-PN function. A contemporary ideal PN excises the tumor with a thin negative margin, delicately secures the tumor bed to maximize vascularized remnant parenchyma, and minimizes global ischemia to the renal remnant with minimal complications. In this report we review renal surgical anatomy. Renal mass imaging allows detailed delineation of the

  9. Time-Dependent Behavior of High-Strength Kevlar and Vectran Webbing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Thomas C.; Doggett, William R.

    2014-01-01

    High-strength Kevlar and Vectran webbings are currently being used by both NASA and industry as the primary load-bearing structure in inflatable space habitation modules. The time-dependent behavior of high-strength webbing architectures is a vital area of research that is providing critical material data to guide a more robust design process for this class of structures. This paper details the results of a series of time-dependent tests on 1-inch wide webbing including an initial set of comparative tests between specimens that underwent realtime and accelerated creep at 65 and 70% of their ultimate tensile strength. Variability in the ultimate tensile strength of the webbings is investigated and compared with variability in the creep life response. Additional testing studied the effects of load and displacement rate, specimen length and the time-dependent effects of preconditioning the webbings. The creep test facilities, instrumentation and test procedures are also detailed. The accelerated creep tests display consistently longer times to failure than their real-time counterparts; however, several factors were identified that may contribute to the observed disparity. Test setup and instrumentation, grip type, loading scheme, thermal environment and accelerated test postprocessing along with material variability are among these factors. Their effects are discussed and future work is detailed for the exploration and elimination of some of these factors in order to achieve a higher fidelity comparison.

  10. Nonlinear time-dependent simulation of helix traveling wave tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng Wei-Feng; Yang Zhong-Hai; Hu Yu-Lu; Li Jian-Qing; Lu Qi-Ru; Li Bin

    2011-01-01

    A one-dimensional nonlinear time-dependent theory for helix traveling wave tubes is studied. A generalized electromagnetic field is applied to the expression of the radio frequency field. To simulate the variations of the high frequency structure, such as the pitch taper and the effect of harmonics, the spatial average over a wavelength is substituted by a time average over a wave period in the equation of the radio frequency field. Under this assumption, the space charge field of the electron beam can be treated by a space charge wave model along with the space charge coefficient. The effects of the radio frequency and the space charge fields on the electrons are presented by the equations of the electron energy and the electron phase. The time-dependent simulation is compared with the frequency-domain simulation for a helix TWT, which validates the availability of this theory. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  11. Time-domain analysis of frequency dependent inertial wave forces on cylinders

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krenk, Steen

    2013-01-01

    a simple time-domain procedure for the inertial force, in which the frequency dependence is represented via a simple explicit time filter on the wave particle acceleration or velocity. The frequency dependence of the inertia coefficient is known analytically as a function of the wave......-number, and the relevant range of waves shorter than about six times the diameter typically corresponds to deep water waves. This permits a universal non-dimensional frequency representation, that is converted to rational form to provide the relevant filter equation. Simple time-domain simulations demonstrate...... the reduction of the resonant part of the response for natural structural frequencies above the dominating wave frequency....

  12. Neutron Scattering in Hydrogenous Moderators, Studied by Time Dependent Reaction Rate Method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larsson, L G; Moeller, E; Purohit, S N

    1966-03-15

    The moderation and absorption of a neutron burst in water, poisoned with the non-1/v absorbers cadmium and gadolinium, has been followed on the time scale by multigroup calculations, using scattering kernels for the proton gas and the Nelkin model. The time dependent reaction rate curves for each absorber display clear differences for the two models, and the separation between the curves does not depend much on the absorber concentration. An experimental method for the measurement of infinite medium reaction rate curves in a limited geometry has been investigated. This method makes the measurement of the time dependent reaction rate generally useful for thermalization studies in a small geometry of a liquid hydrogenous moderator, provided that the experiment is coupled to programs for the calculation of scattering kernels and time dependent neutron spectra. Good agreement has been found between the reaction rate curve, measured with cadmium in water, and a calculated curve, where the Haywood kernel has been used.

  13. The role of student surgical interest groups and surgical Olympiads in anatomical and surgical undergraduate training in Russia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dydykin, Sergey; Kapitonova, Marina

    2015-01-01

    Traditional department-based surgical interest groups in Russian medical schools are useful tools for student-based selection of specialty training. They also form a nucleus for initiating research activities among undergraduate students. In Russia, the Departments of Topographical Anatomy and Operative Surgery play an important role in initiating student-led research and providing learners with advanced, practical surgical skills. In tandem with department-led activities, student surgical interest groups prepare learners through surgical competitions, known as "Surgical Olympiads," which have been conducted in many Russian centers on a regular basis since 1988. Surgical Olympiads stimulate student interest in the development of surgical skills before graduation and encourage students to choose surgery as their postgraduate specialty. Many of the participants in these surgical Olympiads have become highly qualified specialists in general surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, urology, gynecology, and emergency medicine. The present article emphasizes the role of student interest groups and surgical Olympiads in clinical anatomical and surgical undergraduate training in Russia. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

  14. A constructive heuristic for time-dependent multi-depot vehicle routing problem with time-windows and heterogeneous fleet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Behrouz Afshar-Nadjafi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we consider the time-dependent multi-depot vehicle routing problem. The objective is to minimize the total heterogeneous fleet cost assuming that the travel time between locations depends on the departure time. Also, hard time window constraints for the customers and limitation on maximum number of the vehicles in depots must be satisfied. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer programming model. A constructive heuristic procedure is proposed for the problem. Also, the efficiency of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on 180 test problems. The obtained computational results indicate that the procedure is capable to obtain a satisfying solution.

  15. Preoperative fasting times in elective surgical patients at a referral Hospital in Botswana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abebe, Worknehe Agegnehu; Rukewe, Ambrose; Bekele, Negussie Alula; Stoffel, Moeng; Dichabeng, Mompelegi Nicoh; Shifa, Jemal Zeberga

    2016-01-01

    Adults and children are required to fast before anaesthesia to reduce the risk of regurgitation and aspiration of gastric contents. However, prolonged periods of fasting are unnecessary and may cause complications. This study was conducted to evaluate preoperative fasting period in our centre and compare it with the ASA recommendations and factors that influence fasting periods. This is a cross-sectional study of preoperative fasting times among elective surgical patients. A total numbers of 260 patients were interviewed as they arrived at the reception area of operating theatre using questionnaire. Majority of patients (98.1%) were instructed to fast from midnight. Fifteen patients (5.8%) reported that they were told the importance of preoperative fasting. The mean fasting period were 15.9±2.5 h (range 12.0-25.3 h) for solids and 15.3±2.3 h (range 12.0-22.0 h) for liquids. The mean duration of fasting was significantly longer for patients operated after midday compared to those operated before midday, pfasting periods were 7.65 times longer for clear liquid and 2.5 times for solids than the ASA guidelines. It is imperative that the Hospital should establish Preoperative fasting policies and teach the staff who should ensure compliance with guidelines.

  16. Preoperative fasting times in elective surgical patients at a referral Hospital in Botswana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abebe, Worknehe Agegnehu; Rukewe, Ambrose; Bekele, Negussie Alula; Stoffel, Moeng; Dichabeng, Mompelegi Nicoh; Shifa, Jemal Zeberga

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Adults and children are required to fast before anaesthesia to reduce the risk of regurgitation and aspiration of gastric contents. However, prolonged periods of fasting are unnecessary and may cause complications. This study was conducted to evaluate preoperative fasting period in our centre and compare it with the ASA recommendations and factors that influence fasting periods. Methods This is a cross-sectional study of preoperative fasting times among elective surgical patients. A total numbers of 260 patients were interviewed as they arrived at the reception area of operating theatre using questionnaire. Results Majority of patients (98.1%) were instructed to fast from midnight. Fifteen patients (5.8%) reported that they were told the importance of preoperative fasting. The mean fasting period were 15.9±2.5 h (range 12.0-25.3 h) for solids and 15.3±2.3 h (range 12.0-22.0 h) for liquids. The mean duration of fasting was significantly longer for patients operated after midday compared to those operated before midday, pfasting periods were 7.65 times longer for clear liquid and 2.5 times for solids than the ASA guidelines. It is imperative that the Hospital should establish Preoperative fasting policies and teach the staff who should ensure compliance with guidelines. PMID:27222691

  17. Exact solutions of time-dependent Dirac equations and the quantum-classical correspondence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Zhiguo

    2006-01-01

    Exact solutions to the Dirac equations with a time-dependent mass and a static magnetic field or a time-dependent linear potential are given. Matrix elements of the coordinate, momentum and velocity operator are calculated. In the large quantum number limit, these matrix elements give the classical solution

  18. The time-dependent density matrix renormalisation group method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Haibo; Luo, Zhen; Yao, Yao

    2018-04-01

    Substantial progress of the time-dependent density matrix renormalisation group (t-DMRG) method in the recent 15 years is reviewed in this paper. By integrating the time evolution with the sweep procedures in density matrix renormalisation group (DMRG), t-DMRG provides an efficient tool for real-time simulations of the quantum dynamics for one-dimensional (1D) or quasi-1D strongly correlated systems with a large number of degrees of freedom. In the illustrative applications, the t-DMRG approach is applied to investigate the nonadiabatic processes in realistic chemical systems, including exciton dissociation and triplet fission in polymers and molecular aggregates as well as internal conversion in pyrazine molecule.

  19. Relating Time-Dependent Acceleration and Height Using an Elevator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinser, Jason M.

    2015-01-01

    A simple experiment in relating a time-dependent linear acceleration function to height is explored through the use of a smartphone and an elevator. Given acceleration as a function of time, a(t), the velocity function and position functions are determined through integration as in v(t)=? a(t) dt (1) and x(t)=? v(t) dt. Mobile devices such as…

  20. Kinetic study of time-dependent fixation of U"V"I on biochar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashry, A.; Bailey, E.H.; Chenery, S.R.N.; Young, S.D.

    2016-01-01

    Biochar, a by-product from the production of biofuel and syngas by gasification, was tested as a material for adsorption and fixation of U"V"I from aqueous solutions. A batch experiment was conducted to study the factors that influence the adsorption and time-dependent fixation on biochar at 20 °C, including pH, initial concentration of U"V"I and contact time. Uranium (U"V"I) adsorption was highly dependent on pH but adsorption on biochar was high over a wide range of pH values, from 4.5 to 9.0, and adsorption strength was time-dependent over several days. The experimental data for pH > 7 were most effectively modelled using a Freundlich adsorption isotherm coupled to a reversible first order kinetic equation to describe the time-dependent fixation of U"V"I within the biochar structure. Desorption experiments showed that U"V"I was only sparingly desorbable from the biochar with time and isotopic dilution with "2"3"3U"V"I confirmed the low, or time-dependent, lability of adsorbed "2"3"8U"V"I. Below pH 7 the adsorption isotherm trend suggested precipitation, rather than true adsorption, may occur. However, across all pH values (4.5-9) measured saturation indices suggested precipitation was possible: autunite below pH 6.5 and either swartzite, liebigite or bayleyite above pH 6.5.

  1. Exact solution of the generalized time-dependent Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruver, J.L.; Aliaga, J.; Cerdeira, H.A.; Proto, A.N.

    1993-04-01

    A time-dependent generalization of the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian is studied using the maximum entropy formalism. The approach, related to a semi-Lie algebra, allows to find three different sets of physical relevant operators which describe the dynamics of the system for any temporal dependence. It is shown how the initial conditions of the operators are determined via the maximum entropy principle density operator, where the inclusion of the temperature turns the description of the problem into a thermodynamical one. The generalized time-independent Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian is exactly solved as a particular example. (author). 14 refs

  2. Comparison of surgical time and complication rate of subcutaneous and skin closure using barbed suture or traditional knotted suture in dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nutt, Laura K; Wilson, Megan L; Sakals, Sherisse

    2017-12-01

    This prospective study evaluated the handling, intraoperative and postoperative complication rates of a barbed knotless suture for closure of subcutaneous tissue and skin in 17 client-owned dogs (group A) following a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy procedure. Clinical characteristics, surgical time, and complication rates were compared to a control group of 17 client-owned dogs (group B) with subcutaneous tissue and skin closure using traditional suture material. Signalment was not significantly different between groups and did not have an effect on complication rates. Surgical times were not significantly different for subcutaneous tissue or skin closure between the 2 groups. There were significantly more intraoperative complications in the barbed suture group (A: 4/17; B: 0/17; P = 0.033) but no difference in minor or major postoperative complication rates (minor A: 2/16; B: 1/14; P = 0.626, major A: 2/16; B: 0/14; P = 0.171).

  3. Frequency-dependent Dispersion Measures and Implications for Pulsar Timing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cordes, J. M.; Shannon, R. M.; Stinebring, D. R.

    2016-01-01

    The dispersion measure (DM), the column density of free electrons to a pulsar, is shown to be frequency dependent because of multipath scattering from small-scale electron-density fluctuations. DMs vary between propagation paths whose transverse extent varies strongly with frequency, yielding arrival times that deviate from the high-frequency scaling expected for a cold, uniform, unmagnetized plasma (1/frequency2). Scaling laws for thin phase screens are verified with simulations; extended media are also analyzed. The rms DM difference across an octave band near 1.5 GHz is ˜ 4 × 10-5 pc cm-3 for pulsars at ˜1 kpc distance. The corresponding arrival-time variations are a few to hundreds of nanoseconds for DM ≲ 30 pc cm-3 but increase rapidly to microseconds or more for larger DMs and wider frequency ranges. Chromatic DMs introduce correlated noise into timing residuals with a power spectrum of “low pass” form. The correlation time is roughly the geometric mean of the refraction times for the highest and lowest radio frequencies used, ranging from days to years, depending on the pulsar. We discuss implications for methodologies that use large frequency separations or wide bandwidth receivers for timing measurements. Chromatic DMs are partially mitigable by including an additional chromatic term in arrival time models. Without mitigation, an additional term in the noise model for pulsar timing is implied. In combination with measurement errors from radiometer noise, an arbitrarily large increase in total frequency range (or bandwidth) will yield diminishing benefits and may be detrimental to overall timing precision.

  4. Optical Absorption in Molecular Crystals from Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-04-23

    Our approach represents a full solid-state calculation, allowing for polarization ef- fects while still capable of capturing inter-molecular dis...AFRL-AFOSR-UK-TR-2017-0030 Optical absorption in molecular crystals from time-dependent density functional theory Leeor Kronik WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF...from time-dependent density functional theory 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b.  GRANT NUMBER FA9550-15-1-0290 5c.  PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 61102F 6. AUTHOR(S

  5. Simulating time-dependent energy transfer between crossed laser beams in an expanding plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hittinger, J.A.F.; Dorr, M.R.; Berger, R.L.; Williams, E.A.

    2005-01-01

    A coupled mode system is derived to investigate a three-wave parametric instability leading to energy transfer between co-propagating laser beams crossing in a plasma flow. The model includes beams of finite width refracting in a prescribed transverse plasma flow with spatial and temporal gradients in velocity and density. The resulting paraxial light equations are discretized spatially with a Crank-Nicholson-type scheme, and these algebraic constraints are nonlinearly coupled with ordinary differential equations in time that describe the ion acoustic response. The entire nonlinear differential-algebraic system is solved using an adaptive, backward-differencing method coupled with Newton's method. A numerical study is conducted in two dimensions that compares the intensity gain of the fully time-dependent coupled mode system with the gain computed under the further assumption of a strongly damped ion acoustic response. The results demonstrate a time-dependent gain suppression when the beam diameter is commensurate with the velocity gradient scale length. The gain suppression is shown to depend on time-dependent beam refraction and is interpreted as a time-dependent frequency shift

  6. A better understanding of long-range temporal dependence of traffic flow time series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Shuo; Wang, Xingmin; Sun, Haowei; Zhang, Yi; Li, Li

    2018-02-01

    Long-range temporal dependence is an important research perspective for modelling of traffic flow time series. Various methods have been proposed to depict the long-range temporal dependence, including autocorrelation function analysis, spectral analysis and fractal analysis. However, few researches have studied the daily temporal dependence (i.e. the similarity between different daily traffic flow time series), which can help us better understand the long-range temporal dependence, such as the origin of crossover phenomenon. Moreover, considering both types of dependence contributes to establishing more accurate model and depicting the properties of traffic flow time series. In this paper, we study the properties of daily temporal dependence by simple average method and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based method. Meanwhile, we also study the long-range temporal dependence by Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) and Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA). The results show that both the daily and long-range temporal dependence exert considerable influence on the traffic flow series. The DFA results reveal that the daily temporal dependence creates crossover phenomenon when estimating the Hurst exponent which depicts the long-range temporal dependence. Furthermore, through the comparison of the DFA test, PCA-based method turns out to be a better method to extract the daily temporal dependence especially when the difference between days is significant.

  7. Predicting kidney graft failure using time-dependent renal function covariates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Bruijne, Mattheus H. J.; Sijpkens, Yvo W. J.; Paul, Leendert C.; Westendorp, Rudi G. J.; van Houwelingen, Hans C.; Zwinderman, Aeilko H.

    2003-01-01

    Chronic rejection and recurrent disease are the major causes of late graft failure in renal transplantation. To assess outcome, most researchers use Cox proportional hazard analysis with time-fixed covariates. We developed a model adding time-dependent renal function covariates to improve the

  8. Ambiguities in the Lagrangians formalism: the time-dependent case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreira, D.T.

    1986-01-01

    An intrinsic formulation of the equivalence problem for time-dependent Lagrangians is given. A new demostration of a theorem derived by Henneaux (1982) is obtained. The relationship to transformation groups is discussed. (Author) [pt

  9. The Feynman integral for time-dependent anharmonic oscillators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grothaus, M.; Khandekar, D.C.; da Silva, J.L.; Streit, L.

    1997-01-01

    We review some basic notions and results of white noise analysis that are used in the construction of the Feynman integrand as a generalized white noise functional. We show that the Feynman integrand for the time-dependent harmonic oscillator in an external potential is a Hida distribution. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

  10. Optimized positioning of autonomous surgical lamps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teuber, Jörn; Weller, Rene; Kikinis, Ron; Oldhafer, Karl-Jürgen; Lipp, Michael J.; Zachmann, Gabriel

    2017-03-01

    We consider the problem of finding automatically optimal positions of surgical lamps throughout the whole surgical procedure, where we assume that future lamps could be robotized. We propose a two-tiered optimization technique for the real-time autonomous positioning of those robotized surgical lamps. Typically, finding optimal positions for surgical lamps is a multi-dimensional problem with several, in part conflicting, objectives, such as optimal lighting conditions at every point in time while minimizing the movement of the lamps in order to avoid distractions of the surgeon. Consequently, we use multi-objective optimization (MOO) to find optimal positions in real-time during the entire surgery. Due to the conflicting objectives, there is usually not a single optimal solution for such kinds of problems, but a set of solutions that realizes a Pareto-front. When our algorithm selects a solution from this set it additionally has to consider the individual preferences of the surgeon. This is a highly non-trivial task because the relationship between the solution and the parameters is not obvious. We have developed a novel meta-optimization that considers exactly this challenge. It delivers an easy to understand set of presets for the parameters and allows a balance between the lamp movement and lamp obstruction. This metaoptimization can be pre-computed for different kinds of operations and it then used by our online optimization for the selection of the appropriate Pareto solution. Both optimization approaches use data obtained by a depth camera that captures the surgical site but also the environment around the operating table. We have evaluated our algorithms with data recorded during a real open abdominal surgery. It is available for use for scientific purposes. The results show that our meta-optimization produces viable parameter sets for different parts of an intervention even when trained on a small portion of it.

  11. Surgical time and complications of total transvaginal (total-NOTES, single-port laparoscopic-assisted and conventional ovariohysterectomy in bitches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.A.M. Silva

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The recently developed minimally invasive techniques of ovariohysterectomy (OVH have been studied in dogs in order to optimize their benefits and decrease risks to the patients. The purpose of this study was to compare surgical time, complications and technical difficulties of transvaginal total-NOTES, single-port laparoscopic-assisted and conventional OVH in bitches. Twelve bitches were submitted to total-NOTES (NOTES group, while 13 underwent single-port laparoscopic-assisted (SPLA group and 15 were submitted to conventional OVH (OPEN group. Intra-operative period was divided into 7 stages: (1 access to abdominal cavity; (2 pneumoperitoneum; approach to the right (3 and left (4 ovarian pedicle and uterine body (5; (6 abdominal or vaginal synthesis, performed in 6 out of 12 patients of NOTES; (7 inoperative time. Overall and stages operative times, intra and postoperative complications and technical difficulties were compared among groups. Mean overall surgical time in NOTES (25.7±6.8 minutes and SPLA (23.1±4.0 minutes groups were shorter than in the OPEN group (34.0±6.4 minutes (P<0.05. The intraoperative stage that required the longest time was the approach to the uterine body in the NOTES group and abdominal and cutaneous sutures in the OPEN group. There was no difference regarding the rates of complications. Major complications included postoperative bleeding requiring reoperation in a bitch in the OPEN group, while minor complications included mild vaginal discharge in four patients in the NOTES group and seroma in three bitches in the SPLA group. In conclusion, total-NOTES and SPLA OVH were less time-consuming then conventional OVH in bitches. All techniques presented complications, which were properly managed.

  12. Simulation of time-dependent free-surface Navier-Stokes flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muldowney, G.P.

    1989-01-01

    Two numerical methods for simulation of time-dependent free-surface Navier-Stokes flows are developed. Both techniques are based on semi-implicit time advancement of the momentum equations, integral formulation of the spatial problem at each timestep, and spectral-element discretization to solve the resulting integral equation. Central to each algorithm is a boundary-specific solution step which permits the spatial treatment in two dimensions to be performed in O(N 3 ) operations per timestep despite the presence of deforming geometry. The first approach is a domain-integral formulation involving integrals over the entire flow domain of kernel functions which arise in time-differencing the Navier-Stokes equations. The second is a particular-solution formulation which replaces domain integration with an iterative scheme to generate particular velocity and pressure fields on individual elements, followed by a patching step to produce a particular solution continuous over the full domain. Two of the most difficult aspects of viscous free-surface flow simulations, namely time-dependent geometry and nontrivial boundary conditions, are well accommodated by these integral equation techniques. In addition the methods offer spectral accuracy in space and admit arbitrarily high-order discretization in time. For large-scale computations and/or long-term time advancement the domain-integral algorithm must be executed on a supercomputer to deliver results in reasonable processing time. A detailed simulation of gas liquid flow with full resolution of the free phase boundary requires approximately five CPU hours at 80 megaflops

  13. Time-dependent, many-body scattering theory and nuclear reaction applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levin, F.S.

    1977-01-01

    The channel component state form of the channel coupling array theory of many-body scattering is briefly reviewed. These states obey a non-hermitian matrix equation whose exact solution yields the Schroedinger eigenstates, eigenvalues and scattering amplitudes. A time-dependent formulation of the theory is introduced in analogy to the time-dependent Schrodinger equation and several consequences of the development are noted. These include an interaction picture, a single (matrix) S operator, and the usual connection between the t = 0 time-dependent and the time-independent scattering states. Finally, the channel component states (psi/sub j/) are shown to have the useful property that only psi/sub j/ has (two-body) outgoing waves in channel j: psi/sub m/, m not equal to j, is asymptotically zero in two-body channel j. This formalism is then considered as a means for direct nuclear reaction analysis. Typical bound state approximations are introduced and it is shown that a DWBA amplitude occurs in only one channel. The non-time-reversal invariance of the approximate theory is noted. Results of calculations based on a realistic model for two sets of light-ion induced, one-particle transfer reactions are discussed and compared with the coupled reaction channel (CRC) results using the CRC procedure of Cotanch and Vincent. Angular distributions for the two calculational methods are found to be similar in shape and magnitude. Higher ordercorrections are small as are time-reversal non-invariant effects. Post- and prior-type CRC calculations are seen to differ; the latter are closer to the full CRC results

  14. Motivation for Using Generalized Geometry in the Time Dependent Transport Code TDKENO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dustin Popp; Zander Mausolff; Sedat Goluoglu

    2016-04-01

    We are proposing to use the code, TDKENO, to model TREAT. TDKENO solves the time dependent, three dimensional Boltzmann transport equation with explicit representation of delayed neutrons. Instead of directly integrating this equation, the neutron flux is factored into two components – a rapidly varying amplitude equation and a slowly varying shape equation and each is solved separately on different time scales. The shape equation is solved using the 3D Monte Carlo transport code KENO, from Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s SCALE code package. Using the Monte Carlo method to solve the shape equation is still computationally intensive, but the operation is only performed when needed. The amplitude equation is solved deterministically and frequently, so the solution gives an accurate time-dependent solution without having to repeatedly We have modified TDKENO to incorporate KENO-VI so that we may accurately represent the geometries within TREAT. This paper explains the motivation behind using generalized geometry, and provides the results of our modifications. TDKENO uses the Improved Quasi-Static method to accomplish this. In this method, the neutron flux is factored into two components. One component is a purely time-dependent and rapidly varying amplitude function, which is solved deterministically and very frequently (small time steps). The other is a slowly varying flux shape function that weakly depends on time and is only solved when needed (significantly larger time steps).

  15. Time-dependent histamine release from stored human blood products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Hans Jørgen; Edvardsen, L; Vangsgaard, K

    1996-01-01

    .0 (range 176.0-910.0) nmol/l in whole blood and 475.0 (range 360.0-1560.0) nmol/l in plasma-reduced whole blood, while it was undetectable in SAGM blood. Spontaneous histamine release increased in a time-dependent manner from a median of 6.7 (range 2.2-17.4) nmol/l at the time of storage to 175.0 (range 33...

  16. Time-dependent local-to-normal mode transition in triatomic molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz, Hans; Bermúdez-Montaña, Marisol; Lemus, Renato

    2018-01-01

    Time-evolution of the vibrational states of two interacting harmonic oscillators in the local mode scheme is presented. A local-to-normal mode transition (LNT) is identified and studied from temporal perspective through time-dependent frequencies of the oscillators. The LNT is established as a polyad-breaking phenomenon from the local standpoint for the stretching degrees of freedom in a triatomic molecule. This study is carried out in the algebraic representation of bosonic operators. The dynamics of the states are determined via the solutions of the corresponding nonlinear Ermakov equation and a local time-dependent polyad is obtained as a tool to identify the LNT. Applications of this formalism to H2O, CO2, O3 and NO2 molecules in the adiabatic, sudden and linear regime are considered.

  17. Coherent states of general time-dependent harmonic oscillator

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. By introducing an invariant operator, we obtain exact wave functions for a general time-dependent quadratic harmonic oscillator. The coherent states, both in x- and p-spaces, are calculated. We confirm that the uncertainty product in coherent state is always larger than Η/2 and is equal to the minimum of the ...

  18. Construction of an exact solution of time-dependent Ginzburg ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau (TDGL) equations we have calculated the ... The prototype of such equations is the parabolic reaction diffusion equation [7,8] ..... It may be possible to compare the above results with suitable experiments, ...

  19. Finite moments approach to the time-dependent neutron transport equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sang Hyun

    1994-02-01

    Currently, nodal techniques are widely used in solving the multidimensional diffusion equation because of savings in computing time and storage. Thanks to the development of computer technology, one can now solve the transport equation instead of the diffusion equation to obtain more accurate solution. The finite moments method, one of the nodal methods, attempts to represent the fluxes in the cell and on cell surfaces more rigorously by retaining additional spatial moments. Generally, there are two finite moments schemes to solve the time-dependent transport equation. In one, the time variable is treated implicitly with finite moments method in space variable (implicit finite moments method), the other method uses finite moments method in both space and time (space-time finite moments method). In this study, these two schemes are applied to two types of time-dependent neutron transport problems. One is a fixed source problem, the other a heterogeneous fast reactor problem with delayed neutrons. From the results, it is observed that the two finite moments methods give almost the same solutions in both benchmark problems. However, the space-time finite moments method requires a little longer computing time than that of the implicit finite moments method. In order to reduce the longer computing time in the space-time finite moments method, a new iteration strategy is exploited, where a few time-stepwise calculation, in which original time steps are grouped into several coarse time divisions, is performed sequentially instead of performing iterations over the entire time steps. This strategy results in significant reduction of the computing time and we observe that 2-or 3-stepwise calculation is preferable. In addition, we propose a new finite moments method which is called mixed finite moments method in this thesis. Asymptotic analysis for the finite moments method shows that accuracy of the solution in a heterogeneous problem mainly depends on the accuracy of the

  20. Wrong-Site Surgery, Retained Surgical Items, and Surgical Fires : A Systematic Review of Surgical Never Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hempel, Susanne; Maggard-Gibbons, Melinda; Nguyen, David K; Dawes, Aaron J; Miake-Lye, Isomi; Beroes, Jessica M; Booth, Marika J; Miles, Jeremy N V; Shanman, Roberta; Shekelle, Paul G

    2015-08-01

    Serious, preventable surgical events, termed never events, continue to occur despite considerable patient safety efforts. To examine the incidence and root causes of and interventions to prevent wrong-site surgery, retained surgical items, and surgical fires in the era after the implementation of the Universal Protocol in 2004. We searched 9 electronic databases for entries from 2004 through June 30, 2014, screened references, and consulted experts. Two independent reviewers identified relevant publications in June 2014. One reviewer used a standardized form to extract data and a second reviewer checked the data. Strength of evidence was established by the review team. Data extraction was completed in January 2015. Incidence of wrong-site surgery, retained surgical items, and surgical fires. We found 138 empirical studies that met our inclusion criteria. Incidence estimates for wrong-site surgery in US settings varied by data source and procedure (median estimate, 0.09 events per 10,000 surgical procedures). The median estimate for retained surgical items was 1.32 events per 10,000 procedures, but estimates varied by item and procedure. The per-procedure surgical fire incidence is unknown. A frequently reported root cause was inadequate communication. Methodologic challenges associated with investigating changes in rare events limit the conclusions of 78 intervention evaluations. Limited evidence supported the Universal Protocol (5 studies), education (4 studies), and team training (4 studies) interventions to prevent wrong-site surgery. Limited evidence exists to prevent retained surgical items by using data-matrix-coded sponge-counting systems (5 pertinent studies). Evidence for preventing surgical fires was insufficient, and intervention effects were not estimable. Current estimates for wrong-site surgery and retained surgical items are 1 event per 100,000 and 1 event per 10,000 procedures, respectively, but the precision is uncertain, and the per

  1. Dynamical control of matter-wave splitting using time-dependent optical lattices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Park, Sung Jong; Andersen, Henrik Kjær; Mai, Sune

    2012-01-01

    We report on measurements of splitting Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) by using a time-dependent optical lattice potential. First, we demonstrate the division of a BEC into a set of equally populated components by means of time-dependent control of Landau-Zener tunneling in a vertical lattice....... Finally, a combination of multiple Bragg reflections and Landau-Zener tunneling allows for the generation of macroscopic arrays of condensates with potential applications in atom optics and atom interferometry....

  2. Time dependent mean field approximation to the many-body S-matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alhassid, Y.; Koonin, S.E.

    1980-01-01

    Time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) calculations are a good description of some inclusive properties of deep inelastic heavy-ion collisions. The first steps toward a mean-field theory that approximates specific elements of the many-body S matrix are presented. A many-body system with pairwise interactions excited by an external, time-dependent one-body field is considered. The methods are used to solve the forced Lipkin model. The moduli of elastic and excitation amplitudes are plotted. 3 figures

  3. Time-dependent nonequilibrium soft x-ray response during a spin crossover

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    van Veenendaal, Michel

    2018-03-01

    The rapid development of high-brilliance pulsed X-ray sources with femtosecond time resolution has created a need for a better theoretical understanding of the time-dependent soft-X-ray response of dissipative many-body quantum systems. It is demonstrated how soft-X-ray spectroscopies, such as X-ray absorption and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at transition-metal L-edges, can provide insight into intersystem crossings, such as a spin crossover. The photoinduced doublet-to-quartet spin crossover on cobalt in Fe-Co Prussian blue analogues is used as an example to demonstrate how the X-ray response is affected by the dissipative nonequilibrium dynamics. The time-dependent soft-X-ray spectra provide a wealth of information that reflect the changes in the nonequilibrium initial state via continuously changing spectral lineshapes that cannot be decomposed into initial photoexcited and final metastable spectra, strong broadenings, a collapse of clear selection rules during the intersystem crossing, strong fluctuations in the isotropic branching ratio in X-ray absorption, and crystal-field collapse/oscillations and strongly time-dependent anti-Stokes processes in RIXS.

  4. The time-dependent Aharonov–Casher effect

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singleton, Douglas, E-mail: dougs@csufresno.edu [Department of Physics, California State University Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740-8031 (United States); ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research, UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista, Rua Dr. Bento T. Ferraz 271, 01140-070, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Ulbricht, Jaryd, E-mail: julbrich@ucsc.edu [Physics Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Department of Physics, California State University Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740-8031 (United States)

    2016-02-10

    In this paper we give a covariant expression for Aharonov–Casher phase. This expression is a combination of the canonical electric field, Aharonov–Casher phase plus a magnetic field phase shift. We use this covariant expression for the Aharonov–Casher phase to investigate the case of a neutral particle with a non-zero magnetic moment moving in the time dependent electric and magnetic fields of a plane electromagnetic wave background. We focus on the case where the magnetic moment of the particle is oriented so that both the electric and magnetic fields lead to non-zero phases, and we look at the interplay between these electric and magnetic phases.

  5. Decay of hollow states in time-dependent density functional theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kapoor, Varun; Bauer, Dieter [Institut fuer Physik, Wismarsche Str. 43-45, Universitaet Rostock, Rostock-18051 (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    Hollow or multiply excited states are inaccessible in time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) using adiabatic Kohn-Sham potentials. We determine the exact Kohn Sham (KS) potential for doubly excited states in an exactly solvable model Helium atom. The exact single-particle density corresponds to the energetically lowest quasi-stationary state in the exact KS potential. We describe how this exact potential controls the decay by a barrier whose origin is traced back to phase of the exact KS orbital. The potential controls the barrier height and width in order for the density to tunnel out and decay with the same rate as the doubly excited state in the ab initio time-dependent Schroedinger calculation. Instead, adiabatic KS potentials only show direct photoionization but no autoionization. A frequency-dependent linear response kernel would be necessary in order to capture the decay of autoionizing states.

  6. Decision making in noisy bistable systems with time-dependent asymmetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nené, Nuno R.; Zaikin, Alexey

    2013-01-01

    Our work draws special attention to the importance of the effects of time-dependent parameters on decision making in bistable systems. Here, we extend previous studies of the mechanism known as speed-dependent cellular decision making in genetic circuits by performing an analytical treatment of the canonical supercritical pitchfork bifurcation problem with an additional time-dependent asymmetry and control parameter. This model has an analogous behavior to the genetic switch. In the presence of transient asymmetries and fluctuations, slow passage through the critical region in both systems increases substantially the probability of specific decision outcomes. We also study the relevance for attractor selection of reaching maximum values for the external asymmetry before and after the critical region. Overall, maximum asymmetries should be reached at an instant where the position of the critical point allows for compensation of the detrimental effects of noise in retaining memory of the transient asymmetries.

  7. Evolution of surgical skills training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Kurt E; Bell, Robert L; Duffy, Andrew J

    2006-01-01

    Surgical training is changing: one hundred years of tradition is being challenged by legal and ethical concerns for patient safety, work hours restrictions, the cost of operating room time, and complications. Surgical simulation and skills training offers an opportunity to teach and practice advanced skills outside of the operating room environment before attempting them on living patients. Simulation training can be as straight forward as using real instruments and video equipment to manipulate simulated “tissue” in a box trainer. More advanced, virtual reality simulators are now available and ready for widespread use. Early systems have demonstrated their effectiveness and discriminative ability. Newer systems enable the development of comprehensive curricula and full procedural simulations. The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education’s (ACGME) has mandated the development of novel methods of training and evaluation. Surgical organizations are calling for methods to ensure the maintenance of skills, advance surgical training, and to credential surgeons as technically competent. Simulators in their current form have been demonstrated to improve the operating room performance of surgical residents. Development of standardized training curricula remains an urgent and important agenda, particularly for minimal invasive surgery. An innovative and progressive approach, borrowing experiences from the field of aviation, can provide the foundation for the next century of surgical training, ensuring the quality of the product. As the technology develops, the way we practice will continue to evolve, to the benefit of physicians and patients. PMID:16718842

  8. Solution to the monoenergetic time-dependent neutron transport equation with a time-varying source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ganapol, B.D.

    1986-01-01

    Even though fundamental time-dependent neutron transport problems have existed since the inception of neutron transport theory, it has only been recently that a reliable numerical solution to one of the basic problems has been obtained. Experience in generating numerical solutions to time-dependent transport equations has indicated that the multiple collision formulation is the most versatile numerical technique for model problems. The formulation coupled with a moment reconstruction of each collided flux component has led to benchmark-quality (four- to five-digit accuracy) numerical evaluation of the neutron flux in plane infinite geometry for any degree of scattering anisotropy and for both pulsed isotropic and beam sources. As will be shown in this presentation, this solution can serve as a Green's function, thus extending the previous results to more complicated source situations. Here we will be concerned with a time-varying source at the center of an infinite medium. If accurate, such solutions have both pedagogical and practical uses as benchmarks against which other more approximate solutions designed for a wider class of problems can be compared

  9. Aorto-aortic intrathoracic bypass in surgical treatment of aortic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutierrez Perez, F.; Duran Reyes, A.; Bigalli, D.; Filgueira Berobide, J.

    1998-01-01

    The prevalence of coarctation of the aorta is 6.5 percent of all congenital heart defects, according to national and international data. There is a restenosis rate of patients after surgery. Factors that influence this evolution depends on the age at which patients underwent surgery for the first time the anatomy of the aortic arch and type of surgical technique. Several procedures can be used to correct the coarctation, which include surgery and balloon catheter dilation. We present here a case of a patient of 22 years old, with a recurrent coarctation of the aorta studied by echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging. The patient underwent surgery a third time. We used an anterior approach (median sternotomy) and performed an aortic bypass graft, intrathoracic, under cardiopulmonary bypass. Evolved favorably and was discharged on the sixth day of post operative day (Author) [es

  10. Practice management education during surgical residency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Kory; Lebron, Ricardo A; Mangram, Alicia; Dunn, Ernest

    2008-12-01

    Surgical education has undergone radical changes in the past decade. The introductions of laparoscopic surgery and endovascular techniques have required program directors to alter surgical training. The 6 competencies are now in place. One issue that still needs to be addressed is the business aspect of surgical practice. Often residents complete their training with minimal or no knowledge on coding of charges or basic aspects on how to set up a practice. We present our program, which has been in place over the past 2 years and is designed to teach the residents practice management. The program begins with a series of 10 lectures given monthly beginning in August. Topics include an introduction to types of practices available, negotiating a contract, managed care, and marketing the practice. Both medical and surgical residents attend these conferences. In addition, the surgical residents meet monthly with the business office to discuss billing and coding issues. These are didactic sessions combined with in-house chart reviews of surgical coding. The third phase of the practice management plan has the coding team along with the program director attend the outpatient clinic to review in real time the evaluation and management coding of clinic visits. Resident evaluations were completed for each of the practice management lectures. The responses were recorded on a Likert scale. The scores ranged from 4.1 to 4.8 (average, 4.3). Highest scores were given to lectures concerning negotiating employee agreements, recruiting contracts, malpractice insurance, and risk management. The medical education department has tracked resident coding compliance over the past 2 years. Surgical coding compliance increased from 36% to 88% over a 12-month period. The program director who participated in the educational process increased his accuracy from 50% to 90% over the same time period. When residents finish their surgical training they need to be ready to enter the world of business

  11. Signal restoration for NMR imaging using time-dependent gradients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frahm, J.; Haenicke, W.

    1984-01-01

    NMR imaging experiments that employ linear but time-dependent gradients for encoding spatial information in the time-domain signals result in distorted images when treated with conventional image reconstruction techniques. It is shown here that the phase and amplitude distortions can be entirely removed if the timeshape of the gradient is known. The method proposed is of great theoretical and experimental simplicity. It consists of a retransformation of the measured time-domain signal and corresponds to synchronisation of the signal sampling with the time-development of the gradient field strength. The procedure complements other treatments of periodically oscillating gradients in NMR imaging. (author)

  12. Surgical treatment of colorectal cancer complicated with acute intestinal obstruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. N. Schaeva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. The main reason for urgent complications of colon cancer is an acute intestinal obstruction (AIO. This is complex pathological condition in 90 % of cases caused by colorectal cancer (CRC.Objective – to evaluate radicality of the performed operations in complicated colorectal cancer in general surgical hospitals. Dependence of the severity of intestinal obstruction by tumor localization, its morphological characteristics, determine dependence of the type of the surgical operation performed on the severity of intestinal obstruction.Materials and methods. We have studied the data on 667 patients with colorectal cancer complicated by acute intestinal obstruction. These patients were treated in the period from 2001 to 2013 in general surgical hospital in the territory of Smolensk and Smolensk region. For the processing of the obtained results we have used software Statistica 6.1. Differences were considered statistically at p ≤ 0.05.Results. All the patients were divided into 3 groups by the expression of intestinal obstruction. Group 1 (n = 279 consisted of patients with the presence of decompensated intestinal obstruction (DIO, group 2 (n = 313 consisted of patients with subcompensated intestinal obstruction (SIO, group 3 (n = 75 included patients with compensated intestinal obstruction (CIO. In case of tumor localization in right halfof the colon we most commonly observed clinical picture of acute development of decompensated intestinal obstruction (p = 0.041. Subcompensated intestinal obstruction prevailed in case of tumor localization in left half of the colon and rectal localization. In general surgical hospitals it is not always possible to speak about radicality of surgical treatment, as in a large number of cases (62.5 % the number of examined lymph nodes was less than 4. When DIO patients are admitted in the clinic, the percentage of singlestage operations is equal to 7.5 % (n = 21. In case of DIO and SIO there was a high

  13. Monoenergetic time-dependent neutron transport in an infinite medium with time-varying cross sections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ganapol, B.D.

    1987-01-01

    For almost 20 yr, the main thrust of the author's research has been the generation of as many benchmark solutions to the time-dependent monoenergetic neutron transport equation as possible. The major motivation behind this effort has been to provide code developers with highly accurate numerical solutions to serve as standards in the assessment of numerical transport algorithms. In addition, these solutions provide excellent educational tools since the important physical features of neutron transport are still present even though the problems solved are idealized. A secondary motivation, though of equal importance, is the intellectual stimulation and understanding provided by the combination of the analytical, numerical, and computational techniques required to obtain these solutions. Therefore, to further the benchmark development, the added complication of time-dependent cross sections in the one-group transport equation is considered here

  14. Surgical management and clinical prognosis of adrenocortical carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Dexin; Li, Hanzhong; Yan, Weigang; Ji, Zhigang; Mao, Quanzong

    2012-01-01

    To study the relationship between surgical management and prognosis of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) in order to guide the surgical management of ACC. Clinical data of 45 cases of ACC treated in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The 45 cases included 3 cases in stage I, 12 cases in stage II, 7 cases in stage III, and 23 cases in stage IV. 17 cases underwent complete excision, 14 cases underwent palliative excision, 8 cases had non-operative treatment and 6 cases gave up treatment. All patients were followed up from 2 to 141 months. The average survival time of 31 patients with surgery was 32.46 months, and the average survival time of 14 patients without surgery was 4.75 months. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups (p 0.05). Surgery is considered to be the only method to cure ACC. For ACC in stage I and II, tumor resection is the most effective treatment, and second surgical operation is recommended for local recurrence. For ACC in stage III, extensive surgical operation is recommended, and for ACC in stage IV, surgical operation has no effect on the prognosis. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  15. Wearable Technology for Global Surgical Teleproctoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, Néha; MacQueen, Ian T; Schroeder, Alexander D; Wilson, Jessica J; Espinoza, Juan C; Wagner, Justin P; Filipi, Charles J; Chen, David C

    2015-01-01

    In underserved communities around the world, inguinal hernias represent a significant burden of surgically-treatable disease. With traditional models of international surgical assistance limited to mission trips, a standardized framework to strengthen local healthcare systems is lacking. We established a surgical education model using web-based tools and wearable technology to allow for long-term proctoring and assessment in a resource-poor setting. This is a feasibility study examining wearable technology and web-based performance rating tools for long-term proctoring in an international setting. Using the Lichtenstein inguinal hernia repair as the index surgical procedure, local surgeons in Paraguay and Brazil were trained in person by visiting international expert trainers using a formal, standardized teaching protocol. Surgeries were captured in real-time using Google Glass and transmitted wirelessly to an online video stream, permitting real-time observation and proctoring by mentoring surgeon experts in remote locations around the world. A system for ongoing remote evaluation and support by experienced surgeons was established using the Lichtenstein-specific Operative Performance Rating Scale. Data were collected from 4 sequential training operations for surgeons trained in both Paraguay and Brazil. With continuous internet connectivity, live streaming of the surgeries was successful. The Operative Performance Rating Scale was immediately used after each operation. Both surgeons demonstrated proficiency at the completion of the fourth case. A sustainable model for surgical training and proctoring to empower local surgeons in resource-poor locations and "train trainers" is feasible with wearable technology and web-based communication. Capacity building by maximizing use of local resources and expertise offers a long-term solution to reducing the global burden of surgically-treatable disease. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery

  16. Software for rapid time dependent ChIP-sequencing analysis (TDCA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myschyshyn, Mike; Farren-Dai, Marco; Chuang, Tien-Jui; Vocadlo, David

    2017-11-25

    Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq) and associated methods are widely used to define the genome wide distribution of chromatin associated proteins, post-translational epigenetic marks, and modifications found on DNA bases. An area of emerging interest is to study time dependent changes in the distribution of such proteins and marks by using serial ChIP-seq experiments performed in a time resolved manner. Despite such time resolved studies becoming increasingly common, software to facilitate analysis of such data in a robust automated manner is limited. We have designed software called Time-Dependent ChIP-Sequencing Analyser (TDCA), which is the first program to automate analysis of time-dependent ChIP-seq data by fitting to sigmoidal curves. We provide users with guidance for experimental design of TDCA for modeling of time course (TC) ChIP-seq data using two simulated data sets. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this fitting strategy is widely applicable by showing that automated analysis of three previously published TC data sets accurately recapitulates key findings reported in these studies. Using each of these data sets, we highlight how biologically relevant findings can be readily obtained by exploiting TDCA to yield intuitive parameters that describe behavior at either a single locus or sets of loci. TDCA enables customizable analysis of user input aligned DNA sequencing data, coupled with graphical outputs in the form of publication-ready figures that describe behavior at either individual loci or sets of loci sharing common traits defined by the user. TDCA accepts sequencing data as standard binary alignment map (BAM) files and loci of interest in browser extensible data (BED) file format. TDCA accurately models the number of sequencing reads, or coverage, at loci from TC ChIP-seq studies or conceptually related TC sequencing experiments. TC experiments are reduced to intuitive parametric values that facilitate biologically

  17. Surgical Instrument Sets for Special Operations Expeditionary Surgical Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hale, Diane F; Sexton, Justin C; Benavides, Linda C; Benavides, Jerry M; Lundy, Jonathan B

    The deployment of surgical assets has been driven by mission demands throughout years of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The transition to the highly expeditious Golden Hour Offset Surgical Transport Team (GHOST- T) now offers highly mobile surgical assets in nontraditional operating rooms; the content of the surgical instrument sets has also transformed to accommodate this change. The 102nd Forward Surgical Team (FST) was attached to Special Operations assigned to southern Afghanistan from June 2015 to March 2016. The focus was to decrease overall size and weight of FST instrument sets without decreasing surgical capability of the GHOST-T. Each instrument set was evaluated and modified to include essential instruments to perform damage control surgery. The overall number of main instrument sets was decreased from eight to four; simplified augmentation sets have been added, which expand the capabilities of any main set. The overall size was decreased by 40% and overall weight decreased by 58%. The cardiothoracic, thoracotomy, and emergency thoracotomy trays were condensed to thoracic set. The orthopedic and amputation sets were replaced with an augmentation set of a prepackaged orthopedic external fixator set). An augmentation set to the major or minor basic sets, specifically for vascular injuries, was created. Through the reorganization of conventional FST surgical instrument sets to maintain damage control capabilities and mobility, the 102nd GHOST-T reduced surgical equipment volume and weight, providing a lesson learned for future surgical teams operating in austere environments. 2017.

  18. Virtual reality in surgical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ota, D; Loftin, B; Saito, T; Lea, R; Keller, J

    1995-03-01

    Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology that can teach surgeons new procedures and can determine their level of competence before they operate on patients. Also VR allows the trainee to return to the same procedure or task several times later as a refresher course. Laparoscopic surgery is a new operative technique which requires the surgeon to observe the operation on a video-monitor and requires the acquisition of new skills. VR simulation could duplicate the operative field and thereby enhance training and reduce the need for expensive animal training models. Our preliminary experience has shown that we have the technology to model tissues and laparoscopic instruments and to develop in real time a VR learning environment for surgeons. Another basic need is to measure competence. Surgical training is an apprenticeship requiring close supervision and 5-7 years of training. Technical competence is judged by the mentor and has always been subjective. If VR surgical simulators are to play an important role in the future, quantitative measurement of competence would have to be part of the system. Because surgical competence is "vague" and is characterized by such terms as "too long, too short" or "too close, too far," it is possible that the principles of fuzzy logic could be used to measure competence in a VR surgical simulator. Because a surgical procedure consists of a series of tasks and each task is a series of steps, we will plan to create two important tasks in a VR simulator and validate their use. These tasks consist of laparoscopic knot tying and laparoscopic suturing. Our hypothesis is that VR in combination with fuzzy logic can educate surgeons and determine when they are competent to perform these procedures on patients.

  19. FAST: a three-dimensional time-dependent FEL simulation code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saldin, E.L.; Schneidmiller, E.A.; Yurkov, M.V.

    1999-01-01

    In this report we briefly describe the three-dimensional, time-dependent FEL simulation code FAST. The equations of motion of the particles and Maxwell's equations are solved simultaneously taking into account the slippage effect. Radiation fields are calculated using an integral solution of Maxwell's equations. A special technique has been developed for fast calculations of the radiation field, drastically reducing the required CPU time. As a result, the developed code allows one to use a personal computer for time-dependent simulations. The code allows one to simulate the radiation from the electron bunch of any transverse and longitudinal bunch shape; to simulate simultaneously an external seed with superimposed noise in the electron beam; to take into account energy spread in the electron beam and the space charge fields; and to simulate a high-gain, high-efficiency FEL amplifier with a tapered undulator. It is important to note that there are no significant memory limitations in the developed code and an electron bunch of any length can be simulated

  20. FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT DISPERSION MEASURES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PULSAR TIMING

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cordes, J. M. [Astronomy Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Shannon, R. M. [CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710 (Australia); Stinebring, D. R., E-mail: cordes@astro.cornell.edu, E-mail: ryan.shannon@csiro.au, E-mail: dan.stinebring@oberlin.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074 (United States)

    2016-01-20

    The dispersion measure (DM), the column density of free electrons to a pulsar, is shown to be frequency dependent because of multipath scattering from small-scale electron-density fluctuations. DMs vary between propagation paths whose transverse extent varies strongly with frequency, yielding arrival times that deviate from the high-frequency scaling expected for a cold, uniform, unmagnetized plasma (1/frequency{sup 2}). Scaling laws for thin phase screens are verified with simulations; extended media are also analyzed. The rms DM difference across an octave band near 1.5 GHz is ∼ 4 × 10{sup −5} pc cm{sup −3} for pulsars at ∼1 kpc distance. The corresponding arrival-time variations are a few to hundreds of nanoseconds for DM ≲ 30 pc cm{sup −3} but increase rapidly to microseconds or more for larger DMs and wider frequency ranges. Chromatic DMs introduce correlated noise into timing residuals with a power spectrum of “low pass” form. The correlation time is roughly the geometric mean of the refraction times for the highest and lowest radio frequencies used, ranging from days to years, depending on the pulsar. We discuss implications for methodologies that use large frequency separations or wide bandwidth receivers for timing measurements. Chromatic DMs are partially mitigable by including an additional chromatic term in arrival time models. Without mitigation, an additional term in the noise model for pulsar timing is implied. In combination with measurement errors from radiometer noise, an arbitrarily large increase in total frequency range (or bandwidth) will yield diminishing benefits and may be detrimental to overall timing precision.