scholarly journals Gas Monitoring in Human Frontal Sinuses–Stability Considerations and Gas Exchange Studies

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 4413
Author(s):  
Han Zhang ◽  
Ning Han ◽  
Yueyu Lin ◽  
Jiawen Huang ◽  
Sune Svanberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Concentration ◽  
Oxygen Absorption ◽  
Antibiotics Resistance ◽  
Scattering Media ◽  
Signal Stability ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Common Infectious Disease ◽  
Frontal Sinuses ◽  
Signal Normalization ◽  
First Time

Acute rhinosinusitis is a common infectious disease, which, in more than 90% of cases, is caused by viruses rather than by bacteria. Even so, antibiotics are often unnecessarily prescribed, and in the long run this contributes to the alarming level of antibiotics resistance. The reason is that there are no good guiding tools for defining the background reason of the infection. One main factor for the clearance of the infection is if there is non-obstructed ventilation from the sinus to the nasal cavity. Gas in Scattering Media Absorption Spectroscopy (GASMAS) has potential for diagnosing this. We have performed a study of frontal sinuses of volunteers with a focus on signal stability and reproducibility over time, accurate oxygen concentration determination, and assessment of gas transport through passages, naturally and after decongestant spray administration. Different from earlier studies on frontal sinuses, water vapor, serving the purpose of oxygen signal normalization, was measured at 818 nm rather than earlier at 937 nm, now closer to the 760 nm oxygen absorption band and thus resulting in more reliable results. In addition, the action of decongestants was objectively demonstrated for the first time. Evaluated oxygen concentration values for left- and right-hand side sinus cavities were found to agree within 0.3%, and a left-right geometrical asymmetry parameter related to anatomical differences was stable within 10%.

scholarly journals OAM light propagation through tissue

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Netanel Biton ◽  
Judy Kupferman ◽  
Shlomi Arnon
Keyword(s):  
Light Propagation ◽  
Biological Imaging ◽  
Gaussian Beams ◽  
Medical Implants ◽  
Optical Wireless ◽  
Scattering Media ◽  
Valuable Contribution ◽  
Light Beams ◽  
First Time ◽  
Diffuse Media

AbstractA major challenge in use of the optical spectrum for communication and imaging applications is the scattering of light as it passes through diffuse media. Recent studies indicate that light beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) can penetrate deeper through diffuse media than simple Gaussian beams. To the best knowledge of the authors, in this paper we describe for the first time an experiment examining transmission of OAM beams through biological tissue with thickness of up to a few centimeters, and for OAM modes reaching up to 20. Our results indicate that OAM beams do indeed show a higher transmittance relative to Gaussian beams, and that the greater the OAM, the higher the transmittance also up to 20, Our results extend measured results to highly multi scattering media and indicate that at 2.6 cm tissue thickness for OAM of order 20, we measure nearly 30% more power in comparison to a Gaussian beam. In addition, we develop a mathematical model describing the improved permeability. This work shows that OAM beams can be a valuable contribution to optical wireless communication (OWC) for medical implants, optical biological imaging, as well as recent innovative applications of medical diagnosis.

scholarly journals First Report of blaNDM-1 Bearing IncX3 Plasmid in Clinically Isolated ST11 Klebsiella pneumoniae from Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 951
Author(s):  
Hazrat Bilal ◽  
Gaojian Zhang ◽  
Tayyab Rehman ◽  
Jianxion Han ◽  
Sabir Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Type ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Antibiotics Resistance ◽  
New Delhi ◽  
Molecular Type ◽  
Plasmid Analysis ◽  
First Time ◽  
Encoding Genes ◽  
Sequence Types

The New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) is among the most threatening forms of carbapenemases produced by K. pneumoniae, well-known to cause severe worldwide infections. The molecular epidemiology of blaNDM-1-harboring K. pneumoniae is not well elucidated in Pakistan. Herein, we aim to determine the antibiotics-resistance profile, genes type, molecular type, and plasmid analysis of 125 clinically isolated K. pneumoniae strains from urine samples during July 2018 to January 2019 in Pakistan. A total of 34 (27.2%) K. pneumoniae isolates were carbapenemases producers, and 23 (18.4%) harbored the blaNDM-1 gene. The other carbapenemases encoding genes, i.e., blaIMP-1 (7.2%), blaVIM-1 (3.2%), and blaOXA-48 (2.4%) were also detected. The Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) results revealed that all blaNDM-1-harboring isolates were ST11. The other sequence types detected were ST1, ST37, and ST105. The cluster analysis of Xbal Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) revealed variation amongst the clusters of the identical sequence type isolates. The blaNDM-1 gene in all of the isolates was located on a 45-kb IncX3 plasmid, successfully transconjugated. For the first time, blaNDM-1-bearing IncX3 plasmids were identified from Pakistan, and this might be a new primary vehicle for disseminating blaNDM-1 in Enterobacteriaceae as it has a high rate of transferability.

scholarly journals Diagnostics of Human Body Cavities Using Diode Laser Gas Spectroscopy

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Cassel-Engquist ◽  
L. Persson ◽  
K. Svanberg ◽  
S. Svanberg
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Diode Laser ◽  
Medical Application ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Scattering Media ◽  
Laser Absorption ◽  
Initial Clinical Trial ◽  
Frontal Sinuses ◽  
Diode Laser Absorption ◽  
Nose And Throat

We have developed a technique to measure gas non-intrusive in scattering media, such as human tissue. The technique was first demonstrated for test samples in 2001 by our group and utilizes diode laser absorption spectroscopy to monitor molecular oxygen and water vapor. The focus of medical application has been on sinuses, both maxillary and frontal sinuses and the potential of the technique has been shown on volunteers. A spin-off company named GasPorOx AB has been formed with the aim to develop a product used to improve the diagnosis of the sinus infections. A portable fiber-guided system has been developed and is used in an ongoing initial clinical trial in collaboration with the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic, the Oncology and Diagnostic radiology clinics at the Lund University Hospital.

scholarly journals Fiscal Sustainability in the European Countries: A Panel ARDL Approach and a Dynamic Panel Threshold Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8505 ◽  
Author(s):  
María del Carmen Ramos-Herrera ◽  
María A. Prats
Keyword(s):  
Threshold Model ◽  
Fiscal Sustainability ◽  
Causality Test ◽  
Panel Ardl ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Ardl Approach ◽  
Panel Granger Causality ◽  
Potential Gdp ◽  
The Government ◽  
First Time

We analyze the fiscal sustainability hypothesis for a panel of 20 European Union countries from 2000 to 2019. In particular, we employ new econometric methodologies that, to the best of our knowledge, are applied for the first time to the study of sovereign fiscal policy sustainability in these economies. Specifically, we estimate the panel ARDL technique, distinguishing between short- and long-run coefficients because the order of integration of our variables is not the same. Moreover, a panel threshold model with endogeneity is considered to investigate whether, departing from a particular threshold, there is different behavior between the government primary balance and public debt, both taken as a ratio of potential GDP. Finally, the panel Granger causality test is implemented to determine the direction of causality or the existence of bidirectional causality.

scholarly journals The Effect of Ranitidine on Olanzapine-Induced Weight Gain

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Ranjbar ◽  
Alireza Ghanepour ◽  
Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani ◽  
Mahbob Asadlo ◽  
Amineh Alizadeh
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Family History ◽  
Positive Family History ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Obesity ◽  
Baseline Bmi ◽  
First Time

Induced weight gain is a disturbing side effect of Olanzapine that affects the quality of life in psychotic patients. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of Ranitidine in attenuating or preventing Olanzapine-induced weight gain. A parallel 2-arm clinical trial was done on 52 patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective and schizophreniform disorders who received Olanzapine for the first time. All these were first-episode admitted patients. They were randomly allocated to receive either Ranitidine or placebo. The trend of body mass index (BMI) was compared between groups over 16-week course of treatment. Mean weight was 62.3 (SD: 9.6) kg at baseline. Thirty-three subjects (63.5%) had positive family history of obesity. The average BMI increment was 1.1 for Ranitidine group and 2.4 for the placebo group. The multivariate analysis showed this effect to be independent of sex, family history of obesity, and baseline BMI value. The longitudinal modeling after controlling for baseline values failed to show the whole trend slope to be different. Although the slight change in trend’s slope puts forward a hypothesis that combined use of Ranitidine and Olanzapine may attenuate the weight gain long run, this needs to be retested in future larger scale long-term studies. This trial is registered with IRCT.ir201009112181N5.

Exotic trilobites from the uppermost Cambrian Series 3 and lower Furongian of Sweden

2015 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Żylińska ◽  
Thomas Weidner ◽  
John Ahlgren ◽  
Per Ahlberg
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Concentration ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Strong Connection ◽  
Alum Shale ◽  
Low Oxygen Concentration ◽  
First Time

Abstract Seventeen taxa of exotic trilobites representing eight families are described from the olenid- and agnostoid-dominated strata of the uppermost Cambrian Series 3 and lower Furongian alum shale facies of Sweden and from glacial erratic boulders of Denmark. Only five taxa are assigned to species level, i.e., Maladioidella abdita (Salter, 1866), Olentella rara (Westergard, 1922), Pedinocephalus peregrinus (Henningsmoen, 1957), Ptychoparia pusilla (Westergard, 1922), and Westergaardella olenorum (Westergard, 1922), whereas the others are left under open nomenclature or remain unrecognized. Most are described for the first time from the Cambrian of Scandinavia. Their affinities point to a strong connection with East Gondwana, Laurentia, Kazakhstania and Siberia. Exotic trilobites appear in the succession directly after periods of very low oxygen concentration in the Alum Shale Sea; their occurrences correspond to the ranges of agnostoid arthropods in the succession and seem to be linked to global transgressive events causing an influx of cool and/or oxygen-depleted waters onto the shelf of the Baltica palaeocontinent.

scholarly journals Integrating Queueing Theory and Scheduling for Dynamic Scheduling Problems

2014 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 535-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Terekhov ◽  
T. T. Tran ◽  
D. G. Down ◽  
J.C. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Queueing Theory ◽  
Dynamic Scheduling ◽  
Queueing Network ◽  
Scheduling Problems ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
Processing Times ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Resource Requirements ◽  
First Time

Dynamic scheduling problems consist of both challenging combinatorics, as found in classical scheduling problems, and stochastics due to uncertainty about the arrival times, resource requirements, and processing times of jobs. To address these two challenges, we investigate the integration of queueing theory and scheduling. The former reasons about long-run stochastic system characteristics, whereas the latter typically deals with short-term combinatorics. We investigate two simple problems to isolate the core differences and potential synergies between the two approaches: a two-machine dynamic flowshop and a flexible queueing network. We show for the first time that stability, a fundamental characteristic in queueing theory, can be applied to approaches that periodically solve combinatorial scheduling problems. We empirically demonstrate that for a dynamic flowshop, the use of combinatorial reasoning has little impact on schedule quality beyond queueing approaches. In contrast, for the more complicated flexible queueing network, a novel algorithm that combines long-term guidance from queueing theory with short-term combinatorial decision making outperforms all other tested approaches. To our knowledge, this is the first time that such a hybrid of queueing theory and scheduling techniques has been proposed and evaluated.

scholarly journals Pricing And Long-Run Performance Of The Venture-Backed And Nonventure-Backed IPOS

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arvin Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Venture Capital ◽  
Initial Public Offerings ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Venture Capitalists ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Public Offerings ◽  
Long Run ◽  
First Time ◽  
Prevalent Form

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) were the most prevalent form to raise capital by firms wanting to go public during the last decade (1990 2000) in the United State. There were thousands of firms that went public for the first time, mostly in the technology-heavy NASDAQ stock market. Along with the regular IPOs came the IPOs backed by venture capitalists, who specialize in financing promising startup companies and bringing them public. As one-third of the IPOs were backed by venture capitalists during 1990 2000, our purpose here is to examine the pricing and long-run performance of the venture-backed and nonventure-backed IPOs that were issued in the NYSE and NASDAQ stock market during the period covered by our study. We have found, among others, that the venture-backed IPOs performed much better as compared to the nonventure-backed IPOs. The returns of the former were consistently higher than the latter during 1900 2000. Also, the price returns as well as the operating ratios and the growth of cash flows, were higher both in the NYSE and NASDAQ market. The regression equations also confirmed closer association with the independent variables belonging to the IPOs backed by venture capital than the non-venture capital.

scholarly journals Geography, Climate, and Genes in Development Studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S46-S51
Author(s):  
Robert Klitgaard ◽  
Johannes W Fedderke ◽  
Valerio Napolioni
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Interleukin 10 ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Cultural Adaptations ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Development Outcomes ◽  
First Time

Abstract Over the coming decade, much more genetic data will enter into the study of economic development. This paper provides an example and emphasizes the uses and misuses of such information. It has assembled for the first time national frequencies of the ACP1 genetic polymorphism and the Interleukin-6 (IL6-174G) and Interleukin-10 (IL10-1082G) cytokines. These three respond over the centuries to ultraviolet radiation and infectious diseases. The study also looks at a national measure of heterozygotic diversity. In particular, it finds that ACP1 frequencies are significantly related to national outcomes ranging from GDP per capita to type and quality of governance, to measures of national “competitiveness,” to health, to fertility, to measures of satisfaction with life. These associations do not seem explainable by reverse causation nor by the influence of some of the usual variables in studies of long-run development. Nonetheless, these results do not mean that a few genes have a direct causal effect on world development. The ACP1*B variable is surely picking up the influences of many genetic and cultural adaptations over evolutionary time in response to ultraviolet exposure and pathogen burdens. This study's findings thus support other research indicating the importance of disease environments in shaping both genetic and sociocultural adaptations that have influence on development outcomes today. The paper concludes with a discussion of what such strong associations mean and do not mean, in hopes of guiding future studies of genes and other deep roots of economic development.

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