Diaphragmatic hernia following oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer – Are we too radical?

Background: Diaphragmatic herniation (DH) of abdominal contents into the thorax after oesophageal resection is a recognised and serious complication of surgery. While differences in pressure between the abdominal and thoracic cavities are important, the size of the hiatal defect is something that can be influenced surgically. As with all oncological surgery, safe resection margins are essential without adversely affecting necessary anatomical structure and function. However very little has been published looking at the extent of the hiatal resection. We aim to present a case series of patients who developed DH herniation post operatively in order to raise discussion about the ideal extent of surgical resection required. Methods: We present a series of cases of two male and one female who had oesophagectomies for moderately and poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas of the lower oesophagus who developed post-operative DH. We then conducted a detailed literature review using Medline, Pubmed and Google Scholar to identify existing guidance to avoid this complication with particular emphasis on the extent of hiatal resection. Discussion: Extended incision and partial resection of the diaphragm are associated with an increased risk of postoperative DH formation. However, these more extensive excisions can ensure clear surgical margins. Post-operative herniation can be an early or late complication of surgery and despite the clear importance of hiatal resection only one paper has been published on this subject which recommends a more limited resection than was carried out in our cases. Conclusion: This case series investigated the recommended extent of hiatal dissection in oesophageal surgery. Currently there is no clear guidance available on this subject and further studies are needed to ascertain the optimum resection margin that results in the best balance of oncological parameters vs. post operative morbidity

Nursing students motivations and satisfaction, Do the motivation and satisfaction of nursing students change during their study years?

Background: Study the level of nursing students` motivations and satisfaction may help policy makers to develop training plans to improve graduates skills and commitment. This study was conducted to investigate nursing students' motivations and satisfaction during study years at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of medical sciences. Methods:It was a cross-sectional study to explore 197 nursing students' viewpoints about their fields. A validated and reliable self-made questionnaire was developed and used. Data analysis was carried out by descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test using SPSS software (version 16). Results: The study findings showed that the most crucial motivation factors to select nursing course were “job security” and “interest in medical science” with means 3.94 and 3.68 respectively. The mean satisfaction score of the nursing students was under average (2.75). There was significant difference between mean satisfaction scores of the first and last year students (respectively, 3.69 vs. 2.90 p=0.0001). Conclusion: Level of nursing students' satisfaction get reduces after university entrance and during study years gradually. Key words: Nursing student, motivation, satisfactio

Quantitative phase evolution during mechano-synthesis of Ti-Ni-Cu shape memory alloys

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Ti-41Ni-9Cu shape memory alloy was synthesized by mechanical alloying of pure elemental Ti, Ni, and Cu powders using high-energy ball milling. The qualitative and quantitative phase analyses of the as-milled powders were done by X-ray diffraction (XRD) using Rietveld refinement and the alloys microstructure was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Concerning the results, by milling evolution, the dissolution of the primary materials occurred at different rates and a considerable amount of the amorphous phase as well as B19′-martensite and B2-austenite was created. The formation of Ni solid solution was also evidenced prior to its dissolution. It was found that at sufficient milling time, the mechano-crystallization of the amorphous phase occurred and at the end of milling, the B19′-martensite is the dominant phase of the structure. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserve

Evaluation and Comparison of Free and Commercial User Interfaces of Digital Libraries

In this study, at first, different free and four fee book-based Digital Libraries (DLs), available via www were reviewed. Four DLs Gutenberg, 24×7, Netlibrary and Ebrary were chosen. A comprehensive inventory consisted of general information, search features, display options and unique features was composed for comparing the interfaces of these DLs. Then chosen interfaces were compared and evaluated. Results showed that Netlibrary scored higher according to the specified criteria. However, in designing interface for such DLs, designers should take into considerations all the criteria proposed in this study

Effect of milling Time on the Structure, Micro-hardness, and Thermal Behavior of Amorphous/Nanocrystalline TiNiCu Shape Memory Alloys Developed by Mechanical Alloying

Cataloged from PDF version of article.In the present paper, the effect of milling process on the chemical composition, structure, microhardness, and thermal behavior of Ti-41Ni-9Cu compounds developed by mechanical alloying was evaluated. The structural characteristic of the alloyed powders was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The chemical composition homogeneity and the powder morphology and size were studied by scanning electron microscopy coupled with electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Moreover, the Vickers micro-indentation hardness of the powders milled for different milling times was determined. Finally, the thermal behavior of the as-milled powders was studied by differential scanning calorimetery. According to the results, at the initial stages of milling (typically 0-12 h), the structure consisted of a Ni solid solution and amorphous phase, and by the milling evolution, nanocrystalline martensite (B19') and austenite (B2) phases were initially formed from the initial materials and then from the amorphous phase. It was found that by the milling development, the composition uniformity is increased, the inter-layer thickness is reduced, and the powders microhardness is initially increased, then reduced, and afterward re-increased. It was also realized that the thermal behavior of the alloyed powders and the structure of heat treated samples is considerably affected by the milling time. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Scientific Productions and Authorship Patterns of Top Ten Iranian Scientists

Using bibliographic records from the Social Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Index, this paper tries to give a complete view of the characteristics of top ten Iranian authors during 1990-2007 according to their authorship pattern. Findings revealed that during 1990-2007 a total of 2650 articles were written by top ten Iranian authors. Findings showed that M. Shamsipour with 463 articles is the most productive scientist of Iran during the studied period. M. M. Heravi with 365 articles and M. Ganjali with 283 articles appeared in the table at second and third positions, respectively. Findings revealed that overwhelmingly the majority of articles (97/69%) written by Iranian top authors are the result of collaborative works and the authors are highly inclined towards collaborative rather than non-collaborative research. There was a remarkable relationship between co-authorship and number of citations. More-than-three-author articles received the most number of citations. On the other hand, it seems that international collaboration of Iranian top authors is not significant

Scientometric Analysis of the Scientometric Literature

 Using bibliographic records from the Social Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index, this paper tries to give a complete view of the evolution of the field of Scientometrics based on its literature published during 1980 to 2009. This is a descriptive survey using scientometric indicators.Findings revealed that out of 691 articles in the field of Scientometrics, a total number of 183 articles (26.48%) were written during 1980 to 2009 by the top ten authors. Some of these articles were produced in authors’ collaboration and some of them were by single authors.   Geographical analysis indicated that the field had evolved considerably in different regions of the world. Hungarian Academy of Science with 40 records (5.71%) was the most productive institution in the field of Scientometrics. Furthermore, chronological analysis disclosed that the scientific production in the field of Scientometrics showed a slow increase from 1980 to 2009. The overwhelming majority of documents were in English, and the international journal of Scientometrics was the most prolific journal in the field. It has also been declared that 67.87% of the literature was published in the area of Library and Information Science

Estimation of (co)variance components and breeding values for test-day milk production traits of Holstein dairy cattle via Bayesian approach

Genetic parameters of milk, fat, and protein yields were estimated in the first lactation of Holstein dairy cattle. The records were collected during the period 2006 to 2011 and analyzed fitting the random regression model. The data included 41178, 25397 and 18716 test-day records of milk, fat and protein yields, respectively that produced by 4746, 3437 and 2525 cows respectively. Fixed effects in model included herd-year-month of test day and age-season of calving. The fixed and random regressions were modeled with normalized Legendre polynomials and (co)variance components were estimated by Bayesian method and Gibbs sampling was used to obtain posterior distributions. Estimates of heritability for milk, fat and protein yields ranged from 0.18 to 0.26; 0.06 to 0.11 and 0.09 to 0.22, respectively. Heritabilities for 305-d milk, fat and protein yields were 0.36, 0.23 and 0.29, respectively. For milk and protein yields, heritabilities were lower at the early of lactation due to the trends of lower additive genetic variance, higher permanent environmental variance. Genetic correlations for milk, fat and protein yields ranged from 0.14 to 1.00; 0.39 to 1.00 and 0.27 to 1.00, respectively. Ranges of estimated breeding values for 305-d yield of milk, fat and protein yields were from -1194.48 to 1412.44; -210.57 to 271.22 and -194.08 to 203.25, respectively. According to the results of this study, random regression model seems to be a flexible and reliable procedure for the genetic evaluation of milk production traits and it can be useful in the breeding programs for Iranian dairy cattle