1,063 research outputs found
The laboratory diagnostic approach to thoracic and abdominal effusions in the dog, cat, and horse
Περιστατικά στα οποία διαπιστώνονται υπεζωκοτικές και περιτοναϊκές συλλογές είναι αρκετά συχνά στην κλινική πράξη. Ο καθορισμός της υποκείμενης αιτιολογίας σε αυτές τις περιπτώσεις βασίζεται κυρίως στην ανάλυση του υγρού της συλλογής. Η τεχνική που χρησιμοποιείται για τη λήψη του υγρού της υπεζωκοτικής ή περιτοναϊκής συλλογής μπορεί να επηρεάσει σε μεγάλο βαθμό τα αποτελέσματα της ανάλυσης. Στις πιο συχνά χρησιμοποιούμενες διαγνωστικές εξετάσεις περιλαμβάνονται η αξιολόγηση των φυσικών ιδιοτήτων του υγρού, ο προσδιορισμός του συνολικού αριθμού εμπύρηνων κυττάρων / ολικών πρωτεϊνών (TNCC / TP), ο προσδιορισμός χημικών / βιοχημικών παραμέτρων (γαλακτική αφυδρογονάση και γαλακτικό οξύ, χολοστερόλη, τριγλυκερίδια, γλυκόζη, κρεατινίνη, pH, pO2, pCO2, K), κυτταρολογική εξέταση (διάγνωση σηπτικών και μη σηπτικών φλεγμονών και νεοπλασμάτων), μικροβιολογικές εξετάσεις (επιχρίσματα με χρώση Gram, καλλιέργεια, μοριακές τεχνικές) και ειδικές διαγνωστικές εξετάσεις για ορισμένες παθολογικές καταστάσεις και νοσήματα. Η ταξινόμηση μιας συλλογής ως διίδρωμα, τροποποιημένο διίδρωμα και εξίδρωμα βασίζεται παραδοσιακά στις τιμές των TNCC και ΤΡ. Νέες διαγνωστικές μέθοδοι συνεισφέρουν στην αιτιολογική διάγνωση χωρίς απαραίτητα να ακολουθηθεί αυστηρά η παραδοσιακή ταξινόμηση. Πολλές από τις διαγνωστικές εξετάσεις που περιγράφονται σε αυτήν την ανασκόπηση είναι απλές και μπορούν να πραγματοποιηθούν στο ιατρείο, παρέχοντας γρήγορα πληροφορίες στον κλινικό κτηνίατρο σχετικές με την αιτία της συλλογής. Η γνώση αυτή είναι απαραίτητη για την έγκαιρη και αποτελεσματική θεραπευτική αντιμετώπιση της υποκείμενης παθολογικής κατάστασης.Cases involving pleural and peritoneal effusions occur relatively frequently in clinical practice. Determining the underlying etiology in these cases relies mainly on fluid analysis. The technique used for obtaining the pleural or peritoneal fluid can impact greatly the results of the analysis. Most often used diagnostic tools include evaluation of gross appearance, Total Nucleated Cell Count / Total Protein (TNCC/TP) measurement, chemical/biochemical analysis (Lactate dehydrogenase and lactate, cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, creatinine, pH, pO2, pCO2, and K measurements), cytology (identification of septic and non-septic inflammation and neoplasia), microbiology (Gram stain, culture, molecular techniques), and specific tests for certain clinical conditions and diseases. Classifying an effusion as transudate, modified transudate and exudate is traditionally based on the TNCC and TP values. New diagnostic methods encourage the clinician to approach the effusion etiologically instead of strictly following this traditional classification. Many of the diagnostic tests described in this review are simple and can be performed in-house, providing the clinician quickly with information about the cause of the effusion, essential for an effective treatment plan without wasting valuable time
Probing Supersymmetry With Third-Generation Cascade Decays
The chiral structure of supersymmetric particle couplings involving third
generation Standard Model fermions depends on left-right squark and slepton
mixings as well as gaugino-higgsino mixings. The shapes and intercorrelations
of invariant mass distributions of a first or second generation lepton with
bottoms and taus arising from adjacent branches of SUSY cascade decays are
shown to be a sensitive probe of this chiral structure. All possible cascade
decays that can give rise to such correlations within the MSSM are considered.
For bottom-lepton correlations the distinctive structure of the invariant mass
distributions distinguishes between decays originating from stop or sbottom
squarks through either an intermediate chargino or neutralino. For decay
through a chargino the spins of the stop and chargino are established by the
form of the distribution. When the bottom charge is signed through soft muon
tagging, the structure of the same-sign and opposite-sign invariant mass
distributions depends on a set function of left-right and gaugino-higgsino
mixings, as well as establishes the spins of all the superpartners in the
sequential two-body cascade decay. Tau-lepton and tau-tau invariant mass
distributions arising from MSSM cascade decays are likewise systematically
considered with particular attention to their dependence on tau polarization.
All possible tau-lepton and tau-tau distributions are plotted using a
semi-analytic model for hadronic one-prong taus. Algorithms for fitting tau-tau
and tau-lepton distributions to data are suggested.Comment: 35 pages, 17 .eps figure
Enhanced ULF radiation observed by DEMETER two months around the strong 2010 Haiti earthquake
In this paper we study the energy of ULF electromagnetic waves that have been
recorded by the satellite DEMETER, during its passing over Haiti before and
after a destructive earthquake. This earthquake occurred on 12/1/2010, at
geographic Latitude 18.46o and Longitude 287.47o, with Magnitude 7.0 R.
Specifically, we are focusing on the variations of energy of Ez-electric field
component concerning a time period of 100 days before and 50 days after the
strong earthquake. In order to study these variations, we developed a novel
method that can be divided in two stages: first we filter the signal keeping
only the very low frequencies and afterwards we eliminate its trend using
techniques of Singular Spectrum Analysis, combined with a third-degree
polynomial filter. As it is shown, a significant increase in energy is observed
for the time interval of 30 days before the strong earthquake. This result
clearly indicates that the change in the energy of ULF electromagnetic waves
could be related to strong precursory earthquake phenomena. Moreover, changes
in energy were also observed 25 days after the strong earthquake associated
with strong aftershock activity. Finally, we present results concerning the
comparison in changes in Energy during night and day passes of the satellite
over Haiti, which showed differences in the mean energy values, but similar
results as far as the rate of energy change is concerned.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, submitted to NHES
Trends in immediate postmastectomy breast reconstruction in the United Kingdom
The study aimed to evaluate local and national trends in immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) using the national English administrative records, Hospital Episode Statistics. Our prediction was an increase in implant-only and free flap procedures and a decline in latissimus flap reconstructions.Data from an oncoplastic center were interrogated to derive numbers of implant-only, autologous latissimus dorsi (LD), LD-assisted, and autologous pedicled or free flap IBR procedures performed between 2004 and 2013. Similarly, Hospital Episode Statistics data were used to quantify national trends in these procedures from 1996 to 2012 using a curve fitting analysis.National data suggest an increase in LD procedures between 1996 (n = 250) and 2002 (n = 958), a gradual rise until 2008 (n = 1398) followed by a decline until 2012 (n = 1090). As a percentage of total IBR, trends in LD flap reconstruction better fit a quadratic (R(2) = 0.97) than a linear function (R(2) = 0.63), confirming a proportional recent decline in LD flap procedures. Conversely, autologous (non-LD) flap reconstructions have increased (1996 = 0.44%; 2012 = 2.76%), whereas implant-only reconstructions have declined (1996 = 95.42%; 2012 = 84.92%). Locally, 70 implant-assisted LD procedures were performed in 2003 -2004, but only 2 were performed in 2012 to 2013.Implants are the most common IBR technique; autologous free flap procedures have increased, and pedicled LD flap procedures are in decline
Comments on Baryon Melting in Quark Gluon Plasma with Gluon Condensation
We consider a black hole solution with a non-trivial dilaton from IIB super
gravity which is expected to describe a strongly coupled hot gauge plasma with
non-vanishing gluon condensation present. We construct a rotating and moving
baryon to probe the screening and phases of the plasma. Melting of the baryons
in hot plasma in this background had been studied previously, however, we show
that baryons melt much lower temperature than has been suggested previously.Comment: 3 figures, 12 page
The role of minimal access valve surgery in the elderly. A meta-analysis of observational studies
Background Minimal access valve surgery, both mitral and aortic, may be related to improvement in specific post-operative outcomes, therefore may be beneficial for the subgroup of the elderly referred for valve surgery. Methods A systematic literature review identified several different studies, of which 6 fulfilled criteria for meta-analysis. Outcomes for a total of 1347 patients (675 conventional standard sternotomy and 672 minimally invasive valve surgery) were assessed with a meta-analysis using random effects modeling. Heterogeneity, subgroup analysis with quality scoring were also assessed. The primary endpoint was early mortality. Secondary endpoints included intra and post-operative outcomes. Results In the context of elderly patients, minimal access valve surgery conferred comparable early mortality to standard sternotomy (odd ratio (OR) 0.79, CI [0.40,1.56], p\ua0=\ua00.50) with no heterogeneity (p\ua0=\ua00.13); it was also associated with reduced mechanical intubation time (OR 0.48, CI [0.30,0.78], p\ua0=\ua00.003) and reduced post-operative length of stay (weighted mean difference (WMD)\ua0 122.91, CI [ 123.09,\ua0 122.74] p\ua0<\ua00.00001), however both cardio-pulmonary bypass time and cross clamp time were longer (WMD 24.29, CI [22.97, 25.61] p\ua0<\ua00.00001 and WMD 8.61, CI [7.61, 9.61], p\ua0<\ua00.00001, respectively); subgroup analysis demonstrated statistically significant reduced post-operative length of stay for both minimally invasive aortic and mitral surgery (WMD\ua0 122.84, CI [ 123.07,\ua0 122.60] p\ua0<\ua00.00001 and WMD\ua0 122.98, CI [ 123.25,\ua0 122.71] p\ua0<\ua00.00001 respectively). Conclusions Despite a prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass and cross clamp time, minimally invasive valve surgery is a safe alternative to standard sternotomy in the elderly, with similar early mortality, and improvements in intubation time as well as length of stay
Geochemical mapping of urban soils in Athens, Greece - Preliminary results
Η αστική γεωχημεία είναι ένας αναπτυσσόμενος επιστημονικός τομέας κυρίως λόγω των περιβαλλοντικών επιπτώσεων από την εξάπλωση των πόλεων και την αύξηση του αστικού πληθυσμού. Η παρούσα εργασία έχει ως στόχο τη γεωχημική χαρτογράφηση των επιφανειακών (0-10 cm) εδαφών της Αθήνας με έμφαση στη χωρική κατανομή δυνητικά βλαβερών χημικών στοιχείων. Η δειγματοληψία υπαίθρου πραγματοποιήθηκε βάσει τετραγωνικού κανάβου ισοδιάστασης 1 km και κάλυψε συνολική έκταση περίπου 200 km2, με προτεραιότητα σε παιδικές χαρές, σχολεία και πάρκα. Αναλύθηκαν320 εδαφικά δείγματα κοκκομετρίας < 100 μm με την τεχνική της φασματοσκοπίας ατομικής απορρόφησης μετά από διαλυτοποίηση με βασιλικό ύδωρ και προσδιορί- στηκαν τα στοιχεία Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co και Mn. Οι μέσες συγκεντρώσεις των στοιχείων Pb (62 mg/kg), Cu (36 mg/kg), Zn (91 mg/kg) και Mn (465 mg/kg) είναι χαμηλότερες των αντίστοιχων συγκεντρώσεων άλλων Ευρωπαϊκών πόλεων ενώ οι συγκεντρώσεις των Cr (74 mg/kg), Ni (89 mg/kg) και Co (16 mg/kg) υψηλότερες. Το γεωχημικό ανάγλυφο αποτυπώθηκε σε περιβάλλον ΓΣΠ δίνοντας τη δυνατότητα προσδιορισμού διαφορετικών πηγών των στοιχείων. Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας συμβάλουν στην εκτίμηση της ποιότητας των εδαφών της Αθήνας και αποτελούν πολύτιμο εργαλείο στην αναγνώριση περιοχών περιβαλλοντικής επικινδυνότητας.Urban geochemistry is a fast growing scientific discipline mainly because of the profound impact of large cities on the environment as well as the increase in the world’s urban population. The present study aims to produce the urban geochemical map of Athens, based on multi-element analysis of surface soils (0-10 cm) with emphasis in the spatial distribution of potentially harmful elements (PHEs). Soil sampling was based on a regular 1km x 1km grid, laid over the survey area covering more than 200 km2. Sampling locations within the grid cells were selected giving priority to playgrounds, schools and urban parks. The < 100 μm fraction of a total of 320 soil samples were analysed by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy for Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co and Mn after aqua regia dissolution. Average content of Pb (62 mg/kg), Cu (36 mg/kg), Zn (91 mg/kg) and Mn (465 mg/kg) in soil was lower than reported concentrations from other European cities while Cr (74 mg/kg), Ni (89 mg/kg) and Co (16 mg/kg) were relatively enriched. Geochemical maps were plotted within GIS enabling recognition of spatial trends in elemental concentrations and potential sources of the elements. The research outcome will contribute to the evaluation of quality characteristics of urban soils in Athens and drive attention to areas of any environmental or health risks
- …