Incidence of and outcomes after misaligned deployment of the Talent Thoracic Stent Graft System

ObjectiveVarious types of device-specific adverse events can occur during deployment of thoracic stent grafts due to the high flow rate and severe aortic angulation that is often encountered in the thoracic aorta. This study assessed the incidence, etiology, and overall effect of misaligned deployment of the Talent Thoracic Stent Graft (TSG) System. Techniques to predict and avoid this complication are discussed.MethodsData collection included pivotal-trial follow-up, direct surveys of centers inside and outside the United States and principal investigators, a targeted literature search, and review of complaint files. Misaligned deployment was considered to occur when the proximal covered or uncovered stent apices of a thoracic stent graft folded back on itself and remained nonparallel to the wall of the aorta after deployment had been completed.ResultsOf about 20,305 deployments to date of the Talent TSG, 24 misaligned deployments were identified for an incidence of 0.1%. Nineteen (79%) events occurred during treatment of degenerative aneurysms or penetrating ulcers, four (17%) during treatment of dissections, and the underlying pathology could not be determined for one patient. The misalignment was noted at the proximal end of the stent graft in 15 patients (63%), and the other 9 events (37%) occurred at the graft overlap junction. Two events were treated intraoperatively, with a second overlapping device placed in one patient and a snare used to reposition the proximal stent in another. Adverse clinical events occurred in three patients and included a persistent type I endoleak, continued false lumen perfusion in a patient with dissection, and delayed retrograde type A dissection in a patient undergoing total arch repair. No intraoperative contrast extravasation or computed tomography evidence of perforation was noted. There were no perioperative deaths or cerebrovascular events, with one report of paraplegia among the 24 patients in this series.ConclusionMisaligned deployment is an unusual phenomenon that tends to occur in the context of certain well-defined anatomic conditions in the thoracic aorta. To date, most of these events have not led to significant adverse sequelae. However, careful patient selection, periprocedural imaging, and case planning can help to identify anatomies in which misaligned opening is likely to occur, allowing physicians to avoid this complication

Data on mass spectrometry based identification of allergens from sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) pollen proteome

AbstractAllergy is a type of abnormal immune reactions, which is triggered by environmental antigens or allergens and mediated by IgE antibodies. Now-a-days mass spectrometry is the method of choice for allergen identification based on homology searching. Here, we provide the mass spectrometry dataset associated with our previously published research article on identification of sunflower pollen allergens (Ghosh et al., 2015 [1]). In this study allergenicity of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) pollen grains were primarily investigated by clinical studies followed by detailed immunobiochemical and immunoproteomic analyses. The mass spectrometry data for the identification of allergens were deposited to ProteomeXchange Consortium via PRIDE partner repository with the dataset identifier http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/archive/projects/PXD002397

A Comprehensive Review of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Attacks and Neutralization Techniques

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have revolutionized the aircraft industry in this decade. UAVs are now capable of carrying out remote sensing, remote monitoring, courier delivery, and a lot more. A lot of research is happening on making UAVs more robust using energy harvesting techniques to have a better battery lifetime, network performance and to secure against attackers. UAV networks are many times used for unmanned missions. There have been many attacks on civilian, military, and industrial targets that were carried out using remotely controlled or automated UAVs. This continued misuse has led to research in preventing unauthorized UAVs from causing damage to life and property. In this paper, we present a literature review of UAVs, UAV attacks, and their prevention using anti-UAV techniques. We first discuss the different types of UAVs, the regulatory laws for UAV activities, their use cases, recreational, and military UAV incidents. After understanding their operation, various techniques for monitoring and preventing UAV attacks are described along with case studies

Potential regions in the Persian Gulf to deploy offshore floating photovoltaic systems

Generating energy needs by means of renewable sources is a vital strategy for all the GCC countries. Photovoltaic systems in the GCC have been a primary choice of renewable sources due to regional weather and high levels of irradiance. However, the unfavorable environmental factors such as high temperatures, soiling, and dust have been a concern in PV performance. Offshore photovoltaic systems can provide a solution to mitigate these issues and improve system performance. So far, the Floating PV systems have remained unexplored in the GCC region. This paper identifies and presents the six potential regions in the GCC to deploy the Floating PV system based on three environmental factors

Detecting plants on railway embankment.

This paper investigates problems concerning vegetation along railways and proposes automatic means of detectingground vegetation. Digital images of railway embankments have been acquired and used for the purpose. The currentwork mainly proposes two algorithms to be able to achieve automation. Initially a vegetation detection algorithm hasbeen investigated for the purpose of detecting vegetation. Further a rail detection algorithm that is capable of identifyingthe rails and eventually the valid sampling area has been investigated. Results achieved in the current work report satisfactory(qualitative) detection rate

Distribution of Currents in 2 × 25 kV Electric Railway Systems under Normal Conditions

This article shows a detailed analysis of the distribution of currents in 2 × 25 kV electric railway systems under normal conditions. The network equations are clearly formulated in a way that enables the presentation of a novel simplified analytical solution as well as the traditional numerical solution of the equation set. The simplified analytical solution is obtained when the transformer impedances are neglected, and under these conditions: (a) the distributions of currents are analytically deduced for cases with only one train; (b) the distribution of currents among autotransformers and between catenary and feeder can be easily understood, as well as the effect of the train position on the distribution of currents; and (c) the superposition method is applied for cases with multiple trains in order to clearly explain the distribution of currents from the results with only one train. On the other hand, the network equations are also numerically solved, including autotransformer impedances, and it is shown that their effect is very low, especially because these impedances are typically small. Therefore, the proposed analytical method is a good tool to obtain an easy and approximate solution for the distribution of currents in these systems, as well as an excellent tool to facilitate the understanding of that distribution

Assessment of Renewable Air-Conditioning Using Economic Feasibility Procedures

The renewable energy utilization is attaining numerous recognition and diverse assessment is obligatory to be executed for several innovations which has in turn become a general system requirement. The increasing application of fossil fuels is virtually not only triggering swift energy sources depletion; nevertheless, deliberately manufacturing harmful gases which in turn directly impacts humanity. Therefore, this paper addresses the economic assessment of renewable airconditioning using ARR, NPV, IRR and payback period technique. Knowing the obscured fossil fuels effects and its consequences to human wellbeing is key for assessing renewable-based airconditioning using economic feasibility practices and for underpinning further remarkable conclusions for imminent energy production. The system economic assessment is measured in conjunction with the use of cleaner energy sources, vis-à-vis renewable energy utilization such as photovoltaic solar power. The outcome reveals that photovoltaic solar airconditioning is worth undertaking using economic assessment procedures. The accounting rate of return is 185.7%; the net present value yielded a positive value NPV > 0 which suggests the project is worth undertaking; payback period is 9.5 years, and this typically demonstrates that the system will begin to make profit after 9.5 years of operation and at the discount rate of up to 10.19%, photovoltaic solar airconditioning investment is worth undertaking

Study of Photovoltaics (PV) Performance Degradation Analysis in Oman

The demand for electricity usage is increasing all around the globe. As an alternative and clean source to produce electricity there has been an emphasis on the usage of renewable energies. Sultanate of Oman has also taken an initiative by 2030 that at least 15% of the total energy mix should be generated through renewables. Considering the investments made in future it is also vital to estimate the Performance and reliability of PV modules under local climatic conditions. The surveyed data analysis of five sites under local climatic conditions has shown that the visual degradations such as encapsulate discolouration and delamination are main causes in old age group modules for higher degradation rates. Infrared (IR)-image analysis has shown that PV modules with 'hot cells' have higher degradation rates than the modules without 'hot cells'. The interconnect test results have indicated that series resistance increases with the increase in the severity of interconnect breakages (SIB) thus increasing the output power degradation rates. Electrical parameter data analysis has shown that all the module average power degradation rate is 2.05%/year which is much higher than European counties. CdTe PV technology has shown fewer degradation rates which is less than 1%/year and seems to be the best choice in the local climatic conditions. The average degradation rate with regard to PV module size is higher for small size and lower for a larger size. In the contrary with regard to PV system size, larger size has observed with fewer degradation rates. The roof-mounted installations have also observed with higher degradation rates than the ground-based installations