Angioplasty of the popliteal artery using the Jaguar™ stent

Introduction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the endovasculartreatment of atherosclerotic stenosis/occlusion of the popliteal artery according to TASC II recommendationsusing the Jaguar SM self-expanding stent depending on the modifiableand unmodifiable risk factors of repeated stenosis/occlusions. Material and methods. The study included 126 men and 46 women aged 46–95 years in 2011–2015.Surgeries were performed in the scheduled and emergency mode. Angioplasty of the popliteal artery withthe Jaguar stent implantation was performed in patients with severe chronic limb ischaemia and critical limbischaemia. Post-operative popliteal artery patency was evaluated in relation to sex, obesity, diabetes, smokingtobacco, and patency of the lower extremity arteries. Results. The postoperative patient follow-up was conducted for 60 months, demonstrating 67% patency after12 months, 59% patency after 24 months, 53% patency after 36 months, 45% patency after 48 months,and 31% patency after 60 months. Conclusions. The Jaguar™ stent implantation is an effective and safe method of treatment of atheroscleroticstenosis and occlusion of the popliteal artery. The occlusion was found in patients with the risk factors such as:obesity, diabetes, and tobacco smoking, limited runoff arteries in the lower leg. Stent fracture did not occur inany patient

ForestGEO Dead Wood Census Protocol

After stems die, the wood persists in the ecosystem, either as standing deadwood or woody debris on the ground. Deadwood plays an important role in forest ecosystems, providing significantly different substrate, nutrient source, and microclimate to seedlings as well as habitat to vertebrates and invertebrates. Measurements of dead material on the forest floor can be used to more completely estimate biomass, carbon pools, and carbon fluxes. These methods continue the philosophy of the ForestGEO demography data by tracking the status of individual woody stems after mortality and thereby extending observations to the entire period each woody stem exists in the forest

THE PAIR-WISE LINEAR CLASSIFIER AND THE K-NN RULE IN APPLICATION TO ALS PROGRESSION DIFFERENTIATION

The two kinds of classifier based on the k-NN rule, the standard and the parallel version, were used for recognition of severity of ALS disease. In case of the second classifier version, feature selection was done separately for each pair of classes. The error rate, estimated by the leave one out method, was used as a criterion as for determination the optimum values of k's as well as for feature selection. All features selected in this manner were used in the standard and in the parallel classifier based on k-NN rule. Furthermore, only for the verification purpose, the linear classifier was applied. For this kind of classifier the error rates were calculated by use the training set also as a testing one. The linear classifier was trained by the error correction algorithm with a modified stop condition. The data set concerned with the healthy subjects and patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The set of several biomarkers such as erythropoietin, matrix metalloproteinases and their tissue inhibitors measured in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were treated as features. It was shown that CSF biomarkers were very sensitive for the ALS progress

Hybrid Power Plant with Storage System: University Research Station

The article presents a brief overview of renewable energy sources, microgrids and energy storage problems. The construction and utilisation of university research station to study the operation of a hybrid power plant with an energy storage unit has been described. The tested hybrid power plant consists of a photovoltaic panel and a wind turbine. There are two possible areas of research, one is when the microgrid is connected to the main grid and second when it functions independently as a stand-alone setup. In addition, the model allows to study the characteristics of photovoltaic cells, examine the dependence of generated power on the time, season and angle of the solar panel. In this article, the current-voltage characteristics and influence of solar azimuth angle on cell power, dependence of wind on power generated by the wind turbine, and study of off-grid work of power plant are presented

Beyond Technology: Pottery Reveals Translocal Social Relations at a Bell Beaker Monumental Site in Central Europe

The Bell Beaker site near Brodek u Prostejova (Czechia) has yielded remains of a large timber construction accompanied by four symmetrical ritual deposits with numerous artefacts, including more than fifty ceramic vessels. Their decoration consists of incised patterns, in nineteen cases with preserved white inlaid incrustations. To investigate the social relations at this extraordinary site, a multi-analytical and micro-destructive approach was employed to determine the provenance and technology of the pottery and the composition of the white incrustations. The results indicate various origins for the pottery within the region and the presence of extra-regional fabrics and graphitic temper. The main raw materials for the white inlays were calcium carbonate (calcite), hydroxyapatite (bone), and bright clay. The mixing of decorative motifs and the variation in the shape and size of the beakers suggest unique manufacturing processes. These results lend support to the monumental site of Brodek serving as a ritual place for several communities from both local and wider areas.European Commission - ARCHMAT EMJM

Quantum corrections in the Boltzmann conductivity of graphene and their sensitivity to the choice of formalism

Semiclassical spin-coherent kinetic equations can be derived from quantum theory with many different approaches (Liouville equation based approaches, nonequilibrium Green's functions techniques, etc.). The collision integrals turn out to be formally different, but coincide in textbook examples as well as for systems where the spin-orbit coupling is only a small part of the kinetic energy like in related studies on the spin Hall effect. In Dirac cone physics (graphene, surface states of topological insulators like Bi_{1-x}Sb_x, Bi_2Te_3 etc.), where this coupling constitutes the entire kinetic energy, the difference manifests itself in the precise value of the electron-hole coherence originated quantum correction to the Drude conductivity $\sim e^2/h * \ell k_F$. The leading correction is derived analytically for single and multilayer graphene with general scalar impurities. The often neglected principal value terms in the collision integral are important. Neglecting them yields a leading correction of order $(\ell k_F)^{-1}$, whereas including them can give a correction of order $(\ell k_F)^0$. The latter opens up a counterintuitive scenario with finite electron-hole coherent effects at Fermi energies arbitrarily far above the neutrality point regime, for example in the form of a shift $\sim e^2/h$ that only depends on the dielectric constant. This residual conductivity, possibly related to the one observed in recent experiments, depends crucially on the approach and could offer a setting for experimentally singling out one of the candidates. Concerning the different formalisms we notice that the discrepancy between a density matrix approach and a Green's function approach is removed if the Generalized Kadanoff-Baym Ansatz in the latter is replaced by an anti-ordered version.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure. An important sign error has been rectified in the principal value terms in equation (52) in the vN & NSO expression. It has no implications for the results on the leading quantum correction studied in this paper. However, for the higher quantum corrections studied in arXiv:1304.3929 (see comment in the latter) the implications are crucia

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency in gastroenterological diseases - review

Introduction: Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin found primarily in animal-derived products such as red meat, dairy, and eggs. An essential substance for its absorption is the intrinsic factor, produced by the parietal cells of the stomach. After absorption in the distal ileum, cobalamin acts as a coenzyme in DNA synthesis and the metabolism of fatty acids and homocysteine. In addition to its well-known influence on the nervous system, it has been associated with gastrointestinal diseases according to numerous authors. Objective: The objective of this study is to gather and analyze literature regarding the associations between vitamin B12 deficiency and gastrointestinal diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastritis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and hepatitis C (HCV). Materials and Methods: A literature review was conducted using the PubMed database with the following search terms: vitamin B12, cobalamin, deficiency, gastrointestinal diseases, GERD, IBD, SIBO, HCV. Current Knowledge: Vitamin B12 deficiency can be caused by autoimmune factors, dietary insufficiencies, toxin exposure, and malabsorption disorders related to gastrointestinal diseases. Gastrointestinal conditions such as GERD and IBD can both lead to and be exacerbated by cobalamin deficiency. Furthermore, vitamin B12 deficiency may be worsened by prolonged use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and Helicobacter pylori infection. Conclusions: An adequate amount of vitamin B12 is crucial for gastrointestinal health. Deficiency can significantly impact the course and symptoms of many gastrointestinal diseases. Therefore, monitoring and supplementation of vitamin B12 should be an integral part of managing patients with gastrointestinal conditions