Surgical management of hepatic hydatid cyst in children

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the surgical treatment and outcome of hydatid cyst in liver in children. The age of presentation varied from 8-11 years. All patients had abdominal pain, five had lump in right hypochondrium and three patients had fever. Hydatid cyst serology, indirect hemaglutination test, ultrasonography and CT scan done in all the patients. Histological examination supported the diagnosis of hydatidosis since the cyst wall contains outer laminated and inner germinal layer. All the patients got relief of their preoperative symptoms after surgery. Two patients had positive serology after surgery. Therefore, they were given two additional regimen of albendazole and turned out to be serologically negative. In conclusion, hydatid cyst management in children is not consensual. However, conservative surgery remains the treatment of choice to avoid serious complication in the endemic region of Indian subcontinent

Surgical management of hepatic hydatid cyst in children

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the surgical treatment and outcome of hydatid cyst in liver in children. The age of presentation varied from 8-11 years. All patients had abdominal pain, five had lump in right hypochondrium and three patients had fever. Hydatid cyst serology, indirect hemaglutination test, ultrasonography and CT scan done in all the patients. Histological examination supported the diagnosis of hydatidosis since the cyst wall contains outer laminated and inner germinal layer. All the patients got relief of their preoperative symptoms after surgery. Two patients had positive serology after surgery. Therefore, they were given two additional regimen of albendazole and turned out to be serologically negative. In conclusion, hydatid cyst management in children is not consensual. However, conservative surgery remains the treatment of choice to avoid serious complication in the endemic region of Indian subcontinent

Calibration and Irradiation Study of the BGO Background Monitor for the BEAST II Experiment

Beam commissioning of the SuperKEKB collider began in 2016. The Beam Exorcism for A STable experiment II (BEAST II) project is particularly designed to measure the beam backgrounds around the interaction point of the SuperKEKB collider for the Belle II experiment. We develop a system using bismuth germanium oxide (BGO) crystals with optical fibers connecting to a multianode photomultiplier tube (MAPMT) and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) embedded readout board for monitoring the real-time beam backgrounds in BEAST II. The overall radiation sensitivity of this system is estimated to be $(2.20\pm0.26)\times10^{-12}$ Gy/ADU (analog-to-digital unit) with the standard 10 m fibers for transmission and the MAPMT operating at 700 V. Our $\gamma$-ray irradiation study of the BGO system shows that the exposure of BGO crystals to $^{60}$Co $\gamma$-ray doses of 1 krad has led to immediate light output reductions of 25--40%, and the light outputs further drop by 30--45% after the crystals receive doses of 2--4 krad. Our findings agree with those of the previous studies on the radiation hard (RH) BGO crystals grown by the low thermal gradient Czochralski (LTG Cz) technology. The absolute dose from the BGO system is also consistent with the simulation, and is estimated to be about 1.18 times the equivalent dose. These results prove that the BGO system is able to monitor the background dose rate in real time under extreme high radiation conditions. This study concludes that the BGO system is reliable for the beam background study in BEAST II

Mobile device machine vision estimation of mango crop load

The application of machine vision in orchard was considered in context of mango crop load (fruit number and fruit size). An algorithm for automatic detection and counting of fruits in images of trees in orchard was developed. RGB images were acquired of two sides of mango trees (‘dual view’). Fruit count per tree was obtained by harvest of trees, and by manual count of fruit in images. The R2 and slope between dual-view and harvest count varied between 0.74 and 0.92, and 0.34 and 0.55, respectively, depending on canopy structure. The fruit counting model involved: (i) fruit-like object detection using HAAR cascade classifier using an AdaBoost technique; (ii) classification of detected region using a multilayer Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The machine vision count achieved a precision = 0.94, recall= 0.89, and F1 score = 0.9 against a human count of fruit in images. For the estimation of fruit size individual fruits were imaged against a backing board (with a circular scale printed on a blue background), with an RMSE of 3.6 mm for lineal dimension measurement achieved

Efficacy and Toxicity of Different Forms of Asparaginases Against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Review

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a form of blood cancer that affects white blood cells and is among the most common forms of leukemia with children and adolescents showing the highest number of cases. Most treatment protocols include chemotherapy using asparaginase. Asparaginase converts asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia. Unlike normal, healthy cells, cancerous cells depend on asparagine for their growth. When these cells are deprived of asparagine by the action of the enzyme, the cancer cells selectively die. As of date, several forms of asparaginases are commercially available and are administered in ALL therapy. But due to limited study, it will be early and inaccurate to predict which forms of the enzymes are better. In this review, we aim to compare the efficacy and toxicity of four different asparaginases—native Escherichia coli asparaginase, PEG Escherichia coli asparaginase, Erwinia chrysanthemi asparaginase and a recombinant Escherichia coli asparaginase—used in ALL therapy in children and adolescents using available clinical trial data. PubMed and Clinical trial.org databases were used to select studies. Asparaginase activity, toxicity, anti-asparaginase antibody level and event-free, overall survival was compared for different asparaginases. Seventeen randomized and non-randomized controlled trials were included. Evidence was insufficient to ascertain which asparaginase is the best. PEG Escherichia coli asparaginase seems to be better with a high activity among the treated patients but there remains high toxicity for all available asparaginases. This study highlights a need to discover alternative sources of asparaginase from the organisms, which are evolutionarily distant from Escherichia coli and Erwinia chrysanthemi with high higher enzyme activity and reduced toxicity

Superhalogen properties of CumCln clusters: Theory and experiment

Using a combination of density functional theory and anion photoelectron spectroscopy experiment, we have studied the structure and electronic properties of CuCl n − (n = 1–5) and Cu2Cl n − (n = 2–5) clusters. Prominent peaks in the mass spectrum of these clusters occurring at n = 2, 3, and 4 in CuCl n − and at n = 3, 4, and 5 in Cu2Cl n − are shown to be associated with the large electron affinities of their neutral clusters that far exceed the value of Cl. While CuCl n(n ≥ 2) clusters are conventional superhalogens with a metal atom at the core surrounded by halogen atoms, Cu2Cl n (n ≥ 3) clusters are also superhalogens but with (CuCl)2 forming the core. The good agreement between our calculated and measured electron affinities and vertical detachment energies confirm not only the calculated geometries of these superhalogens but also our interpretation of their electronic structure and relative stability

An evaluation of pre- and post-timber harvest water quality in low-order streams in the Missouri Ozarks

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 23, 2010).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Dissertation advisor: Dr. John J. Bowders, P.E.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2009.Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC) best management practices (BMPs) for Regenerative Oak Clear Cutting (ROCC) practice was evaluated on effectiveness to preserve downstream water quality. Fifteen sites, located on MDC lands in Shannon and Reynolds counties in Missouri Ozarks, ranging from 5-50 acres were instrumented with in-stream and hill-slope water samplers. Samples were collected for approximately three years prior to harvest and two to three years after harvest. The comparison of pre-and post-harvest samples showed that six of the twelve water quality parameters (TSS, TVSS, Ca, K, NO[superscript 3 -] and SRP) had probabilities that the post-harvest concentration would exceed the pre-harvest concentration, after taking climatic factors into account. However, the probability of exceedance (PoE) were less than 15 percent. Total Suspended Solids (TSS) showed a 4% PoE which was deemed low in a natural system, whereas the maximum PoE, found for TVSS, was about 13%. Overall, the impact of timber harvest on water quality in the Ozarks was minimal comparing using PoE or discrete analysis of histograms. The US EPA only sets parameter limits for impaired or threatened streams, so there was no regulatory limit in effect for the ephemeral streams. However, the method of determining PoE closely followed USEPA's total maximum daily load (TMDL) method. Owners, contractors and monitoring organizations can use this procedure to compare the PoE of various water quality parameters with regulatory agency limits should they be established.Includes bibliographical references