Two-Port Versus Three-Port Laparoscopic Appendectomy In Children

Background/Purpose: Laparoscopic appendectomy is the routine technique for management of acute appendicitis in children in many centers. In this study, the classic three-port technique is compared to the two-port technique in the noncomplicated non-difficult acute appendicitis. Materials & Methods: This is a retrospective study of the cases of non-complicated acute appendicitis treated laparoscopically between June 2003 and June 2009. Cases treated by the two-and three -port techniques were compared regarding the operative duration, operative and postoperative complications and the length of hospital stay. Results: During the study period, 85 children (45 males and 40 females) had laparoscopic appendectomy for acute noncomplicated appendicitis; 48 children by the Three-port technique (group I) and 37 children by the Two-port technique (group II).The mean age was 9.7 years (range 4 – 13). The mean operative duration was 40 minutes (range 30-70) in group I and 25 minutes in group II (range 17-35). Operative bleeding occurred in 9 cases (19%) (group I) and 8 cases (22%) group II, operative rupture of the appendix in 1(2%) , Port site infection (redness or discharge) in 3 (6%) in group I and none in group II, Postoperative ileus ( > 48 hours) 3 (6%) in group I and 1(2.7%) in group II. The mean length of hospital stay was 2.3 days in group I and 2 days in group II. Three cases in group II were converted to total laparoscopic appendectomy because of residual long stump (conversion rate 8%). Conclusion: The Two-port laparoscopic appendectomy had less operative duration and length of hospital stay than the threeport technique in non-complicated non-difficult acute appendicitis in children. However, the operative and post operative complications were almost the same.Index Word: Laparoscopy, appendectomy

A case report on an 8-month infant about zona infection in ocular members due to exposure to intrauterine varicella

Background and aims: Primary varicella infection which is rarely seen among infants appears as chicken pox in children and zona in adults due to its reactivation. Considering its rarity in infants, an 8-month case infected with varicella due to reactivation of intrauterine primary infection is reported. Case report: An 8-month infant with 3200gr weight at a vaginal delivery was hospitalized for erythematous lesion around the left eye, diagnosed as orbital cellulitis initially. The lesion spread rapidly to 8×14cm and several fluid -filled vesicules (which then turned into yellow) developed. Referring to case history, the mother was infected to varicella with generalized macrovesicular lesions involving stomach, face, and limbs. Infant tests of varicella zoster virus about the existence of immunoglobulin M were positive. Treatment was done by cephalotine, acyclovir, and sulfacetamide eye drop. The lesions disappeared within one week. Conclusion: In this patient, because of exposure to varicella infection in utero period, reactivation of primary infection after birth in 8-month appeared herpes zoster symptoms. After diagnosis, the treatment was successful

Análisis de las concentraciones de radionúclidos de la atmósfera del aire de Duhok por espectrometría gamma

Introduction: Atmospheric air is directly related to human healthand irreplaceable to human life and thus an influential parameter ofenvironmental science. Radioactive materials in the air may resultin exposure of man every day of our lives by inhalation or ingestion of particulate matter suspended or deposited on vegetation orproducts derived from animals, which has been ubiquitous on earthsince its creation. The main goal of this study is to measure the radioactivity concentration of the natural and artificial radionuclidesof the Duhok air. Materials and Methods: Twenty samples of airfilters were collected from different locations of Duhok City andits surroundings by low volume air samplers pump in the summer/autumn and winter/spring seasons. Air filter samples were preparedand analyzed by a well-type thallium-activated sodium iodide NaI(-TI) detector. Results and Discussion: The average activity concentrations of 214Pb, 214Bi, 212Pb, 228Ac, 40K and 137Cs are4.98±1.20, 4.54±1.27, 9.76±1.17, 10.72±2.35, 211.91±62.19 and1.78±0.61 mBq/m3 respectively of the summer/autumn seasons.Whereas, in the winter/spring seasons are 3.89±1.23, 4.21±1.43,5.05±1.08, ND, 147.49±46.38 and 1.78±0.69 mBq/m3 respectively. Conclusions: The activity concentrations results confirmedseasonal variations for all study locations. Activities of all radionuclides, except an anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs which remainsabout the same in both seasons, record higher values in summer/autumn season. Moreover, all activities are less than the acceptablelower level. It is clear that the prominent radioelements that affected by atmospheric condition is 40K even though it is less than thereported lower level of the EP

Gas bubbles investigation in contaminated water using optical tomography based on independent component analysis method

This paper presents the results of concentration profiles for gas bubble flow in a vertical pipeline containing contaminated water using an optical tomography system. The concentration profiles for the bubble flow quantities are investigated under five different flows conditions, a single bubble, double bubbles, 25% of air opening, 50% of air opening, and 100% of air opening flow rates where a valve is used to control the gas flow in the vertical pipeline. The system is aided by the independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm to reconstruct the concentration profiles of the liquid-gas flow. The behaviour of the gas bubbles was investigated in contaminated water in which the water sample was prepared by adding 25 mL of colour ingredients to 3 liters of pure water. The result shows that the application of ICA has enabled the system to detect the presence of gas bubbles in contaminated water. This information provides vital information on the flow inside the pipe and hence could be very significant in increasing the efficiency of the process industries

Impact of Electron Radiation Dose to the Performance of Half-Wave Rectifier and Converter Circuits with Silicon Carbide Schottky Diode

Half-wave rectifier; buck; and boost converter with electron-irradiated, high-voltage silicon carbide Schottky power diodes from CREE, Inc., performance were studied and presented in this paper subjected to electron radiation. The diodes were irradiated by high-energy (3 MeV) electrons with doses ranging from 1 to 5 MGy. The performance of the circuits in term of the output voltage were measured before and after the diodes being irradiated. It was observed, at 4 MGy, the half-wave rectifier output voltage degrades by 6.2 times as compared to before irradiation. Meanwhile, the output voltage of the buck converter degrades by 1.7 times; and for boost converter, the degradation of the output voltage is approximately 4.6 times for 4MGy radiation. These degradations are believed to be due to the increase in the series resistance of the Schottky diodes which is caused by the defects introduced inside the semiconductor during the irradiation and also the increase of turn-on voltage of the diodes after being irradiated

Prediction of Length of Postoperative Ventilation in CDH Survivors; Preoperative and Operative Variables

Background/Purpose: The period taken for complete weaning from ventilation in cases of repaired congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) varies greatly. We tried to relate the endo-tracheal tube removal time (ETTRT) in these cases with the different variables; both preoperative and operative. Materials & Methods: This is a retrospective study of cases of CDH survivors managed by the authors over the period from January 2003 till February 2010. The preoperative variables included gestational age, gender, birth weight, Apgar score, the time of intubation, the ventilation strategy, the presence of a significant PDA in the ECHO study and the time-lapse till surgery. The operative variables (all by laparotomy approach) included the side of the hernia, the herniated contents, the presence of a sac, the insertion of a chest tube and the degree of abdominal wall stretch required. The successful weaning from ventilation and ETTRT were classified into two groups; ≤7 days and > 7 days postoperatively. Results: During the study period, 26 cases were included (21 Males and 5 females). The ETTRT ranged from 2 to 23 days (mean=7.7 ±7.15). Among the variables studied; the statistically significant ones (P value < 0.05) were Apgar score at 1 minute (preoperatively) and the need for "vigorous" abdominal wall stretch (operatively). Conclusion: Apgar score of less than 8 at 1 minute; preoperatively, and the need for "vigorous" abdominal wall stretch; operatively, were associated with delayed weaning from ventilation in CDH survivors. This could have a predictive value in the management of these cases.Index Word: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia, Mechanical ventilation weaning, Endo-tracheal tube removal

Estimation of turbidity in water treatment plant using hammerstein-wiener and neural network technique

Turbidity is a measure of water quality. Excessive turbidity poses a threat to health and causes pollution. Most of the available mathematical models of water treatment plants do not capture turbidity. A reliable model is essential for effective removal of turbidity in the water treatment plant. This paper presents a comparison of Hammerstein Wiener and neural network technique for estimating of turbidity in water treatment plant. The models were validated using an experimental data from Tamburawa water treatment plant in Kano, Nigeria. Simulation results demonstrated that the neural network model outperformed the Hammerstein-Wiener model in estimating the turbidity. The neural network model may serve as a valuable tool for predicting the turbidity in the plant

Fluvial processes in compound straight channels: a laboratory investigation

Floods are become frequent occurrence in every part of the world. The field of flood hydraulics has been keenly studied to enhance the understanding on its processes and impacts to the environment. The main impacts of frequent floods incidents are soil erosion phenomenon which leads to sedimentation problems in the drainage and river systems. It is extremely important to understand the sedimentation process and the flow behaviour patterns in the water course for post-flood events. Experimental investigations on the overbank flow in mobile bed straight channels have been undertaken. Significant changes on the bed morphology due to the changes in flow behaviour are studied. The findings on roughness coefficient, lateral distribution of stream-wise velocity, secondary currents, bed shear stress and bed formation are presented in this paper. Results show that the resistance coefficient increased with flow depth in the channel and the increments are about 32% and 42% for floodplain and main channel sections respectively

Solvent dependence of the rheological properties in hydrogel magnetorheological plastomer

Chemically crosslinked hydrogel magnetorheological (MR) plastomer (MRP) embedded with carbonyl iron particles (CIPs) exhibits excellent magnetic performance (MR effect) in the presence of external stimuli especially magnetic field. However, oxidation and desiccation in hydrogel MRP due to a large amount of water content as a dispersing phase would limit its usage for long‐term applications, especially in industrial engineering. In this study, different solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) are also used to prepare polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel MRP. Thus, to understand the dynamic viscoelastic properties of hydrogel MRP, three different samples with different solvents: water, DMSO, and their binary mixtures (DMSO/water) were prepared and systematically carried out using the oscillatory shear. The outcomes demonstrate that the PVA hydrogel MRP prepared from precursor gel with water shows the highest MR effect of 15,544% among the PVA hydrogel MRPs. However, the samples exhibit less stability and tend to oxidise after a month. Meanwhile, the samples with binary mixtures (DMSO/water) show an acceptable MR effect of 11,024% with good stability and no CIPs oxidation. Otherwise, the sample with DMSO has the lowest MR effect of 7049% and less stable compared to the binary solvent samples. This confirms that the utilisation of DMSO as a new solvent affects the rheological properties and stability of the samples

Evaluation de la tenue du partogramme dans une maternité universitaire

Introduction: La mortalité maternelle est un problème majeur de santé mondiale. Une grande proportion de ces décès serait évitable par des soins adéquats, une aide à l'accouchement, la disponibilité des soins d'urgence et l'utilisation des outils d'aide à la décision tels que le partogramme. L'objectif était d'évaluer l'écart entre ce qui est censé être fait et ce qui est fait réellement pour les différents paramètres situés dans le partogramme au sein d'une maternité de 3ème niveau et élaborer des recommandations pour la mise en place d'un plan d'action. Méthodes: Il s'agit d'une étude descriptive rétrospective par audit clinique, effectuée sur un échantillon de 400 dossiers obstétricaux des parturientes ayant accouchées dans la maternité du CHU Farhat Hached durant l'année 2011. Le référentiel utilisé est celui réalisé par l'Agence Nationale d'Accréditation et d'Evaluation en Santé en l'an 2000, concernant la qualité de la tenue du partogramme. Résultats: La majorité des critères d'évaluation portant sur la présentation du partogramme était conforme. Deux critères concernant la variété de la présentation et le rythme cardiaque foetal étaient non conformes parmi ceux portant sur la surveillance du foetus. Plusieurs critères en rapport avec la surveillance de la mère étaient non conformes. Aucun des critères portant sur les traitements administrés et les marqueurs d'évènements n'est conforme. Les critères portant sur la naissance et la surveillance immédiate qui étaient non conformes sont : le début des efforts expulsifs, le mode d'accouchement, l'état du périnée, la délivrance et la révision utérine. Conclusion: La véritable démarche de l'audit clinique se doit d'aller au-delà du recueil et de l'analyse des données, le but final étant l'amélioration des pratiques