Ergonomic Immobilization Frame for Radiotherapy

The primary purpose of this project is to demonstrate that patients can be safely immobilized using air in the general torso area so that radiation can be administered to that region. The primary target will be to treat tumors in the lungs and liver. By immobilizing patients during treatment it allows for the radiation to be consistent in targeting the desired region of the body, which would not be the case if the patient was moving. Air was chosen as the desired medium to immobilize the patient because of comfort and it provides an easy medium for radiation to travel through which does not interfere with the radiation. Through research the limiting factor of human body was the pulmonary cycle which was determined to be approximately 0.15 Psi. In order to use air for immobilization airbags were incorporated as a means to hold the air and once pressurized would be used as the restraint force on the patient. As a means to demonstrate that air in fact could be used to immobilize a patient a prototype of a radiation chamber was built to provide a proof of concept. The radiation chamber frame was built to completely encapsulate the patient 360 degrees. The two airbags were placed in the frame which provides complete immobilization of the patient from all angles. The patient had to be standing while the radiation was being administered in order to target certain areas which could not be included if the patient was sitting or lying down. A circular frame was the desired shape of the frame because it allows for radiation to enter and exit the chamber at the same angle regardless of where it is administered. The radiation chamber requires the use of radiation safe materials in any given area where the frame comes into contact with radiation, for this reason non-metallic materials were used. The chamber prototype was built using wood and plexiglass. Finite element analysis simulated an allowable applied pressure of 6.0 Psi applied to the shell. Prior to the given prototype, there was no means available to immobilize a patient while standing for radiotherapy. Experimental tests demonstrated that a person could be immobilized in the general torso area using air.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1214/thumbnail.jp

Seasonal activity pattern of Swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii) in Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, India

The data on activity pattern and time budget of Swamp deer (Rucervus duvauceli duvauceli) were collected through instantaneous scan sampling from Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, India Diurnal activity pattern of Swamp deer showed marked reduction in resting in winter as compared to summer. In winter resting in adult males showed polymodal pattern with peaks occurring at different hours of the day and continued throughout the day without any break. Feeding of adult females in winter and summer seasons showed a polymodal pattern with peaks occurring at different hours of the day without break. In yearling males feeding and resting was observed to occur throughout the day during winter season with peaks occurring between 11:00 to 12:00 hours. Yearling females showed continuous feeding throughout the day with peaks in different times in both the seasons. The seasonal distribution of activity patterns of the fawns showed that feeding was slightly more in summer as compared to winter. In time budget, of the expenditure on different activities, resting accounted for 63.77% and feeding 24.70%. In both the seasons resting was the major portion of their activity. Analysis showed that in all age and sex categories of Swamp deer in the Dudhwa NP, resting dominated on all other activities. The observation on endangered Swamp deer indicates synchronization in activity only in the feeding in the morning and evening hours and resting throughout the day

Optimization of depth-based routing for underwater wireless sensor networks through intelligent assignment of initial energy

Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) are extensively used to explore the diverse marine environment. Energy efficiency is one of the main concerns regarding performance of UWSNs. In a cooperative wireless sensor network, nodes with no energy are known as coverage holes. These coverage holes are created due to non-uniform energy utilization by the sensor nodes in the network. These coverage holes degrade the performance and reduce the lifetime of UWSNs. In this paper, we present an Intelligent Depth Based Routing (IDBR) scheme which addresses this issue and contributes towards maximization of network lifetime. In our proposed scheme, we allocate initial energy to the sensor nodes according to their usage requirements. This idea is helpful to balance energy consumption amongst the nodes and keep the network functional for a longer time as evidenced by the results provided

Post-operative Functional Outcome in Fracture Distal Shaft of Femur Treated with Retrograde Nailing

Background: To determine the functional outcome of retrograde femoral nailing in terms of Tegner Lysholm score for distal femoral farctures. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was done at the Department of Orthopaedics, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi from 20th January 2018 to 19th January 2019. The study comprised of 35 patients who presented with simple, extra-articular distal femur fracture. All patients were treated with retrograde femoral nailing using anterior (Para patellar) approach. Functional outcome was assessed at 6-months using Tegner Lysholm score. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: Out of the 35 patients, majority were females (60%). Mean age of patients was 51.4±11.4 years. Most common age group in males was 41-50 years while in females it was 61 years and above. Average BMI of patients was 22.7±2.8 kg/m2. At 6-months post-operatively, Tegner Lysholm score was between 86-100, 71-85 and 56-70 in 65.7%, 25.7% and 8.6% cases, respectively. Tegner Lysholm score between genders was insignificant (p=0.4). Conclusion: Retrograde femoral nailing has excellent functional outcome in patients with extra-articular distal femoral fractures

To Investigate the Refractive Index of Blood Plasma Suspended in Various Tonicity Solutions

This paper reports the data of the RI of plasma of normal blood, which is measured using Abbes\u27 refractometer. The experimental values are compared to normal blood serum erythrocytes with Blood of Plasma suspended in various tonicity solutions between and 1.336 to 1.343, whereas the normal blood plasma refractive index is 1.351. As a result, the refractive index the worth of erythrocytes washed with different tonicity solutions are slightly lower than those of normal blood. If this optical parameter is standardized, it has the potential to be used as a tool in the medical field

Association of circulatory kisspeptin levels and hormonal interplay with male infertility: A cross-sectional study in Karachi, Pakistan

Objectives: To determine the impact of Kisspeptin on male reproductive axis in a selected urban population.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Sindh Institute of Reproductive Medicine in collaboration with Aga Khan University, Karachi, from July, 2017, to February, 2018, and comprised infertile males with abnormal sperm parameters who were placed in Group A and fertile males with normal sperm parameters placed in Group B. Serum samples were estimated for Kisspeptin, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data was analysed using SPSS 22.Results: Of the 313 male subjects, 178(57%) were in Group A and 135(43%) in Group B. Median Kisspeptin levels were higher among fertile males compared to infertile males (p\u3c0.001). Mean follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and testosterone values were higher among the fertile males (p\u3c0.001). There was significant interaction between follicle stimulating hormone and testosterone (p\u3c0.1).Conclusions: Fertility in males depended on optimal secretion of Kisspeptin which exert edits effect on hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis to increase male reproductive hormone production