Patients with complicated Pott's disease: Management in a rehabilitation department and functional prognosis

AbstractObjectiveThe objective is to study the rehabilitation management and to assess autonomy in daily life activities as well as walking recovery in patients with complicated Pott's disease.Patients and methodsRetrospective study in nine patients over a period of 8 years extending from 2000 to 2008, collated in the Department of Physical Medicine and Functional Rehabilitation, CHU Sahloul, Sousse, Tunisia.ResultsThe mean age of our patients was 43.8 years; sex ratio was 5/4. The spine involvement of tuberculosis was dorsal in seven cases, dorso-lumbar in one patient, and multiple (cervical, dorsal and lumbar) in one case. All patients were paraplegic with a neurological involvement of the bladder. They had prior antituberculosis chemotherapy for at least 8 months. Decompression surgery was performed in six cases. Two female patients presented disorders of spinal posture during treatment requiring surgical revision with osteosynthesis. All patients received additional rehabilitation care. Following a mean duration of hospitalisation in the Rehabilitation department of 47 days with twice-daily sessions of tailored physiotherapy, three patients remained in complete paraplegia, autonomous in wheel-chair and with vesical and sphincter incontinence. The measure of functional independence (MFI) was at admission/discharge 71/92.ConclusionRehabilitation takes an important place in the medico-surgical management in Pott's disease, to limite or compensate the disabilities and handicap related to this pathology

Theory of band gap bowing of disordered substitutional II-VI and III-V semiconductor alloys

For a wide class of technologically relevant compound III-V and II-VI semiconductor materials AC and BC mixed crystals (alloys) of the type A(x)B(1-x)C can be realized. As the electronic properties like the bulk band gap vary continuously with x, any band gap in between that of the pure AC and BC systems can be obtained by choosing the appropriate concentration x, granted that the respective ratio is miscible and thermodynamically stable. In most cases the band gap does not vary linearly with x, but a pronounced bowing behavior as a function of the concentration is observed. In this paper we show that the electronic properties of such A(x)B(1-x)C semiconductors and, in particular, the band gap bowing can well be described and understood starting from empirical tight binding models for the pure AC and BC systems. The electronic properties of the A(x)B(1-x)C system can be described by choosing the tight-binding parameters of the AC or BC system with probabilities x and 1-x, respectively. We demonstrate this by exact diagonalization of finite but large supercells and by means of calculations within the established coherent potential approximation (CPA). We apply this treatment to the II-VI system Cd(x)Zn(1-x)Se, to the III-V system In(x)Ga(1-x)As and to the III-nitride system Ga(x)Al(1-x)N.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure

Testing the robustness of controllers for self-adaptive systems

Self-Adaptive systems are software-intensive systems endowed with the ability to respond to a variety of changes that may occur in their environment, goals, or the system itself, by adapting their structure and behavior at run-time in an autonomous way. Controllers are complex components incorporated in self-adaptive systems, which are crucial to their function since they are in charge of adapting the target system by executing actions through effectors, based on information monitored by probes. However, although controllers are becoming critical in many application domains, so far very little has been done to assess their robustness. In this paper, we propose an approach for evaluating the robustness of controllers for self-adaptive software systems, aiming to identify faults in their design. Our proposal considers the stateful nature of the controller, and identifies a set of robustness tests, which includes the provision of mutated inputs to the interfaces between the controller and the target system (i.e., probes). The feasibility of the approach is evaluated on Rainbow, a framework for architecture-based self-adaptation, and in the context of the Znn.com case study

Resilient Computing Curriculum Draft -- ReSIST NoE Deliverable D16

This Deliverable presents the first version of ReSIST's Curriculum in Resilient Computing, limited to the description of the syllabi for the first year (Semesters 1 and 2) and indicates the line and title for the curriculum in the second year (semesters 3 and 4) and propose it to the general discussion for improvements. The curriculum will be updated and completed in successive versions that will take advantage of a large open discussion inside and outside ReSIS

Power Systems & Smart Energies

Используемые программы Adobe AcrobatВ книге представлены избранные, расширенные и рецензированные доклады Международной мультиконференции по системам, автоматизации и управлению, состоявшейся в Лейпциге в 2016 году. Они дополняются запрошенными материалами международных экспертов. Этот том посвящен силовой электронике в системах возобновляемой энергетики, а также гибридным системам использования возобновляемых источников энергии. Самые последние исследования в области энергетических систем и интеллектуальных источников энергии. Опытные авторы и известный редактор.The book presents selected, extended and peer reviewed papers from the International Multiconference on System, Automation and Control held Leipzig in 2016. These are complemented with solicited contributions by international experts. This volume is devoted to power electronics in renewable energy systems as well as to hybrid renewable energy systems.Most recent research on power electrical systems and smart energies.Expert authors and renowned editor

Sustainable use of Natural Resources as Alternative for the Hazardous Corrosion Inhibitor of Mild Steel/Dilute Sulfuric Acid Interface: Weight Loss, EIS, AFM and FTIR Studies

Point of present exploration was to figure out the anticorrosion activity of Acacia Cyanophylla (Saligna leaves) extract on the corrosion of mild steel in dilute sulfuric acid medium, using weight loss measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The result of the study revealed that the extract act as a potent inhibitor on mild steel in acid medium. The increase in inhibitor concentration and immersion time showed a positive effect on inhibition efficiency. EIS exhibited one capacitive loop which indicates that the corrosion reaction is controlled by charge transfer process. The increase of phase shift (n) in presence of (ACLE) lower surface roughness. This change reveals the adsorption of the inhibitor compound on the steel surface. According to the results of weight loss measurements, the adsorption of the extract on the steel surface can be described by the Langmuir isotherm. The inhibition mechanism of (ACLE) molecules involves physical interaction between the inhibitor and metal surface. Additionally, Protective film formation against acid attack was confirmed by FT-IR and AFM techniques