Effects of Neutrino Inverse Seesaw Mechanism on the Sparticle Spectrum in CMSSM and NUHM2

We study the implications of the inverse seesaw mechanism (ISS) on the sparticle spectrum in the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM) and Non-Universal Higgs Model (NUHM2). Employing the maximal value of the Dirac Yukawa coupling involving the up type Higgs doublet provides a 2-3 GeV enhancement of the lightest CP-even Higgs boson mass. This effect permits one to have lighter colored sparticles in the CMSSM and NUHM2 scenarios with LSP neutralino, which can be tested at LHC14. We present a variety of LHC testable benchmark points with the desired LSP neutralino dark matter relic abundance.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures and 2 table

Displaced thinned coprime arrays with an additional sensor for DOA estimation

A new sparse array structure based on the recently proposed thinned coprime arrays is proposed to maximize the number of unique lags. The design process involves two stages: the first stage displaces one subarray from its original position for an increase in the number of lags; as the displacement results in the minimum interelement spacing equal to integer multiples of half-wavelength, an additional sensor at a distance of half-wavelength is then added in the displaced subarray to avoid spatial aliasing. The strategic location of the additional sensor results in a significant increase in the overall unique lags which can be utilized for direction-of-arrival estimation (DOA) using compressive sensing based methods. Furthermore, the new structure has excellent performance in the presence of mutual coupling as shown by simulation results

Deployment of drone-based small cells for public safety communication system

In the event of a natural disaster, communications infrastructure plays an important role in organizing effective rescue services. However, the infrastructure-based communications are often affected during severe disaster events such as earthquakes, landslides, floods, and storm surges. Addressing this issue, the article proposes a novel drone-based cellular infrastructure to revive necessary communications for out-of-coverage user equipment (UE) which is in the disaster area. In particular, a matching game algorithm is proposed using one-to-many approach wherein several drone small cells (DSCs) are deployed to match different UEs to reach a stable connection with optimal throughput. In addition, a medium access control framework is then developed to optimize emergency and high priority communications initiated from the rescue workers and vulnerable individuals. The simulation results show that the throughput for the out-of-coverage UEs are significantly improved when the DSCs are deployed in public safety network while the channel access delay is also notably reduced for emergency communications within the affected areas

Anesthetic management of a patient with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy undergoing modified radical mastectomy.

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction. Clinical presentation ranges from absence of symptoms to sudden death. Our 60 year old Patient scheduled for left modified radical mastectomy had HOCM since seventeen years with severe LVOT obstruction and mitral regurgitation. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and permanent pacemaker (PPM) was inserted 15 months earlier for ventricular tachycardia. Anesthetic management of these Patients presents considerable challenges and requires maintenance of desired hemodynamic parameters and management of specific complications. Factors like tachycardia, hypovolemia, vasodilation and increased cardiac contractility leads to exacerbation of the obstruction. In our Patient there was the additional consideration of the ICD which required to be turned off during surgery with full provision for external defibrillation. We managed to successfully maintain the desired hemodynamics throughout the surgery and the Patient was discharged home on the seventh postoperative day

Carotid plaque vulnerability assessment by microscopic morphology analysis, ultrasound and 3D model reconstruction

Research suggests that plaque morphology plays a crucial role in determining plaque vulnerability. However the relationship between plaque morphology and rupture is still not clearly understood due to the limited information of plaque morphology. The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of the relationship between plaque morphology and rupture, and to use this to predict the risk of plaque rupture from the morphology at the molecular level. This can enable the identification of culprit lesions in clinical situations for assessing plaque rupture risk. Histological assessments were carried out on 18 carotid plaque specimens. The 3-D collagen, lipid and macrophage distributions along the entire length of the plaque were analysed in both ruptured and non-ruptured symptomatic plaques. In addition, plaque morphology on the rupture sites were examined and compared with the surrounding regions. It was found that ruptured plaques had thinner fibrous caps and larger lipid cores compared to non-ruptured plaques. Also, ruptured plaques had lower collagen content compared to non-ruptured plaques, and higher collagen contents upstream compared to downstream region from the plaque throat. At the rupture site there was lower collagen content, and a larger lipid core thickness behind a thin fibrous cap compared with the mean for the longitudinally adjacent and circumferential regions. Macrophage cells were located nearer to the boundary of the luminal wall in ruptured plaques. For both groups, the area occupied by macrophages is greater at the upstream shoulder of the plaque. There is a positive correlation between macrophage area and lipid core area, a negative correlation between macrophage area and collagen content, and between lipid core size and collagen content for both plaque groups. 3D reconstruction of ex-vivo specimens of carotid plaques were carried out by a combined analysis of US imaging and histology. To reconstruct accurate 3D plaque morphology, the non-linear tissue distortion in histological images caused by specimen preparation was corrected by a finite element (FE) based deformable registration procedure. This study shows that it is possible to generate a 3D patient specific plaque model using this method. In addition, the study also quantitatively assesses the tissue distortion caused by histological procedures. It shows that at least 30% tissue shrinkage is expected for plaque tissues. The histology analysis result was also used to evaluate ultrasound (US) tissue characterization accuracy. An ex-vivo 2D ultrasound scan set-up was used to obtain serial transverse images through an atherosclerotic plaque. The different plaque component region obtained from ultrasound images was compared with the associated histology result and photograph of the sections. Plaque tissue characterisation using ex-vivo US can be performed qualitatively, whereas lipid core assessment from ultrasound scan can be semi-quantitative. This finding combined with the negative correlation between lipid core size and collagen content, suggests the ability of US to indirectly quantify plaque collagen content. This study may serve as a platform for future studies on improving ultrasound tissue characterization, and may also potentially be used in risk assessment of plaque rupture.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Thinned coprime array for second-order difference co-array generation with reduced mutual coupling

In this work, we present a new coprime array structure termed thinned coprime array (TCA), which exploits the redundancy in the structure of existing coprime array and achieves the same virtual aperture and degrees of freedom (DOFs) as the conventional coprime array with much fewer number of sensors. In comparison to other sparse arrays, thinned coprime arrays possess more unique lags (total number of difference co-arrays) than the nested arrays, while the number of consecutive lags (connected co-arrays) generated is close to 75 percent of the consecutive lags of the nested arrays with hole-free co-arrays. The resulting structure is much sparser and the number of sensor pairs with small separation is significantly reduced. Theoretical properties and proofs are provided and simulations are presented to demonstrate its robustness against heavy levels of mutual coupling using compressive sensing (CS) based direction of arrival (DOA) estimation as well as certain additional desirable characteristics

SHORT TERM OUTCOME OF PATIENTS WITH HEPATOPANCREATOBILIARY MALIGNANCIES TREATED IN A MULTIDISCIPLINARY HEPATOBILIARY UNIT IN A TERTIARY REFERRAL CENTER

Purpose: Specialisation in hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgery has evolved over the past few decades based on better understanding of the biology and the behaviour of the diseases. In this review from a specialised HPB service, we aim to provide an overview of the HPB oncological cases managed in a tertiary care cancer hospital. Methods: All cases of HPB malignancies treated in our hospital between October 2014 and September 2015 were included in the study. Clinical findings, operative details and short-term post-operative outcomes were assessed from a prospectively managed database. Results: A total of 65 oncological procedures were performed over 1 year. These included 23 hepatic resections, 27 pancreaticoduodenectomies, 5 radical surgeries for gallbladder cancer, 2 distal pancreatectomy and 8 nephrectomies with exploration of the inferior vena cava. One patient successfully underwent Associated Liver Partition with Portal vein ligation and staged hepatectomy (ALPPS Procedure), which to our knowledge was the rst ALPPS procedure carried out in Pakistan. Conclusion: The short-term experience of patients managed in specialised HPB unit has shown good outcomes.There is a need for establishing HPB units in most tertiary care hospitals in the country. Key words: Associated liver partition with portal vein ligation and staged hepatectomy procedure, hepatic resections, hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, pancreaticoduodenectomy

General practitioners\u27 knowledge and approach to chronic kidney disease in Karachi, Pakistan

Due to lack of adequate number of formally trained nephrologists, many patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are seen by general practitioners (GPs). This study was designed to assess the knowledge of the GPs regarding identification of CKD and its risk factors, and evaluation and management of risk factors as well as complications of CKD. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 232 randomly selected GPs from Karachi during 2011. Data were collected on a structured questionnaire based on the kidney disease outcomes and quality initiative recommendations on screening, diagnosis, and management of CKD. A total of 235 GPs were approached, and 232 consented to participate. Mean age was 38.5 ± 11.26 years; 56.5% were men. Most of the GPs knew the traditional risk factors for CKD, i.e., diabetes (88.4%) and hypertension (80%), but were less aware of other risk factors. Only 38% GPs were aware of estimated glomerular filtration rate in evaluation of patients with CKD. Only 61.6% GPs recognized CKD as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. About 40% and 29% GPs knew the correct goal systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively. In all, 41% GPs did not know when to refer the patient to a nephrologist. Our survey identified specific gaps in knowledge and approach of GPs regarding diagnosis and management of CKD. Educational efforts are needed to increase awareness of clinical practice guidelines and recommendations for patients with CKD among GPs, which may improve management and clinical outcomes of this population

Hydrokinetic pancreatic function and insulin secretion are moduled by Cl− uniporter Slc26a9 in mice

Aim: Slc26a9 is a member of the Slc26 multifunctional anion transporter family. Polymorphisms in Slc26a9 are associated with an increased incidence of meconium ileus and diabetes in cystic fibrosis patients. We investigated the expression of Slc26a9 in the murine pancreatic ducts, islets and parenchyma, and elucidated its role in pancreatic ductal electrolyte and fluid secretion and endocrine function. Methods: Pancreatic Slc26a9 and CFTR mRNA expression, fluid and bicarbonate secretion were assessed in slc26a9−/− mice and their age- and sex-matched wild-type (wt) littermates. Glucose and insulin tolerance tests were performed. Results: Compared with stomach, the mRNA expression of Slc26a9 was low in pancreatic parenchyma, 20-fold higher in microdissected pancreatic ducts than parenchyma, and very low in islets. CFTR mRNA was ~10 fold higher than Slc26a9 mRNA expression in each pancreatic cell type. Significantly reduced pancreatic fluid secretory rates and impaired glucose tolerance were observed in female slc26a9−/− mice, whereas alterations in male mice did not reach statistical significance. No significant difference was observed in peripheral insulin resistance in slc26a9−/− compared to sex- and aged-matched wt controls. In contrast, isolated slc26a9−/− islets in short term culture displayed no difference in insulin content, but a significantly reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion compared to age- and sex-matched wt islets, suggesting that the impaired glucose tolerance in the absence of Slc26a9 expression these is a pancreatic defect. Conclusions: Deletion of Slc26a9 is associated with a reduction in pancreatic fluid secretion and impaired glucose tolerance in female mice. The results underline the importance of Slc26a9 in pancreatic physiology. © 2021 The Authors. Acta Physiologica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Scandinavian Physiological Society