Iterative Approach on Redesigning and Construction of a Pipe Inspection Robot

A pipe inspection robot is a device that is inserted into pipes to check for obstructions or damage. These robots are traditionally manufactured offshore, are extremely expensive, and are often not adequately supported in the event of malfunction. This had resulted in Associated Environmental Services Limited, a New Zealand utiliser of this equipment, facing significant periods of down-time as they wait for their robots to be repaired. Recently, they were informed that several of their robots were no longer supported. At their instigation, this project was conceived to redesign the electronics and control system of one of these pipe inspection robots, utilising the existing mechanical platform. Requirements for the robot were that it must operate reliably in confined, dark and wet environments, and provide a human user with a digital video feed of the internal status of the pipes. This robot should, as much as possible, incorporate off-the-shelf components, facilitating cheap, and potentially on-site repair. This project details the redesign and construction of such a robot. It employs three electronic boards integrated with the mechanical components and provides video feedback via a custom graphical user interface. Although at the prototype stage, the electronic redesign has been successful, with a cost of less than a tenth of the original robot purchase price

Properties of latent interface-trap buildup in irradiated metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors determined by switched bias isothermal annealing experiments

Isothermal annealing experiments with switched gate bias have been performed to determine the properties of the latent interface-trap buildup during postirradiation annealing of metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors. It has been found that a bias-independent process occurs until the start of the latent interface-trap buildup. During the buildup itself, oxide-trap charge is not permanently neutralized, but is temporarily compensated. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. (DOI: 10.1063/1.1336159

Analysis of Industrial Companies Business Goals in Conditions of Uncertainty

189-192The appropriate groups are given in the paper of business goals in industrial companies in the conditions of uncertainty using BSC (Balanced Scorecard) and the FDM (Fuzzy Delphi Method) for each of the four independent perspectives: the perspective of learning and development, the internal processes perspective, the perspective of the user, and the financial perspective. The analysis resulted in determining the ranking of business goals by individual perspectives and defining the specific steps that need to be taken to advance in achieving the priority goals

Case Report of Acute Vitamin D Intoxication in an Infant

© 2014, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved. Introduction Vitamin D intoxication represents a rare and potentially serious pathological condition caused by the excess of calcium and phosphorus. We are presenting an infant with vitamin D intoxication due to excessive daily administration, as well as therapeutic procedures that prevented its adverse effects. Case Outline A 1.5-month-old female infant, born at term, exclusively breastfed and without any complaints and abnormalities of physical findings, was observed due to the data that during the preceding month, by her mother's mistake, she had received about 200,000 IU of vitamin D3. Laboratory analyses showed a high serum level of 25(OH)D (>400 nmol/L) and calcium (2.72 mmol/L), lowered PTH (6.6 pg/ml) and high urinary calcium/creatinine ratio (1.6), while other findings, including urotract ultrasonography image, were within normal limits. Treatment based on the discontinuation of vitamin D administration, infant's forced water intake, as well as the application of 2-month prednisolone and 4-month pheno-barbitone and furosemide, resulted in complete normalization of the laboratory indicators of vitamin D overdose, as well as the prevention of its adverse effects.Conclusion By timely recognition and adequate treatment, including triple therapy with prednisolone, phenobarbitone and furosemide, adverse effects of acute vitamin D intoxication can be prevente

Analysis of Industrial Companies Business Goals in Conditions of Uncertainty

The appropriate groups are given in the paper of business goals in industrial companies in the conditions of uncertainty using BSC (Balanced Scorecard) and the FDM (Fuzzy Delphi Method) for each of the four independent perspectives: the perspective of learning and development, the internal processes perspective, the perspective of the user, and the financial perspective. The analysis resulted in determining the ranking of business goals by individual perspectives and defining the specific steps that need to be taken to advance in achieving the priority goals

Relationship Between Regional Distributions of Cytochrome C Oxidase and Copper-Delivering Chaperones in Sclerotic Hippocampi of Epilepsy Patients

Aims: A drop in copper level and the loss of energy homeostasis are both portrayed in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) with hippocampal sclerosis (HS) patients. Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) represents a crossroad of energy and copper metabolism; it is a key component of mitochondrial machinery and contains two copper centers. Our aim here was to examine the link between COX activity and the copper transporting system in HS. COX activity and the levels of mRNA of selected chaperones - COX11, COX17, Sco1 and Sco2 were determined in 13 anatomically distinct hippocampal regions. Methods: Study was performed on seven hippocampal samples, four of which had been acquired during the course of amygdalohippocampectomy treatment of medically intractable epilepsy and three control postmortem samples. Adjacent slices were used for Nissl staining, COX activity assay and mRNA in situ hybridization with autoradiography. Densitometry was performed using ImageJ. Results: Overall COX activity was decreased in HS compared to controls (P = 0.0003). However, 5 regions showed significantly lower COX activity in HS and 8 did not. Subiculum showed slightly higher activity in HS. The levels of mRNA levels were lowered in HS in 6 regions for COX11, 10 regions for COX17, two regions for Sco1 and 11 regions for Sco2. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the loss of energy homeostasis in HS may be related to pathological changes in specific components of copper delivery to COX, and that the impact may vary between different hippocampal regions

The association between NOTCH3 expression and the clinical outcome in the urothelial bladder cancer patients

Disrupted NOTCH activity is a driving event in urothelial bladder cancer (UBC). After activation by hypoxia, the NOTCH3 receptor participates in tumor cell proliferation, acquisition of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotype, and angiogenesis. The aim was to analyze the association of NOTCH3 expression with histopathological and clinical parameters, and to determine its predictive impact on the clinical outcome in UBC patients. The present research included 614 UBC samples incorporated in paraffin tissue microarrays, evaluated by immunohistochemistry for NOTCH3 expression. The accrual period was four years, while the follow-up period was two years. The membranous expression was semi-quantified (0-3), and the mean degree was 1.81±0.94. Criteria for semi-quantification the NOTCH3 expression were the intensity of the staining and the percentage of positive cells. The samples with negative (0) and weak (1) NOTCH3 immunohistochemical (IHC) score were considered negative, while the samples that showed moderate (2) and strong (3) expression were considered positive. Higher degree of positivity was associated with higher risk of cancer-specific mortality (p<0.001). Independent predictors for cancer-specific mortality were NOTCH3 expression and high stage (p<0.001). NOTCH3 expression was not a statistically significant predictor of recurrence-free survival (p=0.816). This study indicated that NOTCH3 is a predictor of poor outcome, suggesting that the NOTCH3 could be potentially reliable IHC marker for selecting the UBC patients that would require more intensive follow-up, especially if they diagnosed in higher stage, with divergent differentiation in pathological report, and without recurrences which would lead them to more frequent medical assessments

COVID-19 effects on mental health of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities in North Kosovo

Background. People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are susceptible to physical, mental and social implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim. Learning the way young individuals with disabilities dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected their lives. Materials and Methods. An epidemiological questionnaire including information on the person’s health, mental state, behavior, educational capabilities, and epidemiological and clinical features of the COVID-19 infection was completed by 41 children/young adults and their family members. Results. During the two-year period of the pandemic, we monitored the frequency of COVID-19 infection in children and adolescents with intellectual disorders, children’s mental condition, and the occurrence of post-COVID symptoms. We also discussed the role of society regarding economic stability and support for families with a disabled member. Conclusions. The severity of COVID-19 symptoms was the independent predictor of mental status deterioration. Children and adolescents with ID experienced a greater prevalence of COVID-19 infection as well as post-COVID sequelae

Imaging and regional distribution of copper, zinc, manganese and iron in sclerotic hippocampi of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) represents the most common subtype of human focal epilepsies and perhaps the best-characterized disorder of this type 1 . Hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is the most common histopathologic abnormality found in adults with drugresistant mTLE 2 . The histopathologic hallmark of HS is segmental pyramidal cell loss, which can affect any field of the cornu Ammonis (CA1-4). Hippocampal neuronal cell loss is always associated with a severe pattern of astrogliosis 3 . Therewithal, disturbed homeostasis of metals is implicated in the pathology of mTLE-HS. Zinc has been considered to play a major role in epileptogenesis in relation to its involvement in the modulation of excitability and synaptic plasticity 4,5. Further, it has been shown that epileptogenic hippocampi are exposed to oxidative stress and that the development of prooxidative conditions in the CNS usually involves the loss of homeostasis of iron 6,7. Low brain levels of copper and manganese have been reported in patients with Menkes disease and in animal models of epilepsy, and linked to seizure development 8,9. Ristić et al. were the first to conduct a case-control study of total concentration of metals in tissue of human HS, and report lower concentrations of copper and manganese 10