Successful myomectomy during pregnancy

Leiomyoma is the most common benign tumor of the uterus and could complicate pregnancy. Here we present a case of leiomyoma in a nullipara women at the 24 th week of gestation complained of abdominal pain and nausea which was not responding to conservative therapies. A laparotomy was done and a 30*20 cm mass was resected from the uterus. She had a normal term delivery after the operation

Recurrent ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tubes

Here, we present a case with several episodes of ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tubes, which was treated by medical and surgical methods, and followed for two years until it ended in a term successful delivery

Validation of phosphor thermometry for industrial surface temperature measurements

Surface temperature measurements are required by the aerospace and automotive industries to guarantee high-quality products and optimize production processes. Accurate and reliable measurement of surface temperature is very challenging in an industrial environment. Surface contact probes are widely used but poorly characterized, while non-contact infrared thermometry is severely hampered by the unknown emissivity of the surface and by problems caused by stray radiation from the background. An alternative approach to the above techniques is phosphor thermometry, used here in a hybrid contact/non-contact approach. In this work, the development of a lifetime-based phosphor thermometer, its application to industrial surface temperature measurement and its validation are reported in a metrologically sound manner. The phosphor thermometer was initially calibrated by contact on a reference calibrator system at the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica to provide SI traceability to the measurements at the industrial level; the system was later validated by exploiting a metal phase-change method. The robustness of the approach against a strong radiative background was also investigated. A comprehensive uncertainty analysis was carried out, resulting in an expanded uncertainty (k  =  2) lower than 1.4 °C over the temperature range from the ambient to 450 °C. The phosphor-based thermometer was then tested at industrial manufacturing premises to measure the surface temperature of aluminium alloy billets during the pre-heating phase before forging. The phosphor-based approach was compared with radiation and contact thermometry in both static and dynamic measurement conditions. The experimental results proved that phosphor thermometry, besides being a valid alternative to conventional techniques, may offer better performance in an industrial setting

Effect of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus on growth performance, gut microbial flora and digestive enzymes activities in Tor grypus (Karaman, 1971)

In this study, two main probiotics (Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus) were isolated from the intestine of Tor grypus and their effects on growth performance, gut microbial flora and digestive enzymes activities (i.e., α-amylase, lipase, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and alkaline phosphatase) of Tor grypus (Karaman, 1971) were determined. Juveniles of T. grypus (n=480, weighing 45±10 g) were randomly divided into 4 equal groups (with 3 replications) and fed on diets containing 5×10^7 cfu g^-1 of L. plantarum (G1), L. bulgaricus (G2), L. casei (G3) and a control diet (without probiotic) for 60 continuous days. Results showed that probiotic supplementations had generally significant effects on growth performance (p<0.05). The G2 group had the best effect on specific growth rate (SGR) and feed utilization efficiency in T. grypus. The digestive enzyme activities, on day 30 after feeding, significantly increased in G1 when compared with those in the control group (p<0.05). Significant changes in bacterial intestinal flora were observed in all probiotic groups compared with the control (p<0.05). Our results indicated that supplementation of isolated bacteria from the intestine of T. grypus (i.e., G2) can efficiently improve growth performance, intestinal microbiota and some digestive enzyme activities in juvenile T. grypus. Therefore, it can be isolated and used as a growth enhancer just like the commercial probiotics

Development of a low-frost point generator operating at sub-atmospheric pressure

A low frost point generator (INRIM 03) operating at sub-atmospheric pressure has been designed and constructed at the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRiM) as part of a calibration facility for upper-air sounding instruments. This new humidity generator covers the frost point temperature range between -99 °C and -20 °C and works at any controlled pressure between 200 hPa and 1100 hPa, achieving a complete saturation of the carrier gas (nitrogen) in a single passage through a stainless steel isothermal saturator. The generated humid gas contains a water vapour amount fraction between 14bold dot10-9 mol/mol and 5bold dot10-3 mol/mol. In this work the design of the generator is reported together with characterisation and performance evaluation tests. A preliminary validation of the INRIM 03 against one of the INRIM humidity standards in the common region is also included. Basing on experimental test results, an initial uncertainty evaluation of the generated frost-point temperature, Tfp, and water vapour amount fraction, xw, in the limited range down to -75 °C at atmospheric pressure is reported. For the frost-point temperature, the uncertainty budget yields a total expanded uncertainty (k=2) of less than 0.028 °C, while for the mole fraction the budget yields a total expanded uncertainty of less than 10-6 mol/mol

The Rise of the Ni‘matullāhī Order

"How were the Ni‘matullāhī masters successful in reviving Ni‘matullāhī Sufism in Shi‘ite Persia? This book investigates the revival of Ni‘matullāhī Sufi order after the death of the last Indian Ni‘matullāhī master, Riḍā ‘Alī Shāh (d. 1214/1799) in the Deccan. After the fall of Safavids, the revival movement of the Ni‘matullāhī order began with the arrival in Persia of the enthusiastic Indian Sufi master, Ma‘ṣūm ‘Alī Shāh, during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Later, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Persian masters of the Ni‘matullāhī Order were able to solidify the order’s place in the mystical and theological milieu of Persia. Ma‘ṣūm ‘Alī Shāh and his disciples soon spread their mystical and ecstatic beliefs all over Persia. They succeeded in converting a large mass of Persians to Sufi teachings, despite the opposition and persecution they faced from Shi‘ite clerics, who were politically and socially the most influential class in Persia. The book demonstrates that Ḥusayn ‘Alī Shāh, Majdhūb ‘Alī Shāh, and Mast ‘Alī Shāh were able to consolidate the social and theological role of the Ni‘matullāhī order by reinterpreting and articulating classical Sufi teachings in the light of Persian Shi‎‘ite mystical theology.