Design of Wireless Sensor Network for Monitoring of Soil Quality Parameters

AbstractDesignof wireless sensor network for monitoring of soil quality parameters (temperature, humidity, conductivity and acidity) is proposed in the study. The structure, panels and block - diagrams of graphical user interface in the software LabView are developed. Web-based mobile system for wireless measurement of temperature, humidity, conductivity and acidity based on Arduino modules is proposed. The devices are configured and appropriate software for the operation of wireless sensor modules is written

Implantation of a hemodialysis catheter directly in the right atrium due to exhaustion of vascular access

Introduction: Patients on permanent hemodialysis need constant and secure vascular access with optimal flow to perform the procedure. Failure to provide such access can lead to life-threatening deterioration of the patient's condition.Case Presentation: We report a case of implantation of a hemodialysis catheter directly in the right atrium (RA) in an emergency in a 46 year-old woman, placed on permanent hemodialysis (HD) for nine years due to end-stage renal disease with exhausted opportunities for vascular access over the years and unsuitable for peritoneal dialysis.After a consultation between a cardiac surgeon, a vascular surgeon and an interventional radiologist, a decision was made to directly implant a permanent catheter for HD in the superior vena cava (SVC).The operation was performed as a matter of urgency, operative access was through ministerotomy and the catheter was implanted directly in the right atrium (RA) due to thrombosis and fibrosis of the SVC. No cardiac complications associated with the procedure were observed in the postoperative period. On the first postoperative day, HD was performed, followed by others according to the therapeutic plan. The patient was discharged from the Cardiac Surgery Department on the 7th postoperative day.Conclusion: The use of open surgical access and the implantation of a permanent HD catheter directly into the RA can be considered a life-saving procedure in HD patients with acute uremic syndrome and exhausted vascular access

Effective one-body approach to the relativistic two-body problem

The relativistic 2-body problem, much like the non-relativistic one, is reduced to describing the motion of an effective particle in an external field. The concept of a relativistic reduced mass and effective particle energy introduced some 30 years ago to compute relativistic corrections to the Balmer formula in quantum electrodynamics, is shown to work equally well for classical electromagnetic and gravitational interaction. The results for the gravitational 2-body problem have more than academic interest since they apply to the study of binary pulsars that provide precision tests for general relativity. They are compared with recent results derived by other methods.Comment: 9 pages, latex, no figures. Minor amendments, comments, new references and acknowledgments adde

Boson stars in massive dilatonic gravity

We study equilibrium configurations of boson stars in the framework of a class scalar-tensor theories of gravity with massive gravitational scalar (dilaton). In particular we investigate the influence of the mass of the dilaton on the boson star structure. We find that the masses of the boson stars in presence of dilaton are close to those in general relativity and they are sensitive to the ratio of the boson mass to the dilaton mass within a typical few percent. It turns out also that the boson star structure is mainly sensitive to the mass term of the dilaton potential rather to the exact form of the potential.Comment: 9 pages, latex, 9 figures, one figure dropped, new comments added, new references added, typos correcte

Measuring the efficiency of air traffic management systems

Global demand for more capacity in air traffic management systems is increasing. At the same time there is growing demand for quality of the service provided by the Air Navigation Service Providers as well as for lower charges. This has led to efforts by the European Union to increase the efficiency of Air Traffic Management in Europe. An analysis and evaluation of the metrics that are currently used to measure the performance of Air Navigation Service Providers and to develop a system of performance metrics for the Air Traffic Management System is presented

A comparative study between ultrasound guided and landmarks guided intraarticular sacroiliac injections in spondyloarthritis patients

Purpose: Sacroiliac joints (SIJ) inflammation and pain is particularly common in patients with Spondyloarthritis. Intraarticular SIJs injections represent a valuable therapeutic option in this condition. In the rheumatological outpatient clinics this procedure is usually done by landmark guidance (LG) or ultrasound guidance (USG). Thus we aimed to compare the short term efficacy of USG vs. LG SIJ injections using five outcome measures: 1. Pain; 2. SIJ status (number of positive provocation tests per symptomatic SIJ on physical examination); 3. Disability; 4. Quality of the night sleep; 5. Patients’ satisfaction. Methods: We enrolled 44 consecutive spondyloarthritis patients with pain in the SIJs that did not respond to NSAIDS and that were otherwise on a stable medical treatment. All patients also had ≥ 3 positive pain provocation tests per SIJ on physical examination. Patients were randomly allocated to receive a single SIJ injection with 7 mg Betamethasone (1 ml) and 1% Lidocaine (1.5 ml) either under USG or with LG. Results: Both groups showed significant improvement in all outcome parameters. However, the USG approach performed significantly better than the LG ones in all parameters. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the improvement in all patient reported outcomes (VAS, RMDQ, JSEQ) and the reduction in the number of positive SIJ pain provocation tests per symptomatic joint. Conclusion: Both USG and LG SIJ injections proved to be an efficient treatment for SIJ pain in SpA patients. However, USG of the intervention led to statistically better results in the present study

A study of sector configurations capacity for air traffic service

A study of sector configurations capacity in the upper air space of the Republic of Bulgaria is presented. The method used to determine the capacity of sectoral configurations is based on the air traffic control workload. The results obtained can be used to assess and improve airspace capacity and for efficient planning and use of air traffic service resources