Reinforced oxide throat insert development

Wire reinforced zirconium oxide rocket nozzle insert

Development and evaluation of lessons in socialized learning for grade I: volumes I-II

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia in the preterm infant.

BACKGROUND: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) remains a significant cause of death in newborns. With advances in neonatal critical care and ventilation strategies, survival in the term infant now exceeds 80% in some centers. Although prematurity is a significant risk factor for morbidity and mortality in most neonatal diseases, its associated risk with infants with CDH has been described poorly. We sought to determine the impact of prematurity on survival using data from the Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Registry (CDHR). METHODS: Prospectively collected data from live-born infants with CDH were analyzed from the CDHR from January 1995 to July 2009. Preterm infants were defined as \u3c37 weeks estimated gestational age at birth. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were\u3eperformed. RESULTS: During the study period, 5,069 infants with CDH were entered in the registry. Of the 5,022 infants with gestational age data, there were 3,895 term infants (77.6%) and 1,127 preterm infants (22.4%). Overall survival was 68.7%. A higher percentage of term infants were treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (33% term vs 25.6% preterm). Preterm infants had a greater percentage of chromosomal abnormalities (4% term vs 8.1% preterm) and major cardiac anomalies (6.1% term vs 11.8% preterm). Also, a significantly higher percentage of term infants had repair of the hernia (86.3% term vs 69.4% preterm). Survival for infants that underwent repair was high in both groups (84.6% term vs 77.2% preterm). Survival decreased with decreasing gestational age (73.1% term vs 53.5% preterm). The odds ratio (OR) for death among preterm infants adjusted for patch repair, ECMO, chromosomal abnormalities, and major cardiac anomalies was OR 1.68 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34-2.11). CONCLUSION: Although outcomes for preterm infants are clearly worse than in the term infant, more than 50% of preterm infants still survived. Preterm infants with CDH remain a high-risk group. Although ECMO may be of limited value in the extremely premature infant with CDH, most preterm infants that live to undergo repair will survive. Prematurity should not be an independent factor in the treatment strategies of infants with CDH

List Decoding of Matrix-Product Codes from nested codes: an application to Quasi-Cyclic codes

A list decoding algorithm for matrix-product codes is provided when $C_1,..., C_s$ are nested linear codes and $A$ is a non-singular by columns matrix. We estimate the probability of getting more than one codeword as output when the constituent codes are Reed-Solomon codes. We extend this list decoding algorithm for matrix-product codes with polynomial units, which are quasi-cyclic codes. Furthermore, it allows us to consider unique decoding for matrix-product codes with polynomial units

Quantification of Maceration Changes using Post Mortem MRI in Fetuses

BACKGROUND: Post mortem imaging is playing an increasingly important role in perinatal autopsy, and correct interpretation of imaging changes is paramount. This is particularly important following intra-uterine fetal death, where there may be fetal maceration. The aim of this study was to investigate whether any changes seen on a whole body fetal post mortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMR) correspond to maceration at conventional autopsy. METHODS: We performed pre-autopsy PMMR in 75 fetuses using a 1.5 Tesla Siemens Avanto MR scanner (Erlangen, Germany). PMMR images were reported blinded to the clinical history and autopsy data using a numerical severity scale (0 = no maceration changes to 2 = severe maceration changes) for 6 different visceral organs (total 12). The degree of maceration at autopsy was categorized according to severity on a numerical scale (1 = no maceration to 4 = severe maceration). We also generated quantitative maps to measure the liver and lung T2. RESULTS: The mean PMMR maceration score correlated well with the autopsy maceration score (R(2) = 0.93). A PMMR score of ≥4.5 had a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 64%, for detecting moderate or severe maceration at autopsy. Liver and lung T2 were increased in fetuses with maceration scores of 3-4 in comparison to those with 1-2 (liver p = 0.03, lung p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: There was a good correlation between PMMR maceration score and the extent of maceration seen at conventional autopsy. This score may be useful in interpretation of fetal PMMR

The European Union: Where Is It Now?

In four decades, western Europe has, by the force of economics, not blood and iron, united along economic, social and political venues. The western European marketplaces emerging from the devastation of World War II began to integrate with the concomitant benefit of a standard of economic well-being theretofore unknown. The unifying theme underlying the cooperation of the nations of western Europe in the European Economic Community has been that economic union quite necessarily leads to political union and both work in unison to preserve peace. This is the first of two articles on the European Union. The purpose of this article is to help educate the reader generally about the historical development and the law of the European Union, including its sources of law and its institutions