Anticlockwise Direction Research Articles

Neonatal intestinal obstruction associated with situs inversus totalis: two case reports and a review of the literature

BackgroundThe association of neonatal intestinal obstruction with situs inversus totalis is extremely rare with only few cases reported in the literature to date. This association poses dilemmas in management. We present two such cases (of Indian origin), and briefly discuss the pertinent literature and measures to prevent unfavorable outcome.Case presentationCase 1: a 1-month-old preterm (1300 g) male neonate belonging to Hindu (Indian) ethnicity presented with recurrent bile-stained vomiting, non-passage of stools and epigastric fullness. A babygram and upper gastrointestinal contrast studies revealed situs inversus and suggested proximal jejunal obstruction with midgut volvulus. Exploration confirmed situs inversus totalis along with reverse rotation and midgut volvulus. There was a small gangrenous area in the proximal jejunal loop. A Ladd’s procedure, resection of the gangrenous jejunal loop, and jejunojejunal anastomosis was performed. Note was made of the unusual appearance of the intestines suggestive either of fibrous or fatty infiltration. Postoperatively, our patient developed septicemia and died.Case 2: a 4-day-old female neonate belonging to Hindu (Indian) ethnicity, small (1320 g) for gestation, presented with history of non-passage of meconium since birth, refusal to accept feeds, and episodes of recurrent bilious vomiting with abdominal distension. A plain radiogram revealed situs inversus and proximal jejunal obstruction. Ultrasonography of her abdomen revealed renal dysplastic changes in both her kidneys. Laparotomy confirmed multiple jejunoileal atresias with situs inversus totalis. Resection anastomoses was performed for multiple atresias. Our patient passed a few pellets of meconium stools postoperatively; feeds were started gradually on the sixth day. Our patient gradually developed oliguria and renal failure, followed by respiratory distress and generalized edema requiring ventilatory support. She died later due to multiorgan failure.ConclusionsClinicians should have high index of suspicion for malrotation with midgut volvulus or intestinal atresias in neonates of situs inversus presenting with bilious vomiting. The surgical treatment should follow the same surgical principles. In situs inversus, because of transposition of viscera, midgut volvulus may occur in an anticlockwise direction, hence derotation is performed clockwise. Prognosis was poor in our series because of low birth weight, late presentation, presence of gangrenous locus in the small bowel and development of septicemia in our first case and multiorgan fibrosis/dysplasia in our second case. Early diagnosis and timely referral is paramount for favorable outcome.

Transfer of molecular chirality to spiral nanostructure in the interfacial mixed amphiphilic diacetylene/histidine monolayers via in situ topochemical photopolymerization

The photopolymerization in the monolayers consisted of an equivalent mixture of 10, 12-pentacosadiynoic acid and amphiphilic histidine derivatives L-HC18 or D-HC18 has been investigated. It is found that the diacetylene derivatives can be incorporated into the monolayer and polymerized to polydiacetylene (PDA) backbone with a red phase by in situ UV irradiation at the air/water interface. The chiral amphiphiles L-HC18 or D-HC18 can transfer the molecular chirality to PDA through the ordered alignments of the two components. AFM images of the transferred films further revealed the chiral nanostructures from PDA/L-HC18 or PDA/D-HC18. The topochemical polymerization of the mixed films at a low surface pressure as a function of time is carried out to characterize crimp behaviors from straight nanobelts to more curly bands even spiral nanostructures in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, in which the curling direction is depended on the molecular chirality of the two enantiomers. The research has well established the connection between molecular chirality and mesoscopic chirality using the Langmuir as well as Langmuir-Blodgett methods.

Phosphorus Dynamics along River Continuum during Typhoon Storm Events

Information on riverine phosphorus (P) dynamics during typhoon storm events remains scarce in subtropical regions. Thus, this study investigates the spatial and temporal dynamics of riverine phosphorus in a headwater catchment during three typhoon events. Continuous sampling (3 h intervals) of stormwater samples and discharge data were conducted at five locations, which represent the upstream, transitional zone, and downstream areas of the main inflow river. The results revealed that the average event mean concentrations (EMCs) for total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) and particulate phosphorus (PP) in the upstream catchment of Fei-Tsui reservoir were 15.66 μg/L and 11.94 μg/L, respectively. There was at least a 1.3-fold increase in flow-weighted concentrations of TDP and PP from the upper to lower reaches of the main stream. PP and TDP were transported either in clockwise or anticlockwise directions, depending on storm intensity and source. The transport of TDP was primarily regulated by the subsurface flow during the storm event. Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) contributes more than 50% of the TDP load in moderate storms, while extreme storms supply a greater dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) load into the stream. TDP accounted for approximately 50% of TP load during typhoon storms. Mobilization of all P forms was observed from upstream to downstream of the river, except for DOP. A decrease of DOP load on passing downstream may reflect the change in phosphorus form along the river continuum. Peak discharge and antecedent dry days are correlated positively with P fluxes, indicating that river bank erosion and re-suspension of within-channel sediment are the dominant pathways of P during typhoon storm periods.

Three-dimensional transverse vibration of microtubules

A three-dimensional (3D) transverse vibration was reported based on the molecular structural mechanics model for microtubules (MTs), where the bending axis of the cross section rotates in an anticlockwise direction and the adjacent half-waves oscillate in different planes. Herein, efforts were invested to capturing the physics behind the observed phenomenon and identifying the important factors that influence the rotation angle between two adjacent half waves. A close correlation was confirmed between the rotation of the oscillation planes and the helical structures of the MTs, showing that the 3D mode is a result of the helicity found in the MTs. Subsequently, the wave length-dependence and the boundary condition effects were also investigated for the 3D transverse vibration of the MTs. In addition, the vibration frequency was found to remain the same in the presence or absence of the bending axis rotation. This infers that the unique vibration mode is merely due to the bending axis rotation of the cross section, but no significant torsion occurs for the MTs.

BLOCKWISE BINARY PATTERN: A ROBUST AND AN EFFICIENT APPROACH FOR OFFLINE SIGNATURE VERIFICATION

Abstract. This paper presents a variant of local binary pattern called Blockwise Binary Pattern (BBP) for the offline signature verification. The proposed approach has three major phases : Preprocessing, Feature extraction and Classification. In the feature extraction phase, the signature is divided into 3 x 3 neighborhood blocks. A BBP value for central pixel of each block is computed by considering its 8 neighboring pixels and the 3 x 3 block is replaced by this central pixel. To compute BBP value for each block, a binary sequence is formed by considering 8 neighbors of the central pixel, by following the pixels in a anti-clockwise direction. Then the minimum decimal equivalent of this binary sequence is computed and this value is assigned to the central pixel. The central pixel is merged with the neighboring 8 pixels representing the 3 X 3 neighborhood block. This method is found to be invariant to rotation, scaling and shift of the signature. The features are stored in the form of normalized histogram. The SVM classifier is used for the signature verification. Experiments have been performed on standard signature datasets namely CEDAR and GPDS which are publicly available English signature datasets and on MUKOS, a regional language (Kannada) dataset and compared with the well-known approaches to exhibit the performance of the proposed approach.

Multi-phase volcanic resurfacing at Loki Patera on Io.

The Jovian moon Io hosts the most powerful persistently active volcano in the Solar System, Loki Patera. The interior of this volcanic, caldera-like feature is composed of a warm, dark floor covering 21,500 square kilometres surrounding a much cooler central 'island'. The temperature gradient seen across areas of the patera indicates a systematic resurfacing process, which has been seen to occur typically every one to three years since the 1980s. Analysis of past data has indicated that the resurfacing progressed around the patera in an anti-clockwise direction at a rate of one to two kilometres per day, and that it is caused either by episodic eruptions that emplace voluminous lava flows or by a cyclically overturning lava lake contained within the patera. However, spacecraft and telescope observations have been unable to map the emission from the entire patera floor at sufficient spatial resolution to establish the physical processes at play. Here we report temperature and lava cooling age maps of the entire patera floor at a spatial sampling of about two kilometres, derived from ground-based interferometric imaging of thermal emission from Loki Patera obtained on 8 March 2015 ut as the limb of Europa occulted Io. Our results indicate that Loki Patera is resurfaced by a multi-phase process in which two waves propagate and converge around the central island. The different velocities and start times of the waves indicate a non-uniformity in the lava gas content and/or crust bulk density across the patera.

Estimation of Passenger Car Equivalents for single-lane roundabouts using a microsimulation-based procedure

Passenger car equivalents for heavy vehicles are required to carry out capacity calculations and perform operational analysis of any road entity (roadway segments or intersections). At single-lane roundabouts, the constraints to the vehicular trajectories imposed by the curvilinear geometric design and the driver's gap acceptance behaviour are expected to produce an impact of the heavy vehicles on the quality of traffic flow different from that produced on freeways and two-lane highways or other at-grade intersections. This is also because entering flow is opposed by the circulating flow which has priority and travels in an anticlockwise direction on a single-lane path around the central island.This paper addresses the question of how to estimate the passenger car equivalents for heavy vehicles on single-lane roundabouts. First, a comparison was performed between the empirical capacity functions based on a meta-analytic estimation of the critical and the follow up headways and the simulation outputs manually obtained for a single-lane roundabout built in Aimsun microscopic simulator. A genetic algorithm-based calibration procedure, therefore, was used to reach a better convergence between the simulation outputs and the empirical capacities. Based on the calibrated model, the passenger car equivalents were determined by comparing the capacity functions built for a fleet of passenger cars with the capacity functions calculated for different percentages of heavy vehicles. Differently from HCM 2010 which assumes a heavy vehicle to be equivalent to two passenger cars and sets as 2.0 the passenger car equivalents for heavy vehicles for roundabouts, a higher PCE effect would be expected on the quality of traffic conditions when the traffic stream contains a high number of heavy vehicles; this effect should be accounted for when calculating capacity and level-of-services.

Effects of Triangular Core Rotation of a Hybrid Porous Core Terahertz Waveguide

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the effects for rotating the triangular core air hole arrangements of a hybrid design porous core fiber. The triangular core has been rotated in anti-clockwise direction to evaluate the impact on different waveguide properties. Effective Material Loss (EML), confinement loss, bending loss, dispersion characteristics and fraction of power flow are calculated to determine the impacts for rotating the triangular core. The porous fiber represented here has a hybrid design in the core area which includes circular rings with central triangular air hole arrangement. The cladding of the investigated fiber has a hexagonal array of air hole distribution. For optimum parameters the reported hybrid porous core fiber shows a flat EML of ±0.000416 cm−1 from 1.5 to 5 terahertz (THz) range and a near zero dispersion of 0.4±0.042 ps/THz/cm from 1.25 to 5.0 THz. Negligible confinement and bending losses are reported for this new type of hybrid porous core design. With improved concept of air hole distribution and exceptional waveguide properties, the reported porous core fiber can be considered as a vital forwarding step in this field of research.

Final report on the torque comparison EURAMET.M.T-S2, measurand torque: 10 N·m, 20 N·m, 40 N·m, 60 N·m, 80 N·m, and 100 N·m

The purpose of the EURAMET comparison EURAMET.M.T-S2 was to compare the measuring capabilities up to 100 N·m of a reference-type torque calibration machine of ZAG, Slovenia, with the torque standard machine of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB, Braunschweig, Germany) acting as pilot laboratory. A very stable TT1 torque transducer with well-known properties and two torque measuring bridges was used as travelling standard.According to the technical protocol, torque steps of at least 10 N·m, 20 N·m, 40 N·m, 60 N·m, 80 N·m, and 100 N·m had to be measured both in clockwise and anticlockwise directions. For each of the torque steps and both senses of direction of the torque vector, En values were calculated.The results are in general in good agreement with the claimed measurement uncertainties except for the very first measurement at ZAG with additional support and four plate couplings. It seems to be sufficient in a vertical set-up (vertical torque axis) to use only two flexible couplings and there is no need for a further support between the transducers. The measurements with two couplings fulfill the requirement to the En value and support ZAG's claimed uncertainties of measurement.Main textTo reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/.The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

Increasing the stability of dental implants: The concept of osseodensification

One of the most important factors that affect osseointegration is the primary stability of the implant. Dental implants inserted at the posterior region of the maxilla exhibit the lowest success rates as the low density bone in this area often jeopardize rigid fixation of the implant. Many surgical techniques have been developed to increase the primary stability of an implant placed in low density bone, such as bicortical fixation of the implant, undersized preparation of the implant bed and bone condensation by the use of osteotomes. A new promising technique, named osseodensification, has been recently developed that creates an autograft layer of condensed bone at the periphery of the implant bed by the aid of specially designed burs rotating in a clockwise and anti-clockwise direction. The purpose of this review is to emphasize that implant primary stability is strongly influenced by the surgical technique, to quote and briefly analyse the various surgical procedures laying weight to osseodensification procedure.

A Novel Supercell-Based Dielectric Grating Dual-Beam Leaky-Wave Antenna for 60-GHz Applications

This communication proposes a novel dual-beam dielectric grating antenna based on the supercell (SC) concept. Through the theoretical analysis of the effective phase constants of the SC, it is found that two space harmonic modes ( $m=-1$ and $m=-2$ ) can be simultaneously excited (above the air line) within a certain frequency range. This phenomenon leads to the generation of two radiation beams in the far-field region. At the frequency where the phase constants satisfy $\beta _{-1}=-\beta _{-2}$ , the two beams are in symmetric directions with respect to the axis that is perpendicular to the azimuth plane. Different from the conventional periodic structures that the $m=-2$ mode lacks well control, the proposed antenna can manipulate both modes and obtain equal performance for the two radiation beams. In this communication, the symmetric beam case is investigated. The detailed design principle is presented. In addition, the frequency-based beam steering characteristic that the two beams scan in the same clockwise or anticlockwise direction is discussed as well. The proposed antenna operates in 60-GHz band and it can be a good candidate for the WiGig application.

Additions to the taxonomy of the Hypolepis rugosula complex (Dennstaedtiaceae) in Africa: corrections, two new subspecies and new distribution maps

This paper presents complementary data to the recently published taxonomic treatment of the Hypolepis rugosula complex around the world, with special reference to Africa and surrounding islands. Here we present a new subspecies from South Africa (H. rugosula subsp. rouxii) and another from Bioko, Equatorial Guinea (H. rugosula subsp. formosa). We present an updated nomenclatural paragraph for H. rugosula subsp. africana, along with the lectotypification of one heterotypic synonym (Phegopteris boryana) and comments regarding similar but unrelated names (e.g. Aspidium boryanum). We also transfer H. goetzei to the synonymy of H. rugosula subsp. pichi-sermolliana, choosing a new lectotype for it. The population of H. rugosula from South Africa (= subsp. rouxii) is likely to be the source population for populations of Saint Helena (= subsp. viscida) and Ascension Island (= subsp. brownseyana), based on morphological comparisons and on the anticlockwise wind direction. Based on the latitude, H. rugosula subsp. formosa would be expected to be found only at the higher elevations in Bioko (above 2,000 m a.s.l.), but it is also found at mid-elevations (ca 700 m a.s.l.). Apparently, this is a natural pattern of islands and is increased by deforestation. We also offer further taxonomic and ecological comments on the complex, additional examined specimens and maps of distribution in Africa with real occurrences and modelled distributions. The modelled distribution map (based on climatic data) confirms the disjunction of the African subspecies.

Simulation and Implementation of Multiple Unipolar Stepper Motor Position Control in the Three Stepping Modes using Microcontroller

<p>This paper presents a multiple unipolar stepper motor position control system using microcontroller (MCU) in anticlockwise and clockwise directions. The open loop controller of the implemented position control system for the three stepping modes of operation has been designed and developed with three stepper motors and without position feedback. The MCU is programmed using flowcode software package to generate the pulse signals with the desired stepping sequences and step angles. These pulse signals are necessary to drive the three stepper motors in the three drive modes (wave-step, full-step, and Half-step) according to the control algorithm. Three devices of 8 Channel Darlington Driver (chip ULN2803) are used to drive the three stepper motors and provide them with the sufficient current. The position control system has been simulated using proteus design suite software package and the controller has been implemented using low cost PIC16F877A (MCU). A reliable and accurate position control of the stepper motor is achieved by this position control system. </p>

Focusing of linearly polarized Lorentz-Gaussian beam with helical axicon

Focusing properties of linearly polarized Lorentz-Gaussian beam with helical axicon was investigated and focal evolution principle was discussed. Some kind of focal patterns come into being for different axicon parameter and topological charge. The whole focal pattern rotates in anticlockwise direction on increasing axicon parameter for case of small topological charge, otherwise, whole focal pattern distorts considerably and rotates in clockwise direction for bigger topological charge. In addition, focal pattern for case of negative axicon parameter is symmetric about one coordinate axis with positive same value of axicon parameter. All the intensity peaks shift in anti- direction by changing sign of axicon parameter. The shape of intensity peaks also changes considerably for different axicon parameter with tunable distance between peaks. Optical gradient forces distributions show the possibility of constructing optical traps from linearly polarized Lorentz-Gaussian beam with helical axicon.

Hydrography and dynamics of Port Foster, Deception Island, Antarctica

AbstractThe circulation and water masses of Port Foster, Deception Island, were studied using conductivity-temperature-depth stations inside and outside the semi-enclosed bay and an array of bottom temperature sensors moored around the perimeter of the bay over two weeks in the summer of 2012. Inside Port Foster, the water column is divided into two layers separated by a temperature-forced, seasonal pycnocline at ~40–60 m. The circulation of the upper layer is in an anticlockwise direction, with mean geostrophic currents of ~0.04–0.10 ms-1. The lower layer, from ~60 m to the seabed, shows coastal-trapped waves travelling in a clockwise direction, possibly triggered by local wind gusts. Local sea ice melt in areas surrounding the underwater hot springs of Pendulum Cove appears as a fresh, warm anomaly down to 30 m.

Negative radiation torque using “acoustical sheets”

An interesting effect of negative acoustical radiation torque generation and direction reversal of the spinning of an absorptive cylinder is reported [F.G. Mitri, Wave Motion 66, 31-44 (2016)]. The emergence of the acoustic spin radiation torque experienced by the circular cylinder in a nonviscous host fluid is a consequence of acoustic attenuation inside its absorptive material. Depending on the direction of the shift from the center of a focused Hermite-Gaussian “acoustical-sheet” beam of first-order, the spin torque is negative or positive, causing the rotation of the cylinder in the polar plane in either the clockwise or the anticlockwise direction, respectively. Notice that at the center of the beam, the torque vanishes as required by symmetry. In the off-axial configuration, the spin torque sign reversal is dependent on the variation of absorption of both the longitudinal and shear waves inside the viscoelastic material. The effect of changing the non-dimensional size parameter ka (where k is the wa...

Airy acoustical–sheet spinner tweezers

The Airy acoustical beam exhibits parabolic propagation and spatial acceleration, meaning that the propagation bending angle continuously increases before the beam trajectory reaches a critical angle where it decays after a propagation distance, without applying any external bending force. As such, it is of particular importance to investigate its properties from the standpoint of acoustical radiation force, spin torque, and particle dynamics theories, in the development of novel particle sorting techniques and acoustically mediated clearing systems. This work investigates these effects on a two-dimensional (2D) circular absorptive structure placed in the field of a nonparaxial Airy “acoustical-sheet” (i.e., finite beam in 2D), for potential applications in surface acoustic waves and acousto-fluidics. Based on the characteristics of the acoustic field, the beam is capable of manipulating the circular cylindrical fluid cross-section and guides it along a transverse or parabolic trajectory. This feature of Airy acoustical beams could lead to a unique characteristic in single-beam acoustical tweezers related to acoustical sieving, filtering, and removal of particles and cells from a section of a small channel. The analysis developed here is based on the description of the nonparaxial Airy beam using the angular spectrum decomposition of plane waves in close association with the partial-wave series expansion method in cylindrical coordinates. The numerical results demonstrate the ability of the nonparaxial Airy acoustical-sheet beam to pull, propel, or accelerate a particle along a parabolic trajectory, in addition to particle confinement in the transverse direction of wave propagation. Negative or positive radiation force and spin torque causing rotation in the clockwise or the anticlockwise direction can occur depending on the nondimensional parameter ka (where k is the wavenumber and a is the radius) and the location of the cylinder in the beam. Applications in acoustic levitation, long-distance particle transport and manipulation, as well as acousto-fluidics directly benefit from the results of this analysis.

Acoustic radiation force and spin torque on a viscoelastic cylinder in a quasi-Gaussian cylindrically-focused beam with arbitrary incidence in a non-viscous fluid

The axial and transverse acoustic radiation force components for a viscoelastic phenolic polymer circular cylinder placed arbitrarily in the field of a zeroth-order quasi-Gaussian focused beam in 2D are computed, based on the partial-wave series expansion (PWSE) method and Graf’s addition theorem for the cylindrical wave functions to compute the off-axial beam-shape coefficients. Moreover, the analysis is extended to derive the expression for the acoustic spin radiation torque experienced by the cylinder when the beam is shifted off-axially with respect to the axis of wave propagation. The emergence of the acoustic spin radiation torque experienced by the circular cylinder is a consequence of acoustic attenuation inside its absorptive material. Depending on the direction of the shift, the spin torque is negative or positive, causing the rotation of the cylinder in the polar plane in either the clockwise or the anticlockwise direction, respectively. Moreover, for a fixed position of the cylinder in the off-axial configuration, a spin torque reversal is predicted due to the variation of absorption of both the longitudinal and shear waves. The effect of increasing the surrounding fluid’s density is also investigated, which has a substantial effect on the radiation force and spin torque plots. Numerical results are performed with particular emphasis on the properties of the incident beam, the amount of the shift from the center of the cylinder as well as the properties of the surrounding fluid. The analytical formalism allows evaluating the axial and transverse radiation force components and radiation torque for any 2D beam that is generally an exact solution of the Helmholtz equation. The sought applications are in controlled rotation of a particle and its manipulation using “acoustical sheets” (i.e., finite beams in 2D).

Closed-Form Overturning Limit of Rigid Block under Critical Near-Fault Ground Motions

A closed-form limit on the input level of the double impulse as a substitute of a near-fault ground motion is derived for the overturning of a rigid block. The rocking vibration of the rigid block is formulated by using the conservation law of angular momentum and the conservation law of mechanical energy. The initial rotational velocity after the first impulse and the rotational velocity after the impact are determined by the conservation law of angular momentum. The velocity change after the second impulse is also characterized by the conservation law of angular momentum. The maximum angles of rotation of the rigid block in both the clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, which are needed for the computation of the overturning limit, are derived by the conservation law of mechanical energy. This enables us to avoid the computation of complicated non-linear time-history responses. The critical timing of the second impulse to the first impulse is characterized by the time of impact after the first impulse. It is clarified that the action of the second impulse just after the impact corresponds to the critical timing. It is derived from the closed-form expression of the critical velocity amplitude limit of the double impulse that its limit is proportional to the square root of size, i.e. the scale effect.

Interaction between Transform Faults and Rift Systems: A Combined Field and Experimental Approach

We present a detailed field structural survey of the area of interaction between the active NW-striking transform Husavik-Flatey Fault (HFF) and the N-S Theystareykir Fissure Swarm (TFS), in North Iceland, integrated by analogue scaled models. Field data contribute to a better understanding of how transform faults work, at a much higher detail than classical marine geophysical studies. Analogue experiments are conducted to analyse the fracture patterns resulting from different possible cases where transform faulting accompanies or postpones the rift motions; different tectonic block configurations are also considered. West of the intersection between the transform fault (HFF) and the rift zone (TFS), the former splays with a gradual bending giving rise to a leading extensional imbricate fan. The westernmost structure of the rift, the N-S Gudfinnugja Fault (GF), is divided into two segments: the southern segment makes a junction with the HFF and is part of the imbricate fan; north of the junction instead, the northern GF appears right-laterally offset by about 20 m. Southeast of the junction, along the possible prolongation of the HFF across the TFS, the strike of the rift faults rotates in an anticlockwise direction, attaining a NNW-SSE orientation. Moreover, the TFS faults north of the HFF prolongation are fewer and have smaller offsets than those located to the south. Through the comparison between the structural data collected in the field at the HFF-TFS connection zone and a set of scaled experiments, we confirm a prolongation of the HFF through the rift, although here the transform fault has a much lower slip-rate than west of the junction. Our data suggest that transform fault terminations may be more complex than previously known, and propagate across a rift through a modification of the rift pattern.