Direct Hit Research Articles

A Rare Case of Extra-Pulmonary Manifestation of Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Background and aim: Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the many organisms causing pneumonia in children. It commonly presents with pulmonary manifestations however uncommonly infection with M. pneumoniae causes extra-pulmonary manifestations. Involvement of liver is one of such rare extra-pulmonary manifestations of M. Pneumoniae. Direct and indirect hits along with vascular occlusion leading to liver injury have been postulated to be the cause of liver involvement. Case Presentation: A 10-year-old African American boy with mild obstructive sleep apnea, chronic migraine, gastroesophageal reflux presented with 5-day history of rash, fever, emesis, dark urine, diarrhea, thrush, decreased oral intake and abdominal pain. The rash didn’t improve with diphenhydramine at home. Patient was initially tachycardic, tachypneic, and febrile to 39.6 °C. Initial physical examination revealed, scleral icterus, maculopapular erythematous diffuse rash all over the body, bilateral conjunctivitis, with right upper quadrant tenderness but no organomegaly. Initial laboratory results showed moderate transaminitis, along with elevated bilirubin, however initial imaging study was found to be normal. The patient over the course of his admission continued to spike high fevers and WBC counts continued to rise. Conclusions: Mycoplasma pneumoniae is often thought to cause pulmonary disease and very few cases have been presented with extra-pulmonary manifestations. Early diagnosis and initiation appropriate therapy improves outcome and decreases the incidence of extra-pulmonary manifestations.

Can the Extreme Rainfall Associated with Typhoon Morakot (2009) Happen in Hong Kong?

ABSTRACT Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan in August 2009 and brought torrential rain and high death toll to the region. The registered maximum cumulative rainfall depth approached the world record of the greatest point rainfall. In this paper, the risk of experiencing rain episodes of similar severity in Hong Kong was assessed using the Advanced Research WRF (Weather Research and Forecast) model to simulate a direct hit of Typhoon Morakot to the city. A number of numerical experiments were conducted by transplanting the vortex of Morakot and the associated environmental conditions to the South China Sea to study the amount of rainfall that could fall in Hong Kong. The results revealed that the difference in the topography between Taiwan and Hong Kong alone accounted for more than 60% of the total rainfall registered in Taiwan. The enormous land mass of China to the north of Hong Kong would also weaken Morakot rapidly upon its landfall over the south China coast, causing a shift in its track and redistribution of rainfall, and a further reduction of the rainfall amount that Hong Kong would receive. Despite that, some experiments suggested that Hong Kong could receive nearly 800 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, a figure that would break the historical record of 697.1 mm set in 1889 in Hong Kong.

Risk of extrapelvine vascular injuries in osteosynthesis with gliding hip screws

Dynamic hip screw (DHS) osteosynthesis represents one of the most frequently performed fixation methods in orthopedic practice. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential risk of vascular damage by DHS side-plate screws (PS) and plunging instruments for individual femoral vessels and screw positions. In ten hemipelvic/leg specimens mounted with a large femur distractor, a DHS system with a four-hole side-plate was inserted. PS were inserted in 3 consecutive courses with different inclinations in the frontal plane of 0° (group 1), - 30° posterior (group 2) and + 30° anterior (group 3) in relation to the side-plate's surface, resulting in 120 PS positions. After screw tightening, the soft tissues on the medial side of the femur were dissected and investigated for vascular compromise; in each course, the effect of overshot instruments within a range of 50mm beyond the side-plate's surface was also tested. Totally, 37/120 screw positions (31%) revealed potential vascular compromise which comprised of 15/120 (13%) direct hits by screw tips and 22/120 (18%) potential impacts by plunging instruments. The deep femoral artery system (DFA) was significantly (p = 0.007) most often affected but no significant differences for individual vascular structures were seen. Direct vascular impacts occurred significantly more often (p = 0.0047) in screws with 0° inclination compared to + 30° inclination (p = 0.017). Significant differences among individual screw positions were only found in group - 30° with direct vessel contacts (p = 0.038). The DFA system is significantly more at risk while significant preference of a certain vessel is missing. Our data indicate that more than 30% of 120 screw positions in DHS osteosynthesis revealed a potential danger of vascular compromise, when surgical principles are denied in hip fracture fixation. Though vascular complications are infrequently encountered in DHS osteosynthesis they have to be considered as a potential complication when surgical principles are not followed in this anatomic area.

Radiation protection properties of Myrtus communis against oxidation caused by whole-body exposure of mice

Introduction: Exposure to ionizing radiation can be through direct hit or water radiolysis lead to oxidation in biological systems. In this study, the protective effect of Myrtus Communis aqueous extract on structural changes and oxidative stress in red blood cells and plasma proteins was examined after receipt of ionizing radiation. Materials and Methods: wistar rats were administered Myrtus Communis aqueous extract (0.5 mg/kg of body weight) for a week before exposing them to a single dose of 6 Gy of 6MV x-ray. Blood samples were collected one hour after irradiation. Changes in the structure of hemoglobin, FRAP and carbonyl assay tests were performed for three groups 1) control, 2) exposed, 3) exposed +extract Results: Decrease in the level of oxyhemoglobin (The averages were ±35.36 2.35, 1.35±17.05, and ±26.92 0.45 respectively for control, exposed and exposed +extract was observed (p<0.001). a significant increase in the methemoglobin (0.11±0.47 ,0.585±9.850 and ±5.070 0.139) and hemichrome (0.09±0.77,0.59±6.18 and 1.910.28±) levels were showed (p<0.001). FRAP test and carbonyl assay showed the rate of oxidation in the blood of irradiated rats. The deference between these components was significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: Pretreatment with aqueous extract of Myrtus Communis can provide the radiation protection against x-ray-induced oxidative damage. The protection may be attributed to the free radical scavenging activity of this extract.

Microchannel Plate Efficiency to Detect Low Velocity Dust Impacts

AbstractRecent space experiments suggest that electron and ion energy analyzers using microchannel plates (MCPs) as detectors are also registering direct hits by nanodust particles. To allow the analysis and interpretation of these putative dust events, the detection efficiency of MCPs has to be characterized. We report on a series of experiments to investigate the detection efficiency of MCP detectors to direct impacts for both positively and negatively charged micron and submicron sized iron particles. A double‐stack MCP detector in a chevron configuration was mounted as a target in a dust accelerator. A range of particle velocities and masses were used for a comprehensive examination. The MCP detected and produced definite signals associated with confirmed particle impacts of the MCP for both positively and negatively charged dust particles. The detection efficiency was found to be (6 ± 1)% for positively charged dust and (9 ± 3)% for negatively charged dust particles with a characteristic mass of 6.0 × 1011μ (10−15 kg) and speed of 100 m/s. The examined particle velocity range accurately replicates Rosseta's interaction with dust grains emanating from comet 67P/ Churyumov‐Gerasimenko's nucleus. Additionally, the MCP detection efficiency for low velocity particles shows a possible underestimate of higher speed nanograin signals from Cassini's electron plasma spectrometer during its flyby through Enceladus' active south pole.

Fractura de acetábulo. A propósito de un caso

La prevalencia de la fractura de acetábulo es un problema de salud pública de importancia por su frecuencia, riesgo y coste. Las fracturas acetabulares suelen ser lesiones graves y se asocian principalmente con traumatismos de alta energía. Están desafiando las lesiones ortopédicas que requieren atención especial y experiencia para el tratamiento. Se expone el caso de un hombre de 54 años de edad que posterior a accidente de tránsito en calidad de conductor de motocicleta sufre golpe directo a nivel de cadera derecha presenta dolor y limitación funcional en miembro inferior derecho, en los estudios imagenológicos se evidencia una fractura de acetábulo derecho en pared y columna posterior, se realiza inmovilización con tracción de partes blandas, seguido de ingreso hospitalario para posterior intervención quirúrgica.

Comparison of Curved and Straight Anchor Insertion for SLAP Repair: A Cadaveric Study

To compare a curved drill guide with a straight guide for suture anchor placement into the posterosuperior glenoid from an anterolateral portal with respect to glenoid perforation, drill contact with the suprascapular nerve, and maximum load. Ten bilateral pairs of fresh human cadaveric shoulders were randomized to the curved technique on 1 side and the straight technique on the contralateral side. An anterolateral trans-rotator cuff portal was used for placement of anchors at the posterior (11 o'clock right shoulder) and far posterior (10 o'clock right shoulder) positions on the glenoid with a 24-mm drill stop, and the drill tip was marked with ink. Specimens were dissected for glenoid perforation and drill contact with the suprascapular nerve. The maximum load of each anchor was measured using a material testing system. Glenoid perforation occurred in 30% in the curved group and 60% in the straight group overall (P= .01). Ink markings demonstrated a direct hit on the suprascapular nerve in most of the penetrations (13 of 18) but was not significantly different between the curved and straight guides (P= .25). Maximum load of the posterior anchor was greater in the curved group than that in the straight group (199.5 vs 146.7N, respectively; P= .01). The curved technique has a lower rate of glenoid perforation and greater maximum load than the straight technique. However, the curved technique can result in glenoid perforation and injury to the suprascapular nerve, and we do not recommend it. Placing suture anchors through an anterolateral portal with a curved guide provides a more optimal trajectory with decreased risk of glenoid perforation and superior biomechanical strength than that with the straight guide, but it is not safe.

Evaluating airsoft electric guns for control of invasive brown treesnakes

ABSTRACTFirearms are often used in lethal control of invasive vertebrates, but safety and regulatory aspects limit the circumstances under which they can be used. During August 2016 at the Brown Treesnake Project laboratory on Guam, we evaluated hobby‐grade Airsoft Electric Guns (AEGs)—a lower powered, less‐hazardous, and less‐regulated alternative to firearms—for capture and control of small animals, with specific emphasis on invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis). Tests of AEGs differing in power with ammunition (plastic pellets) masses ranging from 0.20 to 0.39 g, fired at gelatin blocks from distances of 4, 8, and 12 m, showed that heavy ammunition is of overriding importance for maximizing lethality: 0.39‐g pellets penetrated more deeply at 12 m than did 0.20‐g pellets at 4 m. Inspection of tissue damage in brown treesnake carcasses subjected to fire with the 0.39‐g ammunition from the same distances suggested that injuries sustained by a direct hit from 12 m would often be lethal, and snakes would be unlikely to survive multiple hits from automatic fire discharged at approximately 17/s. Limited trials with live snakes helped us to understand behavioral responses in a snake hit by ≥1 pellets, including distance traveled over time. Based on these factors, we assessed the risk that a snake injured by pellet fire might evade subsequent capture by rapid responders in the proximity. We also discuss ethical considerations and regulatory advantages of using AEGs. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Evaluating variability in foot to pedal movements using functional principal components analysis

There are reasons why the driver’s foot may not be applied to the correct pedal while driving and this can lead to unintended consequences. In this study, we seek to capture common and unique patterns of variations in drivers’ foot movements using functional principal components analysis (FPCA). This analysis technique was used to analyze three categories of pedal response types (direct hits, corrected trajectories, and pedal errors) based on the various foot to pedal trajectories. Data from a driving simulator study with video data of foot movements for 45 drivers was used for analyses. Most foot movements show common patterns associated with direct hits and corrected trajectories with some level of variation. However, those foot movements associated with unique patterns might be early indicators of pedal errors. The findings of this study can be used with collision mitigation systems to provide early detection of foot trajectories that are more likely to result in a pedal error.

The Aschaffenburg model: addenda to JRA Suppl. 98

V. Kockel has discussed the model as one of the few surviving examples of a form of three-dimensional archaeological recording that was developed by the Padiglione family and other model-makers for the King of the Two Sicilies. Here I provide comparisons with the extant remains of the house, to illustrate how much more we can learn from the model of specific details of the structure and decoration that have been lost since 1840, when the building was still in a remarkably better state of preservation. Aside from the inevitable gradual deterioration of wall-paintings and pavements, which remained almost completely open to the elements after the original excavation was completed in 1809, a direct hit by a bomb on September 23, 1943, left the SE corner a mound of overgrown ruins. In 1970-72, when the Soprintendenza completely roofed the main house block, cleared the bomb rubble, and added low modern walls along the lines of the destroyed rooms to give tourists some idea of the original plan, I directed 37 soundings below the level of A.D. 79. Then between 2005 and 2007, as part of the Progetto Regio VI under F. Coarelli and F. Pesando, M. Stella and I added 17 more soundings, mainly in the area of the peristyle and on the S side of the house. Our final study of the house provided a detailed analysis of its original excavation during the Napoleonic Wars, a full description of the extant rooms and building history, and reports on our excavations.

A cross-sectional study on domestic violence in emergency department of Eastern Nepal.

Introduction:Domestic violence is certainly an important condition, and certainly carries significant health consequences. Screening is probably acceptable to most patients attending an emergency department. The objective of this study is to find out the frequency of domestic violence victims attending emergency department, to find out the factors related to domestic violence, type, and severity of injury and to identify the impact of domestic violence in the victims.Materials and Methods:This was a cross-sectional observational study done in the Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences from January 2014 to December 2014. Anyone presented with a physical injury intentionally caused by a relative, partner, or other household member (spouse, partner, sibling, ex-partner, child, and other wives/partner of spouse).Results:The total number of patient enrolled in this study was 423. Among which 71.9% were female and 28.1% were male. About 27% of female and 31.9% of male were in the age group of 20–30 years. Majority (42.4% females and 48% males) of the victim's family had agriculture for primary occupation. Among the study groups, 40.9% of cases were beaten by direct hit and 24.3 with weapon, 5% of cases were only reported as rape, and 23.6% as homicidal case.Conclusion:Domestic violence is particularly insidious form of gender-based violence. In the place where they should feel the greatest safety and security- the family-women often face terror form of physical, psychological, sexual, and economic abuse.

Goldfish, and: Gold Donkey

Goldfish, and: Gold Donkey Ted Mathys (bio) Goldfish Sometimes a ping pong ballricochets in the improbable honeycomb of fishbowls—liplip—before rimming out and you are grateful to physicsfor saving you from having to adopt a distressed carnival petand send your child off on her first, slowpilgrimage to grief. But sometimes a package dealleaves you stuck with a full bucket of balls. You put a littleEnglish on a throw, and the wind’s sorcery provides a direct hit,the splash unnerving the skittish creature your child declaresis a girl named Marvin. Eighty dollars laterMarvin is in an aquarium on your child’s dresserdarting in all that water, [End Page 46] all that LED light. Sometimesdiagnoses of shock proliferate for one who no longer recognizesthe system in which she lives— lack of appetite, bottom sitting,black spots, skin flukes, slow mouth and gill movement,a decline from golden sheen to sallow white—until a protective impulse grows animal in your core.Sometimes there’s a protest on the radio when you enter your child’s roomto retrieve her ladybug rain boots and find your wife in her bathrobesitting on the bed alone, watching Marvin swallow a descending flakeand there’s no need to ask why. [End Page 47] Gold Donkey —Cripple Creek, Colorado The canary in the gold minespent her nights above groundand days 1000 feet downthe same cool shaftI descend in a metal cageto the crosscuts and driftsblasted into Independence Lodeand hung in her little cagelow between ore cart wheelswhere she could die sacrificiallyin an updraft of monoxide. But the donkey in the gold minewas born down here, and hermother before her, a lineageaccustomed to hauling rockwith flecks of quartz and goldthrough blackness interruptedonly by a candle strappedto the mucker’s hator a calcium carbide lamphot with acetylene flamethat leapt at the wind of a sledge,burnt off a tenderfoot’s eyebrowsand singed a black starinto the donkey’s hide. A politician legislated lightinto the donkey’s livesbut the asses kicked like madwhen the nippers—kidsat 5 cents a shift—strung themfrom the cage’s base in slingsand sent them up the shaftinto sun they’d never known.Like all good ideas, this oneburnt out the retinas in seconds. [End Page 48] While I’m below, a sunset above.I rise along a wall of oxidized ironthe color of tobacco spit, emerge.There are twelve donkeys at largein town, the bartender says, directdescendants of those from below.I search for them for an hourbut find only a coyote trottingthe Family Dollar parking lot. In rain, in the donkeys’ honor,I choose from the strip of casinosThe Brass Ass, wade throughthe usual sad cases to roulette.At the only game with no strategymy only job is to bet on black, odd,and constellations of birthdaysthen wait like an ass for the houseto place the dolly and rake my chips. The dealer spins the ballagainst the spinning wheeland sweeps her arm to end all bets.The bottled water I ordered arrives.The brand is Eldorado. The ball fallsinto 29 black. I win hundreds.When a donkey bucked and contortedhard enough to slip free on ascentit plummeted like a bullet reversingto explode in its own chamber.Chips in stacks float to me on felt.They are not gold but powder blue.The ball falls into 15 black. Again,I win. When a donkey fell it fellto the nippers at the bottomto clean up the mess. [End Page 49] Ted Mathys Ted Mathys is the author of Null Set (Coffee House Press, 2015) and two previous collections of poetry. Copyright © 2018 Pleiades and Pleiades Press

Quantification of Wellbore-Collision Probability by Novel Analytic Methods

Summary Unintentional collision between two wellbores may have serious economic and health, safety, and environmental consequences. It is therefore important to evaluate the probability of such an event in the well-planning phase and at critical stages during the drilling phase. A commonly used approach is to analyze the collision probability between two points, one in each wellbore, which are determined from geometric criteria only. This procedure may ignore point pairs with higher collision probabilities, and thereby lead to overoptimistic conclusions. Typically, the results from such methods will be accurate only for simple wellbore geometries, such as straight sections, and for position uncertainties that are highly symmetrical with respect to the wellbores. More advanced methods that overcome such limitations are impractical for general application because of high conceptual or computational complexity. This paper proposes novel analytic methods that may potentially overcome these problems. Formulae are derived for two important situations: the direct-hit (DH) and the unintentional-crossing (UC) scenarios. In both cases, the spatial region of interest is divided into carefully designed segments, such that the collision probability can be accurately evaluated for each segment. The total collision probability is then found by summing the results over all segments. The main advantage of this approach is that it gives accurate results for arbitrary well geometries and uncertainty-ellipsoid orientations. The algorithms can easily be integrated in existing software for wellbore-anticollision analysis. The paper shows examples of results that are all in good agreement with control calculations. Compared with existing methods, the proposed methods are therefore believed to represent an improvement to quantitative collision-probability analysis for both the wellbore-planning and the drilling phases.

Numerical analysis of nuclear power plant structure subjected to aircraft crash

An aircraft crashing into a nuclear containment may induce a series of disasters related to containment capacity, including local penetration and perforation of the containment, intensive vibrations, and fire ignited after jet fuel leakage. In this study, structural safety of a reinforced concrete containment vessel (RCCV) has been studied against the direct hit of Airbus A320, Boeing 707-320 and Phantom F4 aircrafts. ABAQUS/explicit finite element code has been used to carry out the three-dimensional numerical simulations. The impact locations identified on the nuclear containment structure are mid height of containment, center of the cylindrical portion, junction of dome and cylinder, and over the cylindrical portion close to the foundation level. The loading of the aircraft has been assigned through the corresponding reaction-time response curve. The concrete damaged plasticity model was predicted to simulate the behavior of concrete while the behavior of steel reinforcement was incorporated using elastoplastic material model. Dynamic loading conditions were considered using dynamic increase factor. The mid height of containment and center of cylindrical portion have been found to experience most severe deformation against each aircraft crash. It has also been found that compression damage in concrete is not critical at none of the impact locations.

Integrative square-grid triboelectric nanogenerator as a vibrational energy harvester and impulsive force sensor

A square-grid triboelectric nanogenerator (SG-TENG) is demonstrated for harvesting vibrational energy and sensing impulsive forces. Each square of the three-dimensional (3D)-printed square grid is filled with an aluminum (Al) ball. The grid structure allows the SG-TENG to harvest vibrational energy over a broad bandwidth and operate at different vibrational angles. The most striking feature of the SG-TENG is its ability of being scaled and integrated. After connecting two SG-TENGs in parallel, the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current are significantly increased over the full vibrational frequency range. Being integrated with a table tennis racket, the SG-TENG can harvest the vibrational energy from hitting a ping pong ball using the racket, where a direct hit by the racket generates an average output voltage of 10.9 ± 0.6 V and an average output current of 0.09 ± 0.02 μA. Moreover, the SG-TENG integrated into a focus mitt can be used in various combat sports, such as boxing and taekwondo, to monitor the frequency and magnitude of the punches or kicks from boxers and other practitioners. The collected data allow athletes to monitor their status and improve their performance skills. This work demonstrates the enormous potential of the SG-TENG in energy harvesting and sensing applications.

Experimental Investigation of Single-Event Transient Waveforms Depending on Transistor Spacing and Charge Sharing in 65-nm CMOS

Single-event cross sections of four inverter chains, with uniform inverter spacing ranging from 120 nm to $4~\mu \text{m}$ , were experimentally measured and compared. These inverter chains were irradiated using a focused ion beam. Full analog waveforms of responses were sensed using on-chip wide-bandwidth analog multiplexers. Cross sections are examined with respect to pulse heights and pulse widths, for direct-hit waveforms as well as for waveforms propagated through the chain. The influence of ion hit position and charge sharing effects on the initial shape and propagation of the single-event transients (SETs) was analyzed. We have observed a considerable reduction of cross section for tightly spaced inverters, for both direct hits and propagated SETs.

Observation of Lightning Overvoltage in a 500 kV Switching Station

This paper describes observation of lightning overvoltages in a 500 kV switching station at Kansai Electric Power Co., Japan. Three types of lightning overvoltages, such as back flashover, direct lightning hit to a phase conductor, and lightning-induced voltage have been observed. The lightning overvoltages due to a back flashover were lower than operation voltage of a surge arrester. The observation suggests that induced voltage caused by electromagnetic fields radiated from a lightning channel affects lightning overvoltages in a station.

СУЧАСНІ АСПЕКТИ ДІАГНОСТИКИ ГАСТРОЕЗОФАГЕАЛЬНОЇ РЕФЛЮКСНОЇ ХВОРОБИ

Резюме: Гастроезофагеальна рефлюксна хвороба (ГЕРХ) надзвичайно поширене захворювання зумовлене порушенням моторно-евакуаторної функції органів гастроезофагеальної зони, яке характеризується спонтанним закидом шлункового або дуоденального вмісту в стравохід, що призводить до ураження його дистального відділу з розвитком у ньому запальних та ерозивно-виразкових уражень. Серед дорослого населення поширеність ГЕРХ становить до 40%.Мета роботи − проаналізувати сучасні погляди науковців і основні методи діагностики ГЕРХ.В діагностиці ГЕРХ потрібно орієнтуватися на рекомендації Монреальського консенсуса, згідно якого захворювання може бути діагностовано при наявності як мінімум одного із трьох критеріїв: а) характерних симптомів захворювання; в) інструментального підтвердження наявності патологічного гастроезофагеального рефлюксу в осіб з симптомами ГЕРХ; с) змін слизової оболонки стравоходу, гістологічного дослідження біоптату.Згідно V Маастрихтcького консенсусу рекомендовано проводити ерадикацію H-pylori незалежно від наявності чи відсутності симптомів ГЕРХ при наявності прямих показів.Діагноз ГЕРХ встановлюється на підставі клінічних критеріїв, якщо пацієнта турбує печія більше ніж двічі на тиждень впродовж трьох місяців і довше. Для діагностики ГЕРХ запропоновані тест з ІПП, альгінатний тести. Показом до проведення езофагогастродуоденоскопії (ЕГДС) у пацієнтів з ГЕРХ є наявність тривожних симптомів (дисфагія, нудота, кровотеча, зменшення маси тіла), неефективність пробного лікування (негативні альгінатний або омепразоловий тести), тривалий перебіг захворювання, вік більше 50 років. ЕГДС виконують для виявлення або виключення значних пошкоджень в окремих випадках. При типових симптомах ГЕРХ проводити ЕГДС не потрібно. При проведенні ЕГДС беруть біоптат стравоходу при ускладненнях ГЕРХ, новоутвореннях, для діагностики еозинофільного езофагіту. Для кількісного визначення впливу кислоти на стравохід та оцінки асоціації між печією та епізодами рефлюксу використовують рН-метрію в стравоході або імпеданс-метрію протягом 24 год. Стравохідний імпеданс рН застосовують у пацієнтів зі стійкими симптомами рефлюксу, які погано відповіли на стандартну терапію для оцінки як кислотної, так і некислотної рефлюксної хвороби. Для виявлення мінімальних уражень слизової оболонки стравоходу у хворих на ГЕРХ застосовують хромоскопію, ендоскопію з високою роздільністю та збільшенням, вузьку спектральну ендоскопію.Таким чином, основним методом діагностики гастроезофагеальної рефлюксної хвороби є езофагогастродуоденоскопія. Сучасні ендоскопічні технології дають можливість діагностувати ГЕРХ на ранній стадії.

Equivalency of the quality of sublethal lesions after photons and high-linear energy transfer ion beams.

The quality of the sublethal damage (SLD) after irradiation with high–linear energy transfer (LET) ion beams was investigated with low-LET photons. Chinese hamster V79 cells and human squamous carcinoma SAS cells were first exposed to a priming dose of different ion beams at different LETs at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in the Chiba facility. The cells were kept at room temperature and then exposed to a secondary test dose of X-rays. Based on the repair kinetics study, the surviving fraction of cells quickly increased with the repair time, and reached a plateau in 2–3 h, even when cells had received priming monoenergetic high-LET beams or spread-out Bragg peak beams as well as X-ray irradiation. The shapes of the cell survival curves from the secondary test X-rays, after repair of the damage caused by the high-LET irradiation, were similar to those obtained from cells exposed to primary X-rays only. Complete SLD repairs were observed, even when the LET of the primary ion beams was very high. These results suggest that the SLD caused by high-LET irradiation was repaired well, and likewise, the damage caused by the X-rays. In cells where the ion beam had made a direct hit in the core region in an ion track, lethal damage to the domain was produced, resulting in cell death. On the other hand, in domains that had received a glancing hit in the low-LET penumbra region, the SLD produced was completely repaired.

The use of predictive analysis in spatiotemporal crime forecasting: Building and testing a model in an urban context

Police databases hold a large amount of crime data that could be used to inform us about current and future crime trends and patterns. Predictive analysis aims to optimize the use of these data to anticipate criminal events. It utilizes specific statistical methods to predict the likelihood of new crime events at small spatiotemporal units of analysis. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of applying predictive analysis in an urban context. To this end, the available crime data for three types of crime (home burglary, street robbery, and battery) are spatially aggregated to grids of 200 by 200 m and retrospectively analyzed. An ensemble model is applied, synthesizing the results of a logistic regression and neural network model, resulting in bi-weekly predictions for 2014, based on crime data from the previous three years. Temporally disaggregated (day versus night predictions) monthly predictions are also made. The quality of the predictions is evaluated based on the following criteria: direct hit rate (proportion of incidents correctly predicted), precision (proportion of correct predictions versus the total number of predictions), and prediction index (ratio of direct hit rate versus proportion of total area predicted as high risk). Results indicate that it is possible to attain functional predictions by applying predictive analysis to grid-level crime data. The monthly predictions with a distinction between day and night produce better results overall than the bi-weekly predictions, indicating that the temporal resolution can have an important impact on the prediction performance.