Exit Point Research Articles

Mapping of Orthopaedic Fractures for Optimal Surgical Guidance.

Orthopaedic fractures may be difficult to treat surgically if accurate information on the fracture propagation and its exit points are not known. Even with two-dimensional (2D) radiographic images, it is difficult to be completely certain of the exact location of the fracture site, the fracture propagation pattern and the exit points of the fracture. Three-dimensional (3D) computerised tomographic models are better in providing surgeons with the extent of bone fractures, but they may still not be sufficient to allow surgeons to plan open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) surgery.Fracture patterns and fracture maps are developed to be visual tools in 2D and 3D. These tools can be developed using fractured bones either before or after fracture reduction. Aside from being beneficial to surgeons during pre-surgical planning, these maps aid bioengineers who design fracture fixation plates and implants for these fractures, as well as represent fracture classifications.Fracture maps can be either created ex silico or in silico. Ex silico models are created using 3D printed bone models, onto which fracture patterns are marked. In silico fracture models are created by tracing the fracture lines from a fractured bone to a healthy bone template on a computer. The points of interest in both of these representations are the path of fracture propagation on the bone's surface and exit zones, which eventually determine the surgeon's choice of plate and fracture reduction. Both ex silico and in silico fracture maps are used for pre-surgical planning by the surgeons where they can plan the best way to reduce the fracture as well as template various implants in a low-risk environment before performing the surgery.Recently, fracture maps have been further digitised into heat maps. These heat maps provide visual representations of critical regions of fractures propagating through the bone and identify the weaker zones in the bone structure. These heat maps can allow engineers to develop optimal surgical plates to fix an array of fracture patterns propagating through the bone. Correlation of fractured regions with the mechanisms of injury, age, gender, etc. may improve fracture predictability in the future and optimise the intervention, along with making sure that surgeons do not miss fractures of the bone that may otherwise be hidden from plain sight.

Faster Domain Adaptation Networks

It is widely acknowledged that the success of deep learning is built upon large-scale training data and tremendous computing power. However, the data and computing power are not always available for many real-world applications. In this paper, we address the machine learning problem where it lacks training data and limits computing power. Specifically, we investigate domain adaptation which is able to transfer knowledge from one labeled source domain to an unlabeled target domain, so that we do not need much training data from the target domain. At the same time, we consider the situation that the running environment is confined, e.g., in edge computing the end device has very limited running resources. Technically, we present the Faster Domain Adaptation (FDA) protocol and further report two paradigms of FDA: early stopping and amid skipping. The former accelerates domain adaptation by multiple early exit points. The latter speeds up the adaptation by wisely skip several amid neural network blocks. Extensive experiments on standard benchmarks verify that our method is able to achieve the comparable and even better accuracy but employ much less computing resources. To the best of our knowledge, there are very few works which investigated accelerating knowledge adaptation in the community. This work is expected to inspire the topic for more discussion.

Application of Modified Triangular Perforator Flap in Repair of Small and Medium-Sized Facial Defect.

We investigated the application of local perforator flap or island flap with a modified triangular to repair small and medium facial defects. (1) Before the operation, a Doppler flowmeter was used to investigate the superficial exit point of the perforator artery. The length to breadth ratio of the flap was more than 3-4 times, and it contained 1-2 perforator vessels. (2) The lesion was excised, and the skin was cut along the design line of the flap. The flap was separated and trimmed based on the defect degree. (3) The blood supply was confirmed, and the defect was then covered with the flap by "rotation and advancement" approach without causing tension. The incision was finally sutured in layers. (4) Postoperative routine care was performed according to the situation. The functional morphology and appearance of all 23 cases of skin flaps successfully recovered during follow-up. There was no major aesthetic and malformation recorded. In summary, the modified triangular perforator flap can improve the functional appearance at the repaired small and medium facial defects.

HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CHANGES AS ALTERATIONS, A BIOMARKER STUDY IN THE FISH CATLA CATLA EXPOSED TO SUBLETHAL CONCENTRATIONS OF CYFLUTHRIN, A SYNTHETIC PYRETHROID

The fish Catla catla exposed to a synthetic pyrethroid Cyfulthrin, type II category with a cyano group in sublethal concentration (1/10th of LC50 values of 96 hrs) 0.14 mg/L for 10 days. The toxicant had effected on the entry point gill, rendering the fish not to have any normal intake of oxygen and finally the fish succumb to death. The important metabolic organ, liver got effected wherein the metabolism is impaired and the growth of the fish is also not normal. At the exit point, the aminotellic fish kidney, both haemopoietic and excretory organ got also effected and that resulted impairment of excretion function apart from haemogenesis. All will be discussed with the available literature.

Proposed Optimization Algorithm for Solving CCTV Camera Placement

The installation of CCTV cameras monitoring the street sections of one of the most visited areas of Manila may serve as deterrence against theft, crime, abduction, and even act of lasciviousness. Furthermore, the redundant orientations of some of the units in the system were recognized as possible inhibitors of the efficiency of the local surveillance system. In line with this, the study proposed a model for CCTV camera placement in Intramuros by representing the community as a graph in a 2-dimensional space. The paper presents a two-phase approach in determining the best placements of CCTV cameras. Phase I took care of the ideal installation spots as a set-covering problem while Phase II identified the optimal CCTV orientation using the Proposed algorithm. In Phase I, a binary integer programming model was formulated and solved using the data solver function of Microsoft Excel. The designed algorithm in Phase II was based on greedy heuristics utilizing the results in Phase I to identify the optimal orientation of the CCTV units. Findings suggest that out of the seventeen candidate locations, nine of them are optimal for CCTV installation. A total of twenty-three CCTV units are required to cover all the entry and exit points of the streets in district 5 of Intramuros. The proposed algorithm produced two optimal solutions A and B. Comparison with the existing CCTV system in the district and discussions on each optimal installation suggested that result B is better than A. Recommendations on the results of the study were addressed to the authorities of district 5 for immediate implementation.

New analysis and numerical values for the classical dam problem

The classical, two dimensional, dam problem was solved analytically and independently by Davison in 1932 and Hamel in 1934 and involved double integrals. In 1938 Polubarinova-Kochina produced solutions involving single integrals and in 1940 showed that the Davison-Hamel solutions could be reduced to ones obtained by her method. Missing from the conversion was a linkage between scale constants which is given in this paper. Initial calculations by these authors were difficult because of evaluations of elliptic integrals and numerical quadratures. As a free boundary problem it is now a test case for a multitude of numerical methods. Surveying analytical and numerical approaches, it is found that both are limited in accuracies and are overwhelmingly concerned with the location of the free boundary and its seepage point. Analytical expressions are here given for the gradients near the three critical points of free boundary entry and exit and the intersection of seepage face and tailwater. New numerical results to six decimal places are given for tables and contours on and within the dam boundary for potential and stream functions and orthogonal potential gradients.

Analysis of Safety Factors of Embankment Pipeline

With the rapid development of the modern economy, the safety of the embankment of the pipeline through the embankment is particularly important. Combining the construction method of the pipeline, the location of the pipeline crossing with the exit and entry points, the burial depth of the pipeline below the riverbed with the scouring depth of the riverbed, the permeability coefficient of the embankment and the stratum, the initial water level on the waterward side and the backwater side of the embankment, and other factors are analyzed to provide a theoretical basis for the future implementation of the project.

Experience with the circulation path as a determinant factor in evacuation exit selection

ABSTRACT Building evacuation can be challenging due to complex environments. A cognitive map is one of the most influential factors leading to different strategies of egress for individuals, yet there is little discussion about how pre-event experience influences individual exit choice. This study explores how pre-event spatial experience influences the evacuation exit choice. We conducted a semi-structured interview with a single evacuation drill involving 70 participants in a shopping center in Bandung, Indonesia. Participants were asked to choose an exit point in an evacuation scenario and were then interviewed about their reasoning. Analysis from the video footage of the evacuation and interview transcriptions showed four pre-event spatial experiences that influenced individual exit choice: habitual path preference, past traverse experience, access to the building, and associative events. Four elements from pre-event spatial experiences from this study are accessibility, familiarity, orientation ability, and social interaction influence exit choice. The findings contribute to the understanding of interaction between visitor behavior and circulation path. They provide insight about how experience forms familiarity as an important aspect in determining evacuation route. Lastly, this paper discusses the behavioral explanations underlying these findings and areas for future work.

The placement of percutaneous retrograde acetabular posterior column screw based on imaging anatomical study of acetabular posterior column corridor

ObjectiveTo explore the entry point, orientation, and fixation range of retrograde acetabular posterior column screw.MethodThe computed tomography data of 100 normal adult pelvises (50 males and 50 females, respectively) were collected and pelvis three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction was performed by using Mimics software and the 3D model was imported into Geomagic Studio software. The perspective of acetabular posterior column was carried out orienting from ischial tuberosity to iliac fossa in the Mimics software. Virtual screw was inserted perpendicular to the transverse section of acetabular posterior column corridor, and the maximum screw diameter, entry point, orientation, exit point were measured. The screw fixation range, the easy-to-penetrate sites, and intraoperative optimal fluoroscopic views were assessed.ResultsThe acetabular posterior column corridor showed a triangular-prism shape. The virtual screw entry point was located at the midline between the medial and lateral edges of the ischial tuberosity. The distance between the entry point and the distal ischial tuberosity was around 13 mm. The distances between the exit point and the true pelvis rim, and ipsilateral anterior sacroiliac joint line were (19.33 ± 2.60) mm and (23.65 ± 2.42) mm in males, respectively. As for females, those two data were (17.63 ± 2.00) mm and (24.94 ± 2.39) mm, respectively. The maximum diameters of screws were (17.21 ± 1.41) mm in males and (15.54 ± 1.51) mm in females. The angle between the retrograde posterior column screw and the sagittal plane was lateral inclination (10.52 ± 3.04)° in males, and that was lateral inclination (7.72 ± 2.99)° in females. Correspondingly, the angle between the screw and the coronal plane was anterior inclination (15.00 ± 4.92)° in males, and that was anterior inclination (12.94 ± 4.72)° in females. Retrograde acetabular posterior column screw through ischial tuberosity can fix the acetabular posterior column fractures which were not 4 cm above the femoral head center. The easy-to-penetrate sites were located at the transition between the posterior acetabular wall and the ischium, the middle of the acetabulum, and 1 cm below the greater sciatic notch, respectively. The iliac oblique 10°, iliac oblique 60°, and obturator oblique 60° views were the intraoperative optimal fluoroscopic views to assess whether the screw was safely inserted.ConclusionRetrograde acetabular posterior column screw entry point is located at the midline between the medial and lateral edges of the ischial tuberosity, which is 1.3 cm far from the distal ischial tuberosity. The screw direction is about 10° lateral inclination and 15° anterior inclination, which can fix the acetabular posterior column fractures which were not 4 cm above the femoral head center.

The tussle for freight parking in seaport cities; the case of Tema

The main entry and exit points for freight into Ghana are by the sea. However, freight is transported to the hinterlands and beyond, by road only. Freight vehicle operators who haul these goods to various destinations encounter several difficulties related to parking at the seaport of Tema; the biggest port in Ghana. This study seeks to understand the characteristics and challenges of freight parking in Tema. A total of 202 freight vehicle operators were randomly selected from the major parking areas within the Tema Metropolis in addition to purposively selected institutions, responsible for ensuring safe and orderly parking in the study area. The study revealed that more than 70% of freight vehicle operators park over 24 hours in undesignated spaces and their activities affect the safety, health, and environmental conditions in the areas around the Tema Port. Thus, the widespread usage of undesignated parking by operators of freight makes these locations accident-prone. Considering that the Tema Harbour is the major entry point of freight into Ghana and adjoining landlocked countries, freight vehicle operators found the port vicinity as a ‘market’ for their activities. The paper recommends the need to formulate a freight parking management framework as an initial intervention to guide subsequent parking interventions.

Structural and fluid-migration control on hill-hole pair formation: Evidence from high-resolution 3D seismic data from the SW Barents Sea

Hill-hole pairs are subglacial landforms consisting of thrust-block hills and associated source depressions. Formed by evacuation of material where ice sheets have been locally frozen to the substrate, they give insights into paleo-ice-sheet dynamics. The aim of this study was to document the relationships between ancient hill-hole pairs identified on a buried glacial unconformity with the structure of the underlying sedimentary deposits, and then to determine if the basin geology and glacial fluid migration pathways promoted local subglacial freeze-on during the hill-hole pair formation. The study is based on seismic geomorphological interpretation of four high-resolution 3D seismic cubes covering an area of 800 km2 in the SW Barents Sea, and fluid seepage data from 37 gravity cores.The seismic datasets allowed the identification of 55 hill-hole pairs along the buried unconformity. The hills are characterized by chaotic to homogenous seismic facies forming up to 19 m high mounds, each covering areas of 2000–644,000 m2. The holes form depressions between 1 and 44 m deep and 2000–704,000 m2 in areal extent, which cut into preglacial Mesozoic bedrock and later infilled by glacial till. The holes are often found above fault terminations. High-amplitude reflections identified along the faults and in the strata below the holes are interpreted as shallow gas migrating upward towards the glacial unconformity. Geochemical data of the seabed sediment cores further indicates an association between hill-hole pair occurrence and present-day thermogenic hydrocarbon seepage.The hill-hole pairs geometries were also used to identify five paleo-ice-flow directions along the glacial unconformity. These ice flows exhibit polythermal regimes, and four of them are parallel to ice-stream flow sets interpreted from glacial lineations. The integrated interpretation supports localized fault-related basal freezing of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet which resulted in the formation of hill-hole pairs when the ice sheet moved. In this context, the faults functioned as migration pathways for deep thermogenic fluids, possibly sourced from leaking Jurassic reservoirs.This study highlights the importance of the underlying geology for ice-sheet dynamics: While hill-hole pairs above glacial till appear to be commonly associated with dispersed gas hydrates, hill-hole pairs above bedrock additionally indicate a link to underlying fault systems and hydrocarbon reservoirs. Freeze-on of underlying bedrock to the basal ice along the strike of faults in sedimentary bedrock explains deeper hill-hole pairs with smaller extents along the glacial unconformity compared to areally larger but shallow hill-hole pairs detected above glacial till on modern seabeds. Such close association between paleo-thermogenic gas seepage and the location of hill-hole pairs strongly support that hill-hole pairs are excellent markers revealing exit points of fluid migration pathways in petroleum system models.

Accuracy and digital screw path design of TiRobot-assisted pedicle screw placement for lumbar spondylolisthesis.

To investigate lumbar spondylolisthesis screw placement assisted by TiRobot in terms of digital screw path design, accurate implementation, and accuracy evaluation method. In this study, we enrolled 40 patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis between December 2020 and August 2021 who underwent spine surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of PuTian University. Pre-operative computed tomography position and screw path designation, intra-operative pedicle screw placement according to pre-operative planning, and post-operative evaluation of the accuracy of screw placement were performed. 3D coordinates of the entry and exit points before and after the operation were collected. The qualified points at different levels of accuracy were counted. The screw placement accuracy was based on the absolute difference using the Chi-squared test. In total, 194 screws were successfully implanted with no screws penetrating the cortex. The absolute difference of entry points X, Y, and Z coordinates before and after the operation was 0.425 ± 0.294 mm, 0.417 ± 0.310 mm, and 0.466 ± 0.327 mm, respectively. The corresponding values in terms of exit points were 0.702 ± 0.470 mm, 0.963 ± 0.595mm, and 0.983 ± 0.566 mm, respectively. No obvious differences in coordinates before and after the operation were observed with an entry point degree of accuracy of ≥ 1.2 mm and exit point degree of accuracy of ≥ 2.1 mm. Therefore, the real surgery was consistent with the design. TiRobot-assisted lumbar spondylolisthesis surgery achieved optimal path designation and precise surgery.

Application of an artificial neural networks for predicting the heat transfer in conical spouted bed using the Nusselt module

Artificial neural networks have been used since the last decade as a satisfactory alternative for the prediction of the fluid-dynamic behavior of particles. The aim of this work has been to develop a model based on artificial neural networks (ANN) suitable for quantifying the influence of multiple factors on the heat transfer rate in a conical spouted bed reactor. The Nusselt module has been taken as an exit point and nine input factors have been evaluated, among which are the height of the bed, the diameter of the contactor, the angle of the cone, and the minimum spouting speed, among others. The model has been found to fit appropriately to the equations proposed in the literature and can be used as a suitable model to predict the behavior of heat transfer in conical spouted bed reactors operating with biomass.

Pipeline, Pathway, Burrow

Pipeline, Pathway, Burrow

Geodesic Path Computation on Connected Trimmed Surfaces

Creeping waves considerably contribute to the total high-frequency electromagnetic field in the shadow region. These waves propagate along surface geodesic paths. To trace them, geodesic differential equations have to be solved, which require special care in the case of connected trimmed surfaces. In this article, an algorithm is proposed to compute geodesic path transition across connected trimmed surfaces. The formulation includes efficient boundary recognition as well as accurately initializing geodesic equations on the next trimmed surface. For boundary recognition, inscribed or peripheral polygons are constructed to estimate the boundary and to effectively initialize numerical methods of quadratic convergence to determine the exact exit point. To get the initial point and initial direction on the parametric domain of the next trimmed surface, two optimization problems are efficiently solved. The proposed algorithm is applicable even if first/second-order surface discontinuity is encountered during the transition. The proposed method is validated on canonical surfaces and nonuniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surfaces for various trimming curves. Accurate computation of geodesic paths is observed. Furthermore, the far-field radiation pattern of a monopole antenna mounted on a sphere, a cylinder, and an ellipsoid is obtained and confirmed by numerical electromagnetic software.

FIRE SAFETY COMPLIANCE AMONG HOSPITAL BUILDINGS: A CASE STUDY FROM NEPAL-ASIA

Purpose: Hospital building is more sensitive to fire as it has large number of patients who might need assistance during evacuation. The assessment focuses to the Compliance for fire safety by accessing different standards; availability of equipment and systems, exit requirements and awareness among the departmental staffs of Hospitals.Design/Methodology/Approach: The study confined to the 4 hospitals from Bharatpur Metropolitan, Nepal based on judgmental sampling viz; Bharatpur Hospital, BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, College of Medical Science and Chitwan Medical College building. Literature review was done followed by observation with checklist, questionnaire survey and key informant interview.Findings/Result: The study revealed that the fire safety preparedness was not a priority in the hospitals. All hospital buildings were designed following National building codes. Both private and public Hospitals, practically every one of them uncover a similar degree of readiness. Bharatpur hospital lacked many firefighting equipment such as smoke detector, heat detector, fire alarm and water hose reel. Water sprinkle was missed on all hospitals. Obstruction was found in the escape route. Lacked exit signs and floor indications. Staffs were found aware about the general component of the structure like structure plan, area for exit and assembly points but lacked awareness on emergency procedure.Originality/Value: This research complements the existing building code requirements and fire safety implementation especially for hospital building as Nepal is not having specific provisions for hospitals fire safety. It is assumed to be applicable for policy making in concerned authority & forms basis for further research.

Çoklu terk ediş noktası bulunan pistler için stokastik sıralama planlama modeli

The runway exit points (REPs) of the airport are constructed considering the operational performance of different types of aircraft based on historical flight data. In sequence planning, it is assumed that aircraft will vacate the runway from an expected exit point. However, real performance can be uncertain, and the same type of aircraft may vacate the runway from different exit points rather than the expected point. In addition, the runway occupancy times (ROTs) of aircraft that vacate the runway from the same exit point may not be equal. This situation brings two types of uncertainty when making traffic plans in an airport with several REPs. The first uncertainty is the REP of the aircraft, and the second is the ROT uncertainty considering the exit points. In this study, a two-stage stochastic programming model was developed for aircraft sequencing in an airport that has multiple runway exit points. In the model, both runway exit and ROT uncertainties are considered. A runway with multiple exit points at an airport in Turkey was selected and flight track data of 154 arrival flights to this runway was examined. Various expected time of arrival and departure (ETAD) scenarios were generated based on real data and integrated into the mathematical models. The proposed model was then compared with deterministic and first come first serve (FCFS) approaches in terms of total delay. As a result of the comparison and analyses, the presented stochastic programming model provided robust solutions and delay savings compared to the other approaches.

Modeling of the cutting front profile in abrasive water jet machining based on the energy balance approach

High-speed abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) is a universal tool for manufacturing engineering materials. However, the application of AWJM is greatly limited due to the jet lag value caused by the cutting front profile. This paper proposes a new method to predict jet lag values at different cutting depths. The novelty is that a simplified mathematical model of the cutting front profile is developed based on the energy balance theory. Two groups of experiments were conducted to investigate the influences of process parameters on the jet lag value and the dissipated energy during cutting. The numerical regression method is adopted to obtain the energy dissipation function, which has taken the key parameters such as material property, cutting depth, traverse speed, and the initial water jet energy into consideration. The predicted curves are compared with experimental results under different operating situations with the least value of R2 = 0.9136 and the maximum deviation in percent of 16% at the jet exit point. The proposed method contributes to further research on product distortion in abrasive water jet cutting.

A clinical study of thread carpal tunnel release with a newly developed thread: A retrospective pilot study.

IntroductionPrevious studies have shown that, thread carpal tunnel release (TCTR), an ultrasound-guided transverse carpal ligament (TCL) transection procedure through needle and thread, to be a safe and effective technique for carpal tunnel release, compared to an open and endoscopic technique. We developed a newly improved thread (Smartwire-01, 0.27mm in diameter, Korea). This pilot study was performed to propose the effectiveness of TCTR with Smartwire-01 compared to the commercial thread in clinical settings.MethodsA total of 22 TCTR procedures have been performed on 19 patients by one physiatrist during a 42-month period. The diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome was based on standard clinical criteria including electromyography (EMG). Patients were divided into two groups, one dissected with commercial thread and the other with Smartwire-01. The technique was standardized by keeping the entry point at the middle of the palm and the exit point at just medial to the palmaris longus tendon. The Numeric Rating Scale and Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire (BCTQ) were used to assess monthly outcomes for 6 months following the procedure. The Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Mann-Whitney-U test were performed to analyze the above variables in the two groups.ResultsThere was no definite evidence that the two groups have significant differences for any of the surveyed variables. The TCTR procedure with our newly developed thread also had significant improvements for all variables, showing its effectiveness in both pain and functional ability. The NRS and BCTQ severity and functional scales showed significant decreases just after the dissection and progressive improvement during each monthly follow-up of our study until the last assessment at 6 months.ConclusionThe study suggests that, our newly developed thread is as safe and effective as the commercial thread in TCTR, we therefore recommend a randomize controlled trial with above methodology.

Locality based Approach for containment of COVID-19 Infections in Pakistan’s High risk Districts-ICT

Abstract Background In May 2020, considering gradual restoration of all economical activities the Government of Pakistan updated containment strategy from locking down the whole country to locking down high-risk areas to mitigate COVID-19 spread. All districts having ≥300 cases/100,000 population. COVID-19 case incidence and test positivity rates by real-time RT-PCR before and after zonal lockdown were compared to assess whether the locality-based lockdowns can be used as an alternative to country lockdown to contain COVID-19 spread. Methods Smart lockdowns were implemented in ten localities in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), having a population of 60,000 from 12 May 2020 to June 3, 2020. Movements were restricted. Entry and exit points were guarded by police. Any person with symptoms of fever, cough, or sore throat tested by real-time RT-PCR methods and reported within 24 hours of collection. To compare the rate of active cases and positivity rate by weeks, we performed a z-test for two proportions and set p < 0.05 as the level of significance. Results The red zone had 60,000 persons in 2.00 square kilometers. The rate of active COVID-19 cases significantly decreased (p < 0.0001) during intervention from 300/100,000 population pre-containment time to 22/100,000 population after the first three weeks of lockdown. The COVID-19 positivity rate also decreased significantly (p < 0.0001) from 24% (24/78) pre-containment to 5.3% during containment. A total of 3800 people were tested in the following three weeks of intervention and 26 cases were detected. Conclusions The smart lockdowns approach reduced COVID-19 transmission in the ICT district. This type of intervention was recommended to reduce the COVID-19 infection spread Key messages • Reduced COVID-19 transmission in the ICT district. • Keeping balance between life and economy.