Satisfactory Control Research Articles

Correlation between serum microRNA-122 and VEGF expression and pregnancy outcome in gestational diabetes mellitus patients.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) seriously influences the health of mothers and babies, and there are still no effective early diagnostic markers. Therefore, our study planned to probe the correlation between serum microRNA-122 and VEGF expression and pregnancy outcome in GDM patients. This was a retrospective study of the correlation between serum microRNA-122 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and pregnancy outcome in GDM patients. Sixty GDM patients admitted to the Fourth Hospital of Shijiazhuang from January 2021 to October 2022 were included in the research group (RG), and another 60 healthy pregnant women were included in the control group (CG). Serum miR-122 and VEGF levels were quantified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The value of miR-122 and VEGF in predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve. Serum miR-122 and VEGF levels in the RG were higher relative to the CG. The total occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the RG was higher relative to the CG (P<0.05). Serum miR-122 together with VEGF levels in the poor outcome group was higher relative to the good outcome group (P<0.05). ROC analysis revealed that miR-122 and VEGF could be used to predict adverse pregnancy outcome (P<0.0001). The area under the curve of miR-122 was 0.860, 95% confidence interval (CI) =0.793-0.926, and the area under the curve of VEGF was 0.780, 95% CI =0.694-0.866. Serum levels of miR-122, VEGF were positively related with abortion, preterm delivery, low birth weight infants, macrogenesis infants, and fetal development abnormalities (P<0.001). The higher serum miR-122 and VEGF levels in GDM patients with satisfactory blood glucose control, the greater the probability of adverse pregnancy outcome, which should be paid attention to by clinicians.

Economical Design of Drip Irrigation Control System Management Based on the Chaos Beetle Search Algorithm

In the realm of existing intelligent drip irrigation control systems, traditional PID control encounters challenges in delivering satisfactory control outcomes, primarily owing to issues related to non-linearity, time-varying behavior, and hysteresis. In order to solve the problem of the unstable operation of the drip irrigation system in an intelligent irrigation system, this paper proposes chaotic beetle swarm optimization (CBSO) based on the BAS (beetle antennae search) longicorn search algorithm, with inertial weights, variable learning factors, and logistic chaos initialization improving global search capabilities. This was accomplished by formulating the optimization objective, which involved integrating the control input’s time integral term, the square term, and the absolute value of the error. Subsequently, PID parameter tuning was performed. In order to verify the actual effect of the CBSO algorithm on the PID drip irrigation control system, MATLAB was used to simulate and compare PID control optimized by the GA algorithm, PSO algorithm, and BSO (beetle search optimization) algorithm. The results show that PID control based on CBSO optimization has a short response time, small overshoot, and no oscillation in the steady state process. The performance of the controller is improved, which provides a basis for PID parameter setting for a drip irrigation control system.

Flexural and cracking behavior of corroded RC continuous beams strengthened with energized C‐FRCM system

AbstractThis paper presents an experimental investigation into the flexural and cracking behavior of corroded reinforced concrete continuous beams with 11‐month wet–dry cycles strengthened by anodic polarized carbon‐fabric‐reinforced cementitious matrix (C‐FRCM) plates. The failure modes and flexural bearing capacities were discussed. The influences of the layer of carbon fabric mesh and complete carbon fiber‐reinforced polymer (CFRP) wrapping as end anchorage on the strengthening effectiveness were explored. The complete crack development patterns were captured by a digital image correlation system, and the results showed that the C‐FRCM system can provide satisfactory crack width control, as proved by the reduced crack spacing and the maximum crack width. The flexural capacities of the strengthened beams were effectively enhanced and the debonding failure can be eliminated through complete CFRP wrappings. Moreover, the design recommendations were proposed based on the estimation of the crack development as per related design guidelines.

Antifungal activity and mechanism of palmarosa essential oil against pathogen Botrytis cinerea in the postharvest onions.

Botrytis cinerea is a pathogenic fungus that infests multiple crops, which causes a severe decrease in yield and generates substantial losses in the economy. Palmarosa essential oil (PEO) is a primary aromatic compound extracted from palmarosa that is commonly used for scent, medicine, and flavoring foods due to its diverse bioactive properties. In this study, we explored the antifungal activity and the main mechanism of action of PEO against B. cinerea. In addition, the components and control effects of PEO were also studied. The antifungal assay was tested using the mycelial growth rate method and colony morphology. The constituents of PEO were identified according to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main mechanism of action of PEO was evaluated by measuring representative indicators, which consist of cell contents leakage, excess reactive oxygen species (ROS), and other related indicators. The results indicated that at a concentration of 0.60ml l-1, PEO exhibits strong antifungal activity against B. cinerea. The PEO mainly included 13 compounds, of which citronellol (44.67%), benzyl benzoate (14.66%), and acetyl cedrene (9.63%) might be the main antifungal ingredients. The study elucidated the main mechanism of action of PEO against B. cinerea, which involved the disruption of cell membrane structure, resulting in altered the cell membrane permeability, leakage of cell contents, and accumulation of excess ROS. PEO is a satisfactory biological control agent that inhibits B. cinerea in postharvest onions. PEO (0.60ml l-1) exhibited strong antifungal activity by disrupting the cell membrane structure, altering cell membrane permeability, leading to the cell contents leakage, accumulation of excess ROS and increased level of Malondialdehyde (MDA) compared to the control group.

Neuroadaptive Fault-Tolerant Control With Guaranteed Performance for Euler-Lagrange Systems Under Dying Power Faults.

This article investigates the tracking control problem for Euler-Lagrange (EL) systems subject to output constraints and extreme actuation/propulsion failures. The goal here is to design a neural network (NN)-based controller capable of guaranteeing satisfactory tracking control performance even if some of the actuators completely fail to work. This is achieved by introducing a novel fault function and rate function such that, with which the original tracking control problem is converted into a stabilization one. It is shown that the tracking error is ensured to converge to a pre-specified compact set within a given finite time and the decay rate of the tracking error can be user-designed in advance. The extreme actuation faults and the standby actuator handover time delay are explicitly addressed, and the closed signals are ensured to be globally uniformly ultimately bounded. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been confirmed through both theoretical analysis and numerical simulation.

Role of Radiotherapy in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinomas: An Evolutionary Journey in a Misunderstood Histological Type

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has traditionally been considered one of the most radioresistant tumors based on in vitro and clinical studies that utilized a low biologically effective dose. However, recent studies have suggested that administering a higher radiation dose to RCC can lead to satisfactory local control and potentially long-lasting disease control. Thanks to significant advances in radiotherapy technology, it is now feasible to deliver higher radiation doses to tumors while preserving the organs at risk. Furthermore, over the past decade, a crucial role of radiotherapy has emerged in metastatic cancers, both for symptom palliation and for the elimination of tumor niches. This review discusses the current evidence and future perspectives concerning the role of radiotherapy in metastatic RCC.

Safety and efficacy of helical tomotherapy following lung-sparing surgery in locally advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma

PurposeTo assess the value of radiation therapy (RT) with helical tomotherapy (HT) in the management of locally advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) receiving no or lung-sparing surgery.MethodsConsecutive MPM cases not undergoing extrapleural pneumonectomy and receiving intensity-modulated (IM) HT were retrospectively evaluated for local control, distant control, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Impact of age, systemic treatment, RT dose, and recurrence patterns was analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis. As a secondary endpoint, reported toxicity was assessed.ResultsA total of 34 localized MPM cases undergoing IMHT were identified, of which follow-up data were available for 31 patients. Grade 3 side effects were experienced by 26.7% of patients and there were no grade 4 or 5 events observed. Median PFS was 19 months. Median OS was 20 months and the rates for 1‑ and 2‑year OS were 86.2 and 41.4%, respectively. OS was significantly superior for patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.008).ConclusionIMHT of locally advanced MPM after lung-sparing surgery is safe and feasible, resulting in satisfactory local control and survival. Adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improves OS. Randomized clinical trials incorporating modern RT techniques as a component of trimodal treatment are warranted to establish an evidence-based standard of care pattern for locally advanced MPM.

Self-evolution direct thrust control for turbofan engine individuals based on reinforcement learning methods

With the development of high-performance aero engines, the need for faster and more accurate thrust control has become increasingly critical. Remarkable achievements have been made in direct thrust control (DTC) for turbofan engines to meet these demands in recent years. However, most model-based methods only focus on the control law optimization to pursue better thrust control performance and ignore the model difference between the nominal model and the real engine. When there exist individual differences, the offline-designed control laws may suffer from significant online control performance degeneration problems. This paper proposes a novel self-evolution direct thrust control (SDTC) architecture to solve this problem, in which an uncertainty-aware state prediction model (USPM) and a self-evolution thrust controller are included. The USPM is proposed to predict the engine states of the individual engine, in which bootstrapped neural network (NN) ensemble methods are applied to deal with the epistemic uncertainty during the online identification process. To solve the performance degeneration problem, a novel sample evaluation prediction control (SEPC) and online policy evolution (OPE) reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm are proposed. When the nominal control policy is first applied in the onboard controller, the SEPC algorithm will temporarily adjust the output action in order to achieve a stable dynamic performance based on the prediction results of the USPM. The OPE algorithm updates the policy periodically and makes sure the policy is adapted to the new characteristics. Numerical simulation shows that the USPM can achieve high prediction accuracy under epistemic uncertainties, which helps the SEPC achieve satisfactory control performances under individual differences. The OPE algorithm can facilitate policy adaptation to individual characteristics with relatively low computational cost. Compared with other methods, our proposed SDTC architecture takes the lead in both performance and complexity and is instructive for other DTC researches.

Efficacy and preservation of hearing with low-dose gentamicin in unilateral meniere's disease: A clinical symptomatology-based study

PurposeMeniere's disease (MD), a disorder of the inner ear, presents numerous therapeutic challenges, and intratympanic (IT) gentamicin has been proposed for intractable cases. However, controversy regarding dosage and method persists. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of low-dose IT gentamicin on vertigo attacks in MD using a clinical symptomatology-based method, wherein administration was repeated only if vertigo attacks recurred, with a 2-week interval between injections. Materials and methodsThis study included 88 patients with unilateral intractable MD. All patients received one to five IT injections with 0.5 ml of 10 mg of gentamicin (80 mg/2 ml) with an interval of 2 weeks between injections. Vertigo attacks were evaluated before and after therapy and categorized into classes A–F according to the 2015 Equilibrium Committee criteria. Audiovestibular assessments, including Pure Tone Audiometry and Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex evaluations, were performed. ResultsBefore treatment, patients had an average of 4.4 vertigo attacks/month; after treatment, this average decreased to 0.52. The majority of patients (57 %) reached Class A or B vertigo control with five or fewer gentamicin injections. VOR gain was slightly affected on the healthy side and significantly reduced on the affected side. No hearing deterioration was found in any of the treated patients. ConclusionsLow-dose IT gentamicin administration based on clinical symptomatology can produce a satisfactory control of vertigo attacks after treatment. This protocol primarily affected the vestibular function, as demonstrated by the significant reduction in VOR gain on the affected side, while avoiding cochlear damage. The lack of adverse events and preservation of hearing underscore the safety and efficacy of this method. These findings have significant clinical implications, suggesting that a low-dose, clinical symptomatology-based gentamicin treatment regimen could be an effective and safe strategy for managing unilateral Meniere's disease in a larger population.

Shaking table tests on seismic behaviors of a single-layer spherical lattice shell with shape memory alloy-controlled friction pendulum bearings

An innovative seismic isolation device incorporating a friction pendulum bearing (FPB) and vertically aligned shape memory alloy (SMA) strands is proposed for the seismic control of spherical lattice shells located in strong-earthquake regions. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed SMA-FPBs experimentally, a 1/10-scale single-layer spherical lattice shell test structure and a set of isolators were designed and fabricated. A shaking table was used to apply various three-dimensional seismic excitations to test structures equipped with and without different isolation bearings (SMA-FPBs or bare FPBs). Significant seismic behavior enhancements were observed when such isolation systems were used. However, bare FPBs cannot accommodate excessive displacements induced by high seismic intensities owing to their lack of adaptive control. In contrast, SMA-FPBs exhibited satisfactory control performance in terms of the peak and residual bearing displacements under fortification and rare seismic actions, and the adaptive properties of the SMA-FPBs protected the isolators from disassembly owing to excessive sliding displacements under extremely rare earthquakes, even though their re-centering abilities decreased slightly because of the failure of several SMA wires. Finally, the larger number of SMA wires in an SMA-FPB enhanced its restraining capacity against peak bearing displacement rather than improving the seismic responses of structural nodes and members.

Shoulder pain management strategies and early functional outcome after arthroscopic rotator cuff tear repair. A randomized controlled study

BackgroundThe management of acute postoperative pain after rotator cuff surgery can be challenging. To our knowledge, there are no data available in the literature correlating satisfactory pain control with improvement in terms of function. The purposes of the present study were to evaluate: 1) pain pattern after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in patients operated with two different techniques (transosseous vs transosseous equivalent); 2) safety/efficacy of three different pharmacological pain control strategies; 3) possible relationship between a correct shoulder pain management protocol in the early post-operative period and patients’ functional improvement. Methods114 patients underwent rotator cuff tear repair, either with a Transosseus or a Transosseus equivalent technique. 62 (54%) were male and 52 (46%) were female. The average age was 59 ± 9 years. They were randomly assigned into three different pain management protocols: Paracetamol as needed (max 3 tablets/day) for 1 week (Protocol A), Paracetamol + Codein 1 tablet three times per day for 7 days (Protocol B), or Paracetamol + Ibuprofen 1 tablet two times per day for 7 days (Protocol C). Immediate passive mobilization of the operated shoulder was allowed. VAS and Passive Flexion values were recorded at 7 (T1), 15 (T2) and 30 (T3) days post-surgery. DASH values were recorded at 90 days post-surgery. All patients were asked to register any kind of signs/symptoms that may appear during drug assumption according to each pain management protocols. ResultsAll the pain management protocols administered were well tolerated by all the study population, and no adverse signs/symptoms were highlighted during drug assumption.Pain pattern: in both surgical techniques, patients within Protocol A were associated with worst results in terms of mean VAS at each time point examined when compared to Protocol B and C (p < 0,05). In patients within Protocol A, no statistically significant differences were found at each point time examined comparing the two surgical techniques, with the exception of T2, where the TO was associated with an higher VAS value than TOE (p < 0.05). No differences were highlighted in Protocol B and C when comparing the values between two surgical techniques.ROM: in both surgical techniques, patients within Protocol A were associated with worst results in terms of mean PROM at each time point examined when compared to Protocol B and C (p < 0,05). In the TO group, patients within Protocol B had better PROM values at T1 (p < 0,05) and T2 (p < 0,05) compared to Protocol C, but no differences were highlighted at T3. In the TOE group, no statistically significant differences were found between patients within Protocol B and C at each time point examined.DASH: In the TO group, no statistically significant differences were found regarding the DASH values comparing Protocol B vs Protocol C, but they were highlighted comparing the values between Protocol A and Protocol B (p < 0,05), and between Protocol A and Protocol C (p < 0,05). Similar results were recorded in the TOE group. ConclusionPost-operative pain is influenced by the surgical technique used being transosseous more painful in the first 15 days after surgery. Oral anti-inflammatory drugs are a feasible strategy to appropriately control post-operative pain. An association between Paracetamol and either Codein or Ibuprofen can lead to better outcomes in terms of VAS reduction and early recovery of passive ROM.

The impact of duration and control of type 1 diabetes mellitus on microvascular function is strongly modified by the gene for connexin 37

Abstract Introduction Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is almost inevitably accompanied by microvascular dysfunction. This could be responsible for cardiovascular events and is supposed to be caused mainly by long-term exposure to hyperglycemia. Nevertheless, relationship between duration and control of T1DM with microvascular complications can be modified by genetic factors; one of frequently discussed candidate genes is connexin37 (cx37), namely its rs1764391 (C1019&amp;gt;T (Pro319&amp;gt;Ser) polymorphism. We already observed sex specific association between cx37 polymorphism with macrovascular changes but also with retinopathy, neuropathy and diabetic foot. In the recent study, we analyzed if the impact of duration and control of T1DM on directly measured microvascular function is modified by cx37 gene polymorphism. Methods In 235 men and 227 women with T1DM (mean age 43.6 ± 13.6 years; mean duration of diabetes 22.1 ± 11.3 years) wide spectrum of clinical, laboratory and hemodynamic parameters was measured. Establishment of microvascular function measured by photoplethysmography (detection of blood volume changes in the microvasculature in lower extremities) and calculated as Oliva/Roztocil index (ORI), was analyzed. Cx37 gene polymorphism was measured by PCR-RFLP. The correlation (Pearson’s correlation coefficient) between duration of T1DM and ORI was calculated including analysis of potential modification by control of diabetes (HbA1c) and by cx37 gene polymorphism and standardized for potential confounders (sex, age, smoking, presence of hypertension, central obesity …) by multiple regression. The analysis was conducted separately for duration of T1DM below (n=256) and above (n=206) 20 years as the linear relationship between ORI and T1DM duration tends to change accordingly. Results In patients with T1DM, distribution of Cx37 genotypes did not differ from the already described populations (TT/CT/CC: 9.7/44.4/45.9%). In patients with satisfactory control of diabetes (HbA1c&amp;lt;53 mmol/mol; n=105) we detected worsening (increase) of ORI with duration of diabetes only in TT homozygotes and CT heterozygotes for duration of at least 20 years (r=0.6, p=0.006), while in patients with unsatisfactory control (HbA1c&amp;gt;60 mmol/mol;n=270), we detected worsening of ORI with duration of diabetes only in CC homozygotes, both for duration 0-20 years (r=0.35, p=0.03) and for duration of at least 20 years (r=0.47, p=0.03). Conclusion Microvascular function in satisfactory controlled T1DM was worsening with diabetes duration only in T allele carriers of Cx37 gene, the worsening was detected only for patients with duration longer than 20 years. However, if T1DM control was insufficient, microcirculation was worsening only in CC homozygotes.

Stable light-emitting bionic antibody-conjugated covalent organic frameworks for the adsorption of urea and control of ethyl carbamate

In this paper, a novel azide-modified covalent organic framework conjugated bionic antibody microspheres (COFs(azide)@BAs) were prepared for the adsorption of urea and indirect control of ethyl carbamate (EC) in the processing of Huangjiu. To improve the fluorescence properties and specific binding ability to target, COFs(azides) were synthesized using post-modification of copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). The aggregation-induced enhancement (AIE) interaction between COFs(azides)@BAs and urea induced an enhanced fluorescence behavior. The detection limit of urea was as low as 13 ng L−1 (R2 = 0.9896) in the linear range of 0.05–5 μg L−1. In addition, a satisfactory control rate for the removal of EC was achieved by COFs(azide)@BAs in the simulated system of Huangjiu processing. Therefore, this research broadened the path for the application of optical sensing systems in food safety control, which had important food safety implication and great economic value.

A Soft Tissue Technique for Treating Knee Hyperextension or Recurvatum: Posterior Oblique Ligament Advancement

Background: Genu recurvatum is a challenging disorder and can negatively affect knee biomechanics, as reflected in its role as a risk factor for knee ligament injury and poor outcomes following ligament reconstruction or arthroplasty. Indication: Pathological recurvatum should be addressed in the presence of a causative correctible structural abnormality, whether due to decreased posterior tibial slope or due to multiligament injury. We described a posterior oblique ligament (POL) advancement technique for the treatment of knee recurvatum. Technique Description: After completion of all concomitant procedures such as ligament reconstructions, the procedure is initiated with a medial approach. The POL is isolated with an inverted L-shaped dissection and mobilized. Mattress sutures are passed through the resulting POL flap, and are re-tensioned and fixed anteriorly and distally, with the knee close to extension, in order for the imbrication to restrain hyperextension. Results: Anecdotal evidence points to satisfactory control of knee recurvatum postoperatively, which can potentially avoid its deleterious effects in surgical outcomes. Discussion/Conclusion: We present a promising option in the treatment of pathological recurvatum, with favorable cost-efficacy, low morbidity relative to slope-altering osteotomy or posterolateral soft tissue procedures, and focused on the biomechanically demonstrated main restrictors to knee hyperextension. Patient Consent Disclosure Statement: The author(s) attests that consent has been obtained from any patient(s) appearing in this publication. If the individual may be identifiable, the author(s) has included a statement of release or other written form of approval from the patient(s) with this submission for publication.

Event-triggered adaptive prescribed performance control of flexible-joint manipulators with output constraint

PurposeThis paper aims to design an event-triggered adaptive prescribed performance controller for flexible manipulators, with the primary objectives of achieving output performance constraints and addressing communication resource limitations.Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose a novel prescribed performance barrier Lyapunov function (PP-BLF) that considers both output and tracking performance constraints. The PP-BLF ensures that the system's output, transient behavior and steady-state performance, adhere to prescribed constraints. The boundary of the PP-BLF is established by an exponential function that decays over time. Notably, the PP-BLF can be applied seamlessly in unconstrained cases without necessitating controller redesign. Moreover, the controller design incorporates an event-triggered mechanism, effectively reducing the frequency of controller updates and optimizing the utilization of communication resources. Additionally, the authors employ adaptive techniques to estimate the system's unknown parameters and approximate unknown nonlinear functions using radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN). To address the challenge of “complexity explosion”, dynamic surface technology is employed.FindingsNumerical simulations are conducted under five different cases to verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller. The results demonstrate that the controller successfully constrains the output tracking error within the prescribed performance boundary. Moreover, compared with the traditional time-triggered mechanism, the event-triggered mechanism significantly reduces the controller's update frequency, resolving the problem of limited communication resources.Originality/valueThe paper reduces the update frequency of control signals and improves resource utilization through an event-triggered mechanism in the form of relative thresholds. The authors recognize that the event-triggered mechanism may impact the output performance of the system. To address this challenge, the authors propose a prescribed performance Barrier Lyapunov Function (PP-BLF). The PP-BLF is designed to effectively constrain the output performance of the system, ensuring satisfactory control even when the control signal updates are reduced.

Glycemic control versus quality of life in a cohort of diabetic children from South Kerala

Background: Assessment of HRQOL (Health related quality of life) in clinical practice is important to determine the course of the disease, early recognition of problems and the type of insulin therapy that would be adequate to maintain satisfactory metabolic control with less impact on HRQOL in every patient. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in the tertiary care hospital in Kerala. All children’s who aged 4-18 years with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) attending pediatric OPD in a tertiary care hospital in Kerala were included. The study period was 18 months. PedsQL diabetes module 3.0 (pediatric quality of life inventory 3.0 diabetes module) and PedsQL generic core module 4 (pediatric quality of life inventory 4.0 generic core scale) were used as tools. Results: The study population included 30 children with type 1 DM. The average duration of diabetes was 5.60±2.990 years. Based on HbA1c level, 16 [53.3%] children had well controlled diabetes and 14 [46.7%] had poorly controlled diabetes. Eighteen [80%] patients had complications in the form diabetic ketoacidosis or hypoglycemia in the past 1 year. Diabetes specific quality of life mean scores were [child report and parent proxy report] 88.4 and 85.9 for poorly controlled diabetes group and 94.4 and 93.0 for well controlled group respectively which showed a significant difference (p value 0.004). Children with better glycemic control also showed better generic score (p value-0.004). Conclusions: Metabolic control, measured by HbA1c value, was significantly associated with QoL in patients with diabetes. Good glycemic control is associated with better quality of life and less diabetes related symptoms.

Added value of corpus callosotomy following vagus nerve stimulation in children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome: A multicenter, multinational study.

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a severe form of epileptic encephalopathy, presenting during the first years of life, and is very resistant to treatment. Once medical therapy has failed, palliative surgeries such as vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) or corpus callosotomy (CC) are considered. Although CC is more effective than VNS as the primary neurosurgical treatment for LGS-associated drop attacks, there are limited data regarding the added value of CC following VNS. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of CC preceded by VNS. This multinational, multicenter retrospective study focuses on LGS children who underwent CC before the age of 18 years, following prior VNS, which failed to achieve satisfactory seizure control. Collected data included epilepsy characteristics, surgical details, epilepsy outcomes, and complications. The primary outcome of this study was a 50% reduction in drop attacks. A total of 127 cases were reviewed (80 males). The median age at epilepsy onset was 6 months (interquartile range [IQR] = 3.12-22.75). The median age at VNS surgery was 7 years (IQR = 4-10), and CC was performed at a median age of 11 years (IQR = 8.76-15). The dominant seizure type was drop attacks (tonic or atonic) in 102 patients. Eighty-six patients underwent a single-stage complete CC, and 41 an anterior callosotomy. Ten patients who did not initially have a complete CC underwent a second surgery for completion of CC due to seizure persistence. Overall, there was at least a 50% reduction in drop attacks and other seizures in 83% and 60%, respectively. Permanent morbidity occurred in 1.5%, with no mortality. CC is vital in seizure control in children with LGS in whom VNS has failed. Surgical risks are low. A complete CC has a tendency toward better effectiveness than anterior CC for some seizure types.

Challenges of ANN in Adapting to Abrupt Parameters Variations for Shunt Active Filter

The purpose of the shunt active power filter (SAPF) goes beyond simply improving power factor; it also aims to mitigate unwanted harmonic currents generated by nonlinear loads. This research introduces a SAPF equipped with an identification and control method utilizing artificial neural networks (ANN). Various techniques are employed for harmonic identification, including traditional p-q theory and the relatively recent approach of artificial neural networks. Achieving satisfactory identification and control characteristics is challenging when dealing with the nonlinearity of the system, particularly in situations involving rapid nonlinear load fluctuations. This study represents a systematic effort to address this challenge by enhancing the SAPF with a method for harmonics identification and DC link voltage control based on ANN. This approach is tested on the SAPF under conditions of fast, nonlinear load variations. The study includes both computer simulations and experimental results, which provide evidence of the viability and effectiveness of the proposed active power filter.

Constrained model predictive control for 3-D offshore boom cranes

Offshore boom cranes are complex nonlinear underactuated systems, whose control problems, when considering the 3-dimensional (3-D) model affected by ship-induced disturbances, are full of various challenges. In fact, it still remains an open problem to efficiently control the 3-D offshore boom cranes. Moreover, most existing works on offshore cranes concentrate upon designing the force/torque controller, whose performance degrades badly in the presence of friction. In this paper, considering the above issues, a novel model predictive control (MPC) method, which successfully considers the constraints of both input and output of the system, is proposed to achieve satisfactory control performance even under the effect of persistent ship roll and heave perturbations. Specifically, a discrete model is first obtained by some careful transformation and discretization on the unactuated dynamics equations, based on which a novel model predictive controller is constructed. To reduce the complexity of the system, the unactuated states and the accelerations of actuated states are considered as system states and control inputs respectively. After that, the requirements for the payload position accuracy and swing suppression as well as other system constraints, are taken into full account by converting them into input constraints to facilitate subsequent handling. At last, hardware experiments are implemented on a self-built testbed, with the obtained results clearly illustrating the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.

Spinal anesthesia for L5-S1 interlaminar endoscopic lumbar discectomy: a retrospective study

ObjectiveThis study aimed to report our experience with spinal anesthesia (SA) in patients undergoing L5-S1 interlaminar endoscopic lumbar discectomy (IELD) and clarify its advantages and disadvantages.MethodsOne hundred twelve patients who underwent IELD for an L5-S1 disc herniation under SA were retrospectively analyzed. SA with 0.5% ropivacaine was administered using a 27-gauge fine needle. Intraoperatively, the volume and level of SA, surgical time, blood loss, and cardiopulmonary complications were documented. Postoperative data was collected included the number of patients who ambulated on the day of surgery, incidence of complications and were then statistically analyzed.ResultsAnalgesia was complete throughout the entire operation in all patients and no other adjuvant intraoperative analgesic drugs were needed. Mean visual analog scale scores for intraoperative and early postoperative (24 h) pain were 0 and 2.43 ± 1.66. SA was administered at the L3-4 interspace in 34 patients (30.4%) and the L2-3 interspace in 78 (69.6%). Administration was successful with the first attempt in all patients. Mean operation time was 70.12 ± 6.52 min. Mean intraoperative blood loss volume was 20.71 ± 5.26 ml. Ninety-eight patients ambulated on the same day as surgery. Mean length of hospital stay was 24.36 ± 3.64 h. Dural injury without damaging the nerve root occurred in one patient. One patient experienced recurrent disc herniation. Intraoperative hypotension and respiratory distress occurred in five (4.5%) and three (2.7%) patients, respectively. Three patients (2.7%) received postoperative analgesia therapy and two (1.8%) experienced nausea. Two patients (1.8%) developed urinary retention. Spinal headache, cauda equina syndrome, and neurotoxicity did not occur.ConclusionSA can achieve satisfactory pain control for patients undergoing IELD with a low incidence of adverse events. SA may be a useful alternative to local and general anesthesia for IELD surgery. Future randomized controlled trials are warranted to investigate.