Separate Registration Research Articles

An Appraisal of Good Regulatory Review Practices in the Gulf Cooperation Council States

The aim of this study was to evaluate how each Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regulatory authority is building quality into the assessment and registration process and to establish opportunities for the exchange of best practice between the GCC states. A questionnaire was completed by the 7 Gulf States (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates [UAE], and Yemen), which provided details of the quality attributes that characterize the extent of the scientific assessment in the region. The results showed that each authority has its unique practices that characterize their 7 milestones in comparison with the other GCC authorities. Bahrain uses good review practice (GRP) guidelines and has placement arrangements in competent authorities, while Kuwait has separate pricing and registration departments. Oman engages external audit programs from accredited bodies, while Saudi Arabia and UAE conduct formal training for their assessors.

An iterative integrated framework for thermal–visible image registration, sensor fusion, and people tracking for video surveillance applications

In this work, we propose a new integrated framework that addresses the problems of thermal–visible video registration, sensor fusion, and people tracking for far-range videos. The video registration is based on a RANSAC trajectory-to-trajectory matching, which estimates an affine transformation matrix that maximizes the overlapping of thermal and visible foreground pixels. Sensor fusion uses the aligned images to compute sum-rule silhouettes, and then constructs thermal–visible object models. Finally, multiple object tracking uses blobs constructed in sensor fusion to output the trajectories. Results demonstrate the advantage of our proposed framework in obtaining better results for both image registration and tracking than separate image registration and tracking methods.

Factors influencing midwifery migration from the United Kingdom to Australia

Within the current literature on the globalization of the healthcare workforce, it is difficult to separate the migration experience of nurses from that of midwives. As more countries are moving to offer direct entry educational programmes and provide separate registration for midwives, information specific to that professional group will be required to guide workforce planners and inform employment practice. This qualitative study tracks the migration experience of midwives moving between the UK and Australia. A purposeful sample of 18 midwives who had migrated from the UK to one state in Australia was interviewed within a descriptive phenomenological framework. Data were analysed using thematic coding within Nvivo (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). The strongest motivator for migration was to improve the family's lifestyle. Push factors included disillusionment with working conditions, standard of living in the UK and national politics. The majority of midwives had organized their own entry visa and employment. Most midwives had occupied senior positions in the UK but accepted employment initially within entry-level positions in Australia. Despite both countries offering similar standards of living, the majority of midwives expected to achieve an improvement in family lifestyle in Australia. Midwives indicated they were prepared to lose professional status and seniority of position to gain a better overall lifestyle for their family. To examine the long-term sustainability of international recruitment processes, further research is indicated to examine the ongoing experience and integration of migrant midwives into the workforce in Australia.

Kansas (Central States) Entomological Society Announcement of Spring 2011 Meeting

E 2011 Kansas Entomological Society Friday April 15 9:30 A.M.–11:00 A.M. Introduction to the LUCID software system for creating and editing digital identification keys. 1:30 P.M.–5:00 P.M. LUCID software workshop (separate registration required; co-sponsored by the Center for Biological Control, Florida A&M University, and Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas) 4:00 P.M.–7:00 P.M. Open House and meeting registration at Monarch Watch

Accuracy of Multilevel Registration in Image-Guided Pedicle Screw Insertion for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Retrospective clinical study. To assess the accuracy of multilevel registration for skip pedicle screw placement during image-guided, computer-assisted spine surgery, in the setting of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Computerized frameless stereotactic image-guidance has been used recently to improve pedicle screw placement accurately and safety during spine surgery. Because of possible intervertebral motion and usual difference in patients' position between preoperative imaging and surgery, the imaging model and the surgically exposed spine may be significantly discordant. Consequently, current protocols suggested separate registration of each spinal level (single-level registration) before respective pedicle screw placement, a time-consuming process. Moreover, although multilevel registration for lumbar spine has been reported, and that for thoracic spine has not. A total of 19 patients (1 male and 18 females; mean age, 13.9 years) with AIS who underwent multilevel registration for skip pedicle screw placement were included. Variables including surgical time, blood loss, preoperative and 2-year postoperative Cobb angle, correction rate, and postoperative screw position by computed tomography image were evaluated. Mean registration error after point merge and again after surface merge were recorded for each consecutive vertebra of each case. Mean surgical time was 310 minutes (range, 168-420 min). Mean blood loss 1138 g (range, 300-2300 g). Cobb angle before operation and at 2 years postoperation was 62.4 degrees (43 degrees-100 degrees) and 21.6 degrees (9 degrees-42 degrees), respectively. Mean correction rate 66.2% (39.7%-84.5%). Total 265 screws were inserted with computed tomography-based navigation system. Pedicle violation was observed in only 4 screws (1.5%). No neurovascular complication occurred. After point merge, average Mean registration error of all cases was 1.69 +/- 0.52 mm, and after surface merge was 0.51 +/- 0.16 mm. Multilevel registration may decrease operative time without compromising accuracy of pedicle screw placement afforded by this technique in the setting of AIS.

Top three reasons to come to Kobe for the 14th International Congress of Immunology

Top three reasons to come to Kobe for the 14th International Congress of Immunology

Hypertonic saline injections to enhance the radiofrequency thermal ablation effect in the treatment of base of tongue in obstructive sleep apnoea patients: a pilot study

Conclusion. Hypertonic saline (HS) infiltration in the base of the tongue (BOT) in multilevel radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatment was followed by significant acute complications in terms of soft tissue swelling. Three patients were defined as cured. No significant changes in the measured parameters were encountered, although, several of them showed a clear trend. New treatment modalities are needed to keep multilevel RFA treatment as a minimally invasive procedure. Objectives. To assess the efficacy and morbidity of RFA of the soft palate (SP) and BOT infiltrated with HS in obstructive sleep apnoea in a prospective, non-randomized clinical study. Patients and methods. The inclusion criteria were age between 30 and 65 years, habitual snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness, a body mass index ≤33, and an apnoea-hypopnoea index ≥20. RFA of the SP and the BOT was delivered under local anaesthesia. HS solution was injected before the treatment into the BOT. The morbidity of the procedure was assessed with a visual analogue scale, and efficacy by separate questionnaires and sleep registration. The volume changes induced by the procedure were evaluated with cephalometric radiographs (CRs). Results. Twelve males and one female with a median age of 50 years (range 41–62) entered the study. Six patients (46%) had more postoperative swelling in the upper airway than expected. Three patients were defined as cured. The trend in the questionnaires was clear, but not significant. In the soft tissue airway CR measurements no significant changes were encountered, although a trend towards volume reduction was seen in the posterior airway space measure.

Molar-Incisor-Hypomineralisation impact on developmental defects of enamel prevalence in a low fluoridated area

This was to study the impact of molar-incisor-hypomineralisations on developmental defects of enamel (DDE) prevalence. Additionally, to present the prevalence of DDE and molar-incisor-hypomineralisations (MIH) in 12-year old children in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) who live in an area with low natural fluoride content in the drinking water (less than 0.1 ppm). As a part of the oral health study of 12-year-olds, information about DDE and MIH were collected from a random sample of 560 children. To study the impact of MIH on DDE, a secondary database was developed to determine if and to what extent did MIH affect epidemiological parameters of DDE. The analyses focused on differences in DDE values between the main sample and sub-sample of participants in which those diagnosed with both MIH and DDE were excluded. Research results were analysed using percentages, arithmetic mean value, standard deviation and linear regression. In the main sample MIH prevalence was 12.3%. The DDE prevalence was 32.8% with the highest frequency being demarcated opacities. DDE prevalence, calculated without MIH examinees, was 21.4%. A strong positive correlation was found between MIH and DDE prevalence in different geographic locations (r=0.9, p=0.0008). Molar-incisor-hypomineralisation prevalence has a strong positive correlation with prevalence of developmental defects of enamel. Prevalence of DDE after excluding MIH examinees fell from 32.8% to 21.4%, which was a noticeable difference. Separate registration of these two conditions should be considered.

Audiology Convention Program Expands

You have accessThe ASHA LeaderASHA News1 Sep 2008Audiology Convention Program Expands Robert Turner Robert Turner Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.AN2.13122008.4 SectionsAbout ToolsAdd to favorites ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In This year’s convention theme is “Celebrating the Winds of Change.” It may sound a little corny, but it is very appropriate. The audiology program, for example, will present many changes. Our objective was to make the program bigger, better, and more accessible, with “all things audiology” in one place with an outstanding group of speakers. The audiology program will feature six workshop-like programs called “focused tracks.” Invited and submitted presentations were used to create six highly structured programs on specific topics that encompass hearing science and clinical audiology. There are four three-day programs: (central) auditory processing and its disorders; cochlear implants; hearing and balance issues in adults; and hearing loss in infants and children. There are two day-and-a-half programs: hearing science and hearing aids. In each of the six tracks, presentations will occur continuously. These structured programs provide a more organized audiology convention with content that are easier to access. Structured programs are available for audiologists who want to focus on a particular area; audiologists with multiple interests will find it easy to identify relevant presentations in different tracks. These focused tracks consist of invited sessions that have been designated “featured presentations.” And additional submitted presentations (sessions) are planned, plus 15-minute technical sessions.*The convention offers up to 2.5 ASHA CEUs and AAA CEUs. No separate registration beyond the convention registration is required. Among the unique features of this year’s audiology program are “updates” presentations by recognized experts on particular topics. They are easily identified with titles that begin “Update ’08.” Audiology Poster Sessions are also available each day. The ASHA convention offers sessions on academics and education; business, management, and professional issues; research across the disciplines; and issues in culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Many of these presentations will be of interest to audiologists. I know we will have reason to celebrate this year’s audiology program. Please stop by the Audiology Information Booth to provide feedback about the program and the new features. Please use the online program scheduler “My Planner” to arrange your Convention schedule. Abstracts for all sessions are included in the planner. Author Notes Robert Turner, is chair of the 2008 Audiology Convention. Contact him at [email protected]. Additional Resources FiguresSourcesRelatedDetails Volume 13Issue 12September 2008 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library History Published in print: Sep 1, 2008 Metrics Downloaded 42 times Topicsasha-topicsleader_do_tagleader-topicsasha-article-typesCopyright & Permissions© 2008 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLoading ...

TH-D-332-07: Removing Artifacts From 4DCT Volumes Acquired in Cine Mode Using B-Spline Non-Rigid Registrations

Purpose: To remove artefacts that occur between adjacent couch positions in 4DCT volumes acquired in Cine mode. Method and Materials: separate B-spline non-rigid registration is performed between an artefact free reference volume and the data from each individual couch position in the 4DCT volume. The registration is performed using an extended control point grid that covers all of the couch positions and is common to all of the registrations. Therefore the result of each registration defines a transformation over all couch positions but was only constrained by data from one couch position. The registration results from all couch position are then combined into a single B-spline transformation. The control point displacements in the combined transformation are a weighted average of the displacements in the individual registrations. The weight for each registration is different for each row in the control point grid, and depends on the contribution that the control points make to the transformation in the region of the couch position that was registered. The combined transformation is continuous across all the couch positions, and when used to deform the reference volume will produce an artefact free prediction of the anatomy in the same respiratory state as the original 4DCT volume. Results: This method has been applied to 4DCT data from five patients that were subject to artefacts between couch positions. In all cases our method produced volumes that resembled the original 4DCT data but were free of artefacts between adjacent couch positions. Conclusion: We have presented a novel method based on B-spline non-rigid registration that can remove the artefacts that occur between adjacent couch positions in 4DCT volumes acquired in Cine model, and have successfully demonstrated this method on data from five patients.

Segmental Pedicle Screwing for Idiopathic Scoliosis Using Computer-assisted Surgery

Retrospective clinical study. To evaluate the accuracy of computer-assisted surgery for idiopathic scoliosis. Segmental pedicle screw fixation has been proven to enable enhanced correction of scoliotic deformities. However, both neurovascular and visceral structures are at potential risk from screw misplacement due to pedicle drift. No reports exist on the accuracy and benefits of computer-assisted surgery for pedicle screwing in scoliosis surgery. A total of 40 consecutive patients with idiopathic scoliosis were evaluated. Postoperative computed tomography was assessed for the accuracy of pedicle screw placement in 20 cases treated without a navigation system and 20 cases with a computed tomography-based navigation system. Correlations between registered levels and pedicle perforation were investigated. Pedicle violation was observed in 28.0% of the control group and 11.4% of the navigation group, with significant differences. No screw misplacements at the registered levels were seen, and the longer the distance between the registered level and level of screw insertion, the higher the rate of pedicle violation. No intraoperative complications caused by pedicle perforation occurred. In the navigation group, a tendency to lateral perforation at the concave side and medial perforation at the convex side was noted, like in the control group. Use of the navigation system significantly reduced the screw misplacement rate for rotated vertebrae as compared with the control group. Separate registration is recommended for rotated vertebrae when possible.

Computer-assisted pedicle screw placement for thoracolumbar spine fracture with separate spinal reference clamp placement and registration

Background The objective of the study was to improve the accuracy of computer-assisted pedicle screw installation in the spine. This study evaluates the accuracy of computer-assisted pedicle screw placement with separate spinal reference clamp placement and registration on each instrumented vertebra for thoracolumbar spine fractures. Methods Postoperative radiographs and CT scans assessed the accuracy of pedicle screw placement in 21 adult patients on each instrumented vertebra. Screw placements were graded as good if the screws were placed in the central core of the pedicle and the cancellous portion of the body. Screw placements were graded as fair if the screws were placed slightly eccentrically, causing erosion of the pedicular cortex, and with less than a 2-mm perforation of the pedicular cortex. Screw placements were graded as poor if screws were placed eccentrically with a large portion of the screw extending outside the cortical margin of the pedicle and with more than a 2-mm perforation of the pedicular cortex. Results A total of 140 image-guided pedicle screws were placed in 21 patients: 78 in the thoracic and 62 in the lumbar spine. Of the 140 pedicle screw placements, 96.4% (135/140) were categorized as good; 3.6% (5/140), fair; and 0% were poor. All 5 fair placement screws were placed in the thoracic spine without any mobility. Conclusion Separate registration increases accuracy of screw placement in thoracolumbar pedicle instrumentation. Separate spinal reference clamp placement in the instrumented vertebra provides real-time virtual imaging that decreases the possibility of downward displacement during manual installation of the screw.

Projecting the Long-Term Quality-Adjusted Survival of Patients with Imatinib-Resistant Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia in Chronic Phase Receiving Nilotinib, Dasatinib, Dose Escalation Imatinib, or Palliative Care: An Essential Element for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Background: Imatinib is the mainstay in the treatment of chronic phase CML (CML-CP). However, in a minority of patients, resistance to imatinib is observed. Until recently, these patients underwent dose-escalation with imatinib (DEI) or stopped therapy and received no further tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Recent evidence suggests that the new-generation TKIs nilotinib and dasatinib may provide an alternative for these patients. This study modeled the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) of nilotinib, dasatinib, DEI, or no additional TKI (i.e., palliative care) in imatinib-resistant CML-CP patients, with the aim of using these estimates in cost effectiveness analyses.Methods: A Markov model linking major cytogenetic response (MCyR) at 6 months to long-term survival was developed to project disease progression and estimate QALYs associated with each treatment option for a CML-CP patient (male, age 56 years old). The 6-month MCyR was used as it was the furthest assessment time common across all treatment options. The fundamental tenet of the model was that imatinib-resistant patients achieving a MCyR at 6 months on any option live longer than those who do not. The proportions of patients achieving a MCyR at 6 months were derived from separate single-arm registration trials and epidemiologic studies of each option. The duration of survival for patients achieving/not achieving a MCyR at 6 months was determined by estimating the areas under the Kaplan-Meier survival curves of CML-CP patients with documented resistance to regular-dose imatinib who were receiving DEI (based on a subgroup analysis of patients enrolled in the IRIS study who underwent dose escalation) or no additional TKI. Duration of survival for responders/non responders was further divided into time spent in chronic phase (CP), accelerated phase (AP), and blast crisis (BC). The time spent in AP and BC was assumed independent of the treatment option received and was estimated using the literature. Thus, patients with MCyR were projected to live longer, spend more time in CP, and progressed more slowly compared to AP, BC, and ultimately CML-related death than patients without MCyR. Assumptions regarding the quality of life impacts of CML and the adverse events of the treatments were obtained from the literature.Results: Patients achieving and not achieving a MCyR at 6 months were projected to live 12.78 and 6.14 years, respectively. The proportion of patients achieving a MCyR at 6 months was 51% for nilotinib, 31% for dasatinib, 25% for DEI, and 2.5% for no additional TKI. Total survival and QALY were projected at 6.31 years and 4.62 QALYs for patients not receiving additional TKI therapy. Compared to these patients, those treated with nilotinib, dasatinib, DEI lived an additional 3.22, 1.89, and 1.49 years, respectively. Corresponding QALY gains were estimated to be 2.80, 1.62, and 1.30, respectively.Conclusion: This analysis suggests that nilotinib may be superior to dasatinib, followed by DEI, and no additional TKI in terms of projected survival and QALYs. These findings reflect the MCyR for each option observed at 6 months and are based on modeling and indirect comparisons. As such, they require confirmation through comparative studies but can nevertheless serve as a starting point for cost effectiveness analyses.

Increasing twinning rates in Norway, 1967–2004: the influence of maternal age and assisted reproductive technology (ART)

The incidence of twin pregnancies is increasing in industrialized countries, including Norway. In the present nationwide study from Norway, we aimed at evaluating the effect of assisted reproductive technologies and delayed childbearing age on this epidemic rise. Altogether 2.19 million pregnancies, including 27,849 twin pairs and higher-order multiples, were included in this population-based study with data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway covering the years 1967-2004. The study period was divided into two, 1967-87 and 1988-2004, respectively. For the last time period, pregnancies from assisted reproductive technologies were available through a separate registration, and these data were linked with the Medical Birth Registry of Norway birth record. Additionally, we compared the twinning rates from natural conception in the two time periods in relation to maternal age. Logistic regression was used for adjusted odds ratio estimation. During 1967-1987, the twinning rate remained constant at 1.0% of the total number of births in Norway. Thereafter, the total twinning rate increased from 1.1% in 1988 to 1.9% in 2004. After excluding pregnancies from assisted reproductive technologies, the increase was from 1.1% to 1.6% in this period. There was a significantly higher twinning rate in all age groups in the time period 1988-2004 compared with 1967-1987. In naturally conceived pregnancies, OR for twins were 1.11 (95% CI 1.05-1.17) in the age group 20-24 years, 1.25 (95% CI 1.19-1.31) in the age group 30-34, and 1.36 (95% CI 1.11-1.67) in the age group 40-44 comparing the two time periods. The multiple pregnancy rate increased by 50% in Norway during the time period 1988-2004, even when twin pregnancies from assisted reproduction were excluded. Maternal age and assisted reproductive technologies cannot alone satisfactorily explain the rise in the twinning rate in Norway.

On the Mechanism of Flexible Chain Polymer Ultrafiltration

The regularities of ultrafiltration (UF) of flexible chain polymers (FCP) differ from that of globular proteins (GP) which is manifested, in particular, in opposite dependences of retention coefficient (ϕ) on the applied pressure. According to one of the existing points of view this difference is caused by different influence of concentration polarization on these polymers and according to another by the deformation of polymer coils of FCP in longitudinal velocity gradients at the pore entrance. To settle this question we examined the behavior of globular proteins and dextrans under absolutely identical conditions, which was reached by UF of the mixture of these polymers in one experiment with separate registration of FCP and GP concentrations in permeate and bulk. As it follows from the experiments, one can make a conclusion that, at low pressures and also at low molecular masses (M), FCP molecules keep themselves as globular proteins i.e., as rigid spherical particles. However, with the increase in pressure and M, the transport of flexible chain molecules through pores of UF membrane begins to be determined by the mechanism of polymer chain uncoiling in longitudinal gradients.

Fusion reactions in a plasma focus operated with 3He-D2 and 4He-D2 gas mixtures

A 3 kJ plasma focus (PF) device was operated with two different gas mixtures: 3He-D2 and 4He-D2, both having He/D atomic ratios of 1 : 1. For the 3He-D2 mixture, the fusion reactions D(3He,p)4He and D(d,p)3H were measured simultaneously using CR-39 nuclear track detectors located inside a pinhole camera positioned on the forward PF axis. A double-layer arrangement of two 1000 μm thick CR-39 detectors permitted the separate registration of protons from the D(3He,p)4He and D(d,p)3H reactions. For the 4He-D2 mixture, the D(d,p)3H protons were registered by a single CR-39 layer. Radial track density distributions were obtained for each series of experiments. For the 3He-D2 mixture, it was found that D(3He,p)4He and D(d,p)3H fusion yields were of similar magnitude, but the D(3He,p)4He fusion is concentrated close to the pinch column, whereas the D(d,p)3H fusion occurred relatively far from the pinch. The results for D(d,p)3H fusion in the 4He-D2 mixture enabled an informative comparison to bemade with the corresponding 3He-D2 data.

Origins of Giant Magnetic Impedance Effect in Magnetic Nanostructures in Millimeter Waveband

The dependence of a complex transmission coefficient of the electromagnetic wave passing through multilayered and granular nanostructures demonstrating giant magnetic impedance phenomenon as a function of an external magnetic field has been explored in the millimeter waveband ( f =34 GHz). The magnetic multilayer film Fe6(Co1/Cu2)16 and magnetic granular film Co51.5Al19.5O29 have been investigated. The maximum magnitudes of the relative module of the complex transmission coefficient 2 % and its phase shift 1 T φ Δ ≈ have been detected. The interrelation between complex impedance Z • and the effective conductivity of magnetic nanostructure is analyzed. Magnetic nanostructures demonstrating Giant Magnetic Impedance (GMI) and Tunnel Magnetic Impedance (TMI) are of great interest today from the point of view of their applicability in modern technologies. Particularly the opportunity to use such objects in megahertz band as magnetic fields sensors [1], spintronic devices (diodes, transistors) [2] is under intensive study. However, the strong demand of modern technology is a permanent increasing the operating frequencies of the corresponding devices. Thus, the examination of applicability of the magnetic nanostructures for higher frequencies, namely, up to Extra-High Frequencies (EHF)-band (millimeter waveband) is a very important contemporary problem [3-5]. One of the principal questions is – whether the GMI phenomenon is defined only by active losses in nanostructure or some reactive processes take place as well. 1285 ISSN 0040-2508 © 2006 Begell House, Inc. S.V. NEDUKH, M.K. KHODZITSKY, AND S.I. TARAPOV The high-frequency absorption and dispersion were investigated previously for some kinds of magnetic nanostructures, namely, microwires [6-8] and thin layers [9] at the frequencies which not exceed 18 GHz. Namely, the real part ' μ and imaginary part μ of dynamic permeability were studied there as a function of various parameters such as frequency, magnetic field amplitude, layer thickness, etc. Besides the low-field microwave impedance in amorphous microwires (FeSiBC, CoMnSiB, CoSiB) at 9.8 GHz and 32.5 GHz was investigated in [7]. As well, the magnetoimpedance in micron-size powders of La0.7Ba0.3MnO3 and La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 at 3.8-11.9 GHz was studied in [10]. In the majority of these nanostructures the GMI effect nature is defined by the Natural Ferromagnetic Resonance (NFMR) phenomenon. Authors [7] showed that magnetization processes, which are revealed in the direction of the magnetic component of high-frequency field, can play the main role in GMI phenomenon for some specimens of microwires. The GMI effect in the nanostructures under study in this paper has another origin than for the structures mentioned above. This nature is the spin-depending scattering of conductivity electrons by the interface magnetic/nonmagnetic metal for multilayer (ML) structures, or by the interface metal/dielectric for granular structures [11,15]. Let us note that when we are dealing with the effective conductivity we keep in mind the conductivity of the whole nanostructure but not the conductivity of its components. The given work represents the attempt to separate the contribution of static and dynamic magnetization to GMI effect at EHF band. For this purpose the millimeter waveband experiments ( f =34 GHz) on separate registration of absorption and dispersion components of impedance (which is usually called as the GMI effect for ML-structures Co/Cu [3-5,11] and TMI effect for granular structures CoAlO [12-14]) have been carried out. The GMI has been measured by the well-approved technique [5]. The plane electromagnetic wave fell on the plane specimen normally. The vector of DC magnetic field was oriented in the plane of the specimen. The magnetic component of high-frequency (AC) field was oriented normally to the DC magnetic field and lied in the specimen’s plane as well. Multilayered Co/Cu film Fe6(Co1/Cu2)16 [3-5,11] and granular-layered film Co51.5Al19.5O29 [12,13] are well studied magnetic nanostructures. In articles [3,11,14] the GMI effect has been detected in these samples at 20-120 GHz and a detailed study of the Electron Spin Resonance has been carried out. We have applied the vector Agilent Network Analyzer PNA-L N5230A to detect the module and phase of the transfer coefficient T • for the electromagnetic wave passing through the sample separately and simultaneously. As well, the EHF impedance Z Z iZ • ′ = + ′′ of the circuit including the sample (placed in the

Integrated Mobility Management Methods for Mobile IP and SIP in IP based Wireless Data Networks

With developments in voice over IP (VoIP), IP-based wireless data networks and their application services have received increased attention. While multimedia applications of mobile nodes are served by Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) as a signaling protocol, the mobility of mobile nodes may be supported via Mobile IP protocol. For a mobile node that uses both Mobile IP and SIP, there is a severe redundant registration overhead because the mobile node has to make location registration separately to a home agent for Mobile IP and to a home registrar for SIP, respectively. Therefore, we propose two new schemes that integrate mobility management functionality in Mobile IP and SIP. We show performance comparisons among the previous method, which makes separate registration for Mobile IP and SIP without integration, and our two integrated methods. Numerical results show that the proposed methods efficiently reduce the amount of signaling messages and delay time related to the idle handoff and the active handoff.

The Effects of Automated Registration on Aberration Measurement With the LADARWave Aberrometer

To evaluate the effects of automating the registration process for wavefront measurement using the LADARWave aberrometer. Measures of interest include accuracy, repeatability, and speed of measurement. Five separate registration images were collected for each of eight eyes of four individuals with varying iris color using the LADARWave aberrometer. Technicians manually aligned the images and the autoregistration feature was used to align the same images. Time, accuracy, and repeatability of the alignment were measured using objective techniques. The potential effect on positional error was evaluated using a retrospective reprocessing of LADARWave data from an existing sample dataset. Autoregistration was the fastest method of alignment, from five to seven times faster than manual registration. It was also the most consistent, with the lowest pupil/limbus offset error (45 microm). Technicians averaged 48 to 91 microm. The differences in wavefronts used to generate the composite wavefront image for surgery export were 18% lower with autoregistration. The autoregistration feature of the LADARWave aberrometer not only removes inter-technician variability, but reduces the time to perform image alignments and improves the consistency of the alignments. This helps reduce errors related to wavefront position, potentially improving outcomes.

Electromagnetically tracked guidewires for interventional procedures

We developed and tested a small electromagnetically tracked 5DOF bone screw. We examined accuracy compared to conventional optical tracking systems and developed devices and techniques for implanting the sensor during an interventional percutaneous procedure. Finally we conducted “proof-of-concept” experiments for percutaneous spine procedures by implanting the tracking sensors in the vertebral body of an interventional phantom and cadaver. Experiments were done in an interventional fluoroscopy suite to evaluate the susceptibility of the magnetic tracking system to potential interference sources in a hospital setting. Despite the presence of environmental metal, we were able track it robustly throughout the volume of interest. By using two or more of these screws, a rigid body reference definition was created. In image space, fiducials embedded in the screws were easily visualized on fluoroscopic images. Orientation errors of the new screw compared to the RCM-PAKY robot averaged 0.8° compared to 0.2° for the bare coil. Positioning error compared to the robot averaged 1.7 mm for the screw and 1.9 mm for the bare coil. Largest discrepancies occurred at the extremes of the volume. When using six DOF targets (employing two coils), positioning error averaged 1.5 mm. The magnetically tracked bone screw has good potential for reducing the invasiveness of many procedures that currently require separate registration and tracking. Accuracy is acceptable in the operating room, and the technique is not a major departure from current clinical practice.