bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘So, Are You Hindi?'
Authors: Hickey M. Gail
Published: February 2021

Immigrant children and adolescents living in the United States encounter significant stressors during the acculturation process, particularly in schools. South Asian immigrants tend to identify strongly with religious and geographic region background. This study investigates intersections between religion and education in U.S. South Asians' post-migration experiences in the American Midwest. Findings suggest South Asian children in U.S. schools are confronted daily by the duality between their parents' birth culture and mainstream values and traditions of the host culture. Participants and their families experience prejudice, discrimination, and racism as they engage in daily social, work, and school activities. Reported incidents of prejudice range from judgments about English-speaking ability to doubts about the South Asian education system to prepare workers for U.S. jobs. Findings show religious affiliation, foreign accent, skin color, ethnic dress, and non-Euro-American physical features create barriers for South Asians trying to fit into everyday American society.
Characteristics of Effective Military Charter Schools
Authors: Weekes Timothy L. , Ryan Mark Patrick
Published: February 2021

This chapter examines two public military-themed charter schools that meet researcher-developed minimum thresholds for academic and socioemotional success. Through document review, extensive on-site observations, and comprehensive interviews, the researchers examine the two schools in comparison to a conceptual framework developed almost 20 years ago by one of the researchers. The conceptual framework is predicated on four pillars present to varying degrees in military schools and colleges across the United States – academics, leadership, citizenship, and athletics. Careful analysis of both schools through the lens of all four pillars of the conceptual framework validates the framework as a successful means of evaluating the efficacy of a military-themed charter school.
Craft and Project Work for Young Language Learners
Authors: Shiobara Frances Jane
Published: February 2021

Most young learners love craft projects, whether it's drawing, coloring, or creating. For this reason, many language teachers have incorporated craft projects into their classes. Although craft activities are enjoyable, there is a real risk that very little language acquisition may take place, if the planning and realization of the craft in class is not carefully carried out with language as a priority. This chapter will explain the benefits of incorporating craft projects within a second language learning curriculum and how these activities can be adapted to maximize language acquisition. There will be a clear explanation of the pedagogical background to incorporating craft projects as well as detailed descriptions of the types of craft projects that might be the most effective, and how to adapt craft projects to incorporate some of the best practices of teaching English to young learners.
Opportunities for Adopting Open Research Data in Learning Analytics
Authors: Biernacka Katarzyna , Pinkwart Niels
Published: February 2021

The relevance of open research data is already acknowledged in many disciplines. Demanded by publishers, funders, and research institutions, the number of published research data increases every day. In learning analytics though, it seems that data are not sufficiently published and re-used. This chapter discusses some of the progress that the learning analytics community has made in shifting towards open practices, and it addresses the barriers that researchers in this discipline have to face. As an introduction, the movement and the term open science is explained. The importance of its principles is demonstrated before the main focus is put on open data. The main emphasis though lies in the question, Why are the advantages of publishing research data not capitalized on in the field of learning analytics? What are the barriers? The authors evaluate them, investigate their causes, and consider some potential ways for development in the future in the form of a toolkit and guidelines.
Learning Analytics in the Monitoring of Learning Processes
Authors: Reis Rosa , Marques Bertil P.
Published: February 2021

During the last few years, learning analytics (LA) has gained the interest of researchers in the field of education. Generally, LA is related with the development of methods that use educational data sets to support the learning process. Therefore, there is a need understanding how learners, educators, and institutions can best support this process. Thus, a framework is presented that tries to extend the collaborative three-dimensional virtual environments for educational by integrating a LA tool. The aim is to help the teacher to monitor and evaluate the students' learning process in these types of environments. It is the intention include a (1) comprehensive analysis of the currently available LA tools for educational, (2) design of a user-centered framework based the requirements gathered from the analysis, and (3) thorough evaluation of framework to allow identify possible behavior patterns of students within the environment, related to your preferences for materials and expertise.
Analysis of Bandwidth of Microstrip Antenna for Broad Band Applications
Authors: Niranjan Deepak , Swarnkar Satyendra
Published: February 2021

The anticipated antenna is studied and presented. The anticipated antenna is connected to probe feed when designed on IE3D software. The bandwidth, gain, VSWR, and reflection coefficient have been found which is of 77.71% bandwidth, and gain is of 4.1 dBi. This antenna is compact, lightweight, and suitable for portable devices. By using some advanced techniques, the antenna provides dual bandwidth and triple bandwidth. The anticipated antenna provided large bandwidth for and is utilized for broadband applications.
Design and Analysis of Wearable Antennas
Authors: Aghwariya Mahesh Kumar , Kumar Amit , Sharma Ragini
Published: February 2021

This chapter presents the various designing methods and challenges associated with wearable antennas, selecting the designing material, various fabrication techniques, and implementation methods on the fabric. Wearable antennas have gained popularity in recent years due to their unmatched properties and unique features. The wearable antenna is capable of providing effective wireless communication, tracking, and sensing. These types of antenna need to be conformal when used on numerous parts of the human body, and they need to be lightweight, flexible, and must be implemented easily on the flexible material. These antennas must be capable of operating with maximum efficiency on the human body. These requirements make the wearable antenna design challenging. They also need to be compact in size, better in coupling with the body, and must be capable of handling issues associated with the device when the target is moving.
Analysis and Design of Solar Dryer for Forest Produce of Bastar Region in State of Chhattisgarh, India
Authors: Tapas Vikrant , Chandrakar Rituraj , Kumar Anil , Sahu Prem Shankar , Chandrakar Haldhar Ram , Vinod Yatendra
Published: February 2021

In the Chhattisgarh state of India, the Bastar region is famous for its various forest produce collected by local inhabitants. These collected forest produce are dried in open sun drying. This chapter presents the design and analysis of solar dryer which is simple in construction and a low-cost dryer. The construction of the solar dryer will be made of galvanized mild steel sheet absorbing the sun's radiation. The hot air will be taken out through a wind turbine ventilator at the top to maintain the required humidity level in the solar dryer. The analysis shows that the temperature inside the solar dryer is evenly distributed. The suggested solar dryer will reduce the drying time of the forest produce.
Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Use of Immersive Learning Technology
Authors: Willcott Julie
Published: February 2021

Immersive learning technology has the potential to increase student engagement and learning. With the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020, the delivery of education changed, and the use of immersive learning technology was impacted. This chapter considers charges and impacts at the K-12, CTE, and post-secondary level—with on-site, remote, and hybrid learning models—during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anticipated trends in education post-pandemic include an increased need for personalized learning; continued growth in remote learning, virtual learning, and online content and resources and increased demand for career and technical education. Consideration is also given to the implications for immersive learning technology post-pandemic. Specific consideration is given throughout the chapter to the use of zSpace in the United States.
Creating Virtual Learning Experiences Based on Engaging Interactions and Collaborative Work in Graduate Programs
Authors: Mendez Martha P. , Nagles Garcia Nofal
Published: February 2021

The purpose of this chapter is to present a cognitive analysis of virtual leaning experiences based on engaging interactions and collaborative work to enhance business skills in graduate programs. The experiences include virtual learning scenarios, autonomous learning, virtual learning technologies, and collaborative work that enable the learners to enhance business skills required for the modern world. Ten virtual learning environments are sampled to analyze cognitive processes for the learners to enhance four main business skills: leadership, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and problem solving. Based on the analysis, the authors discuss the opportunities for improvement and recommend the implementation of activities in which learners investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex problem or challenge through collaborative work. This initiative provides more possibilities for learner interactivity and cognitive processes development and fosters the implementation of engaging virtual learning environments for learners skills to solve real-life situations.
Non-Verbal Communication Language in Virtual Worlds
Authors: Citarella Ivonne
Published: February 2021

Over the years, the virtual space has been changing, and the skills acquired by users have been improved, and the avatars, as well as the settings, have graphically become more and more sophisticated. In virtual reality, the avatar without an appropriate animation would move in jerks in a disharmonious way similar to a robot, but endowing it with a particular postural animation, you make a conscious choice of what information you want to transfer with its appearance and its posture. In recent years, research has focused on the study of communication and its importance. The purpose of this contribution is to analyze the animations present in Second Life trying to trace a socio-psychological picture of the non-verbal communication process in a virtual environment.
Active Assistive Orthotic System
Authors: Veneva Ivanka Petkova , Chakarov Dimitar , Tsveov Mihail , Trifonov Dimitar Stefanov , Zlatanov Evgeni , Venev Pavel
Published: February 2021

Active orthosis (exoskeleton) is an assistive device with a wearable structure, corresponding to the natural motions of the human. This chapter focuses on developing an active/assistive orthosis system (AOS) enhancing movement. The AOS design is inspired by the biological musculoskeletal system of human upper and lower limbs and mimics the muscle-tendon-ligament structure. The exoskeleton structure includes left and right upper limb, left and right lower limb, and central exoskeleton structure for human torso and waist and provides support, balance, and control of different segments of the body. The device was fabricated with light materials and powered by pneumatic artificial muscles that provide more than fifteen degrees of freedom for the different joints. The active orthotic systems (AOS) can operate in three modes: motion tracking system with data exchange with virtual reality; haptic and rehabilitation device; and assistive mode with active orthosis in cases of impaired muscles.
Development of an Affordable Myoelectric Hand for Transradial Amputees
Authors: Prakash Alok , Sharma Shiru
Published: February 2021

Upper limb amputations seriously affect a patient's life by restricting their ability in performing various tasks. Prosthetic hands are considered the primary method to reinstate the lost capabilities of such amputees. However, the presently available prosthetic devices are unable to fulfill the requirements of users due to their excessively high cost, limited functionality, heavy weight, unnatural operation, and complexity. This article presents an affordable and simple control-based myoelectric hand for transradial amputees. The hand setup mainly consists of a self-designed surface electromyography (sEMG) sensor, a microcontroller unit and a five-fingered, intrinsically actuated 3D printed hand for dexterous operations. The developed hand was implemented with proportional control scheme and was successfully tested on five amputees (with missing lower forearms) for performing grasping activities of different objects. Further, the closing time and grip force at the fingertips were also determined for the hand to compare its performance with the commercially available hands.
A Brief History of Prosthetics and Orthotics of the Lower Body and Their Types
Authors: Bhuyan Dheeman , Kumar Kaushik
Published: February 2021

Prosthetics and orthotics are items taken for granted in today's day and age. However, this has not always been the case. The history of these everyday items is long and very colorful. In this chapter, the authors shed light on the history and development of prosthetics and orthotics of the lower body in order to better understand the current state of the art in the fields. A historical perspective is provided followed by enumeration of the types of devices and techniques available without going into the form and function of individual products.
Design of Prosthetic Heart Valve and Application of Additive Manufacturing
Authors: Bhuyan Dheeman
Published: February 2021

Heart valve prostheses are well known and can be classified in two major types or categories: biological and mechanical. Biological valves (i.e., Homografts and Heterografts) make use of animal tissue as the valving mechanism whereas mechanical valves make use of balls, disks, and other mechanical valving mechanism. Mechanical valves carry considerable risk and require lifelong medication. The design of these valves is usually done on a “one size fits all” basis, with only the diameter changing depending on the model being produced. The author seeks to present an application of additive manufacturing in the design process for mechanical valves. This is expected to provide patients with customized prostheses to match their physiology and reduce the risk associated with the implantation.
Design a Wireless Covert Channel Based on Dither Analog Chaotic Code
Authors: Cao Pengcheng , Liu Weiwei , Liu Guangjie , Zhai Jiangtao , Ji Xiao-Peng , Dai Yuewei , Bai Huiwen
Published: February 2021

To conceal the very existence of communication, the noise-based wireless covert channel modulates secret messages into artificial noise, which is added to the normal wireless signal. Although the state-of-the-art work based on constellation modulation has made the composite and legitimate signal undistinguishable, there exists an imperfection on reliability due to the dense distribution of covert constellation points. In this study, the authors design a wireless covert channel based on dither analog chaotic code to improve the reliability without damaging the undetectability. The dither analog chaotic code (DACC) plays the role as the error correcting code. In the modulation, the analog variables converted from secret messages are encode into joint codewords by chaotic mapping and dither derivation of DACC. The joint codewords are mapped to artificial noise later. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve better reliability than the state-of-the-art scheme while maintaining the similar performance on undetectability.
The Impact of Teen Community Emergency Response Team Training
Authors: Ryan Mark Patrick
Published: February 2021

A study of 481 high school students who completed Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training using the Federal Emergency Management Agency CERT curriculum was conducted over a five-year period, with the objective of identifying the impacts of that training. Through both quantitative and qualitative data collection, the researcher found that a highly engaging emergency response curriculum has multiple positive impacts on teens completing the course. Those impacts include explicit knowledge and skills of emergency preparedness and response, college and career goal orientation enhancement, as well as enhancement to self-efficacy, self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-concept. Replicating such curricula and comprehensive training program at other secondary schools could have a very positive impact on the emergency preparedness and response capacity of communities where it is implemented.
Using Spreadsheet Maps for the Placement of Low Altitude Platform (LAP) Wireless Network Nodes After Disasters
Authors: LeBlanc Larry J. , Bartolacci Michael R. , Grossman Thomas A.
Published: February 2021

Low altitude platform (LAP) architectures are an emerging platform for providing temporary wireless network connectivity to areas with a damaged fixed wireless network infrastructure. The authors propose a spreadsheet-based approach for practitioners to locate LAP nodes in the field. This approach does not require radio frequency propagation expertise and incorporates standard models to display the coverage areas for the placement of LAP aerial devices. The proposed tool allows the transmission range for a given aerial device to be visually optimized during deployment. The spreadsheet-based tool the authors are proposing is expressly suited for battery-powered LAP architecture devices with payload weight restrictions, such as those utilizing balloons or kites, that can be quickly deployed by emergency responders. An additional contribution of this work is the development of a hybrid propagation model for LAP device transmissions for deployments above 200 meters which is absent in the literature. This model is a linear combination of two existing models for free space radio propagation.
How Individuals Hypothetically and Realistically Respond to Media Messages About Severe Weather
Authors: Armstrong Cory L. , Towery Nathan A.
Published: February 2021

This study sought to measure how risk perception and behavior intention of residents in coastal counties in Southern Alabama, Mississippi, and Northern Florida may have changed before and after Hurricane Michael in October 2018. The aim of this research project was to compare individual responses to impending disasters before the hurricane and compare them to responses in areas hit by the storm. The authors used an experiment to examine how visual cues and media messages were interpreted by residents and their reported influence on an individual's risk perception and decision-making in the situation. With roughly 1,030 respondents, results indicated that live video was most likely to motivate respondents to prepare activities after the storm, which was in the opposite direction of those respondents answering before the hurricane struck. The authors hope the findings of this study can help broadcasters better target their messages as they move forward.
Implementation of a Service Management Office Into a World Food Company in Latin America
Authors: Lucio-Nieto Teresa , Gonzalez-Bañales Dora Luz
Published: February 2021

Research on service management office (SMO) related with its implementation, challenges, relevance, and outcomes is scarce. The purpose of this case study research is to contribute with the lessons learned from the implementation of an SMO into a big sized company. The lessons include the experience of the company designing and implementing an SMO. A general roadmap and main challenges for the creation of an SMO are presented through the lessons learned of three perspectives: people, processes, and technology. The results in the SMO implementation reveal that it could become a strategic complement for IT services in order to ensure quality, efficiency, and continuous improvement for information technology service management (ITSM). The main changes derived from the SMO implementation were migrate from a function model to a service model, go from management of cost by function to management by service, from an order taker to a focus on business transformation initiatives, from a portfolio management based on applications to a process based on flexible governance.
Mathematical Modelling, Analysis of Novel Corona Disease, and Its Effect on the Human Being
Authors: Orra Kashfull
Published: February 2021

The present study is about the outbreak of novel Corona disease (COVID-19). The study proposes the mathematical modelling of COVID-19 disease as quadratic growth. Correlation coefficient associated with the characteristic of the modelling trend has been obtained by least square method using matlab function. Analysis of variance show the model proposed is significant. The study gave the information about the transmission of the disease and the prevention observed by the medical practitioner. The graphical representation has shown the outcome of the spread of the disease in India. This disease can be of respiratory type, pneumonia type, or asymptotic carrier type. The simulation result obtained is in accordance to the quadratic model fitted and can be used for the prediction of the growth. Results obtained on the basis of R2 were of approximately 97% in agreement. The only possibilities to avoid the spread of the disease is to monitor self-isolation, maintain cleanliness, improve immunity, and be protected.
Micropolitan Areas Creating Leadership in the New Economy
Authors: Tardif Kristin Joyce
Published: February 2021

The United States is experiencing a major shift. This started before COVID-19 spread around the planet; however, the virus has confirmed that a major shift is needed. For years, inward migration to urban centers drove our economic development, and young people moved from rural communities to urban centers in search of opportunity and income. In 2017 a paradigm shift occurred. Young professionals started moving out of urban centers and back into rural communities. They are searching for safe places to raise their families, stability, good schools, and a sense of place and community. These young bright professionals have ignited a new economy based on the creative economy. From this new economy, the U.S. Bureau of Census has created a new category called “micropolitan areas.” There are now 581 micropolitan areas in the U.S. (population greater than 10 thousand and less than 50 thousand), and many of these have developed a strong economic development program that is not based on courting large industrial business but courting small to medium creative industries.
An Efficient Approach for Ranking of Semantic Web Documents by Computing Semantic Similarity and Using HCS Clustering
Authors: Chahal Poonam , Singh Manjeet
Published: February 2021

In today's era, with the availability of a huge amount of dynamic information available in world wide web (WWW), it is complex for the user to retrieve or search the relevant information. One of the techniques used in information retrieval is clustering, and then the ranking of the web documents is done to provide user the information as per their query. In this paper, semantic similarity score of Semantic Web documents is computed by using the semantic-based similarity feature combining the latent semantic analysis (LSA) and latent relational analysis (LRA). The LSA and LRA help to determine the relevant concepts and relationships between the concepts which further correspond to the words and relationships between these words. The extracted interrelated concepts are represented by the graph further representing the semantic content of the web document. From this graph representation for each document, the HCS algorithm of clustering is used to extract the most connected subgraph for constructing the different number of clusters which is according to the information-theoretic approach. The web documents present in clusters in graphical form are ranked by using the text-rank method in combination with the proposed method. The experimental analysis is done by using the benchmark datasets OpinRank. The performance of the approach on ranking of web documents using semantic-based clustering has shown promising results.
Effect of Temperature on the Properties of Poly(Vinylpyrrolidone)-Iron Magnetic Nanocomposite for Oil Recovery
Authors: Rahman Muhammad Syafiq Aiman Abd , Norsamsuddin Noor Farah Nazirah , Tajuddin Nurul Hafizah Muhamad , Zahari S.M. Shahrul Nizan Shikh , Tamam Sofina
Published: February 2021

The poly (vinylpyrrolidone)-iron magnetic nanocomposite (PVP-Fe NCs) recently used for oil recovery since it capable to remove up to 80% of oil. However, the magnetic properties PVP-Fe NCs might not be consistently performed as it has a tendency to having low magnetism depending on their temperature. This study aims to investigate the effect of temperature of PVP-Fe NCs, to see the effectiveness of oil recovery from aqueous environment by using magnetic decantation method. The PVP-iron magnetic was synthesized by three steps using poly (vinylpyrrolidone), FeCl2•4H2O, FeCl3•6H2O and ammonia solution involving mixing and heating, precipitating and separating. The oil removal was tested by mixing the PVP-Fe NCs into an oil-water mixture to let it coat by oil. The oil-water separation was conducted by using a neodymium magnet. The experiments were repeated using the same PVP-materials with different temperatures such as room temperature, 50°C, 80°C and 90°C. The presence of OH-1 group and the magnetic property of each samples was characterized by using FTIR and VSM. The study reveals that the PVP-Fe NCs have highest magnetism at 80°C compared to other temperatures. 80°C seem to be the optimum temperature to perform the good magnetism of PVP-Fe NCs since it reduces its magnetism at 90°C due to its thicker coat. The also showed that PVP-Fe3 are hydrophilic that can assist in oil separation from water. This study demonstrated a significant finding in oil recovery application using PVP-iron magnetic nanocomposites materials.
Effects of an outpatient service holistic rehabilitation program in a case of pulmonary atresia
Authors: Bussotti Maurizio , Sommaruga Marinella , Krasinska Patrycja , Dalla Vecchia Laura Adelaide
Published: February 2021

A 42-year-old woman affected by pulmonary atresia came to our attention complaining of dyspnea and fatigue for minimal efforts with important desaturation. After assessing her basal functional capacity with a cardiopulmonary exercise test, the patient was enrolled in an extremely individualized rehabilitation program, which entailed a discreet improvement in the quality of life indices, in the absence of side effects. This paper shows that even patients with extremely severe forms of congenital heart disease, when clinical stable, can undergone a tailored cardiorespiratory rehabilitation program. This must be carried out in a monitored environment and under the supervision of expert personnel.
Sarcoidosis at the Pulmonary Medicine Department of a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai. Our experience and The New Modified Criteria Clinical Radiological Physiological (TNMC CRP) score for sarcoidosis: A novel proposition to assess the functional status
Authors: Utpat Ketaki , Sasikumar Chinnu , Desai Unnati , Joshi Jyotsna M.
Published: February 2021

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease most commonly involving the pulmonary system and having a myriad of manifestations. However literature is scanty pertaining to the profile and scoring system in sarcoidosis. This study was undertaken to understand the profile of sarcoidosis and an endeavor to assess the functional status with a simplified scoring system. This was an observational study undertaken in the department of Pulmonary Medicine at a tertiary care. The profile of these patients was studied in terms of clinical features, radiological findings, the New Modified Criteria Clinical Radiological Physiological (TNMC CRP) score, six-minute walk distance (6MWD), spirometry, arterial blood gas parameters, serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) levels and tissue biopsy histopathology. The 68 patients included 41 women and 27 men with a mean age of 42.7 years. They comprised of 18 (27%), 39 (57%), 4 (6%), 7 (10%) cases of stage 1, 2, 3, 4 sarcoidosis respectively. Most common presenting symptom and sign was progressive dyspnea 49 (72%), and peripheral lymphadenopathy 15 (22%). Serum ACE was elevated in 57 (83%). The average 6MWD was 360 meters. Most common high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) finding was mediastinal lymphadenopathy and peri-bronchovascular nodules. Spirometry was restrictive abnormality in 48 (96%) patients. Evidence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) was present in 32 (47%) patients. Tissue diagnosis revealed granulomatous inflammation in 51 biopsies with a transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) yield of 62%. The average TNMC CRP score was 5. There was a positive correlation between this score and 6MWD which was statistically significant. The score correlated with the functional status. Diagnosis of sarcoidosis warrants a comprehensive and multimodality approach. HRCT and tissue biopsy are the most important diagnostic armamentariums. Modified simplified scores help assess the functional status of the disease.
Update on Transumbilical Laparoscopic-assisted Surgery in Infants and Neonates
Authors: Bawazir Osama Abdullah , Bawazir Razan
Published: February 2021

Background:

Because of the restricted space of the peritoneal cavity and the easy mobility of abdominal and pelvic organs in infants and neonates, the boundary of minimally invasive surgery was extended to complete the operation outside the abdomen. The objective of this study was to report our experience with transumbilical laparoscopic-assisted surgery (TULS) in different abdominal pathologies in infants and neonates.

Patients and Methods:

A retrospective study was conducted on 59 patients who underwent TULS from 2014 to 2020. The study outcomes were the conversion to open approach, length of hospital stay and post-operative complications.

Results:

The most common indications were explorations for intra-abdominal testes (n = 15) and inguinal herniorrhaphy (n = 13). Patients who had surgery for pyloric stenosis were younger (1.03 ± 0.25 months). The average operative time was 45.9 ± 18.39 min. The longest operative time was reported with surgery for liver cysts (94.5 ± 10.6 min). Oral intake was started after 48–56 h in patients who had excision of duplication cysts. The average post-operative hospital stay was 2.6 ± 1.52 days. No major complications were reported. Wound infection occurred in one patient with a duplication cyst. Three patients were converted to open repair (5.1%) and no late complications were reported during the mean follow-up time of 11.2 ± 5.1 months.

Conclusions:

The transumbilical approach is a safe alternative method to laparotomy in several abdominal pathologies in infants and neonates. It has a short operative time and hospital stay. The technique is associated with few complications and conversion rates.
Laparoscopic Pyloromyotomy for Congenital Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis
Authors: Ramji Jaishri , Joshi Rakesh S.
Published: February 2021

Purpose:

Laparoscopic pyloromyotomy for hypertrophic pyloric stenosis has become quite popular over the past decade. There have been many modifications in the technique initially described by Alain et al. in 1991. We describe our experience of the laparoscopic procedure performed in twenty cases.

Materials and Methods:

This study includes twenty patients of pyloric stenosis who underwent laparoscopic pyloromyotomy from March 2017 to March 2020. All the infants had classical clinical symptoms and abdominal ultrasound confirming the diagnosis of pyloric stenosis. Two 3-mm ports and one 5-mm port were used. The duodenum was grasped to stabilise the olive; a stab knife cut to 10 mm and mounted on a needle holder was introduced through the 3-mm trocar in the left hypochondrium to perform the myotomy, and subsequently, the myotomy was spread with a 5-mm Maryland forceps. Feeding was started 6 h postoperatively.

Results:

Twenty patients with congenital idiopathic pyloric stenosis underwent laparoscopic pyloromyotomy by this technique. The average operating time was 42 min. There were no peri- or post-operative complications. The post-operative hospital stay ranged between 36 h and 54 h.

Conclusion:

Laparoscopic pyloromyotomy using a stab knife mounted on a needle holder is a technically feasible, safe and effective surgical procedure for pyloric stenosis.
A Useful Tip for Preventing Surgical Site Infections after Hypospadias Repair. A Single Surgeon's Experience of 376 Cases
Authors: Murakami Hiroshi , Seo Shogo , Ochi Takanori , Yazaki Yuta , Takeda Masahiro , Yamataka Atsuyuki
Published: February 2021

Purpose:

We report the efficacy of pre- and post-operative showering for preventing surgical site infections (SSIs) and urethrocutaneous fistula after hypospadias surgery.

Materials and Methods:

In 2006, standardised pre- and postoperative showering was introduced for hypospadias patients. Showering involves washing the genitals and groin 2 h preoperatively as well as immediately after the removal of a stent postoperatively. Data from 520 procedures performed on 376 hypospadias patients by a single surgeon from 1996 to 2015 were collected prospectively. The shower (S) group comprised 258 patients (372 procedures) and the nonshower group comprised 118 patients (148 procedures). Management protocols were identical for two groups.

Results:

Patient demographics were similar. SSIs were significantly less in the S group (0% vs. 2.0%; P < 0.05). The incidence of fistulas was lower in the S group (2.0% vs. 6.3%). The mean duration of follow-up was significantly shorter in the S group (3.6 vs. 12.8 years; P < 0.05) but longer than the mean time taken for complications to develop (0.4 years).

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that pre- and post-operative showering may contribute to preventing SSIs and fistulas in hypospadias patients.
Waiting Time for Short-Stay Surgery in a Paediatric Surgery Department
Authors: Ali Ada Mahamoud Omid , Moustapha Hellé , Habou Oumarou , Abarchi Habibou
Published: February 2021

Aim:

The aim of this study was to assess the waiting time (WT) for a short-stay surgery and determine its possible determinant factors.

Patients and Methods:

This was a retrospective study conducted in the Department of Paediatric Surgery at the National Hospital of Lamordé of Niamey, Niger. It included patients aged 0–15 years who benefitted from a short-stay surgery (24–48 h of hospitalisation) during a period of 19 months (1st January 2017 - 31st July 2018). Patient, diagnosis and surgical treatment data were gathered. WT was the time elapsed between the indication of a surgical operation and its realisation. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used with a threshold statistical significance of < 0.05.

Results:

Short-stay surgery constituted 25.4% of all operating activities (n = 271). Inguinal or inguinoscrotal hernia was the most frequent pathology at 31.38% (n = 85). The mean WT was of 116.6 days (range: 4–491 days) and the median was 114 days. WT was greater than or equal to 3 months for 63.9% of the patients (n = 173). Based on pathology, the mean WT varied between 57.5 days (ovarian hernia) and 163.6 days (5.8 months) for epigastric hernia. A significantly longer WT was observed with the presence of a comorbidity (P = 0.0352) but was not associated with patient residence (P = 0.0951).

Conclusion:

A long WT for a short-stay surgery should be improved upon by different interventions with respect to the supply and demand of care and the setting of priorities.
A Comparative Study of Polydioxanone (PDS) and Polyglactin (Vicryl) in Hypospadias Repair
Authors: Alaraby Shaimaa Osman Mohamed Ali , Abdeljaleel Isam Ahmed , Hamza Aamir Abdullahi , Elhassan Ahmed Elkhalifa Elawad
Published: February 2021

Background:

Hypospadias is a fairly common problem, and it is the most common genital congenital anomaly.

Objective:

This study was carried out to compare polyglactin and polydioxanone in hypospadias repair by assessing the rate of complications, especially urethrocutaneous fistula (UCF) formation.

Patients and Methods:

This is a prospective observational cross-sectional hospital-based study carried out at the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Ribat University Hospital, from June 2015 to November 2016. In Group A, there were 55 patients who underwent repair using polyglactin, and in Group B, there were 50 patients who underwent repair using polydioxanone. All patients were operated by the same surgeon.

Results:

The mean age of Group A was 5.7 ± 4.3 years and 5.1 ± 3.9 years in Group B. Meatal advancement and glanuloplasty incorporated operation was done in 47.6%, Tubularized incised plate urethroplasty in (31.4%), Theirsch-Duplay in 20% and Mathieu's repair in 1%. The complication rate was 34% in Group A and 10.9% in Group B. The most frequent complication was UCF, as 19 patients (18.1%) of the study candidates developed UCF; most of them were in Group A (14 patients) and 5 patients in Group B. Another significant complication was meatal stenosis, which occurred in 11 patients (10.5%): 9 in Group A and 2 in Group B.

Conclusion:

Polydioxanone (PDS) is satisfactory in hypospadias repair as it is associated with better outcome, especially UCF, which is most common and most difficult to treat complication.
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy and New-Onset Right Bundle Branch Block in Uncomplicated Right Ventricle Pacing
Authors: Mahadevappa Manjappa , Kulkarni Prashanth , Poornima K. S. , Guruprasad B. V.
Published: February 2021

Normally in the right ventricular (RV) paced rhythm, the electrocardiogram pattern will be of left bundle branch block (LBBB) pattern. A small percentage of patients can have right bundle branch block (RBBB) pattern in uncomplicated RV pacing. We are reporting here a rare occurrence of a new-onset RBBB in an RV paced patient which was coinciding with the onset of takotsubo cardiomyopathy following pulse generator re-implantation procedure.
The Relevance of Bare-Metal Stent in the Therapy of Coronary Artery Disease in 2020
Authors: Ray Saumitra
Published: February 2021

First percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) using an expandable balloon was performed by Andreas Gruentzig in 1977. Since then, the process has seen exponential development. Stent deployment was the most important milestone in this journey. An original stent made of metals or metal alloys was called a bare-metal stent (BMS). They ruled the roost for more than a decade when stents coated with antiproliferative drug impregnated polymers, called drug-eluting stent came and became the tool of choice in almost all clinical scenarios of PTCA. However, still today, BMS has got a small but significant place in the cardiac catheter laboratory. The relevance of BMS in the therapy of coronary artery disease in today's world is reviewed in this article.
Myocardial Infarction Following Marijuana Consumption in a Young Male
Authors: Immaneni Sathyamurthy , Lavanya Narra , Kirubakaran K. , Srinivasan K. N.
Published: February 2021

Recreational use of Marijuna smoking is on the rise among the young and adolescents. This can result in worsening of angina or acute myocardial infarction in those with underlying coronary artery disease (CAD) due to sympathetic nervous system stimulation. Even those without CAD can present with acute coronary syndromes due to coronary spasm which can be confirmed by Coronary angiography by ruling out obstructive lesions in these cases - There is fivefold increase in symptoms during 1st hour after consumption. High chances of recurrence of symptoms when the drug is reused and patients needs to be counselled.
Hypertension and Size of Aortic Root – Cause-and-Effect Relationship
Authors: Singh Vivudh Pratap , Wander Gurpreet S , Mohan Bishav , Aslam Naved , Tandon Rohit , Chhabra Shibba Takkar , Singh B. , Goyal A.
Published: February 2021

Background and Objectives:

Hypertension and aortic root diameter have been the subject of recent studies. Dilation of the diameter of the aortic root been noted in individuals with Hypertension. A larger aortic root is also recognized as a marker of CVD Incident. A parallel set of cross-sectional studies has repeatedly demonstrated an inverse association between aortic root diameter and Hypertension. Our study try to look at this specific point.

Material and Methods:

This study was done in patients attending Outdoor Clinic in Dayanand Medical College and Hospital- Unit Hero DMC Heart Institute. 105 patients in Normotensive and 94 patients in the Hypertensive group were enrolled. Study comprised of Normotensive (n=105) and hypertensive (n=94) group.

Results:

Aorta size was significantly different in both the group. Aorta at annulus was 27.71±3.28 m.m. in Normotensive individual as compared to 31.36±3.39 m.m. in hypertensive individual. Similarly, Aorta at Sinus was 38.68±5.25 and 41.62±6.08 m.m. in both groups. Aorta at Sinotubular junction was 32.31±7.17 m.m. as compared to 36.25±4.88 m.m.

Conclusion:

Hypertension is associated with a significant but small increase in aortic root size, most notably at the proximal ascending aorta.
Different Cells of the Human Body
Authors: Mostafa Hany K. K.
Published: February 2021

The cell is the basic structural unit of all living organisms. Most of the cells forming the human body share the basic components, but there are many categories that have specific light and electron microscopic characteristics. This review shed a light on these cell categories and their morphologies. Stem cell category is the cells responsible for the regeneration of damaged or lost cells, whereas protein-secreting cells are those responsible for the production and secretion of proteins. Protein-secreting cells have specific characters such as basophilic cytoplasm and vesicular nucleus by light microscope; these are confirmed by an electron microscope that shows rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, secretory granules, and mitochondria. Steroid secreting, ion transporting, and contracting categories have specific morphology. Phagocytic cells such as macrophages and neutrophils are characterized by the presence of many lysosomes and phagosomes. Supporting cells are very important category as they not only support but also usually have another function such as myelin formation in Schwann, blood–brain barrier in astrocytes, or modification of response as in Pacinian corpuscle. Many cells showed interrelated characters between different categories, for example, phagocytic cells are able to contract to perform their function in fighting microorganism. Although we have trillions of cells, yet they only fall in some categories. Each cell category has specific morphological characters confirmed by ultrastructural characters. They all adapted to perform the desired functions.
Prognostic Factor and Clinical Outcome in Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Study Based on Real-World Clinical Data in the Korean Population
Authors: Kim Ho Cheol , Ji Wonjun , Lee Jae Cheol , Kim Hyeong Ryul , Song Si Yeol , Choi Chang-Min ,   Korean Association for Lung Cancer,   Korea Central Cancer Registry
Published: February 2021

PurposeThe optimal treatment for patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate prognostic factors and clinical outcome in stage III NSCLC using real-world clinical data in the Korean population.Materials and MethodsAmong 8,110 patients with lung cancer selected from 52 hospitals in Korea during 2014-2016, only patients with stage III NSCLC were recruited and analyzed. A standardized protocol was used to collect clinical information and cox proportional hazards models were used to identify risk factors for mortality.ResultsA total of 1,383 patients (46.5% had squamous cell carcinoma and 40.9% had adenocarcinoma) with stage III NSCLC were enrolled, and their median age was 70 years. Regarding clinical stage, 548 patients (39.6%) had stage IIIA, 517 (37.4%) had stage IIIB, and 318 (23.0%) had stage IIIC. Pertaining to the initial treatment method, the surgery group (median survival period: 36 months) showed better survival outcomes than the non-surgical treatment group (median survival period: 18 months, p=0.001) in patients with stage IIIA. Moreover, among patients with stage IIIB and stage IIIC, those who received concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CCRT, median survival period: 24 months) showed better survival outcomes than those who received chemotherapy (median survival period: 11 months), or radiation therapy (median survival period: 10 months, p<0.001).ConclusionWhile surgery might be feasible as the initial treatment option in patients with stage IIIA NSCLC, CCRT showed a beneficial role in patients with stage IIIB and IIIC NSCLC.
Semi-orthogonal decomposition of symmetric products of curves and canonical system
Authors: Biswas Indranil , Gómez Tomás , Lee Kyoung-Seog
Published: February 2021

Let

C

be an irreducible smooth complex projective curve of genus

g\geq 2

and let

C_d

be its

d

-fold symmetric product. In this paper, we study the question of semi-orthogonal decompositions of the derived category of

C_d

. This entails investigations of the canonical system on

C_d

, in particular its base locus.
A theory of ‘authorship transfer’ and its application to the context of Artificial Intelligence creations
Authors: Lu Bingbin
Published: February 2021

This article aims to contribute to the copyright debate concerning Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) creations. AI-created works could and should be protected by copyright law. However, existing answers to the issue of allocation of authorship remain somewhat unsatisfactory. A reasonable and practical solution to this issue, fortunately, could be established upon the doctrine of ‘authorship transfer’ (the initial transfer of authorship from the actual creator to a constructive author) in modern copyright law. The ‘control of the creative process’ theory can provide a reasonable and justifiable explanation of ‘authorship transfer’. The person, either a natural or a juridical one, who has exercised sufficient control over the creative process, should be constructed as an author of the outcome. This theory is quite flexible before the ever-changing AI technology that challenges copyright law. For AI-created works, the authorship is better transferred to a person behind the AI who had control over the creative process in order to safeguard the current copyright system and its founding principles.