Sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT) is one of the most common tumors encountered in the neonatal period. Traditionally, a large abdominal incision is required for the combined abdominal perineal approach ...for the complete resection of type II-IV tumors. In this paper, we report our experience of using the combined laparoscopic perineal approach in treating these tumors.
Between November 2000 and September 2004, 4 patients with SCT were treated by the combined approach. The operation was started with the laparoscopic mobilization of the pelvic part of the tumor, followed by the completion excision and tumor retrieval through the perineal route.
The operation was successfully completed in all patients, with a mean operative time of 279 minutes. There was no complication related to the laparoscopic dissection. Postoperative recovery was uneventful in all patients, except in 1 with a minor wound problem. At a median follow-up of 46.5 months, there was no recurrence encountered in all these patients and the cosmetic result was excellent. Functional outcome was satisfactory, except in the patient with spinal metastases.
The combined laparoscopic and perineal approach provides a safe, excellent access in removing type II-IV SCT in infants.
Genetic Parallel Programming (GPP) is a novel Genetic Programming paradigm. GPP Logic Circuit Synthesizer (GPPLCS) is a combinational logic circuit learning system based on GPP. The GPPLCS comprises ...a Multi-Logic-Unit Processor (MLP) which is a hardware processor built on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The MLP is designed to speed up the evaluation of genetic parallel programs that represent combinational logic circuits. Four combinational logic circuit problems are presented to show the performance of the hardware-assisted GPPLCS. Experimental results show that the hardware MLP speeds up evolutions over 10 times. For difficult problems such as the 6-bit priority selector and the 6-bit comparator, the speedup ratio can be up to 22.
Thalassemia major (TM) patients frequently suffer from growth delay and endocrine dysfunction. Thirty-two TM patients who had survived more than 2 years after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) were ...recruited for growth and endocrine study. Patients were followed up annually for growth, and the height was expressed as height standard deviation score (HtSDS). The HtSDS at baseline was -1.51 and was more reduced in patients older than 7 years (−1.99) as compared with those younger patients (-0.79) (=. 027). The HtSDS gradually improved after BMT and increased by 0.59 (CI 0.16-1.01) at 5 years after BMT. Forty percent of patients were below 2 SD at time of BMT but this decreased to 15% at the latest assessment. The hormonal profiles of gonadotrophins, sex hormones, and thyroid function were assayed regularly after BMT. With a median follow-up of 67 months, ovarian failure was universal among the 10 girls evaluable for puberty and all required hormonal replacement. Eight of 10 boys had spontaneous puberty but 3 of them had gonadal impairment. One patient developed diabetes mellitus and one had growth hormone deficiency after BMT. In conclusion, improvement of growth after BMT in TM was common. Gonadal failure is universal in girls, and boys were less affected.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Mutual events (MEs) are eclipses and occultations among planetary natural satellites. Most of the time, eclipses and occultations occur separately. However, the same satellite pair will exhibit an ...eclipse and an occultation quasi-simultaneously under particular orbital configurations. This kind of rare event is termed as a quasi-simultaneous mutual event (QSME). During the 2021 campaign of mutual events of jovian satellites, we observed a QSME between Europa and Ganymede. The present study aims to describe and study the event in detail. We observed the QSME with a CCD camera attached to a 300-mm telescope at the Hong Kong Space Museum Sai Kung iObservatory. We obtained the combined flux of Europa and Ganymede from aperture photometry. A geometric model was developed to explain the light curve observed. Our results are compared with theoretical predictions (O-C). We found that our simple geometric model can explain the QSME fairly accurately, and the QSME light curve is a superposition of the light curves of an eclipse and an occultation. Notably, the observed flux drops are within 2.6% of the theoretical predictions. The size of the event central time O-Cs ranges from -14.4 to 43.2 s. Both O-Cs of flux drop and timing are comparable to other studies adopting more complicated models. Given the event rarity, model simplicity and accuracy, we encourage more observations and analysis on QSMEs to improve Solar System ephemerides.
Minimal residual disease, or MRD, is an important prognostic indicator in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In ALL-IC-BFM 2002 study, we employed a standardized method of flow cytometry MRD ...monitoring for multiple centers internationally using uniformed gating, and determined the relevant MRD-based risk stratification strategies in our local patient cohort. We also evaluated a novel method of PCR MRD quantitation using peripheral blood plasma. For the bone marrow flow MRD study, patients could be stratified into 3 risk groups according to MRD level using a single time-point at day-15 (Model I) (I-A: <0.1%, I-B: 0.1-10%, I-C: >10%), or using two time-points at day-15 and day-33 (Model II) (II-A: day-15<10% and day-33<0.01%, II-B: day-15 greater than or equal to 10% or day-33 greater than or equal to 0.01% but not both, II-C: day-15 greater than or equal to 10% and day-33 greater than or equal to 0.01%), which showed significantly superior prediction of relapse (p = .00047 and <0.0001 respectively). Importantly, patients with good outcome (frequency: 56.0%, event-free survival: 90.1%) could be more accurately predicted by Model II. In peripheral blood plasma PCR MRD investigation, patients with day-15-MRD greater than or equal to 10-4 were at a significantly higher risk of relapse (p = 0.0117). By multivariate analysis, MRD results from both methods could independently predict patients' prognosis, with 20-35-fold increase in risk of relapse for flow MRD I-C and II-C respectively, and 5.8-fold for patients having plasma MRD of greater than or equal to 10-4. We confirmed that MRD detection by flow cytometry is useful for prognostic evaluation in our Chinese cohort of childhood ALL after treatment. Moreover, peripheral blood plasma DNA MRD can be an alternative where bone marrow specimen is unavailable and as a less invasive method, which allows close monitoring.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This randomized double-blind controlled study was carried out to investigate the effect of 100 mg acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) per day on the secondary prevention of ischemic stroke. Patients who ...suffered a first ischemic stroke from 13 participating hospitals were enrolled. They were independent or only partially dependent in activities of daily living and all had received brain CT for diagnosis. Eligible patients were randomly allocated to the 100 mg ASA or the nicametate citrate (a vasodilator) groups, and trial medications were started within three to six weeks after the onset of stroke. The primary end point was cerebral reinfarction, and intracranial hemorrhage was classified as an adverse event. Four hundred and sixty-six patients participated in this study; and 222 cases (136 males and 86 females) were allocated to the ASA group while 244 cases (150 males and 94 females) were assigned to the nicametate group. No significant difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups was observed. Cerebral reinfarction developed 6.3% (14/222) in the ASA group and 11.9% (29/244) in the nicametate group. According to the Cox's proportional hazards model, the estimated risk ratio (ASA group vs. nicametate group) was 0.538, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.284-1.019. The result was of borderline statistical significance. The risk for cerebral reinfarction was reduced by almost 50% among those who took 100 mg ASA versus those who took nicametate.
Numerical simulations were carried out for a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) in which the active device was separated from the hole-trap-rich substrate by a gallium arsenide buffer layer, ...grown by molecular beam epitaxy at low temperature, which contains the EL3 electron trap. The results show, for the first time, that the interface between the substrate and the buffer layer behaves like a reverse biased p-n junction when a negative backgate voltage is applied. By sustaining the backgate voltage across it, this junction effectively isolates the active channel of the HEMT from the substrate bias and thus eliminates backgating in the device.
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