Halo phenomena have long been an important frontier in both experimental and theoretical nuclear physics. 37Mg was identified as a halo nucleus in 2014 and remains the heaviest nuclear halo system to ...date. While the halo phenomenon in 37Mg was not predicted before the discovery, its description has been still challenging afterwards. In this Letter, we report a microscopic and self-consistent description of the neutron halo in 37Mg using the deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum (DRHBc) that was developed in 2010. The experimental neutron separation energies and empirical matter radii of neutron-rich magnesium isotopes as well as the deformed p-wave halo characteristics of 37Mg are well reproduced without any free parameters. In particular, the orbital occupied by the halo neutron in 37Mg, exhibiting p-wave components comparable to those suggested in experiments, remains consistent across various employed density functionals including PC-F1, PC-PK1, NL3*, and PK1. The DRHBc theory investigated only even-even magnesium isotopes in previous works and for that reason missed predicting 37Mg as a halo nucleus before 2014. Although the core and the halo of 37Mg are both prolate, higher-order shape decoupling on the hexadecapole and hexacontatetrapole levels is predicted.
This paper proposes a novel real-time electromyogram (EMG) pattern recognition for the control of a multifunction myoelectric hand from four channel EMG signals. To extract a feature vector from the ...EMG signal, we use a wavelet packet transform that is a generalized version of wavelet transform. For dimensionality reduction and nonlinear mapping of the features, we also propose a linear-nonlinear feature projection composed of principal components analysis (PCA) and a self-organizing feature map (SOFM). The dimensionality reduction by PCA simplifies the structure of the classifier and reduces processing time for the pattern recognition. The nonlinear mapping by SOFM transforms the PCA-reduced features into a new feature space with high class separability. Finally, a multilayer perceptron (MLP) is used as the classifier. Using an analysis of class separability by feature projections, we show that the recognition accuracy depends more on the class separability of the projected features than on the MLP's class separation ability. Consequently, the proposed linear-nonlinear projection method improves class separability and recognition accuracy. We implement a real-time control system for a multifunction virtual hand. Our experimental results show that all processes, including virtual hand control, are completed within 125 ms, and the proposed method is applicable to real-time myoelectric hand control without an operational time delay
Intubation time was defined as the time the laryngoscope tip passed the lips until the beginning of the first chest rise after successful endotracheal tube placement. According to Greenland's model, ...this study's manikin reproduced a fixed posterior complex associated with an increased submandibular space and poorly compliant submandibular tissues5. Acknowledgements Thanks to Norma Robinson (University of Queensland Rural Clinical School, Toowoomba) for the use of simulation equipment and trial assistance; Toowoomba Hospital for the loan of a C-MAC videolaryngoscope; and Karl Storz for a D-blade loan.
Few studies have addressed antibiotic guideline adherence in small island settings, such as Aruba. This study aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis (PAP) and ...identify barriers for PAP guideline adherence. A mixed-methods study was carried out at the operating theatre (OT) in the Dr. Horacio E. Oduber Hospital (HOH) in Aruba. First, a prospective audit was performed on the appropriateness of guideline-derived quality indicators (QIs). Then, interviews based on the Flottorp framework were conducted to identify barriers for guideline adherence. Finally, a survey was distributed to verify the outcomes of the interviews. The appropriateness of QIs was measured: correct indication (50.6%); antimicrobial agent (30.8%); dose (94.4%); timing (55.0%); route of administration (100%); duration (89.5%); and redosing (95.7%). The overall appropriateness was 34.9%. The main barriers discovered were poor knowledge about PAP and the guidelines and professional interactions regarding PAP, specifically poor communication and lack of clarity about responsibilities regarding PAP. This study was the first to evaluate the appropriateness and to identify barriers for PAP guideline adherence in a small island hospital. The overall appropriateness of PAP was poor with just 34.9%. Future interventions should be focused on communication, education and awareness of the possibility to consult an ID physician or microbiologist.
Background
Interest in the association between oral cancer risk and Candida‐associated promotion of mucosal dysplasia continues. However, little is known of the presence and amount of oral yeast in ...the mouths of healthy patients without mucosal lesions. The purpose of this prospective cross‐sectional clinical study was to ascertain the prevalence and degree of carriage of Candida in the oral cavities of a non‐cancer population, with reference to a range of parameters affecting the oral environment.
Methods
Oral rinse samples were collected from a sample of 203 patients attending the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and analysed for the presence and degree of colonization of yeast species that were phenotypically identified as albicans and non‐albicans species.
Results
Oral yeast carriage was found in 98/203 patients (48.3%), and of these, 83 (84.7%) patients carried C. albicans. There was no statistical difference in carriage when comparing gender, age, or presence of a removable prosthesis.
Conclusions
Both smoking and the presence of active carious lesions were found to be positively correlated with the carriage of oral Candida. Individuals who are current smokers are nearly seven times more likely to have oral Candida, and participants with high candidal colonization are more likely to be current smokers. Participants with active carious lesions were also more likely to carry oral Candida.
Purpose: Metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is relatively poor; however, depending on the selected cases, pulmonary metastasectomy can be a practical therapeutic option. This ...study aimed to identify the outcomes of complete metastasectomy based on each primary site and to investigate unfavorable prognostic factors. Patients and Methods: We used the database from the Metastatic Lung Tumour Study Group of Japan. Between November 1980 and April 2017, 231 patients were deemed eligible. According to anatomy and the current epidemiology of HNSCC, the patients were divided into three groups: nasopharynx, oropharynx, and salivary gland (n = 40, Group 1), oral cavity, tongue, and paranasal sinuses (n = 69, Group 2), and larynx and hypopharynx (n = 122, Group 3). Results: The 5-year overall survival after complete pulmonary metastasectomy was 58.5%, 25.0%, and 46.9% in G1, 2, and 3, respectively (p < 0.01). Multivariate analyses revealed unfavourable prognostic factors to be G2, and pathological maximum diameter was >20 mm. Therefore, on dividing group 1 and 3 with or without diameter, the 5-year overall survival was significantly worse in HNSCC with a diameter >20 mm (n = 74) than that in the remnant (n = 88; 61.9% vs 35.5%; p < 0.01). Conclusion: According to the multi-institutional Japanese data, pulmonary metastasectomy from HNSCC indicates a potential survival benefit. Oral cavity, tongue, and paranasal sinuses cancer, and tumour size (>20 mm) were poor prognostic factors for pulmonary metastasectomy from head and neck cancer. Keywords: pulmonary metastasectomy, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, pulmonary metastasis, survival outcomes
Biofilms formed on various plastics (vinyl chloride, silicone resin, Nylon 66, polycarbonate and polypropylene) have been investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical microscopy (OM). A ...biofilm formation reactor (BFR) fabricated in our group was used for the biofilm formation on a laboratory scale. After biofilm formation for 4 days in BFR, the biofilm formed on silicone resin had a finely rugged surface, while that formed on vinyl chloride had only coarse ruggedness, suggesting that the surface texture of the biofilms depends on the kind of plastic on which they are formed. After biofilm formation for 4 weeks in BFR, both the root mean square roughness (Rq) and arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) were found to be dependent on the samples, in the order vinyl chloride>Nylon 66, polycarbonate>polypropylene.
To evaluate quantitatively the contribution of each muscle to amputee gait during level walking and stair climbing in transfemoral amputees and healthy individuals, gait analysis and electromyography ...with transfemoral amputees (n = 8) and healthy adults (n = 10) were performed to evaluate muscle balance during each ambulatory task. Time - distance and kinematic parameters by gait analysis were calculated, and the rms EMG of major muscles and hamstring and tibialis anterior coactivity were measured by electromyography. Most kinematic parameters showed no statistical difference between each task, excluding pelvic tilt, pelvic obliquity and hip abduction. Major muscle activities and coactivities of hamstring and tibialis anterior showed that the stair ascent task needed excessive muscle activity compared with the stair descent task and level walking, and that muscle activity and coactivity of amputees were greater than those of healthy individuals, excluding hamstring coactivity during stair ascent (p < 0.05).
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