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In this study, a series of model tests was performed and the effect of the heading control on the offloading operability of side-by-side moored vessels in multidirectional environments was investigated. During the tests, hawser tensions, fender loads, and relative motions between two vessels were focused, which are the key factors defining the offloading operability. Basically, the heading control is designed to maintain the FLNG (LNG FPSO)’s heading at between wind wave and swell. In the model tests, several heading angles were selected to investigate the impact of the heading control on the offloading operability, which includes the heading angles aligned with swell and between swell and wind wave. The loading conditions of the FLNG and LNGC were chosen to have a similar roll natural period, and the period of swell was also selected close to the roll natural period, which realizes an worst situation. The model tests proved that heading control improves the offloading operability in the multi-directional environments. However, in the test, as vessel’s heading angle approaches to the direction of swell, the LNGC is exposed to wind wave as much as to increase the relative motion between the two vessels and deteriorate the offloading operability. In the model test campaign, the motion RAOs and horizontal drift forces/moment due to waves for the side-by-side moored vessels were measured and compared with the analytical calculations, which show the strong shielding effect on the wind wave by the FLNG.

A conceptual design of a current power generator which uses an oscillating hydroplane is examined; which can be applied to the relatively low current speed. The proposed current power generator has 2 degrees of freedom, sway and yaw. It uses oscillatory sway motion of the hydroplane to obtain electricity from the current flow. The sway motion is induced by the lift force due to the sinusoidal yaw motion of the hydroplane driven by an actuator. In order to assess the performance of the proposed current power generator, a mathematical model was developed considering quasi-steady lift and moment, added mass and wake effect of the oscillating hydroplane. In the mathematical model, the generator was modeled as a linear damper and the optimal power of the current power generator was found by varying the damping coefficient of the generator. The mathematical model was validated through a series of experiments was performed at 2-D tank with the laboratory scale model. During the experiments, the yaw motion of the hydroplane was controlled to follow the pre-determined sinusoidal motion with given amplitude and frequency by an electric motor. A virtual damper was designed using another electric motor producing damping torque proportional to the sway velocity. In this model, the dissipated power by the damping torque of motor is assumed to be equivalent to the generated power of the generator. The damping torque from the generator model was varied to obtain the optimal power by the hydroplane. Angle, angular velocity and torque of the each motor were measured; from the measurements harness power from the current flow and consumed power to actuate the hydroplane were calculated. Both simulation and experimental results showed good agreements; the developed mathematical model can be used for the further design.

A 78-year-old man was referred for anterior wall motion abnormality on echocardiogram. In anticipation of the urgent surgery for stomach cancer, an endothelial progenitor cell Genous capture stent (Orbus Neich Medical Technology) was implanted. After 2 weeks, optical coherence tomography was done to confirm the coverage of stent struts and all struts were fully covered by reendothelialization. The patient could undergo stomach surgery without antiplatelet therapy successfully.

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to determine the early cardiac valvular changes in young male ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. METHODS A total of 70 AS patients on treatment without clinical cardiac symptoms were divided into group I (< 10 years, n = 50) and group II (≥ 10 years, n = 20) depending on their disease duration after first diagnosis. Twenty-five healthy volunteers were selected as control subjects. All the subjects underwent transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, electrocardiography, and rheumatologic evaluation for AS patients. RESULTS The thickness of both the aortic and mitral valve was more increased in AS patients than in controls. Aortic valve thickness over 1.3 mm could predict AS with a sensitivity of 73% and specificity of 76%. The prevalence of aortic valve thickening was higher in the AS group compared to the controls. The prevalence of aortic and mitral regurgitation was very low and there was no difference between the controls and the patients. The aortic valve thickening was related to longer disease duration, high blood pressure, disease activity and inflammatory markers. CONCLUSION Thickening of the aortic and mitral valve was observed without regurgitation in male AS patients early in the course of their disease without clinical cardiac manifestations. This subclinical change of aorto-mitral valve in early AS should be considered and followed up to determine its prognostic implication and evolution.

Three solid dispersions containing poorly water-soluble tacrolimus were prepared with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and dioctyl sulfosuccinate (DOSS) using a spray-drying technique via the solvent-evaporation method with a methylene chloride/ethanol mixture, the solvent-wetting method with ethanol and the surface-attached method with water, respectively. The solubility and dissolution of the drug in the three solid dispersions were evaluated compared to drug powder. Furthermore, their physicochemical properties were investigated using SEM, DSC and powder X-ray diffraction. The solubility and dissolution of the drug were significantly improved in the order of the tacrolimus-loaded solid dispersion prepared by: solvent-evaporation method > solvent-wetting method > surface-attached method. The solid dispersions prepared by solvent evaporation appeared as an aggregated form with the amorphous form. In particular, the solid dispersion prepared by the solvent-evaporation method improved solubility about 900-fold and dissolution of tacrolimus 15-fold because of its reduced particle size, increased surface area and close contact between the hydrophilic carrier and the drug. In the solvent-wetting method, the drug, which was changed to an amorphous form, was attached onto the surface of undissolved carriers. However, the solid dispersion prepared by the surface-attached method gave an unchanged crystalline form. In this solid dispersion, the carriers were attached to the surface of the undissolved drug, resulting in changing the drug from being hydrophobic to hydrophilic. As the crystal form of drug in this solid dispersion was not converted to the amorphous form unlike other solid dispersions, it gave relatively less solubility and dissolution of the drug than did the others. Thus, in the development of a solid-dispersion system containing poorly water-soluble drugs, the method of preparation plays an important role in the solubility and crystallinity of the drugs.

The Basin Acoustic Seamount Scattering Experiment (BASSEX) of 2004 was conducted to measure forward-scattering around the Kermit-Roosevelt Seamount Complex in the Northeast Pacific. The BASSEX experiment was focused on the bathymetric effects on acoustic propagation, in particular, on direct blockage, horizontal refraction, diffraction, and scattering by the seamounts. A towed hydrophone array, with 64 sensors cut for 250Hz (3m spacing), was used to measure the signals transmitted from the aforementioned broadband sources at many locations around the Kermit-Roosevelt and Elvis seamounts. Utilizing the measured broadband signals from the towed array, the size of the shadow zone was obtained. The measured data in the BASSEX experiment strongly support the understanding of the complicated phenomena of sound propagation around the seamounts. In addition, the experimental data could be used to validate current 2D and 3D theoretical models and develop new models to properly realize the sound propagation with such complicated phenomena. In this thesis, the reconciliation between the measured pulse arrivals from the BASSEX experiment and various two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) theoretical models is carried out to investigate the physical characteristics of the sound propagation around seamounts: First, the 2D Parabolic Equation (PE) model and the 2D ray tracing model are used to reconcile each ray arrival with the BASSEX experiment in terms of arrival time and grazing angle. We construct a sound speed field database based on the sound speed profiles from the BASSEX experiment, World Ocean Atlas (WOA) 2005, and CTD casts using the objective analysis. Second, 3D broadband sound propagation around a conical seamount is investigated numerically using the 3D spectral coupled-mode model (W. Luo, PhD Thesis, MIT, 2007). Since the calculation of 3D broadband pulses with the spectral coupledmode model requires extensive computation time, a parallel program is developed with a clustered computing system to obtain results in reasonable time. The validation of the 3D spectral coupled-mode model is performed by a series of comparisons between the various 2D and 3D models for a shallow-water waveguide. The Kermit-Roosevelt seamount is modeled by a simple conical seamount for the 3D model. The computed 3D broadband pulses for the modeled conical seamount are compared with those from the BASSEX experiment and the 2D PE simulation. Through this analysis, we examine the limit of the application of the sound propagation models and improve the efficiency of the 3D sound propagation model using parallel computing to obtain a broadband pulse in a reasonable amount of time.

ResultsZZAmong the abused children, more than half had more than one psychiatric disorder. The most frequently diagnosed disorders were attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. The incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder was higher in abused girls compared with abused boys. Abused children had a higher suicide risk than the general population. Among the parents of abused children, 50.8% had alcohol use disorders.

Coronary artery perforation is a rare, but well recognized, compli-cation of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), with a reportedincidence of 0.14–0.35%, but with a mortality as high as 10% [1].Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has emerged as a powerfultool for use in stent assessment, and, within a short time, it hasbecome the modality of choice for study of stent and vascularinteractions in vivo. However, in a first generation pullback Time-Domain OCT imaging wire system (TD-OCT; M2 OCT systems andImageWire, LightLab Imaging, Inc, Westford, MA), blood clearancewas achievedby proximal balloonocclusion andflushingof the vesselusing the distal end holes of the occlusion balloon (Helios OcclusionBalloon Catheter, Goodman-Avantec Vascular Corp, Sunnyvale, CA).We report on a case of coronary perforation during first generationTD-OCT imaging as routine follow-up angiography.A 64-year-old woman with a history of previous percutaneouscoronary intervention (PCI) was admitted for follow-up coronaryangiography and OCT imaging. She had undergone PCI at the leftanterior descending artery (LAD) 1 year ago and had no anginalsymptoms after PCI. Cardiac examination was unremarkable, with aheart rate of 72 bpm and blood pressure (BP) 130/80 mm Hg.Diagnostic coronary angiogram, which was performed via the righttransradial approach using 6 Fr equipment, revealed no in-stentrestenosis of previously implanted stents with moderate distal leftanterior descending(LAD)artery stenosis (Fig. 1). TD-OCT imaging wasperformedusingaroutineprocedure,suchasproximalballoonocclusionatproximalLADand flushingwithRinger'slactateat1 ml/s.DuringOCT,abrupt BP depression and loss of consciousness developed. Followingimmediate removal of the OCT device and occluding balloon, coronaryangiography showed a huge coronary perforation with extravasation atthe distal LAD-D2 bifurcated lesion. We reinserted a guidewire and aconventionalballoonwasinflated just proximal to thelesion in order tosealtheperforation.Resuscitationwithinotropesandpericardiocentesiswere performed.The contrast leakcontinued inspiteofalongperiodofballoon inflation; therefore, a 3.0×15 mm Coronary Stent Graft™ wasinserted,butfailedtosealtheperforationduetoasmallcoronaryarteryand bulky graft stent (Fig. 2). The patient was transferred to theoperating room for surgical repair. Following sternotomy, a hugeperforated artery measuring approximately 6 –7mm was observed.Leftinternalmammaryartery(LIMA)graftstoLADandasaphenousveingrafttodiagonalwereplaced.Followingsuturingofthepericardiumandsternum, the patient returned to the CCU. She expired due to suddencardiac arrest at 7 days after surgery.OCT is high resolution, and, combined with the blood-free environ-ment, provides a substantial advantage for the study of coronary stent,when compared with previous intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) [2].Thistool enables detailed evaluation of tissue coverage and stent malapposi-tion in follow-up analysis. This specific parameter has been used as a

While the disease course of stress-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) is usually benign, it can be fatal. The prognostic factors to predict poorer outcome are not well established, however. We analyzed the Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score to assess its value for predicting poor prognosis in patients with SIC. Thirty-seven consecutive patients with SIC were followed prospectively during their hospitalization. Clinical factors, including APACHE II score, coronary angiogram, echocardiography and cardiac enzymes at presentation were analyzed. Of the 37 patients, 27 patients (73%) were women. The mean age was 66.1 ± 15.6 yr, and the most common presentation was chest pain (38%). Initial echocardiographic left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) was 42.5% ± 9.3%, and the wall motion score index (WMSI) was 1.9 ± 0.3. Six patients (16%) expired during the follow-up period of hospitalization. Based on the analysis of characteristics and clinical factors, the only predictable variable in prognosis was APACHE II score. The patients with APACHE II score greater than 20 had tendency to expire than the others (P = 0.001). Based on present study, APACHE II score more than 20, rather than cardiac function, is associated with mortality in patients with SIC.

Desipramine belongs to a group of psychotropic compounds called tricyclic antidepressants that have similar chemical structures and share a variety of pharmacologic actions. They tend to be lipophilic and are found in high concentrations in the myocardium of treated patients.1 Actions responsible for most of their cardiovascular effects include anticholinergic properties, an ability to block norepinephrine reuptake and a type 1 antiarrhythmic action.1,2 A variety of cardiac dysrhythmias have been associated with tricyclic antidepressant usage and especially with overdosage.3 Sustained ventricular arrhythmias are an uncommon complication of nonfatal tricyclic antidepressant overdose4 and usually consist of polymorphous ventricular tachycardia (or ventricular fibrillation). In the present report, we describe a young person without apparent organic heart disease who ingested a large amount of desipramine and who presented with sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia which persisted over a 3-day period.

In the SPICEX‐LOAPEX‐BASSEX experiments conducted in Fall 2004 forward scattering from the Kermit Roosevelt Seamounts was measured. There were four sources insonifying the seamounts: Kauai, S1 (a moored source), S2 (another moored source), and a ship suspended source at ranges from hundreds of kilometers to 1600 km. The signals were M sequences and LFMs centered at 75 and 250 Hz. These data were presented in J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 117, 2549, which indicated clear convergence zones and horizontal refraction by the seamounts as well as a gradual ‘‘fill in’’ of the scattering with increasing distance from the seamounts. Here, we compare the experimental results to a model of layered conic sections with both point excitations and a modal vertical line arrays. This Kauai, moored and ship suspended sources were deployed by Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the University of Washington, Applied Physics Laboratory as part of the joint experiment.