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Background: There has been little data reporting the usefulness of intensivist-performed bedside drainage of pleural effusion via ultrasound (US)-guided pigtail catheter. The objective of this study is to clarify the usefulness and safety of these methods in comparison with radiologist-performed procedures. Methods: Data of patients with pleural effusion treated with US-guided pigtail catheter drainage were analyzed. All procedures were performed from September 2012 to September. 2013 by a well-trained intensivist or radiologist. Results: Pleural effusion was drained in 25 patients in 33 sessions. A radiologist performed 21 sessions, and an intensivist performed 12 sessions. Procedures during mechanical ventilation were performed in 15 (71.4%) patients by a radiologist and in 10 (83.3%) by an intensivist (p = 0.678). The success rate was not significantly different in radiologist- and intensivist-performed procedures, 95.2% (20/21) and 83.3% (10/12), respectively (p = 0.538). The average duration for procedures (including in-hospital transfer) was longer in radiologist-performed cases (p = 0.001). Although the results are limited because of the small population size, aggravation of oxygenation, CO2 retention, and decrease of mean arterial blood pressure were not statistically different in the groups. Pigtail-associated complications including hemothorax, pneumothorax, hepatic perforation, empyema, kink in the catheter, and subcutaneous hematoma were not found. Conclusions: Intensivist-performed bedside drainage of pleural effusion via ultrasound (US)-guided pigtail catheter is useful and safe and may be recommended in some patients in an intensive care unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To analyze how lidocaine 40 mg mixed prevents injection pain of propofol affects the onset time of rocuronium, tracheal intubating conditions and intubation related hemodynamic changes. Methods: This study consisted of 70 patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status class 1 or 2 for general anesthesia. All the patients were randomly allocated into two groups: propofol 2 mg/kg plus normal saline 2 ml (Group C) and propofol 2 mg/kg plus 2% lidocaine 40 mg (Group L). Each group was administrated intravenously during induction and the patient was intubated 1 minute after an injection of 0.6 mg/kg of rocuronium. The time at disappearance of the first twitch and intubation scores were recorded. Also, blood pressure and heart rate were measured at the baseline, after intravenous injection of propofol, before intubation, and at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 5 minutes after intubation. Results: There were no significant differences between group C and L (P > 0.05). Conclusions: 40 mg of lidocaine mixed with propofol to prevent injection pain did not affect the onset time of rocuronium, intubating conditions and intubation related hemodynamic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic light-emitting diodes and photodetectors represent important, established technologies for solid-state lighting, digital imaging and many other applications. Eliminating mechanical and geometrical design constraints imposed by the supporting semiconductor wafers can enable alternative uses in areas such as biomedicine and robotics. Here we describe systems that consist of arrays of interconnected, ultrathin inorganic light-emitting diodes and photodetectors configured in mechanically optimized layouts on unusual substrates. Light-emitting sutures, implantable sheets and illuminated plasmonic crystals that are compatible with complete immersion in biofluids illustrate the suitability of these technologies for use in biomedicine. Waterproof optical-proximity-sensor tapes capable of conformal integration on curved surfaces of gloves and thin, refractive-index monitors wrapped on tubing for intravenous delivery systems demonstrate possibilities in robotics and clinical medicine. These and related systems may create important, unconventional opportunities for optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human shoulder complex is perhaps the most complicated joint in the human body being comprised of a set of three bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Despite this anatomical complexity, computer graphics models for motion capture most often represent this joint as a simple ball and socket. In this paper, we present a method to determine a shoulder skeletal model that, when combined with standard skinning algorithms, generates a more visually pleasing animation that is a closer approximation to the actual skin deformations of the human body. We use a data-driven approach and collect ground truth skin deformation data with an optical motion capture system with a large number of markers (200 markers on the shoulder complex alone). We cluster these markers during movement sequences and discover that adding one extra joint around the shoulder improves the resulting animation qualitatively and quantitatively yielding a marker set of approximately 70 markers for the complete skeleton. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our skeletal model by comparing it with ground truth data as well as with recorded video. We show its practicality by integrating it with the conventional rendering/animation pipeline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new filter bank-based fingerprint feature extraction and matching method without needing to detect minutiae. The proposed method decomposes a fingerprint image into eight directional subband outputs using a directional filter bank (DFB) and then obtains directional energy distributions for each block from the decomposed subband outputs. Only dominant directional energy components are employed as elements of the input feature vector, which serves to reduce noise and improve efficiency. For the rotational alignment, additional input feature vectors in which various rotations are considered are extracted, and these input feature vectors are compared with the enrolled template feature vector. The proposed method significantly reduced the memory cost and processing lime associated with verification, primarily because of the efficient DFB structure and the exploitation of directional specific information. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in extracting fingerprint features and achieving good performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a new atomic force microscope (AFM), with a z scanner independent of the xy scanner. Unlike conventional AFM systems, our xy scanner moves only the sample in the xy plane, while the z scanner controls the AFM probe along the z axis. The xy scanner is a single module parallel-kinematics flexure stage that guarantees high orthogonality and minimum out-of-plane motion. The z scanner is a one-dimensional flexure stage with negligible out-of-axis motion. Separating the z scanner from the xy scanner practically eliminates the x–z cross coupling problem inherent in conventional AFMs. Furthermore, the z servo response is no longer limited by the xy scanner characteristics, allowing us to make full use of our high performance z scanner. Our system uses the laser beam bounce detection method, and only the cantilever and the photodetector are mounted on the z scanner to realize a lightweight probing unit. We have devised a unique design such that the photodetector signal measures only the cantilever deflection and not the z-scanner motion. Our new AFM provides fast z servo response and high scan accuracy. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-stage fluidized bed can be used to preheat the combustion air by recovering the waste heat from the exhaust gas from industrial furnaces. The dilute-phase fluidized bed may be formed to exclude the excessive pressure drop across the multi-stage fluidized bed. But, in this case, the solid particles do not reach to the thermal equilibrium due to relatively short residence time in each layer of fluidized bed. In this study, a theoretical analysis on the dilute phase multistage fluidized bed heat exchanger was performed. A parameter related to the degree of thermal equilibrium between gas and solid particles at the dilute-phase fluidized beds was derived. Using this parameter, a relatively simple expression was obtained for the thermal efficiencies of the multi-stage fluidized bed heat exchanger and air preheater. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the development of dynamic contact mode electrostatic force microscopy (DC-EFM) as an operation mode of scanning probe microscope (SPM). Complete separation of the topographic effect from other electrostatic force effect; Use of DC-EFM either as a force microscopy for surface hardness or as a potentiometry for surface potential distribution.

A thermally evaporated molybdenum oxide (MoO3) film was used as a window layer of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cell instead of the conventional p-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (p-a-SiC:H) film. The short circuit current density (JSC) and fill factor were increased due to the wide optical band gap and high conductivity of the MoO3 film. As a result, the conversion efficiency of the fabricated MoO3 solar cell was increased to 6.21% compared to the typical a-Si:H solar cell (5.97%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter presents approaches for assembly and electrical interconnection of micro/nanoscale devices into functional systems with useful characteristics. Transfer printing techniques provide deterministic control over an assembly process that occurs prior to or simultaneously with a soft lithographic molding step that defines relief features in a receiving polymer. Filling these features with conducting materials that are processable in the form of liquids or pastes yields integrated interconnects and contacts aligned to the devices. Studies of the underlying aspects and application to representative systems in photovoltaics and solid state lighting indicators provide insights into the process and its practical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies charged trapping induced by hot carriers in a metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor using a scanning capacitance microscope. Trapped charge generated by hot carriers injected from silicon substrate into silicon dioxide; Shifts in capacitance-voltage curves due to the locally trapped charge.

An acute upper airway obstruction can be caused by symptomatic postintubation or tracheostomy tracheal stenosis, and this serious condition often requires surgery, interventional bronchoscopy therapy (such as balloon dilatation), laser therapy, electrocautery, and stent placement. However, these treatments may not be feasible due to severe hypoxemia, ventilator failure, or shock and cardiac arrest, necessitating an advanced plan to establish airway patency, especially in an emergency department (ED) setting. Previous reports have demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for acute upper airway obstruction from various etiologies. Here, we report on a case of a 69-year-old woman with a history of repeated tracheal stent placement for postintubation tracheal stenosis who developed an acute tracheal obstruction from bloody clots after tracheostomy tube change, which was further complicated by severe bronchospasm. Oxygenation and ventilation were achieved via ED-initiated ECMO support. This case demonstrates how the rapid deployment of ECMO can be viable rescue therapy in the ED for a patient with acute tracheal obstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is one of the major causes of inhospital cardiac arrest as well as out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Bedside diagnosis of acute PE in the emergency department (ED) can be challenging, especially in a cardiac arrest setting. Even if the early diagnosis of an acute massive PE had been made, hemodynamic instability may be worsened unless obstructive shock gets resolved. We present a case of a 46-year-old woman who developed pulseless electrical activity (PEA) after complaining of weakness and dyspnea in an ambulance, presumptively diagnosed as acute PE by bedside focused echocardiography. She received thrombolytic therapy and was rescued by extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for recurrent PEA arrest in the ED. Focused bedside echocardiography provides a rapid diagnostic adjunct, and extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation can be a valuable rescue therapy for PEA arrest from massive PE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural evolution during heteroepitaxial growth of ZnO/sapphire(001) by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering has been studied using real-time synchrotron x-ray scattering. The two-dimensional (2D) ZnO(002) layers grown in the initial stage are highly strained and well aligned to the substrate having a mosaic distribution of 0.01° full width at half maximum (FWHM), in sharp contrast to the reported transition 2D layers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. With increasing film thickness, the lattice strain is relieved and the poorly aligned (1.25° FWHM) three-dimensional (3D) islands are nucleated on the 2D layers. We attribute the 2D-3D transition to the release of the strain energy stored in the film due to the film/substrate lattice mismatch. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical analysis for the flow and heat transfer of solid particles in moving beds of heat exchangers is presented. The solid particles pass through a bundle of heat source tubes as the result of the gravitational force. Heat energy is transferred through direct contact of particles with the heat source tubes. A viscous-plastic fluid model and a convective heat transfer model are employed in the analysis. The flow field dominantly determines the total heat transfer in the heat exchanger. As the velocities of solid particles around the heat source tubes increase, the heat transfer from the tubes also increases. Examples are presented to show the performance of the numerical model. The effect of flow on heat transfer has also been studied. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: acute kidney injury (AKI), formerly called acute renal failure (ARF), is commonly defined as an abrupt decline in renal function, clinically manifesting as a reversible acute increase in nitrogen waste products—measured by blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine levels—over the course of hours to weeks. AKI occurs in about 20% of all hospitalized patients and is more common in the elderly. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of AKI, and to detect and treat early, since it is known that a prolonged period of kidney injury increases cardiovascular complications and the risk of death. Despite advances in modern medicine, there are no consistent treatment strategies for preventing the progression to chronic kidney disease. Through many studies, the safety and efficacy of natural products have been proven, and based on this, the time and cost required for new drug development can be reduced. In addition, research results on natural products are highly anticipated in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. In relation to AKI, many papers have reported that many natural products can prevent and treat AKI. Conclusions: in this paper, the results of studies on natural products related to AKI were found and summarized, and the mechanism by which the efficacy of AKI was demonstrated was reviewed. Many natural products show that AKI can be prevented and treated, suggesting that these natural products can help to develop new drugs. In addition, we may be helpful to elucidate additional mechanisms and meta-analysis in future natural product studies.

In this paper, we address the problem of synthesizing continuous variations with the appearance of makeup by taking a linear combination of the examples. Makeup usually shows a vague boundary and does not form a clear shape, which makes this problem unique from the existing image interpolation problems. We approach this problem as an interpolation between semi-transparent image layers and tackle this by presenting new parametrization schemes for the color and for the shape separately in order to achieve an effective interpolation. For the color parametrization, our main idea is based on the observation of the symmetric relation between the color and transparency of the makeup; we provide an optimization framework for extracting a representative palette of colors associated with the transparent values, which enables us to easily set up the color correspondence among the multiple makeup samples. For the shape parametrization, we exploit a polar coordinate system, that creates the in-between shapes effectively, without ghosting artifacts.

Central venous catheterization (CVC) can be difficult, especially with pediatric patients in critical care. Accessing the subclavian vein (SCV) can cause serious complications, including pneumothorax, arterial puncture, and hemothorax. Recently, the ultrasonographic (USG) technique has gained popularity, but its efficiency is not yet confirmed. Subclavian venous catheterization (SCVC) through the supraclavicular approach (SCA) with USG or accessing the brachiocephalic vein through the infraclavicular approach (ICA) has been reported in the past. A useful technique is reported that involves the use of a 40 mm probe rather than the usual 25 mm probe in order to confirm the location of the needle while successfully performing subclavian venous catheterization in pediatric patients weighing 1.1 kg to 15.0 kg.

In this article, the author focuses on studying post-etching silicon crystal defects on 300mm wafers by automatic defect. Topics discussed include need of atomic force microscopy for obtaining three-dimensional information of crystal defects; inspection of bare silicon wafers for surface defects; and comparison between the data collected with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) vs. atomic-force microscopy (AFM) for the same defect.

Intubating patients with a huge, fixed supraglottic mass causing an obstruction of the glottis is difficult to most anesthesiologists. We attempted awake fiberoptic orotracheal intubation assisted by Glidescope® Videolaryngoscope (GVL) following topical anesthesia with 4% lidocaine spray and remifentanil infusion. The glottis could not be identified by the GVL view. However, by entering toward the right side of the mass with bronchoscope, the glottis was found. Due to stiffness of the mass, we were unable to further enter the area using the bronchoscope. Alternatively, we attempted to expose the glottis by GVL blade and then successfully intubated the patient by manually pressing the cricoids cartilage. GVL is nonetheless an excellent instrument in airway management compared to fiberoptic bronchoscope for patients with a huge and fixed supraglottic mass.

Non-obstetrical surgery during the first trimester is stressful to both the mother and the fetus. Anesthesiologists are also stressed, not only because of the effects of surgery itself, but also because of the uncertain influences of anesthesia thrown upon on the fetus. The authors present a case of breast surgery successfully performed on a woman 8 weeks pregnant requiring removal of breast abscess by the application of thoracic paravertebral block without any complications. Thoracic paravertebral block may be a safe anesthetic method for non-obstetric surgery during early pregnancy.

Flexible, stretchable, and spanning microelectrodes that carry signals from one circuit element to another are needed for many emerging forms of electronic and optoelectronic devices. We have patterned silver microelectrodes by omnidirectional printing of concentrated nanoparticle inks in both uniform and high-aspect ratio motifs with minimum widths of approximately 2 micrometers onto semiconductor, plastic, and glass substrates. The patterned microelectrodes can withstand repeated bending and stretching to large levels of strain with minimal degradation of their electrical properties. With this approach, wire bonding to fragile three-dimensional devices and spanning interconnects for solar cell and light-emitting diode arrays are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on ultrasonographic measurement of subclavian vein diameter and regression modeling in pediatric patients. It informs about Central venous catheterization (CVC) for anesthetic management in pediatric patients undergoing major surgery. It mentions significant factors including the selection of an appropriate vein and a catheter of a suitable size.