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This article, published in the Arab Journal of Interventional Radiology, discusses the use of Superior Hypogastric Plexus Block (SHPB) as a method of pain management after uterine artery embolization (UAE) for uterine fibroids. The study evaluated 27 patients who underwent UAE, with one group receiving SHPB along with opioids and another group receiving opioids only. The results showed that the group receiving SHPB had significantly better pain control compared to the group receiving opioids only. Additionally, within the SHPB group, those with a triangular shape opacification of the superior hypogastric plexus (SHP) had better pain control compared to those with an oval shape opacification. Overall, the study suggests that SHPB is an effective tool for improving pain control after UAE. [Extracted from the article]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2006.07.011 Byline: Fabio Ricciato (a), Francesco Vacirca (a)(b), Philipp Svoboda (a)(c) Keywords: Traffic analysis; Passive monitoring; Bottleneck detection; 3G; UMTS Abstract: In this work we address the problem of inferring the presence of a capacity bottleneck from passive measurements in a 3G mobile network. The study is based on one month of packet traces collected in the UMTS core network of mobilkom austria AG & Co KG, the leading mobile telecommunications provider in Austria, EU. During the measurement period a bottleneck link in the UMTS core network was revealed and removed, therefore the traces enable the accurate analysis and comparison of the traffic behavior in the two network conditions: with and without a capacity bottleneck. Two approaches to bottleneck detection are investigated. The first one is based on the signal analysis of the marginal rate distribution of the traffic aggregate along one day cycle. Since TCP-controlled traffic dominates the overall traffic mix, the presence of a bottleneck strains the aggregate rate distribution and compresses it against the capacity limit during the peak hour. The second approach is based on the analysis of several TCP performance parameters, e.g. estimated frequency of retransmissions. Such statistics are unstable due to the presence of few top users, but this effect can be counteracted with simple filtering methods. Both approaches are validated via simulations. Our results show that both approaches can be used to provide early warning about future occurrences of capacity bottlenecks, and can complement other existing monitoring tools in the operation of a production network. Author Affiliation: (a) ftw. Forschungszentrum Telekommunikation Wien, Donau-City-Strasse 1, A-1220 Vienna, Austria (b) Infocom Department, University of Roma, "La Sapienza", Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Roma, Italy (c) INTHFT Department, Vienna University of Technology, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Wien, Austria Article History: Received 27 September 2005; Revised 23 June 2006; Accepted 12 July 2006 Article Note: (miscellaneous) Responsible Editor: X.S. Shen

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2005.11.003 Byline: Francesco Vacirca (a)(b), Thomas Ziegler (a), Eduard Hasenleithner (a) Keywords: TCP; Spurious timeout; UMTS; GPRS Abstract: This paper proposes an algorithm to identify TCP spurious retransmission timeouts by post processing of packet traces monitored in operational networks. The operational principles of the algorithm and the assumptions behind its design are explained in detail as well as the situations in which the algorithm is prone to inaccuracies. By extensive measurements in a lab testbed using realistic round trip time characteristics as observed in operational wireless networks and FTP-like as well as Web-like traffic generators, it is shown that the algorithm is accurate in detection of spurious retransmission timeouts. Subsequently, the algorithm is applied to real traffic traces captured at several interfaces of an operational UMTS and GPRS network to analyze the frequency of spurious retransmission timeouts as well as the spurious timeout probability dependent on the load situation in the network and the flow size. This investigation, to our best knowledge the first on large scale TCP traffic traces monitored in an operational UMTS network, shows that spurious timeouts are infrequent events in the considered UMTS as well as the GPRS network. Among other findings, it is additionally shown that the ratio between spurious timeouts and other congestion recovery events experienced by TCP flows is low, indicating a negligible impact of spurious timeouts on TCP performance. Author Affiliation: (a) ftw. Forschungszentrum Telekommunikation Wien, Donau-City-Strasse 1, A-1220 Vienna, Austria (b) Infocom Department, University of Roma "La Sapienza", Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Roma, Italy Article History: Received 30 July 2005; Revised 17 November 2005; Accepted 21 November 2005 Article Note: (miscellaneous) Responsible Editor: S. Palazzo

The Furfine [The microstructure of the federal funds market. Financ. Markets Inst. Instrum., 1999, 8(5), 24–44] algorithm is a key tool for researchers in monetary economics and central banking because it allows identification of the interbank money market microstructure. Furfine's method has been used in numerous studies of money markets but little work has examined how valid its application is at zero and negative interest rates. This work seeks to address this gap. We first extend the standard algorithm to include negative rates and show the bias introduced by the zero interest rate. Secondly, we propose a econometric procedure based on market regularities and the economic likelihood of interbank bilateral relationships to correct the bias. Thirdly, the methodology is applied to TARGET2 data. The impacts of recent monetary policy decisions on key interest rates are studied. We find significantly biased figures when the market microstructure is not correctly estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of shear wave elastography (SWE) in the routine management of thyroid nodules, as a possible additional tool to the standard sonographic triage. Methods: A total of 248 consecutive patients scheduled for ultrasound‐guided thyroid fine‐needle aspiration were included in the study. The presence of a pure colloid lesion was an exclusion criterion. Absolute and relative SWE stiffness measurements on color‐coded elastograms, expressed in kilopascals and meters per second, were correlated with radiologic and pathologic features. Results: SWE values in thyroid nodules were significantly higher than normal thyroid tissue (P = .0001), proving the different elastic properties of the pathologic tissues. Regarding the radiologic characteristics of the nodules, SWE highest values were associated with the largest lesions (P = .0105) but independent from sonographic and Doppler findings. The SWE elasticity was not influenced by the characteristics of the biopsy smears. The final correlation between the SWE results and the pathologic diagnoses showed a trend in stiffness from tender tumors (follicular adenoma) to papillary thyroid carcinoma (P = .016). Conclusions: SWE allows the identification of nodules within normal parenchyma; however, the present study does not confirm the potential role in differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]