260 research outputs found
Surgical management of Pancreatic Mucinous Cystic Neoplasms (MCNs)
No full textBackground: Pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN) are rare mucin-producing cystic tumors. They are predominantly found, incidentally, in middle-aged women and usually located in the pancreatic body or tail. They are differentiated from other mucin producing neoplasms by the presence of ovarian-type stroma. The current management of MCN is defined by the consensus European, International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) and the American Association of Gastroenterology guidelines. However, the malignant potential of these lesions remains uncertain, with differing rates of malignant potential being described. Since the criteria for surgical resection differs between the current guidelines, the aims of this large multi-institution study were to determine the rate of associated malignancy in resected MCNs and to determine predictor features, clinical and radiological, for malignant transformation in MCN. Methods: All surgically resected MCNs between January 2003 and December 2015 were included in this international multicentre retrospective study. Lesions without ovarian type stroma were excluded. All lesions found in men had the diagnosis of MCN confirmed by two experienced pancreatic pathologists. Malignant MCNs were defined by the presence of invasive adenocarcinoma. Results: 211 patients with a confirmed and surgically resected MCN were included. Median age was 53 (range 18–82) years, and 95.7% (202/211) were in women. Median pre-operative tumour size was 52 (range 12-230) mm. 16.1% (34/211) were malignant. The rates of malignancy (33.3% (3/9) vs. 15.3% (31/202)) and high-grade dysplasia (33.3% (3/9) vs. 15.8% (32/202) were double in men compared to women. In all cases of malignancy or high-grade dysplasia, at least one of the following characteristics was seen: male patient, symptoms, or a preoperative worrisome feature (solid component, septations, main pancreatic duct dilatation >6mm, elevated serum ca 19-9). A total of five cases of malignant transformation occurred in MCNs less than 4 cm in size. All these cases were associated with features of concern on pre-operative cross-sectional imaging. Conclusion: In female patients in this large multicentre study, malignancy or high-grade dysplasia was solely seen in MCNs with symptoms or worrisome features on preoperative imaging, regardless of the size of the tumour. In males, the risk of malignancy was significantly higher than in females, suggesting that operative treatment should be considered in all male patients with a suspected MCN of any size. In female patients, conservative management seems to be a safe approach for suspected MCNs of any size without symptoms or worrisome features
Pancreaticoduodenectomy for nonampullary duodenal lesions: indications and results
No full textPD carries a high mortality and morbidity, especially for duodenal lesions. We recommend a careful endoscopic review after the index case with a high-definition optical evaluation of duodenal lesions. This, in addition to an experienced histological assessment of the index biopsy material, forms an essential prerequisite in aiding the multidisciplinary team in the decision-making process with respect to triage of these lesions to conservative management, surveillance, endoscopic resection or finally surgical resection
2026: Ruth Awad
No full textRuth Awad is a Lebanese-American disabled poet, a 2021 NEA Poetry fellow, and the author of Outside the Joy (Third Man Books, 2024) and Set to Music a Wildfire (Southern Indiana Review Press, 2017), winner of the 2016 Michael Waters Poetry Prize and the 2018 Ohioana Book Award for Poetry. Her work can be found in The Atlantic, AGNI, Poetry, Poem-a-Day, The Believer, The New Republic, and elsewhere. She has an MGA in poetry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and she lives and writes in Columbus, Ohio.https://thekeep.eiu.edu/lionsinwinter_writers/1055/thumbnail.jp
Implementation of enhanced recovery after surgery for pancreatoduodenectomy increases the proportion of patients achieving textbook outcome: A retrospective cohort study
No full textBackground: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) for patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy is associated with reduced length of stay (LOS) and morbidity. However, external validating of the impact is difficult due to the multimodal aspects of ERAS. This study aimed to assess implementation of ERAS for pancreatoduodenectomy with a composite measure of multiple ideal outcome indicators defined as ‘textbook outcome’ (TBO). Methods: In a tertiary referral center, 250 patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy were included in ERAS (May 2012–January 2017) and compared to a cohort of 125 patients undergoing traditional perioperative management (November 2009–April 2012). TBO was defined as proportion of patients without prolonged LOS, Clavien-Dindo ≥ III complications, postoperative pancreatic fistula, postpancreatectomy hemorrhage, bile leakage, readmissions or 30-day/in-hospital mortality. Additionally, overall treatment costs were calculated and compared using bootstrap independent t-test. Results: The two cohorts were comparable in terms of demographic and surgical details. Implementation of ERAS was associated with reduced median LOS (10 days vs 13 days, p < 0.001) and comparable overall complication rate (62.0% vs 61.6%, p = 0.940) when compared to the traditional management group. In addition, a higher proportion of patients achieved TBO (56.4% vs 44.0%, p = 0.023) when treated according to ERAS principles. Furthermore, ERAS was associated with reduced mean total costs (£18132 vs £19385, p < 0.005). Conclusion: Implementation of ERAS for patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy is beneficial for both patients and hospitals. ERAS increased the proportion of patients achieving TBO and reduced overall costs. TBO is a potential measure for the evaluation of ERAS
Multicomponent image segmentation using a genetic algorithm and artificial neural network
No full textImage segmentation is an essential process for image analysis. Several methods were developed to segment multicomponent images, and the success of these methods depends on several factors including 1) the characteristics of the acquired image and 2) the percentage of imperfections in the process of image acquisition. The majority of these methods require a priori knowledge, which is difficult to obtain. Furthermore, they assume the existence of models that can estimate its parameters and fit to the given data. However, such a parametric approach is not robust, and its performance is severely affected by the correctness of the utilized parametric model. In this letter, a new multicomponent image segmentation method is developed using a nonparametric unsupervised artificial neural network called Kohonen's self-organizing map (SOM) and hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA). SOM is used to detect the main features that are present in the image; then, HGA is used to cluster the image into homogeneous regions without any a priori knowledge. Experiments that are performed on different satellite images confirm the efficiency and robustness of the SOM-HGA method compared to the Iterative Self-Organizing DATA analysis technique (ISODATA). © 2007 IEEE.ARIA EH, 2004, P 20 ISPRS C IST TUR, P117; AWAD M, IN PRESS INT J REMOT; BACAO F, 2005, P ICCS 2005 C, P476; Baker J. E., 1987, P 2 INT C GEN ALG, P14; CHEN Q, 2004, LECT NOTES COMPUT SC, V33, P621; Chun DN, 1996, PATTERN RECOGN, V29, P1195, DOI 10.1016-0031-3203(95)00148-4; Fauzi M., 2003, P BRIT MACH VIS C, P519; HOLLLAND J, 1975, ADAPT NATURAL ARTIFI; HUAPT R, 2004, PRACTICAL GENETIC AL; Jensen J. R., 1996, INTRO DIGITAL IMAGE; Kohavi R., 1998, APPL MACHINE LEARNIN, V30, P271; Levine M. D., 1985, VISION MAN MACHINE; NEVATIA R, 1980, COMPUT VISION GRAPH, V13, P257, DOI 10.1016-0146-664X(80)90049-0; Ng SC, 1996, IEEE SIGNAL PROC MAG, V13, P38, DOI 10.1109-79.543974; PARZEN E, 1962, ANN MATH STAT, V33, P1065, DOI 10.1214-aoms-1177704472; PERKINS S, 2000, FUZZY SYST EVOL COMP, V3, P52; Pina P, 2003, INT GEOSCI REMOTE SE, P3516; PRATT W, 1991, DIGITA IMAGE PROCESS; Tou J.T., 1974, PATTERN RECOGNITION; Wang X., 2004, P IEEE C ROB AUT MEC, P991; Xiaoying Jin, 2003, Proceedings of the 12th IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems (Cat. No.03CH37442); Xu BG, 2002, AATCC REV, V2, P42; Yao KC, 2000, PATTERN RECOGN, V33, P1575, DOI 10.1016-S0031-3203(99)00135-1; YIN HJ, 1995, NEURAL COMPUT, V7, P1178, DOI 10.1162-neco.1995.7.6.117834232
The sorption of ammonia on brown coal
No full text© 1978 Dr. Awad Rizk OussaThis thesis is a report of an investigation carried out by the author between 1st April 1969 to 31st October 1973 on a full time basis and from 1st December 1975 to 31st July 1978 on a part time basis. The research project was conducted by the author in the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne, and on the premises of Australian Char Pty. Ltd., Morwell.
The project was based on the premise that useful information on the brown coal-ammonia system can be obtained from sorption isotherms. The author designed and assembled the apparatus with this in mind, and developed a method of obtaining a self-consistent and meaningful interpretation of the sorption isotherms. Thermodynamic data for the ammonia sorption process was derived and used to develop a preliminary model for the ammonia-brown coal system.
No separate literature review has been presented in the thesis, though frequent reference to the literature has been made in the discussions in each chapter.
Finally, the experimental details have been included in the appendices at the end of the thesis
Superconducting properties of zinc substitution in Tl-2223 phase
No full textThe effect of partial replacement of copper by zinc in Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10-δ superconductor phase is studied. Superconducting samples of the nominal composition Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3-xZnx O10-δ with x ranging from 0 to 0.6 are prepared under normal pressure by a one step of solid-state reaction technique. The samples are characterized by using X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and EDX. The X-ray data indicate that the partial replacement of Cu2+ions by Zn2+ions does not influence the tetragonal structure of the samples, and the lattice parameters a and c vary according to the difference in the ionic radii of Cu and Zn. The superconducting parameters, such as superconducting transition temperature Tc, critical current density Jc and irreversibility field Bir are calculated from electrical resistivity and AC-magnetic susceptibility measurements. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Abou-Aly A.I., 2002, INT C RES TRENDS SCI, V91; ADACHI S, 1990, PHYSICA C, V111, P543; Awad R, 2000, PHYSICA C, V341, P685, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4534(00)00650-X; Awad R, 2007, SUPERCOND SCI TECH, V20, P401, DOI 10.1088-0953-2048-20-4-017; Awad R, 2001, PHYSICA B, V307, P72, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4526(01)00971-1; Batista-Leyva AJ, 2003, SUPERCOND SCI TECH, V16, P857, DOI 10.1088-0953-2048-16-8-305; BEAN CP, 1964, REV MOD PHYS, V36, P31, DOI 10.1103-RevModPhys.36.31; BERKLEY DD, 1993, PHYS REV B, V47, P5524, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.47.5524; CHEN DX, 1990, PHYSICA C, V167, P317, DOI 10.1016-0921-4534(90)90349-J; Chu SY, 2000, PHYSICA C, V337, P229, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4534(00)00107-6; Fradina IA, 1999, PHYSICA C, V311, P81, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4534(98)00563-2; Glowacki BA, 1997, CRYOGENICS, V37, P609, DOI 10.1016-S0011-2275(97)00053-2; HAZEN RM, 1988, PHYS REV LETT, V60, P1657, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevLett.60.1657; Isber S, 2005, SUPERCOND SCI TECH, V18, P311, DOI 10.1088-0953-2048-18-3-018; Isber S, 2006, J PHYS CONF SER, V43, P450, DOI 10.1088-1742-6596-43-1-112; Kayed TS, 2003, CRYST RES TECHNOL, V38, P946, DOI 10.1002-crat.200310118; Kuhberger M, 2003, PHYSICA C, V390, P263, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4534(03)00706-8; LEE MW, 1995, PHYSICA C, V245, P6, DOI 10.1016-0921-4534(95)00100-X; Mezzetti E, 2000, PHYSICA C, V332, P115, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4534(00)00008-3; MOHAMMED NH, 2005, ARAB INT C REC ADV P, P9; Nishida A, 2003, PHYSICA C, V392, P349, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4534(03)00848-7; Pavard S, 1999, PHYSICA C, V316, P198, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4534(99)00259-2; Ravi S, 2000, PHYSICA C, V330, P58, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4534(99)00611-5; REN ZF, 1991, PHYSICA C, V184, P24, DOI 10.1016-0921-4534(91)91496-Q; RUCKENSTEIN E, 1989, MATER LETT, V8, P421, DOI 10.1016-0167-577X(89)90065-7; Tang H, 1997, PHYSICA C, V282, P2111, DOI 10.1016-S0921-4534(97)01171-4; Triscone G, 1996, PHYSICA C, V264, P233, DOI 10.1016-0921-4534(96)00262-6; VANDERAH TA, 1992, CHEM SUPERCONDUCTOR, P90; WANG YB, 1993, J LOW TEMP PHYS, V15, P169; WESTERHOLT K, 1989, PHYS REV B, V39, P11680, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.39.11680; Wisniewski A, 2000, PHYS REV B, V61, P791, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.61.791; XU YW, 1990, PHYSICA C, V169, P205, DOI 10.1016-0921-4534(90)90177-G; Yamauchi H, 1998, SUPERCOND SCI TECH, V11, P1006, DOI 10.1088-0953-2048-11-10-022; Yang Li, 1994, Physics Letters A, V18543
Progressive image transmission using edge detection
No full textIn this paper, a progressive image compression and transmission using edge detection scheme is adopted. The image is decomposed into two (primary and secondary) components. Canny method is adopted to detect the edges of the encoded image. These edges are replaced with a pre-designed nine basis nameplates. Then, the Macro edge detection technique is used to reduce the number of these nameplates and keep only the edges that are necessary for visual quality.
Eight directional predictions and interpolation technique will be performed on the encoded edges to reconstruct the first layer of the primary component at both receiver and transmitter sides. This is called the 1st stage reconstructed image, which is subtracted from the original to have the 1st stage smooth component. Then, this process will be repeated for the 2nd and the 3rd stage components.
The 3rd stage smooth component is filtered using an optimal decomposition filter and then decimated by a factor of 2. The decimated component is encoded using VQ. The decoded result of the smooth image is added to the three layers that form the primary component to have the reconstructed image. An excellent reconstructed images are found at an average of 0.179 bpp (compression ratio 45:1) and with an average PSNR of 39.45 dB. This algorithm is found to be of lower bit rate than existing image compression techniques.Corresponding Author:
Prof. Awad Kh. Al-Asmari
Electrical Engineering Department
College of Engineering in Al-Kharj, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
E-mail: [email protected]
TERNIMET FARIS THE BIOGRAPHY NOVEL FOR AWAD ALAAQMI STUDY IN NARRATIVE ELEMENTS AND CONSTITUENTS
No full textتعد الرواية السيرذاتية من أنواع الكتابة السردية الحديثة، فهي تجمع بين خصائص فنين سرديين معروفين هما السيرة والرواية. تنتمي رواية (ترنيمة فارس) لعوض العلقمي إلى هذا النوع من الكتابة، حيث يسرد فيها مؤلفُها الأحداثَ التي مر بها هو وأفراد عائلته ومنطقته منذ عهد حكم السلطنات في خمسينات القرن الماضي وصولًا إلى عام 2018م زمن كتابة هذه الرواية التي قسَّمها مؤلفُها على أربع بنيات حكائية جاءت خيوطها السردية متناسقة ومتماسكة؛ وهي: حكاية مولد الصبار، وحكاية المهجَّرين، وحكاية رجولة قبل الأوان، وحكاية العودة المرتقبة. ونستعرضها نقديًا من ناحية العناصر الشكلية كالعنوان واسم المؤلف والنص الملحق، وكذلك بنية الشخصيات الرئيسة والثانوية، والبنية المكانية والزمنية، سالكين في دراستنا هذه المنهج الوصفي التحليلي. ثم خلصنا إلى إيراد ما توصلنا إليه من نتائج.The biography novel is a modern narrative writing genre, combining between two well-known narrative artists characteristics, the biography and the novel. The novel of “Hymn of Persia” (ternimet Faris) by Awad Al-Alqami is belongs to this type of writing, in which the author recounts the events that he and his family and region have experienced since the rule of the Sultanates in the 1950s till 2018s the time of writing this novel, which divided it by the Author into four tales’ structure whose narrative threads were consistent and coherent. It is: Cactus's born tale, Displaced people tale, manhood prematurely tale, and an expected return story. We have reviewed it critically, in terms of formal elements such as title, author's name and supplementary text, as well as the structure of the main and secondary characters, spatial and temporal structure. In our study, we took this descriptive and analytical curriculum. Then we concluded to these results
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