1,721,070 research outputs found
Endoscopic Management of Recurrent Acute Pancreatitis
No full textThis review aims to summarize the role of endoscopic therapy in the management and outcomes of recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP). RAP is a clinical entity characterized by repeated episodes of acute pancreatitis in the setting of a normal gland or chronic pancreatitis (CP). The aetiology of RAP can be identified in about 70% of cases; for the remaining cases, the term “idiopathic” (IRAP) is used. However, advanced diagnostic techniques may reduce the percentage of IRAP to 10%. Recognized causes of RAP are gallstone disease, including microlithiasis and biliary sludge, sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD), pancreatic ductal abnormalities (either congenital or acquired) interfering with pancreatic juice or bile outflow, genetic mutations, and alcohol consumption. SOD, as a clinical entity, was recently revised in the Rome IV consensus, which only recognized type 1 dysfunction as a true pathological condition, while type 2 SOD was defined as a suspected functional biliary sphincter disorder requiring the documentation of elevated basal sphincter pressure to be considered a true clinical entity and type 3 was abandoned as a diagnosis and considered functional pain. Endoscopic therapy by retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has been proven effective when a mechanical obstruction is found and can be removed. If an obstruction is not documented, few treatment options are available to prevent the recurrence of pancreatitis and progression toward chronic disease. In gallstone disease, endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy (EBS) is effective when a dilated common bile duct or biliary sludge/microlithiasis is documented. In type 1 SOD, biliary or dual sphincterotomy is generally successful, while in type 2 SOD, endotherapy should be reserved for patients with documented sphincter dysfunction. However, in recent years, doubts have been expressed about the real efficacy of sphincterotomy in this setting. When sphincter dysfunction is not confirmed, endotherapy should be discouraged. In pancreas divisum (PD), minor papilla sphincterotomy is effective when there is a dilated dorsal duct, and the success rate is the highest in RAP patients. In the presence of obstructive conditions of the main pancreatic duct, pancreatic endotherapy is generally successful if RAP depends on intraductal hypertension. However, despite the efficacy of endotherapy, progression toward CP has been shown in some of these patients, mainly in the presence of PD, very likely depending on underlying genetic mutations. In patients with IRAP, the real utility of endotherapy still remains unclear; this is because several unknown factors may play a role in the disease, and data on outcomes are few, frequently contradictory or uncontrolled, and, in general, limited to a short period of time
Electro-dynamical analysis of the ITER blanket modules for enhanced Vertical Passive Stabilization
No full textThe electro-dynamical analysis of the ITER blanket modules when subject to disruption loads has been performed. Several configurations have been analyzed, considering both the blanket module electrically insulated (this case is considered as a reference) and all toroidal rows of blanket modules (except those corresponding to the upper and equatorial ports levels) electrically connected for vertical stability
improvement purposes. In particular the solution with a single strap placed in the equatorial plane of each blanket and the solution with two straps symmetric with respect to this plane have been analyzed.
Moreover the influence of the radial position of the straps has been evaluated
Numerical Model of the Dynamic Response of 3-D Conducting Structures with Magnetic Damping
No full textIn this paper, we present a new numerical model for the solution of the classic electromagnetomechanical-coupled problem. The dynamical behavior of conducting structures in the presence of a strong magnetic damping was the subject of a high scientific interest in the past, leading to several computational models with experimental validation, mainly related to thin-shell structures. We extend this approach to the treatment of 3-D conducting structures. To this purpose, we couple a very effective 3-D integral formulation in terms of the current density to the 3-D dynamical model of the conducting structures. The formulation is validated against the experimental results of the TEAM-16 benchmark problem. The importance of the magnetic damping is assessed with reference to the analysis of the dynamic response of the vacuum vessel of a fusion device under the strong Lorentz forces due to the plasma current disruption. The complex geometry of the vacuum vessel represents a real challenging problem in this frame
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Vibration of fusion reactor components with magnetic damping
No full textThe aim of this paper is to assess the importance of the magnetic damping in the dynamic response of the main plasma facing components of fusion machines, under the strong Lorentz forces due to Vertical Displacement Events. The additional eddy currents due to the vibration of the conducting structures give rise to volume loads acting as damping forces, a kind of viscous damping, being these additional loads proportional to the vibration speed. This effect could play an important role when assessing, for instance, the inertial loads associated to VV movements in case of VDEs. In this paper, we present the results of a novel numerical formulation, in which the field equations are solved by adopting a very effective fully 3D integral formulation, not limited to the analysis of thin shell structures, as already successfully done in several approaches previously published
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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