Genetic algorithms in engineering electromagnetics

This paper presents a tutorial and overview of genetic algorithms for electromagnetic optimization. Genetic-algorithm (GA) optimizers are robust, stochastic search methods modeled on the concepts of natural selection and evolution. The relationship between traditional optimization techniques and the GA is discussed. Step-by-step implementation aspects of the GA are detailed, through an example with the objective of providing useful guidelines for the potential user. Extensive use is made of sidebars and graphical presentation to facilitate understanding. The tutorial is followed by a discussion of several electromagnetic applications in which the GA has proven useful. The applications discussed include the design of lightweight, broadband microwave absorbers, the reduction of array sidelobes in thinned arrays, the design of shaped-beam antenna arrays, the extraction of natural resonance modes of radar targets from backscattered response data, and the design of broadband patch antennas. Genetic-algorithm optimization is shown to be suitable for optimizing a broad class of problems of interest to the electromagnetic community. A comprehensive list of key references, organized by application category, is also provided     

Stroke in teenagers

Between 3.7% and 8.5% of all strokes occur before the age of 45 years old. In the population under 15 years of age, the annual incidence of strokes is 2.7 per 100,000 children, with ischaemic strokes making up 1.2 and haemorrhagic strokes 1.5 of this total. The main characteristic of ischaemic strokes in childhood is the wide variety of diagnoses involved. Some of these, such as congenital cardiopathy, are rare in adults, as are dissections and arterial dysplasias, arteritis, hereditary connective tissue disorders and disorders of metabolism. Similarly, the aetiology of haemorrhagic stroke is also very varied, with bursting of a vascular malformation or aneurysm being the commonest. Other aetiologies are disorders of haemostasis, arteritis, migraine, retarded post-traumatic phenomena and the use of drugs and sympathomimetic agents. The personal, family and social repercussions are considerable, since both ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes have an appreciable mortality and morbidity.     

Anatomical basis of the variable aspects of injuries of the axillary nerve (excluding the terminal branches in the deltoid muscle)

The course of the axillary n. is complex with three points of angulation that may be used to delineate four segments and a fifth segment that corresponds to the intramuscular ending of the nerve in the deltoid m. The purpose of this study was to determine the precise anatomy of the nerve and of its branches, and some morphologic features for each segment. Thirty-two shoulders from embalmed adult cadavers have been studied. The axillary n. was divided in five segments: 1) from its origin to the inferior border of the subscapularis m., 2) from the subscapularis m. to the anterolateral border of the tendon of the long head of the triceps brachii m., 3) from the triceps to the posteromedial part of the surgical neck of the humerus, 4) from the humerus to the entry into the deltoid m., 5) the intramuscular distribution of the nerve in the deltoid m. In each segment from 1 to 4 were noted the origins of the branches to the subscapularis and teres minor mm. and to the scapulohumeral joint, and the origins of the lateral cutaneous branchial n. and of the terminal motor branches to the deltoid m. The length and the diameter of the nerve in the segments and the distance from the segment S1 to the musculotendinous junction of the subscapularis m. were measured. The results showed that the mean diameters were about 4.1 mm in segment 1, 4.1 mm in segment 2 and 3.4 mm in segment 3. The mean distance to the musculotendinous junction was 7.7 mm. Many variations in the levels of origin of the different muscular, articular or cutaneous branches were found without symmetry between the right and left sides. The lateral cutaneous brachial n. was absent in four cases. The results are compared with those in the literature. The division into five segments is proposed to radiologists and surgeons for evaluation or operative procedures on the axillary n., and to provide a hypothesis about the variable aspects of injuries of the nerve.     

The changes of lipid metabolism and hemorrheology in intrahepatic cholestasis during pregnancy

OBJECTIVE: To identify the influence of the increased level of serum cholyglycine (CG) on lipid metabolism and hemorrheology in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis during pregnancy (ICP). METHODS: The concentrations of serum CG, total cholesterol (CH), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high shear and low shear of blood specific viscosity (HS and LS), plasma specific viscosity (PV) and hematocrit (HCT) were measured in 68 cases of primiparas with single pregnancy and 30 healthy nonpregnant women respectively. The group of ICP was composed of 35 cases with CG > 6 mumol/L, the group of normal pregnancy, 33 cases with CG < 6 mumol/L. RESULTS: The means of CG and the lipidic parameters in the two pregnant groups were significantly higher than those in the non-pregnancy group (P < 0.02-0.001) except the means of HDL-C between the groups of ICP and non-pregnancy. The levels of LDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C, LS, PV and HCT in the ICP were significantly higher than those in the normal pregnancy group (P < 0.02-0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There are significant changes of lipid metabolism and hemorrheology in patients with ICP. However, these changes could be corrected after pregnancy termination, when the level of serum CG returned to normal. The results suggest that the pathophysiologic changes of ICP are associated with increased level of serum CG.     

Infections in patients with cystic fibrosis following lung transplantation

BACKGROUND: There is controversy over whether colonization with drug-resistant organisms is a contraindication to lung transplantation. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective review of the results of lung transplantation for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) at Duke University Medical Center. RESULTS: As of May 1996, 21 patients with CF underwent bilateral lung transplantation. The first patient died within 24 h of transplantation from sepsis due to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Of the remaining 20 patients, 17 (85%) are alive and in stable condition. The three deaths were related primarily to bronchiolitis obliterans at 4 and 18 months in two patients and to cytomegalovirus pneumonitis at 5 months in the other patient. The 17 surviving patients have been followed up for a mean of 13 months (range, 0.5 to 34 months). Most of them were colonized and infected with multidrug-resistant organisms before transplantation. Following transplantation, 11 patients had complications from infections. One patient had bacteremia due to a panresistant Burkholderia cepacia and was treated successfully. Two patients had bacteremia and wound infection due to Burkholderia gladioli, previously thought to be pathogenic only in plants. Both patients were treated successfully. Of the six patients with Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from cultures before transplantation, only one had invasive disease following transplantation and responded to treatment. CONCLUSION: The organisms present before transplantation were not the primary cause of mortality in our patient population. Our findings suggest that lung transplantation should be considered in CF patients infected with multidrug-resistant organisms.     

Determination of a new podophyllotoxin derivative, TOP-53, and its metabolite in rat plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of a new podophyllotoxin derivative, TOP-53 (I), and TOP-53 glucuronide (II) as its major metabolite in rat plasma and urine. For the analysis of I, the sample was chromatographed on a reversed-phase C18 column with electrochemical detection after consecutive two-step liquid-liquid extractions. Compound II was determined as I after enzymatic hydrolysis of II. This method was validated sufficiently with respect to specificity, accuracy, and precision. The limits of quantitation for both I and II were 2 ng/ml in plasma and 10 ng/ml in urine. The method is thus useful for the pharmacokinetic study of I.     

Hypercoagulability and chronic atrial fibrillation: the role of markers of thrombin generation

BACKGROUND: We have studied 64 patients with congestive heart failure, half of them also with chronic nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF). Patients were also stratified according to a history of prior stroke. METHODS: The generation of thrombin was investigated by means of the molecular markers prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (F1 + 2) and thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT), because AF patients may have a hypercoagulable state. There was only a trend toward higher values of TAT and F1 + 2 for AF patients, while subjects with previous stroke (irrespective of AF) had increased levels of the markers of thrombin generation (TAT stroke+ 18.95 +/- 5.15 vs TAT stroke- 8.34 +/- 2.41; F1 + 2 stroke+ 2.22 +/- 0.29 vs F1 + 2 stroke- 1.32 +/- 0.12). The presence of spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) within left atrium was also investigated in 32 AF patients by transesophageal echocardiography. RESULTS: TAT were significantly higher in subjects (n = 11) with SEC (TAT sec+ 37.5 +/- 13.41 vs TAT sec- 8.7 +/- 2.51, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Finally, when we grouped into 1) those with both AF and stroke, 2) AF alone, 3) stroke alone and 4) sinus rhythm without stroke, levels of F1 + 2 were higher (and marginally higher TAT) in patients with AF and stroke than in those without stroke, revealing that there is a true clotting activation state in these subjects.     

Maternal nutrition and socio-economic status as determinants of birthweight in chronically malnourished African women

The birthweight is the most important determinant of mortality and morbidity in the neonatal period and may have an influence on health in adult life. The high rate of low birthweight in developing countries is therefore a major health problem. Maternal malnutrition is usually assumed to be a causal factor but other environmental factors are also involved. In this study we analysed maternal nutritional and socio-economic factors as determinants of birthweight in term infants from a rural African society characterised by a high rate of chronic malnutrition. Relations of maternal weight, gestational weight gain, parity, socio-economic status and infant sex with birthweight were analysed in 1,477 women and child pairs. The selected women were followed from early pregnancy and had an uncomplicated delivery at term of a living singleton child. The gestational weight gain was 5.6 (SD 6.0) kg and the mean birthweight 2.933 kg (SD 408). Maternal weight, representing the maternal long-term nutritional situation, was the most important independent determinant of birthweight, accounting for 13.0% of the variance in birthweight. The weight gain, representing the short-term nutritional situation, explained only 5.6% of the variance. Birthweight increased by 20 g (CI 18-23) for each kg maternal weight and by 15 g (CI 12-18) for each kg gestational weight gained. The socio-economic difference in birth-weight was 153 g (CI 109-196) 88 of which (CI 48-128) remained unexplained after adjustment for differences in maternal weight, parity and gender. Improved long-term nutritional situation and living conditions seems to be the most important prerequisites to counteract low birthweight in developing countries.     

Strength of synaptic transmission at neuromuscular junctions of crustaceans and insects in relation to calcium entry

Crustacean and insect neuromuscular junctions typically include numerous small synapses, each of which usually contains one or more active zones, which possess voltage-sensitive calcium channels and are specialized for release of synaptic vesicles. Strength of transmission (the number of quantal units released per synapse by a nerve impulse) varies greatly among different endings of individual neurons, and from one neuron to another. Ultrastructural features of synapses account for some of the physiological differences at endings of individual neurons. The nerve terminals that release more neurotransmitter per impulse have a higher incidence of synapses with more than one active zone, and this is correlated with more calcium build-up during stimulation. However, comparison of synaptic structure in neurons with different physiological phenotypes indicates no major differences in structure that could account for their different levels of neurotransmitter release per impulse, and release per synapse differs among neurons despite similar calcium build-up in their terminals during stimulation. The evidence indicates differences in calcium sensitivity of the release process among neurons as an aspect of physiological specialization.