Angiogenesis of gynecologic tumors studied with color Doppler

Angiogenesis is obligatory event in solid tumors growth. Weak muscular layer in the newly formed tumoral vessels results in decreased resistance to blood flow and characteristic Doppler signal. The number and arrangement of the blood vessels differ between benign and malignant lesions as well. Parameters mentioned above enable a precise ultrasound differential diagnosis between benign and malignant tumors. Malignant uterine tumors are better perfused and have lower resistance to blood flow than benign ones. Benign lesions with secondary changes (necrosis) may have lowered resistance indices. The finding of pathological perfusion makes the diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma also very accurate. High sensitivity of the transvaginal color Doppler in detecting newly formed blood vessels in an early stages of ovarian cancer may establish this technique as a screening method for this still very high lethality disease.     

Pneumatization of the middle nasal turbinate: a CT study

Anatomic variations of the middle turbinate may be an important factor in the pathogenesis of inflammatory processes of the paranasal sinuses. A detailed analysis of coronal and axial plane CT scans of the paranasal sinuses obtained from 120 patients was performed. Paradoxical curve of the middle concha was detected in 24.2% of patients. Pneumatized middle turbinate was found in 42.5% and "true" concha bullosa in 8.3% of patients. Bilateral concha bullosa was found in 1.7% of patients.     

Prediction of diesel fuel cold properties using artificial neural networks

In this paper, two neural networks, multilayer perceptron and networks with radial-basis function, were used to predict important cold properties of commercial diesel fuels, namely cloud point and cold filter plugging point. The developed models predict the named properties using cetane number, density, viscosity, contents of total aromatics, and distillation temperatures at 10, 50, and 90 vol. % recovery as input data. The training algorithms, number of hidden layer neurons, and number of training data points were optimized in order to obtain a model with optimal predictive ability. The results indicated better prediction of cloud and cold filter plugging points in the case of multilayer perceptron networks. The obtained absolute error mean for the optimal neural network models (0.58°C for the cloud point and 1.46°C for the cold filter plugging point) are within the range of repeatability of standard cold properties determination methods.     

Effect of supercritical CO2 extraction process parameters on oil yield and pigment content from by‐product hemp cake

This research gives an insight into the possibility of exploiting the one of the food industry's by‐products – pressed hemp cake. The complete recovery of oil from pressed hemp cake was achieved. Residual oil that remained in cake after pressing was extracted with supercritical CO₂ by applying different process parameters. Optimal extraction conditions were determined using response surface methodology. Total pigment contents of the oils obtained were determined. Extraction pressure had the most significant influence on yield and pigment content of extracted hemp cake oil. Depending on the pressure, the chlorophyll a content ranged from 101.11 to 378.28 mg kg^?1 and chlorophyll b from 65.14 to 189.78 mg kg^?1, while total carotene content was in the range from 33.58 to 132.67 mg kg^?1. The remaining oil in pressed hemp cake after supercritical CO₂ extraction was determined to be 0.56 ± 0.08% and the defatted cake was rich in proteins and fibre.     

Modeling of dibenzothiophene oxidative desulfurization using response surface methodology

The effect of reaction temperature, mixing speed and oxidant to catalyst volume ratio, including their interactions on the oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene by using response surface methodology was studied. Hydrogen peroxide was used as oxidant and acetic acid as catalyst. The obtained model accurately predicts conversion of dibenzothiophene and the best conversion of 98.7% was observed at temperature 70°C, mixing speed of 1250 rpm and oxidant to catalyst volume ratio of 1:1. At high temperatures, a major limitation of the desulfurization process is the mass transfer and the high mixing speed is needed to achieve an efficient process.     

Congenital anomalies of the central nervous system 1990-1993

We have analyzed all available data including birth certificates, maternity records, pediatric records, and pathology reports of spontaneous and induced abortions and newborn deaths to determine the frequency of congenital anomalies of the central nervous system. We found 76 infants (34 males, 39 females and 3 of undetermined sex) with CNS anomalies during the 1990-93 period. In the same period there were 23,425 births. The frequency of CNS anomalies in this period was 32,4/10,000 births. These results are at variance with conclusions of previously published and incomprehensive studies in Croatia. Therefore, a systematic follow-up of the autopsy findings of induced and spontaneous abortions and newborn deaths in the epidemiology of CNS anomalies is clearly needed.     

Partial Linearization of One Class of the Nonlinear Total Least Squares Problem by Using the Inverse Model Function

In this paper we consider a special nonlinear total least squares problem, where the model function is of the form . Using the fact that after an appropriate substitution, the model function becomes linear in parameters, and that the symmetry preserves the distances, this nonlinear total least squares problem can be greatly simplified. In this paper we give the existence theorem, propose an efficient algorithm for searching the parameters and give some numerical examples. Received: June 30, 1997; revised October 31, 1998     

Is agriculture connected with stunting in Indonesian children living in a rice surplus area? A case study in Demak regency,central Java

Central Java province plays the main role in the production of food for national stocks in Indonesia, in which Demak is one of the 35 Regencies. Demak Regency had the sixth highest rice productivity in 2013, but at the same time, the seventh highest percentage of child malnutrition. This paradox between high rice productivity and low nutritional status of children triggered an interest in analyzing the correlations between agricultural production of households in the Demak Regency and the prevalence of stunting of children under-five. In December 2014 to February 2015, a cross-sectional survey was carried out in three sub-districts in Demak (Karanganyar, Dempet and Gajah) having the highest rice production and at the same time poor nutritional status of under-five children. The oldest under-five children from farmer family backgrounds were selected. Data on general characteristics, anthropometry of the children, as well as household socio-economics, including agricultural characteristics were obtained. Of the 335 children, 31.9% of them were stunted. A higher proportion of households that grew rice solely or mainly for own consumption (62.4%) and had significantly smaller sized rice-fields (p = 0.041) had stunted rather than non-stunted children. In total, rice production, farm income and agriculture diversity of families with non-stunted children were not significantly different from those of stunted children. However, yearly expenditure for improving family health and environmental conditions were significantly higher among non-stunted than stunted children (p = 0.044). Family decisions about what to spend money on also seemed to influence the nutritional status of the children, rather than nutritional diversity or revenue from agriculture itself. Therefore, improvement of agricultural production and diversity should be accompanied by education on household expenditure.     

Influence of chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes on their dispersibility in alkyl methacrylate polymer matrix

Nanocomposites based on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐octadecyl methacrylate) (M/O) matrices and four different types of multiwall carbon nanotubes: pristine, oxidized (MWCNT–COOH), methyl ester (MWCNT–COOCH₃), and dodecyl ester (MWCNT–COOC₁₂H₂₅) functionalized, were prepared in situ by radical (co)polymerization. The effectiveness of preparation of nanocomposites regarding dispersion and distribution of various MWCNT in polymer matrices was sized by Scanning electron microscopy. In case of PMMA matrix, the best dispersion and distribution were accomplished for MWCNT–COOCH₃ due to their chemical resemblance with polymer matrix. After the introduction of 10 mol % of octadecyl methacrylate in polymer matrix a fairly good dispersion and distribution of MWCNT–COOCH₃ were retained. The addition of 1 wt % of MWCNTs caused a significant reduction in the degree of polymerization of the PMMA matrix. But at the same time, the present MWCNTs increased storage modulus of PMMA nanocomposites except for dodecyl ester functionalized MWCNT. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46113.