BACKGROUND According to some authors, a single isolated measurement of serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) executed on hospital admission would not be a sufficiently accurate method to predict the outcome of patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). AIMS To verify this assumption, a retrospective study was conducted on patients hospitalized for ADHF. Our main objective was to...

The authors present a scheme to extract a low-current discharge from a microplasma at atmospheric pressure for nanopatterning applications. The extracted discharge is generated by applying a high positive voltage to an independent electrode and accelerating electrons from the microplasma. Current-voltage (I–V) characteristics of the extracted discharge show high stability at low currents and tu...

1) Spontaneous afferent discharges were recorded from nerve fibers dissected from the renal nerves in vivo. 2) Raising the systemic blood pressure by mechanical and chemical means caused an increase in the discharge rate. It decreased with a reduction in the systemic blood pressure by mechanical or reflex means . 3) The time course of the change in the discharge rate has a strong resemblance to...

This study investigates the possibility of corona discharge ionization technique for reduction of fog. For corona discharge ionization a high voltage power supply is designed and developed indigenously. The high output voltage is developed by using isolation transformer, autotransformer, and high voltage neon transformer and it is converted into DC voltage by using Wheatstone bridge circuit and...

Fixation neurons (SCFNs) in the rostral pole of the superior colliculus (SC) and omnipause neurons (OPNs) in the nucleus raphe interpositus (rip) in the pons share similar discharge properties. Both types of neurons discharge tonically during periods of visual fixation and pause for saccadic eye movements, and their activation by electrical stimulation suppresses saccade generation. On the basi...

The effects of anode temperature on the performance of a 4.5 kW Hall-effect thruster are investigated. The approach separates the location of gas injection from discharge current collection using an anode band, which removes the main mechanism that heats the gas distributor. A thermal model predicts a 270 K reduction of the gas distributor temperature, which corresponds to a 28% increase in the...

The effect of water-surface discharge on the inactivation of Bacillus subtilis ATCC6633 in water was examined by using a very short high-voltage pulse generator. The surviving number of spore cells at 10(4) CFU/ml in initial concentration exponentially decreased with increasing discharge-treatment time. The input energy into the water-surface discharge under an O(2) gas flow for reduction in th...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to examine whether older people are prepared to engage in appropriate falls prevention strategies after discharge from hospital. DESIGN AND METHODS We used a semi-structured interview to survey older patients about to be discharged from hospital and examined their knowledge regarding falls prevention strategies to utilize in the post-discharge period. The stu...

We present experimental and numerical results of the effect that a partial discharge has on the morphological and micro-mechanical properties of non-spherical, convex particles in a silo. The comparison of the particle orientation after filling the silo and its subsequent partial discharge reveals important shear-induced orientation, which affects stress propagation. For elongated particles, th...

Cataplexy, a symptom of narcolepsy, is a loss of muscle tone usually triggered by sudden, emotionally significant stimuli. We now report that locus coeruleus neurons cease discharge throughout cataplexy periods in canine narcoleptics. Locus coeruleus discharge rates during cataplexy were as low as or lower than those seen during rapid-eye-movement sleep. Prazosin, an alpha1 antagonist, and phys...