Pulmonary emphysema causes decrease in lung function due to irreversible dilatation of intrapulmonary air spaces, which is linked to high morbidity and mortality. Lung volume reduction (LVR) is an invasive therapeutical option for pulmonary emphysema in order to improve ventilation mechanics. LVR can be carried out by lung resection surgery or different minimally invasive endoscopical procedure...

UNLABELLED Pulmonary emphysema causes decrease in lung function due to irreversible dilatation of intrapulmonary air spaces, which is linked to high morbidity and mortality. Lung volume reduction (LVR) is an invasive therapeutical option for pulmonary emphysema in order to improve ventilation mechanics. LVR can be carried out by lung resection surgery or different minimally invasive endoscopica...

BACKGROUND Both "liberal" and "goal-directed" (GD) therapy use a large amount of perioperative fluid, but they appear to have very different effects on perioperative outcomes. We sought to determine whether one fluid management strategy was superior to the others. METHODS We selected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the use of GD or restrictive versus liberal fluid therapy (LVR) in majo...

AIM To compare the effectiveness of three models of low vision rehabilitation for people with age related macular degeneration (AMD) referred for low vision rehabilitation (LVR): (a) an enhanced low vision rehabilitation model (ELVR) including supplementary home based low vision rehabilitation; (b) conventional low vision rehabilitation (CLVR) based in a hospital clinic; (c) CLVR with home visi...

This paper deals with the design techniques of power efficient switching regulators intended for linear power amplifiers (PAs) employing envelope tracking techniques in wideband wireless standards. The bottlenecks involve a tradeoff between ripple voltage, slew rate and bandwidth. The slew rate limitation is identified as the main challenge; thus a ‘bang-bang’ slew-enhancement technique is prop...

AIM This retrospective study aimed to determine functional results of laparoscopic ventral rectopexy (LVR) for rectal prolapse (RP) and symptomatic rectoceles in a large cohort of patients. METHOD All patients treated between 2004 and 2011 were identified. Relevant patient characteristics were gathered. A questionnaire concerning disease-related symptoms as well as the Cleveland Clinic Incont...

An active filter-based on-chip DC–DC voltage converter for application to distributed on-chip power supplies in multivoltage systems is described in this paper. No inductor or output capacitor is required in the proposed converter. The area of the voltage converter is therefore significantly less than that of a conventional low-dropout (LDO) regulator. Hence, the proposed circuit is appropriate...

Seizure can result from increased voltage-gated persistent sodium current expression. Although many clinically-approved antiepileptic drugs target voltage-gated persistent sodium current, none exclusively repress this current without also adversely affecting the transient voltage-gated sodium current. Achieving a more selective block has significant potential for the treatment of epilepsy. Rece...

Conventional AC/DC power converters that are connected to the line through full-wave rectifier draws a non-sinusoidal input current. These Harmonic currents flowing through the impedances in the electrical utility distribution system can cause several problems such as voltage distortion, heating, noises. These harmonics distort the local voltage waveform, potentially interfering with other elec...

This paper discusses a systematic method for deriving basic converter configurations that achieve power factor correction (PFC) and voltage regulation. The discussion begins with a general three-port representation of power supplies that provide PFC and voltage regulation. Based on this representation and a power flow consideration, a systematic procedure is derived to generate all possible min...