A Low-Profile Antenna for On-Body and Off-Body Applications in the Lower and Upper ISM and WLAN Bands.

The article presents a Co-planar Waveguide (CPW) fed antenna of a low-profile, simple geometry, and compact size operating at the dual band for ISM and WLAN applications for 5G communication devices. The antenna has a small size of 30 mm × 18 mm × 0.79 mm and is realized using Rogers RT/Duroid 5880 substrate. The proposed dual-band antenna contains a CPW feedline along with the triangular patch. Later on, various stubs are loaded to obtain optimal results. The proposed antenna offers a dual band at 2.4 and 5.4 GHz while covering the impedance bandwidths of 2.25-2.8 GHz for ISM and 5.45-5.65 GHz for WLAN applications, respectively. The proposed antenna design is studied and analyzed using the Electromagnetic (EM) High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSSv9) tool, and a hardware prototype is fabricated to verify the simulated results. As the antenna is intended for on-body applications, therefore, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) analysis is carried out to investigate the Electromagnetic effects of the antenna on the human body. Moreover, a comparison between the proposed dual-band antenna and other relevant works in the literature is presented. The results and comparison of the proposed work with other literary works validate that the proposed dual-band antenna is suitable for future 5G devices working in Industrial, Scientific, Medical (ISM), and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) bands.

Utilization of Prophylactic Antibiotics for Cardiac Patients Undergoing Dental Procedures in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Study.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the characteristics of antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) utilization and the level of adherence of King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC) staff to the latest American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for AP for infective endocarditis (IE) in cardiac patients undergoing dental procedures. Methods: The study was conducted as a retrospective cohort study to investigate the relationship between AP in dental procedures and cardiac patients admitted in the surgical wards of KSUMC between 2015 and 2021. All cardiac patients who underwent dental procedures were included in the study. We excluded patients with long-term or concurrent antibiotic use for other indications. Results: Overall, 170 (69.4%) cardiac patients received AP before undergoing a dental procedure. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (39.1%) and diabetes (34.2%). Most of the low-risk (69.4%) and moderate-risk (70.5%) patients received AP, despite the guideline's recommendation to limit AP to high-risk patients only. Moreover, only 53.8% of high-risk patients were prescribed AP. In total, 95.9% of the 170 patients who received AP did so without following the recommendations. Only one patient developed IE during the 1-year follow-up. Tooth extraction was the only significant predictor of AP prescription in our study (P = 0.001; OR: 3.73; 95% CI; 1.678-8.298). Conclusion: There was an exceeding level of inconsistency (95.9%) in AP utilization by cardiac patients in our sample compared with the recommendations of the latest AHA guidelines.

A Low Profile Ultra-Wideband Antenna with Reconfigurable Notch Band Characteristics for Smart Electronic Systems.

This study describes the design and implementation of a small printed ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna for smart electronic systems with on-demand adjustable notching properties. A contiguous sub-band between 3-4.1 GHz, 4.45-6.5 GHz, or for both bands concurrently, can be mitigated by the antenna. Numerous technologies and applications, including WiMAX, Wi-Fi, ISMA, WLAN, and sub-6 GHz, primarily utilize these band segments remitted by the UWB. The upper notch band is implemented by inserting an open-ended stub with the partial ground plane; the lower notch band functionality is obtained by etching a U-shaped slot from the radiating structure. The basic UWB mode is then changed to a UWB mode, with a single or dual notch band, using two diodes to achieve reconfigurability. The antenna has a physically compact size of 17 × 23 mm2 and a quasi-omnidirectional maximum gain of 4.9 dBi, along with a high efficiency of more than 80%, according to both simulation and measurement data. A significant bandwidth in the UWB region is also demonstrated by the proposed design, with a fractional bandwidth of 180% in relation to the 5.2 GHz center frequency. Regarding compactness, consistent gain, and programmable notch features, the proposed antenna outperforms the antennas described in the literature. In addition to these benefits, the antenna's compact size makes it simple to incorporate into small electronic devices and enables producers to build many antennas without complications.

[Holoprosencephaly: pathogenesis, phenotypic characteristics. About four cases]. / L'holoprosencéphalie : étiopathogénies et caractéristiques phénotypiques. À propos de quatre observations.

Holoprosencephaly is a rare brain abnormality resulting from an incomplete cleavage of the primitive prosencephalon of forebrain during early embryogenesis. It includes a series of rare complex and heterogenosis disorders. Alobar form is associated with an extremely poor fetal prognosis. Here we report three cases of alobar holoprosencephaly and one case of semilobar holoprosencephaly diagnosed at the third trimester. Causes, diagnosis and management of holoprosencephaly are discussed referring to literature.

[Cephalopagus conjoined twins: case report and review of literature]. / Les jumeaux conjoints céphalopages: à propos d'une observation avec revue de la littérature.

Cephalopagus are a rare variant of conjoined twins resulting from an incomplete late division of the embryonic disk and associated with an extremely poor fetal prognosis. Here, we report a rare case of a male cepahalopagus conjoined twins diagnosed during the 23rd week of gestation. Delivery was vaginal showing twins fused from the top of the head to the umbilicus. The fused skull showed a cephalocele with agenetic brain. Esophagus, stomach and duodenum are common for the two twins. Causes, diagnosis and management of cephalopagus are discussed referring to literature.

[Cardiac involvement in Steinert myotonic dystrophy]. / Les anomalies cardiaques au cours de la dystrophie myotonique de Steinert.

INTRODUCTION: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is an autosomal dominant multisystemic disease with frequent cardiac involvement that may cause sudden death. This study was performed to determine the various cardiac manifestations in DM1, their frequency and the relevance of cardiac electrophysiological study in this disease. METHODS: Ten patients with DM1, five men and five women, mean age 44.3+/-7.8 years underwent neurological and cardiac assessments. RESULTS: The most frequent electrocardiographic findings were conduction abnormalities, essentially by intraventricular conduction defects (eight out of ten cases) such as bundle branch or fascicular blocks. Echocardiography showed alterations in systolic left ventricular function in two cases. Invasive electrophysiology testing showed sub-hisien block in three patients, requiring cardiac pacemaker implantation. These three patients had normal duration of PR interval and normal width of QRS complex. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend that all patients with DM1 should undergo cardiac investigation to detect subclinical cardiac involvement.

Chitosan microparticles based polyelectrolyte complex scaffolds for bone tissue engineering in vitro and effect of calcium phosphate.

Chitosan microparticles were mixed with chitosan and carboxymethyl cellulose solution to achieve a good binding between the microparticles. Three different compositions of scaffolds were made by varying the calcium phosphate (CaP) amount: 0%, 10%, and 20%. Potassium chloride was used as salt, to make pores inside the scaffolds after leaching out when immersed in phosphate buffer saline (PBS). Compressive strength and compressive modulus of both non-porous (before leaching out), and porous (after leaching out) scaffolds were measured according to the ASTM standards. The highest compressive strength of 27 MPa was reported on 10% CaP scaffolds while 20% CaP scaffolds showed the lowest. The increasing CaP content reduces the compressive strength of the scaffolds. The highest wet state compressive strength was reported on 0% CaP scaffolds with 0.36 MPs and 0.40 MPa at day 1 and day 3 respectively. In vitro cell culture studies showed good cell adhesion and cell proliferation on 10% CaP scaffolds.

Forensic medicine in Tunisia.

Tunisia is an Arab northern African country which counts 10 millions citizens. In Tunisia, there is a small number of forensic practitioners (20) distributed over four University and two regional Hospitals. Forensic activity is under the supervision of Tunisian Ministry of Public Health. The first forensic medicine department was set up in the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis (the capital) in the sixties, after which three other departments were founded in medical faculties and in their respective university hospitals (Sfax, Sousse and Monastir). These departments provide forensic medical education and research beside their daily practice. Forensic medical practice is divided in forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine. In forensic pathology, we have to deal with violent or suspected deaths beside natural deaths. The clinical forensic medicine activity covers mainly forensic traumatology. Other fields of forensic sciences are in progress and ought to be developed all over the country. A forensic medical curriculum is provided in the four Tunisian Faculties of Medicine and in their University Hospitals. Nevertheless, the number of trainees remains small and could not currently satisfy the country needs.

[Biological effects of pleural talc in neoplastic pleurisy]. / Effets biologiques du talcage pleural au cours des pleurésies néoplasiques.

A study was carried out on ten patients who had received talc by thoracoscopy for secondary neoplastic pleural involvement. The study was in two parts. First, a laboratory study on blood specimens was made including the full blood count, sedimentation rate and alpha-2 globulins. Secondly, the pleural liquid was examined over a 24 hour period, measuring the leucocyte count/ml and also the pleural sugar. The studies revealed the occurrence of an early rise (J0) in the level of polynuclear neutrophil (PNN) in the pleural liquid, with a 24 hour peak preceded by a leucocytosis and a moderate polymorphonuclear response without any change in the sedimentation rate. These changes provide evidence for the role of PNN in the genesis of pleural symphysis during talc therapy. There was also an early fall in pleural sugar, and this was in parallel with the diminution of the quantity of pleural fluid drained and would be linked to a rise in the local cellular metabolism and to a disturbance in the exchange across the thickened pleural membrane, as a result of fibrosis.

[Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration as the presenting manifestation of breast carcinoma: a case report]. / Dégénérescence cérébelleuse paranéoplasique révélant un cancer du sein : à propos d'un cas.

INTRODUCTION: Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration may be a manifestation indicative of lung, gynecological or breast cancer. Nevertheless, breast cancer is rarely revealed by the occurrence of a paraneoplastic syndrome. CASE REPORT: We report a 38-year-old patient who presented a paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration with anti-Yo antibodies as the presenting manifestation of a breast cancer. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of a paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) should lead to urgent and comprehensive screening for cancer oriented by the type of PNS and the nature of the anti-neuronal antibody.

[Unusual presentation of Wegener's granulomatosis]. / Présentation inhabituelle d'une granulomatose de Wegener.

We report an unusual case of Wegener's granulomatosis revealed by spleen infarction and complicated by reno-vascular hypertension. A 33-year-old man with a history of spleen infraction and cerebral venous thrombosis was admitted for malignant hypertension, renal failure and nephritic syndrome. On Doppler renal ultrasonography, ostial stenosis of the right renal artery was evidenced. Right kidney was non functional on scintigraphy and the patient underwent a right nephrectomy. Granulomatous vasculitis of the right renal artery was found but anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic antibodies were absent. The diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis was suspected. The patient was treated with cyclophosphamide, corticosteroids and plasma exchanges, and renal function markedly improved.

Inducible Clindamycin Resistance among Staphylococci Isolated from Burn Patients.

Clindamycin has been used successfully to treat pneumonia and soft-tissue infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. However, inducible clindamycin resistance has been described as a cause of treatment failure of such infections. A total of 159 staphylococcal isolates from different clinical specimens from burn patients in Tripoli Burn Center were tested for inducible clindamycin resistance by the disk-diffusion induction test. Inducible clindamycin resistance was detected in 66.2% of 65 methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates and in none of 55 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus, 10 methicillin-resistant coagulase negative staphylococci and 29 methicllin-sensitive coagulase negative staphylococci isolates. In our setting, clindamycin can be used for the treatment of infections due to staphylococci, but we recommend that staphylococci isolates, particularly methicillin-resistant S. aureus, are tested by the D-test before treatment.

Cardiac troponin T (cTn T) and the postmortem diagnosis of sudden death.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the increase of postmortem cardiac troponin T (cTn T) in acute disease-related deaths. METHODS: Peripheral venous blood was sampled from 39 autopsies performed. Thirty nonhemolyzed specimens were considered in the final analysis (n = 30).Only the calculation of the cTn T was performed using the Roche Diagnostics Elecsys 2010 Immunoassay System. The high limit and the cutoff are 25 ng/mL. Deaths were divided into 2 groups, according to sudden cardiac deaths (group 1, n = 15) and non-cardiac-related deaths without resuscitation (group 2, n = 15). RESULTS: All the cases with visual myocardial infarction had elevated concentrations of cTn T. The difference of the postmortem cTn T concentrations between resuscitated and nonresuscitated is nonsignificant. In the non-cardiac-related deaths, the elevated concentrations of cTn T were only noted in all cases of electrocution. CONCLUSION: In clinical practice, several biochemical markers are used for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Because of its extreme specificity for myocardial damage, cTn T and cardiac troponin I (cTn I) are frequently used. The results of these assays could then be used to facilitate selection for cases that may be released following histologic examinations.

[Contamination of blood cultures drawn from central vein catheter and peripheral venipuncture. Prospective study of 75 pairs]. / La contamination des hémocultures prélevées sur cathéters veineux centraux et sur veine périphérique. Etude prospective de 75 couples d'hémocultures.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of contamination, the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of cultures done with blood drawn through a central venous catheter or peripheral venipuncture. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study of critical ill medical surgical intensive care patients in whom samples for paired culture were drawn through a central venous catheter or peripheral venipuncture during a period of 8 months (from August 1st 2001 to Mars 31st 2002). RESULTS: During the study period, 75-paired cultures were studied. Fifteen peripheral blood cultures (20%) and 27 central blood cultures (36%) were positive and 6 peripheral blood cultures (8%) and 15 central blood cultures (20%) were contaminated (P=0.034). The organism most commonly responsible for contamination was Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (16% of central blood cultures and 6.7% of peripheral blood cultures). The frequency of contamination was of 42.9% for blood cultures drawn through a femoral central venous catheter, of 10% for jugular, and of 19% for subclavian central venous catheter (P=0.22). For catheter draws compared with peripheral venipuncture, sensitivity was 100 and 75%, specificity was 76.2 and 90.5%, positive predictive value was 44.4 and 60% and negative predictive value was 100 and 95%. CONCLUSION: Cultures of blood drawn through a catheter are more sensible and less specific than those obtained from a peripheral venipuncture and the organism most commonly responsible for contamination of blood cultures is Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus.