Major Dietary Patterns Are Associated with Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background: Dietary patterns play an essential role in vascular diseases; however, the association of specific dietary patterns and the risk of stroke is unknown. We designed the current study to evaluate several dietary patterns and their association with ischemic stroke. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 300 subjects, including 150 cases with ischemic stroke admitted to a tertiary referral center in Shiraz, Southern Iran, and 150 age- and sex-matched stroke-free individuals as controls. Using a 62-item Simple Stroke Food Frequency Questionnaire (SS-FFQ), we collected data regarding the dietary habits of all the participants. We extracted the major dietary patterns via principal component analysis using the varimax rotation technique with Kaiser Normalization. Finally, adherence to dietary patterns among the participants was divided into quartiles. We investigated the association between dietary patterns and ischemic stroke using multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: One-hundred and fifty ischemic stroke patients (91 males and 59 females, mean age of 63.9±16.04 years) and 150 age- and sex-matched controls (91 males and 59 females, mean age of 61.99±16.04 years) were included. After adjusting five major dietary patterns for vascular risk factors, we found that diets rich in fibers and plant-based proteins (P<0.001) and micronutrients (P<0.001) had a lower odds of ischemic stroke as compared to high-fat proteins (P=0.003) and empty calories (P<0.001) diets, but consuming healthy animal proteins (P=0.115) had no effects on the occurrence of ischemic stroke. Conclusion: Based on our study, we suggest that fibers and plant-based proteins, and micronutrient diets could reduce the odds of stroke, so public awareness about the effects of different dietary patterns should be raised.

Surgical outcome of congenital penile curvature treatment with corporal rotation technique

Congenital penile curvature (CPC) is a rare condition in men but has considerable impact on male sexual activity as well as their mental health. Many techniques had been proposed to manage this condition, however the corporal rotation technique had the advantage of preserving the penile length. Therefore, we conducted a study on 16 men with CPC who were treated with corporal rotation surgery to evaluate the outcome of this technique. The results showed that the mean degree of curvature was 51 ± 12.2 degree. The majority of patients had a moderate penile curvature (< 60 degree) and ventral curvature (75%). After the surgery, the residual curvature decreased significantly (from 51 ± 12.2 degree to 16.6 ± 6.34 degree with p < 0.001). We observed no remarkable changes in all penile dimensions including stretched penile length (13.6 ± 0.93cm before the surgery compared with 13.3 ± 0.89cm after the surgery with p = 0.01). Erectile function of the subjects was also significantly improved especially in the intercourse satisfaction domain.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, water and sediment losses under sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea l.) cultivation

Sertãozinho-SP is a major world producer of sugarcane and peanuts. The crop rotation technique recovers soils and brings commercial benefits to producers. Objective: to determine the losses of water, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sediments, due to the use and occupation of the soil in the peanut and sugarcane crop, using the SWAT model, maintaining the topographic and physical attributes and climatic conditions of the Mogi-Guaçu River sub-watershed, in the Sertãozinho city – SP. To carry out this study, local data from digital elevation maps and soil pedological maps, precipitation, wind, solar radiation, and relative humidity were used. The actual accumulated evapotranspiration was higher in sugarcane (906.7 mm) when compared to peanuts (886.1 mm). Sediment losses were higher in peanuts (300.66 mm) when compared to sugarcane (280.69 mm), as well as losses of N (118.44 and 34.48 kg ha-1) and P (5.456 and 0.805 kg ha-1), respectively. It is concluded that the peanut crop showed the greatest losses of water, nutrients, and sediments, when compared to sugarcane, showing that the land cover directly influenced these losses. Studies like these can aid in decision-making about environmental policies, helping with soil and water conservation in Brazilian sub-watershed.

Spatio-spectral dynamics of soliton pulsation with breathing behavior in the anomalous dispersion fiber laser

We have numerically and experimentally observed the soliton pulsation with obvious breathing behavior in the anomalous fiber laser mode-locked by nonlinear polarization rotation technique. The numerical study of the soliton pulsation with breathing behavior was analyzed through the split-step Fourier method at first, and it was found that the phase difference caused by the polarization controller would affect the breathing characteristics. Then, taking advantage of the dispersive Fourier transform technique, we confirmed the breathing characteristic of soliton pulsation in the same fiber laser as the simulation model experimentally. These results complement the research on the breathing characteristic of soliton pulsation.

PENGEMBANGAN ALAT IMITASI RANTAI UNTUK TEKNIK PUTARAN PADA CABANG OLAHRAGA ATLETIK LONTAR MARTIL

This study aims to develop a rotary technique tool in the athletic sport of hammer throwing. Hammerhead throwing has an average of 81.00%, it can be concluded that it takes a tool that can train the rotation technique in the hammer-throwing athletic sport in the Hammerhead Throwing sport which includes the rotation in the throwing process. At the validation stage, the expert design assessed by 6 experts namely Sports Expert, Coach, and Media Expert had an average score of 79.00%. In the period after design validation there was a pandemic that hit the world caused by a virus with the name Covid-19, the whole world went into lockdown or quarantine including the Lontar Hammer athlete community, therefore the trials carried out in each club were abolished but the testing method was replaced by increasing the number experts who assess the feasibility of the tool to be used in the training process. The product trial stage was carried out by an athlete at the provincial level who represented North Sumatra at the 2016 PON event in West Java on this training tool and then assessed by 6 experts, namely 2 Sports Experts, 2 Coaches, and 2 Media Experts, the average value of the validity of the six being 82.00 %. Then made improvements according to input from experts. After that, the use trial phase was carried out using the same method and number of experts with the average value of the validity of the six being 90.00%. The conclusion that resulted from the trial use or the last stage of this research was the creation of a chain imitation exercise tool for the round technique of the athletic sport of hammer throwing numbers that was sophisticated and flexible for all user groups to help train rotation techniques in athletic sports, especially in the rotating movement of the hammer throwing tool. . From the results of the assessment of 2 sports experts (academics), 2 material experts (coaches) and 2 media experts, the tool is categorized as good/worthy to be used as an exercise tool in sports. In the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic, the device was not tested on athletes widely to prevent transmission, but was only tested by an athlete at the national level, after which the performance of the device would be assessed by an expert.

Pre-define Rotation Amplitudes Object Rotation in Handheld Augmented Reality

Interaction is one of the important topics to be discussed since it includes the interface where the end-user communicates with the augmented reality (AR) system. In handheld AR interface, the traditional interaction techniques are not suitable for some AR applications due to the different attributes of handheld devices that always refer to smartphones and tablets. Currently interaction techniques in handheld AR are known as touch-based technique, mid-air gesture-based technique and device-based technique that can led to a wide discussion in related research areas. However, this paper will focus to discover the device-based interaction technique because it has proven in the previous studies to be more suitable and robust in several aspects. A novel device-based 3D object rotation technique is proposed to solve the current problem in performing 3DOF rotation of 3D object. The goal is to produce a precise and faster 3D object rotation. Therefore, the determination of the rotation amplitudes per second is required before the fully implementation. This paper discusses the implementation in depth and provides a guideline for those who works in related to device-based interaction.

Novelties in cardiac pacing. Left bundle branch pacing, a step-by-step guide

Left bundle branch pacing (LBBP) technique is a new method for conduction system pacing that is useful for both bradyarrhythmia and heart failure indications. LBBP, while less physiological than His bundle pacing, offers several practical advantages. Namely, lower and stable pacing thresholds, good sensing of the intrinsic ventricular activity and easiness in localizing the pacing target. The LBBP method more often than His bundle pacing results in engagement of the conduction system distal to the area of the block. A step-by-step approach to LBBP was described. Attention was given to the following phases of the procedure: 1) localization of the target area on the septum, 2) the lead rotation technique with an interpretation of the lead responses (drill effect, screwdriver effect, entanglement effect), 3) methods for monitoring the lead depth in the septum to avoid perforation (fixation beats, continuous pace mapping, impedance), and 4) methods to differentiate between LBBP and left ventricular septal pacing.

Stator flux in direct torque control using a speed and torque variation-based sector rotation approach

A typical problem of traditional DTCs is that the stator flux fails to regulate at low running speeds. The regulation of stator flux in DTC is disrupted because of the unavoidable voltage drop across the stator resistance. As a result, one of the solutions to the problem is to use a fixed sector rotation technique. The concept is based on decreasing stator flux droop, a simple technique for changing the flux locus sector at a certain angle. This method, however, is only effective at low working speeds at one value of torque. As a result, the stator flux droop effect at various speeds as well as torque must be studied. The study is carried out in this paper using simulation (MATLAB/Simulink) and a practical setup (dSPACE board) where both have performed similar outcomes. The comparison is done between the conventional method (without a strategy) and the proposed method (with strategy). In summary, the effect of stator flux droop has been found to have an inverse linear relationship to the speed and torque variation.