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Background: Dexamethasone is currently available as suspension for the treatment of anterior ocular inflammatory diseases that are given through eye drops. Upon topical delivery by eye-drops, less than 5% of the drug gets absorbed when applied topically as eye drops. The major portion of administered drug either comes out from the eye or gets subjected to nasolacrimal drainage resulting in poor bioavailability. Objective: The present study is aimed at developing polymeric ocular insert containing dexamethasone as a drug by employing the use of electrospinning technique. Methods: Dexamethasone (0.1% w/v) loaded electrospun sheet was also made using 10% w/v EC: HPMC: PEO (60:20:20) in solvent system of ethanol: water (90:10) at optimized electrospinning parameters of 12kV with a flow rate of 0.8mL/hr and distance of 20 cm between tip and collector. Results: The prepared nanocomposite insert was characterized for DSC and FTIR-ATR spectroscopy revealing no physical-chemical interaction between drug with polymers. The thickness of the electrospun sheet was found to be 270±0.02 μm and % drug content was found to be 0.43±0.01% w/w. The release profile showed that around 95% drug was released in 48 hrs. This release profile showed the prepared drug-loaded electrospun ocular insert was best suitable for once-a-day delivery. Assessment of mechanical properties like young’s modulus, tensile strength, and % elongation showed that the prepared insert can be handled easily without any breakage or damage. Conclusion: Upon delivery in conjunctival sac, this is best suitable for once-a-day delivery. The developed electrospun insert, consisting of a unique polymer composite of biodegradable polymers, avails the benefits of nanofibers imparting prolonged release and this novel formulation overcomes the limitations of conventional therapies. This reduces the dosing frequency and improves patient compliance.

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus and hypertension remain one of the most common causes of chronic kidney disease. Diabetes hypertension, kidney disease syndrome is a new term introduced in medical terminology. The present study was conducted to examine clinical & laboratory profile of diabetes hypertension kidney disease syndrome – “DHKD syndrome” over a period of one year. METHODS A hospital-based observational cross-sectional study was done in the Department of General Medicine and Nephrology, outpatient department (OPD), among 120 patients with diabetes & hypertension in combination with kidney disease, with duration of diabetes > 2 years and duration of hypertension > 2 years after obtaining ethical clearance. The patients were then scored based on modified diet in renal disease (MDRD) formula and chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration equation (CKD EPI) formula to calculate the estimated glomerular function rate & placed into various stages of CKD. RESULTS A total of 120 subjects were included in the final analysis. The mean age was 63.64 ± 10.80. In study population of no albuminuria group, 50 % had glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 - 44 (grade 3 CKD) and 50 % had GFR of < / = 15 (grade 5), among microalbuminuria group, 4.45 % had GFR of 60 - 89 (grade 2) and 1 had GFR of 45 - 59 (grade 3a), 13.64 % had GFR 30 - 44 (grade 3b), 40.91 % had GFR 15 - 29 (grade 4), 36.36 % had GFR < = 15 (grade 5), among macroalbuminuria group, 4.6 % had GFR 45 - 59 (grade 3a), 9.2 % had GFR 30 - 44 (grade 3b), 13.79 % had GFR 15 - 29 (grade 4) and 72.41 % had GFR < = 15 (grade 5). Majority had macro albuminuria. The proportion of the difference between systolic blood pressure (SBP) and macroalbuminuria was statistically significant. (P-value < 0.05) as well as proportion of the difference between insulin usage with macroalbuminuria was statistically significant. (P-value < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Our study delivers sufficient evidence endorsing high relationship between diabetes, hypertension, and kidney disease. KEYWORDS Diabetic Nephropathy, Macroalbuminuria, Hypertension, DHKD Syndrome

Background: Predicting difficult intubation (DI) is a key challenge, as no single clinical predictor is sufficiently valid to predict the outcome. We evaluated the effectiveness of four upper airway ultrasonographic parameters in predicting DI. The validity of the models using combinations of ultrasonography-based parameters was also investigated.Methods: This prospective, observational, double-blinded cohort trial enrolled 1,043 surgical patients classified as American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I–III without anticipated difficult airway. Preoperatively, their tongue thickness (TT), invisibility of hyoid bone (VH), and anterior neck soft tissue thickness from the skin to thyrohyoid membrane (ST) and hyoid bone (SH) were measured by sublingual and submandibular ultrasonography. The logistic regression, Youden index, and receiver operator characteristic analysis results were reported.Results: Overall, 58 (5.6%) patients were classified as DI. The TT, SH, ST, and VH had accuracies of 78.4%, 85.0%, 84.7%, and 84.9%, respectively. The optimal values of TT, SH, and ST for predicting DI were > 5.8 cm (sensitivity, 84.5%; specificity; 78.1%; AUC, 0.880), > 1.4 cm (sensitivity, 81%; specificity, 85.2%; AUC, 0.898), and > 2.4 cm (sensitivity, 75.9%; specificity, 85.2%; AUC, 0.885), respectively. VH had a sensitivity and specificity of 72.4% and 85.6% (AUC, 0.790. The AUC values of the five models (with combinations of three or four parameters) ranged from 0.975–0.992. ST and VH had a significant impact on the individual models.Conclusions: SH had the best accuracy. Individual parameters showed limited validity. The model including all four parameters offered the best diagnostic value.

To improve the dissolution rate and bioavailability of poor water soluble drugs, solid dispersion is an effective way. There are also many other methods but solid dispersion method emerged out promising in context to improving solubility of the drug. Generally, the hydrophilic matrix and a hydrophobic drug constitutes the group of solid products that forms solid dispersion. This review article focuses on the preparation methods, solubility enhancement, evaluation parameters, carriers used, limitations, advantages , disadvantages and applications of solid dispersions. This article also focuses the market based products of solid dispersion.

The growing burden of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) parallels the increasing prevalence of obesity in Asia. The overall prevalence of NAFLD in Asia is now estimated to be 29.6% and may have surpassed that in Western populations. NAFLD increases with increasing age and is closely associated with metabolic syndrome. Ethnic differences exist in the prevalence of NAFLD, but the underlying factors are unclear. There were initial concerns about lean NAFLD being associated with more severe liver disease and increased mortality, but subsequent studies suggested otherwise. Only some NAFLD patients progress to develop advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, while the liver status remains unchanged in the majority; fibrosis stage is the most important predictor of disease-specific mortality in NAFLD. Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a challenge due to undiagnosed cirrhosis and the development of HCC in non-cirrhotic NAFLD patients. Diabetes mellitus shares a bidirectional relationship with NAFLD; NAFLD is highly prevalent among patients with diabetes mellitus, and diabetes mellitus is associated with more severe NAFLD. Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a major cause of chronic liver disease in Asia; NAFLD and CHB are increasingly observed together because of the increasing prevalence of NAFLD. Despite studies reporting favorable virologic outcome in CHB patients with NAFLD, NAFLD has been found to be independently associated with fibrosis progression and poorer prognosis in CHB patients. Therefore, NAFLD in CHB patients should be given more attention.

In health care, IOT as a key player that furnishes better healthcare facilities to the affected, doctors and hospitals as well at anytime and anywhere. The proposed system consists of various medical devices such as sensors and mobile based application which communicates via network connected devices. These devices will monitor and record patients’ health data and various medical information. Different types of sensors are used like Temperature Sensor, Seizure Sensor, GPS Sensor, GSM Sensor and Pulse Sensor. The proposed paper will provide instant information about the patient’s current health status and full medical information in case any medical emergency arises both to the family members and the hospital. The collected information will predict patient’s chronic disorders or other diseases such as heart attacks in preliminary stage itself using the data mining techniques. MIPT Jacket technology provides greater visibility into every patient’s safe zone and improves patient’s safety by identifying the gaps in internal hospital processes and recovering them. Instant medical help will be provided to patient in non – safe zone also via sensors.

Background: Cancer continues to be the most annihilating illness and despite vast research in understanding cancer biology as well as rational drug designing progressing profoundly, cancer remains the second leading cause of death worldwide. The conventional chemotherapeutic agents being exploited for cancer therapy contain several limitations, including less selectivity, nonspecific targeting and high off-target effects, and the emergence of multidrug resistance. These drawbacks can be addressed by employing the use of nanotherapeutics. Objective: The main objective of this review is to summarize various mechanisms of cancer genesis. It focuses on several strategies employed for modifying nano formulations for localization and emerging stimuli-based nanotherapeutics with recent examples. Methods: The method involved the collection of the articles from different search engines like Google, PubMed, and ScienceDirect for the literature to get appropriate information regarding the topics. Results: Studies revealed that nanoscale-based therapy provides targeted delivery, minimizes the off-target effects, and improves the therapeutic efficacy of the treatment modalities. The characteristics of nanoparticles like larger surface area become favourable and provide a platform for surface modifications, thereby improving cell targeting, internalization, and opportunities for delivering multiple agents. Advances in rational designing like stimuli-responsive therapies employing the use of sensitive nanocarriers, further provide high specificity, controlled release, and more efficient delivery of chemotherapeutic agents. Conclusion: Characteristics of the nanoscale delivery system like larger surface area provide us with ample options for desired modifications, hence providing multimodal delivery of chemotherapeutic agents in cancer treatment. Nano therapy serves well as a potential tool for improving cancer therapies.

The steep reduction in costs of electrolysis and methanation has made renewable power-to-gas much more affordable. Reeling from an energy crisis, Europe could use this technology for near-shoring production of clean and reliable synthetic natural gas (SNG) and end dependence on Russian gas. This article investigates the economic feasibility of producing SNG in Norway, which has amongst the cleanest and cheapest electricity production in Europe. It is found that SNG can be produced for 141 €/MWh at a 10 MW electrolyzer facility in 2023; and for 108 €/MWh at a larger 100 MW electrolyzer facility in 2030. The relevance of these prices is discussed in the context of the current and future European gas markets, and recommendations are made to reduce the production costs even further.

Diaphragmatic hernia (DH) is most common in children, mainly due to an embryological defect in diaphragm, but a rare occurrence in adults. Spontaneous DH is rare, and trauma is thought to be the most common cause of DH in adults. The diagnostic issue can make management challenging, needing a comprehensive history and physical examination and necessary studies. For the repair, various techniques have been used, but the minimally invasive approach has proven to be the most effective, resulting in less postoperative morbidity, faster recovery, and a shorter hospital stay. Primary repair and strengthening by installing a synthetic mesh (Composite mesh) are usually performed laparoscopically, however, a thoracoscopic approach can also be performed. In this case report, we used a bimodal approach for diaphragmatic hernia repair, which reduced the risk of intraperitoneal adhesions and recurrence of the hernia, as well as the risk of postoperative respiratory problems.

Across the globe, energy production and usage cause the greatest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are the key driver of climate change. Therefore, countries around the world are aggressively striving to convert to a clean energy regime by altering the ways and means of energy production. Hydrogen is a frontrunner in the race to net-zero carbon because it can be produced using a diversity of feedstocks, has versatile use cases, and can help ensure energy security. While most current hydrogen production is highly carbon-intensive, advances in carbon capture, renewable energy generation, and electrolysis technologies could help drive the production of low-carbon hydrogen. However, significant challenges such as the high cost of production, a relatively small market size, and inadequate infrastructure need to be addressed before the transition to a hydrogen-based economy can be made. This review presents the state of hydrogen demand, challenges in scaling up low-carbon hydrogen, possible solutions for a speedy transition, and a potential course of action for nations.

With advent of constellation of high-resolution micro satellites, the acquisition rate of earth observation has surpassed the rate of data processing. In semi-arid rainfed agricultural ecosystems area under crop varies across seasons. Due to small land holdings it’s often difficult to identify the field level crop cultivation information. Also, field boundaries are important for identification of crop extent, crop insurance, crop loan, carbon credit and to establish the credit score for the farm. Studies have reported effective edge detection using Deep Learning based classifiers. Geographic Information System (GIS) based topology operations for vector geometry are effective in correction of vector geometries. This study describes field boundary identification approach using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) on high resolution satellite observations. A Holistically-nested Edge Detection algorithm is used to identify the edge raster images. The pixel error rate of 19% was obtained with 200 epochs and 131 training images. Finally, the edge raster images were geo-referenced and converted into vector polygon geometry. Topology operations such as sliver polygon removal, overshoot and undershoot error removal were applied to refine the field boundary output. The accuracy assessment of identified field boundaries was performed with manually drawn field boundaries. Key features such as area of the polygon and centroid shift were compared between actual and identified field boundaries. We observed mean of difference in area of 216 sq. meter and chentroid shift of 1.12 meter. We plan to train proposed architecture for different spatial resolutions and cropping conditions. Additional GIS based accuracy matrices like percent overlap will be used during the operational use.

Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts complications are most often divided into 2 broad categories: mechanical failure and infection. We report a case of a migrated VP shunt with subsequent development of a pseudocyst around the patient's breast implant, a rare complication. We review the literature of VP shunt complications, including the increasing number of reported breast-related complications, and discuss proposed mechanisms by which migration may occur. With the increase in patients with breast augmentation procedures, there is potential for an increase in the number of reported cases of VP shunt migration. Keywords: VP shunt complication, Breast implant

This paper describes the system proposed for addressing the research problem posed in Task 10 of SemEval-2020: Emphasis Selection For Written Text in Visual Media. We propose an end-to-end model that takes as input the text and corresponding to each word gives the probability of the word to be emphasized. Our results show that transformer-based models are particularly effective in this task. We achieved the best Matchm score (described in section 2.2) of 0.810 and were ranked third on the leaderboard., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables. Accepted at Proceedings of 14th International Workshop on Semantic Evaluation (SemEval-2020)

Accidental finding of yellow colored CSF may pose a sudden dilemma to the mind of anesthesiologist whether to perform the block or not. Yellow coloration of CSF can be due to subarachnoid bleed or raised protein in the CSF. Anesthesiologists should have a working knowledge of this subject which will help in managing the cases peri-operatively with improved outcome.

To grasp and manipulate complex objects, robots require information about the interaction between the end effector and the object. This work describes the integration of a low-cost 3-axis tactile sensing system into two different robotic systems and the measurement of these complex interactions. The sensor itself is a small, lightweight, and compliant silicone based capacitive sensor. The soft and conformable design of the sensor allows it to be integrated within a variety of end effectors and locations on those end effectors (e.g. wrapped around a finger). To improve integration and data collection of the sensors, a custom interface board and ROS (Robot Operating System) package were developed. Sensor data has been collected from four different tasks: 1. pick and place of non-conductive and conductive objects, 2. wrist-based manipulation, 3. peeling tape, and 4. human interaction with a grasped object. In the last task, a closed loop controller is used to adjust the grip force on the grasped object while the human interacts with it.

The algorithm to compute theory prime implicates, a generalization of prime implicates, in propositional logic has been suggested in [9]. As a preliminary result, in this paper we have extended that algorithm to compute theory prime implicates of a modal knowledge base X with respect to another modal knowledge base \(\Box Y\) using [1], where Y is a propositional knowledge base and \(X\models Y\) in modal system \(\mathcal {T}\) and we have also proved its correctness. We have also proved that it is an equivalence preserving knowledge compilation and the size of theory prime implicates of X with respect to \(\Box Y\) is less than the size of the prime implicates of \(X\wedge \Box Y\). We have also extended the query answering algorithm in modal logic.

Recent advances in sensor technology and ubiquitous computing have sustained them as a better alternative for kids activity monitoring system. This paper presents a system that continuously monitors the proper pencil grip and writing activity of kid using accelerometer and pressure sensors. The system creates a labeled dataset for recognizing the correct location of pencil grip, holding direction of the pencil, and writing activity of kids. The system uses a supervised machine learning technique and labeled dataset for classifying whether a kid properly uses a pencil or not. In addition, a prototype system is developed and adequately tested on real-time user data. The prototype uses accelerometer and pressure sensors for extracting the writing activities. The system uses bluetooth low energy for wirelessly transferring the sensed data of writing activities to the parent and teachers. The system is suitable for kids due to its low cost, small size, and low-power consumption.

Ever since the inception of Robotics, it has served as a great collaborative platform for researchers from the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science. Robot Operating System (ROS), one of the biggest middleware framework for robotics has lead to high paced research and development around the globe. In this paper, we present our work on developing a low-cost ROS enabled education platform for Indian research institutes. This paper begins with our learning of ROS using KUKA youBot and later goes on to discuss in detail the development of the indigenous platform: RoboMuse 4.0 and its integration with ROS.

This paper proposed, a new compact voltage mode universal filter. For the implementation of this filter one basic current conveyor and one transconductance amplifier along with four passive components, i.e. two capacitors and two resistors are used. The circuit is capable of performing LPF, HPF, band pass and band notch filtering by applying different combinations of voltage at the input terminal. The attractiveness of this circuit lies in the fact that whole circuit is implemented with only 14 MOS transistors in total. The proposed circuit is simulated on LTSPICE-90nm technology to validate the theoretical anticipation. Also, the 90nm technology files are taken from PTM website.

In this paper the designing of Schmitt trigger based on current sink logic at 32nm CMOS and CNFET technology have been presented. The comparative analysis of both the technologies has been done. The attractiveness of this circuit lies in the fact that whole circuit is implemented with only 6 transistors in total. The designed circuit is simulated using HSPICE platform at a 32nm technology node. For CMOS the model parameters have been taken from PTM website and for CNFET Stanford model has been used for the simulation purpose. This circuit has been analysed for different inputs like sine waveform, pulse, damped sinusoidal input, triangular and exponential input. The average power, maximum power and propagation delay time has been calculated. The temperature sensitivity of the circuit has also been analysed in the range of −150° to +150°C. The hysteresis curves of the Schmitt trigger based on current sink logic with all the different inputs have been traced. This configuration attains higher gain in comparison with active loaded inverters.

This paper describes a new full-chip CDM ESD verification method that enables the evaluation of complete integrated circuits (ICs) for CDM risk. We demonstrate that a robust analysis must comprehend millions of locations of driver-receiver (D/R) pairs on an IC, an accurate model of the grid resistance and an adequate representation of the CDM current distribution.

Luminescent semiconductor ~9.5 nm nanoparticles (quantum dots: QDs) have intrinsic physiochemical and optical properties which enable us to begin to understand the mechanisms of nanoparticle mediated chemical/drug delivery. Here, we demonstrate the ability of CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs surface functionalized with a zwitterionic compact ligand to deliver a cell-penetrating lipopeptide to the developing chick embryo brain without any apparent toxicity. Functionalized QDs were conjugated to the palmitoylated peptide WGDap-(Palmitoyl)VKIKKP9GGH6, previously shown to uniquely facilitate endosomal escape, and microinjected into the embryonic chick spinal cord canal at embryo day 4 (E4). We were subsequently able to follow the labeling of spinal cord extension into the ventricles, migratory neuroblasts, maturing brain cells, and complex structures such as the choroid plexus. QD intensity extended throughout the brain, and peaked between E8 and E11 when fluorescence was concentrated in the choroid plexus before declining to hatching (E21/P0). We observed no abnormalities in embryonic patterning or embryo survival, and mRNA in situ hybridization confirmed that, at key developmental stages, the expression pattern of genes associated with different brain cell types (brain lipid binding protein, Sox-2, proteolipid protein and Class III-β-Tubulin) all showed a normal labeling pattern and intensity. Our findings suggest that we can use chemically modified QDs to identify and track neural stem cells as they migrate, that the choroid plexus clears these injected QDs/nanoparticles from the brain after E15, and that they can deliver drugs and peptides to the developing brain.