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Soft robotics are known for their unique advantages over conventional rigid robotics, which include safer human–machine interaction, delicate handling of fragile items, and greater durability. Soft robotic actuators are essential components in soft robots as they produce the organic motions that rigid robotic actuators have difficulty in mimicking. Pneumatic actuators (PAs) are a type of soft robotic actuator that utilizes pneumatic pressure for actuation and are commonly used; however, the relationship between their design and actuation performance is not well understood. Herein, a cubic kernelized support vector regression (SVR) model based on finite element analysis is used to explore the design space of bending PAs with respect to their bending angles through the investigation of the dependencies between different design parameters. The model obtained from the SVR is then tested by experimentally comparing the bending angle of different 3D‐printed PAs from within the design space. The bending torque, an indicator of the actuation force of the PA, is also measured and compared for different design configurations. This study provides a computational and experimental framework and paves the way for future work on PAs, which has the potential to greatly propel the advancement of soft robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, phosphonate ester, phosphonic acid, and aromatic (phenyl, naphthalene, anthracene) groups containing polymers were synthesized by the ROMP method to analyze thermal properties of these polymers. Thermal stability of the synthesized polymers is tested by thermal gravimetric analysis under nitrogen, air, and microscale combustion calorimetry analysis. Analysis shows that thermal behavior is directly related to the phosphorus level in the copolymer series. All the polymers are thermally stable under nitrogen and air up to 900 °C. Synergistic charring effect under air was observed between aromatic groups and phosphonic acid functionality in the copolymer series. Anthracene units have a greater potential to form carbonaceous char than the naphthalene and phenyl units. Phosphonate ester and naphthalene units bearing copolymers (P3A) gave 8.13% char yield at 900 °C under air. Phosphonic acid derivatives of this polymer, P3D, gave a highest char residue of 17.15% under the same condition. The introduction of phosphonate and phosphonic acid in each copolymer series is also beneficial in reducing the peak heat release rate (PHRR). Cleavage of the phosphonate ester bearing homopolymer (P4) to phosphonic acid (P4A) causes a sharp decrease in the PHRR ratio from 274 to 28.2 W/g. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47085. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Effect of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy on Left Atrial Spontaneous Echo Contrast, Left Atrial Reverse Remodeling and Left Atrial Total Emptying Fraction," by A. Vural and colleagues, is presented.

An abstract of the study "usefulness of Heart Rate Turbulence for Prediction of Cardiac Death in Dilated Cardiomyopathy," by G. Kozdag and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the study "Associations between free triiodothyronine/free thyroxine ratio, echocardiographic parameters and mortality in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy," by G. Kozdag et al. is presented.

An abstract of the article "Echocardiographic Determinants of Silent Cerebral Infarction in Patients With Dilated Cardiomyopathy," by G. Kozdag, is presented.

An abstract of the study "Effect of cardiac resynchronization therapy on left atrial appendage function and pulmonary venous flow pattern," by A. Vural and colleagues, is presented.

Purpose: To investigate the physiological retinal response to uneventful cataract surgery using conventional time-domain (TD-OCT) and current spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in combination with an assessment of the anterior chamber inflammatory reaction by laser flare/cell meter (LCFM)., Methods: Thirty-four patients scheduled for cataract surgery were included in this prospective pilot study. Retinal parameters were examined according to a standardized examination procedure using TD-OCT (Stratus; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, California, USA) and SD-OCT (Cirrus; Carl Zeiss Meditec) devices. The inflammatory reaction of the anterior chamber was measured by LFCM (Kowa FC-1000, Kowa Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan). Examinations were carried out preoperatively and at day 2, week 1 and week 4 postoperatively., Results: A slight decrease of central retinal thickness values was identified at day 2 postoperatively followed by an increase of these parameters at week 4. LFCM showed peak values in all patients at day 2 postoperatively with a constant decrease at the following visits. No visible pathological retinal changes were seen after surgery., Conclusion: A biphasic retinal response after surgery could be shown with SD-OCT and TD-OCT technology. By using the advantages of rasterscanning mode, SD-OCT technology is superior to TD-OCT imaging in the investigation of the physiological retinal response to cataract surgery., (© 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Acta Ophthalmol.)