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This study aims to investigate regional and periodic asymmetries in the impact of the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war on global equity markets. Employing the event study methodology, the current study examines global stock market reactions within a 61-day window centred around the event day, i.e., February 24, 2022. MSCI equity indices of 47 sample countries have been utilized to ensure uniformity in the index development methodology. They provide broader coverage of global equity markets by including large and mid-cap companies, representing approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization for each sampled country. The study extends the event window to 61 days to assess the enduring effects of the war over a relatively longer period. The research delineates regional and periodic asymmetries and posits that the impact of the war on a market is contingent upon its geographical proximity and trade relations with Russia and Ukraine. Additionally, the impact is stronger during a shorter window surrounding the event date but diminishes over the extended period.

The generalized Sasakian-space-forms and their properties have been examined by various researchers such as Alegre and Carriazo [2008], Prakasha [2012], Sarkar and Akbar [2014], Shanmukha et al. [2018], Sarkar and Sen [2012], Rajan and Singh [2020] and Sarkar and Sen [2012]. Motivated by the results of these works, we have proposed the idea of the W8−curvature tensor in generalized Sasakian-space- forms. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the curvature properties of generalized Sasakian-space-forms that satisfy the conditions ξ − W8− flatness, ϕ − W8−semi-symmetric, W8 · Q = 0, W8 · R = 0 and to prove some interesting results.

Direct intrahepatic portosystemic shunt is a technique of portocaval shunting performed through the percutaneous route in patients with Budd–Chiari syndrome. Stent migration into right-sided heart chambers or perforations causing hemopericardium and cardiac tamponade is rare and underreported. In a child with a coexisting decompensated liver disease, surgical intervention and cardiopulmonary bypass can be challenging. However, surgical management in these life-threatening situations is better than redo interventions.

Summary: Background: Breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and treatment can affect women both physically and psychologically. Women with BC undergo various painful and debilitating therapies as well as emotional trauma. Additionally, treatment modalities can bring about multiple changes, causing distress and alteration in one's appearance. This study aimed to assess the psychological distress and body image disturbances after modified radical mastectomy (MRM) among BC survivors. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care centre in North India on 165 female survivors of BC who underwent MRM and attended outpatient follow-up. The median (interquartile range) age was 42 (36–51) years. Patients were evaluated using MINI 6·0·0 to assess for psychiatric comorbidities. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to measure psychological distress. Additionally, the ten-item Body Image Satisfaction (BIS-10) scale was used to evaluate body image disturbances. Findings: The rates of depression, anxiety, and stress were 27·8%, 31·5%, and 24·8%, respectively. Most patients (92%) experienced body image disturbances, and BC survivors who completed treatment within 12 months were more likely (p

Abstract Background Primary diaphragmatic synovial sarcoma is a rare clinical entity with only few cases reported in the literature. It is found mainly in young adults, in the limbs. However, the name is a misnomer as it probably arises from primitive mesenchyme rather than articular surfaces of the joints. Case We report a case of 21‐year‐old patient with synovial sarcoma of the diaphragm, treated by complete surgical excision of the tumor with diaphragmatic reconstruction and confirmed on immunohistopathology. The peculiarity of this case stems from the atypical location of the tumor with complete surgical resection and thereby providing a better quality of life for the patient. Conclusion Synovial sarcoma of the diaphragm is a rare malignancy and more data and research is needed for defining the best management for this tumor.

Here, we present a case of a 26-year-old gentleman who presented with a rare combination of bilateral huge subclavian artery aneurysms, coarctation of the aorta with a large coronary artery collateral and a bovine aortic arch. Various mediastinal collaterals have been described in previous cases of coarctation of the aorta, but the association of coronary collaterals is a rare occurrence. To the best of our knowledge, this case has not been reported in literature yet.

Inadvertent deployment of stent grafts into the false lumen during thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is rare and is associated with catastrophic consequences. We present a case of accidental stent-graft deployment from the true lumen into the false lumen during TEVAR, resulting in hemodynamic collapse and visceral malperfusion. We successfully performed a bailout using the Brockenbrough needle to create new access from the true lumen to the false lumen and implanted another overlapping stent graft.

Objectives: The recent discoveries of phylogenetically confirmed COVID-19 reinfection cases worldwide, together with studies suggesting that antibody titres decrease over time, raise the question of what course the epidemic trajectories may take if immunity were really to be temporary in a significant fraction of the population. The objective of this study is to obtain an answer for this important question. Methods: We construct a ground-up delay differential equation model tailored to incorporate different types of immune response. We considered two immune responses: (a) short-lived immunity of all types, and (b) short-lived sterilizing immunity with durable severity-reducing immunity. Results: Multiple wave solutions to the model are manifest for intermediate values of the reproduction number R; interestingly, for sufficiently low as well as sufficiently high R, we find conventional single-wave solutions despite temporary immunity. Conclusions: The versatility of our model, and its very modest demands on computational resources, ensure that a set of disease trajectories can be computed virtually on the same day that a new and relevant immune response study is released. Our work can also be used to analyse the disease dynamics after a vaccine is certified for use and information regarding its immune response becomes available.

Fungal infective endocarditis (IE) is uncommon in postoperative cardiac surgical patients. The fungal IE accounts for 1.3'–6.8' of all IE cases and is considered the most severe form with a mortality rate as high as 45'–50'. There are various predisposing factors for fungal IE which include congenital heart defects, cardiac interventions like pacemaker insertion, degenerative valvular heart diseases, long-term use of broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy, and long-term use of central venous. Mortality can reach up to 100' without specific treatment. Definitive therapy necessitates surgical debridement of vegetations/mass/abscess followed by long-term treatment with antifungal agents in patients who have symptoms of heart failure despite optimum medical management. We, hereby, report a case of fungal IE which occurred after the closure of a ventricular septal defect and was treated successfully with liposomal amphotericin B.

Primary cardiac tumors are rare, accounting for

Abstract Objective Within the field of biorobotics, an emerging branch is plant-inspired robotics. Some effort exists in particular towards the production of digging robots that mimic roots; for these, a deeper comprehension of the role of root tip geometry in excavation would be highly desirable. Here we demonstrate a photogrammetry-based pipeline for the production of computer and manufactured replicas of moth orchid root apexes. Results Our methods yields faithful root reproductions. This can be used either for quantitative studies aimed at comparing different root morphologies, or directly to implement a particular root shape in a biorobot.

Traumatic aortic transection is a life threatening emergency where there is a near-complete tear through all the layers of the aorta due to trauma. This condition is most often lethal and requires immediate medical attention. Symptoms of an aortic rupture may include severe chest pain, back pain, abdominal pain and signs of external chest injury. Treatment should be prompt in hemodynamically unstable patient in the form of endovascular or open surgical technique. We present a twenty nine year old male with aortic transection following motor vehicle accident where an interposition tube graft was placed after trimming the lacerated segments of the aorta under cardiopulmonary bypass. The patient is doing well with two years of follow up at our institution.

Silicone tracheobronchial stents are being increasingly used in a large number of patients for the treatment of tracheal stenosis. One very rare complication due to tracheobronchial stenting is bronchoesophageal fistula (BEF), which has been associated with the use of metallic stents. We report intraoperative management of a patient undergoing repair of a BEF, following previous insertion of a silicone Y-stent that is soft in texture and has not been implicated for this complication till date. In addition, misalignment of this silicone tracheobronchial Y-stent resulted in a tracheal mucosal bulge proximal to the stent that vanished after its removal.

Carotid body tumors are rare neuroendocrine tumors derived from the extra-adrenal paraganglioma of the autonomic nervous system. Very few cases have been reported in literature in the pediatric age group

Follicular carcinoma of thyroid is the second most common type of carcinoma of thyroid, and it may metastasize to bone, lung, brain, and skin. However, the initial presentation of follicular carcinoma of the thyroid as a large intrathoracic mass without any symptoms of thyroid gland enlargement and dysfunction is very rare. We hereby report a case of a 50-year-old male who presented with chief complaints of chest and low back pain. Preliminary evaluation led to the provisional diagnosis of left-sided intrathoracic mass with vertebral metastasis which was suspected to be a case of bronchogenic carcinoma with distant metastasis. Surprisingly, transthoracic biopsy and histopathology revealed metastasis from follicular carcinoma of thyroid. This prompted us for a retrograde evaluation for a primary thyroid malignancy for which an ultrasound and contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) of the neck was done which confirmed the presence of a solitary thyroid nodule. Ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology of the nodule revealed follicular carcinoma of thyroid. Histopathological evaluation subsequent to total thyroidectomy revealed follicular carcinoma thyroid, further confirming the diagnosis. The patient was then referred to Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy for radionuclide ablation and chemotherapy. We chose to report this case because of its rare presentation as a large intrathoracic mass and the retrograde diagnosis of follicular carcinoma of thyroid. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of such a rare case.

Service robots are built and developed for various applications to support humans as companion, caretaker, or domestic support. As the number of elderly people grows, service robots will be in increasing demand. Particularly, one of the main tasks performed by elderly people, and others, is the complex task of cleaning. Therefore, cleaning tasks, such as sweeping floors, washing dishes, and wiping windows, have been developed for the domestic environment using service robots or robot manipulators with several control approaches. This article is primarily focused on control methodology used for cleaning tasks. Specifically, this work mainly discusses classical control and learning-based controlled methods. The classical control approaches, which consist of position control, force control, and impedance control , are commonly used for cleaning purposes in a highly controlled environment. However, classical control methods cannot be generalized for cluttered environment so that learning-based control methods could be an alternative solution. Learning-based control methods for cleaning tasks can encompass three approaches: learning from demonstration (LfD), supervised learning (SL), and reinforcement learning (RL). These control approaches have their own capabilities to generalize the cleaning tasks in the new environment. For example, LfD, which many research groups have used for cleaning tasks, can generate complex cleaning trajectories based on human demonstration. Also, SL can support the prediction of dirt areas and cleaning motion using large number of data set. Finally, RL can learn cleaning actions and interact with the new environment by the robot itself. In this context, this article aims to provide a general overview of robotic cleaning tasks based on different types of control methods using manipulator. It also suggest a description of the future directions of cleaning tasks based on the evaluation of the control approaches.

Plants use many strategies to move efficiently in soil, such as growth from the tip, tropic movements, and morphological changes. In this paper, we propose a method to translate morphological features of Zea mays roots into a new design of soft robots that will be able to move in soil. The method relies on image processing and curve fitting techniques to extract the profile of Z. mays primary root. We implemented an analytic translation of the root profile in a 3D model (CAD) to fabricate root-like probes by means of 3D printing technology. Then, we carried out a comparative analysis among the artificial root-like probe and probes with different tip shapes (cylindrical, conical, elliptical, and parabolic) and diameters (11, 9, 7, 5, and 3 mm). The results showed that the energy consumption and the penetration force of the bioinspired probe are better with respect to the other shapes for all the diameters of the developed probes. For 100 mm of penetration depth and 7 mm of probe diameter, the energy consumption of the bioinspired probe is 89% lesser with respect to the cylindrical probe and 26% lesser with respect to the conical probe. The penetration performance of the considered tip shapes was evaluated also by means of numerical simulations, obtaining a good agreement with the experimental results. Additional investigations on plant root morphology, movement strategies, and material properties can allow the development of innovative bioinspired solutions exploitable in challenging environments. This research can bring to breakthrough scenarios in different fields, such as exploration tasks, environmental monitoring, geotechnical studies, and medical applications.

In the present work few novel 2-(4-methylbenzenesulphonamido)pentanedioic acid amide derivatives and the basic compound 2-(4-methylphenylsulfon-amido)pentanedioic acid have been designed, synthesized, characterized and screened for their possible antineoplastic activity both in vitro and in vivo. The modified drugs were docked against the protein histone deacetylase the energy value obtained was o-iodoanilide (-10.370504) and m-iodoanilide (-10.218276) of the titled compound. The in vitro activity was performed against five human cell lines like human breast cancer (MCF-7), leukemia (K-562), ova-rian cancer (OVACAR-3), human colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29) and Human kidney carcinoma (A-498). The in vivo activity was performed in female Swiss albino mice against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC). Among the synthesized compounds, o-iodoanilide, m-iodoanilide and p-iodoanilide derivatives of 2-(4-methyl benzene sulphonyl)-pentanedioic acid amides showed encouraging activity in both the in vitro and in vivo compared to other compounds.

In recent years robotics has been influenced by a new approach, soft-robotics, bringing the idea that safe interaction with user and more adaptation to the environment can be achieved by exploiting easily deformable materials and flexible components in the structure of robots. In 2016, the soft-robotics community has promoted a new robotics challenge, named RoboSoft Grand Challenge, with the aim of bringing together different opinions on the usefulness and applicability of softness and compliancy in robotics. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of a terrestrial robot based on two soft legged wheels. The tasks predefined by the challenge were set as targets in the robot design, which finally succeeded to accomplish all the tasks. The wheels of the robot can passively climb over stairs and adapt to slippery grounds using two soft legs embedded in their structure. The soft legs, fabricated by integration of soft and rigid materials and mounted on the circumference of a conventional wheel, succeed to enhance its functionality and easily adapt to unknown grounds. The robot has a semi stiff tail that helps in the stabilization and climbing of stairs. An active wheel is embedded at the extremity of the tail in order to increase the robot maneuverability in narrow environments. Moreover two parallelogram linkages let the robot to reconfigure and shrink its size allowing entering inside gates smaller than its initial dimensions.

We present the basic module of a modular continuum arm (soft compliant manipulator for broad applications (SIMBA)). SIMBA is a robotic arm with a hybrid structure, namely a combination of rigid and soft components, which makes the arm highly versatile, dexterous, and robust. These key features are due to the design of its basic module, which is characterized by a three-dimensional workspace with a constant radius around its rotation axis, large and highly repeatable bending, complete rotation, and passive stiffness. We present an extensive analysis and characterization of the basic module of the SIMBA arm in terms of design, fabrication, kinematic model, stiffness, and bending behavior. All the theoretical models presented were validated with empirical results. Our findings show a positional typical error of less than ≈6% in module diameter (highly repeatable) with a passive stiffness of 0.8 N/mm (≈1 kg load). Our aim is to demonstrate that this kind of robotic element can be exploited as an elementary module of a more complex structure, which can be used in any application requiring high directional stiffness but without the need for an active stiffness mechanism, as is the case in daily activities (e.g., door opening, water pouring, obstacle avoidance, and manipulation tasks).

A ganglioneuroma of adrenal gland in a 34-year-old female presenting as adrenal incidentaloma is described. The significance of this finding is discussed, and litera-ture in English is reviewed to highlight the importance of hormonal evaluation of an incidentaloma.