SPRK: A Low-Cost Stewart Platform For Motion Study In Surgical Robotics

To simulate body organ motion due to breathing, heart beats, or peristaltic movements, we designed a low-cost, miniaturized SPRK (Stewart Platform Research Kit) to translate and rotate phantom tissue. This platform is 20cm x 20cm x 10cm to fit in the workspace of a da Vinci Research Kit (DVRK) surgical robot and costs $250, two orders of magnitude less than a commercial Stewart platform. The platform has a range of motion of +/- 1.27 cm in translation along x, y, and z directions and has motion modes for sinusoidal motion and breathing-inspired motion. Modular platform mounts were also designed for pattern cutting and debridement experiments. The platform's positional controller has a time-constant of 0.2 seconds and the root-mean-square error is 1.22 mm, 1.07 mm, and 0.20 mm in x, y, and z directions respectively. All the details, CAD models, and control software for the platform is available at github.com/BerkeleyAutomation/sprk

Lung Biopsy in ARDS: Is It Worth the Risk?

Progress in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been slow, perhaps in part due to the heterogeneity in the biology underlying this syndrome. Open lung biopsy is a feasible approach to define various subcategories of underlying histology. In experienced hands, with careful selection of patients and close attention to details of critical care management, including mechanical ventilator settings, the procedure is safe even in patients with severe disease. However, further work is needed to define which patients, if any, experience a beneficial effect on outcome from this procedure. More research is needed on assessing efficacy of potential therapies within histologically defined subgroups. In the future, various biomarkers may be available to non-invasively classify ARDS patients from the standpoint of responsiveness to various therapies, such as gluco-corticoids

Effect of agro-input management practices on yield of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) under vertisols of Chhattisgarh, India

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of agro-input management practices on yield of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) at the Instructional cum Research Farm, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, (C.G.) during Rabi 2015-16. Different agro input management practices had significant (P=0.05) effect on growth, yield attributes and yield of linseed. However, seed rates did not give significant influence on seed yield. Whereas, application of RDF + FYM placement in rows @ 5 t ha-1 (N3) recorded significantly (P=0.05) higher growth parameters viz. plant height (88.44 cm), primary branches plant-1 (3.83), secondary branches plant-1 (23.39), dry matter accumulation (6.76 g plant-1) and yield attributes viz. capsules plant-1 (30.86), seeds capsule-1(7.63), seeds plant-1 (235.32), seed yield (2100 kg ha-1) and stover yield (4885 kg ha-1). In case of foliar spray, application of 2 % urea at 15, 40, 65 and 90 DAS (F3) gave significantly higher growth parameters viz. plant height (88.37 cm), primary branches plant-1(3.82), secondary branches plant-1 (23.68), dry matter accumulation (6.59 g plant-1) and yield attributes viz. capsules plant-1(31.74), seeds capsule-1(7.63), seeds plant-1 (241.38), seed yield (2089 kg ha-1) and stover yield (4772 kg ha-1). Interaction among seed rate 30 kg ha-1 (S2) X RDF 60:30:30 N: P: K kg ha-1 (N1) with foliar application of 2 % urea at 15, 40, 65 and 90 DAS (F3) (S2 XN1X F3) recorded the highest benefit-cost ratio (4.39). Line placement of FYM was better than broadcasting in terms of seed yield; and foliar application of urea was economical than Nitrobenzene

Colchicine therapy in acute coronary syndrome patients acts on caspase-1 to suppress NLRP3 inflammasome monocyte activation

Inflammasome activation, with subsequent release of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18, has recently been implicated in atherosclerosis-associated inflammation. This study aims to assess in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients (1) inflammasome activation in circulating monocytes and (2) whether short-term oral colchicine, a recognized anti-inflammatory agent that has been shown to be cardio-protective in clinical studies, might acutely suppress inflammasome-dependent inflammation. ACS patients (n=21) were randomized to oral colchicine (1 mg followed by 0.5 mg 1 h later) or no treatment, and compared with untreated healthy controls (n=9). Peripheral venous blood was sampled pre- (day 1) and 24 h post- (day 2) treatment. Monocytes were cultured and stimulated with ATP. Analysis of key inflammasome markers was performed by ELISA. IL-1β secretion increased by 580.4% (P<0.01) in ACS patients compared with controls but only with ATP stimulation. Untreated ACS patients secreted significantly higher levels of IL-18 compared with healthy controls independent of ATP stimulation (P<0.05). Colchicine treatment in ACS patients markedly reduced intracellular and secreted levels of IL-1β compared with pre-treatment levels (P<0.05 for both), as well as significantly reducing pro-caspase-1 mRNA levels by 57.7% and secreted caspase-1 protein levels by 30.2% compared with untreated patients (P<0.05 for both). Monocytes from ACS patients are ‘primed’ to secrete inflammasome-related cytokines and short-term colchicine acutely and markedly suppresses monocyte caspase-1 activity, thereby reducing monocyte secretion of IL-1β

Laparoscopic surgery for Crohn’s disease: a meta-analysis of perioperative complications and long term outcomes compared with open surgery

BACKGROUND: Previous meta-analyses have had conflicting conclusions regarding the differences between laparoscopic and open techniques in patients with Crohn’s Disease. The objective of this meta-analysis was to compare outcomes in patients with Crohn’s disease undergoing laparoscopic or open surgical resection. METHODS: A literature search of EMBASE, MEDLINE, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the US National Institute of Health’s Clinical Trials Registry was completed. Randomized clinical trials and non-randomized comparative studies were included if laparoscopic and open surgical resections were compared. Primary outcomes assessed included perioperative complications, recurrence requiring surgery, small bowel obstruction and incisional hernia. RESULTS: 34 studies were included in the analysis, and represented 2,519 patients. Pooled analysis showed reduced perioperative complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic resection vs. open resection (Risk Ratio 0.71, 95% CI 0.58 – 0.86, P = 0.001). There was no evidence of a difference in the rate of surgical recurrence (Rate Ratio 0.78, 95% CI 0.54 – 1.11, P = 0.17) or small bowel obstruction (Rate Ratio 0.63, 95% CI 0.28 – 1.45, P = 0.28) between techniques. There was evidence of a decrease in incisional hernia following laparoscopic surgery (Rate Ratio 0.24, 95% CI 0.07 – 0.82, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest review in this topic. The results of this analysis are based primarily on non-randomized studies and thus have significant limitations in regards to selection bias, confounding, lack of blinding and potential publication bias. Although we found evidence of decreased perioperative complications and incisional hernia in the laparoscopic group, further randomized controlled trials, with adequate follow up, are needed before strong recommendations can be made

A Failure Analysis and Remaining Life assessment of Boiler Water Wall tube

This paper presents failure investigation on the SA210GrC water wall tube by visual Site inspection, tube wall thickness measurements, chemical composition test, Hardness test and microstructure analysis with proper evidence collected to identify the exact cause of the failure. The water wall tube was failed with blister, bulging and creep cracks on outer surface located near to the Soot Blower. On-site wall thickness measurements were performed on some of the water wall tubes located at the same level of the ruptured tube. The tubes have significant wall thinning and erosion from outside. Mild corrosion deposition also seen in the inner side. Microscopic examinations on the failed rupture region and some distance away of the as-received tubes are also conducted in order to determine the failure mechanism and root cause. Failure mechanisms are also discussed and relevant data from few months back to the failure gathered to identify the failure reason. The failure mechanism is identified as a result of the combination of the significant wall thinning of water wall tube due to long term overheating and creep. Corrosion due to oxygen is also a cause of wall thinning. Root cause analysis identified that deaerator was not working efficient to remove dissolved gases was reason behind corrosion. Long term overheating was due to operating temperature above the design one. Finally all the parameters checked and rectified properly. Maintenance of Deaerator has been done to put it in the working condition

Challenges for Transformation: A Situational Analysis of Mental Health Care Services in Sehore District, Madhya Pradesh.

The proportion of individuals with mental disorders receiving evidence based treatments in India is very small. In order to address this huge treatment gap, programme for improving mental health care is being implemented in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh, India. The aim of this study was to complete the situational analysis consisting of two parts; document review of Sehore district mental health programme followed by a qualitative study. The findings suggest that there are major health system challenges in developing and implementing the mental health care plan to be delivered through primary health care system in Sehore district

A Statistical Approach to Improve the Residential Life in UB

This project aims at improving the residential life in the University of Bridgeport , with a special emphasis on North Hall and South Hall. With this motivation, this study depicts the facilities that are provided to the UB students and analyzes the problems that residents are facing in the dormitories. A survey has been conducted among the residents using the study published by Serwint, J. R., Feigelman, S., Dumont-Driscoll, M., Collins, R., Zhan, M., & Kittredge, D. After the data collection, the data have been analyzed to provide customized solutions for the improvement of the student residential life. Resident satisfaction was defined as satisfied or not satisfied on a survey sheet