Evaluation of results of minimally invasive per cutaneous surgeries in management of calcaneal fractures

 Background: To analyze the outcome percutaneous surgeries in fractures of the calcaneum.Methods: 20 patients admitted in a tertiary care center in Ahmedabad were followed up from admission to until 2 years post operatively and functional outcomes in them following operative intervention were analyzed using AOFAS and Maryland scoring system.Results: Majority of patients have excellent or good outcome following percutaneous surgery in fractures of the calcaneum. The results were evaluated for 22 people with intraarticular calcaneum fractures using the Maryland foot score and AOFAS score. The mean AOFAS score was 86. There were 6 excellent, 12 good and 4 fair results.Conclusions: Percutaneous fixation in fractures of the calcaneum is a middle path in treatment of calcaneum fracture having the benefit of better reduction of ORIF plating and lesser soft tissue injury or chances of infection of conservative management

Performance analysis of IMC based PID controller tuning on approximated process model

Classical Proportional Integral Derivative(PID) controller remains the most popular approach for industrial process control. Poor tuning of PID controller can lead to mechanical wear associated with excessive control activity, poor control performance and even poor quality products. In this paper, we design procedure for the internal model control(IMC) approach for tuning of conventional PID controller with proper tuning rules. Furthermore, with help of analytical rule of step test obtaining the effective first order time delay model of the process. A simulation example of continuous stirred tank reactor is used in which the IMC based PID tuning method implemented and the step response of the closed loop system is compared with classical tuning methods like Ziegler-Nichols and Cohen-Coon

Stereo Visual Odometry with Deep Learning-Based Point and Line Feature Matching using an Attention Graph Neural Network

Robust feature matching forms the backbone for most Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (vSLAM), visual odometry, 3D reconstruction, and Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms. However, recovering feature matches from texture-poor scenes is a major challenge and still remains an open area of research. In this paper, we present a Stereo Visual Odometry (StereoVO) technique based on point and line features which uses a novel feature-matching mechanism based on an Attention Graph Neural Network that is designed to perform well even under adverse weather conditions such as fog, haze, rain, and snow, and dynamic lighting conditions such as nighttime illumination and glare scenarios. We perform experiments on multiple real and synthetic datasets to validate the ability of our method to perform StereoVO under low visibility weather and lighting conditions through robust point and line matches. The results demonstrate that our method achieves more line feature matches than state-of-the-art line matching algorithms, which when complemented with point feature matches perform consistently well in adverse weather and dynamic lighting conditions

Synthesis and characterization of a novel inulin hydrogel crosslinked with pyromellitic dianhydride

This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This author accepted manuscript is made available following 24 month embargo from date of publication (November 2018) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policy.Smart hydrogels with pH and enzyme triggered release suitable for colon specific drug delivery were prepared by crosslinking inulin with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) in a simple one pot synthesis. Back titration, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultraviolet spectrophotometry (UV) demonstrated that the hydrogel crosslinking reaction resulted in ester linkages and carboxylic acid groups and that the amount of the crosslinker in the hydrogel increased with increasing PMDA concentration in the crosslinking reaction. Thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the chemical change by illustrating the hydrogels changed thermal properties and appearance compared to inulin. This hydrogel showed excellent swelling in water and the degree of swelling was inversely proportional to the cross-linking density, as determined using Flory-Rehner theory. Due to the presence of the carboxylic acid groups in the structure, the swelling was pH dependent, with significantly reduced swelling as acidity decreased from pH 7.4 to pH 1.2.This research work was also supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council's Linkage Projects funding scheme (Project number LP140100142)

Drug-Eluting Nasal Implants: Formulation, Characterization, Clinical Applications and Challenges

Chronic inflammation and infection of the nasal sinuses, also referred to as Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS), severely affects patients’ quality of life. Adhesions, ostial stenosis, infection and inflammation relapses complicate chronic sinusitis treatment strategies. Drug-eluting stents, packings or implants have been suggested as reasonable alternatives for addressing these concerns. This article reviewed potential drug candidates for nasal implants, formulation methods/optimization and characterization methods. Clinical applications and important considerations were also addressed. Clinically-approved implants (Propel™ implant, the Relieva stratus™ MicroFlow spacer, and the Sinu-Foam™ spacer) for CRS treatment was an important focus. The advantages and limitations, as well as future considerations, challenges and the need for additional research in the field of nasal drug implant development, were discussed

Comparisons of mortality and pre-discharge respiratory morbidities in small for gestational age and appropriate-for gestational age premature infants - An Indian Experience

Background: There is an assumption that fetus with restricted growth with an inappropriate intrauterine environment lies under stress. Although small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants have higher mortality, difference in the outcome of SGA and appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) infants regarding respiratory morbidity is controversial. It seems that respiratory morbidities in SGA neonates is different from neonates with AGA. In this study, we intend to compare the mortality and  respiratory morbidity rates between the preterm small for gestational age (SGA) and appropriate for age (AGA) neonates of less than 34 weeks of gestation. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 498 preterm neonates with gestational age of < 34 weeks, admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. These neonates were categorized into two groups of SGA (n=210) and AGA (n=286). The data analysis was performed, using Student’s t-test and Mann-Whitney U test for parametric variables and Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests for nonparametric data. Results: According to the results of the study, the two groups were significantly different in terms of their birth weight (