MOVING A ROBOT HAND TRANSPORTING FILLED GLASS

A gripper orientation concept for a robot carrying filled glass along a prescribed path without spilling is presented. The application of the method is shown by a 5-degree freedom high-speed laboratory robot with significant elasticities

A comparative study of efficacy and safety of combination of indacaterol and tiotropium versus formoterol and budesonide in moderate to severe COPD

Background: COPD patients suffer persistent airflow obstruction and exacerbation despite treatment with LABA and ICS. Presently LABA+LAMA is least tested combination hence we want to compare efficacy and safety of combination of indacaterol and tiotropium versus formoterol and budesonide in moderate to severe COPD.Methods: This was an open labelled, parallel group trial involving 60 patients. of moderate to severe COPD having baseline postbronchodilator FEV1 ≥30% predicted and less than 80% predicted already on some kind of COPD treatment were included and, efficacy on lung function (FEV1)  and  safety in two  groups, indacaterol+tiotropium once daily dpi versus formoterol+budesonide twice daily bd dpi were testedi24 hours postdose (trough) DPI in symptomatic patients of COPD of moderate to severe grade. Statistical analysis was done using repeated measures of ANOVA followed by Turkeys test. P value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: Patient with baseline/post bronchodilator FEV1 ≥30% predicted and less than 80% predicted were included. The mean age was 55±5 years. At 4 weeks mean±SEM in peak FEV1 in indacaterol+tiotropium was 85.77±4.002 and in formoterol+budesonide was 77.33±5.598. At 12 weeks, mean ±SEM in peak FEV1 in indacaterol+tiotropium was 112.30±4.69 and formoterol+budesonide was 103±6.35. At 24 weeks, mean ±SEM in peak FEV1 in indacaterol+tiotropium= 125.3±5.18 and formoterol+budesonide=112.7±5.89. Adverse events were less in indacaterol+tiotropium group. No serious adverse event occurred. Indacaterol+tiotropium once daily is efficacious and safe as compared to formoterol+budesonide twice daily with less exacerbation.Conclusions: In patients having poorly controlled COPD despite background therapy (LABA, etophylline+theophylline, etc.) the introduction of indacaterol+tiotropium once daily compared to formoterol+budesonide twice daily DPI significantly improved the FEV1 by sustained bronchodilation, decreased exacerbation and is safe. Further studies are needed to assess quality of life and cost analysis

Comparison of efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of clotrimazole 1% cream and sertaconazole 2% cream in patients suffering from of mild to moderate tinea corporis, attending tertiary care hospital out-patient department: a randomized, open-labeled, comparative, parallel group trial

Background: Tinea corporis is a common dermatophytic infection of the body involving keratin layer of skin. This lesion presents as an annular plaque with an advancing border along with central clearing. Clotrimazole is topical, conventional imidazole antifungal drug and has given good efficacy in tinea corporis. Sertaconazole is new topical imidazole antifungal claimed to be superior to old topical imidazoles in tinea corporis. The aim of this study was to compare efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness of topical antifungals, clotrimazole 1% cream and sertaconazole 2% cream in patients suffering from mild to moderate tinea corporis attending out-patient department of tertiary care hospital in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.Methods: This was a prospective, comparative, randomized trial with 2 parallel treatment arms of 4 weeks duration. Patients were diagnosed on the basis of clinical evaluation and microscopic findings of KOH mount. Hundred patients were randomly assigned into two groups of clotrimazole 1% cream, and sertaconazole 2% cream with 50 patients in each group. Evaluation was carried out at baseline, 1st week, 2nd week and 4th week for efficacy parameters viz. itching, erythema and scaling, physician’s global assessment (PGA), safety and cost effectiveness.Results: Topical sertaconazole 2% cream was highly efficacious and superior to clotrimazole 1% cream in improvement of clinical parameters, PGA and mycological cure at the end of the treatment phase. At end of the follow-up phase both the trial drugs were effective with no recurrence or relapse of tinea corporis. However, clotrimazole 1% cream was safe and cheaper.Conclusions: Topical clotrimazole 1% cream and sertaconazole 2% were effective and well tolerated in patients of tinea corporis. Effectiveness of sertaconazole was early and superior with tolerable side-effects. However, clotrimazole was cost-effective

The Antidepressant like action of ethanolic extract of areca catechu on behavioral models of depression in rats

Background: The objective was to investigate the anti-depressant like activity of areca catechu nut ethanolic extract (ACEE) using behavioural tests in rats.Methods: Forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) were used to assess the anti-depressant like effect of ACEE rats. Motor coordination was also assessing using rota-rod test in rats to see generalised CNS depression. Fluoxetine was the reference standard drug. Rats were divided into four groups with six rats in each group namely control group, fluoxetine 10 mg/kg group, ACEE 50 mg/kg group and fluoxetine 5 mg/kg plus ACEE 25 mg/kg. All treatments were administered orally.Results: The areca nut ethanolic extract (ACEE) (50mg/kg oral) exhibited anti-depressant like activity i.e. decrease the duration of immobility time (sec) in acute forced swim test (FST) and in acute tail suspension test (TST) in rats (104±1.7, 95%CI 99.65 to 108.4, p <0.01) Vs control and (136.3±1.94, 95%CI 131.3 to 141.3, p<0.01) Vs control respectively. ACEE in low dose of 25 mg potentiated the anti-depressant activity of low dose fluoxetine 5 mg/kg in both the test 102.3±2.60, CI 95.64 to 109.0 p<0.01) Vs control. The ACEE did not produce motor incoordination in rats.Conclusions: The results of present study suggest that the areca catechu nut ethanolic extract 50mg/kg possess potential anti-depression like effect without generalized CNS depression. Further studies are needed to confirm this

Development and application of the modelling system J2000-S for the EU-water framework directive

The scientific sound definition of measures to achieve the goals of the EU water framework directive (WFD) acquires spatially distributed analyses of the water and substance dynamics in meso- to macro-scale catchments. For this purpose, modelling tools or systems are needed which are robust and fast enough to be applied on such scales, but which are also able to simulate the impact of changes on single fields or small areas of a specific land use in the catchment. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; To face these challenges, we combined the fully-distributed hydrological model J2000 with the nitrogen transport routines of the Soil Water Assessment Tool SWAT model, which are normally applied in a semi-distributive approach. With this combination, we could extend the quantitative focus of J2000 with qualitative processes and could overcome the semi-distributed limitation of SWAT. For the implementation and combination of the components, we used the Jena Adaptable Modelling System JAMS (Kralisch and Krause, 2006) which helped tremendously in the relatively rapid and easy development of the new resultant model J2000-S (J2000-Substance). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The modelling system was applied in the upper Gera watershed, located in Thuringia, Germany. The catchment has an area of 844 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; and includes three of the typical landscape forms of Thuringia. The application showed, that the new modelling system was able to reproduce the daily hydrological as well as the nitrogen dynamics with a sufficient quality. The paper will describe the results of the new model and compare them with the results obtained with the original semi-distributed application of SWAT

Multiscale investigations in a mesoscale catchment ? hydrological modelling in the Gera catchment

International audienceThe application of the hydrological process-oriented model J2000 (J2K) is part of a cooperation project between the Thuringian Environmental Agency (Thüringer Landesanstalt für Umwelt und Geologie ? TLUG) and the Department of Geoinformatics of the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena focussing on the implementation of the EU water framework directive (WFD). In the first project phase J2K was parametrised and calibrated for a mesoscale catchment to quantify if it can be used as hydrological part of a multi-objective tool-box needed for the implementation of the WFD. The main objectives for that pilot study were: The development and application of a suitable distribution concept which provide the spatial data basis for various tasks and which reflects the specific physiogeographical variability and heterogeneity of river basins adequately. This distribution concept should consider the following constraints: The absolute number of spatial entities, which forms the basis for any distributive modelling should be as small as possible, but the spatial distributed factors, which controls quantitative and qualitative hydrological processes should not be generalised to much. The distribution concept of hydrological response units HRUs (Flügel, 1995) was selected and enhanced by a topological routing scheme (Staudenrausch, 2001) for the simulation of lateral flow processes. J2K should be calibrated for one subbasin of the pilot watershed only. Then the parameter set should be used on the other subbasins (referred as transfer basins) to investigate and quantify the transferability of a calibrated model and potential spatial dependencies of its parameter set. In addition, potential structural problems in the process description should be identified by the transfer to basins which show a different process dominance as the one which was used for calibration does. Model calibration and selection of efficiency criteria for the quantification of the model quality should be based on a comprehensive sensitivity and uncertainty analysis (Bäse, 2005) and multi-response validations with independent data sets (Krause and Flügel, 2005) carried out in advance in the headwater part of the calibration basin. To obtain good results in the transfer basins the calibrated parameter set could be adjusted slightly. This step was considered as necessary because of specific constraints which were not of significant importance in the calibration basin. This readjustment should be carried out on parameters which show a sensitive reaction on the identified differences in the environmental setup. Potential scaling problems of the process description, distribution concept or model structure should be identified by the comparison of the modelling results obtained in a small headwater region of the calibration basin with observed streamflow to find out if the selected efficiency measures show a significant change

"Taste Strips” - A rapid, lateralized, gustatory bedside identification test based on impregnated filter papers

Objective : To elaborate normative values for a clinical psychophysical taste test ("Taste Strips”). Background : The "Taste Strips” are a psychophysical chemical taste test. So far, no definitive normative data had been published and only a fairly small sample size has been investigated. In light of this shortcoming for this easy, reliable and quick taste testing device, we attempted to provide normative values suitable for the clinical use. Setting : Normative value acquisition study, multicenter study. Methods : The investigation involved 537 participants reporting a normal sense of smell and taste (318 female, 219 male, mean age 44 years, age range 18-87 years). The taste test was based on spoonshaped filter paper strips ("Taste Strips”) impregnated with the four (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter) taste qualities in four different concentrations. The strips were placed on the left or right side of the anterior third of the extended tongue, resulting in a total of 32 trials. With their tongue still extended, patients had to identify the taste from a list of four descriptors, i. e., sweet, sour, salty, and bitter (multiple forcedchoice). To obtain an impression of overall gustatory function, the number of correctly identified tastes was summed up for a "taste score”. Results : Taste function decreased significantly with age. Women exhibited significantly higher taste scores than men which was true for all age groups. The taste score at the 10th percentile was selected as a cut-off value to distinguish normogeusia from hypogeusia. Results from a small series of patients with ageusia confirmed the clinical usefulness of the proposed normative values. Conclusion : The present data provide normative values for the "Taste Strips” based on over 500 subjects teste

Public Trust in the Effectiveness of the Covid-19 Vaccine in Liliba Village, Oebobo District, Kupang City

The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to develop in Indonesia since the beginning of 2020. The incidence and death rates continue to increase from day to day. Various efforts were made to stop the spread of the deadly Covid-19. One way to prevent and suppress the spread of infection with the virus is to vaccinate. The role of the vaccine is to provide immunity. Many people in the city of Kupang do not believe in the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine, so they do not want to be vaccinated. The objective of this study is to describe the level of public confidence in the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine in Liliba Village, Oebobo District, Kupang City. The research method is quantitative with a descriptive study research design. The population is people who live in the Liliba sub-district, Oebobo district, Kupang City. The sample was 106 people who were taken using the Cluster Simple Random Sampling technique. The results showed that the level of public confidence in the susceptibility of the Covid-19 vaccine was (89.6%), the seriousness of the vaccine's effectiveness (90.6%), the benefits of the vaccine (54.7%), and the perceived barriers (88.7%). This study revealed that the level of public confidence in the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine in Liliba Village, Oebobo District, Kupang City is high.The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to develop in Indonesia since the beginning of 2020. The incidence and death rates continue to increase from day to day. Various efforts were made to stop the spread of the deadly Covid-19. One way to prevent and suppress the spread of infection with the virus is to vaccinate. The role of the vaccine is to provide immunity. Many people in the city of Kupang do not believe in the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine, so they do not want to be vaccinated. The objective of this study is to describe the level of public confidence in the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine in Liliba Village, Oebobo District, Kupang City. The research method is quantitative with a descriptive study research design. The population is people who live in the Liliba sub-district, Oebobo district, Kupang City. The sample was 106 people who were taken using the Cluster Simple Random Sampling technique. The results showed that the level of public confidence in the susceptibility of the Covid-19 vaccine was (89.6%), the seriousness of the vaccine's effectiveness (90.6%), the benefits of the vaccine (54.7%), and the perceived barriers (88.7%). This study revealed that the level of public confidence in the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine in Liliba Village, Oebobo District, Kupang City is high

Among B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, MALT lymphomas express a unique antibody repertoire with frequent rheumatoid factor reactivity

We analyzed the structure of antigen receptors of a comprehensive panel of mature B non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (B-NHLs) by comparing, at the amino acid level, their immunoglobulin (Ig)VH-CDR3s with CDR3 sequences present in GenBank. Follicular lymphomas, diffuse large B cell lymphomas, Burkitt's lymphomas, and myelomas expressed a CDR3 repertoire comparable to that of normal B cells. Mantle cell lymphomas and B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemias (B-CLLs) expressed clearly restricted albeit different CDR3 repertoires. Lymphomas of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues (MALTs) were unique as 8 out of 45 (18%) of gastric- and 13 out of 32 (41%) of salivary gland-MALT lymphomas expressed B cell antigen receptors with strong CDR3 homology to rheumatoid factors (RFs). Of note, the RF-CDR3 homology without exception included N-region–encoded residues in the hypermutated IgVH genes, indicating that they were stringently selected for reactivity with auto-IgG. By in vitro binding studies with 10 MALT lymphoma–derived antibodies, we showed that seven of these cases, of which four with RF-CDR3 homology, indeed possessed strong RF reactivity. Of one MALT lymphoma, functional proof for selection of subclones with high RF affinity was obtained. Interestingly, RF-CDR3 homology and t(11;18) appeared to be mutually exclusive features and RF-CDR3 homology was not encountered in any of the 19 pulmonary MALT lymphomas studied

Repertoire Analysis of B-Cells Located in Striated Ducts of Salivary Glands of Patients With Sjogren's Syndrome

A major complication of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is development of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) B-cell lymphoma, particularly in salivary glands. These lymphomas express FcRL4 and are characteristically associated with lymphoepithelial lesions. Neoplastic B-cells may be derived from non-neoplastic glandular intraductal B-cells, also virtually all expressing FcRL4. A characteristic feature of MALT lymphomas is the production of rheumatoid factors (RFs), which are largely encoded by stereotypic immunoglobulin variable heavy chain (IGHV) sequences. The aim of this study was to examine whether there is a relationship between the intraductal and periductal B-cells and whether the intraductal B-cells are selected for RF. RNA was extracted from laser-microdissected infiltrated ductal areas and periductal infiltrates from frozen parotid gland tissue sections of 5 pSS patients. PCR amplified IGHV transcripts were cloned into pCR™4-TOPO vector and subsequently sequenced. Microdissected ducts yielded 96 unique IGHV sequences derived from intraductal B-cells, while 119 unique IGHV sequences were obtained from periductal infiltrates. No major difference in VH-gene usage was observed between intraductal and periductal B-cells. Nearly all (>90%) IGHV sequences derived from both intraductal and periductal B-cells were mutated. Clonal expansions as defined by shared VDJ rearrangements were also present among both intraductal and periductal B-cells: in total 32 clones were found, from which 12 were located within ducts, 15 in periductal areas, and five clones shared members in both areas. We observed 12 IGHV rearrangements encoding for RF sequences from which two were derived from intraductal B-cells and 10 from periductal B-cells. Nine RF sequences were part of a clone. Together these findings indicate that intraductal and periductal B-cells are closely related to each other. Intraductal B-cells are most likely derived from periductal B-cells. We did not obtain evidence that RF-specific B-cells are enriched within the striated ducts. We speculate that in principle any activated B-cell can enter the striated ducts from the periductal infiltrate, irrespective of its antigenic specificity. Within the ducts, these B-cells may receive additional activation and proliferation signals, to further expand at these sites and by acquisition of driver-mutations develop toward lymphoma