Ayurvedic management of Retinitis Pigmentosa (Doshandha) - A Case Study

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited, degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment due to the progressive degeneration of rod photoreceptor cells in retina. This form of retinal dystrophy manifests initial symptoms independentof age; thus, RP diagnosis occurs anywhere from early infancy to late adulthood. This primary pigmentary retinal dystrophy is a hereditary disorder predominantly affecting the rods more than the cones. The main classical triads of retinitis pigmentosa are arteriolar attenuation, Retinal bone spicule pigmentation and Waxy disc pallor. The main treatment of retinitis pigmentosa is by using Low vision aids (LVA) and Genetic counseling. As such a complete cure for retinitis pigmentosa is not present. So a treatment protocol has to be adopted that helps in at least the symptomatic relief. In Ayurveda, the signs and symptoms of this can be compared with the Lakshanas of Doshandha which is one among the Dristigata Roga. It is considered as a diseased condition in which sunset will obliterate the Dristi Mandala and makes the person blind at night time. During morning hours the rising sunrays will disperse the accumulated Dosas from Dristi to clear vision. This disease resembles Kaphajatimira in its pathogenesis, but the night blindness is the special feature. Since the disease is purely Kaphaja, a treatment attempt is planned in Kaphara and Brimhana line. The present paper discusses a case of retinitis pigmentosa and it’s Ayurvedic Treatment

Development of a strontium optical lattice clock for the SOC mission on the ISS

The ESA mission "Space Optical Clock" project aims at operating an optical lattice clock on the ISS in approximately 2023. The scientific goals of the mission are to perform tests of fundamental physics, to enable space-assisted relativistic geodesy and to intercompare optical clocks on the ground using microwave and optical links. The performance goal of the space clock is less than $1 \times 10^{-17}$ uncertainty and $1 \times 10^{-15} {\tau}^{-1/2}$ instability. Within an EU-FP7-funded project, a strontium optical lattice clock demonstrator has been developed. Goal performances are instability below $1 \times 10^{-15} {\tau}^{-1/2}$ and fractional inaccuracy $5 \times 10^{-17}$. For the design of the clock, techniques and approaches suitable for later space application are used, such as modular design, diode lasers, low power consumption subunits, and compact dimensions. The Sr clock apparatus is fully operational, and the clock transition in $^{88}$Sr was observed with linewidth as small as 9 Hz.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, SPIE Photonics Europe 201

A human lung tumor microenvironment interactome identifies clinically relevant cell-type cross-talk.

BackgroundTumors comprise a complex microenvironment of interacting malignant and stromal cell types. Much of our understanding of the tumor microenvironment comes from in vitro studies isolating the interactions between malignant cells and a single stromal cell type, often along a single pathway.ResultTo develop a deeper understanding of the interactions between cells within human lung tumors, we perform RNA-seq profiling of flow-sorted malignant cells, endothelial cells, immune cells, fibroblasts, and bulk cells from freshly resected human primary non-small-cell lung tumors. We map the cell-specific differential expression of prognostically associated secreted factors and cell surface genes, and computationally reconstruct cross-talk between these cell types to generate a novel resource called the Lung Tumor Microenvironment Interactome (LTMI). Using this resource, we identify and validate a prognostically unfavorable influence of Gremlin-1 production by fibroblasts on proliferation of malignant lung adenocarcinoma cells. We also find a prognostically favorable association between infiltration of mast cells and less aggressive tumor cell behavior.ConclusionThese results illustrate the utility of the LTMI as a resource for generating hypotheses concerning tumor-microenvironment interactions that may have prognostic and therapeutic relevance

Airfoil optimisation for vertical-axis wind turbines with variable pitch

To advance the design of a multimegawatt vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT), application-specific airfoils need to be developed. In this research, airfoils are tailored for a VAWT with variable pitch. A genetic algorithm is used to optimise the airfoil shape considering a balance between the aerodynamic and structural performance of airfoils. At rotor scale, the aerodynamic objective aims to create the required optimal loading while minimising losses. The structural objective focusses on maximising the bending stiffness. Three airfoils from the Pareto front are selected and analysed using the actuator cylinder model and a prescribed-wake vortex code. The optimal pitch schedule is determined, and the loadings and power performance are studied for different tip-speed ratios and solidities. The comparison of the optimised airfoils with similar airfoils from the first generation shows a significant improvement in performance, and this proves the necessity to properly select the airfoil shape.Wind Energ