193 research outputs found
Temporal Analysis of Language through Neural Language Models
We provide a method for automatically detecting change in language across
time through a chronologically trained neural language model. We train the
model on the Google Books Ngram corpus to obtain word vector representations
specific to each year, and identify words that have changed significantly from
1900 to 2009. The model identifies words such as "cell" and "gay" as having
changed during that time period. The model simultaneously identifies the
specific years during which such words underwent change
Posterior capsular infiltration with local anaesthetic cocktail during total knee arthroplasty: a prospective comparative study
Background: Total knee arthroplasty offers a stable joint with excellent long-term results in osteoarthritis knee patients. The procedure is also associated with post-operative pain which can lead to delayed functional recovery in few patients. This comparative study was aimed to evaluate the effiсасy of а lосаl anaesthetic сосktаil injection with and without роsteriоr сарsulаr infiltration for роst-орerаtive раin соntrоl and early functional reсоvery in раtients undergoing simultaneous bilateral TKА.Methods: This was a prospective comparative study which involved 50 participants undergoing bilateral TKA where one knee, received LIA in anterior, medial and lateral structures of the knee as well as posterior capsule (group A) and contralateral knee received LIA in anterior, medial and lateral structures, identical to the former knee, but excluding posterior capsule region (group B). Pre-operative and post-operative parameters such as VAS, KSS and knee ROM in both knees of all the patients were noted and compared to evaluate the efficacy of PCI.Results: Comparison of VAS scores, post-operatively showed that VAS on rest and on movement was lower in group A than group B at all the time frames (p value <0.0001*). Post-operative knee ROM was higher in group A (p<0.0001). Knee society score was observed to be higher in group A than group B on 15th day and at 1 month (p<0.0001).Conclusions: The study successfully demonstrates that posterior capsular infiltration when included in LIA technique provides a better pain control and also early functional recovery after TKA
Magnetoelectricity at room temperature in Bi0.9-xTbxLa0.1FeO3 system
Magnetoelectric compounds with the general formula, Bi0.9-xRxLa0.1FeO3 (R
=Gd, Tb, Dy, etc.), have been synthesized. These show the coexistence of
ferroelectricity and magnetism, possess high dielectric constant and exhibit
magnetoelectric coupling at room temperature. Such materials may be of great
significance in basic as well as applied research.Comment: 11 pages of text and figure
Complex Behavior of Polymers as Drag Reducing Agents Through Pipe Fittings
Polymer induced turbulent drag reduction has significant industrial importance and finds application in industries, oil and gas, fire-fighting, marine, irrigation, biomedical etc. Most of the reported literature is focused on the skin drag reduction in pipe flow employing drag reducing additives (DRAs) like polymers, surfactants, fibres and suspensions. In this work, the effect of polymeric addition on the total drag reduction (skin and form) is studied for turbulent flow of water through various fittings like 45 degree elbow, 90 degree miter, sudden expansion and sudden contraction. Different polymers like PAM, PEO, HPMC have been employed as DRAs at various concentrations and pressure drops. The results indicate a complex and interesting behavior. When compared to the results reported for pipe flow, even in this case polymers are found to give total drag reduction (TDR) though less relative to skin drag alone. The extent of TDR is found to depend on the nature of fitting, polymer and its concentration and the pressure drop used. From the results, it is also clear that there is a strong need to further investigate the problem using sophisticated analytical tools on rheometry and polymer degradation
Acute Pancreatitis in the Emergency Department
Introduction: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common emergency department (ED) presentation with a variety of outcomes. Stratifying AP severity with scoring systems can allow physicians to effectively manage patient disposition.
Objective: To identify ED pancreatitis patients who will likely be admitted to the ICU or be discharged within 48 hours, and to validate existing pancreatitis severity scores.
Methods: Patients with a final ED diagnosis of AP and/or lipase ≥ 3 times the upper limit of normal were enrolled in a prospective, observational chart review study. Parametric and non-parametric descriptive statistics were used to describe the patient population. Area under receiver operating curve (AUC) was used to determine the predictive accuracy of existing pancreatitis scores.
Results: Ranson criteria, Glasgow-Imrie (GI) criteria, Bedside Index of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP), and Harmless Acute Pancreatitis Score (HAPS) were assessed. GI criteria (AUC = 0.77) had the highest predictive accuracy for ICU admission, while Ranson criteria (AUC = 0.62) had the highest predictive accuracy for early discharge. Mean scores of ICU patients were significantly (p \u3c 0.05) higher than those of non-ICU patients in all four scoring systems; however, mean scores in ICU patients failed to meet the severe case threshold for all four scoring systems.
Discussion: Existing pancreatitis scoring systems cannot consistently predict AP severity in ED patients. The small difference in mean ICU and non-ICU patient scores illustrates the difficulty of using scoring systems to stratify AP severity in the ED. Further efforts to develop an ED-specific scoring system could allow physicians to more efficiently admit patients
Preliminary fabrication and characterization of electron beam melted Ti–6Al–4V customized dental implant
The current study was aimed to fabricate customized root form dental implant using
additive manufacturing technique for the replacement of missing teeth. The root form dental
implant was designed using GeomagicTM and MagicsTM, the designed implant was directly manufactured
by layering technique using ARCAM A2TM electron beam melting system by employing medical
grade Ti–6Al–4V alloy powder. Furthermore, the fabricated implant was characterized in terms
of certain clinically important parameters such as surface microstructure, surface topography,
chemical purity and internal porosity. Results confirmed that, fabrication of customized dental implants using additive rapid manufacturing technology offers an attractive method to produce
extremely pure form of customized titanium dental implants, the rough and porous surface texture
obtained is expected to provide better initial implant stabilization and superior osseointegration
Management of Poststroke Hyperglycemia : Results of the TEXAIS Randomized Clinical Trial
Hyperglycemia in acute ischemic stroke reduces the efficacy of stroke thrombolysis and thrombectomy, with worse clinical outcomes. Insulin-based therapies are difficult to implement and may cause hypoglycemia. We investigated whether exenatide, a GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist, would improve stroke outcomes, and control poststroke hyperglycemia with minimal hypoglycemia.
Methods:The TEXAIS trial (Treatment With Exenatide in Acute Ischemic Stroke) was an international, multicenter, phase 2 prospective randomized clinical trial (PROBE [Prospective Randomized Open Blinded End-Point] design) enrolling adult patients with acute ischemic stroke ≤9 hours of stroke onset to receive exenatide (5 µg BID subcutaneous injection) or standard care for 5 days, or until hospital discharge (whichever sooner). The primary outcome (intention to treat) was the proportion of patients with ≥8-point improvement in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (or National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores 0–1) at 7 days poststroke. Safety outcomes included death, episodes of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and adverse event.
Results:From April 2016 to June 2021, 350 patients were randomized (exenatide, n=177, standard care, n=173). Median age, 71 years (interquartile range, 62–79), median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 4 (interquartile range, 2–8). Planned recruitment (n=528) was stopped early due to COVID-19 disruptions and funding constraints. The primary outcome was achieved in 97 of 171 (56.7%) in the standard care group versus 104 of 170 (61.2%) in the exenatide group (adjusted odds ratio, 1.22 [95% CI, 0.79–1.88]; P=0.38). No differences in secondary outcomes were observed. The per-patient mean daily frequency of hyperglycemia was significantly less in the exenatide group across all quartiles. No episodes of hypoglycemia were recorded over the treatment period. Adverse events of mild nausea and vomiting occurred in 6 (3.5%) exenatide patients versus 0 (0%) standard care with no withdrawal.
Conclusions:Treatment with exenatide did not reduce neurological impairment at 7 days in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Exenatide did significantly reduce the frequency of hyperglycemic events, without hypoglycemia, and was safe to use. Larger acute stroke trials using GLP-1 agonists such as exenatide should be considered.
Registration:URL: www.australianclinicaltrials.gov.au; Unique identifier: ACTRN12617000409370. URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03287076
Hepcidin Is Involved in Iron Regulation in the Ischemic Brain
Oxidative stress plays an important role in neuronal injuries caused by cerebral ischemia. It is well established that free iron increases significantly during ischemia and is responsible for oxidative damage in the brain. However, the mechanism of this ischemia-induced increase in iron is not completely understood. In this report, the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model was performed and the mechanism of iron accumulation in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion was studied. The expression of L-ferritin was significantly increased in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and striatum on the ischemic side, whereas H-ferritin was reduced in the striatum and increased in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. The expression level of the iron-export protein ferroportin1 (FPN1) significantly decreased, while the expression of transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) was increased. In order to elucidate the mechanisms of FPN1 regulation, we studied the expression of the key regulator of FPN1, hepcidin. We observed that the hepcidin level was significantly elevated in the ischemic side of the brain. Knockdown hepcidin repressed the increasing of L-ferritin and decreasing of FPN1 invoked by ischemia-reperfusion. The results indicate that hepcidin is an important contributor to iron overload in cerebral ischemia. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that the levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) were significantly higher in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and striatum on the ischemic side; therefore, the HIF-1α-mediated TfR1 expression may be another contributor to the iron overload in the ischemia-reperfusion brain
The Evolutionary Basis of Naturally Diverse Rice Leaves Anatomy
Rice contains genetically and ecologically diverse wild and cultivated species that show a
wide variation in plant and leaf architecture. A systematic characterization of leaf anatomy
is essential in understanding the dynamics behind such diversity. Therefore, leaf anatomies
of 24 Oryza species spanning 11 genetically diverse rice genomes were studied in both lateral
and longitudinal directions and possible evolutionary trends were examined. A significant
inter-species variation in mesophyll cells, bundle sheath cells, and vein structure was
observed, suggesting precise genetic control over these major rice leaf anatomical traits.
Cellular dimensions, measured along three growth axes, were further combined proportionately
to construct three-dimensional (3D) leaf anatomy models to compare the relative size
and orientation of the major cell types present in a fully expanded leaf. A reconstruction of
the ancestral leaf state revealed that the following are the major characteristics of recently
evolved rice species: fewer veins, larger and laterally elongated mesophyll cells, with an
increase in total mesophyll area and in bundle sheath cell number. A huge diversity in leaf
anatomy within wild and domesticated rice species has been portrayed in this study, on an
evolutionary context, predicting a two-pronged evolutionary pathway leading to the ‘sativa
leaf type’ that we see today in domesticated species
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