A Review of Machine Learning and TinyML in Healthcare

Healthcare is the field that can benefit from the large amount of raw data generated from portable and wearable devices. This data must be sent to the Cloud for processing due to the computationally intensive nature of current state-of-the-art implementations of Neural Networks. The emerging technology of TinyML is an alternative approach proposed by the scientific community to create autonomous and safe devices that can collect, process, and alert without transmitting data to external entities. This work is the review of the contribution of the emerging technology of TinyML in healthcare applications at the edge, requiring the integration of Machine Learning algorithms, followed by the solutions it can bring, especially in wearable devices. Moreover, it is discussed how TinyML can optimize Neural Networks to bring intelligence and autonomy in devices used in fields such as healthcare. © 2021 ACM

Hip osteoarthritis: where is the pain?

BACKGROUND: Pain radiating below the knee is typically thought to originate from the lumbosacral spine rather than degenerative hip pathology. We investigated the lower limb distribution of pain using body image maps in 60 patients awaiting primary hip arthroplasty and in 60 patients awaiting spinal decompression for confirmed spinal stenosis. The perception of 33 orthopaedic registrars regarding distribution of hip pain was also assessed. RESULTS: Groin and buttock pain are significantly more common in hip osteoarthritis. The presence of groin pain is 84.3% of those sensitive for hip dysfunction with a specificity of 70.3%. Patients with hip osteoarthritis had pain below the knee in 47% of cases whereas 88.5% of orthopaedic trainees believed hip pain did not radiate below the knee. Radiographic features of osteoarthritis within the hip joint, visual analogue pain score or Oxford Hip Score have no significant association with a patient's distribution of hip pain. CONCLUSIONS: Hip pain referred below the knee is common with a degenerate hip joint and follows the distribution of the saphenous nerve, which branches from the femoral nerve. Radiographic deterioration of a hip joint does not correlate with pain distribution or patient dysfunction as measured by the Oxford Hip Score

Performance of Thyme Oil@Na-Montmorillonite and Thyme Oil@Organo-Modified Montmorillonite Nanostructures on the Development of Melt-Extruded Poly-L-lactic Acid Antioxidant Active Packaging Films

Today, the use of natural biodegradable materials in the production processes is more and more adopted by industry to achieve cyclic economy targets and to improve environmental and human health indexes. Active packaging is the latest trend for food preservation. In this work, nanostructures were prepared by incorporation of thyme oil with natural natrium-montmorillonite and organo-montmorillonite with two different techniques, direct impregnation and the green evaporation–adsorption process. Such nanostructures were mixed with poly-L-lactic-acid for the first time via an extrusion molding process to develop a new packaging film. Comparisons of mor-phological, mechanical, and other basic properties for food packaging were carried out via XRD, FTIR, TG, SEM/EDS, oxygen and water vapor permeation, and antimicrobial and antioxidant activity for the first time. Results showed that poly-L-lactic-acid could be modified with clays and essential oils to produce improved active packaging films. The final product exhibits food odor prevention characteristics and shelf-life extension capabilities, and it could be used for active packaging. The films based on OrgMt clay seems to be more promising, while the thyme oil addition improves their behavior as active packaging. The PLLA/3%TO@OrgMt and PLLA/5%TO@OrgMt films were qualified between the tested samples as the most promising materials for this purpose. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Nanoclay and polystyrene type efficiency on the development of polystyrene/montmorillonite/oregano oil antioxidant active packaging nanocomposite films

Over the years, there has been an effort to extend food shelf life so as to reduce global food waste. The use of natural biodegradable materials in production procedures is more and more adopted nowadays in order to achieve cyclic economy targets and improve environmental and human health indexes. Active packaging is the latest trend for food preservation. In this work, polystyrene was mixed with natural NaMt, OrgNaMt montmorillonite, and oregano essential oil to de-velop a new packaging film. Strength, oxygen and water-vapour permeation, blending and homo-geneity, and antimicrobial and antioxidant activity were measured as basic parameters for food packaging films characterization. Instruments such as a tensile measurement instrument, XRD, FTIR, DMA, OPA (Oxygen Permeation Analyzer), and other handmade devices were used. Results showed that polystyrene could be modified, improved, and exhibits food odour prevention characteristics in order to be used for applications on food active packaging. The material with the code name PS5OO@OrgMt qualified between the tested samples as the most promising material for food active packaging applications. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Primary angiosarcoma of the kidney: Literature review of a rare nosologic entity

Primary angiosarcoma of the kidney is a rare tumor, hence little is known concerning its diagnostic features and therapeutic management. We conducted this survey to present a complete literature review with emphasis on clinicopathological features, diagnosis and therapy. A thorough search was conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed. All relevant studies concerning primary renal angiosarcomas in adults were thoroughly reviewed. Primary renal angiosarcoma is characterized by an overall poor prognosis, is of unknown etiology and occurs most commonly in males between 60 and 70 years old. Presence of distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis is prevalent. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical studies are the most important diagnostic tools. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Conclusion: Primary renal angiosarcoma is a rare but aggressive malignancy with low response to available therapeutic regimens and dismal survival rates. © 2020 International Institute of Anticancer Research. All rights reserved

Preparation and Characterization of Polystyrene Hybrid Composites Reinforced with 2D and 3D Inorganic Fillers

Polystyrene (PS)/silicate composites were prepared with the addition of two organoclays (orgMMT and orgZenith) and two mesoporous silicas (SBA-15 and MCF) via (i) solution casting and (ii) melt compounding methods. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis evidenced an intercalated structure for PS/organoclay nanocomposites. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated improvement in the thermal stability of PS-nanocomposites compared to the pristine polymer. This enhancement was more prevalent for the nanocomposites prepared with a lab-made organoclay (orgZenith). Tensile measurement results indicated that elastic modulus increment was more prevalent (up to 50%) for microcomposites prepared using mesoporous silicas as filler. Organoclay addition led to a decrease in oxygen transmission rate (OTR) values. This decrement reached up to 50% for high organoclay content films in comparison to pristine PS film. Decrement above 80% was measured for microcomposites with mesoporous silicas and 5 wt% filler content obtained via melt compounding

M. tuberculosis Rv2252 encodes a diacylglycerol kinase involved in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylinositol mannosides (PIMs)

Phosphorylated lipids play important roles in biological systems, not only as structural moieties but also as modulators of cellular function. Phospholipids of pathogenic bacteria are known to play roles both as membrane components and as factors that modulate the infectious process. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is, however, noteworthy in that it has an extremely diverse repertoire of biologically active phosphorylated lipids that, in the absence of a specialized protein translocation system, appear to constitute the main means of communication with the host. Many of these lipids are derived from phosphatidylinositol (PI) that is differentially processed to give rise to phosphatidylinositol mannosides (PIMs) or lipoarabinomannan. In preliminary studies on the lipid processing enzymes associated with the bacterial cell wall, a kinase activity was noted that gave rise to a novel lipid species released by the bacterium. It was determined that this kinase activity was encoded by the ORF Rv2252. Rv2252 demonstrates the capacity to phosphorylate various amphipathic lipids of host and bacterial origin, in particular a M. tuberculosis derived diacylglycerol. Targeted deletion of the rv2252 gene resulted in disruption of the production of certain higher order PIM species, suggesting a role for Rv2252 in the biosynthetic pathway of PI, a PIM precursor