56 research outputs found
Magnetic force microscopy investigation of arrays of nickel nanowires and nanotubes
The magnetic properties of arrays of nanowires (NWs) and nanotubes (NTs), 150
nm in diameter, electrodeposited inside nanoporous polycarbonate membranes are
investigated. The comparison of the nanoscopic magnetic force microscopy (MFM)
imaging and the macroscopic behavior as measured by alternating gradient force
magnetometry (AGFM) is made. It is shown that MFM is a complementary technique
that provides an understanding of the magnetization reversal characteristics at
the microscopic scale of individual nanostructures. The local hysteresis loops
have been extracted by MFM measurements. The influence of the shape of such
elongated nanostructures on the dipolar coupling and consequently on the
squareness of the hysteresis curves is demonstrated. It is shown that the
nanowires exhibit stronger magnetic interactions than nanotubes. The
non-uniformity of the magnetization states is also revealed by combining the
MFM and AGFM measurements.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Assessment of functional outcome of operative management of displaced acetabular fractures and complications
Background: Aim of the study was to assess the functional outcome of operative management of displaced acetabular fractures and complications.Methods: The study included sixty patients presenting within 2 weeks with displaced fractures of more than 2 mm. Elderly patients with osteoporotic bones and co-morbid conditions were excluded.Results: A total of sixty patients were operated on. Union was achieved in anatomical position in 51 patients (85%) and in malposition in 9 (15%) patients. Excellent results were obtained in 15 (25%) patients, good results in 32 (53%), fair results in 7 (11.6%) and poor results in 6 (10%) patients. Post operative complications included infection in 2 (3%), sciatic nerve injury in 2 (3%) and avascular necrosis (AVN) in 3 (5%) patients.Conclusions: In the present study, majority of the patients were operated within two weeks. The Harris hip score averaged 58
Sublingual immunotherapy to house dust mite as an immunological intervention in refractory atopic dermatitis
Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) with house dust mite (HDM) preparation has been shown to reduce disease severity in patientswith atopic dermatitis (AD). A 5-year-old girl with severe Atopic Dermatitis refractive to all possible pharmacotherapy was put onSLIT for dust mite and followed up for a period of one year. SLIT to dust mite proved highly effective in reducing the disease severityscore as well as prevention of exacerbations in this patient
Magnetic force microscopy study of the switching field distribution of low density arrays of single domain magnetic nanowires
In the present work, we report on the in situ magnetic force microscopy (MFM)
study of the magnetization reversal in two-dimensional arrays of ferromagnetic
Ni80Fe20 and Co55Fe45 nanowires(NW) with different diameters (40, 50, 70 and
100 nm) deposited inside low porosity (P<1%) nanoporous polycarbonate
membranes. In such arrays, the nanowires are sufficiently isolated from each
other so that long range dipolar interactions can be neglected. The MFM
experiments performed for different magnetization states at the same spot of
the samples are analysed to determine the switching field distribution (SFD).
The magnetization curves obtained from the MFM images are relatively square
shaped. The SFD widths are narrower compared to those obtained for high density
arrays. The weak broadening of the curves may be ascribed to the NW intrinsic
SFD. The influence of diameter and composition of the ferromagnetic NW is also
investigated.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, To appear in Journal of Applied Physic
Comparative Evaluation of Biomarkers of Inflammation Among Indian Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Consuming Vegetarian vs. Non-vegetarian Diet
Background: Sub-inflammation and insulin resistance characterize women with PCOS. Data on dietary modulation of inflammation among PCOS women is scant, particularly from Indian subcontinent. The present study aimed to assess the effect of plant based vs. animal origin diets on serum markers of inflammation (primary outcome measure).Methods: This observational case-control study compared age and BMI matched PCOS and apparently healthy women from two populations following different dietary practices. The vegetarian women from New-Delhi (n = 82 PCOS and n = 179 healthy) and non-vegetarian women from Srinagar (n = 62 PCOS and n = 141 healthy) formed the groups. Using a uniform methodology, detailed clinical, biochemical, hormonal, and inflammatory marker assessment was undertaken.Results: The mean age of the overall cohort was 26.23 ± 4.59 years with a mean BMI of 24.39 ± 3.72 kg/m2. Overall pro-inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, hs-CRP and serum resistin) were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) and anti-inflammatory markers (IL-10 and adiponectin) were lower among women with PCOS than healthy subjects. On comparing vegetarian women with non-vegetarians, higher daily calorie intake (1895.46 ± 258.19 vs. 1860.13 ± 323.96 Kcal) with a higher protein and fat and lower carbohydrate intake was recorded in the latter, although the percent energy derived from carbohydrates was higher among vegetarians. Clinical and biochemical parameters were comparable among the groups except mFG score, total serum testosterone and serum lipid levels which were higher among non-vegetarian women as compared to their vegetarian counterparts from both categories (PCOS and healthy). Interestingly, vegetarian women with PCOS and healthy women had higher serum pro-inflammatory and lower anti-inflammatory markers compared to their non-vegetarian counterparts.Conclusion: Women with PCOS consuming Indian vegetarian diet have higher pro-inflammatory and lower anti-inflammatory marker levels than their age and BMI matched healthy non-vegetarian counterparts. This interesting observation can be attributed to the dietary composition, among other factors and needs confirmation from well-designed randomized studies on a larger cohort
A nationwide study of adults admitted to hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state and COVID‐19
AimsTo investigate characteristics of people hospitalized with coronavirus-disease-2019 (COVID-19) and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (HHS), and to identify risk factors for mortality and intensive care admission.Materials and methodsRetrospective cohort study with anonymized data from the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists nationwide audit of hospital admissions with COVID-19 and diabetes, from start of pandemic to November 2021. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality. DKA and HHS were adjudicated against national criteria. Age-adjusted odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression.ResultsIn total, 85 confirmed DKA cases, and 20 HHS, occurred among 4073 people (211 type 1 diabetes, 3748 type 2 diabetes, 114 unknown type) hospitalized with COVID-19. Mean (SD) age was 60 (18.2) years in DKA and 74 (11.8) years in HHS (p < .001). A higher proportion of patients with HHS than with DKA were of non-White ethnicity (71.4% vs 39.0% p = .038). Mortality in DKA was 36.8% (n = 57) and 3.8% (n = 26) in type 2 and type 1 diabetes respectively. Among people with type 2 diabetes and DKA, mortality was lower in insulin users compared with non-users [21.4% vs. 52.2%; age-adjusted odds ratio 0.13 (95% CI 0.03-0.60)]. Crude mortality was lower in DKA than HHS (25.9% vs. 65.0%, p = .001) and in statin users versus non-users (36.4% vs. 100%; p = .035) but these were not statistically significant after age adjustment.ConclusionsHospitalization with COVID-19 and adjudicated DKA is four times more common than HHS but both associate with substantial mortality. There is a strong association of previous insulin therapy with survival in type 2 diabetes-associated DKA
Cybersecurity Issues in Implanted Medical Devices
Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) is a promising new technology in the medical field to improve the treatment of patients. IMDs are electronic devices implanted in the human body to monitor or treat various sorts of diseases in different organs or to enhance the poor functions of different body parts. This article introduces problems in designing Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs), from a cybersecurity perspective. Older generations of IMDs did not consider device security as a prominent design goal. As a result, existing IMDs in the market suffer from vulnerabilities, that if exploited can have dramatic consequences. In this article, we emphasize the importance of securing IMDs by reviewing different possible attacks on many IMDs. We further presents approaches to secure IMDs as well as future research directions in this field, from lightweight cryptography to distance bounded communication through wirelessly rechargeable batteries
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