Optical Devices for the Diagnosis and Management of Spinal Cord Injuries: A Review.

Throughout the central nervous system, the spinal cord plays a very important role, namely, transmitting sensory and motor information inwardly so that it can be processed by the brain. There are many different ways this structure can be damaged, such as through traumatic injury or surgery, such as scoliosis correction, for instance. Consequently, damage may be caused to the nervous system as a result of this. There is no doubt that optical devices such as microscopes and cameras can have a significant impact on research, diagnosis, and treatment planning for patients with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Additionally, these technologies contribute a great deal to our understanding of these injuries, and they are also essential in enhancing the quality of life of individuals with spinal cord injuries. Through increasingly powerful, accurate, and minimally invasive technologies that have been developed over the last decade or so, several new optical devices have been introduced that are capable of improving the accuracy of SCI diagnosis and treatment and promoting a better quality of life after surgery. We aim in this paper to present a timely overview of the various research fields that have been conducted on optical devices that can be used to diagnose spinal cord injuries as well as to manage the associated health complications that affected individuals may experience.

Smart materials for flexible electronics and devices: hydrogel.

In recent years, flexible conductive materials have attracted considerable attention for their potential use in flexible energy storage devices, touch panels, sensors, memristors, and other applications. The outstanding flexibility, electricity, and tunable mechanical properties of hydrogels make them ideal conductive materials for flexible electronic devices. Various synthetic strategies have been developed to produce conductive and environmentally friendly hydrogels for high-performance flexible electronics. In this review, we discuss the state-of-the-art applications of hydrogels in flexible electronics, such as energy storage, touch panels, memristor devices, and sensors like temperature, gas, humidity, chemical, strain, and textile sensors, and the latest synthesis methods of hydrogels. Describe the process of fabricating sensors as well. Finally, we discussed the challenges and future research avenues for flexible and portable electronic devices based on hydrogels.

Embedded Sensors with 3D Printing Technology: Review.

Embedded sensors (ESs) are used in smart materials to enable continuous and permanent measurements of their structural integrity, while sensing technology involves developing sensors, sensory systems, or smart materials that monitor a wide range of properties of materials. Incorporating 3D-printed sensors into hosting structures has grown in popularity because of improved assembly processes, reduced system complexity, and lower fabrication costs. 3D-printed sensors can be embedded into structures and attached to surfaces through two methods: attaching to surfaces or embedding in 3D-printed sensors. We discussed various additive manufacturing techniques for fabricating sensors in this review. We also discussed the many strategies for manufacturing sensors using additive manufacturing, as well as how sensors are integrated into the manufacturing process. The review also explained the fundamental mechanisms used in sensors and their applications. The study demonstrated that embedded 3D printing sensors facilitate the development of additive sensor materials for smart goods and the Internet of Things.

Crystal Lattice Defects in Deuterated Zr in Presence of O and C Impurities Studied by PAS and XRD for Electron Screening Effect.

Low-energy nuclear reactions are known to be extremely dependent on the local crystal structure and crystal defects of the deuterated samples. This has a strong influence on both hydrogen diffusion and the effective electron mass. The latter determines the strength of the local electron-screening effect and can change the deuteron-deuteron reaction rates at very low energies by many orders of magnitude. In the present study, zirconium samples were exposed to various conditions and energies of deuteron beams using the unique accelerator system with ultra-high vacuum, installed in the eLBRUS laboratory at the University of Szczecin. Irradiated and virgin samples were investigated by means of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). While the first method delivers information about changes of crystal lattice parameters and possible production of hydrides accompanying the formation of dislocations that are produced during irradiation of the samples, the second one can determine the depth distribution of crystal defects, being especially sensitive to vacancies. The studied Zr samples were also implanted by carbon and oxygen ions in order to simulate the real situation taking place in nuclear reaction experiments and to investigate their influence on the kinetic of produced vacancies. The observed enhancement of the electron-screening effect in the deuteron fusion reaction at very low energies could be explained by formation of a high number of vacancies during the deuteron irradiation of samples. Possible carbon and oxygen impurities can affect this process in various ways by changing the depth distribution of vacancies and their diffusion, but they play only a minor role in the strength of the electron-screening effect.

Gene-Based Resistance to Erysiphe Species Causing Powdery Mildew Disease in Peas (Pisum sativum L.).

Globally powdery mildew (PM) is one of the major diseases of the pea caused by Erysiphe pisi. Besides, two other species viz. Erysiphe trifolii and Erysiphe baeumleri have also been identified to infect the pea plant. To date, three resistant genes, namely er1, er2 and Er3 located on linkage groups VI, III and IV respectively were identified. Studies have shown the er1 gene to be a Pisum sativum Mildew resistance Locus 'O' homologue and subsequent analysis has identified eleven alleles namely er1-1 to er1-11. Despite reports mentioning the breakdown of er1 gene-mediated PM resistance by E. pisi and E. trifolii, it is still the most widely deployed gene in PM resistance breeding programmes across the world. Several linked DNA markers have been reported in different mapping populations with varying linkage distances and effectiveness, which were used by breeders to develop PM-resistant pea cultivars through marker assisted selection. This review summarizes the genetics of PM resistance and its mechanism, allelic variations of the er gene, marker linkage and future strategies to exploit this information for targeted PM resistance breeding in Pisum.

Heat stress tolerance in peas (Pisum sativum L.): Current status and way forward.

In the era of climate change, the overall productivity of pea (Pisum sativum L.) is being threatened by several abiotic stresses including heat stress (HS). HS causes severe yield losses by adversely affecting several traits in peas. A reduction in pod yield has been reported from 11.1% to 17.5% when mean daily temperature increase from 1.4 to 2.2°C. High-temperature stress (30.5-33°C) especially during reproductive phase is known to drastically reduce both seed yield and germination. HS during germination and early vegetative stage resulted in poor emergence and stunted plant growth along with detrimental effects on physiological functions of the pea plant. To combat HS and continue its life cycle, plants use various defense strategies including heat escape, avoidance or tolerance mechanisms. Ironically, the threshold temperatures for pea plant and its responses are inconsistent and not yet clearly identified. Trait discovery through traditional breeding such as semi leaflessness (afila), upright growing habit, lodging tolerance, lower canopy temperature and small seeded nature has highlighted their utility for greater adaptation under HS in pea. Screening of crop gene pool and landraces for HS tolerance in a targeted environment is a simple approach to identify HS tolerant genotypes. Thus, precise phenotyping using modern phenomics tools could lead to increased breeding efficiency. The NGS (next generation sequencing) data can be associated to find the candidate genes responsible for the HS tolerance in pea. In addition, genomic selection, genome wide association studies (GWAS) and marker assisted selection (MAS) can be used for the development of HS tolerant pea genotypes. Additionally, development of transgenics could be an alternative strategy for the development of HS tolerant pea genotypes. This review comprehensively covers the various aspects of HS tolerance mechanisms in the pea plant, screening protocols, omic advances, and future challenges for the development of HS tolerant genotypes.

Comparison of Orotracheal versus Nasotracheal Fiberoptic Intubation Using Hemodynamic Parameters in Patients with Anticipated Difficult Airway.

BACKGROUND: Both nasal and oral routes can be used for fiberoptic intubation. Often it leads to hemodynamic disturbances, which may have a significant effect in patients with limited cardiopulmonary reserve as well as with cerebrovascular diseases. AIMS: The aim of the study was to evaluate whether there is a clinically relevant difference between the circulatory responses to oral and nasal fiberoptic intubation. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a prospective, randomized, and comparative study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, a total of 90 patients with the American Society of Anesthesiologist physical status I and II of either sex in the age group of 18-60 years and having anticipated difficult airway (DA) posted for elective surgery under general anesthesia were randomly allocated into two groups. Patients underwent fiberoptic intubation via either oral or nasal route under sevoflurane anesthesia with bispectral index guidance. Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), time taken to intubation, and need of maneuver were measured. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: All the analyses were carried out on SPSS 16.0 version (Inc., Chicago, USA). Mean and standard deviation were calculated. The test of analysis between two groups was done by unpaired t-test. RESULTS: Demographic and DA characteristics were similar in both the groups. Significantly (P < 0.01) lesser alteration in HR, SBP, DBP, and MAP was seen in oral fiberoptic intubation when compared to nasal fiberoptic intubation in the early phase of postintubation. Time taken to intubation was also significantly (P < 0.01) lesser in the oral route compared to the nasal route. CONCLUSIONS: Oral fiberoptic intubation causes less hemodynamic alteration and takes less time in comparison to nasal fiberoptic intubation.

Development and characterization of penta-flowering and triple-flowering genotypes in garden pea (Pisum sativum L. var. hortense).

This study reports the development of a garden pea genotype 'VRPM-901-5' producing five flowers per peduncle at multiple flowering nodes, by using single plant selection approach from a cross 'VL-8 × PC-531'. In addition, five other stable genetic stocks, namely VRPM-501, VRPM-502, VRPM-503, VRPM-901-3 and VRPSeL-1 producing three flowers per peduncle at multiple flowering nodes were also developed. All these unique genotypes were of either mid- or late- maturity groups. Furthermore, these multi-flowering genotypes were identified during later generations (F4 onward), which might be because of fixation of certain QTLs or recessive gene combinations. Surprisingly, a common parent PC-531, imparting multi-flowering trait in ten cross combinations was identified. Thus, the genotype PC-531 seems to harbor some recessive gene(s) or QTLs that in certain combination(s) express the multi-flowering trait. The interaction between genotype and environment showed that temperature (11-20°C) plays a key role in expression of the multi-flowering trait besides genetic background. Furthermore, the possible relationship between various multi-flowering regulatory genes such as FN, FNA, NEPTUNE, SN, DNE, HR and environmental factors was also explored, and a comprehensive model explaining the multi-flowering trait in garden pea is proposed.

Assessment of phytochemical composition and antioxidant potential in some indigenous chilli genotypes from North East India.

Twenty five chilli genotypes from North East region of India evaluated showed variation for capsaicin from 0.27% (CHF-CA-1) to 3.03% (CHF-CA-21), oleoresin content from 2.49% (CHF-CA-5) to 9.26% (CHF-CA-18) with high to moderate ascorbic acid. Total phenolics ranged from 5.1 (CHF-CA-8) to 26.8 (CHF-CA-23) mg GAE/g and total carotenoids from 0.09 (CHF-CA-16) to 7.72 (CHF-CA-17) mg/g dry weight. The antioxidant activity varied from 15.3% (CHF-CA-4) to 60.7% (CHF-CA-21). Free radical scavenging activity using DPPH assay showed low IC50 ranging from 0.021 to 0.041 mg/mg, low EC50 from 0.92 to 1.78 mg/mg DPPH, high ARP values (56.17-109.52) in CHF-CA-6, CHF-CA-7, CHF-CA-17, CHF-CA-21, CHF-CA-22 and CHF-CA-23 genotypes. The reducing power ranged from 0.92 to 4.10 ASE/ml and specific phenolic composition showed presence of gallic acid with other hydroxycinnamic acid. Among the flavonoids, presence of catechin was maximum followed by quercetin and rutin.

N/C-4 substituted azetidin-2-ones: synthesis and preliminary evaluation as new class of antimicrobial agents.

A series of 3-chloro-4-(3-methoxy-4-acetyloxyphenyl)-1-[3-oxo-3-(phenylamino)propanamido] azetidin-2-ones 3a-g and 3-chloro-4-[2-hydroxy-5-(nitro substituted phenylazo)phenyl]-1-phenylazetidin-2-ones 6a-h were synthesized using appropriate synthetic route. Structures of all the synthesized compounds were established on the basis of elemental analysis and spectroscopic data. The antimicrobial activity of the synthesized compounds was screened against several microbes. Several of these molecules showed potent antimicrobial activity against Bacillus anthracis, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans and significant structure-activity relationship (SAR) trends.