Novel Computational Design of Polymer Micromachined Insect-Mimetic Wings for Flapping-Wing Nano Air Vehicles.

The flapping wings of insects undergo large deformations caused by aerodynamic forces, resulting in cambering. Insect-mimetic micro wings for flapping-wing nano air vehicles mimic these characteristic deformations. In this study, a 2.5-dimensional insect-mimetic micro wing model for flapping-wing nano air vehicles is proposed to realize this type of wing. The proposed model includes a wing membrane, a leading edge, a center vein, and a root vein, all of which are modeled as shell elements. The proposed wing is a 2.5-dimensional structure and can thus be fabricated using polymer micromachining. We conducted a design window search to demonstrate the capabilities of the wing. The design windows, which are areas of desirable design solutions in the design parameter space, are iteratively searched using nonlinear finite-element analysis under quasi-steady aerodynamic modeling. Here, thickness is selected as a design parameter. The properties of real insects, polymer materials, and fabrication conditions are used to determine the other parameters. A fabricable design solution that generates sufficient camber is found from the design windows.

Beacon Success Rate versus Gateway Density in Sub-GHz Sensor Networks.

Multiple Gateways (GWs) provide network connectivity to Internet of Things (IoT) sensors in a Wide Area Network (WAN). The End Nodes (ENs) can connect to any GW by discovering and acquiring its periodic beacons. This provides GW diversity, improving coverage area. However, simultaneous periodic beacon transmissions among nearby GWs lead to interference and collisions. In this study, the impact of such intra-network interference is analyzed to determine the maximum number of GWs that can coexist. The paper presents a new collision model that considers the combined effects of the Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical (PHY) layers. The model takes into account the partial overlap durations and relative power of all colliding events. It also illustrates the relationship between the collisions and the resulting packet loss rates. A performance evaluation is presented using a combination of analytical and simulation methods, with the former validating the simulation results. The system models are developed from experimental data obtained from field measurements. Numerical results are provided with Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK) modulation. This paper provides guidance on selecting GFSK modulation parameters for low bit-rate and narrow-bandwidth IoT applications. The analysis and simulation results show that larger beacon intervals and frequency hopping help in reducing beacon loss rates, at the cost of larger beacon acquisition latency. On the flip side, the gateway discovery latency reduces with increasing GW density, thanks to an abundance of beacons.

Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency Causing Priapism.

Pyruvate kinase deficiency (PKD) is an autosomal recessive defect of the enzyme pyruvate kinase (PK) which is involved in catalyzing a reaction that produces ATP in the glycolytic pathway. It is the most common defect of the glycolytic pathway associated with congenital anemia. Patients usually present with signs of chronic hemolytic anemia such as hyperbilirubinemia, splenomegaly, reticulocytosis, and gallstones; the presentation can vary by age. Diagnosis is usually made by demonstration of decreased PK enzymatic activity in a spectrophotometric assay and on the detection of mutations in the PK-LR gene. Management strategies vary from full splenectomies to hematopoietic stem cell transplants with gene therapies with transfusions and administration of PK-activators coming in between. Thromboembolic complications do occur in patients with splenectomy, but there are not much data regarding this for patients with PKD. We present a case of a patient with PKD who demonstrated priapism to be a thromboembolic complication. This differs greatly as priapism has been frequently reported in patients with other chronic hemoglobinopathies such as sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and G6PD with and without splenectomy. While it is still unclear how splenectomies can result in thrombotic events in PKD, there does appear to be a correlation between splenectomies with resultant thrombocytosis with increased platelet adhesion.

A Case of Acute Pancreatitis in a Patient Receiving High-Dose Steroids for Optic Neuritis.

Although rare, drug-induced pancreatitis is an important cause of acute pancreatitis. The diagnosis of drug-induced pancreatitis remains a challenge for clinicians. Steroids are one of the frequently used drugs in hospitals for many acute illnesses. Patients presenting with signs and symptoms of acute pancreatitis, with a recent history of steroid use, in the absence of other potential causes, should be approached with a high suspicion for steroid-induced pancreatitis to ensure a timely diagnosis. We describe a case of a 57-year-old female treated for optic neuritis of the left eye with high doses of Methylprednisolone for five days, who presented to the emergency room with acute abdominal pain within 24 hours of discharge. A detailed evaluation of the patient's medical history and exclusion of other probable etiologies confirmed the diagnosis of steroid-induced pancreatitis. Withdrawal of the offending agent and supportive care resolved the underlying acute pancreatitis.

An Insight Into Systemic Immune Response in Leishmania donovani Mediated Atypical Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the New Endemic State of Himachal Pradesh, India.

Leishmaniasis continues to afflict known and newer endemic sites despite global efforts towards its control and elimination. In this regard, the emergence of newer endemic sites with unusual disease formats is recognized wherein Leishmania donovani complex classically known to cause visceral disease is demonstrated to cause cutaneous manifestation. In this context, atypical cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases caused by L. donovani genetic variants from the newer endemic state of Himachal Pradesh (HP) in India are beginning to be understood in terms of parasite determinants. The atypical CL manifestation further needs to be explored to define host immune correlates with a possible role in driving the unusual disease progression. In the given study, we performed comprehensive systemic-immune profiling of the atypical CL patients from the study area in HP, India, in comparison with the classical visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients from the northeast region of India. The systemic immune response was studied using ELISA-based assessment of Th1, Th2, Th17, Treg, and Th22 specific plasma cytokine expression pattern and parasite-specific total serum IgG/IgG subclasses. The specified immune correlates are known to exhibit heterogeneous association with the different infecting parasite species, infection load, and co-lateral host immunopathology in classical CL and VL. In the atypical CL patient group, altered expression of IL-10 emerged as the key finding that could potentially fine-tune the Th1/Th17/Th22 effector cytokine axis towards a localized cutaneous manifestation. A reduced expression of IL-10 along with a high IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio as a readout of effective parasite killing defined atypical cutaneous outcome. In contrast, high circulatory IL-10 levels and a depressed IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio were seen in classical VL patients in line with an ineffective parasite-killing cytokine response. Overall, the study highlights new knowledge on host immune correlates in terms of cytokine expression pattern and IgG subclasses that underline atypical disease manifestation such that L. donovani, a generally visceralizing parasite species cause skin localized cutaneous lesions.

Leishmania donovani Infection with Atypical Cutaneous Manifestations, Himachal Pradesh, India, 2014-2018.

We conducted a molecular study of parasite sequences from a cohort of cutaneous leishmaniasis patients in Himachal Pradesh, India. Results revealed atypical cutaneous disease caused by Leishmania donovani parasites. L. donovani variants causing cutaneous manifestations in this region are different from those causing visceral leishmaniasis in northeastern India.

Assessment of Antioxidant Enzyme Activity and Mineral Nutrients in Response to NaCl Stress and its Amelioration Through Glutathione in Chickpea.

Salinity stress has been reckoned as one of the major threat towards crop productivity as it causes significant decline in the yield. The impact of NaCl stress (0, 1, 10, 50, 100 and 200 mg L(-1)) as well as glutathione (10 mg L(-1)) either alone or in combination has been evaluated on the induction of multiple shoots, antioxidant enzymes' activity, lipid peroxidation, relative permeability, concentration of nutrients, photosynthetic pigments, protein and proline content of nodal segments of chickpea after 14 days of culture. The antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione reductase (GR) were found to be increased under salt stress as well as glutathione-supplemented medium. A significant decrease in the concentrations of chlorophylls a, b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid was observed under salt stress. Concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, carbon, magnesium and sulphur showed an initial increase up to 10 mg L(-1) NaCl, but a decline was seen at higher NaCl levels. Proline content and malondialdehyde concentration were found to be increased under salt stress. Three isoforms of SOD, one of CAT and four of GPX were expressed during native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) analysis. However, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of the stressed nodal explants revealed the over-expression of several polypeptide bands related to NaCl stress. These findings for the first time suggest that glutathione (GSH) helps in ameliorating NaCl stress in nodal explants of chickpea by manipulating various biochemical and physiological responses of plants.