Design, simulation and experimental analysis of a monolithic bending section for enhanced maneuverability of single use laparoscopic devices.

Standard laparoscopes, which are widely used in minimally invasive surgery, have significant handling limitations due to their rigid design. This paper presents an approach for a bending section for laparoscopes based on a standard semi-finished tube made of Nitinol with laser-cut flexure hinges. Flexure hinges simply created from a semi-finished product are a key element for realizing low-cost compliant structures with minimal design space.

Amitriptyline inhibits bronchoconstriction and directly promotes dilatation of the airways.

Introduction: The standard therapy for bronchial asthma consists of combinations of acute (short-acting ß-sympathomimetics) and, depending on the severity of disease, additional long-term treatment (including inhaled glucocorticoids, long-acting ß-sympathomimetics, anticholinergics, anti-IL-4R antibodies). The antidepressant amitriptyline has been identified as a relevant down-regulator of immunological T2-phenotype in asthma, acting-at least partially-through inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), an enzyme involved in sphingolipid metabolism. Here, we investigated the non-immunological role of amitriptyline on acute bronchoconstriction, a main feature of airway hyperresponsiveness in asthmatic disease.

RNA-Seq Reveals that Light and Darkness Are Different Stimuli in Freshwater Heterotrophic Actinobacteria.

Light is a ubiquitous source of both energy and information in surface environments, and regulates gene expression not only in photosynthetic microorganisms, but in a broad range of photoheterotrophic and heterotrophic microbes as well. Actinobacteria are keystone species in surface freshwater environments, where the ability to sense light could allow them to coordinate periods of nutrient uptake and metabolic activity with primary production. The model freshwater Actinobacteria () strain MWH-Ta8 and () strain MWH-Mo1 grow faster in the light than in the dark, but do not use light energy to support growth.

Thoracic aortic parallel stent-graft behaviour when subjected to radial loading.

To manage complex aortic arch disease using minimally invasive techniques, interventionalists have reported the use of multiple stent-graft devices deployed in a parallel configuration. The structural device-device and device-artery interactions arising during aortic arch parallel endografting, also known as chimney thoracic endovascular aortic repair (ch-TEVAR), is not well understood. Through the use of a radial force testing system we sought to characterise both the loading and deformation behaviour of parallel endografts in representative ch-TEVAR configurations.

Complete Genome Sequence of Bacillus velezensis Strain S4, Isolated from Biochar-Treated Soil.

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of strain S4, which was isolated from biochar-amended agricultural soil collected in Smyrna, Delaware. The genome is 4.07 Mbp, encodes 3,918 predicted proteins, and has a GC content of 46.