Publications by authors named "Ravikumar S"

Purpose: The oral and maxillofacial (OMF) surgical community is making an active effort to develop new approaches for surgical training in order to compensate for work-hour restrictions, mitigate differences between training standards, and improve the efficiency of learning while minimizing the risks for the patients. Simulation-based learning, a technology adopted in other training paradigms, has the potential to enhance surgeons' knowledge and psychomotor skills.

Methods: We developed a fully immersive, high-fidelity virtual simulation trainer system based on Kitware's open-source visualization and interactive simulation libraries: the Interactive Medical Simulation Toolkit (iMSTK) and the Visualization Toolkit (VTK).

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Background: Maternal and pregnancy outcomes among women with perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV) versus women with HIV acquired through other routes (NPHIV) are not fully understood.

Setting: US-born women during 2005-2015 in New York City.

Methods: We used data from the New York City HIV surveillance registry, Expanded Perinatal Surveillance database, and Vital Statistics, to compare pregnancy and all-cause mortality outcomes among women with PHIV versus NPHIV delivering infants during 2005-2015.

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Evidence from human studies of ocular accommodation and studies of animals reared in monochromatic conditions suggest that chromatic signals can guide ocular growth. We hypothesized that ocular biometric response in humans can be manipulated by simulating the chromatic contrast differences associated with imposition of optical defocus. The red, green, and blue (RGB) channels of an RGB movie of the natural world were individually incorporated with computational defocus to create two different movie stimuli.

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Article Synopsis
  • Müllerian duct anomalies (MDA) are uncommon but often go undiagnosed, potentially leading to issues like infertility and problematic pregnancies.
  • This case series highlights various challenging pregnancies due to MDAs, detailing specific cases involving complications that required surgical intervention.
  • Early detection and management of MDAs are crucial to improving outcomes for both mothers and babies, emphasizing the need for increased awareness and preparation in healthcare settings.
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MRI allows brain anatomy to be examined at high resolution and to link pathology measures with morphometric measurements. However, automated segmentation methods for brain mapping in postmortem MRI are not well developed, primarily due to limited availability of labeled datasets, and heterogeneity in scanner hardware and acquisition protocols. In this work, we present a high-resolution dataset of 135 postmortem human brain tissue specimens imaged at 0.

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In subjects with peculiar susceptibility to severe infections by common pyogenic bacteria, mutations of interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase proteins (IRAK)1 and IRAK4 had been identified. The IRAK kinases function as downstream signal transductors following the activation of pathogen recognition receptors. In two patients with sequential or repeated invasive infections: herpes simplex virus-triggered hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis with tuberculosis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia with candidemia respectively, novel mutations of IRAK2 were identified.

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Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common of all head and neck cancers accounting for 90% of all oral malignancies. It is commonly associated with the use of tobacco smoking or quid form. The incidence of oral carcinoma is higher in males than females with a ratio of 1.

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  • Starch, especially with high amylose content, is effective for encapsulating hydrophobic compounds like essential oils, making it valuable in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.
  • Pea starch, which has a high amylose content, is not usable directly in food but can be converted into nanoparticles to encapsulate neem oil, a natural antimicrobial agent.
  • An optimized synthesis method resulted in oil-encapsulated starch nanoparticles (OESNP) that showed high encapsulation efficiency, small particle size, and sustained oil release, suggesting potential applications in agriculture for delivering natural pesticides using industrial pea starch waste.
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  • The medial temporal lobe (MTL) is crucial for understanding cognitive decline related to neurodegenerative diseases, but the connection between MTL atrophy and specific proteinopathies remains unclear.
  • Researchers developed two deep learning algorithms to quantitatively measure phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and TDP-43 (pTDP-43) pathology in the MTL, focusing on their roles in Alzheimer's disease and LATE.
  • Their study found that quantitative p-tau measures better correlate with structural changes in the MTL compared to semi-quantitative ratings, revealing significant associations with cortical thickness and volume, especially in severe Alzheimer's cases.
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  • Molecular chaperons, particularly mitochondrial ones like TRAP1, are important for protein folding, tissue health, and may play a role during infections by regulating processes like oxidative phosphorylation and apoptosis.
  • A case study of a healthy Asian female who developed severe respiratory failure linked to CD4 lymphocytopenia revealed two rare mutations in TRAP1, indicating a connection to her vulnerability to opportunistic infections.
  • The study showed that these TRAP1 mutations led to decreased TRAP1 expression, increased activation of certain caspases, and impaired cellular functions like respiration and glycolysis, highlighting the crucial role of TRAP1 in immune response and disease susceptibility.
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In the current era of rapid population growth, there has been an increase in resource consumption and the subsequent release of organic pollutants into water bodies by various industries. To address this issue, we have developed a nanocomposite material, BiS-TiO/HNTs, for electrochemical sensors capable of simultaneously detecting nitrofurantoin (NFT) and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) contaminants. The nanocomposite material was synthesized using a novel one-pot sol-gel method, and its structural morphology was characterized using techniques such as FE-SEM, FT-IR, HR-TEM, and XRD.

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The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) defines a case of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) as an infection by the TBE virus (TBEV) with clinical manifestations of central nervous system inflammation (e.g., meningitis, encephalitis).

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Background: Incisional complications of groin after inflow or infrainguinal bypasses with prosthetic conduits can result in major morbidities that require reoperation, infected graft removal, and limb loss. Muscle flaps are typically performed to treat groin wound complications, but they are also done prophylactically at the time of index procedures in certain high-risk-for-poor-healing patients to mitigate anticipated groin wound complications. We used a nationwide multi-institutional database to investigate outcomes of prophylactic muscle flaps in high-risk patients who underwent prosthetic bypasses involving femoral anastomosis.

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Bacterial Two component systems have evolved with many intricate sensory apparatuses for external stimuli like light, temperature, oxygen, pH and chemical compounds. Recent studies have shown the potential of two-component regulatory systems (TCSs) of bacteria in creating synthetic regulatory circuits for several applications. Antimicrobial resistance is increasing globally in both developing and developed countries and it is one of the foremost global threats to public health.

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Unlabelled: Increased alcohol intake over decades leads to progressive alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) and contributes to increased mortality. It is characterized by reduced platelet count. Platelets have a role in protecting vascular integrity and involved in liver regeneration.

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Background: In the agricultural sector, the early identification of plant diseases presents a pressing challenge. Throughout the growing season, plants remain vulnerable to an array of diseases. Failure to detect these diseases at their early stages can significantly compromise the overall yield, thereby reducing profitability for farmers.

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  • Current understanding of tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in Alzheimer's Disease is hindered by other non-AD pathologies and limitations of conventional two-dimensional histological methods.
  • The study combines ex vivo MRI and serial histological imaging from 25 human medial temporal lobe specimens to create a high-resolution 3-D atlas that maps the distribution of NFT burden.
  • Findings reveal a gradient in NFT distribution from anterior to posterior in the medial temporal lobe, with highest concentrations in specific regions, suggesting certain areas may serve as early biomarkers for neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's Disease.
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Paired homologous domain transcription factor 2 (PITX2) is critically involved in ocular and cardiac development. Mutations in PITX2 are consistently reported in association with Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome, an autosomal dominant genetic disorder and atrial fibrillation, a common cardiac arrhythmia. In this study, we have mined missense mutations in PITX2 gene from NCBI-dbSNP and Ensembl databases, evaluated the pathogenicity of the missense variants in the homeodomain and C-terminal region using five in silico prediction tools SIFT, PolyPhen2, GERP, Mutation Assessor and CADD.

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We describe bedside-to-bench immunological and genetic elucidation of defective pyroptosis attributable to novel caspase 4 defect mediating pathogen-triggered inflammatory programmed cell death, in the setting of severe pneumonia and abscess-forming melioidosis in an overtly healthy host failing to clear Burkholderia pseudomallei infection, and how targeted adjunctive biological therapy led to a successful outcome.

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Purpose: Ocular trauma in children is the leading cause of ocular morbidity and unilateral blindness. This study aims to analyze the clinical profile and predictors of final visual outcomes of ocular injuries in the pediatric age group presenting to a tertiary care institute in Eastern India.

Methods: This is a retrospective, observational study conducted on 114 cases of pediatric ocular injuries over 4 years (between 2016 and 2020) at a tertiary care academic hospital in Eastern India.

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Objective: To compare supraglottoplasty versus non-surgical treatment in children with laryngomalacia and mild, moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnoea.

Methods: Patients were classified based on their obstructive apnoea hypopnoea index on initial polysomnogram, which was compared to their post-treatment polysomnogram.

Results: Eighteen patients underwent supraglottoplasty, and 12 patients had non-surgical treatment.

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We present a method for human brain fixation based on simultaneous perfusion of 4% paraformaldehyde through carotids after a flush with saline. The left carotid cannula is used to perfuse the body with 10% formalin, to allow further use of the body for anatomical research or teaching. The aim of our method is to develop a vascular fixation protocol for the human brain, by adapting protocols that are commonly used in experimental animal studies.

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Objectives: This article provides a comprehensive systematic review and qualitative analysis of the current research investigating Ayurveda chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) treatment.

Content: PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews was followed and our search utilized MEDLINE, Embase, Ayush Portal, and Cochrane Library databases. Articles published prior to March 2022, 10 or more patients that investigated Ayurveda as a treatment for CRS in humans were included.

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IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is one of the most common glomerulonephritides. The disease is characterized by haematuria, proteinuria, deposition of galactose-deficient IgA1 in the glomerular mesangium and mesangial hypercellularity, further leading to extracellular matrix expansion. Kidney biopsy is the gold standard for IgAN diagnosis.

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Introduction: Neurodegenerative disorders are associated with different pathologies that often co-occur but cannot be measured specifically with in vivo methods.

Methods: Thirty-three brain hemispheres from donors with an Alzheimer's disease (AD) spectrum diagnosis underwent T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Gray matter thickness was paired with histopathology from the closest anatomic region in the contralateral hemisphere.

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