Novel fabrication of soft microactuators with morphological computing using soft lithography.

A simple and cost-effective method for the patterning and fabrication of soft polymer microactuators integrated with morphological computation is presented. The microactuators combine conducting polymers to provide the actuation, with spatially designed structures for a morphologically controlled, user-defined actuation. Soft lithography is employed to pattern and fabricate polydimethylsiloxane layers with geometrical pattern, for use as a construction element in the microactuators.

Miliary Retinal Lesions in Ocular Syphilis: Imaging Characteristics and Outcomes.

: To describe full thickness miliary retinal lesions in ocular syphilis.: Retrospective chart review of patients with serologically confirmed ocular syphilis. Retinal miliary lesions in three cases of Syphilitic uveitis, in immunocompetent individuals are described.

Insights into the HIV Latency and the Role of Cytokines.

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) has the ability to infect latently at the level of individual CD4+ cells. Latent HIV-1 proviruses are transcriptionally silent and immunologically inert, but are still capable of reactivating productive lytic infection following cellular activation. These latent viruses are the main obstacle in the eradication of HIV-1, because current HIV-1 treatment regimens are ineffective against them.

Drug Syntheses Beyond the Rule of 5.

Drugs in the chemical space beyond the rule of 5 (bRo5) can modulate targets with difficult binding sites while retaining cell permeability and oral absorption. Reviewing the syntheses of bRo5 drugs approved since 1990 highlights synthetic chemistry's contribution to drug discovery in this space. Initially, bRo5 drugs were mainly natural products and semi-synthetic derivatives.

Temperature dependence of nanoscale dynamic processes measured in living millipedes by high resolution inelastic and elastic neutron scattering.

We have used high energy-resolution neutron scattering to probe nanoscale dynamic processes in living millipedes (Narceus americanus). We have measured the temperature dependence of the intensity of scattered neutrons that do not exchange energy with the living samples on the 1.5 ns time scale, thereby excluding the signal from the highly mobile intra- and extra-cellular bulk-like aqueous constituents in the sample.

Care practices and neonatal survival in 52 neonatal intensive care units in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The Indian government supports both public- and private-sector provision of hospital care for neonates: neonatal intensive care is offered in public facilities alongside a rising number of private-for-profit providers. However, there are few published reports about mortality levels and care practices in these facilities. We aimed to assess care practices, causes of admission, and outcomes from neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in public secondary and private tertiary hospitals and both public and private medical colleges enrolled in a quality improvement collaborative in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh-2 Indian states with a respective population of 35 and 50 million.

Characterization of protein extracts from different types of human teeth and insight in biomineralization.

The present study describes an efficient method for isolation and purification of protein extracts from four types of human teeth i.e. molar, premolar, canine, and incisor.

A bis-resorcinol resveratrol congener prevents indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration by inhibiting TNF-α as well as NF-κB and JNK pathways.

The cytoprotective action of the synthetic resveratrol (Resv) congener, -3,3',5,5'-tetrahydroxystilbene (designated as HST-1) against indomethacin (IND)-induced stomach ulceration has been established using a mice model. HST-1 reversed the adverse effects of IND on several inflammatory (myeloperoxidase, cytokines, adhesion molecules etc.) and ulcer-healing (cyclooxygenases, prostaglandin, growth factors and their receptors etc.

Artificial Muscles Powered by Glucose.

Untethered actuation is important for robotic devices to achieve autonomous motion, which is typically enabled by using batteries. Using enzymes to provide the required electrical charge is particularly interesting as it will enable direct harvesting of fuel components from a surrounding fluid. Here, a soft artificial muscle is presented, which uses the biofuel glucose in the presence of oxygen.

Molecular partitioning in ternary solutions of cellulose.

Neutron scattering measurements on the structure and dynamics of ternary solutions of microcrystalline cellulose (MC) in mixtures of an ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and a polar organic solvent dimethylformamide (DMF) have shown that MC can be fully dissolved in solvent mixtures. Data also show the molecular partitioning of IL into coexisting states. The structure partitioning is manifested as IL adsorbed to cellulose molecules with additional IL self-assembled to form clusters in solution, while the dynamics partitioning shows dynamical heterogeneities of the IL with slow dynamics resembling neat IL and fast dynamics being coupled with the solvent.

Assessment of molecular dynamics simulations for amorphous poly(3-hexylthiophene) using neutron and X-ray scattering experiments.

The molecular morphology and dynamics of conjugated polymers in the bulk solid state play a significant role in determining macroscopic charge transport properties. To understand this relationship, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and quantum mechanical calculations are used to evaluate local electronic properties. In this work, we investigate the importance of system and simulation parameters, such as force fields and equilibration methods, when simulating amorphous poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), a model semiconducting polymer.

Salinomycin reduces growth, proliferation and metastasis of cisplatin resistant breast cancer cells via NF-kB deregulation.

Cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloro-platinum, CDDP), is a widely used platinum compound for various solid tumors including breast cancer as first line of therapy. However, its positive effects are limited due to acquired drug resistance and severe side effects in non-malignant tissue, especially due to dose-dependent nephro- and/or neuro-toxicity. Salinomycin is an antibiotic with coccidiostat effect and has shown anticancer efficacy against various cancer cells with selectivity in targeting cancer stem cells.

Sympathetic Ophthalmia after Vitreoretinal Surgeries: Incidence, Clinical Presentations and Outcomes of a Rare Disease.

To evaluate clinical presentation, course and outcomes in patients without a history of penetrating ocular trauma who developed Sympathetic Ophthalmia (SO) following vitreoretinal surgeries Retrospective review of clinical records of all patients diagnosed and treated as S.O was done . All cases without a previous history of trauma were included and were analyzed with respect to clinical presentations, anatomic and visual outcomes.

Glue-assisted retinopexy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (GuARD): A novel surgical technique for closing retinal breaks.

Purpose: This study describes a novel surgical technique of fibrin glue-assisted retinopexy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (GuARD) without oil or gas tamponade after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV).

Methods: This pilot clinical trial included five eyes of five patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (RD). A complete PPV was done in all cases followed by fluid-air exchange, laser photocoagulation around the break/s, and application of 0.

Spatial and thermal signatures of α and β relaxations in glassy and glacial aliphatic ionic liquids.

The competition between Coulomb and van der Waals interactions brings forth unique dynamic features and broad applications to ionic liquids. Herein, we present a combined calorimetric, X-ray diffraction, incoherent elastic, and quasi-elastic neutron scattering study, over a wide temperature range (180-340 K), of the relaxational dynamics of the liquid, supercooled liquid, crystalline, glassy, and glacial states of two model ionic liquids: tributylmethylammonium (a good glass-former) and butyltrimethylammonium (a good crystal-former) cations and the bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide anion. In both systems, we observed two distinct relaxation processes.

Nanoscale dynamics of water confined in ordered mesoporous carbon.

The single particle dynamics of water confined within two ordered mesoporous carbon matrices was investigated in the temperature range from 290 K to 170 K by quasielastic neutron scattering using three high resolution neutron spectrometers. Thus, it was possible to investigate the mobility of water confined in model hydrophobic cavities at the nanoscale. Models developed for the nanoscale dynamics of supercooled water and water confined within hydrophilic matrices were able to describe the collected data but remarkable differences with analogous silica confined matrices were observed in these carbon samples.

Implicating Dysbiosis of the Gut Fungal Microbiome in Uveitis, an Inflammatory Disease of the Eye.

Purpose: In this study, the gut fungal microbiome of uveitis (UVT) patients was generated and compared with healthy controls (HC) to identify dysbiosis in UVT patients and ascertain the role of gut fungal microbiome in disease pathology.

Methods: In the present study, gut fungal microbiomes were analyzed in the fecal samples of HC (n = 24) and UVT patients (n = 14) using high-throughput Illumina sequencing of ITS2 region of the fungal ribosomal RNA. QIIME and R software were used for data analysis.

Endophthalmitis following Suture Removal - Clinical Outcomes and Microbiological Profile.

Aims: To review the clinical profile and report the microbiology and treatment outcomes of endophthalmitis following suture removal.

Methods: In this multi-center, retrospective interventional case series, 11 eyes of 11 patients who developed endophthalmitis following suture removal from January 2006 to December 2017 were reviewed.

Results: Nine of the 11 patients developed a culture-proven, acute onset endophthalmitis [5.

Evaluation of the Safe Care, Saving Lives (SCSL) quality improvement collaborative for neonatal health in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India: a study protocol.

Background: The collaborative quality improvement approach proposed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has the potential to improve coverage of evidence-based maternal and newborn health practices. The Safe Care, Saving Lives initiative supported the implementation of 20 evidence-based maternal and newborn care practices, targeting labour wards and neonatal care units in 85 public and private hospitals in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India.

Objective: We present a protocol for the evaluation of this programme which aims to (a) estimate the effect of the initiative on evidence-based care practices and mortality; (b) evaluate the mechanisms leading to changes in adherence to evidence-based practices, and their relationship with contextual factors; (c) explore the feasibility of scaling-up the approach.

Analytical and computational studies of the nonlinear vibrations of SWCNTs embedded in viscous elastic matrix using KBM method.

The forced vibration analysis of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) embedded in the viscous elastic matrix subjected to axial parametric excitation has been investigated. The Euler Bernoulli beam model of the non-local continuum theory is used. The resonant and non-resonant solutions are analytically studied using the Krylov Bogoliubov and Mitropolsky method.

Trends in microbiological spectrum of endophthalmitis at a single tertiary care ophthalmic hospital in India: a review of 25 years.

Purpose: To determine trends in the microbial spectrum of endophthalmitis over the past 25 years and to review its antibiotic susceptibility patterns over the last 10 years.

Methods: Microbiology records of culture-positive endophthalmitis cases from 1991 to 2015 were reviewed. Additionally, data between 2005 and 2015 was also analyzed for trends in antibiotic susceptibility.

Endoscopic vitrectomy in endophthalmitis: initial experience of 33 cases at a tertiary eye care center.

Purpose: To report the presentation and management outcomes of endophthalmitis with endoscopic vitrectomy.

Methods: This is a retrospective interventional case series conducted at a tertiary eye care center in south India. Thirty three eyes of 33 patients were included.

New insights into culture negative endophthalmitis by unbiased next generation sequencing.

The proof-of-concept, study to investigate the presence of microorganisms in presumed infectious endophthalmitis using Next generation sequencing (NGS) was carried out in vitreous biopsies from 34 patients with endophthalmitis, and thirty patients undergoing surgery for non-infectious retinal disorders as controls. Following DNA extraction using the Qiagen mini kit and PCR amplification of the V3-V4 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA and ITS 2 region of fungus, they samples were sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 Machine. Paired reads were curated, taxonomically labeled, and filtered.