High-level hands-free control of wheelchair – a review

A vital perception in designing human–machine interfaces for people with disabilities is hands-free control. It is important in setting up communication among a machine and the part of human body. Nowadays, hands-free control is extensively used to help disabled people to control the wheelchair. The hands-free control functions are not only helpful to elderly and disabled, but also useful for normal people who might require using their hands for other tasks at the same time. As a result, normal people are capable of manipulating multiple tasks at the same time. The wheelchair is manoeuvred using brainwaves, eyes and facial muscles movements, voice, tongue, gesture. The mobility using a powered wheelchair improves the quality of life of the aged people and the people with mobility impairments significantly. These powered wheelchairs can be actuated using various high-level control interfaces. In this review, the use of natural biological signals and non-biological signal to do the hands-free control of powered wheelchair is presented in this article.     

Lung biopsy in diffuse interstitial lung disease (simple technique)

A simple, safe, easily reproducible and quick method of taking lung biopsy in diffuse interstitial lung disease is described.     

Electrically and Thermally Conducting Nanocomposites for Electronic Applications

Nanocomposites made up of polymer matrices and carbon nanotubes are a class of advanced materials with great application potential in electronics packaging. Nanocomposites with carbon nanotubes as fillers have been designed with the aim of exploiting the high thermal, electrical and mechanical properties characteristic of carbon nanotubes. Heat dissipation in electronic devices requires interface materials with high thermal conductivity. Here, current developments and challenges in the application of nanotubes as fillers in polymer matrices are explored. The blending together of nanotubes and polymers result in what are known as nanocomposites. Among the most pressing current issues related to nanocomposite fabrication are (i) dispersion of carbon nanotubes in the polymer host, (ii) carbon nanotube-polymer interaction and the nature of the interface, and (iii) alignment of carbon nanotubes in a polymer matrix. These issues are believed to be directly related to the electrical and thermal performance of nanocomposites. The recent progress in the fabrication of nanocomposites with carbon nanotubes as fillers and their potential application in electronics packaging as thermal interface materials is also reported.     

Impact of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) burden and HIV coinfection on the detection of T cell responses to KSHV ORF73 and ORF65 proteins

Cellular immune responses to Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), the etiological agent of KS and several other malignancies, are incompletely characterized. We assessed KSHV-specific interferon- gamma enzyme-linked immunospot responses in a cohort of 154 individuals, using overlapping peptide sets spanning the KSHV-encoded latency-associated nuclear antigen (ORF73) and the minor capsid glycoprotein (ORF65). Among KSHV-seropositive subjects, ORF73-specific responses dominated over responses to ORF65 and were preferentially detected in human immunodeficiency virus-coinfected individuals who had elevated levels of cell-associated KSHV DNA, indicating that the viral antigen burden may have been driving these responses. Responses to both ORF73 and ORF65 were also detected in several KSHV-seronegative subjects who were at increased risk for KSHV infection, which demonstrates that cellular immunity can be found in the absence of detectable humoral responses. These data have implications for the reliable identification of KSHV infection and may help guide the design of immune-based therapeutic and prophylactic interventions.     

Lifespan extension of Drosophila melanogaster through hormesis by repeated mild heat stress

We assessed the impact of repeated episodes of a mild heat stress on lifespan, fecundity, heat stress resistance and Hsp70 expression in Drosophila melanogaster. There was a significant increase in lifespan of females repeatedly exposed to a mild heat stress when measured in both a pair and a group situation. There was no effect on fecundity when the flies were first exposed to the mild heat stress at an age later than 3 days old, but when it did occur on day 3, there was a significant effect on cumulative fecundity levels over 18 days. The negative fitness effect appears to be the result of a direct cessation or reduction of oviposition during the first bout of stress exposure, and is influenced by the age at which this first exposure occurs. The mild heat stress had no impacton egg viability. The mild heat stress exposures increased resistance to potentially lethal heat stress and levels of Hsp70 expression in heat-exposed flies were higher than those in controls. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Provider Response to Critical Action Values for Hypoglycemia in the Ambulatory Setting: a Retrospective Cohort Study

BackgroundThe blood glucose level triggering a critical action value (CAV) for hypoglycemia is not standardized, and associated outcomes are unknown.ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical consequences of, and provider responses to, CAVs for hypoglycemia.DesignRetrospective cohort study at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center between April 1, 2013, and January 31, 2017.ParticipantsPatients with an ambulatory serum glucose < 50 mg/dL. Point-of-care capillary glucose and whole blood glucose samples were excluded.Main MeasuresElectronic medical record (EMR) review for providers’ documented response to CAV, associated patient symptoms, and serious adverse events.Key ResultsWe analyzed 209 CAVs for hypoglycemia from 154 patients. The median age (IQR) was 59 years (46, 69), 89 (57.8%) were male, and 96 (62.3%) were black. Provider-to-patient contact occurred in 128 of 209 (61.2%) episodes, among which no documented etiology was observed for 81 of 128 (63.3%), no recommendations were provided in 32 of 128 (25.0%), and no patient-reported hypoglycemic symptoms were documented in 103 of 128 (80.5%). Serious adverse events were documented in 4 of 128 episodes (3.1%), two required glucagon administration, and three required an ED visit. Provider-to-patient contact was associated with the patient having malignant neoplasm (adjusted OR 3.63, p = 0.045) or a hypoglycemic disorder (adjusted OR 7.70, p = 0.018) and inversely associated with a longer time from specimen collection to EMR result (adjusted OR 0.90 per hour, p = 0.016).ConclusionsThere is inconsistent provider-to-patient contact following CAVs for hypoglycemia, and the etiology and symptoms of hypoglycemia were infrequently documented. There were few serious documented adverse events associated with hypoglycemia, although undocumented events may have occurred, and the incidence of serious adverse events in non-contacted patients remains unknown. These findings demonstrate a need to standardize provider response to CAVs for hypoglycemia. Decreasing the lag time between sample collection and laboratory result reporting may increase provider-to-patient contact.KEY WORDS: Hypoglycemia, Critical action value, Ambulatory, Glucose