Spontaneous echocardiographic contrast in the descending thoracic aorta

Spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (SEC) is an occasional finding observed in the atria in patients undergoing transesophageal echocardiographic studies, but has rarely been described in the descending thoracic aorta in the absence of an aortic dissection. The pathophysiology of SEC in the cardiac and vascular structures appears to be related to an interaction between red blood cells and plasma proteins in the setting of a low flow state. In this report we present three cases of SEC in the descending thoracic aorta, with one of the cases of SEC resolving with repair of his underlying cardiac disorder.     

The First Total Syntheses of Enantiomerically Pure Naturally Occuring Ellagitannins Gemin D and its Regioisomer Hippomanin A

The total syntheses of naturally occuring ellagitannins gemin D ( 1 ) and its regioisomer hippomanin A ( 2 ) are reported. In addition, the phase-transfer catalyzed benzylation reaction of the 2,3-glucopyranoside diols 3–7 is described. Our studies have illustrated the influence of the structure of 2,3-glucopyranoside diols on the regioselectivity of the phase-transfer catalyzed benzylation at their free 2,3-OH groups. We could show, that both phase-transfer catalyzed benzylations of 2,3-glucopyranoside diols using tetrabutyl-ammonium hydrogensulfate (Bu4NHSO4) or using tetrabutylammonium iodide (Bu4NI) disfavour the formation of the corresponding 3-O-monobenzylated products and preferrentially give the 2- O-monobenzylated products. However, the ratio of the generated 2- versus 3-O-mono- and 2,3-dibenzylated products from these reactions also strongly depends upon the nature of the starting materials. The glucopyranosides 3 and 4 are the first examples, which allow the completely regioselective monobenzylation at the 2-OH positions by a phase-transfer catalyzed reaction.     

Vitamin D and Evening Primrose Oil Administration Improve Glycemia and Lipid Profiles in Women with Gestational Diabetes

Limited data are available assessing the effects of vitamin D and evening primrose oil (EPO) administration on markers of insulin resistance and lipid concentrations in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This study was designed to evaluate the effects of vitamin D and EPO administration on insulin resistance and lipid concentrations among women with GDM. In this prospective randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical trial, 60 participants with GDM were divided into 2 groups of either 1000 IU vitamin D3 and 1000 mg EPO or placebo for 6 weeks. At the beginning and end of the study, fasting blood samples were obtained from the participants to measure related variables. After 6 weeks of intervention, changes in fasting plasma glucose (?3.6 ± 7.5 vs. +1.5 ± 11.4 mg/dL, P = 0.04), serum insulin concentrations (?2.0 ± 5.3 vs. +4.6 ± 10.7 µIU/mL, P = 0.004), homeostasis model of assessment (HOMA) insulin resistance (?0.5 ± 1.1 vs. +1.1 ± 2.5, P = 0.003), HOMA‐B cell function (?7.7 ± 23.3 vs. +17.4 ± 42.9, P = 0.007) and the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (+0.01 ± 0.02 vs. ?0.01 ± 0.02, P = 0.007) in the vitamin D plus EPO group were significantly different from the placebo group. In addition, compared with the placebo, vitamin D and EPO supplementation resulted in significant reductions in serum TAG (?20.0 ± 54.3 vs. +34.3 ± 38.2 mg/dL, P < 0.001), VLDL (?4.0 ± 10.9 vs. +6.9 ± 7.6 mg/dL, P < 0.001), TC (?22.1 ± 32.6 vs. +5.3 ± 20.1 mg/dL, P < 0.001), LDL concentrations (?18.0 ± 25.5 vs. +1.8 ± 15.7 mg/dL, P = 0.001) and TC/HDL (?0.3 ± 0.4 vs. +0.3 ± 0.5 mg/dL, P < 0.001). We did not observe any significant effect of vitamin D and EPO supplementation on serum HDL concentrations. Clinical trial registration number: http://www.irct.ir : IRCT201509115623N52.     

Induced nonlocal electric wave propagation of boron nitride nanotubes

Axial displacement and electric wave propagation of single-walled Boron-Nitride nanotubes (SWBNNTs) induced by alternating current (AC) are investigated in this study. A single-walled zigzag structure BNNT is modeled based on nonlocal piezoelasticity theory and Euler-Bernoulli beam (EBB). Equations correspond to lateral displacement have been obtained. Using Hamilton’s principle and considering charge equation for coupling of electrical and mechanical fields, the higher order of governing equations are derived. Analytical solution is applied to solve governing equations. Also the axial and lateral displacement of a SWBNNT and electric potential induced by AC through it are presented. The detailed parametric study is conducted, focusing on the remarkable effects of the half wave number on the behavior of the SWBNNT. The results indicate applying alternating field, leads to propagation of axial displacement along the SWBNNT. Also the result of this study can be useful to design and manufacture of smart micro/nano-electro-mechanical systems in advanced biomechanics applications by controlling axial and lateral displacements.     

Underactuated Flexible Aerial Manipulators: a New Framework for Optimal Trajectory Planning Under Constraints Induced by Complex Dynamics

The aerial manipulators (AMs) are a new class of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) that are created in response to the ever-increasing demand for autonomous object transportation and manipulation. Because of power supply restrictions, the load carrying capacity is limited and therefore it is necessary to reduce the overall weight of these UASs. The past works in the field of AMs consider the multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as the base and manipulators with rigid links as the interactive elements with the environment which are bulky and heavy. To overcome the issue, this paper introduces the AMs endowed with flexible manipulators, their dynamic modeling, a new method for trajectory planning and control algorithm such that the unfavorable effects of using flexible elements like vibrations are minimized. Due to lack of kinematic constraints and the presence of flexibility conditions, conventional methods of trajectory planning for ground wheeled-mobile manipulators (GWMMs) such as extended and augmented Jacobian matrix cannot be applied to AMs. The addition of flexibility to the manipulator increases underactuation degrees (UADs), the complexity of trajectory planning and control synthesis. Considering large deformation assumption for flexible links, the dynamic equations and their induced nonholonomic constraints are derived applying Lagrangian formulation. Then, these constraints with that part of equations of motion corresponding to the links flexibility are solved simultaneously in the context of an optimization algorithm resulting in optimized trajectories. Through simulation results, the proposed method of trajectory planning and vibration control of underactuated flexible AMs has been shown to be effective.