•Extraction methods of nanocellulose.•Surface modification of cellulose fibers.•Cellulose nanofiber-reinforced nanocomposite processing and applications.•Scaling up Nanocellulose Production ...technology.•Latest patents trends on cellulose nanocomposites.
Cellulose is the biosynthetic product from plants, animals and bacteria. Cellulose is the most abundant polymer having long linear chain like structure composed of (1,4) linked β-D glucopyranosyl units assembled into hierarchical structures of microfibrils with excellent strength and stiffness. And ‘nanocellulose’ refers to the cellulosic materials with defined nano-scale structural dimensions. They may be cellulose nanocrystal (CNC or NCC), cellulose nanofibers (CNF) or bacterial nanocellulose. Nanocellulose is non-toxic, biodegradable and biocompatible with no adverse effects on health and environment. Due to its low thermal expansion coefficient, high aspect ratio, better tensile strength, good mechanical and optical properties, they find many applications in thermo-reversible and tenable hydrogels, paper making, coating additives, food packaging, flexible screens, optically transparent films and light weight materials for ballistic protection, automobile windows. It also find potential in biopharmaceutical applications such as in drug delivery and for fabricating temporary implants with PHB like sutures, stents etc.
Microbial cellulases have been receiving worldwide attention, as they have enormous potential to process the most abundant cellulosic biomass on this planet and transform it into sustainable biofuels ...and other value added products. The synergistic action of endoglucanases, exoglucanases, and β-glucosidases is required for the depolymerization of cellulose to fermentable sugars for transformation in to useful products using suitable microorganisms. The lack of a better understanding of the mechanisms of individual cellulases and their synergistic actions is the major hurdles yet to be overcome for large-scale commercial applications of cellulases. We have reviewed various microbial cellulases with a focus on their classification with mechanistic aspects of cellulase hydrolytic action, insights into novel approaches for determining cellulase activity, and potential industrial applications of cellulases.
Deep learning (DL) based solutions have been proposed for interpretation of several imaging modalities including radiography, CT, and MR. For chest radiographs, DL algorithms have found success in ...the evaluation of abnormalities such as lung nodules, pulmonary tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis, pneumoconiosis, and location of peripherally inserted central catheters. Chest radiography represents the most commonly performed radiological test for a multitude of non-emergent and emergent clinical indications. This study aims to assess accuracy of deep learning (DL) algorithm for detection of abnormalities on routine frontal chest radiographs (CXR), and assessment of stability or change in findings over serial radiographs.
We processed 874 de-identified frontal CXR from 724 adult patients (> 18 years) with DL (Qure AI). Scores and prediction statistics from DL were generated and recorded for the presence of pulmonary opacities, pleural effusions, hilar prominence, and enlarged cardiac silhouette. To establish a standard of reference (SOR), two thoracic radiologists assessed all CXR for these abnormalities. Four other radiologists (test radiologists), unaware of SOR and DL findings, independently assessed the presence of radiographic abnormalities. A total 724 radiographs were assessed for detection of findings. A subset of 150 radiographs with follow up examinations was used to asses change over time. Data were analyzed with receiver operating characteristics analyses and post-hoc power analysis.
About 42% (305/ 724) CXR had no findings according to SOR; single and multiple abnormalities were seen in 23% (168/724) and 35% (251/724) of CXR. There was no statistical difference between DL and SOR for all abnormalities (p = 0.2-0.8). The area under the curve (AUC) for DL and test radiologists ranged between 0.837-0.929 and 0.693-0.923, respectively. DL had lowest AUC (0.758) for assessing changes in pulmonary opacities over follow up CXR. Presence of chest wall implanted devices negatively affected the accuracy of DL algorithm for evaluation of pulmonary and hilar abnormalities.
DL algorithm can aid in interpretation of CXR findings and their stability over follow up CXR. However, in its present version, it is unlikely to replace radiologists due to its limited specificity for categorizing specific findings.
Objective
IgG4‐related disease (IgG4‐RD) can cause fibroinflammatory lesions in nearly any organ. Correlation among clinical, serologic, radiologic, and pathologic data is required for diagnosis. ...This work was undertaken to develop and validate an international set of classification criteria for IgG4‐RD.
Methods
An international multispecialty group of 86 physicians was assembled by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). Investigators used consensus exercises, existing literature, derivation and validation cohorts of 1,879 subjects (1,086 cases, 793 mimickers), and multicriterion decision analysis to identify, weight, and test potential classification criteria. Two independent validation cohorts were included.
Results
A 3‐step classification process was developed. First, it must be demonstrated that a potential IgG4‐RD case has involvement of at least 1 of 11 possible organs in a manner consistent with IgG4‐RD. Second, exclusion criteria consisting of a total of 32 clinical, serologic, radiologic, and pathologic items must be applied; the presence of any of these criteria eliminates the patient from IgG4‐RD classification. Third, 8 weighted inclusion criteria domains, addressing clinical findings, serologic results, radiology assessments, and pathology interpretations, are applied. In the first validation cohort, a threshold of 20 points had a specificity of 99.2% (95% confidence interval 95% CI 97.2–99.8%) and a sensitivity of 85.5% (95% CI 81.9–88.5%). In the second, the specificity was 97.8% (95% CI 93.7–99.2%) and the sensitivity was 82.0% (95% CI 77.0–86.1%). The criteria were shown to have robust test characteristics over a wide range of thresholds.
Conclusion
ACR/EULAR classification criteria for IgG4‐RD have been developed and validated in a large cohort of patients. These criteria demonstrate excellent test performance and should contribute substantially to future clinical, epidemiologic, and basic science investigations.
Low-cost face masks made from different cloth materials are very common in developing countries. The cloth masks (CM) are usually double layered with stretchable ear loops. It is common practice to ...use such masks for months after multiple washing and drying cycles. If a CM is used for long time, the ear loops become stretched. The loop needs to be knotted to make the mask loop fit better on the face. It is not clear how washing and drying and stretching practices change the quality of a CM. The particulate matter (PM) filtering efficiency of a mask depends on multiple parameters, such as pore size, shape, clearance, and pore number density. It is important to understand the effect of these parameters on the filtering efficiency.
We characterized the surface of twenty different types of CMs using optical image analysis method. The filtering efficiency of selected cloth face masks was measured using the particle counting method. We also studied the effects of washing and drying and stretching on the quality of a mask.
The pore size of masks ranged from 80 to 500 μm, which was much bigger than particular matter having diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM
) and 10 μm or less (PM
) size. The PM
filtering efficiency of four of the selected masks ranged from 63% to 84%. The poor filtering efficiency may have arisen from larger and open pores present in the masks. Interestingly, we found that efficiency dropped by 20% after the 4th washing and drying cycle. We observed a change in pore size and shape and a decrease in microfibers within the pores after washing. Stretching of CM surface also altered the pore size and potentially decreased the filtering efficiency. As compared to CMs, the less frequently used surgical/paper masks had complicated networks of fibers and much smaller pores in multiple layers in comparison to CMs, and therefore had better filtering efficiency. This study showed that the filtering efficiency of cloth face masks were relatively lower, and washing and drying practices deteriorated the efficiency. We believe that the findings of this study will be very helpful for increasing public awareness and help governmental agencies to make proper guidelines and policies for use of face mask.
Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) refers to a fibro-inflammatory lesion in the retroperitoneum, often anterolateral to the aorta. Most cases are due to IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) or are idiopathic. ...RPF can lead to severe morbidity. Treatment strategies remain poorly-defined. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of rituximab (RTX) for idiopathic or IgG4-related RPF.We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who had RPF treated with RTX. Treatment response was determined by assessing changes in both clinical features, including symptoms and laboratory measurements, as well as in the radiographic dimensions of the lesion.Twenty-six patients with IgG4-related (n = 19) or idiopathic RPF (n = 7) were identified. Patients without histopathological evidence of IgG4-RD on either retroperitoneal biopsies or sampling of extra-retroperitoneal organs were considered to have idiopathic RPF. Of the 26 patients, 19 (73%) received RTX without additional glucocorticoids. All 19 patients who presented with pain reported symptomatic improvement following RTX. Among 25 patients with follow-up imaging, 22 (88%) had radiologic improvement. Among 10 patients with ureteral stents and/or percutaneous nephrostomy tubes, 4 (40%) underwent successful stent or tube removal. Responses to treatment were similar among those treated with RTX monotherapy and those treated with RTX and glucocorticoids. RTX was generally well tolerated, but 3 (12%) patients experienced severe infections.In this study, RTX for RPF led to resolution of symptoms in all patients and radiographic improvement in the majority. Prospective studies of RTX for RPF are indicated.
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental illnesses that cause constant and overwhelming feelings of anxiety and fear. Excessive anxiety can make an individual avoid work, school, family get-togethers, ...and other social situations that in turn might amplify these symptoms. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in thirteen persons globally suffers from anxiety. It is high time to understand the roles of various clinical biomarker measures that can diagnose the types of anxiety disorders. In this study, we apply machine learning (ML) techniques to understand the importance of a set of biomarkers with four types of anxiety disorders-Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Agoraphobia (AP), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and Panic Disorder (PD). We used several machine learning models and extracted the variable importance contributing to a type of anxiety disorder. The study uses a sample of 11,081 Dutch citizens' data collected by the Lifelines, Netherlands. The results show that there are significant and low correlations among GAD, AP, PD and SAD and we extracted the variable importance hierarchy of biomarkers with respect to each type of anxiety disorder which will be helpful in designing the experimental setup for clinical trials related to influence of biomarkers on type of anxiety disorder.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical and CT features of pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysms (PAPs).
A database search of chest CT examinations performed from January 1, 2000 to December ...31, 2014 identified 24 patients with findings consistent with PAPs. A CT finding consistent with a PAP was defined as a focal saccular outpouching of a pulmonary artery. Medical records were reviewed to determine clinical presentations, treatments, and outcomes. CT scans were reviewed by two board-certified fellowship-trained chest radiologists.
A total of 35 PAPs were identified in 24 patients. Hemoptysis and shortness of breath were the most common presenting symptoms. The most commonly identified causes of PAPs were infection (33%), neoplasms (13%), and trauma (17%). Of the 35 PAPs, 29 (83%) were located in segmental or subsegmental pulmonary arteries. A solitary PAP was identified in 20 (83%) patients, and multiple PAPs were identified in three patients with endocarditis and one patient with pulmonary metastases. Only three of 35 (9%) PAPs were associated with a ground-glass halo. Endovascular treatment was successfully performed in 12 patients, and only one patient had immediate recurrent hemoptysis after treatment. PAP was clinically suspected by the referring clinicians in only three patients. Sixteen of the 35 (46%) PAPs were not reported on the initial CT studies.
PAPs showed a strong predilection for the peripheral pulmonary arteries. Multiplicity of PAPs can be seen in the settings of endocarditis and pulmonary metastatic disease. Most PAPs were not associated with a ground-glass halo. PAPs can be lethal but were often not suspected clinically and were underreported by radiologists.
The odontogenic tissue surrounding an impacted tooth is a harbinger of a wide variety of odontogenic cysts and tumors. As these hamartomatous and neoplastic aberrations can occur at any stage of ...odontogenesis, therefore combined features of odontogenic tumors with epithelial and mesenchymal components can develop within the odontogenic cysts. One of the odontogenic cysts is the dentigerous cyst (DC) which is not only the most common developmental odontogenic cyst arising from the pericoronal tissue but is of great clinical significance owing to its neoplastic potential and association with other rare odontogenic tumors. We herein describe an unusual case of adenomatoid odontogenic tumor which developed secondary to a DC in a 22-year-old female and created a diagnostic conundrum. The approach to such a case, differential diagnosis, and review of the literature is also presented.
Although kidney stones are less common in children than in adults, incidence in children is rising. Kidney stones may lead to significant morbidity in addition to escalating medical costs. Clinical ...presentation is variable. Bilateral kidney stones in a younger child should prompt work-up for primary hyperoxaluria. Metabolic abnormalities are more frequent in children and can result in frequent stone recurrence. Whole exome sequencing data shows genetic defects in about 30% of stone formers. 24 h urine collection should be conducted when patient receives his usual diet and fluid intake with normal activity. Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction are used for stone analysis. Urine studies should be delayed by 4–6 wk after stone fragmentation or treatment of any stone related complications. The goal of evaluation is to identify modifiable risk factors for which targeted therapy may be instituted. Primary indications for surgical intervention include pain, infection and obstruction. Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL), ureteroscopy, and percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) are most commonly used, and selection is based on stone size, anatomy, composition and anatomy. Advances in technology have allowed a shift to minimally invasive surgeries. Comprehensive management requires multidisciplinary team. Children with kidney stones require long term follow-up with periodic assessment of stone forming activity and ascertaining stone burden. High index of suspicion should be there to diagnose diseases like primary hyperoxaluria, Dent’s disease, renal tubular acidosis (RTA) etc. as these diseases have ramifications on kidney function and growth.
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