The Effects of Inlet Blockage and Electrical Driving Mode on the Performance of a Needle-Ring Ionic Wind Pump

The thermal management of microelectronics is important because overheating can lead to various reliability issues. The most common thermal solution used in microelectronics is forced convection, which is usually initiated and sustained by an airflow generator, such as rotary fans. However, traditional rotary fans might not be appropriate for microelectronics due to the space limit. The form factor of an ionic wind pump can be small and, thus, could play a role in the thermal management of microelectronics. This paper presents how the performance of a needle-ring ionic wind pump responds to inlet blockage in different electrical driving modes (direct current), including the flow rate, the corona power, and the energy efficiency. The results show that the performance of small needle-ring ionic wind pumps is sensitive to neither the inlet blockage nor the electrical driving mode, making needle-ring ionic wind pumps a viable option for microelectronics. On the other hand, it is preferable to drive needle-ring ionic wind pumps by a constant current if consistent performance is desired.

Establishing a Percutaneous Infection Model Using Zebrafish and a Salmon Pathogen

To uncover the relationship between skin bacterial flora and pathogen infection, we developed a percutaneous infection model using zebrafish and Yersinia ruckeri, a pathogen causing enteric redmouth disease in salmon and in trout. Pathogen challenge, either alone or together with pricking by a small needle, did not cause infection of the fish. However, cold stress given by water temperature shift from the optimum 28 °C for zebrafish to 20 °C caused fatal infection of injured fish following pathogen challenge. We investigated the effects of cold stress, injury, and pathogen challenge, alone and in combination, on fish skin bacterial flora using 16S rDNA metagenomics. We found that cold stress drastically altered the skin bacterial flora, which was dominated by Y. ruckeri on infected fish. In addition, fish whose intrinsic skin bacterial flora was disrupted by antibiotics had their skin occupied by Y. ruckeri following a challenge with this pathogen, although the fish survived without injury to create a route for invasion into the fish body. Our results suggest that the intrinsic skin bacterial flora of fish protects them from pathogen colonization, and that its disruption by stress allows pathogens to colonize and dominate their skin.

Synovial biopsies

Synovial tissue is the primary tissue inflamed in rheumatoid arthritis. Initial studies of synovial biopsies were obtained during arthroplasty or using a needle to biopsy the joint percutaneously. Recently, small needle arthroscopy or ultrasonography guided techniques have become more widely available to visualize and reliably obtain synovial biopsies. These techniques have allowed significant progress in the study of rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis, even at the earliest stages of disease. Currently, research efforts are underway to use synovial biopsies to identify patients and to discover biomarkers that will enable clinicians to predict the course of the disease and perhaps to identify more appropriately the correct therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In this chapter, we describe the advances in synovial tissue biopsy research and how it has improved our knowledge of rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis, informed our understanding of possible biomarkers for diagnosis and stratification, and potentially may aid in the prediction of disease outcome and response to treatment.

Current Role and Importance of USG Guided FNAC for Rapid Diagnosis of Suspicious Mass Lesions

Background: Ultrasound guided Fine needle aspiration is a diagnostic procedure that inserts a small needle into a suspicious mass to extract some cells which are then visualized under the microscope. The aim of the present study was to determine utility and safety of ultrasound guided FNAC in rapid evaluation of various mass lesions. Subjects and Methods: In this study, 120 patients of age between 20-60 years with various mass lesions referred for ultrasonography guided FNAC to the department of radiodiagnosis, PDU Medical College and Civil hospital, Rajkot, Gujarat over a period of 1.5 years from 1/5/2018 to 1/11/2019are included. Results: Ultrasonography guided FNAC was performed by the same investigator, an experienced radiologist, using a real time scanner (logicP9; GE Healthcare) under standard septic precautions. Conclusion: Our study contributes to the conclusion that USG guided FNAC can easilybe used for the aspiration of lesion of the breast, thyroid, lymph nodes, liver, lung, musculoskeletal system etc. It does not use ionizing radiation, has no known harmful effects, and provides rapid diagnosis of the suspicious mass lesions &a firm diagnosis of impalpable lesions can be made preoperatively. Advantages of USG guided FNAC:- 1. Cost effectiveness, 2. No radiation hazards, 3. Easy to perform, 4. Dynamic evaluation of vessels, 5. Perfect real time Localization of the target lesion,

The Combination of Platelet Rich Plasma with Skin Needling or Subcision for Postacne Scaring: a Serial Case Study

Scaring in acne remains a common problem and became therapeutic challenges for the clinician. Several modalities were introduced, and combination therapies are required to achieve satisfactory results. Skin needling and subcision reported as effective methods for treating acne scar. The skin needling technique involves puncturing the skin multiple times with a small needle to induce collagen growth, while subcision worked by tunneling the connective tissue and scattered the fibrosis scar. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) influences wound-healing by stimulating an intense inflammatory response and growth factors, these increase in the production of extracellular matrix and granulation tissue occurs, with vascular in-growth, fibroblastic proliferation, and collagen production also accelerated. Three male patients enrolled in the study, with grades 2-3 acne scar. There are three different methods of treatment were used to see the effect of the treatment. The first patient used the combination of topical PRP and skin needling, and the second patient received a combination of PRP injection and subcision, while the third patient obtains combination between topical PRP and skin needling continued with PRP injection and subcision. Our study revealed that PRP and skin needling or subcision is a simple technique and has the potential for improvement of acne scars. Three weeks after treatment, all three patient had smoother facial skin and reduction of acne scar severity. The combination of PRP and skin needling or and subcision is a simple, safe and rapid method for acne scars treatment.

The effects of small-needle-knife therapy on pain and mobility from knee osteoarthritis: a pilot randomized-controlled study

Objective: To investigate the effect of small needle-knife therapy in people with painful knee osteoarthritis. Design: Pilot randomised, controlled trial. Setting: Rehabilitation hospital. Subjects: In-patients with osteo-arthritis of the knee. Interventions: Either 1 to 3 small needle-knife treatments over seven days or oral Celecoxib. All patients stayed in hospital three weeks, receiving the same mobility-focused rehabilitation. Measures: Oxford Knee Score (OKS), gait speed and kinematics were recorded at baseline, at three weeks (discharge) and at three-months (OKS only). Withdrawal from the study, and adverse events associated with the small needle knife therapy were recorded. Results: 83 patients were randomized: 44 into the control group, of whom 10 were lost by three weeks and 12 at 3 months; 39 into the experimental group of whom eight were lost at three weeks and three months. The mean (SE) OKS scores at baseline were Control 35.86 (1.05), Exp 38.38 (0.99); at three weeks 26.64 (0.97) and 21.94 (1.23); and at three months 25.83 (0.91) and 20.48 (1.14) The mean (SE) gait speed at baseline was 1.07 (0.03) m/sec (Control) and 0.98 (0.03), and at three weeks was 1.14 (0.03) and 1.12 (0.03) ( P < 0.05). Linear mixed model statistical analysis showed that the improvements in the experimental group were statistically significant for total OKS score at discharge and three months Conclusions: Small needle-knife therapy added to standard therapy for patients with knee osteoarthritis, was acceptable, safe and reduced pain and improved global function on the Oxford Knee Score. Further research is warranted.

A new species of Stolephorus (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae) from the Bay of Bengal, India

A new fish species, Stolephorus tamilensis sp. nov., is described from the East coast of India. The major distinguishing characters are 5–6 small needle-like pre-pelvic scutes on belly; maxilla tip pointed, reaching to border of operculum, concave and indented in the preoperculum; 25–28 gill rakers on lower lobe of the first branchial arch; dorsal fin without spine; 17–19 anal-fin rays. Moreover, S. tamilensis sp. nov. present higher average genetic divergence values at mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rDNA loci in comparison with congeners. Also, nucleotide diagnostic characters exclusive to S. tamilensis are identified. Neighbor-joining analysis revealed close relation between S. tamilensis and S. andhraensis.

Experimental Investigation of Various Regimes of Bubble Formation and Growth—A Theoretical View of Double Coalescence Regime

Bubble formation and growth in a liquid is an important process in many industries. Bubble formation regime determines the essential characteristics of the bubble formation process such as bubble volume, shape, and formation time. The formation regime changes from single to double and multiple by increasing the volumetric gas flowrate. In the present research, various regimes of air bubble formation in pure water and glycerin solutions (glycerin 92%, glycerin 96%, and glycerin 100%) were observed by conducting experiments, and they have been defined in terms of the dimensionless Froude (Fr) and Bond (Bo) numbers. The liquids that have been used in the experiments provide a wide range of viscosity from 0.001 to 1.07 Pa·s. However, the surface tension remains approximately constant. In these experiments, relatively small needle sizes (lower than 0.6 mm), Bond numbers smaller than 0.05, and Froude numbers smaller than 70,000 were used, and the boundaries between various regimes were determined. The results indicate that the Froude number associated with the boundaries between various regimes decreases by increasing Bond number. In addition, for a given needle diameter, the air flowrate at which the regime changes from single to double is lower in glycerin solutions than in water. The mentioned flowrate decreases by increasing the liquid viscosity. Finally, based on the governing equations and experimental results of this study, a new correlation has been obtained to estimate the volume of the first bubble at the moment of the detachment in the double coalescence regime.