Computed Tomography Scanning for Sternal Wound Infections: A Systematic Review.

Background: Sternal wound infection (SWI) has always been a significant risk in patients who undergo sternotomies as part of their cardiac surgical procedures. Computed tomography (CT) imaging is often used to diagnose and assess sternal wound infections. Its purpose includes identifying and locating infection and any sternal dehiscence. Methods: A systematic literature review across PubMed, Embase, and Ovid was performed according to PRISMA guidelines to identify relevant articles that discussed the utility of CT scanning for SWI, common features identified, patient outcomes and sensitivity/specificity (Figure 1). Results: 25 papers were included. 100% (n=25) of the papers were published in peer-reviewed journals. CT scans in SWIs can be seen as a beneficial aid in diagnosing as well as determining the components of infection. Commonalities were identified such as fluid collection in the mediastinum, free gas, pleural effusions, and sternal dehiscence which point towards the presence of sternal wound infection. Conclusion: CT scanning is a novel and emerging methodology for imaging in SWI and post-sternotomy complications, hence increased research is required to expand the literature on this area as well as the creation of guidelines and cut-offs or signs for radiology professionals to identify and determine the extent of infection.

Investigation of Resistance Genes in Genus Vigna Reveals Highly Variable NLRome in Parallel Domesticated Member Species.

Vigna is a unique genus that consist of multiple crop species that are domesticated in parallel fashion between 7-10 thousand years ago. Here we studied the evolution of nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat receptor (NLR) genes across five crop species of genus Vigna. In total identified 286, 350, 234, 250, 108 and 161 NLR genes were from Phaseolous vulgaris, Vigna. unguiculata, Vigna mungo, Vigna radiata, Vigna angularis and Vigna umbellata respectively. Comprehensive phylogenetic and clusterization analysis reveals the presence of seven subgroups of Coiled coil like NLRs (CC-NLR) genes and four distinct lineages of Toll interleukin receptor like NLRs (TIR-NLR). Subgroup CCG10-NLR shows large scale diversification among Vigna species suggesting genus specific distinct duplication pattern in Vigna species. Mainly birth of new NLR gene families and higher rate of terminal duplication is the major determinants for expansion of NLRome in genus Vigna. Recent expansion of NLRome in V. anguiculata and V. radiata was also observed which might suggest that domestication have supported their duplication of lineage specific NLR genes. In short, large scale difference in the architecture of NLRome were observed in diploid plant species. Our findings allowed us to hypothesized that independent parallel domestication is the major drivers of highly divergent evolution of NLRome in genus Vigna.

Horizontal Polarized DC Grounded Omnidirectional Antenna for UAV Ground Control Station.

A new slot-based antenna design capable of producing horizontal polarization for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ground control station (GCS) applications is outlined in this paper. The proposed antenna consists of oversize coaxial cylinders, slots, and slot-feed assembly. Each of the four vertical slots, arranged periodically around the antenna's outer cylinder, emits a horizontally polarized broad beam of radiation, in phase, to produce an omnidirectional pattern. The antenna possesses a low-ripple ±0.5 dB in azimuth gain (yaw) due to its symmetric axis shape and an enclosed feed within itself, which does not radiate and interfere with the main azimuth pattern. This is crucial for a UAV GCS to symmetrically extend its coverage range in all directions against yaw planes. Simulation and measurement results reveal that the antenna maintains stable gain in the omnidirectional pattern (+0.5 dB) over the entire operational frequency band (2.55 GHz to 2.80 GHz), where S11 is lower than -10 dB. A further advantage of this configuration is its enhanced polarization purity of -40 dB over the full frequency band. The direct-current (DC) grounding approach used in this antenna is beneficial due to its electrostatic discharge (ESD) and lightning protection. Furthermore, its aerodynamic, self-supporting, and surface-mount structural shape makes this antenna a good and worthy choice for a UAV GCS.

Core-Shell Nano-Antenna Configurations for Array Formation with More Stability Having Conventional and Non-Conventional Directivity and Propagation Behavior.

The enhancement of optical characteristics at optical frequencies deviates with the choice of the arrangement of core-shell nanoparticles and their environment. Likewise, the arrangements of core-shell nanoparticles in the air over a substrate or in liquid solution makes them unstable in the atmosphere. This article suggests designing a configuration of an active spherical coated nanoparticle antenna and its extended array in the presence of a passive dielectric, which is proposed to be extendable to construct larger arrays. The issue of instability in the core-shell nanoantenna array models is solved here by inserting the passive dielectric. In addition to this, the inclusion of a dielectric in the array model reports a different directivity behaviour than the conventional array models. We found at first that the combination model of the active coated nanoparticle and passive sphere at the resonant frequency can excite a stronger field with a rotated polarization direction and a propagation direction different from the incident plane-wave. Furthermore, the extended 2D array also rotates the polarization direction and propagation direction for the vertical incident plane-wave. The radiation beam operates strong multipoles in the 2D array plane at resonant frequency (behaving non-conventionally). Nevertheless, it forms a clear main beam in the incident direction when it deviates from the resonance frequency (behaving conventionally). The proposed array model may have possible applications in nano-amplifiers, nano-sensors and other integrated optics.