Pulmonary hypertension: the hallmark of acute COVID-19 microvascular angiopathy?

In situ pulmonary arterial thrombosis in COVID-19 is not visible on CTPA. However, the presence of CT-measured right heart and pulmonary artery dilatation in COVID-19 is likely attributable to this process and may be a possible surrogate for its detection. https://bit.ly/3g7z5TV.

Hands to Hexapods, Wearable User Interface Design for Specifying Leg Placement for Legged Robots.

Specifying leg placement is a key element for legged robot control, however current methods for specifying individual leg motions with human-robot interfaces require mental concentration and the use of both arm muscles. In this paper, a new control interface is discussed to specify leg placement for hexapod robot by using finger motions. Two mapping methods are proposed and tested with lab staff, Joint Angle Mapping (JAM) and Tip Position Mapping (TPM). The TPM method was shown to be more efficient. Then a manual controlled gait based on TPM is compared with fixed gait and camera-based autonomous gait in a Webots simulation to test the obstacle avoidance performance on 2D terrain. Number of Contacts (NOC) for each gait are recorded during the tests. The results show that both the camera-based autonomous gait and the TPM are effective methods in adjusting step size to avoid obstacles. In high obstacle density environments, TPM reduces the number of contacts to 25% of the fixed gaits, which is even better than some of the autonomous gaits with longer step size. This shows that TPM has potential in environments and situations where autonomous footfall planning fails or is unavailable. In future work, this approach can be improved by combining with haptic feedback, additional degrees of freedom and artificial intelligence.

Impact of Nutritional Status on Cognition in Institutionalized Orphans: A Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: Proper nutrition is critical for maximizing brain function and enhancing learning. There is accumulating evidence that early malnutrition, marked by stunting, is associated with long-term deficits in cognitive and academic performance, even when social and psychological differences are controlled. All over the world, children living without permanent parental care are at a heightened risk for under-nutrition, putting their health and development in great jeopardy. AIM: To assess the nutritional and cognitive status in institutionalized orphans which might help to formulate effective interventions for improving the nutritional status of vulnerable children in future. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional, study included 70 children (35 orphans and 35 non-orphans). Their anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and BMI) were measured and cognition was assessed using subsets of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R): Block design and Digit span. The data obtained was subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. RESULTS: 18.57% (13) of children had stunting, 15.71% (11) had wasting, 22.86% (16) were underweight, and 17.14% (12) showed thinness. Mean±SD of Block design in non-orphans was significantly higher compared to orphans (p-value 0·05). Mean±SD of Digit span in non-orphans was significantly higher compared to orphans (p-value 0·000). For Block design, there was moderate positive correlation with nutritional status based on Z-scores (p-value <0·05). Digit span also showed moderate positive correlation (p-value <0·05). CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate that children in orphanages have high rates of both malnutrition and cognitive delay compared to the non-orphans and there was a direct correlation between both the variables. If orphanages are here to stay as a last resort for children deprived of a family there is an urgent need to improve the institutional environment in order to foster the development of millions of children in orphanages around the world.