3D Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Therapy for Patients with Vertigo Due to Peripheral Vestibular Dysfunction.

This study aimed to evaluate 3D virtual reality rehabilitation therapy in patients with vertigo due to peripheral vestibular dysfunction. The subjects were 20 patients with peripheral vestibular dysfunction confirmed by Videonystagmography, Divided into 2 groups: Group 1 (study group) underwent vestibular rehabilitation therapy using 3D virtual reality in a customised VR lab with specific headset (Oculus rift and htc vive) with software application, which allows vestibular rehabilitation treatment using high quality immersive virtual reality console in which environment appears real and in 3D. The exercises are designed for gaze stability, increase postural stability, improve vertigo and daily activities, through sensory stimuli and in addition to conventional Cawthorne-Choksey exercises. Group 2 (control group) are treated by conventional Cawthorne-Choksey exercises alone. A VSS-SF (Vertigo Symptom Scale-short form) questionnaire and VAS (Visual Analog Scale) were used to assess the levels of patient satisfaction compared before and after each treatment session in both groups. A significant higher level of subjective satisfaction was observed in patients who underwent 3D virtual reality rehabilitation therapy with conventional therapy (group 1) compared to patients who underwent conventional cawthorne-Choksey exercises alone (group 2). The study gave a substantial subjective satisfaction in patients using 3D virtual reality rehabilitation therapy with conventional therapy (group1) than conventional Cawthorne-Choksey exercises alone (group 2). Future of VR rehabilitation therapy brings a revolutionary novelty in field of rehabilitation therapy were it involves real time stimulation and interaction between sensory, motor and cognitive channels.

From symmetry breaking to symmetry swapping: is Kasha's rule violated in multibranched phenyleneethynylenes?

The phenomenon of excited-state symmetry breaking is often observed in multipolar molecular systems, significantly affecting their photophysical and charge separation behavior. As a result of this phenomenon, the electronic excitation is partially localized in one of the molecular branches. However, the intrinsic structural and electronic factors that regulate excited-state symmetry breaking in multibranched systems have hardly been investigated. Herein, we explore these aspects by adopting a joint experimental and theoretical investigation for a class of phenyleneethynylenes, one of the most widely used molecular building blocks for optoelectronic applications. The large Stokes shifts observed for highly symmetric phenyleneethynylenes are explained by the presence of low-lying dark states, as also established by two-photon absorption measurements and TDDFT calculations. In spite of the presence of low-lying dark states, these systems show an intense fluorescence in striking contrast to Kasha's rule. This intriguing behavior is explained in terms of a novel phenomenon, dubbed "symmetry swapping" that describes the inversion of the energy order of excited states, i.e., the swapping of excited states occurring as a consequence of symmetry breaking. Thus, symmetry swapping explains quite naturally the observation of an intense fluorescence emission in molecular systems whose lowest vertical excited state is a dark state. In short, symmetry swapping is observed in highly symmetric molecules having multiple degenerate or quasi-degenerate excited states that are prone to symmetry breaking.

Identification of Crucial Intermediates in the Formation of Humins from Cellulose-Derived Platform Chemicals Under Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Reaction Conditions.

Humins are one of the undesirable products formed during the dehydration of sugars as well as the conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to value-added products. Thus, reducing the formation of humins is an important strategy for improving the yield of the aforementioned reactions. Even after a plethora of studies, the mechanism of formation and the structure of humins are still elusive. In this regard, we have employed density functional theory-based mechanistic studies and microkinetic analysis to identify crucial intermediates formed from glucose, fructose, and HMF that can initiate the polymerization reactions resulting in humins under Brønsted acid-catalyzed reaction conditions. This study brings light into crucial elementary reaction steps that can be targeted for controlling humins formation. Moreover, this work provides a rationale for the experimentally observed aliphatic chains and HMF condensation products in the humins structure. Different possible polymerization routes that could contribute to the structure of humins are also suggested based on the results. Importantly, the findings of this work indicate that increasing the rate of isomerization of glucose to fructose and reducing the rate of reaction between HMF molecules could be an efficient strategy for reducing humins formation.

Influence of environmental factors on benthic nitrogen fixation and role of sulfur reducing diazotrophs in a eutrophic tropical estuary.

Benthic nitrogen fixation in the tropical estuaries plays a major role in marine nitrogen cycle, its contribution to nitrogen budget and players behind process is not well understood. The present study was estimated the benthic nitrogen fixation rate in a tropical estuary (Cochin) and also evaluated the contribution of various diazotrophic bacterial communities. Nitrogen fixation was detected throughout year (0.1-1.11 nmol N g-1 h-1); higher activity was observed in post-monsoon. The nifH gene abundance was varied from 0.8 × 104 to 0.6 × 108 copies g-1dry sediment; highest was detected in post-monsoon. The Cluster I and Cluster III were the dominant diazotrophs. Sulfur reducing bacterial phylotypes (Deltaproteobacteria) contributed up to 2-72% of total nitrogen fixation. These bacteria may provide new nitrogen to these systems, counteracting nitrogen loss via denitrification and anammox. Overall, the study explained the importance of benthic nitrogen fixation and role of diazotrophs in a monsoon influenced tropical estuarine environments.