RESUMEN

Coronavirus disease 2019 attributed to severe acute respiratory syndrome has been implicated with life threatening opportunistic infections like mucormycosis. COVID-19 is a hyperferritinemic syndrome and emerging data project the role of iron in the susceptibility and pathogenesis of mucormycosis but whether high ferritin is an indicator of severity of mucormycosis is debated. The study aimed to determine the relationship between serum ferritin levels and the extent of involvement of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis. A hospital based observational study was conducted with a sample size of 70. All biopsy confirmed cases of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis were included. Retrospective data from hospital records prepared at the time of patient admission were retrieved. The imaging data was used to determine the extent of disease involvement and serum ferritin values were analysed. During the study period 40 patients had mild extent mucormycosis and 30 had severe extent. A statistically significant difference was seen in levels of serum ferritin between mild extent mucormycosis and severe extent involvement (p < 0.01). COVID-19 associated Mucormycosis patients tend to have higher serum ferritin values especially in severe extent disease and with active COVID-19 infection along with diabetes mellitus as a potent aggravating factor.

RESUMEN

Early-season agricultural drought is frequent over South Asian region due to delayed or deficient monsoon rainfall. These drought events often cause delay in sowing and can even result in crop failure. The present study focuses on monitoring early-season agricultural drought in a semi-arid region of India over 5-year period (2016-2020). It utilizes hydro-climatic and biophysical variables to develop a combined drought index (CDI), which integrates anomalies in soil moisture conditions, rainfall, and crop-sown area progression. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR)-based soil moisture index (SMI) represents in situ measured soil moisture with reasonable accuracy (r=0.68). Based on the highest F1-score, SAR backscatter in VH (vertical transmit-horizontal receive) polarization with specific values for parameter threshold (-18.63 dB) and slope threshold (-0.072) is selected to determine the start of season (SoS) with a validation accuracy of 73.53%. The CDI approach is used to monitor early-season agricultural drought and identified drought conditions during June-July in 2019 and during July in 2018. Conversely, 2020 experienced consistently wet conditions, while 2016 and 2017 had near-normal conditions. Overall, the study highlights the use of SAR data for early-season agricultural drought monitoring, which is mainly governed by soil moisture-driven crop-sowing progression. The proposed methodology holds potential for effective monitoring, management, and decision-making in early-season agricultural drought scenarios.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Anaplasma genus has been classified under the family Anaplasmataceae of order Rickettsiales, which contains the spp. Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma bovis, Anaplasma centrale, Anaplasma platys and Anaplasma phagocytophilum is accountable for a broad range of diseases in both man and animal medicine around the globe. A multiplex PCR procedure was designed to identify A. marginale, A. bovis, and A. platys simultaneously by employing species-specific primers targeting the msp4 (Anaplasma marginale), 16S rRNA (Anaplasma bovis), and groEL (Anaplasma platys) genes. The sensitivity of the assay was ascertained by tenfold dilutions of DNA obtained from cattle blood infected with A. marginale, A. bovis, and A. platys was used to evaluate the test sensitivity. A total of 31 Anaplasma genus positive samples were subjected to mPCR by using species specific primers for simultaneous detection of all the three species. All the 31 samples showed amplification of 753 bp fragment specific for A. marginale and 61.29% of the samples showed amplification of 547 bp fragment specific for A. bovis. The 470 bp DNA fragment specific for A. platys was found in 96.7% of samples. The lower limit of detection of the method for A. platys, A. marginale and A. bovis was found to be 4.4, 0.44 and 0.044 ng/µl, respectively.

RESUMEN

Present study is a maiden attempt to assess net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO2) flux from jute crop (Corchorus olitorius L.) in the Indo-Gangetic plain by using open-path eddy covariance (EC) technique. Diurnal variations of NEE were strongly influenced by growth stages of jute crop. Daytime peak NEE varied from - 5 µmol m-2 s-1 (in germination stage) to - 23 µmol m-2 s-1 (in fibre development stage). The ecosystem was net CO2 source during nighttime with an average NEE value of 5-8 µmol m-2 s-1. Combining both daytime and nighttime CO2 fluxes, jute ecosystem was found to be a net CO2 sink on a daily basis except the initial 9 days from date of sowing. Seasonal and growth stage-wise NEEs were computed, and the seasonal total NEE over the jute season was found to be - 268.5 gC m-2 (i.e. 10.3 t CO2 ha-1). In different jute growth stages, diurnal variations of NEE were strongly correlated (R2 > 0.9) with photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). Ecosystem level photosynthetic efficiency parameters were estimated at each growth stage of jute crop using the Michaelis-Menten equation. The maximum values of photosynthetic capacity (Pmax, 63.3 ± 1.15 µmol CO2 m-2 s-1) and apparent quantum yield (α, 0.072 ± 0.0045 µmol CO2 µmol photon-1) were observed during the active vegetative stage, and the fibre development stage, respectively. Results of the present study would significantly contribute to understanding of the carbon flux from the Indian agro-ecosystems, which otherwise are very sparse.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The present study is a maiden attempt to assess jute crop lodging due to super cyclone Amphan (20 May 2020) by synergistic use of Sentinel-2 (optical) and Sentinel-1 (SAR) data over part of West Bengal, India. Pre-event Sentinel-2 data (9 April, 14 May) along with the ground information were used to map the jute crop of the affected districts with accuracy of 85%. The cross-polarized backscatter (σ0VH) of Sentinel-1 was found to be sensitive to the sudden change in the canopy structure due to lodging and partial flooding. [Formula: see text](σ0VH_22 May - σ0VH_16 May) indicating post-event damage was > 2.5 dB over the affected jute crop and [Formula: see text] (σ0VH_22 May - σ0VH_28 May) representing post-event recovery showed > 1.5 dB for recovered crop, depending on the crop vigor/height. Decision matrix was prepared combining [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] for NDVI-based crop vigor strata (low, medium, and high) to classify the area into affected, marginally affected and normal. Overall accuracy of the classified map was found to be 84.12% with kappa coefficient of 0.74. Nearly, 12.5% of the jute area, i.e., 38,119 ha was found to be either affected or marginally affected due to Amphan and distributed in the southern part of Murshidabad, north-eastern Nadia, northern 24 Paraganas (N), and middle region of Hooghli district. Geospatial map of block-wise affected jute area was prepared to facilitate informed decision making. The study demonstrated an operational methodology for assessing crop lodging due to natural calamities to support relief management and crop insurance.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

CONTEXT: Many contaminants are routinely encountered in cytopathology practice. However, because of lack of familiarity and experience with them, many are unnoticed, neglected, or confused with other structures of major relevance. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to intentionally introduce contaminants into the smears and to provide distinctive morphological criteria required for the microscopist to identify them confidently to avoid possible confusion. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Prospective cross-sectional study. METHODS AND MATERIAL: This study included smears prepared from the buccal mucosa of healthy volunteers. Common contaminants were deliberately introduced into the smears, fixed using 90% ethanol, and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin stain (H and E) and Papanicolaou stain (PAP). The study also included smears from leftover cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and wet mount preparations. The morphology of these contaminants was studied and the results were tabulated. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Nil. RESULTS: The vivid morphological appearance of these commonly encountered contaminants were described and many of these mimicked structures of major relevance. CONCLUSIONS: Contaminants and mimickers can make the evaluation of cytologic specimens challenging and may necessitate secondary review by another pathologist or further workup. Knowledge and familiarity of these commonly encountered extraneous substances will help to prevent misinterpretation.

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B viral infection is the most common cause of hepatitis, and it leads to serious liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. AIM: The aim of the study is to differentiate acute hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) among patients seropositive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Kelambakkam, Tamil Nadu, India, for a period of 6 months (January 2018-June 2018). Blood samples were collected from 87 patients for the detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) serological markers. HBsAg, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg), anti-HBc total, anti-HBc IgM, and antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen were screened using the ELISA method. Detailed demographic profile including history of previous hepatitis infection, previous blood transfusion, and other related details were collected and documented using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 87 patients were HBsAg seropositive; among them, 55 (63.2%) were male and 32 (36.9%) were female. Based on the serological markers tested, 24 and 63 were suffering from acute and chronic HBV infections, respectively. Among the acute hepatitis B patients, all samples were seropositive for HBsAg, anti-HBc total, and anti-HBc IgM. HBeAg seromarker was found in 15 patients (62.5%). Among the CHB patients, all samples were seropositive for HBsAg and anti-HBc total. HBeAg seromarker was found in 28 patients with 44.4%. Alcohol consumption was the major risk factor for the transmission of HBV infection. CONCLUSION: An increased sample size and detailed study of high-risk behavior will provide an alarming awareness of their association.

RESUMEN

We present a system to analyze patterns inside pulsatile signals and discover repetitions inside signals. We measure dominance of the repetitions using morphology and discrete nature of the signals by exploiting machine learning and information theoretic concepts. Patterns are represented as combinations of the basic features and derived features. Consistency of discovered patterns identifies state of physiological stability which varies from one individual to another. Hence it has immense impact on deriving the accurate physiological parameters for personalized health analytics. Proposed mechanism discovers the regular and irregular patterns by performing extensive analysis on several real life cardiac data sets. We have achieved more than 90% accuracy in identifying irregular patterns using our proposed method.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

There is an increasing need for rapid, low cost, reusable, reliable and sensitive detection systems for diagnosing infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, rapidly advancing cancers and detecting the presence of environmental pollutants. Most traditional methods are invasive, slow, expensive and laborious, requiring highly specialized instruments. Introduction of biosensors with nanomaterials as transducers of signals have helped in removing the disadvantages associated with traditional detectors. The properties of high mechanical strength, better electrical conductivity and ability to serve as efficient signal transducers make carbon nanotubes (CNTs) ideal material for biosensor applications among the gamut of nanomaterials. Further, CNTs with their high surface areas, easily functionalizable surfaces for receptor immobilization are gaining importance in the construction of biosensors. The expanding field of CNTs bridges the physical sciences with biology, as chemical methods are employed to develop novel tools and platforms for understanding biological systems, in disease diagnosis and treatment. This review presents recent advances in surface functionalization of CNTs necessary for immobilization of enzymes and antibodies for biosensor applications and the methodologies used for the detection of a number of chemical and biological species. The review ends with a speculation on future prospects for CNTs in biology and medicine.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

A study was carried out to ascertain the status of ecto-parasites infesting dogs of Shimoga region. A total of 120 dogs with the history of skin problems presented to the local hospitals and local pet clinics of Shimoga region were screened for different ecto-parasites. The ticks, fleas and lice were collected, processed and identified. The skin scrapings were also collected from the affected dogs and processed for identification of mites. Out of 120 dogs examined, 59 (49.1 %) had harboured ecto-parasites. Among 59 infested pet dogs, 22 (37.28 %) positive for Fleas, 18 (30.5 %) for ticks, 09 (15.2 %) for Lice, 07 (11.8 %) for Sarcoptic mange and 03 (5.0 %) were for Demodectic mange conditions. The two species of fleas were identified as Ctenocephalides canis 13 (59 %) and Ctenocephalides felis 9 (41 %). The ticks and lice species were identified as Riphicephalus sanguineus and Trichodectus canis respectively. The mite species infecting dogs were identified as Sarcoptes scabeii and Demodex canis based on the morphological character. The Prevalence of ectoparasites was more in stray and adults dogs compared to pet dogs and puppies respectively.

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVES: Flipped classroom (FC) is a pedagogical model to engage students in learning process by replacing the didactic lectures. Using technology, lectures are moved out of the classroom and delivered online as means to provide interaction and collaboration. Poll Everywhere is an audience response system (ARS) which can be used in an FC to make the activities more interesting, engaging, and interactive. This study aims to study the perception of undergraduate pharmacy students on FC activity using Poll Everywhere ARS and to study the effectiveness of FC activity as a teaching-learning tool for delivering complementary medicine module in the undergraduate pharmacy program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this nonrandomized trial on interrupted time series study, flipped class was conducted on group of 112 students of bachelor of pharmacy semester V. The topic selected was popular herbal remedies of the complementary medicine module. Flipped class was conducted with audio and video presentation in the form of a quiz using ten one-best-answer type of multiple-choice questions covering the learning objectives. Audience response was captured using web-based interaction with Poll Everywhere. Feedback was obtained from participants at the end of FC activity and debriefing was done. RESULTS: Randomly selected 112 complete responses were included in the final analysis. There were 47 (42%) male and 65 (58%) female respondents. The overall Cronbach's alpha of feedback questionnaire was 0.912. The central tendencies and dispersions of items in the questionnaire indicated the effectiveness of FC. The low or middle achievers of quiz session (pretest) during the FC activity were three times (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1-8.9) at the risk of providing neutral or negative feedback than high achievers (P = 0.040). Those who gave neutral or negative feedback on FC activity were 3.9 times (95% CI = 1.3-11.8) at the risk of becoming low or middle achievers during the end of semester examination (P = 0.013). The multivariate analysis of "Agree" or "Disagree" and "Agree" or "Strongly Agree" was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: This study provides insight on how the pharmacy students learn and develop their cognitive functions. The results revealed that the FC activity with Poll Everywhere is an effective teaching-learning method.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

INTRODUCTION: Reports on medication adherence and its associated factors in patients with epilepsy in South East Asian countries are lacking. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the degree of medication adherence and its relationship with patient's satisfaction, psychosocial factors, quality of life and mental health in a sample of Malaysian epilepsy patients. METHODOLOGY: It is a cross-sectional study and was carried out in the outpatient Neurology Department of Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (n=272). Data was collected by administering the structured questionnaire. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Results showed that 49.3% of the epilepsy patients were non-adherent to their prescribed regimen. Univariate analysis showed significant associations between medication adherence and the following factors: race, seizure frequency, overall patient satisfaction, medication taste and smell, medication cost and physical appearance, medication effectiveness, complexity of medication regimen, patient barrier, patient understanding, patient role functioning, patient positivity, vitality and general interest. Multiple regression analysis indicated that factors that are influencing medication adherence are seizure frequency (P = 0.048), overall patient satisfaction (P = 0.043) and patient understanding about their illness (P = 0.001). The model chosen for testing the relationship between medication adherence and its associated factors give an R2 value of 25.2% with an adjusted R2 of 21.4%. The F value was also significant (P = 0.000). Based on the research findings, the researchers recommends that clinicians need to play a vital role in educating the patients on their disease conditions. By educating the patients on nature of epilepsy, different modalities of treatment and benefits of adherence to treatment will help in the better adherence and management.

RESUMEN

The study was undertaken to know the current status of prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of cattle and buffaloes in Bangalore, Karnataka. An overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites among cattle (75.2 %) and buffalos (76.8 %) was determined by coprological examination. The gastrointestinal parasites detected in cattle and buffalo were Strongyle (39.8 and 29.1 %), followed by Amphistome (24.4 and 23.1 %), Moniezia spp. (5.3 and 5.9 %), Fasciola spp. (4.1 and 15.6 %), Trichuris spp. (1.4 and 2.9 %), Buxtonella spp. (36.6 and 37.3 %) and Eimeria spp. (26.7 and 29.8 %) respectively. The percentage prevalence of mixed helminth and protozoan infections was 20.2 and 26.1 % in cattle and buffaloes, respectively.

RESUMEN

The study was conducted to ascertain the actual status of gastro-intestinal parasites in pigs maintained under different rearing systems in Shimoga region, Karnataka state. A total of 150 Pigs fecal samples were examined, which includes 50 from organized piggery farm, Veterinary College Shimoga, 50 from private piggery farm of Shimoga and 50 from free range desi pigs of Shimoga city. The fecal samples were processed and examined by direct and sedimentation method. Out of 50 fecal samples examined from organized piggery farm, 19 were found positive for different parasitic eggs, Out of 50 fecal samples screened form private farm, 28 harbored different parasites, whereas from 50 free range desi pigs fecal samples examined, all showed one and other parasitic eggs/ova. The percent prevalence of parasitic infection is more in free range desi pigs compared to Yorkshire breeds maintained under stall fed condition.

RESUMEN

A study was conducted to record the prevalence of Haemoprotozoan infections in bovines of Shimoga region for a period of 1 year from April 2012 to March 2013. A total of 300 blood samples were examined for the presence of haemoprotozoan parasites, of which 215 from cattle and 85 from buffaloes were examined by Giemsa staining technique. Out of 300 blood samples examined, 130 (43.3 %) were found positive for Haemoprotozoan infections. Out of 215 cattle blood samples examined, 62 (28.8 %) were positive for Theileria annulata, 27 (12.5 %) were harbored Babesia bigemina, 15 (6.9 %) were found positive for Trypanosoma evansi and 06 (2.7 %) samples showed Anaplasma marginale. Among 85 buffalo samples examined, 11 (12.9 %) were showed Theileria spp, 04 (4.7 %) found positive for B. bigemina, 03 (3.5 %) were found positive for T. evansi and 02 (2.3 %) were positive for A. marginale. Among haemoprotozoan parasites, the highest prevalence was observed with T. annulata followed by B. bigemina and T. evansi infection. The lowest prevalence was observed with A. marginale infection.

RESUMEN

A study was conducted to ascertain the incidence of gastrointestinal parasites in horses of Shimoga region, to generate the data regarding status of parasitic infections of equines in Karnataka state due to paucity of information. A total of 100 fresh fecal samples of equines were collected and examined by direct and sedimentation method for the detection of parasitic egg/ova. Among 100 samples examined, 84 (84.0 %) were found positive for various gastrointestinal helminths. Out of 84 positive cases, 44 (52.38 %) were found positive for Strongylus spp. eggs, 09 (10.71 %) showed Parascaris equorum eggs, 06 (7.14 %) had Gastrodiscus spp. eggs, 04 (4.76 %) harbored Oxyuris equi and the remaining 21 (25.0 %) had a mixed infection of Strongylus spp., Strongyloides spp. and Gastrodiscus spp.

RESUMEN

We propose here derivation algorithms for physiological parameters like beat start point, systolic peak, pulse duration, peak-to-peak distance related to heart rate, dicrotic minima, diastolic peak from Photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals robustly. Our methods are based on unsupervised learning mainly following morphology as well as discrete nature of the signal. Statistical learning has been used as a special aid to infer most probable feature values mainly to cope up with presence of noise, which is assumed to be insignificant compared to signal values at each investigation window. Performance of the proposed method is found to be better than other standard methods, yielding precision and sensitivity more than 97% obtained from three real life data sets.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was evaluated for the diagnosis of Fasciola gigantica infection in cattle and buffaloes. The excretory-secretory (E-S Ag) antigen of F. gigantica adult flukes obtained after invitro incubation was used as an antigen. The test was conducted with 276 sera collected from cattle and buffaloes which included 22 sera each from naturally infected cattle and buffaloes (known positive serum) and with similar number of samples with healthy cattle and buffaloes (known negative serum). The positive results were observed in 18 and 19 of the sera from naturally infected cattle and buffaloes with sensitivity of 81.8 and 86.3 % respectively. Out of 188 serum samples which were found negative on faecal examination 32 (34 %) sera of cattle and 40 (42.5 %) sera of buffaloes were found positive by ELISA respectively. The sensitivity of the test was found to be 91.6 and 95.6 % in cattle and buffaloes respectively.

RESUMEN

The prevalence of fasciolosis was evaluated in bovines based on coprological examination and postmortem liver examination of slaughtered cattle and buffaloes. The faecal examination of 130 cattle and 135 buffaloes revealed a prevalence of 9.9 % in cattle and 13.3 % in buffaloes respectively. The examination of livers from cattle and buffaloes (155 each) slaughtered at the KMPMCL abattoir revealed the prevalence of fasciolosis was 20.6 % in cattle and 22.5 % in buffaloes. The results were statistically significant in faecal examination and not significant in liver examination from cattle and buffaloes respectively.

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVES: To describe the sleep patterns and problems in children aged between 12 and 36 mo of age. METHODS: This cross sectional survey was collected over a span of 1 y in Advanced Pediatric Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh and crèches of Chandigarh. Children in the age group of 12 to 36 mo were included in study. Children with chronic illness, developmental delay, seizure disorder and lack of consent were excluded. A total of 368 children were enrolled. Main outcome measures were sleep duration over 1 to 3 y of life; sleep behavior at onset, during and waking of sleep and parent reported sleep problems and their predictors. RESULTS: The average duration of sleep was 12.5 h (S.D = 1.9). The mean total sleep duration and mean day time sleep duration decreased, while mean night time sleep increased as the age advanced from 12 to 36 mo. Following were the frequency of sleep habits seen in the index study; bed time routine was seen only in 68(18.5 %), a regular bed time ritual was seen in 281(76.4 %), 329(89.4 %) children frequently required 0-20 min time to fall asleep, 11(3 %) parents used sleep inducing drugs. Night waking (1 to 3 times a night) was seen in 297(80.7 %) and its frequency declined with age. Parent reported sleep problems were seen in 12.8 % (47/368). Lack of co-sleeping and night waking were considered as strongest predictors of parent reported sleep problems. CONCLUSIONS: Toddlers' sleep duration, night waking behavior, and day time naps decrease as the age progress while night time sleep duration increases with age. Lack of co-sleeping and night waking are considered as strongest predictors of parent reported sleep problems.

Asunto(s)