bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pulsatile retinal nerve fiber layer imaging with functional optical coherence tomography
Authors: An Lin , Yan Bixuan , Zhao Yansong , He Ke , Wu Xiaocui , Lan Gongpu , Huang Yanping , Xu Jingjiang , Ou Chubin , Zeng Xi , Wang Shuna , Wang Xiaoli , Long Jinfeng , Wei Xunbin , Qin Jia
Published: January 2022

The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) evaluation is becoming a very effective method for the clinical diagnosis of early glaucoma. The purpose of this paper is to extract the pulsations of the RNFL, which might be used as a novel biomarker for glaucoma diagnosis. To demonstrate that the optical coherence tomography (OCT) could extract the subtle RNFL dynamic pulsatile motion in normal eyes in vivo, the subjects’ retina was imaged by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) based on histogram RNFL pulse extraction algorithm. Firstly, B-scan images of multiple retinal layers in normal subjects were acquired. The RNFL was identified from each B-scan with a segmentation algorithm based on shortest path and convolutional neural network. Secondly, a histogram-based RNFL pulsation extraction algorithm was proposed to track the displacement of the RNFL which is based on the acquired RNFL B-scan images. Finally, in evaluating the dynamic pulse signal extracted from the pulsating motion of RNFL, an experiment was designed to collect heart rate using an infrared pulse sensor device. The cardiac pulse waveform and the RNFL pulse waveform were compared and analyzed in time and frequency domain. The results show that the extracted RNFL pulse has the same frequency as the cardiac pulse, which validate the feasibility and accuracy of the in vivo extraction scheme used in this paper.
Assessment of medical waste generation, associated environmental impact, and management issues after the outbreak of COVID-19: A case study of the Hubei Province in China
Authors: Ye Jinquan , Song Yifan , Liu Yurong , Zhong Yun
Published: January 2022

COVID-19 greatly challenges the human health sector, and has resulted in a large amount of medical waste that poses various potential threats to the environment. In this study, we compiled relevant data released by official agencies and the media, and conducted data supplementation based on earlier studies to calculate the net value of medical waste produced in the Hubei Province due to COVID-19 with the help of a neural network model. Next, we reviewed the data related to the environmental impact of medical waste per unit and designed four scenarios to estimate the environmental impact of new medical waste generated during the pandemic. The results showed that a medical waste generation rate of 0.5 kg/bed/day due to COVID-19 resulted in a net increase of medical waste volume by about 3366.99 tons in the Hubei Province. In the four scenario assumptions, i.e., if the medical waste resulting from COVID-19 is completely incinerated, it will have a large impact on the air quality. If it is disposed by distillation sterilization, it will produce a large amount of wastewater and waste residue. Based on the results of the study, we propose three policy recommendations: strict control of medical wastewater discharge, reduction and transformation of the emitted acidic gases, and attention to the emission of metallic nickel in exhaust gas and chloride in soil. These policy recommendations provide a scientific basis for controlling medical waste pollution.
Controlled bio-inspired self-organised criticality
Authors: olde Scheper Tjeerd V.
Published: January 2022

Complex biological systems are considered to be controlled using feedback mechanisms. Reduced systems modelling has been effective to describe these mechanisms, but this approach does not sufficiently encompass the required complexity that is needed to understand how localised control in a biological system can provide global stable states. Self-Organised Criticality (SOC) is a characteristic property of locally interacting physical systems, which readily emerges from changes to its dynamic state due to small nonlinear perturbations. These small changes in the local states, or in local interactions, can greatly affect the total system state of critical systems. It has long been conjectured that SOC is cardinal to biological systems, that show similar critical dynamics, and also may exhibit near power-law relations. Rate Control of Chaos (RCC) provides a suitable robust mechanism to generate SOC systems, which operates at the edge of chaos. The bio-inspired RCC method requires only local instantaneous knowledge of some of the variables of the system, and is capable of adapting to local perturbations. Importantly, connected RCC controlled oscillators can maintain global multi-stable states, and domains where power-law relations may emerge. The network of oscillators deterministically stabilises into different orbits for different perturbations, and the relation between the perturbation and amplitude can show exponential and power-law correlations. This can be considered to be representative of a basic mechanism of protein production and control, that underlies complex processes such as homeostasis. Providing feedback from the global state, the total system dynamic behaviour can be boosted or reduced. Controlled SOC can provide much greater understanding of biological control mechanisms, that are based on distributed local producers, with remote consumers of biological resources, and globally defined control.
COVID-19 vaccination beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours among health and social care workers in the UK: A mixed-methods study
Authors: Bell Sadie , Clarke Richard M. , Ismail Sharif A. , Ojo-Aromokudu Oyinkansola , Naqvi Habib , Coghill Yvonne , Donovan Helen , Letley Louise , Paterson Pauline , Mounier-Jack Sandra
Published: January 2022

Background

The UK began delivering its COVID-19 vaccination programme on 8 December 2020, with health and social care workers (H&SCWs) given high priority for vaccination. Despite well-documented occupational exposure risks, however, there is evidence of lower uptake among some H&SCW groups.

Methods

We used a mixed-methods approach—involving an online cross-sectional survey and semi-structured interviews–to gain insight into COVID-19 vaccination beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours amongst H&SCWs in the UK by socio-demographic and employment variables. 1917 people were surveyed– 1656 healthcare workers (HCWs) and 261 social care workers (SCWs). Twenty participants were interviewed.

Findings

Workplace factors contributed to vaccination access and uptake. SCWs were more likely to not be offered COVID-19 vaccination than HCWs (OR:1.453, 95%CI: 1.244–1.696). SCWs specifically reported uncertainties around how to access COVID-19 vaccination. Participants who indicated stronger agreement with the statement ‘I would recommend my organisation as a place to work’ were more likely to have been offered COVID-19 vaccination (OR:1.285, 95%CI: 1.056–1.563). Those who agreed more strongly with the statement ‘I feel/felt under pressure from my employer to get a COVID-19 vaccine’ were more likely to have declined vaccination (OR:1.751, 95%CI: 1.271–2.413). Interviewees that experienced employer pressure to get vaccinated felt this exacerbated their vaccine concerns and increased distrust. In comparison to White British and White Irish participants, Black African and Mixed Black African participants were more likely to not be offered (OR:2.011, 95%CI: 1.026–3.943) and more likely to have declined COVID-19 vaccination (OR:5.550, 95%CI: 2.294–13.428). Reasons for declining vaccination among Black African participants included distrust in COVID-19 vaccination, healthcare providers, and policymakers.

Conclusion

H&SCW employers are in a pivotal position to facilitate COVID-19 vaccination access, by ensuring staff are aware of how to get vaccinated and promoting a workplace environment in which vaccination decisions are informed and voluntary.
Reduced mitochondria membrane potential and lysosomal acidification are associated with decreased oligomeric Aβ degradation induced by hyperglycemia: A study of mixed glia cultures
Authors: Huang Yung-Cheng , Hsu Shu-Meng , Shie Feng-Shiun , Shiao Young-Ji , Chao Li-Jung , Chen Hui-Wen , Yao Heng-Hsiang , Chien Meng An , Lin Chung-Chih , Tsay Huey-Jen
Published: January 2022

Diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a chronic neurodegenerative disease. We and others have shown prediabetes, including hyperglycemia and obesity induced by high fat and high sucrose diets, is associated with exacerbated amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation and cognitive impairment in AD transgenic mice. However, whether hyperglycemia reduce glial clearance of oligomeric amyloid-β (oAβ), the most neurotoxic Aβ aggregate, remains unclear. Mixed glial cultures simulating the coexistence of astrocytes and microglia in the neural microenvironment were established to investigate glial clearance of oAβ under normoglycemia and chronic hyperglycemia. Ramified microglia and low IL-1β release were observed in mixed glia cultures. In contrast, amoeboid-like microglia and higher IL-1β release were observed in primary microglia cultures. APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice are a commonly used AD mouse model. Microglia close to senile plaques in APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice exposed to normoglycemia or chronic hyperglycemia exhibited an amoeboid-like morphology; other microglia were ramified. Therefore, mixed glia cultures reproduce the in vivo ramified microglial morphology. To investigate the impact of sustained high-glucose conditions on glial oAβ clearance, mixed glia were cultured in media containing 5.5 mM glucose (normal glucose, NG) or 25 mM glucose (high glucose, HG) for 16 days. Compared to NG, HG reduced the steady-state level of oAβ puncta internalized by microglia and astrocytes and decreased oAβ degradation kinetics. Furthermore, the lysosomal acidification and lysosomal hydrolysis activity of microglia and astrocytes were lower in HG with and without oAβ treatment than NG. Moreover, HG reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP levels in mixed glia, which can lead to reduced lysosomal function. Overall, continuous high glucose reduces microglial and astrocytic ATP production and lysosome activity which may lead to decreased glial oAβ degradation. Our study reveals diabetes-induced hyperglycemia hinders glial oAβ clearance and contributes to oAβ accumulation in AD pathogenesis.
Assessing the transition from intravenous to subcutaneous delivery of rituximab: Benefits for payers, health care professionals, and patients with lymphoma
Authors: Harvey Michael J. , Zhong Yi , Morris Eric , Beverage Jacob N. , Epstein Robert S. , Chawla Anita J.
Published: January 2022

Subcutaneous (SC) administration of rituximab provides an opportunity for reduced patient treatment burden and increased healthcare efficiencies as an alternative to intravenous (IV) rituximab. There is minimal evidence comparing costs associated with SC and IV rituximab in a US setting. This research assessed the impact of transitioning patients from IV to SC rituximab for treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) from the US payer, provider, and patient perspective. We developed a model to estimate cost differences for transitioning 20% of a patient cohort from IV to SC rituximab. We included patients with incident diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, incident and recurrent follicular lymphoma, and incident and recurrent chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In the model, each patient received the same number of doses and that there was no difference in discontinuation between cohorts due to non-inferior efficacy and a similar safety profile. Model inputs were collected from published literature and publicly available data. Scenario analyses tested the impact of availability of low-cost biosimilars. In the base case (1,000,000 covered lives), we estimated a total of 157 patients, with 769 total drug administrations. A transition of 20% of patients from IV to SC was projected to generate $153,000 in payer savings, increase provider capacity by 270 hours, and free 470 hours of patient time. Scenario analyses suggest SC administration will be cost saving for payers even with a market where biosimilars approach 50% market share. A 20% transition to SC rituximab in a single cohort of patients has the potential to generate significant US health system value in the form of payer savings, increased practice capacity, and patient time.
‘Us-Versus-Them’: Othering in COVID-19 public health behavior compliance
Authors: Van Scoy Lauren Jodi , Snyder Bethany , Miller Erin L. , Toyobo Olubukola , Grewal Ashmita , Ha Giang , Gillespie Sarah , Patel Megha , Zgierska Aleksandra E. , Lennon Robert P.
Published: January 2022

Objective

We explored public perceptions about the COVID-19 pandemic to learn how those attitudes may affect compliance with health behaviors.

Methods

Participants were Central Pennsylvania adults from diverse backgrounds purposively sampled (based on race, gender, educational attainment, and healthcare worker status) who responded to a mixed methods survey, completed between March 25–31, 2020. Four open-ended questions were analyzed, including: “What worries you most about the COVID-19 pandemic?” We applied a pragmatic, inductive coding process to conduct a qualitative, descriptive content analysis of responses.

Results

Of the 5,948 respondents, 538 were sampled for this qualitative analysis. Participants were 58% female, 56% with ≥ bachelor’s degree, and 50% from minority racial backgrounds. Qualitative descriptive analysis revealed four themes related to respondents’ health and societal concerns: lack of faith in others; fears of illness or death; frustration at perceived slow societal response; and a desire for transparency in communicating local COVID-19 information. An “us-versus-them” subtext emerged; participants attributed non-compliance with COVID-19 behaviors to other groups, setting themselves apart from those Others.

Conclusion

Our study uncovered Othering undertones in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, occurring between groups of like-minded individuals with behavioral differences in ‘compliance’ versus ‘non-compliance’ with public health recommendations. Addressing the ‘us-versus-them’ mentality may be important for boosting compliance with recommended health behaviors.
Anticancer activity of Zingiber ottensii essential oil and its nanoformulations
Authors: Panyajai Pawaret , Chueahongthong Fah , Viriyaadhammaa Natsima , Nirachonkul Wariya , Tima Singkome , Chiampanichayakul Sawitree , Anuchapreeda Songyot , Okonogi Siriporn
Published: January 2022

Zingiber ottensii, is widely used in Asian traditional remedies for the treatment of many diseases. The present study explores anticancer activity of Z. ottensii essential oil (ZOEO) and its nanoformulations. ZOEO obtained from hydrodistillation of Z. ottensii fresh rhizomes was analysis using gas chromatography mass spectroscopy. Zerumbone (25.21%) was the major compound of ZOEO followed by sabinene (23.35%) and terpene-4-ol (15.97%). Four types of ZOEO loaded nanoformulations; nanoemulsion, microemulsion, nanoemulgels, and microemulgel, were developed. The average droplet size of the nanoemulsion and microemulsion was significantly smaller than that of the nanoemulgel and microemulgel. Comparison with other essential oils of plants of the same family on anticancer activity against A549, MCF-7, HeLa, and K562, ZOEO showed the highest cytotoxicity with IC50 of 43.37±6.69, 9.77±1.61, 23.25±7.73, and 60.49±9.41 μg/mL, respectively. Investigation using flow cytometry showed that ZOEO significantly increased the sub-G1 populations (cell death) in cell cycle analysis and induced cell apoptosis by apoptotic analysis. The developed nanoformulations significantly enhanced cytotoxicity of ZOEO, particularly against MCF-7 with the IC50 of 3.08±2.58, 0.74±0.45, 2.31±0.91, and 6.45±5.84 μg/mL, respectively. Among the four nanoformulations developed in the present study, nanoemulsion and microemulsion were superior to nanoemulgel and microemulgel in delivering ZOEO into cancer cells.
PCA driven mixed filter pruning for efficient convNets
Authors: Ahmed Waqas , Ansari Shahab , Hanif Muhammad , Khalil Akhtar
Published: January 2022

Deployment of the deep neural networks (DNNs) on resource-constrained devices is a challenging task due to their limited memory and computational power. In most cases, the pruning techniques do not prune the DNNs to full extent and redundancy still exists in these models. Considering this, a mixed filter pruning approach based on principal component analysis (PCA) and geometric median is presented. First, a pre-trained model is analyzed by using PCA to identify the important filters for every layer. These important filters are then used to reconstruct the network with a fewer number of layers and a fewer number of filters per layer. A new network with optimized structure is constructed and trained on the data. Secondly, the trained model is then analyzed using geometric median as a base. The redundant filters are identified and removed which results in further compression of the network. Finally, the pruned model is fine tuned to regain the accuracy. Experiments on CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100 and ILSVRC 2017 datasets show that the proposed mixed pruning approach is feasible and can compress the network to greater extent without any significant loss to accuracy. With VGG-16 on CIFAR-10, the number of operations and parameters are reduced to 18.56× and 3.33×, respectively, with almost 1% loss in the accuracy. The compression rate for AlexNet on CIFAR-10 dataset is 2.61× and 4.85× in terms of number of operations and number of parameters, respectively, with a gain of 1.2% in the accuracy. On CIFAR-100, VGG-19 is compressed by 16.02 X in terms of number of operations and 36× in terms of number of parameters with a 2.6% loss of accuracy. Similarly, the compression rate for VGG-19 network on ILSVRC 2017 dataset is 1.87× and 2.4× for operations and parameters with 0.5% loss in accuracy.
Knowledge, attitude, prevention practice, and associated factors toward COVID-19 among preparatory school students in Southwest Ethiopia, 2021
Authors: Yesuf Mohammed , Abdu Mehd
Published: January 2022

Introduction

As of February 2021 COVID-19 report in 57 African countries, there were 3,761,512 confirmed cases and 98,088 deaths. Ethiopia reported the highest number of cases in East Africa with a total of 147,092 cases and 2,194 deaths. Over 1.5 billion students from 195 countries across the world separated from school as a consequence of the closure of schools related to the pandemic. This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge, attitude, prevention practices, and determinant factors regarding COVID-19 among preparatory school students in southwest Ethiopia.

Methods

An institution-based cross-sectional study design was used for 422 samples. Each respondent was selected using simple random sampling. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The collected data were entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for social science software version 25.0. Multivariable binary logistic regression was used to identify factors that were significantly associated with the practice of COVID-19 prevention.

Results

The response rate in this study was 96.2%. A higher proportion of the respondents were female (53.9%), Bench (43.6%), and protestant (47.3%). The level of good knowledge, positive attitude, and good practice were 81.8%, 70.9%, and 47.0% respectively. Using social media [AOR: 1.801, 95% CI: 1.005, 3.226], watching television [AOR: 1.884 95% CI: 1.093, 3.247], being knowledgeable [AOR: 5.173 95% CI: 2.276, 11.755], and having a positive attitude [AOR: 4.300 95% CI: 2.351, 7.868] were positively associated with COVID-19 prevention practice.

Conclusion

Despite the high level of knowledge and a moderate level of positive attitude, the practice of COVID-19 prevention measures was low. Using social media, watching television, being knowledgeable, and having positive attitudes towards COVID-19 increases the tendency to practice COVID-19 prevention measures. School directors and teachers should strictly monitor students for their adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures as directed by the local and national health care departments.
Isolation, characterization and application of bacteriophage PSDA-2 against Salmonella Typhimurium in chilled mutton
Authors: Sun Ziyu , Mandlaa  , Wen Hui , Ma Li , Chen Zhongjun
Published: January 2022

Salmonellais a common foodborne pathogen, especially in meat and meat products. Lytic phages are promising alternatives to conventional methods forSalmonellabiocontrol in food and food processing. In this study, a virulent bacteriophage (PSDA-2) againstSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium was isolated from the sewage and it was found that PSDA-2 belongs toCornellvirusgenus ofSiphoviridaefamily by morphological and phylogenetic analysis. Based on the one-step growth curve, PSDA-2 has a short latent period (10 min) and a high burst size (120 PFU/cell). The stability test in vitro reveals that PSDA-2 is stable at 30–70°C and pH 3–10. Bioinformatics analysis show that PSDA-2 genome consists of 40,062 bp with a GC content of 50.21% and encodes 63 open reading frames (ORFs); no tRNA genes, lysogenic genes, drug resistance genes and virulence genes were identified in the genome. Moreover, the capacity for PSDA-2 to controlSalmonellaTyphimurium in chilled mutton was investigated. The results show that incubation of PSDA-2 at 4°C reduced recoverableSalmonellaby 1.7 log CFU/mL and 2.1 log CFU/mL at multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 100 and 10,000 respectively, as relative to the phage-excluded control. The features of phage PSDA-2 suggest that it has the potential to be an agent to controlSalmonella.
Biocompatible micro tweezers for 3D hydrogel organoid array mechanical characterization
Authors: Alhudaithy Soliman , Hoshino Kazunori
Published: January 2022

This study presents novel biocompatible Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based micromechanical tweezers (μTweezers) capable of the stiffness characterization and manipulation of hydrogel-based organoids. The system showed great potential for complementing established mechanical characterization methods such as Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), parallel plate compression (PPC), and nanoindentation, while significantly reducing the volume of valuable hydrogels used for testing. We achieved a volume reduction of ~0.22 μl/sample using the μTweezers vs. ~157 μl/sample using the PPC, while targeting high-throughput measurement of widely adopted micro-mesoscale (a few hundred μm-1500 μm) 3D cell cultures. The μTweezers applied and measured nano-millinewton forces through cantilever’ deflection with high linearity and tunability for different applications; the assembly is compatible with typical inverted optical microscopes and fit on standard tissue culture Petri dishes, allowing mechanical compression characterization of arrayed 3D hydrogel-based organoids in a high throughput manner. The average achievable output per group was 40 tests per hour, where 20 organoids and 20 reference images in one 35 mm petri dish were tested, illustrating efficient productivity to match the increasing demand on 3D organoids’ applications. The changes in stiffness of collagen I hydrogel organoids in four conditions were measured, with ovarian cancer cells (SKOV3) or without (control). The Young’s modulus of the control group (Control—day 0, E = 407± 146, n = 4) measured by PPC was used as a reference modulus, where the relative elastic compressive modulus of the other groups based on the stiffness measurements was also calculated (control-day 0, E = 407 Pa), (SKOV3-day 0, E = 318 Pa), (control-day 5, E = 528 Pa), and (SKOV3-day 5, E = 376 Pa). The SKOV3-embedded hydrogel-based organoids had more shrinkage and lowered moduli on day 0 and day 5 than controls, consistently, while SKOV3 embedded organoids increased in stiffness in a similar trend to the collagen I control from day 0 to day 5. The proposed method can contribute to the biomedical, biochemical, and regenerative engineering fields, where bulk mechanical characterization is of interest. The μTweezers will also provide attractive design and application concepts to soft membrane-micro 3D robotics, sensors, and actuators.
Guys in a strange style: Subcultural masculinity of Soviet Stiliagi
Authors: Myzelev Alla
Published: January 2022

This article examines the subcultural Soviet movement Stiliagi from its appearance in 1948 to the early 1960s. The movement created countercultural fashion styles for men for the first time since the Communist Revolution in 1917. I argue that the movement and the lifestyle that were associated with it contributed to a change in the representation of masculinity in the Soviet Union by introducing a type of urban man interested in fashion and contemporary music. Stiliagi is represented in literary works and memoirs, along with the satirical press of the time. This study uses these sources along with personal interviews conducted by the author to show the full range of the movement. Using Connell’s notion of hegemonic masculinity, I look at Stiliagi as a type of alternative masculinity and argue that the fashion style and adherence to the movement were used strategically to navigate the dangerous landscape of Soviet ideological reality.
Prisoner radio as an abolitionist tool: A scholactivist reflection
Authors: Anderson Heather , Bedford Charlotte
Published: January 2022

Prisoner and prison radio – audio production and broadcasting that services prisoner and prison communities – has existed in a variety of forms in a diverse range of countries for over 30 years and has recently seen a surge in popularity and awareness. At the same time, the prison abolition movement has also gained momentum and visibility, after an equally long presence and history. Recently in the United States, the New York City Council voted to close Rikers Island by 2026 in response to community campaigning driven by an abolition agenda. Likewise, the Black Lives Matter movement has introduced an abolitionist discourse (especially around defunding police services) to the mainstream vernacular. This article considers the relationships between broadcasters/audiences and the State – embodied through government departments responsible for managing the incarceration of its citizens, and how these impact on prisoner radio’s capacity to act as an agent of change. To do so, we take a scholactivist approach to critically reflect on our experiences as prisoner radio practitioners and researchers and consider the potentials for prisoner radio to either support or hinder a prison abolition agenda. Can the genre contribute to the prison abolition movement when it often requires the support of the prison-industrial complex to exist?
Cervical anticancer activities of Annona squamosa Linn. leaf isolate
Authors: Swantara Made Dira , Rita Wiwik Susanah , Dira Made Asmarani , Agustina Kadek Karang
Published: January 2022

Background and Aim: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death, the need for new anticancer herbal drugs is becoming more urgent considering the side effects of synthetic drugs. This study aimed to determine the anticancer activity of isolates derived from the methanol extract of Annona squamosa Linn. leaves and to identify the compounds that have an active effect against HeLa cells. Materials and Methods: The leaf metabolites of A. squamosa L. were extracted using methanol at room temperature (28°C) and were partitioned into n-hexane, chloroform, and n-butanol. The toxicity test of these extracts was conducted using a brine shrimp lethality assay. Furthermore, the most toxic extracts were separated and purified using silica gel column chromatography to yield four isolate fractions: FA, FB, FC, and FD. The most toxic isolates were tested for anticancer against HeLa cells, and their compounds were identified using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: The results showed that the most toxic isolate with an LC50 value of 100.00 ppm had a potency similar to that of an anticancer agent with an IC50 value of 70.9021 ppm. Furthermore, the five compounds identified in this isolate include (6S, 7aR)-6-hydroxy-4,4,7a-trimethyl-6,7-dihydro-5H-1-benzofuran-2-one or loliolide, cocamidopropyl betaine, N-[3- (dimethylamino)propyl]dodecanamide or lauramidopropyl dimethylamine, linolenic acid, and 1-dodecyl-2-azepanone or laurocapram. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the leaf isolates of A. squamosa Linn. had shown anticancer activities against cervical cancer.
Serum Total Bilirubin and Aminotransferases in Patients with COVID-19 in Nellore District of South Andhra Pradesh
Authors: Bogarapu Kiranmayi
Published: January 2022

BACKGROUND Corona virus disease - 19 (COVID -19) infection is an acute infectious disease caused by a newly discovered beta corona virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). While the primary target organ is the lungs, involvement of many other organs is often evident in patients with COVID - 19. There is emerging evidence to suggest association of SARS-CoV-2 infection with development of many liver abnormalities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of abnormal liver parameters in COVID - 19 patients and their variation in moderate and severe cases. METHODS This is a retrospective study. All patients with COVID -19, between the ages 20 - 75 years, encountered between April and May 2021, were included for the study and compared with age-matched controls. Severity of infection was defined based on the presence of symptoms, oxygen saturation, need for respiratory and intensive care support. Liver parameters such as serum total bilirubin (TBIL), serum aminotransferases, alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) were analysed. Inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer were also included for assay. RESULTS A total of 52 patients were encountered during the study period. Of these, 29 % (15/52) required intensive care. Abnormal liver parameters were observed in 14 (27 %) patients, and were significantly elevated compared to healthy controls. Liver dysfunction was markedly profound in severe infection than those with moderate disease. Higher levels of CRP and D-dimer were noted in severe patients of COVID - 19. CONCLUSIONS Mild liver abnormalities in the form of elevated ALT and AST are seen in COVID - 19 patients suggesting mild or no liver injury. These abnormal parameters do not generally lead to significant liver function impairment/failure and no specific treatment is required. KEY WORDS COVID - 19, Corona Virus, Liver Injury, Intensive Care Support.
Primary Cicatricial Alopecia - Clinicopathological Study from South Kerala
Authors: Manikkath Sruthy , Sunny Beena , Mathew Rani
Published: January 2022

BACKGROUND Cicatricial alopecia is the term used for permanent areas of hair loss due to destruction of hair follicles. It may occur due to a disease that primarily affects hair follicles or due to external causes that damages hair follicle secondarily. The common causes of primary cicatricial alopecia include discoid lupus erythematosus, lichen plano pilaris, pseudopelade of Brocq, folliculitis decalvans and folliculitis keloidalis. Exact diagnosis at an early stage will help to provide disease specific management at the earliest thus, preventing further progression of the disease. We conducted this study to assess the role of clinico-pathological correlation to find out the exact aetiology of primary scarring alopecia in our patients. METHODS We conducted a descriptive cross sectional study to find out aetiology of primary cicatricial alopecia based on clinical and histopathological findings of 50 patients who attended the outpatient department of Dermatology in our hospital. After a detailed history and clinical examination of scalp, biopsy of lesional scalp skin was taken in all patients. In relevant cases direct immunofluorescence study was also done. RESULTS Age of the patients ranged from 16-75 years. M: F ratio was 1:1.5. Hair loss, itching, scaling and scalp pain were the reported symptoms. Commonly affected sites were parietal and temporal areas. 76 % of patients had multiple lesions. Absent follicular ostia, follicular plugging, atrophy, pigmentary changes, scaling and telangiectasias were the commonly observed clinical scalp findings. 88 % of cases showed lymphocytic infiltrate on histopathology. After clinico-pathological correlation, 48% patients had discoid lupus erythematosus followed by follicular lichen planus in 28% and pseudopelade of Brocq in 20 % cases. Folliculitis decalvans and folliculitis keloidalis each were observed in 2 % cases of primary scarring alopecia. CONCLUSIONS Clinicopathological correlation is highly useful to make an early diagnosis in primary cicatricial alopecia. In our patients discoid lupus erythematosus was found to be the predominant cause. KEY WORDS Cicatricial Alopecia, Clinicopathological Correlation, Discoid Lupus Erythematosus, Lichen Planus
Risk of Development of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Women with Increased Gestational Weight Gain – A Study Done at KR Hospital, Mysuru
Authors: M.C. Rakesh Raje Urs
Published: January 2022

BACKGROUND Most common metabolic disorder in pregnancy is gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). High maternal body mass index (BMI) and excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) are risk factors for developing GDM. Decrease in physical activity, improper diet-plan and high prevalence of obesity will lead to increased risk of GDM. So, this study is planned to assess relationship between GWG and GDM. METHODS Cross sectional case control study was done in K. R. Hospital, Mysuru, from June 2020 to Dec 2020. Study subjects were selected during their visit to the hospital and whose term was between 24 to 28 weeks. 135 controls and 113 cases were selected during the study period. Statistical analysis was done by Prism Pad software. Data expressed as Mean ± SD. Student t test was used to test significance between cases and controls. p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS In this study, mean age in control group was found to be 21.16 ± 1.50 years and GDM case group was 21.47 ± 1.59 years (p value is 0. 6960). Mean pre- pregnancy BMI in control group was 21. 60 ± 1.07 compared to GDM cases 23.04 ± 1.62 (p value <0.0048). Mean weight gain (kg/week) during first trimester in control group was 0.128 ± 0.028 and GDM cases was 0.22 ± 0.029 (p value <0.001). Mean weight gain per week during second trimester in control group was 0.46 ± 0.024 and in GDM cases was 0. 64 ± 0.066 (p value <0.001) CONCLUSIONS Excessive weight gain with increased BMI during pregnancy is significant in present study which may lead to GDM. Strict diet pattern with proper counselling must be followed during pre-pregnancy period and conception with adequate physical activity required for women to reach recommended weight in order to circumvent GDM and decrease risk of bad maternal-foetal outcomes. KEY WORDS Gestational Weight Gain, Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, BMI, Physical Activity
Study of COVID Pandemic in Selected High Burden Countries in the World
Authors: Rachakonda Ramakrishna , Shaik Abdul Waseem , Shaik Umar Pasha
Published: January 2022

BACKGROUND COVID 19 pandemic affected the whole world resulting in the death of more than four million of population throughout the world and it is nothing less than a world war. Nearly 223 countries are affected. With the understanding of the pathology changes were introduced in the treatment of COVID-19 disease. Vaccines came for the public use in different countries in January 2021. Though there is an impact of the vaccines in most of the countries, coverage has not reached significant proportions in the world. Despite vaccination number of people infected in high burden countries is still high with corresponding increase in the mortality rate. Here we have made an attempt to compare the statistics in different countries along with global figures. Control of COVID pandemic probably depends upon a combination of awareness of disease among people, COVID appropriate behaviour, vaccination for COVID and isolation of patients with disease and appropriate treatment of the COVID patients. We collected information on COVID from Worldometer and WHO publications and compared the results from selected high burden countries COVID affected nearly all the countries in the world. We have presented the cases/day and deaths per day in the selected countries at different times of the pandemic from February 2020 to October 2021. Some countries like USA, India, Brazil, UK, Russia, France and Turkey are affected more than others. 19 % of the cases in the world are reported in USA and 14 % of cases in India. Even after good vaccine coverage, UK, USA and Russia are reporting significant COVID-19 cases. All over the world more than 245 million people are affected from COVID 19 with a mortality rate of 2.03 %. Brazil and Russia have a high mortality rate of around 2.80 %. Continued appearance of new cases in certain countries is probably because of the new variants. KEY WORDS COVID 19, Vaccination, Variants of Concern (VOC), Mutations, SARS, MERS
Primary Benign Pleural Schwannoma - A Rare Case
Authors: Arshad Abdul Majeed , Sekar Gokula Krishnan , Ayub Irfan Ismail , Thangaswamy Dhanasekar , Chockalingam Chandrasekar
Published: January 2022

Usually, a solitary encapsulated benign peripheral nerve sheath tumour called the schwannoma is seen in age groups of twenty to sixty years with mean age of fortyfive years. They are commonly located on the flexor surfaces of the extremities, posterior spinal roots, neck, retroperitoneum, mediastinum, and cerebellopontine angle. Schwannomas of the pleural surface of the lungs are usually rare and are benign, asymptomatic, and slow growing lesions that arise from the autonomic nerve fibre sheaths and their occurrence is more common in adults with a male predominance.1 Schwannomas may occur in patients with underlying genetic disorders like neurofibromatosis 2, schwannomatosis or Carney complex. Neurofibroma and other benign spindle cell tumours such as leiomyosarcoma, leiomyoma and calcifying aponeurotic fibroma which may also show palisading of the nuclei are the histopathological differential diagnoses.1 Schwannoma, which is a benign peripheral nerve sheath tumour is also called neurilemmoma. 1 % - 2% of the neoplasms of the thoracic cavity are the pleural schwannomas which are extremely rare. Here is a case report of a 50-year-old female diagnosed with primary benign pleural schwannoma which was discovered incidentally in a chest computed tomography. A video assisted thoracoscopic wide local excision of the right chest wall was done on the patient which showed histopathological and immunohistochemical features of schwannoma.
Disseminated Histoplasmosis in an Immunocompromised Individual
Authors: F. Altous , Patir Rupak Protim , Khawbung Angelia L.
Published: January 2022

Histoplasma capsulatum is a dimorphic fungus usually found in the few regions of West Bengal and Assam, the Gangetic Plains, western parts of India, and sporadically from southern and few northern Indian states.1 Humans are infected by inhalation of microconidia and mycelial fragments of H. capsulatum. 2 It commonly infects immunocompromised patients (HIV/AIDS, transplant patients and patients receiving immunosuppressive agents). In immunocompromised patients, it presents as nonspecific symptoms such as fever of unknown origin, weight loss, oral and aphthous ulcers, lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly.3 Here, we are reporting a case of disseminated histoplasmosis in an immunocompromised patient.
Rare Presentation of Isolated Pseudoaneurysms of the External Iliac Artery with Acute Appendicitis in a Type 1 Diabetic Patient - A Case Report
Authors: Deolekar Samir Suresh , Saini Himani
Published: January 2022

A 16-year-old female presented with pain in the right iliac fossa (RIF) and fever in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) with no significant findings consistent with a differential of co-existing aneurysms. Ultrasound of her abdomen was suggestive of likely sealed off perforation of the appendix with collection in the RIF. After resolution of her DKA, she underwent appendicectomy laparoscopically which was converted to open in view of dense adhesions. She developed per rectal bleeding post appendicectomy evaluation of which with computed tomography (CT) angiography was suggestive of two isolated right external iliac artery (EIA) aneurysms which were then treated with covered metallic stents. While isolated aneurysm of the external iliac artery itself are extremely rare, the association of appendicitis with pseudoaneurysm of the EIA reinstates one of the mechanisms of formation of such aneurysms via direct extension of infection. Herein, we discuss the successful management of ruptured pseudoaneurysms of the right EIA in an operated case of acute appendicitis with type 1 diabetes mellitus. First described by William Osler in 1885, mycotic pseudoaneurysm were termed “mycotic” for he found that in patients of infective endocarditis, the aortic arch aneurysms resembled fleshy fungal vegetations.1 Pseudoaneurysm as a complication of appendicitis, is an extremely rare condition and delay in diagnosis results in sepsis, arterial rupture and death.2-8 We present a similar case of right EIA pseudoaneurysm associated with acute appendicitis in a type 1 diabetic young female treated successfully with an endovascular covered stent.
Primary Intestinal Melanoma Presenting as Intussusception - A Rare Case Report
Authors: Chandrakar Sandeep , Ratre Rajendra , Kujur Lizrose , Murty T. Narasimha
Published: January 2022

Malignant melanomas mostly begin as an oculocutaneous lesion and then metastasise to other sites over time. Gastrointestinal melanomas are rare but primary intestinal melanomas are extremely rare. They account for 1 - 3 % of malignant tumours of GI tract.1,2 Although few cases have been reported, the existence of primary intestinal melanoma is still doubtful. It is difficult to differentiate between primary and secondary intestinal melanomas based on their clinical picture alone. Some authors believe that the metastatic melanoma into the intestine manifest symptoms in the patient after complete regression of some old cutaneous lesion.3,4 But some believe that primary melanoma of small intestine originates from Schwannian neuroblast cells, neural crest melanoblasts, or amine-precursor uptake and decarboxylation (APUD) cells through neoplastic changes.5,6 They are unrecognized until late due to absence of symptoms, but if symptoms occur, they include abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding and sometimes with intestinal obstruction and few present acutely with perforation. By any origin, malignant melanoma is an aggressive tumour with very poor prognosis and low survival rates, even after surgery. Here we report a case of primary intestinal melanoma in a young patient who presented as intussusception of small intestine.
Botryoid Rhabdomyosarcoma of Biliary Tree - An Unusual Presentation of Obstructive Jaundice in a Child
Authors: Nethagani Jayalatha , Ram Dhinesh , Govula Priyanka , Devu Sridhar , Varada Sai Sree Harsha
Published: January 2022

A 5-year-old male child presented with complaints of abdominal pain, swelling, yellowish discoloration of eyes and altered stools for 4 months. No h/o fever/similar complaints in family/recent vaccinations/recent travel/blood transfusion. Normal vaccination for age. Subsequently contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) of the patient was done and it showed – ill-defined heterogeneously enhancing mass lesion measuring 68 mm x 50 mm x 70 mm at the level of confluence of right and left hepatic duct with upstream dilatation of intra-hepatic biliary radicles. Lesion is seen encasing portal vein, hepatic artery with no evidence of tumour thrombosis. Moderate ascites, few heterogeneously enhancing nodules in peri-portal region and few enlarged lymph nodes noted at porta hepatis was observed.
Hegemón-e Németország? : A német hegemónia gyakorlati megnyilvánulásai az Európai Unió intézményrendszerében
Authors:   , Baranyi Márton
Published: January 2022

A német hatalommal kapcsolatos kérdéskör egy örökzöld téma Európában. A német kérdés – amely alapvetően azt a dilemmát fogalmazza meg, hogy az egységes Németország megléte hosszú távon nem eredményezhet stabilitást és békét az európai kontinensen – évszázadok óta egyfajta búvópatakként vonul végig Európa történelmén. A német kérdés érvényességét megkérdőjelezni látszik ugyan a német újraegyesítés óta eltelt három békés és páratlanul sikeres évtized, ugyanakkor az önkorlátozás évtizedes hagyományait szemlátomást hátrahagyó Németország és az ország növekvő térnyerése az európai (gazdasági és politikai) integráció- és válságkezelésben a német hegemóniával kapcsolatos tudományos diskurzus reneszánszát hozta el. Az értekezés alapvető kérdése, hogy hegemónnak tekinthető-e Németország az Európai Unión belül? Tekintve, hogy a hegemónia mérésének nincs egy általánosan elfogadott kritériumrendszere (továbbá nincs egyetlen univerzális mérőszám, amellyel a hegemónia ténye és mértéke megállapítható lenne), így a disszertáció a német hegemóniával kapcsolatos sejtést öt hipotézisen keresztül vizsgálja. Ezen hipotézisek a német hatalom uniós intézményrendszerben való jelenlétét és mértékét vizsgálják több különböző szemszögből a 2010-es évtized tekintetében, érintve az uniós döntéshozatal legfontosabb stációit és aktorait. Az előzetes hipotézis Németország EU-n belüli gazdasági erejét járja körül statisztikai elemzéssel és tizenegy gazdasági mutató segítségével. A disszertáció első hipotézise egy intézményi-hatalmi modell létrehozatalával veszi górcső alá a vezető német tisztviselők dominanciáját, számának és arányának változását az uniós intézményrendszerben az elmúlt tíz év tekintetében. A második hipotézis az EU tanácsi döntéshozatala kapcsán kiemelkedően fontos tagállami szövetségkötési és koalícióképzési preferenciákat vizsgálja Németország vonatkozásában. A harmadik hipotézis az Európai Bizottság esetleges német érdekekkel kapcsolatos jogalkotási elfogultságát vizsgálja két rövid esettanulmányon keresztül. A negyedik hipotézis pedig az elviekben az uniós állampolgári érdekeket megjelenítő európai parlamenti képviselők munkáját vizsgálja a 2014-2019-es jogalkotási ciklusra fókuszálva, azt kutatva, hogy a német képviselők tekinthetők-e a leginkább befolyásos képviselőknek a jogalkotási aktivitást és szövetségesi kapcsolataik szorosságát figyelembe véve. Az előbbiekben ismertetett hipotézisek eredményeinek összesítése után egy relatíve világos kép rajzolódik ki a tekintetben, hogy hegemónnak tekinthető-e Németország az Európai Unión belül. A fentiekből kirajzolódik, hogy a disszertáció talán legnagyobb hozzáadott értékének az tekinthető, hogy a feltételezett német hegemóniának elsősorban a gyakorlati, eddig kevésbé kutatott aspektusait és az Európai Unión belüli megjelenési formáit kutatja és szemlélteti több szemszögből, átfogó és relatíve komplex módon, mindezt egy új módszertani mix kidolgozásával és alkalmazásával.
Tragédias semelhantes, diferentes formas de lidar com a dor
Authors: Gallo Carlos Artur , Feijó de Souza Laura , De Lara Bueno Mariana
Published: January 2022

Este artigo analisa os mecanismos implementados para reparar as vítimas de violações aos direitos humanos do apartheid na África do Sul e do genocídio ocorrido em Ruanda. Apesar de possuírem diferenças que os particularizam, ambos os países possuem em comum a existência de períodos marcados por altos índices de violência política praticada contra parcelas expressivas de sua população. Outra característica compartilhada pelos países é o impacto que a colonização teve no estabelecimento de valores e estruturas racistas, responsáveis pela segregação e/ou pelo tensionamento das relações entre diferentes grupos étnicos. O artigo realiza um panorama sobre os conflitos e as violações ocorridas em cada um dos países mencionados. Na sequência, traça um panorama das medidas que foram implementadas com vistas à reconciliação nacional, ganhando destaque neste processo o trabalho das Comissões da Verdade. Na terceira parte da exposição, finalmente, compara-se as medidas.