Lumbosacral transitional vertebra: Prevalence and association with low backache

Study Design-Retrospective observational analysis of radiological images. Purpose- To determine the prevalence of lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LSTV) in patients symptomatic with low backache and study the association of type of LSTV with low backache. Materials & Methods: Standard standing lumbosacral spine AP radiographs were obtained for 6000 patients aged between 18-60 years of age.  The lumbosacral spine was assessed for the presence of lumbosacral transitional vertebra which was further classified into type I, II, III, IV based on Castellvi’s method. The association of low backache (LBA) with the subtypes of LSTV was also studied. Results: The prevalence of lumbosacral transitional vertebra was found in 6.45 % (387 out of 6000), of which type II (pseudo articulation, unilateral or bilateral) was the commonest type found in 62.7 %, followed by type I (dysplastic transverse process) in 23.2 %, type III (true fusion) in 10.1 % and type IV (mixed, unilateral pseudo articulation and contralateral true fusion) in 3.8 %. The subtype IIA was found strongly associated with low backache. Conclusions: In this cohort-based study, the prevalence of LSTV was studied and a positive association of LSTV was established to be considered as one of the differentials of low backache

Comparative study of non-contrast and post-contrast MR fistulogram in the evaluation of fistula in Ano

Background: Fistula in ano is a common inflammatory condition with significant morbidity. To evaluate the disease before planning any treatment, MRI has become a cornerstone involving both non-contrast and post contrast imaging as a routine protocol. Aim: The current study has aims to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of non-contrast MRI over post contrast MRI in the evaluation of perianal fistulas. Methods: 122 patients of perianal fistulas were included in this observational study who had undergone contrast-enhanced MRI prior to surgery. Non-contrast data sets were compared with the post-contrast data sets. Results:  The sensitivity of delineating Grade 1 perianal fistulas, as per St James university classification, on non-contrast imaging was found to be 81.03 %. The sensitivity was found to be 75%, 88.66% and 91.30% for Grade 2, 3, and 4 fistulas respectively, which increases to 100% in Grade 5 perianal fistulas. Conclusion: On comparison of the non-contrast data set with the post-contrast images, the findings were found comparable. In higher grades of perianal fistulas, the sensitivity of evaluating the disease on non-contrast images is at par with post-contrast imaging. Contrast study, being more expensive, time-consuming and risky modality should be avoided as a routine and could be considered in low-grade perianal fistulas on case to case basis

Assessing Barriers to Healthy Food Access in Winooski, VT

Introduction: • The local food environment plays an important role in defining the health of the neighborhood and is an important determinant of resident’s dietary intakes. • Specifically, food availability, affordability, and accessibility have been linked to diet quality and various health outcomes. • Fresh fruits and vegetables are markers for nutritional diets. Grocery stores and super markets tend to have better quality fruits and vegetables, greater variety and better affordability than convenient stores that tend to have more prepared and higher calorie foods. • People who live in neighborhoods with better access to supermarkets tend to have a greater daily intake of fruits and vegetables. • Increased distance from supermarkets is negatively associated with healthy food intake in a study of pregnant women. • “Food deserts” are areas that are devoid of a local supermarket where residents have a limited ability to purchase affordable healthy foods. They have become an emergent problem in the United States. This paucity of supermarkets in these areas combined with lack of private or convenient transportation among poorer residents may contribute to health disparities across socioeconomic classes. • The town of Winooski, VT has a population of 7,267. Although there are local food markets and convenient stores within the town, Winooski lacks a larger grocery store. • Insufficient public transportation and inadequate pedestrian sidewalks make it more difficult for residents to access supermarkets located in other towns.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1078/thumbnail.jp

Bounds for the collapsibility number of a simplicial complex and non-cover complexes of hypergraphs

The collapsibility number of simplicial complexes was introduced by Wegner in order to understand the intersection patterns of convex sets. This number also plays an important role in a variety of Helly type results. There are only a few upper bounds for the collapsibility number of complexes available in literature. In general, it is difficult to establish such non-trivial upper bounds. In this article, we construct a sequence of upper bounds $\theta_k(X)$ for the collapsibility number of a simplicial complex $X$. We also show that the bound given by $\theta_k$ is tight if the underlying complex is $k$-vertex decomposable. We then give an upper bound for $\theta_k$ and therefore for the collapsibility number of the non-cover complex of a hypergraph in terms of its covering number

\v{C}ech complexes of hypercube graphs

A \v{C}ech complex of a finite simple graph $G$ is a nerve complex of balls in the graph, with one ball centered at each vertex. More precisely, let the \v{C}ech complex $\mathcal{N}(G,r)$ be the nerve of all closed balls of radius $\frac{r}{2}$ centered at vertices of $G$, where these balls are drawn in the geometric realization of the graph $G$ (equipped with the shortest path metric). The simplicial complex $\mathcal{N}(G,r)$ is equal to the graph $G$ when $r=1$, and homotopy equivalent to the graph $G$ when $r$ is smaller than half the length of the shortest loop in $G$. For higher values of $r$, the topology of $\mathcal{N}(G,r)$ is not well-understood. We consider the $n$-dimensional hypercube graphs $\mathbb{I}_n$ with $2^n$ vertices. Our main results are as follows. First, when $r=2$, we show that the \v{C}ech complex $\mathcal{N}(\mathbb{I}_n,2)$ is homotopy equivalent to a wedge of 2-spheres for all $n\ge 1$, and we count the number of 2-spheres appearing in this wedge sum. Second, when $r=3$, we show that $\mathcal{N}(\mathbb{I}_n,3)$ is homotopy equivalent to a simplicial complex of dimension at most 4, and that for $n\ge 4$ the reduced homology of $\mathcal{N}(\mathbb{I}_n, 3)$ is nonzero in dimensions 3 and 4, and zero in all other dimensions. Finally, we show that for all $n\ge 1$ and $r\ge 0$, the inclusion $\mathcal{N}(\mathbb{I}_n, r)\hookrightarrow \mathcal{N}(\mathbb{I}_n, r+2)$ is null-homotopic, providing a bound on the length of bars in the persistent homology of \v{C}ech complexes of hypercube graphs.Comment: 14 page

On the cyber-emergency preparedness in a resilient organization

In recent years, the scientific fields of cyber-security and resilience engineering have emerged as new ways to deal with emerging risks in cybersocio- technical systems. Unlike conventional security management approaches, focusing on historical data to provide an accurate risk picture, resilience engineering aims to enhance an organization's capacity to anticipate, monitor, and adapt to disruptions and surprises. However, with the increasing cyber threats and changes in national and international security policies, there is a pressing need to examine the resilience characteristics of cyber emergency preparedness in both the public and private sectors. To address this need, this study adopts a triangulation method through an online survey and interview with two subject matter experts in the cyber domain. It explores factors that might contribute to enhancing cyber emergency preparedness in dealing with potential cyber threats and attacks. Findings suggest that front-line operators have limited information and capacity to process existing data in the domain of cyber security, highlighting a need for enhancing cyber-related knowledge across organizations. Furthermore, 25% of enterprises in the sample update their cybersecurity risk picture only once a year. The lack of more frequent updates downscales the contingency plans' thoroughness and puts companies in a vulnerable situation, given the increasing trend of cyber-attacksacceptedVersio