Effect of Insecticides (Pyrethroids) on Eosinophil Count in School Children

Background: Study was conducted in school children to reveal the toxic effects of pyrethroids which causes allergic reactions with in the body especially altered lung function tests and eosinophil count. Objective: In the present study, the effects of pyrethroids on eosinophil count of school children were analyzed.Methodology: The present study is a cross-sectional analytical study. The study was conducted at Government Girls Primary School, Sita Nagar, Karachi including 50 children with ages between 6 – 10 years. They were divided equally into two groups: group A (exposed to insecticidal spray) and group B (exposed to mosquito coil). The correlations between the insecticides (Pyrethroids), and eosinophil by linear regression analysis confirmed that insecticides (Pyrethroids) had a strong correlation with the eosinophil count under study exemplified by the significant increase in Eosinophil count was observed after exposure to mosquito coil whereas there was no association between insecticidal spray and Eosinophil count. Results: There was significant increase in Eosinophil count after exposure to mosquito coil whereas no association was observed between insecticidal spray and Eosinophil count.Conclusions: The use of spray over the coil is less hazardous to the health

Study of importance of medial cortex in distal femur comminuted fracture

Background: Distal femur fractures require high energy trauma by means of road traffic accidents. There are various modalities of fixation, involving plating, external fixator and intramedullary nailing. cause of nonunion like smoking, osteoporosis, early weight bearing, improper construction of fixation, improper reduction.Methods: The study was conducted on 20 patients having distal femur fractures operated previously by using a different modality of implant goes in failure like bending of implant, broken of implant, peri implant fracture after second episode of trauma. Patient was preoperatively assessing for rule out occult low grade infection by blood investigation like ESR and CRP. Previous X-ray review to find cause of nonunion.Results: All patients showed a complete union at the fracture site with an average duration of 4-6 months. There was no complaint of infection, joint stiffness or difficulty in weight bearing after treatment with revision fixation and bone grafting. Patients were able to walk without affecting their daily activity of living.  Conclusions: Comminuted medial cortex left unfixed or maligned will go into varus collapse and leads to failure of fixation

Mucinous neoplasia of appendix: imaging and its relevance to management

Appendiceal mucocele is a rare pathology of the appendix that can present with non-specific symptoms. Therefore, imaging evaluation is essential for accurate diagnosis and proper management. To document importance of pre-operative imaging, we reviewed the scans, reports, and clinical data of nine patients with appendiceal mucocele who were treated at our institute. We also studied the literature on CT findings, histopathology, surgical management, prognosis, and recent guidelines for appendiceal mucocele. We suggest that pre-operative imaging can aid surgeons in selecting the most appropriate treatment plan for each patient, resulting in better outcomes. Certain critical imaging features, such as mural nodularity, irregular wall thickening, lymphadenopathy, cecal involvement, presence of free mucus, or pseudomyxoma peritonei, can alert surgeons to prepare for frozen section and an appropriate surgical approach. In conclusion, we recommend pre-operative imaging as a crucial tool for the diagnosis and management of appendiceal mucocele. Its use in identifying critical imaging features can help surgeons decide on the best surgical approach for each patient and ultimately lead to better outcomes

Effect of periodontal therapy on maxillary sinus mucous membrane thickening in chronic periodontitis: A split-mouth study

Background. This study evaluated the effect of periodontal therapy on mucous membrane thickening in maxillary sinus in chronic periodontitis patients using radiovisiography (RVG) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods. The study population included 30 patients diagnosed with chronic periodontitis, exhibiting bilateral mucosal thickening of maxillary sinus. The selected sites were randomly assigned to group I (control group - not receiving periodontal therapy) and group II (test group - receiving periodontal therapy). The clinical parameters and mucosal thickening of the maxillary sinus were evaluated at baseline and after 9 months. Results. There was a significant decrease in the PPD, CAL as well as mucosal thickening in group II while, group I showed an increase in these parameters. In group II at the end of 9 months the mean mucosal thickening reduction as assessed by CBCT was 0.76±0.18, 0.73±0.24, 0.88±0.42 and 1.13±0.43 mm at the most anterior point (AP), the most posterior point (PP), the mid-point (MP), point of maximum thickness (MT) as well as in the length of the thickened mucosal lining, respectively. Conclusion. The results of our study indicated a reduction in the mucosal thickening of the maxillary sinus after surgical periodontal therapy. The trial was registered with the Clinical Trial Registry of India (Trial REF/ 2016/02/010805)

A Comparative Study of Architecture and Quality of Sleep among Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy Patients and Healthy Individuals Attending Tertiary Care Hospital in Central India

Background and Objective: Primary sleep disorders are common in patients with epilepsy. Seizures, epileptiform discharges, and antiepileptic drugs alter the sleep architecture of patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). We evaluated sleep architecture and its quality in these patients. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients with JME (11 men and 19 women with mean age of 21.10 ± 4.55 years) and 30 healthy controls underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG). Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were assessed using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), respectively. Results: Myoclonus and generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) were present in all patients with JME, while absence seizures were in 13.3%. Sleep deprivation was the most frequent precipitating factor for seizures (56.6%) followed by fatigue, sound, and photic stimulation. Patients with JME reported a statistically significant drop in sleep efficiency (P<0.001) with prolonged sleep onset latency (P<0.001). There was prolongation in the N1 stage of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (P=0.002), and reduction in the N2 stage of NREM (P<0.001) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (P<0.001). The median PSQI score was higher in patients with JME, suggesting poor sleep quality (P<0.001), and the daytime sleepiness was not different as indicated by the similar median ESS score (P=0.033). Conclusion: Our results suggest a significant alteration in the sleep architecture of patients with JME with reduced sleep efficiency and poor sleep quality. The possible role of the disease itself is suggested for these alterations as a simi-lar trend was also observed in drug naïve patients

Recent advances in hydrothermal carbonisation:from tailored carbon materials and biochemicals to applications and bioenergy

Introduced in the literature in 1913 by Bergius, who at the time was studying biomass coalification, hydrothermal carbonisation, as many other technologies based on renewables, was forgotten during the "industrial revolution". It was rediscovered back in 2005, on the one hand, to follow the trend set by Bergius of biomass to coal conversion for decentralised energy generation, and on the other hand as a novel green method to prepare advanced carbon materials and chemicals from biomass in water, at mild temperature, for energy storage and conversion and environmental protection. In this review, we will present an overview on the latest trends in hydrothermal carbonisation including biomass to bioenergy conversion, upgrading of hydrothermal carbons to fuels over heterogeneous catalysts, advanced carbon materials and their applications in batteries, electrocatalysis and heterogeneous catalysis and finally an analysis of the chemicals in the liquid phase as well as a new family of fluorescent nanomaterials formed at the interface between the liquid and solid phases, known as hydrothermal carbon nanodots

On-farm maize storage systems and rodent postharvest losses in six maize growing agro-ecological zones of Kenya

Rodents are one of the major postharvest pests that affect food security by impacting on both food availability and safety. However, knowledge of the impact of rodents in on-farm maize storage systems in Kenya is limited. A survey was conducted in 2014 to assess magnitudes of postharvest losses in on-farm maize storage systems in Kenya, and the contribution of rodents to the losses. A total of 630 farmers spread across six maize growing agro-ecological zones (AEZs) were interviewed. Insects, rodents and moulds were the main storage problems reported by farmers. Storage losses were highest in the moist transitional and moist mid-altitude zones, and lowest in the dry-transitional zone. Overall, rodents represented the second most important cause of storage losses after insects, and were ranked as the main storage problem in the lowland tropical zone, while insects were the main storage problem in the other AEZs. Where maize was stored on cobs, total farmer perceived (farmer estimation) storage weight losses were 11.1 ± 0.7 %, with rodents causing up to 43 % of these losses. Contrastingly, where maize was stored as shelled grain, the losses were 15.5 ± 0.6 % with rodents accounting for up to 30 %. Regression analysis showed that rodents contributed significantly to total storage losses (p < 0.0001), and identified rodent trapping as the main storage practice that significantly (p = 0.001) lowered the losses. Together with insecticides, rodent traps were found to significantly decrease total losses. Improved awareness and application of these practices could mitigate losses in on farm-stored maize

Soft Magnetic Composite Substrates for RF/Microwave Applications

Novel soft magnetic ferrite materials will play a crucial role in next-generation over one trillion sensors (also known as “trillion sensor economy) related to 5G communications and internet of things, as these materials can achieve improved wireless power and signal transfer efficiency with high operation frequency. In this work, Ni-Cu-Zn and Ni-Co-Zn ferrites with high permeability, high permittivity, and low magnetic and dielectric losses were prepared for RF and microwave device applications. Frequency dispersion of RF complex permeability of Ni-Cu-Zn ferrites prepared under different applied hydraulic pressures and durations have been thoroughly investigated. The Ni0.35Cu0.19Zn0.46Fe2O4 ferrites were prepared by conventional ceramic synthesis process. The obtained ferrite powders were pressed under different hydraulic pressures (4 MPa, 8 MPa, 12 MPa) over different durations (30 sec, 2min, 3min and 5 min). It was found that the complex permeability spectra change considerably with respect to the application of different hydraulic pressures and time duration. Porosity and grain size play an important role in affecting the permeability and magnetic loss tangent of the ferrite samples. A significant increase of the real part of the complex permeability from 96 to 139 is observed due to the application of hydraulic pressure of 12 MPa for 3 min as compared to a manually pressed sample. The magnetic loss tangent also increases from 0.01 to 0.02 as the imaginary part of the complex permeability increases, which is still acceptable for most of the wireless power transfer and wireless communication applications. It is postulated that the effect of elevated hydraulic pressure on ferrite powder-based composites increases the real part of permeability while influencing magnetic loss tangent less severely. In this work, Ni-Cu-Zn and Ni-Co-Zn ferrites with high permeability and low magnetic loss were prepared and characterized for RF and microwave device applications. Composition and microstructure control is crucial to obtain the desired magnetic and loss properties. CuO and Co2O3 dopants were employed during the synthesis of Ni-Cu-Zn and Ni-Co-Zn ferrite specimens to modify the microstructures, thus improving the magnetic properties of the ferrites. High value of measured relative permeability (µ’ of 4 -10) and relatively low magnetic loss tangent (tanδ_m of 0.01- 0.1) has been achieved at frequency range between in high frequency (HF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) ranges. Addition of CuO, especially up to 3 wt%, and Co2O3 up to 0.25 mole percent can cause a significant increase in permeability, while noticeable reduction in magnetic losses has been observed for the doped ferrite sample. The resonance frequency of synthesized ferrites has also been shifted into the GHz range, when higher concentration of CuO dopants (\u3e 5 wt%) and lower concentrations of Co2O3 were employed. Electromagnetic properties of Ni-Co-Zn/Epoxy magnetic composite substrates filled with different volume fractions of ferrite particles have been studied and were analyzed using different mixture models. Based on the properties of the Ni-Co-Zn/Epoxy magnetic composite substrates, a prototype antenna for MICS band (401 MHz - 406 MHz) have been designed by using 3D EM simulations by ANSY/HFSS. Subsequently, the antenna design was implemented by compression molding method. The performance of the Ni-Co-Zn/Epoxy substrate based antenna was compared with the dielectric-only substrate antenna fabricated with a commercial microwave laminate (i.e., Rogers RO3010 with a permittivity εr=10.2). A miniaturization of 16 % in patch antenna area and a 104% enhancement in antenna bandwidth along with an acceptable gain of 1.85 dBi has been achieved by the patch antenna implemented by Ni-Co-Zn/Epoxy magnetic substrate as compared to the reference design fabricated using the dielectric core layer of a Rogers RO3010 laminate