Male Nurses: A Visible Minority

Because nursing is associated with feminine characteristics, it is mainly considered a woman’s profession (Meadus, 2000; Roth & Coleman, 2008). Despite the increasing number of men choosing nursing as a profession, they often face discrimination in this predominantly female profession (Roth & Coleman, 2008). When men choose a female-dominated profession like nursing, they are questioned regarding their sexual orientation and are considered inappropriate for bed-side nursing (O’Connor, 2015; Meadus, 2000). Patients’ perceptions of male nurses as sexual aggressors or gay affects their ability to do their job (Evans, 2002). The goal of this literature review is to explore challenges commonly faced by male nurses and understand how these perceptions and stereotypes affect their ability to provide care

A Comprehensive Review on Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is defined by a constellation of interconnected physiological, biochemical, clinical, and metabolic factors that directly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and all cause mortality. Insulin resistance, visceral adiposity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, endothelial dysfunction, genetic susceptibility, elevated blood pressure, hypercoagulable state, and chronic stress are the several factors which constitute the syndrome. Chronic inflammation is known to be associated with visceral obesity and insulin resistance which is characterized by production of abnormal adipocytokines such as tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, leptin, and adiponectin. The interaction between components of the clinical phenotype of the syndrome with its biological phenotype (insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, etc.) contributes to the development of a proinflammatory state and further a chronic, subclinical vascular inflammation which modulates and results in atherosclerotic processes. Lifestyle modification remains the initial intervention of choice for such population. Modern lifestyle modification therapy combines specific recommendations on diet and exercise with behavioural strategies. Pharmacological treatment should be considered for those whose risk factors are not adequately reduced with lifestyle changes. This review provides summary of literature related to the syndrome’s definition, epidemiology, underlying pathogenesis, and treatment approaches of each of the risk factors comprising metabolic syndrome

A non-destructive approach for measuring rice panicle-level photosynthetic responses using 3D-image reconstruction

Our understanding of the physiological response of rice inflorescence (panicle) to environmental stresses is limited by the challenge of accurately determining panicle photosynthetic parameters and their impact on grain yield. This is primarily due to lack of a suitable gas exchange methodology for panicles, as well as non-destructive methods to accurately determine panicle surface area. To address these challenges, we have developed a custom panicle gas exchange cylinder compatible with the LiCor 6800 Infra-red Gas Analyzer. Accurate surface area measurements were determined with a 3D panicle imaging platform to normalize the panicle-level photosynthetic measurements. We observed differential responses in both panicle and flag leaf for two temperate Japonica rice genotypes (accessions, TEJ-1 and TEJ-2) exposed to heat stress during early grain filling. There was a notable divergence in relative photosynthetic contribution of flag leaf and panicles for the genotype tolerant to heat stress (TEJ-2) compared to the less tolerant accession. The novelty of this approach is that it is non-destructive and more accurately determines panicle area and photosynthetic parameters, enabling researchers to monitor temporal changes in panicle physiology during the reproductive development. The method is useful for panicle-level measurements under diverse environmental stresses, and for evaluating genotypic variation for panicle physiology and architecture in other cereals with compact inflorescences

Assessment and Screening of the Risk Factors in Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is chronic inflammatory epidemic state contributing to total and cardiovascular mortality. The current study planned to assess and screen risk factors for MetS and its components. A cross-sectional study conducted to assess age, gender, social status, employment, education, family history, physical activity, dietary habits, alcohol, sleep, body mass index and stress as determinants of MetS. The results were analyzed by Chi Square test with statistical significance of p value <0.05. The frequency of MetS was 17.38% as per modified National Cholesterol Education Program–Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Females (57.38%), age >50 years (86.90%; p < 0.05), middle socioeconomic status (70.50%), illiteracy (39.35%), and unemployment (81.97%; p < 0.05) were found contributing though to different extents. Subjects with a sedentary lifestyle (72.14%), positive family history (42.63%), omnivore diet (47.55%), stress (78.69%; p < 0.05), insomnia (29.51%) and increased BMI (83.62%; p < 0.001) had shown predisposition to MetS. However, the protective role of alcohol (38.28%), an active lifestyle (36.21%), vegetarian diet (62.07%) and adequate sleep (73.11%) was observed. A significant hypertension (98.37%; p < 0.001), dyslipidemia (77.05%; p < 0.001), dysglycemia (75.41%; p < 0.001) and obesity (59.02%; p < 0.001) was reported in MetS. Common concerns of female gender, increasing age and BMI, sedentary lifestyle, stress and positive family history should be considered for early identification and appropriate intervention to fight the growing MetS epidemic

Oronasal Fistula and Complete Edentulism: What to Do?

Oronasal fistula is an internal fistula which represents an abnormal epitheliazed tract between oral and nasal cavity, thus impairing associated functions of deglutition and speech by nasal regurgitation of fluid and nasal speech respectively, besides risk of nasal infection resulting from food lodgement. This paper provides a brief yet definitive insight on the etiology, diagnosis and surgical closure of oronasal fistula along with a case report and discussion on prosthodontic rehabilitation of a 65 year old female with an iatrogenic oronasal fistula developed as a result of maxillary molar extraction using a complete metal based denture

Fast Fourier Transform Based Force Histogram Computation for 3D Raster Data

The force histogram is a quantitative representation of relative position between two objects. For 2D data, two algorithms are defined: a well-functioning line-based algorithm, and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based algorithm that has a high computational cost. The line-based algorithm has previously been extended to the 3D case, but found to be unstable, and affected by a variety of factors. This thesis presents an extension of the FFT-based algorithm to the 3D case along with an analysis that demonstrates that, with the exception of a few special cases, the computational time of the 3D FFT-based algorithm is less than the line-based version. In addition, the results included here shown that the FFT-based algorithm is independent of the number of directions, the types of forces, and the shapes of the objects (convex, concave, disjoint or overlapping)

Detect and Isolate Black Hole Attack in MANET using AODV

Abstract-I

Evaluation of Serum Ferritin Levels in Patients of Hypothyroidism

Background: The thyroid gland is a bilobed endocrine gland that secretes two vital hormones: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). The production and release of these hormones are regulated by the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) from the pituitary gland. Iron is an essential element for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland. In the body, iron is stored in the form of ferritin, an intracellular protein. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the serum ferritin levels in patients with hypothyroidism. Materials and methods: This case-control study was conducted on 100 lab-diagnosed cases based on the thyroid profile. About 50 healthy controls were included in the study. Thyroid profile which includes estimation of serum T3, T4, and TSH was done. Serum ferritin levels were also estimated in both cases and controls. Results: The mean ± SD value of serum TSH levels in study group and control group was 14.45 ± 12.96 µIU/mL and 1.27 ± 1.05 µIU/mL, respectively. The mean ± SD of Serum ferritin in study group and control group was 9.95 ± 6.36 ng/mL and 149.35 ± 103.16 ng/mL, respectively. Serum ferritin and TSH shows significant (p-value ≤ 0.001). A significant negative correlation was found between TSH and serum ferritin in hypothyroid patients. Conclusion: This suggests that hypothyroid patients had higher levels of TSH and lower levels of serum ferritin compared to the control group, and that there is a negative correlation between TSH and serum ferritin in hypothyroid patients. Hence, the estimation of serum ferritin concentration among hypothyroid patients could be useful in the evaluation of thyroid hormone status