Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis Presenting as Intestinal Obstruction - A Case Series.

Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis is a rare disease characterized by infiltration of the gastrointestinal tract by an increased number of eosinophils as compared to the normal. The anatomic location and intensity of the infiltrate decides the varied clinical symptomatology with which these patients present. The present report deals with four cases, all presenting with clinical signs of intestinal obstruction A laparotomy performed revealed a stricture in the first case, superficial ulcers and adhesions in the second case, an ileocaecal mass in the third case and volvulus formation in the fourth case. Eosinophilic gastroenteritis was confirmed on histopathology in all the four cases. All the four patients experienced relief of symptoms after resection. It is essential to diagnose the disease to differentiate it from other conditions presenting as intestinal obstruction. The cases are presented because of the rarity of occurrence and presentation. Relevant literature has been reviewed

The Role of Inhibition in Generating and Controlling Parkinson’s Disease Oscillations in the Basal Ganglia

Movement disorders in Parkinson’s disease (PD) are commonly associated with slow oscillations and increased synchrony of neuronal activity in the basal ganglia. The neural mechanisms underlying this dynamic network dysfunction, however, are only poorly understood. Here, we show that the strength of inhibitory inputs from striatum to globus pallidus external (GPe) is a key parameter controlling oscillations in the basal ganglia. Specifically, the increase in striatal activity observed in PD is sufficient to unleash the oscillations in the basal ganglia. This finding allows us to propose a unified explanation for different phenomena: absence of oscillation in the healthy state of the basal ganglia, oscillations in dopamine-depleted state and quenching of oscillations under deep-brain-stimulation (DBS). These novel insights help us to better understand and optimize the function of DBS protocols. Furthermore, studying the model behavior under transient increase of activity of the striatal neurons projecting to the indirect pathway, we are able to account for both motor impairment in PD patients and for reduced response inhibition in DBS implanted patients

The effects of placing an operational research fellow within the Viet Nam National Tuberculosis Programme.

In April 2009, an operational research fellow was placed within the Viet Nam National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP). Over the 6 years from 2010 to 2015, the OR fellow co-authored 21 tuberculosis research papers (as principal author in 15 [71%]). This constituted 23% of the 91 tuberculosis papers published in Viet Nam during this period. Of the 21 published papers, 16 (76%) contributed to changes in policy (n = 8) and practice (n = 8), and these in turn improved programme performance. Many papers also contributed important evidence for better programme planning. Highly motivated OR fellows embedded within NTPs can facilitate high-quality research and research uptake

Selection of portable hard disk drive based upon weighted aggregated sum product assessment method: a case of Indian market

The multi criteria decision making (MCDM) methodology is utilized to assess different portable hard disk drive (HDD) alternatives, according to the purchaser/ retailer/wholesaler liking with respect to various attributes. The HDD comes under various types and have a number of attributes connected with it like storage capacity, size, data transfer speed, physical dimensions etc. The modern market caters for a wide variety of customer needs. So, it becomes the need of the hour to present a simple technique to select the best alternative for purchaser/retailer/wholesaler to satisfy their combined needs. Among the MCDM methods, the more simple and widely used technique Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) is utilized in the present work. The data of different HDDs were collected that were available in the Indian market and twenty four different models of five brands were considered in decision making. The Equal Weights Method (EWM) and objective weights method i.e. Standard Deviation Method (SDM) is utilized to allocate weights of significance to the criteria. The ranks obtained with SAW, WPM and WASPAS are presented and final ranks are considered with WASPAS method because it’s an amalgamation of the SAW and WPM. The result reveals that the Western Digital (WD) comes out to be the first choice as a brand because top three models belong to them with both the equal and objective weights. While utilizing these techniques, a consumer can purchase the best HDD and it is also very advantageous for merchant and sellers to aid users in procuring their gadgets whiles manufactures of HDD can produce their product with unique technological features aimed at particular users. Further, the subjective weights can be considered to select the best alternative

Asymmetry to symmetry transition of Fano line-shape: Analytical derivation

An analytical derivation of Fano line-shape asymmetry ratio has been presented here for a general case. It is shown that Fano line-shape becomes less asymmetric as \q is increased and finally becomes completely symmetric in the limiting condition of q equal to infinity. Asymmetry ratios of Fano line-shapes have been calculated and are found to be in good consonance with the reported expressions for asymmetry ratio as a function of Fano parameter. Application of this derivation is also mentioned for explanation of asymmetry to symmetry transition of Fano line-shape in quantum confined silicon nanostructures.Comment: 3 figures, Latex files, Theoretica

Разработка системы экстренного вызова помощи

Controllability and observability of complex systems are vital concepts in many fields of science. The network structure of the system plays a crucial role in determining its controllability and observability. Because most naturally occurring complex systems show dynamic changes in their network connectivity, it is important to understand how perturbations in the connectivity affect the controllability of the system. To this end, we studied the control structure of different types of artificial, social and biological neuronal networks (BNN) as their connections were progressively pruned using four different pruning strategies. We show that the BNNs are more similar to scale-free networks than to small-world networks, when comparing the robustness of their control structure to structural perturbations. We introduce a new graph descriptor, 'the cardinality curve', to quantify the robustness of the control structure of a network to progressive edge pruning. Knowing the susceptibility of control structures to different pruning methods could help design strategies to destroy the control structures of dangerous networks such as epidemic networks. On the other hand, it could help make useful networks more resistant to edge attacks.QC 20160115</p

Cost of hospitalisation for non-communicable diseases in India: are we pro-poor?

OBJECTIVES: To estimate out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure due to hospitalisation from NCDs and its impact on households in India. METHODS: The study analysed nationwide representative data collected by the National Sample Survey Organisation in 2014 that reported health service utilisation and healthcare-related OOP expenditure by income quintiles and by type of health facility (public or private). The recall period for inpatient hospitalisation expenditure was 365 days. Consumption expenditure was collected for a recall period of 1 month. OOP expenditure amounting to >10% of annual consumption expenditure was termed as catastrophic. Weighted analysis was performed. RESULTS: The median expenditure per episode of hospitalisation due to NCDs was USD 149 - this was ~3 times higher among the richest quintile compared to poorest quintile. There was a significantly higher prevalence of catastrophic expenditure among the poorest quintile, more so for cancers (85%), psychiatric and neurological disorders (63%) and injuries (63%). Mean private-sector OOP hospitalisation expenditure was nearly five times higher than that in the public sector. Medicines accounted for 40% and 27% of public- and private-sector OOP hospitalisation expenditure, respectively. CONCLUSION: Strengthening of public health facilities is required at community level for the prevention, control and management of NCDs. Promotion of generic medicines, better availability of essential drugs and possible subsidisation for the poorest quintile will be measures to consider to reduce OOP expenditure in public-sector facilities