The prevalence of ocular manifestations in road traffic accidents treated at a rural tertiary care hospital in south india: a cross sectional study

Background: Ocular injuries following road traffic accidents (RTA) is one of the common causes of ophthalmological morbidity and unilateral blindness. The aim of this study was to document the epidemiological pattern of ocular injures caused by RTA in a cross-sectional population brought to a tertiary care centre in rural southern India.Methods: After receiving institutional ethics committee approval, all patients over the age of 10 years, who came to the emergency department (ED) of this rural tertiary care centre with alleged history of RTA, during the period, July-December 2015 were serially enrolled to participate in the study after obtaining written informed consent. The sample size for 95% confidence level and precision of 5% was calculated to be 191.Results: Out of the 832 cases of RTA presenting to the ED, 191 (23%) had ocular injuries. There were 186 (97.38%) closed globe injuries and 5 (2.6%) open globe injuries. Eight (4.1%) patients with ocular injuries had no perception of light in the affected eye after the accident. The commonest injury was periorbital edema and ecchymosis (68.6%) followed closely by eyebrow laceration (63.9%) and lid laceration (48.2 %). The commonest anterior and posterior segment injuries were traumatic optic neuritis (6.3%) and vitreous or retinal haemorrhage 4 (2.09%) respectively.Conclusions: In this study, the prevalence of ocular involvement in RTA was is 23%. Most of the injuries were closed globe injuries and periorbital edema and ecchymosis were the commonest type of injury occurring followed by eyebrow and lid laceration.

Quantitative analysis of methodological and environmental influences on survival of planted mangroves in restoration and afforestation

Mangrove planting has been employed for decades to achieve aims associated with restoration and afforestation. Often, survival of planted mangroves is low. Improving survival might be aided by augmenting the understanding of which planting methods and environmental variables most influence plant survival across a range of contexts. The aim of this study was to provide a global synthesis of the influence of planting methods and background environment on mangrove survival. This was achieved through a global meta-analysis, which compiled published survival rates for the period 1979–2021 and analyzed the influence of decisions about minimum spacing and which life stage to plant, and environmental contexts such as climate, tidal range and coastal setting on the reported survival of planted individuals, classified by species and root morphology. Generalized Additive Mixed Modeling (GAMM) revealed that planting larger mangrove saplings was associated with increased survival for pencil-rooted species such as Avicennia spp. and Sonneratia spp. (17% increase cf. seedlings), while greater plant spacing was associated with higher survival of stilt-rooted species in the family Rhizophoraceae (39% increase when doubling plant spacing from 1.5 to 3.0 m). Tidal range showed a nonlinear positive correlation with survival for pencil-rooted species, and the coastal environmental setting was associated with significant variation in survival for both pencil-and stilt-rooted species. The results suggest that improving decisions about which species to plant in different contexts, and intensive care after planting, is likely to improve the survival of planted mangroves

Evaluation of Anticonvulsant Activity of Chloroform Root Extract of Aconitum Heterophyllum

The present investigation has been undertaken to study the anticonvulsant activity of chloroform root extract of Aconitum heterophyllum. The plant Aconitum heterophyllum of family Ranunculaceae is an Ayurvedic herb which is known for its significant medical properties. Experiments were conducted following standard procedures. The chloroform extract of Aconitum heterophyllum were evaluated for their invivo antioxidant and anticonvulsant properties and neurotransmitters level. The anticonvulsant activity of CEAH was evaluated using maximal electroshock induced convulsion and pentylenetetrazole induced convulsion models. Diphenylhydantoin was used as standard for MES and Sodium Valproate was used as standard for PTZ. Extracts treated groups showed higher in vivo antioxidant, and anticonvulsant activities. They also showed higher activity in neurotransmitters level. CEAH exhibited similar anticonvulsant activity that of the standard but with lesser magnitude. The result may be attributed to the chemical constituents such as diterpene alkaloids present in it which may be due to their individual or cumulative effect that enhanced anticonvulsant activity and provided scientific evidence to the ethnomedicinal features of Aconitum heterophyllum. These findings could justify the inclusion of this plant in the management of epilepsy

Extreme star formation events in quasar hosts over 0.5<z<4{\bf0.5<\textit{z}<4}

We explore the relationship between active galactic nuclei and star formation in a sample of 513 optically luminous type 1 quasars up to redshifts of $\sim$4 hosting extremely high star formation rates (SFRs). The quasars are selected to be individually detected by the \textit{Herschel} SPIRE instrument at $>$3$\sigma$ at 250 $\mu$m, leading to typical SFRs of order of 1000 M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$. We find the average SFRs to increase by almost a factor 10 from $z\sim0.5$ to $z\sim3$, mirroring the rise in the comoving SFR density over the same epoch. However, we find that the SFRs remain approximately constant with increasing accretion luminosity for accretion luminosities above 10$^{12}$ L$_{\odot}$. We also find that the SFRs do not correlate with black hole mass. Both of these results are most plausibly explained by the existence of a self-regulation process by the starburst at high SFRs, which controls SFRs on time-scales comparable to or shorter than the AGN or starburst duty cycles. We additionally find that SFRs do not depend on Eddington ratio at any redshift, consistent with no relation between SFR and black hole growth rate per unit black hole mass. Finally, we find that high-ionisation broad absorption line (HiBAL) quasars have indistinguishable far-infrared properties to those of classical quasars, consistent with HiBAL quasars being normal quasars observed along a particular line of sight, with the outflows in HiBAL quasars not having any measurable effect on the star formation in their hosts.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Effect of fenofibrate on acute and subacute inflammation in male Wistar rats

Background: The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of fenofibrate on acute and subacute models of inflammation in adult male Wistar rats.Methods: After obtaining clearance from Institutional Animal Ethics Committee, six adult male Wistar rats were allocated to each of the three groups i.e. control, aspirin and fenofibrate. Acute inflammation was studied using carrageenan induced rat paw oedema and the volume displacement due to paw oedema was measured using the plethysmograph. Subacute inflammation was studied using foreign body insertion (cotton pellet and grass pith) models. Dry granuloma weight and histopathological examination of the granuloma were the outcome measures for measuring subacute inflammation. The percentage inhibition of inflammation with aspirin and fenofibrate was calculated in both acute and subacute models. The experiments were conducted according to the guidelines of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision on Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA). The mean volume displacement obtained with a plethysmograph, the mean dry weight of granuloma and the percentage inhibition with aspirin and fenofibrate were analyzed by one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Graph pad prism software.Results: Aspirin and fenofibrate significantly reduced both acute and subacute inflammation (p<0.001). Dunnet’s test showed a significant difference in the study groups when compared to the control. The reduction of inflammation with fenofibrate was comparable to aspirin.Conclusions: Oral fenofibrate showed significant anti-inflammatory activity, which was comparable to aspirin, in both acute as well as sub-acute models of inflammation. This anti-inflammatory effect may benefit atherosclerosis in patients receiving fenofibrate for hyperlipidemia

Perceptions of the educational environment at entry and exit of medical students to clinical teaching in a rural medical college

Background: The foundation for good health care to patients is the competence of health care providers. Motivated learners in supportive environments have high levels of self-efficacy. DREEM is considered a valid and reliable tool, globally accepted for assessing the educational environment. The objectives of the study were to elicit the perceptions of first clinical year and final year medical students in a rural medical college using the Dundee ready education environment measure (DREEM) inventory and to find out if there is any difference in the perceptions at entry and exit to the clinical environment.Methods: This was a cross sectional study on 78 students each in first clinical year and final year of this rural medical college. The DREEM inventory was used by the investigator to record relevant data, which was then statistically analyzed using SPSS software. The student t-test was used to compare the total and sub-domain mean scores in the two groups.Results: There was significant difference in perception in the final year students compared to the first clinical year class.Conclusions: The students of both first clinical year and final year have a positive perception about their educational environment. However there is a significant difference in the total DREEM score as well as total sub-domain scores among first clinical year students and final year students. Student perceptions are a valuable resource for institutional curriculum planners to make appropriate changes to enhance student learning

Digital Learning Techniques-Recent Trends:A perspective from classroom teaching and learning

Technology tools for collaboration, communication, social networking, and user-generated content have transformed the traditional ways of learning. When applied efficiently, technology enables teachers and students to participate actively, produce and co-create information through the use of digital learning tools. They can help students innovate and learn strategies that combine in-person with virtual learning experiences. The use of digital technologies in the class room encourage active knowledge, comprehension construction, analysis, and exploration on the part of the learners, and which allow for remote communication as well as data division to take place between teachers and/or learners in different physical classroom