Achieving Energy Efficiency Using Fuzzy Logic-Based Cluster Algorithms in Wireless Sensor Networks

Now a days Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) [1, 2] is an emerging and challenging aspect in the field of communication research. It is a type of infrastructure-less wireless networks, which have the capability of self-configuration. These nodes are deployed for environmental data collection by measuring different environmental condition like moisture, pressure and temperature etc. The nodes are working continuous or waiting for event happening to send information. Energy consumption is a major issue in WSN. In this thesis, our proposed approach Fuzzy Based Energy Efficient Clustering in which cluster head is selected based on the distance to BS, remaining energy of node and node density. The non-head nodes join with the cluster head node based on the distance to CH, remaining energy of CH and CH density. The simulation results show that the proposed approach gives better performance than that of LEACH in terms of energy consumption and lifetime of the network for first node death and half of node death

Microbiological profile of hospital acquired blood stream infections in seriously ill medical patients admitted in tertiary care hospital

Background: Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) are those which are acquired in hospital either due to any intervention or directly through various routes of entry into the body. Nosocomial infection not only adds to functional disability to patients but also increases associated cost of treatment. Major categories of HAIs include pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTIs), blood stream infections (BSIs), and surgical site infections (SSIs).Methods: The study was conducted to know the incidence of blood stream infections. The patients who developed infections after 48 hours of admission in the ward were included in the study. Blood cultures were performed. A total of 125 seriously ill patients admitted in medicine ward were studied prospectively.Results: Out of a total of 125 patients, 10 (8%) patients developed BSIs. Gram negative isolates Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most commonly isolated organisms from cases of BSIs. Most of the isolated organisms were susceptible to ticarcillin clavulanic acid.Conclusions: HAI incidence was high in this study. Prevention programs in future should focus on patients with longer length of stay, invasive devices, and injudicious use of antibiotics to contain the incidence of HAIs.

Spectrum of fungal infections at a tertiary care hospital in Haryana, India

Background: In recent years, fungi have been emerging as a common infection in hospitalised patients of tertiary care centres. The climate of our country is well suited for a wide variety of fungal infections. Within the limited data available, an increased incidence of invasive candidiasis, aspergillosis and other dematiaceous fungi are reported at our tertiary care centre. This study was undertaken to know the prevalence of common fungal infections at a tertiary care hospital in a period of five years.Methods: The various clinical samples received from the patients presenting with clinically suspected fungal infections were subjected to direct microscopy with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and Gram staining. All samples were inoculated in duplicate SDA with or without antibiotics.Results: A total of 8450 suspected fungal etiology samples were received during the five years (2011-2015) included in the study. The most common sample was sputum 2502 (29.6%) followed by skin swabs 2175 (25.7%), urine 1302 (15.4%), blood 875 (10.35%) and BAL 810 (9.5%). Male to female ratio was 5:3. Candida albicans was the predominant isolate followed by non-albicans candida, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and dematiaceous fungi.Conclusions: The fungal isolates, which used to be discarded as laboratory contaminants are playing a significant role in pathogenicity of many infections. These organisms are now capable of affecting immunocompromised as well as immunocompetent individuals

Antimicrobial sensitivity pattern among clinical isolates of Escherichia coli in tertiary care centre of Northern India

Background: Rampant rise in resistance to various antimicrobials among clinical isolates of Escherichia coli is an issue of serious concern, especially in developing countries. It not only causes failure in treatment but also pose a health burden over the society at large.Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method on Muller Hinton agar as per Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute recommendations over 100 isolates of E. coli. Isolate resistant to at least three classes of antimicrobial agents was considered as multidrug resistant. Isolate resistant to the three classes of antimicrobials along with carbapenem was considered extensively drug resistant.Results: On performing the antimicrobial sensitivity pattern it was observed that E. coli isolates were maximally sensitive to ertapenem (56%), followed by imipenem (44%), meropenem (41%), piperacillin-tazobactam (23%), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (21%), aztreonam (18%) among β-lactams group of antibiotics. 41% E. coli isolates were multidrug resistant and 11% were extensively drug resistant isolates.Conclusions: Stringent measures should be undertaken to curb the spread of antibiotic resistance. Policies should be framed and implemented to stop over the counter sale of antibiotics.

Prevalence of virological failure amongst WHO- defined immunological failure HIV patients on first line of highly active antiretroviral therapy in a tertiary care hospital in Haryana, India

Background: In resource limited settings in India, monitoring of treatment in HIV patients taking highly active antiretroviral therapy is done by six monthly CD4 count instead of highly sensitive plasma viral load. Patients are subjected to viral load only when their CD4 count is low for the last 12 months. This protocol has a huge disadvantage as treatment failure is detected much later than it has actually occurred and switch over to second line therapy gets delayed by approximately one year.Methods: Plasma viral load (pVL) of 50 WHO defined immunological failure cases was done using RT-PCR to detect virological failure (VF).Results: Out of 50 WHO defined immunological failure cases, 16 percent had developed virological failure.Conclusions: Nearly one-sixth of WHO defined immunological failure (IF) cases had developed virological failure. These patients required second line highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) therapy but due to following of current treatment monitoring protocol, treatment got delayed by one year. Thus, amendment in national policy for monitoring ART is required to diagnose treatment failure early so that there is no delay in switching to second line ART and morbidity and mortality in these patients can be reduced.

Seroprevalence of antistreptolysin O antibodies in a tertiary health care centre in Haryana, India: a three year retrospective study

Background: Presence of antistreptolysin O antibodies in a patient’s sera may be an isolated evidence of recent infection by group A or less commonly, group C or G Streptococcus, especially in patients suspected of having a non suppurative sequel to this infection.Methods: A retrospective study was done on the sera samples received in the Department of Microbiology, PGIMS Rohtak, India for the detection of ASO, over a period of three years. The test was carried out by latex agglutination rapid test kit by Aspen.Results: A total of 4632 samples were received in the laboratory during the study period. Of these, 1058 (22.8%) were found to be positive for the presence of ASO having titre of >200 IU/mL.Conclusions: The prevalence of ASO was found to be highest in the age group 0-20. The presence of elevated streptococcal antibody titres in such a population reflects a high background prevalence of streptococcal infections. Thus, determination of ASO antibodies should be taken into consideration when evaluating the role of group A streptococcus in non-purulent complications of infections

Clinico-microbiological analysis of bactibilia isolates in patients of cholecystectomy

Background: The current study determined microbial flora in bile aspirates from patients undergoing cholecystectomy along with antibiotic susceptibility pattern and resistance mechanism viz. extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL).Methods: The study included 110 such patients which were divided in three groups as: Group A that included acute cholecystitis with or without cholelithiasis, Group B included chronic cholecystitis with or without cholelithiasis and Group C included other hepatobiliary ailments requiring cholecystectomy viz. gallbladder carcinoma, acute emphysematous gall bladder and mucocele gall bladder. The bile was subjected to complete microbiological and histopathological examination. Antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was performed as per CLSI guidelines.Results: Bacteria were recovered from 07 samples (20%) in Group A, 17 (48.57%) in Group B and 11 (31.43%) in Group C. The polymicrobial infection was seen in 04 (11.43%) patients. The most common organisms isolated were Escherichia coli 15 (38.46%), Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 8 (20.51% each). The majority of Enterobacteriaceae isolates were susceptible to piperacillin-tazobactam and carbapenems. The ESBL production was observed in 17 (43.58%) isolates.Conclusions: Therefore, antimicrobial susceptibility of potential causative organisms, presence of resistant strains in bile, the severity of the cholecystitis, and the local susceptibility pattern must be taken into consideration while prescribing antibiotics. A protocol regarding the management of such cases should be formulated based on observations of similar studies.

Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria causing ventilator-associated pneumonia in a tertiary care hospital: one year prospective study

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most common infection diagnosed in intensive care units (ICUs). The causative organisms of VAP vary among different populations and are increasingly associated with resistance against various antimicrobial agents. Objective of current study was to determine the bacteriological etiology of VAP, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates and detect the presence of extended-spectrum b-lactamases (ESBL), metallo β-lactamases (MBL) and AmpC b-lactamases in multidrug resistant isolates causing VAP in the medical ICU.Methods: A prospective study was carried out over a year to know the various etiological agents of VAP and their drug susceptibility patterns. ESBL, MBL and AmpC b-lactamases were detected in various isolates by combination disk method, imipenem-EDTA combined disk method and AmpC disk method respectively.Results: The majority of bacterial isolates causing VAP were found to be gram negative bacilli. Acinetobacter spp accounted for 34.28% of VAP cases followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa which was responsible for 25.71% cases. Other gram negative bacilli isolated were Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter spp, and Escherichia coli. Out of the total 70 isolates, 67 (95.7%) were multidrug resistant and not even a single isolate was sensitive to all the drugs tested.Conclusions: Most of the pathogens causing VAP in our institute were multidrug resistant and in many isolates this resistance was due to production of ESBL, MBL, and AmpC β-latamases. Polymixin-B and colistin were found to be highly effective against multidrug resistant Acinetobacter spp and P. aeruginosa.

Supplement Type Influenced the Performance and Resiliency Against Gastrointestinal Parasites of Nursing Lambs Raised in Woodlands

Nutrition supplementation can be one of the integrated approaches to reduce gastrointestinal parasite (GIP) infestation. The study objective was to evaluate the impact of supplement type on the performance and resiliency against GIP of nursing lambs raised in woodlands. Katahdin-St. Croix cross lambs (23) with their mothers (18) were divided into two groups; they were rotationally stocked in separate sets of woodland plots and provided with ad libitum hay. Group-1 animals were supplemented with corn, and Group-2 with soybean (0.5% of live weight). Live weight, FAMACHA score, and body condition score were measured on Day 1, fortnightly, and at the end of the study. Fecal samples were analyzed for the type and quantity of GIP on Days 1, 45, and 80. Lambs supplemented with soybeans performed better than corn-supplemented lambs (

Nutrient Management for Higher Productivity of Swarna Sub1 Under Flash Floods Areas

Two field experiments were conducted at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Tarahara, Nepal during 2012 and 2013 to determine the effect of agronomic management on growth and yield of Swarna Sub1 under flash floods. The first experiment was laid out in a split plot design with three replications; and four different nutrient combinations at nursery as main plots and three age groups of rice seedlings as sub plots. The second experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design and replicated thrice; with three post flood nutrient doses at six and 12 days after de-submergence (dad). The experiments were complete submerged at 10 days after transplanting for 12 days. The survival percentage, at 21 dad, was significantly higher in plots planted with 35 (90.25%) and 40 (91.58%) days-old seedlings compared to 30 days-old seedlings (81.75%). Plots with 35 days-old seedlings produced 5.15 t ha-1 with advantage of 18.83% over 30 days-old seedlings. Plots with 100-50-50 kg N-P2O5-K2O/ha at nursery recorded the highest grain filling of 79.41% and grain yield of 5.068 t/ha with more benefit. Post flood application of 20-20 N-K20kg/ha at 6 dad resulted in higher plant survival and taller plants, leading to significantly higher grain yield of 5.183 t/ha and straw yield of 5.315 t/ha. Hence, 35-40 days old seedlings raised with 100-50-50 kg N-P2O5-K2O /ha in nursery and the additional application of20-20 kg N-K2O /ha at 6 dad improved plant survival and enhanced yield of Swarna Sub1 under flash flood conditions. The practice has prospects of saving crop loss with getting rice yield above national average yield leading to enhanced food security in the flood prone areas of Nepal