Ethnomedicinal Plants Survey and Documentation Related to Paliyar Community

The present study is mainly focused on the ethnomedico botany of the tribe Paliyars a dominant ethnic group inhabiting the Western Ghats (Off Shoots) of Sirumalai Hills, Dindigul district. Tamil Nadu. In the present study the focus is on survey, documentation and enumeration of the medicinal plants practiced by the tribal Paliyars, As an outcome of the present investigations 30 plants have been identified and documented. The life style of the Paliyar was also studied

HealthBlock: A Blockchain-IoT Fusion for Secure Healthcare Data Exchange

Managing healthcare data while ensuring its security and privacy is critical to providing quality care to patients. However, traditional approaches to healthcare data sharing have limitations, including the risk of data breaches and the lack of privacy-preserving mechanisms. This research paper proposes a novel hybrid blockchain-IoT approach for privacy-preserving healthcare data sharing that addresses these challenges. Our system incorporates a private blockchain for protected and tamper-proof data sharing, with privacy-preserving techniques such as differential privacy and homomorphic encryption to protect patient data. IoT devices are utilized to collect and transmit real-time data, equipped with privacy-preserving mechanisms such as data anonymization and secure transmission protocols. Our approach achieved an accuracy rate of 98% for access control and a 99.6% success rate for data privacy protection. Furthermore, our proposed system demonstrated improved data storage and retrieval performance, with a data storage overhead reduction of up to 86% and a data retrieval time reduction of up to 81%. These results indicate the potential of our approach to enhance the security, privacy, and efficiency of healthcare data management, contributing to improved patient care outcomes

A MODIFIED DEEP CONVOLUTIONAL NETWORK FOR DETECTION OF COVID19 FROM CHEST X-RAYS BASED ON CONCATENATION OF IMAGE PREPROCESSING TECHNIQUES AND RESnCOV

The fast-spreading coronavirus disease called COVID-19 has impacted millions of people worldwide. It becomes difficult for medical experts to rapidly detect the illness and stop its spread because of its rapid growth and rising numbers. One of the newer areas of study where this issue can be more carefully addressed is medical image analysis. In this study, we implemented an image processing system utilizing deep learning and neural networks to previse the 2019-nCoV using chest roentgen ray images. In order to recognize COVID-19 positive and healthy patients using chest roentgen ray images, this paper suggests employing convolutional neural networks, deep learning, and machine learning. We proposed a neural network composed of various features taken from two convolutional neural networks, ResNet50 and ResNet152V2, in order to successfully manage the intricate structural complexity of an image. We tested our network on 7940 images to see how well it performs in real-world situations. The proposed network detects normal and COVID-19 cases with an average accuracy of 95% and can be used as an aid in the radiology departmen

Deep Convolutional Neural Network with Image Processing Techniques and Resnet252v2 for Detection of Covid19 from X-Ray Images

The 2019 coronavirus disease, also known as SARS-CoV-2, has emerged as a highly contagious viral infection with a significant global impact. It has rapidly spread across various regions, resulting in a substantial number of individuals being affected by this disease. Research findings indicate that the rapid and widespread transmission of the disease has posed significant challenges for healthcare professionals in promptly diagnosing the condition and implementing effective measures to contain its propagation. The automation of the diagnostic procedure has emerged as a critical necessity. According to research findings, the implementation of this particular measure has been shown to significantly enhance work efficiency while simultaneously safeguarding healthcare workers from potential exposure to harmful viruses. Medical image analysis is a rapidly growing area of research that offers a promising solution to address this problem with greater precision. This research paper introduces a novel approach for predicting SARS-CoV-2 infection using chest radiography images..

Effectiveness of Capacity Building Programme on Knowledge and Practice of Amnicot among Staff Nurses

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM : A Pre Experimental Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Capacity Building Programme on Knowledge and Practice of Amnicot among Staff Nurses at Selected Hospital Chennai. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY : 1. To assess the level of knowledge and practice of amnicot among staff nurses in the selected hospital. 2. To assess the effectiveness of the capacity building programme for staff nurses on amnicot by comparing pretest and posttest knowledge and practice. 3. To assess the level of satisfaction on the capacity building programme for staff nurses on knowledge and practice of amnicot. 4. To find out the association between the selected variables and pretest and posttest knowledge and practice of capacity building programme of amnicot among staff nurses. The conceptual framework of the study was developed on the basis of Ottawa Adaptation Theory. The variables of the study were knowledge and practice of staff nurses on amnicot as dependent variables and capacity building programme of amnicot as independent variables, were formulated. An extensive review of literature and guidance by experts formed the foundation to the development of structured knowledge questionnaires and intervention on capacity building programme. A pre experimental one group pretest and posttest research design was used to achieve the objectives of the study. The present study was conducted in the Apollo Cradle Hospital, Chennai, with the sample size of 30 staff nurses, selected through purposive sampling technique and written consent was obtained from the staff nurses. Pretest assessment was done with predetermined tools. Knowledge and practice were assessed using structured questionnaire and an observational check list respectively. The intervention of capacity building programme of amnicot was carried out for 30 staff nurses. It was done by using lecturer cum discussion and demonstration method for 2 hours which was followed by redemonstration. Posttest assessment was done with the same questionnaire and a checklist for the staff nurses at the interval of 1 week after intervention. Then the level of satisfaction of staff nurses was assessed using rating scale. The data obtained were analyzed using Descriptive and Inferential statistics. MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY : • Majority of the staff nurses were below 25 years (93.33%) and all of them were Females (100%). Their designation was staff nurse (100 %). Most of the staff nurses had less than 1 year of work experience (66.67%) in labour room and have not received previous information regarding amnicot (66.67%). • Most of the staff nurses had moderate knowledge (60%) and (23.33%) had inadequate knowledge about amnicot. After intervention majority of the staff nurses had adequate knowledge (63.33%) and others (20%) had moderate knowledge. • Mean and standard deviation of posttest knowledge scores was high (M=20.3, SD=3.81) when compared to the pretest (M= 12.46, SD=4.08). The differences were found statically significant at p< 0.001. This can be attributed to the effectiveness of the knowledge and practice of amnicot among staff nurses. Hence the null hypothesis Ho1 “There will be no significant difference between Pretest and Posttest level of Knowledge and Practice of amnicot among staff nurses” was rejected. • In pretest 23.33% of their practice was good and16.66% had very good practice whereas in posttest 43.33% of their practice was good followed by excellent practice (30%) and very good practice (20%). • Mean and standard deviation of posttest practice scores were high (M=14.13, SD=4.32) when compared to the pretest practice scores (M = 8.6, SD= 5.03). The differences were found to be statically significant at p< 0.001. Hence the null hypothesis Ho1 “There will be no significant difference between pre and post test level of knowledge and practice of amnicot among staff nurses” was rejected. • Majority of the staff nurses (93.33%) were highly satisfied with the researcher, (90%) on the capacity building programme and (93.33%) on effectiveness of amnicot. • The study finding revealed that, there was no significant association between the selected background characteristics with the pre test and post level of knowledge on amnicot among staff nurses. Hence the null hypothesis Ho2 “There will be no significant association between the selected variables and level of knowledge in pretest and posttest among staff nurses” was retained and. • The study finding revealed that, there was no significant association between the selected background characteristics with the pre test and post level of practice of amnicot among staff nurses. Hence the null hypothesis HO3 “There will be no significant association between the selected variables and level of practice in pretest and posttest among staff nurses” was retained. RECOMMENDATIONS : • The study can be conducted with larger samples to generalize the results. • The study can be replicated in different settings. • Same study can be conducted among nursing student. • A comparative study can be conducted between private and government settings

Correlation between Fear of fall, Physical Function And Psychological Health Among Obese And Non-Obese Older Adults Diagnosed With Knee Osteoarthritis

AIM: To compare the correlation between fear of fall, physical function and psychological health among obese and non-obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis. METHOD: The data was collected through convenient sampling having 120 participants of 60 obese and 60 non-obese older adults with knee OA, according to their BMI. Visual analogue scale was used for rating pain, Fall efficacy scale-International to measure concern on falling, WOMAC index for measuring physical function and Geriatric depression scale to screen depressive symptoms in participants. The test scores were calculated and tabulated for statistical analysis to find correlation between all variables in both the groups. RESULT: Independent t test was used to compare scores between obese and non-obese group. Pearson’s correlation was done to find correlation of scores in both groups. Results showed a significant difference between obese and non-obese group for all variables. In obese group, 36.67% had severe knee pain, 88.33% had high concern on falling, 45% had severe knee osteoarthritis potentially requiring joint replacement, and 10% of them showed severe depressive symptoms. Among non-obese group, 18.33% had severe knee pain, 86.67% had high concern on falling, and 23.33% had severe knee osteoarthritis potentially requiring joint replacement, and 3.33% of them showed severe depressive symptoms. Strong correlations between all variables were observed in both obese and non-obese group with obese group having higher correlation coefficient. CONCLUSION: This study concludes that because of the combined effect of ageing and obesity, obese group are prone to develop higher intensity of knee pain, concern on falling, decreased physical function and severe depressive symptoms. It was also observed that, both groups are prone to experience gradual development of these symptoms together with obese group being more vulnerable

Poboljšanje slike i vrednovanje radnih značajki korištenjem raznih filtara na daljinski mjerene podatke IRS-P6 satelita Liss IV

This paper presents fast and effective filtering techniques for image enhancement from remote sensing Indian remote sensing satellite P6 Liss IV remotely sensed data like Near-Infrared band. There are four filtering techniques used for image enhancement based on spatial domain filters and frequency domain filters such as median filter, wiener filter, bilateral filter and Gaussian homomorphic filter and selected noises salt and pepper and Gaussian noise used with filter. Selected images tested with each filter and based on PSNR performance metric value and best filtering technique identified from these filters. Finally, Gaussian homomorphic filtering technique is suitable for image enhancement of the Liss IV remotely sensed Near-Infrared band. Image enhancement technique is preprocessing for future work such as edge detection and image segmentation.U radu su prikazane brze i učinkovite tehnike filtriranja za poboljšanje slike iz podataka u bliskom infracrvenom području dobivenih indijskim satelitom za daljinska istraživanja P6 Liss IV. Korištene su četiri tehnike filtriranja temeljene na filtrima u prostornoj i frekvencijskoj domeni kao što su: medijan filtar, Wiener filtar, bilateralni filtar i gaussovski homomorfni filtar uz odabrane šumove “salt and pepper” i gaussovski šum s filtrom. Odabrane slike testirane su sa svakim od filtera te je na temelju metričke vrijednosti PSNR (Peak Signal Noise Ratio) radne značajke prepoznata najbolja tehnika filtriranja. Konačno se pokazalo da je gaussovska homomorfna tehnika filtriranja prikladna za poboljšanje slika dobivenih pomoću satelita Liss IV u bliskom infracrvenom području. Tehnika poboljšanja slike je predobrada za budući rad, kao što je detekcija ruba i segmentacija slike

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars: Results From The Initial Detector Era

We present the results of searches for gravitational waves from a large selection of pulsars using data from the most recent science runs (S6, VSR2 and VSR4) of the initial generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors LIGO (Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory) and Virgo. We do not see evidence for gravitational wave emission from any of the targeted sources but produce upper limits on the emission amplitude. We highlight the results from seven young pulsars with large spin-down luminosities. We reach within a factor of five of the canonical spin-down limit for all seven of these, whilst for the Crab and Vela pulsars we further surpass their spin-down limits. We present new or updated limits for 172 other pulsars (including both young and millisecond pulsars). Now that the detectors are undergoing major upgrades, and, for completeness, we bring together all of the most up-to-date results from all pulsars searched for during the operations of the first-generation LIGO, Virgo and GEO600 detectors. This gives a total of 195 pulsars including the most recent results described in this paper.United States National Science FoundationScience and Technology Facilities Council of the United KingdomMax-Planck-SocietyState of Niedersachsen/GermanyAustralian Research CouncilInternational Science Linkages program of the Commonwealth of AustraliaCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research of IndiaIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare of ItalySpanish Ministerio de Economia y CompetitividadConselleria d'Economia Hisenda i Innovacio of the Govern de les Illes BalearsNetherlands Organisation for Scientific ResearchPolish Ministry of Science and Higher EducationFOCUS Programme of Foundation for Polish ScienceRoyal SocietyScottish Funding CouncilScottish Universities Physics AllianceNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationOTKA of HungaryLyon Institute of Origins (LIO)National Research Foundation of KoreaIndustry CanadaProvince of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and InnovationNational Science and Engineering Research Council CanadaCarnegie TrustLeverhulme TrustDavid and Lucile Packard FoundationResearch CorporationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationAstronom

Caffeine and Cationic Copolymers with Antimicrobial Properties

One of the primary global health concerns is the increase in antimicrobial resistance. Polymer chemistry enables the preparation of macromolecules with hydrophobic and cationic side chains that kill bacteria by destabilizing their membranes. In the current study, macromolecules are prepared by radical copolymerization of caffeine methacrylate as the hydrophobic monomer and cationic- or zwitterionic-methacrylate monomers. The synthesized copolymers bearing tert-butyl-protected carboxybetaine as cationic side chains showed antibacterial activity toward Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli). By tuning the hydrophobic content, we prepared copolymers with optimal antibacterial activity against S. aureus, including methicillin-resistant clinical isolates. Moreover, the caffeine-cationic copolymers presented good biocompatibility in a mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line, NIH 3T3, and hemocompatibility with erythrocytes even at high hydrophobic monomer content (30-50%). Therefore, incorporating caffeine and introducing tert-butyl-protected carboxybetaine as a quaternary cation in polymers could be a novel strategy to combat bacteria