Growth of Additive Manufacturing Due to Global Pandemic and its Effect on Supply Chain Management

Additive manufacturing is a revolutionary technology because of its ability to creates objects by adding material layer by layer rather than removing material from a block or by moulding procedure. Additive manufacturing has been around for more than three decades but still, traditional manufacturing is the dominant method for manufacturing. COVID-19 pandemic has been a torment globally and has brought distress and instability to the global economy. Due to this, the manufacturing sectors are badly affected. In this time of crisis, additive manufacturing has played a major role. This paper discusses the upsurge of Additive manufacturing due global COVID-19 pandemic and its worldwide impact on supply chain management

India’s Strategy to Procure Lithium to be a Leading Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturer

Lithium is one of the foremost valuable metal which is widely used for manufacturing batteries and also has other uses in solar panels, ceramics, glasses and pharmaceuticals. Lithium is third most abundant element after hydrogen and helium but the most lithium deposits are only in Bolivia (21 million tons), Argentina (17 million tons), Chile (9 million tons), Australia (6.8 million tons), China (4.5 million tons). Bolivia, Argentina, Chile forms so called lithium triangle. Due to depleting reserves of fossil fuels and its harmful impact on the environment has forced the globe to shift to Lithium-ion batteries which is much eco-friendlier alternative. India’s push for electric vehicles (EV) may cause a considerable change in its energy security priorities, with securing lithium supplies, a key material for creating batteries, becoming as important as buying oil and gas fields overseas. India doesn't have enough lithium reserves for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. The majority electric vehicles within the country run on imported batteries, mostly from China. At present a lithium-ion battery accounts for 40% of the overall cost of an electrical vehicle. Khanij Bidesh Pvt Ltd is a venture firm of three central public sector enterprises namely National Aluminum Company (Nalco), Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL), Mineral Exploration Company Ltd (MECL). The KABIL would do identification, acquisition, exploration, development, mining and processing of strategic minerals overseas for commercial use and meeting country’s requirement of those minerals. The mission is to not allow India to fall in a very vulnerable position with a probable threat of supply squeeze as went on within the case of petroleum, with India being the world’s third largest oil importer and to amass cobalt and lithium mines in addition on get into purchase agreements of those minerals. This may help in achieving resource security with regard to strategic minerals

Opioid Agonist Therapies and Pregnancy Outcomes for Pregnant People With Opioid Use Disorder: Protocol for a Systematic Review

BackgroundOpioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy presents a significant risk to maternal, fetal, and neonatal health, increasing the likelihood of adverse events, such as maternal overdose, pregnancy loss, stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight, and neonatal abstinence syndrome. In order to reduce the risk of these outcomes, the standard of care for OUD during pregnancy in many jurisdictions within the United States and Canada is opioid agonist therapy (OAT). OAT refers to prescription medications that alleviate or eliminate opioid withdrawal symptoms, so that opioid use can be managed more safely. Although OAT has been recognized as a safe option for pregnant people with OUD, many jurisdictions do not have treatment guidelines regarding pharmacological options, dosing recommendations, side effect management, and individual preferences. There is currently a lack of systematic evidence on the impacts of different OAT regimens on pregnancy outcomes. ObjectiveWe aim to evaluate the impacts of specific OAT agents on pregnancy outcomes and inform recommendations for practitioners treating pregnant people with OUD. MethodsThe MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases will be searched for published quantitative studies assessing pregnancy outcomes for individuals on OAT. Given the substantially increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, small for gestational age, and stillbirth among pregnant people with OUD, these four end points will comprise our primary outcomes. Database searches will not be restricted by date, and conference abstracts will be restricted to the past 2 years. Titles, abstracts, and full-text articles will be independently screened by 2 reviewers. Data will be extracted independently and in duplicate, using a data extraction form to reduce the risk of reviewer bias. The risk of bias within individual studies will be assessed by using the appropriate CASP (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme) checklists. For studies that consider the same research questions, interventions, or outcomes, meta-analyses will be conducted to synthesize the pooled effect size. In the event that studies cannot be compared directly, results will be synthesized in a narrative account. Between-study heterogeneity will be measured by using the τ2 statistic. If more than 10 studies are available for pooling, publication bias will be evaluated by using the Egger regression test. ResultsAs of January 2023, a total of 3266 abstracts have been identified for screening. Data extraction is expected to commence in February 2023. ConclusionsThe topic of OAT and its effect on pregnancy is an understudied area that has the potential to improve health outcomes, clinical practice, education, and community advocacy. The results of our review will be used to inform clinical practice guidelines and improve health outcomes for pregnant people. Findings will be disseminated to diverse groups of stakeholders, including policy makers, clinicians, community partners, and individuals with lived experience of drug use. Trial RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42022332082; https://tinyurl.com/2p94pkx5 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/4241

HealthDesk-A One Stop Health Application Using Machine Learning Techniques

HealthDesk is a mobile solution for all health-related queries. The application is for all the users of the healthcare system. It covers all the major domains in the hierarchy. People have now started digitizing in this domain too. People have shown great trust in this. This helps us to provide the best. Despite this, individuals often face problems ordering their medicines online. There are high chances of people taking medications without a prescription. So, this application recommends top medicines that are similar to the one being ordered to avoid drug-drug interactions. In the scenario of patient emergency many applications for patient health monitoring and appointment scheduling have been developed. However, in the wake of an emergency, people tend to blank out or are unaware of nearby emergency services. So, the application has a feature that enables users to search the most nearby doctor and provide the doctor with the user's current location. The user can be provided with first aid immediately so that he doesn't succumb to death. The healthcare system has frequent updates. The doctors must remain at par with the updates. However, doctors find it strenuous to sit by and search. The app provides them with relevant news according to their preferences. Concluding, this app covers the most important stakeholders of the healthcare system

Pantoea agglomerans Bacteremia: Is It Dangerous?

Introduction. Pantoea agglomerans, an anaerobic Gram-negative bacillus, is a rare cause of opportunistic infections affecting premature infants to seniors. We present a 34-year-old man who was presented for the management of diabetic ketoacidosis and developed Pantoea agglomerans bacteremia after one week of hospitalization. Case Presentation. A 34-year-old African-American male with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus type I and recurrent skin infections was admitted with diabetic ketoacidosis. He had left upper extremity abscess, preliminary wound cultures were positive for Gram-positive cocci, and an initial set of blood cultures were negative. He was started empirically on vancomycin. One week after admission, he started having chills followed by a recurrent increase in body temperature to 102 degrees Fahrenheit. The wound was healing, without active infection. Chest X-ray and CT scan of abdomen and pelvis to rule out infection were negative. Repeat blood cultures showed P. agglomerans in both the tubes. The patient was successfully treated with intravenous ceftriaxone, and he recovered fully without any complication. Discussion. Pantoea agglomerans is a bacteria associated with plants; however, it can infect humans and vertebrate animals. The outcome seems favourable with the institution of appropriate antibiotics even in immunocompromised patients

Conversion of a CNG Powered Auto Rickshaw to an Electric Rickshaw Designed for Indian Conditions

Three wheeler taxis, commonly known as auto rickshaw are a popular means of transport in developing countries. However, low efficiencies and poor maintenance are common (especially in India). This results in high fossil fuel consumption, and very high urban air pollution due to these vehicles. Electrification of auto-rickshaw, therefore, is a potential solution to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and reduce environmental pollution. However, this conversion is not straightforward. In this work, we investigate some of the challenges of converting an existing combustion engine powered auto-rickshaw to an electric auto rickshaw (electric vehicle (EV)). The cost of conversion to EV and sufficient charge storage capacity for driving range are important factors in the viability of such a conversion. The solution developed here is a design for low total ownership cost for short-range transport. The factors that affect the total cost of ownership are local availability of components, performance efficiency, actual cost of conversion, and skills available with local technicians. These constraints move the most suitable configuration away from configurations that are more typical in the developed economies, such as Li-Ion Batteries and brush-less DC motors (BLDC) to more affordable and well-known technologies such as lead acid batteries and permanent magnet DC motors (PMDC). In this paper, the relative merits of various configurations of batteries, motors and power transmission systems are discussed. Design variables are optimized for a specific top speed and driving range via simulations. The design is evaluated by on-road testing of the modified vehicle. The design challenges are described and the safety aspects and concerns are highlighted. An over-the-life cost comparison of the electrification of the rickshaw with conventional engine powered rickshaws is also discussed.by Rounak Mehta, Preet Shah, Harsh Gupta, Prathamesh Bhat, Vaibhav Gandhi, Kimaya Kale, Madan Taldevkar, Akash Singh, Chinmay Ghoroi, Atul Bhargav and Amey Karni

Antithrombotic Treatment for Stroke Prevention in Cervical Artery Dissection: The STOP-CAD Study.

Background: Small, randomized trials of cervical artery dissection (CAD) patients showed conflicting results regarding optimal stroke prevention strategies. We aimed to compare outcomes in patients with CAD treated with antiplatelets versus anticoagulation. Methods: This is a multi-center observational retrospective international study (16 countries, 63 sites) that included CAD patients without major trauma. The exposure was antithrombotic treatment type (anticoagulation vs. antiplatelets) and outcomes were subsequent ischemic stroke and major hemorrhage (intracranial or extracranial hemorrhage). We used adjusted Cox regression with Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (IPTW) to determine associations between anticoagulation and study outcomes within 30 and 180 days. The main analysis used an "as treated" cross-over approach and only included outcomes occurring on the above treatments. Results: The study included 3,636 patients [402 (11.1%) received exclusively anticoagulation and 2,453 (67.5%) received exclusively antiplatelets]. By day 180, there were 162 new ischemic strokes (4.4%) and 28 major hemorrhages (0.8%); 87.0% of ischemic strokes occurred by day 30. In adjusted Cox regression with IPTW, compared to antiplatelet therapy, anticoagulation was associated with a non-significantly lower risk of subsequent ischemic stroke by day 30 (adjusted HR 0.71 95% CI 0.45-1.12, p=0.145) and by day 180 (adjusted HR 0.80 95% CI 0.28-2.24, p=0.670). Anticoagulation therapy was not associated with a higher risk of major hemorrhage by day 30 (adjusted HR 1.39 95% CI 0.35-5.45, p=0.637) but was by day 180 (adjusted HR 5.56 95% CI 1.53-20.13, p=0.009). In interaction analyses, patients with occlusive dissection had significantly lower ischemic stroke risk with anticoagulation (adjusted HR 0.40 95% CI 0.18-0.88) (Pinteraction=0.009). Conclusions: Our study does not rule out a benefit of anticoagulation in reducing ischemic stroke risk, particularly in patients with occlusive dissection. If anticoagulation is chosen, it seems reasonable to switch to antiplatelet therapy before 180 days to lower the risk of major bleeding. Large prospective studies are needed to validate our findings

Rationale, design, and baseline characteristics in Evaluation of LIXisenatide in Acute Coronary Syndrome, a long-term cardiovascular end point trial of lixisenatide versus placebo

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Furthermore, patients with T2DM and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have a particularly high risk of CV events. The glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist, lixisenatide, improves glycemia, but its effects on CV events have not been thoroughly evaluated. METHODS: ELIXA (www.clinicaltrials.gov no. NCT01147250) is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter study of lixisenatide in patients with T2DM and a recent ACS event. The primary aim is to evaluate the effects of lixisenatide on CV morbidity and mortality in a population at high CV risk. The primary efficacy end point is a composite of time to CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina. Data are systematically collected for safety outcomes, including hypoglycemia, pancreatitis, and malignancy. RESULTS: Enrollment began in July 2010 and ended in August 2013; 6,068 patients from 49 countries were randomized. Of these, 69% are men and 75% are white; at baseline, the mean ± SD age was 60.3 ± 9.7 years, body mass index was 30.2 ± 5.7 kg/m(2), and duration of T2DM was 9.3 ± 8.2 years. The qualifying ACS was a myocardial infarction in 83% and unstable angina in 17%. The study will continue until the positive adjudication of the protocol-specified number of primary CV events. CONCLUSION: ELIXA will be the first trial to report the safety and efficacy of a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist in people with T2DM and high CV event risk