Psychiatric comorbidities among people with epilepsy: A population-based assessment in disadvantaged communities

Psychiatric disorders are frequent among people with epilepsy but often under-recognized. The diagnosis and treatment of these disorders in low- and low-middle-income countries (LMICs) are challenging. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey included people recruited during a community epilepsy screening program involving 59,509 individuals from poor communities in Ludhiana in Northwest India. Adults (age ≥18 years) with confirmed epilepsy on antiseizure medications were screened for depression and anxiety using the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) twice over two years of follow-up. They were later interviewed for symptoms using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, which was then confirmed by assessments by an experienced psychiatrist. RESULTS: Of the 240 people with confirmed epilepsy, 167 (70%) were adults, of whom, 116 (70%) eventually participated in the study. The NDDI-E with a cut-off of 15 identified depression in 14 (12%) of 116 people after one year of follow-up and 17 (15%) at two years. The GAD-7 using a cut-off of 6 identified 22 (19%) at one year and 32 (28%) with anxiety at two years. The area under the curves for NDDI-E was estimated as 0.62 (95%CI, 0.51-0.73; SE: 0.06; p = 0.04) and for GAD-7 as 0.62 (95%CI, 0.46-0.78; SE: 0.08; p = 0.12). Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale identified 63 (54%) people with psychiatric symptoms, for whom, a psychiatric diagnosis was confirmed in 60 (52%). A psychiatric diagnosis was associated with education below high school [Odds Ratio (OR): 2.59, 95%CI, 1.12-5.1; p = 0.03], later age of seizure onset (OR, 1.05, 95%CI: 1.0-1.10; p = 0.04), seizure frequency of at least one/year at enrolment (OR, 2.36, 95%CI: 1.0-5.58; p = 0.05) and the use of clobazam (OR, 5.09, 95%CI, 1.40-18.42; p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Depression and anxiety are common in people with epilepsy. Our findings underscore the low yields of screening instruments, NDDI-E and GAD-7, and comparatively better professionally-administered diagnostic assessments in resource-limited settings in LMICs. Moreover, previously established cut-offs do not apply to the community studied

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Manifestations in Type 2 Diabetes: A Single Centre, Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: The study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of musculoskeletal manifestations in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and methods: In this single center, cross sectional study, 300 patients with clinically documented T2D were recruited from the outpatient clinic. Demographics, diabetes history, family history, treatmentmodalities, musculoskeletal symptoms were self-reported by participants. Anthropometric measurements and musculoskeletal examination were conducted by investigators. Complete blood count, fasting and postprandial plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), urine analysis, and X rays of the symptomatic joints were performed. Results: Of 300 patients with T2D, musculoskeletal manifestations were observed in 50.7%. Osteoarthritis of the knee was the most common manifestation (20.3%) followed by carpal tunnel syndrome (10.7%), adhesive capsulitis (8.3%), diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (7.3%), diabetic cheiroarthropathy (6.0%), flexor tenosynovitis (2.3%), and Dupuytren’scontracture (0.7%). Age (p = 0.001), T2D duration (p = 0.004), BMI (p = 0.031) and HbA1c (p= 0.006) were associated with increased prevalence of musculoskeletal manifestations. Conclusions: Prevalence of musculoskeletal manifestationsis higher in people with T2D. Advanced age, longer duration of disease, overweight and high HbA1c levels are associated with increased prevalence of musculoskeletal manifestations

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 Delta variant replication and immune evasion

Abstract: The B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first identified in the state of Maharashtra in late 2020 and spread throughout India, outcompeting pre-existing lineages including B.1.617.1 (Kappa) and B.1.1.7 (Alpha)1. In vitro, B.1.617.2 is sixfold less sensitive to serum neutralizing antibodies from recovered individuals, and eightfold less sensitive to vaccine-elicited antibodies, compared with wild-type Wuhan-1 bearing D614G. Serum neutralizing titres against B.1.617.2 were lower in ChAdOx1 vaccinees than in BNT162b2 vaccinees. B.1.617.2 spike pseudotyped viruses exhibited compromised sensitivity to monoclonal antibodies to the receptor-binding domain and the amino-terminal domain. B.1.617.2 demonstrated higher replication efficiency than B.1.1.7 in both airway organoid and human airway epithelial systems, associated with B.1.617.2 spike being in a predominantly cleaved state compared with B.1.1.7 spike. The B.1.617.2 spike protein was able to mediate highly efficient syncytium formation that was less sensitive to inhibition by neutralizing antibody, compared with that of wild-type spike. We also observed that B.1.617.2 had higher replication and spike-mediated entry than B.1.617.1, potentially explaining the B.1.617.2 dominance. In an analysis of more than 130 SARS-CoV-2-infected health care workers across three centres in India during a period of mixed lineage circulation, we observed reduced ChAdOx1 vaccine effectiveness against B.1.617.2 relative to non-B.1.617.2, with the caveat of possible residual confounding. Compromised vaccine efficacy against the highly fit and immune-evasive B.1.617.2 Delta variant warrants continued infection control measures in the post-vaccination era

Spatial characterisation of a 36-fold segmented AGATA detector via a novel scanning system

The core principle of segmented gamma-tracking germanium detector arrays like AGATA and GRETA, that will be used in future for 4pi gamma detection, is the application of pulse shape analysis (PSA). The 3D position sensitivity of the HPGe detectors is based on differences in the shape of the charge pulses associated with different interaction points inside the whole volume. It is therefore necessary for this analysis to have a data base containing pulses for all the interaction points inside the detector volume. A full 3D scanning of the detectors, which experimentally determines pulse shapes for each position inside the active volume, is therefore needed. In this thesis, a novel scanning system is presented to determine the HPGe detector pulse shapes as a function of the gamma-ray interaction position inside the detector. The device is based on a pulse shape comparison scan (PSCS) and the positron annihilation correlation (PAC) method which makes it about 100 times faster than the conventional coincidence based scanners. The performance and efficiency of the system is superior because of using a position sensitive detector (PSD)/gamma camera. It consists of a LYSO scintillating crystal optically coupled to a position sensitive photomultiplier tube. The individual multianode readout (IMAR) approach is used to achieve a spatial resolution of ~ 1 mm and to optimize its field of view to ~ 28 cm^2. A Compton scattering imaging technique is implemented to perform an accurate position calibration of the gamma camera. The employment of PSD yields an added advantage of imaging capability which allows to study e.g. the details of the inner structure of HPGe detectors and electric field anisotropy effects. The position response of a planar HPGe detector is obtained using the apparatus and the risetime distribution plots are compared with those obtained via a conventional scanning system. However, to validate the aforementioned scanning principle, an AGATA symmetric detector is tested. The risetime values are measured as a function of the interaction position in both the coaxial and quasi-planar region of the detector. Furthermore, the Multi Geometry Simulation (MGS) code is used to generate theoretical distribution plots for comparison. The transition in charge carrier transport behaviour as a function of the depth is studied for the region of the complex electric field. Systematic deviations between simulation and measurement are observed for the critical front part of the AGATA detector. They are interpolated as due to a non-linear impurity concentration profile of the germanium crystal, asking for rigorous scanning of all detectors in the future

The Market Efficiency of Socially Responsible Indices in India

Socially Responsible Indices allow investors to invest in those companies which are deemed to be socially responsible. These indices comprise those constituent companies screened and assessed for environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. This paper analyses the weak form of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) for socially responsible investment indices in India. The authors used the daily closing price of two indices, Carbonex and Greenex, from June 3, 2013, to December 31, 2022. This study conducted Augmented Dickey Fuller, normality, and autocorrelation tests to analyse the randomness of prices and test whether the future price can be predicted using the past price. The weak form theory of the efficient market hypothesis is violated if the returns are not random and dependent on past returns, thereby enabling investors to gain abnormal returns by extrapolating the past data. The research results suggest that the theory of weak form of efficient market hypothesis is valid for Carbonex and Greenex, which are the socially responsible indices of India. It implies that the future movement of returns for socially responsible investment indices in India cannot be predicted from past prices. Therefore, the opportunity to gain abnormal returns is not possible

The Market Efficiency of Socially Responsible Indices in India

Socially Responsible Indices allow investors to invest in those companies which are deemed to be socially responsible. These indices comprise those constituent companies screened and assessed for environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. This paper analyses the weak form of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) for socially responsible investment indices in India. The authors used the daily closing price of two indices, Carbonex and Greenex, from June 3, 2013, to December 31, 2022. This study conducted Augmented Dickey Fuller, normality, and autocorrelation tests to analyse the randomness of prices and test whether the future price can be predicted using the past price. The weak form theory of the efficient market hypothesis is violated if the returns are not random and dependent on past returns, thereby enabling investors to gain abnormal returns by extrapolating the past data. The research results suggest that the theory of weak form of efficient market hypothesis is valid for Carbonex and Greenex, which are the socially responsible indices of India. It implies that the future movement of returns for socially responsible investment indices in India cannot be predicted from past prices. Therefore, the opportunity to gain abnormal returns is not possible

International Journal of Software and Web Sciences (IJSWS) www.iasir.net Survey on Acceptance Testing Technique

Abstract: Software testing is done to detect and correct software failures. Main purpose of testing is to check that software meets all specified requirements that guided its design and development. User Acceptance testing (UAT) is the key feature of software implementation. UAT is performed to ensure that the new system meets all the essential user requirements. It is the final testing activity performed by the customer to test for the completeness, correctness and consistency of the software

A comparison of the shear bond strength of conventional acid etching, self-etching primer, and single bottle self-adhesive - An In vitro study

Background: Bonding of brackets to enamel has been a critical issue in orthodontic research since the significance of achieving a stable bond between the tooth and its bracket was obvious from the onset. This study aimed to determine the shear bond strength (SBS) of self-adhesive system, to compare SBS of conventional etchant, self-etching prime and self-adhesive system under dry condition, and to estimate the chair-side time saved for the application of the bonding agents