Elastic Stable Intramedullary Nailing for Treatment of Pediatric Tibial Fractures

Introduction: Tibia fractures in the skeletally immature patient can usually be treated with above knee cast or patellar tendon bearing cast. The purpose of our study was to evaluate epidemiology and outcome of Elastic stable intramedullary nailing fixation of pediatric tibial shaft fractures treated at our institution. Methods: Over a period of one year, fifty pediatric patients of tibial shaft fractures, with average age of 9.68 yr (SD=2.37), were treated with elastic stable intramedullary nail. Demographic data, union and complication rate were evaluated. Results: There were 36 closed and 14 open fractures. The average time to union was 11.6 weeks  (SD=2.65) for close and  14.3 weeks (SD=2.62) for open fracture. There were no instances of growth arrest, remanipulations, or refracture. Conclusion: We conclude that flexible intramedullary fixation is an easy and effective method of management of both open and closed unstable fractures of the tibia in children

Effectiveness of a national quality improvement programme to improve survival after emergency abdominal surgery (EPOCH): a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial

Background: Emergency abdominal surgery is associated with poor patient outcomes. We studied the effectiveness of a national quality improvement (QI) programme to implement a care pathway to improve survival for these patients. Methods: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial of patients aged 40 years or older undergoing emergency open major abdominal surgery. Eligible UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals (those that had an emergency general surgical service, a substantial volume of emergency abdominal surgery cases, and contributed data to the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit) were organised into 15 geographical clusters and commenced the QI programme in a random order, based on a computer-generated random sequence, over an 85-week period with one geographical cluster commencing the intervention every 5 weeks from the second to the 16th time period. Patients were masked to the study group, but it was not possible to mask hospital staff or investigators. The primary outcome measure was mortality within 90 days of surgery. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN80682973. Findings: Treatment took place between March 3, 2014, and Oct 19, 2015. 22 754 patients were assessed for elegibility. Of 15 873 eligible patients from 93 NHS hospitals, primary outcome data were analysed for 8482 patients in the usual care group and 7374 in the QI group. Eight patients in the usual care group and nine patients in the QI group were not included in the analysis because of missing primary outcome data. The primary outcome of 90-day mortality occurred in 1210 (16%) patients in the QI group compared with 1393 (16%) patients in the usual care group (HR 1·11, 0·96–1·28). Interpretation: No survival benefit was observed from this QI programme to implement a care pathway for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. Future QI programmes should ensure that teams have both the time and resources needed to improve patient care. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

Effectiveness of a national quality improvement programme to improve survival after emergency abdominal surgery (EPOCH): a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial

BACKGROUND: Emergency abdominal surgery is associated with poor patient outcomes. We studied the effectiveness of a national quality improvement (QI) programme to implement a care pathway to improve survival for these patients. METHODS: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial of patients aged 40 years or older undergoing emergency open major abdominal surgery. Eligible UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals (those that had an emergency general surgical service, a substantial volume of emergency abdominal surgery cases, and contributed data to the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit) were organised into 15 geographical clusters and commenced the QI programme in a random order, based on a computer-generated random sequence, over an 85-week period with one geographical cluster commencing the intervention every 5 weeks from the second to the 16th time period. Patients were masked to the study group, but it was not possible to mask hospital staff or investigators. The primary outcome measure was mortality within 90 days of surgery. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN80682973. FINDINGS: Treatment took place between March 3, 2014, and Oct 19, 2015. 22 754 patients were assessed for elegibility. Of 15 873 eligible patients from 93 NHS hospitals, primary outcome data were analysed for 8482 patients in the usual care group and 7374 in the QI group. Eight patients in the usual care group and nine patients in the QI group were not included in the analysis because of missing primary outcome data. The primary outcome of 90-day mortality occurred in 1210 (16%) patients in the QI group compared with 1393 (16%) patients in the usual care group (HR 1·11, 0·96-1·28). INTERPRETATION: No survival benefit was observed from this QI programme to implement a care pathway for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. Future QI programmes should ensure that teams have both the time and resources needed to improve patient care. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

Multiple Image Encryption using Random Circular Grids and Recursive Image Hiding

The visual secret sharing (VSS) scheme encrypts the secret information into various meaningless shares. These shares are distributed to the authorized participants and the secret information can be retrieved by any k out of n participants by stacking their respective shares on top of each other. This scheme uses HVS (Human Visual System) to decrypt the information, and thus no technical or financial investment is required. Moreover, it is a one-time pad technique, so decrypting the information by an attacker is almost impossible. This paper proposes an improved visual secret sharing technique in which we aim to build upon the random grid approach of visual cryptography and test the feasibility of Recursive Image Hiding to hide multiple secrets at varying levels of the grids generated. Since we are using circular random grids, it is even possible to hide multiple images in the same grids and obtain the secret images for different angles of rotation of the grids. The participants need to be in possession of both the shares, as well as the fixes angle of rotation for which the secret can be obtained, in order to decrypt the image. In case of recursive image hiding, numerous secrets are hidden recursively in the shares of the original images at each level. Shares carry information for the subsequent secrets as well, thus leading to increased capacity. Also, the limitation on the number of secrets that can be hidden can be overcome because for each grid, multiple secrets can be recursively hidden. Thus, not only will we be able to hide multiple images, but multiple grids as well which in turn carry the information for multiple images

An Overview of Menopausal Symptoms at District Hospital of Nepal.

Introduction: Menopause is a universal reproductive phenomenon which confirms the end of fertility of the women. The objectives of this study were to establish the age of natural menopause and to identify the prevalence of menopausal symptoms among the rural women attending district hospital of Nepal. Methods: This present study is a hospital based, observational cross-sectional study conducted in Outpatient department of Lamjung District Hospital, Lamjung, Nepal. The study was carried out from January 2014 till June 2014. Fifty four menopausal women were included in the study. A structured questionnaire was used and the data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences. Results: There were 54 participants with menopausal symptoms included in the study. Age ranged from 45 to 60 years with mean 51.2 years. Approximately seventy percentages of women were in age group of above 50 years. About two-third of participants had menarche in at 11 to 13 years of age and 32 (59.5%) of females were married before 15 years of age. In the study total 22 different health problems were reported by menopausal women. The most common symptoms were backache, fatigue/tiredness, numbness and tingling of the extremities, mental exhaustion, depressive mood, bladder problems and sexual symptoms. Conclusions: The study suggests that rural middle-age and elderly women suffer from variety of health problems related to natural menopause. The health care workers should adopt a holistic approach towards management to improve the quality of life. Keywords: age; menopausal symptoms; women; district hospital. | PubMe

Catalytic Oxidation of Lignin Model Compounds using a Cobalt(III) Cubane Complex

Lignocellulosic biomass is produced by nature as structural support in a variety of plants. The cellulose of lignocellulosic biomass is extracted and used industrially, yielding an abundance of lignins as a byproduct. Lignin provides a promising source of renewable energy given its abundance and relatively high specific energy. Lignin also provides an efficient source of aromatic carbon chemicals, which, are otherwise challenging to synthesize. The lignin’s structure is composed of a variety of subunits including coniferyl alcohol, p-coumaryl alcohol, and sinapyl alcohol. The degradation of lignin into its subunits and the modification of these units present an interesting challenge. A variety of paths have been pursued towards optimization of lignin degradation; including enzymatic, catalytic, mechanical, electrical, photocatalytic and sonochemistry. We chose the catalytic approach. Catalyzed oxidation of lignin, is commonly greeted by the challenge of catalyst degradation. The catalyst degradation is often due to the volatile reaction conditions required. To ease the oxidation, we have synthesized a cobalt(III) cubane complex to be used as a catalyst. A lignin model compound, coniferyl alcohol, and Polymer A, a multi-unit compound, were oxidized using the catalyst. TLC, ESI mass spectrometry, and 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy were used to characterize the products of these reaction

Maternal hemoglobin and risk of low birth weight: A hospital-based cross-sectional study in Nepal

Background: Maternal hemoglobin during pregnancy is an important predictor of neonatal outcomes such as birth weight. The newborn weight of an infant is considered a crucial factor for morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to assess the association between maternal hemoglobin concentration and newborn weight at term pregnancy. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Kathmandu, Nepal from 14th April 2018 to 13th April 2019. Term singleton pregnant women who were admitted for delivery in the labor room of TUTH were included in this study. Maternal characteristics such as age, parity, birth space, ethnicity, education level, dietary habit, body mass index (BMI), and hemoglobin level were recorded. The newborn weight was taken immediately after delivery. The main outcome of this study was the birth weight. The association between hemoglobin level and newborn weight was analyzed using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: Of 2,418 term pregnant women, the prevalence of low hemoglobin and high hemoglobin levels were 24% (95% CI: 22–25.4), and 17% (95% CI: 15.7–18.7), respectively. The prevalence of low birth weight (LBW) was 12.9% (95% CI: 11.7–14.4). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that those mothers who had low hemoglobin concentration (adjusted Odds Ratio/aOR = 3.77, 95% CI: 2.84–5.01), and high hemoglobin concentration (aOR = 3.07, 95% CI: 2.23–4.24) had higher odds of having LBW compared to mothers having normal hemoglobin level. Mothers with both young age pregnancy (aged 16–20 years) and older pregnancy (aged ≥31 years) (aOR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.01–2.52) and (aOR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.06–2.41), respectively had higher odds of LBW compared to mothers aged 21–25 years. Those mothers who attended a primary level of education had higher odds of (aOR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.05–3.55) LBW compared to those mothers with a higher level of education. Moreover, mothers who belonged to Janajati ethnic group (aOR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.34–0.65) compared to the Brahmin/Chhetri ethnic group, and mothers with a birth space of more than three years (aOR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.41–0.97) compared to those who had less than three years of birth spacing and mothers who were overweight/obese (aOR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.55–0.99) compared to normal nutritional status had lower odds of having LBW. Conclusions: Our study concludes that both low and high hemoglobin had an increased risk of having low birth weight. Policies and programs can benefit by adopting the findings of this study. More empirical research is critical to understanding the impact of hemoglobin levels on birth weight

Grand Challenges in global eye health: a global prioritisation process using Delphi method

Background: We undertook a Grand Challenges in Global Eye Health prioritisation exercise to identify the key issues that must be addressed to improve eye health in the context of an ageing population, to eliminate persistent inequities in health-care access, and to mitigate widespread resource limitations. Methods: Drawing on methods used in previous Grand Challenges studies, we used a multi-step recruitment strategy to assemble a diverse panel of individuals from a range of disciplines relevant to global eye health from all regions globally to participate in a three-round, online, Delphi-like, prioritisation process to nominate and rank challenges in global eye health. Through this process, we developed both global and regional priority lists. Findings: Between Sept 1 and Dec 12, 2019, 470 individuals complete round 1 of the process, of whom 336 completed all three rounds (round 2 between Feb 26 and March 18, 2020, and round 3 between April 2 and April 25, 2020) 156 (46%) of 336 were women, 180 (54%) were men. The proportion of participants who worked in each region ranged from 104 (31%) in sub-Saharan Africa to 21 (6%) in central Europe, eastern Europe, and in central Asia. Of 85 unique challenges identified after round 1, 16 challenges were prioritised at the global level; six focused on detection and treatment of conditions (cataract, refractive error, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, services for children and screening for early detection), two focused on addressing shortages in human resource capacity, five on other health service and policy factors (including strengthening policies, integration, health information systems, and budget allocation), and three on improving access to care and promoting equity. Interpretation: This list of Grand Challenges serves as a starting point for immediate action by funders to guide investment in research and innovation in eye health. It challenges researchers, clinicians, and policy makers to build collaborations to address specific challenges. Funding: The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, Moorfields Eye Charity, National Institute for Health Research Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome Trust, Sightsavers, The Fred Hollows Foundation, The Seva Foundation, British Council for the Prevention of Blindness, and Christian Blind Mission. Translations: For the French, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic and Persian translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.</p

The DUNE Far Detector Vertical Drift Technology, Technical Design Report

International audienceDUNE is an international experiment dedicated to addressing some of the questions at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics, including the mystifying preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe. The dual-site experiment will employ an intense neutrino beam focused on a near and a far detector as it aims to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to make high-precision measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters, including the CP-violating phase. It will also stand ready to observe supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector implements liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, and combines the many tens-of-kiloton fiducial mass necessary for rare event searches with the sub-centimeter spatial resolution required to image those events with high precision. The addition of a photon detection system enhances physics capabilities for all DUNE physics drivers and opens prospects for further physics explorations. Given its size, the far detector will be implemented as a set of modules, with LArTPC designs that differ from one another as newer technologies arise. In the vertical drift LArTPC design, a horizontal cathode bisects the detector, creating two stacked drift volumes in which ionization charges drift towards anodes at either the top or bottom. The anodes are composed of perforated PCB layers with conductive strips, enabling reconstruction in 3D. Light-trap-style photon detection modules are placed both on the cryostat's side walls and on the central cathode where they are optically powered. This Technical Design Report describes in detail the technical implementations of each subsystem of this LArTPC that, together with the other far detector modules and the near detector, will enable DUNE to achieve its physics goals

The DUNE Far Detector Vertical Drift Technology, Technical Design Report

DUNE is an international experiment dedicated to addressing some of the questions at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics, including the mystifying preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe. The dual-site experiment will employ an intense neutrino beam focused on a near and a far detector as it aims to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to make high-precision measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters, including the CP-violating phase. It will also stand ready to observe supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector implements liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, and combines the many tens-of-kiloton fiducial mass necessary for rare event searches with the sub-centimeter spatial resolution required to image those events with high precision. The addition of a photon detection system enhances physics capabilities for all DUNE physics drivers and opens prospects for further physics explorations. Given its size, the far detector will be implemented as a set of modules, with LArTPC designs that differ from one another as newer technologies arise. In the vertical drift LArTPC design, a horizontal cathode bisects the detector, creating two stacked drift volumes in which ionization charges drift towards anodes at either the top or bottom. The anodes are composed of perforated PCB layers with conductive strips, enabling reconstruction in 3D. Light-trap-style photon detection modules are placed both on the cryostat's side walls and on the central cathode where they are optically powered. This Technical Design Report describes in detail the technical implementations of each subsystem of this LArTPC that, together with the other far detector modules and the near detector, will enable DUNE to achieve its physics goals