Zrównoważona podróż papieru czerpanego od przeszłości do dziś

Paper is an excellent medium of expression and knowledge preservation and communication because of its writing, printing, and packaging abilities. It is a thin sheet or web-like structure made by a dilute suspension of cellulosic fibres. Handmade papermaking technology was mass accepted and considered a precious commodity before development of an industrialised wood- pulp based paper industry. This modern papermaking practice harms the environment as it uses enhanced natural resources (ample amount of water, trees as a primary source for wood pulp) and generates pollution due to release of harsh chemicals. This paper reviews the history and process of handmade paper manufacturing from past to present. Along with that, all the pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social) in relation to the handmade paper industry are deep rooted since ancient times and very much relevant for the present era of sustainable development. Various kinds of cellulosic raw materials from plants (Paper mulberry, Kazo, Gampy, hemp, bamboo, banana, etc.) and other used materials (old rags, ropes, nets, newspapers etc.) with the chemical-free production process and products make this industry eco-friendly. Craft based, small scale and labour-intensive guild art gives it social strength; whereas an  infinite product range having functional and decorative uses, as well as strong export potential of the industry gives it an economic strength. Due to the present need of sustainable production, waste minimisation, and circular economy, the handmade paper seems to very potential industry to recycle various kind of waste like weedy battles, textiles, tetra packs, currency, plastic etc. This paper is an attempt to review the journey of handmade papers, its recycling potential, various production processes, products, advantages and disadvantages of the industry from past to present.Papier jest doskonałym środkiem zachowania wiedzy oraz komunikacji ze względu na jego zdolności do pisania, drukowania i pakowania. Jest to cienka struktura przypominająca arkusz lub wstęgę wykonana z rozcieńczonej zawiesiny włókien celulozowych. Technologia ręcznego wytwarzania papieru była powszechnie przed rozwojem przemysłu papierniczego na bazie masy drzewnej. Ta nowoczesna praktyka papiernicza szkodzi jednak środowisku, ponieważ wykorzystuje ulepszone zasoby naturalne (duże ilości wody, drewno jako główne źródło miazgi drzewnej) i generuje zanieczyszczenie z powodu uwalniania agresywnych chemikaliów. W artykule dokonano przeglądu historii i procesu produkcji papieru czerpanego od przeszłości do współczesności. Wszystkie filary zrównoważonego rozwoju (środowiskowy, ekonomiczny i społeczny) w odniesieniu do przemysłu papieru czerpanego występowały już od czasów starożytnych i mają bardzo duże znaczenie dla obecnej epoki. Różne rodzaje surowców celulozowych z roślin (morwa papierowa, kazo, babka, konopie, bambus, banany itp.) i innych używanych materiałów (stare szmaty, liny, siatki, gazety itp.) z bezchemicznym procesem produkcyjnym czynią tę branżę przyjazną dla środowiska. Oparta na rzemiośle, drobna i pracochłonna sztuka cechowa daje jej siłę społeczną; mając na uwadze, że nieskończona jest gama produktów o funkcjonalnych i dekoracyjnych zastosowaniach, a także silny potencjał eksportowy przemysłu, zapewnia jej także mu siłę ekonomiczną. Ze względu na obecną potrzebę zrównoważonej produkcji, minimalizacji odpadów i gospodarki o obiegu zamkniętym, papier czerpany wydaje się bardzo idealny do recyklingu różnego rodzaju odpadów, takich tekstylia, opakowania tetra, plastik itp. Ten artykuł jest próbą opisania historii papieru czerpanego, jego potencjału w zakresie recyklingu, a także omówienia różnych procesy produkcyjnych, produktów oraz zalet i wad tej branży

Automatic Blood Vessel Extraction of Fundus Images Employing Fuzzy Approach

Diabetic Retinopathy is a retinal vascular disease that is characterized by progressive deterioration of blood vessels in the retina and is distinguished by the appearance of different types of clinical lesions like microaneurysms, hemorrhages, exudates etc. Automated detection of the lesions plays significant role for early diagnosis by enabling medication for the treatment of severe eye diseases preventing visual loss. Extraction of blood vessels can facilitate ophthalmic services by automating computer aided screening of fundus images. This paper presents blood vessel extraction algorithms with ensemble of pre-processing and post-processing steps which enhance the image quality for better analysis of retinal images for automated detection. Extensive performance based evaluation of the proposed approaches is done over four databases on the basis of statistical parameters. Comparison of both blood vessel extraction techniques on different databases reveals that fuzzy based approach gives better results as compared to Kirsch’s based algorithm. The results obtained from this study reveal that 89% average accuracy is offered by the proposed MBVEKA and 98% for proposed BVEFA

Retinal blood vessel localization to expedite PDR diagnosis

Ophthalmologist relies on the retinal fundus image segmentation for accurate diagnosis of Diabetic Retinopathy caused due to prolonged deterioration in retinal blood vessels. Blood vessel and optical disc localization determines the vascular alterations helpful in identifying retinal diseases with accurate identification of pathologies like microaneurysms and exudates. This work comprises evaluation of proposed Optical Disc Segmentation and blood vessel localization techniques followed by a statistical analysis using three fractal dimensions; box count, information and correlation. Fractal dimensions explored are beneficial for Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR) diagnosis as its value for vascular structures increases with increasing level of PDR. Two benchmark fundus image databases, DRIVE and STARE were evaluated by utilizing shape and fractal features for performance validation and average accuracies of 96.79% and 95.68% were achieved for extracted blood vessels using proposed approach

Soft-Dropout: A Practical Approach for Mitigating Overfitting in Quantum Convolutional Neural Networks

Quantum convolutional neural network (QCNN), an early application for quantum computers in the NISQ era, has been consistently proven successful as a machine learning (ML) algorithm for several tasks with significant accuracy. Derived from its classical counterpart, QCNN is prone to overfitting. Overfitting is a typical shortcoming of ML models that are trained too closely to the availed training dataset and perform relatively poorly on unseen datasets for a similar problem. In this work we study the adaptation of one of the most successful overfitting mitigation method, knows as the (post-training) dropout method, to the quantum setting. We find that a straightforward implementation of this method in the quantum setting leads to a significant and undesirable consequence: a substantial decrease in success probability of the QCNN. We argue that this effect exposes the crucial role of entanglement in QCNNs and the vulnerability of QCNNs to entanglement loss. To handle overfitting, we proposed a softer version of the dropout method. We find that the proposed method allows us to handle successfully overfitting in the test cases.Comment: 9 pages, 14 images, 6 table

Glyceryl trinitrate patch versus intravenous ritodrine for tocolysis in pre-term labour

Background: Preterm birth is the single most important determinant of adverse infant outcome. Tocolytic therapy has shown beneficial effect in certain selected patients. The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy, maternal and fetal outcome with the use of Transdermal Glyceryl nitrate patches versus Intravenous Ritodrine tocolytic agents.Methods: Study included 50 patients of gestation 24-34 weeks in preterm labor. Group I: Glyceryl trinitrate patch releasing 10mg/24 hours (0.4mg/ hour) was applied transdermally and repeated after 2 hours if no reduction in contractions was seen. Group II: Intravenous Ritodrine infusion prepared by adding 50mg to a bottle of 5% dextrose or ringer lactate solution and infusion started at an initial rate of 0.05mg/min which was increased by 50 micrograms per minute every 15 min until contractions ceased.Results: 22 patients in group I treated with GTN and 19 patients in group II treated with Ritodrine achieved successful tocolysis. The difference was statistically insignificant (P value - 0.23). Mean Gestational age at delivery was 34.97 in GTN Group as compared to 33.24 weeks in Ritodrine Group ; difference which is statistically significant (P = 0.0004). Very few adverse effects were observed in the GTN Group. Comparatively, the Ritodrine Group had severe adverse effects requiring discontinuation of therapy. Fetal outcome was satisfactory in both groups.Conclusions: The effects of Glyceryl trinitrate and Ritodrine in the treatment of preterm labor were essentially similar. Glyceryl trinitrate is associated with lesser maternal and fetal adverse effects and appears to be a very viable, inexpensive and safer alternative to Ritodrine

Study to evaluate the efficacy of Yavani Churna and Yoga Therapy in Primary Dysmenorrhea - A Clinical Study

Dysmenorrhea or painful menstruation is a medical condition experienced by majority of adolescent girls with an estimate prevalence between 67%- 90%. Today's stressful modern lifestyle, lack of physical activity, food habits, frequent intervention of female genital tract affects the uterine environment which leads to higher incidence of Dysmenorrhea. It affects their academic performance, social activities and is a cause for school absenteeism. In Ayurveda, Dysmenorrhea is mentioned as symptom of many disorders like Vatala Yonivyapada, Paripluta Yonivyapada, Mahayoni, Udavartini Yonivyapada and Vataja Artav Dushti. Yavani (Trachyspermum ammi) is a well-known herb available in every Indian kitchen and traditionally it was used for curing numerous ailments. Ayurveda mentioned its properties as Vatanuloman, Shothahara, Shoolaghgna etc. Yoga is a non-pharmacological treatment modality popularly useful in several diseases. Several researches also proved the positive effect of Yavani and Yoga on pain inflammation, oxidative stress etc. Thus, for present study Yavani Churna and Yoga therapy has selected and clinical trial was conducted on 40 patients of Primary Dysmenorrhea for two consecutive cycle (2 month). These patients were divided into 2 groups as group A (Yavani Churna and Yoga Therapy) and group B (Yavani Churna). After 2 consecutive cycles, results showed significant improvement in pain as well as other clinical parameters

A cross-sectional study of socio-demographic and clinical profile of HIV patients at ART plus centre, Sawai Man Singh Hospital, Jaipur, India

Background: This study aimed to understand the regional variation in the socio-demographic and clinical profile of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients at antiretroviral therapy plus centre of Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital, Jaipur, India.  Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on HIV patients from January to December 2019. The HIV-positive patients of all age groups and all categories were included in the study. The socio-economic status was assessed by BG Prasad classification-based consumer price index. However, the clinical staging was done according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of HIV/AIDS. Data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Results: Among 525 HIV patients 59.16% were males, 40.26% females and 0.57% intersex. About half (51.0%) in the reproductive age group with mean age 36 ±13 years. The commonest mode of HIV transmission was heterosexual (89.77%). Maximum belonged to social class I (57.84%) and class II (26.05 %) of BG Prasad's socioeconomic status. Each of the non-agricultural laborers and semi-skilled workers constitutes 18.0%, and the housewives were 23.6%. At the time of presentation, baseline CD4+Tcell count was <350 /mm3 in 55.0% of HIV patients. Pulmonary tuberculosis and skin involvement were the most predominant secondary opportunistic infections accounting for 24.8% and 7.8%, respectively. More than half (52.09%) of patients were in WHO clinical stage I of HIV disease. Conclusion: Socio-demographic and clinical profile of study participants reflect an impact of early case detection and timely institution of highly active antiretroviral therapy

Opioid free anesthesia in a pre-term neonate: A case report

Opioids play a major role in the perioperative management of pain in adults and children. Though there is significant morbidity and mortality associated with overdosage of opioids, they remain the most common means of providing analgesia in the perioperative period. We report the case of a preterm neonate born with low birth weight who underwent high sigmoid loop colostomy for high anorectal malformation using opioid-free general anesthesia with supplementation with caudal block. Successful uncomplicated extubation of preterm baby was achieved with good spontaneous efforts. Opioid free general anesthesia can prevent respiratory depression and the need for postoperative mechanical ventilation even when given to preterm neonates

Novel paths to antifungal therapeutics

Adhesion to medical device and host cell surfaces are crucial steps during pathogenesis by fungi such as Candida albicans, which is especially dangerous to immunocompromised individuals such as AIDS patients. We have identified a small molecule that inhibits adhesion of C. albicans to polystyrene and to cultured human epithelial cells. Moreover, this compound is able to coat plastic surfaces and make them resistant to colonization by fungal biofilms. Therefore, this compound has the potential to be widely useful as a novel therapeutic and/or as a coating on medical devices. Rationale: C. albicans is the most widespread fungal pathogen of humans and one of the most frequent hospital-acquired infections. The estimated annual cost of treating nosocomial Candida infections exceeds $1 billion per year. As an opportunistic pathogen, it is responsible for common clinical problems including oral thrush and vaginitis, but can also lead to life-threatening systemic infections (candidiasis) in immunocompromised individuals, resulting in 30-50% mortality rates. Contributing to these problems is the ability of C. albicans to develop resistance to antifungal drugs. Moreover, most effective antifungal drugs also cause serious side effects, in many cases because of the significant homology between mammalian and fungal drug targets. Therefore, new antifungal drugs are a high medical priority. Surface adhesion, morphological switching, and biofilm formation are interrelated factors that contribute directly to C. albicans virulence. Therefore, compounds that impair these processes would have promising properties as first step towards new antifungal therapeutics. Preliminary Studies: Efficient adhesion is required for formation of aggressive biofilms, which in turn make Candida a successful pathogen. Therefore, we identified compounds that prevent adhesion of Candida albicans to polystyrene surfaces. Because the assays in this proposal are based on altering the behavior of intact cells, we avoid the complication of compounds unable to cross the cell wall and membranes. Our initial search for adhesion inhibitors was conceptually simple, based on dye binding to monitor yeast adhesion to surfaces. We identified 41 compounds that reduced adhesion to Candidastrain confirmed that most of the reordered compounds indeed inhibit adhesion to polystyrene (Figure 1). Figure 1. Compound #4 inhibits C. albicans adhesion to polystyrene. GFP-expressing wild type or non-adherent edt1 mutant C. albicans cells were plated into 96 well plates with DMSO or 25 mM compound 4 as indicated. Plates were incubated for 4 hours at 37oC. Media was then decanted and plates were washed 3 times prior to fluorescence microscopy. Human cell adhesion: To determine whether any candidate compounds would affect interactions with biological targets as well as inert surfaces, we also tested how the candidate compounds affect C. albicans adherence to human cells, using monolayers of human lung epithelial cells. The GFP-encoding cells allowed us to use both microscopy and fluorescence measurements to detect fungal cells that remained bound after washing. We observed that “compound #4”, but not other candidate compounds, reduced the interaction of C. albicans with the human cells to background levels. We also verified that compound 4 did not affect the viability of this human cell line, even at concentrations much higher (250 mM) than those used in the adhesion assay (data not shown). Plastic coating: Compound 4 also inhibits Candida adhesion to polystyrene when it is incubated with the plastic prior to the addition of the cells. Therefore, compound 4 not only has effects on Candida cell morphology in the absence of surface adhesion, it also renders plastic surfaces resistant to subsequent Candida binding. Together, our data suggest that compound 4 may not only be effective at combating fungal infections, but could also have potential use as a compound to prevent multiple types of unwanted microbial colonization