Training safer orthopedic surgeons Construct validation of a virtual-reality simulator for hip fracture surgery

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Virtual-reality (VR) simulation in orthopedic training is still in its infancy, and much of the work has been focused on arthroscopy. We evaluated the construct validity of a new VR trauma simulator for performing dynamic hip screw (DHS) fixation of a trochanteric femoral fracture. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 30 volunteers were divided into 3 groups according to the number of postgraduate (PG) years and the amount of clinical experience: novice (1–4 PG years; less than 10 DHS procedures); intermediate (5–12 PG years; 10–100 procedures); expert (> 12 PG years; > 100 procedures). Each participant performed a DHS procedure and objective performance metrics were recorded. These data were analyzed with each performance metric taken as the dependent variable in 3 regression models. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in performance between groups for (1) number of attempts at guide-wire insertion, (2) total fluoroscopy time, (3) tip-apex distance, (4) probability of screw cutout, and (5) overall simulator score. The intermediate group performed the procedure most quickly, with the lowest fluoroscopy time, the lowest tip-apex distance, the lowest probability of cutout, and the highest simulator score, which correlated with their frequency of exposure to running the trauma lists for hip fracture surgery. INTERPRETATION: This study demonstrates the construct validity of a haptic VR trauma simulator with surgeons undertaking the procedure most frequently performing best on the simulator. VR simulation may be a means of addressing restrictions on working hours and allows trainees to practice technical tasks without putting patients at risk. The VR DHS simulator evaluated in this study may provide valid assessment of technical skill

Determination of sun protection factor and physical remanence of dermocosmetic emulgels formulated with Manilkara zapota (L.) fruit extract

Purpose: To develop a stable emulgel formulation from Manilkara zapota fruit extract (MZFE) and evaluate its sun-protective factor (SPF) and its physical retention on facial skin. Methods: Active test formulations containing MZFE and placebo (containing no active ingredients) were prepared by dispersing the primary emulsion into a gel phase. Both test and placebo emulgel formulations were subjected to physicochemical evaluation, stability studies, and assessment of possible photo-protective properties. The sun-protective factor (SPF) was determined in vitro by spectrophotometric analysis. Non-invasive in vivo skin bioengineering technique was used to assess the UV-quenching effects of the test and placebo emulgel formulations. Results: A stable and cosmetically acceptable emulgel formulation loaded with MZFE was obtained. The formulation and control exhibited optimum physicochemical stability in stress stability tests. The formulation exhibited promising photo-protective effects both in vitro (SPF = 14.215 ± 0.140) and in vivo (lasted for approximately 120 min). Conclusion: The developed MZFE-loaded test emulgel formulation possesses suitable photoprotection capability in vitro, and displays quenching effects against specific wavelengths of UV light, indicating a UV-filtering propert

Antimicrobial efficacy of Lactobacillus plantarum strain against the B. cereus, B. subtilis, S. aureus and E.coli strains

The current study aimed to detect the antimicrobial effect of cell free supernatant (CFS) of Lactobacillus plantarum strain against Gram +ve and Gram –ve bacterial strains. The strain of Lactobacillus plantarum was isolated using selective media MRS agar. The strain was characterized on the basis of the gram staining, colony morphology, the biochemical tests and the DNA sequencing based method of 16S ribotyping. A total of four test strains (The three already isolated and reported strains (E.coli, S. aureus and B. subtilis) and the one recently identified  novel strain (B. cereus) were used for the analysis of antagonistic activity of bacteriocin produced by L. plantarum strain. The CFS of L. plantarum showed zone of inhibition against all the test strains (Gram +ve and Gram –ve bacteria). The conditions favoring the growth of bacteria were associated with the antimicrobial efficacy of CFS. Bacteriocin activity of CFS remained effective after exposure to temperature stress.  Wide range of antagonistic potential of CFS of L. plantarum provides an alternative for antibiotics in pharmaceutical industry. Heat resistant feature of bacteriocin suggests its application in food industry

A Design for Proprioceptive Force in 3D Agility Robot Through Use of AI

For robots to be considered effective, they should be able to maneuver through 3D environments. To achieve such mobility, robots needs to be designed in such a way that would span various topographies. So, artificial intelligence algorithms have been developed to ensure agility of the robots when walking on murky topographies. In the current state of the art legged robots, there is still much progress need to be made in research to turn them into automobiles with great agility to be used in the real world utility and provide mobility in rough. GOAT leg as a means of artificial intelligence is still a new phenomenon. There still exists a number of preliminary tests that need to be done in accessing and in the characterization of the leg’s current performance and its implications in the future. This study seeks to develop and agility model which would be useful in ensuring that the robots remain agile in such complex environments. To do this, a simulation has been through Matlab analysis. Results of the current study showed that, 3-RSR was designed to ensure that a high fidelity proprioceptive force control would enable legs with the mechanically spring stiffness. Implications and future recommendations also discussed

Phenological and Morpological Traits of Sesame as Affected by Irrigation, Tillage Systems and Phousphours Levels

Despite the importance of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)  in the world, this crop has received only little research attention in Pakistan. Therefore, a field trail was conducted at New Developmental Farm of The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan during summer 2012. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement having three replications. Irrigation interval (9 days, 18 days and 27 days) and tillage system (conventional tillage with cultivator, deep tillage with chisel plough and shallow tillage with MBP) were allotted to main plots, while phosphorus levels (0, 30, 60 and 90 kg ha-1) were allotted to sub plots. Irrigation interval significantly affected all the parameters. Water supply at 9 days interval had delayed days to first flowering (50), maximum plant height (180 cm), branches plant-1 (10), capsule length (2.71 cm), leaves plant-1 (23) and stover yield (5667 kg ha-1) as compared with other irrigation intervals but first capsule distance from ground is recorded greater in 27 days irrigation interval. Tillage system had significant effects on all the parameters, except days to first flowering, capsule length, first capsule distance from ground and leaves plant-1. Conventional tillage produced maximum plant height (168 cm), branches plant-1 (9) and stover yield (5105 kg ha-1) as compared with deep and shallow tillage system. Phosphorus application had also significantly affected all parameters except days to first flowering. Plots treated with 60 kg P ha-1 produced maximum plant height (178 cm), branches plant-1(9), capsule length (2.68 cm), leaves plant-1 (21) and stover yield (5538 kg ha-1) as compared with control plots but first capsule distance from ground is greater in control plot. Application of water at 9 days interval with conventional tillage method and treated with 60 kg P ha-1 had maximum plant height, leaves plant-1 and stover yield. Keywords: Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), tillage systems, irrigation intervals, phousphours levels, phenology, morpholog

(2S)-Methyl 2-(4-chloro­benzene­sulfon­amido)-4-(methyl­sulfan­yl)butanoate

The enanti­omerically pure title compound, C12H16ClNO4S2, contains a pyramidal N atom with an S—N bond length of 1.6306 (15) Å. Mol­ecules are linked to form chains parallel to the a axis by classical N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding involving a sulfonyl O atom, supported by three weak C—H⋯X inter­actions. (X = S, O)

Film Retakes in Digital and Conventional Radiography

Objective: To determine the film-retake rates and causes in digital radiography comparison to conventional X-rays method. Study Design: Comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Radiology Department, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2004 to December 2006. Patients and Methods: X-rays of different body parts, conducted during the year 2004, with conventional radiography (n=170300), and in 2006 with digital radiography (n=174550), were included in this study. Measurements were done for number of X-rays re-take due to different quality control reasons for both the conventional and digital radiography. Quality control reasons included underexposure, overexposure, positioning errors, patient movements, portable X-rays, grid cutoff, and others (i.e. equipment related) due to which X-ray quality was questionable. Results were expressed in percentages. Results: A total of 9423 X-rays (5.5%) were repeated in conventional radiography (n=170300) due to underexposure (38%), overexposure (28.5%), positioning errors (25%), portable procedures (4%), patient movement (2%), grid cut-off (0.5%), and others (2%). Underexposure was the most frequently responsible factor for the X-ray repetition as compared to other factors (p\u3c0.001). In digital radiography (n=174550), 1464 X-rays (1%) needed to be repeated, which was significantly less in comparison to X-ray repetition in conventional method of radiography (5.5%) [p\u3c0.001]. In digital radiography, the most frequent factor for X-ray re-take was positioning error (435, 30%). Conclusion: Digital radiography is associated with significantly lesser number of re-take X-rays as compared to conventional radiography, hence minimizes the exposure of the patients to unnecessary radiations due to re-take X-rays. Positioning error remains a problem even in digital radiography, emphasizing training need for technologists

Impact of Firm Size on Earnings Management; A Study of Textile Sector of Pakistan

The study was conducted to evaluate the impact of firm size on earnings management for the textile sector of Pakistan. For this purpose annual ten years data was obtained from 2004 to 2013 for fifty selected firms from the textile sector of Pakistan. Natural logarithm of total assets was used as the proxy of firm size. On the other hand earning management was the dependent variable of this study. Earnings management was measured through discretionary accruals by using modified Jones model. Descriptive statistics, correlation and panel data analysis was used for capturing the impact of firm size on earnings management. The statistical results of this study revealed that there is positive and significant impact of firm size on earnings management. Keywords: Firm Size, Discretionary Accruals, Earnings Management, Karachi Stock Exchang

Antimicrobial efficacy of Lactobacillus plantarum strain against the B. cereus, B. subtilis, S. aureus and E.coli strains

The current study aimed to detect the antimicrobial effect of cell free supernatant (CFS) of Lactobacillus plantarum strain against Gram +ve and Gram –ve bacterial strains. The strain of Lactobacillus plantarum was isolated using selective media MRS agar. The strain was characterized on the basis of the gram staining, colony morphology, the biochemical tests and the DNA sequencing based method of 16S ribotyping. A total of four test strains (The three already isolated and reported strains (E.coli, S. aureus and B. subtilis) and the one recently identified  novel strain (B. cereus) were used for the analysis of antagonistic activity of bacteriocin produced by L. plantarum strain. The CFS of L. plantarum showed zone of inhibition against all the test strains (Gram +ve and Gram –ve bacteria). The conditions favoring the growth of bacteria were associated with the antimicrobial efficacy of CFS. Bacteriocin activity of CFS remained effective after exposure to temperature stress.  Wide range of antagonistic potential of CFS of L. plantarum provides an alternative for antibiotics in pharmaceutical industry. Heat resistant feature of bacteriocin suggests its application in food industry

A Descriptive Study: Integration of Technology Bring Flexibility to Distance Education in Pakistan

Due to the ability to learn, think and decide, Human is declared as “Better” in whole living creation in the universe. Education is encouraged in all the religions including Islam. As the First word in the Quran is “Iqra” means Read. From the books of Hadith and the example of Battle of Badar, the importance of education can be found. In the world, normally two types of education sectors are exists, one is regular education with physically existence of classes and second is distance education. In this research, focus of the research team is on Distance Education and Technological Integration in Distance Education along with the flexibility that technology brings to Distance Education in Pakistan. For this descriptive study the data used is gathered from secondary sources such as web sites of distance education universities in Pakistan, head offices and university magazines. For this research, two major distance education universities are discussed which are Allama Iqbal Open University and Virtual University of Pakistan. The Research describes that Distance Education Starts in 1974 in Pakistan and Pakistan has the honor to be the first country in Asia who introduce Open University concept and distance education and 2nd in the World. Allama Iqbal Open University started its distance education initially by hiring the tutors in the different institutions for its student nationwide. However, with IET development the teaching method converted from traditional tutor system to the tutoring broadcast on television and radio network. But the examination system remains as traditional which was paper based examination system along with the paper based assignments for evaluating the student. In 2002, First IT Based University “Virtual University of Pakistan” came into being and developed VULMS Virtual University learning management system. Virtual University of Pakistan is the first IT Based and totally equipped with modern information and communication technology. VULMS contains virtual class room which can be accessed by the student by providing unique student ID and password. VULMS contains video lectures of the student having revise listening option which is better than television broadcast. VULMS allow the student to download their assignment through internet from anywhere and also submit them. It also has the complete section of student Fee record, result record and other services like paper rechecking, freeze and unfreeze the semesters, apply for degree and result card etc. In 2008, Virtual University introduced online examination system which replace traditional paper system in distance education and with online system of education the next step of Virtual University was to introduce the facility of making own date sheet option for the students. By realizing that majority of the students in distance education are professional so this service was given to students. While remaining in the announced exam timing students can select dates, timing and exam city on their own for examination as per their availability. This research describe all the phases of these technological integration one by one phase wise and discuss the impact of these integration in term of brining flexibility for the students of distance education in Pakistan. Keyword: Education, Distance Education, Technology in Education, Education in Pakista