A PROSPECTIVE INTERVENTIONAL STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE (KAP) TOWARDS TUBERCULOSIS AMONG PATIENTS WITH KOCH'S DISEASE

ABSTRACTObjective: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of tuberculosis patients and to provide structured patient education through patient counselling on disease, drugs and lifestyle modifications in tuberculosis patients.Methods: All enrolled patient received structured & standard education regarding the disease tuberculosis, medication, diet & lifestyle modification after the preliminary assessment of KAP towards TB. Changes in the knowledge, attitude, and practice in the post-intervention phase were assessed and analyzed statistically.Results: Change in knowledge score of the patients before and after counselling was observed as 37.74% to 79.06% where the mean change in percentage is 41.32%. The change in the attitude of the patients before and after counselling was found to be 21.61%. Counseling towards practice before and after counseling was increased from 63.18% to 82.12% with a mean change of 18.94%.Conclusion: Change in KAP due to educating the patients would help in the increased adherence to antitubercular therapy (ATT) in the patients with tuberculosis; thereby resistance towards the drugs can be reduced.Keywords: Tuberculosis, Koch's disease, Compliance, KAP study

CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND HAEMATOLOGICAL TRENDS IN PAEDIATRIC CASES OF DENGUE: A SINGLE CENTRE RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU.

Aim: This study is an attempt to perform an analysis about the clinical profile, serological indicators and predictors of dengue in children. Materials And Methods: The study was conducted including paediatric dengue admissions into a tertiary care teaching hospital in Chennai. Children under the age of 15 were included in the study. The demographic details, clinical characteristics and laboratory findings of these patients were collected by reviewing medical records and the data was entered into a standardized data collection sheet. Results: In the study, it was found that the mean age was 8.5 years. It was found that males (59.6%, n=34) were slightly more affected than females. On clinical examination, 24.5% of the subjects showed hepatomegaly and 5 cases of the subjects showed fluid accumulation in the abdomen. A majority (66.6%) of the subjects showed thrombocytopenia; with 31 having mild to moderate thrombocytopenia and 7 children having severe thrombocytopenia. An elevation of serum SGOT levels (>120 IU/L) was seen in about 80.7% of the patients. About 12% of the subjects showed hyponatremia. Conclusion: It is observed in our study that the presence of prodromal symptoms such as fever, arthralgia, vomiting, and lethargy does not preclude the diagnosis of dengue. Severe dengue was associated with a large decrease in platelet counts with severe thrombocytopenia leading to shock in the majority of the cases. Elevated liver enzymes were an added feature with the Transaminase levels being ten times the upper limit of normal. Hyponatremia was also a notable laboratory derangement. Recommendation: The over-the-counter (OTC) drug acetaminophen can help reduce muscle pain and fever. But if you have dengue fever, other OTC pain relievers like aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), and naproxen sodium (Aleve) should be avoided. These pain relievers can increase the risk of dengue fever bleeding complications

Oxidation behavior of graphene-coated copper at intrinsic graphene defects of different origins

The development of ultrathin barrier films is vital to the advanced semiconductor industry. Graphene appears to hold promise as a protective coating; however, the polycrystalline and defective nature of engineered graphene hinders its practical applications. Here, we investigate the oxidation behavior of graphene-coated Cu foils at intrinsic graphene defects of different origins. Macro-scale information regarding the spatial distribution and oxidation resistance of various graphene defects is readily obtained using optical and electron microscopies after the hot-plate annealing. The controlled oxidation experiments reveal that the degree of structural deficiency is strongly dependent on the origins of the structural defects, the crystallographic orientations of the underlying Cu grains, the growth conditions of graphene, and the kinetics of the graphene growth. The obtained experimental and theoretical results show that oxygen radicals, decomposed from water molecules in ambient air, are effectively inverted at Stone-Wales defects into the graphene/Cu interface with the assistance of facilitators

Hydrothermal treatment of effluent affected polluted soil of Nanjangud, Mysore district, India

The polluted soils from the major textile, distillery and food industries located on a high-grade rock terrain (Nanjangud, Mysore district, India) were treated under hydrothermal conditions using water as a solvent. The electrical conductivity and N, P, K content have been studied before and after the hydrothermal treatment for these soil samples. Characterization of these soil samples was carried out through powder X-ray diffraction, thin section and infrared spectroscopic studies

Correlation and Regression Studies of Growth, Yield Attributes, Yield and Nutrient Uptake of Foxtail Millet under Different Varieties and Landraces

Aims: To evaluate the “Correlation and Regression Studies of Growth, Yield Attributes and Yield of foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) Under Different Varieties and Landraces”. Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was carried out in the Rabi season of 2022-23 at Experimental farm in Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore. Experimental field was silty clay loam in texture with medium in available N (273.0 kg/ha), high in available P2O5 (21.5 kg/ha) and high in available K2O (425.0 kg/ha) and lower level of organic carbon (0.29%). Study Design: Randomized Block Design (RBD). Methodology: The treatments consisted of 8 foxtail millet varieties and landraces viz., T1 - ATL-1 (Control), T2 - SiA-3222 (Garuda), T3 - SiA-3088 (Suryanandhi), T4 - SiA-3085, T5 - SiA-3156, T6 - SiA-3233 (Reynaudu), T7 - Mookanthathinai and T8 - Koranthinai. Results: Grain yield was highly significant positive correlation with N uptake (r = 0.996**), DMP at harvest stage (r = 0.984**), K uptake (r = 0.981**), P uptake (r = 0.966**) and straw yield (r = 0.954**). From the regression, N uptake (R2 = 0.993**), DMP (R2 = 0.968**) at harvest is the important positive component of grain yield in foxtail millet followed by K uptake (R2 = 0.962**), P uptake (R2 = 0.934**) and straw yield (R2 = 0.911**). Conclusion: From the result of correlation and regression, it was concluded that in terms of grain yield, the foxtail millet varieties and landraces are influenced by the DMP at harvest stage, N uptake, K uptake, P uptake and Straw yield

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE OF BACTERIAL AGENTS OF THE UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT IN SOUTH INDIAN POPULATION

The study was aimed at determining bacterial agents of the upper respiratory tract and the susceptibility patterns of isolates to antibiotics. The throat swab samples from 250 patients suspected of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) were obtained from the General Medicine outpatient department of a Rural Health Centre of Rajah Muthiah Medical College and Hospital (RMMC and H), Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamilnadu, India and inoculated in the culture medium. The bacterial infection was confirmed only in 228 patients. The organisms isolated on medium were identified by their cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics. Staphylococcus aureus was identified as the most prevalent bacterial isolate (45.61%) followed by β hemolytic streptococci (22.81%). Thirty four strains (14.91%) were identified as Klebsiella penumoniae, 19 (8.33%) as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the rest belonged to α hemolytic streptococci, Escherichia coli and Haemophilus influenzae. All Staphylococcus spp. were resistant to penicillin, ampicillin and co-trimoxazole. All the isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic. The overall resistance rates were generally low for gentamicin, cefixime and ceftazidime respectively

sj-docx-1-nah-10.1177_02601060221131726 - Supplemental material for Effect of abrupt and gradual calorie restriction regimens on biochemical and behavioral markers in obese mice model

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-nah-10.1177_02601060221131726 for Effect of abrupt and gradual calorie restriction regimens on biochemical and behavioral markers in obese mice model by Kousalya Nathan, Malligai E, Sugin Lal Jabaris S and Naveen K. Visweswaraiah in Nutrition and Health</p