Prescription pattern of drugs in pregnancy induced hypertension in a tertiary care hospital

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prescription pattern of drugs in pregnancy induced hypertension in a tertiary care hospital.Methods:A retrospective observational study was conducted by department of Pharmacology in collaboration with the Department of Obstetrics in Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, Narketpally after taking permission from the Institutional Review Board. WHO basic indicators were indicators were used for studying the prescribing pattern of drugs.Results: Out of the total prescriptions studied the most commonly prescribed antihypertensive was Methyldopa, followed by Nifedipine. Amlodipine, Atenolol and Magnesium sulphate were the other drugs prescribed. Majority drugs prescribed were from category B and C. Single drug therapy was prescribed in 46.94% patients. The use of fixed dose combinations was low.Conclusion: The incidence of single drugs therapy and two drugs was high. Irrational prescriptions were few. The present pattern of prescriptions can be improved by advocating rational drug prescription and awareness regarding safe use of drugs to the obstetricians

A pore-scale model for permeable biofilm: numerical simulations and laboratory experiments

In this paper we derive a pore-scale model for permeable biofilm formation in a two-dimensional pore. The pore is divided in two phases: water and biofilm. The biofilm is assumed to consist of four components: water, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), active bacteria, and dead bacteria. The flow of water is modeled by the Stokes equation whereas a diffusion-convection equation is involved for the transport of nutrients. At the water/biofilm interface, nutrient transport and shear forces due to the water flux are considered. In the biofilm, the Brinkman equation for the water flow, transport of nutrients due to diffusion and convection, displacement of the biofilm components due to reproduction/dead of bacteria, and production of EPS are considered. A segregated finite element algorithm is used to solve the mathematical equations. Numerical simulations are performed based on experimentally determined parameters. The stress coefficient is fitted to the experimental data. To identify the critical model parameters, a sensitivity analysis is performed. The Sobol sensitivity indices of the input parameters are computed based on uniform perturbation by $\pm 10 \%$ of the nominal parameter values. The sensitivity analysis confirms that the variability or uncertainty in none of the parameters should be neglected

PyODDS: An End-to-end Outlier Detection System with Automated Machine Learning

Outlier detection is an important task for various data mining applications. Current outlier detection techniques are often manually designed for specific domains, requiring large human efforts of database setup, algorithm selection, and hyper-parameter tuning. To fill this gap, we present PyODDS, an automated end-to-end Python system for Outlier Detection with Database Support, which automatically optimizes an outlier detection pipeline for a new data source at hand. Specifically, we define the search space in the outlier detection pipeline, and produce a search strategy within the given search space. PyODDS enables end-to-end executions based on an Apache Spark backend server and a light-weight database. It also provides unified interfaces and visualizations for users with or without data science or machine learning background. In particular, we demonstrate PyODDS on several real-world datasets, with quantification analysis and visualization results.Comment: In Companion Proceedings of the Web Conference 2020 (WWW 20

Resonances in a two-dimensional electron waveguide with a single delta-function scatterer

We study the conductance properties of a straight two-dimensional electron waveguide with an s-like scatterer modeled by a single delta-function potential with a finite number of modes. Even such a simple system exhibits interesting resonance phenomena. These resonances are explained in terms of quasi-bound states both by using a direct solution of the Schroedinger equation and by studying the Green's function of the system. Using the Green's function we calculate the survival probability as well as the power absorption and show the influence of the quasi-bound states on these two quantities.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Physical Review

Accelerating Particle-in-Cell Kinetic Plasma Simulations via Reduced-Order Modeling of Space-Charge Dynamics using Dynamic Mode Decomposition

We present a data-driven reduced-order modeling of the space-charge dynamics for electromagnetic particle-in-cell (EMPIC) plasma simulations based on dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). The dynamics of the charged particles in kinetic plasma simulations such as EMPIC is manifested through the plasma current density defined on the edges of the spatial mesh. We showcase the efficacy of DMD in modeling the time evolution of current density through a low-dimensional feature space. Not only do such DMD-based predictive reduced-order models help accelerate EMPIC simulations, they also have the potential to facilitate investigative analysis and control applications. We demonstrate the proposed DMD-EMPIC scheme for reduced-order modeling of current density, and speed-up in EMPIC simulations involving electron beams under the influence of magnetic fields and virtual cathode oscillations

New Generation Peptide-Based Vaccine Prototype

Synthetic peptide-based vaccine prototypes are the future potential vaccination. Antigens, which belong to minimal microbial component and produce antibodies such as peptides and polysaccharides, can promote long-term protection against pathogens that can cause infectious diseases. Production of peptides becomes simple with solid phase peptide synthesis and microwave-assisted solid phase peptide synthesis using automatic synthesizers. The use of synthetic peptides was approved by the health authorities for vaccine design. Peptides are themselves very weak immunogens and need adjuvants to provide an effective autoimmune response. For this reason, peptide antigens are conjugated with biopolymers and loaded with nanoparticles. The toxicity of vaccine prototypes is evaluated in cell culture, and non-toxic prototypes are selected for vaccinating experimental animals. The most effective peptide-based vaccine prototype is determined as the one with the highest antibody level. The goal of this book chapter is to illustrate the use of peptides vaccine systems and present their opportunities with their future development

Polycystic ovary syndrome, blood group & diet: A correlative study in South Indian females

Aim: To find out the co-relation between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) with blood group & diet in South Indian females, between the age-group of (20-30) years. Objectives: Correlative analysis of ABO & Rh system, dietary habits & alcohol consumption with PCOS. Materials & Methods: 100 patients between (20-30) years, diagnosed with PCOS were selected. A standard PCOS questionnaire was given. Blood group & dietary status data were collected. Patients were grouped according to ABO & Rh system considering their diet & alcohol intake (p≤0.05 significant). Result: Our data revealed that the highest risk of PCOS was observed in females with blood group ‘O’ positive followed by ‘B’ positive who were on mixed diet & used to consume alcohol. Our study also suggests that Rh negative individuals didn’t show any association with PCOS. Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that ‘O’ positive females, are more prone to PCOS. Though the relative frequency of B positive individuals are more in India, females with blood group O positive are more susceptible to PCOS, contributing factors being mixed diet & alcohol intake. So, early screening of ‘O’ positive &‘B’ positive females of reproductive age-group in South-India, could be used as a measure for timely diagnosis of PCOS, better management &also prevention of complications. However, further research should be done to investigate the multifaceted mechanisms triggering these effects

Assessment of Superficial Fascia and Abdominal Fat of Anterior Abdominal Wall using Computed Tomography: A Retrospective Study

Introduction: The advancements in technologies have created new promenade pertaining to the anatomy of the anterior abdominal wall and body contouring surgery. This kindle the anatomist and surgeon to redefine the anatomy of the anterior abdominal wall. Anterior abdominal wall was routinely tutored as two layers, but the controversy regarding the existence and extent prevails. From the literature search, it was evident that preservation of Scarpa’s fascia is the pivot in determining the outcome of abdominal surgeries. Aim: To document the existence and extent of the Membranous Fascia of Scarpa (MFS) and compare the abdominal fat between age and sex-matched Computed Tomography (CT) images at 3 levels i.e., i) L1 vertebrae, ii) umbilicus and iii) anterior superior iliac spine and also to compare the distribution of abdominal fat. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Radiology at Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, from November 2019 to December 2020. A total of 60 CT images, that were age and sex matched were collected from the Medical Records Department. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 for windows. Types and extent of fascia were expressed in percentage, fat distribution as mean. The difference in mean between two and three independent groups was made using the Student’s t-test. The statistical tests applied were two tailed and p-value<0.05 were considered significant. Results: Single layer of the MFS was observed with 93.3%, 76.7% at level 1; 53.3%, 66.7% at level 2, 70%, 63.3% at level 3, among CT images of male and female respectively. The findings supported the presence of MFS on the entire anterior abdominal wall and 8 different patterns of MFS were observed. The anterior abdominal wall showed three layers of superficial fascia, with superficial fatty, MFS, and deep fatty zone. On comparing the abdominal fat, superficial fat was significantly high among females at all three levels. However, the deep fat though high among females in all the three-level; it was significantly high only at levels 1and 2 among subgroup 1 (p-value=0.003 and 0.001 respectively) and level 1 of subgroup 3 (p-value=0.01). Conclusion: The study decipher 3 layer theory of superficial layer of the anterior abdominal wall and superficial fat was significantly high among females, supporting that gender to be high-risk for surgical intervention. Redefining anatomy would guide for better and fruitful outcomes in surgical interventions

Healthcare Utilization and Costs Among High-Need and Frail Mexican American Medicare Beneficiaries

Objectives To examine Medicare health care spending and health services utilization among high-need population segments in older Mexican Americans, and to examine the association of frailty on health care spending and utilization. Methods Retrospective cohort study of the innovative linkage of Medicare data with the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE) were used. There were 863 participants, which contributed 1,629 person years of information. Frailty, cognition, and social risk factors were identified from the H-EPESE, and chronic conditions were identified from the Medicare file. The Cost and Use file was used to calculate four categories of Medicare spending on: hospital services, physician services, post-acute care services, and other services. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) with a log link gamma distribution and first order autoregressive, correlation matrix was used to estimate cost ratios (CR) of population segments, and GEE with a logit link binomial distribution was applied to estimate odds ratios (OR) of healthcare use. Results Participants in the major complex chronic illness segment who were also pre-frail or frail had higher total costs and utilization compared to the healthy segment. The CR for total Medicare spending was 3.05 (95% CI, 2.48–3.75). Similarly, this group had higher odds of being classified in the high-cost category 5.86 (95% CI, 3.35–10.25), nursing home care utilization 11.32 (95% CI, 3.88–33.02), hospitalizations 4.12 (95% CI, 2.88–5.90) and emergency room admissions 4.24 (95% CI, 3.04–5.91). Discussion Our findings highlight that frailty assessment is an important consideration when identifying high-need and high-cost patients