Infoveillance of Mucormycosis in India: A Google™ Trends Based Study

India reported highest incidence of Mucormycosis in the past and during the second wave of COVID-19. Google Trends is a potential tool for infoveillance of infectious disease like Mucormycosis. Relative Search Volume (RSV) for term Mucormycosis (+ Black fungus), diabetes, steroid, oxygen, D-dimer (+ferritin) had been extracted from Google Trends for three months (March to May 2021) and state-wise prevalence for Mucormycosis released by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was used for the analysis. India reported highest RSV for Mucormycosis among the top five countries with COVID-19 cases. RSV peak for oxygen preceded the Mucormycosis spike. Correlation between state-wise prevalence of Mucormycosis and their corresponding RSV was not significant. While a positive correlation was observed between Mucormycosis, diabetes and steroid, it was not statistically significant. Infoveillance using Google trends can serve as a proxy marker for the public health needs and priorities much before actual field surveys

A Monte Carlo Study of Rainfall Sampling Effect on a Distributed Catchment Model

A Monte Carlo study of a physically based distributed-parameter hydrologic model is described. The catchment model simulates overland flow and streamflow, and it is based on the kinematic wave concept. Soil Conservation Service curves are used to model rainfall excess within the basin. The model was applied to the Ralston Creek watershed, a small (7.5 km2) rural catchment in eastern Iowa. Sensitivity of the model response with respect to rainfall-input spatial and temporal sampling density was investigated. The input data were generated by a space-time stochastic model of rainfall. The generated rainfall fields were sampled by the varied-density synthetic rain gauge networks. The basin response, based on 5-min increment input data from a network of high density with about 1 gauge per 0.1 km2, was assumed to be the “ground truth,” and other results were compared against it. Included in the study was also a simple lumped parameter model based on the unit hydrograph concept. Results were interpreted in terms of hydrograph characteristics such as peak magnitude, time-to-peak, and total runoff volume. The results indicate higher sensitivity of basin response with respect to the temporal resolution than to the spatial resolution of the rainfall data. Also, the frequency analysis of the flood peaks shows severe underestimation by the lumped model. This may have implications for the design of hydraulic structures

Big Data Challenges: Data Analysis Perspective

Abstract Big Data concern large-volume, growin

Effects of an mHealth intervention for community health workers on maternal and child nutrition and health service delivery in India: protocol for a quasi-experimental mixed-methods evaluation.

INTRODUCTION:Millions of children in India still suffer from poor health and under-nutrition, despite substantial improvement over decades of public health programmes. The Anganwadi centres under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) provide a range of health and nutrition services to pregnant women, children <6 years and their mothers. However, major gaps exist in ICDS service delivery. The government is currently strengthening ICDS through an mHealth intervention called Common Application Software (ICDS-CAS) installed on smart phones, with accompanying multilevel data dashboards. This system is intended to be a job aid for frontline workers, supervisors and managers, aims to ensure better service delivery and supervision, and enable real-time monitoring and data-based decision-making. However, there is little to no evidence on the effectiveness of such large-scale mHealth interventions integrated with public health programmes in resource-constrained settings on the service delivery and subsequent health and nutrition outcomes. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:This study uses a village-matched controlled design with repeated cross-sectional surveys to evaluate whether ICDS-CAS can enable more timely and appropriate services to pregnant women, children <12 months and their mothers, compared with the standard ICDS programme. The study will recruit approximately 1500 Anganwadi workers and 6000+ mother-child dyads from 400+ matched-pair villages in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The primary outcomes are the proportion of beneficiaries receiving (a) adequate number of home visits and (b) appropriate level of counselling by the Anganwadi workers. Secondary outcomes are related to improvements in other ICDS services, and knowledge and practices of the Anganwadi workers and beneficiaries. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Ethical oversight is provided by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects at the University of California at Berkeley, and the Suraksha Independent Ethics Committee in India. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and analysis data will be made public. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:ISRCTN83902145

Treatment with clobetasol propionate 0.025% topical therapy in various dermatoses

Owing to their anti-inflammatory and vasoconstrictive properties. Topical corticosteroids (TCs) provide benefits in various dermatological conditions, including atopic eczema, psoriasis, chronic hand eczema, and localized vitiligo. Clobetasol propionate (CP) is the most common topical agent possessing anti-inflammatory, antimitotic, antipruritic, and immunosuppressive properties that are employed in the management of plaque psoriasis. CP 0.025% cream was approved by the United States food and drug administration for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis in adult patients. The formulation is free from known contact allergens, such as propylene glycol, short-chain alcohols, and sorbitol-based emulsifiers, and has demonstrated hypoallergenic effects. High penetration of active ingredients and a lower degree of systemic absorption make CP 0.025% an effective and safe agent. This case series discusses the clinical experience of using CP 0.025% cream in various dermatologic conditions, focusing on its efficacy and safety

Dementia and Diabetes Mellitus: Association with Apolipoprotein E4 Polymorphism from a Hospital in Southern India

Objective. To evaluate the association of Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) in Alzheimer's dementia (AD) with comorbid diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods. The study included subjects with Alzheimer's dementia (AD) (n = 209), individuals with non-Alzheimer's dementia (nAD) (n = 122), individuals with parental history of AD (f/hAD) (n = 70), and control individuals who had normal cognitive functions and no parental history of dementia (NC) (n = 193). Dementia was diagnosed using International Classification of Diseases-10 revision (ICD-10) criteria. DM was assessed on the basis of self-report and/or use of antidiabetic medications. ApoE genotyping was done using sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction. Results. ApoE4 allele frequencies were highest among AD with comorbid DM (0.35) followed by AD without DM (0.25), nAD with DM (0.13), nAD without comorbid DM (0.12), and NC (0.08). Frequency of ApoE4 in persons with f/hAD was 0.13. The association of AD with co-morbid DM in ApoE4 carriers was more in comparison to NC with DM (OR = 5.68, P = 0.04). Conclusion. There is a significant association between AD with co-morbid DM and ApoE4 genotype