A comparative study on effectiveness of constraint induced movement therapy Versus conventional therapy in improving upper limb functional on patients with stroke.

INTRODUCTION : Constraint induece movement therapy is a rehabitation approach that is designed to reduce in capitating motor deficits of the upper limbs in patient after neurological injury and increase their functional independence. Conventional Therapy (CT) is a usual and customary care on improve the upper extremity function. AIM : The study is to find out whether there is any significant difference between constraint induced movement therapy versus conventional therapy in improving upper limb function on patients with stroke. METHODS : The study was experimental in nature. Twenty samples were selected using simple random sampling method and divided into two equal groups. 1. Experimental group – I, 2. Experimental group - II Pretest measurements of upper limb function were taken for both The groups using Fug1 – meyer scale. After the pretest, the experimental group – I received conventional therapy whereas experimental group II received constraint induced movement therapy for a period of 8 weeks. Post – test measurement where taken for both the experimental groups in a similar fashion as that of pretest assessment at the end of 8 weeks. RESULTS : The data was subjected to statistical analysis and the following results were obtained. Conventional therapy is significantly effective in improving upper limb function on patients with stroke. Constraint induced movement therapy is significantly effective in improving upper limb function on patients with stroke. Constraint induced movement therapy is significantly effective in improving upper limb function on patients with stroke. Constraint induced movement therapy is significantly effective in improving upper limb function than conventional therapy on patients with stroke. CONCLUSION ; The results of this study make us conclude that constraint include movement therapy is significantly effective in improving upper limb function than conventional therapy on patients with stroke

Stupendous Nanomaterials: Carbon Nanotubes Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications

Carbon nanotubes are promising to revolutionize several fields in material science and are suggested to open the way into nanotechnology. These circular rod-shaped carbon nanostructures have novel characteristics that lead them to being potentially beneficial in many applications in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Their precise surface place, stiffness, power, and resilience have brought about lots of exhilaration in various areas. Nanotubes are categorized as single-walled nanotubes, double-walled nanotubes, and multi-walled nanotube. Various techniques have been evolved to produce nanotubes in bulk, including of arc discharge, laser ablation, chemical vapor deposition, electrolysis, and ball milling. Since their first observation nearly 20 years ago by Iijima, carbon nanotubes have been the focus of considerable research. Numerous researchers have reported remarkable physical and chemical properties for this new form of advanced carbon nanomaterials. Carbon nanotubes offer tremendous opportunities for the development of new material systems. This paper provides a concise report on recent advances in carbon nanotubes and their potential applications

Effectiveness of Functional Vibratory Stimulator on Occupational Performance in Post Operative Immobilized Complex Hand Injuries

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to find out the effects of functional vibratory stimulation in recovery of hand functions in post operative immobilized complex hand injuries. METHODOLOGY: The study was done at the Ganga hospital, Coimbatore in the outpatient unit. The study population included 28 clients with complex hand injuries who were at the 4th week post op. rehabilitation. The population was divided into two equal groups by random sampling through lot system. The outcome measures used were COPM for occupational performance, BBT for dexterity, VAS for pain and MODIFIED sphygmomanometer for grip strength. The tests were conducted in which the pre test, immediate and late effects were recorded. Assessor blinding was followed for the pre test and immediate effect. The intervention time was for 4 weeks and then later the results were collected and computed for statistics. RESULTS: The results were determined with the statistical analysis through “t” test and comparison of mean scores across each group. The results showed improvement in function and all other domains in both the groups, the experimental group showed a extreme significant difference in all the domains when compared to the post test. The significance was according to the p value P<0.0001 CONCLUSION: The pain levels in the experimental groups showed a drastic decrease both immediately and later in the intervention phase. The grip strength and dexterity also changed at the final stage of intervention. The client based hand function training was more effective along with the FVS. The FVS has shown positive effects on all 4 domains of assessment and can be used as an adjunctive modality of treatment for hand joint stiffness

Ability of Essential Oil Vapours to Reduce Numbers of Culturable Aerosolised Coronavirus, Bacteria and Fungi

Transmission of pathogens present in the indoor air can occur through aerosols. This study evaluated the efficacy of an evaporated mix of essential oils to reduce the numbers of culturable aerosolized coronavirus, bacterium and fungus. The essential oil-containing gel was allowed to vaporize inside a glass chamber for 10 or 20 min. Aerosols of a surrogate of SARS-CoV-2, murine hepatitis coronavirus MHV-1, Escherichia coli or Aspergillus flavus spores were produced using a colli-sion nebuliser and passed through the essential oil vapours, then collected on a six-stage Andersen sampler. The six-stages of the impact sampler capture aerosols in sizes ranging from 7 to 0.65 µm. The number of culturable microbes present in the aerosols collected in the different stages were enumerated and compared to the number of culturable microbes in control microbial aerosols that were not exposed to the evaporated essential oils. After 10 and 20 min evaporation, the essential oils reduced the numbers of culturable aerosolized coronavirus by 48% (log10 reduction = 0.3; p = 0.002 vs. control) and 53% (log10 reduction = 0.3; p = 0.001 vs. control), respectively. The essential oils vaporised for 10 min, reduced the number of viable E. coli by 51% (log10 reduction = 0.3; p = 0.032 vs. control). The Aspergillus flavus spores were mostly observed in the larger aerosols (7.00 µm to 2.10 µm) and the essential oils vaporised for 10 min reduced the number of viable spores by 72% (log10 reduction = 0.6; p = 0.008 vs. control). The vapours produced by a gel containing naturally occurring essential oils were able to significantly reduce the viable numbers of aerosolized coronavirus, bacteria and fungal spores. The antimicrobial gel containing the essential oils may be able to reduce aerosol transmission of microbes when used in domestic and workplace settings

Prevalence of HIV seropositivity among the patients attending tertiary care hospital at Puducherry, India

Background: HIV/AIDS has been globally increasing since its first identification and reached 36.9 million by the end of 2014. It is more prevalent in underdeveloped countries. India with about 2.1 million HIV/AIDS affected people is placed third on the table followed by South Africa and Nigeria. In the present study, we aim to report the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the patients attending our hospital in and around Puducherry, India.Methods: A total of 18903 patients attending various departments of our hospital from November 2012 to October 2015 were included in this study. HIV screening was done by rapid card test and ELISA for the detection of antibodies against HIV.Results: Out of the total study population, 259 (1.37%) were positive for HIV/AIDS. An increasing prevalence was observed in each successive year of our study. Male (1.94%) population was predominantly affected by HIV/AIDS than the females (0.90%) and is more prevalent in the 41-50 year age group.  Conclusions: Continuous monitoring, testing and counseling for HIV/AIDS would help to keep the disease under control. Special awareness and education programs are to be conducted in areas in which an increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS is reported

Ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy: should we mandate ophthalmic examination in TB treatment?

India’s National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP)1 and the WHO have recommended ethambutol (EMB) for use in the continuation phase of TB treatment due to the higher prevalence of isoniazid resistance in the patient community. This leaves only a single drug in the continuation phase that might adversely affect treatment outcomes.2 While reporting adverse drug reactions (ADRs), we found that EMB often induced optic neuropathy during anti-TB therapy (ATT) for drugsusceptible TB (DS-TB). In the study presented here, we define these ADRs and recommend adopting safety precautions when treating DS-TB patients

DEVELOPMENT OF COMPOSITE BUBALINE CANCELLOUS BONE XENOGRAFTS BY SEEDING GUINEA PIG FETAL OSTEOBLASTS

Xenografts are considered as an alternative strategy to restore a critical-sized bone defect. The present study was conducted to standardize the technique for seeding and cryopreservation of decellularized bubaline cancellous bone with Guinea pig fetal osteoblast for the development of a composite bone xenograft. The composite bone grafts were prepared by seeding the expanded osteoblasts on the acellular bubaline cancellous bone matrix. The foetal osteoblast seeded scaffold, acellular bone scaffold, and native bovine bone were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and histological examination. Composite bone xenograft was cryopreserved in 10% glycerol at - 80°C for three months and evaluated for post-thaw viability. Findings from the in vitro study suggested that the seeding of acellular scaffold was adequate, and osteoblasts had good adhesion and proliferation inside pores of acellular bone matrix. Histologically the integrity of collagen matrix was best preserved in the acellular group as compared to the freshly seeded and cryopreserved scaffold. The osteoblast seeded decellularized bubaline cancellous bone xenografts can be preserved for three months with adequate cell viability in the post-thaw evaluation at – 80°C in sterile tubes containing 10% glycerol as the cryoprotectant

Dissolution Enhancement and Formulation of Rapid-Release Lornoxicam Mini-Tablets

The aim was to enhance the dissolution of lornoxicam (LOR) and to produce mini-tablets with an optimised system to provide a rapid-release multi-particulate formulation. LOR systems were prepared through co-evaporation with either polyethylene glycol 6000 or Pluronic® F-68 (PLU) and adsorption onto Neusilin® US2 alone or co-adsorption in the presence of different amounts of polysorbate 80. All systems were characterised by FT-IR, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, flowability and dissolution techniques. Mini-tablets were prepared using the system with the optimum dissolution profile and flowability. Tensile strengths, content uniformity and dissolution profiles of the mini-tablets were evaluated. The effects of different excipients and storage conditions on mini-tablet properties were also studied. The optimised rapid-release LOR mini-tablets were further evaluated for their in vivo pharmacokinetic profile. The co-evaporate of LOR with PLU showed significantly faster dissolution and superior flowability and was evaluated together with three directly compressible excipients (Cellactose® 80, StarLac® (STA) and Emcompress®) for mini-tablet formulation. The formulation with STA provided the optimum results in terms of tensile strength content uniformity and rapid drug release following a 3-month stability study and was selected for further in vivo evaluation. The pharmacokinetic profile indicated the potential of the mini-tablets achieving rapid release and increased absorption of LO

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p&lt;0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p&lt;0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access