A study to evaluate the pattern of microorganisms causing early post-operative wound infection in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery with implant for closed fracture or disease in medical college and hospital, Kolkata

Background: For all orthopaedic surgical procedures with implant, infection at the operative site has always been recognized as a potential complication. The present study was done to evaluate the pattern of causative microorganisms in post-operative infection after orthopaedic surgery with implant in Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata.Methods: This study was Institution based cross-sectional observational case study. Patients population were selected from the patients, who were admitted or came for follow up in the Department of Orthopaedics, who had undergone surgery with implant for close fracture and disease and developed early (<3 months) post-operative wound infection The samples were collected and were sent to the Department of Microbiology, Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata for isolation and identification of the microorganisms and their antimicrobial susceptibility were done.Results: Maximum infections were detected and wound swabs were sent for culture in 2nd week of surgery followed by 3rd week. Only 10% (8 cases) had infection beyond 8 weeks. Plates with screws were used in 37 cases (46%) and nails in 15 cases (19%). It was been seen that infection in case of hip prosthesis were significant that is 8% (6 cases) which included four cases of hemiarthroplasty and two cases of total hip arthroplasty.Conclusions: The data suggests that there is preponderance of Gram- negative infections in operated orthopaedic patients, but Staphylococcus aureus predominates the infectious agents as the sole pathogen. Klebsiella species and pseudomonas species are second and third most common pathogens respectively

Implementation Research on Community Health Workers’ Provision of Maternal and Child Health Services in Rural Liberia

OBJECTIVE: To assess changes in the use of essential maternal and child health services in Konobo, Liberia, after implementation of an enhanced community health worker (CHW) programme. METHODS: The Liberian Ministry of Health partnered with Last Mile Health, a nongovernmental organization, to implement a pilot CHW programme with enhanced recruitment, training, supervision and compensation. To assess changes in maternal and child health-care use, we conducted repeated cross-sectional cluster surveys before (2012) and after (2015) programme implementation. FINDINGS: Between 2012 and 2015, 54 CHWs, seven peer supervisors and three clinical supervisors were trained to serve a population of 12 127 people in 44 communities. The regression-adjusted percentage of children receiving care from formal care providers increased by 60.1 (95% confidence interval, CI: 51.6 to 68.7) percentage points for diarrhoea, by 30.6 (95% CI: 20.5 to 40.7) for fever and by 51.2 (95% CI: 37.9 to 64.5) for acute respiratory infection. Facility-based delivery increased by 28.2 points (95% CI: 20.3 to 36.1). Facility-based delivery and formal sector care for acute respiratory infection and diarrhoea increased more in agricultural than gold-mining communities. Receipt of one-or-more antenatal care sessions at a health facility and postnatal care within 24 hours of delivery did not change significantly. CONCLUSION: We identified significant increases in uptake of child and maternal health-care services from formal providers during the pilot CHW programme in remote rural Liberia. Clinic-based services, such as postnatal care, and services in specific settings, such as mining areas, require additional interventions to achieve optimal outcomes

Nursing in a Global Community: A study abroad program

Nursing in a global community is a study abroad program at Georgia Southern University School of Nursing. The program hosted at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, West Africa, provides opportunity for undergraduate and graduate health profession students to experience nursing, health care service and delivery in a developing country. Description of the program and benefits of study abroad programs are discussed as well as a student perspective on the transcutural experience in Ghana

The relevance of antral follicle count (AFC) as a marker of ovarian reserve in normal and infertile women in a tertiary care centre in Central India

Background: The objective of the present study was to establish the role of AFC as a marker of ovarian reserve in fertility-proven and in sub-fertile Indian women, and to establish the baseline cut-off AFC values for Indian women.Methods: This is an Observational Case-Control type of study. Test subjects (n=30, age range 20-35 years) were selected randomly from all the women coming to our Out-Patient Department with Primary Infertility. Healthy female volunteers (n=30, age range 20-35years) were recruited from the local population. Statistics: Student t test was applied to compare the mean Antral Follicle count between the case and control group. Pearson correlation test was applied to assess the correlation between age and AFC for case and control group.Results: The results of the study show that there is a significant difference between the number of antral follicles between fertile and infertile women (p < 0.001). The baseline cut-off for successful pregnancy was established as an AFC of 12. There exists negative correlation (r = -0.249) between age and AFC case group indicating as the age increases AFC decreases.Conclusions: The findings from this study help in strengthening the idea that AFC serves as a marker for ovarian reserve. Our observation indicates that the number of antral follicles is lower in the subfertile patients as compared to the fertile group (in all age groups), in view of the significantly lower median AFC in women of the former group (P < 0.001)

Study the Neurological Improvement after Surgical Management of Traumatic Paraplegia in Traumatic Thoracolumbar Fractures

Background: Traumatic paraplegia is an unanticipated catastrophe in an individual’s life, posing a huge economic as well as social burden. We evaluated all the patients for neurological improvement after surgical management of traumatic paraplegia in traumatic thoracolumbar fractures. Materials and Methods: The prospective study was conducted in the department of orthopedics of a tertiary care teaching institute in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The patients were evaluated by X-ray of spine (anteroposterior and lateral view) and sometimes computed tomography scan. In most cases, pedicle screw with plate or rod was used and posterior stabilization and posterior fusion with corticocancellous bone graft from posterior iliac crest were done. Pre-operative and post-operative neurological charts (according to Frankel’s grade and American Spinal Cord Injury Association score [motor and sensory]) were maintained with regular assessment for proper post- operative neurological recovery assessment. Results: Forty-six patients in whom posterior stabilization of the spine was done in this institution and followed up for a period ranging from 6 months to 2 years, 4 of 46 patients lost follow-up. Remaining 42 patients were considered for the study. When decompression done within the 1st week in incomplete paraplegia, 80% of the patients show Grade 3 power return, whereas 25% of the patients show return of Grade 3 power when decompression done in the 3rd week in incomplete paraplegia cases. In complete paraplegia cases, 11% of the patients had return of power up to Grade 3 when decompression done within the 1 week, where no cases showed return of Grade 3 power when decompression done after the 2nd or 3rd week. In incomplete paraplegia, 80% of the patients had onset of sensory recovery within 1 week, when the decompression done within the 1st week. In complete paraplegia, 11% of the patients had sensory recovery within 2 weeks when decompression done within 1 week. Conclusion: Hence, our conclusion is that early decompression definitely has some role regarding motor and sensory function return, both in complete and incomplete paraplegia

Lactoferrin-tethered betulinic acid nanoparticles promote rapid delivery and cell death in triple negative breast and laryngeal cancer cells

Cancer management presents multifarious problems. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with inaccurate prognosis and limited chemotherapeutic options. Betulinic acid (BA) prevents angiogenesis and causes apoptosis of TNBC cells. NIH recommends BA for rapid access in cancer chemotherapy because of its cell-specific toxicity. BA however faces major challenges in therapeutic practices due to its limited solubility and cellular entree. We report lactoferrin (Lf) attached BA nanoparticles (Lf-BAnp) for rapid delivery in triple negative breast (MDA-MB-231) and laryngeal (HEp-2) cancer cell types. Lf association was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and FT-IR analysis. Average hydrodynamic size of Lf-BAnp was 147.7 ± 6.20 nm with f potential of �28.51 ± 3.52 mV. BA entrapment efficiency was 75.38 ± 2.70% and the release mechanism followed non-fickian pattern. Impact of Lf-BAnp on cell cycle and cytotoxicity of triple negative breast cancer and its metastatic site laryngeal cancer cell lines were analyzed. Lf-BAnp demonstrated strong anti-proliferative and cytotoxic effects, along with increased sub-G1 population and reduced number of cells in G1 and G2/M phases of the cell cycle, confirming reduced cell proliferation and significant cell death. Speedy intracellular entry of Lf-BAnp occurred within 30 min. Lf-BAnp design was explored for the first time as safer chemotherapeutic arsenals against complex TNBC conditions

Supplement Number 1: Investigation of thermoelectric and magnetotransport properties of single crystalline Bi2Se3 topological insulator

More detailed description of this file</p

Sb2Te3/graphite nanocomposite: A comprehensive study of thermal conductivity

International audienceThermoelectric performance largely depends on the reduction of lattice thermal conductivity (κL). The study of the thermal conductivity (κ) of a Sb2Te3/graphite nanocomposite system demonstrates ∼40% reduction in κL with graphite incorporation. A plausible explanation of intrinsic low κL observed in Sb2Te3 based system is presented by modeling experimental specific heat (Cp) data. Raman spectroscopy measurement combined to X-Ray diffraction data confirms the presence of graphite as separate phase in the composite sample. It is found that phonon scattering dominates heat transport mechanism in the nanostructured Sb2Te3/graphite composite. Large reduction in κL is accomplished by intensifying scattering rate of phonons via various sources. Graphite introduces effective scattering sources, i.e., defects of different dimensionalities in synthesized nanocomposite sample. Furthermore, graphite mediates phonon-phonon coupling and enhances lattice anharmonicity, which causes an intrinsic scattering of phonons with all frequencies in the Sb2Te3/graphite nanocomposite sample. Dislocation density and phonon anharmonicity of the synthesized samples are estimated from in depth analysis of temperature dependent synchrotron powder diffraction and Raman spectroscopic data. κL value as low as 0.8 W m−1K−1 at 300 K, achieved with graphite dispersion in Sb2Te3 based composite system makes the present comprehensive study an interesting concept to be developed in thermoelectric materials

Sb2Te3/graphite nanocomposite: A comprehensive study of thermal conductivity

International audienceThermoelectric performance largely depends on the reduction of lattice thermal conductivity (κL). The study of the thermal conductivity (κ) of a Sb2Te3/graphite nanocomposite system demonstrates ∼40% reduction in κL with graphite incorporation. A plausible explanation of intrinsic low κL observed in Sb2Te3 based system is presented by modeling experimental specific heat (Cp) data. Raman spectroscopy measurement combined to X-Ray diffraction data confirms the presence of graphite as separate phase in the composite sample. It is found that phonon scattering dominates heat transport mechanism in the nanostructured Sb2Te3/graphite composite. Large reduction in κL is accomplished by intensifying scattering rate of phonons via various sources. Graphite introduces effective scattering sources, i.e., defects of different dimensionalities in synthesized nanocomposite sample. Furthermore, graphite mediates phonon-phonon coupling and enhances lattice anharmonicity, which causes an intrinsic scattering of phonons with all frequencies in the Sb2Te3/graphite nanocomposite sample. Dislocation density and phonon anharmonicity of the synthesized samples are estimated from in depth analysis of temperature dependent synchrotron powder diffraction and Raman spectroscopic data. κL value as low as 0.8 W m−1K−1 at 300 K, achieved with graphite dispersion in Sb2Te3 based composite system makes the present comprehensive study an interesting concept to be developed in thermoelectric materials