A retrospective study of neurological recovery following posterior stabilization for spine instability in tertiary care hospital, Chengalpattu district

Background: Spinal instability is defined as the loss of the ability of the spine under physiological loads to maintain relationships between vertebrae in such a way that the spinal cord or nerve roots are not damaged or irritated, and deformity or pain does not develop. The objective was to study the neurological recovery following posterior stabilization for lumbar spine instability.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Orthopaedics, Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, India. (KIMS & RC). Study duration was from January 2020 to February 2020 (2 months). Patients admitted with spinal instability with neurological deficit, treated with instrumentation and fusion will be study participants were 30 patients.Results: In our study, Denis pain scale showed that 40% of patients had minimal pain, 40% of patient had moderate pain and 20% had moderate to severe pain with significant changes in daily activities, the Denis work assessment scale showed that 33.33% of patients had unable to return to the previous job but can able to work full time with job modification.Conclusions: The most important factor responsible for prognosis and neurological recovery is the neurological status at the time of injury. Surgical decompression and stabilization with fusion improves the neurological recovery especially in incomplete cord lesions

A comparative study of functional outcome of short proximal femoral nail with long proximal femoral nail in proximal femoral fractures

Background: Trochanteric femoral fractures are often seen in patients aged they can be caused by high-energy or low-energy trauma or may be pathological. Particularly in the elderly, hip fractures are a major cause of increased mortality and morbidity. Because of the decreased physical capacity, concomitant systemic diseases, and increased vulnerability to environmental dangers, even low-energy trauma can cause unstable femoral trochanteric fractures in this age group. Compare the functional outcome of the short proximal femoral nail with a long proximal femoral nail in proximal femoral fractures.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Orthopaedics, Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Chengalpattu Dist., Tamil Nadu, India. (KIMS & RC). Palmer/Parker score is obtained for the functional outcome of the short proximal femoral nail with a long proximal femoral nail in proximal femoral fractures.Results: It is concluded from our study that proximal femoral nailing is an attractive and suitable implant for Proximal Femoral Fractures and its use in unstable intertrochanteric fractures is very encouraging.  Conclusions: The database of our retrospective study regarding age & sex incidence, clinicopathological features and therapeutic outcome was comparable to other studies in various literatures

When malloc() Never Returns NULL -- Reliability as an Illusion

For decades, the guidance given to software engineers has been to check the memory allocation results. This validation step is necessary to avoid crashes. However, in user mode, in modern operating systems (OS), such as Android, FreeBSD, iOS, and macOS, the caller does not have an opportunity to handle the memory allocation failures. This behavioral trait results from the actions of a system component called an out-of-memory (OOM) killer. We identify that the only mainstream OS that, by default, lets applications detect memory allocation failures is Microsoft Windows. The false expectation that an application can handle OOM errors can negatively impact its design. The presence of error-handling code creates an illusion of reliability and is wasteful in terms of lines of code and code size. We describe the current behavior of a sample of popular OSs during low-memory conditions and provide recommendations for engineering practices going forward

There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Custom Memory Allocator

Using custom memory allocators is an efficient performance optimization technique. However, dependency on a custom allocator can introduce several maintenance-related issues. We present lessons learned from the industry and provide critical guidance for using custom memory allocators and enumerate various challenges associated with integrating them. These recommendations are based on years of experience incorporating custom allocators into different industrial software projects

Potential of microalgae as a sustainable feed ingredient for aquaculture

An increase in fish consumption, combined with a decrease in wild fish harvest, is driving the aquaculture industry at rapid pace. Today, farmed seafood accounts for about half of all global seafood demand for human consumption. As the aquaculture industry continues to grow, so does the market for aquafeed. Currently, some of the feed ingredients are coming from low-value forage fishes (fish meal) and terrestrial plants. The production of fish meal can’t be increased as it would affect the sustainability and ecosystem of the ocean. Similarly, increasing the production of terrestrial plant-based feed leads to deforestation and increased freshwater use. Hence, alternative and environmentally sustainable sources of feed ingredients need to be developed. Microalgae biomasses represent potential feed source ingredients as the cell metabolites of these microorganisms contain a blend of essential amino acids, healthy triglycerides as fat, vitamins, and pigments. In addition to serving as bulk ingredient in aquafeed, their unique array of bioactive compounds can increase the survivability of farmed species, improve coloration and quality of fillet. Microalgae has the highest areal biomass productivities among photosynthetic organisms, including fodder crops, and thus has a high commercial potential. Also, microalgal production has a low water and arable-land footprint, making microalgal-based feed environmentally sustainable. This review paper will explore the potential of producing microalgae biomass as an ingredient of aquaculture feed.publishedVersio

Case Report: Response to ipilimumab and nivolumab in a patient with adrenocortical carcinoma

Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy with limited treatment options. The evidence for the use of immunotherapy in ACC has been conflicting, with overall response rates ranging from 6 – 33%. Case presentation: We describe the case of a 32 year old patient who was initially thought to have an inoperable clear cell renal cell carcinoma and was treated with immunotherapy with ipilimumab and nivolumab. The patient had an excellent partial response to treatment. Further work-up prior to consideration of surgery demonstrated that the tumour was an ACC, rather than a renal cancer. She had a right adrenalectomy and right hepatectomy, achieving an R0 resection and remains disease-free one year after surgery. Conclusion: This case illustrates the challenge of diagnosing ACC, and that doublet immunotherapy with ipilimumab and nivolumab can have significant clinical efficacy in ACC

Superhydrophobic al2o3-polymer composite coating for self-cleaning applications

Superhydrophobic coatings have a huge impact in various applications due to their extreme water-repellent properties. The main novelty of the current research work lies in the development of cheap, stable, superhydrophobic and self-cleaning coatings with extreme water-repellency. In this work, a composite of hydrothermally synthesized alumina (Al2O3), polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) and polystyrene (PS) was deposited on a glass surface by a dip-coating technique. The Al2O3 nanoparticles form a rough structure, and low-surface-energy PHMS enhances the water-repellent properties. The composite coating revealed a water contact angle (WCA) of 171 ± 2° and a sliding angle (SA) of 3°. In the chemical analysis, Al2p, Si2p, O1s, and C1s elements were detected in the XPS survey. The prepared coating showed a self-cleaning property through the rolling action of water drops. Such a type of coating could have various industrial applications in the future.Funding: This research was funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST), Goernment of India. [DST/INSPIRE/04/2015/000281] and National Natural Science Foundation of China (21950410531).Scopu

Top research priorities in liver and gallbladder disorders in the UK

OBJECTIVES: There is a mismatch between research questions considered important by patients, carers and healthcare professionals and the research performed in many fields of medicine. The non-alcohol-related liver and gallbladder disorders priority setting partnership was established to identify the top research priorities in the prevention, diagnostic and treatment of gallbladder disorders and liver disorders not covered by the James-Lind Alliance (JLA) alcohol-related liver disease priority setting partnership. DESIGN: The methods broadly followed the principles of the JLA guidebook. The one major deviation from the JLA methodology was the final step of identifying priorities: instead of prioritisation by group discussions at a consensus workshop involving stakeholders, the prioritisation was achieved by a modified Delphi consensus process. RESULTS: A total of 428 unique valid diagnostic or treatment research questions were identified. A literature review established that none of these questions were considered 'answered' that is, high-quality systematic reviews suggest that further research is not required on the topic. The Delphi panel achieved consensus (at least 80% Delphi panel members agreed) that a research question was a top research priority for six questions. Four additional research questions with highest proportion of Delphi panel members ranking the question as highly important were added to constitute the top 10 research priorities. CONCLUSIONS: A priority setting process involving patients, carers and healthcare professionals has been used to identify the top 10priority areas for research related to liver and gallbladder disorders. Basic, translational, clinical and public health research are required to address these uncertainties