FLoop : improving eating habits

All of us strive to eat breakfast daily, and a lot of us fail. 10% of all Americans skip breakfast daily, and the number increases sharply to 23% for the people in 18-34 age group. Something changes distinctly when people turn 18. This age group includes students who transitioned from their home to college. This shift severely affects eating habits. At home, our parents look after us and make sure that we get the optimum nutrition as we grow. But life isn’t so smooth in college. We realize the importance of our parents who used to worry about our health and never failed to feed us on time. Almost all students who live independently in a different city face this problem at some point and struggle to maintain a good morning diet. Food is something we consume everyday out of necessity. The cultures around food are different all over the world. But no matter where, it is always good to eat food and even better to share. Food is an important factor in our social lives and through it we are able to build, grow and strengthen social bonds. This project looks at designing a system to help young adults adopt the habit of eating breakfast through community food sharing. The system opens a social platform that lets you connect with your friends, exchange homemade breakfast or other meals and share your exchange stories. The design process followed in this project includes extensive research experiments with user groups to identify the problem areas. The design solution aims at solving this food problem together and helping each other lead a healthy life

An aetiological evaluation of short stature

Background: Short stature can be a normal variant or secondary to an underlying disorder. It is necessary to evaluate short stature to differentiate a normal from pathological short stature and thus decide the further treatment needed. This study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital to find out the various etiologies of short statureMethods: An observational study was conducted on 49 children in age of 2-12 years with short stature. They were grouped as normal variants and pathological short stature depending on upper-lower segment ratio the study group was later divided into proportionate and disproportionate short stature. They were further investigated to find out the etiology of the short stature. The bone age of all groups was compared with the chronological age to calculate the bone age retardation.Results: Out of 49 children 26.5% were normal variants and 73.4% as pathological type. 77.7% of pathological short stature were proportionate type. The male:female ratio was 1:1.4. Chronic systemic disorders were detected in 24.48% while malnutrition and endocrine disorders constituted 12% each. The bone age retardation in endocrine disorders was 0.47.Conclusions: Chronic systemic disorders were commonest cause of pathological short stature in this study. Females were predominantly affected in all groups and bone age retardation was maximum in endocrine disorders, thus indicating that early diagnosis and management of these disorders is necessary to decrease the growth retardation in these children. An understanding of short stature not only permits to differentiate a normal variant from an underlying disorder but also helps in modifying the course by means of early intervention

A comparative study of in clinico-pathological profile in dengue shock syndrome versus other types children's at tertiary health care center

Background: Dengue a mosquito borne arboviral disease is caused by one of the serotypes of dengue virus (DEN-1, DEN-2, Den-3, DEN-4) belonging to the family Flaviviridae. The objective of this study was to study clinco-pathological profile of Dengue shock syndrome versus Other types children's at tertiary health care center.Methods: This was Cross sectional observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in the Department of Pediatrics after obtaining approval from the institutional Ethical Committee. The study was carried out over a period of one & half years from January 2015 to June 2016 Statistical analysis done by Chi-square, ANOVA, Paired t test SPSS version 22 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Somers NY, USA) was used to analyze data.Results: Mean age of patients were 8.08±2.72 years, majority of cases were females (51.9%) and 48.1% were males, the clinical features like hepatomegaly, Ascites Pleural Effusion significantly present in DSS (P<0.001). In the study, there was no significant difference in symptoms and severity of dengue fever except for convulsion Thrombocytopenia (platelet<1lakh/cmm) was observed in 74% of cases, leucopenia (total leukocyte count <4000/cmm) was observed in 56% of cases, haemocrit more than 40 was observed in 21.27% cases. Dengue shock syndrome had acute kidney injury, CCF and encephalopathy. This observation of complications between dengue severity was statistically significant. There was significant difference in haematocrit values between three diagnoses of dengue fever from day 1 till day 4. Initially higher haematocrit was observed in Dengue shock syndrome, later goes on decreasing.Conclusions: It can be concluded from our study that significantly dengue shock syndrome had acute kidney injury, CCF and encephalopathy. There was significant difference in hematocrit values between three diagnoses of dengue fever from day 1 till day 4. Initially higher hematocrit was observed in dengue shock syndrome

Clinical profile of babies with meconium stained amniotic fluid

Background: Meconium staining of amniotic fluid (MSAF) is a relatively common problem occuring in 10-25% of all deliveries. Meconium aspiration syndrome is more common in term babies than in preterm babies with rising frequency along with increase in gestational age of the fetus. Meconium stained amniotic fluid generally indicates sign of fetal distress. The objective of this study was to study clinical profile of meconium aspiration syndrome and the probable risk factors for meconium aspiration syndrome.Methods: It is a prospective observational sectional study conducted in NICU of department of paediatrics of tertiary care centre from 1st January 2015 to 30th June 2016.Results: In this study both sexes were equally affected, majority of the neonates were above 2.5kg and only very few (2 neonates) were less than 1.5kg. majority of the neonates were full term, it was found that there is a significant association between thick MSAF and the development of MAS, it was found that there is a significant association between low APGAR score at 1 minutes and the development of MAS, there is a strong association between thick MSAF and mortality in MSAF babies. Anemia 38 (25%) was the most frequent perinatal risk factor followed by fetal distress 27 (18) and PIH 21 (14%).Conclusions: Newborns with thick MSAF were more likely to develop MAS and thick MSAF and low APGAR at 1 min were associated with high risk of development of MAS. Passage of thick meconium was significantly associated with severe birth asphyxia and carried a bad prognosis with increased risk of development of meconium aspiration syndrome and hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy

Serum Uric Acid Levels in Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Comprehensive Study

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI), a potentially fatal heart disease, has a complicated pathogenesis. The end product of purine metabolism, serum uric acid, has been suggested as a possible biomarker for the severity and prognosis of AMI. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between several clinical indicators in AMI patients and serum uric acid levels. This single-center observational research enrolled 100 AMI patients in total. Clinical information was gathered, including demographic information, primary complaints, prior medical history, vital signs, and laboratory results. Upon admission, serum uric acid levels were assessed. To evaluate the relationship between serum uric acid and the severity of AMI, statistical analysis including correlation tests and subgroup comparisons were carried out. The study cohort had a male majority (76%) consistent with the demographics of the average AMI. The most frequent primary complaint (66%) was chest discomfort, while the most common comorbidities were hypertension (35%) and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (28%). Serum uric acid levels and Killip classification, a measure of AMI severity, had a strong correlation. A severer course of AMI was linked to elevated blood uric acid levels (>5.7 mg/dl). Higher serum uric acid levels were associated with patients who had more severe myocardial injury and positive correlations between uric acid levels and cardiac enzymes (CPK MB) and Troponin I. As a result of our research, blood uric acid levels may be useful for predicting prognosis in AMI patients. Increased AMI severity and worse outcomes are linked to elevated blood uric acid. The underlying processes and therapeutic implications of this connection require further study. Assessment of serum uric acid may help with risk stratification and individualized treatment choices for AMI patients

A study of drug prescription patterns, disease-therapy awareness and of quality of life among patients with migraine visiting a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India

Background: Migraine is one of the leading causes of disability globally. There is scarcity of data on disease -therapy awareness and its correlation with demographic factors. Hence its was of interest to assess those along with quality of life in these patients. Methods: A Cross-sectional observational study was conducted in108 patients attending the Neurology and headache OPD at a tertiary care hospital between March 2017 and August 2018. Disease and therapy awareness among patients were evaluated using validated questionnaires and correlation was done with demographic factors. The severity of the disease and its impact on the patients' quality of life were assessed using the migraine disability assessment scale. Results: The mean disease and therapy awareness scores were 9 and 7 respectively. Both had a positive correlation with education and socioeconomic factors. The quality of life was affected moderately in 48.1% of the patients followed by severely 32.4% of the patients. The average number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 3.05. NSAIDS were used more commonly as compared to Triptans for acute attacks. Conclusions: The disease and therapy awareness were fair and positively correlated with education/ socioeconomic status. However, a significant disability was found among patients even with treatment. This highlights the need for educating these patients for effectively controlling the disability

Coevaporation Stabilizes Tin-Based Perovskites in a Single Sn-Oxidation State

Chemically processed methylammonium tin-triiodide (CH3NH3SnI3) films include Sn in different oxidation states, leading to poor stability and low power conversion efficiency of the resulting solar cells (PSCs). The development of absorbers with Sn [2+] only has been identified as one of the critical steps to develop all Sn-based devices. Here, we report on coevaporation of CH3NH3I and SnI2 to obtain absorbers with Sn being only in the preferred oxidation state [+2] as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Sn [4+]-free absorbers exhibit smooth highly crystalline surfaces and photoluminescence measurements corroborating their excellent optoelectronic properties. The films show very good stability under heat and light. Photoluminescence quantum yields up to 4 × 10^-3 translate in a quasi Fermi-level splittings exceeding 850 meV under one sun equivalent conditions showing high promise in developing lead-free, high efficiency, and stable PSCs

Understanding and decoupling the role of wavelength and defects in light-induced degradation of metal-halide perovskites

peer reviewedLight-induced degradation in metal halide perovskites is a major concern that can potentially hamper the commercialization of perovskite optoelectronic devices. The phenomena viz. ion migration, phase segregation, and defect intolerance are believed to be the factors behind the degradation. However, a detailed mechanistic understanding of how and why light reduces the long-term stability of perovskites is still lacking. Here, by combining multiscale characterization techniques and computational studies, we uncover the role of white light in the surface degradation of state-of-the-art FAPbI3-rich perovskite absorbers (reaching up to 22% PCE in solar cells). We unravel the degradation kinetics and found that white light triggers the chemical degradation of perovskite into secondary phases with higher work function and metallic I-V characteristics. Furthermore, we demonstrate that perovskite degradation is triggered by a combined mechanism involving both light and the presence of defects. We employ surface passivation to understand the role of defect intolerance in the degradation process. Moreover, by using filtered light we uncover the wavelength dependency of the light-induced perovskite degradation. Based on our findings, we infer some strategies for material engineering and device design that can expedite the path toward stable perovskite optoelectronic devices

Field and chirality effects on electrochemical charge transfer rates: Spin dependent electrochemistry

This work examines whether electrochemical redox reactions are sensitive to the electron spin orientation by examining the effects of magnetic field and molecular chirality on the charge transfer process. The working electrode is either a ferromagnetic nickel film or a nickel film that is coated with an ultrathin (5\u201330 nm) gold overlayer. The electrode is coated with a self-assembled monolayer that immobilizes a redox couple containing chiral molecular units, either the redox active dye toluidine blue O with a chiral cysteine linking unit or cytochrome c. By varying the direction of magnetization of the nickel, toward or away from the adsorbed layer, we demonstrate that the electrochemical current depends on the orientation of the electrons\u2019 spin. In the case of cytochrome c, the spin selectivity of the reduction is extremely high, namely, the reduction occurs mainly with electrons having their spin-aligned antiparallel to their velocity

Coordinated genomic control of ciliogenesis and cell movement by RFX2

The mechanisms linking systems-level programs of gene expression to discrete cell biological processes in vivo remain poorly understood. In this study, we have defined such a program for multi-ciliated epithelial cells (MCCs), a cell type critical for proper development and homeostasis of the airway, brain and reproductive tracts. Starting from genomic analysis of the cilia-associated transcription factor Rfx2, we used bioinformatics and in vivo cell biological approaches to gain insights into the molecular basis of cilia assembly and function. Moreover, we discovered a previously unrecognized role for an Rfx factor in cell movement, finding that Rfx2 cell-autonomously controls apical surface expansion in nascent MCCs. Thus, Rfx2 coordinates multiple, distinct gene expression programs in MCCs, regulating genes that control cell movement, ciliogenesis, and cilia function. As such, the work serves as a paradigm for understanding genomic control of cell biological processes that span from early cell morphogenetic events to terminally differentiated cellular functionsclose171