Role of closed subcutaneous drain in prevention of surgical site infection in perforation peritonitis

Background: Surgery for perforation peritonitis is associated with the highest rates of infective complications, especially surgical site infection. SSI occurs due to failure of obliteration of dead space during abdominal wound closure resulting in formation of hematoma and seroma collection in the surgical wound viz. abdominal wound in cases of perforation peritonitis. This acts as a good culture medium for bacterial organisms to grow and cause wound infection. The bacterial pathogens can be either from intra-abdominal sepsis or nosocomial in origin. Closed suction drains can be used effectively to eliminate dead space in the wound and evacuates the seroma or hematoma collection, thereby reducing chances of SSI and also helps in early detection of SSI by inspecting the nature of drain output. Aim was to evaluate the role of closed suction drains in prevention of SSI in cases of perforation peritonitis. Methods: Comparative study of 60 cases of perforation peritonitis divided into two equal groups (Group A patient with closed suction drain in subcutaneous space vs. Group B patient without closed suction drain). Outcomes of SSI were compared. Results: The incidence of SSI in Group A was 33% whereas in Group B was 70%. 40% cases in SSI in Group A whereas 76% cases of SSI in Group B developed wound dehiscence. Most cases of SSI was diagnosed on POD 2 for Group A and on POD 4 for Group B. Conclusions: The study supports use of closed suction drain in perforation peritonitis for prevention, early detection and appropriate management of SSI

Can machine learning models predict soil moisture evaporation rates? An investigation via novel feature selection techniques and model comparisons

Extreme weather events and global climate change have exacerbated the problem of evaporation rates. Thus, accurately predicting soil moisture evaporation rates affecting soil cracking becomes crucial. However, less is known about how novel feature engineering techniques and machine-learning predictions may account for estimating the soil moisture evaporation rate. This research focuses on predicting the evaporation rate of soil using machine learning (ML) models. The dataset comprised twenty-one ground-based parameters, including temperature, humidity, and soil-related features, used as features to predict evaporation potential. To tackle the high number of features and potential uncorrelated features, a novel guided backpropagation-based feature selection technique was developed to rank the most relevant features. The top-10 features, highly correlated with evaporation rate, were selected for ML model input, alongside the top-5 and all features. Several ML models, including multiple regression (MR), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), multilayer perceptron (MLP), sequential minimal optimization regression (SMOreg), random forest (RF), and a novel K-Nearest Oracles (KNORA) ensemble, were constructed for the purpose of forecasting the evaporation rate. The average error of these models was assessed using the root mean squared error (RMSE). Experimental results showed that the KNORA ensemble model performed the best, achieving a 7.54 mg/h RMSE in testing with the top-10 features. MLP was followed closely by a 25.1 mg/h RMSE in the same testing. An empirical model using all features showed a higher RMSE of 1319.1 mg/h, indicating the superiority of the ML models for accurate evaporation rate predictions. We highlight the implications of our results for climate-induced soil cracking in the real world

Evaporation over a glacial lake in Antarctica

The study provides estimates of summertime evaporation over a glacial lake located in the Schirmacher oasis, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. Lake Zub (alternately named Lake Priyadarshini and referred to throughout as Lake Zub/Priyadarshini) is the second-largest lake in the oasis, and its maximum depth is 6 m. The lake is also among the warmest glacial lakes in the oasis, and it is free of ice during almost 2 summer months. The summertime evaporation over the ice-free lake was measured using the eddy covariance method and estimated on the basis of five indirect methods (bulk-aerodynamic method and four combination equations). We used meteorological and hydrological measurements collected during a field experiment carried out in 2018. The eddy covariance method was considered the most accurate, and the evaporation was estimated to be 114mm for the period from 1 January to 7 February 2018 (38 d) on the basis of this method. The average daily evaporation was 3.0mmd-1 in January 2018. During the experiment period, the largest changes in daily evaporation were driven by synoptic-scale atmospheric processes rather than local katabatic winds. The bulk-aerodynamic method suggests the average daily evaporation is 2.0mmd-1, which is 32% less than the results based on the eddy covariance method. The bulk-aerodynamic method is much better in producing the day-to-day variations in evaporation compared to the combination equations. All selected combination equations underestimated the evaporation over the lake by 40 –72 %. The scope of the uncertainties inherent in the indirect methods does not allow us to apply them to estimate the daily evaporation over Lake Zub/Priyadarshini. We suggested a new combination equation to evaluate the summertime evaporation over the lake’s surface using meteorological observations from the nearest site. The performance of the new equation is better than the performance of the indirect methods considered. With this equation, the evaporation over the period of the experiment was 124 mm, which is only 9% larger than the result according to the eddy covariance method

Gangotri glacier dynamics from multi-sensor SAR and optical data

The present study has analyzed dynamics of Gangotri glacier using multiple remote sensing (RS) datasets and ground based observations. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data pairs from European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS 1/2) tandem pair for spring of 1996, Sentinel-1 SAR pairs and Japanese's Advance Land Observation System (ALOS) PALSAR-2 SAR data for Spring of 2015 were used to derive glacier-surface velocity at seasonal time scale using Differential InSAR (DInSAR) techniques. Bi-static TanDEM-X (Experimental) data was used for the 1st time to estimate glacier surface elevation changes for a period of 22, 44, 88 days during summer of 2012 using InSAR techniques in this study. Annual glacier velocity was also estimated using temporal panchromatic data of LANDSAT-5 (30 m), LANDSAT-7/8 (15 m), Sentinel-2 (10 m) and Indian Remote Sensing Satellite IRS-1C/1D panchromatic (5 m) data during 1998–2019 with feature tracking approach. This study has estimated glacier surface velocity and surface elevation changes for the major parts of Gangotri glacier and its tributary glaciers using medium to high resolution optical and SAR datasets, at annual and seasonal time scale, which is an improvement over earlier studies, wherein snout based glacier recession or only main glacier velocities were reported. The velocity and slope were used to assess glacier-ice thickness distribution using Glabtop-2, slope dependent and laminar flow based methods over the Gangotri group of glaciers. The estimated ice thickness was estimated in the range of 58–550 m for the complete glacier while few small areas in middle &amp; upper regions carry higher thickness of about 607 m. The estimated glacier-ice thickness was found in the range of 58–67 m at the snout region. The estimation was validated using 2014 field measurements from Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) for the first time and correlation was found to be 0.799 at snout of the glacier.</p

Feasibility of urolithiasis management after studer neobladder urinary diversion: A multicenter center study

Background: Stones formation is a common complication after cystectomy including stones of the upper urinary tract and reservoir or conduit. Advances in instrumentation and techniques have expanded treatment options, while minimizing morbidity. Aims and Objectives: Feasibility of urolithiasis management after urinary diversion surgery. Materials and Methods: Eleven patients of diversion with stone were observed from January 01, 2015, to July 30, 2022. Operative procedures were decided on basis on stone locations and size. Perioperative parameters were observed and compared with similar studies. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy, percutaneous-based antegrade ureteroscopy with semi-rigid or flexible ureteroscope, transurethral reservoir lithotripsy, percutaneous pouch lithotripsy, and open operation were performed. The operative finding and complications were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results: The mean age of the patients was 53.2±8.1 years and mean pre-operative stone diameter was 3.1±3.5 cm. Three patients suprapubic cystolithotomy, two patients percutaneous cystolithotripsy, two patients percutaneous nephrolithitomy, two patients extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, one patient per urethral cystolithotripsy/cystolitholapexy, and one patient ureteroscopy/flexible ureteroscopy were done. The male-to-female ratio was 9/2. Stone-free rate was 100% after single session of treatment. In the post-operative period, fever was observed in two patients, and urinary leakage through wound site in one patient. Conclusion: Stone surgery after urinary diversion is challenging, success of treatment depends on experience of surgical team, pre-operative preparation, and correct instrumentations

Feasibility of training community health workers in the detection of oral cancer

Importance: Visual screening for oral cancer has been found to be useful in a large randomized clinical trial in Kerala, India, showing substantial reduction in mortality. To address the shortage of medical personnel in resource-deficient regions, using the services of community health workers has been proposed as a strategy to fill the gap in human resources in health care. Objective: To assess the feasibility of community health workers in screening and early detection of oral cancer using a mobile application capturing system. Design, Setting, and Participants A cross-sectional study using a household sample was conducted in 10 areas of Gautam Budhnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India, from January 31, 2020, to March 31, 2021, to assess the feasibility of identification of oral lesions by community health workers using a mobile phone application compared with diagnosis by trained dentists in a screening clinic. Men and women aged 30 years or older as well as tobacco users younger than 30 years were eligible for screening. Interventions: Screening by trained community health workers vs dentists. Results: A total of 1200 participants were screened by the community health workers during their home visits; of these, 1018 participants (526 [51.7%] men; mean [SD] age, 35 [16] years) were also referred and screened by the dentists a clinic. There was near-perfect agreement (κ = 0.9) between the findings of the community health workers and the dentists in identifying the positive or negative cases with overall sensitivity of 96.69% (95% CI, 94.15%-98.33%) and specificity of identification of 98.69% (95% CI, 97.52%-99.40%). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, trained community health workers were able after initial supervision by qualified dentists to perform oral cancer screening programs. These findings suggest that community health workers can perform this screening in resource-constrained settings

Metastases suppressor NM23-H2 interaction with G-quadruplex DNA within c-MYC promoter nuclease hypersensitive element induces c-MYC expression

Regulatory influence of the G-quadruplex or G4 motif present within the nuclease hypersensitive element (NHE) in the promoter of c-MYC has been noted. On the other hand, association of NM23-H2 to the NHE leads to c-MYC activation. Therefore, NM23-H2 interaction with the G4 motif within the c-MYC NHE presents an interesting mechanistic possibility. Herein, using luciferase reporter assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation we show NM23-H2 mediated c-MYC activation involves NM23-H2-G4 motif binding within the c-MYC NHE. G4 motif complex formation with recombinant NM23-H2 was independently confirmed using fluorescence energy transfer, which also indicated that the G4 motif was resolved to an unfolded state within the protein-bound complex. Taken together, this supports transcriptional role of NM23-H2 via a G4 motif

Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the ‘‘Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion

Neurodevelopmental disorders in children aged 2-9 years: Population-based burden estimates across five regions in India.

BACKGROUND: Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) compromise the development and attainment of full social and economic potential at individual, family, community, and country levels. Paucity of data on NDDs slows down policy and programmatic action in most developing countries despite perceived high burden. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We assessed 3,964 children (with almost equal number of boys and girls distributed in 2-<6 and 6-9 year age categories) identified from five geographically diverse populations in India using cluster sampling technique (probability proportionate to population size). These were from the North-Central, i.e., Palwal (N = 998; all rural, 16.4% non-Hindu, 25.3% from scheduled caste/tribe [SC-ST] [these are considered underserved communities who are eligible for affirmative action]); North, i.e., Kangra (N = 997; 91.6% rural, 3.7% non-Hindu, 25.3% SC-ST); East, i.e., Dhenkanal (N = 981; 89.8% rural, 1.2% non-Hindu, 38.0% SC-ST); South, i.e., Hyderabad (N = 495; all urban, 25.7% non-Hindu, 27.3% SC-ST) and West, i.e., North Goa (N = 493; 68.0% rural, 11.4% non-Hindu, 18.5% SC-ST). All children were assessed for vision impairment (VI), epilepsy (Epi), neuromotor impairments including cerebral palsy (NMI-CP), hearing impairment (HI), speech and language disorders, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and intellectual disability (ID). Furthermore, 6-9-year-old children were also assessed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disorders (LDs). We standardized sample characteristics as per Census of India 2011 to arrive at district level and all-sites-pooled estimates. Site-specific prevalence of any of seven NDDs in 2-<6 year olds ranged from 2.9% (95% CI 1.6-5.5) to 18.7% (95% CI 14.7-23.6), and for any of nine NDDs in the 6-9-year-old children, from 6.5% (95% CI 4.6-9.1) to 18.5% (95% CI 15.3-22.3). Two or more NDDs were present in 0.4% (95% CI 0.1-1.7) to 4.3% (95% CI 2.2-8.2) in the younger age category and 0.7% (95% CI 0.2-2.0) to 5.3% (95% CI 3.3-8.2) in the older age category. All-site-pooled estimates for NDDs were 9.2% (95% CI 7.5-11.2) and 13.6% (95% CI 11.3-16.2) in children of 2-<6 and 6-9 year age categories, respectively, without significant difference according to gender, rural/urban residence, or religion; almost one-fifth of these children had more than one NDD. The pooled estimates for prevalence increased by up to three percentage points when these were adjusted for national rates of stunting or low birth weight (LBW). HI, ID, speech and language disorders, Epi, and LDs were the common NDDs across sites. Upon risk modelling, noninstitutional delivery, history of perinatal asphyxia, neonatal illness, postnatal neurological/brain infections, stunting, LBW/prematurity, and older age category (6-9 year) were significantly associated with NDDs. The study sample was underrepresentative of stunting and LBW and had a 15.6% refusal. These factors could be contributing to underestimation of the true NDD burden in our population. CONCLUSIONS: The study identifies NDDs in children aged 2-9 years as a significant public health burden for India. HI was higher than and ASD prevalence comparable to the published global literature. Most risk factors of NDDs were modifiable and amenable to public health interventions