A child having rare Hereditary Multiple Exostosis with Covid-19 disease: A case study

Abstract: Hereditary Multiple Exostosis is a rare bone disease in pediatric age group. It is an autosomal dominant disorder, characterized by excessive bony overgrowth arising from lateral aspect of metaphysis of long bone, covered by a cartilaginous cap. These lesions remain asymptomatic clinically. When symptomatic, a variety of health hazards can arise like chronic pain, skeletal deformity, neuro-vascular compression etc. Malignant transformation is a rare, but feared complication. Diagnosis can be made by simple radiographic examination, when symptoms arise. Treatment is only conservative or surgical. SARS- CoV-2 may infect children with any pre-existing disease, like HME in the same proportion of healthy children. We report a rare case of hereditary multiple exostosis, simultaneously suffering from covid-19 disease, that has not been reported previously

Effect of interlayer materials on fire performance of laminated glass used in high-rise building : cone calorimeter testing

Laminated glass is prominently used nowadays as building construction material in the façade and architectural glazing of high‐rise buildings. On the other hand, the fire safety of the high‐ rise building with laminated glass is also receiving more attention from the fire safety regulatory authorities and researchers due to recent fire incidents. Different interlayer polymeric materials are used in modern laminated glass to prevent the breakage of the glass façade, which can also increase the fire risk through a lower ignition time, and higher heat release and smoke production. Therefore, further research is required to understand the fire behaviour of laminated glass. In this study, the fire performance of the laminated glass has been investigated using cone calorimeter testing and the effect of different parameters such as glass thickness (6, 10, 12 mm), interlayer materials (PVB, SGP and EVA) and heat flux (25, 50 and 75 kW/m2) on the fire behaviour of laminated glass has been studied. It is found that the glass thickness, interlayer material and heat flux can significantly influ‐ ence the reaction‐to‐fire properties such as peak heat release rate (pHRR), total heat release, time to ignition, and smoke production of laminated glass. In addition, total smoke production (TSP) is also very high for PVB (3.146 m2) and SGP (3.898 m2) laminated glass compared to EVA (0.401 m2) lam‐ inated glass and it is affected by these parameters. Finally, a simplified equation is developed to predict the pHRR of laminated glass by correlating the mass loss and external heat flux

Changing Clinical Presentation, Current Knowledge-Attitude-Practice, and Current Vision Related Quality of Life in Self-Reported Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Retinopathy in Eastern India: The LVPEI Eye and Diabetes Study

Purpose. To document the changing clinical presentation of diabetic retinopathy (DR) over a decade, the current knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) of known type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, and the current vision related quality of life (VR-QOL) of patients with DR in a tertiary eye care center in Eastern India. Methods. Two hundred and forty patients with known type-2 DM were evaluated. The evaluation included status of DR (n=240), KAP (n=232), and VR-QOL (n=75). International classification of DR was used in the study. The DR status was compared with another cohort (n=472) examined a decade earlier, in year 2001. The KAP-25 questions were designed after literature review. The National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ; including optional items) was validated by Rasch analysis. Both KAP and VR-QOL were analyzed according to degree of DR, duration of known DM, and educational qualification. Results. Average age of the current cohort (n=240) was 57.16 ± 9.03 years; there were 205 (85.4%) male patients and 143 (59.6%) patients had received less than graduate qualification. The mean duration of DM since diagnosis was 10 ± 7.8 months (range 8 months to 30 years); 118 (49.16%) patients had DR. In a decade time, 2001 to 2011, there was a change of retinopathy status at presentation (more often nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, NPDR). One-third of NPDR patients had poor vision and half of them were hypertensive. KAP was better in patients with higher education and those having DR. VFQ score was higher in better seeing patients. Conclusion. Patients currently presenting at earlier stage of retinopathy are probably related to poor vision. Early detection and treatment of DR is likely to preserve and/or improve vision

Data-driven Identification of Parametric Governing Equations of Dynamical Systems Using the Signed Cumulative Distribution Transform

This paper presents a novel data-driven approach to identify partial differential equation (PDE) parameters of a dynamical system. Specifically, we adopt a mathematical "transport" model for the solution of the dynamical system at specific spatial locations that allows us to accurately estimate the model parameters, including those associated with structural damage. This is accomplished by means of a newly-developed mathematical transform, the signed cumulative distribution transform (SCDT), which is shown to convert the general nonlinear parameter estimation problem into a simple linear regression. This approach has the additional practical advantage of requiring no a priori knowledge of the source of the excitation (or, alternatively, the initial conditions). By using training data, we devise a coarse regression procedure to recover different PDE parameters from the PDE solution measured at a single location. Numerical experiments show that the proposed regression procedure is capable of detecting and estimating PDE parameters with superior accuracy compared to a number of recently developed machine learning methods. Furthermore, a damage identification experiment conducted on a publicly available dataset provides strong evidence of the proposed method's effectiveness in structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. The Python implementation of the proposed system identification technique is integrated as a part of the software package PyTransKit (https://github.com/rohdelab/PyTransKit)

Thrombolysis implementation intervention and clinical outcome : a secondary analysis of a cluster randomized trial

Background: Multiple studies have attempted to increase the rate of intravenous thrombolysis for ischemic stroke using interventions to promote adherence to guidelines. Still, many of them did not measure individual-level impact. This study aimed to make a posthoc comparison of the clinical outcomes of patients in the "Thrombolysis ImPlementation in Stroke (TIPS)"study, which aimed to improve rates of intravenous thrombolysis in Australia. Methods: A posthoc analysis was conducted using individual-level patient data. Excellent (Three-month post treatment modified Rankin Score 0-2) and poor clinical outcome (Three-month post treatment modified Rankin Score 5-6) and post treatment parenchymal haematoma were the three main outcomes, and a mixed logistic regression model was used to assess the difference between the intervention and control groups. Results: There was a non-significant higher odds of having an excellent clinical outcome of 57% (odds ratio: 1.57; 95% CI: 0.73-3.39) and 33% (odds ratio: 1.33; 95% CI: 0.73-2.44) during the active-And post-intervention period respectively, for the intervention compared to the control group. A non-significant lower odds of having a poor clinical outcome was also found in the intervention, relative to control group of 4% (odds ratio: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.56-2.07) and higher odds of having poor outcome of 44% (odds ratio: 1.44 95% CI: 0.61-3.41) during both active and post-intervention period respectively. Similarly, a non-significant lower odds of parenchymal haematoma was also found for the intervention group during the both active-(odds ratio: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.21-1.32) and post-intervention period (odds ratio: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.36-2.52). Conclusion: The TIPS multi-component implementation approach was not effective in reducing the odds of post-Treatment severe disability at 90 days, or post-thrombolysis hemorrhage

Fire incidents, trends, and risk mitigation framework of electrical vehicle cars in Australia

Electric Vehicles (EVs) offer a promising solution to reduce the environmental impact compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. However, EV adoption in Australia has been hindered by concerns over fire safety. This study aims to comprehensively analyse EV fire risks and trends in Australia, including those related to charging stations and lithium-ion batteries. The research utilises secondary data from various reputable sources to develop statistical forecasting models, which estimate that Australia will have approximately 1.73 million EVs by 2030 and 15.8 million by 2050. The study reveals an average EV fire frequency of six fires per million EVs in Australia, aligning with the global average. Consequently, Australia is expected to experience 9 to 10 EV fire incidents annually in 2030, 37 to 42 EV fire incidents annually in 2040, and 84 to 95 EV fire incidents annually in 2050. To address these risks, an EV fire risk control framework is considered to identify and recommend appropriate measures for life safety, lithium-ion batteries, charging, EV handling, and EV locations. This research provides vital evidence for regulators, policymakers, and the fire industry to effectively manage EV fire risks and enhance preparedness for the growing EV market in Australia

Evolution of Vanadium Redox Flow Battery in Electrode

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is a highly regarded technology for large-scale energy storage due to its outstanding features, such as scalability, efficiency, long lifespan, and site independence. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of its performance in carbon-based electrodes, along with a comprehensive review of the system‘s principles and mechanisms. It discusses potential applications, recent industrial involvement, and economic factors associated with VRFB technology. The study also covers the latest advancements in VRFB electrodes, including electrode surface modification and electrocatalyst materials, and highlights their effects on the VRFB system‘s performance. Additionally, the potential of two-dimensional material MXene to enhance electrode performance is evaluated, and the author concludes that MXenes offer significant advantages for use in high-power VRFB at a low cost. Finally, the paper reviews the challenges and future development of VRFB technology

Genotype-phenotype Correlations In Cyp1b1-associated Primary Congenital Glaucoma Patients Representing Two Large Cohorts From India And Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Background Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG), occurs due to the developmental defects in the trabecular meshwork and anterior chamber angle in children. PCG exhibits genetic heterogeneity and the CYP1B1 gene has been widely implicated worldwide. Despite the diverse mutation spectra, the clinical implications of these mutations are yet unclear. The present study attempted to delineate the clinical profile of PCG in the background of CYP1B1 mutations from a large cohort of 901 subjects from India (n=601) and Brazil (n=300). Methods Genotype-phenotype correlations was undertaken on clinically well characterized PCG cases from India (n=301) and Brazil (n=150) to assess the contributions of CYP1B1 mutation on a set of demographic and clinical parameters. The demographic (gender, and history of consanguinity) and quantitative clinical (presenting intraocular pressure [IOP] and corneal diameter [CD]) parameters were considered as binary and continuous variables, respectively, for PCG patients in the background of the overall mutation spectra and also with respect to the prevalent mutations in India (R368H) and Brazil (4340delG). All these variables were fitted in a multivariate logistic regression model using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (OR) using the R software (version 2.14.1). Results The overall mutation spectrum were similar across the Indian and Brazilian PCG cases, despite significantly higher number of homozygous mutations in the former (p=0.024) and compound heterozygous mutations in the later (p=0.012). A wide allelic heterogeneity was observed and only 6 mutations were infrequently shared between these two populations. The adjusted ORs for the binary (demographic) and continuous (clinical) variables did not indicate any susceptibility to the observed mutations (p>0.05). Conclusions The present study demonstrated a lack of genotype-phenotype correlation of the demographic and clinical traits to CYP1B1 mutations in PCG at presentation. However, the susceptibility of these mutations to the long-term progression of these traits are yet to be deciphered.105Department of Science and Technology, Government of India [DST/INT/BRAZIL/RPO-01/2008]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CNPq [EU475687/20094

Electro-plating and characterisation of cadmium sulphide thin films using ammonium thiosulphate as the sulphur source

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin films have been successfully prepared from an aqueous electrolyte bath containing CdCl2 and ammonium thiosulphate ((NH4)2S2O3) using electrodeposition technique. The structural, compositional, optical, morphological and electrical properties of these thin films have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoelectrochemical cell and D.C. current–voltage (I–V) measurements. The optimum deposition cathodic potential has been observed at 1,455 mV, in a 2-electrode system with respect to carbon anode. Structural analysis using XRD shows a mixture of hexagonal and cubic phases in the as-deposited CdS samples and a phase transformation to the hexagonal structure occurred after heat treatment at 400 °C for 20 min. Optical studies demonstrate an improvement in the band edge, producing 2.42 eV for the band gap of the films after heat treatment. The heat treated CdS thin films show better transmission for wavelengths longer than 500 nm. SEM and AFM show that the heat-treated samples are more uniform, smoother and have larger grain size. Electrical studies confirm that the CdS thin films have n-type electrical conductivity and heat treated CdS thin films have resistivities of the order of 105 Ω cm

Thrombolysis implementation intervention and clinical outcome: A secondary analysis of a cluster randomized trial

Background: Multiple studies have attempted to increase the rate of intravenous thrombolysis for ischemic stroke using interventions to promote adherence to guidelines. Still, many of them did not measure individual-level impact. This study aimed to make a posthoc comparison of the clinical outcomes of patients in the "Thrombolysis ImPlementation in Stroke (TIPS)" study, which aimed to improve rates of intravenous thrombolysis in Australia. Methods: A posthoc analysis was conducted using individual-level patient data. Excellent (Three-month post treatment modified Rankin Score 0-2) and poor clinical outcome (Three-month post treatment modified Rankin Score 5-6) and post treatment parenchymal haematoma were the three main outcomes, and a mixed logistic regression model was used to assess the difference between the intervention and control groups. Results: There was a non-significant higher odds of having an excellent clinical outcome of 57% (odds ratio: 1.57; 95% CI: 0.73-3.39) and 33% (odds ratio: 1.33; 95% CI: 0.73-2.44) during the active-and post-intervention period respectively, for the intervention compared to the control group. A non-significant lower odds of having a poor clinical outcome was also found in the intervention, relative to control group of 4% (odds ratio: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.56- 2.07) and higher odds of having poor outcome of 44% (odds ratio: 1.44 95% CI: 0.61-3.41) during both active and post-intervention period respectively. Similarly, a non-significant lower odds of parenchymal haematoma was also found for the intervention group during the both active- (odds ratio: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.21-1.32) and post-intervention period (odds ratio: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.36-2.52). Conclusion: The TIPS multi-component implementation approach was not effective in reducing the odds of posttreatment severe disability at 90 days, or post-thrombolysis hemorrhage.This study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) partnership grant (569328), part-funded by an NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship (1043913) and NHMRC Translating Research Into Practice fellowship, and included partnership grant contribution funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, in-kind support from Agency for Clinical Innovation Stroke Care Network/Stroke Services New South Wales (NSW), Stroke Foundation and NSW Cardiovascular Research Network-National Heart Foundation, with a cash contribution from the Victorian Stroke Clinical Network and infrastructure funding from the Hunter Medical Research Institute and The University of Newcastle