Acute kidney injury in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in HIMS, Hassan

Background: There is a growing need to understand the risk factors and prevalence of AKI in COVID-19 patients to better manage and prevent the condition. HIMS, Hassan is a hospital in India that has been treating COVID-19 patients since the onset of the pandemic. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in COVID-19 patients admitted to a hospital in HIMS, Hassan, and to identify the associated risk factors. Methods: The study is a retrospective cohort study that investigates the clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters of hospitalized COVID-19 patients who met the inclusion criteria in HIMS teaching hospital, Hassan. 300 patients were included, and descriptive statistical analysis was performed using mean with standard deviation (SD) for continuous variables and proportions and percentages for categorical variables. Results: Out of 300 patients, 68% had AKI. The age distribution was similar between the two groups, with the highest proportion of patients in the age group of 40-49 years. The proportion of AKI was higher among males than females, but the difference was not statistically significant. The need for ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and dialysis was strongly associated with AKI. Patients with comorbidities such as DM and DM+HTN were at a higher risk of developing AKI. Laboratory parameters such as D-dimer, LDH, ferritin, urea, creatinine, SGOT, SGPT, Neutrophils / Lymphocytes ratio, and chloride levels were significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of monitoring patients with comorbidities closely and implementing preventive measures to reduce the incidence of AKI in COVID-19 patients

Tinea capitis in adults: not so rare

Background: Tinea capitis is the dermatophyte infection of the scalp with varied clinical presentation. Tinea capitis is predominantly seen in preadolescent adults and is rare in adults. Growing number of authors have reported increase in incidence among adults. Clinical presentation in such case is often atypical leading to delay in diagnosis.Methods: The study included all patients older than 18 years. Informed consent was obtained from all patients. Clinical material was microscopically examined with the use of 20% KOH for hyphae and arthroconidia. The Samples were also inoculated on Sabourauds Agar and Mycosel Agar for 15 days. For each patient we collected information about sex, menstrual status, predisposing factor, symptoms and etiological agent.Results: Out of 457 cases of tinea capitis 14 patients were adults and represented 3.06% of all cases. All patients were females. The most common etiological agent was T. violaceum (35%), followed by T. mentagrophytes (21.43%), T. tonsurans (14.29%), T. rubrum (14.29%) and T. schoenleinii (14.29%).Conclusions: Tinea capitis in adults is not so rare, particularly in post-menopausal women. The presentation is often atypical mimicking other inflammatory conditions of scalp and should be included as a differential diagnosis of inflammatory conditions not responding to conventional treatment

A Numerical Study of SIR Epidemic Model

Epidemic and infectious disease fall into the category of time dependent dynamic system. The model under consideration is SIR-type (susceptible, infectious, recovered) which assumes that every individual has equally chances to be infected by the infectious individual in the case of contact except the pair formation or those who have a sufficient immunity for the disease. The model considered in this paper is non-fatal. If the portion of the immuned population exceeds the herd immunity level then the disease will no longer persist in the population. The model is solved with and without demographical effects. The vaccination effect is also discussed along with the physical parameters. The simulations have been performed for the non-linear coupled ordinary differential equations using Runge-Kutta 4th order method and MATLAB-SIMULINK software. The results obtained by both methods are in good agreement with the existing results in the literature [7]

Development of a single combined microencapsulated formulation of allopurinol and nimesulide and investigation of their release behaviours

The aim of this study was to develop a single combined once-daily sustained release microencapsulated dosage form of Allopurinol and Nimesulide using Ethyl cellulose as release controlling factor and to evaluate drug release parameters as per various release kinetic models. In order to achieve required sustained release profile, microparticles were prepared using coacervation thermal change technique. The formulated microparticles were also characterized by physical and chemical parameters and results were found in acceptable limits. Different dissolution models were applied to drug release data in order to evaluate release mechanisms and kinetics. The drug release data fit well to the Higuchi expression. Drug release mechanism was found as a complex anomalous one

Iron Deficiency Anaemia In Reproductive Age Women Attending Obstetrics And Gynecology Outpatient Of University Health Centre In Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Background: Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder in the world. The aim of this questionnaire based survey study was to determine the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in reproductive age women, and their relation to variables such as age, marital status, education with those attending obstetrics and gynecology outpatient of King Faisal University Health Centre in Al-Ahsa in eastern region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted for the period of 6 month staring from September 2012 to February 2013. The questionnaire had three sections on personal information: their educational indicators, gynecological clinical history, and hematological indices.Results: The average age was 25.97±7.17 years. According to the  gynecological clinical history of the respondents, 15 (48.4%) respondents were pregnant while 16 (51.6%) were not pregnant. There was significant effect of pregnancy status on Hb level. Majority of the anemic respondents 15/17 were married. Moreover 14/17 anemic women were experiencing severe menstrual bleeding, 11/17 respondents were pregnant. 54.8% of respondents were hemoglobin deficient while 77.4% were found to have low Hct. In 87.1 % of the respondents, transferrin saturation was found to be abnormal.Conclusion: In this study iron deficiency anemia is quite prevalent in the university community especially among pregnant women. The fetus’s and newborn infant’s iron status depends on the iron status of the pregnant woman and therefore, iron deficiency in the mother-to-be means that growing fetus probably will be iron deficient as well. Thus iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy in well-educated set up needs more attention by the concerned authorities.Keywords: Iron deficiency Anemia (IDA), Hemoglobin, Female, Reproductive Age

The association between parity, infant gender, higher level of paternal education and preterm birth in Pakistan: a cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High rates of antenatal depression and preterm birth have been reported in Pakistan. Self reported maternal stress and depression have been associated with preterm birth; however findings are inconsistent. Cortisol is a biological marker of stress and depression, and its measurement may assist in understanding the influence of self reported maternal stress and depression on preterm birth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a prospective cohort study pregnant women between 28 to 30 weeks of gestation from the Aga Khan Hospital for Women and Children completed the A-Z Stress Scale and the Centre for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale to assess stress and depression respectively, and had a blood cortisol level drawn. Women were followed up after delivery to determine birth outcomes. Correlation coefficients and Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to assess relationship between preterm birth, stress, depression and cortisol. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the key factors predictive of preterm birth.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>132 pregnant women participated of whom 125 pregnant women had both questionnaire and cortisol level data and an additional seven had questionnaire data only. Almost 20% of pregnant women (19·7%, 95% CI 13·3-27·5) experienced a high level of stress and nearly twice as many (40·9%, 95% CI 32·4-49·8%) experienced depressive symptoms. The median of cortisol level was 27·40 ug/dl (IQR 22·5-34·2). The preterm birth rate was 11·4% (95% CI 6·5-18). There was no relationship between cortisol values and stress scale or depression. There was a significant positive relationship between maternal depression and stress. Preterm birth was associated with higher parity, past delivery of a male infant, and higher levels of paternal education. Insufficient numbers of preterm births were available to warrant the development of a multivariable logistic regression model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Preterm birth was associated with higher parity, past delivery of a male infant, and higher levels of paternal education. There was no relationship between stress, and depression, cortisol and preterm birth. There were high rates of stress and depression among this sample suggesting that there are missed opportunities to address mental health needs in the prenatal period. Improved methods of measurement are required to better understand the psychobiological basis of preterm birth.</p

A Survey of Bayesian Statistical Approaches for Big Data

The modern era is characterised as an era of information or Big Data. This has motivated a huge literature on new methods for extracting information and insights from these data. A natural question is how these approaches differ from those that were available prior to the advent of Big Data. We present a review of published studies that present Bayesian statistical approaches specifically for Big Data and discuss the reported and perceived benefits of these approaches. We conclude by addressing the question of whether focusing only on improving computational algorithms and infrastructure will be enough to face the challenges of Big Data

The CMS Phase-1 pixel detector upgrade

The CMS detector at the CERN LHC features a silicon pixel detector as its innermost subdetector. The original CMS pixel detector has been replaced with an upgraded pixel system (CMS Phase-1 pixel detector) in the extended year-end technical stop of the LHC in 2016/2017. The upgraded CMS pixel detector is designed to cope with the higher instantaneous luminosities that have been achieved by the LHC after the upgrades to the accelerator during the first long shutdown in 2013–2014. Compared to the original pixel detector, the upgraded detector has a better tracking performance and lower mass with four barrel layers and three endcap disks on each side to provide hit coverage up to an absolute value of pseudorapidity of 2.5. This paper describes the design and construction of the CMS Phase-1 pixel detector as well as its performance from commissioning to early operation in collision data-taking.Peer reviewe