Microbial quality of herbal juices sold at sport complex in Washim

Background: Herbal juices are gaining global attention due to their medicinal properties, nutritive and antioxidant activity. They are frequently consumed by the people of all age groups in the form of health drinks. However, many outbreaks of human infections have been reported to be associated with the consumption of contaminated herbal juices. Hence, microbial quality assessment of herbal juices is utmost important.Methods: The present study was undertaken to detect the existence of enteric pathogens as well as coliforms in the herbal juices sold at sport complex in Washim city area. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing was also performed to evaluate the MDR status of the isolates.Results: The results showed that most of the herbal juices are contaminated with Salmonella, Shigella and Coliforms. The pathogens were found to be multiple drug resistant strains which pose an alarming threat for the consumers.Conclusions: Regular monitoring of the quality of herbal juices for human consumption is recommended to avoid disease outbreak

Rising incidence of hip fractures in Sindhudurg west coast of Maharashtra, South India (2000 to 2011)

Background: The incidence of hip fractures in Sindhudurg, west coast of Maharashtra has been reported in relation to age and gender.Methods: Using the medical records and X-ray registers from May 2000 to October 2011, all patients of proximal femoral fractures were recorded and included in this study. The data was cross checked doubly with details of indoor case papers against ward admission and operation theatre registers, were found to be congruent after verifying the names of patients.Results: The total male incidence was bimodal with moderate peaks at 31 to 50 years and very high at 51 to 70 years. The female incidence with peaks at 41 to 60 years with regular steady increase up to 80 years. Males of 31 to 70 years 2.5 times more likely to sustain a fracture (95% CI 2.3 to 2.8) than females. Females between 40 to 60 years 2.8 times more likely to sustain fracture than males (95% CI 2.5 to 3.0). The trend was stable from year to year. This high increase in hip fractures in men of 51 to 70 years incidence documented osteoporotic fractures in contrast with too much emphasis on the importance of menopause in hip fractures.Conclusions: Despite wide variations in age specific hip fracture rates over a decade, reasons for differences are not clear. From 2000 to 2011, the hip fractures in district hospital increased by a factor of 6.6%, 14.34% in both the genders above the age of 41 years in parallel with hospital admissions.

Foetal arrhythmias: an enigma of the missed beats

Background: The synchronised depolarization and repolarisation of the atria and ventricles is achieved by specialised cardiac cells that generate an electrical impulse and propagate it along the conducting system in the myocardial tissue, leading to rhythmic activity of the atria and ventricles. Abnormalities of these rhythms lead to foetal arrhythmia.Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital over period of one year to study the course and perinatal outcome of women with foetal arrhythmias.Results: The confinement in the study period was N=4302, of which 207(4.81%) women had foetal congenital malformations. Among them 21(0.48%) women had foetal cardiovascular abnormalities and 6(0.14%) women had foetal arrhythmias. There were two cases of maternal primary Sjogrens syndrome: one with foetal 2nddegree atrioventricular (AV) heart block with 2:1 AV conduction and another with foetal 3rd degree or complete heart block. Others were a case of Atrial premature contractions with compensatory pause, a case of Supraventricular tachycardia, one case of sinus tachycardia with non-immune hydrops and a case of foetal bradyarrhythmia with regular ectopic beats in a case of complex congenital heart disease. The course of these pregnancies, treatment options and perinatal outcome was studied.Conclusions: Foetal echocardiography and Doppler are effective tools for detection and monitoring of foetal arrhythmias. Early and correct diagnoses of arrhythmias help in management of foetal arrhythmias and multidisciplinary team-based approach gives optimum treatment results

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe

Clinico Mycological Study of Superficial Mycoses

Background: Generally it is well established fact that geographical distribution of the fungi may change from time to time; hence this study was planned. Aim and Objectives: To analyze the prevalence of superficial mycoses, its clinical presentation and species identification of the fungal isolates responsible for the disease. Material and Methods: A total 125 clinically diagnosed cases of superficial mycoses visiting Dermatology and Venereology outpatient department of Bharati Hospital, Sangli, for a period of one year were included in the study. Specimens like skin scrapping, nail clipping, hair were collected and subjected to KOH mount and culture. Identification of species was done by macroscopic examination of culture, tease mount and other physiological tests including Urease test, Hair perforation tests and Germ tube test. Results: Superficial mycosis was more common in the age group of 21-30 years (28%) and in males (60.8%). The infection was more common in students (29.6%). Tinea corporis (42.4%) was the commonest clinical type followed by tinea cruris (22.4%). 61.6% cases were positive by direct microscopy and 60.8% cases showed culture positive. Out of 125 samples, dermatophytes were grown in 63 cases (82.89%) followed by non dermatophytic moulds in 10 cases (13.16%) and Candida albicans in 3 cases (3.95%). The most common isolate among dermtophytosis was T. rubrum (46.05%) followed by T. mentagrophyte (25%). Conclusion: It was concluded that along with dermatophytes, non dermatophytic moulds are also important to cause of superficial mycose

Loss to Aviation Economy Due to Winter Fog in New Delhi during the Winter of 2011–2016

Stable and clear atmospheric conditions, lower surface temperatures, an ample moisture supply, and a strong low-level inversion persisting for most of the night usually facilitates the formation of dense fog during winter in Delhi. This severely hinders the flight operations at India&#8217;s busiest airport, the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, where more than 900 flight operations occur per day and an interruption can cause significant financial losses to the aviation industry. It is important to undertake a quantitative study of the estimated losses. This study, undertaken for the first time in India, aimed to evaluate the impact of dense fog at IGI Airport on economic losses which occurred during the winter season between 2011 and 2016. The breakdown of charges for different segments of flight operations for the domestic and international sectors was obtained from India&#8217;s Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) India. A total of 653 h of dense fog between 2011 and 2016 at IGI Airport caused economic losses of approximately 3.9 million USD (248 million Indian rupees) to the airlines. The analysis further found that from 2014&#8211;2015 onwards, there has been a reduction in the number of flight delays, diversions, and cancellations by approximately 88%, 55%, and 36%, respectively, due to the strict implementation of guidelines to facilitate the Category (CAT)-III landing for aircraft during dense fog

Thermal stability of nanometer range Ti/Ni multilayers

Thermal stability of equidistant nanometer (nm) range Ti/Ni multilayer (ML) structures have been studied to investigate the interfacial microstructural changes upon thermal annealing. Two different ML having bilayer periodicity 10 nm, i.e., [Ti(5 nm)/Ni(5 nm)]10 and 6 nm, i.e., Ti(3 nm)/Ni(3 nm)]10 were prepared under ultra high vacuum deposition condition. It was observed that when the bilayer periodicity is changed from 10 nm to 6 nm, the individual layers grow in an amorphous form as compared to poly-crystalline layers of the former. The X-ray diffraction measurements show significantly different changes in the structural properties of the two ML. Moreover, the interdiffusion measurements carried out on both the ML, using X-ray reflectivity technique indicates slower inter-diffusion in case of samples having smaller periodicity. The hysteresis measurements on a ML with 10 nm periodicity show a drastic change in the magnetization behavior of the sample when annealed at or above 300 &#176;C. The observed magnetization behavior is explained on the basis of structural and chemical changes that have occurred at the interface due to the thermal treatment

WRF Model Prediction of a Dense Fog Event Occurred During the Winter Fog Experiment (WIFEX)

In this study, the sensitivity of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to simulate the life cycle of a dense fog event that occurred on 23–24 January 2016 is evaluated using different model configurations. For the first time, intensive observational periods (IOPs) were made during the unique winter fog experiment (WIFEX) that took place over Delhi, India, where air quality is serious during the winter months. The multiple sensitivity experiments to evaluate the WRF model performance included parameters such as initial model and boundary conditions, vertical resolution in the lower boundary layer (BL), and the planetary BL (PBL) physical parameterizations. In addition, the model sensitivity was tested using various configurations that included domain size and grid resolution. Results showed that simulations with a high number of vertical levels within the lower PBL height (i.e., 10 levels below 300 m) simulated the accurate timing of fog formation, development, and dissipation. On the other hand, simulations with less vertical levels in the PBL captured only the mature physical characteristics of the fog cycle. A comparison of six local PBL schemes showed little variation in the onset of fog life cycle in comparison to observations of visibility. However, comparisons of observations with thermodynamical values such as 2-m temperature and longwave radiation showed poor relationships. Overall, quasi-normal scale elimination (QNSE) and MYNN 2.5 PBL schemes simulated the complete fog life cycle correctly with high liquid water content (LWC; 0.5/0.35 g m −3 ), while other schemes only responded during the mature phase. </p

Thermodynamical framework for effective mitigation of high aerosol loading in the Indo-Gangetic Plain during winter

Abstract The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) experiences severe air pollution every winter, with ammonium chloride and ammonium nitrate as the major inorganic fractions of fine aerosols. Many past attempts to tackle air pollution in the IGP were inadequate, as they targeted a subset of the primary pollutants in an environment where the majority of the particulate matter burden is secondary in nature. Here, we provide new mechanistic insight into aerosol mitigation by integrating the ISORROPIA-II thermodynamical model with high-resolution simultaneous measurements of precursor gases and aerosols. A mathematical framework is explored to investigate the complex interaction between hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3), and aerosol liquid water content (ALWC). Aerosol acidity (pH) and ALWC emerge as governing factors that modulate the gas-to-particle phase partitioning and mass loading of fine aerosols. Six "sensitivity regimes" were defined, where PM1 and PM2.5 fall in the "HCl and HNO3 sensitive regime", emphasizing that HCl and HNO3 reductions would be the most effective pathway for aerosol mitigation in the IGP, which is ammonia-rich during winter. This study provides evidence that precursor abatement for aerosol mitigation should not be based on their descending mass concentrations but instead on their sensitivity to high aerosol loading