Assessment of factors related to treatment failure and recurrence of superficial dermatophytosis

Background: Superficial dermatophytosis, commonly known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin, hair, or nails caused by dermatophytes, primarily belonging to the genera Trichophyton, Microsporum, and Epidermophyton. Despite being a superficial infection, the rising incidence of treatment failure and recurrence has become a matter of concern in recent years. Methods: This prospective observational study, conducted at the department of dermatology and venereology of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, aimed to investigate the epidemiological factors associated with treatment failure and recurrent cases of superficial dermatophytosis. The study spanned from March 2022 to February 2023, involving 249 participants diagnosed with Tinea corporis, Tinea cruris, Tinea facies, or Tinea pedis. Factors such as excessive sweating, use of warm water, clothing habits, sharing practices, and topical corticosteroid application were analyzed. Results: The most common age group affected was 21-30 years, with a male preponderance (1.6:1). Excessive sweating, wearing water-soaked garments, and sharing towels were prevalent among participants. After 4 weeks of treatment, 81.5% achieved complete cure, but 52.7% of these cases experienced a recurrence within the subsequent 4 weeks. Multivariate analysis identified sharing towels, family history of dermatophytosis, and past topical steroid use as significant risk factors for treatment failure/recurrence. Conclusions: The study emphasizes the importance of linen (sharing towels) in the transmission of dermatophytosis and highlights the increased risk associated with a family history of the condition. Additionally, the injudicious use of topical steroids emerged as a significant factor contributing to treatment failure and recurrence

A Photo-detachment Study of Binding Energies of La-

Among the three candidates for negative ion laser cooling, La- is the most promising due to the strong transitions between its bound states. A direct energy calculation at the valence level [1] had been applied to La-. However, a comparison with the most recent experimental study [2] has shown there exists a range of disagreement of 17 ~ 90 meV in the energy values relative to the ground state. This research is a computational effort to determine the energies using a different method. By reproducing the photo-detachment cross section of La- and then lining it up with the experimental plot, the amount of shifts needed for the excited states and the ground states can be determined. In doing so, the main sources to the above-mentioned discrepancies can be identified, e.g. the differing amount of missing correlation energy in the ground state and the excited states. This presentation will be a summary of the progress that has been made toward the goal. [1] S. M. O\u27Malley and D. R. Beck, Phys. Rev. A 79, 023622 (2009). [2] C. W. Walter, et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 063001 (2014)

Synthesis, characterisation and development of novel, validated methods for the detection and quantification of diphenidine-derived New Psychoactive Substances

There is a worldwide increase in the abuse of new psychoactive substances, which pose a threat to public health. The fast‐paced nature of the NPS market and increased availability is drawing international concern. There is a general lack of comprehensive evidence on the toxicity and abuse risks associated with long-term use. The rapid pace of NPSs development means that they remain as an area of concern and interest; this shows the technical challenges in terms of development of analytical methods for the detection and determination of these substances. There is a knowledge gap in terms of chromatographic methods of detection, separation and quantification of diphenidine and its derivatives, in particular HPLC approaches. Currently, there is more research applying GC methods for NPSs analysis. The aim of this project is to develop a reliable, rapid, sensitive and robust HPLC method for the analysis of this group of NPSs. Regioisomeric compounds, 2-, 3- and 4-methoxphenidine (MXP) were used to develop a robust high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using mobile phase (acetonitrile:ammonium acetate 55:45% v/v) whilst the stationary phase was ACE-5 C18 AR column (150 x 4.6 mm, 5 μm particle size). The method was validated according to the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements of Pharmaceutical for Human Use (ICH) guidelines and shown to be both selective and sensitive (Limit of Detection, LOD = 0.04-0.15 μg mL-1, Limit of Quantification, LOQ = 0.38-0.47 μg mL-1). The reference materials used for this study were characterised using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR, UV and GC-MS. The scope of the study was applied to the recently reported diphenidine derivatives, 2-, 3- and 4-fluephenidines, in addition to 2-, 3- and 4-fluorocyanophenidines and the halogenated diphenidine compounds. x Accuracy, precision, robustness and specificity of these substances were investigated. As an average, limit of detection (LOD) was between 0.05 and 0.60 μg mL-1, whereas, limit of quantification (LOQ) was between 0.16-1.84 μg mL-1 for all the diphenidine derived regioisomers tested in this study. Additionally, total run time of just 10 minutes with resolution values (Rs) of greater than 2 in the case of both MXP isomers and all tested halogenated diphenidine isomers indicates that the applied HPLC method was rapid and sensitive, therefore it can be implemented to examine any samples that might contain these substances

Sawfishes in Odisha-Fishers' perspective

Sawfishes belong to the family Pristidae a m o n g e la s m o b ra n c h s and are extremely susceptible to fishing gears like trawls and gills because of their saw like toothed rostrum. They easily get entangled in these gears and it is very difficult to remove such fishes

Australian mandatory retirement challenged

During the 1970s Australia experienced declines in participation rates of older workers similar to the USA. However, in Australia it has taken more than 10 years to enact the same policy changes in age discrimination in employment. In order to promote a considered internationalism, as opposed to a parochial resistance to international ideas, this paper consid er s two qu e stions about the case of mandatory retirement, namely "Why did Australia ta ke so long to change?" and "What has been learned from the North Ame rican expe ri ence? " On the first question, it is argued that Australians are begi nning to mo ve only slowly from a European view of retirement as leisure in "old age" to wa rd s m o re active notions in No rth Ame rica and As ia . Elites in government are responding to a growi ng political consciousness among t he aged who a re seeking a new deal in rights of access to wo~k. On the second question it is argued tha t the North American experience leads us to soften claims about age d iscrimi nation and to be less optimistic about major improvements in older work er's p artici p ation arising from legislation outlawing age discrimination. This evidence can reduce the contentiousness of the issue in Australia and allow focus on the more p ractical issues of how to make the legislation work to protect the rights of older people

Relationship between inter-arm blood pressure differences and predicted future cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients

Background: Hypertension stands as a widely recognized significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In clinical practice, it is advisable to measure blood pressure (BP) in both arms. The increasing attention on inter-arm blood pressure difference (IABPD) stems from its association with cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to assess the relationship between inter-arm blood pressure differences and predicted future cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the department of cardiology, Chittagong Medical College Hospital from July 2020 to June 2021. The study included 428 cases of previously or newly diagnosed hypertension, selected through convenient sampling. Data analysis was conducted using Microsoft Office tools and statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Results: In this study, 8.2% of patients exhibited noteworthy systolic IAD, and 2.3% demonstrated notable diastolic IAD. Median 10-year cardiovascular risk, assessed by Framingham and ASCVD calculators, was 21% and 11% respectively. A positive correlation was observed between sIAD and 10-year cardiovascular risk (p=0.003) and sIAD and 10-year ASCVD risk (p=0.041). Patients with significant sIAD had a higher incidence of ischemic heart disease compared to those without (p=0.041). Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between 10-year Framingham cardiovascular risk and sIAD (p=0.003). Conclusions: A significant difference in systolic blood pressure between arms is linked to a higher 10-year cardiovascular risk and the presence of cardiovascular disease in well-managed hypertensive patients. So, monitoring sIAD could be an additional factor in predicting future cardiovascular events in patients receiving hypertension treatment

Índice de Autores

Í N D I C E D E A U T O R E SJUL. / DEZ. - 2015A V122 ANSAY, N. N. 73 VOLPI, S. M. O. B.122 ARAÚJO, J. M. G. W B 30 WAWZYNIAK, S. 73 BERGAMO, H.C172 CANDIDO, L. E.97 CUNHA, R.G52 GRAÇA, R. O.P30 PASSOS, A. T.172 PIAZZETTA, C. M.52 PIVATTO, F. B.S97 SAKURAGI, M. E.149 SILVA, L. L.52 SILVA, L. R.52 SIMÕES, P. N