Treatment of intertrochanteric femur fracture in elderly patients with the proximal femoral nail antirotation: evaluation in terms of union and functional outcome

Background: Trochanteric fractures almost invariably occur as a result of a trivial fall involving both direct and indirect forces. Fixation in the geriatric population generally consists of weakened, osteoporotic bone; intramedullary devices (PFNA) carry an advantage over other load sharing devices by not having to depend on plate fixation with bone screws purchasing a compromised lateral cortex. The purpose of the present study is to verify the theoretical advantages of the proximal femoral nail in elderly osteoporotic patients and eventually functional outcome of the patient.Method: A total of 30 patients with age >60 years with intertrochanteric femur fractures managed with proximal femoral nail anti-rotation for prospective study. Harris hip score had been used in our study for regular follow up and evaluation at each and every follow up visit.Results: Average Harris hip score at the end of study showed mean value of 87, ranged from 65 to 94 with almost 73% patients showing excellent or good outcome. And 100% fractures got united with a good component position and average time to bone healing was 14 weeks.Conclusions: PFNA are now favored in western countries and there are multiple studies coming from that region to support this. Due to advantages of high union rate, early postoperative mobilization, and short operation time, PFNA osteosynthesis is the method of choice for surgical treatment of stable and unstable osteoporotic intertrochanteric femoral fractures

Autorregulación y trabajo autónomo del estudiante en una actividad de aprendizaje basada en TIC

Este estudio analiza las estrategias de autorregulación en una práctica basada en las TIC con trabajo autónomo del estudiante (TAE). Participaron 53 estudiantes del primer curso de psicología de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona que realizaron prácticas de atención y percepción. Los objetivos, contenidos, materiales y evaluación de la práctica se diseñaron y desarrollaron en un entorno en línea. Posteriormente, se aplicaron varios cuestionarios con la finalidad de identificar las autovaloraciones que sobre la actividad autorregulatoria y el nivel de participación manifestaron los estudiantes. Los resultados muestran que los componentes de la dimensión cognitiva de la autorregulación (concepciones de aprendizaje y estrategias metacognitivas) se relacionan significativamente entre sí; sin embargo, no explican las diferencias encontradas en la valoración que los estudiantes realizan de su participación activa. Los factores del componente motivacional (orientación y autoeficacia) se encuentran, igualmente, relacionados entre sí, pero sólo la autoeficacia explica las diferencias observadas en la valoración de la participación activaThis work analyses a self-regulation strategies in autonomous task in an ICT-based learning activity. Participants were 53 psychology undergraduates at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona who made a practice in Attention and Perception Psychology. The aims, contents, materials and assessment of the practice were implemented in a virtual environment. We applied several questionnaires in order to identify the students' self-assessments about their self-regulatory activity and participation level. The results showed that cognitive dimension components in the self-regulation construct (conception of learning and metacognitive strategies) are significantly interrelated. However, this dimension does not account for the differences found in self-assessments students' active participation. With regard to motivational dimension factors (goal orientation and self-efficacy), a significant relation between them is observed, but only self-efficacy explains the differences found in self-assessments' active participatio

The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC

ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is a general-purpose, heavy-ion detector at the CERN LHC which focuses on QCD, the strong-interaction sector of the Standard Model. It is designed to address the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma at extreme values of energy density and temperature in nucleus-nucleus collisions. Besides running with Pb ions, the physics programme includes collisions with lighter ions, lower energy running and dedicated proton-nucleus runs. ALICE will also take data with proton beams at the top LHC energy to collect reference data for the heavy-ion programme and to address several QCD topics for which ALICE is complementary to the other LHC detectors. The ALICE detector has been built by a collaboration including currently over 1000 physicists and engineers from 105 Institutes in 30 countries. Its overall dimensions are 161626 m3 with a total weight of approximately 10 000 t. The experiment consists of 18 different detector systems each with its own specific technology choice and design constraints, driven both by the physics requirements and the experimental conditions expected at LHC. The most stringent design constraint is to cope with the extreme particle multiplicity anticipated in central Pb-Pb collisions. The different subsystems were optimized to provide high-momentum resolution as well as excellent Particle Identification (PID) over a broad range in momentum, up to the highest multiplicities predicted for LHC. This will allow for comprehensive studies of hadrons, electrons, muons, and photons produced in the collision of heavy nuclei. Most detector systems are scheduled to be installed and ready for data taking by mid-2008 when the LHC is scheduled to start operation, with the exception of parts of the Photon Spectrometer (PHOS), Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) and Electro Magnetic Calorimeter (EMCal). These detectors will be completed for the high-luminosity ion run expected in 2010. This paper describes in detail the detector components as installed for the first data taking in the summer of 2008

Advances in diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complication of long-term diabetes mellitus (DM). Over the last 2 decades lot of work has been on early diagnosis of DR and screening programs have been designed to help the masses. Large numbers of clinical studies have been done for patients of diabetes and DR wherein the role of blood sugar control, metabolic control, role of oral medicines for DR, role of imaging, fluorescein angiography, and retinal photocoagulation has been studied. Newer treatment modalities are being devised and studied for better patient care. We discuss these issues in our review highlight and newer advances over the last few years

The Spatio-Temporal Onset Characteristics of Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall and Their Relationship with Climate Indices

Regional variations of monsoon onset dates across India were analyzed for 67 years (1951–2017) under different modes of climate variations, i.e., El Niño, La Niña, and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), along with flood and drought years using the objective method and statistical techniques. Monsoon onset analysis revealed that the northern, northeastern, and southern parts were highly susceptible to the early onset of La Niña, and the northern and northern northwest parts were highly susceptible to the early onset of El Niño. The onset dates were early (late) in the sub-regions of the central, southern, and northeastern (northern, northwestern, and western) parts of India during flood (drought) years. Further, onset dates in flood years occurred earlier than those in La Niña years, and onset dates in drought years were later than those in El Niño years. The onset occurrence probability and influence of the synoptic events are discussed. This research could help in understanding the onset of monsoon and its predictability for societal applications

Buttress plating for a rare case of comminuted medial condylar Hoffa fracture associated with patellar fracture

【Abstract】Hoffa fracture is an uncommon injury. In the literature, lateral condylar Hoffa fracture is mentioned as a more common injury pattern than medial condylar Hoffa fracture. The mechanism of injury and method of treatment is not very well described in the literature. We are present- ing a rare case of comminuted medial condylar Hoffa frac- ture with ipsilateral patellar fracture. The mechanism of in- jury has not been described in the literature. Lag screw fixation, which is the most acceptable method of treatment, is not possible due to comminution. We explain the pos- sible mechanism of injury and fix the fracture with L-but- tress plate. Key words: Fractures, bone; Knee joint; Femur; Pa- tell

Geographic information system-based mapping of air pollution & emergency room visits of patients for acute respiratory symptoms in Delhi, India (March 2018-February 2019)

Background & objectives: Studies assessing the spatial and temporal association of ambient air pollution with emergency room visits of patients having acute respiratory symptoms in Delhi are lacking. Therefore, the present study explored the relationship between spatio-temporal variation of particulate matter (PM)2.5 concentrations and air quality index (AQI) with emergency room (ER) visits of patients having acute respiratory symptoms in Delhi using the geographic information system (GIS) approach. Methods: The daily number of ER visits of patients having acute respiratory symptoms (less than or equal to two weeks) was recorded from the ER of four hospitals of Delhi from March 2018 to February 2019. Daily outdoor PM2.5 concentrations and air quality index (AQI) were obtained from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. Spatial distribution of patients with acute respiratory symptoms visiting ER, PM2.5 concentrations and AQI were mapped for three seasons of Delhi using ArcGIS software. Results: Of the 70,594 patients screened from ER, 18,063 eligible patients were enrolled in the study. Winter days had poor AQI compared to moderate and satisfactory AQI during summer and monsoon days, respectively. None of the days reported good AQI (<50). During winters, an increase in acute respiratory ER visits of patients was associated with higher PM2.5 concentrations in the highly polluted northwest region of Delhi. In contrast, a lower number of acute respiratory ER visits of patients were seen from the 'moderately polluted' south-west region of Delhi with relatively lower PM2.5 concentrations. Interpretation & conclusions: Acute respiratory ER visits of patients were related to regional PM2.5 concentrations and AQI that differed during the three seasons of Delhi. The present study provides support for identifying the hotspots and implementation of focused, intensive decentralized strategies to control ambient air pollution in worst-affected areas, in addition to the general city-wise strategies