Biochemical expression of exudes of a fungal-bacterial bio film during growth and maturation

Biofilms are often complex communities of multiple microbial species and remain attached to surfaces. Fungal-bacterial biofllms are formed when the fungal surface is colonized by one or more species of bacteria. These biofilms can enhance microbial effectiveness compared to the monocultures. Beneficial biofilms can be developed in vitro and be used for various agricultural and biotechnological purposes. As a recent development in biofertilizer research, fungal-rhizobial biofilms have been developed and these are termed biofilmed biofertilizers (BFBFs). This research was focused to investigate chemical composition of compounds exuded during growth and maturation of the biofilms. A developed fungal-bacterial biofilm using an Azotobacter species and a Colletorichum fungal species was used for the study. Exudates of the biofilm, fungal monoculture and bacterial monoculture in solid and liquid states were extracted separately by using three organic solvents; hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. Extraction was done weekly for four weeks during growth and maturation of the biofllm. Then extracted exudates dissolved in organic solvents were evaporated by using a vortex evaporator. Thereafter crude was mixed with potassium bromide (KBr) and pellets were made. The KBr pellets were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. To evaluate the effect of the exudates of the fungal-bacterial biofilm on seed germination and plant growth in comparison to bacterial and fungal monocultures, a plant assay was done weekly by using lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seeds (N 48). During all four harvests, the fungal-bacterial biofllm produced more diverse functional groups than the mono cultures. The developed biofilm produced carboxylic acids and carboxylic salts, which are associated with plant growth promoting hormones, especially in first and second harvests. Significantly higher plant height and high germination of lettuce with the biofilm exudates could be attributed to above fact. During third and fourth weeks, the biofllm produced more amines and amides than fungal and bacterial mono cultures. This may have contributed to increased pH in biofilm cultures compared to the mono cultures. Thus, it can be concluded that biochemical expression of exudates of fungal-bacterial biofilms during their growth and maturation is very useful for breaking dormancy of seeds and their germination and growth, contributing to high plant productivit

Is minimally invasive surgery safe, to treat significant upper urinary tract obstructive uropathy due to urolithiasis: Single centre experience

Objectives: Upper urinary tract obstruction (UTO) is a urological emergency. Failure in timely intervention results in nephron loss, urosepsis and death. The objective was to assess the safety and efficacy of minimally invasive surgery in UTO.Methods: Prospective Descriptive Study was carried out at professorial surgical unit of Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital. All patients presenting with upper tract urolithiais from January 2014 to January 2015, with significant upper tract obstruction (moderate to severe hydronephrosis) were included. CT KUB±Urogram confirmed the obstructing calculus and the degree of hydronephrosis. Patients with significant UTO were analyzed by presentation, interventions, complications and outcome.Results: Out of 224 patients, 25% (n=57) had significant UTO. Of them 41%, and 14% had Diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease respectively. Eighteen patients (32%) had UTO complicated with urosepsis and/or acute kidney injury, out of them each underwent PCN insertion (n=7) and retrograde stenting (n=7) followed by secondary ureteroscopic lasertripsy (URSL) while 4 patients underwent Primary URSL in 4±2 days. Uncomplicated UTO patients (n=39) underwent Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (n=6), primary URSL (n=23), laparoscopic ureterolithotomy (n=8) and open surgery (n=2) as definitive treatment in 32±11 days. Two patients with complicated UTO underwent nephrectomy. There were no intervention related major complications including renal loss or deaths. 95% had fovourable renal recovery by 6 month of follow upConclusions: One in four patients who present with UTO has significant obstruction. Timely management of complicated UTO by immediate urinary diversion or decompression saves lives and kidneys. Significant UTO can be effectively managed with minimally invasive surgical techniques by careful patient selection and prioritization.

Supine percutaneous nephrolithotomy (s-PCNL) as an alternative to conventional prone approach

Objectives: Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy(PCNL) is conventionally performed in the prone position. However supine PCNL(s-PCNL) may be more advantageous in terms of facilitating simultaneous flexible ureterorenoscopy and negating the need for a second percutaneous renal access for complex stones. It may reduce the cardio-respiratory compromise seen in the prone position. We reviewed our experience of performing supine percutaneous nephrolithotomy (s-PCNL) in the management of large or complicated renal calculi.Methods: Data was prospectively collected on 103 consecutive cases of s-PCNL performed at our institution from September 2014 to December 2015. Stone fragmentation was done using Lithoclast Master and inaccessible stones were manipulated simultaneously using a flexible ureterorenoscopy. Stone clearance was assessed with CT-KUB.Results: The mean age and BMI were 53.2 years (range 27 – 81) and 29kg/m2(range 20 – 34), respectively. Calculi size ranged from 16-41 mm (mean 23 mm) which included staghorn, calyceal, diverticular, pelvis and upper ureteric calculi. Lower pole calyx was utilized as the most frequent form of access (63%), followed by upper pole(7%) and interpolar(30%) access. Simultaneous flexible ureterorenoscopy was used in 15% of patients. Median operative time and hospital stay were 80 min (range 40 – 240 min) and 3 days(range 3 – 15 days) respectively. Complications noted were pyrexia, renal derangement and pulmonary embolism (0.97% each). Interval CT KUBs confirmed complete stone clearance in 91% of patients.Conclusions: s-PCNL is safe and effective in treating renal calculi. Patient benefits include a comfortable position, lack of major complications (in our series) and favourable stone clearance rates. We would advocate the supine, extended lithotomy position in centers performing PCNL

Making Study Populations Visible through Knowledge Graphs

Treatment recommendations within Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) are largely based on findings from clinical trials and case studies, referred to here as research studies, that are often based on highly selective clinical populations, referred to here as study cohorts. When medical practitioners apply CPG recommendations, they need to understand how well their patient population matches the characteristics of those in the study cohort, and thus are confronted with the challenges of locating the study cohort information and making an analytic comparison. To address these challenges, we develop an ontology-enabled prototype system, which exposes the population descriptions in research studies in a declarative manner, with the ultimate goal of allowing medical practitioners to better understand the applicability and generalizability of treatment recommendations. We build a Study Cohort Ontology (SCO) to encode the vocabulary of study population descriptions, that are often reported in the first table in the published work, thus they are often referred to as Table 1. We leverage the well-used Semanticscience Integrated Ontology (SIO) for defining property associations between classes. Further, we model the key components of Table 1s, i.e., collections of study subjects, subject characteristics, and statistical measures in RDF knowledge graphs. We design scenarios for medical practitioners to perform population analysis, and generate cohort similarity visualizations to determine the applicability of a study population to the clinical population of interest. Our semantic approach to make study populations visible, by standardized representations of Table 1s, allows users to quickly derive clinically relevant inferences about study populations.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted to the ISWC 2019 Resources Track (https://iswc2019.semanticweb.org/call-for-resources-track-papers/

Managing housing needs in post conflict housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka: gaps versus recommendations

Addressing housing needs in post conflict housing reconstruction leads to successful housing reconstruction. As part of a study of investigating how the housing needs can be effectively addressed in post conflict housing reconstruction, this paper identifies the gaps in managing housing needs in post conflict housing reconstruction within the context of Sri Lanka and presents the recommendations to minimise such gaps. Data was collected through un-structured interviews conducted with 37 participants, comprising policy makers, practitioners, academics and beneficiaries who engaged in post conflict housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka. Gaps were mainly found in conflict sensitivity, measures related to physical housing, performance of implementing agencies, policy and practice issues. On the job training, application of ‘do no harm’ principles, enhanced beneficiary participation, enhanced accountability, effective monitoring, enhanced knowledge sharing, adequate drinking water facilities, irrigation development and initiatives for material manufacturing were suggested as recommendations to minimise these gaps. Identification of gaps in managing housing needs in post conflict housing reconstruction and recommendations to minimise them inform policy makers to address the housing needs effectively through incorporating these aspects into the related policies. This in turn enhances the sustainability in housing development after conflicts

Comparison of psychological wellbeing among undergraduates of University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Objectives: Psychological distress is an increasingly important public health problem and 12.3% of the population suffers from some form of mental illness. It is experienced as sadness, anxiety, fear and in extreme cases as psychotic symptoms. Psychological distress among university students is more compared to general population. This study was conducted to determine psychological distress and predictive factors in medical undergraduates and to compare them with two other main streams of undergraduate education, in University of Sri Jayewardenepura.Methods: A surveying method was adapted to select 408 final year students from all three faculties using the General Health Questionnaire 30 (GHQ - 30), an internationally accepted, nationally validated to determine psychological distress. Frequency tabulation and Chi-squared tests were used for analysis by SPSS (15). GHQ score of six (6) or more indicated distress.Results: Among the undergraduates, 240 (58.8%) had a score more than 6. The prevalence of stress was higher among medical students 95(62.5%), than Applied Sciences 69(60%) and Management students 76(53.5%). Age of students (p=0.015), effect of studies on personal life (p=0.025), responsibilities as a group leader (p=0.05) and transport and meals (p=0.006) were found as independent significant risk factors for distress. Student’s gender (p=0.10), oral presentations (p=0.36) and continuous assessments (p=0.35) were not significantly associated with psychological distress.  Specific tasks during clinical appointments were identified as stressful by majority of medical students. Conclusions: High prevalence of psychological distress in undergraduates, especially among medical students is identified. The need for detailed assessment of stressors and coping strategies is highlighted and emphasizes the necessity of early interventions to prevent, long term psychological sequelae

Health services research into postnatal depression : results from a preliminary cross-cultural study

Background: Little is known about the availability and uptake of health and welfare services by women with postnatal depression in different countries. Aims: Within the context of a cross- cultural research study, to develop and test methods for undertaking quantitative health services research in postnatal depression. Method: Interviews with service planners and the collation of key health indicators were used to obtain a profile of service availability and provision. A service use questionnaire was developed and administered to a pilot sample in a number of European study centres. Results: Marked differences in service access and use were observed between the centres, including postnatal nursing care and contacts with primary care services.Rates of use of specialist services were generally low.Common barriers to access to care included perceived service quality and responsiveness. On the basis of the pilot work, a postnatal depression version of the Service Receipt Inventory was revised and finalised. Conclusions: This preliminary study demonstrated the methodological feasibility of describing and quantifying service use, highlighted the varied and often limited use of care in this population, and indicated the need for an improved understanding of the resource needs and implications of postnatal depression

Postnatal depression across countries and cultures : a qualitative study

Background: Postnatal depression seems to be a universal condition with similar rates in different countries. However, anthropologists question the cross-cultural equivalence of depression, particularly at a life stage so influenced by cultural factors. Aims: To develop a qualitative method to explore whether postnatal depression is universally recognised, attributed and described and to enquire into people’s perceptions of remedies and services for morbid states of unhappiness within the context of local services. Method: The study took place in 15 centres in 11 countries and drew on three groups of informants: focus groups with new mothers, interviews with fathers and grandmothers, and interviews with health professionals.Textual analysis of these three groups was conducted separately in each centre and emergent themes compared across centres. Results: All centres described morbid unhappiness after childbirth comparable to postnatal depression but not all saw this as an illness remediable by health interventions. Conclusions: Although the findings of this study support the universality of a morbid state of unhappiness following childbirth, they also support concerns about the cross-cultural equivalence of postnatal depression as an illness requiring the intervention of health professionals; this has implications for future research

A voice for change? Trust relationships between ombudsmen, individuals and public service providers

There has been a debate for years about what the role of the ombudsman is. This article examines a key component of the role, to promote trust in public services and government. To be able to do this, however, an ombudsman needs to be perceived as legitimate and be trusted by a range of stakeholders, including the user. This article argues that three key relationships in a person’s complaint journey can build trust in an institution, and must therefore be understood as a system. The restorative justice framework is adapted to conceptualize this trust model as a novel approach to understanding the institution from the perspective of its users. Taking two public sector ombudsmen as examples, the article finds that voice and trust need to be reinforced through the relationships in a consumer journey to manage individual expectations, prevent disengagement, and thereby promote trust in the institution, in public service providers, and in government

Uncertainties in climate responses to past land cover change: First results from the LUCID intercomparison study

Seven climate models were used to explore the biogeophysical impacts of human-induced land cover change (LCC) at regional and global scales. The imposed LCC led to statistically significant decreases in the northern hemisphere summer latent heat flux in three models, and increases in three models. Five models simulated statistically significant cooling in summer in near-surface temperature over regions of LCC and one simulated warming. There were few significant changes in precipitation. Our results show no common remote impacts of LCC. The lack of consistency among the seven models was due to: 1) the implementation of LCC despite agreed maps of agricultural land, 2) the representation of crop phenology, 3) the parameterisation of albedo, and 4) the representation of evapotranspiration for different land cover types. This study highlights a dilemma: LCC is regionally significant, but it is not feasible to impose a common LCC across multiple models for the next IPCC assessment