Study of mild cognitive impairment by applying Kolkata cognitive screening battery in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in India

Background: Several prospective, large, population-based cohort studies have found that diabetes is associated with an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study was aimed to determine the relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and MCI with respect to age of onset, duration, other co-morbidities, complications of diabetes and the effect of HbA1c on MCI, using Kolkata cognitive screening battery.Methods: From 1st December 2014 to 31st May 2015 a unicentric, case control study was designed to include patients attending the medicine outpatient clinic of LTMGH as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The cognition was assessed by Kolkata cognitive screening battery and the scores were compared with control subjects to rule out cognitive decline. A score below 110 was taken as the cut-off for identifying the significantly impaired.Results: 50 patients were included in study (mean age 57.02 years). The mean MCI score was 100.58 in the diabetic group, which was significantly less as compared to 123.35 as seen in the control group. Object naming test was the least affected. Furthermore, MCI had positive significant correlation (p0.05).Conclusions: There is a strong correlation of MCI with HbA1c. This implies that control of diabetes may help improve cognition and help in better management of diabetes as MCI disrupts the individual’s lifestyle and interferes with day-to-day activities. The results of our study warrant future research to improve our understanding regarding MCI and its correlation with diabetes.

“PREVALENCE OF SHOULDER PAIN IN PETROL PUMP WORKERS”

Shoulder pain (SP) is the most common problem in workers exposed to repetitive shoulder activity in their occupation. The petrol pump workers, who have repetitive activities of shoulder joint by picking and keeping the nozzle at petrol pump station.  This repetitive activity increases the demand on the muscles, ligaments, soft tissues of musculoskeletal system. This activity is carried out in standing posture. So the purpose of the present study is to know the prevalence of shoulder pain in petrol pump workers. So, the aim of the present study the prevalence of shoulder pain in petrol pump workers. A Observational –Cross sectional study done on 100 Petrol Pump Workers selected randomly with the job profile of filling the fuel with nozzle in vehicles 20 – 40 years of age  working since > 6months, without any shoulder injury, trauma and  neurological musculoskeletal problem. Questionnaire was prepared and validated. Non Parametric Test Were Applied. In this study only 49% Petrol Pump Workers people had shoulder pain where as 51% did not shoulder pain had. The study shows that Petrol Pump workers ageing from 31 – 40 years who have experience of profession more than 5 years often suffer from shoulder pain which may be associated with repetitive activity of shoulder and faulty posture while working

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Study of mild cognitive impairment by applying Kolkata cognitive screening battery in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in India

Background: Several prospective, large, population-based cohort studies have found that diabetes is associated with an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study was aimed to determine the relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and MCI with respect to age of onset, duration, other co-morbidities, complications of diabetes and the effect of HbA1c on MCI, using Kolkata cognitive screening battery. Methods: From 1st December 2014 to 31st May 2015 a unicentric, case control study was designed to include patients attending the medicine outpatient clinic of LTMGH as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The cognition was assessed by Kolkata cognitive screening battery and the scores were compared with control subjects to rule out cognitive decline. A score below 110 was taken as the cut-off for identifying the significantly impaired. Results: 50 patients were included in study (mean age 57.02 years). The mean MCI score was 100.58 in the diabetic group, which was significantly less as compared to 123.35 as seen in the control group. Object naming test was the least affected. Furthermore, MCI had positive significant correlation (p<0.05) with nephropathy (p<0.05), retinopathy (p<0.05), HbA1c (p<0.05) and duration of DM (p<0.05). There was no significant co-relation between the sex of the patients and MCI (p>0.05). Conclusions: There is a strong correlation of MCI with HbA1c. This implies that control of diabetes may help improve cognition and help in better management of diabetes as MCI disrupts the individual's lifestyle and interferes with day-to-day activities. The results of our study warrant future research to improve our understanding regarding MCI and its correlation with diabetes. [Int J Res Med Sci 2016; 4(7.000): 2615-2618

COMPARISON BETWEEN PHYSIOLOGICAL COST INDEX IN HEALTHY NORMAL CHILDREN AS AGAINST AMBULATORY SPASTIC DIPLEGIC CEREBRAL PALSY (WITH AND WITHOUT ORTHOSIS) IN THE AGE GROUP 6 TO 18 YEARS

Background: Efficacy of rehabilitation program for subjects with orthosis with objective measurement. The study aiming to objectively compare the PCI and walking speed of normal children with ambulatory spastic diaplegic. Also we aimed to analyze whether BMIhad impact on energy cost. Methods: 41 normal children and 41 community walking spastic diaplegic aged between 6 to 18 yrs. were assessed to compare the PCI. Speed of walking and heart rate were checked constantlyboth barefoot and in shoes in normal children and with and without conventional AFO in children with spastic diaplegic at their chosen velocities over four consecutive lengths of a 12.5m walkway i.e. total 50m.,Pre and Post readings are taken. Heart rate is affected by speed; PCI with speed of walking and heart rate was calculated for each child. Results: The mean PCI in shoes and barefoot was same in normal children i.e. 0.05 ±0.039beats/meter. The PCI for children with pathological gait i.e. spastic diaplegic without orthosis and with orthosis is 0.199 ±0.176 and 0.104± 0.093beats/meter appreciably greater than that for normal children(p less than 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that walking with orthosis in spastic diplegic CP children showed higher costs of energy and slower walking speed compared normal children with age matched. The PCI of walking, with orthosis in children with spastic Diplegic cerebral palsy is less as compared to without orthosis i.e. gait is more energy efficient with orthosis. BMI doesn’t show any correlation with PCI further study may require