Functional and radiological outcome following operative skeletal stabilisation with bone grafting in distal femur non-unions: a study of 21 patients

Background: The study was done to assess the functional and radiological outcome after operative skeletal stabilisation with bone grafting in 21 patients who presented to us with distal femur non-unions.Methods: Between August 2008 and October 2015, 21 patients (M:F- 14:7)  with established non-unions of the distal femur were included. All patients presented to us with established non-union following treatment with a native bone setter using splints.  There were 16 patients with AO Type A, 4 with AO Type B and one patient with Type C. All patients underwent open reduction, internal fixation with plate and screws and bone grafting. Serial follow-ups were done at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 weeks and 6 monthly thereafter.Results: All 21 patients had complete fracture healing at average of 19 weeks (Range 16-24). Knee flexion (ROM) improved from an average 16® pre-op to 66® post-operatively. There were no implant failure, infection or non-unions in our study. The Knee Society score improved from 54 pre-operatively to 74 post-operatively at last follow-up. Conclusions: Even in established non-unions, good results can be expected if good surgical technique is followed and with bone grafting satisfactory union rated can be achieved. Knee ROM also improves with dedicated postoperative rehabilitation

Salvage of infected proximal tibial tumour prosthesis using vacuum assisted closure (VAC) in seven patients

Background: Proximal tibia is the second most common site for both benign and malignant bone tumours. The treatment protocols of such tumours have seen a paradigm shift from amputation towards limb salvage. Limb salvage has been possible with resection and reconstruction using custom modular prosthesis but the risk of tumour recurrence and infection still looms large.Methods: Here we present our series of seven patients with infected proximal tibial tumour prosthesis which were salvaged using vacuum assisted closure (VAC) dressing. The indications for surgery were recurrent giant cell tumour (4 cases), chondrosarcoma (2 cases) and osteosarcoma (one patient). The prosthesis used was the limb preservation system (LPS) [Depuy-Synthes, US]. There were 6 males (M:F 6:1) with average age of 34.23 years. The predominant organism cultured was Staph aureus. We proceeded with radical wound debridement and VAC dressing with continuous negative pressure drainage for an average of 18 days (range 12-24 days). The patients then underwent secondary suturing and delayed suture removal (18-21 days).Results: All 7 patients were well at 8 months follow-up with no recurrent or persistent infection with good functional outcome. The average knee society score (KSS) was 73 (good). Conclusions: We conclude that with early thorough radical debridement and with select bacteriological culture profile, VAC is a valuable tool in the salvage of infected tumour prosthesis. This may reduce the need for amputations of such infected limbs by a significant margin while still retaining good functional outcome

A Gender Perspective on Role Performance of Elected Panchayat Leaders in India

Gender equality is fundamentally related to sustainable development, and globally accepted as a necessity for the promotion of human rights. Gender empowerment is determined by active participation of women and men in social, economic, and political spaces and activities taken in decision-making. In the context of local government, gender equality is critical as women and men face different challenges in full participation, representation and decent work opportunities. Though the constitution provides women the right to be elected in political and public representative institutions, such as parliament and local government bodies, gender inequality, as a collection of interlinked problems existed in the political arena too. Today the representation of women in politics has been increased considerably but due to their low participation, their issues and problems are generally unseen and unnoticed. Participation of women in the decision-making levels not only enhances their social, political and economic status, but also strengthens democratic institutions and even perhaps change the nature of the democratic process. Thus, the present study analyzed the gender challenges, gender influence in leadership styles, gender role and responsibilities of the elected panchayat leaders in Sivagangai district. The sample size of the study is 50 and the Harvard Analytical Framework has been used as a tool for data collection. Findings of the study assisted in the framing of strategies for the effective role performance of women in rural local governance and for the promotion of Gender Responsive Governance

A cross-sectional study on asymptomatic bacteriuria among antenatal women attending an urban tertiary health care center in Southern India

Background: Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in pregnancy is a treatable risk factor for preterm delivery. India accounts for the highest preterm birth incidence in the world according to the WHO census released in November 2016. This study was aimed at finding the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria, the spectrum of bacteria involved and the susceptibility pattern for the antimicrobials in the antenatal women attending a tertiary care hospital in urban Southern India.Methods: One hundred and eighty ante-natal patients without symptoms of ongoing urinary tract infection were enrolled to this study. Clean midstream urine sample was collected in a wide mouthed container and sample was analyzed by standardized microbiological testing techniques.Results: Out of the 180 ante-natal women included in the study, 11(6.1%) patients were found to have insignificant bacteriuria and 38(21.1%) had a significant bacteriuria. E. coli was the most frequently isolated organism and about 95% of the organisms were sensitive to Nitrofurantoin.Conclusions: More than a fifth of all pregnant women have ASB and E. coli is the most frequent pathogen encountered

AlPO4-C Composite Coating on Ni-based Super Alloy Substrates for High Emissivity Applications : Experimentation on Dip Coating and Spray Coating

High emissivity coating was developed on Ni-based super alloy substrates by dip coating and spray coating technique using a chemical precursor sol. The coating material was characterised thoroughly by XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS analyses. Characterisation results showed the presence of nano carbon in the AlPO4 matrix which imparted high emissivity to the coating. Emissivity of the coating varied from 0.6 to 0.9 in the wave length range : 2 µm - 25 µm depending on the thickness of the multilayered coating. Spray coating was very effective for coating the bigger substrates and TPS panels. Emissivity offered by the spray coated substrates was little lower compared to the dip coated substrates. Emissivity offered by the spray coated substrates was little lower compared to the dip coated substrates. Cyclic oxidation performances of the coated substrates at 800 °C and 1000 °C for 100 hrs of thermal exposure were recorded and compared with that of the bare substrate. The emissivity coating was found to offer substantial oxidation resistance to the base substrate at high temperatures

DESIGN OF SUPER GATE THROUGH THE USE OF TRANSISTOR NETWORK METHOD

Transistor structure development represents a compelling way of bettering VLSI circuits. In VLSI microcomputer devices, the sign shelves spread, prestige disintegration and area of circuits are strongly associated with transaction of radios. This recommended construction described an efficient graph-based approach to make optimized computers (divert) structures. The scheduled construction about paper will be prepared to implemented and also search the product current, gain heat, area accepting Dsch31 and individual wind

Proactive Indoor Air Quality Monitoring System

In recent times indoor air quality has attracted the attention of policy makers and researchers similar to that of external air pollution. The indoor environments are confined and closed compared to external environments providing less opportunity for the pollutants to dilute. Our everyday devices emit various solids and gases into the environment during their operation. These emissions contain many substances that are harmful to human health, when exposed to them for a prolonged period of time. Here we propose an air quality monitoring system that allows us to monitor and check live air quality in particular areas through IOT. The System uses air sensors to sense presence of harmful gases/compounds in the air and constantly transmit this data to microcontroller PIC16F877A. The sensors interact with microcontroller which processes this data and transmits it over internet. The gas levels can be viewed through a webpage from anywhere in the world. This allows authorities to monitor air pollution in different areas and take action against it

Biomaterials in Endodontics: a review

Biomaterials have evolved over the past three decades and are relatively specialized, highly biocompatible, but low-strength dental materials. Bioactive materials can interact with living tissues or systems. The newly emerging bioactive category of dental materials has expanded clinical uses in restorative dentistry and endodontics. Examples of bioactive materials are  Calcium Silicate containing Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (Portland cement); Calcium Silicate cements lacking aluminium and containing phosphate: Bioagrregate,  iRoot SP and iRoot BP (Endosequence), Calcium Silicate cements containing predominantly Tricalcium Silicate: Bio-active Glass, Calcium Phosphate based materials: Tricalcium Phosphate, Hydroxyapatite, Calcium Phosphate cements and Calcium Aluminate based materials: GIC based luting cements; Bioactive Glass. Other biomimetic materials include Emdogain, Platelet Rich Plasma, Platelet Rich Fibrin, Bone grafts and barrier membranes. Thus, the objective of this review was to compare and review the composition, and properties of these bioactive materials in endodontics

Smart Safety and Accident Prevention System

The primary cause of road accident results in fatalities, serious injuries and monetary losses is known to be due to drowsy or sleepy drivers, according to analysis reports on recent traffic accidents. Lack of sleep, medication, drugs, or prolonged driving contributes to drowsiness. A system that can identify a driver’s drowsy state and warn him before an accident occurs is required to avoid roadside accidents caused by distracted driving. Many researchers have recently expressed their interest in drowsiness detection. The methods essentially involve monitoring the driver’s physiological or behavioral 1summarizes some of the most recent methods put forth in this field is given. We propose an algorithm to monitor eye blinks that uses eye feature points to determine whether the eye is open or closed and sets off an alarm if the driver is drowsy. In-depth experimental results are also provided to highlight the benefits and drawbacks of the proposed method

Multiple Recurrent De Novo CNVs, Including Duplications of the 7q11.23 Williams Syndrome Region, Are Strongly Associated with Autism

SummaryWe have undertaken a genome-wide analysis of rare copy-number variation (CNV) in 1124 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) families, each comprised of a single proband, unaffected parents, and, in most kindreds, an unaffected sibling. We find significant association of ASD with de novo duplications of 7q11.23, where the reciprocal deletion causes Williams-Beuren syndrome, characterized by a highly social personality. We identify rare recurrent de novo CNVs at five additional regions, including 16p13.2 (encompassing genes USP7 and C16orf72) and Cadherin 13, and implement a rigorous approach to evaluating the statistical significance of these observations. Overall, large de novo CNVs, particularly those encompassing multiple genes, confer substantial risks (OR = 5.6; CI = 2.6–12.0, p = 2.4 × 10-7). We estimate there are 130–234 ASD-related CNV regions in the human genome and present compelling evidence, based on cumulative data, for association of rare de novo events at 7q11.23, 15q11.2-13.1, 16p11.2, and Neurexin 1