A possible EAS array above the Soudan 2 detector

Multiple high energy muons, when studied with a large area detector, can be useful in the study of the composition of cosmic rays at energies approx. 10 14 eV. The Soudan II detector, primarily designed to detect nucleon decay, is located approx. 600 m deep underground and has dimensions of 16m x 8m x 5m (height), and is made up of drift tubes. The minimum muon energy needed to penetrate that depth is approximately 500 GeV. A set of simulated cosmic ray showers was set up to calculate the rate of muon associated events, using a trigger array with the number of detectors varying from 37 to 127 (the radius of acceptance varying from 50m to 100m). The number used in the calculations is given. The association rate is seen to be a strong function of the multiplicity of muons in the detector. The difference in the rates of association of proton and nuclei induced showers rises rapidly with multiplicity

Outcome Analysis of Neglected Musculoskeletal Injuries

INTRODUCTION: Musculoskeletal injuries, as a non-communicable disease has become a major epidemic. Neglect of such injuries has become a major burden in our society due to the preference for native treatment. Especially in injuries involving the joints, this neglect has lead to severe disability and is affecting the productivity of our population. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To analyse the outcome of neglected periarticular injuries and to calculate the sample proportion of these injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Out of 615 patients admitted in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in the age group of 14-60 years with injuries involving the major joints, 160 were neglected cases, 11 cases in shoulder, 13 cases in elbow, 7 cases in wrist, 96 cases in hip, 17 cases in knee, 13 cases in ankle were studied. Pre op X rays were taken, CT scan in selected cases were taken. The cases were evaluated for pre-procedure Visual Analogue Scale, Functional capacity. Patient tailored procedure was done based on findings during pre-interventional and interventional period. All patients were followed up for maximum 1 year. Protocol based physical therapy was done. Functional evaluation scoring was done exclusive for each joint. RESULTS: Sample proportion of neglected cases in our study was 26%. In 80% of the cases the neglect was due to native treatment. In rural areas 18% of the cases in our study presented untreated due to poor accessibility. The Sample proportion for neglected upper extremity cases was 19% and the sample proportion for neglected lower extremity cases was 28%. The sample proportion of shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee and ankle cases were, 15%, 25%, 16%, 36%, 17%, and 16% respectively. The average outcomes were good in shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee cases and Excellent in wrist and ankle cases. CONCLUSION: The complications and outcome in all the cases depended on many factors as even in some cases with longer neglect duration excellent outcome was possible but in some cases with shorter neglect duration also fair outcome was only possible. Hence the commonly found factors that can influence the outcome of the neglected musculoskeletal injuries in pre intervention stage were: Age of patient, Type of native treatment availed, Duration of native treatment methods, Quality of native treatment methods, Associated co morbidities, Associated fractures. The factors which influence the outcome in intervention and post intervention stage were: Intraoperative findings of soft tissue distortion and loss of anatomical configuration; Type of procedure selected; Aseptic precautions taken; Patients’ will for functional betterment; Expertise of the surgeons; Regularity in visiting the hospital for physiotherapy. In our study all the patients had a common will for betterment and they cooperated in all the steps and thereby had a successful outcome at the end of follow up. Hence patients’ cooperation and perseverance is the foremost quality that defined success for them

Radiological study to determine the association of proximal femoral geometry in hip fractures

Background: In literature there is scarcity of documentation to test the relationship of radiological geometry of proximal femur with incidence and patterns of hip fractures especially in Indian population. In this study radiological parameters like femoral neck length (FNL), hip axis length (HAL), neck shaft angle (NSA), femoral neck diameter (are measured in standardized digital pelvis radiograph of patients with hip fractures presented at a tertiary care hospital and efforts were made to establish a relationship of these parameters with the pattern of hip fractures in Indian population. Methods: Total of 72 patients attending orthopaedics outpatient clinic or admitted into the hospital with proximal femoral fractures were included in the study. Thorough history and clinical examination data were obtained. Radiographs and necessary investigations were done and FNL, HAL, NSA was calculated. Analysis was done using SPSS package version 26. Results: Among the 72 patients included in the study, the mean age of the patients is 65 years with a SD of 13.64. The mean FNL was 2.452 cm with a SD of 0.471. The mean HAL was 11.1547cm and SD of 1.062. The mean NSA was 124.56degree with a SD of 3.339. The distribution of NSA is statistically insignificant at p<0.05. The mean NSA of extracapsular fracture and Intracapsular fracture in 51-60 years is 123.1956 and 125.7750 with SD of 2.58782 and 3.99555 is respectively. The p=0.151 and is statistically significant. Conclusions: In our study, we concluded that the HAL is significantly increased for intracapsular fractures than for Extracapsular fractures in old age group of 51-60 years. In our study, we could not establish any significant correlation between FNL, HAL and NSA in any age group for any fracture type

Maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by maternal obesity

Background: Maternal obesity imparts elevated maternal and neo natal adverse outcomes. Aim of the study was to evaluate and analyse the maternal and neonatal outcomes in obese mothers.Methods: This was a prospective case control study in a tertiary care high risk referral center. Antenatal women with first trimester Body mass index (BMI) of more than 30 Kg/m2 constituted the cases and those antenatal women with BMI <25 Kg/m2 formed the controls.Results: Mean age was slightly more (28.6±4.3 years vs 26.3±3.6 years: P<0.0001) in the obese group. Obese women were significantly more likely to have  of gestational diabetes (OR 5.2, 95% CI 3.2-8.7 P<0.00001), gestational hypertension (Or 3.5, 95% CI 2.1-5.9 P<0.0001) , induction of labour (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.8-3.6 P<0.0001), failed induction of labour (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3-4.2 P=0.003), Preeclampsia (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.6-4.9 P=0.0002), Caesarian section (Or 4.0, 95% CI 2.9-5.9 P<0.0001) and Postpartum hemorrhage (OR 4.0,95% CI 1.1-14.3 P=0.034), prolonged hospital stay (OR 12.8, 95% CI 7.7-21.1 P<0.0001)  and adverse neonatal outcomes such as low(<7) Apgar (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.1-10.0 P=0.03), Large for gestational age babies (OR 3.1, 95% Cl 2.1-4.5 P<0.0001) and transfer to new born nursery (OR 3.4, 95% CI 2.3 -5.2 P<0.0001).Conclusions: Maternal obesity in pregnancy is high risk and has many adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes warranting specialized antenatal, intranatal and post-natal care

Composition of primary cosmic rays near the knee

The size dependence of high energy muons and the size spectrum obtained in the air shower experiment suggest that the mean mass of cosmic rays remains nearly constant at approx 15 up to 5 x 1000,000 GeV and becomes one beyond. The composition model in which nuclei are removed spectrum steepens at 6.7 x 10 power GeV due to leakage from the galaxy, which explains the data which are consistent with data from other experiments

Bibliography: Diseases, Parasites and Toxicology of Perna viridis,Crassostrea madrasensis and Villorita cyprinoids (Mollusca: Pelecypoda) of India

A proper understanding of the hazards associated with the fishery products on national basis has been the primary objective of the AP Cess Funded National Network Project on National Risk Assessment Programme for Fish and Fish Products for Domestic and International Markets. In this connection, the bibliography is prepared with the sole aim to compile all the available literature on this subject to produce a ready source of reference material for future investigators. In spite of the meticulous task and completeness, the authors express their regrets for any errors or omissions

Diabetic Retinopathy Environment-Wide Association Study (EWAS) in NHANES 2005–2008

Several circulating biomarkers are reported to be associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, their relative contributions to DR compared to known risk factors, such as hyperglycaemia, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia, remain unclear. In this data driven study, we used novel models to evaluate the associations of over 400 laboratory parameters with DR compared to the established risk factors. Methods: we performed an environment-wide association study (EWAS) of laboratory parameters available in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2008 in individuals with diabetes with DR as the outcome (test set). We employed independent variable (feature) selection approaches, including parallelised univariate regression modelling, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), penalised regression, and RandomForest™. These models were replicated in NHANES 2005–2006 (replication set). Our test and replication sets consisted of 1025 and 637 individuals with available DR status and laboratory data respectively. Glycohemoglobin (HbA1c) was the strongest risk factor for DR. Our PCA-based approach produced a model that incorporated 18 principal components (PCs) that had an Area under the Curve (AUC) 0.796 (95% CI 0.761–0.832), while penalised regression identified a 9-feature model with 78.51% accuracy and AUC 0.74 (95% CI 0.72–0.77). RandomForest™ identified a 31-feature model with 78.4% accuracy and AUC 0.71 (95% CI 0.65–0.77). On grouping the selected variables in our RandomForest™, hyperglycaemia alone achieved AUC 0.72 (95% CI 0.68–0.76). The AUC increased to 0.84 (95% CI 0.78–0.9) when the model also included hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, haematocrit, renal, and liver function tests

Experience Capture in Shipbuilding through Computer Applications and Neural Networks

It has always been a severe loss for any establishment when an experienced hand retires or moves to another firm. The specific details of what his job/position entails will always make the work more efficient. To curtail such losses, it is possible to implement a system that takes input from a new employee regarding the challenges he/she is facing and match it to a previous occurrence where someone else held his/her chair. This system could be made possible with input through the ages from the array of individuals who managed that particular job and processing this data through a neural network that recognizes the pattern. The paper is based on data collected from traditional wooden dhow builders and some of the modern day unconventional shipyards. Since the requirements for successful implementation in such scenarios seems too steep at the moment, an alternate approach has been suggested by implementation through the design processes across multiple shipyards. The process entails the traditional value passed down through generations regarding a particular profession and analysis has been done regarding how this knowledge/experience can be captured and preserved for future generations to work upon. A series of tools including SharePoint, MATLAB, and some similar software working in tandem can be used for the design of the same. This research will provide valuable insight as to how information sharing can be applied through generations for effective application of production capabilities.Comment: Case study on knowledge transfer among employees with varying levels of experience in the field of shipbuildin

Numerical modelling of dissipation energy of high tensile steel frames against cyclic earthquake excitations

The design of steel structures for ductile response requires (a) materialductility, (b) cross section and member ductility, and (c) structural ductility. Dissipating the earthquake input energy by means of plastic excursions has to be compatible with the plastic deformation capacity of the structure. This work concerns incremental approach of modeling for elastoplastic analysis of structural members subjected to harmonically varying severe earthquake loads and their parametric responses over a range of applied frequencies and amplitudes. Investigations have been carried out in respect of stable and reliable hysteretic energy dissipation mechanisms of high rise steel structures against typical time-history loading of four hypothetical frequencies. Eigen-buckling responses for high rise steel structures subjected to earthquake forces are derived using general purpose software (STAAD). Finally critical structural component is identified for the high rise steel structure for estimation of available in-elastic dissipation energy from material ductility against earthquake excitations. The novelty allows for a very useful generalized formulation for the basic analysis procedures adopted in non-linear material problems. All essential features of a non-linear finite element solution are described in relation to one dimensional model for elasto-plastic beam bending. Solutions techniques are programmed in FORTRAN 90 for Newton-Raphson iteration for non-linear finite element analysis to derive hysteretic energy dissipation of high rise steel structures