110 research outputs found
Case Report: Nocturnal Low-Frequency Stimulation of the Centromedian Thalamic Nucleus Improves Sleep Quality and Seizure Control
Sleep disturbances and drug-resistant seizures significantly impact people with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE). Thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) offers potential treatment, but its effect on sleep and seizure control needs clarification. In this study, we combined wearable sleep monitoring with electroencephalogram (EEG) confirmation to investigate the impact of nocturnal centromedian nucleus (CM) DBS parameters in a patient with drug-resistant IGE. We found that high-frequency (125 Hz) CM stimulation during sleep severely disrupted sleep macro architecture and exacerbated seizures. Conversely, switching to low-frequency (10 Hz) stimulation enhanced both sleep quality and seizure control. This study underscores the critical need to personalize DBS settings, tailoring them to individual patients\u27 sleep patterns to maximize therapeutic benefits. While larger-scale trials are needed, our findings pave the way for patient-centric approaches to thalamic neuromodulation, offering a transformative path to improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for those with refractory epilepsy
Limited palmar fasciectomy for bilateral Dupuytren’s contracture
Dupuytren’s disease is a fibro-proliferative condition affecting the palmar and digital fascia. This disease is very common in Northern Europe but in India it uncommon as there are only a few cases reported, hence also called as ‘Viking Disease’. Surgical fasciectomy is the standard surgical treatment of choice for Dupuytren’s disease. Complications following surgery are high but there is no definitive cure for Dupuytren disease (DD), and recurrence of finger contractures after treatment is common
Camptodactyly correction: A report of two cases
Camptodactyly is a condition where there is a permanent flexion contracture at the proximal interphalangeal joint mostly involving the little finger. This condition has a varied presentation and hence treatment is controversial, whether conservative management or surgical correction. Here, we present two cases of camptodactyly that were managed with surgery
Tuberculosis tenosynovitis of the wrist: a rare case report
Tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease of the Asian continent and has a varied presentation. Involvement of the musculoskeletal system is uncommon and presents in 10% of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The atypical sites of tuberculous infection are the spine (51%) pelvis (12%), hip and femur (10%), knee and tibia (10%), and ribs (7%), but involvement of the wrist is rare. Tuberculosis tenosynovitis is a rare site of extra-articular TB. Delayed diagnosis and hence treatment is because it mimics many other disease processes and as a result, complications are common. Median nerve compression leading to carpal tunnel syndrome may also occur in these patients. Here, we present a case of tuberculous tenosynovitis involving the wrist flexors and the radial and ulnar bursae treated with surgery
Emerging fishery for Japanese ruby fish in Vizhinjam
Unique catch of Japanese ruby fish, Erythrocles
schlegelii (Richardson, 1846) locally known as
Imbooraan accurred at Vizhinjam Landing Centre
for the last few months. A demersal fish (family
Emmelichthyidae) they are commonly known as ruby
fishes, rovers, bonnet mouths and redbaits. Marine
plywood boats fitted with two 9.9 HP engines are
operating hooks and line to exploit these fishes.
Daily trips with fishermen departing early at 3.00
am from the shore, travelling about 20-25 km to
operate at more than 100 m depths and reaching
back by 3.00 pm in the afternoon is common
Frustrated with Code Quality Issues? LLMs can Help!
As software projects progress, quality of code assumes paramount importance
as it affects reliability, maintainability and security of software. For this
reason, static analysis tools are used in developer workflows to flag code
quality issues. However, developers need to spend extra efforts to revise their
code to improve code quality based on the tool findings. In this work, we
investigate the use of (instruction-following) large language models (LLMs) to
assist developers in revising code to resolve code quality issues. We present a
tool, CORE (short for COde REvisions), architected using a pair of LLMs
organized as a duo comprised of a proposer and a ranker. Providers of static
analysis tools recommend ways to mitigate the tool warnings and developers
follow them to revise their code. The \emph{proposer LLM} of CORE takes the
same set of recommendations and applies them to generate candidate code
revisions. The candidates which pass the static quality checks are retained.
However, the LLM may introduce subtle, unintended functionality changes which
may go un-detected by the static analysis. The \emph{ranker LLM} evaluates the
changes made by the proposer using a rubric that closely follows the acceptance
criteria that a developer would enforce. CORE uses the scores assigned by the
ranker LLM to rank the candidate revisions before presenting them to the
developer. CORE could revise 59.2% Python files (across 52 quality checks) so
that they pass scrutiny by both a tool and a human reviewer. The ranker LLM is
able to reduce false positives by 25.8% in these cases. CORE produced revisions
that passed the static analysis tool in 76.8% Java files (across 10 quality
checks) comparable to 78.3% of a specialized program repair tool, with
significantly much less engineering efforts
Artisanal fishing methods along the Vizhinjam Coast, Kerala
Vizhinjam Landing Centre (8º 22' 30'' N, 76º 59' 15'' E), is one of the important fish landing centres in Kerala capable where fish landings occur all over the year by employing crafts and gears according to the seasonal requirements and availability of fishes. Primarily carried out by traditional crafts and gears, fitted with outboard engines, vessels fitted with inboard engines and other modern gears are not able to operate along the coast due to patchy rocks and steep sloping continental shelf of this region. During the last decade, there was a complete transition from the wooden crafts to fibre boats which made crafts lighter and in turn enabled increase in the speeds of the fishing vessels. Even some of the catamarans which the government had given free to fishers after the 2004 Tsunami, remain at shore. Most of the traditional crafts along the coast ranged from 25 to 40 feet overall length (OAL). Two outboard engines with 9.9 HP each are used for propulsion. Fishers disclosed that after the Ockhi Cyclone in December 2017, fishing grounds haved changed and there is a conspicuous reduction in fish availability. Drift gillnet forms the major gear in fishing operation along the coast followed by mechanised hooks and line and boat seines.. The details of some of the artisanal gears and its mode of operation are given below
Case report: Nocturnal low-frequency stimulation of the centromedian thalamic nucleus improves sleep quality and seizure control
Sleep disturbances and drug-resistant seizures significantly impact people with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE). Thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) offers potential treatment, but its effect on sleep and seizure control needs clarification. In this study, we combined wearable sleep monitoring with electroencephalogram (EEG) confirmation to investigate the impact of nocturnal centromedian nucleus (CM) DBS parameters in a patient with drug-resistant IGE. We found that high-frequency (125 Hz) CM stimulation during sleep severely disrupted sleep macro architecture and exacerbated seizures. Conversely, switching to low-frequency (10 Hz) stimulation enhanced both sleep quality and seizure control. This study underscores the critical need to personalize DBS settings, tailoring them to individual patients’ sleep patterns to maximize therapeutic benefits. While larger-scale trials are needed, our findings pave the way for patient-centric approaches to thalamic neuromodulation, offering a transformative path to improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for those with refractory epilepsy
Frequent landing of bull sharks at Vizhinjam
Unique and continuous landing of bull shark,
Carcharhinus leucas was observed at Vizhinjam
landing centre during the February – March, 2018
period (Fig. 1). 16 numbers of bull sharks measuring
110-359 cm (total length) and weighing 90 - 330 kg
each were landed. Of these, only 3 sharks were
immature. The landings of C. leucas along the
Vizhinjam coast is usually occurs only once or twice
in a month, but such steady landings as recorded
was a rare occurrence
Progressive recovery of macrobenthic fauna in Chilika Lagoon after its restoration, with a focus on Stenothyra blanfordiana (Gastropoda: Stenothyridae)
The macrobenthic fauna of Chilika Lagoon was investigated from July
2012 to June 2016 to comprehend the status post its restoration and to
discern signs of biological recovery. The study revealed the existence
of 42 macrobenthic faunal taxa belonging to 28 families, apart from
polychaetes, oligochaetes and fishes. Gastropods dominated the
macrobenthic population of the lagoon, especially in its Central sector
during pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons. Stenothyra blanfordiana
an endemic species with an abundance as high as 3067 no./m2
,
contributed to 80% of the total abundance of the macrobenthic fauna.
Despite its importance concerning global biodiversity, information on
its ecology, habitat, feeding behaviour, etc. is seldom available
worldwide. This study elucidated the distribution, habitat preference
and behaviour of S. blanfordiana in Chilka Lagoon. This endemic
species showed a preference for comparatively less sandy substratum
with higher C:N values and exhibited a dietary preference for dead
and decaying plankton, particularly prevalent in macrophytedominated regions. The study has also demonstrated the gradual
recovery of the macrobenthic community within the ecosystem,
particularly notable in the case of S. blanfordiana, from previously
degraded conditions
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