The number of privately treated tuberculosis cases in India: an estimation from drug sales data

Background Understanding the amount of tuberculosis managed by the private sector in India is crucial to understanding the true burden of the disease in the country, and thus globally. In the absence of quality surveillance data on privately treated patients, commercial drug sales data offer an empirical foundation for disease burden estimation. Methods We used a large, nationally representative commercial dataset on sales of 189 anti-tuberculosis products available in India to calculate the amount of anti-tuberculosis treatment in the private sector in 2013–14. We corrected estimates using validation studies that audited prescriptions against tuberculosis diagnosis, and estimated uncertainty using Monte Carlo simulation. To address implications for numbers of patients with tuberculosis, we explored varying assumptions for average duration of tuberculosis treatment and accuracy of private diagnosis. Findings There were 17·793 million patient-months (95% credible interval 16·709 million to 19·841 million) of anti-tuberculosis treatment in the private sector in 2014, twice as many as the public sector. If 40–60% of private-sector tuberculosis diagnoses are correct, and if private-sector tuberculosis treatment lasts on average 2–6 months, this implies that 1·19–5·34 million tuberculosis cases were treated in the private sector in 2014 alone. The midpoint of these ranges yields an estimate of 2·2 million cases, two to three times higher than currently assumed. Interpretation India's private sector is treating an enormous number of patients for tuberculosis, appreciably higher than has been previously recognised. Accordingly, there is a re-doubled need to address this burden and to strengthen surveillance. Tuberculosis burden estimates in India and worldwide require revision

Extraction and Purification of Organophosphorus hydrolase Enzyme from Soil Microorganism Pseudomonas diminuta

Synthetic organophosphorus compounds are highly toxic hence, widely used as pesticides, insecticides and chemical warfare agents. Organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) is an organophosphotriester hydrolyzing enzyme; effectively hydrolyze a range of organophosphate esters. The objective of the present study was extraction and purification of OPH enzyme from Pseudomonas diminuta bacteria (soil microorganism) and to study kinetic properties of the purified enzyme. Enzyme was extracted and purified from bacteria by ammonium sulphate precipitation and ion exchange chromatography. Purity of an enzyme was determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacryamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Purified OPH enzyme specific activity was found to be 27.7 fold of 32.8U/mg protein, molecular weight of 72 Kda and it is a homodimer since it has shown a single band in SDS-PAGE separation. Maximum activity of the free OPH enzyme was found at Optimum pH 7.5 and temperature 35oC with the incubation time of 10 min. Michaelis constant (Km) and maximum velocity (Vmax) values of free OPH enzyme for methyl parathion as substrate was found to be 286.2μM and 2.5 μM/min respectively

Effect of high temperature heat treatments on the quality factor of a large-grain superconducting radio-frequency niobium cavity

Large-grain Nb has become a viable alternative to fine-grain Nb for the fabrication of superconducting radio-frequency cavities. In this contribution we report the results from a heat treatment study of a large-grain 1.5 GHz single-cell cavity made of "medium purity" Nb. The baseline surface preparation prior to heat treatment consisted of standard buffered chemical polishing. The heat treatment in the range 800 - 1400 C was done in a newly designed vacuum induction furnace. Q0 values of the order of 2x1010 at 2.0 K and peak surface magnetic field (Bp) of 90 mT were achieved reproducibly. A Q0-value of (5+-1)1010 at 2.0 K and Bp = 90 mT was obtained after heat treatment at 1400 C. This is the highest value ever reported at this temperature, frequency and field. Samples heat treated with the cavity at 1400 C were analyzed by secondary ion mass spectrometry, secondary electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, point contact tunneling and X-ray diffraction and revealed a complex surface composition which includes titanium oxide, increased carbon and nitrogen content but reduced hydrogen concentration compared to a non heat-treated sample

Inclusion Distribution in Ingots - A Guide to Segragation Mechanism

The melting point of non-metallic inclusion, and their nature and distribution can be a guide in deciphering the mode of solidification and segregation in an ingot. A commercial ingot was sectioned, and examined micros-copically. Inclusion identification was carried out by optical method as well as by electron probe micro analy-sis. The exten of segregation was obtained by extensive spectro-chemical analysis. It has been found that the shape and position of bottom cone of negative segregation coincide with that of bottom cone of inclusions. A theory of ingot segregation has been suggested that the bottom cone of oxide inclusions is a result of incorporation of these inclusions inthe dendrites of equiaxed grains. The inclusions drop to the bottom end with the shower of relatively pure equiaxed grains. While the interdendritic fluid is enriched in elements like C, Mn, S, P, it is denuded of oxygen. Since the oxygen solubility is low, oxygen enrichment leads to immediate precipitation of oxides

Summary of the First Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE1)

Challenges related to development, deployment, and maintenance of reusable software for science are becoming a growing concern. Many scientists’ research increasingly depends on the quality and availability of software upon which their works are built. To highlight some of these issues and share experiences, the First Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE1) was held in November 2013 in conjunction with the SC13 Conference. The workshop featured keynote presentations and a large number (54) of solicited extended abstracts that were grouped into three themes and presented via panels. A set of collaborative notes of the presentations and discussion was taken during the workshop. Unique perspectives were captured about issues such as comprehensive documentation, development and deployment practices, software licenses and career paths for developers. Attribution systems that account for evidence of software contribution and impact were also discussed. These include mechanisms such as Digital Object Identifiers, publication of “software papers”, and the use of online systems, for example source code repositories like GitHub. This paper summarizes the issues and shared experiences that were discussed, including cross-cutting issues and use cases. It joins a nascent literature seeking to understand what drives software work in science, and how it is impacted by the reward systems of science. These incentives can determine the extent to which developers are motivated to build software for the long-term, for the use of others, and whether to work collaboratively or separately. It also explores community building, leadership, and dynamics in relation to successful scientific software

Effective one-body approach to the relativistic two-body problem

The relativistic 2-body problem, much like the non-relativistic one, is reduced to describing the motion of an effective particle in an external field. The concept of a relativistic reduced mass and effective particle energy introduced some 30 years ago to compute relativistic corrections to the Balmer formula in quantum electrodynamics, is shown to work equally well for classical electromagnetic and gravitational interaction. The results for the gravitational 2-body problem have more than academic interest since they apply to the study of binary pulsars that provide precision tests for general relativity. They are compared with recent results derived by other methods.Comment: 9 pages, latex, no figures. Minor amendments, comments, new references and acknowledgments adde

Scaling law in target-hunting processes

We study the hunting process for a target, in which the hunter tracks the goal by smelling odors it emits. The odor intensity is supposed to decrease with the distance it diffuses. The Monte Carlo experiment is carried out on a 2-dimensional square lattice. Having no idea of the location of the target, the hunter determines its moves only by random attempts in each direction. By sorting the searching time in each simulation and introducing a variable $x$ to reflect the sequence of searching time, we obtain a curve with a wide plateau, indicating a most probable time of successfully finding out the target. The simulations reveal a scaling law for the searching time versus the distance to the position of the target. The scaling exponent depends on the sensitivity of the hunter. Our model may be a prototype in studying such the searching processes as various foods-foraging behavior of the wild animals.Comment: 7 figure

Co-infection of wilt-resistant chickpeas by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri and Meloidogyne javanica

Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceri and Meloidogynejavanica are important pathogens of chickpea. Interrelationships between F. oxysporum f.sp. ciceri and M. javanica were investigated on 53 Fusarium wilt-resistant chickpea genotypes in pot experiments. All of the genotypes were susceptible to M. javanica. Fusarium wilt resistance in one genotype (ICC 12275) was ineffective in the presence of M. javanica, and all the plants completely wilted. Resistance in four genotypes (ICCs 11319, 11322, 12254, 12272) was reduced in the presence of the nematode. Vascular discoloration above the collar region of the plants, an indication of susceptibility to the fungus, was observed. Wilt resistance in 48 genotypes was not modified by M. javanica. The effects of interactions between the pathogens on shoot and root weights, gall index, and galled area of root were significant only on 10-28% of the genotypes. Presence of the fungus reduced the adverse effects of nematodes on growth of 15% of the genotypes. Appraisal of wilt-resistant chickpea genotypes for their reactions to combinations of the two pathogens would help to identify and develop chickpea cultivars with wilt resistance stable in presence of M. javanica

Quantum mechanics in multiply connected spaces

This paper analyses quantum mechanics in multiply connected spaces. It is shown that the multiple connectedness of the configuration space of a physical system can determine the quantum nature of physical observables, such as the angular momentum. In particular, quantum mechanics in compactified Kaluza-Klein spaces is examined. These compactified spaces give rise to an additional angular momentum which can adopt half-integer values and, therefore, may be identified with the intrinsic spin of a quantum particle.Comment: Latex 15 page