Deep Learning based Method for Multi-class Classification of Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetes mellitus is a form of diabetes with secondary microvascular complication leading to renal dysfunction and retinal loss also termed as diabetic retinopathy. Retinopathy is grave form of retinal disease. It is the leading cause of blindness in the world. Blockage of tiny minute retinal blood vessels due to the high blood sugar level is the reason why retinopathy leads to blindness or loss of vision. This study serves the purpose of deep learning-based diagnosis of Diabetic retinopathy using the fundus imaging of the eye. In this study architectures such as VGG 16 and VGG 19 are deployed in order to classify the images into 5 categories. The performance of the two models were compared. The highest accuracy is 77.67% when using the VGG 16 pre-trained model

Energy Optimisation in Office Buildings Through Daylighting Design for Climatic Conditions of Central India

This paper is based on the premise that energy optimisation is possible in office buildings through design of daylighting. The motivation for the study was born of the fact that in India, among all building typologies, commercial buildings consume the maximum energy. This energy consumption is mainly for cooling of the building and lighting the interior spaces. Cooling and lighting up spaces generates heat in and around the building, which again increases the cooling load. Out of the total electrical energy required in the building, around 20-40% is used for lighting purposes. Despite availability of daylight during the working hours, artificial lighting is used in offices that have huge internal spaces with large spans. This paper aims at understanding the factors related to daylight penetration into office building in different situations and developing guidelines for achieving maximum daylight penetration in large spaces

Adding the Third Dimension to Building Construction Technology in Architecture Education

This paper looks into conventional teaching practices and intends to generate a new approach towards the teaching of Building Construction in architecture schools. With the fast pace of the current world and changing technology, conventional teaching practices that are largely based on information assimilation have ceased to serve us adequately. The rate of change in trends and technologies in the current times do not match the content of our existing syllabus. This paper tries to identify the role and application of Building Construction Technology for training the young minds for handling future challenges and coping up with upcoming developments. It talks about various experimentation and exploration techniques aimed at enhancing the student’s analytical ability as well as his/her understanding of materials, techniques, systems, etc. The Building Construction Technology team at IDEAS has tried to bridge the gap between conventional teaching methods and the changing technology by adding a third dimension to reaching-learning methodology. The paper presents methods devised and tested in the Second Year Building Construction Studio for enabling the students for creative handling of materials and technology

Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever: Recent Update On Disease Status, Current Therapies And Advances In Treatment

Swiftly growing viruses are a major intimidation to human health. Such viruses are extremely pathogenic like Ebola virus, influenza virus, HIV virus, Zika virus etc . Ebola virus, a type of Filovirus, is an extremely infectious, single-stranded ribonucleic acid virus that infects both humans and apes, prompting acute fever with hemorrhagic syndrome. The high infectivity, severity and mortality of Ebola has plagued the world for the past fifty years with its first outbreak in 1976 in Marburg, Germany, and Frankfurt along with Belgrade and Serbia. The world has perceived about 28,000 cases and over 11,000 losses. The high lethality of Ebola makes it a candidate for use in bioterrorism thereby arising more concern. New guidelines have been framed for providing best possible care to the patients suffering from Ebola virus i.e Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development And Evaluation (GRADE) methodology to develop evidence-based strategy for the treatment in future outbreak of Ebola virus. No drugs have been approved, while many potent drugs like rVSV-EBOV, Favipiravir, ZMapp are on clinical test for human safety. In this review we will discover and discuss perspective aspects that lead to the evolution of different Ebola variants as well as advances in various drugs and vaccines for treatment of the disease

Point Prevalence of Indwelling Catheterized Patients Admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital and Related Nursing Care Practices

Urinary catheterization facilitates the drainage of urinary bladder. The current study was carried out to assess the point prevalence of indwelling catheterized patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital and to assess the related practices of nurses. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed. Sampling technique was purposive. Survey of all the admitted patients was carried out in a single day to assess the point prevalence of catheterized patients. Tools for data collection comprised of sociodemographic profile and clinical profile of the catheterized patients. A checklist was used to assess the self-expressed practices of nurses regarding insertion, care and removal of catheter. The total number of admitted patients on the day of survey was 1718. 317 (18.5%) patients were found to be catheterized. Majority of the patients were in Intensive Care Unit followed by Emergency areas and were suffering from neurological disorders. Most of the self-expressed practices of nurses regarding catheterization were adequate other than documentation of the procedure; providing perineal care at the time of catheterization, catheter care and removing the catheter; and clamping the catheter before its removal.

In-silico molecular docking for Potential herbal leads from Withaniasomnifera L. Dunal for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) poses a significant global health challenge, necessitating novel therapeutic interventions. Withaniasomnifera L. Dunal, commonly known as Ashwagandha, has been historically utilized in traditional medicine for its neuroprotective properties. This study employs computational techniques to explore the potential of W. somnifera compounds in targeting key proteins associated with AD. The reported phytoconstituents of W. somnifera were identified and subjected to molecular docking studies against 5NUU (Torpedo californica acetylcholinesterase in complex with a chlorotacrine-tryptophan hybrid inhibitor), as crucial targets. The results revealed several phytoconstituents of W. somnifera exhibiting favorable binding affinities and promising interactions with the target proteins. These findings provide a valuable foundation for further experimental validation and the development of novel therapeutic agents derived from natural sources for the treatment of Alzheimer's

Antibodies to Enteroviruses in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Acute Flaccid Myelitis.

Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) has caused motor paralysis in >560 children in the United States since 2014. The temporal association of enterovirus (EV) outbreaks with increases in AFM cases and reports of fever, respiratory, or gastrointestinal illness prior to AFM in >90% of cases suggest a role for infectious agents. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 14 AFM and 5 non-AFM patients with central nervous system (CNS) diseases in 2018 were investigated by viral-capture high-throughput sequencing (VirCapSeq-VERT system). These CSF and serum samples, as well as multiple controls, were tested for antibodies to human EVs using peptide microarrays. EV RNA was confirmed in CSF from only 1 adult AFM case and 1 non-AFM case. In contrast, antibodies to EV peptides were present in CSF of 11 of 14 AFM patients (79%), significantly higher than controls, including non-AFM patients (1/5 [20%]), children with Kawasaki disease (0/10), and adults with non-AFM CNS diseases (2/11 [18%]) (P = 0.023, 0.0001, and 0.0028, respectively). Six of 14 CSF samples (43%) and 8 of 11 sera (73%) from AFM patients were immunoreactive to an EV-D68-specific peptide, whereas the three control groups were not immunoreactive in either CSF (0/5, 0/10, and 0/11; P = 0.008, 0.0003, and 0.035, respectively) or sera (0/2, 0/8, and 0/5; P = 0.139, 0.002, and 0.009, respectively).IMPORTANCE The presence in cerebrospinal fluid of antibodies to EV peptides at higher levels than non-AFM controls supports the plausibility of a link between EV infection and AFM that warrants further investigation and has the potential to lead to strategies for diagnosis and prevention of disease

Functional divergence of Heat Shock Factors (Hsfs) during heat stress and recovery at the tissue and developmental scales in C4 grain amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus)

Two major future challenges are an increase in global earth temperature and a growing world population, which threaten agricultural productivity and nutritional food security. Underutilized crops have the potential to become future climate crops due to their high climate-resilience and nutritional quality. In this context, C4 pseudocereals such as grain amaranths are very important as C4 crops are more heat tolerant than C3 crops. However, the thermal sensitivity of grain amaranths remains unexplored. Here, Amaranthus hypochondriacus was exposed to heat stress at the vegetative and reproductive stages to capture heat stress and recovery responses. Heat Shock Factors (Hsfs) form the central module to impart heat tolerance, thus we sought to identify and characterize Hsf genes. Chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) reduced significantly during heat stress, while malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased, suggesting that heat exposure caused stress in the plants. The genome-wide analysis led to the identification of thirteen AhHsfs, which were classified into A, B and C classes. Gene expression profiling at the tissue and developmental scales resolution under heat stress revealed the transient upregulation of most of the Hsfs in the leaf and inflorescence tissues, which reverted back to control levels at the recovery time point. However, a few Hsfs somewhat sustained their upregulation during recovery phase. The study reported the identification, physical location, gene/motif structure, promoter analysis and phylogenetic relationships of Hsfs in Amaranthus hypochondriacus. Also, the genes identified may be crucial for future gene functional studies and develop thermotolerant cultivars

The durability of long-lasting insecticidal nets distributed to the households between 2009 and 2013 in Nepal

Background: Understanding and improving the durability of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) in the field are critical for planning future implementation strategies including behavioral change for care and maintenance. LLIN distribution at high coverage is considered to be one of the adjunctive transmission reduction strategies in Nepal’s Malaria Strategic Plan 2014–2025. The main objective of this study was to assess the durability through assessment of community usage, physical integrity, residual bio-efficacy, and chemical retention in LLINs: Interceptor®, Yorkool®, and PermaNet ®2.0 which were used in Nepal during 2009 through 2013. Methods: Assessments were conducted on random samples (n = 440) of LLINs from the eleven districts representing four ecological zones: Terai plain region (Kailali and Kanchanpur districts), outer Terai fluvial ecosystem (Surkhet, Dang, and Rupandhei districts), inner Terai forest ecosystem (Mahhothari, Dhanusa, and Illam districts), and Hills and river valley (Kavrepalanchock and Sindhupalchok districts). For each LLIN, fabric integrity in terms of proportionate hole index (pHI) and residual bio-efficacy were assessed. However, for chemical retention, a representative sample of 44 nets (15 Yorkool®, 10 Permanet®2.0, and 19 Interceptor®) was evaluated. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics stratified by LLINs brand, districts, and duration of exposure. Results: On average, duration of use of LLINs was shortest for the Yorkool® samples, followed by PermaNet® 2.0 and Interceptor® with median ages of 8.9 (IQR = 0.4), 23.8 (IQR = 3.2), and 50.1 (IQR = 3.2) months, respectively. Over 80% of field distributed Yorkool® and PermaNet® 2.0 nets were in good condition (pHI< 25) compared to Interceptor® (66%). Bio-efficacy analysis showed that average mortality rates of Interceptor and Yorkool were below World Health Organization (WHO) optimal effectiveness of ≥ 80% compared to 2-year-old PermaNet 2.0 which attained 80%. Chemical retention analysis was consistent with bio-efficacy results. Conclusion: This study shows that distribution of LLINs is effective for malaria control; however, serviceable life of LLINs should be considered in terms of waning residual bio-efficacy that warrants replacement. As an adjunctive malaria control tool, National Malaria Control Program of Nepal can benefit by renewing the distribution of LLINs in an appropriate time frame in addition to utilizing durable and effective LLINs

Comparison of glucosamine sulfate and a polyherbal supplement for the relief of osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN25438351]

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The efficacy and safety of a dietary supplement derived from South American botanicals was compared to glucosamine sulfate in osteoarthritis subjects in a Mumbai-based multi-center, randomized, double-blind study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Subjects (n = 95) were screened and randomized to receive glucosamine sulfate (n = 47, 1500 mg/day) or reparagen (n = 48, 1800 mg/day), a polyherbal consisting of 300 mg of vincaria (<it>Uncaria guianensis</it>) and 1500 mg of RNI 249 (<it>Lepidium meyenii</it>) administered orally, twice daily. Primary efficacy variable was response rate based on a 20% improvement in WOMAC pain scores. Additional outcomes were WOMAC scores for pain, stiffness and function, visual analog score (VAS) for pain, with assessments at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. Tolerability, investigator and subject global assessments and rescue medication consumption (paracetamol) were measured together with safety assessments including vital signs and laboratory based assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Subject randomization was effective: age, gender and disease status distribution was similar in both groups. The response rates (20% reduction in WOMAC pain) were substantial for both glucosamine (89%) and reparagen (94%) and supported by investigator and subject assessments. Using related criteria response rates to reparagen were favorable when compared to glucosamine. Compared to baseline both treatments showed significant benefits in WOMAC and VAS outcomes within one week (P < 0.05), with a similar, progressive improvement over the course of the 8 week treatment protocol (45–62% reduction in WOMAC or VAS scores). Tolerability was excellent, no serious adverse events were noted and safety parameters were unchanged. Rescue medication use was significantly lower in the reparagen group (p < 0.01) at each assessment period. Serum IGF-1 levels were unaltered by treatments.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Both reparagen and glucosamine sulfate produced substantial improvements in pain, stiffness and function in subjects with osteoarthritis. Response rates were high and the safety profile was excellent, with significantly less rescue medication use with reparagen. Reparagen represents a new natural productive alternative in the management of joint health.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN25438351.</p