Drug utilization pattern in patients of upper respiratory tract infections in pediatrics outpatient department at a tertiary care hospital

Background: Upper respiratory tract infections are the most common and frequently occurring infections in the pediatric population. These infections include conditions like common cold, laryngitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, acute rhinitis, acute rhinosinusitis and acute otitis media. Young children have an average of 6-8 colds per year, however 10 -15% of children have at least 12 infections per year. This study concentrates on prescription pattern of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in children. primary objective was to study the prescription pattern of drugs used in URTI in pediatric outpatient department and the secondary objective was to determine whether the drugs being prescribed comply with those listed in the National list of essential medicines. Methods: This study was a Cross-sectional, observational study conducted at the Pediatric Outpatient Department in a tertiary care hospital, India. The data was collected from patients visiting Pediatrics OPD from June 2021 to December 2021 after taking written informed consent. Sample size was calculated to be 303. Results: Total 943 drugs were prescribed for 303 patients with an average of 3.11±1.15 drugs per prescription. Most common class of drugs prescribed was Antipyretics of which Paracetamol was the most common drug. Antibiotics were prescribed for 19.80% patients & combination of Amoxicillin and Clavulanic acid was the most common antibiotic prescribed. 68.29% drugs were prescribed by generic name. 43.16% drugs were prescribed from National List of Essential Medicines 2015. Conclusions: The study revealed that the majority of children suffering from URTI were below 5 years of age. Our study highlighted the prescribing

Ambient Air Quality of Nashik City 2017 (Maharashtra, India)

Ambient air quality of Nasik city was monitored during the year 2017. Criteria pollutants selected for the monitoring was, sulphur dioxide (SO2) & nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM10 (Particulate Matter having aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 µm) for the period of January 2017 to December 2017. Sampling was done for successive periods of about 4 hours for sulphur dioxides (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and 8 hours for Respirable suspended particulate matter (PM10) for 24 hours. For Air Quality Monitoring, four representative sites were selected i.e. Industrial-S1-I-VIP, Commercial- S2-R-RTO and Residential-S3-C-NMC and Industrial-S4-I-UB. High volume air sampler were used to measure the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxides (SO2) and Respirable suspended particulate matter (PM10). The results reported pertain to an eight hour successive continuous air sampling exercise carried out at each of the four selected locations in Nasik city. The value of PM10 (Particles ≥ 10µ, PM 10µg/m3)  was  noted  to  be  crossing  the  permissible   limit   and  exceeded  the  National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) at all locations. The concentration of SO2 and NO2 was within the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS, National Ambient Air Quality Standers, November 18, 2009) at all the locations. Keywords: PM10, Ambient Air Quality (AQI), National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), Pollutant, Urban air sampling, Transport emissions

Reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal UV irradiation.

During pandemics, such as the SARS-CoV-2, filtering facepiece respirators plays an essential role in protecting healthcare personnel. The recycling of respirators is possible in case of critical shortage, but it raises the question of the effectiveness of decontamination as well as the performance of the reused respirators. Disposable respirators were subjected to ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) treatment at single or successive doses of 60 mJ/cm <sup>2</sup> after a short drying cycle (30 min, 70°C). The germicidal efficacy of this treatment was tested by spiking respirators with two staphylococcal bacteriophages (vB_HSa_2002 and P66 phages). The respirator performance was investigated by the following parameters: particle penetration (NaCl aerosol, 10-300 nm), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry and mechanical tensile tests. No viable phage particles were recovered from any of the respirators after decontamination (log reduction in virus titre >3), and no reduction in chemical or physical properties (SEM, particle penetrations <5%-6%) were observed. Increasing the UVGI dose 10-fold led to chemical alterations of the respirator filtration media (FTIR) but did not affect the physical properties (particle penetration), which was unaltered even at 3000 mJ/cm <sup>2</sup> (50 cycles). When respirators had been used by healthcare workers and undergone decontamination, they had particle penetration significantly greater than never donned respirators. This decontamination procedure is an attractive method for respirators in case of shortages during a SARS pandemic. A successful implementation requires a careful design and particle penetration performance control tests over the successive reuse cycles

Insensitivity of place cells to the value of spatial goals in a two-choice flexible navigation task

Hippocampal place cells show position-specific activity, thought to reflect a self-localization signal. Several reports also point to some form of goal encoding by place cells. We investigated this by asking whether they also encode the value of spatial goals, which is a crucial information for optimizing goal-directed navigation. We used a continuous place navigation task in which male rats navigate to one of two (freely chosen) unmarked locations and wait, triggering the release of reward which is then located and consumed elsewhere. This allows sampling of place fields, and dissociates spatial goal from reward consumption. The two goals varied in the amount of reward provided, allowing assessment of whether the rats factored goal value into their navigational choice, and of possible neural correlates of this value. Rats successfully learned the task, indicating goal localization, and they preferred higher-value goals, indicating processing of goal value. Replicating previous findings, there was goal-related activity in the out-of-field firing of CA1 place cells, with a ramping-up of firing rate during the waiting period, but no general over-representation of goals by place fields, an observation that we extended to CA3 place cells. Importantly, place cells were not modulated by goal value. This suggests that dorsal hippocampal place cells encode space independently of its associated value, despite the effect of that value on spatial behavior. Our findings are consistent with a model of place cells in which they provide a spontaneously constructed value-free spatial representation, rather than encoding other navigationally relevant, but non-spatial, information

Improving resilience management for critical infrastructures\u2014strategies and practices across air traffic management and healthcare

Recent natural and man-made disasters highlight that a more resilient approach to preparing for and dealing with such events is needed. To address this challenge, the main objective of the research and innovation H2020 project DARWIN is the development of European resilience management guidelines for Critical Infrastructures (CI). Based on a systematic literature survey with a world-wide scope and prioritization of resilience concepts, the guidelines have been developed taking into account everyday operations, contingency plans, training, etc. This paper describes insights gained from the adaptation of these guidelines in the domains of Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Healthcare (HC). A collaborative and iterative process has been defined involving relevant experts and practitioners. To ensure transnational, cross-sector applicability and uptake, a Community of Crisis and Resilience Practitioners (DARWIN DCoP) has been involved. The preliminary results indicate that a big step has been taken in moving from the resilience theory to practice. organization in the creation, assessment or improvement of its own reference guidelines, procedures and practices

Understanding Afghan healthcare providers: a qualitative study of the culture of care in a Kabul maternity hospital.

To analyse the culture of a Kabul maternity hospital to understand the perspectives of healthcare providers on their roles, experiences, values and motivations and the impact of these determinants on the care of perinatal women and their babies

Neutral Bystander, Intrusive Micromanager, or Useful Catalyst?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73380/1/j.1541-0072.1995.tb01746.x.pd

Barriers and incentives to orphan care in a time of AIDS and economic crisis: a cross-sectional survey of caregivers in rural Zimbabwe

BACKGROUND: Africa is in an orphan-care crisis. In Zimbabwe, where one-fourth of adults are HIV-positive and one-fifth of children are orphans, AIDS and economic decline are straining society's ability to care for orphans within their extended families. Lack of stable care is putting thousands of children at heightened risk of malnourishment, emotional underdevelopment, illiteracy, poverty, sexual exploitation, and HIV infection, endangering the future health of the society they are expected to sustain. METHODS: To explore barriers and possible incentives to orphan care, a quantitative cross-sectional survey in rural eastern Zimbabwe asked 371 adults caring for children, including 212 caring for double orphans, about their well-being, needs, resources, and perceptions and experiences of orphan care. RESULTS: Survey responses indicate that: 1) foster caregivers are disproportionately female, older, poor, and without a spouse; 2) 98% of non-foster caregivers are willing to foster orphans, many from outside their kinship network; 3) poverty is the primary barrier to fostering; 4) financial, physical, and emotional stress levels are high among current and potential fosterers; 5) financial need may be greatest in single-orphan AIDS-impoverished households; and 6) struggling families lack external support. CONCLUSION: Incentives for sustainable orphan care should focus on financial assistance, starting with free schooling, and development of community mechanisms to identify and support children in need, to evaluate and strengthen families' capacity to provide orphan care, and to initiate and support placement outside the family when necessary