Prevalence and determinants of Otitis Media in children 1 to 6 years of age: An analytical cross-sectional study

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of Otitis Media; and to assess the risk factors for Otitis media in children aged one to six years of age. Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted in the Rural Field Practice Area (RFPA) of a tertiary healthcare facility in north India between September 2018 and December 2019. Children in the age group of 1 to 6 years presenting with acute suppurative otitis media, or sequelae of acute otitis media including Otitis media with effusion and chronic otitis media were considered as cases of Otitis media. Results: The overall prevalence rate of Otitis media was found to be 12.7%. Regarding the distribution of types of Otitis media, it was found that 36.8% had Otitis media with effusion, 34.2% had eustachian tube catarrh, 21.1% had Chronic suppurative otitis media – Tubotympanic disease (CSOM-TTD), and 7.9% had Acute suppurative otitis media (ASOM), in that order. We found that age less than three years (or 36 months) (OR 2.86, 95% CI 1.92 to 3.45); living in a kutcha house (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.74); malnutrition, that is weight for age <-2SD from reference median (OR 3.18, 95% CI 1.76 to 5.58); breastfeeding for less than six months (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.30 to 4.88); and persistent rhinorrhoea (OR 2.78, 95% CI 1.56 to 4.33) were significant predictors of Otitis media among children one to six years of age (p<0.05). Conclusion: Efforts should focus on improving housing conditions, promoting breastfeeding practices, addressing malnutrition, and managing respiratory symptoms effectively

Cochlear implantation surgery in prelingually deaf children – Hearing and speech outcomes

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to assess the hearing and speech outcomes of prelingually deaf children who underwent cochlear implantation surgery in a tertiary healthcare facility; disaggregated by age and gender. Methods: This was an observational prospective study conducted in the Department of Paediatrics and Otorhinolaryngology of a tertiary healthcare facility in western India between June 2019 and May 2020. We enrolled all children between 1 and 6 years of age with bilaterally prelingual deafness (with no benefit using bearing aid) who underwent cochlear implantation surgery at the tertiary healthcare facility. Results: The results showed that the Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) scale score (MD 1.52, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.80), Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS) scores (MD 7.51, 95% CI 5.59 to 9.42), Speech Intelligibility Rating Scale (SIR) scores (MD 1.68, 95% CI 1.37 to 1.99), and Meaningful Use of Speech Scale (MUSS) scores (MD 9.02, 95% CI 7.59 to 10.45) significantly (p0.05). Conclusion: The findings indicate that younger children (1-3 years) tend to achieve better outcomes compared to older children (3-6 years) highlighting the importance of early cochlear implantation for optimizing auditory performance, better speech intelligibility and meaningful auditory integration in prelingually deaf children

Technologies for High Power Density Diesel Engines

The engines used in armoured fighting vehicles have to be compact, light in weight, efficient and reliable. In order to achieve a compact engine design, a complete understanding of all the factors affecting the engine performance is needed. However, it is important to note that the performance of the engine cannot be compromised in the pursuit of compactness. The aim of this paper is to classify systematically various broad areas affecting the engine’s power to weight and power to volume ratio and discuss respective current technologies available. This paper explores the possibility of size and weight reduction and efficiency enhancement of diesel engines by the use of various methods like engine friction reduction, better thermal management, high injection pressure, and turbocharging. Achieving high engine speeds and high BMEP will be the means of achieving high power density. The effects of engine configuration and technologies on compactness are also discussed. Finally, the configuration of a new engine and its design aspects, incorporating all the aforementioned concepts is discusse

Acute Illness Observation Scale (AIOS): Effectiveness in diagnosing and managing children 2 to 60 months presenting with Acute Respiratory Illness

Background: Paediatric respiratory diseases remain an important cause of morbidity in both the developing and the developed world. The aim of the present study was to validate the effectiveness of Acute illness observation scale (AIOS) in predicting the severity of the illness and to describe the efficacy of AIOS in determining the initial therapeutic modalities and clinical outcome of the children. Methods: The present study was a hospital based descriptive observational study conducted between January 2018 and August 2019 in tertiary care hospital in Central India. The study included children between 2 months and 60 months presenting to the outpatient department (OPD) with fever, cough, and difficult breathing for less than two weeks. Results: Majority of the children were between 13 and 36 months of age (48.0%); and more half the children included were males (62.0%). Oral antibiotics were given to 18.0% children; intravenous antibiotics to 82.0% children; nasal oxygen to 66.0% children; intravenous fluids to 64.0% children; nebulisation to 24.0% children; and mechanical ventilation to 2.0% children. Lethargy, grunt, decreased breath sounds and crepitations were significantly associated with the severity of pneumonia. Among investigations, leucocytosis and chest X ray were significantly associated with increased severity of pneumonia (AIOS scores of three or five). We also found that the presence or absence of complications were not associated with severity of pneumonia (p>0.05). Conclusion: AIOS can be used as a tool to decide on therapeutic modalities and prognosticating a child with pneumonia admitted to the hospital by a physician

Genetic structure of a small closed population of the New Zealand white rabbit through pedigree analyses

[EN] The genetic structure of a small population of New Zealand White rabbits maintained at the Sheep Breeding and Research Station, Sandynallah, The Nilgiris, India, was evaluated through pedigree analyses. Data on pedigree information (n=2503) for 18 yr (1995-2012) were used for the study. Pedigree analysis and the estimates of population genetic parameters based on the gene origin probabilities were performed. The analysis revealed that the mean values of generation interval, coefficients of inbreeding and equivalent inbreeding were 1.49 yr, 13.23 and 17.59%, respectively. The proportion of population inbred was 100%. The estimated mean values of average relatedness and individual increase in inbreeding were 22.73 and 3.00%, respectively. The percentage increase in inbreeding over generations was 1.94, 3.06 and 3.98 estimated through maximum generations, equivalent generations and complete generations, respectively. The number of ancestors contributing the majority of 50% genes (fa50) to the gene pool of reference population was only 4, which might have led to reduction in genetic variability and increased the amount of inbreeding. The extent of genetic bottleneck assessed by calculating the effective number of founders (fe) and the effective number of ancestors (fa), as expressed by the fe/fa ratio was 1.1, which is indicative of the absence of stringent bottlenecks. Up to 5th generation, 71.29% pedigree was complete, reflecting the well maintained pedigree records. The maximum known generations were 15, with an average of 7.9, and the average equivalent generations traced were 5.6, indicating a fairly good depth in pedigree. The realized effective population size was 14.93, which is very critical, and with the increasing trend of inbreeding the situation has been assessed as likely to become worse in future. The proportion of animals with the genetic conservation index (GCI) greater than 9 was 39.10%, which can be used as a scale to use such animals with higher GCI to maintain balanced contribution from the founders. From the study, it was evident that the herd was completely inbred, with a very high inbreeding coefficient, and the effective population size was critical. Recommendations were made to reduce the probability of deleterious effects of inbreeding and to improve genetic variability in the herd. The present study can help in carrying out similar studies to meet the demand for animal protein in developing countries.The authors acknowledge the support provided by Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) for successful completion of the study.Sakthivel, M.; Balasubramanyam, D.; Kumarasamy, P.; Raja, A.; Anilkumar, R.; Gopi, H.; Devaki, A. (2018). Genetic structure of a small closed population of the New Zealand white rabbit through pedigree analyses. 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Investigation to improve cleaning procedure on post-mortem table from cross contamination

Post-mortem examination is a routine procedure carried out by a certified medical officer in the hospital to obtain information about the cause of death or the nature of injuries. During the post-mortem procedure, evidences are collected from the dead body and sent for laboratory analyses. After the post-mortem procedure, the post-mortem table must be washed and cleaned to ensure no contamination for the subsequent procedure. However, it is questionable on the cleanliness of the post-mortem table and the effectiveness of cleaning procedure from biological fluid contamination. The aim of this study was to investigate the effective cleaning procedure on post-mortem table from cross contamination. In this study, discarded blood samples were smeared evenly across a stainless-steel measuring 2100 × 750 × 500 mm size representing the actual post-mortem table. The blood samples on the stainless-steel sheet were cleaned at varying time elapsed such as 3 hours,12 hours, 24 hours, three days and 1week duration. Four different cleaning procedures were carried out, including water wash alone, usage of powder detergent, usage of liquid dishwasher, as well as a combination of powder detergent and household bleach. After each cleaning, the surfaces were sampled and tested with Teichmann reagent. From this study, it was found that cleaning by water wash alone was not effective, showing highest level of blood contamination as compared to other methods. Using powder detergent in combination with household bleach was the most effective and the experiment showed no cross contamination in all the tested samples. This can be concluded using powder detergent with combined of bleach can improve the cleaning methods of the post-mortem table from cross contaminations. A clean and free contamination forensic procedure is important to establish analytical result which can upheld the integrity of forensic analyse

Thrombocytosis as a predictor of severity of LRTI in children aged 2 months to 5 years

Background: Platelets play a major role in antimicrobial host defences, the induction of inflammation and tissue repair. The present study aimed at determining the prevalence of thrombocytosis and its significance in predicting the severity of clinical manifestations in children with LRTI aged between 2 months to 5 years. Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study with purposive sampling technique conducted in the Department of Paediatrics and Department of Emergency Medicine in a tertiary care hospital from Western India between 2018 and 2019. The study included children aged two months to 60 months admitted with lower respiratory tract infection. The sample size was estimated to be 358 with 95% confidence. Results: Majority (62.0%) were between 2 months and 12 months. Nearly two thirds (62.6%) were males. We found that 16.2% children aged two months to 60 months had pneumonia; 55.3% had severe pneumonia; and 28.5% had very severe pneumonia. While 72.6% children between two months and 60 months had no malnutrition, we noted that 15.6% children had Grade 1, 8.4% had Grade II, 2.8% had Grade III, and 0.5% had Grade IV malnutrition. Chest indrawing, grunting, severity of pneumonia, total leucocyte count, and duration of stay were significantly (p<0.05) associated with thrombocytosis. Conclusion: The findings suggest that thrombocytosis may be a useful marker of disease severity in this population and highlight the importance of monitoring platelet count in the management of LRTI in children

Simulation of a Diesel Engine with Variable Geometry Turbocharger and Parametric Study of Variable Vane Position on Engine Performance

Modelling of a turbocharger is of interest to the engine designer as the work developed by the turbine can be used to drive a compressor coupled to it. This positively influences charge air density and engine power to weight ratio. Variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) additionally has a controllable nozzle ring which is normally electro-pneumatically actuated. This additional degree of freedom offers efficient matching of the effective turbine area for a wide range of engine mass flow rates. Closing of the nozzle ring (vanes tangential to rotor) result in more turbine work and deliver higher boost pressure but it also increases the back pressure on the engine induced by reduced turbine effective area. This adversely affects the net engine torque as the pumping work required increases. Hence, the optimum vane position for a given engine operating point is to be found through simulations or experimentation. A thermodynamic simulation model of a 2.2l 4 cylinder diesel engine was developed for investigation of different control strategies. Model features map based performance prediction of the VGT. Performance of the engine was simulated for steady state operation and validated with experimentation. The results of the parametric study of VGT’s vane position on the engine performance are discussed

Sperm mitochondrial mutations as a cause of low sperm motility

We report the unique case of a 28-year-old man who, in spite of having a varicocele and a sperm concentration of 5 million/mL, of which 10% were motile and 20% had normal forms (oligoasthenoteratozoospermia [OAT]), was fertile. This was confirmed by paternity testing using 16 autosomal and 6 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci. An analysis of mitochondrial genes that included cytochrome oxidase I (COI), cytochrome oxidase II (COII), adenosine triphosphate synthase6 (ATPase6), ATPase8, transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) serine I, tRNA lysine, and NADH dehydrogenase3 (ND3) revealed, for the first time, 9 missense and 27 silent mutations in the sperm's mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) but not in the DNA from the blood cells. There was a 2-nucleotide deletion in the mitochondrial COII genes, introducing a stop codon, which might be responsible for low sperm motility