Correlation of Self-Reported and Performance-Based Measures In Patients With Non-Traumatic Stiff Shoulder Pathologies: An Observational Study

Background: Self-reported measures represent patients' perspectives toward their disease, but their performance levels may vary. Performance-based measures mimic the patient's functional activity movement, which helps evaluate specific task components, including how the therapist approached the task. Both measures report the patient's functional level from the patient's or therapist's perspective. The study was done to determine the correlation between self-reported and performance-based measures outcomes in non-traumatic stiff shoulder pathologies. Method: Self-reported outcome measure scores were recorded using the Shoulder Pain And Disability Index (SPADI), Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH), and Patient Specific Functional Scale (PSFS). Performance-based measures scores of the shoulder were given using function-related tests of the shoulder: 1) Hand to the neck, 2) Hand to scapula 3) Hand to the opposite scapula. Result: Inferential statistics were done using the Pearson correlation test, and the significance level was set at p<0.05. Pearson correlation test showed: 1) Weak statistically significant correlation between SPADI versus function-related test 1(r= 0.32), DASH versus Function-related test 1(r= 0.31), and function-related test 2(r= 0.31) and PSFS versus function-related test 1(r= 0.36). 2) Other correlations were Very Weak and non-significant. Conclusion: As the correlation between all three self-reported measures and each of the three function-related tests has become weak, there is a need to include both self-reported and performance-based measures in assessing patients with non-traumatic stiff shoulder pathologies

URINE EXCRETION STUDY OF TAMOXIFEN METABOLITE, 3-HYDROXY-4-METHOHY TAMOXIFEN BY GC-MS

Background; Tamoxifen, is a first-generation selective estrogen receptor modulator which  is widely used for adjuvant breast cancer therapy. Tamoxifen metabolite completely bind to estrogen receptor on tumors as well as other tissues and target a nuclear complex that decreases DNA synthesis and inhibits estrogen effects. But these Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs)  are classified as Prohibited substances according to the list of forbidden substances in sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) In sports male athletes use tamoxifen in fighting against increase of estrogen level in the body, breast swelling , gynecomastia and fat forming a pear-silhouette very successfully. Aim; In the present study  Tamoxifen was investigated carefully by administering to a Healthy volunteer . Material And Method; Urine samples are collected at different hours  from 1st day to 5th day and analyzed by GC-MS. Result; It was  found that Tamoxifen is rapidly metabolized in to their metabolite 3-hydrohy-4-methoxy Tamoxifen. Urinary extracts were analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass spectrometric Detector by using Selective ion modulator(SIM) and targeted GC-MS techniques with accurate mass. By the GC-MS study it is observed that 3-hydroxy-4-methoxy Tamoxifen metabolite gives two neutral loss m/z value at 58 &amp; 72,  but m/z value 58 shows more abundance than 72m/z value, hence it was selected as the marker m/z  value to check the presence of metabolite in urine. Conclusion; After oral administration, Tamoxifen metabolite can be detected in to their maximum period up to 5 days.Â

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interventions to Improve the Follow-up Rate for Children With Visual Disabilities in an Eye Hospital in Nepal: Nonrandomized Study

Background: Monitoring ocular morbidity among pediatric patients requires regular follow-up visits. We found that the follow-up rate was poor among children in our setting. Therefore, we intended to assess the effectiveness of 2 interventions—(1) counseling and (2) SMS text messaging and phone calls—to improve the follow-up rates. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of 2 interventions, counseling and SMS and phone calls group, as well as a routine standard care for improving the follow-up rate of pediatric patients. Methods: A Nonrandomized, quasiexperimental design was used. Children (aged 0-16 years) with ocular conditions requiring at least 3 follow-up visits during the study period were included. A total of 264 participants were equally allocated to the 3 intervention groups of (1) counseling, (2) SMS and phone calls, and (3) routine standard care group. A 20-minute counseling session by a trained counselor with the provision of disease-specific leaflets were given to those in the counseling group. For the second intervention group, parents of children received an SMS text 3 days before and a phone call 1 day before their scheduled follow-up visits. Participants allocated for the routine standard care group were provided with the existing services with no additional counseling and reminders. Participants attending 3 follow-ups within 2 days of the scheduled visit date were considered compliant. The difference in and among the proportion of participants completing all 3 follow-up visits in each group was assessed. Results: The demographic characteristics of the participants were similar across the study groups. Only 3% (8/264) of participants completed all 3 follow-up visits, but overall compliance with the follow-up, as defined by the investigators, was found to be only 0.76% (2/264). There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of follow-up between the intervention groups. However, the proportion of participants attending the first and second follow-ups, as well as the overall total number of follow-ups, was more in the SMS and phone-call group followed by the counseling group. Conclusions: We did not find any evidence on the effectiveness of our interventions to improve the follow-up rate. The primary reason could be that this study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. It could also be possible that the intensity of the interventions may have influenced the outcomes. A rigorously designed study during the absence of any lockdown restrictions is warranted to evaluate intervention effectiveness. The study also provides useful insights and highlights the importance of designing and systematically developing interventions for improving the follow-up rate and ensuring a continuum of care to children with visual disabilities in Nepal and similar contexts. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04837534; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04837534 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/3157

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

Preserving the value of large scale data analytics over time through selective re-computation

A pervasive problem in Data Science is that the knowledge generated by possibly expensive analytics processes is subject to decay over time as the data and algorithms used to compute it change, and the external knowledge embodied by reference datasets evolves. Deciding when such knowledge outcomes should be refreshed, following a sequence of data change events, requires problem-specific functions to quantify their value and its decay over time, as well as models for estimating the cost of their re-computation. Challenging is the ambition to develop a decision support system for informing re-computation decisions over time that is both generic and customisable.With the help of a case study from genomics, in this paper we offer an initial formalisation of this problem, highlight research challenges, and outline a possible approach based on the analysis of metadata from a history of past computations.</p

Preserving the value of large scale data analytics over time through selective re-computation

A pervasive problem in Data Science is that the knowledge generated by possibly expensive analytics processes is subject to decay over time as the data and algorithms used to compute it change, and the external knowledge embodied by reference datasets evolves. Deciding when such knowledge outcomes should be refreshed, following a sequence of data change events, requires problem-specific functions to quantify their value and its decay over time, as well as models for estimating the cost of their re-computation. Challenging is the ambition to develop a decision support system for informing re-computation decisions over time that is both generic and customisable.With the help of a case study from genomics, in this paper we offer an initial formalisation of this problem, highlight research challenges, and outline a possible approach based on the analysis of metadata from a history of past computations.</p

Preserving the value of large scale data analytics over time through selective re-computation

A pervasive problem in Data Science is that the knowledge generated by possibly expensive analytics processes is subject to decay over time as the data and algorithms used to compute it change, and the external knowledge embodied by reference datasets evolves. Deciding when such knowledge outcomes should be refreshed, following a sequence of data change events, requires problem-specific functions to quantify their value and its decay over time, as well as models for estimating the cost of their re-computation. Challenging is the ambition to develop a decision support system for informing re-computation decisions over time that is both generic and customisable.With the help of a case study from genomics, in this paper we offer an initial formalisation of this problem, highlight research challenges, and outline a possible approach based on the analysis of metadata from a history of past computations.</p

Comparison of Corneal Endothelial Cell Loss during Manual Small-incision Cataract Surgery using Visco-expression versus Irrigating Wire Vectis-assisted Nucleus Removal: A Prospective Randomised Study

Introduction: Age-related cataract is the leading cause of curable blindness in India, and Manual Small-Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) is a machine-independent and cost-effective alternative to phacoemulsification for handling this significant burden. In every cataract surgery, some endothelial cell loss is inevitable. Therefore, the present study was conducted to compare endothelial cell loss in the two most commonly practiced methods of nucleus delivery in MSICS. Aim: To compare and analyse endothelial cell loss during MSICS using viscoelastic/viscoexpression-assisted nucleus removal versus irrigating wire vectis-assisted nucleus removal. Materials and Methods: A prospective randomised interventional study was conducted at the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) Rohtak, Haryana, India. The study duration was three years, from May 2018 to May 2021. A total of 250 patients with uncomplicated senile cataract over 40 years of age, with nuclear sclerosis of grade 2 or higher and “with the rule” astigmatism, were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into Group A and Group B (125 each), who underwent MSICS using visco-expression (Group A) versus irrigating wire vectis-assisted (Group B) nucleus removal. Visual Acuity (VA), keratometry, astigmatism, pachymetry, and Endothelial Cell Density (ECD) were recorded in every patient preoperatively and postoperatively on day 1 and day 40. The Shapiro-wilk test was used to assess the normality of the data, and student’s t-test was performed to identify significant differences in continuous factors between the two groups. Chi-square test was used to find the association between factors and techniques, with a p-value <0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the patients was 68.5±9.4 years (range 52-89 years) with a significant male preponderance. The mean LogMAR visual acuity on Postoperative Day (POD)-1 was 0.3±0.1 for Group A, while for Group B, it was 0.5±0.2, showing a statistically significant difference (p=0.004). However, on day 40, visual acuity was comparable in both groups, with Group A (0.1±0.2) and Group B (0.1±0.1), and no significant difference (p=0.09). On POD-1, the percentage change in Endothelial Cell Density (ECD) was 4.2% in Group A and 10.6% in Group B, with a statistically significant difference (p=0.0017). On day 40, it was 2.1% and 4.8% in Group A and Group B, respectively, also showing a statistically significant difference (p=0.003). On postoperative day 40, the mean Surgically Induced Astigmatism (SIA) in Group A and Group B was 0.67±0.24 and 0.74±0.41, respectively, but this difference was statistically insignificant (p=0.074). Intra and postoperative complications such as hyphema, iridodialysis, and corneal oedema were more common in Group B than Group A. Conclusion: The study concludes that there was a statistically significant endothelial cell loss in the irrigating wire vectisassisted nucleus delivery method compared to the viscoexpression of the nucleus during MSICS. The present method also showed delayed visual rehabilitation and a higher risk of intra and postoperative complications. Therefore, viscoexpression of the nucleus should be the preferred method of nucleus delivery in every MSICS where feasible