A Comparative Study of Emotional Stability of Visually Impaired Students Studying at Secondary Level in Inclusive Setup and Special Schools

Visual impairment as an umbrella term includes all levels of vision loss. Researches in the field of visual disability are far from satisfactory in India. Some attempts have been made to study different aspects of the lives of visually disabled children. Such attempts help revealing the facts of their life, characteristics, activities, performances, abilities and disabilities etc. The present investigation purports to find out the efficacy of emotional stability of visually disabled students studying in special schools and inclusive setup.The objective of the study is to compare the emotional stability of visual impaired students at secondary level of inclusive setup and special schools.Descriptive survey method has been adopted for the study. Population of the study consisted visually impaired children studying in special schools and inclusive setup. A sample of 100 students was drawn from various schools, through stratified random sampling technique. Emotional Maturity Scale developed by Singh, Y. and Bhargava, M. was used to collect information about students studying in inclusive setup and special schools. Mean, Standard Deviation and t-Scores were used for data analysis. Results reveal that though there was a significant difference in the emotional stability of children studying in inclusive setup and special schools, however, girls studying in different setups of school did not differ significantly in their emotional stability. The study throws light on the fact that children with visual impairment studying in inclusive setup are more emotionally stable than the children with visual impairment studying in special schools. Keywords: Emotional Stability, Visual Impairment, Special Education & Inclusive Education

Delayed early life effects in the threespine stickleback

Early life conditions can have a decisive influence on viability later in life. However, the influence of embryo density within a nest or body cavity on subsequent viability has received little attention within an ecological setting. This is surprising given that embryos often compete for limited resources, such as nutrients and oxygen, and this could influence their viability later in life through carry-over and compensatory effects. We show that the density of fertilized eggs within the nests of threespine stickleback males (Gasterosteus aculeatus) influences their viability after hatching. Embryos from larger broods hatch earlier and at a smaller size than those from smaller broods, which reduces their survival until the age of four weeks. This indicates a trade-off between the number and viability of offspring that males can raise to the hatching stage, which could explain the high incidence of partial egg cannibalism in nest-brooding fishes-as a strategy to improve the survival of remaining offspring. These results highlight the importance of considering conditions at the embryonic stage when evaluating the impact of early life conditions on viability and the adaptive value of reproductive decisions.Peer reviewe

A Bayesian tool for epilepsy diagnosis in the resource-poor world: Development and early validation

AbstractPurposeThe epilepsy treatment gap in resource-poor countries is so large that existing numbers of doctors are unlikely to be able to close it. Other health workers are likely to be needed but they will need help. The diagnosis of an attack as epileptic or not is an essential step in the management of epilepsy. It should be possible to devise a tool to give the probability of episodes being epileptic based on a Bayesian analysis of the results of history taking.MethodWe asked about the nature of episodes in patients referred to epilepsy camps in Nepal. Answers were then compared to the final clinical diagnosis of epilepsy and the likelihood ratio (LR) of the episode being epileptic obtained for each answer. The most informative LRs, tested sequentially, formed the basis for a tool which was validated in a different Nepalese population.ResultsData was obtained from 67 patients. The pre-test probability of having epilepsy was 0.76. Answers to 11 questions with the most informative LRs were then combined into a tool. This was tested on 14 different patients. Post-test probability scores in those with epilepsy ranged from 0.88 to 1 and for those with non-epilepsy from 0.07 to 0.42.ConclusionIt is possible to devise a tool based on simple clinical information using Bayesian principles. Initial validation suggests that this has the potential to enable health workers to diagnose episodes as epileptic or not. This now needs to be tested in different populations. The tool is easily converted to a mobile phone app

Inflammation and Ovulation

The ovulation is a complex physiological process which is very commonly affected in patients with PCOS. Understanding inflammatory process involved in ovulation is important with respect to its onset, diagnosis and treatment. There are multiple inflammatory factors are associated with ovulation however anovulation and contraception have not been therapeutically explored in context with inflammatory process. Therefore, this chapter is written to help readers to understand the basics of inflammation in ovulation and role of inflammatory mediators in ovulation. This chapter also describes genetic and molecular aspects linked to ovulation

Prevalence of Respiratory Manifestations in Chronic Kidney Diseases; A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study in A Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal

Introduction: Chronic kidney diseases affect patients with multiple respiratory complications by varied etiopathogenesis adversely affecting the outcome in them. The aim of the study is to find out the respiratory manifestations among patients with chronic kidney disease. Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital from January 2019 to March 2019 after ethical approval. One hundred and two patients with established chronic kidney diseases being treated in a tertiary hospital for a month were included for the study. Clinical evaluation and relevant investigations; chest x ray, pleural fluid analysis, sputum analysis, echocardiography, biochemical investigations and hematological investigations were done to assess the respiratory manifestations of the patients. Results: Pulmonary edema 41 (24.84%) was the most common manifestation followed by pleural effusion 18 (10.9%). Pleural effusions were predominantly bilateral and transudative type. Pneumonia 17 (10.3%) was predominantly lobar pneumonia. Sixteen (9.7%) of the patients were screened positive for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Pulmonary tuberculosis was present in 9 (5.45%) patients. Conclusions: Varieties of respiratory complications can present in varied spectrum in patients with chronic kidney diseases and this carries adverse outcome to patient management as well as affects the quality of life of the patient and their family.

Zika virus E protein modulates functions of human brain microvascular endothelial cells and astrocytes: implications on blood-brain barrier properties

Neurotropic viruses can cross the otherwise dynamically regulated blood-brain barrier (BBB) and affect the brain cells. Zika virus (ZIKV) is an enveloped neurotropic Flavivirus known to cause severe neurological complications, such as encephalitis and fetal microcephaly. In the present study, we employed human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs) and astrocytes derived from human progenitors to establish a physiologically relevant BBB model. We used this model to investigate the effects of ZIKV envelope (E) protein on properties of cells comprising the BBB. E protein is the principal viral protein involved in interaction with host cell surface receptors, facilitating the viral entry. Our findings show that the presence of ZIKV E protein leads to activation of both hBMECs and astrocytes. In hBMECs, we observed a decrease in the expression of crucial endothelial junction proteins such as ZO-1, Occludin and VE-Cadherin, which are vital in establishment and maintenance of the BBB. Consequently, the ZIKV E protein induced changes in BBB integrity and permeability. We also found upregulation of genes involved in leukocyte recruitment along with increased proinflammatory chemokines and cytokines upon exposure to E protein. Additionally, the E protein also led to astrogliosis, evident from the elevated expression of GFAP and Vimentin. Both cell types comprising the BBB exhibited inflammatory response upon exposure to E protein which may influence viral access into the central nervous system (CNS) and subsequent infection of other CNS cells. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the transient changes that occur at the site of BBB upon ZIKV infection

Application of Handheld Tele-ECG for Health Care Delivery in Rural India

Telemonitoring is a medical practice that involves remotely monitoring patients who are not at the same location as the health care provider. The purpose of our study was to use handheld tele-electrocardiogram (ECG) developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) to identify heart conditions in the rural underserved population where the doctor-patient ratio is low and access to health care is difficult. The objective of our study was clinical validation of handheld tele-ECG as a screening tool for evaluation of cardiac diseases in the rural population. ECG was obtained in 450 individuals (mean age 31.49 ± 20.058) residing in the periphery of Chandigarh, India, from April 2011 to March 2013, using the handheld tele-ECG machine. The data were then transmitted to physicians in Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, for their expert opinion. ECG was interpreted as normal in 70% individuals. Left ventricular hypertrophy (9.3%) was the commonest abnormality followed closely by old myocardial infarction (5.3%). Patient satisfaction was reported to be ~95%. Thus, it can be safely concluded that tele-ECG is a portable, cost-effective, and convenient tool for diagnosis and monitoring of heart diseases and thus improves quality and accessibility, especially in rural areas

Prevalence of Functional Limitation in COVID-19 Recovered Patients Using the Post COVID-19 Functional Status Scale

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 is an emerging global health pandemic causing tremendous morbidity and mortality worldwide. Chronic symptoms progressing to poor functional status have been reported in a substantial proportion of COVID-19 patients worldwide. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of functional limitation in COVID-19 recovered patients using the post-COVID-19 functional status scale. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. COVID-19 recovered patients with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction negative status were included and assessed using the post-COVID-19 functional status scale. Data entry and analysis was done in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0. Descriptive statistics were performed. RESULTS: A total of 106 patients were included for the final analysis. More than half of the patients (56.6%) reported having no functional limitation (grade 0), while the prevalence of some degree of functional limitation was observed in 46 (43.4%) patients (grade 1 to 4). CONCLUSIONS: Some form of functional limitation should be anticipated after COVID-19 infection. Post-COVID-19 functional status scale can be a valuable tool in determining the prevalence of functional limitation in COVID-19 recovered patients in acute health care settings. It can potentially guide in planning rehabilitative measures in post-acute care management of COVID-19 survivors