Effect of age, sex and physiological stages on hematological indices of Banni buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Aim: To determine the physiological baseline values for hematological indices of Banni buffalo Bubalus bubalis) as well as to assess their alteration due to age, sex and physiological stages. Materials and Methods: A total of 42 clinically healthy Banni buffaloes were categorized into seven groups (n=6): Group I (male calves ≤1 year), Group II (bulls >1 year), Group III (female calves ≤1 year), Group IV (pregnant lactating buffaloes), Group V (non-pregnant lactating buffaloes), Group VI (pregnant dry buffaloes), and Group VII (non-pregnant dry buffaloes). Blood samples collected aseptically from all the experimental groups were analyzed employing automated hematology analyzer. The data obtained were statistically analyzed; the mean and standard deviations were calculated and set as the reference values. Results: The erythrocytic indices viz. total erythrocytes count (TEC), hemoglobin, and packed cell volume (PCV) were significantly higher in bulls as compared to that of male calves unlike mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and MCH concentration. The female calves had higher TEC and PCV than the adult buffaloes irrespective of sex. The total leukocyte count (TLC) and neutrophil counts in male calves were significantly lower than the bulls unlike the eosinophil, while monocyte and basophil remained unchanged with age. The TLC, differential leukocyte count and platelet count varied non-significantly among the adult female groups at different physiological stages. However, neutrophils were found to be apparently higher in lactating buffaloes. Conclusion: The present study would be helpful for physiological characterization of this unique buffalo breed of Gujarat. Further, data generated may be a tool for monitoring the health and prognosis as well as diagnosis of diseases

Can Physician Champions Improve Kangaroo Care? Trends over 5 Years in Rural Western India

Introduction: In 2013, approximately 2.8 million children worldwide died within the neonatal period. India is at the epicenter of this tragedy, accounting for one-third of all neonatal mortalities. Prematurity and/or with low birth weight are the leading cause of neonatal mortality and India has the highest number of neonates born preterm and weighing less than 2,500 grams worldwide. It is estimated that Kangaroo Care can avert up to 48% of all neonatal deaths among premature babies by 2025. However, the promise of Kangaroo Care as a low-cost, safe, and efficacious intervention to reduce neonatal mortality in India has not been realized due to suboptimal implementation. Physician champions can improve Kangaroo Care implementation, but the magnitude of their impact is unknown. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 648 infants identified using clinical data from a NICU located in rural western India. Physicians who led Kangaroo Care training sessions with neonates and coached peer healthcare professionals were considered champions. Two Kangaroo Care champions were on staff full-time from January 2010 through June 2011, part-time from July 2011 through June 2012, and absent thereafter. We examined the effect of the withdrawal of physician champions on overall use using logistic regression, time to initiation using competing risk cox regression, and intensity using linear regression models of the two main components of Kangaroo Care, skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding, separately. Findings: In comparison to when Kangaroo Care champions were present, their absence was associated with a 45% decrease in the odds of receiving skin-to-skin care (95% CI): 64% to 17%), 38% decrease in the rate of initiation of skin-to-skin care (95% CI: 53% to 82%), and on average, 1.47 less hours of skin-to-skin care (95% CI: -2.07 to -0.86). Breastfeeding practices were similar across different champion environments. Interpretation: Withdrawal of Kangaroo Care champions from neonatal intensive care unit in rural western India is associated with diminished administration, delayed initiation, and shorter duration of skin-to-skin care, but did not impact breastfeeding practices. Training healthcare workers and community stakeholders to become champions could help in scaling up and maintaining Kangaroo Care practices. Funding: This research was supported by TL1-TR001454 (to A.S.) from National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and P60-MD006912-05 (to J.A.) from National Institute on Minority Health and Disparities. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH

Heavy Flavour Baryons in Hyper Central Model

Heavy flavor baryons containing single and double charm (beauty) quarks with light flavor combinations are studied using the hyper central description of the three-body problem. The confinement potential is assumed as hyper central coulomb plus power potential with power index $\upsilon$. The ground state masses of the heavy flavor, $J^P={1/2}^+$ and ${3/2}^+$ baryons are computed for different power index, $\nu$ starting from 0.5 to 2.0. The predicted masses are found to attain a saturated value in each case of quark combinations beyond the power index $\nu=1.0$.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

MANET Hidden and Exposed Terminal - Challenges and Survey

Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET)is a self organized wireless Network which was created to communicate among  the nodes without support of the any Infrastructure. While transmission of the packets between the nodes, many challenges the every nodes faces. One of the Major challenges is Hidden and Exposed nodes issues in the MANET. This causes the packet drop or packet failure while the transmitting the packets. Also which  reflects in degrades the throughput of the MANET and performance of the MANET nodes when the heavy traffic ,retransmission of the dropped packets delayed the communication. This article discussed about hidden and Exposed terminal problem and challenges in MANET and also dissimilar survey in MANET

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and CT perfusion changes

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) can present with focal neurologic deficits, mimicking a stroke and can often represent a diagnostic challenge when presenting atypically. A high degree of suspicion is required in the clinical setting in order to yield the diagnosis. Cerebral CT perfusion (CTP) is utilized in many institutions as the first line in acute stroke imaging. CTP has proved to be a very sensitive measure of cerebral blood flow dynamics, most commonly employed to delineate the infarcted tissue from penumbra (at-risk tissue) in ischemic strokes. But abnormal CTP is also seen in stroke mimics such as seizures, hypoglycemia, tumors, migraines and PRES. In this article we describe a case of PRES in an elderly bone marrow transplant recipient who presented with focal neurological deficits concerning for a cerebrovascular accident. CTP played a pivotal role in the diagnosis and initiation of appropriate management. We also briefly discuss the pathophysiology of PRES

Measuring the health of the Indian elderly: evidence from National Sample Survey data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Comparable health measures across different sets of populations are essential for describing the distribution of health outcomes and assessing the impact of interventions on these outcomes. Self-reported health (SRH) is a commonly used indicator of health in household surveys and has been shown to be predictive of future mortality. However, the susceptibility of SRH to influence by individuals' expectations complicates its interpretation and undermines its usefulness.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This paper applies the empirical methodology of Lindeboom and van Doorslaer (2004) to investigate elderly health in India using data from the 52^ndround of the National Sample Survey conducted in 1995-96 that includes both an SRH variable as well as a range of objective indicators of disability and ill health. The empirical testing was conducted on stratified homogeneous groups, based on four factors: gender, education, rural-urban residence, and region.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We find that region generally has a significant impact on how women perceive their health. Reporting heterogeneity can arise not only from cut-point shifts, but also from differences in health effects by objective health measures. In contrast, we find little evidence of reporting heterogeneity due to differences in gender or educational status within regions. Rural-urban residence does matter in some cases. The findings are robust with different specifications of objective health indicators.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our exercise supports the thesis that the region of residence is associated with different cut-points and reporting behavior on health surveys. We believe this is the first paper that applies the Lindeboom-van Doorslaer methodology to data on the elderly in a developing country, showing the feasibility of applying this methodology to data from many existing cross-sectional health surveys.</p

Predictors of NOAC versus VKA use for stroke prevention in patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation: Results from GARFIELD-AF.

INTRODUCTION: A principal aim of the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) was to document changes in treatment practice for patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation during an era when non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) were becoming more widely adopted. In these analyses, the key factors which determined the choice between NOACs and vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) are explored. METHODS: Logistic least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression determined predictors of NOAC and VKA use. Data were collected from 24,137 patients who were initiated on AC ± antiplatelet (AP) therapy (NOAC [51.4%] or VKA [48.6%]) between April 2013 and August 2016. RESULTS: The most significant predictors of AC therapy were country, enrolment year, care setting at diagnosis, AF type, concomitant AP, and kidney disease. Patients enrolled in emergency care or in the outpatient setting were more likely to receive a NOAC than those enrolled in hospital (OR 1.16 [95% CI: 1.04-1.30], OR: 1.15 [95% CI: 1.05-1.25], respectively). NOAC prescribing seemed to be favored in lower-risk groups, namely, patients with paroxysmal AF, normotensive patients, and those with moderate alcohol consumption, but also the elderly and patients with acute coronary syndrome. By contrast, VKAs were preferentially used in patients with permanent AF, moderate to severe kidney disease, heart failure, vascular disease, and diabetes and with concomitant AP. CONCLUSION: GARFIELD-AF data highlight marked heterogeneity in stroke prevention strategies globally. Physicians are adopting an individualized approach to stroke prevention where NOACs are favored in patients with a lower stroke risk but also in the elderly and patients with acute coronary syndrome

A qualitative analysis of the enforcement of the regulation of nutrition and health claims made for foods and its implications for health

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. In common with local government organisations across the world, local authorities in the UK have responsibility for promoting health. A key part of this function is the frontline enforcement activities of officers responsible for compliance with health and nutrition claims. This study identifies attitudes, values and practices of enforcers: namely trading standards and environmental health officers, when faced with the problem of non-compliance with the Regulation. Semi-structured interviews with frontline enforcers from local authority regulatory services to investigate challenges with the enforcement of Regulation (EC) 1924/2006. Twenty participants were interviewed; sixteen were based in North West England and two in the North and two in the South of England. The participants were selected for their specialist knowledge and experience of enforcement of nutrition and health claims. Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims presents particular challenges for enforcers seeking to apply an optimal strategy to flawed regulatory design. As with other regulations, when faced with non-compliance, enforcers, specifically trading standards and environmental health officers have a wide discretion to determine their response: ranging from the deterrent or accommodative styles of enforcement. The participants reported using advice rather than action and by doing so confronting their bifurcating identity of prosecutor and advisor. Enforcers used advice as a regulatory tool in enforcing the law relating to nutrition and health claims

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy