Hearing loss and its link to cognitive impairment and dementia.

Hearing loss is an important risk factor for the development of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD). Mid-life hearing loss increases the risk of developing dementia by double any other single factor. However, given this strong connection between hearing loss and AD, the mechanisms responsible for this link are still unknown.

Evaluation of Immunohistochemistry Technique for Diagnosis of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis in Biopsy Tissue Specimen as Compared to Composite Diagnostic Criteria.

Introduction: Diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) has been challenging owing to its paucibacillary nature and diverse clinical manifestations. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) on biopsy specimens has presented a new perspective toward improving tuberculosis diagnosis. MPT64 is a unique antigen that has shown high sensitivity and specificity compared to other conventional techniques in its ability to diagnose tuberculosis as well as differentiate it from nontubercular mycobacteria.

Classification of breast cancer using a manta-ray foraging optimized transfer learning framework.

Due to its high prevalence and wide dissemination, breast cancer is a particularly dangerous disease. Breast cancer survival chances can be improved by early detection and diagnosis. For medical image analyzers, diagnosing is tough, time-consuming, routine, and repetitive.

Epileptiform activity predicts epileptogenesis in cerebral hemorrhage.

This retrospective case-controlled study was performed to evaluate whether Epileptiform Activity, suspected clinical seizures, and/or 2HELPS2B/S after nontraumatic Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage or Subarachnoid Hemorrhage can predict Epilepsy. Hundred and thirty-two patients were included-29 (Epilepsy), 103 (Control Group). After matching, the average effect for all three risk factors was significant as follows: (1) Epileptiform Activity (p = 0.

Deterioration of Electrical Load Forecasting Models in a Smart Grid Environment.

Smart Grid (S.G.) is a digitally enabled power grid with an automatic capability to control electricity and information between utility and consumer.

Era of TB elimination: Growing need to understand diversities of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages!

Introduction: The mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) has highly clonal population structure which made the organism spread globally mirroring human migration out of Africa and resulted in the formation of seven lineages. We conducted this study to determine the proportion of spoligotype lineages and drug susceptibility profile of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates among smear positive TB patients attending a tertiary care hospital in Mysore, Karnataka, India.

Methods: It is a descriptive study conducted at JSS Hospital a tertiary care centre at Mysore, India during 2018-19.

Hypothyroidism Is Associated With Longer Hospital Stay Following Implantation Of Left Ventricular Assist Device.

Background: There has been a steady and consistent rise in the use of left ventricular assist devices in the management of patients with advanced heart failure. Hypothyroidism also remains one of the most common endocrine conditions with a significant impact on the development and overall outcomes of heart failure. The authors analyzed the National Inpatient Sample to evaluate the effect of hypothyroidism on the in-hospital outcomes of patients with end-stage heart failure following the placement of left ventricular assist device.

Prevalence of Bacteria and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Hospital Water and Surfaces.

Purpose Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a worldwide environmental and public health problem, causing more than 250,000 deaths per year. Unregulated usage, unsafe hospital practices, and misuse in veterinary contribute to the development of multidrug resistance in various bacteria. Hospital water was hypothesized to be a hotspot for AMR transmission because of (1) increased exposure to antibiotic load, (2) poor drainage and sanitation system, (3) interaction between environmental and clinical microbes.

Friction Stir Processing Influence on Microstructure, Mechanical, and Corrosion Behavior of Steels: A Review.

Friction stir processing (FSP) technology has received reasonable attention in the past two decades to process a wide range of materials such as aluminum, magnesium, titanium, steel, and superalloys. Due to its thermomechanical processing nature, FSP is used to alter grain structure and enhance mechanical and corrosion behavior in a wide range of steels. The refinement in grains and phase transformations achieved in steel after FSP affects hardness, tensile properties, fracture toughness, fatigue crack propagation rate, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance.

An optimized transfer learning-based approach for automatic diagnosis of COVID-19 from chest x-ray images.

Accurate and fast detection of COVID-19 patients is crucial to control this pandemic. Due to the scarcity of COVID-19 testing kits, especially in developing countries, there is a crucial need to rely on alternative diagnosis methods. Deep learning architectures built on image modalities can speed up the COVID-19 pneumonia classification from other types of pneumonia.

A cost effective SiO-CaO-NaO bio-glass derived from bio-waste resources for biomedical applications.

The present paper describes the in vitro bioactivity, cytocompatibility and degradation performance of SiO-CaO-NaO bio-glass synthesized using bio-waste. Egg shells and rice husk ash (RHA) bio-wastes were used as sources of calcium oxide (CaO) and silica (SiO), respectively. Glass samples were obtained by melt-quenching technique.

Investigation of lanthanum-sensitized CaZrO blue nanophosphors for white light-emitting diode applications.

In the present study, CaZrO nanophosphors were sensitized with lanthanum (La) at different concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 1.

Upfront Xpert MTB/RIF for diagnosis of pediatric TB-Does it work? Experience from India.

Background: Diagnosis of TB in pediatric population poses several challenges. A novel initiative was implemented in several major cities of India aimed at providing upfront access to free-of-cost Xpert MTB/RIF to presumptive pediatric TB cases. This paper aims to describe the experience of implementing this large initiative and assess feasibility of the intervention in high TB burden settings.

Zirconia-containing wollastonite ceramics derived from biowaste resources for bone tissue engineering.

Zirconia-containing wollastonite (CaSiO) ceramics with partial substitution of zirconia (1, 3 and 5 mol%) were prepared using eggshells and rice husk ash as source materials for calcium oxide and silica, respectively, through a sol-gel technique. The effect of incorporation of zirconia on in vitro bioactivity, mechanical properties, degradability and cytocompatibility of wollastonite was studied. Bioactivity was evaluated by in vitro assay using simulated body fluid while degradability was tested in Tris-HCl buffer solution for different time periods (1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 d) according to the ISO 10 993-14 standard.

Femoroacetabular impingement treatment using the arthroscopic extracapsular outside-in approach: Does capsular suture affect functional outcome?

Background: Over the last decades, the arthroscopic treatment of hip pathology has highly grown thanks to the evolution of surgical techniques and instrumentation development. An alternative approach consisting in making a first outside-in longitudinal capsulotomy was described by Laude at the end of the 2000s and is experiencing significant development in France. The clinical results of this technique have rarely been reported and in particular the influence of the repair of the capsule is unknown.

Effects of adrenaline on contractility and endurance of isolated mammalian soleus with different calcium concentrations.

The β-adrenergic receptor stimulation improves endurance in fast twitch muscles and these effects are sensitive to extracellular Ca influx. Present study is aimed to determine the effects of adrenaline, with different concentrations of extracellular Ca[Formula: see text], on the contractility and endurance of slow twitch muscles during high frequency stimulations (HFS). Isolated soleus of rabbit was electrically stimulated (strength; 50 Hz, duration; 0.

Perception of Preparedness of Health Care Professionals in Case of a Nuclear, Chemical, Biological Attack/Emergency in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Background With the growth of global terrorism and rapid advancements in the field of science, the threat of a nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) attack remains imminent. This study assesses perceptions of preparedness of health care professionals in case of an NBC attack/incident in a tertiary care hospital. Patients and methods We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study of 200 health care workers (including nurses and doctors) in a tertiary care hospital, from October 2018 through December 2018.

Lung cancer in Pakistan, where do we stand?

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in males and second most common in females after breast cancer. We have compared our data with the international statistics to see where do we stand. In Pakistan, we do not have a valid central cancer registry at present which can provide a true picture of lung cancer.

Understanding Constipation: A Cross-sectional Study from a Developing Country Setting.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Gastroenterology Clinics of The Aga Khan Hospital and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in Karachi. All patients complaining of constipation were included. Patients with alarm features were excluded.

Structural and luminescent studies of erbium-doped CaZrO green-emitting nanophosphors.

Erbium (Er) (0.5, 1.0 and 1.

Robust kernelized local information fuzzy C-means clustering for brain magnetic resonance image segmentation.

Brain tissue segmentation from magnetic resonance (MR) images is an importance task for clinical use. The segmentation process becomes more challenging in the presence of noise, grayscale inhomogeneity, and other image artifacts. In this paper, we propose a robust kernelized local information fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm (RKLIFCM).

Composite split cord malformation associated with a dermal sinus tract, dermoid cyst, and epidural abscess: A case report and review of literature.

Background: Split cord malformation (SCM) is typically present at a single level but rarely, may be present at multiple levels in the spinal cord and can be associated with a wide array of lesions such as myelomeningoceles, lipomas, teratomas, and dermal sinus tracts (DSTs).

Case Description: We describe a case of a 15-month-old female child who presented with high-grade fever and progressive motor weakness in the lower limbs. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed the presence of SCM along with an epidural abscess, DST, and dermoid cyst.

Aneurysm in the anterior inferior cerebellar artery-posterior inferior cerebellar artery variant: Case report and review of literature.

Introduction: There are variations in the anatomy of the vertebrobasilar system amongst which the Anterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery-Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery (AICA-PICA) variant is thought to have a prevalence of 20-24% (based on retrospective studies). Despite this, aneurysms of the AICA-PICA variant are rare. We present a case of an AICA-PICA aneurysm and discuss its presentation and management, along with a review of literature.