An observational study of adults seeking emergency care in Cambodia.

Objective: To describe the characteristics and chief complaints of adults seeking emergency care at two Cambodian provincial referral hospitals.

Methods: Adults aged 18 years or older who presented without an appointment at two public referral hospitals were enrolled in an observational study. Clinical and demographic data were collected and factors associated with hospital admission were identified.

Dependence Assessment in Human Reliability Analysis Using Evidence Theory and AHP.

Dependence assessment among human errors in human reliability analysis (HRA) is an important issue. Many of the dependence assessment methods in HRA rely heavily on the expert's opinion, thus are subjective and may sometimes cause inconsistency. In this article, we propose a computational model based on the Dempster-Shafer evidence theory (DSET) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method to handle dependence in HRA.

Streptococcus oralis cerebral abscess following monkey bite in a 2-month-old infant.

Although cerebral abscesses caused by animal bites have been reported, they are extremely rare in infants and have not been described following monkey bite. A 55-day-old male infant presented with a multi-loculated Streptococcus oralis cerebral abscess following a monkey bite on the scalp. There was a clinical response to antibiotic therapy and repeated surgical aspiration followed by a ventriculoperitoneal shunt.

Exoplanet detection. Response to Comment on "Stellar activity masquerading as planets in the habitable zone of the M dwarf Gliese 581".

Anglada-Escudé and Tuomi question the statistical rigor of our analysis while ignoring the stellar activity aspects that we present. Although we agree that improvements in multiparametric radial velocity (RV) modeling are necessary for the detection of Earth-mass planets, the key physical points we raised were not challenged. We maintain that activity on Gliese 581 induces RV shifts that were interpreted as exoplanets.

Evolution of aromatic β-glucoside utilization by successive mutational steps in Escherichia coli.

The bglA gene of Escherichia coli encodes phospho-β-glucosidase A capable of hydrolyzing the plant-derived aromatic β-glucoside arbutin. We report that the sequential accumulation of mutations in bglA can confer the ability to hydrolyze the related aromatic β-glucosides esculin and salicin in two steps. In the first step, esculin hydrolysis is achieved through the acquisition of a four-nucleotide insertion within the promoter of the bglA gene, resulting in enhanced steady-state levels of the bglA transcript.

No evidence for mutations in NLRP7, NLRP2 or KHDC3L in women with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss or infertility.

Study Question: Are mutations in NLRP2/7 (NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 2/7) or KHDC3L (KH Domain Containing 3 Like) associated with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) or infertility?

Summary Answer: We found no evidence for mutations in NLRP2/7 or KHDC3L in unexplained RPL or infertility.

What Is Known Already: Mutations in NLRP7 and KHDC3L are known to cause biparental hydatidiform moles (BiHMs), a rare form of pregnancy loss. NLRP2, while not associated with the BiHM pathology, is known to cause recurrent Beckwith Weidemann Syndrome (BWS).

Estimation of magnesium in patients with functional hypoparathyroidism.

Context: It is evident that about 30-50% of patients with Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) do not manifest develop secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). A number of theories have been proposed to explain this lack of SHPT, including hypomagnesemia.

Settings And Design: Retrospective review of laboratory database.

Does fasting or postprandial state affect thyroid function testing?

Background: Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels vary with the time of the day and probably in relation to food. In this study, we addressed the question of whether a fasting or non-fasting sample would make a clinically significant difference in the interpretation of thyroid function tests.

Materials And Methods: Fifty seven adult ambulatory patients were selected from our laboratory database and were divided into Group A [Normal free thyroxine (T4) and TSH], Group B (subclinical hypothyroid with increased TSH and normal free T4) and Group C (overt hypothyroid with low free T4 and high TSH).

Internal jugular vein thrombosis complicating disseminated tuberculosis in a 2-year-old child.

Internal jugular vein (IJV) thrombosis is a serious and potentially life-threatening occurrence in children, and is usually associated with malignancies, prolonged central venous catheterisation or deep seated head and neck infections or trauma. It has not been described in association with tuberculosis in children. The authors describe a 2-year-old child who presented with IJV thrombosis in association with clinical signs and symptoms of disseminated tuberculosis.

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy in association with generalized inflammatory peeling skin syndrome.

We describe an 8-year-old girl born to second-degree consanguineous parents with complaints of recurrent episodes of hematuria for 6 months. She had generalized peeling of the skin since birth and recurrent purulent cutaneous infections. The clinical presentation and histopathology of the skin biopsy specimen were consistent with the inflammatory variant of peeling skin syndrome (PSS).

Normative data for stretched penile length in term neonates born in Tamil Nadu.

Aim: To establish normative data for stretched penile length (SPL) in term male neonates born in Tamil Nadu.

Materials And Methods: All live term male neonates delivered in a hospital during a given period were included. SPL was measured from the pubic ramus to the tip of the glans.

LDL-cholesterol: Friedewald calculated versus direct measurement-study from a large Indian laboratory database.

Background: Validity of Friedewald formula (FF) in patients with serum triglycerides (TGs) <400 mg/dl is unclear.

Materials And Methods: We compared low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol calculated by FF to directly measured LDL in a laboratory database of 14,620 lipid profile samples from south India.

Results: LDL by FF correlated with directly measured LDL with correlation coefficient of 0.

A belief-based evolutionarily stable strategy.

As an equilibrium refinement of the Nash equilibrium, evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) is a key concept in evolutionary game theory and has attracted growing interest. An ESS can be either a pure strategy or a mixed strategy. Even though the randomness is allowed in mixed strategy, the selection probability of pure strategy in a mixed strategy may fluctuate due to the impact of many factors.

Exoplanet detection. Stellar activity masquerading as planets in the habitable zone of the M dwarf Gliese 581.

The M dwarf star Gliese 581 is believed to host four planets, including one (GJ 581d) near the habitable zone that could possibly support liquid water on its surface if it is a rocky planet. The detection of another habitable-zone planet--GJ 581g--is disputed, as its significance depends on the eccentricity assumed for d. Analyzing stellar activity using the Hα line, we measure a stellar rotation period of 130 ± 2 days and a correlation for Hα modulation with radial velocity.

An improved Physarum polycephalum algorithm for the shortest path problem.

Shortest path is among classical problems of computer science. The problems are solved by hundreds of algorithms, silicon computing architectures and novel substrate, unconventional, computing devices. Acellular slime mould P.

Implementing an emergency medical services system in Kathmandu, Nepal: a model for "white coat diplomacy".

Wilderness medicine providers often visit foreign lands, where they come in contact with medical situations that are representative of the prevailing healthcare issues in the host countries. The standards of care for matters of acute and chronic care, public health, and crisis intervention are often below those we consider to be modern and essential. Emergency medical services (EMS) is an essential public medical service that is often found to be underdeveloped.

Are the current Indian growth charts really representative? Analysis of anthropometric assessment of school children in a South Indian district.

Background: India currently is posed by the double threat of thinness and overweight/obesity among children. Different growth charts have taken different population and give different cut-off points to assess these conditions.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the anthropometry of school children, 5-18 years of age and thereby estimate the prevalence of childhood thinness, overweight and obesity.

National health programs in the field of endocrinology and metabolism - Miles to go.

The endocrine and metabolic diseases of childhood obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, iodine deficiency disorders, vitamin D deficiency, and osteoporosis are major public health problems. Different programs including National Program for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Stroke address these problems although some are yet to be addressed. National surveys have shown high prevalence of these disorders and their risk factors.

Biological real-time reaction calorimeter studies for the production of penicillin G acylase from Bacillus badius.

Penicillin G acylase (PGA) is a commercially important enzyme that cleaves penicillin G to 6-amino penicillanic acid (6-APA) and phenyl acetic acid (PAA). The strain Bacillus badius has been identified as potential producer of PGA. A detailed calorimetric investigation on PGA production was carried out to enable generation of thermokinetic data possible for commercial application.

Efficacy of scorpion antivenom plus prazosin versus prazosin alone for Mesobuthus tamulus scorpion sting envenomation in children: a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of combined use of scorpion antivenom (SAV) with prazosin, compared with prazosin alone in children with Mesobuthus tamulus scorpion envenomation.

Study Design: Randomised controlled trial.

Setting: A tertiary care hospital in south India.