Search

Noise pollution is an emerging issue in cities around the world. Noise is a pernicious pollutant in urban landscapes mainly due to the increasing number of city inhabitants, road and aviation traffic, industrial and construction activities, and appliances or machinery used in daily life. The objective of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of noise measurement, guidelines/standards, and parameters used in noise monitoring; noise assessment associated with the area characteristics and the violations of guidelines/standards; noise geospatial mapping in urban planning; and physiological and psychological effects of noise exposure on public health. The review results revealed that standard methodology was lacking in many of the reviewed studies for noise measurement in various land-use patterns, especially the duration of noise monitoring; noise levels exceeded the prescribed noise standards in almost every noise assessment study across the globe irrespective of land-use or designated zone, and are exhibiting rising trends particularly due to traffic-induced noise; the majority of the urban population has been exposed to the noisy environment and affected with significant physiological and psychological health impacts; noise geospatial mapping has demonstrated high potential in noise abatement and management; and marked drop in noise levels in an urban environment during COVID-19 lockdown period. Based on the review results, the present study has suggested some future research perspectives of noise abatement and management that include a focus on – methodical noise assessment with prescribed guidelines of noise measurement and standards; geospatial noise mapping of urban areas, and real-time information system; universal database management software (DBMS) such as SQL and Improvado to compile data in single storage that will allow multiple users to access data despite different geographical locations; awareness programs using multi-media approaches in urban areas; and strict implementation of noise laws and regulations, that leads to the development of advanced technologies, integrated strategies, and sustainable environmental planning to mitigate the menace of noise pollution.

Brahama Sarovar, in Kurukshetra city (India), is an ancient sacred lake where devotees perform various religious activities/offerings on daily basis, and on special occasions of solar and lunar eclipses, millions of pilgrims all over the country have mass bathing (holy-dip) for internal and external purity. Along with religious importance, this artificial lake also acts as a sacred grove/wetland that serves as an important wintering and stopover site for migratory birds from the Palearctic region. The study was carried out with the objective to analyze the improvement in water quality status after the provision of a closed conduit for the supply of fresh water to the lake and additional measures required for public health safety. For this, the water quality of this sacred lake has been spatially analyzed and compared with Indian standards prescribed for ‘Designated Best Use Class-B: Outdoor Bathing (Organised)’ in the present study. Though the parameters – pH (7.94 within the limits of 6.5-8.5), turbidity (3.63 < 5 NTU), TDS (222.33 < 500 mg/L), TSS (100.25 mg/L) and MPN (239.25 ≤ 500 per 100 ml) were observed to be within the permissible limits, but DO (4.7 ≤ 5.0 mg/L) and BOD (3.54 ≥ 3.0 mg/L) of the lake water were found beyond the permissible limits. Thus, making the lake water unfit for human use for bathing. The comparison with the previous two studies revealed that the lake’s water quality has improved in the last couple of years through the provision of a closed conduit, in place of an open channel, for the supply of fresh canal water to the lake. A couple of additional measures have also been suggested to maintain the water quality standards in the lake so as to protect the human health of the devotees and pilgrims.

We update results from the Mycotic Infections in COVID-19 (MUNCO) Registry, May–September 2021. Data collection from May to September 2021 yielded 728 cases from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the United States. The cases consisted of mostly mucormycosis (97.6%), primarily rhinocerebral, and were analyzed to investigate clinical characteristics associated with negative outcomes. Patients were mostly diabetic (85%) and male (76%), with significant mortality (11.7%). All patients received treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as well as antifungal treatment. The crude mortality rate was 11.3% for mucormycosis and 22.7% formixed infections. This study demonstrates the utility of online databases in the collection of high-caliber data.

Abstract: The Internet of things (IoT) is widely used for communication between portable and intelligent heterogeneous devices, like laptops, smartphones, computers, etc. IoT networks are popular in the modern era because they allow data to be exchanged anywhere when connected to the internet. IoT networks have several challenges, including those related to routing, connectivity, privacy, security, and other issues. The major challenge is routing in terms of choosing the best route for sharing data in IoT networks; IoT routing algorithms use more time and energy. In this paper, we review relevent literature and patents and also various routing approaches are categorized into groups, like multicast, clustering, emergency application, traffic, location, tree, and residual energy based approach, and they are compared based on several parameters, like energy consumption, network lifetime, path length, packet delivery ratio, and network latency. In terms of performance metrics, like energy consumption, network lifetime, reliability, efficiency, and packet delivery ratio, the comparison shows that Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks (RPL), Efficient Tree-based Self-organizing Protocol (ETSP), Collection Tree Protocol (CTP), and Fast Multi-constrained Multicast Routing Algorithms (FAMOUS) are the best protocols. The best approach is a tree-based one since it solves the larger problem in the hierarchy with the least amount of time complexity.

The recent advances of portable sensors in flexible and wearable form factors are drawing increasing attention worldwide owing to their requirement applications ranging from health monitoring to environment monitoring. While portability is critical for these applications, real-time data gathering also requires a reliable power supply-which is largely met with batteries. Besides the need for regular charging, the use of toxic chemicals in batteries makes it difficult to rely on them, and as a result different types of energy harvesters have been explored in recent years. Among these, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provide a promising platform for harnessing ambient energy and converting it into usable electric signals. The ease of fabrication and possibility to develop TENGs with a diverse range of easily available materials also make them attractive. This review focuses on the TENG technology and its efficient use as a power source for various types of chemical sensors and biosensors. The paper describes the underlying mechanism, various modes of working of TENGs, and representative examples of their utilization as power sources for sensing a multitude of analytes. The challenges associated with their adoption for commercial solutions are also discussed to stimulate further advances and innovations.

The research study deals with the results of the yield and yield attributing characters of the wheat crop corresponding to the nine different treatments (T-1 to T-9) of paddy residue management. The wheat yield accounts for the grain yield and straw yield while the wheat yield attributing characters include the spike length, grains per spike, grain test weight, etc. The results of these pertains to the data collected and analysed from the two consecutive years of field experimentation employing various treatments and replications of paddy stubble management. The resultant data of different parameters (yield and its attributing characters) from various treatments carried out through the two years of field experiments is tabulated in the Table 1 and Table 2 for effective discussion of results. The results suggested that the combined use of SMS (straw management system) mounted combine harvester, happy seeder and decomposer provides the best way to manage paddy residue, thereby yielding good yields of succeeding wheat crop to the farmers.

Background: Dementia causes a slow decline in the cognitive impairing abilities in the behavior of the elders. This suppresses the elders to live independently due to their wandering tendencies. To reduce any kind of harm to such patients, consistent supervision is required by the caretaker. The existing location tracking methods consume high energy to provide the accurate location. Introduction: Some systems have been developed to track the wandering pattern of patients in indoor and outdoor environments. Initially, the methodologies used for location tracking use sensors, accelerometers and based on embedded programs. However, these methods do not provide high accuracy and are hence unreliable. Method: In this paper, a study on the location detection algorithms based upon frequency of visit, navigation, geofences, and movement patterns is carried out. Many other algorithms based on location tracking are discussed in this study. Results: The algorithms are compared on the basis of accuracy, recall rate, detection rate, and false alarm rate. The algorithms based on geofence provide 95% detection rate, 95% accuracy, less than 3% false alarm rate, and less than 1 ms latency. The algorithms based on navigation provide 85% detection rate, 95% accuracy, less than 2% false alarm rate, and less than 10 s latency, while the algorithms based on movement pattern offer 90% detection rate, 90% accuracy, 5% false alarm rate and 12 s latency. Conclusion: The study shows that geofences provide the best solution in detecting the location of patients.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate shoulder joint by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the Juvenile Arthritis Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scoring (JAMRIS) system in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and to compare clinical, laboratory parameters and disease activity scores with MRI parameters. Patients and methods: A total of 32 shoulder joints of 20 patients (16 males, 4 females; mean age: 8.9±3.5 years; range, 2.5 to 14 years) with a known diagnosis of JIA and a clinical suspicion of shoulder joint involvement and underwent MRI were included. Reliability was determined by inter- and intra-observer correlation coefficients. Correlation of the clinical and laboratory parameters with JAMRIS scores was done using the non-parametric tests. Sensitivity of clinical examination to detect shoulder joint arthritis was also determined. Results: Of the 32 joints, 27 joints in 17 patients showed MRI changes. Seven joints in five patients fulfilled the definition of clinical arthritis, all revealed MRI changes. In 25 joints without clinical arthritis, early and late MRI changes were seen in 19 (67%) and 12 (48%) joints, respectively. The inter- and intra-observer correlation coefficients for JAMRIS system were excellent. No correlation was found between MRI parameters, clinical, laboratory, and disease activity scores. The sensitivity of clinical examination to detect shoulder joint arthritis was 25.9%. Conclusion: The JAMRIS system is reliable and reproducible to determine shoulder joint inflammation in JIA. Detection of shoulder joint arthritis by clinical examination has a poor sensitivity

Objective The aim of this study was to know the tagging efficiencies of technetium-99m labeled sulfur colloid (99mTc-SC) with different meals. Materials and Methods Egg white sandwiches are the gold standard for gastric-emptying scan (GES); thus, an egg white omelet labeled with 99mTc-SC is taken as a standard meal. For evaluation, we included four meals, bread and butter, instant oatmeal, idli, and chapatti, and all meals were prepared by labeling them with 99mTc-SC. After preparation, food articles were chopped with the help of a metal fork and mixed in simulated gastric fluid. Four samples were taken simultaneously from each food article and analyzed for 1 to 4hours after agitation within the centrifuge. The samples were filtered and separated from the sediments and supernatants. We analyzed the activity in each sample before and after filtration. Results The mean values of labeling efficiency in per cent of various meals were obtained. There was no significant difference in labeling stability for egg whites, chapatti, and idli meals labeled with 99mTc-SC from 1 to 4hours as their p-value (p>0.05) was insignificant. Conclusion Radiolabeled chapatti and idli with 99mTc-SC show higher labeling stability, while oatmeal and bread and butter samples show relatively low stability. Thus, for GES, chapatti and idli labeled with 99mTc-SC can be used as alternatives to eggs for vegetarian people or for those allergic to eggs.

The choice of anticoagulant agent for patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in the setting of active cancer has not been well studied.The aim of this study was to compare the rates of cerebrovascular accident (CVA), gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB), and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in patients treated with direct oral anticoagulant agents (DOACs) compared with warfarin for NVAF in patients with active cancer.This was a retrospective electronic medical record review of eligible patients treated at a cancer hospital. The outcome events were CVA; GIB; ICH; the composite of GIB, CVA, or ICH; and overall mortality. Propensity score matching (1:1) was conducted to select comparable patients receiving warfarin vs DOACs. Fine-Gray models were fitted for each outcome event.The study cohort included 1,133 patients (mean age 72 ± 8.8 years, 42% women), of whom 74% received DOACs (57% received apixaban). After propensity score matching, 195 patients were included in each anticoagulant agent group. When comparing warfarin with DOACs, there were similar risks for CVA (subdistribution HR: 0.738; 95% CI: 0.334-1.629); ICH (subdistribution HR: 0.295; 95% CI: 0.032-2.709); GIB (subdistribution HR: 1.819; 95% CI: 0.774-4.277); and the composite of GIB, CVA, or ICH (subdistribution HR: 1.151; 95% CI: 0.645-2.054).Patients with active cancer had similar risks for CVA, ICH, and GIB when treated with DOACs compared with warfarin for NVAF.

Introduction Stroke is a major cause of death and disability around the globe. The development of depression following a stroke further increases the disability and impairs functional recovery. In recent decades, despite the advancement in structural and nuclear medicine imaging, the pathophysiologic basis of poststroke depression (PSD) is not well understood. Etiopathogenesis of PSD is multifactorial and afflictions of the frontal lobe, hippocampus, limbic region, and basal ganglia projections are implicated. Aim The aim of this study was to assess the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in patients with (PSD + ) or without PSD (PSD–). Materials and Methods To evaluate the hemispheric asymmetry, the percentage of asymmetry index (AI) was calculated for frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, putamen, caudate, and thalamic regions of brain and compared between PSD+ and PSD–. The correlation between AIs over the different brain regions was also established in patients of PSD+ and PSD–. Our study cohort included 122 patients between 6 weeks and 1 year of stroke. Depression was present in 52 (42.6%) patients, assessed by hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and general health questionnaire-28 items (GHQ-28) scale. The 28 patients with PSD+ and 18 PSD– gave consent for SPECT study. Results Our results are based on 46 patients who underwent SPECT study. In patients with PSD+ and PSD–, the HADS and GHQ-28 scores were 8.93 ± 2.77 vs. 3.94 ± 2.15 (p = 0.001) and 40.96 ± 9.48 vs. 17.72 ± 5.38 (p = 0.001), respectively. A significant difference in rCBF AI was found in the temporal lobe (p = 0.03) between patients of PSD+ and PSD–. On logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio of rCBF AI for temporal lobe was 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.80–0.99; p = 0.04) and caudate nucleus was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.73–0.98; p = 0.03), which were statistically significant. PSD correlated with AI in temporal region (r = –0.03; p = 0.03) but did not show significant correlation with other regions of brain between PSD+ and PSD–. Conclusion The presence of temporal lobe rCBF AI on SPECT is significantly associated with PSD. This may reflect the dysfunction of the limbic system and contribute to the occurrence of PSD.

Patients of thalassemia require iron chelation therapy for the treatment of iron overload in the form of desferrioxamine (DFO), combination of DFO and deferiprone and oral deferiprone only. One of the side effects of DFO is ocular toxicity. Present study was conducted to elicit the subclinical effects of DFO on visual pathways by doing Visual Evoked Potential (VEP). Forty five patients of thalassemia major were divided into three groups (I, II &III) based on their iron chelation therapy as desferrioxamine, combination of desferrioxamine& deferiprone and only deferiprone respectively. VEP was recorded in each group and comparison was done. In VEP P100 was significantly prolonged in the group of thalassemia patients receiving DFO and combination of DFO and deferiprone suggesting vulnerability to ocular toxicity of DFO. We can suggest that in patients receiving chronic DFO therapy, VEPs may be considered to monitor the toxic effects of DFO on visual system. Keywords: Thalassemia, iron chelation, visual evoked potential.

Background- Breast diseases are most common among females. Around 200,000 cases are diagnosed annually of breast diseases. It is any abnormal change in breast which make up of number of conditions. The increasing incidence rate of breast cancer is a major health problem. Its early diagnose directly help the treatment. Non-invasive technique such as mammography is a well-defined and widely accepted radiological procedure to evaluate clinically suspected breast lesions. And ultrasonography is used; especially in patients with dense breasts and it also help to characterize an undetected abnormality on mammography. Therefore, this study aims to assess the role of ultrasonography and mammography in diagnosing breast diseases. Objective- The aim of the study is to evaluate and compare the result of ultrasonography and mammography in diagnosis of breast diseases. Method- Study population consisted of 50 patients of age more than 30 years. Result- The result showed that 50 patients with breast diseases underwent combined mammographic and sonographic evaluation. 30 (60%) of the 50 palpable abnormalities had benign assessment, 18(60%) of the benign lesions were visible both on mammography and sonography, 11 (36%) of the 20 benign lesions were mammographically occult and identified at sonographic evaluation.

A transition-metal-free, [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement-annulation cascade of 2-substituted thio/amino acetonitriles with arynes allowing the synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted oxazoles under mild conditions has been demonstrated. The key sulfur/nitrogen ylides were generated by the initial S/N arylation followed by proton transfer, which was followed by the selective [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement involving the -CN moiety and a subsequent annulation to afford the desired products in reasonable yields.

Immune-checkpoint inhibitor-associated myocarditis (ICI-myocarditis) often presents with arrhythmias, but the prognostic value of early electrocardiogram findings is unclear. Although ICI-myocarditis and acute cellular rejection (ACR) following cardiac transplantation use similar treatment strategies, differences in arrhythmia burden are unknown.To evaluate the association of electrocardiogram findings in ICI-myocarditis with myocarditis-related mortality and life-threatening arrhythmia.A total of 125 cases of ICI-myocarditis were identified retrospectively across 49 hospitals worldwide; 50 cases of grade 2R or 3R ACR were included as comparators. Two cardiologists blinded to clinical data interpreted electrocardiograms. Associations between electrocardiogram features, myocarditis-related mortality and the composite of myocarditis-related mortality and life-threatening arrhythmias were examined. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) were calculated.The cohort had 78 (62.4%) men; median (interquartile range) age was 67 (58-76) years. At 30 days, myocarditis-related mortality was 20/124 (16.1%), and 28/124 (22.6%) met the composite endpoint. Patients who developed complete heart block (aHR by subdistribution hazards model [aHR(sh)] 3.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24-8.68; P=0.02) or life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias (aHR(sh) 6.82, 95% CI: 2.87-16.21; P0.001) had a higher risk of myocarditis-related mortality. Pathological Q waves (aHR(sh) 3.40, 95% CI: 1.38-8.33; P=0.008), low QRS voltage (aHR(sh) 6.05, 95% CI: 2.10-17.39; P0.001) and Sokolow-Lyon index (aHR(sh)/mV 0.54, 95% CI: 0.30-0.97; P=0.04) on admission electrocardiogram were also associated with increased risk of myocarditis-related mortality. These associations were mirrored in the composite outcome analysis. Compared with ACR, ICI-myocarditis had a higher incidence of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias (15/125 [12.0%] vs 1/50 [2%]; P=0.04) and third-degree heart block (19/125 [15.2%] vs 0/50 [0%]; P=0.004).Electrocardiograms in ICI-myocarditis with ventricular tachycardias, heart block, low-voltage and pathological Q waves were associated with myocarditis-related mortality and life-threating arrhythmia. Arrhythmia burden in ICI-myocarditis exceeds that of ACR after heart transplant.

The "2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure" replaces the "2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure" and the "2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA Focused Update of the 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure." The 2022 guideline is intended to provide patient-centric recommendations for clinicians to prevent, diagnose, and manage patients with heart failure.A comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 2020 to December 2020, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other relevant databases. Additional relevant clinical trials and research studies, published through September 2021, were also considered. This guideline was harmonized with other American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines published through December 2021.Heart failure remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The 2022 heart failure guideline provides recommendations based on contemporary evidence for the treatment of these patients. The recommendations present an evidence-based approach to managing patients with heart failure, with the intent to improve quality of care and align with patients' interests. Many recommendations from the earlier heart failure guidelines have been updated with new evidence, and new recommendations have been created when supported by published data. Value statements are provided for certain treatments with high-quality published economic analyses.

Two-step, ring-opening 1,3-carbothiolation of donor-acceptor (D-A) cyclopropanes employing alkyl halides and in situ generated dithiocarbamates (from amines and CS