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The result of a typical web search is often overwhelming. It is very difficult to explore the textual listing of the resulting documents, which may be in the thousands. In order to improve the utility of the search experience, we explore presenting search results through clustering and a zoomable two-dimensional map (zoomable treemap). Furthermore, we apply the fisheye view technique to this map of web search clusters to provide details in context. In this study, we report on our evaluation of these presentation features. The particular interfaces evaluated were: (1) a textual list, (2) a zoomable two-dimensional map of the clustered results, and (3) a fisheye version of the zoomable two dimensional map where the results were clustered. We found that subjects completed search tasks faster with the visual interfaces than with the textual interface, and faster with the fisheye interface than just the zoomable interface. Based on the findings, we conclude that there is promise in the use of clustering and visualization with a fisheye zooming capability in the exploration of web search results.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an established treatment for heart failure patients with myocardial dysfunction and delayed ventricular activation, but approximately 25% to 40% of patients do not respond to CRT. Left ventricular (LV) multisite pacing (MSP) has been proposed as a tool to improve CRT response. The goal of this study is to examine the safety and efficacy of LV MSP in CRT nonresponders. Between January 2018, and September 2019, the Strategic Management to Improve CRT Using Multi-Site Pacing trial prospectively enrolled 584 CRT-defibrillator recipients for established indications at 52 sites across the United States and evaluated their response at 6 months using the clinical composite score (CCS). Of the nonresponders, 102 patients had the LV MSP feature turned on and 78 patients completed the 12-month CCS evaluation. The LV MSP feature-related complication-free rate was 99.0% with a lower 95% confidence interval limit of 94.9%, which was higher than the performance goal of 90%. The proportion of nonresponders with an improved CCS from 6 to 12 months was 51.3% with a lower 95% confidence interval limit of 41.4%, which was higher than the performance goal of 5%. The estimated mean reduction in battery longevity with the LV MSP feature was about 3.6 months (estimated battery longevity of 8.87 ± 2.08 years at 6 months and 8.07 ± 2.23 years at 12 months). In conclusion, in CRT nonresponders, the use of the LV MSP feature is safe and associated with a ∼50% conversion rate with a small projected reduction in CRT-defibrillator battery longevity. LV MSP should be considered in the management of CRT nonresponders.

Background: Despite advances in surgery and pharmacotherapy, there remains significant residual ischemic risk after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. Methods: In REDUCE-IT (Reduction of Cardiovascular Events With Icosapent Ethyl–Intervention Trial), a multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, statin-treated patients with controlled low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and mild to moderate hypertriglyceridemia were randomized to 4 g daily of icosapent ethyl or placebo. They experienced a 25% reduction in risk of a primary efficacy end point (composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary revascularization, or hospitalization for unstable angina) and a 26% reduction in risk of a key secondary efficacy end point (composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke) when compared with placebo. The current analysis reports on the subgroup of patients from the trial with a history of coronary artery bypass grafting. Results: Of the 8179 patients randomized in REDUCE-IT, a total of 1837 (22.5%) had a history of coronary artery bypass grafting, with 897 patients randomized to icosapent ethyl and 940 to placebo. Baseline characteristics were similar between treatment groups. Randomization to icosapent ethyl was associated with a significant reduction in the primary end point (hazard ratio [HR], 0.76 [95% CI, 0.63–0.92]; P =0.004), in the key secondary end point (HR, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.56–0.87]; P =0.001), and in total (first plus subsequent or recurrent) ischemic events (rate ratio, 0.64 [95% CI, 0.50–0.81]; P =0.0002) compared with placebo. This yielded an absolute risk reduction of 6.2% (95% CI, 2.3%–10.2%) in first events, with a number needed to treat of 16 (95% CI, 10–44) during a median follow-up time of 4.8 years. Safety findings were similar to the overall study: beyond an increased rate of atrial fibrillation/flutter requiring hospitalization for at least 24 hours (5.0% vs 3.1%; P =0.03) and a nonsignificant increase in bleeding, occurrences of adverse events were comparable between groups. Conclusions: In REDUCE-IT patients with a history of coronary artery bypass grafting, treatment with icosapent ethyl was associated with significant reductions in first and recurrent ischemic events. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01492361.

In this paper, we reviewed the various advanced technologies and methods that could help patients for measuring adherence of patients. There exist intelligent technologies that are available for measuring medication adherence, including medication event monitoring system (MEMS®), smart blister packs, radio frequency identification (RFID) embedded smart drawers, and wisely aware RFID dosage (WARD) system. Utilization of these advanced technologies and systems have aided in enhancing the adherence to a greater extent. For example, MEMS® refers to the electronic cap that counts the number of bottles opened, but it can be employed only with bottles. Smart blisters are pharmaceutical packagings that possess the capability of monitoring when a pill or tablet is taken out of its packing. All those intelligent technologies can help in active monitoring of patients regarding adherence and capable of eradicating various medication errors due to which adherence is affected.

Chalcogenide materials are ideal for IR applications because of their wide transmission window, variable bandgap, and high nonlinearity. In this regard, optical characteristics of (Dy) doped (GeTe2)80(In2Te3)20 thin films have been measured and investigated. The influence of annealing on the optical characteristics of thin films has been reported. The reflectance and transmittance spectra were used to calculate the refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) of thin films. With the annealing of as-prepared film, the penetration depth (Δ) measured at a wavelength of 1.1 μm and bandgap (Eg) decrease. The relaxation process has been realized using electric modulus (M) determination, and the dielectric loss has been estimated in terms of loss tangent (tan δ). Wemple Di-Domenico (WDD) model has been employed to calculate dispersion energy (Ed) and average energy gap (E0). Using the values of E0 and Ed, the static refractive index (n0) and the moments (M-1, M-3) of the optical spectra have been determined. Sellmeier oscillator parameter (λ0) increases while So decreases with a rise in the annealing temperature.

Primigravida, particularly women who are pregnant for the first time, are generally unaware of Lamaze breathing and its benefits. The purpose of this study was to analyse Primigravida moms' knowledge of Lamaze breathing in Bhopal's designated hospitals. This study was conducted using a descriptive research approach. The study's target population was primigravida, and the sample method was purposive sampling. A total of 50 people were included in the study. The knowledge of primigravida about Lamaze breathing was assessed using a self-structured questionnaire, and the study findings revealed that knowledge of Lamaze breathing was inadequate. It is therefore important to educate antenatal mothers about simple but useful breathing exercises to reduce pain perception and promote comfort during labour.

During labour and childbirth, comfort techniques that give natural pain relief can be quite beneficial. The purpose of this study was to analyse pregnant women's awareness about non-pharmacological therapies in Bhopal's designated hospitals. This study was conducted using a descriptive research approach. The study's target population was pregnant women, and the sample method was purposive sampling. A total of 50 people were included in the study. The knowledge of pregnant women on non-pharmacological therapies was assessed using a self-structured questionnaire, and the study findings indicated that their understanding was insufficient.

Atopic dermatitis is a commonly presenting chronic inflammatory skin disease in children. It is triggered by a variety of irritative and allergic factors. Both genetics and environmental factors play a significant role in development of atopic dermatitis. Atopic Dermatitis may have association with other atopic diseases (IgE mediated) like bronchial asthma, urticaria, allergic rhinitis, food allergies etc. It affects children (10-20%) as well as adults (1-3%), the incidence being highest in early infancy and childhood. There are many homoeopathic medicines that are very effective in management of atopic dermatitis. The lesser indicated homoeopathic medicines for AD include Chrysarobinum, Croton Tig, Rhus venenata, Copaiva, Oleander, Arsenicum iodatum, Primula obconica, Mercurius dulcis and Kali arsenicum.

Global warming and the rising prevalence of obesity are well described challenges of current mankind. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic arose as a new challenge. We here attempt to delineate their relationship with each other from our perspective. Global greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels have exponentially increased since 1950. The main contributors to such greenhouse gas emissions are manufacturing and construction, transport, residential, commercial, agriculture, and land use change and forestry, combined with an increasing global population growth from 1 billion in 1800 to 7.8 billion in 2020 along with rising obesity rates since the 1980s. The current Covid-19 pandemic has caused some decline in greenhouse gas emissions by limiting mobility globally via repetitive lockdowns. Following multiple lockdowns, there was further increase in obesity in wealthier populations, malnutrition from hunger in poor populations and death from severe infection with Covid-19 and its virus variants. There is a bidirectional relationship between adiposity and global warming. With rising atmospheric air temperatures, people typically will have less adaptive thermogenesis and become less physically active, while they are producing a higher carbon footprint. To reduce obesity rates, one should be willing to learn more about the environmental impact, how to minimize consumption of energy generating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, and to reduce food waste. Diets lower in meat such as a Mediterranean diet, have been estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 72%, land use by 58%, and energy consumption by 52%.

Background: This study aims to detect association of SARS-COV-2 infection in terms of histopathological changes in the third trimester placenta. Methods: SARS COV 2 positive placenta cases received in Department of Pathology, Gandhi Medical College and Hamidia Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. 7 cases were sent for histopathological examination. Clinical details, history, details of relevant investigation like D-dimer, blood reports etc. was taken from the electronic medical records and requisition form received in the Department of Pathology. Histopathological findings were analyzed and recorded. Result: This is a case series depicting various histopathological changes in term placenta of 7 SARS Corona Virus 2 (COV-2) positive women in the age group of 20 years to 35 years exhibiting symptoms ranging from mild to severe degree. The major histopathological finding noticed is under perfusion of placenta of maternal side in greater extent as compared to fetal side under perfusion followed by signs of inflammation of membranes viz chorionitis and chorioamnionitis. Hence, through the study, we want to highlight micro vasculopathy as one of the pathophysiological features of SARS Corona Virus 2 (COV-2) which might be leading to these histopathological findings and its correlation with elevated levels of D – Dimer. Conclusion: Covid 19 positive women with third trimester of placenta do not express any specific histomorphological findings. Our study shows only signs of maternal and fetal vascular under perfusion with mild acute chorionitis which might have a relationship to a microvascular disease induced by SARS COVID 19 virus, yet this cannot be ruled out consistently proven several associated factors.

Objectives This study aims to assess the impact of raising the price of sugar and/or sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) on caries incidence in the Indian population. Methods A tooth-level decision-analytic model was developed to evaluate a change in caries increment after increasing the price of Sugar and SSBs. The transition of a tooth from a caries-free state to the state of tooth loss in both scenarios was modelled with the help of a Markov model for a time horizon of 63 years, ranging from 2021 to 2083 for the 12-year-old population cohort of India. A conceptual framework was designed to implicate the possible effects of an increase in sugar prices on the reduction of caries incidence. Health effects were estimated in terms of the number of carious lesions and tooth-loss in both the scenarios and modelled as a product of the dose-response relationship between sugar intake and caries incidence. The model was thus used to establish the number of caries lesions prevented, and tooth-loss avoided. Uncertainties in the parameters were assessed using probabilistic sensitivity analysis. The Monte Carlo method was used for simulating the results 1000 times. Results A 20% rise in the price of sugar is expected to result in the prevention of an average of 1.32 teeth in a lifetime of an individual and prevent 27.96 million tooth-loss incidents among the population cohort of India that will eventually lead to a saving of INR (₹) 3116.32 billion (US$ 42.69 billion) on account of dental caries treatment. Similarly, increasing-price of SSBs by 20% will lead to a 0.86% reduction in carious teeth incidence in an individual's lifetime. Conclusion Increasing the cost of sugar and/or SSBs will reduce the daily intake of sugar, which will reduce caries incidence and subsequent progression, thereby preventing caries-attributed tooth-loss and saving treatment costs.

Purpose: Thromboembolic events (TE) are the most common complications of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Clinical parameters, including patient age and mutation status, are used to risk-stratify patients with MPN, but a true biomarker of TE risk is lacking. Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), an endoplasmic reticulum protein vital for protein folding, also possesses essential extracellular functions, including regulation of thrombus formation. Pharmacologic PDI inhibition prevents thrombus formation, but whether pathologic increases in PDI increase TE risk remains unknown. Experimental Design: We evaluated the association of plasma PDI levels and risk of TE in a cohort of patients with MPN with established diagnosis of polycythemia vera (PV) or essential thrombocythemia (ET), compared with healthy controls. Plasma PDI was measured at enrollment and subjects followed prospectively for development of TE. Results: A subset of patients, primarily those with JAK2-mutated MPN, had significantly elevated plasma PDI levels as compared with controls. Plasma PDI was functionally active. There was no association between PDI levels and clinical parameters typically used to risk-stratify patients with MPN. The risk of TE was 8-fold greater in those with PDI levels above 2.5 ng/mL. Circulating endothelial cells from JAK2-mutated MPN patients, but not platelets, demonstrated augmented PDI release, suggesting endothelial activation as a source of increased plasma PDI in MPN. Conclusions: The observed association between plasma PDI levels and increased risk of TE in patients with JAK2-mutated MPN has both prognostic and therapeutic implications.

In order for induction to be successful, it should result in labour with adequate uterine contraction and progressive dilatation of cervix with the outcome of a vaginal delivery with minimal risk to both mother and foetus. Primary outcome of the current study was to compare various modalities of Induction of Labour, alone or in combination & to evaluate the different outcomes of mother and baby.: History, general, obstetrical, vaginal examination to record Modified Bishop score, basic investigations and recent obstetric ultrasound was noted of 200 pregnant mothers and the results were analyzed. Foetal monitoring was done in all except those with confirmed IUFD cases. Methods used were Dinoprostone, Misoprostol, Oxytocin, Amniotomy and Mechanical Dilatation with Foley’s catheter; single or in combination with each other.: Among the 200 mothers, 118(59%) delivered vaginally and 82 (41%) mothers underwent LSCS. Dinoprostone gel was the dominant method used followed by misoprostol and oxytocin respectively. NICU admissions were required in 21.7%, 25,8% & 33.3% of the mothers who were induced with Dinoprostone, Misoprostol and Oxytocin respectively. 14 babies were diagnosed with IUFD, all delivered vaginally, out of which 10 were induced with misoprostol and 4 were induced with mechanical dilatation. Majority of the patients who underwent induction with dinoprostone alone delivered by LSCS (63.4%) but Dinoprostone with ARM & oxytocin for induction had a better outcome. Induction with Dinoprostone followed by misoprostol lead to more LSCS than SVD and there were 1%(2 babies) of perinatal mortality due to Meconium Aspiration Syndrome.: Misoprostol and Mechanical induction were the most preferred method in cases of IUFD. Induction with a combination of Dinoprostone with ARM or Oxytocin lead to more vaginal delivery than Dinoprostone alone, so this should be preferred. Induction with Dinoprostone followed by misoprostol lead to more LSCS and perinatal mortality so a combination of them should be given cautiously.

Background: An efficient sampling is one of the key methods to identify all those affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Objectives: To analyze how efficient setting up of a central sampling team would be to prevent any outbreak within the institution by minimizing the movement of suspected COVID-19 patients admitted in the inpatient wards. The secondary objective was to train maximum resident doctors to collect samples of admitted patients. Methodology: A central sampling team comprising of resident doctors from various departments was made who did sampling of the suspected COVID-19 inpatients admitted under various specialties. Results: There were a total of 341 patients [209 males (61.29%), 132 females (38.7%)] and 335 patients underwent sampling. There was a positive correlation between: (1) number of calls from a department vs percentage of positive samples in that department [Pearson correlation coefficient (R) = 0.47; P = 0.026], (2) number of samples taken by resident of a particular department from central sampling team vs number of positive samples taken by resident of that department [R = 0.8739, P = 0.01] and (3) number of visits to a department vs number of residents trained in that department [R = 0.93; P = 0.00001]. Conclusion: Formulation of a central sampling team led to changes like a separate donning and doffing area in each ward and training of many resident doctors posted in different wards. This made each ward self-sufficient in collection of samples. This venture also ensured minimal movement of suspected COVID-19 patients in the hospital and thus least exposure to the hospital staff.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine new housekeeping procedures introduced in response to COVID-19. The pandemic has required hotels to reassess their standard operating procedures, especially in housekeeping to retain the confidence of guests in the hotel/brand via high standards of sanitization, hygiene and the maintenance of social distancing.Design/methodology/approachThe article draws on publications and announcements made by major brands and associations about their updated standards of cleaning, hygiene and sanitisation, social distancing and workplace protocols arising from the pandemic. Further, a survey was used to determine the impact of new processes on housekeeping teams and their perceptions of its effect on service quality, guests and employee safety.FindingsSome key new processes are: keeping the hotel room vacant for several hours after departure, the sanitisation of every room, cleaning and sanitisation of high touch points, linen and waste management and low frequency or complete avoidance of the cleaning of occupied rooms. The survey questionnaire establishes that housekeepers value their new standard operating procedures (SOPs) and agree that “clinically clean” is the new normal and essential to avoid cross-contamination and keep guests and employees safe.Research limitations/implicationsAs the pandemic is a current phenomenon, the guidelines and protocols are rapidly evolving. Hotels are innovating and looking for new processes to manage infection control. This study has mainly focused on cleanliness and hygiene protocols and procedures prevalent in the industry. Currently, future work could be useful to evaluate the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the new processes and procedures that have been deployed.Practical implicationsIn order to recover from the pandemic, the Indian hotel industry faces a colossal task. Even when the virus peaks have passed and hotels can safely reopen, the fear of infection will continue and so guest trust and confidence is essential. Given this, the paper should be of interest to hoteliers and policymakers seeking to implement the best possible post COVID-19 housekeeping practices.Originality/valueThis paper identifies and analyses best practice in hotel housekeeping in response to COVID-19. The new standards that are being adopted aim to assure hotel guests and employees about the hygiene and safety measures and standards that have been adopted.

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the short-term impact of brokerage analysts’ recommendations on abnormal returns using a sample selected from the S&P BSE 100 in the Indian context. The efficient market hypothesis, specifically, its semi-strong form, is tested for “Buy” stock recommendations published in the electronic version of Business Standard. The crucial issue is, are there any abnormal returns that can be earned following a recommendation? If so, how quickly do prices incorporate the information value of these recommendations? It tests the impact of analyst recommendations on average abnormal returns (AARs) and standardized abnormal returns (SRs) to determine their statistical significance. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of stock recommendations published in the e-version of Business Standard, the event study methodology is used to determine whether AARs and SRs are significantly different from zero for the duration of the event window by using several significance tests. Findings The findings indicate a marginal opportunity for profit in the short term, restricted to the event day. However, the effect does not persist, i.e. the market is efficient in its semi-strong form implying that investors cannot consistently earn abnormal returns by following analysts’ recommendations. Post the event date, the market reaction to analyst recommendations becomes positive, however, insignificant until the ninth day after the recommendation providing support to the underreaction hypothesis given by Shliefer (2000) and post-recommendation price drift documented by Womack (1996). The study contributes by using different statistical tests to determine the significance of returns. Practical implications There are important implications for traders, investors and portfolio managers. The speed with which market prices incorporate publicly available information is useful in formulating trading strategies. However, stock characteristics such as market capitalization, volatility and level of analyst coverage need to be incorporated while making investment decisions. Originality/value The study contributes by using different statistical tests to determine the significance of returns.

Ectopic ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) syndrome, EAS, is extremely rare, accounting for only 10–20% of all ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndromes, and only 5–10% of all types of Cushing’s syndromes. Given the extremely aggressive behavior of malignancies, EAS is typically associated with significantly higher levels of ACTH and cortisol, the difference being 100–1000-fold greater than in Cushing’s disease. Consequently, clinical symptoms and manifestations of EAS can be more severe and rapid in onset. In this case report, we describe the course of EAS-induced malignant hypertension in a 40-year-old patient who was subsequently diagnosed with high-grade poorly differentiated large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC).

Accurate and optimal implementation of Demand Response (DR) programs essentially requires knowledge of occupants’ behavioral aspects regarding power usage. Maintaining consumers’ comfort has become an imperative component along with cost reduction; there is utmost need to understand their power consumption trends completely. In this paper, a complete solution regarding consumer behavior learning has been presented for designing efficient demand response algorithms. Firstly, appliance-level power forecasting has been performed using deep learning ensemble model: CNN-LSTM and XG-boost; Secondly, dynamic itemset counting (DIC), a variant of the Apriori algorithm, has been utilized to generate association rules which determine appliance-appliance association and discovery. In this way, all the aspects of the dynamic and non-stationary nature of appliances’ power time series have been addressed for DR implementation. Using two benchmark datasets, it has been demonstrated that the proposed approach exhibits enhanced performance in comparison to other competitive models in terms of RMSE and MAE.

Innovation enables firms to face increasing competition in the global environment, but there is variation in innovation investments across firms due to the inherent uncertainty involved in innovative activities. The strategic role of board, therefore, becomes crucial in overseeing innovation decisions. This study, hence, examines whether the relation between R&D investment and firm’s performance would vary based on the board characteristics of the company. It empirically explores this interrelationship in publicly listed Indian companies, by assessing the moderation effect of board using fixed effect regression analysis and conditional effects on a panel data of 9,031 firm years across twelve years. Board size, board meetings, proportion of women director and board leadership are found to negatively moderate the relationship between innovation and financial performance (ROE), however none of them moderates the relation between innovation and firm value (Tobin’s Q). It signifies that though board characteristics play an important role in relationship between innovation and ROE, investors fail to recognise it. Companies should focus on creating the right kind of board, investors must appreciate board’s influence in the success of R&D investments without being driven by mere compliance. Policy makers should deliberate upon the desirability of present structure of stringent laws.

SIGNIFICANCE This analysis and review demonstrate that, although emerging data indicate that the prevalence of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on the ocular surface and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) conjunctivitis is rare, the ocular surface remains of interest as a potential inoculation and transmission site for SARS-CoV-2. Continued safety precautions should be taken as more data become available. COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a novel, global pandemic that has infected millions and, up to this point, caused more than two million fatalities worldwide. The ocular surface has become of interest as a possible vector for transmission by acting as a direct inoculation site, being a conduit for the virus into the respiratory system or as a method of transmission from potentially infected conjunctiva or tears. The components necessary for SARS-CoV-2 to theoretically infect ocular tissues are present: binding receptors (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and cluster of differentiation 147) and mechanisms for cell entry (transmembrane protease serine 2 and cathepsin L). This meta-analysis of COVID-19 prevalence data indicates that SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been infrequently found in conjunctival samples when tested with reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. This review estimates the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 on the ocular surface and prevalence of conjunctivitis in patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. There is much to be learned regarding ocular tropism of SARS-CoV-2.

Automation continues to play a greater role in agricultural production with commercial systems now available for machine vision identification of weeds and other pests, autonomous weed control, and robotic harvesters for fruits and vegetables. The growing availability of autonomous machines in agriculture indicates that there are opportunities to increase automation in cotton production. This article considers how current and future advances in automation has, could, or will impact cotton production practices. The results are organized to follow the cotton production process from land preparation to planting to within season management through harvesting and ginning. For each step, current and potential opportunities to automate processes are discussed. Specific examples include advances in automated weed control and progress made in the use of robotic systems for cotton harvesting.

Wearable and implantable bioelectronics have experienced remarkable progress over the last decades. Bioelectronic devices provide seamless integration between electronics and biological tissue, offering unique functions for healthcare applications such as real-time and online monitoring and stimulation. Organic semiconductors and silicon-based flexible electronics have been dominantly used as materials for wearable and implantable devices. However, inherent drawbacks such as low electronic mobility, particularly in organic materials, instability, and narrow band gaps mainly limit their full potential for optogenetics and implantable applications. In this context, wide-band-gap (WBG) materials with excellent electrical and mechanical properties have emerged as promising candidates for flexible electronics. With a significant piezoelectric effect, direct band gap and optical transparency, and chemical inertness, these materials are expected to have practical applications in many sectors such as energy harvesting, optoelectronics, or electronic devices, where lasting and stable operation is highly desired. Recent advances in micro/nanomachining processes and synthesis methods for WBG materials led to their possible use in soft electronics. Considering the importance of WBG materials in this fast-growing field, the present paper provides a comprehensive Review on the most common WBG materials, including zinc oxide (ZnO) for II–VI compounds, gallium nitride (GaN) for III–V compounds, and silicon carbide (SiC) for IV–IV compounds. We first discuss the fundamental physical and chemical characteristics of these materials and their advantages for biosensing applications. We then summarize the fabrication techniques of wide-band-gap semiconductors, including how these materials can be transferred from rigid to stretchable and flexible substrates. Next, we provide a snapshot of the recent development of flexible WBG materials-based wearable and implantable devices. Finally, we conclude with perspectives on future research direction.

INTRODUCTION: Acute kidney injury is a common occurrence in ICU admissions causing increased morbidity and mortality. Present study aimed to determine the causes and prognostic factors of acute kidney injury in intensive care unit. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This Hospital based Cross sectional Study was conducted at a tertiary care Hospital and Research Center, including 100 patients aged >18 years with Acute Kidney Injury admitted in ICU from the period of October 2018 to June 2020. Patients with chronic renal disease, previous renal transplantation, congenital renal disease were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Most of the patients (63%) were aged above 50 years. Diabetes was found in 55% and hypertension in 26% of AKI cases. Most common cause identied were sepsis, CLD, renal, CNS and CVD. Hypotension occurred in 48% patients, while oliguria occurred in 45% patients. Ventilatory support was required by 43% patients, while 31% patients required haemodialysis. Mortality rate in AKI was 51%. Mortality was signicantly associated with advanced age, presence of Diabetes, and RIFLE criteria. Spot urine 4 mg/dl, blood urea >100 mg/dl and acidosis were associated with higher mortality. CONCLUSION: Continuous monitoring parameters like Spot Fe Na, Serum Potasium and pH especially in patients at risk, like elderly patients with diabetes, those with sepsis, can help in early identication and appropiate management, thus reduce the incidence or severity of AKI.

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused delaying breast cancer management, increasing time interval in chemotherapy cycles and surgery. This has implications on radiological manifestation of cancer. Further, we evaluated changes observed in mammography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case control study was conducted from March 25(th), 2020 to August 15(th), 2020 at the Integrated Breast Care Centre, All India Institute of Medical Science Rishikesh (AIIMS), Rishikesh. Sonomammography was performed on follow-up patients who were on chemotherapy and were scheduled for surgery. Moreover, duration of delay from the last neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) cycle was recorded. Similar data in the pre-COVID-19 period from November 4(th), 2019 to March 24(th), 2020 was compared with post-COVID-19 data and was analyzed by SPSS Version 23. RESULTS: The study included 54 patients who presented between March 25(th), 2020 and August 15(th), 2020. Furthermore, the delay in NACT cycles has been shown to be associated with disease progression (p = 0.045). Subgroup analysis of treatment duration with various parameters revealed significant correlation between size, appearance of ulceration, and response evaluation (p0.05). A substantial difference was seen in the evaluation of NACT response in pre- and post-COVID-19 time, with partial response (n = 39, 58.24%) seen as the most common response in pre-COVID-19 time and progressive disease (n = 28, 51.9%) as the most common response in post-COVID-19 time (p

With the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources in the smart grid era, there is an utmost requirement to develop prediction models that can accurately forecast solar irradiance. The stochastic nature of solar irradiance considerably affects photo-voltaic (PV) power generation. Since weather conditions have a high impact on solar irradiance; therefore, we need weather-conscious forecasting models to boost predictive accuracy. Although Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) has shown considerable performance in time-series forecasting problems, its sequential nature prohibits parallelized computing. Recently, architectures based on self-attention mechanism have shown remarkable success in natural language programming (NLP), while being computationally superior. In this paper, we propose an RSAM (Robust Self-Attention Multi-horizon) forecasting architecture, which mainly works in two parts: First, multi-horizon forecasting of solar irradiance using multiple weather parameters; Second, prediction interval analysis for model robustness using quantile regression. A self-attention based Transformer model belonging to the family of deep learning models has been utilized for multi-variate solar time-series forecasting. Using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) benchmark datasets of two different sites, we demonstrate that the proposed approach exhibit enhanced performance in comparison to RNN models in terms of RMSE, MAE, MBE, and Forecast skill at each forecasted interval.

This study compared the effects of oral hygiene with a toothpaste formulated with zinc (test) to a fluoride dentifrice (control) for effects on oral polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) as a measure of whole mouth inflammation along with effects on clinical parameters of dental plaque and gingivitis. Adults (age range 18–60 years, n = 212) completed this double-blind, parallel design study. After washout, a baseline oral rinse sample was evaluated for PMN prior to clinical assessments for gingivitis and dental plaque. Subjects were randomly assigned to brush twice daily with either the test or the control toothpaste. Post-treatment evaluations repeated all baseline assessments after 4-week, 6-week and 12-week use of dentifrice with all assessments conducted 12 hours after brushing. PMN reductions in the test were 16.8%, 18.7% and 42.5% at the 4-week, 6-week and 12-week evaluations respectively and significantly different from the control (p < 0.05). The test toothpaste also demonstrated progressively increasing reductions in gingivitis and dental plaque that ranged from 7.6 to 33.3% and 2.3 to 9.1% respectively versus the control (p < 0.05). The test dentifrice demonstrated progressive reductions in oral PMN representing whole mouth inflammation in conjunction with improvements in oral hygiene as compared to the control toothpaste. A hallmark of oral inflammation includes the accumulations of PMN in the afflicted gingival regions to reduce the influences of proliferating microorganisms. Brushing with a zinc dentifrice demonstrated progressive reductions in oral PMN and improvements in oral hygiene as evidenced by progressively lower dental plaque and gingival indices.

Introduction: The complaint of excessive vaginal discharge is very common in women attending the gynecology out-patient department. It is associated with considerable emotional stress, health seeking associated cost and has a substantial impact on female health and behavior. Objective: To find out socio-demographic variables associated with the complaint of vaginal discharge wherein no biomedical cause of leucorrhoea can be detected. Socio-cultural perspectives have an exaggerative effect on the normal vaginal discharge and in absence of pathological diagnosis, they create fear and anxiety in couples. The problem of vaginal discharge can be best understood not only in the biomedical perspective but also in the socio cultural perspective. Materials and Methods: This is a hospital based study, conducted in out-patient department of obstetrics and gynecology department, AIIMS, Udaipur (Raj). Women with complaint of vaginal discharge without any evident pathological or infectious causes were counted in the study. The women with vaginal discharge which is non-infected, non-blood stained, non-purulent, without pruritus vulvae were interviewed with a pretested questionnaire. Socio-demographic details, personal and menstrual hygiene, obstetric history and contraceptive practices were noted and tabulated. Conclusion: To mitigate the problem of vaginal discharge, socio-demographic status of women should be taken in consideration. Improvement of literacy rate, economic status and women’s empowerment are the key areas of interventions. Proper understanding of this problem helps in initiating appropriate medical education programs and framing health policies. Keywords: Excessive vaginal discharge, Socio-demographics, Somatic symptoms, Leucorrhoea, Pruritus tubectomy.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the country’s health systems and diminished its capability to provide safe and effective healthcare. This article attempts to review patient safety issues during COVID-19 pandemic in India, and derive lessons from national and international experiences to inform policy actions for building a ‘resilient health system’. Methods: Systematic review of existing published articles, government and media reports was undertaken. Online databases were searched using key terms related to patient safety during COVID-19 and health systems resilience. Seventy-three papers were included dependent on their relevance to research objectives. Findings: Patient safety was impacted during COVID-19, owing to sub-optimal infection prevention and control measures coupled with reduced access to essential health services. This was largely due to inadequate infrastructure, human and material resources resulting from chronic underinvestment in public health systems, paucity of reliable data for evidence-based actions and limited leadership and regulatory capacity. Conclusions: India’s health systems were found ill prepared to tackle large-scale pandemic, which has major implications for patient safety. The shortcomings observed in the COVID-19 response must be rectified and comprehensive health sector reforms should be initiated for building agile and resilient health systems that can withstand future pandemics.

Case Presentation A 14-year old girl presented with history of productive cough since the age of 3 years. For the past 6 years, she complained of chest tightness and wheezing. There was also nasal stuffiness and discharge for the past 6 years. She denied history of hemoptysis, ear discharge, or chest pain. There was no history of respiratory distress at the time of birth. Her brother also suffered from productive cough and wheezing since the age of 3 years. However, both her parents were asymptomatic.

Synthesis of two-dimensional materials such that the individual layers are aligned at specific angles has gathered huge interest recently due to their exceptional transport properties. In the October issue of Matter, Wang, Kong, and colleagues describe a scalable growth strategy for twisted bilayer graphene resulting in growth over the largest lateral surface areas reported so far.

The world is suffering from COVID-19 with this India is also suffered an unexpected and unknown materials crises due to corona virus which has also been affected by policy making in different sector. Nearly 190 countries and regions have higher numbers of deaths and infections by coronaviruses with increasing prevalence coming up with news each day. Adverse effects of this deadly virus have been experienced in equally developed and developing economies. Its most affected hospitality, food, transport, stock markets, construction materials and beverage sectors are severely stalled. This article tries to explore an in-depth analysis of various sectors such as food and beverage Education and construction materials, how the stock market is affecting hospitality transport, and what kind of policy implementation should take place.

In March, 2020, the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected the information systems (IS) higher education community (along with the rest of the world) profoundly. Higher education institutes across the world had to quickly shift to online courses. In some cases, faculty had to transition their courses in only days. In response, the Communications of the Association for Information Systems launched a special issue on COVID-19, learning, pedagogy, and educational systems to provide a forum for IS faculty around the world to share effective practices and opinions regarding the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on IS education. This paper serves as the editorial for the special issue.

Social network (SN) platforms have become ubiquitous in most countries. However, the reliability of the information shared and the structural mechanisms that govern the discussions is constantly being questioned. There is a need for understanding the mechanism for information dissemination and developing decision aids that can help decipher information validity. Our context is the support provided within the mental health community where the diseases are typically chronic and the need for social and medical support is obvious. We employ an analytics approach in the context of social capital theory (SCT) to study the relationship between the structural makeup (i.e., influence) of a user and the characteristics of the knowledge disseminated on a microblogging platform. Different types of information provide various types of support to patients. This paper provides a foundational theoretical framework to create decision aids so that users can decide on relevant information for their needs.

Inertial microfluidics is a simple, low cost, efficient size-based separation technique which is being widely investigated for rare-cell isolation and detection. Due to the fixed geometrical dimensions of the current rigid inertial microfluidic systems, most of them are only capable of isolating and separating cells with certain types and sizes. Herein, we report the design, fabrication, and validation of a stretchable inertial microfluidic device with a tuneable separation threshold that can be used for heterogenous mixtures of particles and cells. Stretchability allows for the fine-tuning of the critical sorting size, resulting in a high separation resolution that makes the separation of cells with small size differences possible. We validated the tunability of the separation threshold by stretching the length of a microchannel to separate the particle sizes of interest. We also evaluated the focusing efficiency, flow behaviour, and the positions of cancer cells and white blood cells (WBCs) in an elongated channel, separately. In addition, the performance of the device was verified by isolating cancer cells from WBCs which revealed a high recovery rate and purity. The stretchable chip showed promising results in the separation of cells with comparable sizes. Further validation of the chip using whole blood spiked with cancer cells delivered a 98.6% recovery rate with 90% purity. Elongating a stretchable microfluidic chip enables onsite modification of the dimensions of a microchannel leading to a precise tunability of the separation threshold as well as a high separation resolution.

Background Herbal smoking products (HSPs) are marketed as a safer alternative to tobacco. These are easily available at affordable prices in the online retail websites. This study aimed to analyze the HSP-related informational content available in the most popular online platforms. Methods Google, Yahoo, Bing and YouTube online platforms were searched for HSP related content using appropriate keywords. First 50 search results were retrieved and screened for potential eligibility. The included web-pages were categorized as video and still records. From each included record, information regarding source, primary theme, health benefits/hazards and tone was abstracted. Additionally, video production quality, like ratio and video power index was also computed for each video record. All included records were subjected to descriptive statistics and Chi-square test, as appropriate. Level of significance was set at Results 174 still and 94 video records were included. 35.6% of the included still records were sourced by manufacturers/suppliers while that of scientific origin was 12.1%. 83% of the video-records were posted by general public. About 90% of the included records had not mentioned anything regarding age restrictions. 67.8% of the still records and 87.2% of the video records promoted the use of HSPs. Conclusions The informational content presented online is huge, mostly posted by the general public without any scientific rationale and exclusively favors the use of HSPs. There is no age restriction as to who can access the information, making this content easily accessible to people of all ages. Such spread of information may mislead the public in adopting the smoking of these herbal products. Since HSPs may act as a potential gateway to tobacco smoking, there is an urgent need to regulate the content available online.

General knowledge questions are used across a variety of research and clinical settings to measure cognitive processes such as metacognition, knowledge acquisition, retrieval processes, and intelligence. Existing norms only report performance in younger adults, rendering them of limited utility for cognitive aging research because of well-documented differences in semantic memory and knowledge as a function of age. Specifically, older adults typically outperform younger adults in tasks assessing retrieval of information from the knowledge base. Here we present older adult performance on 421 general knowledge questions across a range of difficulty levels. Cued recall data, including data on the phenomenology of retrieval failures, and multiple-choice data are available. These norms will allow researchers to identify questions that are not likely to be known by older adult participants to examine learning or acquisition processes, or to select questions within a range of marginal accessibility, for example. Comparisons with young adult data from prior databases confirms previous findings of greater knowledge in older adults and indicates there is preservation of knowledge from early adulthood into older adulthood. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13428-020-01493-2.

Finance is essential for both economic growth and development of the country. Lack of access to finance for small, marginal farmers and weaker sections of the society has been recognized as a serious threat to economic progress especially in developing countries like India. Moreover, prolonged and persistent deprivation of banking services to a large segment of the population causing financial exclusion which leads to a decline in investment hindering economic development of the country. Thus, the need for inclusive growth comes in the picture of economic and social development of the society. The study was aimed at analysing the extent of financial inclusion among the farmers, a way to include the weaker and vulnerable section of society in the inclusive financial system which will make their present life better and secure with future plans. A multistage sampling technique was adopted in selecting one hundred farmers. Data were collected using survey schedule administered by the researcher. Descriptive statistical tools such as Garret’s ranking technique and inferential statistical tool such as multiple regression analysis were employed to analyse the data.

Objective: The aim is to categorize women with AUB as per the PALM-COEIN classification system as this is a step towards cause based diagnosis and focused management of patients. The acronym PALM-COEIN comes from arranging 9 basic categories of the classification system. The PALM group comprises the structural entities, which can be measured visually or by using imaging techniques and histopathology. The COEIN group comprises the non-organic types which cannot be defined by imaging or histopathology. Materials and Methods: The study comprises 350 women of reproductive age with AUB for minimum 3 months time span. It describes and observes AUB in amount, interval and frequency for women attending outpatient Gynae department of AIIMS, Udaipur (Raj) from Nov 16 to Oct 17. They were assessed on the basis of structured history, physical examination, local pelvis examination, investigations, USG findings and endometrial histopathological report. Cause of AUB was determined and treatment was given to the patient as appropriated by categorization done in agreement with the PALM-COEIN classification. Results: The most prevalent cause of AUB was ovulatory dysfunction (n=99, 28.2%). Next common cause was leiomyoma (n=90, 25.7%), followed by endometrial causes (n=52, 14.5%), adenomyosis (n=30, 8.5%), not yet classified (n=32, 9.7%), Malignancy & Hyperplasia (n=28, 8.1%), Polyp (n=9, 2.5%), Iatrogenic (n=7, 2.2%) and Coagulopathy (n=1, 0.3%). Conclusion: The PALM-COEIN classification helps to practically ascertain the cause of AUB, and thereby effectively adopt the correct treatment for AUB patients. Keywords: Abnormal uterine bleeding, AUB, Classification system, Polyp leiomyoma, Adenomyosis, Ovulation, Malignancy

Background: Benign breast diseases are a common problem. This study was done to evaluate the different types of benign breast diseases in females based on their epidemiological characteristics, clinical, radiological and pathological findings. Aims: To evaluate the different types of benign breast diseases in females based on their epidemiological characteristics, clinical, radiological and pathological findings. Settings and Design: The epidemiological characteristics of patients of benign breast diseases were observed. Methods: A study of 35 female patients of benign breast disease was done and their characteristic findings were recorded. Statistical analysis: Statistical calculations were performed. Results: The age group of 30-39 years had the highest incidence of the cases (34.28%). Lump in the breast was the most common (51.42%) presenting symptom. Most commonly involved quadrant was upper outer quadrant (60%). Fibroadenoma (51.42%) the most common lesion in our study and presented mostly as lump in the breast in the upper outer quadrant and occurred in the age group of 20-29 years mostly. Conclusions: Benign breast diseases are fairly common in the younger age group. Fibroadenoma is the most common benign breast condition. Proper assessment and investigations are necessary for its diagnosis. The patient needs assurance regarding the benign nature of their disease by appropriate clinical, radiological and pathological diagnosis to allay their anxiety. Keywords: Benign breast disease, Fibroadenoma, Fibrocystic disease, Duct ectasia, Breast Abscess.

With multigenerational teams becoming ubiquitous in contemporary organisations, this article aims to address the need to understand the dynamics within such teams. The study proposes a conceptual framework to examine the role of shared leadership in multigenerational teams in promoting positive team outcomes for such teams. Potential differences in work values, attitudes and behaviours among different generations are likely to predispose multigenerational teams to a higher probability of conflicts, which may negatively impact team outcomes. The study posits that if shared leadership emerges in multigenerational teams, it is likely to promote the adoption of cooperative conflict management styles and inhibit the adoption of competitive and avoidant styles, thereby leading to positive outcomes like team performance and team member satisfaction. By proposing conflict management styles as an important mechanism through which shared leadership promotes positive team outcomes, the study intends to contribute to the emerging literature on shared leadership and conflict management in multigenerational teams.

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a critical intracellular enzyme responsible for anaerobic respiration in pyruvate metabolism which becomes detectable in extracellular spaces after cellular breakdown. This clinical investigation examined the effects of brushing with a test toothpaste containing natural ingredients, i.e., clove (Syzygium aromaticum), aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis), amla (Emblica officinalis), neem (Azadirachta indica), tulsi (Ocimum basillicum), and honey (from Apis mellifera), and 0.96% zinc (zinc oxide, zinc citrate) and 0.76% SMFP (1000 ppm F) in a calcium carbonate base formulated with natural ingredients (Ved Shakti, Colgate Palmolive India) and a fluoride toothpaste containing 0.76% SMFP (1000 ppm F) in a calcium carbonate base (Colgate Cavity Protection, Colgate Palmolive; henceforth control) on salivary LDH in conjunction with the assessments of dental plaque and gingivitis representing oral hygiene parameters. This double-blind, two-cell study enrolled 70 adults (age range 20–59 years). Subjects completed a washout and provided baseline saliva samples for LDH analysis and clinical assessments of dental plaque and gingivitis using the Turesky Modification of Quigley-Hein and Loe-Silness methods respectively. Subjects were randomly assigned to brush their teeth with either the test or control. Post-treatment sample collection and clinical evaluations were conducted after 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 week sof brushing with all assessments conducted 12 h after hygiene. Statistical analyses were conducted independently for each parameter by t-test for within treatment evaluation and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for between treatment comparisons. At baseline, treatment groups demonstrated no significant differences for LDH or dental plaque and gingival index scores. Brushing with the test demonstrated progressive reductions in salivary LDH, plaque and gingival index scores over the study duration in comparison to the control. The test demonstrated reductions in LDH of 9.5–15.4% over the study period in comparison to the control representing statistically significant effects (p < 0.05). The test also demonstrated reductions in dental plaque that ranged between 6.4 and 16.2% over the study period and gingivitis reductions that ranged between 8.2 and 23.8% representing statistically significant results (p < 0.05). Brushing with a novel herbal toothpaste demonstrated significant reductions in salivary LDH representing improvements in cellular integrity with concurrent reductions in dental plaque and gingivitis as compared to the control dentifrice. Salivary LDH measurements offer a non-invasive and objective measurement of mucosal cellular integrity complementing other evaluations and clinical assessments such as plaque and gingival index scores.

Current operator feedback from in-field pesticide application operations conveys limited information and often does not allow the operator to visualize a true representation of their performance. Farm management information systems (FMIS) typically do not account for overlap, varying application rates across the width of the spray boom during turns, or off-rate errors due to controller response. The pesticide application coverage training (PACT) tool was developed to deploy data analytics methodologies to sprayer operational data collected during field applications. The goal was to compare enhanced feedback via the PACT tool versus data generated from commercially available FMIS software today. Data were collected for multiple Nebraska fields and processed by the PACT program which consisted of a novel MATLAB program developed for this project. The PACT program successfully generated high-resolution as-applied maps and the automated application report further quantified the contributions of these errors to the total error to illustrate how overlap, turning errors or controller response issues may have individually affected application accuracy. PACT program output metrics were compared with current data provided by FMIS software. Field-average metrics were not found to be significantly different when comparing the PACT program to the FMIS output; however, when examining how in-field errors were distributed amongst various application rate ranges, significant differences were noted in comparison to the FMIS output. Thus, the PACT program was able to quantify and illustrate application rate variation due to boom section overlap and turning movements unaccounted for in traditional FMIS software.

Necrotising soft tissue infection (NSTI) is defined as a progressive necrosis and infectious state of soft tissue with diverse clinical manifestation. NSTI of breast is an uncommon phenomenon which requires aggressive treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics, serial debridement and dressings. Usage of hyperbaric oxygen therapy or negative pressure wound therapy has added a new milestone in management. Here, we have discussed management of three different patients of NSTI breast with literature review.

To compare the effectiveness of topical fluoride—antibacterial agent combined therapy versus topical fluoride monotherapy in preventing dental caries among 1- to 16-year-old children. PubMed, EbscoHost, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for randomised controlled trials. The trials should have assessed the caries-preventive effectiveness of topical fluoride-antibacterial agent (Povidone Iodine/Chlorhexidine/Xylitol/Triclosan/Cetylpyridinium Chloride) combined therapy versus topical fluoride monotherapy among children. Out of 3475 records that were screened, full text of 41 articles was assessed for potential inclusion. Sixteen trials that fulfilled the eligibility criteria were subjected to qualitative synthesis. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool. Continuous data from nine trials were pooled using Inverse Variance test in meta-analysis function of Review Manager (version 5.4). GRADE approach was used to analyse the certainty of evidence. Statistical heterogeneity was quantified using the I2 statistic. A p-value of