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Background: Beginning of the pandemic showed our limitations in our understanding of the spread of the dreaded coronavirus-19 that had sprung from China and spread through thick and thin across the world. The measures to contain the spread of virus in the absence of specific treatment protocol had everyone grope for the solutions in a very short time frame. One such is the knowledge, attitude, and practice in the rural setup. Aim: The aim of the study is to measure the change in knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19 following an awareness session in rural population. Materials and Methods: A cross-section interventional study was carried out in January 2021. An interactive awareness session was conducted with the help of audiovisual aids following MOHFW guidelines for COVID-19, and the change in KAP about COVID-19 was measured by pre- and posttest standardized questionnaire. Results: Of all the participants, statistically significant change in knowledge was seen from 43% to 52%. The villagers were educated about preventive steps and a positive change was measured in the practice of changing masks regularly (84%–100%), maintaining social distancing (44%–64%), frequent handwashing (52%–64%). No change was seen in wearing of masks (92%) and negative change was seen in avoiding handshakes (32%–28%). The preventive practices regarding COVID-19 pandemic changed significantly from 50% to 58%. Our study measured positive attitude change toward getting vaccinated from 64% to 72%. Conclusion: A single, short awareness session led to significant change in KAP about COVID-19 in rural population.

Background: Rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, has been used worldwide as an off-label therapy in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD). Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab in central nervous system demyelinating disorders in the Indian context. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with MS, NMOSD, and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD) who were treated with rituximab at a single tertiary care centre in Mumbai. Results: The study enrolled 102 patients (61 MS, 37 NMOSD and 4 MOGAD) from June 2008 to January 2020. Following rituximab therapy, 96.7% of MS, 67% of NMOSD, and 50% of MOGAD patients were free of relapses. The mean annualized relapse rate reduced from 2.17 to 0 for patients with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS), from 0.8 to 0 for secondary progressive MS (SPMS), from 2.5 to 0.14 for NMOSD, and from 3.43 to 1.04 for MOGAD. The median expanded disability status scale improved significantly in RRMS patients, worsened non-significantly in the SPMS group, and remained unchanged in NMOSD and MOGAD patients. On follow-up magnetic resonance imaging, there was a significant reduction in the number of MS patients developing new contrast enhancing lesions or new T2 lesions. Adverse events (infusion reactions or severe infections) occurred in 12 patients. Conclusion: Rituximab is effective and safe in Indian patients with MS and NMOSD.

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas integrated with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) gains high interest due to its potential reduction on interference as well as efficient data transmission. However, the rapid growth of voluminous data and their diverse characteristics necessitate the effectiveness of error correction schemes in the recent past. The conventional error correction schemes suffer from its compatibility over the diverse data. Despite the concatenated error correction schemes meet the requirements, the precision remains uncertain under data and image transmission. This paper intends to develop an error correction scheme with the combination of Polar Coding (PC), which is an advanced coding scheme, and the renowned Convolution coding (CC). The competiveness of the proposed error correction scheme is experimented under extensive simulation constraints. Accordingly, this paper simulates MIMO-OFDM system with three antenna configurations (2 × 2), (2 × 4) and (4 × 4), which are subjected to experimentation under three modulation schemes such as Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)-16 and QAM-64. Three practical channel models such as Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN), Rayleigh and Rician channel models are used in the proposed study. The performance of the proposed coding scheme is compared against the traditional error correction schemes such as CC, Reed Solomon Code (RSC)-CC, Low-Density Parity Check (LDPC)-CC and turbo-CC. The study is also extended by transmitting the data as well as image to ensure the fairness on diversity of the data characteristics. The study discloses the effectiveness of the proposed error correction scheme over the conventional error correction schemes in terms of BER (Bit Error Rate) and PSNR (Peak Signal to Noise Ratio), when data and images are transmitted, respectively. The proposed method is compared with the conventional techniques and the results have shown that the PSNR performance of the proposed PC-CC method is 37.95% better than CC, 31.73% better than RSC-CC, 24.52% better than LDPC-CC and 14.12% better than turbo-CC method.

Background: Looking at the burden of suicide, there is a dire need for medical schools to incorporate suicide prevention training. Effective communication helps in early detection and management of suicidal behavior. Medical students can act as a GATEKEEPER if they receive adequate training. Methodology: This was an educational intervention study done at tertiary care teaching hospital to assess the knowledge and attitude of medical students toward depression and suicide and to impart and assess communication skills for suicide prevention in one of the four batches of students in 4th semester. Pretest was conducted to assess knowledge and attitude toward depression and suicide, followed by training using interactive lectures, demonstration of interview, and hands-on training with patients and role-plays. The posttest and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) were administered for skill assessment. Feedback was taken regarding this intervention. Results: The mean marks of the pre- and post-test were 8.96 (8.3–9.6) and 14.58 (13.8–15.3), respectively, out of 25. The difference was statistically significant (t = 13.24, P ≤ 0.0001) which suggests improvement in knowledge. We found mixed responses in attitude statements showing limited change. Mean obtained marks on OSCE examination out of 66 was 42.7. Among various components of OSCE, students scored high on rapport building. The most useful components of trainings were role-play, OSCE, and interaction with patients as per their feedback. Conclusion: The intervention was found effective in increasing knowledge, changing attitude, and enhancing communication skills of medical students toward suicide prevention. Training of communication skills for suicide prevention in depressed person should be given to every medical student as suggested by feedback.

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a potentially malignant disorder (PMD) and crippling condition of oral mucosa. It is a chronic insidious scarring disease of oral cavity, pharynx and upper digestive tract, characterized by progressive inability to open the mouth due to loss of elasticity and development of vertical fibrous bands in labial and buccal tissues. OSMF is a debilitating but preventable oral disease. It predominantly affects people of Southeast Asia and Indian subcontinent, where chewing of arecanut and its commercial preparation is high. Presence of fibrous bands is the main characteristic feature of OSMF. The present literature review provides the compilation of various classification system based on clinical and/or histopathological features of OSMF from several databases. The advantages and drawbacks of these classifications supersede each other, leading to perplexity. An attempt is made to provide and update the knowledge about this potentially malignant disorder to health care providers in order to help in early detection and treatment, thus reducing the mortality of oral cancer.

This study aimed to understand the experiences of bereaved family members in view of restrictive COVID guidelines using qualitative approach. 10 Hindu, Gujarati bereaved family members who lost their loved ones during the first wave were interviewed telephonically after a month of their loss. Findings were difficulty in proper communication during hospitalization, disrupted end-of-life and funeral rituals and accepting harsh realities related to the changes imposed by using content analysis. Most of the family members felt that there was a need of staying with the patients. Telephonic mode of communication was not sufficient for them and created doubts related to death. Most of them felt remorseful as they were not able to see or bring their loved one home during their last moments and felt deprived of the traditional rituals. Also, they had to deal with their grief by themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Digital twins (DTs) are an emerging capability in additive manufacturing (AM), set to revolutionize design optimization, inspection, in situ monitoring, and root cause analysis. AM DTs typically incorporate multimodal data streams, ranging from machine toolpaths and in-process imaging to X-ray CT scans and performance metrics. Despite the evolution of DT platforms, challenges remain in effectively inspecting them for actionable insights, either individually or in a multidisciplinary, geographically distributed team setting. Quality assurance, manufacturing departments, pilot labs, and plant operations must collaborate closely to reliably produce parts at scale. This is particularly crucial in AM where complex structures require a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach. Additionally, the large-scale data originating from different modalities and their inherent 3D nature pose significant hurdles for traditional 2D desktop-based inspection methods. To address these challenges and increase the value proposition of DTs, we introduce a novel virtual reality (VR) framework to facilitate collaborative and real-time inspection of DTs in AM. This framework includes advanced features for intuitive alignment and visualization of multimodal data, visual occlusion management, streaming large-scale volumetric data, and collaborative tools, substantially improving the inspection of AM components and processes to fully exploit the potential of DTs in AM.