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Introduction: Pulmonary hypertension and other cardiac complications occur frequently due to chronic hypoxia induced by interstitial lung diseases (ILD) or due to connective tissue disorder itself. Two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography is ideal for identifying abnormalities at a given time. In this study, we tried to detect cardiovascular complications in patients with ILD using 2D echocardiography and correlate them with a 6-minute walk test (6 MWT) and spirometry. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out for 18 months including 100 consecutive cases of ILD. The diagnosis was made using the latest criteria as per the disease and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) thorax. All patients were evaluated with 2D echocardiography, 6 MWT, and spirometry along with routine investigations. Their results were analyzed using STATA 15.1 software. Result: Cardiovascular involvement was detected in 68% of cases. Pulmonary hypertension predominated with a prevalence of 50%. In spirometry, mean Forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1)and Forced vital capacity (FVC) were found to be 54.96 (L) and 53.49 (L), respectively, with a predominant restrictive pattern (89%). There was a significant correlation between baseline saturation of oxygen (SpO2) and pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP) with a P value of <0.05. Baseline SpO2 and distance covered in 6 MWT had a significant correlation (P = 0.014). Conclusion: A baseline or nighttime hypoxia is responsible for developing PAH. Pulmonary arterial hypertension should be suspected in patients unable to perform 6 MWT or having low baseline SpO2. A routine follow-up with a 6 MWT and baseline SpO2 should be performed in each visit to identify early deterioration of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of the accounting information system (AIS) for the effectiveness of the organization. AIS is all related components that work together to collect, store and distribute data for the purpose of planning, managing, coordinating, analyzing and making decisions. Therefore, the impact of AIS on organizational performance factors such as: performance management and financial performance is assessed. The results of this study show that although AIS is very useful and influences the performance of the organization in the companies listed in the Dubai financial market (DFM) but, there is no relationship between AIS and performance management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate an enhanced physical health clinic led by physician associates (PAs) for patients with severe mental illness. Methods: A guidance and data collection tool was developed to support and document the outcomes of the PA-led enhanced physical health clinic. Results: The clinic led to diagnoses of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hematologic abnormalities. One patient was started on metformin, two patients started a prediabetes program with their general practitioner, one patient started simvastatin, one patient switched from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, and one patient switched from olanzapine to aripiprazole because of metabolic adverse reactions. Three patients intended to contact the National Health Service for cancer screening for which they were eligible but they had not taken up. Conclusions: PAs can be integrated into a community mental health multidisciplinary team and support the physical health of people with severe mental illness. Mental health trusts should consider roles for PAs in their workforce planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work includes the synthesis of zinc selenium telluride ZnSe1-xTex (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) ternary compound and its deposition in the form of thin films having thickness 200nm using thermal evaporation technique under high vacuum. The synthesized material ZnSe1-xTex thin films are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-VIS-NIR, and Raman spectroscopic measurements. The structural measurements reveal that the deposited thin films of ZnSe1-xTex material are polycrystalline, whose crystallinity decreases with concentration of tellurium material in thin films. The morphology measurement of films shows that the surface of films is smooth and particles are approximately spherical. The optical band gap estimated from the optical transmission spectra of the films is found to decrease with tellurium concentration. Peak shift is found towards red region with tellurium concentration in the films in Raman spectroscopic measurements. The obtained results are analyzed for application of ZnSe1-xTex thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented human health consequences. It is imperative to understand the society's awareness toward knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) level and the extent of measures required by health authorities. Aims and Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the KAP of the general public of India on COVID-19. In this study, a web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between March 10 and April 18, 2020. Materials and Method: A 19-item questionnaire was generated using Google Forms and distributed through social media networks via snowball sampling technique. The Chi-square test was used to compare categorical data, and multiple linear regression was used to identify factors influencing KAP. Result: Among 7978 participants, the overall KAP score was 80.64%, 97.33%, and 93.8%, respectively. In multiple linear regression analysis, male gender (β = 0.036: P < 0.001), urban population (β = 0.006: P < 0.002), higher education (β = 0.029: P < 0.001), and higher occupation (β = 0.002: P = 0.05) were associated significantly with high knowledge score. There was a positive significant correlation between knowledge and attitude, knowledge and practice, and attitude and practice. Conclusion: The KAP level among the general public was adequate, however there is a necessity to target specific category population with tailored health education program to ameliorate the level of knowledge and attitude. knowledge and attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work encloses structural and optical characterization of copper (I) selenide (Cu2Se) thin films. The films having thickness 85 nm have been deposited using thermal evaporation technique in initial step of work. The structural and morphological studies of deposited thin films are then done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and surface profilometer measurements. Later on, ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-VIS-NIR) spectrophotometer and Raman spectroscopic measurements are performed for optical characterization of films. The structure and morphology measurements reveal that deposited material of films is crystalline. The optical band gap estimated from the optical transmission spectra of the film has been found 1.90 eV. The mean values of refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary dielectric constant are received 3.035, 0.594, 9.623, and 3.598, respectively. The obtained results are compared and analyzed for justification and application of Cu2Se thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the leading cause of mortality in various connective tissue diseases (CTD) like systemic sclerosis (SSc) is Interstitial lung disease (ILD). The various CTD which may present as ILD include systemic sclerosis (SSc), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), dermatomyositis (DM), primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS), mixted connective tissue disease (MCTD) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Objective: To compare the safety and tolerability of two salts of mycophenolate, i.e. mycophenolate mofetil and mycophenolate sodium in our patients with CTD-ILD. Patients and Method: Ourstudy was retrospective observational study; involving 70 patients diagnosed with CTD-ILD and was treated with two formulations of Mycophenolate (Mofetil and Sodium) minimum for six months with at least one follow-up during the period of May 2013 to April 2017 at tertiary care hospital from India. Fifty-six patients received MPS and fourteen patients received MMF. The details of patients obtained from case records were recorded in a proforma. Statistical analysis was performed using Graph pad for frequency, mean and percentages. Results: In our study, most of the patients received Mycophenolate sodium (n=56) with the BD dose regimen of 720 mg (n=36), 540 mg (n=18) and 180 mg (n=2). Patients treated with MMF 1000 mg (n=12) and 750 mg (n=2) as BD dose regimen. The adverse events reported in this study were GI (diarrhoea), herpes zoster infection, cytopenia, malignancies or any other infections. The incidence of diarrhea is most commonly observed in this study population. Out of 26 reported cases, 14 patients had an episode of diarrhea at least once and 12 patients had diarrhea attack twice the preceding year. Conclusions: Both formulations of Mycophenolate were tolerated well, and have low-dose corticosteroid use with no discontinuation of therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We concur that in addition to AHI severity, discussion on polysomnography/respiratory disturbance index (RDI)[[4]] would be worth inferring more insight to understand the OSA severity incidence in RA patients with various anatomical structures. We greatly appreciate the interest and the comments made by Shu-Hao Hsu and colleagues on our systematic review and meta-analysis article on the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its association with age and body mass index.[1] We would like to highlight some key points about our study's aims and its design, and more specifically the study objective. With several strengths and limitations in our meta-analysis, the observed high OSA prevalence, and body mass index as its driver, cannot be ignored in diagnosed RA patients. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: Malignant neoplasms can be associated with a wide variety of rheumatological manifestations that may be caused by direct tumor invasion into bones and joints, as a paraneoplastic syndrome, and through altered immune surveillance. To identify the relationship between rheumatic manifestations in various malignancies. Methods: Twenty patients with various malignancies presenting with rheumatic conditions in our tertiary medical care were studied retrospectively from case records at the Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences from 2013 to 2018. Results: In the present study, total of 20 patients including 12 males and 8 females with mean age at diagnosis of was 46.3±22.2 years with various malignancy associated rheumatic diseases were included. In total 20% of patients with were current smokers. Seven (35%) had hematological malignancies whereas 13 (65%) had solid malignancies. Most common presenting feature was arthritis (40%), followed by weight loss (20%), skin rash (10%), fever (15%) and muscle weakness (10%) at the time of diagnosis. All of them developed malignancy within 24 months of diagnosis. Among the autoantibodies, only 6 patients (30%) were positive for both ANA (n= 4, 20%) and RF (n=2, 10%), other antibodies were negative. The patients in the hematological malignancies had significantly higher serum levels of LDH, Mean±SD U/L compared to solid malignancy group (716.8±169.6 vs. 249.9±161.6, p<0.001). Conclusion: In our cohort, all the patients developed malignancies within 2 years of diagnosis of rheumatic condition. Higher serum LDH levels helpful to differentiates between hematological and solid malignancies. Hence early detection of malignancy is of major importance in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digestive tract of Puntius conchonius were studied using anatomical, histological and histochemical techniques. The mouth is terminal, moderate sized and protrrusible buccopharyngeal cavity possess long and hard gill rakers, with supra and infra pharyngeal teeth, thick tubular oesophagus opens into a swollen intestinal bulb, which continue into a thin long tubular and coiled intestine. The short rectum opens through cloaca. The relative gut length is 2.3. The oesophagus presented cerosa with flat uni nucleated cells, circular and longitudinal muscle layer, cannective tissue of sub mucosa and single layer collumnar epithelial cells in the mucosa. The intestinal bulb has cerosa muscle layer and sub mucosa. The inner most mucosal layer consisting of long and deep villi. The histological picture of intestine was quite comparable to the bulb. The comparable four layers rectum showed less number of villi which are blunt. The liver is tri-lobed, polygonal hepatic cells, hepatic canals and sinusoids are distinct. Pancreatic islets are distributed in the hepatic tissues, organizational specificities of Puntius conchonius are compatible with omnivorous feeding habit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Malignant neoplasms can be associated with a wide variety of rheumatological manifestations that may be caused by direct tumor invasion into bones and joints, as a paraneoplastic syndrome, and through altered immune surveillance. To identify the relationship between rheumatic manifestations in various malignancies. Methods: Twenty patients with various malignancies presenting with rheumatic conditions in our tertiary medical care were studied retrospectively from case records at the Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences from 2013 to 2018. Results: In the present study, total of 20 patients including 12 males and 8 females with mean age at diagnosis of was 46.3±22.2 years with various malignancy associated rheumatic diseases were included. In total 20% of patients with were current smokers. Seven (35%) had hematological malignancies whereas 13 (65%) had solid malignancies. Most common presenting feature was arthritis (40%), followed by weight loss (20%), skin rash (10%), fever (15%) and muscle weakness (10%) at the time of diagnosis. All of them developed malignancy within 24 months of diagnosis. Among the autoantibodies, only 6 patients (30%) were positive for both ANA (n= 4, 20%) and RF (n=2, 10%), other antibodies were negative. The patients in the hematological malignancies had significantly higher serum levels of LDH, Mean±SD U/L compared to solid malignancy group (716.8±169.6 vs. 249.9±161.6, p<0.001). Conclusion: In our cohort, all the patients developed malignancies within 2 years of diagnosis of rheumatic condition. Higher serum LDH levels helpful to differentiates between hematological and solid malignancies. Hence early detection of malignancy is of major importance in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single channel queueing model consisting of two stages of service has been considered. To resolve the system in steady state, matrix method, in view of linear operator, has been applied and some interesting results have been derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The system is simulated until a fixed number of patients have com- pleted their delays in queue with the help of FORTRAN PROGRAM. The simu- lation stops when the nth patient enters service. The time the simulation ends is a random variable, depending on the observed values for the inter-arrival and service time random variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]