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Introduction: Plastic surgeons frequently take facial trauma calls, and their responsibilities may include infection care. The head and neck is a site of presentation for necrotizing fasciitis which requires a high level of suspicion and prompt acti2on for diagnosis and treatment. We performed a meta-analysis of the literature on necrotizing fasciitis of the head and neck (HNnf) to summarize clinical factors, causative organisms, and treatment, and included 2 cases presenting to our institution. Methods: A meta-analysis of the literature from 1990 to 2021 was completed on HNnf. After institutional review board approval, medical records of 2 patients presenting with a diagnosis of HNnf to an academic plastic surgery center between July and September 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Systematic reviews and articles without comprehensive individualized patient data were excluded. Results: A systematic review was performed including 2 cases presenting to our institution. A total of 149 individual cases of HNnf spanning a 30-year period were included. The most common associated comorbidity was diabetes mellitus. The most frequent source of infection was odontogenic. Most patients required serial debridements in addition to IV antibiotics. Streptococcus pyogenes was the most frequent pathogen; however, most infections were polymicrobial. Infections in the periorbital region were significantly monomicrobial ( P = .011). Acute reconstructive surgery requirements: 27 patients had skin grafting, 9 had flap reconstruction. Mortality rate was 12.3%. Increasing age was a significant predictor of mortality ( P = .01). Patients with diabetes were significantly more likely to die from HNnf (52.6%, P = .039) and require multiple debridements ( P = .001) for HNnf as compared to patients without diabetes. Infections initially arising from the submandibular region were found to be an independent negative predictor of mortality ( P = .029). Conclusion: Our experience with HNnf along with meta-analysis of the literature revealed trends in demographics, presentation, organisms, and outcomes, increasing the collective knowledge of this rare entity.

Background/aim The purpose of this study was to assess patients' use of a crowdfunding platform to raise funds for radiation treatment and to better understand the direct and indirect costs associated with treatments. Materials and methods The GoFundMe crowdfunding database was queried for four unique categories related to radiation treatment campaigns. Covariates identified included clinical and demographic variables, and associations between amount raised and these predictors were analyzed using a generalized linear model. Results While 56% percent of campaigns cited direct costs associated with treatment, 73.4% of campaigns cited indirect costs related to treatment. Indirect expenses related to travel (31.7%) as well as living expenses (29.2%) were cited most often across all four treatment categories. Conclusion This study enhances understanding regarding patients use of crowdfunding for radiation treatment. Increased focus should be placed on discussing the indirect costs of care with patients and their families.

Background The role of prior head trauma in stimulating brain tumor development has been previously described in the literature but continues to be debated. The goal of this study was to conduct a systematic review interrogating the contemporary literature to delineate any possible relationship between traumatic brain injury and brain tumor development. Methods A systematic review exploring development of post-TBI brain tumor was conducted by searching electronic databases. Abstracts from articles were read and selected for full-text review according to criteria previously established in the scientific literature. Relevant full-text articles were divided into case reports and single-arm studies and epidemiological studies. Results Of 1070 resultant articles, 18 case reports and single-arm studies (level of evidence of IV and V) with 45 patients were included. The most common cause of TBI was traffic accidents. The average period between TBI and subsequent tumor diagnosis was 12.8 years. Meningiomas represented the largest share of tumors, followed by gliomas. Most post-TBI brain tumors developed in the frontal and temporal lobes. Fifteen epidemiological studies were also interrogated from a variety of countries (level of evidence of III). Case–control studies were more common than cohort studies. There were 9 of 15 studies proposed a possible relationship between history of head trauma and development of brain tumor. Conclusion The relationship between head trauma and neoplastic growth continues to be heavily debated. There are certainly case reports and epidemiological studies in the literature that suggest a correlational relationship between the two. However, there is no concrete evidence of a causal relationship between TBI and brain tumors. More research is needed to definitively delineate the extent of any such relationship.

Low saline water flooding (LSWF) in sandstone is an emerging technique for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). However, understanding the nature of the process is still limited and debated. Hence, there is a need to better understand the molecular level insights into the interactions between the rock–oil–water. This study elucidates the interaction phenomenon occurred between different reservoirs components considering smectite-rich clay, dead crude oil and different concentrations of brine (1500–50,000 ppm) for designing customized flooding fluid for specific reservoir type. The interaction study has been done using different analytical methods including X-ray diffraction patterns, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV–visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, powder wettability and contact angle measurements. The results reveal that 1500–3000 ppm range of salinity is working better during EOR. However, the composition of smectite and crude oil present in the reservoir is the key factor on which the oil recovery also depends. The saline water extracts different polycyclic aromatic structures from the oil sample. The study proves that the monovalent cation like Na+ is more compatible to exploit oil as compared to divalent cations like Ca2+ and Mg2+.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad field; this term signifies the application of a machine or computer to construct intelligent behaviour with insignificant human interruption or interference. AI is expressed as the combination of science and engineering for making intelligent computers. The term AI applies to a broad spectrum of matters in medicine and healthcare sectors like robotics, a medical diagnosis which concerns too many different types of diseases, human biology, and medical statistics. AI in medicine and health care is the main focus of this survey. Our goal is to highlight numerous algorithms based on the techniques which rely on artificially intelligent behaviour for detecting many diseases. We then review more precisely regarding AI applications in several categories of diseases such as hereditary diseases, physiological diseases, cancers, and infectious diseases. We have analysed the AI-based algorithms, and results for the same for the diseases included in the categories as mentioned above. Popular AI techniques include machine learning methods, along with the implementation of natural language processing. We have also discussed the impact of big data in the healthcare sector and how it has supported to improve the field of AI. An overview of various artificial intelligent methods is exhibited in this paper alongside the review of relevant important clinical applications.

The debate surrounding the integration of value in healthcare delivery and reimbursement reform has centered around integrating quality metrics into the current fee-for-service relative value units (RVU) payment model. Although a great amount of literature has been published on the creation and utilization of the RVU, there remains a dearth of information on how clinicians from various specialties view RVU and the quality-of-care metric in the compensation formula. The aim of this review is to analyze and consolidate existing theories on the RVU payment model in neurosurgery. Google and PubMed were searched for English-language literature describing opinions on the RVU in neurosurgery. Commentary was noted to be primary opinions if it was mentioned at least twice in the eight articles included in this review. Overall, seven primary opinions on the RVU were identified across the analyzed articles. Integration of quality into the RVU is viewed favorably by neurosurgeons with a few caveats and opportunities for further improvement.

Development of an application is a tedious task for a developer especially when its a web application. Number of problems are faced by the developers such as storage of scripts in folders according to the server used i.e. there is no option of running the script directly from its current location. No-SQL databases nowadays are at the center of attraction due their advantages over SOL databases namely low operational cost, fast processing, resource scalability, no complex relation, simple data model, distributed computing model, storage of semi structured data and no presence of static schema. But the major problem one faces while using them is their in depth study is required. No proper graphical user interface is available for performing operation on databases such as MongoDB. We have proposed a system that deals with the above problems that occur during the development.

Efficient degradation of hazardous contaminants from contaminated water is the major challenge for researchers, wherein heavy metals are the prominent contaminants. Consequently, the assessment of multimetal removal is necessary using efficient biosorbant. In this work, the capability of Phanerochaete chrysosporium is evaluated for the individual and simultaneous removal of heavy metals. Individual and simultaneous removal of As, Cd, and Cr is optimized using response surface methodology based on the central composite design by changing the variables, i.e., pH, fungal biomass, and metal concentration. Optimization of the individual metal removal study reveals that fungus effectively absorbs As (29.95 mg L−1), Cd (18.1 mg L−1), and Cr (26.34 mg L−1) at 6.1, 5.64, and 4.15 of pH, respectively. Similarly, As (14.18 mg L−1), Cd (4.53 mg L−1), and Cr (9.28 mg L−1) are absorbed by fungal hyphae simultaneously within 1 h. Changes in the morphology of fungal hyphae are detected in metal absorbed samples as compared to the control hyphae. Interaction of metal‐absorbed fungal hyphae is analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy, revealing that the proteins, carbohydrates, and fatty acids present in the fungal cell are interacted with metals. The model white rot fungi used in the present study can be applied efficiently for the multimetal removal in effluent treatment plants.

Efficient degradation of hazardous contaminants from contaminated water is the major challenge for researchers, wherein heavy metals are the prominent contaminants. Consequently, the assessment of multimetal removal is necessary using efficient biosorbant. In this work, the capability of Phanerochaete chrysosporium is evaluated for the individual and simultaneous removal of heavy metals. Individual and simultaneous removal of As, Cd, and Cr is optimized using response surface methodology based on the central composite design by changing the variables, i.e., pH, fungal biomass, and metal concentration. Optimization of the individual metal removal study reveals that fungus effectively absorbs As (29.95 mg L-1), Cd (18.1 mg L-1), and Cr (26.34 mg L-1) at 6.1, 5.64, and 4.15 of pH, respectively. Similarly, As (14.18 mg L-1), Cd (4.53 mg L-1), and Cr (9.28 mg L-1) are absorbed by fungal hyphae simultaneously within 1 h. Changes in the morphology of fungal hyphae are detected in metal absorbed samples as compared to the control hyphae. Interaction of metal-absorbed fungal hyphae is analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy, revealing that the proteins, carbohydrates, and fatty acids present in the fungal cell are interacted with metals. The model white rot fungi used in the present study can be applied efficiently for the multimetal removal in effluent treatment plants.