Search

Background: Depression, affecting 350 million globally, poses significant morbidity and mortality. The correlation between major depressive disorder (MDD) and obesity is noted, with studies indicating poorer treatment outcomes among obese individuals. Measuring weight and body mass index (BMI) could aid in predicting depression treatment outcomes, influencing drug efficacy due to their ease of measurement, amid the shared public health burden of MDD and obesity. Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives of the study are to evaluate baseline BMI’s impact on antidepressant response in newly diagnosed outpatient department (OPD) patients at a tertiary care center. Materials and Methods: This longitudinal observational study was conducted with OPD patients at a tertiary care center, aged 18–65 years with newly diagnosed MDD. Assessment tools included the Diagnostic Criteria for Research accompanying the ICD-10, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and physical measurement devices. Sample size determination considered BMI groups: Normal to underweight (N1=120), overweight (N2=120), and obese (N3=70). The methodology involved patient history, examination, and follow-up assessments after 6 weeks, analyzing antidepressant response statistically. Results: Obese patients exhibited reduced treatment response rates compared to normal and overweight counterparts. Responders had lower mean BMI. Gender disparities in obesity prevalence were noted. Limitations: The study’s limitations include a small sample size of 310 cases, single-center design, and potential selection bias in a tertiary care setting. Conclusion: The findings underscore the complex relationship between BMI, depression severity, and treatment response. Obese individuals demonstrated higher initial depression scores and poorer treatment response, echoing previous research. The study highlights the need for personalized treatment approaches that consider individual BMI levels to optimize depression management strategies effectively.

Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMD’s) represents a cluster of disorders that include the Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) and also the masticatory apparatus. Any alteration in its function will have an impact on the overall function of the masticatory apparatus and in turn the stomatognathic system. Though the aetiology, symptoms, and treatment modalities for TMD’s have been extensively studied, they remain a subject of prime concern for clinicians as it not only affects the form and function but also negatively affects the overall standard of living of the patient. Symptoms of TMD’s such as chronic pain, restriction of function, and psychological effects lead to a lower Quality of Life (QoL) for the patient, which is caused due to various factors such as chronic pain, sleep deprivation, and stress or anxiety. Additionally, personal, professional, and social problems directly or indirectly affect the lifestyle of the patient. Some extra-craniofacial symptoms such as otologic and neurologic symptoms tend to worsen the situation. Majority of patients reporting to an orthodontist present with atleast one symptom of TMD that has affected their QoL. Various questionnaires can be used to assess the patient’s QoL, and plan the treatment accordingly. Managing TMD’s at an early stage while considering these factors and a multidisciplinary approach may help in improving the QoL of the patient.

Abstract Groundwater vulnerability assessment has become a crucial step in successfully protecting groundwater against pollution. An attempt of this study has been made to evaluate groundwater contamination risk using intrinsic vulnerability and land-uses in Vanathavillu, Kalpitiya and Katana area in Sri Lanka, using coupled DRASTIC with GIS as feasible methodology. The findings reveal that the groundwater in the areas under study falls under very low to high contamination risk. The higher risk of contamination has been identified in most of the Kalpitiya (about 82%) with the moderate along the beach in the west and next to Puttalam lagoon in the northeast and southeast. This is mainly due to pollution risk inherent with intense vegetable cultivation, over pumping, shallow groundwater tables and permeable sandy soil. Vanathavillu is under very low to moderate contamination risk, in which the moderate risk (about 13%) has especially been found the center, central southwest and west of the area. The relative less deep groundwater tables, possible seepage from the underlying limestone aquifer and less permeable red earth soil could be cause for the moderate risk in the area. Furthermore, results show that the Katana has low to moderately high groundwater contamination risk. Nitrate has a good agreement with the different pollution risk classes and that nitrate can be used as an indicator of aquifer degradation inherent with land-use activities in the coastal areas. Groundwater quality monitoring network should be set up to minimize the anthropogenic acts, particularly in high and moderate contamination risk zones.

More countries are using verbal autopsy as a part of routine mortality surveillance. The length of time required to complete a verbal autopsy interview is a key logistical consideration for planning large-scale surveillance.We use the PHMRC shortened questionnaire to conduct verbal autopsy interviews at three sites and collect data on the length of time required to complete the interview. This instrument uses a novel checklist of keywords to capture relevant information from the open response. The open response section is timed separately from the section consisting of closed questions.We found the median time to complete the entire interview was approximately 25 minutes and did not vary substantially by age-specific module. The median time for the open response section was approximately 4 minutes and 60% of interviewees mentioned at least one keyword within the open response section.The length of time required to complete the interview was short enough for large-scale routine use. The open-response section did not add a substantial amount of time and provided useful information which can be used to increase the accuracy of the predictions of the cause of death. The novel checklist approach further reduces the burden of transcribing and translating a large amount of free text. This makes the PHMRC instrument ideal for national mortality surveillance.

This report explores the exposure and vulnerability of Korea and the Southern African region to climate-driven impacts in the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus. It presents the building of ecological networks as a mean to address climate change - induced alterations of ecosystems and the consequences for humans and nature. Reducing the asymmetry between price and value of water resources is identified as an essential aspect to enable sound resource management use decisions. The report highlights the need for comprehensive tools which assist decision makers in dealing with the complexity of WEF nexus interrelations and facilitate sustainable resource management.

Summary: Channel coding is the most significant part of every communication system. Future wireless systems will require extraordinary performance codes employing a low‐complication encoding process and decoding to accommodate scenarios ranging from effective throughput with low code rates for extended messages to high dependability for brief information messages with low code rates. The existence of digital transmission techniques that can communicate error‐free over a noisy channel is established by Shannon's channel theorem. Channel coding, however, increases communication dependability at the cost of higher computational costs and structured redundancy. The primary goals of the fifth‐generation cellular network (5G) are enhanced dependability, reduced redundancy, and decreased latency. Two promising communication systems for achieving this goal are LDPC codes and polar codes. The 3GPP, which established the 5G communication system, is reviewed in this paper, along with the encoding/decoding procedure and communication dependability. The encoding/decoding process will be evaluated using the three most studied communication channels: the Binary Erasure Channel (BEC), AWGN (Additive White Gaussian Noise), and the BSC (Binary Symmetric Channel). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression, affecting 350 million globally, poses significant morbidity and mortality. The correlation between major depressive disorder (MDD) and obesity is noted, with studies indicating poorer treatment outcomes among obese individuals. Measuring weight and body mass index (BMI) could aid in predicting depression treatment outcomes, influencing drug efficacy due to their ease of measurement, amid the shared public health burden of MDD and obesity. Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives of the study are to evaluate baseline BMI's impact on antidepressant response in newly diagnosed outpatient department (OPD) patients at a tertiary care center. Materials and Methods: This longitudinal observational study was conducted with OPD patients at a tertiary care center, aged 18-65 years with newly diagnosed MDD. Assessment tools included the Diagnostic Criteria for Research accompanying the ICD-10, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and physical measurement devices. Sample size determination considered BMI groups: Normal to underweight (N1=120), overweight (N2=120), and obese (N3=70). The methodology involved patient history, examination, and follow-up assessments after 6 weeks, analyzing antidepressant response statistically. Results: Obese patients exhibited reduced treatment response rates compared to normal and overweight counterparts. Responders had lower mean BMI. Gender disparities in obesity prevalence were noted. Limitations: The study's limitations include a small sample size of 310 cases, single-center design, and potential selection bias in a tertiary care setting. Conclusion: The findings underscore the complex relationship between BMI, depression severity, and treatment response. Obese individuals demonstrated higher initial depression scores and poorer treatment response, echoing previous research. The study highlights the need for personalized treatment approaches that consider individual BMI levels to optimize depression management strategies effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in orthodontics has been around since the early 2000s. The article explores how the standard of care is determined and where practitioners can find guidance when a new technology arises. This article concludes by examining ethical and regulatory issues related to the clinical use of CBCT, which can help an orthodontist determine whether a scan for a patient should be routinely used and if it should be indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]