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The global spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) has been fostered by the lack of preemptive screening of patients in healthcare facilities that could prevent patient-to-patient transmission. To screen patients admitted to Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) for CRE carriage to take appropriate infection control measures. This prospective surveillance study was conducted in the MICU of a tertiary healthcare hospital between September to December 2022. Patients more than 18 years of age admitted to the MICU were included in the study. Patients transferred from different units within the hospital to MICU were excluded. Immediately after admission, two rectal swabs were collected after obtaining consent from the patients. These patients were selected based on the questionnaire framed from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) CRE tool kit. The samples were further analyzed and the antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed. The present study included 91 study subjects of which 53% were males. Of selected participants, 63.7% did not have any specified medical intervention or device placed and 78% had not used antibiotics previously. Of the tested isolates, Of the tested isolates, 12 (13.2%) were observed to be CRE colonized. These isolates were found to be resistant to both imipenem and meropenem. An association was reported between CRE and device placement (p = 0.000) as well as between CRE and previous use of antibiotics (p = 0.000). Current use of antibiotics (p = 0.6381) and gender (p = 0.6066) did not show any association with CRE colonisation. The study concludes that the presence of CRE is an existing danger for patients in ICUs and that there is a possible association between CRE and device placement as well as previous use of antibiotics which can be further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dietary practices have an important role in shaping our mental health which many of people are unaware due to paucity in research data. This study was done to assess the association between dietary eating and mental health among medical students in a private medical college. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study done among 200 medical college students studying in private medical college selected by random sampling method. Data was collected using structured, validated questionnaire to assess the dietary eating habits and to assess the various factors of mental health, i.e., stress, depression and anxiety, using Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21). Results: It was found that 36% were having a craving for junk food and frequent consumption of canned foods, frozen foods and fast foods were risk factors of depression. Anxiety was found to be associated with frequent fried foods consumption. Stress was found to be associated with consumption of canned/readymade foods. Conclusion: This study concludes that students and their mental health are affected significantly by their dietary habits and food habits of students should be monitored and interventions, if necessary, should be given. More research is necessary to establish causal relationships.

Introduction: Palatable foods have potent reinforcing effects that are mediated, partly, by an abrupt augmentation of dopaminergic neurotransmitters in the brain’s reward pathways. Food addiction to highly palatable foods contributes to the increasing prevalence of obesity. Aim: To evaluate the effect of food addiction on neurobehavioural parameters and the Behavioral Satiety Sequence (BSS) during restriction to a highly palatable diet in a food addiction rat model. Materials and Methods: The experimental study was conducted in the Pharmacology Department at PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India from April 2018 to January 2019. The study included six animals out of 28 female Sprague Dawley rats aged approximately 10 weeks and weighing 180-220 g were allocated to the control group and were fed a Standard Chow diet (SC) throughout the study. Twenty-two animals (induction group) were exposed to free choice between SC and a highly palatable Cafeteria Diet (CD), a mix of equal amounts of Bounty®, Snickers®, Mars®, and Milka® chocolate made into homogenous food pellets. After six weeks, 12 animals were randomly selected to have restricted access to the CD diet with free access to SC, while the rest continued to receive a free choice between the two diets for two weeks. Central Nervous System (CNS) parameters, BSS, 24-hour food intake, and body weight were recorded. Results: A significant decrease of 25.4 seconds (18.27%) in the mean time the CD restricted group stayed on the rotarod (113.6±8.31) seconds. and a reduced locomotor activity score of 46.92 (20.94%) in the CD access group in the actophotometer (177.08±5.29) compared to SC was noted. In the open field test, the CD restricted group demonstrated a 47.33% increase in grooming (12.0±1.11) and a 30% lower number of central squares crossed (2.80±0.57). In the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM), the time spent in the open arm (15.00±8.10) was statistically lower (p=0.045). No statistically significant difference between groups was recorded in the forced swim or tail suspension tests. Disruption of the BSS in varying dimensions was apparent in both CD groups. Conclusion: The study has shown that anxiety and altered feeding behaviour were evident in the CD restricted rats in the food addiction model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to advance sustainable energy technologies like fuel cells and metal-air batteries, it is crucial to use an electrocatalyst that is very efficient for the process of oxygen evolution. The production of Co3O4 nanostructures led to the creation of a multiporous nanostructure. The research used an approach that utilised a simple, cost-effective, and low-temperature synthesis procedure. The catalytic activity of Co3O4 nanostructures, which have a high degree of porosity and include mesoporous nanostructures, was shown to be substantial. The catalyst has the ability to enhance the highly reactive oxygen reactions at the anode, hence increasing the combined effect of charge transfer at the interface and the porous structure of Co3O4 nanostructures. The results of this study demonstrate that Co3O4 nanostructures exhibit a significant overpotential value of 321 mV at 10 mA/cm2, a Tafel slope of 72 mV Dec−1, and excellent stability when used as electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution process (OER) in real-world situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of renewable energy technologies, such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries, relies heavily on the availability of highly efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, a mesoporous Fe3O4-ZnO nanocomposites was synthesized using a simple and economically viable approach at a relatively low temperature. The observed catalytic activity of the prepared Fe3O4-ZnO nanocomposites mesoporous nanostructure was found to be remarkable. Additionally, the nanostructure exhibited a high tolerance to methanol and demonstrated durability towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. In the course of the experiment, it was observed that the catalyst exhibited noteworthy activity in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) when compared to the commercially available RuO2 catalyst. This was evident through a more negative onset potential and higher current. The catalyst's notable capacity for high oxygen reaction activity may potentially enhance the synergistic effect resulting from the combination of defect sites and the porous structure of Fe3O4-ZnO nanocomposites. The findings of this study indicate that the Fe3O4-ZnO nanocomposites exhibit promising attributes as an electrocatalyst with overpotential and Tafel slope value of 350 mV and 62 mVdec−1 for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in real-world scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fuel cells and metal‐air batteries are examples of renewable energy technologies that depend on having highly effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, a mesoporous nanostructure composed of Fe3O4‐Carbon nanocomposites was synthesised using a simple and economically viable approach at a relatively low temperature. The observed catalytic activity of the prepared defected Fe3O4‐Carbon nanocomposites mesoporous nanostructure was found to be remarkable. Additionally, the nanostructure exhibited a high tolerance to methanol and demonstrated durability towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. In the course of the experiment, it was observed that the catalyst exhibited noteworthy activity in the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) when compared to the commercially available RuO2 catalyst. This was evident through a more overpotential value of 325 mV at current density of 10 mA/cm2. The catalyst's notable capacity for high oxygen reaction activity may potentially enhance the synergistic effect resulting from the combination of defect sites and the porous structure of Fe3O4‐Carbon nanocomposites. The findings of this study indicate that the Fe3O4‐Carbon nanocomposites nanostructures exhibit promising attributes as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in real‐world scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]