Assessing Agreement Level between Actual Stature and Regression Estimates using Foot Length of Adults

Introduction: Stature can be determined using measurementsof different body parts. Forensic anthropology uses regressionequation for determining stature from body part. The aim ofthe present study is to assess the agreement level betweenactual and estimated stature using regression equation fromright foot length (RFL) among both sexes in Chennai region.Material and methods: In this cross sectional study, 619subjects of both sexes with age ranging from 18 to 59 yearswere studied for determination of stature. Simple regressionequations were formulated from RFL. They were appliedfor determination of stature of an individual of both sexesseparately. Then they were assessed for their agreementbetween actual and estimated stature.Results: The present study found a satisfactory agreementbut not very good agreement between actual and estimatedstature with regression equation from RFL in both sexes.According to the Bland-Altman plot, there was a bias asnegative predicted higher than the actual stature values andfew observations were found moving beyond lower and upperlimits (95% confidence limit).Conclusion: When actual stature cannot be determined,regression equation could be the most appropriate forprediction of stature using foot length in adults.

Prediction of Stature with Regression Equation and Multiplication Factor using Foot Length in Adults: A Comparative Study

Introduction: Stature estimation is important in medicolegalinvestigations and anthropological studies. Regressionequation and multiplication factor are used for estimationof stature from body segment. The objective of this studyis to find out any significant difference exists between theregression equation and multiplication factor estimates usingright foot length in predicting the stature.Material and methods: A total of 619 study subjects thatincluded both males and females with age ranged from 18to 59 years were selected for estimation of stature. Simpleregression equation and multiplication factor were formulatedfrom RFL. They were used for estimation of stature of bothmale and female study subjects separately. Then both themethods were analyzed for their accuracy and to find out anydifference between them.Results: It was statistically significant for multiplication factorwhen compared with regression equation for determiningstature from RFL in males (p=0.018) and females (p=0.002).Conclusion: The present study found that multiplicationfactor was better than regression equation in determiningstature from RFL in both sexes among population in Chennairegion

Rotary endodontics in primary teeth - a review

Endodontic treatment in primary teeth can be challenging and time consuming, especially during canal preparation, which is considered one of the most important steps in root canal therapy. The conventional instrumentation technique for primary teeth remains the "gold-standard" over hand instrumentation, which makes procedures much more time consuming and adversely affects both clinicians and patients. Recently nickel-titanium [Ni-Ti] rotary files have been developed for use in pediatric endodontics. Using rotary instruments for primary tooth pulpectomies is cost effective and results in fills that are consistently uniform and predictable. This article reviews the use of nickel-titanium rotary files as root canal instrumentation in primary teeth. The pulpectomy technique is described here according to different authors and the advantages and disadvantages of using rotary files are discussed

Thyroid Autoimmune Antibodies and Major Depressive Disorder in Women

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Anti-thyroid antibodies are associated with extra-thyroid diseases such as Graves' ophthalmopathy and Hashimoto's encephalopathy. Some evidence suggests that anti-thyroid antibodies are also associated with depression. Interleukin (IL)-17 appears to play an important role in autoimmune thyroid disease. This study investigated whether specific thyroid autoantibodies and IL-17 distinguished persons with depression from non-depressed controls.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>Forty-seven adult females with non-psychotic, current major depressive disorder and 80 healthy female controls participated in this study. Thyroid peroxidase antibodies, thyroglobulin antibodies, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor antibodies, free T3 and T4, TSH and IL-17 were measured from the serum. Measurements were repeated to assess test-retest reliability. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to estimate discriminatory values of the measurements. Differences between groups and associations between the clinical and biochemical assessments were analysed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Median TSH receptor antibody concentration was significantly higher in the depressed than control group (P <0.001). Area under the ROC curve was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.73 to 0.88). Higher TSH receptor antibody titres were associated with greater depression severity scores (r = 0.33, P <0.05). IL-17 levels were not associated with TSH receptor antibody levels or depression severity scores. Thyroid function and other thyroid autoantibodies were not associated with depression severity.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TSH receptor antibodies might be a biomarker of immune dysfunction in depression.</p>

Integrating Building Information Modeling and Health and Safety for Onsite Construction

BACKGROUND: Health and safety (H&S) on a construction site can either make or break a contractor, if not properly managed. The usage of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for H&S on construction execution has the potential to augment practitioner understanding of their sites, and by so doing reduce the probability of accidents. This research explores BIM usage within the construction industry in relation to H&S communication. METHODS: In addition to an extensive literature review, a questionnaire survey was conducted to gather information on the embedment of H&S planning with the BIM environment for site practitioners. RESULTS: The analysis of responses indicated that BIM will enhance the current approach of H&S planning for construction site personnel. CONCLUSION: From the survey, toolbox talk will have to be integrated with the BIM environment, because it is the predominantly used procedure for enhancing H&S issues within construction sites. The advantage is that personnel can visually understand H&S issues as work progresses during the toolbox talk onsite.

Action of acid chlorides on benzaldehyde di-n-butylacetal at low temperature.

The benzaldehyde di-n-butylacetal has been synthesized and its reactions with acid chlorides, viz., acetylchloride, benzoylchloride, benzylchloride, perchloricacid, sodiumperchlorate, zirconiumoxychloride and calciumoxychloride have been studied at -20oC. The acetal generates esters with acetylchloride, benzoylchloride and perchloricacid while produced ether with benzylchloride, but only aldehyde with sodiumperchlorate. Interestingly, acetal yields substituted aldehyde alone with zirconiumoxychloride and calciumoxychloride. Acid chlorides are synthetically very useful reagents and vary widely in their acceptor synthon character and reactivity; hence their application in the present work on the action of acid chlorides on benzaldehyde di-n-butylacetal is a new venture.

Antimicrobial activity of a few medicinal plants against gram negative bacteria.

The methanol and aqueous extracts of leaves of five different medicinal plants, Solanum nigrum L., Solanum torvum Sw., Solanum trilobatum L., Solanum surattense Burm. and Solanum melongena L. belonging to Solanaceae family were used for the investigation of antibacterial studies. In antibacterial screening performed by disc diffusion method against two gram negative bacteria namely Xanthomonas campestris (plant pathogen) and Aeromonas hydrophila (animal pathogen), it was found that the methanol extracts of all the plant samples showed significant activity against the two tested bacteria. The methanol extracts of S. nigrum, S. torvum and S. surattense exhibited clear zone of inhibition against the tested micro organisms. Among these three samples, the MIC value of S. surattense, determined by serial dilution technique, was found to be 32μg/ml and 64μg/ml against Xanthomonas campestris and Aeromonas hydrophila respectively.

zadiracta indica a juss - a potential antimicrobial agent against xanthomonas campestris.

The leaves, stem, flowers and fruits of Azadiracta indica .A Juss. which have some medicinal applications were investigated. Phytochemical analysis gave positive results for steroids, triterpinoids, reducing sugars, sugars, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids and tannins. The crude methanol extracts showed growth inhibitory effects on Xanthomonas campestris. The methanol extract of the leaves and fruits showed significant inhibitory effect when compared with positive controls, neomycin and kanamycin respectively. The stem and flowers extracts show marked antibacterial activity. Among these samples, the MIC value of leaves and fruits determined by serial dilution technique was found to be 32μg/ml and 64μg/ml against Xanthomonas campestris respectively.

Comparative phytochemical screening of flowers of a few medicinal plants.

The flowers of a few medicinal plants such as Calotropis gigantea, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Cassia auriculata, Azadiracta indica, Catharanthus roseus and Nerium oleander were collected, air dried, pulverized and subjected to methanol extraction. Methanol extracts were screened phytochemically for its chemical components. This revealed the presence of steroids, reducing sugars, triterpenoids, sugars, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, catechins, saponins, tannins, anthroquinons and amino acids. This study provides some scientific bases for the use of theses flowers as a remedy for some infectious diseases in folkloric medicine. The phytochemicals observed could be attributed to the presence of some of the active compounds which will be used for the treatment of various diseases.

Datura metel linn. - A plant with potential as antibacterial agent.

The leaves, stem, flowers and fruits of Datura metel Linn. which have some medicinal applications were investigated. Phytochemical analysis gave positive results for steroids, triterpinoids, reducing sugars, sugars, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids and tannins. The crude methanol extracts showed growth inhibitory effects on Xanthomonas campestris. The methanol extract of the leaves and flowers showed significant inhibitory effect when compared with positive controls, neomycin and kanamycin respectively. The stem and fruits extracts did not show marked antibacterial activity.

Pulmonary function test in traffic police personnel in Pondicherry.

Traffic policemen working in the busy traffic signal areas get exposed to the vehicular emissions for years together. The fumes, chemicals and particles present in the emission are reported to be damaging to the lung functions of these individuals. Since there were no data available on the PFT parameters of traffic police personnel of Pondicherry, this study was taken up to assess the effect of traffic air pollution on their pulmonary functions. PFT parameters were recorded in age- and BMI-matched 30 traffic police personnel (study group) and 30 general police personnel (control group) of male gender. As chronic smoking is known to be a critical factor in altering lung function, PFT parameters were compared between the smokers as well as nonsmokers of both the groups. In nonsmokers, there was significant decrease in VC (P<0.05), FEV1 (P<0.01), FEF-25 (P<0.05) and PIF (P<0.05) in study group compared to the control group. In smokers, there was significant decrease in VC (P<0.05), FEV1 (P<0.0001), PEF (P<0.0001), MVV (P<0.0001), FEF-25 (P<0.0001), and PIF (P<0.01) in study group compared to the control group. These changes indicate restriction to the lung expansion, obstruction and narrowing of the airways in traffic police personnel compared to the general police personnel. This may be due to exposure to vehicular pollution for several hours in a day for many years causing decreased functional capacity of the lungs and chronic smoking worsens the condition.

Assessment of the structural validity of the domestic violence healthcare providers' survey questionnaire using a Nigerian sample

There has been increased advocacy to involve healthcare providers in the prevention of intimate partner violence [IPV] through screening for it in healthcare. Yet, only one in ten providers screen for IPV, suggesting barriers. Understanding the readiness of healthcare providers to screen for IPV is therefore paramount. The Domestic Violence Healthcare Provider Survey Scales [DVHPSS] is a previously validated, comprehensive scale to study readiness of healthcare providers to screen for IPV. However, an understanding of its usefulness in the Sub-Saharan African context remains elusive, The current study undertook to examine the structural validity of the DVHPSS in Nigeria. Exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's Alpha were run to reveal the factorial structure and reliability of the instrument/subscales respectively. Established thresholds were used to determine significant factor loadings and alphas coefficient. A six factor model emerged, with 2 factors similar to the original scale, another two differing slightly and a further two factors resulting from a splitting up of the original combination of victim/provider safety to having distinct victim and provider safety subscales. With slight modifications, the DVHPSS can be use to study IPV screening among Nigerian healthcare professionals. Introducing screening protocols could promote better understanding of crucial questions that were lost in the analysis

Audit of state-funded antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C in Qatar

Hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection is a major public health problem in the Middle East. A database of 400 patients with chronic HCV in Qatar was retrospectively analysed: 242 patients underwent antiviral treatment, of whom 212 [87.6%] were naive to treatment. The response to treatment and the predictors of response were studied. The largest group of patients were of Egyptian origin. The rate of sustained virological response [SVR] varied significantly between patients with HCV genotypes 2 or 3 [79.6%] and genotype 1 [45.6%] and 4 [the predominant genotype] [51.0%]. Multivariate analysis showed that the independent predictors of SVR were age < 45 years, infection with genotypes 2 or 3, low fibrosis score on liver biopsy and naive treatment status

Arachnoiditis ossiflcans of the thoracic spinal canal: a diagnostic enigma

A 65-year-old woman presented with progressive difficulty walking and sensory disturbances of the lower extremities. Plain radiographs of the thoracic spine were normal. Interpretation of magnetic resonance imaging suggested an intramedullary thoracic spinal cord tumour. However, computed tomographic myelography revealed an intradural extramedullary cystic T10 lesion compressing the spinal cord. Intraoperatively, we found a collar-like, hard mass, with hypertrophic arachnoid, and cyst formation. Histological evaluation disclosed a mesenchymal lesion composed of dense fibrous dura and arachnoid-meningeal tissue with prominent ossification. The discrepant radiological findings [combined with the difficulty arriving at a specific pathological diagnosis] contributed to the challenging nature of this case

Detección del estado nutricional en una poblacion infantil / Detection of the nutritional state in children

En el presente trabajo se practicó la detección del estado nutricional en la población infantil cubierta por el Dispensario de la Policia de Puente Aranda, durante 1985-1988, con 61 pacientes. Se determinó el nivel en que se encontraban los niños en peso / edad y talla / edad, en las tablas de NCHS; y la importancia de la enfermdad en el estado nutricional. Se publican los resultados obtenidos, y se hace un análisis sobre estos