Effects of dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid-rich linseed on the reproductive performance of ewes in subtropical climates.

The present study evaluated the effects of omega-3 (ω-3) fatty acid-rich linseed supplementation on the reproductive performance, endocrine profile, and biochemical profile of ewes reared in subtropical climates. Forty-eight acyclic and clinically healthy Marwari sheep, aged 1.5-2.5 years with no parity, were divided into four groups (n = n = 12 in each). Ewes in the control group (group I) were fed only a basal feed, whereas ewes in the treatment groups II, III, and IV were fed the basal diet along with 10%, 15%, and 20% linseed, respectively, daily on a dry matter basis. The experiment was conducted during the typical breeding season (October-November) of the sheep. The estrus induction rate was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in all treatment groups than in the control group. The estrus induction interval was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in group III. The conception rate in group I was significantly lower (p < 0.05). In addition, ewes in the control group had a significantly lower (p < 0.05) lambing rate than all treatment groups. Serum progesterone concentrations differed significantly (p < 0.05) between the control and the treatment groups on days 15, 30, 45, and 60 of supplementation. On treatment days 15 and 30, the serum estrogen concentrations were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in all treatment groups compared to that in group I. In all treatment groups, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) decreased significantly (p < 0.05), whereas polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) increased significantly (p < 0.05) from day 15 onward. In conclusion, by providing 15% dietary linseed supplementation to ewes, their reproductive performance can be improved in subtropical climates. Future studies are recommended to further elucidate the role of linseed supplementation in sheep reproduction in subtropical climates.

Enhancing soil health and fruit yield through Tephrosia biomass mulching in rainfed guava (Psidium guajava L.) orchards.

Leguminous crop Tephrosia candida has high biomass production and contains a substantial quantity of nutrients within its biomass. Starting in 2019, a long-term study was done to find the best Tephrosia candida dose for mulching in guava orchards. The study had four treatments: T1 = 3.0 kg dry biomass m-2 of the plant basin, T2 = 2.0 kg, T3 = 1.0 kg, and T4 = control (no mulch). Every year, the treatments imposed in the month of August. The third year (2021-2022) results indicated that mulching with 3 kg of biomass m-2 increased trunk diameter, fruit yield, fruit weight, specific leaf area, total leaf chlorophyll, and leaf macro- and micro-nutrients. At 3.0 kg m-2, mulching improved soil properties such as EC, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, DTPA extractable micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn), total organic carbon (Ctoc), soil organic carbon (Csoc), organic carbon fractions, and microbial biomass carbon between 0-0.15 m and 0.15-0.30 m. There was an increasing trend in dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and fluorescein diacetate (FDA). The Tephrosia leaf litter exhibited decay constants of 1.27 year-1, and the carbon content was 40.11%. Therefore, applying Tephrosia biomass mulching at a rate of 3.0 kg m-2 is a viable long-term solution for enhancing soil fertility and sequestering carbon.

Technological Aspects of Nanoemulsions for Post-harvest Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables.

Recent times have witnessed a growing demand for sustainable technology for food preservation that can retain its freshness, promises lower contents of additives and preservatives, safe consumption, eco-friendly milder processing technologies and eco-friendlier packaging solutions. Application of Biopolymers has served as the most sustainable and viable option to its synthetic counterparts. These biopolymers have been incorporated to develop biodegradable packaging like edible films and coatings owing to their biological origin. Nanoemulsion technology offers a leap forward to upgrade the features of conventional biodegradable packaging items. The present review discusses various trends and perspectives of nanoemulsion technology in post-harvest preservation for enhancing the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. It investigates the interconnectedness between food preservation techniques, biodegradable packaging materials made from biopolymers, and nanoemulsions. It further addresses the preservation challenges post-harvest and underscores the limitations of conventional preservation methods, advocating for eco-friendly alternatives with a specific focus on the potential of nanoemulsions in enhancing food safety and quality. This review elaborates on the composition, formulation techniques, nanoemulsion products and role of nanoemulsions in the management of foodborne pathogens. Furthermore, it examines the potential health hazards linked to the use of nanoemulsions and stresses the significance of a regulatory framework for food safety. In conclusion, this review offers insights into the promising prospects of using nanoemulsions in food preservation.

A census of general surgery consultants in England and Wales: implications for the current and future surgical workforce.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to describe the composition of the current general surgical consultant body in England and Wales and quantify levels of inequality within it as well as describe future workforce challenges. METHODS: This is an observational study of all general surgical departments in England and Wales. Consultant general surgeons were identified and data regarding their gender, country of undergraduate medical education, subspecialty and private practice were recorded. RESULTS: Of the 2,682 consultant general surgeons in England and Wales identified for this study, just 17% are women, with gender inequality most marked in university teaching hospitals and among certain subspecialties. Almost 40% of consultants did not obtain their primary undergraduate degree in the United Kingdom and there are considerably fewer surgeons who studied abroad in university teaching hospitals. Over 40% of current general surgical consultants have been qualified for more than three decades and there is no equivalent sized group of younger consultants. CONCLUSIONS: There remains considerable gender and racial inequality in the consultant general surgical workforce, with pockets of a lack of diversity within university or teaching hospital surgical departments and some subspecialties. The proportion of surgeons in their fourth decade of clinical practice represents the largest group of current practising consultants, which points towards an impending workforce crisis should senior clinicians seek to reduce activity or consider taking early retirement.

AN EVALUATION OF ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIPTION PRACTICES: PERSPECTIVES OF VETERINARY TRAINEES AND PRACTICING VETERINARIANS.

Antibiotic resistance is a major worldwide problem that has an impact on the well-being of humans as well as animals. Antibiotic resistance is caused by the misuse and excessive use of antibiotics. The key to reducing this issue lies in educating veterinary medical learners on the proper and accountable utilization of antibiotics for the care of animals. Objective - using awareness-raising and instruction as the foundation, this research of Indian veterinary learners can help resolve the issue of antibiotic resistance throughout the care of animals. The questionnaire survey was taken between June and July 2022 and it was aimed at learners registered in veterinary medical studies at academic and research institutions in India. The study included 500 pupils overall. The purpose of the survey was to gather information about students' knowledge of antibiotics, including antibiotic resistance, as well as their feelings on the consequences of antibiotic resistance on the globe at large and their acquaintance with the one health ideology. According to this study's findings, 83.3 percent of respondents thought antibiotic resistance was a serious problem. 57.92 percent of respondents understood the issue's worldwide consequences and its one health ideology. The study emphasizes the significance of expanding the veterinary educational program to include thorough instruction on prudent antibiotic usage and the concepts of one health.

Joint EANM/SNMMI guideline on radiomics in nuclear medicine : Jointly supported by the EANM Physics Committee and the SNMMI Physics, Instrumentation and Data Sciences Council.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this guideline is to provide comprehensive information on best practices for robust radiomics analyses for both hand-crafted and deep learning-based approaches. METHODS: In a cooperative effort between the EANM and SNMMI, we agreed upon current best practices and recommendations for relevant aspects of radiomics analyses, including study design, quality assurance, data collection, impact of acquisition and reconstruction, detection and segmentation, feature standardization and implementation, as well as appropriate modelling schemes, model evaluation, and interpretation. We also offer an outlook for future perspectives. CONCLUSION: Radiomics is a very quickly evolving field of research. The present guideline focused on established findings as well as recommendations based on the state of the art. Though this guideline recognizes both hand-crafted and deep learning-based radiomics approaches, it primarily focuses on the former as this field is more mature. This guideline will be updated once more studies and results have contributed to improved consensus regarding the application of deep learning methods for radiomics. Although methodological recommendations in the present document are valid for most medical image modalities, we focus here on nuclear medicine, and specific recommendations when necessary are made for PET/CT, PET/MR, and quantitative SPECT.

Analgesic Efficacy of Fascia Iliaca Compartment Block for Positioning During Spinal Anesthesia in Patients with Femur Fractures.

Background Positioning patients with femur fractures for spinal anesthesia is associated with excruciating pain. Fascia iliaca compartment block has the potential to block all nerves supplying the femur and therefore may provide effective analgesia during positioning these patients for spinal anesthesia. Objective To assess the analgesic efficacy of Fascia iliaca compartment block, during positioning patients with femur fracture for spinal anesthesia. We also assessed the duration of analgesia and the requirement for rescue analgesics in the postoperative period. Method Seventy adult patients with fracture femurs were randomly divided into two equal groups (A and B). Patients in both groups received fentanyl one mcg/kg intravenously, 20 minutes before positioning them for spinal anesthesia. Patients of group B additionally, received ultrasound-guided Fascia iliaca compartment block with 40 ml of 0.25% Ropivacaine, immediately after intravenous fentanyl. Numerical rating score (0-10) was used for the assessment of pain at five, 10, and 20 minutes after the block and immediately after positioning patients for spinal anesthesia. Result Immediately after positioning patients for spinal anesthesia, the numerical rating score of pain was 5.06±1.5 in group A and 2.49±1.2 in group B (p<0.001). The duration of analgesia was 799.7±62.1 minutes in group B and 314.65±118.9 minutes in group A (p<0.001). One (2.8%) patient of group B and 18(51.4%) patients of group A required rescue analgesics within four to twelve hours in the postoperative period (p=0.001). In group A, seven patients were satisfied with the analgesia technique while in group B, 17 were satisfied and eight patients were strongly satisfied (p<0.001). Conclusion Ultrasound-guided Fascia iliaca compartment block is effective in reducing pain during positioning patients with femur fractures for spinal anesthesia. Patients receiving this block had a prolonged duration of analgesia, required lesser analgesics, and were more satisfied in the postoperative period as compared to patients not receiving the block.

Atypical presentations of cutaneous tuberculosis: Series of 10 cases.

Cutaneous tuberculosis classically presents as Lupus vulgaris, scrofuloderma, tuberculosis verrucose cutis and tubercular abscess. Hypersensitivity reaction to the bacilli leads to Lichen scrofulosorum and papulonecrotic tuberculids. At the same time, it can have myriad of clinical presentations, many of which are still undescribed. It is important to regularly update ourselves with these unusual manifestations so as to ensure early treatment and reduction of overall morbidity. In this case series tuberculosis manifesting as rapidly progressing diffuse facial granulomas, sporotrichoid tuberculosis, tuberculosis mimicking squamous cell carcinoma, scrofuloderma as tubercular ulcer, lupus vulgaris with nasal septal perforation, lupus vulgaris resembling furuncle, psoriasis, dermatitis and BT Hansen are described in immunocompetent individuals. These cases highlight the importance of recognition of atypical forms of cutaneous tuberculosis to minimize scarring and dissemination of bacilli.

Nevus Lipomatosus Cutaneous Superficialis of Hoffmann and Zurhelle: a rare cutaneous hamartoma.

Nevus lipomatosus cutaneous superficialis (NLCS) is a rare idiopathic cutaneous hamartoma characterized by ectopic clusters of mature adipose tissues in dermis. It is classified into two types. Classical type presenting as multiple lesions with onset at birth or within third decade of life and solitary type with onset between third to sixth decade of life. Here we present a case of 45 years female with adult onset, asymptomatic, grouped, skin colored, soft sessile growth in zosteriform pattern on left buttock. We here intend to report rare case of classical Nevus Lipomatosus Cutaneous Superficialis.

Synthesis, molecular docking, and biological evaluation of Schiff base hybrids of 1,2,4-triazole-pyridine as dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors.

In this study novel derivatives of 1,2,4-triazole pyridine coupled with Schiff base were obtained in altered aromatic aldehyde and 4-((5-(pyridin-3-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-ylthio)methyl)benzenamine reactions. Thin layer chromatography and melting point determination were employed to verify the purity of hybrid derivatives. The structures of the hybrid derivatives were interpreted using methods comprising infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectroscopy. The in vitro anti-microbial properties and minimum inhibitory concentration were determined with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Among the derivatives produced, two derivatives comprising (Z)-2-((4-((5-(pyridine-3-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-ylthio)methyl)phenylimino)methyl)phenoland (Z)-2-methoxy-5-((4-((5-(pyridine-3-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3- ylthio)methyl)phenylimino)methyl)phenol obtained promising results as antibacterial agents. After synthesizing different derivatives, docking studies were performed and the scores range from -10.3154 to -12.962 â€‹kcal/mol.

Comparison of Outcome of Borderline and Normal Amniotic Fluid Index in Term Pregnancy.

Background Determination of Amniotic Fluid Index (AFI) is an important component of antepartum assessment of all normal pregnancies. Objective To compare the obstetric interventions and neonatal outcomes in term pregnancies with borderline Amniotic Fluid Index versus normal Amniotic Fluid Index. Method This hospital based prospective study was conducted at Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital over 1 year between 2017 and 2018 in 128 women having uncomplicated term pregnancy admitted in labor ward. Of the 128 women, 64 women had borderline Amniotic Fluid Index (5.1-8 cm) and 64 normal AFI (8.1 - 24 cm). Parameters studied were induction of labor, cesarean section, instrumental delivery, intrapartum abnormal fetal heart rate, meconium staining of liquor, APGAR score at 5 and 7 minutes, birth weight, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and neonatal death. Data was analyzed using software OpenEpi. Result Statistically significant difference in result was obtained in the two groups in terms of rate of induction of labor (73.4% vs 35.9%, p = 0.0001, OR = 4.9), rate of cesarean section (42.1% vs 28 .1%, p = 0.04, OR = 1.8), tachypnea (50% vs 11.1%, p = 0.01) and low birth weight (9.1% vs 4.5%, p = 0.04). No statistical significance was found in meconium staining of liquor (33% vs 38.3%, p = 0.3) and APGAR score of <7 at 5 minutes (3.1% vs 1.5%, p = 0.06). There were no neonatal intensive care unit admissions and neonatal mortality in any of the babies. Conclusion Detection of amniotic fluid volume at term is important for timely maternal interventions to improve the overall fetal outcome.

Anal cancer survival: a socioeconomic analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common variant of anal malignancy. Certain disease-related factors have been established in determining survival. These include tumour size, differentiation and nodal involvement. Other factors such as HIV status, human papillomavirus infection, smoking and socioeconomic disparity may have important roles, however few data are available on the UK population. We aim to correlate social deprivation and survival of anal cancer patients at a tertiary centre. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All consecutive cases diagnosed with anal squamous cell carcinoma and treated as per local protocol between July 2010 and April 2017 were included. The pathological and demographical details were collected from a prospectively maintained database. Socioeconomic deprivation was defined for each postcode using the Index of Multiple Deprivation decile compiled by local governments in England. Survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression was used to investigate the effect of different factors on overall survival. RESULTS: A total of 129 patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma over a median follow-up of 43 months were included. Overall survival for the entire patient cohort was 87.7% (95% confidence interval, CI, 82.0-93.7%), 75.5% (95% CI 67.5-84.5%) and 68.9% (95% CI 59.7-79.6%) at one year, three years and five years, respectively. On multivariate analysis, Index of Multiple Deprivation and income do not significantly influence overall survival (p = 0.79, hazard ratio, HR, 1.07; 95% CI 0.61-1.63), (p = 0.99, HR=1.00; 95% CI 0.61-1.63), respectively. Increased risk of death was observed for male sex (p = 0.02, HR=2.80; 95% CI 1.02-5.50) and larger tumour size (p = 0.01, HR=1.64; 95% CI 1.12-2.41). CONCLUSION: In contrast to US studies, there is little difference in survival between the least deprived and most deprived groups. We attribute this to equal access to intensity-modulated radiation therapy-based chemoradiotherapy. Thus, a highly effective treatment made available to all mitigates any survival difference between socioeconomic groups.

'Site of contact genotoxicity' assessment for implants - Potential use of single cell gel electrophoresis in biocompatibility testing of medical devices.

Toxicological risk assessment of medical devices requires genotoxicity assessment as per ISO 10993, Part 3, which is designed to address gene mutations, clastogenicity and/or aneugenicity endpoints. 'Site of contact genotoxicity' is a potential genotoxic risk especially for medical implants, that is currently not addressed in biocompatibility standards. We therefore performed initial validation study on the use of alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) for detecting 'site of contact genotoxicity' of medical devices, using test items made of acrylic implants impregnated with ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS). Comet assay detected increased DNA migration at the site of implantation, but not in the liver. The same implants also failed to show any genotoxicity potentials, when tested on the standard test battery using Salmonella/microsome and chromosome aberration assays. The study suggested that some medical implants can cause 'site of contact genotoxicity', without producing systemic genotoxicity. In conclusion, comet assay will add new dimension to safety assessment of medical devices, and this assay can be added to the battery of genetic toxicology tests for evaluating biocompatibility of medical implants.

Repeatability and reproducibility study of radiomic features on a phantom and human cohort.

The repeatability and reproducibility of radiomic features extracted from CT scans need to be investigated to evaluate the temporal stability of imaging features with respect to a controlled scenario (test-retest), as well as their dependence on acquisition parameters such as slice thickness, or tube current. Only robust and stable features should be used in prognostication/prediction models to improve generalizability across multiple institutions. In this study, we investigated the repeatability and reproducibility of radiomic features with respect to three different scanners, variable slice thickness, tube current, and use of intravenous (IV) contrast medium, combining phantom studies and human subjects with non-small cell lung cancer. In all, half of the radiomic features showed good repeatability (ICC > 0.9) independent of scanner model. Within acquisition protocols, changes in slice thickness was associated with poorer reproducibility compared to the use of IV contrast. Broad feature classes exhibit different behaviors, with only few features appearing to be the most stable. 108 features presented both good repeatability and reproducibility in all the experiments, most of them being wavelet and Laplacian of Gaussian features.

Pulmonary tuberculosis at Patan Hospital, Nepal: One year audit.

BACKGROUND: Globally, Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 causes of death. In Nepal, poverty and malnutrition aggravate the burden of TB. To identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis sputum is the best sample to identify the bacterium which is helpful for diagnosis. The aim of this study is to identify the situation, burden and challenges of pulmonary tuberculosis in low-middle income country like Nepal. METHOD: A retrospective-audit with reliable-secondary-data of one year was collected (n = 4131). Descriptive-analysis was performed using frequency, percentage and analytical using chi-square-test. Level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Ethical Approval was obtained from IRC-PAHS. RESULT: The prevalence of notified/suspected cases was highest among the patients having >60 years of age 1344(32.54%) and least among the patients with ≤15 years of age 239(5.79%). The male had 1.67 times more smear-positive pulmonary TB cases. Among the AFB-positive cases, smear 3+ was seen in most of the cases 69(38.54%) followed by smear 1+ and smear 2+ in 56(31.28%) and 54(30.16%) respectively. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary TB case is higher in male. Smear 3+ is seen in most of the followed by smear 1+ and smear 2+. The Burden of Pulmonary TB is more among adult and old-age-people and its control is a challenge for developing and low-middle income countries like Nepal.