Pulsed Vibro-Acoustic Analysis Technique for Monitoring Bone Health in Preterm Infants: A Pilot Study.

Despite advances in neonatal care, metabolic bone disease of prematurity (MBDP) remains a common problem in preterm infants. The development of non-invasive and affordable diagnostic approaches can be highly beneficial in the diagnosis and management of preterm infants at risk of MBDP. In this study, we present an ultrasound method called pulsed vibro-acoustic analysis to investigate the progression of bone mineralization in infants over time versus weight and postmenstrual age. The proposed pulsed vibro-acoustic analysis method is used to evaluate the vibrational characteristics of the bone. This method uses the acoustic radiation force of ultrasound to vibrate the bone. The generated acoustic waves are detected using a hydrophone placed on the skin over the tibia. The frequency of vibration and the speeds of received acoustic waves have information regarding the material property of the bone. We examined the feasibility of this method through an in vivo study consisting of 25 preterm and 10 full term infants. The pulsed vibro-acoustic data were acquired longitudinally in preterm infants with multiple visits and at a single visit in full term infants. Speed of sound and mean peak frequency of slow and fast sound waves recorded by hydrophone were used to analyze bone mineralization progress. Linear mixed model was used for statistical analysis in characterizing the mineralization progress in preterm infants compared to data from full term subjects. Significance changes in wave parameters (speed of sound and mean peak frequency) with respect to the postmenstrual age and weight in preterm infants were observed with p-values less than 0.05. Statistical significances in speed of sound measurement for both fast and slow waves were observed between preterm and full term infants, with p-values of <0.01 and 0.02, respectively. The results of this pilot study indicate the potential use of vibro-acoustic analysis for monitoring the progression of bone mineralization in preterm infants.

Impact of temporal variations and risk factors associated with udder inflammation in Hardhenu cattle (Bos taurus × Bos indicus).

This study aimed to explore the occurrence and risk factors associated with clinical mastitis within the Hardhenu cattle herd over a span of 14 years (2008-2021). A comprehensive analysis of 1515 lactation records was conducted to ascertain the incidence of clinical mastitis. The investigation determined an overall incidence rate of 26.80% in the studied population. A significant relationship between the year and clinical mastitis incidence was established through Chi-square analysis (p < .05). Temporal variations in clinical mastitis odds were apparent, with the highest odds (ranging from 0.91 to 1.00) observed during the initial years of 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. Logistic regression revealed that odds values for clinical mastitis incidence were highest in 2008-2009 (1.00), succeeded by 2009-2010 (0.91), 2012-2013 (0.88), 2018-2019 (0.67) and reaching the lowest in 2021-2022 (0.35). Subsequent rankings included 2010-2011 (0.39), 2014-2015 (0.43) and 2019-2020 (0.45). Parity was found to be significantly associated with clinical mastitis occurrence. When compared to Parity 3, both Parity 1 (odds ratio: 1.516, 95% confidence interval: 0.881-2.612) and Parity 2 (odds ratio: 2.626, 95% confidence interval: 1.568-4.398) exhibited higher odds values for clinical mastitis incidence. While the period of calving did not exert a significant influence on clinical mastitis incidence, a heightened occurrence was observed during the rainy season within the targeted population. These findings offer valuable insights into the patterns of incidence, temporal fluctuations, and non-genetic determinants impacting clinical mastitis within the Hardhenu cattle. The implications of this study can facilitate the development of targeted strategies and management protocols aimed at enhancing udder health and overall productivity in dairy cattle.

Temporal variation and risk factors associated with reproductive disorders in Hardhenu (Bos taurus × Bos indicus) dairy cattle.

This study aimed to investigate the incidence and effect of non-genetic factors on reproductive disorders in the Hardhenu cattle population over a period of 11 years (2010-2021). The study included a total of 1340 cattle for calculating the incidence of reproductive disorders and analysed the occurrence of different reproductive disorders. In the present study, retention of placenta had highest frequency, accounting for approximately 18.36% of the incidence, followed by repeater cows (11.19%), metritis (6.27%), dystocia (0.60%), anestrus (0.45%) and prolapse (0.37%). Chi-square analysis revealed a significant relationship between the year and the incidence of reproductive disorders (p < .05). Logistic regression analysis of temporal variability of reproductive disorders was also analysed, with an increase in the odds from 2014 to 2020, peaking in 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Logistic regression analysis showed that season and parity did not significantly influence the incidence of reproductive disorders. However, period of calving had a significant impact. Cows calving between 2008 and 2014 had a significantly lower odds ratio (0.13, 95% CI: 0.06-0.30), indicating a decreased risk, while those calving between 2014 and 2017 had a higher odds ratio (0.59, 95% CI: 0.38-0.90), suggesting an increased risk of reproductive disorders. Compared to parity 3, parity 1 (1.344, 95% CI: 0.869-2.08) and parity 2 (1.193, 95% CI: 0.768-1.851) showed highest odds ratio. Similarly, the odds ratio for winter (1.64, 95% CI: 0.93-2.89), summer (1.71, 95% CI: 0.89-3.26) and rainy season (1.64, 95% CI: 0.92-2.91) was higher as compared to autumn. The present results provided valuable insights into the incidence of various reproductive disorders and associated risk factors in Hardhenu cattle. These results can be utilized for targeted interventions to enhance reproductive health and overall productivity in dairy cattle.

Association of CXCR1 gene polymorphism with clinical mastitis, reproductive disorders and performance traits in Hardhenu (Bos taurus × Bos indicus) cattle.

The present study investigated the presence of CXCR1 gene polymorphisms and their association with clinical mastitis, reproductive disorders and performance traits in Hardhenu cattle. Genotyping of the targeted SNP rs211042414 (C>T) at the g.106216468 loci of the CXCR1 gene was performed through PCR amplification and Bsa1 restriction enzyme digestion. The genotypic frequencies revealed three genotypes: CC, CT and TT, with the C allele being the most prevalent. Significant associations were found between the targeted SNP and clinical mastitis occurrence using chi-square and logistic regression analyses. The CC genotype showed higher susceptibility to clinical mastitis with a higher odds ratio of 3.47 compared to TT (1.00) and CT (2.90) genotypes (p < .05). Furthermore, least squares analysis revealed significant associations between genotypes and performance traits such as total milk yield, 305-day milk yield and peak yield (p < .05). The CC genotype exhibited higher milk yields than CT and TT genotypes, indicating a positive association between the C allele and increased milk production. These findings have practical implications for the genetic improvement of Hardhenu cattle. Incorporating the identified CXCR1 gene polymorphisms into existing selection criteria can help enhance disease resistance and milk production traits. However, further validation with a larger sample size is necessary to strengthen the observed associations and ensure their practical applicability.

Measurement of diffusion lung capacity (DLCO) in silicosis patients: Correlation with radiographic abnormalities on high-resolution CT scan chest.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate diffusion capacity of lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) in patients with simple and complicated silicosis and to correlate abnormal findings detected, if any, with the computed tomography abnormalities in these patients. Methods: This study included 56 patients with simple and complicated silicosis and without tuberculosis, in whom we performed DLCO as per standard technique. Various computed tomography findings, that is, presence, size and distribution of nodules associated with relative parenchymal and vascular markings, were recorded in the study subjects and classified into standard grading to be finally compared with DLCO. Visual grading score system was used to describe the extent of emphysematous changes based on the area of abnormally low attenuation, vascular disruption, bullae and so on and data were recorded. Results: Results showed that 85.7% patients had small opacities of varying grades and 28.5% showed large opacities, with 16% of them having type 'C' large opacities. The mean DLCO (% predicted) of patients with category '0' high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) abnormality was 92.3 ± 6.8 (within normal limits), and this gradually decreased with increasing HRCT category to 44.2 ± 11.2 in grade '4' of progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) patients in this study (P < 0.01). This reflects a significant inverse correlation between visual HRCT category and the DLCO % predicted (r > -0.89, P < 0.001). The mean DLCO (% predicted) was 51 ± 12.6 in patients with grade '1' emphysema in HRCT, 53 ± 13.5 in grade '2', 43 ± 6.4 in grade '3' and 37.7 ± 6.3 in grade '4'; however, there was no correlation between emphysema grading and pulmonary functional index (r = -0.33, P = 0.15). Conclusion: This study observed significant abnormality in DLCO among silicosis patients and its strong correlation with the extent of radiological abnormality. HRCT finding of large opacities could be an important indicator of the severity of silicosis, as reflected by significantly reduced DLCO in such patients.

Mechanical Stress Modulation of Resistance in MoS2 Junctions.

Strain engineering is a powerful strategy to control the physical properties of material-enabling devices with enhanced functionality and improved performance. Here, we investigate a modulation of the transport behavior of the two-dimensional MoS2 junctions under the mechanical stress induced by a tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM). We show that the junction resistance can be reversibly tuned by up to 4 orders of magnitude by altering a tip-induced force. Analysis of the stress-induced evolution of the I-V characteristics indicates a combined effect of the tip-induced strain and strain gradient on the energy barrier height and profile. In addition, we show that the tip-generated flexoelectric effect leads to significant enhancement of the photovoltaic effect in the MoS2 junctions. A combination of the optical and mechanical stimuli facilitates reversible photomechanical tuning of resistance of the narrow-band 2D semiconductors and development of devices with an enhanced photovoltaic response.

Middle Lobe Syndrome in Silicosis.

A case of silicosis presenting as middle lobe syndrome is described in a middle-aged female. The diagnosis was confirmed by both bronchoscopy and demonstration of right middle lobe lumen narrowing and compression by calcified hilar lymph nodes on computerized tomographic scan. Simultaneous occurrence of endobronchial silicosis and bronchial stenosis by enlarged calcified peribronchial lymph nodes causing middle lobe syndrome has not been described previously as reported in this case.

FBSED based automatic diagnosis of COVID-19 using X-ray and CT images.

This work introduces the Fourier-Bessel series expansion-based decomposition (FBSED) method, which is an implementation of the wavelet packet decomposition approach in the Fourier-Bessel series expansion domain. The proposed method has been used for the diagnosis of pneumonia caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) using chest X-ray image (CXI) and chest computer tomography image (CCTI). The FBSED method is used to decompose CXI and CCTI into sub-band images (SBIs). The SBIs are then used to train various pre-trained convolutional neural network (CNN) models separately using a transfer learning approach. The combination of SBI and CNN is termed as one channel. Deep features from each channel are fused to get a feature vector. Different classifiers are used to classify pneumonia caused by COVID-19 from other viral and bacterial pneumonia and healthy subjects with the extracted feature vector. The different combinations of channels have also been analyzed to make the process computationally efficient. For CXI and CCTI databases, the best performance has been obtained with only one and four channels, respectively. The proposed model was evaluated using 5-fold and 10-fold cross-validation processes. The average accuracy for the CXI database was 100% for both 5-fold and 10-fold cross-validation processes, and for the CCTI database, it is 97.6% for the 5-fold cross-validation process. Therefore, the proposed method may be used by radiologists to rapidly diagnose patients with COVID-19.

Verifier-based anonymous password-authenticated key exchange protocol in the standard model.

Anonymous password-authenticated key exchange (APAKE) allows a client to authenticate herself and to establish a secure session key with a remote server via only a low-entropy password, while keeping her actual identity anonymous to the third party as well as to the server. Since that APAKE protocol enjoys both the convenience of password authentication and the advantage of privacy protection, researchers have paid much attention to them. However, most of the existing APAKE protocols are designed in the symmetric setting which does not take into consideration the threat of password file leakage. To mitigate the damage of server compromise, we propose a verifier-based anonymous password-authenticated key exchange protocol, in which the server holds a verifier corresponding to each client instead of the clear password. The construction of our protocol is built on standard cryptographic primitives such public key encryption, smooth projective hash functions and password hashing schemes. The resulting protocol is proved secure in the standard model, i.e., without resorting to random oracles. Comparisons with other similar schemes show that our protocol guarantees stronger security while enjoys considerable efficiency in terms of computational cost.

Pre-emptive effect of dexamethasone injection and consumption on post-operative swelling, pain, and trismus after third molar surgery. A prospective, double blind and randomized study.

AIM: To evaluate the preventative effect of intravenous 4 mg of dexamethasone and 8 mg oral dexamethasone on post-operative pain, swelling and trismus after the surgical extraction of mandibular third molars. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized clinical trial comprised of 200 patients (control group I intravenous and experimental group II orally) with impacted lower third molars, average age 20.8 years with no local or systemic problems, with bilateral impacted lower third molars, were operated under local anesthesia. Group I was given 4 mg IV and group II was given 8 mg orally of dexamethasone 1 h before procedure. The choice of which side to operate first and the amount of concentration of medication to use was made randomly and double-blindly. Post-operative pain was evaluated using a visual analog scale (VAS) and the degree of swelling was evaluated through facial reference points' variation. The presence of trismus was analyzed through measurement of the interincisal distance (IID). These assessments were obtained before the operation and 24 h, 48 h and 7th POD. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in facial swelling and trismus between IV 4 mg injection and oral 8 mg consumption after lower third molar surgery (student t test P > 0.05). The visual analogue scale scores for pain assessment showed no significant difference between IV injection and oral route of dexamethasone (student t test P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients can be administered 8 mg oral dexamethasone is as effective as 4 mg intra venous route without much difference in final outcome at any given point of time.