Knowledge of and Self-Expressed Stigma for COVID-19 Vaccination among Pre-University Students in a College in South India: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious infection characterized by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). Safe and effective vaccines are game-changers in the global vision of marking an end to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy due to perceived stigma and misinformation is a grave cause of concern. Objectives: To assess pre-university students' self-expressed stigma regarding COVID-19 vaccination and its association with their knowledge. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was adopted for this research. A structured questionnaire approach was used to gather data from 384 students purposively at the selected pre-university college. The structured questionnaire consisted of three sections that explored the socio-demographic characteristics of the study participants, knowledge of vaccination, and self-expressed stigma, respectively. A total of 384 respondents took part in the study. Results: The study observes a low positive relationship (r = 0.25, P < 0.01) between knowledge and self-expressed stigma toward vaccination. Further, it was observed that participants from rural backgrounds had lower knowledge and self-expressed stigma scores than participants from urban settings. It is pertinent to note that participants with other sources of information had higher knowledge than those who used the internet, friends/peers, or newspapers. Both of the aforementioned findings are statistically significant. Conclusion: The interventions should revive trust in national health authorities, structured awareness campaigns by government agencies, and media coverage about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. In addition, it is also important to support citizens in ensuring that they have access to the right information from authentic sources in times of crisis.

Characterization of new cellulose fiber extracted from second generation Bitter Albizia tree.

The present work examines the physical, thermal tensile, and chemical properties of wood skin fibers obtained from second generation Bitter Albizia (BA) tree skin. Chemical characterization of BA fibers showed the presence of various chemical contents such as cellulose of 74.89 wt. %, hemicellulose of 14.50 wt. %, wax of 0.31 wt. %, lignin of 12.8 wt. %, moisture of 11.71 wt. %, and ash of 19.29 wt. %. The density of BA fibers (BAFs) was showed 1285 kg/m3. XRD analysis of BAFs showed a crystallinity index (CI) of 57.20% and size of crystallite of 1.68 nm. Tensile strength and strain to failure of BAFs examined through tensile test were 513-1226 MPa and 0.8-1.37% respectively. TGA portrayed the thermal steadiness of BAFs as 339 °C with 55.295 kJ/mol kinetic activation energy, its residual mass was 23.35% at 548 °C. BAFs with high CI, less wax content, and better tensile strength make more suitable for making polymer matrix composites. SEM images of the BAFs surface depicted that the fiber outer surface has more rough which shows that they can contribute to hige fiber-matrix adhesion during composites preparation.

BER analysis of a full-duplex relay-assisted BPSK-SIM based VLC system for indoor applications.

This paper contemplates a relay-assisted visible light communication (VLC) system, where the light source (table lamp) acts as a relay node and cooperates with the main light source. Following the IEEE 802.15.7r1 VLC reference channel model, we assume that there are two different light sources present in an office room. The first one is the source terminal present on the ceiling and another one is the desk lamp that serves as the relay station, which works in a full-duplex method. Because of the loop interference channel, we model the VLC relay terminal using ray tracing simulations. We have analyzed the bit error rate (BER) performance of the relay-assisted VLC system using a binary phase shift keying-subcarrier intensity modulation (BPSK-SIM) technique. The proposed method outperforms existing phase shift keying (PSK) and square M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) techniques. The proposed VLC system using the BPSK-SIM technique achieves a BER performance of 10-12 for an SNR of 20 dB. The results of the proposed full-duplex and half-duplex relayed VLC systems are evaluated using equal power allocation (EPA) and optimum power allocation (OPA) techniques over three different modulation schemes, which are 2-PSK, square M-QAM, and BPSK-SIM.

Reconfigurable intelligent surface-assisted free-space optical communication link for the Satellite-Internet of Things.

The Satellite-Internet of Things (S-IoT) is envisaged as one of the promising technological enhancements in this decade due to its outright connectivity, especially in the areas of terrestrial communication and weather forecasting. Invariably, turbulent atmospheric conditions and varied terrain profiles are hindrances for satellite based free-space optical (FSO) communication, and immensely disrupt signal levels. Recently, a new technological invention called a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) empowered radio transmission environments for next generation wireless/optical technology has emerged. Elements of RIS are used to intelligently tune the striking beam towards desired locations. In this paper, we propose an RIS based FSO link to manueuver S-IoT. The challenges of pointing errors and turbulent atmospheric connectivity from a satellite to ground station and vice versa with the cooperation of RIS have been derived and substantiated with closed form solutions. The proposed system's performance has been analyzed using packet and bit error rates, and outage probability over atmospheric turbulence, pointing errors, and signal blockage scenarios. Results are evaluated for different RIS elements as a function of average signal to noise ratio. The proposed system is extremely productive, since this scheme has the capability to provide dependable connectivity in rural, urban, and suburban environments where reliable connectivity is difficult in spite of traditional infrastructures.

Successful Use of Cefepime-Zidebactam (WCK 5222) as a Salvage Therapy for the Treatment of Disseminated Extensively Drug-Resistant New Delhi Metallo-ß-Lactamase-Producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection in an Adult Patient with Acute T-Cell Leukemia.

With limited and often toxic treatment options, carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative infections are associated with significant mortality. Cefepime-zidebactam is a promising antibiotic option undergoing a phase 3 trial that has activity against diverse antibiotic-resistant mechanisms in Gram-negative pathogens due to its ß-lactam enhancer mechanism, mediating multiple PBP binding. We report a case of disseminated infection caused by a New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase-producing, extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate in a patient with acute T-cell leukemia, successfully managed with cefepime-zidebactam as a salvage therapy.

Efficacy of gelatamp in controlling the postoperative sequelae following mandibular posterior teeth extraction - A split-mouth study.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of gelatamp on soft tissue healing, bleeding, and pain following mandibular posterior teeth extraction. Methods: This study was designed as a split-mouth, prospective randomized double-blind controlled trial conducted in a single tertiary care center. Thirty-five subjects indicated for routine mandibular posterior teeth extraction were divided into two groups using the lottery technique: the experimental group (n = 30), which received gelatamp after extraction, and the control group (n = 30), which received no intervention. The primary outcomes included soft tissue healing(Landry, Turnbull, Howley index) and Pain(VAS score). The secondary outcomes assessed were bleeding(Maani et al. index) and swelling(Sauza and Consone assessment). Result: The results showed a statistically significant difference in soft tissue healing on the third and seventh days in the experimental group (p ≤ 0.05) than in the control group. A significant difference in bleeding scores at 5 min, 30 min, and 2 h postoperatively in the study group (p ≤ 0.05) was noted. There was no significant difference between the groups for pain on the first, third or seventh day postoperatively (p ≤ 0.05). The swelling assessment also showed no significant changes (p = 0.831) for the study and the control group. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, gelatamp can be effectively used to reduce postoperative sequelae such as bleeding with better soft tissue healing following extractions and surgical removal of tooth.

An institutional review of treatment outcomes in extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma- the largest Asian experience.

PURPOSE: To analyze the treatment strategies, outcomes and factors impacting these outcomes in extraosseous ewings sarcoma (EOES). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A search of the hospital database yielded a total of 109 EOES patients registered in last 10 years out of which 25 patients were excluded from analysis due to incomplete medical records. Demographic and clinical characteristics were reported using descriptive statistics. Overall survival (OS) was taken from the time of diagnosis to death. Patients who were alive or lost to follow up were censored from the survival analysis. A total of 12 clinical and treatment related variables were taken into univariate analysis and those showing significance or a trend towards significance were taken up for multivariate analysis. Further a cluster analysis was done in a quest to find a subgroup which would have a better survival outcome as compared to other clusters. SPSS version 23 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Chest wall (n=26), lower extremity (n=22) and paraspinal area (n=14) were the common sites involved. Localised swelling (n=43) was the most common presenting symptom and the median time to presentation was 2 months. Overall survival of the entire cohort at 5 years was 52 percent. Stage at presentation had a significant impact (P value<0.001) on estimated median OS (localised 70 months versus 36 months in metastatic stage). Cluster analysis showed that, patients with localised stage at presentation, good response to chemotherapy, negative resection margin and no adjuvant RT had a median survival of 69 months. CONCLUSION: Judicious use of trimodality treatment in EOES yields optimal results and it also adds significantly onto the scarce literature on this subtype of sarcoma.

Reconstruction of osseous defect with symphysis block graft for implant placement.

Introduction: Symphysis being an autogenous bone graft serves as one of the best graft for augmenting osseous defects of alveolar process with excellent results. It has been favoured mainly due to its local availability, accessibility and lesser resorption compared to other bones in the region. Case report: A 21/M reported to the department of Implantology with the complaint of missing tooth in the upper front tooth region since 1 year. History revealed extraction of upper left central incisor an year ago following trauma. Diagnosis was made as Siebert's Class I with horizontal bone loss irt 21 region with a bone defect of 10.54 x 5.08 x 4.85 mm. So a complete prosthetic rehabilitation protocol was made with an implant placement and grafting was planned with symphysis being most favourable. Conclusion: The mandibular symphysis is a reliable intraoral graft site that can be used in the office setting with low morbidity. Because of the intraoral approach and lack of cutaneous scarring, patient acceptance is high.

The Prevalence, Demographics, Clinical Features, Neuroimaging, and Inter-ethnic Differences of MOGAD in Malaysia with Global Perspectives.

INTRODUCTION: CNS IIDDs1 tested positive for anti-MOG2 are known to have a distinct clinical profile with a better overall prognosis. OBJECTIVES: We aim to determine the prevalence, demographic and clinical characteristics of MOG antibody disease (MOGAD) specifically identifying any ethnic variations unique to our local population, with global perspectives. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the Neurology Department, Kuala Lumpur Hospital from January 2018 to January 2021. Out of 750 CNS IIDDs, seventy-eight consecutive anti-AQP4 antibody negative NMOSD/high risk undifferentiated relapsing or monophasic CNSIIDD subjects were tested for anti-MOG. RESULTS: Anti-MOG was positive in thirty six out of seventy-eight (%)(46.1%) seronegative patients. The prevalence of MOGAD in our Malaysian population is 0.12 per 100,000 persons with less marked female preponderance of 2:1 and younger age at onset of 23.8 ± 14.4 years. Despite a predominantly ethnic Malay population, a high proportion of our MOGAD patients were Indian (Proportion of Malay:Chinese:Indian:others; 16:9:10:1, prevalence 0.5 per 100,000 population for Indians) with favourable disease course in the most with minor exceptions. Monophasic and relapsing disease course was seen in 11.2% and 88.8% of patients respectively. However, fulminant aggressive disease can occur especially amongst the Chinese and paediatric cohorts. Optic neuritis, NMOSD and ADEM were the commonest presentations at onset and first relapse. EDSS at diagnosis, first relapse, and last follow-up were 4.5±2.5, 3±2.0, and 1.75(range 1-3). Neuroimaging showed large, fluffy, PRES- like supratentorial cortical, periventricular deep white matter ,diencephalon lesions,enhancing anterior optic nerve with or without chiasmal sparring lesions and cervical/cervicothoracic involvement. Area post rema lesions were rare. Threshold steroid levels exist relapsing on withdrawal some fulminantly requiring Immunosuppressants(rituximab) and intravenous immunoglobulins to maintain remission. CONCLUSION: Malaysian MOGAD profile was similar to its international descriptions of the disease with ethnic selectivity for Indians. Prolonged steroid maintenance is essential to prevent relapses. Fulminant aggressive cases of MOGAD especially amongst Paediatric patients and the Chinese cohort have been reported.

An In vitro study of biomechanical comparison between titanium 4-hole 3D plates and titanium conventional 4-hole miniplates for internal fixation of mandibular angle fractures.

Background: Fracture fixation, in the present times, is classically done using mini plates. The position and number of plates to fixate a mandibular angle fracture have been and are still extensively researched and reported in the literature. A more recent addition is 3D mini plates. Aim: To compare and evaluate the biomechanical behavior of one 2.0 mm titanium 3D miniplate fixation plate (4- hole) and one 2.0 mm titanium 4-hole miniplate in internal fixation of mandibular angle fractures. Objective: To measure load at break, maximum load, and displacement at maximal load for internal fixation done with 3D mini plates and conventional mini plates respectively. Methods: Five dry cadaveric mandibles were sectioned into 10 hemi-mandibles. Each cadaveric mandible was sectioned at the angle of mandible to simulate unfavorable mandibular angle fracture. The obtained hemimandible were divided into experimental groups (GROUP 1 and GROUP 2) with 5 samples in each group, plated with a linear miniplate and 3D miniplate respectively. Maximal load, Load at break, and displacement at maximum load were the only obtained parameters for comparison. Results: Conventional miniplate showed greater mean maximum load values of 174.93 N±54.45 compared to 3D mini plates which recorded a mean maximum load value of 106.96 N ± 23.86. Load at break and displacement at maximum load were found to be both insignificant. Conclusion: The results in this study showed statistically no significant difference with any of the above parameters except maximal load, between the two groups evaluated. Conventional linear miniplate according to Champy's lines of osteosynthesis can be used successfully for providing satisfactory osteosynthesis with the definitive advantage of cost-effectiveness.

Artificial intelligence based health indicator extraction and disease symptoms identification using medical hypothesis models.

Patient health record analysis models assist the medical field to understand the current stands and medical needs. Similarly, collecting and analyzing the disease features are the best practice for encouraging medical researchers to understand the research problems. Various research works evolve the way of medical data analysis schemes to know the actual challenges against the diseases. The computer-based diagnosis models and medical data analysis models are widely applied to have a better understanding of different diseases. Particularly, the field of medical electronics needs appropriate health indicator extraction models in near future. The existing medical schemes support baseline solutions but lack optimal hypothesis-based solutions. This work describes the optimal hypothesis model and Akin procedures for health record users, to aid health sectors in clinical decision-making on health indications. This work proposes Medical Hypothesis and Health Indicators Extraction from Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) patient examination database using the Akin Method and Friendship method. In this Health Indicators and Disease Symptoms Extraction (HIDSE), the evidence checking procedures find and collect all possible medical evidence from the existing patient examination report. Akin Method is making the hypothesis decision from count-based evidence principles. The health indicators extraction scheme extracts all relevant information based on the health indicators query and partial input. Similarly, the friendship method is used for making information associations between medical data attributes. This Akin-Friendship model helps to build hypothesis structures and trait-based feature extraction principles. This is called as Composite Akin Friendship Model (CAFM). This proposed model consists of various test cases for developing the medical hypothesis systems. On the other hand, it provides limited accuracy in disease classification. In this regard, the proposed HIDSE implements Deep Learning (DL) based Akin Friendship Method (DLAFM) for improving the accuracy of this medical hypothesis model. The proposed DLAFM, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) associated Legacy Prediction Model for Health Indicator (LPHI) is developed to tune the CAFM principles. The results show the proposed health indicator extraction scheme has 8-10% of better system performance than other existing techniques.

Underwater wireless optical communications based reconfigurable UOWSN for monitoring and discovering continental margin ore deposits.

Changes in the environment, such as landslides, tsunamis, rising or falling sea levels in coastal oceans, and neighboring land surfaces, significantly impact the structure of the ocean and human life. These natural climate-change processes have unanticipated and deadly consequences for coastal areas. The continental margin part of the ocean has recently attracted the most attention because of the mineral sources and human activities such as exploration, navigation, recreation, and fishing. The continental margin stretches from the coastal mountains and plains to continental shelf, slope, and rise, where terrestrial and maritime means meet. In this paper, we propose a reconfigurable underwater optical wireless sensor network (UOWSN) based on underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) to monitor and discover continental margin ore deposits. In this proposed system, a transceiver on the underwater wireless autonomous vehicle moving around the different regions of the continental margin collects information and transmits it to the seashore control station once it reaches the ocean surface. We investigated the outage probability and average bit error rate of the proposed system at the continental margin and used coding techniques to mitigate the effects of high turbulence in the continental shelf region.

He hit me; but it's okay! Female submissiveness in marital abuse: A review in Indian context.

India, a country with manifold multicultural bonds and relationships often witnesses a gross number of conflicted marital relationships. The plight in the frequency of marital abuse reporting in India has called gross public health attention globally. Multiple factors contribute to this arena in which, when we analyse can find out females submissiveness to report and or react to such kind of abusive incidences. The objective of this article is to review recent literature on female submissiveness in marital abuse. This narrative review is carried out to depict various perspectives that initiate abusive relationships and certain factors that prevent women from being subjected to rapid response. Literature relevant to the topic which was published within twenty years in prominent journals, newspapers, and websites has been reviewed thoroughly while writing this paper. Keywords for literature search included terms such as domestic violence, intimate partner violence/abuse, spouse abuse, married woman/female submissiveness, abusive marital relationships, and marital abuse. There is a paucity of studies analysing psychological and socio-demographic determinants of this submissiveness within such relationships in India. Several factors such as cultural, psycho-social, environmental attributes may prompt submissiveness among females in abusive marital relationships, which often leads to psychopathology and physical ailments. It is important to understand the need for a multidisciplinary approach to preventing marital abuse as a public health issue. By preventing and modulating such factors public health and women's well-being can be preserved in various domains.

In vitro immuno-stimulatory and anticancer activities of Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz.: An evidence for substitution of aerial parts for conservation.

BACKGROUND: In Ayurveda, "Dashamoolarishta" is one of the important composite herbal formulations. Mainly, the root and root bark of Oroxylum indicum are used as one of the ingredients in its preparation. This leads to over exploitation of medicinal plants owing, to excessive demand due to population expansion and its perceived importance in traditional herbal remedies. OBJECTIVE: For the conservation of biodiversity, the present investigation had an objective to prepare the extracts of different parts of O. indicum plant and to, compare the chemo-profiles as well as to study the biological activities of the prepared extracts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hydro-alcoholic (HA) and aqueous (Aq) extracts of various plant parts were prepared and chemical investigation was done with the help of (LC-MS/MS). Further, in vitro biological activities such as immuno-stimulation (IS) using a cytokine bioassay in RAW264.7 and in vitro anticancer in TNF-α ELISA in THP-1 cells were studied. RESULTS: The mass spectral profile of the plant revealed the presence of markers such as oroxylin A and chrysin in HA and Aq extracts of stem, leaf, bark and root. Cytokine release and TNF-α secretion was observed in both hydro-alcoholic and aqueous extracts. CONCLUSION: Based on the results from the present study, it can be concluded that it is possible to replace the roots and the bark of O. indicum with the stem of young plants and leaves. It paves a way for the conserving the medicinal plants without uprooting and extinguishing the whole plant.