An impactful prospective study on pulmonary tuberculosis in geriatric populations besides its clinical outcomes and implications in the Indian subcontinent.

OBJECTIVE: Geriatric populations are most at risk for the tuberculosis pandemic, and as people age, the rate of infection rises steadily and drastically. Geriatric individuals frequently experience diagnostic challenges with a wide range of comorbidities, but employing all available standard and novel methods to diagnose any infection is crucial. The prophylactic and therapeutic management for the geriatric population presents a significant difficulty and challenge in assessing an appropriate and effective therapeutic outcome due to prolonged drug therapy and adverse drug reactions. The present study aims to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis in the geriatric population in the Indian subcontinent, its risk factors, clinical outcomes, and adherence to the medication. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective observational investigation was conducted in a tertiary care Hospital in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India, from April 2021 to September 2022. A total of 1,014 patients were screened, and 176 participants were selected. The participants were then subjected to medication adherence evaluation, and clinical data was collected.  The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS: Among 176 participants, 135 (76.70%) were old (65-74 age), 37 (21.02%) were very old (75-84 age) TB patients, and 4 (2.27%) patients were extremely old TB patients (>85). Medication adherence was improved from baseline to the end of the study (p≤0.000). 110 patients completed the treatment (62.5%). 41 patients were cured in between treatments (23.29%), 13 patients died during the treatment (7.38%), 9 patients lost their follow-up (5.11%), 3 patients failed to respond to the treatment (1.70%). CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of therapy critically depends on the patient's medication adherence to anti-TB therapy. In addition to having a higher likelihood of therapy failure, elderly patients did not appropriately respond to the treatment and completely recovered from the infection even after effective pharmacotherapy.

Cochlear implantation in a profoundly deaf child with cystic leukoencephalopathy without megalencephaly.

BACKGROUND: Cochlear implantation candidacy criteria have continued to evolve over the years, and cochlear implantation is possible with many inner-ear and brain anomalies with good hearing and linguistic outcomes. Cystic leukoencephalopathy without megalencephaly is a rare disease in children, with only 30 cases reported in the literature, but it is associated with hearing loss in only three cases. Radiological investigations can help in diagnosing this rare entity before proceeding with cochlear implantation. CASE REPORT: A four-year-old female child born out of consanguinity with normal psychomotor development, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and an incidental magnetic resonance imaging finding of cystic leukoencephalopathy without megalencephaly underwent successful cochlear implantation. Her post-operative period was uneventful with successful mapping of the cochlear implant. CONCLUSION: This is the first reported case of cystic leukoencephalopathy without megalencephaly and with sensorineural hearing loss in which cochlear implantation was performed successfully. White matter and temporal lobe abnormalities should not deter paediatric cochlear implantation.

A blue arsenomolybdic acid-crystal violet ion-associate pair paving the way for the field detection of arsenic in groundwater.

A simple visual colorimetric method based on arsenomolybdic acid-crystal violet ion-associate pair formation is described for the detection of As in groundwater at about 10, 25 and 50 µg L-1 levels. The pair exhibits light green coloration at ≤5 µg L-1 and blue colorations of distinctly different intensities at about 10, 25 and 50 µg L-1 concentrations of arsenic. High sensitivity is achieved by the preconcentration of As that entails simultaneous sorption of both As(III) and As(V) from groundwater on covellite (CuS) and, later, their elution as As(V), which subsequently participates in the formation of arsenomolybdic acid. The interference in the color development from PO43-ions that are as efficiently sorbed on CuS and eluted as the oxyanions of As is eliminated by their selective removal by Ce4+ ions under basic (pH ∼ 8.5) conditions. The removal is caused by the formation of cerium phosphate and its co-precipitation with calcium hydroxide. SiO42- ions do not interfere in the process as they are not sorbed by CuS. Groundwater containing ≤0.5 mg L-1 P and ≥200 mg L-1 total dissolved solid can be conveniently analysed by the method. The direct sensing of As(III) as well as As(V), the use of benign and easily available chemicals, the absence of any hazardous by-product, undiminished applicability in sunlight, the testing procedure lasting only for about 30 min, and rapidity are the major advantages of the method. Thus, the method is potentially well-suited for the on-site testing of groundwater potability under different regulations.

Radioactivity levels in the atomic mineral occurrences along Dharmapuri Shear zone in parts of Vellore, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Salem districts of Tamil Nadu, India.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive nuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K and corresponding dose rates over atomic mineral occurrences of Dharmapuri shear zone in parts of Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, and Vellore districts of Tamilnadu, India. In this paper, area-wise ternary diagrams of Ra, Th and K were plotted to study their relative concentration in the samples. Correlation study was also carried out to delineate the contribution of individual radionuclides toward the measured gamma dose rate. The concentrations of Ra, Th and K were determined by gamma ray spectrometry system using a 5" × 4" NaI (Tl) detector assembly. The geometric mean values of the estimated annual effective outdoor dose equivalent (AEDE) in mSv/y in the four areas were 2.35, 0.72, 1.88 and 0.36. A good linear correlation was observed between the estimated and measured annual effective dose equivalent.

Determination of traces of As, B, Bi, Ga, Ge, P, Pb, Sb, Se, Si and Te in high-purity nickel using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).

A method has been developed for the determination of traces of arsenic, boron, bismuth, gallium, germanium, phosphorus, lead, antimony, selenium, silicon and tellurium in nickel matrix. The sample was dissolved in HClO4 (~ 150°C) and nickel was settled as crystalline nickelperchlorate [Ni(ClO4)2] on cooling. The mixture was ultrasonicated and after the separation of Ni(ClO4)2, analytes of interest were determined in the supernatant using ICP-OES. Similarly, it was also found that, after the dissolution of nickel in perchloric acid, when the solution temperature was maintained at ~ 100°C, long needle like crystals of nickel perchlorate were formed. The crystals were separated from the mixture and trace elements in the supernatant were determined using ICP-OES. In both methods the matrix removal was >99% and the recoveries of analytes were in the range 92-97%. The limits of detection for As, B, Bi, Ga, Ge, P, Pb, Sb, Se, Si and Te were found to be 0.18, 0.21, 0.07, 0.06, 0.25, 0.11, 0.09, 0.10, 0.17, 0.20 and 0.07 µg g(-1) respectively. The procedure was applied for the analysis of a standard reference material nickel oxide (SRM 761, Nickel Oxide No.1, NBS, USA) and the values obtained are in close agreement with the certified values.

Determination of trace phosphorus in zirconium-niobium alloy and Zircaloy by UV-vis spectrophotometry.

A spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of traces of phosphorus in zirconium based alloys (Zr-2.5Nb and Zircaloy). It is achieved by selective fluoride complexation controlled by boric acid. The samples were dissolved in HF and fluoro-complexes of the matrices were formed by maintaining the concentration of HF while the excess HF was controlled by boric acid. After the formation of phosphomolybdate, extracted into n-butyl acetate, ion-associated with crystal violet and the absorbance was measured at 582 nm. The results obtained by this procedure were in close agreement with the certified reference material (CRM) values and further these values were compared with the values determined by Glow Discharge-Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (GD-QMS). The potential interferences like fluoride, silicon, arsenic(V), niobium, titanium, tantalum, etc., were tolerable to large level. LOD (3 s) was found to be 0.055 mg kg(-1) with a precision (R.S.D.) of 2-3% and molar absorptivity was 2.7x10(5) L mol(-1) cm(-1).

Genetic based sensorless hybrid intelligent controller for strip loop formation control between inter-stands in hot steel rolling mills.

Safe operating environment is essential for all complex industrial processes. The safety issues in steel rolling mill when the hot strip passes through consecutive mill stands have been considered in this paper. Formation of sag in strip is a common problem in the rolling process. The excessive sag can lead to scrap runs and damage to machinery. Conventional controllers for mill actuation system are based on a rolling model. The factors like rise in temperature, aging, wear and tear are not taken into account while designing a conventional controller. Therefore, the conventional controller cannot yield a requisite controlled output. In this paper, a new Genetic-neuro-fuzzy hybrid controller without tension sensor has been proposed to optimize the quantum of excessive sag and reduce it. The performance of the proposed controller has been compared with the performance of fuzzy logic controller, Neuro-fuzzy controller and conventional controller with the help of data collected from the plant. The simulation results depict that the proposed controller has superior performance than the other controllers.

Determination of traces of rubidium in high purity cesium chloride by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) using boric acid as a modifier.

The use of boric acid as a modifier for the determination of trace amount of rubidium in high purity cesium chloride matrix by electrothermal atomic absorption is described. It was found that the negative influence of the chloride matrix could not be eliminated using stabilized temperature platform (STPF) alone. Due to the high dissociation energy (D(0)=427 kJ mol(-1)) of rubidium chloride, it was difficult to dissociate in the gas phase and hence is lost. Elimination of interferences was achieved by the addition of boric acid as a chemical modifier. Diluted cesium chloride samples (5%, m/v) were analyzed applying the standard addition method. The characteristic mass of 24 pg was obtained. The detection limit of the proposed method is around 26 ng g(-1). The developed method was applied to the determination of traces of rubidium in high purity cesium chloride samples. The data obtained by this method were in good agreement with those obtained by other independent method like FAAS.

Determination of indium in high purity antimony by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) using boric acid as a modifier.

The use of boric acid as a modifier for the determination of trace amount of indium in high purity antimony by electrothermal atomic absorption is described. It was found that the negative influence of the hydrofluoric acid, used for the digestion could not be eliminated by using stabilized temperature platform furnace (STPF) alone. Due to the high dissociation energy (D(0)=506kJmol(-1)) of indium fluoride, it is difficult to dissociate in the gas phase and hence is lost. In presence of HF (used for the dissolution of antimony), the universal Pd-Mg modifier does not work satisfactorily. Additionally, rising corrosion and reduced tube lifetime were observed when the acid digested (HF-HNO(3)) antimony solution was injected in to the platform. Improvement in platform life and elimination of interferences were achieved by the addition of boric acid as a chemical modifier together with ruthenium coating of the platform. Corrosive changes of the transversely heated graphite atomizer (THGA) platform surface were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The standard addition method was applied. A characteristic mass of 36pg was obtained. The detection limit of the proposed method is around 0.04mugg(-1). The developed method was applied to the determination of indium in real samples. The data obtained by this method were in good agreement with those obtained by ICP-MS.

Determination of traces of chloride and fluoride in H2SO4, H3PO4 and H3BO3 by in situ analyte distillation-ion chromatography.

A simple dual vessel in situ analyte distillation (IAD) system has been developed for suppressed ion chromatographic determination of chloride and fluoride ions in complex matrices. In IAD system, water vapours generated from the outer vessel reacts with sulfuric acid generating heat, thus favouring the quantitative distillation of chloride and fluoride within 30 min on water bath temperature (approximately 80 degrees C). The distilled analytes, as their respective acids in water, were directly injected into an ion-chromatograph. This newly developed method has been applied for analysis of trace impurities in H2SO4, H3PO4 and H3BO3. The detection limits for chloride is 8, 80 and 70ppb (w/w) for H2SO4, H3PO4 and H3BO3, respectively. For fluoride the detection limits are 6 and 60 ppb (w/w) for H2SO4 and H3PO4, respectively. The recovery of spikes for both the analytes ranged between 87 and 100%.

Ultrasound-assisted analyte extraction for the determination of sulfate and elemental sulfur in zinc sulfide by different liquid chromatography techniques.

The speciation and determination of sulfate (SO4(2-)) and elemental sulfur (S degree) in zinc sulfide (ZnS) using ion-chromatography (IC) and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) respectively is described. Three sample pretreatment approaches were employed with the aim of determining sulfate: (i) conventional water extraction of the analyte; (ii) solid-liquid aqueous extraction with an ultrasonic probe; and (iii) elimination of the zinc sulfide matrix via ion-exchange dissolution (IED). The separation of sulfate was carried out by an anion-exchange column (IonPac AS17), followed by suppressed conductivity detection. Elemental sulfur was extracted ultrasonically from the acid treated sample solution into chloroform and separated on a reversed phase HPLC column equipped with a diode array detector (DAD) at 264 nm. The achievable solid detection limits for sulfate and sulfur were 35 and 10 microg g(-1) respectively.

In situ matrix evaporation by isothermal distillation of high-purity reagents for the determination of trace impurities by ion chromatography.

In situ matrix evaporation of high-purity acids based on isothermal distillation was achieved in a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) container on a water bath, to avoid contamination from the laboratory environment. The solubility of water and acid vapours in glycerol due to co-association was utilized to achieve complete evaporation. All major sources which contribute to the process blank were taken care of in a simple and effective way. A 50-fold preconcentration with >99.9% matrix removal was achieved for the analysis of low-boiling acids, HCl, HF, HNO3 and H2O2. The non-volatile ions NH4+, Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, SO4(2-) and PO4(3-) were determined by ion chromatograph with conductivity detection. The detection limits were 6-130 ng/l with recoveries of 85-110% for all ions studied.

Ion chromatographic determination of trace level phosphorus in purified quartz.

Trace levels of phosphorus in purified quartz are determined by ion chromatography. In situ reagent purification, matrix digestion and oxidation of phosphorus to orthophosphate ion are carried out simultaneously in a vapour phase digestion (VPD) assembly using a mixture of HF, HNO3 and H2O2. A drastic reduction (475 times) in phosphate blank from reagents (HF/H2O2) was achieved in the VPD through in situ purification of the reagent. The residues remaining after volatilisation (solvent/matrix), mostly consisting of insoluble phosphate/fluoride salts of divalent and trivalent cations, were solubilised by ion-exchange dissolution. Phosphate was analysed on the IonPac AS17 column with suppressed conductivity detection. The results of the ion chromatography (IC) method were compared with a spectrophotometric method. Accuracy was evaluated by analysing a certified reference material (silicon, NIST 57a). The method detection limit was 0.05 microg g(-1).

Determination of trace metallic impurities in high-purity quartz by ion chromatography.

A method has been developed for the determination of relevant trace impurities (alkali, alkaline and transition metals) in high purity quartz by ion-chromatography. In situ reagent (HF) purification and simultaneous sample dissolution was achieved in a multichannel vapour phase digestion assembly. Twenty-one samples can be digested at a time in this vapour phase system. Significant decrease in the process blank levels for all the analytes was observed. Drastic reduction (250 times) of NH4+ blank was achieved in the described vapour phase digestion, which enables the determination of trace concentration of sodium in high purity quartz. After volatilisation of the matrix and unreacted HF, the clear water leached solutions were injected into an ion-chromatograph equipped with conductivity detector for the determination of alkali and alkaline earth metals. In the case of transition metals, the trace residues were leached with 10 mM HCl and after separation on a mixed bed analytical column (IonPac CS5) were detected by spectrophotometry after post column derivatisation using 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR). The accuracy of the result was checked by their comparison with those obtained by independent methods like inductively coupled plasma (ICP) MS and ICP atomic emission spectrometry. The achievable detection limits are between 0.4 ng/g (Li) and 22 ng/g (Mn). The application of the method to the determination of the above trace metals in two high-purity-grade quartz samples is demonstrated.

Procedure for determination of trace ions in boric acid by matrix volatilization-ion chromatography.

A method for determination of anions and cations in boric acid is proposed by matrix volatilization. The boric acid matrix was eliminated as trimethyl borate ester in a vapour phase matrix elimination (VPME) system using a mixture of glycerol-methanol. In this VPME system, in situ reagent purification, sample decomposition and digest evaporation were achieved in a single step. Trace anions were separated on anion-exchange column (IonPac AS17) by an isocratic elution with 15 mM sodium hydroxide and the cations on a cation-exchange column (IonPac CS12) by 20 mM hydrochloric acid as eluents. Method detection limits (3sigma) for most ions ranged from 0.3 to 8 ng/g (ppb). Recovery experiments combined with comparison of data obtained by other methods were employed to verify the accuracy of the proposed method. Application of the method to determine trace levels of anions like acetate, oxalate, sulfate, phosphate and cations such as lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium in two highly pure grades of boric acid using ion chromatography is demonstrated.

A simple vapour phase decomposition (VPD) of quartz powder in a polypropylene vessel and determination of phosphorus by spectrophotometry.

A simple, low pressure, low temperature vapour phase decomposition (VPD) of quartz powder has been developed for the determination of phosphorus. A platinum dish containing the quartz or silicon powder was placed inside a polypropylene vessel containing 40 ml of 1:1 mixture of HF and HNO(3). After capping the vessel, the entire assembly was heated on a water bath at approximately 90 degrees C for 8 h. The platinum dish was removed from the vessel, the sample solution was treated with 0.5 ml of H(2)SO(4) and 0.5 ml of HClO(4) and was heated on a hot plate till HClO(4) fumed out. The resultant solution was diluted to 40 ml ( approximately 0.4N), analysed for phosphorus by spectrophotometry as an ion-pair of molybdophosphate with crystal violet. Phosphorus contamination by reagents has been drastically reduced (around 250 times) compared to the conventional dissolution procedure. The optimum reaction conditions were [H(+)]=0.42N, [H(+)]/Mo=62 for the formation of molybdophosphate and its extraction into n-butyl acetate. No interferences due to fluoride, silicate (active silica) and arsenic (V) upto 6.7x10(3),2.7x10(3) and 2.0x10(3) times the content of phosphorus, respectively were observed. The LOD was found to be 0.066 mug g(-1) (+/-3 s). RSD is 0.4-2.3% and the molar absorptivity is 2.7x10(5) l mole(-1) cm(-1).