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Mycetoma is a chronic granulomatous, suppurative and progressive inflammatory disease that usually involves the subcutaneous tissue and bones after traumatic inoculation of the causative organism. In India, actinomycotic mycetoma is prevalent in south India, south-east Rajasthan and Chandigarh, while eumycetoma, which constitutes one third of the total cases, is mainly reported from north India and central Rajasthan. The objective was to determine the epidemiological profile and spectrum of eumycetoma from a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, North India. Thirty cases of eumycetoma were diagnosed by conventional methods of direct microscopy, culture and species-specific sequencing as per standard protocol. The spectrum of fungal pathogens included Exophiala jeanselmei, Madurella mycetomatis, Fusarium solani, Sarocladium kiliense, Acremonium blochii, Aspergillus nidulans, Fusarium incarnatum, Scedosporium apiospermum complex, Curvularia lunata and Medicopsis romeroi. Eumycetoma can be treated with antifungal therapy and needs to be combined with surgery. It has good prognosis if it is timely diagnosed and the correct species identified by culture for targeted therapy of these patients. Black moulds required prolonged therapy. Its low reporting and lack of familiarity may predispose patients to misdiagnosis and consequently delayed treatment. Hence health education and awareness campaign on the national and international level in the mycetoma belt is crucial.
Molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) is one of the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) materials which has attracted attention due to its various interesting properties. MoS2 is very promising for electronic and optoelectronic devices due to its indirect band gap (∼1.2 eV) for few layer and direct band gap (∼1.8 eV) for monolayer MoS2. In MoS2 based Schottky devices, Schottky barrier height depends on the thickness of MoS2 because of its tunable electronic properties. Here, we have used DC sputtering technique to fabricate metal-semiconductor junction of MoS2 with platinum (Pt) metal contacts. In this work, MoS2 thin film (∼10 nm) was deposited on p-Silicon (111) using DC sputtering technique at optimized parameters. Schottky metallization of Pt metal (contact area ∼ 0.785x10-2 cm2) was also done using DC sputtering. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the Pt/MoS2 Schottky junction have been investigated in the temperature range 80-350K. Forward I-V characteristics of Pt/MoS2 junction are analysed to calculate different Schottky parameters. Schottky barrier height increases and ideality factor decreases on increasing the temperature from 80-350K. The I-V-T measurements suggest the presence of local inhomogeneities at the Pt/MoS2 junction. Schottky barrier inhomogeneities occur in case of rough interface. In such cases, the Schottky barrier height does not remain constant and vary locally. Current transport through the Schottky junction is a thermally activated process. As temperature increases, more and more electrons overcome the spatially inhomogeneous barrier height. As a result, the ideality factor becomes close to unity and apparent barrier height increases due to increase in temperature.
Association mapping (AM), an alternative method of quantitative trait loci (QTL) discovery, exploits historic linkage disequilibrium (LD) present in natural populations. AM is effective in self-pollinated crops such as Dolichos bean as LD extends over longer genomic distance driven-by low rate of recombination and thereby requiring fewer markers for exploring marker-traits associations. A core set of Dolichos bean germplasm consisting of 64 accessions was evaluated for nine quantitative traits (QTs) during 2014 and 2015 rainy seasons and genotyped using 234 simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers. Substantial diversity was observed among the core set accessions at loci controlling QTs and 95 of the 234 SSR markers were found polymorphic. The structure analysis and low magnitude of fixation indices suggested weak population structure, which in-turn indicated the low possibility of false discovery rates in the marker-QTs association. The marker allele's scores were regressed onto phenotypes at nine QTs following general linear model and mixed linear model for exploring marker-QTs associations. Significantly higher number of SSR markers was found associated with genomic regions controlling nine QTs. A few of the markers such as KT Dolichos (KTD) 200 for days to 50% flowering, KTD 273 for fresh pod yield per plant and KTD 130 for fresh pods per plant explained ≥10% of the trait variations. The study could also identify a few SSR markers such as KTD 273, KTD 271 and KTD 130 linked to multiple traits. These linked SSR markers are suggested for validation for their use in marker-assisted Dolichos bean improvement programmes.
The flora of Laos remains one of the least known within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. A floristic inventory was carried out in Phou Hin Poun National Biodiversity Conservation Area, an under-explored area of the Khammouane Limestone. This study provides a list of 27 taxa that are additions to the most recent country checklists. The Ebenaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Myrtaceae are the families with the highest species number. In this list, four species are endemic to Indochina (Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam): Cynometra dongnaiensis Pierre, Jasminum vidalii P.S.Green, Memecylon chevalieri Guillaumin and Pothos gigantipes Buchet ex P.C.Boyce. These results illustrate the paucity of our knowledge of the region surveyed and of the flora of Laos in general.
We assessed the effect of vitamin D supplementation on related biochemistry, infection and dentition of the infant. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in Lucknow, India (latitude 26°N), 230 mother –newborn pairs were randomised to receive, for 9 months, 3000µg/month oral vitamin D3 by the mother (group A) or 10µg/d by the infant (group B) or double placebo (group C). All babies received 15 min of sun exposure (unclothed) during massage. Infants’ median 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was lower in group C (median 45·3; interquartile range (IQR) 22–59·5 nmol/l) than in groups A (median 60·8; IQR 41·3–80·5 nmol/l (P<0·01)) and B (median 61·3; IQR 41·3–75·3 nmol/l (P<0·05)) at 3·5 months. Infant 25(OH)D correlated negatively with infant parathyroid hormone (r −0·46, P<0·01). Elevated alkaline phosphatase (>7.5µkat/l) was significantly more frequent in group C babies (16 %) than in group A (4 %) or group B (0 %) babies. The number of days with respiratory or diarrhoeal infection by 9 months of age was higher in group C (median 46·5; IQR 14·8–73·3 d) than in group A (median 18·5; IQR 8·8–31·0 d (P<0·01)) or group B (median 13·0; IQR 7·0–28·5 (P<0·05)). We conclude that monthly maternal or daily infant supplementation with vitamin D along with sun exposure is superior to sun exposure alone in maintaining normal infant 25(OH)D at 3·5 months, and provide protection from elevated alkaline phosphatase and infectious morbidity.
To determine the effect of graft choice (allograft, bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft, or hamstring autograft) on deep tissue infections following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions.
DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study.
SETTING AND POPULATION
Patients from 6 US health plans who underwent ACL reconstruction from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2008.
METHODS
We identified ACL reconstructions and potential postoperative infections using claims data. A hierarchical stratified sampling strategy was used to identify patients for medical record review to confirm ACL reconstructions and to determine allograft vs autograft tissue implanted, clinical characteristics, and infection status. We estimated infection rates overall and by graft type. We used logistic regression to assess the association between infections and patients’ demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and choice of graft.
RESULTS
On review of 1,452 medical records, we found 55 deep wound infections. With correction for sampling weights, infection rates varied by graft type: 0.5% (95% CI, 0.3%-0.8%) with allografts, 0.6% (0.1%–1.5%) with bone-patellar tendon-bone autografts, and 2.5% (1.9%–3.1%) with hamstring autograft. After adjusting for potential confounders, we found an increased infection risk with hamstring autografts compared with allografts (odds ratio, 5.9; 95% CI, 2.8–12.8). However, there was no difference in infection risk among bone-patellar tendon-bone autografts vs allografts (odds ratio, 1.2; 95% CI, 0.3–4.8).
CONCLUSIONS
The overall risk for deep wound infections following ACL reconstruction is low but it does vary by graft type. Infection risk was highest in hamstring autograft recipients compared with allograft recipients and bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft recipients.
Underwater position data is a key requirement for the navigation and control of unmanned underwater vehicles. The proposed navigation scheme can be used in any vessel or boat for any shallow water vehicle. This paper presents the position estimation algorithm developed for shallow water Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) using attitude data and Doppler Velocity Log data with the initial position from the Global Positioning System (GPS). The navigational sensors are identified using the in-house developed simulation tool in MATLAB, based on the requirement of a position accuracy of less than 5%. The navigation system is built using the identified sensors, Kalman filter and navigation algorithm, developed in LabVIEW software. The developed system is tested and validated for position estimation, with an emulator consisting of a GPS-aided fibre optic gyro-based inertial navigation system as a reference, and it is found that the developed navigation system has a position error of less than 5%.
Proliferating trichilemmal tumour (PTT) is a benign tumour originating from the outer root sheath of a hair follicle. In rare instances, malignant transformation has been reported, evidenced by regional or distant metastases. Malignant transformation of PTT is often confused with squamous cell carcinoma. PTT usually occur as a solitary lesion on the scalp. It was first described as a proliferating epidermoid cyst by Wilson-Jones in 1966.
Case description
A female patient presented with a growing lesion on scalp in the right parietal region. She had already undergone excision for the same 8 months ago. The cyst was surgically removed and scalp was treated with electron therapy using a field dimension of 8×8 cm in 2011. Now, the patient is disease free with good quality of life.
Conclusion
Oncologists can consider electron therapy in management of PTT. This can improve cosmesis and quality of life of these patients.
Core collections are the integral part of biotechnology-aided modern-day crop improvement programmes and utilized for a variety of applications including conventional plant breeding, association mapping, resequencing, among others. Since their advent, determination of core collection size has been based on the size of the whole collection. In this study, we precisely estimated the size of the core collection based on the diversity of the whole collection using the Similarity Elimination method. For each of the elimination cycle, allele retention and pairwise and mean genetic distances were calculated and used as the criteria for the precise estimation of the core collection size. We sampled a coconut core collection with 266 entries by retaining the diversity of the whole collection. During the elimination process, accessions with very rare alleles were eliminated first when compared with those having rare and common alleles. Therefore, our results support the hypothesis that the less frequent alleles seldom contribute to the genetic distance when compared with common alleles. In conclusion, presize can be efficiently utilized in any crop for the precise estimation of core collection size.
Unsteady aerofoil flows are often characterized by leading-edge vortex (LEV) shedding. While experiments and high-order computations have contributed to our understanding of these flows, fast low-order methods are needed for engineering tasks. Classical unsteady aerofoil theories are limited to small amplitudes and attached leading-edge flows. Discrete-vortex methods that model vortex shedding from leading edges assume continuous shedding, valid only for sharp leading edges, or shedding governed by ad-hoc criteria such as a critical angle of attack, valid only for a restricted set of kinematics. We present a criterion for intermittent vortex shedding from rounded leading edges that is governed by a maximum allowable leading-edge suction. We show that, when using unsteady thin aerofoil theory, this leading-edge suction parameter (LESP) is related to the
$\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}A_0$
term in the Fourier series representing the chordwise variation of bound vorticity. Furthermore, for any aerofoil and Reynolds number, there is a critical value of the LESP, which is independent of the motion kinematics. When the instantaneous LESP value exceeds the critical value, vortex shedding occurs at the leading edge. We have augmented a discrete-time, arbitrary-motion, unsteady thin aerofoil theory with discrete-vortex shedding from the leading edge governed by the instantaneous LESP. Thus, the use of a single empirical parameter, the critical-LESP value, allows us to determine the onset, growth, and termination of LEVs. We show, by comparison with experimental and computational results for several aerofoils, motions and Reynolds numbers, that this computationally inexpensive method is successful in predicting the complex flows and forces resulting from intermittent LEV shedding, thus validating the LESP concept.
To explore the feasibility of identifying anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) allograft implantations and infections using claims.
Design.
Retrospective cohort study.
Methods.
We identified ACL reconstructions using procedure codes at 6 health plans from 2000 to 2008. We then identified potential infections using claims-based indicators of infection, including diagnoses, procedures, antibiotic dispensings, specialty consultations, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. Patients’ medical records were reviewed to determine graft type, validate infection status, and calculate sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) for indicators of ACL allografts and infections.
Results.
A total of 11,778 patients with codes for ACL reconstruction were identified. After chart review, PPV for ACL reconstruction was 96% (95% confidence interval [CI], 94%–97%). Of the confirmed ACL reconstructions, 39% (95% CI, 35%–42%) used allograft tissues. The deep infection rate after ACL reconstruction was 1.0% (95% CI, 0.7%–1.4%). The odds ratio of infection for allografts versus autografts was 0.41 (95% CI, 0.19–0.78). Sensitivity of individual claims-based indicators for deep infection after ACL reconstruction ranged from 0% to 75% and PPV from 0% to 100%. Claims-based infection indicators could be combined to enhance sensitivity or PPV but not both.
Conclusions.
While claims data accurately identify ACL reconstructions, they poorly distinguish between allografts and autografts and identify infections with variable accuracy. Claims data could be useful to monitor infection trends after ACL reconstruction, with different algorithms optimized for different surveillance goals.
Effect of Gd substitution at Y-site on the structural and magnetic properties of Y1-xGdxMnO3 (x=0, 0.05) nanoparticles prepared by conventional solid state reaction method has been studied. The structural study using X-ray diffraction pattern indicates the hexagonal structure with P63cm space group for all the samples. The average particle size for all the samples lies in the range of 30-40 nm as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The change in a and c lattice parameters confirm the substitution of Gd at Y-site. Magnetization versus temperature measurements show enhanced magnetic moment and an increase in Neel temperature with Gd-doping. Spin glass behavior is observed at low temperature in all the samples. Exchange bias effect has been observed at 5 K after field cooling the samples which is ascribed to the formation of antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic (AFM-FM) core-shell structure of the nanoparticles. A significant improvement in the dielectric properties of Gd-doped samples has also been observed.
The secret art of silk culture along with mulberry seeds is presumed to have spread from China to other parts of the world including India through the famous Silk Road. In this study, we investigated a set of 36 important mulberry genotypes (designated as ‘breeders’ collection’) of historical importance that have been frequently used in Indian crop improvement programmes over the last five decades. This study is the first to employ a large number of microsatellite markers (140 screened; 70 used for profiling) to elucidate the diversity, structure and breeding history of mulberry. The cluster and STRUCTURE analysis corroborated with the known genetic relationships and origin. The groupings by STRUCTURE (k= 4) confirm parallel breeding efforts undertaken in the eastern, southern and northern regions of the country. The cultivar ‘Mysore Local’ shares a common parent with ‘Berhampore Local’, and this supports the historical records of its introduction from eastern India to the Kingdom of Mysore by the erstwhile ruler Tippu Sultan. The popular variety ‘Kanva-2’ shared a common male parent with the Japanese variety ‘Kousen’, supporting the contribution of exotic progenitors in Indian cultivars. The findings of this study will be useful in formulating new strategies for mulberry improvement and reveals the historical events of the introduction and spread of cultivated mulberry in the Indian subcontinent.